Chapter 223: Curse of the Great Knight [2]

Chapter 222

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Episode 56 - Curse of the Great Knight [2]

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He leaned back against a tree and let out a sigh.

It had been about two hours since the King’s messenger had arrived with the order stripping Raon of his title as Guardian Knight.

Raon had been completely devastated. I could see it through his emotions; however, he didn’t show it.

Not in front of everyone who had been present when the messenger unrolled the scroll and read the Royal Decree.

’The objective I have to resolve in Chapter One is getting closer, but...’

I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Williams’ emotions had intensified tremendously over the past few days.

Perhaps because nothing had gone well since the day the assassins broke into the mansion.

In any case, today Williams’ emotions had completely overflowed.

And since I was inside his body, I naturally experienced and felt them as if they were my own.

Anyway...

I had decided not to train today because of these foreign emotions.

I couldn’t keep a clear mind while countless emotions kept making me cry whenever they had the chance.

Besides me, Vilenia was probably carrying an enormous emotional burden as well.

Knowing that her Guardian Knight was no longer allowed to remain by her side would leave an immense void in her heart.

’Ah, today is going to be a long day.’

***

Raon lay on his bed as he stared at the ceiling of his room.

An absolute silence filled the room, so profound that it weighed heavily on his chest.

He suppressed his emotions. He remembered that his master had told him that a Knight must never allow emotions to consume him.

Not even during the hardest moments.

"Cough...!"

Raon coughed violently as drops of black blood splattered from his mouth.

His expression reflected utter exhaustion; his eyes were heavy, and his mind was in complete turmoil.

’Why would the King take away the title of my dreams?’

He had pursued the dream of becoming a Guardian Knight ever since he was a child.

And at last, after years of wandering throughout the Kingdom, he had made a name for himself, gained strength, and received the great honor of becoming a Great Knight.

And it was the King himself who had bestowed upon him the title of Guardian Knight.

It was the King who had shown him a list of the heirs of the noble houses so he could choose whom to serve as a Guardian Knight.

’I never did anything wrong.’

’Why is he taking away my dream?’

’I believed in him and admired him for years.’

’I thought he was like my master.’

’Then... why...? Just... why?’

He gritted his teeth as his emotions descended into complete chaos, yet he kept them under control.

Even though he had been betrayed by the King.

Even though he had been betrayed by everything to which he had devoted his life.

And even though he had been betrayed by the entire Kingdom.

Raon looked at himself in the mirror and forced a smile.

’My master told me that, in difficult times, I should smile no matter what happens.’

The corners of his lips curled upward; however, they were still trembling.

And his eyes revealed the exact opposite of what his smile tried to convey.

It was not a smile of happiness.

His eyes grew moist, and tears began to run down his face.

Raon placed a hand on his head as he felt an intense throbbing pain.

’I didn’t do anything wrong...’

’I followed every piece of advice His Majesty the King gave me.’

Raon had no idea why they were doing this to him.

He couldn’t remember ever holding a grudge against the King or anyone close to him.

If anything, he remembered doing everything he could to help for years.

He simply didn’t know what he had done wrong.

"I have to leave..."

The Royal Decree had not stated it explicitly.

But Raon was forbidden from remaining by Vilenia’s side.

Staying with Vilenia would mean breaking the Rules and defying the Royal Decree.

If that happened, Raon would be considered a criminal or could even be executed by the King’s order.

And in the worst-case scenario, Vilenia and the others could be punished for maintaining ties with a criminal because of him.

’I can’t allow that.’

Even though his title as Guardian Knight had been taken away and he had been forbidden from staying by his young lady’s side.

He could not disobey the King’s orders or drag anyone else into trouble because of him.

Raon got out of bed and looked outside.

"...."

He saw Williams leaning against a tree, crying. Williams wiped away his tears and struggled to remain strong.

Since Williams was officially Raon’s Squire, Williams also could not remain by Lady Vilenia’s side.

Knights who had a squire understood the responsibilities that the squire had to bear whenever their Knight died or broke one of the Kingdom’s rules.

"We have to leave... even if I don’t want to, we have to leave."

He looked toward the door. He knew that Vilenia was going through the same thing as Williams.

And she knew that leaving without saying goodbye would simply leave her heartbroken.

She had been by Vilenia’s side for many years; she had grown so attached to Raon that she simply would not let him go.

’I’ll have to leave without saying goodbye... I’m sorry, young lady.’

She wiped away her tears as she tried to stay strong.

***

Raon looked at the mansion in the middle of the forest.

The faint moonlight, barely illuminating the world, reflected off the silent mansion.

At that moment, Williams was standing right beside him. His expression was unreadable; however, to Raon, it only meant that he was trying to appear strong on the outside.

But deep down, he was probably suppressing countless emotions.

Raon looked at the mansion one last time before turning around.

But just then, a voice reached his ears.

"So you’re leaving like this, Mr. Raon."

The voice belonged to Teresa.

Raon turned around to face her. Then he lowered his head and said,

"I’m sorry... I wanted to say a proper goodbye, but..."

"I understand perfectly. However, I think it’s better to say goodbye than to simply leave like this."

Raon already knew that. He knew that leaving without saying goodbye would probably not be much different from leaving after saying one.

The reason he was leaving like this was because he knew Young Lady Vilenia’s personality.

She would do everything she could to stop him from leaving.

"No, this is for the best."

A smile appeared on Teresa’s face—a smile filled with sadness, yet one that also conveyed warmth.

Teresa looked at Raon as her expression turned downcast.

"Then take this. You’ll need some money for your journey, right?"

She held out her hand, carrying a pouch filled with gold coins.

Raon looked at it, but when he saw Teresa’s expression, he knew he couldn’t refuse, so he accepted the pouch.

"Then... I’ll be going. Young Lady Vilenia might wake up and throw a tantrum if she doesn’t find me right now."

Raon nodded as Teresa turned around.

Raon and Williams silently waved her goodbye. Shortly afterward, the two of them turned around and began walking away.

The road leading to the nearest village stretched out before them.

It was close to midnight, and Raon continued walking along that road without looking back.

’Goodbye, Young Lady Vilenia.’

***

In the Dark Era, the sky was always dark.

There was no such thing as day and night; the sky remained dark at all times, and every now and then, a blotch would appear.

That was the moon. It was visible enough whenever it was full.

And when it was daytime, the sun merely cast a blackish-violet glow across the sky.

There were no trees with green leaves.

If you ever saw a tree with green leaves, it meant it was a tree-shaped monster.

There were no fields, valleys, or any stretch of green land.

At that moment, I looked out the window.

I was inside an inn while it rained outside.

The rain was black.

As if ink were falling from the sky, staining the ground black.

"Ah, I guess it’ll be soon, won’t it?"

Several weeks had already passed. The time I could remain in Chapter One was probably about to come to an end.

Although this Memory Gate was very easy to clear, its progress was extremely slow.

That was why House Everblack usually used this Memory Gate for two purposes.

The primary objective was, naturally, to take advantage of the difference in the flow of time between the real world and the Memory Gate.

The second was to prepare the minds of those who entered it.

To let them witness the harsh reality of the Dark Era back then.

And to show them the kind of people who used to die.

’Honestly, this Memory Gate really is one of the best for training.’

Come to think of it, I should bring the others here.

’Rinna or Charlotte might resist, but it’s not impossible.’

The rest would probably be grateful.

Anyway, as I watched the rain outside, I thought about what I had been doing over the past few weeks.

’I’ve almost managed to raise the Mastery of all my Traits to the maximum.’

Growing Flower is the hardest Trait to increase the Mastery of.

It’s the only one that’s taking me far too long.

’I could speed up its Mastery if I pushed Growing Flower to its limits.’

But there really wasn’t any enemy or opponent capable of forcing me to push the Growing Flower Trait to its limit.

’Mhm, who... who would be the best choice...? Mhm.’

Then I looked at a Spirit sleeping soundly on the bed’s pillow.

"...."

"Did my master really want a body just so she could laze around, or is there a greater purpose?"

Honestly, I think the answer was the first one.