Blacksmith – Part 07
“I forgot to answer your question,” Luke said. “I had a dream this morning.”
“A dream?”
“A dream about Liza.”
Cecily bit her lip, lowering her gaze to hide the unexpected surge of emotions.
Wh-What? Why?
“Liza was an orphan. She lost her parents in an accident, and old man Hannibal took her in and raised her. That was probably why she always wanted to become a knight. But the old man, being overly cautious, never approved of it. She was so persistent about it, though.”
Luke chuckled bitterly and looked at her.
“She said she would protect this city with the mediocre katana I forged. Protect Hannibal, my dad, me.”
Why did her chest feel so tight?
“You’re a bit like her in that regard. Maybe that’s why I wanted to tell you. I don’t really get it myself. Maybe I shouldn’t have, huh?”
Why did it hurt so much?
It was strange. Why did her chest ache so much?
She was much more shaken than when she received the flower.
Tears threatened to spill for god knows why. She couldn’t bear to watch him recount his past. It hurt so much, she wanted to cry, but couldn’t. It felt as if her entire body was being torn apart by an incomprehensible pain.
She couldn’t understand her mind. What was this feeling?
All she knew was that she shouldn’t have come here. She felt frustrated with her earlier carefree attitude. Luke should’ve come alone.
“Cecily? Hey, are you okay? You weren’t actually feeling sick, were you?”
“…her?”
“What?”
“Do you… love her?”
She didn’t even understand why she asked such a question. But now that the words were out, there was no taking them back. Cecily could only stare at her feet, waiting for an answer.
After a long silence, Luke finally replied, “I loved her. But she’s gone.”
Though she couldn’t comprehend her own feelings, she understood his. He was lying. Because he still…
Looking back, Luke had been distraught the entire time. His unexpected dream of her must have shaken him more than he let on. Liza Oakwood had clearly meant a lot to him.
“Shall we go?”
Cecily lifted her face slowly and saw a familiar Luke Ainsworth. He didn’t have that faraway look in his eyes anymore. He narrowed his right eye wearily and brushed his windswept hair aside in annoyance as the wind swept across the hill.
“Where are you going now?” Cecily finally found her voice.
“It’s a drag, but the old fart called me. I’ve got business at the government office.”
“At the office?”
“You know the truth now, so you might as well come with me.”
Cecily had completely forgotten about her suspension. She didn’t want to face her colleagues if she could help it. But more than that, she didn’t want to part ways with Luke just yet, so she agreed.
“You’re late, Luke!”
As soon as Cecily and Luke stepped into the meeting room of the Third District’s government office, they were met with Hannibal’s sharp reprimand. He stormed toward the doorway, where they stood frozen.
“We’ve been waiting for ages! You’re always—”
Mid-rant, Hannibal glanced at Cecily, and his eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected her to come. Surprise turned to anger as he whirled around and grabbed Luke by the collar.
“C-Captain!”
“Why the hell did you bring Cecily here? Did you tell her everything?”
Luke, clearly unfazed, furrowed his brow. “What are you even talking about?”
Cecily stood there, confused by Hannibal’s sudden outburst. What really grabbed her attention, though, were the people sitting around the round table. She didn’t know their names, but their outfits and the way they carried themselves screamed important. Big shots from different nations. At the head of the table sat the mayor and Hannibal, then going clockwise, representatives from the Militant Nation, the Empire, the Crowd Powers, and the Continental Law Commission. Every single one of them was staring in their direction. What kind of meeting was this?
The room was big, with seats around the round table to accommodate observers, but despite the ample space, a tense atmosphere filled the air.
“Mr. Quasar, who is this woman?” the woman from the commission finally asked.
“She’s with the Knight Guard. Apologies, I’ll have her leave right away.”
“I believe your name was Cecily Campbell, yes?” the man from the Militant Nation chimed in. Cecily recognized him. It was Arvie Irving, the same guy who backed Charlotte’s asylum.
“Cecily Campbell? Oh, so she’s from the Campbell family. I heard the daughter took over after her father passed,” muttered the burly man from the Empire. His comment prompted the others to study her with a new kind of interest. And a hint of mockery.
Wh-Why are they looking at me like that? Is it because I’m a woman? The thought pissed her off.
While the others regarded her with curiosity, Hannibal and Housman wore frowns.
“If she’s a Campbell, I say she can stay,” Arvie suggested. “We’ll need her help down the line, anyway, yes.”
The woman from the Commission gave a nod and looked around the room. No one raised any objections.
“It’s too soon,” Hannibal muttered under his breath, turning away.
What’s this about the Campbell family? Cecily leaned toward Luke and whispered, “Should I really be here?”
“I don’t know, but looks like it’s fine.”
“You’re the one who dragged me here! How are you so cavalier about this?”
“Sorry, but I’m just as lost as you. This is the Tri-Nation-One-City assembly—the Valbanill Conference. Was your family mixed up with Valbanill?”
“No… not that I know of…”
Cecily was losing her mind. It felt like she was being kept out of the loop, left on the sidelines. Valbanill, the pain in her chest, this meeting. What the hell was going on?
“Since we have a new face here, let’s do a quick round of introductions,” someone at the table suggested.
One by one, the names of the attendees were revealed. These were people Cecily would have never met were she an ordinary citizen. She felt light-headed just trying to process it.
But then, as the man standing behind Augustus Arthur, dressed in all black, quietly introduced himself, she froze. He was tall and lean. Cecily had never seen him before, but the name rang loud and clear in her head.
“Siegfried?!”
Again, all eyes turned to her. But this time, she didn’t shrink away.
“You’re the one who—”
“Cecily!” Hannibal snapped.
“Captain! Why haven’t you arrested him?” She glared at her commander. “He’s the one who instigated Charlotte to—”
Hannibal clamped a hand over her mouth. “I warned you. You do not make statements that would upset the balance of power on the continent. Every major nation is represented in this room!”
“But!”
She couldn’t wrap her head around it. This man was not just tied to the mess with Charlotte, but possibly to those Demon Pacts too. How could they just let him walk freely?
“Charlotte? Ah, that thief,” Augustus said. “Did you happen to fight them? I don’t know what lies those thieves fed you, but there seems to be a misunderstanding.”
Don’t play dumb with me. Cecily wanted to snap back, but Hannibal’s glare held her in check. She clenched her jaw, swallowing the words. She glanced at Arvie, only to find him smirking, watching from the sidelines.
What the hell is going on here?!
Was this politics? It was utterly baffling and irritating.
“If she has something to say, we should let her speak,” someone suggested.
The air in the room crackled. The voice belonged to none other than Siegfried.
“Siegfried, you—”
“It’s fine, Commander Arthur. I prefer to nip problems in the bud.”
Siegfried approached Cecily. He radiated an unsettling aura. She had heard he belonged to the Empire’s warrior corps, but he didn’t look the part. He moved lightly, his lips curled into a shallow smile, a smile that did not touch his eyes.
“Cecily Campbell, was it? I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
Cecily couldn’t gauge his intentions, but this opportunity was a godsend. Ignoring Hannibal, she squared off with Siegfried.
“I suspect your involvement in three specific incidents.”
“Go on.”
Cecily chose her words carefully before she began. “First, last month, the Knight Guard apprehended a band of thieves targeting travelers and merchants near the Independent Trade City. They were using Inhumans to do their bidding, and their leader even used a Demon Pact. Testimonies from the captives mentioned a person referred to as the Merchant who supplied them with Inhumans and ordered an attack on the city.”
“Is that so?”
“The second incident took place during the city fair and also involved a Demon Pact. The Knight Guard linked this with the bandits, noting the usage of a Demon Pact and the suspicious timing, leading us to conclude that both incidents were orchestrated by the same individual.”
“And?”
“Then there was the recent incident involving Charlotte Firobisher. She learned from someone that the Empire was seeking Infernal Blades and a blacksmith. With her own motives in mind, she infiltrated the Independent Trade City to seize them. She named you, Mr. Siegfried, as the one who provided her with that information.”
“On what grounds are you linking those first two incidents to Charlotte’s case?”
“I heard your corps employs Inhumans as troops.”
“Who knows?”
“I find that very unusual. I’ve never heard of anyone using Inhumans, creatures supposedly incapable of communication, as fighters. And in the first incident with the bandits, they claimed to have borrowed those Inhumans from a third party. This common factor is the basis for my reasoning. And why I suspect you to be the one behind it all.”
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