The newcomer was draped in a pure black cloak, his tall figure casting shadows over the entire inn under the candlelight.
The usually bustling hall fell into an eerie silence at his arrival, as adventurers and merchants bowed their heads, their eyes filled with awe as they watched the imposing knight appear.
The man was a knight, wearing a suit of silver-white chainmail under his black cloak, etched with complex magical runes. The cloak hid half of his face, revealing only a clean-shaven jawline with a scar near his throat, vicious and terrifying, suggesting the wound had nearly claimed his life.
At the knight's waist hung a greatsword, a meter and forty centimeters long, over twenty centimeters wide, and about two fingers thick, known as the Crusher of Realms. It was a heavy alloy sword weighing 326 pounds — when converted to former weights, this sword exceeded 300 pounds. The force of its swing could match that of an oversized club, capable of easily smashing any armor or bone.
The name Crusher of Realms was thus earned!
Anyone bearing the Crusher of Realms must at least be in the later stages of the Silver Domain, having undergone the second Elemental Transformation based on the power of faith. Just a few steps away from advancing to a Sacred Coffin Knight.
Dried blood and a few strands of flesh blurred on the handle of the Crusher of Realms indicated that its master had just been through a battle—a slaughter, to be precise. Felix was certain of this because the mysterious knight's hair was impeccably in place.
An invisible aura formed by the knight's faith surrounded him. Felix's elemental sensing waves were repelled upon nearing him, leaving Felix to guess his strength based on feeling alone.
The tall knight first fixed his gaze on Felix, or more precisely, on the angel sister by his side. After confirming she posed no threat, his scrutiny moved to the inn's adventurers and merchants.
To everyone's surprise, the mighty knight bowed humbly, lowered his head towards someone outside the door, and said, "My lady, there are no serpents here."
"My lady?"
Felix's pupils shrank in shock, waves of disbelief churning inside him. What kind of lady could command such a formidable knightly follower? Even after over a hundred years of the Fairmuth family's operation, Felix was sure that not even Count Visak had such a powerful knight at his side.
Which lady from the Titans Empire could command a knight on the verge of entering the Golden Dominion?
Felix remained outwardly calm, sitting with a plate of golden-brown roasted lamb leg before him. He sliced a piece from the top, sprinkled it with finely prepared salt, and chewed it thoughtfully.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
But his mind and attention had shifted to the doorway at the first chance, his eyes casually sweeping past the inn's entrance. He wanted to know what kind of woman could have a Silver knight as a follower.
A woman with an exceptionally tall figure walked in slowly. She was wrapped in a gray-brown robe that concealed her entire figure in shadows, with only a glimpse of a smooth, white, and sharp chin visible.
The hem of her long robe peeked out from underneath, stained with mud and speckles of blood, but she seemed not to mind at all. She glanced around the inn and then locked eyes with Felix, lifting the edge of her skirt slightly as she walked towards him with a relaxed and graceful step.
She was the first woman whose elegance Felix could sense without even seeing her face.
The noblewoman unknown to him came to sit beside Felix, pulling out a chair and sitting down with poise and composure as if everything were a matter of course. Her absolute demeanor and the illusion of being above all made Felix feel a tinge of unease.
The mysterious woman gently pushed back her hood, leaned forward to inspect the golden, crispy lamb leg, her delicate nose twitching slightly. Then she looked up at Felix with a tranquil smile and said softly, "It seems to taste good."
The woman who shocked Felix peeled off her snowy white silk gloves and took the carving knife from his right side, cutting a piece from the middle of the roasted golden-brown lamb leg. It seemed she preferred her food on the lighter side; she didn't sprinkle it with fine salt but simply dabbed a bit of sauce on it before tearing off a small piece and placing it in her mouth.
If Felix were to tell you that a woman holding a piece of lamb in her left hand, gently tearing off a piece with her right, then eating it — an action not fitting the usual poise of a refined lady — gave him the illusion of grace, would you think he had gone mad?
The mysterious woman had pale blue hair, smooth and flowing, a rarity that added to her beauty. Her face was tender and delicate, like a vulnerable young girl, whose occasional sadness was endearing. Her deep blue eyes were as pure and vast as the ocean itself — the windows to her soul, the first to ever give Felix a sense of vastness.
The first woman to make Felix think of the sea, of mermaids...
Felix chose silent contemplation, as in the presence of this mysterious woman, he felt an uncharacteristic pressure. Surprisingly, the usually erratic angel sister, who seemed fearless, also chose silence.
The woman seemed really hungry as she quickly finished her piece of lamb, elegantly wiping her hands clean with a napkin. She licked her shiny lips, a small gesture that sent Felix's heart racing before pounding like a drum.
Holding onto a hint of satisfaction, the mysterious woman picked up the crystal glass Felix had used, which contained the Ortlandy wine he brought, a private vintage cherished by Lady Elizabeth.
She sipped from the side of the glass untouched by Felix's lips, then raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Thirty is the age when it's easiest for a woman to gain weight. For the sake of beauty, a woman should learn to practice restraint."
"By the way, this wine is quite good. If I'm not mistaken, it's from Ortlandy, isn't it?"
Felix nodded but was at a loss for words.
A knight in full armor approached from behind them, a strong smell of blood invading Felix's nostrils, nauseating.
"Angels shouldn't linger in the human realm. That's the order, the rule," the mysterious woman said, lifting her head to gaze at the startled angel as she set down the crystal glass.
She raised her right hand, and suddenly, a dark red card appeared in her snowy palm, its back intricate with tarot-like magical runes, its face depicting an image within the card's diamond suit. There was a sea, an island, and a mermaid trapped on the island, wearing a snow-white sheer gown...
What shocked Felix was that the mermaid's face was almost identical to that of the woman before him!
The woman slowly stood up, looking down at the silent Angela, and said faintly, "Return, or be exiled. You have one night to decide."