〈 Episode 26 〉Witch's Dream 8

* * *

"As expected..."

A stab wound to the heart taken with a pommel. Sergen nodded, looking at the gaping wound on my chest.

"If you were stabbed like that... it would be hard to survive."

Serghen looks at Elisa.

"You're quite a skilled witch, aren't you?"

"Healing isn't my specialty, but it's one of the basic skills of a witch."

"I've heard that witches don't receive divine power...so they are masters of self-healing.

Witches have both divine and repulsive powers in their bodies by default. Most people think of witches as unholy beings, self-selected demons who have defied the gods... but they don't know the details, only that they have their own vision of healing.

"In any case, judging by this swordplay, was he stabbed by the woman who is now Noelle Deckard?"

"You must be quite skilled in the art of swordsmanship to be able to anticipate an opponent based on a sword mark."

"Are you mocking me? Sirtus is the House of Glory, struggling to regain its place as the Empire's strongest sword, usurped by the filthy Deckard. It's just part of being a member of the House to know what your opponent is capable of."

Serghen returns the Middle Sword to its scabbard. However, she hasn't yet wiped away her suspicious glance. He had the ominous sensation that at any moment her hand would tighten on the hilt and swing.

"I cannot deny that you are still suspected of causing trouble, but I have not been given any definitive proof of your identity."

I nodded, hesitantly.

"There's no way to prove my identity...for one thing, I'm just a commoner, born and raised on the Deckard estate."

I said "commoner" because I couldn't introduce myself as a pickpocket who went around picking people's pockets. Honestly, it's times like this that I feel a little regretful about my past.

"A commoner? How does a commoner get stabbed by Noel Deckard?"

I look at Elisa with a puzzled expression.

"Well, this is going to be a long story, so how about a ride?"

Serghen glances at us, frowning at Elisha's words.

"I'm riding with you for the interrogation, which is also an official duty for House Sirtus. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Serghen abruptly joined us. The foal lets out a long, mournful whinny under the added weight of the load, but eventually begins to whinny and move as if accepting its fate.

"A commoner on the Deckard estate?"

"Yes, just a commoner...of which I've been living roughly as a pauper...I've been living in poverty, and you, Noel..."

As she tries to explain, referring to Noel as Nim, he catches her eye, realizing that she doesn't like Noel Deckard. He inhales slightly, scanning her mood.

"There's no reason to feel bad about your past, or about addressing someone with a title. It's called an interrogation, but unless you're someone who will do great harm to the Sirtus estate, you're a harmless visitor."

She sighs heavily, then speaks again.

"Noel saw me, and hired me as a servant, until I couldn't stand the Deckard estate and ran away, and got caught..."

"Well, you've been through a lot in your life, haven't you?"

"No. I'm just saying, I think I've been through what I needed to be through."

Serghen stares at my chest for a moment.

"I heard that Noel stabbed a servant for running away...he has a violent temper, to be sure. I've speculated that it was the work of witches or a family vision, but that's just speculation."

"Damn...how much do we know about Deckard?

Serghen's eyes light up as he stares at Elisa for a moment. Like a cat who's just caught a mouse, she leans toward me from her side of the cart. Then she grabs my wrist, the rough leather of the cold gauntlet wrapping around my hand.

"Do you have the heart to tell me the truth?"

"What?!"

The situation had suddenly become about spilling secrets about Deckard. Uneasily, I glanced at Elisa.

"Sergen's guess is correct. Noel has developed a vicious temper due to the influence of Northwell Deckard, the former Earl who purchased the witch's artifact, and he's become the kind of person who takes umbrage at betrayal or doing something he doesn't like."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. How could I lie to the noble Earl of Sirtus, who supports the Libra Witch Society of my country?"

"Haha, you have an uncharacteristically witchy way of talking yourself up!"

"You're too kind."

Elisha seemed to have come up with a middle ground: If I tell Noel here that he values me, that he loves me...now Sergen Sirtus will take me hostage, and I will be a prisoner of war. If I say that Noel's temper is fierce, I am one of its victims. Elisha's words were not untrue, but they left out a detailed appendix.

"Hmm, a man who has no pity for his own people, how terrible that such a man should hold the seat of the mightiest sword."

"That is true. Witches, cults, and half-breeds are a far cry from Count Sirtus, who rules fairly and doesn't play the fool with ridiculous birthright sins."

At Elisa's words, Serghen smirks, and the gauntlet on my wrist falls off.

"I apologize. There's a bad vibe between Sirtus and Deckard at the moment, and I'm afraid I've been too harsh on you. I shouldn't have treated a victim of Deckard's like this."

"Gee, it's okay."

Shuddering, I rubbed my wrist where he'd grabbed me so forcefully. It didn't hurt, but I felt goosebumps rising at her imposing presence.

"What was Noel like?"

I shakily answered Sergen's question.

"He was a scary man, obsessive and controlling."

"Obsessive and controlling...can you elaborate?"

"I...I didn't have a very strong relationship with him, so I don't know...but that's just how I felt."

As Elisha had intended, I explained the fragmentary picture I had of Noelle. In all honesty, she was pitiful, a caged bird, an ornament in a beautifully decorated decadence.

"And yet you're a trashy earl, living off the title of strongest sword. Your name makes me weep. You don't even bother to subdue the great forests of Hammel, just take out your vicious temper on your people, tsk tsk."

"So, Serghen, you've been on a regular raid of the Hammel Forest?"

Elisa asked, and Serghen nodded merrily.

"Yes, sir. I've sent all the other unnecessary raiders away, and I've been raiding on my own."

"I'm tempted to write a hymn to Count Sirtus for always thinking of the people."

"You won't get much out of that."

I honestly had a hunch she was lost. The idea of a lord of Sirtus traveling alone through the great forests, the lord of the mightiest earldom in the west, was akin to the idea of me passing by the bulging pouch of money on the waistband of a wealthy merchant who looked like a hobo.

"You sent a conquering army first?"

I asked, unable to contain my curiosity. My catlike curiosity was growing stronger than my crisis silence these days.

"Yes, feel free to ask. Of course...they couldn't keep up with me and fell behind, but it doesn't matter, as such things are not uncommon and there is a halfway point for such things."

"Ah..."

To say she was left behind was an understatement, she had lost her way many times, and it was a moment when she felt sorry for the conquering forces that were probably chasing her now.

"What if...Young miss...ah! I hope that won't happen, but if you do get lost, do you have any way to help?"

"Hmm, it's a secret, but... I'll let you know as a reward for being such a dick to you."

"What? You don't have to do that!"

"It's not a big secret, don't worry."

She put her hand near the neck of her full plate armor and pulled something out.

"A necklace?

The shimmering artifact was a pink pendant, similar in color to her pink eyes. I couldn't tell the color of her hair through her helmet, but it was a pink gem that matched the color of her eyes.

"Can you see the light here?"

"Yes...I see it."

"Where do you think it's pointing?"

"I think it's pointing toward Count Sirtus?

The light from the pendant pointed in a direction similar to the direction the foal was currently traveling on the mountain path. As long as she was strong enough, one of the last things the Nama Conquistadors were worried about was the feeling of being taken care of.

"It's not a common artifact, and not many have it, but it allows my opponents to know my status and approximate location, allowing me to conquer the Great Forest of Hammel without worry."

"I see."

"You don't sound too surprised, do you?"

"Because I have an even more curious object on my ring finger...

Her pendant wasn't enough to draw a map, or even to fully understand Hammel, but at least it kept her from getting lost or disappeared, either by the Conquistadors or herself. She wondered if she should be showing it to anyone else.

"It's a Libra of ours, isn't it?"

Elisa looks curious.

"I see, you recognize it. It was given to me as a gift when we made our pact with the Libra Witches of Condemnation."

"It's good to see you're making good use of our gift."

"Indeed. I thought the filthy Deckard estate ostracized wizards and witches, but now you're using artifacts given to you by witches to change your personality. A disgrace to the Empire."

Each word she spoke was a slander against the Deckard estate. To be honest, being from Deckard myself, I was a little offended by her words, but I kept silent as I realized that one's own preconceived notions of the world are a way of survival and passion. I couldn't honestly say I was without preconceived notions.

"Do you mind if I ask what's in fashion at the Deckard estate?"

"What?"

"I'm just curious about the other earl's affairs."

"You're lying...

Apparently, Sergen's interrogation was going to continue. I tried not to show any signs of tiredness, and racked my brain for any hint that I might be in danger.

.

"Hahaha, so you're saying you were a bandit on the Deckard estate?!"

"...That...quite a few people in the Deckard estate come from the slums. I was born an orphan, so..."

"Isn't there any poor relief in the Deckard estate?"

"Not exactly... but in most Deckard estates, it's common practice to evict the slums."

"Tsk tsk. You've had it rough so far."

Serghen continued his story, looking at the calluses on my index and middle fingers, and between my index and thumb.

["Do you wield a dagger?]

Serghen tries to interrogate me again, saying that these are calluses that only those in the Thieves' Guild who are expertly trained would have. I couldn't help but be surprised by the look in her eyes.

[That's...]

I had no choice but to comply with Sergen's interrogation and reveal my past as a pickpocket.

"Haha, never mind. Regardless of your past, you're a victim of Deckard's disillusionment with the estate, and you're coming to Sirtus. Of course, if you did the same thing in Sirtus, you'd be in trouble, but you can't blame the victim for Deckard's misdeeds."

"I apologize for trying to deceive you."

"A noble of another realm cannot be punished for a wrong done in the past, even if it was done by a noble of another realm, but it is curious. For someone from the slums to have such calluses on his hands."

Sweat trickles down his face.

"It's not uncommon for the Deckard estate to send dirty hermits to Sirtus. It's a pain in the ass to deal with them, even if I can get rid of them."

"...."

"Are you hiding something?"

Sergen asked, slowly beginning to deduce for herself what my identity was. Then.

"The Witches' Society is quite at odds with the Deckard estate, and a mnemonic servant from the slums accompanying such a witch is quite an unusual combination."

The pommel on the tip of the middle sword at her waist glinted. I swallowed carefully.

* * *