Even though his younger brother had died a long time ago and his entire body was in tatters like a rotting corpse, he pointed his weapon at Drial.
The screams of his younger brother, who had experienced death several times, echoed.
"Brother, brother, please. Please kill me... I don't want to survive again. I don't want to live like this... I don't even want to point a knife at my brother... Please, please please..."
Drial killed his brother, but he woke up the next day. That fight was repeated over a hundred or a thousand times.
The younger brother, whose body was in tatters, died only after being burned by a wizard.
He didn't cry when he looked at the ray-stained bone dust. Je hugged the urn and said to himself that he was glad that at least his younger brother's suffering was definitely over.
Drial will keep the war a secret forever. It was clear that if Rune found out, she would blame herself and cry.
The illusion, as vivid as the sunlight was, stayed at the edge of the desk and then disappeared. Drial, heartbroken, smiled calmly.
"Change the sleeve straps too."
The voice making the request was shameless. As Rune was about to tell him not to change the subject, she saw that her golden eyes were faintly wet.
When you look at someone like that, even if you wanted to ask, you couldn't.
Rune took a step back and held out the remaining leather strap.
"You can do that much."
"No. Do it."
"You are not a child...."
"I am a child in front of you."
Drial had a thick face. Rune reluctantly changed his sleeve straps as well.
"Eus."
Eus Stein is Drial's half-brother and was a boy who was thrown into the northern war along with his older brothers due to his father's pressure.
Eus was such a gentle and kind child that he could not swing his sword at the frost giant.
Rune grew up with Drial's brother and was very attached to Eus. Eus was the youngest and purest of the group.
After tying the leash, Rune couldn't bear to look at Drial and cried out.
"Eus died in battle too?"
"No."
At the hopeful answer, Rune looked at Drial.
"Are he alive?"
"He's missing."
Disappearance on the battlefield meant one thing.
Rune lowered her gaze. She felt like it was her fault that Drial had lost loved ones on the battlefield.
If he had not been forced to marry, Drial would have rejected his request to join the war.
Rune twisted her gaze, feeling that she was not qualified to comfort Drial.
"Are you going to laugh and talk all night long with the knights at the banquet hall?"
"I plan to. Today is the day everyone returns."
"Yes. I hope you're happy today too."
At those words, Drial laughed like a person who had gained immunity.
***
"There are rumors like that going around in the territory...?"
Meanwhile, the Guardians frowned after hearing the rumors about Drial and Terea.
"Isn't this something that people who like to talk about behind the scenes made up?"
"I searched around with the people of Arapi village, and they said that the lord had found a woman named Terea and that they had seen them meet and talk alone. I don't know what the relationship is, but I'm sure they know each other."
Before standing guard at night, the members gathered in one place were shaken by their colleague's words.
Rune risked her life to keep her promise to protect everyone.
They respected Rune so much that they swore absolute loyalty. If it was related to Rune, they would go to any lengths.
If the lord couple divorces, the guardians will abandon Arhon and follow Rune without hesitation.
However, there was an irreverent rumor going around in Arhon about Drial and a certain woman. The crew members who wanted the peace of Rune had no choice but to become sensitive.
"The name Terea seems somewhat familiar... Is she not that girl by any chance? She was a maid who had run away with the lord on his wedding day."
"I also heard a rumor that the lord ran away with a maid... No, but was that true? Isn't this just a rumor?"
They were talking seriously, talking about the rumors they had come across.
Someone had to calm down the guards who were trying to stray, but Zenon, their center and leader of the military discipline, had been dispatched to Emur Village.
As stories were exchanged, the truth of which was difficult to determine, the anger of the guards grew stronger.
Before they knew it, they had become convinced that Drial Stein was planning to abandon Rune Helid and take Terea as his concubine.
There was no evidence, but they had no choice but to believe that. Drial hated Rune, and the whole world knew it.
Drial's old attitude played a big role in making false rumors turn out to be true. What people didn't know was that Drial was finally trying to make things right with Rune.
"Nonsense. She couldn't help but wonder what terrible things she had gone through to protect Arhon..."
As the guardians shouted, a servant came running from afar, waving his arms. In the servant's hand was today's night shift order.
"What are you all doing here? Check this."
The guardians shook off their anger and read the instructions. One of the guardians furrowed his brows and looked harshly at the servant carrying the instructions.
"The entire guard is on night shift? Why? They said there was a dinner party. Aren't superiors attending there?"
The servant shook his head as if he knew nothing.
Upon hearing the news that the Guardians had been excluded from the dinner, the place became quiet as if cold water had been poured on them.
Everyone knew that a banquet was being prepared to welcome the wizard Cookie and the Arhon Knights.
Although the Guardians are a ragtag group of permanent residents, they have protected Arhon along with Rune. Even though Zenon was absent, an older superior was worthy of attending.
However, when an order came down to everyone to work the night shift, they couldn't help but feel confused. They felt like they were put on the back burner because the Knights Corps came back.
"Even the janitors who work comfortably at their desks attend the banquet, so why are we..."
"Is this an order from Madam?"
"Maybe so."
The Guardians suppressed their discomfort and hung the order on the bulletin board.
"If it's what Madam decides, we have to follow it. If everyone has any complaints, do it after Zenon comes back. But it's not too late."
If Rune gave an order, they had to follow it without saying a word. The crew, overcome with disappointment, reluctantly left.
However, a few people cast a disapproving sideways glance at the main building where the banquet hall was located, with their dissatisfied eyes still visible. At that moment, knights dressed in uniform were heading to the banquet hall.
The guards did not even have uniforms. Also, now that the Knights have returned, the Guardians will soon be disbanded.
They just had to accept reality. Although that fact made them feel helpless, they secretly hoped that Madam would do something to help them.
However, Rune, who was a strong ally of the Guardians, was in danger of being abandoned by Drial.
Several guards, swearing loudly, climbed up the castle wall.
They stared in the direction of Arapi Village with sharp eyes.
***
At that time, Zenon arrived at Emur Village and illuminated the ruins with a torch.
The villagers seemed convinced that a corpse-eating monster had done this. So the mercenaries guarding the village were also lukewarm about the search.
Zenon stared at the exposed coffin with dark eyes. The broken appearance of the coffin was uncomfortable.
The body could not bear the stuffiness, so there was a hole inside the coffin as if a fist had been stretched outward. The situation was no different in other coffins.
He bent his knees and looked around the grave. The grave was not dug up from the outside. It all came up from the ground.
But how can a dead person break the coffin and dig up from the ground?
Zenon hid his dismay from the people watching. Just then, the search party sent by Zenon to the forest returned.
"Did you find the body?"
When he asked his subordinate, everyone in the search party shook their heads.
"No. I didn't find anything."
"What about the footprints that are believed to be the monsters?"
"We found no traces of monsters nearby. The mercenaries were good at using incense to ward off demons, so the surrounding area was very clean."
Zenon bit his lip and then released it. For some reason, he didn't have a good feeling.
"Captain!"
The other search party that accompanied the mercenaries also returned. But their expressions were not good.
The subordinate who had just returned whispered to Zenon.
"I found something strange in the forest and brought it back."
When the subordinate gestured, the guards took out what was in a leather bag.
It was a dead doe. The female deer had been bitten here and there as if it had been hunted by a predator. Zenon winked as if wondering what was strange about this.
The subordinate silently pointed to the tooth marks on the back of the doe's neck. Zenon, bending his knees, examined the teeth marks and then stiffened a little later.
"These are human teeth marks."
"Who will listen?"
The subordinate muttered lowly.
"I guess this doe... It looks like it was eaten alive by a person."
Bodies disappeared from the village all at once, and animals that had been eaten by people were found in the forest.
Zenon instinctively felt that he could not solve the incident in Emur Village with his own abilities.
Something sinister was happening in Arhon.
"I'm going to have to give Madame Helid a shout-out."
Zenon muttered and stared into the dark forest. The being that ate the doe alive was somewhere in that forest. Zenon hurriedly sent his man away and headed to the place where the search party found the female deer carcass.
As he was searching the area further, it occurred to him later that the female deer's body was not decomposed. He was just about to shout to his men to be alert to the surroundings.
Screams echoed from the direction of the village.
Comments
Post a Comment