Chapter 172.2
Isaac assessed the situation. Fortunately, Rosalind had not yet touched Kaldbruch. However, she was close enough to grasp it whenever she decided.
“Lady Rosalind, do not make an irreversible mistake.”
Rosalind looked contemplatively at Isaac.
Isaac also sent a warning to Cedric.
“Sir Cedric, do not act rashly either.”
At this, Cedric looked at Isaac with interest.
“The famed Holy Grail Knight. Unfortunately, only my employer has the right to command me.”
“If you touch Kaldbruch, your employer will die immediately. Can you handle the aftermath?”
However, Cedric only laughed at this. He glanced at Rosalind and said,
“Well, you needn’t worry about that. I’m aware that wielding Kaldbruch recklessly shortens one’s life. If Lady Rosalind had come here intending to use it to kill everyone in the castle, I would not have assisted her.”
“Then you won’t touch Kaldbruch?”
Why else would they have come all this way? Isaac immediately stepped in front of Edelred as he thought this.
Cedric had already drawn his sword. It wouldn’t be strange for a Swordmaster of his level to start a fight immediately.
Was the goal to lure Edelred here? To kill the king without any distractions?
But Cedric showed no signs of such intentions.
‘No, if assassination were the goal, they would have lured Edelred here. But this situation unfolded abruptly because of Hesabel’s encounter with Cedric.’
Then Cedric’s gaze shifted towards Edelred.
As Isaac stepped forward, Hesabel also appeared.
Upon seeing Hesabel, Cedric startled and looked furious.
“You!”
Hesabel, calm, drew a dagger.
Seeing this, Cedric grew even more enraged.
“Think you can seduce me now? I am an honorable Swordmaster of Elil! I will not bow to such trivial seductions!”
Isaac lost words for a moment, then glanced at Hesabel, who also looked incredulous.
“I didn’t do anything,” she whispered quickly to Isaac.
“I know. They must be out of their minds.”
“Be quiet, lady! Even if you whisper sweetly in the dim shadows, it won’t break me!”
Hesabel cautiously tried Cedric.
“Sir Cedric, can we put down our swords and talk? It’s too frightening to converse in the presence of a Swordmaster’s blade…”
“Just this once!”
Cedric, while posturing threateningly at Hesabel, was about to sheathe his sword when Rosalind kicked him in the shin, making him pause. Cedric was outraged at being manipulated again, but he missed the chance to express his anger.
Edelred stepped forward.
“Lady Rosalind.”
Edelred spread his arms wide, showing he was unarmed—though he still wore a sword at his waist. To approach a Swordmaster with bare hands was akin to offering up his neck.
“Wait.”
Both Isaac and Cedric stopped Edelred.
The tension was palpable. One wrong step from Edelred could ignite a battle.
Neither Isaac nor Cedric wanted a fight at that moment.
Edelred stopped at a safe distance and appealed to Rosalind.
“Lady. I understand the deep turmoil you’ve endured coming to Aldeon. That’s why I was prepared to welcome you with bread and wine, ready to respond to your resolve.”
“…”
“I won’t say you’ve betrayed my trust. But please, turn back now. Let’s find a way to reconcile under the sun and wind. This damp, dark dungeon is no place for reconciliation.”
“King.”
Rosalind stood obliquely, looking at Edelred. Her face bore more weariness than hatred, more ennui than fatigue.
Hate turned to tedium from too long a stewing.
“It wasn’t I who decided to come to Aldeon, but my husband. He should be the one to hear your praises.”
“Are you speaking of Count Theobald Saltain?”
“Yes. My husband, Theo, wanted to reconcile with the royal family.”
Perhaps the current king could listen to apologies for past tragedies and reconcile. Perhaps they could clear the chronic grudges and errors and find peace again.
“But my husband died on the sea voyage. He was always in poor health, and the sea journey is no small ordeal.”
Rosalind murmured into the darkness, her gaze fixed on the void, yet not empty. She was looking at her husband, who had desperately wanted to be here.
“Why are you so late, king?”
“Lady…”
“Had it been a year, or even a month earlier, my husband might have received your apology. But it didn’t happen. He died waiting to reach Aldeon, beaten by the waves, before any reconciliation could occur.”
Rosalind’s eyes flashed.
The long-stewing tedium bubbled into hate again.
“And so… the right to avenge that my husband held, I inherit. Now I have the right to be rightfully angry and to seek revenge. But I am not as noble as my husband. I wanted to kill you all.”
Her body moved significantly. Isaac impulsively drew the Luadin Key but paused as Rosalind’s hand hovered near Kaldbruch.
Rosalind’s gaze pierced Isaac.
“Holy Grail Knight! You asked me what kind of salvation I sought?”
“…Yes.”
“I seek salvation from myself.”
Isaac heard Rosalind’s voice, as if spitting blood.
The deep red in Rosalind’s eyes, strained with bursting veins, directed at Isaac and Edelred, beyond this treasury, out to the world.
“Now, grant me the salvation that frees me from my own rage and hatred.”
Rosalind turned to look at Cedric. Then, the two laid their hands on Kaldbruch. Isaac, about to leap forward, realized something odd about their hand positions.
It wasn’t the stance to grip and swing a sword.
Isaac belatedly recalled another use for Kaldbruch.
A great relic is also a great ceremonial tool.
And a Swordmaster is not only an excellent swordsman but also a proficient priest.
Together, they began to chant.
“[Elil! Sing of your rage.]”
“[Show us your justice on this land!]”
–TL Notes–
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