Ch.118Ill Fate (1)

# Even Withered Flowers Attract Flies

Even withered flowers attract flies, but the wasteland surrounding Pfalzburg fails to capture even the gaze of dark clouds.

Occasionally, passing clouds might drop a raindrop or two like alms to a beggar, but it’s far from enough to quench the age-old thirst of the land.

A flat plain with few rivers or lakes. The wind scrapes the earth, extorting even a single drop of dew. Without proper mountain ranges, the land dries up helplessly.

This is why the “Crown Fortress” is called a mystery or oddity of the Empire. On the surface, it appears to be a carefully constructed stone fortress, but it becomes even more peculiar when one realizes it stands alone in a wasteland where no people have lived, and that it was built long before the Empire emerged.

In fact, “Crown Fortress” isn’t even its real name. The nickname stuck because the fortress, built encircling a bare rocky mountain, resembled “a crown placed on a severed head.” Its true name remains unknown.

And it’s not just the name. There are no records of who built it, why, or for what purpose. No one knows how laborers were employed to build a castle in a place where no one lived and water was scarce.

Even the stones themselves are remarkable. Each block forms a perfect rectangular prism with golden ratio proportions, polished so meticulously that the surfaces remain perfectly smooth to this day. The joints between stones are so precise that not even a blade of grass can grow between them.

Scholars even point out that these stones weren’t from the rocky mountain but were processed and brought from the Black Forest. The shape, pattern, and composition of the stones don’t match those of this region.

For these reasons, some in the Empire and the Order believe the Crown Fortress was built for ceremonial purposes rather than practical ones. The evidence is that the fortress’s construction style resembles that of the “Life Tree Order” found throughout the Empire.

However, the majority opinion holds that this meticulous stone-by-stone construction method was the general architectural trend of the time, not unique to the Life Tree Order. Thus, uncovering the origins of the “Crown Fortress” seems a distant prospect…

– From “On the Long Feud Between the Elector of Reinhardt and the Order,” an account of the dedication process of St. Georgios Monastery by Professor Osrant Koch of the Department of Literary Arts, Southern Imperial Academy.

* * * * *

Though the disciples looked at him pitifully, Kain firmly set down his water yoke. After the heavy thud subsided, the instructor smiled and opened the lid of the water container on the yoke.

“You pass. You’ve brought the required amount.”

Kain showed no particular reaction, and the embarrassed instructor added:

“Again! What are you all doing, seriously?”

The disciples hastily bowed their heads and retreated. The instructor smiled gently at Kain again. She had taken quite a liking to this “mercenary” of unknown origin. It was more human affection than rational curiosity.

“I wish my trainees could be half as good as you. Truly. Just wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Have you considered joining the knightly order? Well… I’m sure you’ve experienced all sorts of things as a mercenary, but knights sometimes have to do rough work too. And from what I’ve observed over the past five days, you seem quite reliable.”

Though it wasn’t meant to be funny, Kain gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“I appreciate your kind words.”

“Heh. I’m not just being polite.” The instructor crossed her arms.

“You might wonder how I can know you after just five days, but I train over a hundred recruits every year. After five years as an instructor, I’ve learned to judge at least 500 people. And if an inquisitor hired you, you must be quite clean, right?”

Of course, this “cleanliness” referred to reputation rather than appearance. “I really appreciate your kind words, but…” Kain repeated what he had said before.

“I’m here because I haven’t received full payment, not because I have any particular interest in the knightly order. I might join someday, but not now.”

As he spoke, he shouldered another empty water yoke, causing the instructor to step back.

Of course, Kain had to listen once more to her promotional speech about how “unlike clergy, knights can marry freely and receive decent wages. If you’re tired of mercenary life, it’s worth considering. With your experience, you could start at a fairly high rank rather than at the bottom.”

But that was brief. With the water yoke on his shoulders, Kain walked back toward the monastery gate. Familiar disciples glared at him with exhausted faces as he passed, but he paid them no mind.

More accurately, he had no time to care.

* * * * *

St. Georgios Monastery is originally the building called “Crown Fortress.” No one knows the exact year of its construction, but it’s certain that it predates the establishment of the Empire.

The problem is that it doesn’t function well as a fortress. Not because it’s old—the stone walls remain solid and could withstand most siege weapons. The real issue is with supplies.

The monastery has neither wells nor even rocky crevices where water flows. To fetch water, one must walk down the rocky mountain where the monastery stands and draw water from the riverbank below.

While it scores zero as a fortress, it’s ideal for training knight candidates. Here, they don’t perform special physical training. Instead, disciples are assigned a daily water quota, and those who fail to meet it are punished.

When Kain, Maria, and the horse thieves arrived here, they were first discovered by grim-faced disciples.

The horse thieves set down the sacks containing Count Bördem and the Black Phoenix priest before fleeing immediately. They literally ran without looking back. Maria was on the verge of fainting but proved everything by snapping her fingers to summon holy fire.

The count and the two priests were immediately imprisoned. Maria said, “I received a vision during prayer, and when I went to the Black Forest, I found a man with all his joints dislocated and two unconscious priests,” before promptly fainting.

Though the knights at the monastery were no fools, they were thrown into confusion by the situation: a man claiming to be Count Bördem with all his limb joints dislocated, two heretical priests branded with the Black Phoenix mark, and an inquisitor who claimed to have “received a vision” before fainting upon arrival.

Because of this, Kain had to move around quite busily.

Kain introduced himself as “a mercenary hired by Inquisitor Maria.” When asked how he found these people, he answered, “We just picked them up on the road while following Maria.” Regarding the horse thieves who fled, he said, “I offered them extra money to transport some cargo, and they readily agreed.”

The knights, judging that Kain knew nothing, tried to get answers from Maria instead. A perfectly reasonable response.

The problem was that even after nearly five days since their arrival, Maria still hadn’t regained consciousness. She would mumble and wave her hands in response to external stimuli but couldn’t speak at length or move actively.

“She’s extremely weakened,” diagnosed a doctor summoned from Pfalzburg. “My goodness. There’s not a drop of energy left in her body. Classic symptoms of exhaustion, anemia, dizziness, and overwork. She needs rest. There’s no other solution. Absolute rest is required.”

With the doctor saying this, the knights couldn’t argue. Moreover, they couldn’t treat her carelessly since she was an “inquisitor.”

The knights’ next option was to question the captives: the man claiming to be “Count Bördem” with all his joints dislocated, and two heretical priests clearly branded with the Black Phoenix mark.

But they knew nothing either. The “self-proclaimed Count Bördem” only repeated, “When I came to my senses, my body was already like this,” refusing to explain why he came to the Black Forest.

The heretical priests were the same—they wouldn’t answer other questions but nodded when asked if they “came to their senses to find themselves tied up and brought here in sacks.”

“Is it truly a miracle?”

Eventually, the knights whispered among themselves. To them, this incident appeared to be “a miraculous event where two heretical priests performing an evil ritual to dislocate all joints of a normal person received divine punishment and were captured by an inquisitor who received a vision.”

What was unexpected was the behavior of the abbot of St. Georgios Monastery.

Belisarius, the training commander and abbot, focused solely on healing and recovering Maria and the “self-proclaimed count,” without calling Kain for a private conversation or dispatching messengers outside. Yet he didn’t drive Kain away either.

“Since you came on official business, we’ll treat you as a guest. Just follow the monastery’s internal rules within reason. After all, you contracted with Inquisitor Maria, not with us.”

That was all he said.

“I also need to receive the remaining payment from my employer, the inquisitor, so I’ll stay here until she recovers.”

Kain answered briefly.

For the first day or two, Kain focused solely on recovery. But when the situation began to seem suspicious, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to gain people’s favor.

So Kain volunteered to carry water yokes. The training instructor accepted without much expectation. “You can quit whenever it becomes annoying or difficult.”

Kain silently picked up the water yoke and quietly went up and down the rocky mountain carrying water.

The disciples who initially looked at him mockingly began to gaze with admiration, then with reverence, and finally with shock. Now they look at Kain with pleading eyes.

After all, a mercenary “lightly” shouldering water yokes carries twice as much water as the “disciples” who train out of obligation.

“If you continue like this, I’ll increase the quota by 1.5 times! Don’t you learn anything watching that mercenary?”

As the instructor’s scolding intensified, the disciples’ desperation grew daily. Because of this, Kain found himself in a peculiar position—respected by the knightly order’s superiors but increasingly resented by the subordinates.

Of course, if anyone could have seen Kain’s true thoughts, none of them would have spoken that way.

* * * * *

Even after completing his quota, the sun is still high in the sky. Kain sighs deeply and quickly washes himself.

It’s a simple wash—going to the shower room and pouring water from a basin over his body—but in this place where water is precious, it’s an act bordering on disrespect, even blasphemy. Yet no one dares reproach Kain, the outsider who brings more water than anyone else.

After changing into clean clothes, Kain heads to the infirmary. As always, nurses are taking care of Maria. When Kain approaches, they bow their heads and make way for him, smiling.

‘Because of what Maria said strangely on the first day.’

Kain couldn’t help feeling regretful. As soon as Maria was brought to the infirmary, she had said, “Please give us some space. I have something important to tell this man…” while sobbing weakly, causing the nurses to misunderstand their relationship.

Of course, once they were alone, Maria’s tone changed immediately.

“I’ll kill you if you turn around.”

Kain sat with his back turned. Maria, covered with a blanket, removed her equipment one by one. With metallic clangs, daggers, wrist knives, throwing knives, and leather harnesses fell to the floor.

“Now you can turn around.”

Maria was completely under the blanket, and her gear was scattered on the floor. Kain stuffed the equipment into bags, dividing it between his bag and Maria’s.

The problem was that Maria’s leather straps were among them.

“Maria. This…”

“…You don’t need to attach that to my body. Just make sure it doesn’t break. And.”

Maria gestured to Kain. She was already on the verge of losing consciousness but was enduring with superhuman patience.

“Never hand it over.”

“To whom?”

“Never. Never. Never hand it over…”

With those words, Maria fainted. Kain immediately called for the nurses. And even after five days, Maria still hasn’t returned to consciousness.

As if remembering something, Kain pulled the door. Fortunately, there were no eavesdropping nurses like last time, but he remained cautious. They might be hiding somewhere in the corridor.

But once he was certain no one was there, Kain shook Maria’s body. Maria only groaned “Mmm” without waking up.

“No one’s here.”

As Kain whispered, Maria finally opened her eyes slightly. A seductive smile came as a bonus.

“Ah… you’re here.”

Maria reached out to grab Kain’s arm. Kain stepped back. Maria giggled.

“Strange. Do you still dislike me that much?”

Kain gritted his teeth, trying to control his anger.

“Don’t speak like that… with Maria’s face.”

Kain looked at the woman before him. Maria’s body was still there, but her mind wasn’t. Her consciousness was deeply asleep somewhere within her body.

Instead, the woman occupying Maria’s soul was…

“Haa. It’s just a joke. Can’t you even tolerate a dead person’s joke?”

Maria’s mother. Elisabet.