Death Can’t Sleep - Chapter 99
“Why did you say such a thing in this atmosphere?!”
“I’m curious!”
“Lady Amarion doesn’t fight people, you idiot!”
The campfire became noisy again.
Across from him, Sir Jane kept his mouth shut. He must have been aware of this rumor as well. It was natural. It was he who had told them that the strongest knight in the kingdom was a woman.
Victor lowered his gaze.
Amarion was sleeping peacefully on his lap.
As if dreaming, her soft lips drew a thin arc. Her skin was rough, and her long hair was tangled, but she was incomparably lovely. She was his, someone he didn’t want others to see.
But the more he learned about how virtuous she was, the more unimaginably great she became. Her actions, and the fact that she had come all the way here, proved she was worthy of nobility.
However…
The Grand Duke stroked her hair and whispered.
“I need you, too.”
Once more, he repeated in a small voice.
“I still need you.”
At that moment, there was the sound of a bowstring being pulled.
＊ ＊ ＊
When she woke up, the camp was in disarray.
“…What is this?”
Amarion quickly got up. The blanket over her fell down.
She hurriedly looked around. The sun was just rising, and Victor was sitting next to her with a tired face.
“Are you awake?”
“Victor, what is this…?”
“There was another raid at dawn.”
Jane answered for him. It was also evident that he was tired. He explained as he tied his long hair into a loose ponytail.
“The desert robbers of yesterday came and shot at us. They didn’t come at us directly because they were small in numbers, but….”
“They are doing it on purpose. They want to exhaust us by only attacking at night.”
Mirage let out a sigh. At least monsters didn’t have malice. The wizard explained, applying ointment to his bruised arm.
“No one was seriously injured, but the vigilantes had a hard time.”
“You should have woken me up, too.”
“Don’t start. Dog made a fuss about not waking you up.”
Amarion raised her eyebrows and looked at Victor.
To fight alone without waking her up…? But he knew how she felt. She fell asleep for the first time in a very long time yesterday.
Victor asked.
“How do we deal with these guys?”
“Usually, we find them and weed them out but… I do not know. Right now, our leader is gone. We’re not in a situation where we can start something recklessly.”
The wizard sighed.
Amarion bit her lip. It reminded her of Jane’s story that the robbers who pursued them only ran away after they started dying.
People fight each other and die. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand that there was a war going on. Didn’t Victor and the many heroes they talked about become heroes by killing people?
But putting herself in this situation felt completely different. Like other mercenaries, she couldn’t kill her enemies. It challenged her lifelong conviction head-on.
But Victor looked so tired.
“Marion.”
Victor called her.
Amarion couldn’t decide anything and just took his hand.
His fingertips were cold.
＊ ＊ ＊
Unfortunately, late-night raids became a daily routine. The robbers were more persistent than expected. They followed them and fired arrows every night.
It was said that these people were more difficult because they were former mercenaries who had a grudge against the mercenary king.
They were all exhausted. Still, Amarion laughed while listening to the conversation between Jane and Mirage. But even that became increasingly difficult. Mirage used a lot of mana and rested more often, while Jane was selected for the patrol team and went out to scout their surroundings.
Victor, on the other hand, never left her side. It was because she was constantly suffering from insomnia. She couldn’t fall asleep because she alternated between unknown tension and worry about Amari.
Sometimes, even if she fell asleep, robbers would attack soon after, so she had to wake up again. Even with Victor by her side, she couldn’t sleep.
Hard days passed.
Then, one day, Tall and Chubby came back. As soon as they arrived, Tall started screaming.
“Who is that?! What kind of handsome man are you?! Did you bring him for me?”
She was pointing at Jane.
Chubby elbowed Tall.
“Be careful with your words, you idiot.”
“What did I do!?”
“Everyone’s in bad condition.”
“If you become a mercenary, you should be prepared for injuries.”
She snapped in a strangely cold tone. Tall’s eyes scanned the mercenaries seriously. Her keen gaze slowly surveyed the punctured tents and the tired horses. Then she crossed her arms.
“It’s more strange that they haven’t been sorted out yet. Why didn’t you find them and kill them?”
Jane whispered.
“Does she know your identity?”
“Yes. They let us join this mercenary squad.”
“Okay.”
Jane nodded his head.
When Amarion first saw him, his face was stunningly beautiful, but was now nothing to look at. Was it because she was used to it? It was amazing, considering that Victor had not been able to adapt for more than half a year.
Jane sat down next to her, and said calmly.
“Then it’s worth thinking about. It would have been finished quickly if you two had come forward.”
“…The mercenary corps do not engage in full-fledged battles when there is no leader.”
“But you two are guests.”
The knight pointed out.
“You aren’t bound by the rules of the Mercenary Corps.”
“…”
“Why are you hesitating?”
Amarion silently looked away.
The golden desert was hot. Heat boiled over the endless horizon, and black mountains rose menacingly in the distance.
Looking back at Jane, she felt a bit strange, but the knight who loved swords more than anyone else was seriously waiting for her answer.
So she was honest.
“I don’t want to kill people.”
“Even if they are evil?”
“Yes. They are all weak in my eyes.”
She bit her lip.
She thought there would be a lot of strong knights on the continent. She was a rural swordsman who grew up on the outskirts, so she didn’t have the chance to compete with many strong people like Jane.
However…
“There are more weak people in the world than I thought. The famous knights and mercenaries, maybe even those robbers.”
“…”
“And I was taught that to be a knight is to love those weaker than you. I’ve fought for people all my life. That’s why I don’t want to hurt anyone, even if they’re malicious.”
Jane was silent for a while. His pale pink eyes stared at her.
After a moment of silence, he responded.
“There are people who live according to chivalry, like you.”
“…”
“But Madame, human malice is more dangerous than monsters. It crushes those weaker than them.”
Jane looked down at his palms expressionlessly. It was strangely sad to see the expression erased from his dazzlingly beautiful face, which always had a smile on it. He slowly raised his head.
“My sister died because of that.”
“What?”
“The son of the Marquis, who ordered her to be his mistress, was ashamed that he had lost a duel with me, and that a commoner’s daughter had rejected his courtship. So he accused her of being a witch and had her burned at the stake.”
Amarion opened her eyes wide and stared at Jane. He continued slowly.
“So I snuck into his bedroom and slit his throat. The public thinks that it was done by a robber, but in the West, everyone knows it was me.”
“Sir Jane…”
“His Highness the Grand Duke knows. Still, he accepted me. You know how terrible human malice is… Well, I always get scolded for hurting his knights.”
Jane smiled faintly. Sparkling eyes turned to her.
“Compromise sometimes, Madame. Otherwise, I am afraid that the Lady will lose something precious.”
Amarion quietly bowed her head.
She seemed to know what he meant.
She was a knight, and she had lived with pity for the weak.
She always fought monsters, so that was okay.
But it was different here. It was a land where man harmed man. If she didn’t swing her sword, those men would harm those around her.
Victor, too, would continue to cross the desert, exhausted.
Amarion closed her eyes tightly.
Although she still really hated killing people, in order to properly protect what was hers, she had to cut down the wicked among the weak.
***