Chapter 10『The Two Remaining Bells』
The white temple was breathtakingly serene.
Cold‚ clear winds wove between the towering marble pillars and swept through the corridors. Yet even that desolate wind could not disturb the measured footsteps of the priests. Not a single person was in a hurry. Clad in pure white robes‚ they solemnly unrolled the pure white carpet leading to the altar‚ lit new sacred flames in the candlesticks‚ and arranged the prayer tools with perfect precision. It was as if they were simply repeating a routine that had been set in stone for hundreds of years.
「Spirit vein synchronization rate‚ ninety-seven point eight percent」
「No abnormalities」
「Sanctuary barrier‚ normal. No delay in operation」
「Purification spring circulation‚ maintaining stability」
The voices delivering the reports contained neither impatience nor tension. It was merely mechanical confirmation of predetermined steps. At the center of the altar‚ the intricately carved geometric magic circle began emitting an inorganic‚ pale golden light.
The patterns covering the mirror-polished floor flickered with the precision of a giant clock’s second hand‚ slowly extending their paths of light toward the final ritual chamber.
One elderly priest quietly closed his eyes.
In the center of the altar sat a massive vessel. Its rim was engraved with five candle holders‚ of which only two were now flickering with lonely‚ pale blue flames.
「……The third stage will begin shortly」
「Indeed」 The priest standing beside him smiled gently‚ like a merciful holy mother. 「With this‚ the kingdom will gain another century of peace」
There was not a single person in this white space who doubted those words. This was a sacred ritual passed down unbroken across a millennium. Everyone gathered here had neither reason to doubt it nor any means to deny it.
To them‚ this ritual was by no means an unreasonable sacrifice. It was the supreme duty entrusted to them to protect the nation and all its people. Therefore‚ no one felt any guilt. No one shed tears of sorrow. For the girl would be married to the great god with blessings.
「Is she currently undergoing the purification rite?」
「It will soon be completed without issue」
「I see」
No one dreamed that they were ruthlessly about to end a single girl’s life.
In the inorganic silence‚ a young priest looked up at the massive bell tower looming deep within the altar and quietly caught his breath.
「……Only a little longer until the third bell」
The elderly priest nodded solemnly and raised his staff along with the pious prayer dwelling within him.
「O merciful God. With Your pure hand‚ cleanse this one’s defilement and guide her to eternal peace」
「――Transitioning to the third stage」
「Next flame into the vessel」
At that prayer as the signal‚ the magic circles spread throughout the entire temple simultaneously sharpened their brilliance.
No one could have known.
That outside this coldly serene sanctuary‚ a single girl was racing forward while embracing the muddy truth‚ a single young man was defying reason by shaving away the seconds of his life—and that a single knight’s absolute justice‚ which he had raised high‚ was now on the verge of collapsing with a resounding crash.
The sound of footsteps kicking against the stone pavement echoed with urgency through the chilled corridor.
I burst out of the purification room and‚ still at full sprint‚ drew the fruit knife at my waist. Without hesitation‚ I plunged the blade into the long hem of the apprentice priestess dress that hindered my movement.
――Rip!
The thick white fabric that had restrained my movements tore mercilessly and fluttered down onto the stone pavement.
「I’ll definitely deliver it…!」
I had to hurry. Even one second‚ even one instant faster. My lungs‚ pushed to their limit‚ burned as if on fire from within.
「Geez… even my hair is in the way!」
While running‚ I forcefully gathered the hair obstructing my vision and tied it back with a rubber band. In my shaking field of view‚ I stumbled and scraped my now-bare leg hard against the stone wall.
「Ouch…」
Red blood seeped out. Even so‚ I never stopped running.
In my right hand was a small leather pouch. Inside were the countless drug shells I had scavenged from that cruel purification room and the several white hairs I had desperately protected with trembling fingers.
And in my left hand.
A small‚ familiar yellow wrapping paper. The remains of the lemon candy that Louie had handed to Elina. I had stolen it from the muddy floor just before dashing out of the purification room—the one she had refused to let go of until her final moment.
「Please… let me make it in time…!」
I no longer knew who that prayer was addressed to. Louie? Elina? Or this utterly mad kingdom itself?
It was the moment I breathlessly rounded a sharp corner in the corridor.
「Mina-san――!」
The familiar voice of a girl struck my eardrums. I spun around as if flicked‚ and there was Sasha‚ running toward me with ragged‚ violent breaths.
「Sasha-chan…!」
Forgetting even to slow down‚ we rushed toward each other and grabbed each other’s arms with enough force to nearly collide.
「What about Lady Elina!?」
「There’s still time… probably!」
Those were the only words we exchanged. But they were enough. The desperate gleam in each other’s eyes told everything words could not.
I gripped the leather pouch in my right hand so tightly my nails dug in. The countless drug shells. The inorganic white hairs. Louie had to see these. They were the absolute truth needed to expose the kingdom’s beautiful lies and ignite his obsession.
And the small wrapping paper clutched in my left hand――.
In that instant‚ another possibility flashed through my mind.
I ruthlessly split the small lemon candy in half with all my strength. Then I pulled out several white hairs and drug shells from the leather pouch in my right hand and roughly wrapped them in the torn yellow paper.
「Take half of this!」
Without hesitation‚ I pressed it into Sasha’s small palm.
「Deliver this… to Lord Kyle」
Sasha gasped briefly and widened her round eyes.
「Eh… this is…?」
「There’s not even a second to explain!」
I stared straight into her wavering eyes. 「I’ll go to Louie. So Sasha-chan‚ please take care of Lord Kyle!」
There was no hesitation or faltering in my raised voice. Sasha stared for a moment at the crude package in her palm—then nodded deeply and firmly.
「……Understood!」
The moment I heard that strong reply‚ we kicked off the ground simultaneously as if released from a spring.
One toward the invader struggling alone at the bottom of darkness. One toward the knight halted in dazzling light.
The path of fate that should have been a single road now brilliantly split into two. Yet the wish each carried on their back was only one.
――Please‚ let us make it in time.
The two sets of footsteps receded from each other‚ their echoes fading‚ yet they fiercely melted into the depths of the white temple‚ both aiming for the same light of the future.
My chest hurts. My throat burns as if on fire. My legs feel as heavy as lead and seem ready to snap off at any moment. Even so‚ I ran.
I sprinted madly through the white corridors‚ staring only straight ahead.
In my right hand was a small yellow wrapping paper. What Mina-chan had entrusted to me was half of the lemon candy that Lady Elina had loved until her final moment. And it was also a fragment of the sweets I had baked with all my heart while thinking of Lord Kyle.
Every time I gripped it tightly‚ the paper made a soft rustling sound. At this hour‚ he should definitely be there.
（Mina-chan and Lord Louie have both resolved themselves）
（I’m the only one. The one who kept hesitating‚ afraid of getting hurt‚ and looking away…）
（But this is wrong after all. I knew it from the very beginning…！）
「Lord Kyle…」
Deep in my chest‚ I earnestly called his name. Of course there was no reply. Even so‚ I couldn’t help but call it‚ as if to rouse my faltering heart.
If. If this crude candy could become the bond connecting Lord Louie and Lady Elina. Then I hope my own clumsy feelings of love reach him too—the kindest yet most awkward knight I fell in love with from the bottom of my heart.
Please――.
It was the moment I rounded the corridor corner with prayer-like momentum.
「Kyaa…！」
――Thud. My small body collided with someone’s chest. A cool‚ slender arm gently caught me as I nearly fell backward from the impact.
「――Are you alright?」
It was a voice as soft as the tinkling of bells‚ endlessly gentle. I looked up as if flicked.
「Lady… Sera…」
She wore her white robe impeccably and carried a faint lingering scent of lavender. She gazed at me with remarkably calm‚ profound eyes that seemed to see through everything. On her shoulder‚ the magic stone of her familiar‚ the glass bird (Ether Eye)‚ emitted an inorganic light as it observed me. I hurriedly bowed my head as if to reset my thoughts.
「I-I’m sorry!」
「You seem to be in quite a hurry」
「Yes…！」
That single exchange was enough. Sera’s serene gaze fell to my right hand. The moment it captured the small yellow wrapping paper I was clutching‚ her eyes—delicate like glasswork—flickered ever so slightly.
「……That is」
I nodded firmly without hesitation.
「It’s a precious candy that connected everyone」
Sera quietly lowered her long lashes. Then she smiled faintly‚ as if in pity.
「I see…」
There was neither sadness nor despair in that smile. It was a mysterious smile‚ as if she alone in the world knew the end of a long‚ dark night.
I spoke without even taking time to steady my ragged breathing.
「Ah… time is almost up. I have to go to Lord Kyle!」
Sera nodded mercifully.
「Yes. Fulfill that beloved duty of yours」
There was a mysterious power in her gentle voice. My heart‚ which had been frantically driven by urgency‚ suddenly grew calm. It was as if a gentle yet unwavering strength had pushed my back.
This time I nodded deeply and largely.
「Yes!」
Just as I was about to dash off again with fierce momentum.
「Sasha-san」
Called back‚ I instinctively turned around. Sera was not looking at me; instead‚ she directed the true eye of the glass bird toward the abyss where the altar stood and murmured softly.
「I too…」
For the briefest moment. She quietly lowered her lashes and slowly shook her head.
「……No. Not yet‚ after all」
On her beautiful profile dwelt a terribly cold‚ serene resolve akin to grim determination. I could not understand the true meaning of those words at all. Even so.
「……Yes!」
After bowing deeply‚ I kicked off the corridor floor with all my strength once more.
The small footsteps receded deeper and deeper‚ eventually disappearing into the white silence. Watching that earnest back‚ Sera moved her lips in a prayer-like whisper so faint no one could hear.
「Please…」
One beat.
「Make it in time」
Was that prayer mercy directed at the young people about to walk the path of carnage? Or a curse directed at herself‚ who would bear the cruel duty of someday stitching up those cruel wounds?
Sera simply waited quietly for that 『time』 to arrive.
Bursting out of the white corridors as if shaking them off‚ the courtyard leading to the training grounds opened up all at once. There stood a single knight.
Silver armor dazzlingly reflecting sunlight. Carrying a greatsword as tall as he was casually on his shoulder‚ he simply stood quietly‚ gazing up at the cloudless blue sky. The sight was almost too picturesque—and therefore hollow‚ as if he saw nothing of reality.
「……Lord Kyle――!」
My raised voice pathetically cracked. Kyle slowly turned around. His eyes held only the light of resignation‚ meant solely to gently watch precious things disappear into the distance. A face harboring the cruel 『kingdom’s correct answer』 with not a shred of hesitation.
「Sasha? What’s wrong‚ breathing so hard?」
「Haa… haa…！」
There was no way I could stay calm. There was no time left before the next bell would echo throughout the temple. The world‚ the cult’s so-called goodwill‚ was about to grind Lady Elina to dust right now.
「Lady Elina…！」
The moment that name struck his eardrums‚ Kyle’s refined brows twitched slightly.
「Ah…」
「The ritual is about to begin…！」
Kyle nodded quietly once more as he returned his gaze to the distant sky.
「……It’s proceeding as planned. She is fulfilling her role splendidly as Lumière’s priestess. We should take pride in that and quietly see her off」
That indifferent reply pierced deep into my chest like a cold blade.
――That’s right. This person is always like this. He only ever looks at the beautiful surface of the story. He is terribly afraid to peer into the muddy parts that aren’t beautiful‚ or into the hearts of people stained with mud.
That is why.
I gripped the crude package in my palm with all my strength.
（I’ll show you. The raw truth you refuse to see‚ to those beautiful eyes you keep locked away――！）
「Lord Kyle…！」
I forcefully closed the distance between us in one step.
「From now on I… will tell you everything. I’ll spill it all!」
（Ah‚ surely. Once I say this‚ Lord Kyle will never smile at me again. He will never call my name gently again…）
While dizzy from the heart-wrenching premonition‚ I squeezed the words out as if vomiting blood from the depths of my throat.
「Lady Elina… can no longer taste anything」
Kyle’s powerful body tensed ever so slightly.
「She has been forced to drink the temple’s refinement drugs for so long… her five senses‚ her sensations have all died. Yet in front of us she kept smiling happily. You didn’t know‚ did you!? Even if it was bitter‚ painful‚ or tasted like nothing at all… she pretended to be fine and smiled like a doll！」
Once the dam of emotions broke‚ the torrent could no longer be stopped by anyone‚ not even myself.
「Her hair… has already lost its moonlight and turned pure white! She collapsed many times! Yet… yet she kept desperately smiling… all of it‚ all of it was to keep Lord Louie from dying…！」
「What are you… saying‚ Sasha」
「I saw it! In the middle of the night‚ when I couldn’t sleep and was looking up at the sky in this courtyard… Lady Elina was shedding large tears and crying like she had gone mad! Calling ‘Louie‚ Louie’ over and over‚ that boy’s name…！ She said she wasn’t a priestess of divine revelation‚ that she wanted to stay with you forever‚ that she absolutely hated a future where she would die… she cried out loud like a child！」
Kyle said nothing. No‚ he couldn’t. He simply stood frozen like a statue‚ eyes wide open from the shock as if struck in the head.
「It’s strange‚ isn’t it…? She’s supposed to be the great priestess of divine revelation who saves the country. Yet she’s afraid of dying… doesn’t want to be left behind… and cries」
With trembling hands‚ I opened the torn yellow wrapping paper entrusted by Mina. Exposed under the merciless sunlight were several painfully heatless white hairs.
「These… are Lady Elina’s hairs」
Next‚ I presented the inorganic drug shell fragments that resembled shattered white porcelain.
「These too… are the shells of the drugs whose souls Lady Elina was constantly having scraped away while drinking them」
A thick‚ muddy silence heavily dominated the courtyard. It seemed as if even the sound of the blowing wind no longer reached Kyle’s eardrums.
Finally‚ I thrust the half-broken lemon candy inside the remaining yellow wrapping paper before his eyes.
「That is…」
「The candy Lord Louie handed to Lady Elina」
My vision blurred rapidly with overflowing tears.
「It’s really… so trivial‚ isn’t it! Saying ‘Deliver half to Lord Kyle’ like some kind of last will… it makes me laugh…！」
Kyle remained completely still. He simply stared at the crudely torn fragment of the yellow fruit as if his soul had been stolen.
I clenched both fists tightly in front of my chest‚ hard enough for my bones to creak.
「――It would be better if someone like Lady Elina just disappeared quickly for everyone’s sake…！！」
（No）
（No‚ I don’t think anything like that at all! I’m sorry‚ Lady Elina‚ I’m sorry！）
（But… but if I don’t do this‚ this big idiot of a knight won’t move…！）
（Ah… it hurts. My chest hurts so much it feels like it’s going to tear apart…）
（Please‚ don’t make me say any more ugly lies… Lord Kyle…！）
With my face twisted messily by tears‚ I forced a distorted smile onto it.
「Lord Kyle is actually kinder than anyone… so I was always worried you would run wild to save Lady Elina. …I’m really glad! That you remained a cold‚ righteous knight who sees nothing！」
Leaving those curse-like words behind in the courtyard‚ I took a shaky step backward on trembling legs.
There were no more words left to say. I had certainly carved an irreparable‚ worst wound into the heart of the kindest yet cruelest person. All that remained was to see which future the knight‚ unable to bear the throbbing of that wound‚ would choose and rampage toward.
The blowing wind violently scattered the dry silence that had stagnated in the courtyard.
Sasha bit her tear-soaked lips hard enough to draw blood and retreated backward step by step‚ as if frightened. Kyle could only stare silently at that painful sight like a stone statue.
In his right hand was the small yellow wrapping paper. The distorted fragment of the lemon candy‚ half of which had been cruelly left behind.
Staring at that small remnant‚ Kyle slowly closed his eyes.
（……I see. That day‚ he――）
The dim interior of the library tower vividly resurfaced in his mind. Louie had been twisting his usual sarcastic remarks‚ yet still smiling teasingly as he said:
『You like lemon sweets too much! It’s overeating！』
In response‚ Elina had smiled a little troubled‚ yet happier than anyone else in the world.
Just where in that smile had he managed to notice anything?
The smile she had forced herself to keep making in front of the two of them while chewing something that tasted like nothing but stone fragments and continuously drinking refinement drugs that burned her throat. Louie—he had noticed long ago the taste of fresh blood hidden behind that smile.
Grit. The silver gauntlet let out a distorted creak.
（I. I‚ as a man――）
The countless empty drug shells thrust before him. Elina’s white hair shining silver under the merciless sunlight. The sense of taste already lost. The real scream of a single girl crying out madly in the dead of night.
Not a single thing. He had refused to look at any of it.
Intoxicated with fulfilling the role of 『the radiant knight of justice』 he carried‚ he had not even tried to peer into who was enduring pain as if their nails were being torn off in the shadows at his feet.
He clenched his back teeth hard. At the edge of his vision‚ Sasha’s small shoulders were trembling painfully‚ her head bowed so deeply she seemed on the verge of breaking.
「……I’m sorry. I’m sorry…」
The thin words of apology that seemed to scrape her throat. Those tears‚ spat out even while covered in mud in order to move him‚ mercilessly drove a sharp greatsword into the depths of Kyle’s chest.
「……ッ！」
――DOOON！！
Along with an impact sound that threatened to burst his eardrums‚ Kyle’s fist slammed into the white marble pavement. The hard stone shattered into pieces‚ and vivid red blood seeped from the warped silver gauntlet.
「Kyaa…！」
Sasha gasped and shrank her body fearfully. Her tear-soaked eyes were like a mirror reflecting his own ugliness as it was.
（That’s right. Of course. Right now I have the lowest possible face）
（I’m nothing but a beast drowning in my own deception and powerlessness‚ roaring in anger）
Yet he could not suppress the flames of intense emotion scorching his chest.
「……Damn it」
The trembling fist. The heat of the clinging blood.
「Damn it…！ I‚ as a man…！」
He tried once more to slam his fist into the hard pavement as self-punishment—but just before that‚ Kyle barely reined in his rationality and stopped. He gripped the blood-covered fist tightly against his own chest‚ hard enough to break it.
An eerie silence. Only the blowing wind mercilessly stole the heat from Kyle’s flushed cheeks.
Eventually‚ he murmured lowly‚ as if squeezing it from the depths of his throat.
「……No」
Sasha fearfully raised her face. Her painfully tear-soaked eyes. Kyle looked straight into them and quietly but clearly shook his head.
「What I’m angry at――is not you」
With a clank of metal armor‚ he took one step. He quietly approached the frightened girl.
「……I’m angry at myself」
At those words‚ Sasha’s large eyes widened even further.
「Forcing you‚ who cares for your friend… to spit out such ugly words you didn’t mean. I couldn’t notice anything unless you went that far」
With a self-mocking smile‚ Kyle weakly twisted his lips. He felt pathetic‚ regretful‚ and smaller than anyone else in the world.
「I’m so… utterly ashamed of myself from the bottom of my heart」
Fresh tears spilled from Sasha’s eyes like a broken dam.
「Lord Kyle…」
A voice mixed with sobs‚ painful yet dear. Kyle exhaled all the stagnant air that had accumulated in his lungs and showed a faint‚ gentle smile like always.
「You… don’t actually think that way about Elina at all‚ do you」
In that instant. The thin thread that had been stretched to its limit inside Sasha’s heart snapped with a soft sound.
「U…」
「U‚ ah… aah…！」
There was no longer any way to stop the overflowing torrent of tears.
「I’m sorry…！ I’m sorry‚ I’m sorry…！」
Sobbing‚ Sasha collapsed powerlessly on the spot.
「Saying such horrible things to Lady Elina…！ I’m sorry… Lord Kyle‚ I’m sorry…！」
Kyle quietly‚ yet lovingly shook his head.
「Don’t apologize. The one who should apologize… is me」
While gently watching the sobbing Sasha‚ Kyle once again looked at the half lemon candy remaining in his palm.
Louie‚ who had continued to resist alone‚ covered in wounds at the bottom of the mud. That clumsy yet more earnest than anyone 『shadow』 had finally pulled Kyle‚ the man‚ out of the too-dazzling cage of light.
Kyle gently‚ carefully gripped the small fragment of lemon candy so as not to break it‚ yet so he would never let it go.
「A ‘justice’ that cannot even hear a single girl’s scream—I’ll throw it into the gutter」
Slowly‚ he stood up. He drew the greatsword he had been carrying on his shoulder‚ pointed its sharp tip straight toward the depths of the white corridor leading to the altar‚ and declared arrogantly.
「If calamity is coming‚ then come. …I will stand at the forefront until the very end」
It was reckless. Turning the kingdom into an enemy was madness for a knight of the realm. He himself knew that better than anyone. However‚ Louie was still baring his fangs while crawling at the bottom of that darkness. If so.
「I will protect what I want to protect with my own sword――！」
Kyle’s roar echoed fiercely through the courtyard and against the temple’s cold stone walls.
――It was at that moment.
――GOOOOOOONG……！
A heavy bell sound like the rumble of the earth rang out from the depths of the temple. The third bell. The despairing reverberation announcing that the 〈WAIT〉 magic circle Louie had set up had reached its limit and been forcibly released.
But at the same time‚ it was also the signal for the opening of battle‚ as the awakened knight’s rebellion in this courtyard would once again clash with the dark-fighting invader.
Kyle never looked back again. He gripped the hilt of his greatsword so tightly his bones creaked. There was no longer any hesitation left in his eyes.
Chapter 10 『The Two Remaining Bells』 End
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