Chapter 63 - The Warrior Maid (Part 1)

Kinue:

I was so scared, sitting in the dark corner of that place. My friend had left me behind, and I was terrified for him. I knew Nathan could fight, and I knew about the plan he had come up with, but I was still scared.

“I… I’m so weak…” I whispered, crying.

The door opened, and a soft blue light illuminated the room.

“Nathan?” I asked.

My friend approached me.

“It’s okay, I told you I would handle it. You don’t need to worry, Kinue.” He came closer.

I hid my tear-stained face in my hands.

“I promised myself that I would never lose something precious again, and I won’t let you go through that either,” he said.

He stood up and reached out his hand to me.

“I told you, remember? You have a divine favor from me, and because of that, I will always help you.”

Nathan pulled me up by the hand and guided me through the darkness of the cellar, his hand glowing with a blue light that lit our way.

“You have the Light Element; shouldn’t you be the one illuminating the way?” he asked with a laugh.

“I’m too nervous…” I murmured.

We climbed the stairs out of the cellar.

“Kinue, I need you to close your eyes,” he said with a serious tone.

I obeyed, and he guided me as we reached the top of the stairs.

“Hold my hand; I’ll lead you. No matter what happens, don’t open your eyes…”

I walked with him, but I could sense exactly what was around us.

“What’s in this room?”

My friend paused for a moment.

“Bodies…” he said.

Hearing that made me even more anxious.

“You could’ve lied…”

“You can smell the blood, can’t you?”

“Yes, but I still didn’t want to know you did something like this…”

Nathan continued to guide me, and I kept my eyes closed the entire time.

“Kinue, you can’t let anyone hurt what’s precious to you. I did this to prove to you that even at 8 years old, I could do it. You have a good heart, and I don’t want to see a good soul like yours destroyed by this world.”

I heard his words, but I couldn’t imagine doing something like that—I didn’t have the courage.

“I… I’m weak,” I said.

“You’re 10 years old and can use one of the rarest elements in the world. On top of that, you’re a demi-human with greater strength than mine, and in the future, you’ll have a beast form… I wish I were that kind of ‘weak.’ My little arms and physical strength don’t even come close to yours,” he said, teasing.

Even in that terrifying situation, my friend joked and comforted me. We kept walking, and I never opened my eyes, even though my sense of smell revealed the scene around me.

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Thank you so much, Nathan. I’m glad you and Chloe were my first friends.

Nathan Evenhart:

I guided my little friend out of that place.

“You can open your eyes now,” I said softly.

Kinue opened her eyes and saw where we were: outside that large house. The air was heavy, but at least we were out of immediate danger.

In the distance, Martha was spinning her spear with lethal precision. She took down a man with a swift strike. Another soldier approached, but Martha deflected his sword with her spear, then planted the spear firmly into the ground. Using the leverage, she spun her body with agility, delivering a powerful kick that brought the soldier down.

With a fluid motion, she freed the spear from the ground and drove its point into the head of the fallen soldier, before using the other end to take down a man trying to approach from behind.

Martha spun her spear again, with the grace of a dancer, knocking out two more soldiers with precise blows to the head. One of them fell with a fatal wound.

She rushed toward another man, planted the spear into the ground again, and with a spinning kick, she brought him down. With an agile motion, she repositioned the spear and drove it into the man’s leg, immobilizing him.

“Is that Martha? She’s really good…” Kinue murmured, impressed by the warrior’s skill.

“I think it’s better if you don’t watch this…” I said to the fox girl, worried about what was coming next.

One person tried to flee toward the forest, but Martha saw him. With a quick gesture, she pointed her hands and fired water needles that struck the man’s back, bringing him down.

“Water Coffin!” she shouted, and a large amount of water surged from her feet, forming a huge bubble around the man, trapping him inside.

“A fo-forbidden spell!” Kinue gasped, shocked.

Martha snapped her fingers, and the water bubble began to constrict. Within seconds, blood started to mix with the water, turning it red.

She crushed him…

When the water bubble collapsed, the man was dead, his body completely mangled. Martha then turned her attention to the butler, who was still wounded in the leg. Spinning her spear, she struck the butler’s head with the handle, knocking him out.

“Young master!” she called out to me.

Martha ran over to us.

“Are you two hurt?”

“I’m not,” Kinue replied.

I was about to answer, but Martha knelt down and began checking my body.

“I’m not hurt either,” I said.

“And this blood?” she asked, lifting my shirt and checking for injuries.

“It’s not mine…” I replied.

She looked at me and sighed in relief. Our guardian pulled us into a hug.

“What you did was very risky, young master. I couldn’t interact much because I noticed you were being followed, but it was still dangerous.”

I had made a specific hand signal to Martha when I bought the paper and pen, a signal we had been taught. I left a note in a trash can explaining that we should allow ourselves to be captured. Martha had been following us through the forest, and Chloe ran toward her.

I could only catch that bastard if I had proof of him committing a crime.

Nobles are protected by the law and aren’t easily judged. Even though I come from a superior noble family, I couldn’t act against another noble since noble crimes are judged by the kingdom.

“But what about Chloe?” Kinue asked.

“She’s safe with other maids in that house in the forest, don’t worry.”

Kinue looked at me and Martha, puzzled by our calmness.

“We do a simulated kidnapping training every month,” Martha said.

“When I was 5, it was every week…” I added.

Kinue looked shocked.

"How did you become so strong?" Kinue asked Martha.

"I was trained from a young age, but it’s better if I don’t go into details," she replied, patting Kinue’s head.

Martha then looked at me.

"And that noble?"

"I left him alive; we can bring him to trial now," I said.

Martha crouched down to my level.

"Even though I’m proud of your growth, unfortunately, we can’t do anything about it."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"What he did was criminal, but we can’t go through the kingdom’s legal channels and denounce him. You, Kinue, and Chloe would be exposed in court as witnesses, and right now, Lady Margaery and Lady Katherine don’t want to draw attention to you."

I was deeply disappointed by what I had just heard.

"Then let’s... kill him," I said.

"You know we can’t act against a noble without bringing him to trial first. The Age of Assassins is over; we’re in the..."

"Age of Diplomacy," I finished her sentence.

It would draw too much attention if a political noble were assassinated on our lands...

I thought about what that man said to me about being a baron, and I felt anger rising within me.

Martha stood up and looked at the house.

"What happened here will be kept secret by both them and us. I doubt they’ll go to the authorities to report that the people they kidnapped escaped. The best thing we can do is leave. I’ll report this incident to your aunt, and she’ll keep an eye on them."

Martha walked over to the unconscious butler.

"Did anyone see you using your thunder element?" she asked me.

"No one, but they saw Kinue using magic," I replied.

She thought for a few seconds.

"I doubt they could identify my element; I barely managed to use my magic," Kinue added.

"It’s best if you avoid the city for a while until the noble returns to his duchy," Martha advised.

Kinue and I nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure the noble is still alive?" Martha asked.

"I’m sure. I swear I didn’t kill him. I just knocked him out."

She started walking towards the house.

"You don’t believe me?" I asked.

"It’s not that. I’m just going to break his hands. I need to leave a message, at least."

I scratched my head, unsure of what to say to her.

"I already did that..."

The maid looked at me and let out a laugh.