“…Huh.”
Esther slowly removed the hand that had been muffling her ears.
Pretending to cry, she covered her eyes with her palm and peered through the gaps between her fingers to take in the situation.
What am I supposed to do with my brilliant acting?
At this rate she was about to become a saint for real.
Demons and saints were lifelong enemies, weren’t they? In truth, when they met the other side they were the kind of races who’d be itching to tear each other’s throats out.
The old-time saints had really been like divine representatives; once they got involved, things became troublesome.
And their swordsmanship—how amazing must that be.
People shuddered at the idea of a saint.
“Saint! Saint!”
“…Hit her.”
“Finally—finally we can escape this hell…!”
“I told you to shut up!”
Kaelos growled and raised his voice. At the end of his furious glare were people kneeling on the ground.
“What do you expect a ten-year-old to do? That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed.
“Captain Kaelos! Do you think this is a joke? That child is a saint! Saints have duties, and if the saint fulfills them, everyone can be happy!”
“So what are you trying to say?”
The priest who’d raised his voice flinched at Kaelos’s cold retort.
Kaelos’s sharp gaze was enough to make it seem like he could cut that man’s throat on the spot.
“Think about it! It’s the quickest way to get out of this battlefield—”
“And if something happens to my child because of that, will you fix it?” Kaelos cut him off.
“Honestly, what could possibly happen to a saint?”
“You’re now expecting a ten-year-old to do what you yourselves cannot?”
He sneered and laughed at them.
They were left speechless by his contemptible behavior. The child was so small she could barely be held with one arm.
She’d barely reach their waists.
It made him sick, how many humans hid behind that child like she was a shield.
“The moment any of you lay a hand on this child, not only the Egbert family… but Kardem and I will forever sever ties with the temple.”
When he turned his head, Kardem nodded as well.
Why is everyone like this?
Esther made a confused face.
If the sacrifice of one person could bring happiness to many, everyone would choose the latter.
Esther had always lived believing that.
Why?
Hadn’t those people tormented them their whole lives? Now a ten-year-old was supposed to clear up that mess?
How fortunate.
So from Esther’s point of view, Kaelos was strange.
She couldn’t understand why he blocked her from going to the battlefield. Even when she said she could see a future in which she died and he insisted on saving her, he remained stubbornly opposed.
At first she thought it was just petty parental instinct.
Or maybe he opposed because he couldn’t bear to think she might die — too complacent to accept it.
But if so, the current situation didn’t make sense.
Like he’s in love or something.
When humans face a danger they cannot handle by themselves, the first thing they do is run away.
“Your niece is still young. Taking her to such a dangerous place is out of the question,” Kardem said.
Esther’s eyes trembled slightly.
When she looked over, she saw countless people kneeling, their faces a mixture of hope and anxiety.
And over them rose anger and resentment. These two men had willingly made those people their enemies for her sake.
Why?
Because she was family?
Because she was just a child?
But humans usually didn’t care about such things.
Human nature was to sell out anything to survive.
“Father?”
“Be quiet. This time, whining won’t do any good.”
“Why?”
“Do you need a reason to protect your child?”
Esther didn’t answer. Kaelos spoke again.
“If you must know, I’ll tell you. If you were gone, I would surely lose my mind.”
“…”
“You probably won’t believe me, but I… have been trying in my own way to protect you.”
Kaelos spoke in a low, heavy voice.
He had never hated her. He had only tried not to care. Out of sight, he thought he could ignore it.
So they could have the most ideal farewell.
“…That was all in the wrong direction and selfish, though.”
“Yeah.”
Esther nodded.
“Dad, you were wrong.”
Probably no one wanted that. Especially the “real Esther” she was contracted with.
“…I know. I feel sorry to both you and her. That’s why I can’t let you go.”
Hearing Kaelos, Esther frowned.
But if he didn’t deal with that forsaken land, that man would probably die.
“Dad, I came to save you.”
“…I’m fine even if you don’t save me.”
“Yeah, but if we don’t get rid of that place, you’ll die. If you die, will Mom and I be abandoned again?”
“What are you talking about!”
“Well, there’s an uncle too!”
Kardem looked at Esther and Kaelos with a miserable face.
“So I’m going.”
At Esther’s words Kaelos gripped her tighter.
“No matter how much you want it, I cannot allow it.”
“Captain Kaelos! How long are we supposed to continue this pointless fight? How long must we watch our comrades die?”
“Are duties only for saints? If you’re going to force duty, fulfill your own first. I won’t allow it at least until the child reaches adulthood.”
At his firm words, the soldiers and priests’ faces darkened. The knights showed no expression at all.
“Is only your child precious? My child is precious too! I haven’t seen mine in years!” one shouted.
“As far as I know, there are only volunteers here who are paid for their work.”
Kaelos answered indifferently.
“That is my answer.”
With that he turned away.
Only then could Esther properly look at the kneeling people over Kaelos’s shoulder.
What shone in their eyes was hatred—and the will to survive.
Ah, my dad’s in big trouble.
He’d made too many enemies.
They must know that even a pack of mice can gnaw a cat if they band together.
Still… who dares to aim for this?
Esther’s pupils rounded.
This is my meal.
She hadn’t sent Laksa to the battlefield with Kaelos for nothing.
If anyone dared to covet them, it wouldn’t be bad to show them hell. She’d probably spend many long nights for a while.
Laksa and Ros will like it though.
Esther yawned lightly. The embrace was wide and comfortable, and she couldn’t help it.
She surrendered herself to that embrace.
A sweet scent that pricked her nose woke Esther slowly.
It was a smell that stirred instincts. In the pitch-black darkness, the crimson gleam of her eyes shone dangerously.
Esther sprang from the bed, walked slowly across the tent barefoot, and stepped outside the barracks.
[Oh my.]
At the sympathetic exclamation from beside her, Esther turned her expressionless face.
[Sorry, Esther-nim. Were we noisy? We tried to minimize the sound as much as possible.]
A flowing demonic language fell from his lips.
Laksa knelt quickly before Esther. On the ground were several men in black masks strewn about.
They lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
Their limbs were twisted in grotesque angles; they seemed to have lost their eyes, weeping blood like they were half-dead.
[The smell.]
[Ah… this Laksa was foolish. I shouldn’t have allowed even the smell of filthy blood to linger.]
He sighed.
He cast off his white gloves, snapped his fingers, and approached Esther cautiously.
The scent of blood disappeared.
The red tint that had filled Esther’s eyes from instinct slowly returned to its original color.
[Who are they?]
[Ah… they were circling around near Esther-nim’s barracks so much that we were debating whether to kill them.]
[Why were you debating that?]
[They looked like priests and soldiers. Perhaps they came to covet the “saint,” since Esther-nim’s acting is so convincing…]
It wasn’t a maybe—it was almost certain.
He’d thought they were coming to kill Kaelos Egbert, but he hadn’t expected the fire to spread to this side.
Well, humans are always cowardly creatures after all.
Rather than touching the untouchable Kaelos, it would be quicker to take the child saint to that land.
[This works out nicely.]
Esther snorted.
[What do you mean?] Laksa asked. [This foolish Laksa doesn’t understand your grand plan.]
[We have to go there anyway, and Dad’s too worried. We can say they kidnapped me.]
Esther grinned like a mischievous brat.
