Chapter 87
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Chapter 87
Karha found himself unable to speak.
In that piercing moment of realization, I understood what I truly desired.
It was never about becoming stronger.
It was about refusing to run away.
Overwhelming emotions I couldn't bear, realities I couldn't overcome, moments I couldn't protect.
I had always fled from them.
Because I believed that was the most righteous path.
The wisest choice to preserve my peace of mind.
But the truth was, I wanted to stay and face what lay before me, not run.
So I wanted to protect everything—my deceased Mother, the Basilian Family, my young sibling...
All of it.
I yearned to become a steadfast shield and guardian for everyone.
Yet I lacked the strength to do so.
I was hopelessly, endlessly weak.
"If you promised to raise a child within Basilian's domain, shouldn't you at least possess the ability to protect them?"
The raw, unvarnished words cut through my chest with surgical precision.
He wasn't deliberately trying to belittle me.
Hailon was simply stating the facts as they appeared in the current situation.
"I fail to comprehend what ambitions you harbor with such insufficient skill."
Those piercing blue eyes, sharp as lightning, made me clench my teeth.
If only I possessed overwhelming strength and ability today.
I wouldn't have fled and hidden with my pride crushed like this.
When the mercenaries first provoked me, I would have subdued them completely and departed with ease.
The skirmish wouldn't have prolonged enough for the Security Force to arrive, nor would the Skaya royalty have found an opening to interfere.
And the child wouldn't have been caught in the chaos.
I was the architect of this worst-case scenario, and Hailon was pointing out precisely that.
He was essentially telling me to stop being greedy about what I couldn't protect and hand the child over to him.
But that was something I absolutely could not do.
I murmured in a subdued voice.
"...The child must remain with the Basilian Family."
The people of House Basilian need this child.
That was something I realized when the man before me took the child from my arms.
Feeling the warmth radiating from the small infant I held, I quietly met those blue eyes.
"If I want to protect them, what must I do?"
***
Theo returned to the Security Office.
Word had reached him that Ishuel was turning the Security Office upside down, demanding to know where my younger sibling was.
As the head of the Security Force, Theo had to handle the aftermath of today's incident anyway.
He promised Ishuel he would explain the situation properly, then hurried off to the Security Office.
Chesa and Karha decided to spend the night at Hailon's Residence.
It was because Karha had agreed to receive sword instruction from Hailon.
"I will teach you the blade."
Starting today, he would provide instruction once every three days until the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony.
Moreover, he demanded that Chesa also stay at the residence for a night each time.
"It is the price of instruction. Will you accept?"
Karha's pride was wounded, but he answered that he would do so if Chesa was willing.
Of course, Chesa readily agreed.
Yet at the same time, she found it puzzling.
'Why is he asking me to stay as well?'
It wasn't as though they would even see each other's faces.
Hailon was a busy man, and he kept his residence mostly vacant.
Even today, because of Lichesia, he had abandoned all his duties and rushed over, so he would have to give Karha sword instruction and then leave immediately.
Yet he was insisting she stay the night—it was certainly an odd preference.
It seemed he simply enjoyed the fact that Chesa would be staying in his home.
'Still, the fact that Hailon is offering to teach me swordplay is a truly excellent opportunity.'
Karha had learned the fundamentals of swordplay from Kieran and then taught herself afterward.
Kieran was far superior to most knights.
But ultimately, he was a mage.
Compared to those who had reached the pinnacle with the blade, his swordsmanship was naturally lacking.
By contrast, Hailon was 'one who had reached the pinnacle with the blade.'
He was the leader of the Heresy Inquisitors, selected from among the Holy Knights as the most exceptional.
That position itself was proof of his prowess.
In fact, each time she faced Hailon as a demon, she marveled at his swordsmanship growing sharper with each passing day.
It was likely among the finest on the continent.
There was no one better suited to teach Karha.
Karha, seemingly aware of this situation, unexpectedly accepted Hailon's proposal without hesitation.
She agreed so readily that Chesa was actually surprised.
She had expected Karha to bristle at the thought of learning from a Heresy Inquisitor.
Hailon taught Karha swordplay in the Training Grounds behind the residence.
Chesa pressed herself against the residence window, watching their lesson.
The instruction did not take a particularly long time.
It took only as long as it would to brew hot tea and drink two cups.
In that brief span, Karha became a tattered mess.
Karha used her usual twin blades, while Hailon wielded a practice sword without a sharp edge, yet she was thoroughly beaten.
She had known Hailon's skill was exceptional, but she never expected Karha to be overwhelmed to this degree.
'Oh goodness, this child is going to die!'
Chesa stamped her feet in silent distress.
Hailon showed Karha no mercy, pummeling him thoroughly before departing just as abruptly to resume his duties.
Left behind, Karha lay sprawled across the Training Grounds floor for some time.
Lacking the strength to rise, he remained there for a while before finally managing to push himself up with a trembling effort.
'I should comfort him when he comes back, tell him he did well.'
But Chesa never got the chance.
Karha's training began right then and there.
Though he could barely stand, he reviewed the sparring match he'd had with Hailon.
Dissecting each trajectory of the blade he'd faced, analyzing how he should have defended and counterattacked in each moment.
He meticulously broke down every movement.
Karha didn't return to the Basilian Mansion from the Training Grounds until after sunset, when the moon had risen.
"I'm insane."
He looked ready to collapse mid-training.
Chesa shook her head and conjured a yellow freesia using her fairy magic.
It was common knowledge that the scent of flowers invigorated one during difficult times.
Humans might not feel it as strongly, but their spirits would surely lift.
Besides, both Belzeon and Ishuel had responded quite favorably when she'd gifted them flowers before.
Thinking Karha would enjoy one as well, she prepared a single bloom and left her room.
She asked the Servant to gather some simple food, then obtained a generous supply of salve for bruises, bandages, and medicinal herbs known to restore vitality.
With her arms full of supplies and the freesia in hand, she made her way to Karha's room.
"...Baby."
Having barely washed up, Karha lay on his bed with damp hair and wearing only the lower half of his nightclothes.
As he slowly stirred awake, she offered him everything she'd brought.
Karha looked at what she presented, fell silent for a moment, then picked up the yellow freesia.
"When I first learned swordplay from Kieran long ago, Mother used to prepare things like this for me."
He murmured while glancing down at his upper body, mottled with bruises and wounds.
"Back then, I got beaten senseless too...."
Then he had her sit beside him and began treating his wounds in silence.
He chewed the medicinal herbs, applied the salve, and wrapped the bandages with practiced efficiency.
"This tastes terrible."
Karha grumbled while chewing the herb leaves, then stifled a groan.
He'd accidentally touched a wound while applying salve to a spot his hand couldn't easily reach.
It hurt badly enough that he hunched his back and trembled.
Yet even in his pain, he didn't forget to ramble about worrying over his sister.
"Ah.... It doesn't hurt much...."
Chesa took the salve from him and carefully applied it to the wounds his hands couldn't reach.
Once she'd thoroughly covered all the wounds with her small hands, she felt a pang of sadness.
It troubled her that he'd been injured, but more than that....
It was the melancholy she sensed emanating from him.
He had been overconfident, and today he had paid the price—his spirit thoroughly dampened by a proper beating.
Chesa deliberately swayed in front of him, attempting to console him with her question.
"Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt, I'm telling you."
"Should I get revenge for you?"
She clenched her fist and made a show of swinging it through the air.
Throwing punches with a pretense of nimbleness, she said with a whoosh-whoosh sound, "I'll go punch them and come back!"
"I'll hit them and come back!"
At the display of her furious punches, Karha burst into laughter.
"Ha ha, what is that?"
It was a clear, melodious laugh.
After laughing heartily for a while, Karha grasped Chesa's fist and planted a kiss on it.
"Don't do anything dangerous, little one. Your older brother will handle all of that."
Karha grinned, his pointed fangs gleaming.
"Next time, I'll truly protect you properly."
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