chapter 17

Remy looked at the back of Jeanne, who ran towards the fort. He reached out in her direction, but something seemed to prevent him from speaking. A knot formed in his throat, leaving him unable to articulate any words. Remy grumbled to himself, lamenting his own foolishness: "You idiot! What did you expect? It was already clear that she wouldn't go with you. You're such a fool!".

Suddenly, Remy felt something wet on his face and realized he was crying. He covered his face with his hands, feeling the weight of disappointment and sadness. Dropping the spear he was holding, he sat on the dirt road, completely desolate.

Remy looked up at the dark sky and the shining stars, but all he could see was the darkness of space. He wiped the tears from his face, fighting against the disillusionment that was taking over him. He knew his hopes were unfounded, but he had still tried, hoping that Jeanne would accompany him. Now, he knew his chances had been reduced to nothing.

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Meanwhile, Jeanne is running towards the fort, her golden hair waving as she runs. At all times, she wipes her face to dry the tears that fall from her eyes, trying to hold on, but can't. She murmurs as she runs, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." When Jeanne looks at Remy's expression, she sees his eyes full of expectations that are destroyed when she says she can't. At that moment, Jeanne feels her heart breaking as she sees Remy's expectations being destroyed.

As she approaches the fort, Jeanne slows down and starts walking. The main gate is large and made of iron, with two guards holding shields and swords. There are several guards patrolling the walls with large bows on their backs. When the soldiers notice Jeanne approaching, they notice that she is looking down and her blond hair covering her eyes. She greets the soldiers only by nodding her head without raising her head.

The soldier on the right looks at the other on the left and they exchange glances as Jeanne passes them. One of them comments: "Doesn't she look a little down?" The other agrees: "I noticed, did she fight with the freak?" The other soldier almost jumps and speaks in fear: "Are you crazy? If he hears? He can't be here, but who knows what he can do." The other realizes he spoke nonsense, looks around in fear, but doesn't see the freak he mentioned."

Jeanne had already entered the gate and didn't hear what the soldiers said. Seeing that she had entered, the two soldiers began to speak louder.

"Now that it seems like the heroine is out, doesn't it mean we have a chance?"

"What are you talking about? Are you going crazy? She is a heroine who helped us save the fort."

"The freak also, but still we're calling him a freak. And don't tell me you have no idea about Jeanne."

"Shut up, they'll hear us."

"I think they have the same thoughts as us."

The two soldiers looked up towards the walls. The soldiers were watching something inside the fort very carefully. A soldier with a confident smile said, "What I said? I was right." The other soldier commented with fear and vigilance: "Aren't you afraid? If the heroine finds out, we're done for."

"Maybe, but it's very likely he'll leave here if he fought with the maiden, since you can see he's only fighting for her." The soldiers continued the conversation.

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Remy is still thinking about what happened, but he decided to stop thinking because staying still won't solve anything. He got up from the corner where he was sitting and picked up his spear with his right hand. He started walking towards the fort with large steps to get there faster. He didn't run because he wasn't in the mood for it. The soldiers who had been laughing earlier were shocked to see Remy approaching. Every step he took was like a beating in their hearts. They felt like death was getting closer and closer.

"Are we going to die?" murmured one soldier to the other, who immediately responded, afraid of dying before having time to speak: "I think so."

Remy approached the two soldiers with firm steps, who were paralyzed with fear. Their facial expressions betrayed the terror they felt, believing that death was about to arrive. But, to their surprise, Remy greeted them courteously: "Good evening, guys. Good job."

The soldiers were confused and shocked, not knowing how to react. But, soon after, they politely responded: "Good evening, sir!"

The gate opened slowly as Remy approached. The soldiers, still incredulous at the unexpected attitude, did not know what to say. It was then that one of the soldiers, blushing up to his cheeks under his helmet, decided to speak: "I have something to tell you."

The other soldier, already trembling and with a face as pale as a corpse, asked, feeling a bad smell: "What is it?"

It was then that the blushing soldier, with an expression of embarrassment, confessed: "Well, I think I just pooped my pants."

The pale soldier understood where the smell was coming from and looked at his companion with a face of astonishment and incredulity. The soldier who had soiled himself only gave a sheepish smile and begged, in a pleading tone: "Please, don't tell anyone. If you do, I'll tell your secret too."

Remy did not go straight to his dormitory once he arrived at the fort. Instead, he headed towards the blacksmith's forge that worked on site. The man was older, with a long, thick beard that almost covered his entire face. He was also bald, with a slightly more robust physique, but his arms were quite muscular. As Remy approached, the blacksmith was organizing his materials, examining and checking each piece before preparing to leave.

Although his attention was focused on his work, the blacksmith soon noticed Remy's presence, who coughed slightly to get his attention. As he looked up, his eyes widened in surprise. It was not surprising, after all, Remy's name had already spread throughout the kingdom. Some people called him a hero, while others called him a curse. However, regardless of what people said, it was undeniable that Remy's appearance was striking. The blacksmith knew who he was by the color of his hair and eyes, as well as by the spear he carried. It was a magnificent and unique weapon, which caught the attention of anyone who saw it.

There were rumors that said Remy was a divine warrior, sent by God to free France from the English. The blacksmith didn't know if these rumors were true, but seeing the spear and the courage emanating from Remy, he began to believe in them. After all, who else would be able to kill an entire army alone? Although he was only 13 years old, Remy was taller than many adults.

"Hm, could I talk to you?" Rémy spoke with some shyness to the blacksmith, who approached him enthusiastically with a smile and spoke with enthusiasm, "Yes! Yes! What did you want to talk about?" The blacksmith seemed so happy to help that Rémy was a bit shocked. He looked around to see if the blacksmith wasn't talking to someone else, as most of the soldiers and people in the fort didn't seem very friendly to him.

But anyway, Rémy continued and asked the blacksmith to make armor for him. He didn't know how he would pay, but intended to speak to Étienne, who was away, to help with payment. The blacksmith asked what type of armor he wanted - light or heavy. He began to circle around Rémy, running his hands over his arms and back, which made Rémy feel a strange shiver.

Rémy replied that he wanted heavy armor on the top and bottom, but without a helmet. He asked for a hood with an iron mask on the front and a cloth on the back of the iron pants. The blacksmith thought for a moment and Rémy worried that he didn't want to make the armor for him. He was already ready to offer money when the blacksmith, who had been silent, finally spoke: "Leave it to me, come pick it up in a week."

Rémy was surprised but relieved that the blacksmith agreed to make the armor for him. He thanked him and said, "Goodbye, have a good night," and the blacksmith replied with a smile, "Good night to you too."

Leaving the blacksmith's shop, Rémy walked towards where he slept. When he arrived, he saw Jeanne lying on a cloth on the ground, all curled up with her hair spread out on the ground. He felt guilty for the state she was in, knowing that he had caused it, whether he wanted to or not. So, he slowly approached her, not wanting to startle her, since she was silent.

Rémy sat calmly next to where Jeanne slept or reflected, paying attention to her slow and rhythmic breathing. At first, it seemed to him that she was asleep, but as soon as he settled in to lie down, Jeanne turned abruptly to him, with a low and trembling voice: "Ré... I'm sorry."

Those simple words were enough to deeply shake Rémy. He looked into Jeanne's red and swollen eyes, who still cried in silence, and felt overwhelming guilt. His heart ached at the thought that he could have prevented her from reaching this point of suffering. "I'm sorry, Jeanne. I shouldn't have said anything. I know what your goal is, but I still wanted you to give up on it. I know you like to help people. I'm sorry."

Rémy tenderly stroked Jeanne's blonde hair, trying to convey his care and affection. He knew Jeanne was confused about her own feelings, but decided it was time to leave that behind and focus on being the best heroic spirit he could be.

Jeanne rested her head on Rémy's chest, seeking comfort and support. He gently stroked her hair, and on impulse, he sniffed her head. But the smell wasn't pleasant - on the contrary, it was strong and unpleasant. "Did you take a shower today? Because you need one," Rémy joked, trying to ease the tension of the moment. Jeanne laughed and retorted, "It's not that bad, look." She grabbed her hair and put it to Rémy's nose, who tried to dodge it, but she caught him. Rémy's eyes began to roll because of the strong and unpleasant smell, but Jeanne pinched him and said, "Stop it, it's not that stinky."

Rémy stopped rolling his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Of course it is, I wasn't pretending, it really was killing me. It was horrible," he said, with a smile on his face. Despite everything, Jeanne's presence by his side and her shy smile still made him happy.

Jeanne rolled her eyes with an air of disbelief. "Stop lying, Rémy. I took a shower this morning, you know that."

Rémy smiled provocatively. "Are you sure? There's only one way to find out." He took a strand of Jeanne's hair and lifted it towards her nose.

"No, stop it!" exclaimed Jeanne, trying to move away. But Rémy was stronger and continued to bring her hair closer to his nose.

Suddenly, Jeanne felt a wave of nausea when the strong odor hit her nostrils. She grimaced and tried to move away again, but Rémy held her firmly.

"I warned you," he said with a presumptuous smile. "You need to take another shower, Jeanne. This smell is too strong."

Jeanne rolled her eyes again, but couldn't help but smile a little. "Okay, okay. I got it. Now let me go, please."

Rémy laughed and let go of Jeanne's hair. "I always knew you smelled good, Jeanne. It's good to see that you agree with me now."

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