Chapter 58: Beyond the Original (4)
[Russell]
Was it because of my age, as the officer suggested?
My legs felt heavy. I hadn’t walked much, yet I was already drained.
I had allowed Millen too many hits.
There wasn’t a single part of my body that wasn’t battered.
I staggered as if I might collapse at any moment, and my head throbbed.
It felt like the vibrations from my footsteps were rattling my brain.
My vision had already passed the point of being blurry—it was darkening.
Even so, I couldn’t afford to fall, because my young daughter was on my back.
‘Look, Isolet. Our daughter resembles you so much. She won’t listen, no matter what I say. Once again, she’s causing me endless worry.’
I had no idea how far I had come.
It felt like only a few minutes had passed, or perhaps it had been drifting for countless hours.
When I regained my senses, I saw a girl dressed in black sacred robes.
Beneath the veil covering her head, vivid silver hair caught my eye.
Along with blood-stained gloves and an axe in her hand.
– Take your daughter and leave the way I came. When you come across a silver-haired woman, politely ask for help. Isha will know what to do
She was a strikingly beautiful girl at a glance.
Her long silver hair exuded nobility, and her crimson eyes radiated an otherworldly aura.
The axe in her hand was a bit unsettling, but not as much as her emotionless gaze.
There wasn’t a trace of emotion in the way the girl looked at me.
Like she was staring at a pebble by the roadside.
The girl, who had been mechanically raising her axe, flinched when she saw me and lowered her arm.
That knight had mentioned Isha’s name. Could they have met before?
Whether it was coincidence or not, my body had reached its limit. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees in front of the girl.
Luckily, I didn’t drop Isha from my back.
“Please, help me.”
“You must be Russell.”
“Yes. Don’t worry about me; please help Isha first...”
“Hmm.”
I should promise her a reward. My words were stuck in my throat.
What could I even offer right now? Nothing came to mind.
At that moment, a wave of eerie killing intent washed over me, then vanished.
Startled, I looked up at the girl, but the aura I had felt was gone, and she had already stowed the axe at her waist.
The same divine aura I sensed from the knight now enveloped the area.
It was unsettling, yet somehow comforting.
Perhaps noticing my unease, her cold voice echoed again.
“I know you’re nervous, but lay Isha down on the ground. It’s natural for you to feel uneasy. That’s just how this divinity works.”
“I’d like an explanation, just a little...”
“This divinity isn’t for the living. It’s only natural for life to fear death. Unless you’re that curious to hear more right now?”
“No, I’m not.”
As soon as I laid Isha down, the girl placed her hand on my daughter’s forehead and radiated her divinity.
It was far more overwhelming than anything I’d felt from other priests.
Only then did I feel relieved. I silently watched Isha’s face.
As the divine power flowed into her, her breathing became calmer. Even the occasional pained moans seemed to ease.
Seeing her like this always tore at my heart, but now I felt a bit of peace.
‘You were like that too. You never listened to me. Not even at the end. You have no idea how much you broke my heart.’
I couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment towards my late wife.
Yet I was still the same—lacking and foolish.
Even now, I was so glad to see my daughter’s face.
As Sirien mentioned, we didn’t really need Russell.
I had already accepted the small cost of keeping him alive.
But living humans are unpredictable.
And there’s no rule that says things always have to turn out for the worse.
We had become Russell and Isha’s benefactors, and while others might, Isha wouldn’t betray us.
I was already looking forward to what kind of change this small distortion would bring.
Sirien patted the spot next to her with her palm.
It seemed like she wanted me to sit, so I did as she indicated.
“Let’s rest a bit before we go. There’s no rush anymore.”
“Okay.”
No sooner had I sat down than Sirien stood back up.
She glanced beside my helmet and furrowed her delicate brow.
“What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”
“No. Not really.”
“Not really? It looks like you did. Take off your helmet.”
Despite telling me to take it off, Sirien reached over and removed the helmet herself.
Her eyes, filled with suspicion, stared at me intently.
Then she brought her finger to the corner of my lips.
Come to think of it, Millen had landed a hit on me during the fight.
I’d tasted blood in my mouth, so it must’ve dripped outside.
How did she notice something even I’d forgotten about?
Her worried expression suddenly crumpled.
“I knew it!”
Sirien’s hands came down to punish me.
She pinched both of my cheeks between her fingers and shook them back and forth.
“Ow, ow, that hurts! Hurts so much! Aaaaagh!”
“You come back all cocky, but you’re injured again! And to top it off, you lied about it!”
“If I just eat well and get a good night’s sleep—”
“Ugh!”
“Aaaaagh!”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
Sirien, now thoroughly angry, violently shook my head.
My pinched cheeks stung.
Somehow, this hurt even more than when Millen had landed a blow on me.
Lately, Sirien’s hands seemed to be getting harsher and harsher.
Where had the delicate young lady who used to throw soft punches in the cabin gone?
I really missed that version of Sirien...
Only after tormenting me for a good while did Sirien finally let go.
I felt divine energy flowing from her fingertips, so my body was probably healed, but oddly enough, I hurt even more now than before the healing.
My cheeks were burning.
“Hmph. Let’s rest a little longer, then head back. We need to see Baron Esquente.”
“Weren’t we originally planning to rest for a few more days until someone came to clean things up?”
“That was the plan, but I think we need to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Did something change?”
“You were right about saving Russell. I thought at most he’d have a few dirty secrets about the central nobles, but it turns out to be far more than that.”
I thought it was just a small twist in the story.
But it seemed a much bigger crack had formed already.
“Count Eloran is colluding with demons. And Russell has the proof.”
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