Chapter 8 Part 1
“What is this attitude? Are you disrespecting our Spiritist?”
“No, it’s not that… Just step aside. I need to rest.”
The knights, taken aback by his unexpected demeanor, stepped back. As Rien passed through them, he muttered incoherent words, as if accusing them of wanting to kill him.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Even after Rien entered the designated tent, the knights remained dumbfounded.
“Who does he think he is?”
“Is he always like this?”
Although Rien sometimes acted strangely, today was especially odd.
‘At least his appearance used to cover for it.’
Elia felt a bit sorry as she defended Rien.
“He’s a bit strange, but he’s not a bad person.”
“Well, if you say so, Spiritist…”
The knights shrugged and turned away. The evening twilight was already spreading across the sky.
Knowing they had to move from the next day, preparations sped up.
As they were readying to head towards the center of the swamp, a knight came running urgently to Aksion.
“Master, beyond the barrier stone…”
As Aksion frowned, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the forest.
‘What is that?’
The noise came from beyond the camp. The Silver Knights had not left the area beyond the barrier stone. This meant someone else had entered the forest.
Aksion whispered quietly to Elia as he passed her.
“I need to check it out.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Elia followed him. The summoned Sasha cast an illusion over the knights beyond the barrier stone.
As they approached the site, the cries of beasts and the clashing of weapons grew louder.
‘Who are these people…?’
Knights with the emblem of Mahart on their left shoulders were swinging their swords. They were the Golden Knights of Tartan.
In the center of the knights and beasts stood the Duke of Tartan, observing the situation without drawing his sword.
Despite this, the beasts around him were being swiftly dealt with. However, the noise would attract more beasts.
Elia quickly cast a wide-area illusion over the vicinity.
“Magic?”
The Duke’s gaze fixed on Elia.
Aksion shielded Elia with his body and spoke to the Duke.
“It’s an illusion spirit. If we don’t blind the beasts, they’ll keep coming.”
Recalling the characteristics of Kroaskes, the Duke narrowed his eyes. Soon, his gaze left Elia.
‘He seems unaware.’
Before coming to the swamp, Elia had pretended to be bedridden with a cold.
Only Risha had entered her chamber, so no one outside knew of Elia’s presence here.
As the Duke confirmed the illusion was well-cast, he spoke.
“I heard a magic stone was found.”
Finding magic stones in the north was rare throughout history. It was why Tartan had come to Grueorg.
‘But this is too sudden.’
Bringing knights to a domain without prior notice.
As a result, all the Silver Knights seemed to be suppressing their irritation.
“The magic stone is parasitic on a tree in the center of the swamp. We plan to remove it starting tomorrow morning.”
“We’ll join you.”
This caused a stir among the Silver Knights. Conversely, the Golden Knights looked triumphant.
They seemed to expect Aksion to comply with Tartan’s words. Amidst the tense standoff, Aksion spoke.
“But you’ll have to follow my strategy.”
“How dare you be so rude to the Duke!”
The Golden Knights’ captain, Porto, immediately protested. Unable to stand it, Elia stepped forward.
“You can’t remove the magic stone with a sword.”
“What? Who do you think you are to speak out!”
At those words, a violet illusion surged behind Elia.
The illusion transformed into hundreds of butterflies, showing each person their desired visions.
“What is this? Why am I at home all of a sudden?”
“Dear? Why are you here?”
The bewildered knights were in disarray. The Golden Knights were the only ones caught in the illusion, causing the Silver Knights to chuckle.
When Elia dispelled the illusion, the knights looked dazed.
“I am a spiritist who handles mental spirits. I plan to perform the purification with a wizard.”
“Uhm…”
Porto hesitated after being ensnared by the illusion.
“As the captain of the Golden Knights well knows, if mishandled, magic stones can explode. Their powerful influence could result in a massacre by the beasts. You know this, right?”
Porto, who was unaware of this fact, fumbled.
He only knew that magic stones assisted beasts.
“Of course… I know.”
Porto reluctantly nodded.
Since the captain didn’t know, the other knights had no idea either. After a moment of silence, the Duke of Tartan spoke.
“A spiritist who handles mental spirits… Interesting. Very well, we’ll follow your strategy.”
With the Duke’s agreement, the Golden Knights had no further objections.
The Duke set up a barrier stone camp next to the Silver Knights.
It was a brief peace. As Elia sighed, knights, including Jacob, gathered around.
“Magnificent! I never thought I’d see those knights at a loss for words!”
“This is the real deal!”
The knights seemed elated, thinking they had bested the Duke’s group.
“It was nothing. I just explained the situation.”
“Spiritist, the fact that you’re right is what’s impressive.”
Elia scratched her cheek at Jacob’s words.
“Well, we have to leave early tomorrow morning, so I’ll get some rest.”
“Rest well!”
The knights readily made way for her.
Elia entered the tent. She was the only woman here, so she naturally had a private room.
‘Even if a magic stone was discovered… for the Duke to come himself?’
The Duke had always disliked getting involved with Aksion.
Feeling suspicious, Elia cast a spell.
‘Let’s take a closer look.’
A violet glow appeared over an old hand mirror.
Soon, the mirror showed the Duke of Tartan.
He was alone inside a tent, seated and staring ahead. Then he began to remove his gloves.
‘What’s wrong with his hands?’
His exposed fingers were blackened.
One hand had only the fingers discolored, but the other was affected up to the wrist.
‘Like it’s been scorched.’
If it were just burns, it might have been better. His hands looked as if they were contaminated.
As he stared at his hands, he put his gloves back on. This was why the Duke wore gloves even in spring.
He moved his gloved hand, then suddenly glared at the air.
‘Damn.’
Elia quickly broke the spell.
The old mirror had a crack. If someone sensitive to magic or with high martial prowess noticed, the spell could be broken.
If the spell were forcibly broken, the backlash would return to the caster.
‘That was close.’
It was fortunate it ended with a crack in the mirror.
Elia sighed and closed the mirror’s cover.
‘How long has his hand been like that?’
Elia recalled meeting the Duke before. Back then, he hadn’t worn gloves.
So, the problem arose while she was in the capital. She couldn’t pinpoint a reason.
As she pondered, the forest night deepened.
She must have fallen asleep briefly. The candle by her bedside had burned down more than halfway.
‘How long did I sleep?’
When Elia opened her eyes, Aksion was sitting beside her.
“…Aksion?”
Was it an illusion? When she called his name, his hand naturally reached out.
Aksion tidied her golden hair, and Elia, feeling his touch, asked blankly.
“Is it okay for you to be here? If someone thinks we’re having an affair…”
Here, Elia was not the young lady.
She said it just in case, and he seemed to laugh.
“I snuck in.”
His light laughter abruptly stopped.
“An affair… just the thought is horrifying.”
His cold gaze woke her completely.
