Fool – Part 03
As a matter of courtesy, Cecily introduced herself. “I’m Cecily Campbell, a member of the Third District Knight Guard of the Independent Trade City. Could you provide more details, Miss Francisca?”
Francisca glanced at her master. Taking his silence as approval, she turned back to Cecily, still wearing a sour expression. Perhaps that was just her default look.
“Very well. I’ll answer what I can.”
“First, what exactly was that Inhuman? It was clearly not natural. It had weapons implanted in its body, and according to Luke—I mean, an acquaintance—those weapons were made of high-purity jewel steel.”
“That’s classified. I can’t answer that.”
Francisca shut her down immediately. Cecily bit back her frustration.
“Then, why did the Inhuman attack the city?”
“The Inhuman escaped during transport, killing several soldiers. It broke through our perimeter and, unfortunately, ended up here.”
Escaped? Transport?
“Where were you taking it?”
“That’s classified. I can’t answer that.”
Cecily barely stopped herself from snapping. From the corner of her eye, she saw Housman and Hannibal watching the exchange anxiously. They were aware of her temper. She took a deep breath to calm herself before pressing on.
“Then at least tell me this: what’s your opinion on this incident?”
“It was a tragic accident.”
“Bull—!” Cecily’s patience snapped. “In short, the Empire was negligent. Do you even know how many people died?”
“Fourteen dead, twenty injured. That’s what your report says.” Siegfried flicked the paper with his fingers, and it slid across the floor to her feet. “We’ve already informed your mayor that we’ll pay appropriate compensation.”
He didn’t rise to his feet, bow, or show a hint of remorse. There wasn’t a shred of sincerity in his voice. The man was implying that money could fix everything.
“You really think that’s enough?”
“It will be. It’s the only way we can make amends.”
Cecily had already known that this man was rotten to the core. She had seen a glimpse of his nature at the last Tri-Nation-One-City meeting, the Valbanil Conference. He discarded Charlotte without a second thought, treating people as if they were nothing. He was a fiend.
Cecily clenched her fists so tightly they ached. She stared down at the report at her feet before lifting her head, glaring at Siegfried with barely-contained fury.
“Apologize.”
Francisca immediately stepped between them, but Cecily kept moving forward, locked on the black-garbed man behind the armored woman.
“Bow your head to every grieving family.”
“That’s inefficient.”
“That’s the least you can do for the lives lost!”
“Don’t you know? Lives can be bought.”
A sudden gust of wind swept through the room.
Cecily, on the verge of lashing out, froze as a sudden chill ran down her spine. Cautiously, she looked down and saw a blade pressed against her throat. When she glanced up, she met a pair of cold, murderous blue eyes. Francisca had her battle axe at Cecily’s neck.
The blade—and her eyes—stayed perfectly still. But the axe was undoubtedly at the ready, and even the slightest move could slice open Cecily’s neck.
When did she draw it?
Cecily stood frozen in terror. She didn’t catch a single motion—drawing, readying, or swinging—of the massive battle axe.
“Cecily!” Aria cried.
“Stop! Both of you, stand down!” Hannibal roared.
Francisca pulled the axe back and slung it over her shoulder. Even with the weapon withdrawn, Cecily couldn’t move right away. Cold sweat trickled down her back.
“Are you okay?” Aria asked, her face pale. Cecily raised a weak hand to signal she was fine, but her throat felt dry.
“Cecily, can you pull yourself together?” Housman said with a heavy sigh. “Hannibal has already asked those same questions.”
She glanced at Hannibal. His displeasure was obvious from his deep frown.
“We’ve settled the issue of repair costs for the buildings and compensating the victims’ families. The Emperor will send a written apology soon. So, please, let it rest.”
“Yes, sir,” Cecily said hoarsely. How could she accept that so easily?
Sensing her turmoil, Aria gently placed a hand on her arm. Her touch calmed the rage boiling inside Cecily, if only a little. Cecily took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
“Wh-Who is that?”
A dark figure stood motionless in the corner. A woman.
“It’s Evadne,” Aria murmured tensely.
The woman looked almost like a tree. She wore a black dress with an absurdly long hem that trailed along the floor like roots. Her curvy waist and full chest resembled the thick trunk of a tree, while her jet-black hair hung down like foliage. Her shoulders and face were unnaturally pale. The way she stood there, utterly still and emotionless, could only be described as eerie.
Cecily had never seen her before, but she had heard of her from Aria. The Infernal Blade Evadne, a flamberge that used black flames.
The woman stood there without uttering a single word. Her presence was so faint that Cecily didn’t even notice she was there until just now.
“That’s my beloved sword,” Siegfried said with a twisted grin. “I was in quite the bind when it was stolen. I suppose I should thank you, girl.”
“What?!”
Stolen? No, you handed it over to Charlotte yourself! How could you twist the truth like that?
“Enough of this. Just tell me what you want,” Cecily urged, steadying her shaky voice. At this point, she knew better than to argue with him. “You called me here for a reason.”
“Indeed. I wanted to ask about your report.” Siegfried recrossed his legs. “The civilian who participated in the battle against the Inhuman. Is that the demon that the blacksmith owns?”
There was no use in arguing over every little detail.
“Yeah,” Cecily growled.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Do you really think it was just a coincidence that my Inhuman ran into that demon?”
Cecily’s breath seized in her throat. She had been wondering the same thing.
The Inhuman had fled into the Ashen Woods, where it encountered Lisa and Luke. What were the odds of both parties crossing paths in such a vast forest with very poor visibility? It seemed almost impossible.
That reminds me…
“The Inhuman knew exactly where it was going.”
Its footprints led straight toward a specific destination. Did that have any significance?
Wait. Why did Siegfried mention Lisa specifically and not Luke? Luke was there too. Another thought came to mind, and she turned to Aria.
“Aria, didn’t you mention something about the incident?”
“Hmm… You mean about the beast reacting to Lisa’s scent?”
A hypothesis formed in Cecily’s mind. Was the Inhuman after Lisa?
“I see.”
She lifted her gaze.
“Interesting.”
The corners of Siegfried’s lips were curled upward in genuine delight. A chill ran down Cecily’s spine at the sight of his sinister smile.
Did I just give this man information he should not have?
She regretted her mistake, but it was too late. Siegfried had clearly pieced something together, chuckling softly to himself.
“What does that mean? What do you know?”
“Who knows?” He waved her off dismissively. “I have another business with you.”
“We’re not done talking! What do you know about Lisa?!”
“Patience, girl.” Siegfried’s shoulders shook with amusement. “I’ll tell you later.”
Cecily ground her teeth. This man danced around every question, offering no real answers.
“Actually, it wasn’t just my pet that escaped.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was transporting a convict on death row along with my pet, but in the chaos, he managed to escape too. He’s quite dangerous, and we’re currently searching for him.”
“And that matters because?”
“You seem to be slow. There’s a good chance he’s hiding somewhere in this city.”
Cecily’s breath caught.
“We’ve thoroughly searched the outskirts of the city,” Francisca said, taking over. “We’ve asked the checkpoints manned by the Militant Nation and Crowd Powers, but no one has seen him. The only place left is the Independent Trade City. It’s a neutral zone, with no passes required for entry or exit—the perfect hiding spot.”
The Independent Trade City, a neutral territory, prided itself on free trade with all nations on the continent, including the Empire, Militant Nation, and Crowd Powers, prohibiting any foreign military intervention. Even with the justification of capturing a felon, the Empire could not deploy soldiers into the city. It made sense, then, for the convict to hide here.
“For that reason, we’ve requested the cooperation of the Independent Trade City’s Knight Guard for an immediate search.”
“Wait. If what you’re saying is true, doesn’t that mean the lives of the citizens are at risk right now?!”
“That’s precisely why we’re asking for cooperation.”
“Why were you even transporting an Inhuman along with a convict?”
“That’s classified information.”
Aria grabbed Cecily’s wrist from behind. She knew that there was no point in losing her temper now, but she couldn’t stop her fists from shaking.
“Is that all?” She wanted to leave quickly. Otherwise, she feared that her anger would take over. “Then we’ll start the search for this felon immediately.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Siegfried said. “Your job isn’t to search for him.”
Cecily couldn’t grasp what that meant right away.
“Francisca will be working alongside the Knight Guard in their search for the convict. She’s the only one who knows what they look like. In the meantime…”
Wearing a smirk, Siegfried said something unbelievable.
“Until the day of the ball, girl, you will serve as my bodyguard.”
Comment (0)