Chapter 69
Thanks to the help of the Holy Knights, the situation was resolved in an instant. The snow mountain scouts, hearing that the Holy Knights were coming, regained their courage and swung their weapons once again, while the arriving knights surrounded the area, blocking the fleeing monsters and taking them down.
The threatening momentum of the monsters gradually subsided. Soon, they were completely wiped out. The flickering flames also died down. The battle was over.
Charlotte was only able to put down the dagger she had been holding after everything ended. The moment her tension released and her body went limp, she realized the source of the throbbing pain in her fingertips.
She thought something had flown off when breaking the doorknob, but it turned out she had lost a fingernail on her index finger. There was also a cut on her palm. It was a result of her inexperience in handling the sword.
At that moment, Aria, who had been hiding her face in Charlotte’s arms out of fear, suddenly lifted her head at Charlotte’s groan. Looking around, Aria wrapped her hand around Charlotte’s bleeding finger. Tears welled up in her bright blue eyes and trickled down her cheeks.
“Mom, does it hurt?”
“I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt.”
“No, it does. Mom’s finger hurts.”
Only then did Aria start crying like a child. She realized the danger was over, yet the sorrow and fear caused by the harsh treatment from the Kennys came flooding in belatedly, along with worry over Charlotte’s injured finger. The events that had been too heavy for a child to endure poured out in tears.
Charlotte patted Aria’s back. Her body trembled just as it had the first time they met. In the meantime, she held Charlotte tightly around the neck, refusing to let go. Charlotte slowly looked down at her.
She pressed a kiss to Aria’s tear-streaked cheek. After a long cry, Aria hiccuped halfway as she received the kiss. When Charlotte kissed her other cheek, Aria rubbed her face in response.
“I’m sorry for sending you to those bad people. I only wanted you to be happy…”
Charlotte’s voice faltered from the lump in her throat. She had hoped Aria would grow up in a warm place, loved, but she almost left her with a terrible memory.
She didn’t even want to imagine what could have happened if the Kennys’ crimes had gone undiscovered, or if they hadn’t been stranded on the cliff by the monsters. Thinking she had almost lost Aria made her blood run cold. Aria fiddled with her fingers and spoke in a small voice.
“Mom, actually, I didn’t want to go.”
“!”
“I thought you’d be happy if I went, but… did it hurt you too?”
Charlotte couldn’t utter a word. Even though Aria was clever, she never imagined she would think such a thing. Thinking that Aria had wanted to see the Kennys only because of her own decision made Charlotte’s heart sink.
Suddenly, the expression Aria had always seemed so clear and cheerful started to appear differently. Had she been cautious, perhaps? Maybe that was why she behaved unusually affectionate toward the Kennys and smiled brightly. If, instead of saying she wanted to go, she had simply said she couldn’t wake up in the early morning… Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them.
“Mom was hurt too.”
Charlotte slowly caught her breath and answered.
“That’s why I came to get you back. I won’t send you anywhere again. I promise.”
“Okay, promise…!”
Only then did Aria stop crying and smile brightly. Her darkened face blossomed like a flower, returning to the adorable, lovable Aria. Despite the pain and bleeding from her lost fingernail, Charlotte willingly held out her pinky and made a promise to Aria.
‘My beloved Aria, my daughter.’
She would find a way, and even if the official documents didn’t recognize them as mother and daughter, or everyone opposed it, it didn’t matter. She vowed never to let Aria leave her alone again.
Mark trusted Commander Theodore’s instincts quite a bit. The experience of someone who had survived countless battlefields from a young age and risen to the rank of commander could not be dismissed. He had assumed that if there was trouble in Nostri, it must be serious—but he never expected to run into the Nostri unit fighting monsters on a cliff.
Moreover, Charlotte Blanche, whom the commander cherished, was right in the middle of the battle, holding a sword in one hand and a child in the other. Mark could boast that he had seen many unpleasant sights in battles, but this time he was unusually flustered and gave orders to prepare to aim.
The area wasn’t even suitable for monster activity. There were no sacred relics nearby, and no priests had been dispatched. Why would this number of monsters appear in the middle of a cliff? Mark kicked a dead wolf-shaped monster with his foot.
Meanwhile, Charlotte noticed Pedro’s arm had been injured during the intense fight and asked in surprise, despite her own fingertip bleeding and being bandaged by Ash, worrying more about Pedro’s small wound.
“Pedro, your arm is hurt!”
“Haha, this is nothing! But jumping into the fire like that startled me. The Duchess’ face turned so pale at that moment…”
“Pedro, be quiet.”
“…Duchess, I’m sorry. As soon as I realized Aria was in the carriage, I couldn’t help but rush out.”
When Charlotte looked slightly intimidated, Ash’s sharp tone instantly softened.
“That’s understandable. I would have done the same.”
“Duchess! That’s discrimination! Between a long-time subordinate and Lady Blanche, who is more important to you?”
Without hesitation, Ash answered.
“Lady Blanche.”
“I knew you’d say that, but hearing it actually breaks my heart.”
“Stitch it back up.”
It was a truly cold answer.
Mark, instructing the collection of some of the monster corpses, glanced at Charlotte. She was checking on the snow mountain scouts while holding the child. As Theodore had said, she had hair as white as snow and eyes that held the depth of the night sky.
Not only was she beautiful, but she looked exactly like the Marquess Blanche. It was astonishing how much a granddaughter could resemble her grandfather. And next to her… Mark squinted.
‘Ash-colored hair, silver eyes… Could this be Duke Valian?’
Ash was famous for remaining secluded in the snow mountains, never appearing publicly. She did not attend royal banquets or major temple events. The only known connections were with the Blanche family and the temple.
“Are you Duke Valian of Nostri?”
As Mark approached, Ash signaled Pedro. Seeing Pedro step aside, Charlotte also tried to back away, but Ash raised an arm to stop her.
“Yes, that’s correct. What is your name?”
“I am Sir Mark Molly.”
Mark was skeptical, seeing Ash’s face for the first time. But as he stood a few steps away, her intimidating presence rivaled Theodore’s, and he could only halt in place. Her noble aura confirmed she was indeed Duke Valian.
“Sir Molly, your help and that of the other knights was invaluable. Truly, thank you.”
“It is I who am embarrassed to hear such words. You faced a horde of dozens of monsters with this few people. I had heard that Nostri had snow mountain scouts instead of knights, but I didn’t expect this level of response.”
“You flatter me. But why are you here? I don’t recall contacting the temple.”
“We learned during an investigation that the Kennys were heading toward Nostri. We had planned to send knights after the blizzard subsided, but judging we could not delay any further, we decided to visit Nostri ourselves after finishing our search. I didn’t expect to encounter you in the middle of a cliff like this. Thanks to that, we were able to easily apprehend the Kennys who were being sought.”
Originally, Theodore had sent them, but Ash deliberately did not mention it. They had deviated from their operation to recover the Black Mage’s corpse and were heading to Nostri. As Theodore had said, it was fortunate there had been a serious situation in Nostri; otherwise, acting on personal feelings in a crisis could have resulted in punishment.
Thus, when entering the cliff, the knights were instructed to keep quiet. On returning, they planned to casually explain that the path required passing through Nostri.
“What do you plan to do next? With this number of monsters, the surrounding area must be sealed and the cause identified. The nearby Alexia village falls within the area, but Nostri is a bit farther. If you decide, we’ll report to the temple accordingly.”
Ash pondered briefly and shook her head.
“Seal Nostri as well. And when reporting to the temple, I want to be present.”
Mark was momentarily surprised that Ash, who never left the north, would visit the temple, but nodded. Having someone directly involved would make reporting easier. But what Ash said next left him shocked.
“Including this time, it’s the fifth occurrence.”
“The fifth occurrence of what?”
“The number of times monsters appeared in Nostri.”
Mark momentarily doubted his ears. Monsters… appeared five times?
It was rare for monsters to appear in the same place five times. This suggested another Black Mage might be stationed in Nostri. Mark shouted in surprise.
“Then why wasn’t this reported?”
“…A prophecy warned of the monsters’ appearance. I was told that a noble’s carriage would be attacked by monsters near the forest. After that attack, it would settle down, so it was advised to report to the temple then. The actual appearance was slightly farther from the forest, on a cliff.”
Mark pressed his palm to his forehead.
“Wait, a prophecy? Who received it? Are there gypsies in the north?”
“Not a gypsy. She currently goes by the name Cassandra Labrate.”
“I’ve never heard of this noble. Who is she?”
Ash paused briefly, then spoke in a quiet voice.
“Former Saint of the Argent Empire, Lady Sonnet.”
