FEFR 14

Episode 14

Both Lanje and Kalisa fell silent and looked at Lenart. Their silence so far seemed to have paid off.

Lenart first turned to Lanje and said,

“If you know there’s a misunderstanding, explain it properly instead of provoking people.”

Lanje pouted but didn’t complain.

Now that Lanje had quieted down, Lenart turned his attention to Kalisa.

“You, too—stop getting angry for no reason. Today’s our first day in Parel. We don’t even know who this Osip person is.”

Kalisa calmed herself. She had acted sharply because of the sensitive issue, but as he said, it wasn’t a well-thought-out reaction.

“…Alright. Go ahead and explain. I’ll stay quiet this time.”

Now, both of them turned to look at Lanje.

They didn’t expect much from Lanje’s eloquence, but Lenart was starting to get curious.

He’d avoided asking directly, so the only thing he really knew about Lanje was the name. They had taken the same train, but he didn’t even know the point of departure or where those suspicious skills came from.

‘I’ll probably learn everything now.’

Lanje had given a brief explanation earlier but hadn’t revealed anything specific. To explain the letter sent to his grandfather, he would have to reveal some personal details.

He touched his chin in thought for a moment, then spoke without hesitation.

“Teacher, you’ve written a letter to Countess Swanhild before, right?”

It was a confusing direction for Lenart, but Kalisa’s expression immediately changed.

She had sent a letter to the countess.

She had heard from her peers that one of the countess’s granddaughters was suffering from a magical anomaly.

Living in this place was hard and suffocating, so Kalisa had pinned a small hope on the chance. If she had a proper sponsor, she wouldn’t need to keep up this uncomfortable relationship with Damille.

That had been last autumn.

Of course, there had been no reply. And since she had done it all on her own, no one knew she had tried to contact Swanhild.

‘How did he find out?’

Kalisa nearly asked aloud.

Outwardly, she didn’t show her surprise, and Lanje also quickly hid his troubled look.

‘Maybe the letter hasn’t been sent yet.’

He had spoken casually, assuming it was based on a future conversation, but now that he thought about it, he didn’t know the exact timeline.

Preparing to play dumb if asked further, Lanje casually dropped another statement.

“Aren’t you interested in Erna Swanhild’s rare illness? Erna has a lot of questions for you.”

“…What?”

“She came all this way just to see you, so why did you run off?”

Lanje’s lofty tone matched his high perch, but fortunately, no one responded directly.

Both Kalisa and Lenart were reeling—for different reasons.

Kalisa regained her composure and asked,

“Are you saying the person who didn’t come with you is Erna Swanhild?”

Lanje nodded.

“Erna is my sis—no, I mean, my older sister. She got into research because of that illness.”

Lenart began piecing together the fragmented bits of information.

“So the grandfather you mentioned… was Count Swanhild?”

“You’ve got a good memory, senior.”

He hadn’t expected Lanje to confirm it so casually, so Lenart didn’t press further.

It was too random to be a lie.

Kalisa also seemed to accept Lanje’s explanation.

‘If he knows about the letter… claiming he came from the Count’s estate actually makes more sense.’

If he were Osip’s underling, it would’ve been strange for him to keep denying it this long.

Kalisa cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding, Miss Swanhild. Let’s go back to the clinic and talk.”

“Just call me by name.”

He hadn’t had time to legally change his name yet, so it was still “Lanje Baer” on the records.

Explaining that story would take even more time, so Lanje moved to wrap up the conversation.

“Anyway, I’ll head down now. Teacher, could you step aside?”

Still seated, he tilted forward as if preparing to jump down.

Lenart instinctively moved to catch him, startled by the thought of a fall.

He tried to step back, realizing it was unnecessary interference—but Lanje had already noticed.

“Are you really going to catch me?”

Without waiting for a reply, she threw herself down.

Lenart flinched and reached out in panic at her reckless move.

Of course, Lanje hadn’t completely ruled out being ignored.

“<The Steps of Ghiena Never End.>”

She recited the incantation quickly mid-fall.

Thanks to the magical platform that appeared, Lanje slowed her descent just enough so that the impact in Lenart’s arms wasn’t too severe.

Still, Lenart froze for a few seconds.

‘Why does she trust me like this?’

Seeing her eyes smiling with strange trust made it hard to even think critically.

Lanje stood straight, stepping out of his stiff arms.

“Well then, let’s go. Erna’s waiting.”

She hurried ahead, with Kalisa and a shaken Lenart following behind. Walking ahead energetically, Lanje said,

“I’m glad the conversation ended well. Don’t you think so, senior?”

“You had a backup plan in case it didn’t?”

“I’m not that unprepared.”

Even saying this, she didn’t look like someone with a detailed plan.

While Lenart frowned, unwilling to admit it, Kalisa changed the subject.

“So, if Erna came all the way here, does that mean the Count is also interested in my research…? No, probably not.”

You could tell just by how the sisters were dressed. If the Count were even slightly involved, he wouldn’t have sent his granddaughter this far west alone. At the very least, he’d have sent servants.

Kalisa looked sideways.

‘He’s not a servant either.’

Even though Lenart had come with the sisters, he hadn’t known their family name until just now.

His clothes looked plain on the surface, but the material was suspiciously high quality. Probably worth more than a hundred of Lanje’s outfits.

“Yeah, it’s just Erna and me. The Count’s not very reasonable. Sorry if you expected anything.”

“No, it’s fine.”

She had hoped for sponsorship, but it was vague and distant. If Swanhild had really reached out, she might have been more shocked than happy.

Still, Lanje raised a fist enthusiastically.

“I don’t have much money, but I’ll pay for her treatment. I brought some things when we left.”

“You even stole things while running away?”

“Would you have left empty-handed?”

Lenart didn’t feel the need to criticize the runaway part. He wasn’t exactly in a noble position himself.

Kalisa fell a bit behind as Lanje and Lenart bickered meaninglessly, approaching the alley where the clinic was located.

But just before turning the corner, they sensed something was off.

“…We closed the clinic, right?”

“Yeah.”

The clinic door was wide open.

Even from a distance, they could hear crashing sounds—things being overturned and broken.

“Ah! Erna!”

Remembering that they had left her behind, Lanje sprinted ahead.

The other two, realizing Erna might be in danger, quickly followed.

Inside the clinic, rough-looking men were trashing the place. You couldn’t call any of them pleasant-looking even as a joke.

“What the hell now?”

They turned and glared at Lanje—then, spotting Kalisa, their fury boiled over.

“You traitor!”

The neighbors must’ve already fled. No one peeked out despite the shouting.

“Who are you calling a traitor?!”

Kalisa shouted back at the same volume, recognizing them.

“I was never on your side to begin with!”

“Do you know how much the boss…!”

Lanje and Lenart tried to enter the clinic, but the men blocked them.

One of them gestured, and another thug approached Lanje threateningly.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

When Lanje didn’t flinch, he really tried to strike her.

Unfortunately for him, he was unarmed. And Lanje had been preparing her chant since the moment she stepped forward.

“<Do Not Obstruct the Path of El Nas.>”

The man was overwhelmed by a strange pressure and pain.

His arm twisted mid-air, and he was slammed into the wall so quickly that only Lanje and Lenart understood what had happened.

There wasn’t even time to scream—just a heavy silence.

Lenart, meanwhile, was a bit shocked.

Not out of guilt, but because they’d injured the man more than expected. They had attacked simultaneously, and Lanje’s magic had crushed the guy’s arm.

Unbothered by any of this, Lanje scanned the wrecked interior.

“Erna’s gone…”

She didn’t hope she had escaped. As they saw with Kalisa earlier, there was only one entrance. Erna didn’t have the strength to fight them off or the stamina to run far.

‘They took her.’

Lanje quickly decided what to do next.

“Senior.”

That one word was enough for Lenart to act.

“<Night That Extinguished Rugal’s Eyes.>”

The thugs, dazed and distracted by Lanje, couldn’t resist the magic. They fell one by one like puppets with their strings cut.

Only the man who had confronted Kalisa remained.

Kalisa snapped out of her shock and kicked the back of his knee.

“Argh!”

Stunned by how his allies had been defeated, he couldn’t react fast enough and collapsed forward.

Lenart’s magic pinned him to the ground.

“Teacher, is this the one in charge?”