Chapter 89: (2)
When the knight with a sinister look in his eyes looked at Linda and Balon, who were filled with fear, Linda hid her face in Balon’s back.
Gulp.
Balon and the surviving soldiers slowly retreated, coughing up blood, and gestured for Balon to escape.
“Sigh! These annoying guys are like trash.”
Boom!
Kicking a fallen soldier who had been hit by the knights with his foot, a knight approached Balon.
Looking at the fallen comrades alternately, Balon bit his lip firmly and gently lowered Linda, who had been on his back, to the ground.
“Lady Linda… I’m truly sorry. I’ll do my best to hold them off, so please keep running in that direction.”
“Uncle Balon! I don’t want to go alone…”
“Please, hurry!”
Pushing Linda, who seemed like she might burst into tears at any moment, Balon blocked the path of the knight-like individuals.
“You filthy knights. I didn’t like the way you looked at Linda since you came to escort her.”
“Grr! Fine, kill him as cruelly as possible. You guys, kill that little Linda.”
“Yes!”
“Stop! I’ll be your opponent!”
Balon swung his sword in an attempt to block them, but the knights closed in on Linda with a mocking look in their eyes, ignoring his efforts.
“Is this the end…?”
Balon thought everything was over as he watched the knights chasing after Linda and the two knights who had pursued her, all the while laughing wickedly.
“Kraaah!”
The screams of the knights who had chased Linda echoed through the forest. When Balon quickly turned his gaze in that direction, he saw Linda and two wounded knights lying on the ground. There was also a man standing there with a white cat on his shoulder, blood dripping from a raised sword.
**** ****
[These bastards! Trying to kill a child!]
Reika was furious at the behavior of the knights lying on the ground.
“I mean… we did kill them. Looking at the situation, it seems these guys were the bad ones, right?”
“Yes! Look at the child’s expression! She’s terrified!”
As they approached the presence they had sensed, a young voice, likely that of a child, reached their ears. Turning in that direction, they found two individuals who appeared to be knights, brandishing their swords and attempting to kill a child. So Kaiyan killed the knights without properly assessing the situation. It was wrong for a knight, who possessed great strength in any situation, to swing a sword at a defenseless child.
“Who are you?”
When Kaiyan turned towards the sound, a knight and a person who seemed to be a soldier were staring at him with surprised eyes among the fallen people on the ground.
“Me? Why do you care?”
“Ugh! You dared to kill knights! This is a serious crime! Drop your weapons and kneel right now!”
“You guys were trying to kill a child. I don’t think those who were about to kill an innocent child have the right to speak like that. Were knights allowed to kill defenseless individuals?”
“Well, that’s…”
As the knight stammered in confusion, memories he didn’t want to recall resurfaced. When he was on the battlefield hunting monsters, he had asked a knight what being a knight was. He had proudly said that they were beings who protected nobles and the powerless. Children were a top priority among the powerless. Therefore, if he was truly a knight, he shouldn’t be able to kill a defenseless child.
“Th-thank you, sir.”
As he lowered his head in response to the voices coming from below, the young child held onto his trembling hand and expressed her gratitude. Then, she glanced at him as if she had something to say but hesitated, mumbling under her breath.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Could you… if possible… save Uncle Balon?”
“Balon?”
The young child pointed towards the soldier confronting the knight. The knight, thinking that the child was pointing at him, stepped back in surprise and spoke.
“…I won’t press any charges even if you withdraw now. So, when I send you off, leave quickly. I am a knight of the Markain family, part of the Mareon Empire!”
“The Mareon Empire? Why are knights from the Mareon Empire here?”
Even if this place was the eastern border of Menislan, it wasn’t a place where knights from other countries would normally be found, unless they were herb collectors. There were no tourist attractions nearby either.
The Mareon knight bit his lip, apparently finding it difficult to answer my question.
“You don’t need to know that! If you don’t withdraw immediately, the Markain family will not only kill you but your family as well!”
“…My family too?”
“Hehe! That’s right! Don’t you know that the likes of commoners can’t oppose noble families?”
Perhaps thinking that my voice had become too small due to fear, the knight raised his arrogance and shouted loudly, oblivious to the fact that he had provoked me.
Kaiyan suppressed the anger boiling inside him and looked straight at the knight.
“Just out of curiosity, how prominent is the Markain family in the Mareon Empire? Are they a big deal, or are they just one of many noble families?”
“…One of many? You mad fool! The Markain family holds the title of a Baron with a long-standing tradition!”
The knight gave him a strange look as if he thought Kaiyan was talking nonsense.
“A Baron?”
[“Pfft!”]
At the mention of a Marquis, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Think about it; consider all the nobles Kaiyan has met so far.
Barvan, from the Carsia family that produced an Aura Master. Tarrien from the Cheniavin family, known as the Grand Duke of the East. Adolf who provoked Kaiyan’s competitiveness.
All of them were pillars of formidable families. And yet, He is this knight talking about a mere Baron family.
“Are you trying to make me laugh?”
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