Chapter 87
Karha couldn’t say a word.
It was because, in the moment her heart was pierced, she realized what she truly desired.
It wasn’t that she wanted to become stronger.
It was that she didn’t want to run away.
Emotions she couldn’t handle, realities she couldn’t overcome, moments she couldn’t protect.
Karha had always just fled.
She had thought it was the right method.
She believed it was the best choice to maintain a peaceful mind.
But in truth, Karha wanted to stay there without running.
That’s why her deceased mother, the Basilian family, her young new sibling…
She wanted to protect them all.
She longed to be a sturdy shield and guardian for everyone.
However, Karha didn’t possess the strength for that.
She was endlessly weak.
“If you’ve said you’d raise the child in Basilian territory, shouldn’t you at least have the ability to protect it?”
The raw, unvarnished words sharply dug into her chest.
It wasn’t meant to belittle her intentionally.
Hailon was simply stating the facts as they appeared in the current situation.
“I can’t understand what greed you’re harboring with such insufficient skill.”
Under the piercing blue gaze that cut like lightning, Karha clenched her teeth tightly.
If only Karha had possessed overwhelmingly strong power and skill today.
She wouldn’t have ended up like this, her pride crumpled as she ran and hid.
From the start, when the mercenaries picked a fight, she could have completely subdued them and leisurely departed.
The skirmish wouldn’t have dragged on long enough for the guards to arrive, nor would there have been an opening for the Skaya royalty to interfere.
And then, the baby got dragged into it.
It was Karha who had created the worst situation, and Hailon was pointing that out.
It also meant: don’t be greedy about something you can’t protect, and hand the baby over to me.
But that was the one thing she absolutely couldn’t do.
Karha muttered in a shrunken voice.
“…The baby has to stay with Basilian.”
The people of Basilian needed the baby.
It was a realization she’d had when the baby was taken from her by the man before her eyes.
Feeling the warmth transmitted from the small baby in her arms, Karha quietly met those blue eyes.
“If I want to protect it, what do I have to do?”
Theo returned to the guard station.
It was because of the news that Ishuel was turning the station upside down, demanding to know where his sibling was.
As the guard captain, Theo had to handle the aftermath of today’s incident anyway.
He promised to explain the situation well to Ishuel and hurried off to the station.
Chesha and Karha decided to stay overnight at Hailon’s mansion.
It was because Karha had agreed to receive swordsmanship instruction from Hailon.
“I’ll teach you the sword.”
Starting today, every three days until the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, he would provide swordsmanship guidance.
Additionally, he required that Chesha also stay overnight at the mansion each time.
“It’s the price for the lessons. Will you accept?”
Though it bruised her pride, Karha replied that she would, as long as Chesha was fine with it.
Of course, Chesha readily agreed.
At the same time, she found it puzzling.
‘Why insist that I stay overnight too?’
He wouldn’t even see her face.
Hailon was a busy man, and his private residence was mostly empty.
Even today, he’d dropped all his work because of Lichesia and come running, so after giving Karha the swordsmanship lesson, he had to head out again immediately.
Yet he insisted on staying overnight—such strange tastes.
It seemed like he simply enjoyed the fact that Chesha was staying at his home.
‘Still, Hailon teaching swordsmanship is a truly great opportunity.’
Karha had learned the basics of swordsmanship from Kierne and then studied on her own afterward.
Kierne was far superior to most knights.
But in the end, he was a mage.
Compared to those who had reached the pinnacle with the sword, he was naturally lacking in swordsmanship.
In contrast, Hailon was one who had ‘reached the pinnacle with the sword.’
As the leader of the Heresy Inquisitors, selected as the most outstanding among the holy knights.
That position itself was proof of his skill.
In fact, every time she faced Hailon as the witch, she’d been impressed by his swordsmanship, which improved day by day.
He was likely among the top in the continent.
There could be no better person to teach Karha.
Karha seemed well aware of this situation, as she surprisingly yielded readily to Hailon’s proposal.
She accepted so straightforwardly that it was Chesha who ended up surprised.
She’d expected her to throw a fit about having to learn the sword from a Heresy Inquisitor.
Hailon taught Karha the sword in the training ground at the back of the mansion.
Chesha watched their lesson from the mansion window, pressed against the glass.
The lesson didn’t take very long.
It lasted only about the time it took to cool and drink two cups of hot tea.
In that short span, Karha was reduced to rags.
Karha used her usual dual swords, while Hailon wielded a bladeless practice sword, yet she was unilaterally beaten.
Chesha knew Hailon’s skill was exceptional, but she hadn’t expected Karha to be overwhelmed to this extent.
‘Oh no, the kid’s going to die!’
Inwardly, Chesha stamped her feet in distress.
Hailon mercilessly thrashed Karha without holding back, then swiftly departed to return to work.
Left behind, Karha lay on the training ground floor for a long while.
Seeming to lack even the strength to stand, she stayed like that for some time before finally staggering to her feet.
‘I should comfort her when she comes in, tell her she did well.’
But Chesha couldn’t comfort her.
Karha’s training began right then.
Even though she could barely stand, Karha reviewed the spar with Hailon.
She dissected each trajectory of the sword he had wielded, analyzing how she should have defended and attacked in those moments.
She meticulously examined each motion one by one.
Karha entered the mansion from the training ground after the sun had set and the moon had risen.
“I’m crazy.”
She looked ready to train until she dropped dead.
Chesha shook her head and used her fairy power to create a yellow freesia flower.
When times were tough, smelling flowers was supposed to lift one’s spirits.
Humans might not feel that way, but it would at least improve the mood.
And Belzeon and Ishuel had reacted well to flower gifts too.
Thinking Karha would like it, she prepared one stem and left the room.
She asked a servant for some simple food, ointment good for bruises, bandages, and plenty of herbs for energy recovery.
Armed with a full load, along with the freesia, she headed to the room where Karha was staying.
“…Baby.”
Seeming to have barely washed, Karha lay on the bed with her hair still damp, wearing only pajama bottoms.
To Karha, who wriggled up, Chesha held out the things she’d brought.
Karha looked at what Chesha offered, fell silent for a moment, then picked up the yellow freesia.
“When I first learned the sword from Kierne long ago, Mother used to prepare things like this for me.”
She said, glancing over her upper body, mottled with bruises and wounds.
“I got beaten like crazy back then too…”
Then, she sat Chesha beside her and began silently treating her wounds.
She skillfully chewed the herbs herself, applied the ointment, and wrapped the bandages.
“This is totally bitter.”
Grumbling as she chewed the herb leaves, Karha swallowed a groan with an “ugh.”
She’d been applying ointment to a hard-to-reach spot and accidentally touched a wound.
It must have hurt a lot, as she hunched her back and trembled.
Even then, she didn’t forget to babble nonsense about worrying for her sibling.
“Ah… It doesn’t hurt that much…”
Chesha snatched the ointment and diligently rubbed it into the wounds her hands couldn’t reach.
After applying it all until her small hands were sticky, she felt a bit upset.
It was upsetting that Karha had come back injured, but more than that…
It was because she could sense a sulky vibe from her.
Having been so confident only to get properly beaten today, it was understandable that her spirits were down.
To cheer her up, Chesha deliberately flitted in front of her eyes and asked.
“Does it hurt?”
“I said it doesn’t hurt.”
“Should I get revenge for you?”
She clenched her fists and mimed punching the air.
Pretending to be agile, she threw punches with whooshes.
“I’ll go beat him up!”
Demonstrating her furious punches, Karha burst into laughter.
“Haha, what is that?”
It was a clear, ringing laugh.
After laughing heartily for a while, Karha grasped Chesha’s fist and planted a smacking kiss on it.
“Baby shouldn’t do dangerous things. Big brother will handle all that.”
Karha grinned, revealing her sharp fangs.
“Next time, I’ll protect you properly for real.”
