Chapter 6. Jealousy (8)
Now doubts were arising about all those things. He had been chosen. Why? He had been trained. For what reason? Were all the things he had believed to be God’s will truly God’s will? Were all the things he had thought were right truly right? Had he perhaps been forced to believe so?
On one hand, disgust toward himself for daring to doubt surged up. How could he harbor such questions? Was his faith this lacking? He had fallen to Satan’s temptation. Do not be shaken by such a small test. You foolish and stupid one. He could hear a voice inside reproaching himself.
Eckart buried his face in his palms. A painful groan leaked out.
If… if what he had believed all this time was not God but a human, and like others, a sinner who had committed sins… what should he do?
Should he follow his lord as a knight, or should he follow those teachings as a servant of God?
Either way, it was an undeniable fact that he was going against someone’s will, which made it even more agonizing. In a situation where he was hiding a sinner who violated scripture and even feeling deep sexual love for that sinner, there was only one path he could choose.
To receive the punishment befitting the sins he had committed, just like other sinners.
‘But then Ronen…’
If he was imprisoned or something, he could no longer help him. But he didn’t want to put him on trial or send him back to the Grand Duke either. He wanted Ronen to be safe. Even if not by himself, he wanted someone to save him.
The young boy who had wanted to flee even to the battlefield. When that pitiful gesture came to mind, it hurt as if someone was slowly slicing his heart thin. He felt like he might go mad from pity. He didn’t want to let go of that hand again, to see him dragged into a living hell before his eyes.
What on earth should he do about this situation? If someone could protect Ronen in his place… That someone would be…
Eckart was contemplating repeatedly when he thought of a face and was about to rise. The air changed subtly, stimulating Eckart’s sensitive senses.
Eckart turned around and looked around. The darkness that had invaded the forest had drawn a curtain, blocking everything except an inch ahead. For a moment, lightning spreading across the sky briefly illuminated the forest. From beyond what seemed empty, figures began to reveal themselves one by one.
One of them was someone Eckart knew well.
“Is the reason you’re so careful because you’re hiding something? Sir Eckart.”
Just as Eckart’s instincts had been warning, Grand Duke Canis had indeed tracked and followed him. Soldiers narrowed the distance to match the Grand Duke’s steps, slowly beginning to surround and encircle their prey.
Prey. Eckart released the horse’s reins and instead firmly gripped his sword hilt. Even the fierce lightning that shook the forest again couldn’t dispel the sharp tension. Rather, it was pulled even more taut, making even breathing difficult.
“To dare hide Ronen and then brazenly lie to my face… So the reputation of being a faithful holy knight was false. Doesn’t your God teach not to steal others’ things, not to speak falsehoods?”
At the Grand Duke’s words, Eckart’s hand tightened further. Click, the sound of the sword sliding out of its sheath was small but clear. Eckart immediately entered combat stance without making any excuses.
How he had found out didn’t matter. He had already been discovered. The Grand Duke being here meant he essentially knew where Ronen was.
He couldn’t let him go like this. He couldn’t let him take Ronen away again. Ronen with shackles on his ankles, preserved alive like taxidermy, reduced to a plaything and slowly dying… he didn’t even want to imagine it.
“Oh my. To come out like this, such confidence or arrogance… Of course, I won’t stop you from meeting an honorable death as a knight.”
Before he knew it, soldiers had positioned themselves around Eckart. No matter how outstanding his skills and great his contributions to war, this wasn’t a battlefield, and there were no soldiers who would move at Eckart’s command. Taking on multiple swords alone wouldn’t be easy.
When the Grand Duke drew his sword, the soldiers each gripped weapons in their hands. Watching this, Eckart also drew his sword from its sheath.
“I thought you’d call it cowardly, but you’re accepting the situation quite meekly.”
“…Would you withdraw if I said so?”
It was the first time Eckart had spoken. To this, the Grand Duke twisted his lips upward and said:
“As if.”
Perhaps thinking he couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, as soon as the Grand Duke signaled, they all rushed at once. Swords clashed against swords, and the screams of metal rang out continuously in the quiet forest.
Since they could accidentally wound friendly swords, they couldn’t all attack at once, and Eckart didn’t miss the moment when they hesitated to avoid each other’s swords, piercing through the gap between soldiers.
“Argh!”
The sound of a sharp blade penetrating through gaps in armor and piercing flesh was raw. But it was brief. Eckart, who instantly withdrew his sword, turned toward a soldier rushing at him from behind and sliced his leg. With a horrifying sound, another soldier fell.
Eckart’s attacks were so swift and precise they were hard to follow with the eyes. While avoiding soldiers charging at him, he blocked incoming swords, deflected the soldiers’ force while swinging his sword to cut off an arm. At his achieving the best results with minimal, efficient movements, the Grand Duke’s face twisted even more savagely.
Drops of rain began to leave marks on the increasingly red-stained ground. The raindrops that had been falling one or two at a time quickly thickened. Soon it poured as if the sky was collapsing, making everything hazy, and muddy water splashed high every time he kicked off the ground and leaped.
Rainwater mixed with blood flowed in all directions. Already several soldiers had suffered serious injuries that made it difficult to grip or swing their swords. The three soldiers confronting Eckart also had their momentum broken and couldn’t easily charge.
Having no choice, the Grand Duke also joined the chaotic situation. When he charged with his sword, Eckart blocked his attack. The moment they clashed, the Grand Duke already felt Eckart’s extraordinary strength, but he didn’t yield easily. It was a contest of strength and skill.
During several exchanges, Eckart’s back became defenseless, and one soldier quickly swung at him. Eckart avoided the sword with animal-like movement, but it was too much to completely deflect the Grand Duke’s snake-like sword as well. A long wound formed on Eckart’s cheek and blood seeped out. Rather than being washed away by the rainwater, it spread, staining his collar with blood.
Though Eckart seemed momentarily cornered, he calmly faced the soldier’s and Grand Duke’s swords. When he should have been losing strength, he instead pressed harder, not missing even brief wavering and aiming for openings.
Before long, the Grand Duke’s breathing had become rough. His sword-gripping hand throbbed. But more than that, the rage filling him to the top of his head tormented him more. It had been a mistake to mock that his victory in war was due to his tactics working, that being called the angel of death was just an exaggerated heroic narrative.
Still, he hadn’t lost his judgment. Subdue Eckart and get Ronen back. With only that one goal, he threw away unnecessary pride and formalities, which allowed him to choose cowardly means.
But how was it? The Grand Duke already knew. The fact that Eckart wasn’t killing the soldiers. Though they were wounded, they still clung to life, letting out pained groans. That meant Eckart was showing mercy, and nothing could be more unpleasant than this.
How dare a mere knight. How dare a dog of the Papal Court. Low curses slipped through the Grand Duke’s teeth.
“Seeing how desperate you are, it’s certain you’ve hidden Ronen, Eckart. So it would be better to kill me. If you run away, I’ll chase you to the end. If you don’t run away, I’ll tell the Papal Court everything about this, and then you who dared hide a sinner… will be excommunicated.”
He would never give up. As long as he lived, he would somehow get Ronen back and hold him in his hands again. Without fail.
Even under the Grand Duke’s fierce glare, Eckart only tightened his grip on his sword. Blood vessels and tendons stood out on the back of his hand and arm. His face remained cool and calm, but his eyes were no less piercing than the Grand Duke’s.
The Grand Duke swung his arm again. The Grand Duke’s sword, which clashed head-on with Eckart’s sword, couldn’t withstand that force and shattered completely. From that impact, the Grand Duke lost his grip on his sword and staggered, completely exposing an opening to Eckart.
That was the Grand Duke’s last memory.
***
Eckart’s face looked somehow confused as he entered the room. Ronen spotted Eckart looking like a drowned rat and widened his eyes.
“You…”
Ronen, who had been worried he might be caught in the sudden downpour, looked up bewildered at Eckart, who had returned soaked through in this cold weather.
Eckart strode over and hurriedly began untying the cord that bound Ronen’s wrist. Water droplets falling from him pooled drop by drop on Ronen’s face. Unaware that water droplets flowing down his white cheeks were hanging from his chin, Ronen grasped Eckart’s hand. Due to his cold body temperature, Eckart’s body was trembling slightly.
“You’ll get sick like this. First you should take off your clothes…”
Ronen’s words didn’t continue to the end. It was because a flash of lightning revealed Eckart’s neat and sharp face pale white. Only then did Ronen discover the sword wound on Eckart’s cheek and drew in a breath. Now that he looked, his upper clothing was also stained red all over.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
