Pathfinder: Sacred Order - Chapter 53

In the dark of the night, Delphine moved without a sound. Her steps were light, but her movements were quick. Creeping up to the door, she opened it slowly making sure it did not creak.

It’s been a while since she was last here, but nothing changed much. Literally, the decor was the same as before, and even the way the bedrooms were laid out did not change.

When she left to walk the halls of the mansion she visited her old bedroom and found it untouched. Those books she asked her father to buy her were still there. Even the small wooden sword stayed leaning against the shelf.

Good times turned into memories. That was all she had left, memories.

Her mother abandoned her at a young age to pursue her dream. However, was she really forsaken? It was not as if she did not know who her mother was, her father talked about her all the time.

Bedtime stories were her favorite, as they were filled with events that happened in her parent’s life. She could still recall her dad’s smile when he told her how her mother and him did not get along when they were little.

Her mom looked like a boy when she was little and her father assumed her to be one, so he always competed against her. It did not help that she beat him in a duel once, and held it over him daily. That drove him mad, swearing that he would have his revenge.

Nevertheless, no matter how many stories her father spun, that’s all they were stories. Delphine never once held her mother’s hand, nor was she held in her embrace. Instead, those stories were attached to memories of her father.

It was because of him that she knew so much about her mom.

Growing up, she never dreamed of following in the same footsteps as her mother. Nor did she have the ambition to become a guard like her father. What she wanted was to be recognized for who she was, not a reminder of who she was not.

Now here she was, years later going down the same path as a person she has yet to meet.

Funny how life worked, the more she tried to be her own person the more she was becoming someone else.

Shaking her head, she needed to focus. Delphine already had a walk down memory lane earlier, no need to take another one.

Slipping into the room, she spotted the young boy sleeping without a worry in the world. His face looked innocent but she could not stop this stomach-wrenching feeling that something was off about him.

Especially when he shouted her name like that.

No one knew who her mother was besides a select few people, but all those who did were dead. So why was it that this young boy recognized her?

Delphine doubted her fame was high enough for people to identify her so easily, at least not here in this city.

Drawing her longsword from its brown sheath, she sat on the edge of the bed and placed the cold steel blade up to his neck.

It was not even long before his eyes opened, but she saw he was not afraid of her.

“You did not expect me to believe you right? Father’s journal?”

Although it was not the main reason for her to stay here, it happened to be one of the reasons. She had to know how he knew about her.

His hands moved from under the cover, as he slightly pushed the blade’s edge away.

The blade in her hand was steady, barely moving an inch.

“I just assumed you did not want anyone to know who your father was is all. This is Veronica we are talking about here, and if word got around she had a child with a guard I’m sure you can see how this would turn out for her.”

Delphine snorted.

Why should she care? Veronica’s reputation had nothing to do with her.

“Jack is trustworthy, but I figured you wanted to keep this to yourself anyhow considering you said how you came to pay respects to your father. If you did not mind as much, you would have just said his name.”

She kept her guard up, but moved her blade back a little giving him room to adjust himself.

“Nonsense, such an action does not answer how you knew who I was. Stop beating around the bush and answer me directly, or I’ll sever your head from your shoulders.”

Smiling, he almost wanted to laugh but kept it bottled up. Delphine was serious, he knew that, but the way she wanted him to speak bluntly. This was definitely his child.

“Fine. Your father is Renold, right? We had a close relationship before anyhow, he was the one that told me about you.”

Jacob was making an expression that looked as if he was saying ‘are you happy now?’.

“Why would he do such a thing? What merit is there to gain from informing you?”

Delphine’s voice was soft, barely audible. Her eyes were not focused on the young lord in the bed even if they were staring directly at him. Instead, she was questioning her father’s actions.

Just because she was speaking out loud did not mean she was talking to anyone. She was simply talking to herself.

“Our relationship was more than just that of a lord and his guard. It’s complicated because he was not only a guard, but a friend and a brother. Renold took me on as his disciple not too long ago, but sadly we never finished. If you want, I can take you to the room he trained in, unless the noble from before acquired them, his weapons should still be there.”

Half-lies and half-truths. Jacob’s emotions were wavering.

Changes happened over time, but for him who acted like a fun-loving person that worked his way into the hearts of those that worked here, he changed. Cold-hearted, using methods he would never have before.

Not caring about anyone he came across, trying to see what benefits lay ahead. When did his mindset change? When did he change?

Squeezing his hand tightly, memories came flooding back. It was such a short time, but he enjoyed his time with the people here.

However, he could only grit his teeth and keep his emotions in check.

That is what he wanted, but Delphine saw the small change in his facial expression. She had no clue as to what the young lord in front of her has been through, but she felt as if he was carrying a heavy burden.

Before she knew it, her longsword was back in its sheath.

“Ok.”

Direct with no emotion attached to her voice, she stared at him in his blue eyes.

Delphine had no reason to kill him, not after the way he spoke about Renold. The emotion that leaked out from his voice told her all she needed to know.

Jacob moved, tossing the sheet to the side. His upper body was bare, while his lower half was wearing something akin to shorts.

Delphine’s black eyes gazed over his body before she turned away. He looked young, but if she is not mistaken he is only a year or two younger than herself. Jacob had a good physique, so why was he so small?

It was a weird question to ask, but that’s what she wanted to know. Maybe the memories she had of his father were altered. She was young at the time, so she always looked up to him. However, what if he was not a tall person, but just seemed tall?

Jacob himself only grabbed a long shirt. After he put it on, the two of them left the room.

“Why were you not afraid? Do you not fear death?”

Her eyes stayed looking ahead, not once glancing at Jacob as the two of them walked the halls.

“Death awaits us all, it is just a matter of when. Also, I just had a feeling you would not take such an action.”

“A feeling huh?”

Delphine did not question it any further and only followed Jacob.

Downstairs in the room Renold took Jacob to, everything was exactly how he left it. Crates still stacked against the wall, and the weapon rack still filled with weapons.

“Here, your father’s equipment. At least what is left of it.”

Delphine seemed more like the current him, not wearing her emotions on her sleeve. Looking tough in front of others even when she was sad or hurt.

Renold was an amazing teacher, so Jacob assumed he was also a great father.

Watching Delphine, Jacob stayed silent. She ran her fingers across the weapons in the rack before she grabbed a shortsword. It was shorter than the blade she wielded, but the way she was focused on it made it look as if she were in a trance.

Her right hand reached as she clutched at something inside her shirt. It was hidden so Jacob could not tell what it was, but it had to be some sort of pendant.

After a minute or two in silence, Delphine walked away heading back upstairs.

“Did he have any regrets?”

Jacob could not help but picture that last scene of Renold. He was courageous enough to drop his weapon to save his lord’s life, even if Oswald would not keep his words.

“No. I do not believe he did.”

“That’s good.”

Following her, she went outside and walked a distance away until she arrived at the tree Jacob used to swing the axe at. Still sturdy.

Placing her hand on the trunk of the tree, Delphine looked up at the night sky. Stars were bunched together, and the moon’s light shined down. It was a beautiful sight to see, and with the slight breeze, her long auburn hair gently flowed.

The hand that held the short sword moved, as Delphine stabbed the sword into the ground. Now, it was embedded into the ground right in front of the tree.

Jacob could have sworn he saw a tear stream down her cheek, but before he could double-check, Delphine turned her face and walked away.

In a situation like this, he was expecting a little background into her past and the relationship she shared with Renold. It just seemed natural to share those memories with others after he passed. However, she kept those stories to herself.

As he watched her back fade, Jacob wondered if he made her heart frozen. He knew she was a cold person, that’s how he wrote her. But, for her to try and keep her tears in just pained him.

Seeing a character he designed in the flesh, he imagined it would be Veronica or Albert. Yet, his first encounter was Delphine. If she was like this, then what were the other two like?