Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Bullying, Stop! (11)
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From Bayard's reaction, I could tell that Yana had intervened between Yuyeong and her in the past. Of course, I didn't know the exact details.
Judging by the reaction, it probably wasn't a positive intervention. Look at how she's reacting now. I frowned.
Before things got more chaotic here, I decided I needed to lure her away first. So I bolted into the corridor. Yana followed right after me.
She seemed to have even forgotten her original goal. Was that really loyalty? Or just self-satisfaction? There was no way to find out.
So please, just let me live. I'd almost forgotten. Excluding time stop, I was literally nothing right now. Damn it.
Of course, I had time acceleration as a trump card. But the penalty was way too harsh. It was a skill I couldn't use unless I was truly on the brink of death.
I dodged Yana's rampaging attacks and somehow made it out to the inner courtyard. Normally, I wouldn't want to interrupt Yuyeong and Bayard's meeting...
But I'd changed my mind. Please, anyone, help me out. With that thought, I'd deliberately headed to the inner courtyard since it was visible from everywhere.
"What the hell is that?!"
"An intruder?!"
Fortunately, Clara and Ruby were in the courtyard. Thanks to them, I avoided having to face that monster alone. I shouted at them.
"Get ready! Enemy ambush!!"
"Got it! Captain!"
"Time to taste my hammer!"
Clara and Ruby reacted immediately to my words. Clara's arrows pierced straight through Yana's shoulder. Yana staggered to a halt. This was my chance.
Ruby didn't miss it and charged forward. Her massive iron hammer came crashing down on Yana's shoulder. A gruesome crunch of rending flesh echoed through the air.
Blood and chunks of meat splattered to the ground, rotting away and filling the air with a foul stench. But Yana ignored it. She swung her remaining arm and grabbed Ruby's neck.
"Gahk?!"
Ruby didn't panic despite being choked. She clung to Yana's arm and kneed upward, snapping the hand and escaping in an instant.
Clara provided covering fire. Ruby was able to regroup because of it. Both of them were now proper Royal Knights—no skills to scoff at anymore.
Probably thanks to all the consistent training they'd been doing. Their relationship was still rocky, but they were more like frenemies than outright enemies. Not a bad dynamic.
"Captain! What the heck is that thing?!"
"Yana. A beastkin warrior. One of the guard knights who follows Yuyeong."
"That arm's got some weird sword grafted on. Not a normal blade."
"You can tell?"
"I've got some blacksmith chops, y'know."
"Ruby's right. That's a parasitic curse—one of the ones demons implant to control people."
Completely overwriting someone's personality isn't easy. The original story even spells it out clearly. So the demons went with a different approach.
They veiled the truth in subtle ways. Parasitic curses cunningly show the host what they want and guide them down that path with illusions.
It's not even entirely false. Follow the illusory path, and you'll start believing it's the right one. That's what makes it so terrifying.
I had no idea what Yana's deal was. But even if her loyalty was genuine, if it was leading her down the wrong path, I had to stop her.
"Let's go!!!"
I shouted. The moment my voice rang out, Clara and Ruby surged forward. Clara had already drawn her sword. Yana let out a roar.
"Don't interfere with my loyalty to my lord!!!"
"No, that's not loyalty."
"How dare a worm like you prattle on about what you know?!"
"Anyone can see it from what you're doing!"
Did I strike a nerve? While Yana raged, Ruby swung her hammer at the opening, targeting the destroyed arm. But that arm regenerated.
Ruby calmly twisted her body to dodge the newly grown sword. Clearly displeased, she clicked her tongue and glared at Yana.
"Quicker on her feet than expected."
"But not unbeatable."
"Right. Let's fight smart."
But before the words even finished, a thunderous boom came from the sky as someone descended. Auburn hair, massive build—a woman. Bayard.
"Captain, thank you for trusting me."
?
"Leave this to me, Captain. I'll win this with my own hands!"
I had no clue what she was talking about. But I only had one thing to say.
"I always believe in you, Bayard."
Go get her, Bayard! Rip her apart!
I'd received an unexpected act of kindness. If it weren't for the Captain, I might never have reconciled with Yuyeong. We talked about so much.
What she'd been up to, how she'd been faring. All sorts of things. Truth be told, I already knew the gist of what Yuyeong had gone through.
"Why'd you start the war?"
"...Blinded by a brilliant future."
"That was wrong. You shouldn't have."
"I know. But I have no regrets. If I could go back, I'd make the same choice. That's the weight of being a ruler."
"...That's why I joined the Royal Knights."
"What?"
Yuyeong looked stunned. I gave her a wry smile. That was the real reason I'd enlisted in the Royal Knights.
A secret I'd never told anyone. Back during my academy days, after endless bullying and betrayal, I'd grown terrified of people and shut myself away.
Then I heard the beastkin had lost the war. And that Yuyeong was shouldering the blame. At first, I thought she had it coming.
But I came to my senses. I hadn't heard the full story from Yuyeong herself. So at least once, I wanted to talk to her properly.
[I'll apply to the Royal Knights.]
[You've finally made up your mind.]
[...Yes.]
[That path is grueling and harsh. Will you walk it anyway?]
[No regrets.]
You could call it foolish. But that's how much I'd valued our friendship. I didn't want to give up until I'd confirmed it for myself.
[Face reality! Lady Yuyeong abandoned you!]
[How dare trash not even picked by the twelve tribes hang around the rat tribe's heir?]
[You're just sucking up to the rats for a cushy spot, aren't you?]
Those razor-sharp words still haunted my mind. I'd brushed them off at first—until I actually tried to meet Yuyeong.
So I'd gone to meet her. Even if her followers, Yana included, shunned me, I wanted to hear it from her directly and judge for myself.
But she never showed at the meeting spot. I'd thought the message got through. Could those guys have been right after all?
"Why didn't you come that day?"
I finally voiced the incident I'd been avoiding. My heart pounded. If it was true—if she'd really discarded me because she didn't need me anymore...
What would I do then? Doubts flooded in like water. That's when an unexpected response came. Yuyeong tilted her head.
"What are you talking about? You were the one who didn't show up."
She said she'd gone to the meeting place, but I hadn't. Yet our memories of the location differed. I'd waited behind the academy.
But Yuyeong had been waiting in the herb garden inside. Hearing that, I finally felt relieved. We had a short talk.
But there wasn't time for more. Noisy commotion had been coming from outside for a while now. I smiled and said,
"Sorry, I think I have to head out now."
"Already? I still have so much I want to say."
"Me too. But let's talk later."
I had work to do now. Just as the Captain trusted me, I trusted him too. Thanks to him, I'd made it this far. Time to repay the favor.
I hurled myself out the window. There he was—the guy who'd tormented me endlessly before. Memories of that time had kept me fearing and avoiding him.
But not anymore. Because the Captain was behind me.
As long as the Captain believed in me, I wouldn't lose. Not ever.