Ch.112Then the Devil Came Through the Front Door (6)

The Chief Executor ignored Kain and only looked at Lily. Lily’s agitation manifested as trembling. To reassure her, Kain reached behind and grasped her wrist.

“I asked ‘you’ what you’re doing, Liliana!”

Kain applied slight pressure to her hand. At the same time, he pulled his chin in and lowered his posture slightly. A defensive stance, in other words, a position preparing for battle.

That alone was like a provocation to Astrid, one of the strongest warriors even among the White Blood Knights. But to Lily, who was an even stronger warrior than Astrid, it was a gesture more comforting than a hundred words of consolation.

Like a knight looking down from a castle, Lily no longer trembled.

“I am preparing to go to the ‘Mine’ that the prisoner just mentioned.”

“Your duty is to return to Valhalla!”

“I have more than one duty. While I certainly have obligations as a Valkyrja, more important is protecting His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire. The fate of all imperial citizens depends on the task I’ve been assigned.”

“What nonsense…! The restrictions placed upon you are also duties to be kept for the former Emperor and the former chieftain. Are you saying that the orders you received are more important than the duties that not only you, but all White Blood Knights must follow! Tell me. What could possibly be so great and grand to warrant this!”

“Injustice is happening right before our eyes!”

Lily stretched her hand toward the ‘Mine’ in the north. But Astrid merely scoffed.

“Who told you that was injustice? Who gave you the right to judge the Count’s injustice? Ah, so the Security Bureau is such a great institution that it can wield absolute power anywhere within imperial territory!”

The gazes of the listening knights all turned toward Lily at once. But Lily wasn’t flustered in the least.

“A knight’s duty tells me so.”

Astrid glared at Lily. Lily calmly met her gaze.

“Chief Executor. We are the White Blood ‘Knights.’ If knights don’t act like knights, then no matter what title is attached before it, we’re nothing but a group of fighters. I’m going to fulfill my duty as a knight. Are you saying that the duty to obey orders is stronger than the duty to protect the weak?”

“And if I say it is, what will you do?”

“I’ll return your words to you exactly as you said them. ‘Who told you to make that judgment, Chief Executor?'”

One tactless knight burst out laughing with a snort. Yet Astrid neither wavered nor misdirected her anger. She remained cold.

“Fine. I admit it. What you’re doing is righteous and just. But ‘what you’re doing’ is not the only thing that is righteous and just. Just as there is no difference between what is worse and what is less bad, there is also no difference between what is more right and what is less right!

I wondered what great things you were doing after leaving home, but it seems you’ve only learned how to put self-righteousness on your tongue! Listen carefully, you foolish one! ‘A wandering Valkyrja will face nothing but bloody winds!'”

Lily remembered an answer Kain had once told her.

“I’m going to stop the bloody winds that harm people. The Valkyrja doesn’t seek the bloody winds. The bloody winds seek the Valkyrja.”

“The fate and destiny of the White Blood Knights are lessons and teachings learned through countless bloodshed. It’s what our ancestors learned through their bodies by clashing sword against sword! Are you wise enough to defy those centuries of teachings?”

“Then I too will learn by clashing sword against sword like our ancestors.”

Laughter. Some applause. Astrid’s hands trembled.

“You… insolent child…!”

Lily’s body stiffened. She unconsciously gripped Kain’s shoulder tightly. Like someone clinging to a cliff. Astrid took another step forward.

“Fine. Then try to talk your way out of this too. As the temporary head of House Brynhildr, I command you, Liliana! Obey me at once! Do I need to beat you like when you were young to make you listen…!”

Maria looked startled, glancing back and forth between Lily and Astrid. ‘Head of the house? Did she say head of the house? They’re family?’

“Head of the house?”

Kain interjected abruptly.

“Yes. I am Astrid Brynhildr. The second eldest of House Brynhildr, and currently the temporary head while my elder brother lies on his deathbed. I don’t know why your father disliked you, but I do! It’s because, just like your mother, you’re stubborn beyond reason!”

Astrid pushed against Kain, but he didn’t budge an inch.

“Who dares interfere in House Brynhildr’s affairs!”

But Kain remained indifferent.

“I do.”

“What right does the Security Bureau have to meddle in internal family matters!”

“I am Lily’s superior, that’s true. But it’s not just because of my position. Since you’re speaking of personal matters, I’ll give you my personal reasons too. We fight together, cry together, and laugh together. We owe each other our lives, and we face things you couldn’t even imagine.

While your House Brynhildr has only given Lily pain, Lily has given us help we couldn’t repay in a lifetime. So… I won’t let her be thrown back into pain either. Lily is incredibly precious to me, and I won’t easily send her where she doesn’t want to go.”

Even the stoic White Blood Knights seemed moved by his words. What Kain was saying matched the camaraderie they felt for each other. Fighting together and protecting one another. Isn’t the strongest weapon trust and faith? But it failed to move Astrid’s heart.

“How dare a complete stranger with not a drop of shared blood run his mouth!”

Maria leaned forward, clearly displeased. Lily too felt a surge of anger. But at Kain’s next words, everyone froze.

“True. We haven’t mixed blood.”

“…What?”

“I said we haven’t ‘mixed blood.'”

Kain could say it with confidence. It was the truth. Astrid’s eyes grew wider.

“W-what do you mean?”

“We occasionally share a bed, but we haven’t mixed blood.”

Someone hiccupped, someone dropped their sword. Thankfully, no one had a sword fall on their foot with a clang at that precarious moment. Lily declared to the dead-eyed Astrid, enunciating each word:

“That’s right. We’ve even bathed together… but we haven’t mixed blood.”

Astrid threw her head back. Her body seemed not to obey her.

“What… what obscene and lewd… After all these lies, now such childish and indecent…!”

Snap.

Maria flicked her finger. Holy fire bloomed at the tip of her middle finger. A miracle that only the chosen among the clergy could perform.

“I swear on my conscience as a clergy member.”

Maria grinned.

“That’s not a lie.”

Astrid fell to her knees. Her legs had given out. Maria scratched her head.

“I mean, it’s not like they’re walking around naked or doing things in public, so what’s indecent about it?

And again, swearing on my conscience as a clergy member, these two are extremely wholesome. They haven’t done anything shameful in the eyes of the world. According to doctrine and socially speaking, they sleep together, bathe together, and eat together, but they haven’t done ‘that,’ okay?

And what, childish? Love is inherently childish.”

“True,” Lily whispered. Though he hadn’t intended it, Kain’s earlobes grew hot. To hide his flushed face, Kain spoke somewhat roughly.

“I have no interest in House Brynhildr. Only Lily and Maria matter to me. So I’ll go wherever Lily wants to go. If you’re so eager to get home quickly, do so. We’ll go do what we need to do.”

Astrid seemed completely unable to comprehend Kain’s words. Her eyes were completely unfocused, and her face still bore a dazed expression.

She only came to her senses when Kain’s group had finished preparing to depart northward, encouraged by knights giving small thumbs-up.

“You foolish one…”

Astrid muttered.

“No matter how you block the window frame. No matter how you block the preparation. The devil always comes through the front door…”

Kain turned around angrily, but Lily gently pulled at his collar. ‘It’s okay. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.’

* * * * *

“I’m sorry.”

Kain apologized sincerely. Lily didn’t accept it.

“It wasn’t a lie, was it?”

That was true. Maria chimed in.

“If it really bothers you, just don’t create things to be sorry about.”

“How?”

“After we get down from here, slip some money to a priest. About two gold leaves. Then they’ll gather all the villagers and prepare a nice wedding mass for you. By the way…”

Maria shook her head.

“That woman, Astrid was it? Is she really your aunt, Lily?”

“Yes. She was even stricter than my father.”

“Want me to scold her?”

“No.” Lily smiled and shook her head. “She’s just someone with strong pride in our family and the White Blood Knights, and she values principles above all. She’s also an excellent fighter, which is why she became Chief Executor.”

“Her character seems worse than a balding quill pen. My goodness, how can someone speak so nastily?”

“Don’t hate her too much,” Lily began quietly.

“She was the one who insisted I be granted the position of Valkyrja. My father opposed it, but the knights argued we should follow tradition. Remember? She was the one who advocated most strongly. It’s the only good thing House Brynhildr ever gave me.”

“No, hey! What nonsense. You received what you rightfully deserved!”

Lily just smiled at Maria’s rebuke.

“Because it wasn’t that kind of family. By the way… I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to take my side like that.”

“Ahem. What was that devil story about?”

“That?” Maria snickered.

“It’s a folk tale. A monastery received a revelation that a devil would enter. So all the monks prayed day and night, armed themselves thoroughly, and stood guard, but the devil entered through the front door disguised as a clergyman.”

“What kind of story is that.”

“It’s a funny story. But not just funny. It gives comfort to people who believe in predetermined fate. Because things happened according to the revelation.

Inquisitors take it as a warning about the dangers of blind faith. But I’m not sure how warriors interpret it. I didn’t know the White Blood Knights were such a superstitious group.”

“It’s probably because of randomness,” Lily answered, carefully pushing aside a protruding branch.

“In war, you never know who will die. Even with intense training, people die in absurd accidents. No matter how much you prepare, what’s meant to happen will happen. That’s what we’re taught.”

“What? Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“If there’s a predetermined ending… then until you reach that ending, you don’t need to be afraid. The greeting ‘Until white blood flows, White Blood Knights will not die’ has that meaning too. Humans can’t shed white blood, right? So we can advance and fight without fear.”

“Because we’re human.”

Kain muttered. Lily asked what he meant, but Kain didn’t answer. He was lost in thought.

While the members of the White Blood Knights were different, they too were human. That meant they possessed what humans should have.

But why could they treat family so harshly? What made that possible? Kain couldn’t understand.

So instead, he gently pulled Lily close and kissed her lightly. Lily seemed a bit surprised but followed Kain’s gesture.

“…You two, really. Sigh… why not do that normally. Always at strange times…”

They ignored Maria’s lament.

After some time passed, Kain’s group put on masks. They tied their horses in a hidden place and secured their bags to trees a short distance away.

The Count’s guards were scattered here and there. Like proper thieves, their discipline was terrible, and many were openly sleeping.

Kain, Lily, and Maria chose suitable targets, knocked them unconscious, and stole their clothes. Pretending to patrol, they naturally entered the cave that gaped open beneath the rocky cliff.

Into the winding belly of the ‘Mine.’