CH 5

“Lucia, your mind looks blank. Are you alright?”

“Oh… yeah, I’m fine.”

“Did you get hurt somewhere?”

The warrior glanced at me. His sword was still pointed sharply at Deran and Derakal.

“We’re fine. I think you’re the one who got hurt.”

“… It’s nothing.”

I looked at the red mark that bled through from his abdomen. When he saw me looking, he slightly raised his arm to cover his wound.

“Grrrr…”

The two jaguars continued to circle around us. They instinctively noticed that this man was a warrior, and as they hovered around us, they growled more and watched. The warrior held on to the sword even more.

“They’re very dangerous creatures, go inside the village.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m on my own.”

“I don’t think…”

I mumbled and grabbed Tina’s hand and stepped back slightly. The warrior gripped his sword at the monsters with a face that did not care about his wound.

‘Actually, it might be best for the warrior to die here.’

I glanced at his abdomen, where blood was still seeping out. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it still looked like it took quite a blow. Deran and Derakal are also strong creatures, and if they attack his weak points, no matter how brave he is, he’ll still suffer. My life will no longer be threatened if that happens. But…

“Ah…”

At that moment, Tina’s moan next to me rang through my ears. I quickly came to my senses and looked back at her.

“Tina, are you alright?”

When I slightly raised her skirt and looked, her ankle was swollen much more than before. The warrior peeked at us and uttered again.

“Go ahead.”

Eventually, I left him alone and took Tina away. However, Deran and Derakal looked like they wanted to compete with the warrior somehow.

“Lu, Lucia. Are you sure you’re going to leave him alone?”

“They’ll do it on their own.”

“But…”

The tender-hearted Tina looked back anxiously at the warrior. She knew that Deran and Derakal were my men, and the fact that I’m letting them do whatever they wanted. But, she didn’t know that the man was the warrior.

“Come on, Tina.”

I reached out my hand to help her, and she hesitated for a moment but soon accepted it. We left him behind and left the forest by ourselves.

***

As soon as we arrived at the village, we headed towards the treatment center. Tina’s ability to sing a song of healing doesn’t work on herself, so she had to go somewhere to get treatment. Fortunately, her condition wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, so walking wasn’t a big issue. The problem is that she won’t be able to return to the Devil’s Castle today.

After the treatment, Tina and I headed towards a small house on the side of the village. It was a place I used to live in.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this house! It reminds me of the old days.”

“Sure.”

I don’t come here very often due to rumors spreading around that only two girls live here, and they are orphaned sisters who were abandoned by their parents. I couldn’t stand it because I was annoyed by the shameless people that came by every night to be my new husband or brother-in-law. We lightly wiped the dust off the furnitures.

“It’s really been a long time, right?”

“I’ll go anywhere you go.”

Tina smiled and handed me a cup of warm-boiled tea. However, there was a certain amount of anxiety behind her smile. I knew that Tina’s smile can be as bright as the sun, but I could also feel a sense of alienation behind it. I sipped my tea and spoke.

“Tina. Are you still worried about the person I left behind?”

“Yes. Yes?!”

“You think I’m hurting an innocent person? Or…”

After a short pause, I opened my mouth again carefully.

“… Did you have a crush on him?”

That was quite important. In the original game, the princess falls in love with the warrior as soon as she meets him. Of course, it was not so strange to fall in love at first sight, since he saved Tina after she had been locked up for more than a decade… While I was thinking about it, Tina’s laughter came out from beside me. The sound was clear enough for my thoughts to vanish.

“Oh my! No matter how handsome a man is, would you fall in love with someone you only first met? I’m not that naive!”

She spoke in a cheerful tone and clung to my waist. Even though she has grown, Tina has always been the type where she often acts young in front of me.

“I told you. I’m going to live with you forever.”

“… There’s no doctor here.” (Lucia is saying how if she goes crazy, there won’t be a doctor she can consult around.)

“I’ve never seen him before, but if the Devil decides to kill him, there would be a good reason behind it. I would never doubt the Devil.”

After saying that, Tina placed her head on my shoulder. I brushed Tina’s hair out of habit and closed my eyes slightly while smiling.

“Still, he was pretty handsome. Tina, I’ve never heard you call any man handsome around all this time.”

“Oh, what…Well. A little bit?”

Tina, while laughing then said that even so, no one can top the Devil with looks. Whether it was empty words or not, it was an excellent line that made me happy.

‘Oh, you’re like a baby rabbit. So cute.’

I patted her cheek and had her lay down to go to bed. It was well past bedtime. She looked at me with puppy eyes while lying on the bed.

“Will you sing me a lullaby today?”

“Um, Tina, aren’t you old enough where you can graduate from me singing lullabies to you?”

“You don’t have to do it all the time! But today I’m at a different place… it’s a little scary.”

She crossed her fingers. Tina is usually confident and bold when it comes to many things, but it wasn’t the case with singing.

“Fine, only for you.”

I slowly approached the side of the bed and whispered a lullaby. Tina’s eyes, which were looking at me in a clear manner, slowly began to close.

***

10 years ago.

Duke Blake, one of the noble connoisseurs, called the Heart of the Empire. He recently had deep concerns.

“I heard that the Rokden family signed an agreement with the Kingdom of Vibelini.”

“Yes. Sir.”

“There was an unprecedented surplus due to the success of this transaction with Zenith.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s funny. There is congratulatory news coming from all over the place, but isn’t it also strangely quiet?”

The duke smiled lightly as he stroked his chin. However, his voice added a subtle meaning behind it.

“It’s not that the businesses I’m investing are small, or the number of people sponsoring me are small. How did this news come about?”

“… I apologize.”

“It’s not from your business. My eyes don’t recognize the wrong talent.” (Or he’s saying his eyes don’t make mistakes.)

Knowing that Duke Blake’s smile was in fact hiding his innermost thoughts, the aide gulped. The duke’s mood was cold and short like walking on thin ice today. The family-sponsored talents and investment projects in recent years have not made any public headlines.

“That’s why I have been called incompetent with no achievements.”

“Not really…”

“So I thought of something.”

He cut off his aide and spoke again.

“I’m going to adopt a child.”

“Adopt a child…?”

“Not long ago, an oracle came down to the temple.”

An oracle, it was God’s will. It comes every few years, or a few decades. It has been quiet for a while, and not long ago, the temple brought a child from the orphanage, and called him a warrior who will save the world.

“The temple is looking for a family to support the warrior. That’s why I’m trying to adopt.”

“But, duke. It’s going to be very hard…! Why don’t you rethink the decision?”

Now the power of the warrior was indescribably strong. But at that time, it was hard to believe that a dirty, weak-looking orphan child is a hero who will save the world. It was a huge gamble to adopt a child directly, instead of merely sponsoring it. Despite the aide’s persuasion, the duke shook his head leisurely.

“No. This is the time I know I’m right.”

The duke was holding documents full of information about the child in his hands.

“The fact that this child will bring great wealth, honor, and power to our family.”

***

The adopted child was named Haron Blake. But he was more often called ‘The Warrior’ than his name.

‘You were only adopted to support this family. If not, I would never bring something dirty like you into this great family. You should know your place and train everyday.’

He heard those words everyday from the duke ever since he was a child. Haron was nothing more than a worker who did things he didn’t want to.

“…Ugh.”

He leaned against a wooden post and put the sword on the ground. His entire body was scratched and covered with scars. The monsters that looked like demons he just met were ones that came out from the Devil’s Castle, so they were very strong. In addition, the damage was even more severe because he fought without being able to heal his earlier wound first.

‘I’ll have to stay here until morning.’

He grasped the deep cut on his abdomen with his hand. No matter how strong his self-healing powers were, it was still overwhelming to move his body right away with this much injury. There was no need to call for help from anyone, so he just had to wait for the pain to decrease.

A bloody sigh came out from his mouth.