“Can’t we just go by ourselves?”
“You might die.”
At my words, the Count answered in a grave voice.
“There’s a reason the Swordmaster himself is preparing to go there.”
“What exactly is happening?”
Kyle set down his utensils and asked.
We had planned to leave as soon as the rain stopped, but the Count wouldn’t let us. He had given us a room and a dinner we could never have dreamed of, insisting we stay the night. We tried to refuse, but Rei also held us back, so we ended up joining the breakfast table.
We were the kind who usually stood guard over such tables, not the kind who sat at them.
I cut through something—duck heart or liver, I wasn’t sure—and waited for an answer.
Rei, too, had stopped eating and was watching his father.
The Count spoke.
“They say the contamination is severe.”
“Contamination?”
“No unit that went there has come back in one piece.”
The Count explained briefly.
Apparently, the cursed old castle really was the cause of the monsters that kept pouring into his lands. Something unknown kept crawling out of that place.
There were even creatures among them that the summoners couldn’t control. Something inside the castle seemed to be spawning monsters.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
Behind the castle, deep within a forest so dense no sunlight reached, there was said to be a heavily contaminated area.
Something born there had taken root in the castle.
“Sir Kysis is heading past the castle toward that forest. You will enter the castle and deal with what’s inside.”
Fair division of work.
We weren’t yet skilled enough to purify contamination anyway—that was the work of priests and saints. I had heard rumors that once a person reached Swordmaster, they could “cut away” contamination, but that was far off for us.
All in all, it was a reasonable order.
“Understood.”
I agreed easily and prepared to leave.
Though I thought the warning about dying from contamination was a bit exaggerated.
At the time, I simply assumed it was the Count’s overprotective streak showing again and didn’t think much of it.
Not until I saw the unit preparing to leave with Kysis.
***
“Hilde.”
Kysis looked at me with his usual sly smile.
“Your hair’s gotten longer.”
Well, hair does grow, doesn’t it...
It didn’t feel like a question that needed answering, so I just stared blankly at him. The man stretched out lazily across the carriage seat smirked.
Kyle barely hid his irritation.
As he clicked his tongue and tugged at my collar, Rei bowed politely.
“Sir Kysis.”
“Ah, it’s been a while. You’ve been training hard, I see? You’ve improved quite a bit.”
“Thank you.”
“Rest easy, Sir Kysis. We’ll inform you when we arrive.”
“Where are you going? Get in.”
Kyle smiled through clenched teeth and tugged me toward the carriage, but Kysis sat up halfway and gestured for me to enter.
I saw Kyle suppressing his annoyance and forcing a polite smile.
“Your offer is too kind, but we prefer to ride.”
“You would, sure. You two with the white hair—get in.”
“I’m fine as well,” Rei said calmly.
He had once idolized Kysis, but at some point that admiration had cooled. Maybe because he’d run into Kysis too often while serving in the western division, or maybe because Kysis’s capriciousness exceeded all expectation.
Kysis didn’t seem offended.
He must have expected that answer.
I opened my mouth to refuse as well, but the platinum-haired man suddenly said,
“You said you wanted soup.”
I beamed and climbed aboard.
“Hey.”
Kyle gave me a look of pure disbelief.
“You fold that easily? Ever heard of dignity?”
“There’s no such thing as dignity in front of that soup.”
“I told you I’d ask the cook to make it for you.”
Rei sounded just as exasperated.
Sometimes, he unconsciously revealed that noble upbringing of his.
“You refused back then. What’s this change of heart?”
“I just couldn’t bring myself to ask the Count’s chef for something like that...”
And besides, the chef Kysis knew made the real thing.
That distinctive aroma—either you craved it endlessly or couldn’t stand to have it near you. I was the former. I could eat it every day and never tire of it.
Kysis grinned as I sat across from him.
“Wise choice. I’ll have it prepared as soon as we stop.”
At that moment, the other carriage door burst open.
I blinked and looked toward it.
Flowing red hair.
“Ah, is this person my stand-in?”
A sultry voice floated in.
I blinked again, studying its owner.
Despite the seductive voice, she had a gentle, almost pure face—translucent skin, large clear eyes, and a veil resting neatly on her head.
A Saint.
It was obvious at a glance. She must be joining Kysis and us to purify the contamination.
That made sense—saints were far more effective than priests alone.
But... what was that about a stand-in?
“Yes,” Kysis said with a smirk, glancing at me as she pointed.
“Your hair’s about the same length. He’ll go disguised as you.”
“...What?”
What the hell was he talking about?
“Why do I have to cross-dress?”
“There’s a group targeting the Saint. We’ll be traveling in two carriages, but we can’t exactly let her ride in the obvious one, can we? You’ll play her double.”
“Me?”
“I can’t risk someone unskilled. A stray arrow could kill a handmaiden otherwise.”
“But me?”
There are plenty of female knights!
Kyle, who’d just scolded me for having no dignity, was now leaning against the carriage, barely hiding his laughter. Rei was looking up at the sky, clearly proud of his decision not to get in earlier.
Kysis chuckled, his violet eyes curving.
“Unfortunately, no female knights are assigned to this mission. Plenty of priestesses, though.”
“Female magician?”
“Just Cecil—and she’s my personal observer.”
“This might sound a bit self-conscious, but can’t you see my muscles? I’m not small or slight. I don’t exactly have a body suited for disguising as a woman.”
“You’ll be inside the carriage anyway.”
Kysis laughed as his eyes flicked up and down me.
“From the window, only your collarbone will show. Just wear the Saint’s robe and veil. The robe hides the body’s shape, so the muscles won’t show.”
“The robe won’t even fit me.”
“It’s fine. We have large sizes too,” said the red-haired Saint with a sweet smile.
I was speechless.
I looked between Kysis and the unknown Saint, then turned to my so-called friends.
Not that I expected help—but still, they didn’t even pretend to care. They were barely holding back laughter, watching my misery like it was theater.
Those bastards were no help whatsoever.
Wait.
“Curly hair.”
“What?”
I pointed at Kyle.
“You’ve got long curly hair. Shouldn’t he be the decoy? He looks exactly like her—same long, curly hair.”
“Which one?”
“That knight over there.”
“Oh my.”
The Saint tilted her head, then covered her mouth with her hand, blushing slightly as she looked at Kyle.
No.
“Is he the knight accompanying us?”
“Ah, yes.”
Kyle inclined his head politely.
“Kyle. A pleasure, my lady.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I watched, dumbfounded, as the demure Saint circled the carriage to stand before him. Rei was laughing so hard his face was buried in his arm, but I barely noticed. All I could see was the Saint shyly smiling at Kyle, and Kyle responding smoothly in kind.
They had completely forgotten about the decoy discussion, chatting pleasantly instead.
What are you two doing?
Kysis smirked.
“Looks like it’s you after all.”
“Ha.”
“I’ll pick something pretty for you.”
The world is unfair.
In the end, I put on the Saint’s clothes with a lifeless expression. The maids swarmed around me, veiling me, gloving me, and draping me in the holy robes. My sword was hidden beneath the black robe; they perfumed me to mask the smell of sand and blood.
Meanwhile, Rei was openly laughing, Kyle was smirking, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) and Kysis chatted with the Saint.
At one point, Kyle even smiled faintly and told her,
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you reach your destination safely.”
“Hey.”
I hurled a glove at him from where I sat stiffly in the carriage.
“I’m the one you’re supposed to protect.”
“Of course.”
Kyle turned smoothly toward me, flashed a grin, and said,
“I’ll protect you too. You look lovely, by the way.”
I want to go home.
But once again, my wish didn’t come true. I was the only one unhappy about this situation, and no one cared enough to listen.
When the disguise was complete, the carriage set off—with Kysis and me inside, veiled and perfumed, surrounded by elite guards—toward the corrupted castle.
Where did it all go wrong?
That thought kept circling in my head until the ambush hit us on the road to the castle.
***
Together with Rei and Kyle, I killed the source of the contamination in the castle.
A massive wyvern covered in black parasites had coiled itself within the ruins—that had been the cause of the monster outbreaks. We fought our way up to the fourth floor, through swarms of creatures, and cut it down.
Then we immediately headed for Kysis’s position.
Behind the castle lay a dense forest, air heavy with the stench of damp earth and rot.
We pushed through the thicket until we found Kysis—his usual grin wiped away.
The Saint was praying, priests surrounding her.
And before them, the contamination painted everything red.
“...Ah.”
It was a grotesque sight.
We stopped, speechless. We didn’t need to ask which area was contaminated—it was obvious.
The greenery was gone, replaced by red. A blinding, unsettling red that reminded me disturbingly of living flesh. It coated the ground and trees, pulsing faintly as if alive.
“The roots of the World Tree are corrupted.”
Without turning to us, Kysis spoke, eyes fixed on the horrific scene.
“You can feel it, can’t you? That’s the World Tree’s root.”
I could feel it.
The heavy, vast presence of the World Tree.
It was so enormous its roots reached everywhere. People sometimes stumbled upon them unexpectedly. This place must’ve been one such spot—part of the root had surfaced above ground.
Now it was covered in crimson veins.
Rei frowned and bit his lip hard. Kyle cursed under his breath.
I exhaled slowly.
“Why is this happening?”
“No idea.”
Kysis’s voice was cold as he continued, still not looking away.
“But one thing’s certain—this is the cause of all the recent disturbances.”
Prayers echoed through the forest.
Layered, resonating chants that, strangely, felt eerie rather than holy.
Maybe because everything before our eyes was red.
Rei looked at Kysis, eyes slightly bloodshot.
“Are other places like this too?”
“Probably. Fortunately, the spread is slow. We can still keep up.”
“Is purification possible?”
“With this combination, we’ve always succeeded.”
Kysis murmured without taking his eyes off the root.
He didn’t seem to be looking at it, though—more like staring through it, lost in thought.
“If we keep purifying it, there’ll be no problem.”
It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
“Then it’ll be fine... for a long time.”
And indeed, his words proved true.
For a long while after, we lived without realizing how dangerous the contamination truly was.
***
A long time passed.
Not a short time, either. We went through many things—Kyle nearly died suppressing a rebellion, the Count’s family was framed and Rei nearly executed. My comrades discovered that I suffered seizures almost every time I used “Absorption.”
Ah, and we hunted dragons. We unearthed long-lost relics, obtained the Moonlight Garnet, and together with Kysis subdued a corrupted offspring of the World Tree after “Absorption” went berserk.
Through all that, the three of us walked the path of the sword.
We earned the title of Swordmaster.
And, later, the rank of Knight Commander.
Only Kyle and I received that title, but—
The important thing is, much time had passed. And by then, I had even more to lose.
“Commander!”
I had subordinates now.
Sweeping my wind-tossed white hair back, I turned my head.
They were running toward me, breathless.
“Urgent summons!”
“Noel.”
Calling his name, I gave a lazy smile.
“Yvon. You don’t have to run.”
