"Aaaa..."
"It seems she's getting tired now." Sylvester chuckled, seeing the girl struggle so much while reaching him. She certainly had no experience in what she was trying to do.
Even the crusaders were laughing as the girl appeared cuter than deadly. Still, they kept their guards up just in case she turned out to be the decoy.
Eventually, the girl reached Sylvester while panting uncontrollably. She clumsily proceeded to stab her little knife at Sylvester's stomach.
Pa!
But she received a warm slap on the cheek from Sylvester, sending her back a few feet away, tumbling to the ground and her knife released from her hand. But she didn't cry, for she was an orphan and had learnt the hard way that no one ever came to help wipe the tears.
She just glared at Sylvester with her shocking golden eyes.
This was merely the third time Sylvester saw someone with eyes like his own. He was instantly interested in her.
"B-Big Sis!"
"Ah, there is another one," Sylvester exclaimed as he noticed a little boy, likely five years old, running towards them, also with a little knife, but he was so clumsy and nervous that he was falling after every few steps. Only after seeing his sister getting hit did the boy gain some courage.
'Another blonde-haired kid with golden eyes. Who are these two?' Sylvester was amused.
"And what do you want to do?" Sylvester called out.
The boy at first looked at Sylvester with firm eyes. But as he got closer, his steps slowed and his knife slowly fell from his hand. Soon, his eyes became watery, and he ran off to help his sister get up.
"Big Sis! Hurt?"
The girl stood up and kept a strong face, albeit it was clear she had bruised her knee on the fall. She held herself from crying in pain and patted the boy's head. "I'm fine, Max."
'Max? That's the boy's name?' Sylvester moved closer and sat down beside the two, crossed-legged, relaxed as if nothing had happened.
Then, without asking, he hovered his hand on the girl's knees and healed the light scratches. "Be careful, little one. You might end up assassinating yourself at this rate."
"Woah! Magic!" The boy exclaimed, wide-eyed and excited.
The girl was alarmed and stepped back once the pain was gone. "W-What do you want? We're sorry... we will never hurt you again."
"Bwahaha..." Sylvester laughed heartily, a sight many saw for the first time. "Girl, even if you had reached me, you couldn't have scratched me with your soggy weak arms. Now, what are your names, and where are your parents?"
The girl scaredly answered as she was surrounded. The crusaders were standing all around them and appeared menacing. "Ia���I am Diana..., and he is Max. Our mother left us in a crowd and ran away."
Sylvester's eyes shone for a split second before extending his hands. The two shrank their necks in fear of being hit, but they only received pats from his warm hands. And before they knew it, they were covered in warm light.
The two looked up at his face, and their eyes widened in shock. There was a giant halo behind Sylvester's head.
"Diana, that's a lovely name. And Max is what my friends call me. You two... It must have been tough living alone. Are you two fine? Are you hungry? Where do you live right now? It must be freezing."
The boy and the girl didn't even know Sylvester, yet their eyes turned watery. He was the first adult ever to ask them such simple questions. Are you okay? Are you hungry? They had felt they were invisible for the past few months, as no matter how much they cried or asked for help, the people would only ignore them, kick them, or try to take them away for god knows what.
And now, here was this unknown saintly man who they tried to kill and yet got showered with kindness in return. It didn't make sense, as they knew they'd hate it if someone wanted to hurt them.
Thud!
Max, the little boy, jumped to hug Sylvester while bawling his eyes out. Then the girl also jumped in and whispered. "I... I'm--very--hungry."
Sylvester caressed their hair and sang a little hymn, a cryptic reflection of his own true origin.
a??I know what you two feel in your belly.
Emptiness in the stomach, and clothes smelly.
Nights go sleepless, in fear of the unknown.
While kindness, the world had barely shown.
We walk all the streets we've ever known.
Looking desperately for someone to call your own.a??
a??I know what you two feel in your heart and mind.
I know what you are frantically trying to find.
For there was a time, in fate, like you, I was confined.
But cry no more, for you, now I stand behind.a??
"Let us get you two something to eat." Sylvester let them out of the hug and gather themselves.
Little Diana looked at Sylvester in confusion. "W-Why are you being kind to us?"
Sylvester chuckled and looked around at the crusaders. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to be? Kind? Wait! Why are all your eyes wet?"
The crusaders hurried to wipe their eyes and stand straight. Commander Eros nearly even shouted, trying to sound manly. "Must have been the wind, my lord--it's surprisingly warming today."
Sylvester laughed briefly, seeing the double meaning. "Well, it seems it's also raining, commander."
The men giggled and saw Sylvester rise to his feet while holding the hands of the two kids. "You two, I am Sylvester Maximilian, Bard of the Lord, and I live in the Holy Land. Tell me, do you enjoy this life?"
"No!" The two shook their heads vigorously.
"Then tell me how and why you decided to assassinate me. Who told you to do so? Be truthful, and you shall never have to worry about food again." He offered them.
The little boy was small and simple, so he answered instantly. "The bad man said if we kill you, we get money!"
Sylvester glanced at the girl to get a better answer.
"It was a bounty, the man said. He said if we kill you, we can get 200,000 golden coins. We are sorry, mister, we only wanted food. We have not eaten in three days." She answered with her head held low in shame.
"Preposterous!" Cardinal Cornelius exclaimed. "How could there be a bounty on you, Lord Bard?"
Sylvester scoffed and addressed the kids. "Whoever that man was, he lied to you. No, you should have gotten 300,000 gold coins for killing me. It seems he wanted to trick you--just in case you were lucky."
"What!" Diana appeared shocked beyond words. "Even the bad man lies about bad things? So evil!"
Sylvester chuckled, took out two strategic Chonky bananas from his robes, and handed them to the kids. "Eat them and come with me. I will send you to the Holy Land, where you can live with other children. You will get good food and a place to sleep as well. You can study magic too if you have talents."
Sylvester didn't waste more time and left the alley. There were other kids too, but they appeared too old and didn't seem willing to do anything. Only these two were new rookies, hence worth saving.
He got them on the horses and first dropped the Cardinal in the monastery and then made his way back into the crusader camp.
He brought them to Isabella right away, who seemed fine now. "Can you check them for any bodily harm? They are orphans I rescued."
Isabella's big sister instincts rose, and she rushed to check the two adorable golden-eyed kids as if they were puppies.
Lady Aurora walked beside Sylvester and revealed her displeasure. "Since when did you start collecting orphans? These two will cause us more trouble than good."
Sylvester stood still with crossed arms. "Weren't you an orphan too, Lady Aurora? You told me about how the Lord Inquisitor saved you from slavery. So, perhaps, I'm the Lord Inquisitor of these two."
"Oh, since when did our blondie become a softie?" She jokingly made fun.
He walked away to find something else to do. "Everyone should have a softie in them, Lady Aurora. Otherwise, we'd turn into hateful beasts. I remember Archbishop Noah telling me once that who has nobody; the church is their everybody. So I am merely doing my job here--I also liked their names, and they were adorable while trying to kill me."
"Wait, what?"
"Ignore it. I will send them to the orphanage in the Holy Land later. I am deeply interested in their parentage as golden eyes are scarce." Sylvester said and arrived near his personal tent.
"Max!"
He found Felix, Bishop Lazark and Gabriel just arriving too.
"Any clues?" Sylvester asked.
Each one of them shook their head. But Felix also stepped aside and let the two men come forward. They were wearing the body armour of the Inquisitors, with all the markings and the red cloak at the backs.
"Max, I found these two Inquisitor blokes roaming around the town. They were looking to see you but couldn't enter the crusader's camp." Felix explained.
The two Inquisitors came forward and knelt like knights. But only one of them spoke. "Lord Bard, we come here to ask you for help. We come from Ender Village, half a day south of here. We are not crusaders, but Inquisitor garrison stationed at the Ranthburg town."
Sylvester remembered someone just then. "Isn't Commander Sir Arnold also from your Garrison?"
"He is, Lord Bard. He has now been promoted to Inquisitor General. With his orders, we have come here to ask for help." The man answered.
Sylvester glanced at his team and made up his mind. "Since we found no clues, we will have to wait for a reply from the Cardinal. So let's see what our Inquisitor brothers are troubled with."
"It's a Bloodling, my lord! We have already lost four thousand men to the strange effects the Bloodling has on people." The Inquisitor revealed. "We urgently need help."
'Four thousand already lost? Isn't that too much?' Sylvester turned utterly serious as Bloodlings were no joke. He could speak from experience.
But he had some other doubts about these two men. "Why did you come to find me directly? Didn't you go to Duke first?"
"We went to the Duke, but he refused to help and recommended your name as you are a master in dealing with Bloodlings."
Sylvester frowned. 'That bastard wants me out of his land as soon as possible. I can't abandon this post... not this time.'
He glanced to his right. "Lady Aurora, I'm afraid you'll have to go and take care of it this time. We need someone here, too, just in case."
"B-But my lord... we need an expert!" The Inquisitor interrupted.
Sylvester didn't waver because if the Duke was able to destabilise the kingdom, then millions would die. "She's a Grand Wizard. I'm sure she can handle things."
Lady Aurora thumped her breastplate proudly. "Of course, a Bloodling is nothing, boys. Your big sister will come and help. Lead the way!"
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