The man remained still and kept his silence.
He paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. He placed his hand on his hood and pulled it back. Morbidly white skin shone brightly under the flame of the torch. He had a delicate facial expression that differs from his father’s.
“I wanted to ask you the same thing. What are you doing wandering around in a place like this, Your Highness?”
As if we had merely found each other in his home garden, Philipp returned a nonchalant reply. There was no fear nor impatience in his voice, only his usual thin smile that he wore at all times.
I thought he was your average joe, but lo and behold, he was outrightly outrageous. It’s not normal to be that calm in a situation like this. I’d rather take on his men around him that are staring daggers into me any day.
“I never thought for the life of me that I’ll be seeing you in a place like this. And I remembered having told you to go back to the imperial capital?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to see your face either.”
I got off the horse as I glared at the guy.
Sir Olsen did the same and stood protectively next to me.
“I’ll ask again. What were you trying to do?”
I gave my question while looking him straight in his eye. Philipp didn’t try to avert his gaze away in the slightest.
But no answer came. Instead, Philipp slowly raised his left hand and swung it down, giving a signal. The man behind him acknowledged it and promptly pulled an arrow from his quiver. It was an unusual arrow, with a piece of cloth wrapped around the arrowhead.
The man brought the arrow to another man with a torch. As the fabric was soaked to the brim with oil, it easily burst aflame.
‘They intend to burn the whole forest down,’ a thought crept up my spine, freezing it cold.
“Don’t!”
I realised what they were going to do and cried out.
But the man showed me no concern. An arrow was released in front of my eyes as if it was trying to run away. A soundless scream escaped my lips.
I extended my hand towards the lit arrow that headed straight for the forest.
But I couldn’t reach it. As it flew, its tail was like that of a shooting star, and its trajectory was clearly reflected in my eyes.
The image of trees that were soon going to be lit ablaze filled my mind.
Please stop.
In this moment of my greatest despair—the wind blew. No, it wasn’t the wind, but someone as quick as the wind.
Sparks flew, and something fell to the ground. The arrow, which was severed in half, had fled back to the earth. Clank, clank. It was so subtle that it could barely be heard.
“…”
The place became silent. I heard someone gasped loudly.
Flutter. His cloak danced a heartbeat behind his movements. His piercing jet-black eyes that gazed through his matching black hair reflected a mysterious but bewitching charm.
“Lord Nacht.”
“…Yeah.”
After my name was called, it was as if a spell was broken, and I could breathe once again.
As Sir Olsen observed the man with a sharp glint in his eyes, he continued.
“What do you want me to do?”
The voice was low and rough. For some reason, it reminded me of a beast’s growl.
I felt like I was holding the leash of an animal. Despite that, following his question, it felt like I was the one being forced to give the order instead.
“…Please lend me your strength.”
The moment I said so, Sir Olsen narrowed his eyes.
That’s because the flames within them were more intense than any flame I’ve ever seen. Ah, I understand now. He’s angry.
“Roger that.”
Sir Olsen, who had been lightly waving his sword around, shifted into a lower stance and started running.
It was difficult to follow the pace of a sprinting beast once it starts moving.
He ran past Philipp and went straight for the man who fired the flame arrow. The dumbfounded man’s hands were ripped apart while holding a bow. Fresh blood danced in the air. The man shrieked before dropping the snapped bow and tried to cradle his bloodied hand.
Before the man next to him could get a chance of drawing his sword, Sir Olsen quickly cut him down. There was a dull sound and the other man fell to the ground.
“YAAAH!!”
A war cry came from behind Sir Olsen as a man swung his sword at him. But Sir Olsen turned around, received the blade with his arm, and kicked the man in the stomach. The man flew backwards before hitting another, and they both fell.
He dodged the next slash by moving slightly to the side and counterattacked. A shrill sound was made from where the blades made contact. While catching the oncoming sword with his blade’s handguard, Sir Olsen hooked onto the enemy’s footing and broke their balance. The man who neglected to protect his feet fell with ease. Sir Olsen stepped on the enemy with such force that the man’s saliva gushed out as his eyes went white.
“Die!”
Sir Olsen knocked down the flying knife with his sword and stepped back to avoid a downward slash without break. The dagger’s tip cut into plain soil. Sir Olsen promptly picked up the fallen knife and threw it back. It went flying through the smoke and fog before sticking itself deep into an enemy’s shoulder.
Sir Olsen then parried another thrusting attack from behind by swinging his sword round his back to receive it. He spun himself twice, struck three times, then changed the angle of his blade for a slice attack. He swung up as the enemy’s sword hit against his handguard and dug into their flank. The cut didn’t appear too deep into the armour, but the man dropped his sword and fell to his knees.
The fallen man trembled while his face paled.
Sir Olsen approached him with slow steps. He disarmed the man with his sword and brought it down onto the man’s neck. A large lifeless body collapsed into the ground.
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
The fight was so one-sided, it didn’t even last a minute.
Sir Olsen shed his sword of blood before returning it back into its sheath.
Looking at him again, his eyes weren’t as harsh as they were a moment ago. I’ve wanted to thank him for his work, but I couldn’t approach him for what seems to be an eternity. In reality, less than ten seconds have passed.
It’s a glimpse of why he was called the “Black Lion”.
His way of fighting took after that of a man hunting a wild beast. This feeling of overwhelming power… It may not be appropriate to say this at this moment, but I think it was beautiful.
“You have a really strong escort, haven’t you?”
Philipp, who did nothing all this time, glanced at his fallen men and sighed.
“I didn’t see him during our inspection, so where did you come from? …Aaah, screw it. The plan is all ruined now anyway.”
“That’s right. I won’t let you do whatever you want. Just surrender peacefully.”
“Is that… really alright?”
Philipp, who had raised his hand, asked me in a genuine tone.
“What is?”
“The Grenze disease doesn’t have a definite, silver bullet cure. Even the Geisster family’s pharmacist was stumped. If I had continued keeping the infected inside the city, the sickness would have thoroughly spread by now.”
I didn’t want to nod along with his words, but he was right.
Currently, there is no known effective drug to treat it. And there was no guarantee whatsoever that we would find it in time, even after searching all over the country.
“If the disease isn’t stopped here, it will spread all over our country… No, it will perhaps jump continents and infect the whole world over.”
“Even if that is true, that does not mean you could burn innocent people along with the forest!”
“I suppose. However, from now on, their sins are on your hands. You’re inducing suffering on the entire world’s population just for the sake of prolonging a few dozen lives. Can you really bear that sin by yourself?”
The lives of a few dozen? Or the lives of the whole world?
I forgot how to breathe because of the weight hanging on the scale.
I just wanted to save the lives of the people in the village, that’s all. Did my selfish actions endanger the lives of more innocents?
Choose one option, and I will be discarding the other. What does that leave me in this sinful decision?
If that is how it is decided, if that is the duty of those of higher status, then I’d rather not be one.
I couldn’t breathe. My chest was about to be torn apart.
In my hands lay precious lives, and now everything was going to spill out of them.
Someone.
Anyone.
Anyone is fine. Please. I ask of you. I’ll give you anything in return.
Please help my precious people, my dear treasure…
“Lord Nacht!”
“Sir…Olsen?”
Both of my shoulders were suddenly grabbed and shaken. A pair of intense, bloodshot eyes stared straight into mine.
“Please don’t be swayed from your path. There is always hope.”
“…Where? Where could I find that hope that I want? Maybe it really doesn’t exist…!”
I held onto the hands on my shoulders.
Sir Olsen, his gaze still piercing, continued,
“It does. Even if you can’t see it now, I’m sure it exists. Even if it isn’t in this country…my ray of hope will never be lost.”
My ray of hope.
What does that mean, I wonder? Way above my head, a noise was heard.
Looking up, a black bird was circling the sky.
The sky had brightened before I had noticed.
Fragmented rays of light began piercing through the clouds from the eastern horizon.
The small noise of rattling wheels could be heard as my eyes narrowed.
For a moment, I thought my hearing was faulty. But those small shadows continued to grow bigger and bigger. Several carriages were approaching our location.
One of the carriages was so large and made so much noise as if it was protesting ‘I’m not an illusion!’
Why was there a carriage coming through here?
In front of me, stunned, I watched as several carriages came to a halt.
Sitting on the driver’s seat was someone wearing a black cloak, probably a young man. He stepped down and opened the carriage door.
“Princess, you alive in there~?”
“I’m alive! Anyway, why the hell did you suddenly change direction!?”
“It seems our destination has changed. See? We’re here.”
When the young man spoke nonchalantly, I heard a girl’s voice coming from inside the carriage. It was an angelic voice that did not belong in the countryside.
Taking the hand of the young man, a girl appeared from within the door’s shadow.
The stumbling wind of dawn rippled through her shimmering, sparkling platinum blonde hair. The girl with a youthful face looked over to me and opened her eyes wide. The blue eyes that fell on me were clearer than the dawn sky and brighter than the sea on a sunny day.
A vermillion dress adorned her white skin. It was as if I had witnessed the moment that a doll came to life.
“Eh!? Sir Leon?!?”
“Princess…!”
Sir Olsen had a look of surprise and joy.
The girl let go of the young man and rushed her way to Sir Olsen.
“W-Why is Sir Leon here…?”
The bashful girl asked the obvious question, but then she shook her head to shake off her earlier confusion and tightened her expression.
“No, that’s not important right now. Sir Leon, did I make it in time?”
“…Yes, princess.”
Sir Olsen’s eyes shone brightly. The girl sent him a glance, asking him to suppress his enthusiasm a bit.
“Well then, I’m here to deliver the medicine.”
At the moment she finished her sentence, a meaningless sound leaked from my mouth.
I couldn’t keep up with the unfolding situation. Just now, did she say ‘medicine’?
Is a cure such a convenient thing you can just come across? What kind of a miracle is that?
The twisted voice of my heart quickly rushed in to quell my growing hope, but my body was honest and trembled uncontrollably.
“Medicine?… Did you say ‘medicine’ just now?”
I asked, my voice trailing.
The girl turned to me and leaned her neck to the side. But as soon as she realised something in her head, she soon became serious.
“Is someone dear to you also sick?”
“Yes… my most important and invaluable people.”
The face of the friend I left behind came to mind.
The girl gripped my hand and muttered as if biting her own lips. Her jewel-like eyes looked at me.
“It’s going to be fine. Not only is there medicine, we also brought over very skilled pharmacists. I will definitely save that invaluable person for you.”
‘It’s going to be fine.’
‘I will definitely save them.’
How long have I wished to hear those words?
How long have I waited for them?
“…Thank you…so, so much…!”
Warm drops flowed down my cheeks as I squeezed out my trembling voice.
The girl was in a panic, but my tears showed no sign of stopping.
The ray of hope had suddenly appeared in the shape of an adorable girl.
The man remained still and kept his silence.
He paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. He placed his hand on his hood and pulled it back. Morbidly white skin shone brightly under the flame of the torch. He had a delicate facial expression that differs from his father’s.
“I wanted to ask you the same thing. What are you doing wandering around in a place like this, Your Highness?”
As if we had merely found each other in his home garden, Philipp returned a nonchalant reply. There was no fear nor impatience in his voice, only his usual thin smile that he wore at all times.
I thought he was your average joe, but lo and behold, he was outrightly outrageous. It’s not normal to be that calm in a situation like this. I’d rather take on his men around him that are staring daggers into me any day.
“I never thought for the life of me that I’ll be seeing you in a place like this. And I remembered having told you to go back to the imperial capital?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to see your face either.”
I got off the horse as I glared at the guy.
Sir Olsen did the same and stood protectively next to me.
“I’ll ask again. What were you trying to do?”
I gave my question while looking him straight in his eye. Philipp didn’t try to avert his gaze away in the slightest.
But no answer came. Instead, Philipp slowly raised his left hand and swung it down, giving a signal. The man behind him acknowledged it and promptly pulled an arrow from his quiver. It was an unusual arrow, with a piece of cloth wrapped around the arrowhead.
The man brought the arrow to another man with a torch. As the fabric was soaked to the brim with oil, it easily burst aflame.
‘They intend to burn the whole forest down,’ a thought crept up my spine, freezing it cold.
“Don’t!”
I realised what they were going to do and cried out.
But the man showed me no concern. An arrow was released in front of my eyes as if it was trying to run away. A soundless scream escaped my lips.
I extended my hand towards the lit arrow that headed straight for the forest.
But I couldn’t reach it. As it flew, its tail was like that of a shooting star, and its trajectory was clearly reflected in my eyes.
The image of trees that were soon going to be lit ablaze filled my mind.
Please stop.
In this moment of my greatest despair—the wind blew. No, it wasn’t the wind, but someone as quick as the wind.
Sparks flew, and something fell to the ground. The arrow, which was severed in half, had fled back to the earth. Clank, clank. It was so subtle that it could barely be heard.
“…”
The place became silent. I heard someone gasped loudly.
Flutter. His cloak danced a heartbeat behind his movements. His piercing jet-black eyes that gazed through his matching black hair reflected a mysterious but bewitching charm.
“Lord Nacht.”
“…Yeah.”
After my name was called, it was as if a spell was broken, and I could breathe once again.
As Sir Olsen observed the man with a sharp glint in his eyes, he continued.
“What do you want me to do?”
The voice was low and rough. For some reason, it reminded me of a beast’s growl.
I felt like I was holding the leash of an animal. Despite that, following his question, it felt like I was the one being forced to give the order instead.
“…Please lend me your strength.”
The moment I said so, Sir Olsen narrowed his eyes.
That’s because the flames within them were more intense than any flame I’ve ever seen. Ah, I understand now. He’s angry.
“Roger that.”
Sir Olsen, who had been lightly waving his sword around, shifted into a lower stance and started running.
It was difficult to follow the pace of a sprinting beast once it starts moving.
He ran past Philipp and went straight for the man who fired the flame arrow. The dumbfounded man’s hands were ripped apart while holding a bow. Fresh blood danced in the air. The man shrieked before dropping the snapped bow and tried to cradle his bloodied hand.
Before the man next to him could get a chance of drawing his sword, Sir Olsen quickly cut him down. There was a dull sound and the other man fell to the ground.
“YAAAH!!”
A war cry came from behind Sir Olsen as a man swung his sword at him. But Sir Olsen turned around, received the blade with his arm, and kicked the man in the stomach. The man flew backwards before hitting another, and they both fell.
He dodged the next slash by moving slightly to the side and counterattacked. A shrill sound was made from where the blades made contact. While catching the oncoming sword with his blade’s handguard, Sir Olsen hooked onto the enemy’s footing and broke their balance. The man who neglected to protect his feet fell with ease. Sir Olsen stepped on the enemy with such force that the man’s saliva gushed out as his eyes went white.
“Die!”
Sir Olsen knocked down the flying knife with his sword and stepped back to avoid a downward slash without break. The dagger’s tip cut into plain soil. Sir Olsen promptly picked up the fallen knife and threw it back. It went flying through the smoke and fog before sticking itself deep into an enemy’s shoulder.
Sir Olsen then parried another thrusting attack from behind by swinging his sword round his back to receive it. He spun himself twice, struck three times, then changed the angle of his blade for a slice attack. He swung up as the enemy’s sword hit against his handguard and dug into their flank. The cut didn’t appear too deep into the armour, but the man dropped his sword and fell to his knees.
The fallen man trembled while his face paled.
Sir Olsen approached him with slow steps. He disarmed the man with his sword and brought it down onto the man’s neck. A large lifeless body collapsed into the ground.
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
The fight was so one-sided, it didn’t even last a minute.
Sir Olsen shed his sword of blood before returning it back into its sheath.
Looking at him again, his eyes weren’t as harsh as they were a moment ago. I’ve wanted to thank him for his work, but I couldn’t approach him for what seems to be an eternity. In reality, less than ten seconds have passed.
It’s a glimpse of why he was called the “Black Lion”.
His way of fighting took after that of a man hunting a wild beast. This feeling of overwhelming power… It may not be appropriate to say this at this moment, but I think it was beautiful.
“You have a really strong escort, haven’t you?”
Philipp, who did nothing all this time, glanced at his fallen men and sighed.
“I didn’t see him during our inspection, so where did you come from? …Aaah, screw it. The plan is all ruined now anyway.”
“That’s right. I won’t let you do whatever you want. Just surrender peacefully.”
“Is that… really alright?”
Philipp, who had raised his hand, asked me in a genuine tone.
“What is?”
“The Grenze disease doesn’t have a definite, silver bullet cure. Even the Geisster family’s pharmacist was stumped. If I had continued keeping the infected inside the city, the sickness would have thoroughly spread by now.”
I didn’t want to nod along with his words, but he was right.
Currently, there is no known effective drug to treat it. And there was no guarantee whatsoever that we would find it in time, even after searching all over the country.
“If the disease isn’t stopped here, it will spread all over our country… No, it will perhaps jump continents and infect the whole world over.”
“Even if that is true, that does not mean you could burn innocent people along with the forest!”
“I suppose. However, from now on, their sins are on your hands. You’re inducing suffering on the entire world’s population just for the sake of prolonging a few dozen lives. Can you really bear that sin by yourself?”
The lives of a few dozen? Or the lives of the whole world?
I forgot how to breathe because of the weight hanging on the scale.
I just wanted to save the lives of the people in the village, that’s all. Did my selfish actions endanger the lives of more innocents?
Choose one option, and I will be discarding the other. What does that leave me in this sinful decision?
If that is how it is decided, if that is the duty of those of higher status, then I’d rather not be one.
I couldn’t breathe. My chest was about to be torn apart.
In my hands lay precious lives, and now everything was going to spill out of them.
Someone.
Anyone.
Anyone is fine. Please. I ask of you. I’ll give you anything in return.
Please help my precious people, my dear treasure…
“Lord Nacht!”
“Sir…Olsen?”
Both of my shoulders were suddenly grabbed and shaken. A pair of intense, bloodshot eyes stared straight into mine.
“Please don’t be swayed from your path. There is always hope.”
“…Where? Where could I find that hope that I want? Maybe it really doesn’t exist…!”
I held onto the hands on my shoulders.
Sir Olsen, his gaze still piercing, continued,
“It does. Even if you can’t see it now, I’m sure it exists. Even if it isn’t in this country…my ray of hope will never be lost.”
My ray of hope.
What does that mean, I wonder? Way above my head, a noise was heard.
Looking up, a black bird was circling the sky.
The sky had brightened before I had noticed.
Fragmented rays of light began piercing through the clouds from the eastern horizon.
The small noise of rattling wheels could be heard as my eyes narrowed.
For a moment, I thought my hearing was faulty. But those small shadows continued to grow bigger and bigger. Several carriages were approaching our location.
One of the carriages was so large and made so much noise as if it was protesting ‘I’m not an illusion!’
Why was there a carriage coming through here?
In front of me, stunned, I watched as several carriages came to a halt.
Sitting on the driver’s seat was someone wearing a black cloak, probably a young man. He stepped down and opened the carriage door.
“Princess, you alive in there~?”
“I’m alive! Anyway, why the hell did you suddenly change direction!?”
“It seems our destination has changed. See? We’re here.”
When the young man spoke nonchalantly, I heard a girl’s voice coming from inside the carriage. It was an angelic voice that did not belong in the countryside.
Taking the hand of the young man, a girl appeared from within the door’s shadow.
The stumbling wind of dawn rippled through her shimmering, sparkling platinum blonde hair. The girl with a youthful face looked over to me and opened her eyes wide. The blue eyes that fell on me were clearer than the dawn sky and brighter than the sea on a sunny day.
A vermillion dress adorned her white skin. It was as if I had witnessed the moment that a doll came to life.
“Eh!? Sir Leon?!?”
“Princess…!”
Sir Olsen had a look of surprise and joy.
The girl let go of the young man and rushed her way to Sir Olsen.
“W-Why is Sir Leon here…?”
The bashful girl asked the obvious question, but then she shook her head to shake off her earlier confusion and tightened her expression.
“No, that’s not important right now. Sir Leon, did I make it in time?”
“…Yes, princess.”
Sir Olsen’s eyes shone brightly. The girl sent him a glance, asking him to suppress his enthusiasm a bit.
“Well then, I’m here to deliver the medicine.”
At the moment she finished her sentence, a meaningless sound leaked from my mouth.
I couldn’t keep up with the unfolding situation. Just now, did she say ‘medicine’?
Is a cure such a convenient thing you can just come across? What kind of a miracle is that?
The twisted voice of my heart quickly rushed in to quell my growing hope, but my body was honest and trembled uncontrollably.
“Medicine?… Did you say ‘medicine’ just now?”
I asked, my voice trailing.
The girl turned to me and leaned her neck to the side. But as soon as she realised something in her head, she soon became serious.
“Is someone dear to you also sick?”
“Yes… my most important and invaluable people.”
The face of the friend I left behind came to mind.
The girl gripped my hand and muttered as if biting her own lips. Her jewel-like eyes looked at me.
“It’s going to be fine. Not only is there medicine, we also brought over very skilled pharmacists. I will definitely save that invaluable person for you.”
‘It’s going to be fine.’
‘I will definitely save them.’
How long have I wished to hear those words?
How long have I waited for them?
“…Thank you…so, so much…!”
Warm drops flowed down my cheeks as I squeezed out my trembling voice.
The girl was in a panic, but my tears showed no sign of stopping.
The ray of hope had suddenly appeared in the shape of an adorable girl.
