Chapter 14.5

“Kaiden was never in danger, Brienne. You were judged by Demekia, but from the god’s perspective, Kaiden was just a pitiful soul.”  

‘He was not the target of that harsh judgment.’  

‘So there was no need to feel so sorry.’ Herace’s large hand gently stroked Brienne’s cheek.  

“…I see.”  

Brienne leaned into the gentle touch and smiled weakly.  

Kaiden is alive.  

Only then did she feel as if the heavy stone pressing on her heart finally lifted.  

“Thank you, Herace. Then, when I meet Kaiden, let’s ask if he knows Lady Bailey’s whereabouts too.”  

Brienne smiled softly and tried to stand.  

But just then, people began pouring out from the hall as the funeral ended.  

Spotting Diashi standing there with an awkward expression, Brienne leaned toward her again.  

“Come to think of it… Miss Diashi, you haven’t gone in yet?”  

“Oh, no, I…”  

At the question, Diashi looked up in surprise, then quickly lowered her gaze.  

Realizing what was troubling her, Brienne quickly spoke.  

“Then come with us.”  

“It’s just that… I’ll go alone later. Miss and Sir Herace, you’ve already paid your respects.”  

Brienne gave a gentle smile to Diashi, who was hesitating for some reason.  

“It’s alright, Miss Diashi. It’s a friend’s last moment, after all.”  

Last moment.  

At those words, Diashi’s yellow eyes wavered. Brienne reached out her hand to Diashi.  

“Come on.”  

“…Thank you.”  

Only then did Diashi, looking a bit relieved, take Brienne’s hand.  

Warm sunlight followed behind them as they walked toward the funeral hall.  

A cool breeze blew.  

Brienne looked up at the sky for a moment.  

As if to say that there is always good news to balance out the bad, the bright sunlight tickled her eyes.  

Now, she would apologize to Kaiden.  

If she could find out the real culprit from Lady Bailey, she would feel even more at ease.  

‘If only everything goes according to plan…’  

But why does life always go off course?  

That evening.  

On their way back to the palace, Brienne and Herace’s carriage was attacked.  

Before they could even resist, masked men stuck syringes in them.  

* * *

Her head throbbed as if it would split open.  

Her own breath flowed right back into her mouth. In that stifling air, Brienne barely opened her eyes.  

A buzzing sound rang in her ears.  

She couldn’t see anything.  

Brienne let out a small groan and raised her bound hands to feel in front of her chest.  

A rough texture brushed against the back of her hand.  

As she gathered her senses and twisted her body, she realized that she was surrounded on all sides by fabric with not even a crack.  

‘…A sack.’  

Only then did Brienne realize she was not only tied up, but trapped inside a sack.  

Frightened, Brienne tried to recall her hazy memories.  

She had definitely been returning to the academy with Herace.  

‘What happened after that?’  

Strangely, her memory was blurry. It was as if she had dreamed, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall it.  

‘…Herace.’  

Where was Herace?  

Brienne held her breath and placed her hand on the fabric.  

<It’s not difficult. Feel the energy flowing through your body, and try pushing it out through your fingertips.>  

She remembered Herace’s languid voice as he tried to teach her magic by touching her fingertips.  

That day, she hadn’t really practiced before falling asleep, but she had practiced now and then, so it was worth trying.  

Brienne took a deep breath and focused on feeling the energy in her body.  

With half a mind, she concentrated the power at her fingertips, and a tiny hole really did appear.  

At that moment, footsteps approached.  

“You idiot, you almost ruined everything. Why do you keep acting on your own?”  

“…I’m sorry.”  

Brienne flinched and held her breath.  

Through the hole, she could see the men talking.  

One, two, three.  

The one who seemed to be the leader stepped forward.  

“Get it together, Winor.”  

Smack!  

The man’s head snapped to the side from a strong slap.  

It happened to be toward Brienne’s side.  

The man bit his lip and his eyes seemed to meet hers through the tiny gap, even though that couldn’t be.  

‘…Did he notice?’  

Brienne swallowed hard.  

A cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck from the man’s gaze, which seemed to stare directly at her.  

“……”  

But soon the man looked away and just muttered with his head down.  

“I’ll handle it properly this time.”  

“Disgusting bastard…”  

The man who had slapped him clicked his tongue and looked around at the others.  

“Can we really trust a guy who ran off alone while his comrades were dying?”  

“Oh, I heard about that. The higher-ups knew and tried to kill him, but he even sold out his own younger brothers.”  

“Yeah, if only this guy Winor wasn’t the only one of us who could use magic tools…”  

…Winor.  

That unmistakable name brought Aaron’s voice to Brienne’s mind.  

<I’ve found the man you described.>  

<His name is Winor, from the Peterman slums. He has two younger siblings, and the youngest is said to have an incurable disease.>  

It was something Brienne had asked Aaron and Sir Kelton to look into after she woke up.  

Brienne quickly brought her eye close to the hole.  

Looking closely, the man’s face was familiar. He even had a bandage wrapped around his right hand.  

It was definitely him.  

“Well, it can’t be helped. He’s the one who helped us hit the Main Temple, right? Stole all those magic tools and even managed to replicate them. Impressive.”  

“But how did an academy graduate end up with the likes of us?”  

“Isn’t it obvious? What good things could happen to a penniless commoner at an academy full of nobles?”  

“True… If he quit that fancy academy to hang out with us, it’s pretty clear.”  

Their conversation, full of jealousy and mockery, ended then.  

“Hey, Winor. Check the mana circuits again and get back upstairs. We’ll be arriving in Rontiano soon.”  

The leader left her field of view.  

“Hurry up! Or you may never see your brothers again!”  

Waving their hands, the men left the room. Their unpleasant laughter faded into the distance.  

Brienne watched carefully.  

Since this was the man who had tried to kill her at the ruined Main Temple, she didn’t know what he might do this time.  

Her whole body was tense.  

But instead of approaching Brienne, Winor slumped down and sighed.  

Brienne, who had been on edge, was puzzled.  

‘Why isn’t he doing anything?’  

She was sure their eyes had met earlier…  

Just as she was thinking that, Winor turned toward her.  

“Making a hole in the sack on the visible side—are nobles always this clueless?”  

“……”  

Brienne wondered if she had misheard.  

But Winor strode over and lifted the sack Brienne was in. Brienne, startled, clamped her mouth shut.  

She braced herself, wondering if he would throw her to the floor, but instead, the sack was moved to a slightly darker place.  

He even leaned back comfortably.  

“Why…”  

Brienne opened her mouth in confusion.  

Winor peered through the tiny hole in the sack and said,  

“Can’t you tell? Are you just oblivious, or really that clueless?”  

To call her clueless twice…  

Brienne blinked at Winor, dumbfounded.  

He had once tried to kill her. Now, he was openly calling her foolish.  

His consistent attitude made Brienne sigh.  

She really didn’t like him, but there was nothing else she could do.  

“…If you’re helping me, thank you. You’re the one who tied my hands in front, aren’t you?”  

When she tried to confirm, Winor nodded. She had thought it wasn’t done the usual way, but it seemed he had intended to help her from the beginning.  

“Yeah, I did.”  

“…Why did you help me?”  

She asked because she really couldn’t understand, but Winor didn’t answer. He just stood up and moved away from Brienne, as if preparing to leave.  

“You’ll be loaded onto a freight wagon soon. I’ll leave the door loosely locked, so stay quiet, and when the wagon starts moving, escape then.”  

Watching Winor turn away, Brienne hurriedly asked,  

“What about my companion?”  

“……”  

“The man who was with me—he’s here too, isn’t he?”  

Winor stopped walking. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly nodded.  

Thankfully, his answer was detailed.  

“…He’s not in this room, but he is here. But don’t expect me to help that noble, too. Since he’s a famous mage, the security around him is much tighter than here.”  

Even as he said that, Winor nervously fiddled with a dagger hidden at his waist.  

Brienne’s gaze drifted to Winor’s bandaged hand.  

Whatever the circumstances, since she had left a big wound on his hand, she figured he couldn’t have good feelings toward her…  

‘If he’s telling me even this much, I can trust him.’  

Seeing that he was risking himself to help her, Brienne sat up straighter.  

In any case, she had no intention of leaving without Herace.

“Then tell me where that man is.”

“Hey, like I said before, I…”

“If you grant me that favor, I’ll help you too.”

Winor, who had been frowning, paused and turned to Brienne.

“…You’ll help me?”

Brienne quickly nodded. The sack leaning against the wall wriggled and moved forward.

“They’re holding your family hostage, aren’t they? You want to save them, right? So I’ll help you.”

“……”

“So your brothers can meet you safely.”

Winor’s eyes wavered.