"Kalva be damn..." A knight beside Osmond cursed in utter disbelief and revulsion before puking away from the scene. Osmond did not blame the man as it took all of his strength and will from vomiting the scene before him.

20 unrecognizable figures were brutally dismembered and killed as if they were animals. Holes bore through them all as fist-size projectiles pierced through their bodies. Their entrails lay scattered like ribbons pulled out mercilessly from presents.

What made it even worse, however, was a body that was spared from even this mercy. His limbs were torn but his face remained intact. Osmond could see the sheer horror and pain remaining in his dead-open eyes. It was clear that he did not die as easily as the others did.

"First we have a monster tide. Now a crazed maniac on the loose." Osmond clicked his tongue in dismay as he softly cursed his luck.

"It's no maniac." Osmond jumped in surprise as his eyes widened in shock.

"Sir!" Osmond managed to give a firm salute before Elias as the young heir strode in without hesitation.

The young heir's cold calculating eyes scanned through the scene without a hint of disgust nor revulsion. Only cold observant eyes. "...There's a champion nearby." Osmond's eyes widened yet again as the words left in Elias's mouth were unbelievable.

"C-champion?" Murmurs of disbelief and confusion exploded to those who heard Elias as Osmond asked a question that everyone was dying to know.

"Not that I am questioning your judgment sir, but how do you know it's a champion?" Osmond asked as the young heir stilled for a moment before turning to face Osmond. Twin golden suns stared back as Osmond paled slightly. A champion in the flesh.

“It takes one to know one.” Elias replied as all doubts died in Osmond’s throat.

“I-I see sir.” Osmond simply replied, inching away slightly from the heir as everyone else avoided his golden gaze. Elias for his part barely noticed their guarded gaze as he continued to observe the work of another champion.

“Not bad… not bad at all.” Elias mumbled to himself. His gaze landed on a particular poor bastard who had its entire heart cleanly blown off. “Mintes.” He whispered as power courses through his brain, working far sharper than any prodigy could ever hope to do.

All the way from there eh? A rough calculation graces the young heir’s mind as his gaze landed on two buildings just ahead, where another alleyway could be seen. It was far smaller than the one they were standing on, making any accurate shots difficult.

"What is your name knight?" Elias finally said as he turned his attention back to the knight.

"Osmond sir! Osmond of Leria!" Osmond answered stiffly.

"Well, Osmond. Have you seen a champion firsthand?" Elias asked as Osmond shook his head.

"No sir. I have heard stories but... I have never fought one." Osmond admitted as Elias slowly nodded his head.

"Then pray you never meet one. If you did find one, pray that it does not point its blade against you." Osmond paled as Elias whispered coldly.

"…We shall turn a blind eye to this." Osmond's eyes widened into shock, more so in dismay as he quickly voiced out.

"B-but sir this- this is murder! We can't just let it go!" Osmond protested as a cruel laugh escaped from Elias.

"Oh, Osmond. If that champion truly did wish to destroy you, there is nothing you could do." Osmond's eyes widen into shock once more as Elias continues. "Even with our combined strength, we have battlecasters and breakers mind you, we would still lose. And I for one would rather hire their services if possible."

Osmond sealed his mouth tight as well as everyone else who heard Elias as the weight of the information had finally come to bear. A sense of injustice pervaded his mind, though he knew better than to challenge an order from a superior, let alone a champion in his own right.

"...Find him knight." Elias whispered as Osmond flinched stiffly.

"A great opportunity had shown before us. I will be damn if we let it slip away. Find him knight." Osmond could only nod back weakly as Elias was already leaving.

֍

"Is something wrong sister Lucy?" Seth asked as Lucy eyed Seth warily. Seth, as usual, has a smile on his face as if nothing in the world was wrong and yet Lucy could not help but suspect the man as if he is hiding something from her.

"No... just worried when this expedition would come to an end." Lucy replied as she lowered her suspicion for now.

"Oh, that! From what I've heard from the locals, they say the expedition would happen in less than a week right now. They are simply preparing the necessary supplies and all. Routes to take and nest to purge, those kinds of things usually took longer than you might think sister Lucy." Seth said as Lucy simply nodded back without a reply.

"...Are you perhaps worried they might find you?" Lucy stiffens for a moment before slowly nodding back in reply once again.

"Yes... they will drag me out of here if they ever find me." Seth had a subtle smile on his face as he replied.

"You are getting more honest and open in your answers sister Lucy. Another good step forward." Lucy scoffed but did not rebut his words.

"Even if I did lie, you will point it out anyway. I just don't want to deal with you longer than I have to." Lucy said as she sipped from her cup of tea.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Ah, but isn’t it better to voice it out compared to before no?" Again, Lucy did not deny his words as she indeed felt the change. The bottled-up pressure and maddening guilt were slowly being released, piece by piece by Seth.

Lucy hated it at first. She loathed Seth for how much he had forced her to remember her sins. Yet as time slowly went by, the burden she held on her shoulders for so long was slowly getting lighter and lighter. As much as Lucy hated to admit it, Seth's method did help her.

"Well, you don't have to worry. I've made sure my boys keep you and your past as hidden as possible. Unless you somehow lose control or a royal guard and the heir himself work together, I doubt they will find you here." Seth confidently replied as Lucy frowned.

"They are royal guards gobs. I'm not sure even your 'boys' could hide me from them if they are trying to find me." Seth laughs as if he heard a joke.

"That is why I said unless! I doubt they will send one anyway, this is just between you and your family. I doubt they will care." Seth said as Lucy slowly nodded back in reply. "And also, can you not?" Seth added in, a hint of annoyance in his voice as Lucy smirked.

"Can not what?" Lucy replied innocently as Seth let out a groan.

"That name! Stop calling me by that name already! I have one and the name is Seth, not gobs!"

"Sure, whatever gobs Seth. You sure have a weird name don't you think?" Lucy giggled as Seth frowned visibly.

"I swear, one of these days..." Seth heaved out a heavy sigh before grabbing a vial from his coat.

"Ah right, I almost forgot to give this to you." Lucy's eyes were soon transfixed on the vial Seth had brought before her. It was Lacrum. The navy hue it excluded was both eerily and calming at the same time to look at.

"What's wrong? Take it." Seth said as Lucy hesitated.

"Do you know how much these things cost?" Lucy said as she grabbed the vial, holding it up inches away from her eyes.

"A gold coin, why you asked?" Seth said as if nothing was wrong.

"Do you know how much a gold coin is??" Lucy asked, exasperated as Seth shrugged off without care.

"You seem to forget I am a merchant sister Lucy." Seth smirked as Lucy gave him an incredulous look in reply. “May I also remind you sister, that you came from a family of nobles. A dukedom at that, how does a gold coin come as surprising to you?" Seth asked as Lucy frowned back.

"It was never mine to begin with." Seth nodded silently before Lucy continued. "Anyways, don't you also need this? These are rare and hard to come by you know." Lucy said as Seth shrugged off in response.

"I have more than enough to keep me in check. You on the other hand... well." Lucy did not argue any further as she hid the vial inside her clothes.

"Thanks gobs... this will help me a lot." Seth smiled at her response before frowning yet again.

"Just call me Seth for Urum’s sake." Seth said.

"Whatever you say gobs." Lucy gives a small smile to Seth as his breath was momentarily stolen from his chest.

"What?" Lucy tilted her head slightly in confusion at the seemingly frozen Seth.

The young man soon snapped out of his daze before smirking back in reply. "Nothing, it's just that... you look prettier when you smile like that." Lucy blinked for a moment as a slight red blush encroached in her ears. "Oh? Are you embarrassed?" Seth teased as Lucy frowned in response.

"I am not pretty." Silence encompasses the room. There was a hostile edge in Lucy’s gaze as Seth held her gaze.

"I beg to disagree." Seth said a moment later as Lucy frowned in frustration.

"There is nothing to disagree. It’s the truth. Can't you see? I am... this." Lucy could not bring herself to say it, but her point was already sent across.

Silence encompassed the room once more as Lucy thought that Seth would nod back reluctantly to her features. Yet what she saw was a look of utter disappointment instead as he replied. "Do you honestly believe that?" Seth asked as Lucy snapped back.

"What else am I supposed to believe?!" Lucy almost shouted back, the pain was back, infecting her chest once more as her breath shortened.

“Lucy I know it might look… painful, to say the least,” Seth calmly replied, but the edge in her gaze did not weaken in the slightest. “but it is not-“

"Look at me damn you!” Lucy hissed as her eyes began to sting. Her frail shoulders trembled as she tried to keep her voice from breaking. “These... these are hideous. They are hideous and you know it!" It hurts to admit it. It hurts that Seth had to lie. It hurts that Seth forced her to say it.

“Lucy I-“

"Don't lie to me damn you." Lucy growled as she glared at the redhead. "How else am I supposed to take it?" Lucy was out of breath as her chest tightened. Despite her willingness to keep the scars, Lucy truly hated it.

She hated how it robbed her of the only thing she was proud of. She hated how much discrimination she had to endure until now just because of it. She hated it for how she was forced to keep it. But most painful of them all, she hated it for how it reminded her of the past.

Her once sublime beauty was gone. Scattered to the winds all thanks to these scars. "...Are you done?" Lucy flinched as the tone of frustration plagued Seth's voice. He looked as if he was ready to explode but was keeping everything as he began to whisper calmly.

"I do not know how you and the other aristocrats out there take beauty for, but I could care less if you had scars or not. For me, you are beautiful Lucy." Seth grunted as Lucy listened for the first time in decades in shock and bewilderment.

“L-lies! T-that’s a lie! Y-you are lying to me!” Lucy desperately replied. The scarred young lady glared with all the hate she could muster at the redhead. Not for the wrong things he had said but for what he was giving.

It was hope. Hope of a family of her own might be possible after all. A hope she so desperately wanted to kill before it could take hold. Before she could believe it before being abandoned yet again. The thought of the same betrayal playing all over again terrified her more than any monster could.

When Seth’s gaze did not waver but grew stronger instead, Lucy froze into a statue. “…No. N-no y-you have to b-be lying to me,” Tears burned her eyes as her lips quivered in shock, in fear… in hope. “You have to…” She whispered weakly, denial ripe in her voice as hope clings on.

"You are beautiful, Lucy." Seth stared Lucy dead in the eyes as she was about to deny it. She hesitated for a moment when she saw the conviction burning in his eyes. Before it crumbled down once more.

"No, I- you lie! You-"

"Listen to me for once damn it." Seth almost shouted as Lucy flinched back in reply.

"You. Are. Beautiful." Lucy froze as Seth continued. "The way you take care of the children, the way you help sisters to the point of recklessness... the way you almost threw your life away for their sake, was something that is beyond beautiful." Seth said as a small smile crept up on his face.

"There are no nobles out there, none who would throw their life away for orphans. I have not seen a single noble as humble and as frugal as you sister Lucy." Seth said as Lucy began.

"N-no that is not... it's not what you think..." Lucy muttered as Seth shook his head.

"Regardless of whether it is what I think it is or not, you are still beautiful in my eyes sister Lucy. No vile rumors nor shameless accusations would ever change my mind of you. You are beautiful sister Lucy. So please, don't lower yourself than it already has." Seth said as he smiled.

Lucy stared at him openly for a moment as her eyes bled into gold. Seth could feel power resonating from Lucy but did not say a word as he let her study him. Lucy's eyes trembled for a moment as she opened her mouth to speak. No replies came out of it.

She opened it again and again but only tears seemed to escape from her. Lucy sniffles as she turns away from Seth in embarrassment. Her heart felt so heavy, and yet she could not help but cry tears of joy. Maybe there was hope after all.

Silence encompasses the room once more as Lucy tries to gather herself. A while had passed before a reply finally came. "Whatever gobs." Lucy said as Seth grinned back.

"Well, I suppose there is one nasty thing about you. Also, can you please not??"

"No. I think gobs fits you well." Lucy giggled deep inside; her heart beating slightly faster than it usually does.