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Chapter 18
“My lady, does it really have to be gold?”
“Yes. Find me a beautiful one. With the leftover money, buy yourself a ring too.”
“Kyaa! My lady!”
Sage spread her arms wide to hug me.
“And for a necklace to match the ring, ask Keldan to buy it for you.”
Sage froze in place.
Keldan glanced at her blushing face, then calmly nodded.
“Understood.”
“N-no, that’s not necessary!”
Her face turned so red it couldn’t possibly get any redder.
Amon, still upset after being teased earlier in the carriage, clicked his tongue.
“Oooh. Teacher, Sage’s face is redder than your hair.”
“Yes, let’s step away before she bursts into flames.”
I laughed with Amon as we walked off, leaving Sage’s sniffling voice behind—and Keldan’s quiet attempts to comfort her.
Amon tugged gently at the hem of my white cape.
“Teacher, where are we going?”
“We’re going to the Feather Knights. Don’t worry, we won’t run into them again today.”
Worried Sage might chase after us, Amon looked around nervously. But then he smiled brightly, happy to have me to himself for the day.
Caw! Caw!
Startled by the crows, Amon tilted his head up nervously.
“Teacher, are we there yet?”
“It’s still far. Slow down.”
He shook his head, refusing to believe me, and hurried his steps.
Ever since we turned into the alley drawn on the map, his face had grown pale.
Caw!
A black crow swooped just above his head, and Amon buried his face in my cape, mumbling as he stumbled forward blindly.
“Teacher, what if this is the wrong way? Shouldn’t we go back?”
His voice sounded like he was begging me to say yes.
“Sorry, but this is the right way. Still, why are all the crows in the capital gathered here? The air feels strange…”
Caw, caw!
As if offended, the crows all cried out at once.
The closer we got to the Feather Knights, the louder and harsher the cawing became. The alley grew so dark it was like night.
I tightened my grip on Amon’s hand and kept walking into the black stone street.
“I can’t believe such a place exists in the capital.”
The atmosphere felt unlivable, but I could still sense people nearby—just none were visible.
“Creepy.”
Finally, at the end of the alley, the darkest building of all appeared.
“This is it, right?”
“J-just a second.”
Amon panted as he checked the crumpled map in his hands. Once pristine, it was now crumpled and dirty from his nervous grip.
Before he could answer, I glanced at it myself and nodded.
“Yes. What an unlucky-looking place.”
In front of the gate stood a life-sized owl statue, its wings spread wide. I frowned deeply.
So this is the man-eating monster Karen talked about, huh.
Amon, only just noticing the statue, bit his tongue in fright.
“Teacher, is this knight order worshiping monsters?”
“That’s not a monster—it’s a holy statue.”
“Then why does the statue of Seorus look like it wants to eat people?”
“….”
Blasphemous words, but I couldn’t scold him.
Inside the yard, training dummies made of straw and holy practice weapons were scattered around.
Clearly, they don’t care about appearances here.
The sound of black gravel crunching under our shoes echoed noisily.
Amon leaned back, trying to pull away, but I dragged him forward.
“Teacher, my hand hurts.”
“Bear with it.”
If something popped out and I lost him in a place like this, it would be a disaster.
Just then, I heard rustling from somewhere unseen.
“!”
“Ahhh! Teacher!”
Amon yanked his hands free and shoved them into his pockets.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to hold hands anymore! You squeeze too hard!”
“Better than losing you.”
“You nearly pulled my hand off!”
I chuckled at his panicked cries.
“A hand won’t fall off from that. Even if it did, I’d reattach it for you.”
Amon’s face went pale—not from my words, but from whatever he saw behind me.
“Teacher… look.”
When I turned, shapes lying on the ground began to rise.
They were black Afghan hounds.
“Great.”
Five of them, at that.
Terrified, Amon shoved his tiny hand back into mine, gripping like it was his lifeline.
“T-teacher, can’t we just go back?”
I pushed him behind me.
“It’s fine. They’re just hounds—we have plenty at our estate.”
“But still…”
Rustle… rustle…
Without any wind, the black branches covering the building’s walls swayed.
“….”
I had to admit Karen was right. Even I wouldn’t want to come here alone.
Click.
“Such refined taste… where did they even find black ginkgo trees to plant? No wonder the crows flock here.”
Then, a low, quiet voice answered naturally, as though it had picked up my muttering.
“Is that so…?”
“Ahhh! Teacher, save me!”
Amon leapt into my arms. I turned my head toward the voice.
A man with pink hair brushed back casually was watching us.
“Oh dear. I only meant to tease the boy a little. Did I scare you too much?”
What? I didn’t even sense him approach.
Was he from the Eastern Continent?
His tone was ordinary, but his coral-pink hair and jewel-like violet eyes were rare here.
Unlike the gloomy yard, he wore a simple light-brown cardigan, which made the surroundings seem brighter by contrast.
“Yes, it’s a bit dark here, isn’t it?”
“….”
Sensing my wary gaze, he turned to Amon instead.
“Scared, little one? Don’t be. At first people think this place is frightening, but those trees are special. They look eerie, but they actually give off energy that purifies dark forces.”
Amon shook his head.
“I’m not scared because of the trees…”
“Ah.”
Just then, a crow cawed loudly overhead. Amon flinched and hid behind me.
“….”
The man must have noticed the heavy mood, because he gave me an awkward smile.
“I forgot to ask—who might you be?”
Still holding Amon, I looked at him sideways.
“Carl Suilen, Purification Division of the Kaien Knights.”
“Ah!”
His face lit up with recognition, and he stretched out a hand.
“You’ve arrived sooner than expected. We’ve been waiting. I’m Nordeel, a lower priest of the Feather Knights.”
It wasn’t the most cheerful introduction, but I didn’t sense any malice from him.
He briefly shook hands with Amon, then focused on me again.
Maybe it was prejudice against Easterners, but his kindly smiling face seemed like it might hide other intentions.
“Excuse me, but are you the Carl Suilen who created the Hyunhosek berries with spirit magic?”
“…That only happened a few days ago. How did word spread so fast?”
“Among us, Kaien Knight news is so valuable it’s worth buying. Not literally, of course.”
“…I see.”
I couldn’t tell if he was joking.
I clenched my jaw. Hayden’s information was already being sold for high prices, but I hadn’t realized even meeting details were leaking. And now my information too.
He must have noticed my irritation, because he quickly explained himself.
“Please don’t be offended. I meant no harm. It’s just—Pin kept bragging about it…”
“Pin?”
Pin was a member of the Magic Search Division, often seen with Jin.
So Jin and Pin were the ones selling our information.
As my eyes sharpened, Nordeel tapped his lips nervously, realizing his slip.
“But… I had heard it was Lady Karen who was supposed to come today. Why are you here instead, Lady Carl Suilen?”
“Ah. Karen…”
I didn’t want to be rude, but I wasn’t good at making excuses.
Before I could say anything, Amon grabbed my hand and announced boldly:
“She didn’t want to come, so my teacher came instead!”
“….”
We both looked down at Amon, then up at each other again.
“Don’t mind what the child says.”
“Haha. But he’s not wrong.”
Nordeel chuckled, not looking upset at all.
“In fact, I’m glad—it means I don’t have to hear Karen’s voice. Please, come in. I’ll light the hallway for you.”
He rubbed his fingers together in the air, and the pitch-dark building lit up dimly from within.
