“WHAT? WHO SAID WE WERE — WERE…” Abrial’s face boiled crimson at the thought. Her voice was so high pitched it sounded like a whistle. “FOOLING AROUND?”
She’d bellowed so loudly that everyone in the tent was staring at them now. Next to her, Finley didn’t look much better, her pale-as-snow face frozen stiff.
Instructor Wei cleared his throat again, looking extremely awkward.
“Perhaps it was just a rumor. Please excuse my intrusion on your private affairs. I will be leaving now.”
Quick as the wind, Instructor Wei escaped from the tent, and the tent flaps flipped closed behind him.
Abrial couldn’t look at Finley. She was so…so…She didn’t even know what the hell she felt!
Embarrassed?!
Mortified?!
Wanting to dig a hole and hide there for ten years?!
Who had spread a rumor like that around camp so diligently that even the refined, respected, and revered Instructor Wei had heard it?! And on top of that, how did that rumor even make any sense in the first place? How could they ‘fool around’ in the middle of the freaking infirmary tent? Abrial’s face burned like a thousand suns at the thought.
She couldn’t look at Finley, so she just sat on the table with her face buried in her hands, as if that hid her from the world.
Not a moment later, someone new burst into the infirmary, his bright grin blinding everyone who laid eyes on him. Collectively, all of the women in the tent sighed.
“Hullo all!” greeted Niklas, sending a charming wave. “Might I ask, are the lovely Han Abrial and Finley Fellner here?”
A female healer eagerly brought him over to the two young women.
“Many thanks,” Niklas winked at the healer. She flushed scarlet and ran away.
Abrial thought she would barf. No, she didn’t think it — she turned and retched, forcing herself to keep it down.
“Hello, ladies!” Niklas sat himself at their table, resting both his elbows on it like it was just some footstool. Though, Abrial couldn’t really criticize his lack of manners. She had just sat on top of the table herself without a thought.
“Hello, Sir Niklas,” Finley greeted mildly.
“...Hi,” Abrial managed, forcing the involuntary scowl off her still-red face.
Niklas leaned over the table with the serious, yet excited expression of an old maid who had just heard the most juicy gossip.
“Before a few days ago, I was almost entirely sure you two had the hots for each other…But now, it’s been confirmed. I heard the rumors, and…”
He slammed his hand down on the table in excitement.
“I was impressed! Missing the company of each other’s arms so much you put up screens to rendezvous in the middle of the infirmary tent? What an admirable, romantic, to-die-for love story!”
SLAM!
The whole tent went quiet.
Abrial had slammed her fist down onto the wooden table, sending more than a few cracks down its wood.
“Y-You,” she growled, her face bright red. “What the hell are you talking about, you old gossip? If you don’t have anything better to do than follow around silly rumors, we’re not gonna talk to you!”
“All right, all right!” Niklas raised his hands in surrender, looking fearful at Abrial’s furious outburst. But the fear didn’t last for long. A sly smile suddenly curved his lips. “But may I ask first, why you said it that way? ‘We’re’ not going to to talk? Are you two united in one? Do you speak for each o — ”
Abrial raised her other fist to smash down on the table. Niklas laughed nervously, waving his hands.
“Ah, all right, all right! I won’t talk about it anymore! The real reason I came here was for camp business!”
“What kind of camp business?” Abrial spat. She didn’t know why she felt so furious. Actually, it didn’t really feel like anger…was that…embarrassment?
Why the hell should she be embarrassed?! It’s not like that rumor was true or something!
Meanwhile, Niklas quirked an eyebrow, flashing Finley a look that said, Can’t you calm her down? Finley merely gave him a cool gaze and blinked. He sighed. Leaning over the table, he muttered in a low voice:
“I came to ask the two of you to join the Wei raiding regiment, to help out with the upcoming raid.”
“What?!” Suddenly, Abrial was all ears. The embarrassed flush on her face transformed into a glow of excited ment, and her eyes shone with stars, like she’d forgotten the rumors entirely. She’d been wanting to get in on the raiding regiment’s action for so long, and now Niklas was inviting her? Awesome!
“That’s right. Old Guang-er has raved to me about both of your skills. To be specific, he goes on and on about Abrial’s blade fighting, and he and Bi Gho can’t stop talking about Finley’s healing and natural magic feats. Old Guang-er doesn’t compliment people randomly; you’ve got to both be very high-level in your fields. And…after the last raid a month ago, we…lost some raiders. So we need to fill their spots in the formation.”
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“You lost some people? They died? It’s that dangerous?” Abrial spluttered.
Niklas looked grim, a strange expression to see on that always-grinning face of his.
“No one died…but many came close. While there’s always the risk of death at the hands of the Emperor’s guards when we raid a magicians’ prison, our team is highly skilled. To this day, I’ve never watched anyone in the raiding regiment die on a mission. But…last time, the situation was different.”
“What kind of different? What made it so dangerous?” Abrial pried. She remembered suddenly how some of the raiding regiment members were limping as they re-entered the camp all those weeks ago. So they had been injured, just hiding it! For morale, or something?
Grimly, Niklas scanned their surroundings. He gestured with his head towards the few beds at the other end of the tent, which were enclosed by screens so that no one could see the patients within.
“See those beds over there?”
“Yeah, what about them?”
“They’re from the raiding regiment. They’ve been recovering for a month now, and it looks like they won’t be out of bed any time soon. They were injured by White Mask, Blue Sword.”
Abrial frowned. “What’s that? Sounds like a poem.”
Finley interjected with an explanation. Her voice was steady and knowledgeable: “White Mask, Blue Sword is the well-known nickname for the right-hand man of the Emperor, also known as Li Hui. He is called so because he wears a white jade mask over his eyes to obscure his face, and wields a sword that reflects blue light that is said to move more swiftly than the Guan river.”
“That’s right,” Niklas agreed, suddenly cheerful. “You’re quite the knowledgeable young lady, Finley Fellner! What a catch for Abrial!” Abrial looked like a crimson-faced demon that was about to crush his head in, so he quickly continued: “Li Hui, White Mask, Blue Sword, is the most dangerous blade fighter in history…besides maybe our Guang-er. He’s obviously never appeared on any of our raids before, since we only raid prisons around the perimeter of Gongkua, and as the Emperor’s right-hand man and bodyguard, he has a million more important things to deal with. So we usually end up fighting just the prison guards, and ordinary soldiers if they’re called for reinforcement. But last time…” Niklas’s face turned grim again. “For some unknown reason, in the middle of our last raid, White Mask, Blue Sword appeared out of nowhere. We tried to fight back, but without Old Wei, even all of us together weren’t enough to hold him off. He badly injured many of our team members, so I called a retreat and we fled with the few magicians we had managed to free.”
“So…one man defeated the whole raiding regiment?” Abrial murmured.
“Embarrassing as it sounds, that is correct. Every single raiding regiment member is highly skilled in either blade fighting or the magical arts — or both! Hehe, we are quite the team, if I do say so myself. While no one was killed, he severely injured a few regiment members — the ones lying in seclusion over there — to the point of no return. They may never fight again. ”
Abrial swallowed, her throat both dry and sticky. Her fists curled on her knees. What kind of blade fighter could have beaten down the Wei camp’s raiding regiment to the point of running away with their tails between their legs?
“If you guys were no match for that — White Sword, Blue Mask or whatever — how did no one die?”
Niklas shrugged. “We retreated quickly and gave up the raid. He’s second in the Empire to the childless Emperor, after all — maybe he didn’t want to waste any more energy on small hillside rebels like us.
“The point is, we need a more people for a solid regiment, and there’s a raid coming up that the other camp leaders and I have been planning for a long time. I wanted to invite the both of you to participate. I sincerely doubt White Mask, Blue Sword will show up again, but in case, Guang-er promised to come along, too. In the unlikely case that guy still dares to show his face, Guang-er will be able to protect the regiment for sure. So, how about it? Will you join?”
Abrial didn’t even need to think about it. “Yes!”
At the same time, Finley said firmly, “No.”
Abrial frowned at Finley. “That’s okay. If you don’t want to go, I’ll just go.”
“No. You are not going.”
Abrial’s eyes almost popped out of her head with surprise. What was this?! Finley couldn’t just speak for her like that! Didn’t she know Abrial had wanted to get in on the raiding regiment’s action for a long time now?! She opened her mouth to protest, but Finley cut her off in a stern voice:
“If the raid is soon, you especially should not be going. You have just recovered from severe illness and internal injury. In addition, if there is a chance of permanent injury or death, you will not be going either.”
“Hey! Watch it! What about yourself?!” Abrial spluttered in disbelief. Finley replied in a voice cooler than a cucumber:
“I am minding your recovery. Obviously, I should remain at camp as well to oversee your healing.”
Niklas sighed dreamily, shaking both of them out of their frowns.
“Ah, to be young and in love. Be grateful, Abrial; this one really likes you and wants to protect you at all costs — ”
“BE QUIET, YOU OLD MAN!” Abrial shrieked, smashing her fist down on the table and sending three more cracks down its poor legs. “I’M ONE WORD FROM SETTING YOU ON FUCKING FIRE!”
Niklas scooched back from the table, mouth twitching and splendid blue eyes wide. It was impossible to tell whether he was truly terrified or just pretending to be. “Please don’t, my silken blond hair will all fall off! Of course, I’d still have enough charms, but I’d have a shining bald head, and that doesn’t garner many points with lovers…But that’s besides the point!” He rushed as Abrial again raised her other fist with murderous intent flashing in her black eyes.
“Back to my point, back to my point. Finley, I understand your concern, but for one thing, the raid will take place in a month’s time. Abrial should be fully recovered by then. In addition, Guang-er told me that he’s performing a healing technique monthly to help with Abrial’s internal injuries that might flare up. Though the raid should take just about two weeks from leaving to returning, if there were any delays, wouldn’t that prevent Abrial from getting her monthly treatment? Guang-er’s coming along on the raid, after all. If you’re concerned for Abrial’s health, wouldn’t it be better for her to come along, where treatment on-time is guaranteed?”
The corner of Finley’s mouth twitched.
“Sir Niklas, I feel that this conversation has become manipulative.”
Niklas pouted in return, like a child who had been discovered hiding something he wasn’t supposed to.
“Finley Fellner, you’re too unkind! You’re right, I’m pushing you, but just because I want to convince you to let Abrial and yourself come! You two are some of the absolute best candidates for the regiment right now. With your skills, you’ll fulfill the positions of our missing members awesomely! It would be sooo glorious! And aren’t I right? Isn’t the best option for the both of us for you two to come along?”
Finley stared coldly at Niklas as he pouted childishly back at her with that grown-man handsome chiseled face. Abrial watched them face off, frowning. ‘Convince you to let Abrial and yourself come’? Why did he keep talking like she was a dog and Finley was her owner?
“All right,” Finley conceded coldly at last. “We will join your raid in a month’s time.”
This benefitted Abrial, so she decided to ignore the dog language for now and pumped her fist in the air.
“Awesome!”
“However, Sir Niklas, you must promise to place Abrial at the safest part of the formation.”
“Finley! No way, I want to be right in front!”
“Sure thing,” Niklas winked at Finley, the both of them ignoring Abrial completely. He clapped his hands together in satisfaction, that childish pout thankfully gone and replaced again with his usual blinding grin. “It’s settled, then! Wonderful, wonderful! Starting in two weeks, once Abrial’s condition has fully cleared, you two can start attending the regiment drills and strategy meetings. And in one month’s time, we’ll all set off for the Hwayeom Prison in the East!”