From the morning, Flora had been helping to move items from the tower to the cart, despite her body not yet having fully recovered. As Dunmel approached, she waved him off.
“You’re going to tell me to rest because I’m injured, aren’t you?”
Without waiting for a reply, Flora spoke energetically.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t seriously injured. It was more mentally taxing, but that’s not something lying in bed will fix.”
She wasn’t just trying to appear strong. Flora, having cut her hair short and dressed in bright colors, showed a completely different level of proactivity than before.
“More importantly, did you get some sleep last night, Dunmel? We’ll have to stay up again tonight.”
Dunmel nodded. He had only slept for a few hours, but during an emergency, that was a luxury.
“Cesar said something odd, didn’t he? I scolded him. But it was his way of showing concern, so don’t take it too hard. And…”
Flora, with a slightly flushed face but a confident smile, said,
“Thank you. I’m grateful that you were always there to catch me when I was about to give in to my weakest moments.”
Dunmel wrote with his fingers,
— I did nothing at all.
— It was all your own strength.
Flora laughed and shook her head.
“When I was caught among those monsters, I thought it would be better to just die. Bite my tongue or set my body on fire with the last of my magic, just to forget the fear for a moment, I was ready to do anything. And then, something surged within me. Something that had been suppressing the real me inside…”
Flora looked at her own hand for a while before stretching it out to Dunmel.
“The trigger for unlocking magical potential always comes at the strangest times, but for me, it was your sign language. The words ‘it’s okay’… I really wanted to see that again.”
Dunmel smiled faintly and took her hand.
“Cesar says he’s sorry. He didn’t mean it.”
Dunmel nodded.
“And I want to be sincere too…”
Dunmel could not nod.
“Not right now. Maybe when Lutia’s wounds have healed and my own wounds have healed, and everything has settled down…”
At that moment, Bedford rushed over to them.
“You were here. Where’s Knight Loyal? And Master Dethain?”
Dunmel pointed to his legs.
Loyal was there, but Dethain was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Golbein was there.
“What’s the matter, Bedford?”
Flora asked curiously.
“Please go to the top floor of the tower, Dunmel. It would be good if Flora comes along too.”
“The Grand Master’s room?”
“Master Philip…”
With many ears around, Bedford did not finish his sentence. Dunmel and Flora did not bother to hear the rest and left the spot.
They hurriedly walked through Kainswick to ascend the tower. Flora, not fully recovered yet, struggled upon reaching the 10th floor. Dunmel offered his back to carry her, and she did not refuse.
Dunmel nearly ran up the stairs.
Dethain was at the top, not because he had been taking turns sleeping with Golbein. Ruskin and Luder were also there, along with Jaymer, who had just said he was going to bed. They were all standing around a body laid in the middle.
Flora, seemingly not realizing it was a corpse at first, was shocked belatedly. In front of the corpse, Heidi was sitting, crying. She was screaming something, but Dunmel could not make out the words.
Flora ran to her and hugged her.
The dead person was Master Philip, the sorcerer who had said he would marry Heidi after this ordeal was over.
After Flora managed to calm Heidi and pull her away from the body, Jaymer was the first to examine it. Dunmel looked at the traces beside the corpse. A knife was stuck in the back, and bloodstains led all the way to the front of the stairs.
Ruskin said with a heavy breath,
“When I opened the door this morning, Philip was lying here. He had been dead for quite some time.”
“About six hours ago. So, around dawn, he died,” said Jaymer.
Dawn. Dunmel did the math and thought to himself,
‘So he died not long after talking about marriage with Heidi.’
Jaymer touched the body once, then slowly moved his hand along the bloodstain.
“He crawled from the middle of the stairs up here after being stabbed with a dagger.”
“Doesn’t the bloodstain start at the edge of the stairs?”, asked Dethain.
“The bleeding started there. If he moved at a walking pace, the stabbing would have occurred in the middle of the stairs,”
Jaymer continued, as if asking not to be interrupted.
“And he made it to this door before he died… His arm didn’t quite reach the room.”
Philip’s outstretched hand had stopped right in front of the door.
Dethain concluded,
“So, someone stabbed Philip from behind, and he desperately crawled towards Master Ruskin’s room, ultimately dying before he could inform the master…”
Dethain knelt on one knee and faced Dunmel, not just to show his lip movement. He was asking with his eyes if Jaymer’s analysis was correct. If the analysis was wrong, tell no one but him – that was the intent behind his gaze.
‘He denied it yesterday, but he thinks there’s an enemy within after all.’
Everyone was more struck by bewilderment than anger or sorrow.
The most composed person here was Jaymer, and he was also the best at analyzing.
“This was done by someone who knew this sorcerer.”
Jaymer looked at Dunmel, who nodded in agreement.
“Why would that be?”, asked Luder.
Jaymer replied.
“I’m not talking about something complicated. This sorcerer was a master of Lutia, right? You all have shown me just how skilled a sorcerer of that rank is. Could such a person really be taken by surprise? This person? So, what I’m saying is, if the person was attacked from behind with a knife, if the enemy approached with a knife to stab him…”
Jaymer stopped explaining and shook his head.
“Anyway, if the murderer was an enemy, don’t you think there would have been a significant fight that would have destroyed this area?”
“It’s possible he didn’t use magic to protect the White Mystery.”
Luder, who had been biting the tip of his finger, said.
Jaymer waved his hand dismissively.
“So he just died without resisting?”
It wasn’t only Dethain who thought this way. Now everyone was convinced, Dunmel included.
There is a traitor among us!
When nobody dared to voice their thoughts, Ruskin, as if he had made up his mind, said,
“One of us must be the culprit.”
Everyone looked at Ruskin with tense expressions.
“It could be one of us here. I am not exempted either. Dethain couldn’t have left his post guarding the bridge all night. If the murder occurred after midnight, it certainly wasn’t Dethain. So, Dethain, I want you to investigate this matter.”
Dethain nodded and said,
“Yes, Master. However, I don’t want to be exempted from suspicion. Even though I was guarding the bridge, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to deceive the soldiers nearby and come up here. So, I’d like Dunmel to investigate me as well. It would be only fair.”
Ruskin looked at Dunmel, nodding weakly.
“Will you do it, Dunmel Wolf?”
Suddenly, Heidi burst into the group.
“Master Luder, where were you last night? What were you doing after midnight?”
She was clutching Luder’s sleeve tightly while her eyes brimmed with tears. Luder, taken aback, couldn’t even shake her off and stepped back.
Flora intervened.
“Heidi, this isn’t right. Everyone is mourning his death, and it’s not appropriate to act like this here.”
Heidi was relentless.
“No, I need to know. Philip wasn’t someone who could be easily taken down. A man who could dodge flying arrows couldn’t have failed to dodge a dagger from behind. If it was someone Philip knew and someone as strong as Philip, who else could it be but a master of Lutia? Right? Master Luder, what were you doing after midnight? Please tell me if you didn’t kill Philip.”
Luder looked at Dethain with a troubled expression. Dethain nodded.
“We’ll have to investigate this anyway. Just say it here. We don’t have much time anyway. If we’re to proceed with the operation tomorrow, we need to identify the culprit today.”
“I was sleeping…”
Luder said, knowing it sounded like an excuse.
“I was asleep at that time, Heidi. However, there’s no one who can verify I was in my room at that time. I’m sorry.”
It was during a time when Philip was still alive that Luder was sleeping. Coincidentally, Dunmel could have been a witness for Luder but didn’t want to disclose that he had been secretly peeking into rooms. Nor would it have been solid evidence. The time to speak about what he had seen the day before wasn’t now. Ruskin probably thought the same since he didn’t disclose their meeting.
“What about Golbein?”
When Dethain asked about someone not present, Flora answered on his behalf.
“He was probably with Teacher Jully yesterday. I don’t know the details, but I heard he was analyzing the language in front of the Mozes they had captured until dawn.”
“I, too, was alone yesterday, so I have no way to prove otherwise.”
Ruskin confessed. Dunmel also indicated the same by raising his hand. Jaymer shook his head.
“I slept in the barracks where the Vigilante Group soldiers were gathered.”
Dethain, stroking his chin, said,
“Heidi, please step aside for now. We will soon take care of Philip’s body and send it down. We can’t cause any disturbance, so let’s keep this matter confidential for now. Flora, please go with Heidi.”
Flora went down the stairs with a weakly resisting Heidi.
After the two women had gone down, Dethain suddenly struck the wall hard.
“I can’t understand. If one of us is the traitor and the murderer of Philip, why in front of Master Ruskin’s room? And just a day before the operation!”
Ruskin said,
“Maybe Philip discovered something. He came to tell me and was caught by the enemy.”
“We need to investigate Philip’s room.”
Ruskin stopped Dethain, who was about to leave.
“Take Dunmel with you. He might have something to say.”
As Ruskin suggested, the two went down together.
Upon entering Philip’s room, Dethain cast some magic on the door, likely to prevent sound from escaping. Dunmel wrote down everything that happened last night with a pen. Even when Dunmel mentioned rummaging through his room, Dethain wasn’t angry.
“So Philip was with Heidi around midnight?”
Dunmel nodded.
“We need to find out exactly how long those two were together. And considering the time you spoke with Ruskin and came back down… Interesting. It means you could also be a potential culprit.”
Dunmel started to write something with the pen he held but then gave up. The statement was accurate.
“Same goes for Jaymer. He says he slept among the Vigilante Group youths, but for a master swordsman who could hide his presence among the Mozes, disappearing momentarily from beside sleeping people wouldn’t be a problem. Loyal is in the same situation, and the three of you would have had the skills to assassinate Philip, right?”
Dunmel did not contest the claim.
“I apologize. I didn’t want to limit my thoughts, so I ended up speaking carelessly. I’ll need to do some investigating, so I’ll be on my way. However, that doesn’t mean I’m retracting what I said earlier. You’re free to keep an eye on me.”
Dethain took the pen Dunmel had placed on the table and started to scribble something on the paper. Dunmel watched him for a moment before leaving the room.
The hustle and bustle of the Mozes ceased. Meanwhile, Lutia was busy preparing for the fateful morning to come. Dunmel could do nothing but watch as a bystander.
☆ ☆ ☆
Despite being warned to only take what was necessary, the villagers hurriedly filled the carts with their belongings. Captain Koret hobbled around, pleading with everyone not to carry more than one bundle each on their backs.
“We are not leaving for good; we will return. If it’s not truly valuable, leave it behind.”
Loyal helped them with their tasks and took the time to oversee the soldiers’ swordsmanship training.
Dunmel discussed with Luder the strategy for initiating the attack, with a map laid out in front of them.
Dethain had not been seen since that incident.
Golbein also did not show up, saying he was finishing his analysis of the Mozes’ language.
Jaymer had been busy in his own way, crossing the bridge and then returning, peeking at Dunmel’s operational plans, and loitering around the riverbank. Suddenly, he approached Loyal and said something. When Dunmel left Luder with the map to see what was happening, Loyal said to him in a pitiful tone,
“This guy just challenged me to a duel.”
Jaymer was furious.
“When did I? Are you even that good at fighting, good enough that I wouldn’t die even if I gave it my all?”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Loyal replied, showing an uncharacteristically mocking smile.
Jaymer, falling for Loyal’s simple provocation, clenched his fist.
“I’ve heard it from those Wolf kids. You’re the best at one-on-one combat among the White Wolves, right? Let’s have a match.”
Kids? The only people who referred to the Wolves in such a manner were Azwin and Gerald. It was another character test he would easily pass.
“So, it is a challenge then.”
Loyal crossed his arms.
“It’s not a duel. I’ve fought with the Wolf kids. Picking a fight with them recklessly, I wouldn’t last a few days. So, this is not a duel but a challenge to a match.”
“I don’t do matches just like that. What’s wrong with being cautious before a big battle?”
‘A match-refusing Loyal…’
Dunmel was pleased, feeling Loyal had somehow grown. But Jaymer did not give up.
“I was thinking you might be up for it… Look, honestly, you’re stronger than me. If you’re on par with Sheyden, then surely you are. Not by much, just a bit stronger. A tiny bit. Just this much, very slightly…”
He struggled to find words that would maintain his pride as a swordsman while persuading Loyal.
“I can’t say I’d lose, but let’s just measure the steps.”
“Steps?”
Loyal glanced at Dunmel as if asking for interpretation.
Dunmel shrugged.
‘I don’t know.’
“Well, in your terms…”
Jaymer suddenly drew his sword. The moment he did, Loyal’s body tilted back, and his right hand landed on the hilt. Did Jaymer realize how dangerous a provocation he had just made?
“Yeah, that. Let’s fight only outside this ‘step’. Isn’t that possible?”
At Jaymer’s words, Loyal burst into laughter.
“Is this what you’re calling ‘steps’?”
“If we go any closer, I can’t guarantee your life.”
“What are you guaranteeing?”
In fact, besides Azwin, this was the first time someone had provoked Loyal into a fight this way. But after experiencing Loyal’s strength, it was unlikely anyone could continue such provocations. Dunmel became interested in this kind of duel.
‘Can we do this?’
Loyal asked Dunmel for permission through sign language.
‘The steps he’s talking about looks interesting. Let him have what he wants. It could be fun. Or shall I do it?’
‘No, I’ll do it.’
Loyal drew his sword and tapped Jaymer’s sword with it.
“Show me this ‘steps’ of yours. I’ll match it.”
Jaymer warned,
“If you miscalculate the steps, I might accidentally kill you, you know? So, what I mean is, I might kill you. Not really kill you, but what I mean is…”
“Stop it! So, how far is this steps?”
“It’s about two steps.”
Jaymer and Loyal’s swords crossed three times in a flash. The third clash was so quick that to an average observer, it might have seemed like only two collisions.
Loyal, intrigued, pivoted to his left and hopped lightly. Jaymer matched his speed, and they circled each other, watching intently.
“Alright, this is two steps? What’s next?”
Loyal asked.
“One and a half steps.”
Jaymer swung his sword again, and their swords crossed once more. Soldiers practicing swordsmanship, carrying items, or setting up palisades cautiously approached. Luder, who had been fervently marking the map, craned his neck to watch their fight.
“This is one and a half steps?”
Loyal asked.
Jaymer replied, impressed,
“Yeah. This is one and a half steps.”
“Then this must be one step?”
As he spoke, Loyal quickly closed the distance and thrust his sword. Jaymer blocked the potentially fatal attack and countered immediately, with Loyal blocking and thrusting again. To any onlooker, this was clearly a fierce fight with life-or-death stakes. Dust rose from the ground, obscuring their view of each other, but their swords clashed several times through the haze.
“Can you… see it?”
Jaymer asked, a gleeful smile lingering on his lips barely visible through the dust.
“What?”
“The steps.”
“You showed me how it works, so I estimated it to be about this much. Anyway, this is ‘one step’, right?”
“How about it? Think you can do it?”
“You’re saying we fight while maintaining this distance?”
“Yeah. And if it gets too tough, you can occasionally run away two steps.”
“You better maintain it well, Jaymer.”
With that, they continued to clash their swords without rest. It was almost miraculous how they could fight so fiercely without injuring each other. Dunmel found the progress of their fight incredibly interesting.
‘Fighting without hurting each other, yet not giving each other any quarter? This could be a good training method for the Wolves too.’
Especially keeping someone like Loyal, who didn’t give his opponent any room to breathe, in check this way wasn’t ordinary.
‘It might even be an even match with Vunataidol or Eryl. Maybe even Franz could be matched.’
He had thought there must be another reason Kassel brought this guy instead of Sheyden, but perhaps it was purely for his skills.
Dunmel sat crouched, leisurely watching the fight.
‘I should have brought something to eat.’
As they maintained the fight, Loyal said,
“I’ve gotten used to ‘one step’ now. Shall we take it up a notch?”
Jaymer’s expression, caught off guard and flustered, couldn’t hide his dismay. But, due to his pride, he couldn’t refuse and shouted,
“One more step?”
“Yeah, half a step!”
Loyal shouted as he lunged with his sword. Jaymer narrowly dodged the rapidly approaching blade tip, diverting it. Their shoulders collided — Loyal charging and Jaymer standing his ground. Jaymer reflexively grabbed Loyal’s collar, and Loyal grabbed his wrist.
Gasping for breath, they glared at each other before simultaneously letting go.
“Hmm, half a step is hard to maintain. Better not do it.”
Loyal punched Jaymer’s shoulder lightly and stepped back.
Too tired to speak, Jaymer simply nodded in response. The surrounding soldiers, stunned, had their mouths agape, and some even applauded.
Jaymer shakily sheathed his sword. He was about to ask if he was okay when the guy left to get a drink.
‘What do you think?’
Dunmel asked, looking over Jaymer’s shoulder.
“Didn’t you see it?”
‘From the side, it looked impressive. But what about facing it?’
“Both of us, especially towards the last moment, were narrowing the distance. That ‘one step’… has quite a width…”
‘You knew about narrowing the steps? I thought you weren’t aware. So, it was him narrowing the steps?’
“I tried to maintain ‘one step’, but he wasn’t aware of it. That’s why I shouted ‘half a step’ towards the end and broke off the match. It seemed like it would get dangerous if we continued. Yes, right. That guy was catching up to me in just this short match. I might not know right now, but if taught a little…”
‘You’re going to teach?’
“He’s already sufficient against the Mozes. Besides, the fight is tomorrow morning, and teaching him anything significant in that time is unlikely.”
‘It might even happen tonight.’
Loyal, who had been wiping his sweat in a good mood, darkened at those words. Then, he communicated through sign language,
‘Do you think they’ll come? Shouldn’t we tell Luder then?’
‘I don’t want to stop the soldiers who are motivated and moving with a purpose. Whether they know the Mozes will attack tonight or not isn’t important. The soldiers will be on guard from tonight onwards. Luder probably suspects as much. Whether we act first or they attack… the initiation of the operation was never up to us but the Mozes.’
Dunmel hoped his words would be wrong. But according to a famous philosopher from Carnelock, things you hope not to happen generally do happen.
Experience had proven this right.
☆ ☆ ☆
Dunmel sat by the riverbank. Turning at the approach of footsteps, he saw it was Flora. Clutching her skirt, she sat beside him. Throwing a small pebble into the river as if to alleviate boredom, she had changed in many ways, but her habit of seeking him out when at ease remained the same. And her timing to approach always seemed to align with Dunmel needing someone.
“Heidi says she’ll stay by Philip’s side. She won’t leave even if the Mozes attack.”
Flora said,
“I won’t leave Heidi here either. I’ll fight.”
Dunmel was about to object when he noticed Flora’s hand emitting a white light. The few pebbles she had just thrown floated back up from the river, then shot like arrows across to the opposite bank, embedding deeply.
Flora smiled, revealing her neat teeth.
“I’ve wondered what caused me to gain this power, but maybe that’s not important, right?”
In the direction Flora extended her hand, the river water froze. As she withdrew her hand, the ice shattered as if it were being split by an earthquake.
Dunmel knew from meeting masters that a powerful sorcerer was defined not by the strength of their magic but by the speed of its casting. Now, Flora demonstrated just that.
“I will fight. I need to atone for the times I didn’t fight and hid in my room. It’s only right, isn’t it? That’s the price for this power I’ve gained, right, Master Dethain?”
Flora’s gaze was directed beyond Dunmel’s back.
“Don’t decide whether you’ll fight or not on your own.”
Dethain approached from behind, stepping on the soggy mud as if it were solid ground, as if weightless.
“Why? We need all the help we can get.”
Flora sounded puzzled.
“If you were still just a teacher from Kainswick, would I care whether you chose to fight at the front or stay behind to protect Heidi? I have no room in my heart right now to consider the weak. However, you are no longer weak. You must formally pass through Lutiano, but here and now, with my authority, I will grant you the title of Master, Flora.”
Dethain added with a stern look,
“You understand what this means, right? Your power is not yours alone now. So, take responsibility for it.”
Flora frowned in resistance,
“I don’t want it. I don’t want the position of a Master, nor do I want to be prevented from fighting, and most of all…”
“Master Flora!”
Dethain interrupted, pointing at Flora’s forehead with his finger,
“You have a different role to play. We need a sorcerer to lead at the forefront of the retreat through River Forest. You must stand in the position Philip was supposed to take, Master Flora.”
“I don’t want to. I want to be by Dunmel’s side…”
“Because you like Dunmel and want to be near him?”
Dethain bluntly questioned.
“Is that not allowed?”
Caught in an awkward situation, Dunmel could only turn his head back and forth with each exchange.
“Fine. The more urgent the times, the longer the conversations we must have.”
Dethain sat down on the muddy ground, unconcerned about soiling his robe. Although the sun had set long ago, the trio could clearly see each other’s faces under the light of the White Mystery.
“Master Flora, now that you’re in a position to fully understand this situation, I’ll tell you about the traitor within Lutia.”
Flora just listened.
“After Philip’s death, I suspected everyone I could think of. Luder, Ruskin, Golbein, the teachers of Kainswick who had achieved a certain level of magical power, the students…”
Dethain looked at Dunmel and continued,
“I even considered the possibility that I was being controlled by someone, that two of the White Wolves and Jaymer could be involved. I speculated that the traitor within Lutia and Philip’s murderer might not be the same person and even considered if someone among the villagers was a hidden sorcerer frequenting the tower. And from there, I found my answer.”
“Is there a traitor?”
Flora asked hastily, seemingly hoping until the last moment that the betrayal was the work of external enemies. However, contrary to her wishes, Dethain nodded deeply.
“But I don’t want to speak of it here. Tomorrow at dawn, I plan to resolve the issue of the traitor. If I fail, Dunmel, I want you to take over for me. You said you could sneak into my room, right? I’ll write the name of the traitor I suspect inside a crystal ball in my bookshelf. But only look at it as a last resort. I want to handle the traitor with my own hands. Do you understand my feelings?”
Dunmel nodded. If the same situation occurred in Nadium, Dunmel would have done the same.
Dethain smiled and nodded, looking somewhat sad.
“One more thing, even if I know who the traitor is, let’s drop the assumption that I am not the traitor. The things I’ve said could be lies to cover my tracks… You’ll need to think this way to solve the puzzle when the moment comes.”
Dethain then turned to Flora,
“Let’s continue discussing Master Flora’s duties. Whether I’m the traitor or I handle the one I’ve found, we will be losing a significant force we rely on to protect Lutia. Whether we move as planned at dawn tomorrow or the monsters attack first forcing us to move, we’ll be losing at least one, and in the worst case, two masters of Lutia. Then, who will lead the villagers through the forest? Even the White Wolves need a master’s guidance in the forest…”
Tears were streaming down Flora’s face. She knew Dethain had already accepted his own death as inevitable.
“While contemplating, I saw your power surge, Flora. Just as I was looking outward for strength, a sorcerer from within Lutia had grown in power as if to mock my efforts.”
Flora burst into tears. But Dethain continued,
“Perhaps, aside from the traitor issue, all masters of Lutia could perish in this battle. Master Tailed has been missing for a long time, and Master Tanya, who should have come with us, disappeared in the Sky Mountains. So, who will rebuild Lutia? A teacher from Kainswick who lectures on the history of Lutia and has now gained the power of a master would be just right.”
Flora shook her head,
“If you’re looking that far ahead and entrusting me with this task, I dislike it even more. How can I, who has just begun to grasp magic, take on such a heavy responsibility…?”
“We don’t have much time. I need to return to the tower.”
Dethain stood up and bowed politely to Dunmel,
“I entrust Flora to you, Dunmel Wolf, knight of Aranthia. I leave Lutia’s last mission to you.”
Dethain disappeared towards the tower like a man going off to die. Dunmel couldn’t forget his figure for a long time.
The next time Dunmel saw Dethain was at dawn. And the Mozes had attacked before then.
–TL Notes–
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