The descendants of Ygraine were not human. They had eyes, noses, limbs, and a beating heart, but to the public, they were not human. They were nothing more than something in the shape of a human.
The public is cruel to "others". They deserve to be hurt. They can cry. They deserve to have their limbs torn off. Woe to the witch's offspring. Woe to the cursed bloodline!
But the moment Enri threw himself to save Tarik, Enri was no longer "others". Not a single person in the stands now wanted him to get hurt.
"Look at that kid's heart. Isn't it as fine as his face?"
"How can a witch's offspring be like that?"
"Who says a character has to follow blood? Look at our neighbors, the head of the family is an asshole, but the daughter is a sweetheart."
"But... if that's the case, then why does the Fey family have a saint festival every year..."
The seeds of doubt that Edulis had planted in the public mind began to sprout. At the same time, the authority of the Fey family began to waver. Tarik was blindsided, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"What's going on? Why is everyone cursing me? I'm the descendant of a hero, and I'm supposed to be defeating the witch's offspring!
He wanted to be popular, he wanted to be on the lips of the people, but how did he end up being pointed at by everyone? Tarik looked around the room, unable to pick himself up off the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes from shame and embarrassment. That's when Enri reached out to him.
"Are you okay?"
Tarik looked up at Enri. It was the first time since the festival began. He looked Enri in the face. His silvery eyes peeked out from beneath long lashes. Enri was a boy with a face almost as pretty as Kurzina's. His long, slender fingers were like lily petals in full bloom.
"Take my hand."
Tarik stared at Enri's face and then at his hand, and then he took it. Enri's body heat was transmitted to Tarik's hand.
At that moment, Tarik understood why the crowd was pointing at him, and what he was doing. He didn't understand. Why did he want to kill this boy? How could it be fun to watch this innocent boy suffer?
Eventually, Tarik stood up and shouted."We lost."
Tarik walked off the field and returned to the waiting room. Inside, the head of the Fey family, Kindatu, and Tarik's father, Dumuzi, were waiting.
"Tarik, I assume you know what you did?"
Tarik didn't respond.
"You are too fast for a week in solitary confinement. Reflect on your mistakes in the dark and cramped cell!
"I understand my mistakes, but..."
Turning to Dumuzi, Tarik asked.
"Father, what crime have those kids committed?"
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The Fey family estates have a high tax rate compared to the rest of the country. The only other region that comes close is Kaldura. Despite this, there is little resistance to taxation because the Fei family rules the land. They are the descendants of the hero Bosha after all.
The Fey's authority is derived from the hero vs. witch narrative. That's why they keep the descendants of witches in Kaldura, and why they're invoked at every saint's festival. The presence of the witches' descendants reminds the public that the Fey are the descendants of heroes. House Fey officers, including Kindatu, understood that deeply.
In that sense, Kindatu was not happy with the current situation. It was bad enough that the crowd was siding with the descendants of Ygraine, but now Tarik was questioning the saint system.
"Dumuzi, how did you educate your children?!"
"My Lord, I apologize."
"The goal of education is to cultivate pride in being the descendant of a hero, and hatred of witches, and this child is lacking in neither!"
I have no excuse. I'll make my foolish son read books over and over again."
"Let's see about that."
Kindatu was displeased. The opening ceremony and the first round of the competition had both become a mess. Someone had deliberately ruined it. Someone had tampered with the paintings. Someone who taught the descendants of witches how to sword.
'It was probably one of them, but... how...'
Kindatu watched Enri leap. It was a move he remembered. He'd read about it in a secret library that only the head of the family could enter. It was a pictorial record of a sword technique used by a Black Fang mercenary captain. Enri's leap was undoubtedly the same as the one in the book– the one used by the 'real' mercenary captain, Bosha!
The Black Fang Mercenaries had scattered to the winds after their leader's death. It wasn't something that could be copied from a picture, it had to be practiced, so how could a descendant of Ygraine suddenly be using Bosha's methods?
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Dumuzi, I want you to take dozens of people you trust and search the grounds of the manor...no, I want you to scour the entirety of Vaidor."
"Yes? Understood, but what do you want me to look for?"
"Anyone with a skin color, hair color, or eye color I haven't seen before, anyone with a strange accent, anyone with a peculiar way of acting, anything suspicious, now!"
It was Kindatu's opinion that an outsider who had inherited the Black Fang swordsmanship had infiltrated Vaidor. He wasn't wrong, but he hadn't expected to find him among the children.
Dumuzi hurried away when he heard Kindatu's command. Kindatu muttered to himself, pinching his brow.
"At least the other two are trustworthy."
The festival of saints is held three times a day. As much as he would have liked to stop them, Kindatu knew better than to tamper with such a sacred event.
Still, he trusted that the next two festivals would be uneventful. He trusted the children. They were far more skilled than Tarik, and once they had defeated the witch's offspring, Kindatu could step in and calm the people with some plausible deniability. That was the plan...
But then something happened. Yug hadn't even put up a fight. When his opponent, Harsh, swung his sword, Yug threw down his hammer and declared defeat.
"What are you doing!"
Kindatu shouted at Yug as he returned from the waiting room. Yug replied.
"I apologize. My skills were not up to par. I accept my punishment.."
No one in the Fey household wasn't afraid of Lord Kindatu. Especially the children. A mere glance was enough to make them tremble, but there was a strange certainty in Yug's eyes now. He looked triumphant, despite declaring defeat.t.
"Punishment?! So, that was your wish! That's why you did such a thing! All right, I'll show you what punishment looks like, handed down by the lord himself!"
Kindatu shouted in a voice like a lion roaring, but Yug was not afraid in the least. What is there to fear, when the true light of the goddess Lutea is with you?!
"Ha... How did the children of the Fey family end up like this? Raghad, you're the only one I can trust. Go and appease the crowd."
"...Yes."
Raghad's steps were heavy. His usual swagger was gone. Every couple of steps toward the arena, he looked back. He saw the face of his father, Ashur. He could see the face of Lord Kindatu. He had once dreamed of being like them...
Standing in the center of the stadium, Raghad looked back at the crowd. Many people were chanting his name. Show your strength, Raghad! Pride of the Fey family! As he listened, he suddenly had a question.
"Why am I standing here?
He felt like he was floating on air. He had always thought it was an honor to perform, but now that his faith was gone, he felt as if he were nothing more than a pawn. Fighting for the gamblers' money. Fighting for the false honor of his family. What's the difference between the two?
He couldn't figure out what the last 15 years of his life had meant. Fifteen years filled with lies. Who was this man, Raghad, now that those fifteen years were gone?
Raghad looked straight ahead. A silver-haired girl with a white curved sword stared at him, trembling. Her name was Methena, and she was small and slender for her age. An unfortunate child who did not have what she deserved.
Raghad took a step toward her. Methena's grip on the sword tightened.
As he took another step, Methena lowered her stance and prepared to leap. Still, Raghad did not raise his sword. His hand on the sword was weak.
The crowd roared: Why is he doing nothing? Is he going to give up the game like Yug? That's what they were saying.
"Kill me," Raghad said to Methena. Then he closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Night. West of the grounds of the Fey family manor. A figure walked up the stairs of a half-rotted wooden building. The stairs were very old, but they didn't creak with his peculiar gait; the sound of his footsteps was drowned out by the rustling of the grass.
Nothing but silence. Reaching the top of the stairs, he cautiously pushed open the door, and a chilling sensation clung to his neck. The chill of the blade crawled up his neck.
"Damn, that's nasty."
As he muttered, a voice came from the other side of the knife.
"Edulis! Edulis! You were right, the assassin is here!"
"The children are sleeping. Be quiet, Aruru."
Hearing the voice, he removed his hood. The face of a young boy was revealed.
"You expected an assassin? So you're the leader of these children after all, the madman who broke down the gate. Edulis, the one hanging on the cross."
"You're not an assassin. What do you want?"
"If you don't mind, put the knife away, I've come to make a deal with you."
Edulis withdrew the knife from the boy's throat. Though, he had a pretty good idea of what he wanted, because his eyes glowed red.
"My name is Ishkur. I'm not from this family, actually. I have a plan to get out of here without them catching me... and I need people like you to help me. Help me out, friends.."
Edulis recognized the name Ishkur. He was supposed to be his opponent in tomorrow's tournament. Whereas Raghad had thick limbs and a large build, Ishkur's limbs were slender and long. His tone was uncharacteristically light as if he were speaking to a merchant's son.
"You are an Ascidian, I see."
"Oh, how do you know that? That's right, I'm a 'real' Ascidian, and I want to go to the Ascidian coast, but I can't go alone... I'm a bit weak."
Ishkur giggled. Edulis couldn't understand what was so funny. Every Ascidian he'd met as Bosha had looked like that. They all looked like they were missing a screw somewhere.
"You want me to come with you? What's in it for us?"
"There's quite a bit to gain. For one thing... the real assassins will be here soon, and you'll need to get the hell out of here, and I know a way to do it without being seen. That's not all. I have secret connections in the Upper West as well. If you cooperate with me, you can make a living as a bodyguard for the elite, and I'm skilled in dyeing magic, so I can hide both your hair and eye color."
"That's a lot of advantages."
"Right? It's a mutually beneficial deal. If it weren't for the current situation, I would have charged you guys some money."
Ishkur laughed and gestured toward the door. "There's no reason to refuse, right? Well, there isn't. So, let's wake the kids up and run."
But Edulis shook his head.
"What is it, Edulis? What's wrong?"
"We're not running away from here."
As Edulis spoke, Ishkur's face hardened.
"Great... confidence! Confidence is good! I'm always in a trance because I lack confidence! But you know what, my friend, we're up against people that are bad news. Raghad's father Ashur, Tarik's father Dumuzi, and my stepfather Dersh are coming. All three are skilled individuals within the Fey family's five fingers.."
"So?"
"So?! So... Well... you're not a normal crazy person, are you? I came here thinking I was a moderately crazy person. I can already hear Velox hooves outside... Well, then there's nothing we can do.
Ishkur reached into his bosom and pulled out a handful of matches. Magick surged from his body, and all of the hundreds of matches ignited. Ishkur threw the matches to the ground.
"Set aside your confidence. Velox is afraid of fire, so let's all run around happily while the house is burning. Hey! Everyone, stop sleeping and wake up..."
Ishkur was about to shout, but Edulis clamped his hand over his mouth. A chill ran across the floor. The hundreds of matches on the floor went out, leaving only a hollow puff of smoke like a winter's sigh.
Ishkur narrowed his eyes. Edulis's limbs were still ringed with magic stones. But how did he use magic?
Edulis spoke over Ishkur's gaping mouth.
"They need to sleep, don't wake them unnecessarily."
Eventually, Velox's hoofbeat sounds came to a halt. Outside the building, a sense of presence began to be felt.