Fool – Part 02
“Oh.”
It was a group of men from the Knight Guard.
Cecily’s uniform differed slightly from theirs. Since the standard design was meant for men, she had modified hers for a better fit. Her breastplate, boots, and the shorter cloak she wore were all lighter versions of the official gear.
The men, chatting jovially, fell silent when they spotted them.
The man leading the group narrowed his eyes. His face was rugged and tanned, his slicked-back hair faded to a pale brown. This was Reginald Drummond.
He cast a disdainful look at Cecily. “Back already, huh?”
Annoyed, Cecily opened her mouth to respond, but Patty cut in first.
“My, what a rude thing to say, Reginald.”
“I’m just being honest.”
Following Reginald’s lead, the others chimed in.
“What is she, immortal?”
“Definitely not a woman.”
“Probably not even human.”
“We already knew that, though.”
They burst into mocking laughter. Cecily held her tongue, but Aria rose from her chair.
Patty raised a hand, signaling her to stay seated. “Oh, dear. A bunch of grown men whining like children,” she said with a smirk, crossing her legs. “Jealous that Cecily outshined you?”
A brief silence followed. The men grew agitated, except for Reginald, who remained unfazed.
“Don’t get too cocky, Cecily Campbell,” he shot back. “Without your Infernal Blade, you’re nothing.”
Cecily didn’t say a word.
“Let’s get out of here,” Reginald said. “This place reeks.”
The group shuffled out, slamming the door behind them.
Aria stomped her foot, fuming. “What a jerk! What the hell is their problem?”
“They’re just jealous of Cecily,” Patty said. “There’s people like that in the Knight Guard. Best to ignore them. It’s better for your skin.”
“Still, they were way out of line! After all Cecily did.”
Cecily was upset too but kept quiet.
The majority of the Knight Guard were men, and the few women often faced ridicule. Cecily, in particular, became a frequent target due to her remarkable deeds with the Infernal Blade. Every time she ran into Reginald, he never failed to throw a snide remark her way.
It wasn’t worth getting worked up over it every single time, and by now, she had pretty much gotten used to it. Still, his comment about her being nothing without the Infernal Blade hit harder than she liked to admit.
Reginald wasn’t wrong. Without Aria, she wouldn’t have survived either the demon rampage at the fair or the fight against the Inhuman. Of course, she always made sure to work seamlessly with Aria, and she didn’t care about the comments of people who didn’t know about the effort she put into her duty.
Yet, logic did little to dull the sting of insults. She was more crestfallen than she expected.
Noticing her mood, Aria leaned in close and said, “Don’t let it get to you.”
“Y-Yeah.”
“What she said,” Patty agreed. “Those kinds of comments come from lowlifes who can’t see past gender.”
“That’s pretty harsh.”
“Forget about him. You should have a drink. Yes, drinking’s a great idea.” Patty nodded as if she’d had a stroke of genius. “Cecily, you strike me as the type who gets stressed out easily.”
“Do I?”
“Absolutely. You’re always so tense. You need to loosen up. Have a drink to blow off some steam. And hey, it’s perfect timing. The Wine Fair is going on.”
Drinking, huh? Cecily glanced at Aria. She was nodding in enthusiastic agreement.
Cecily had never actually touched alcohol before. So when Patty talked about “having a drink to blow off steam,” she couldn’t quite grasp the sentiment behind it. Was alcohol really that powerful?
“Oh, there you are.”
The door opened again, revealing Captain Hannibal. The towering man hunched his broad shoulders and dipped slightly as he stepped through the doorway.
“Is something wrong? Was there an issue with the report I submitted earlier?” Cecily asked.
“No, it’s not that—or maybe it’s related. Either way, Cecily, I need you to come with me.”
Cecily exchanged a quick glance with Aria.
“Is that Aria’s sheath?”
As they walked down the corridor, Hannibal, leading the way, glanced back at the scabbard Cecily wore on her waist—a slender sheath painted deep crimson. Since Aria was currently in her human form, the sword that should have been inside was not there.
“It is,” Cecily replied. “Luke made it.”
“Thought so,” Hannibal said with a wistful smile. “It looks a lot like Basil’s design.”
Cecily searched her memory. Basil Ainsworth. If she remembered correctly, he was Luke’s father.
Hannibal was the guardian of Luke’s childhood friend. It made sense he’d known Luke’s father as well.
Liza Oakwood’s foster parent.
“What kind of woman was Miss Liza?” Cecily blurted out, only realizing afterward how abrupt her question sounded.
Hannibal glanced back at her and grinned. “Curious, are we?”
“Wh-What? N-No, not really.”
“You’re such a terrible liar,” Aria sighed.
How rude!
Hannibal chuckled. “Liza lost her parents in an accident. She had no other family, so I took her in. She was quite the wild child, always playing young Luke like a fiddle.”
“Wild child?”
“Exactly. It’s hard to explain, but… let’s just say Luke’s personality is largely her doing. After driving him to tears so many times, it’s no wonder he turned out to be so pigheaded. You could say he was traumatized.”
Cecily couldn’t quite picture it.
“Make no mistake. She’s a formidable opponent.”
“What?”
Hannibal had already turned his eyes back to the front, so Cecily couldn’t see his face. His massive back blocked her view.
“You best be prepared.” There was a playful edge to his tone.
“F-For what?”
Before he could answer, they reached their destination. The plaque on the door read Mayor’s Office. Cecily had been here often since the incident where she first met Aria.
“I’m coming in,” Hannibal announced, pushing the door open.
“Ah, I’ve been expecting you, Cecily.”
They were greeted, as usual, by a man in formal attire sporting an unruly hair and neatly groomed beard. He was wearing a laid-back smile for some reason. This was Hugo Housman, the mayor of the Independent Trade City.
And he wasn’t the only one waiting for Cecily. When she saw them, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Siegfried?”
He was tall and lean, easily fitting the description of bland and unremarkable. Yet there was a strange grace and toughness about him. Even in his full-black attire, his steel-like fortitude was apparent. Concealed within him were well-defined muscles honed and sculpted by rigorous training. The man radiated the aura of a sharp blade.
Though there wasn’t solid evidence tying him to them, he was likely involved in the demon rampage that occurred during the fair and the matter with Charlotte Firobisher.
Siegfried, commander of a recently formed band of warriors in the Empire, lounged arrogantly on the mayor’s office couch, legs crossed. He was silently reading a piece of paper with narrowed eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“Mind your manners.”
Before Cecily could step closer, a solid wall of iron blocked her path.
“You’re in the presence of Lord Siegfried. Step back.”
Cecily froze. Before her stood a figure clad in black full-body armor that smelled of old iron. They were carrying an open-faced helmet under one arm and an astonishingly long battle axe on their back, as if ready to charge into battle. To her surprise, their face, the only part that was exposed, belonged to a woman.
Her golden hair was neatly trimmed above her ears, each strand meticulously combed. Set in porcelain skin were blue eyes that glinted with a fierce hostility as they glared at Cecily.
“Stand down, Francisca.”
“Understood.”
At her master’s command, the woman immediately stepped back. Siegfried continued to read the paper without lifting his gaze.
Cecily squinted at the document. The text looked familiar. And then realization struck her.
“That’s mine!”
It was the report she had just finished writing. How did he get his hands on it? Confused, Cecily turned toward her superiors. Housman sat at the desk, while Hannibal had moved to stand beside him.
Wearily, Housman explained, “He’s here to retrieve the Inhuman’s remains.”
“Retrieve the Inhuman’s remains?”
“That’s right. It belongs to the Empire,” Francisca said, fixing her with a sharp gaze. “The Empire will take custody of the body. We appreciate the cooperation of the Independent Trade City.”
Cecily was completely lost. So, the Inhuman belonged to the Empire, and they were here to reclaim its corpse? Though she could follow the logic, the suddenness of it all made it difficult to process.
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