Chapter 100 - 9-1
The siege of Euryas, which had dragged on tediously, ended up being a surprisingly simple affair.
Jilkito, the company commander of the besieging army, had initially thought it would be easy.
The Euryas Convent was not surrounded by castle walls.
At a glance, the white walls enveloping the convent looked like fortifications. In reality, the buildings—the main hall, the library, the dining hall, the attached church, and others—were arranged in a circle, standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the outside.
In other words, the walls of the architecture themselves served as the defensive barriers to keep out external enemies.
The gaps between the buildings were merely filled with stone walls, making them appear connected as a single wall.
There were no moats, nor were there ramparts.
It was a posture of absolute defense, with no thought given to counterattacking.
The gates were ordinary wood.
—This will be easy.
Jilkito first had the battering ram strike those gates.
He had assumed there would be no counterattack, but the women began throwing stones the size of fists. Since they were buildings, there were windows. The upper parts of the buildings had thin walls and large windows. They leaned out from there and hurled stones.
It was not some cute feminine toss, like a little "heave-ho." It was not a limp way of throwing.
—Hoi.
—Wooo-oi.
They threw them with strange shouts. It was a desperation that bordered on the fanatical.
For those below, it was dangerous even while wearing helmets.
Naturally, the Kosa army drew their short bows and aimed for the windows. It was the appropriate response. However, Jilkito scolded them.
"Idiots! I ordered you not to kill them!"
In the end, he had a triangular roof hastily constructed to cover the battering ram. He couldn't afford to be naive and think it was just stone-throwing. However, the infantry attacking the gates soon retreated.
"It didn't budge an inch."
They reported that the surface of the gate had peeled slightly from the impact of the battering ram.
It seemed metal had been visible beneath.
"Iron? You're saying it's an iron gate?"
If that were true, it should have considerable weight. Could it be opened and closed by the strength of women?
"It's not uncommon in the south." The man in charge of the siege was a southerner named Salustus. "With a hoisting device using claw gears and auxiliary weights, it can be moved up and down like a trapdoor. The Roma Church also exists in Koroi. The southern technology likely spread there. But as expected, Siddim is the land of steel. A log battering ram can't do anything against it."
In that case, there was no choice but to set ladders against the walls.
These walls were also quite high. However, there were windows. Windows with glass. If they broke these, they could infiltrate the buildings.
They gathered ladders at one corner of the architectural complex and attacked all at once.
The women responded skillfully. From the windows, they tossed ropes with hooks with a casual flick. They caught the ladders and knocked them over. Twenty attackers threw their weight against the base of the ladders, trying to hold them down.
The women hurled stones at the men at the base of the ladders. Not only that, they dropped bundles of lit straw, or used poles to drape oil-soaked cloths over the ladders and set them on fire.
The air was dry, and the flames clung to the ladders easily.
Jilkito watched with a sense of composure. The southerners, accustomed to sieges, felt the same.
They had expected this kind of resistance, of course.
Everything was as predicted. It was not something that could be completely blocked by such methods. On their side, they could not kill the nuns. However, the nuns did not possess any significant weapons either. This was the deciding factor. Infiltration was only a matter of time.
Since they had concentrated the ladders on the east side, the nuns must be gathered in the east. He intended to take advantage of that gap and have ladders set against the west wall. Most likely, the nuns would be considerably shaken if even a single soldier infiltrated the building.
If even that failed, however tedious it might be, they could just assemble siege towers and climb onto the roofs.
It was just past noon. The nuns were ringing the bells incessantly.
Jilkito listened to the sound of the bells while touching the crotch of his riding breeches. That was undoubtedly the scream this building was letting out.
The first-year students were in charge of the eastern area of the Euryas Convent.
They were under heavy attack from the enemy.
Lucy immediately requested reinforcements from the third-years in the south and the second-years in the north, having personnel allocated. Thanks to that, they were somehow holding them off. However, Lucy saw that this would not last. It was only a matter of time before they were breached. Lucy steeled herself.
"Carmilla!"
Lucy shouted while hauling in a grappling rope.
Carmilla was handling fire with Lyudmila at a nearby window. She clicked her tongue and came over.
"What!"
"I'm going to offer a suggestion to Robin. Look after this place for a while."
"Got it." Carmilla looked around. "Sheri!"
Sheri had been acting as the one handing stones to the throwers. She came over immediately.
Her complexion was pale.
"Sheri, you're the boss for a while. But I'll take command, so don't worry."
Sheri nodded at Carmilla's words. "Understood."
Carmilla had respected the hierarchy within the group. Sheri gave Lucy a brave smile before returning to her work.
As Lucy tried to leave the scene, her sleeve was grabbed.
Looking back, it was Chloe. Chloe was supposed to be the person in charge of the west side.
"I came to see how things were. What do you plan to do?"
Her tone was quiet, but Chloe's gaze was stern.
"I have something to talk to Robin about..."
"No!" Chloe shouted. "That is absolutely not allowed!"
"I'm going, Chloe."
"I won't let you!"
In Chloe's eyes, which must have seemed arrogant at times, there was a color of terror.
Lucy embraced Chloe's shoulders. She spoke in a low voice. "You were right. I should have left this place sooner. The enemy knows my identity. I see no other reason for them to attack this place. They are seeking me, the King's daughter."
"Lucy—"
"Chloe, I leave the first-years to you!"
Lucy dashed down the second-floor corridor.
She heard Chloe's shout behind her. "Lucy!"
Descending the stairs, she entered the convent's courtyard. Kicking up dust, she headed for the bell tower and ran up its stairs. Robin was here.
The sound of the bell tower's bell was deafening. The one ringing it was a second-year nun whose name she did not know.
"Lucy!"
Robin was near the open windows of the bell tower along with Isaberia.
"Robin! There is something I wish to discuss!"
Lucy spoke loudly so as not to be drowned out by the bell.
"I am—!"
"I know!" Robin also spoke loudly. "For quite some time! Isaberia, you!"
"I know!" Isaberia said without taking her eyes off the outside of the open window. "We found out! Just before the Representative election!"
Lucy was not surprised. Somewhere, she had thought that might be the case.
Robin pointed toward the bell tower stairs.
Lucy nodded and descended the stairs with Robin.
"Listen, Lucy. I'll be blunt."
The two sat down on the stone steps at the entrance of the bell tower.
The sun shone brilliantly into the courtyard. Butterflies and gnats danced over the fields. The elderly had evacuated indoors, so it was completely deserted. The sound of the bell was noisy, and the war cries of the enemy soldiers reached them. And yet, in Lucy's ears, only Robin's voice could be heard.
"I won't hand you over to the enemy."
"The enemy will infiltrate. It's dangerous," Lucy said quickly. "I am the princess of this country. The enemy wants my person."
Robin shook her head and looked forward.
"Lucy, do you know why I was able to become the Euryas Representative?" Robin said. "It's because the Church is shit. Both you and I know that the world, society, everything is imperfect garbage. The more I learn about Tenshu-sama, the more the world's shittiness is exposed. The gap between the ideals of the scriptures and reality becomes insurmountable. I acted high and mighty, pointed that out, criticized it, clarified the problems, and then gathered support by stating hopes for the future, and so I became the Representative. It's superficial stuff."
"I don't think so." Lucy didn't understand what Robin was trying to say.
Robin's steel-colored eyes wandered far off, as if remembering something.
In those eyes, which also looked hollow, Lucy felt she could see the first half of the life of a girl from Delacoon, the city known as the capital of vice.
"You deny it. Everyone is the same. They can't help but believe in the world. Not being able to believe must be something unbearable. Even if it's like this now, the future will be different. I'll surely change it. That's what I claimed, and everyone believed it. I might have deceived them."
"Boasting is not the same as lying. One simply has to make it a reality, and if one strives for that reality, even a failure is merely a failure."
"Is that an aphorism? Quite clever," Robin smiled faintly. "Yes. That is exactly what I'm trying to do. You probably want to sacrifice yourself for our sake and go to the enemy feeling good about it. But that is not our victory."
"It is a victory; if we survive, there is a next time."
"It's a defeat, Lucy. Look at the people outside. They're the same as us; they can't stand the world's shittiness either. They're fighting because they think this is unforgivable. This is their punishment toward the world. They believe they are on the right side."
"...We have Tenshu-sama."
"That isn't proof of correctness. Tenshu-sama is effectively lending a hand to the enemy. The Divine Light is shining on the enemy's side. We must prove our own correctness with our own hands. If we hand victory over to the enemy, the enemy will drive their correctness into this land with that sword. I won't allow that here in Euryas. Our faith must win."
"Robin, right now, such things—I will go outside. I won't be killed. Everyone will be saved."
"No."
"—Do you intend to die? As it stands, the enemy will infiltrate, and our comrades will die."
"Don't underestimate us, Lucy. We are nuns. We must live within death. If we cannot die here, there is no meaning to our existence. We will establish our correctness here."
Lucy spoke imperiously. "That's impossible. As the Representative, you should protect your life above all."
"We are believers, and the Representative is the guide of faith."
—Faith exists for the dead.
Robin turned cold eyes toward her.
"Lucy, what have you been praying for? Faith is not something to be kept only within the heart. One decides and acts, proving the existence of Tenshu-sama. The Church accumulates those proofs. Faith is not something given; it is something won."
Robin's attitude did not waver.
Above all, Lucy thought that this stubbornness could not be overturned.
"I cannot bear the death of my comrades. I am fine being a weak person of shallow faith. I am going outside."
"Lucy, do not insult our faith."
"I'm going."
"Protect our faith above all. Because to us, it is more important than life."
Lucy felt her breathing become shallow.
It was not anger or irritation; she was being driven by something.
—I wasn't a nun.
Lucy thought. She had intended to become a nun, but Lucy was not a nun. She had not found a value in faith that she could stake her life upon. She thought she was the same as everyone else, that they were comrades, but Lucy was different.
"You are not a nun." Robin's eyes seemed to see through Lucy's inner thoughts. "However, you are our correctness. You are the legitimacy of our country. Our faith will protect our legitimacy to the end. That is our victory."
"I am—"
"This world is as heartless as shit, but I want you to transcend that heartlessness. Lucy, the legitimacy of the royal family is entrusted to you. Our justice is entrusted to you. Lucy, you must survive."
"Lucy!"
A voice descended from above.
Looking up, Carmilla was peering out from the window of the second-floor corridor facing the courtyard.
"Come quickly! It's the enemy!"
Instinctively, Lucy turned back to Robin.
"Lucy—"
"Robin, I cannot make a promise."
—I should be able to die.
I should be able to. For the sake of my comrades, I can surely die.
Lucy told herself this and ran. Robin said that Lucy's survival was Euryas's victory. Lucy didn't understand. She was confused.
She had visited Robin because she wanted to protect everyone's lives.
—But if everyone is prepared to die.
Then she wouldn't hesitate either. She should be able to die.
The first thing that entered her sight as she ran up the stairs was a large back.
Glass was scattered in the corridor.
—It's a man.
He stood alone, his center of gravity low. Lucy looked at that back as if looking at a different creature. From the greasy, shining black hair to the armor covered in tanned leather, he seemed less like a foreigner and more like a different species.
Beyond the soldier, the nuns were holding their breath.
The enemy soldier kept his stance low with his legs spread, cautiously turning his gaze toward Lucy.
Various tools for defense were piled at the edges of the corridor, and simple weapons were leaned against the walls. Lucy gauged the enemy's state. The moment the enemy returned his attention forward, she grabbed a long pole with a semi-circular plate attached and thrust it, aiming for the enemy soldier's leg.
The enemy soldier lifted one leg as if dancing and stepped on the semi-circular plate Lucy had thrust.
Thinking her thrust had been weak, she tried to pull it out, but Lucy's weapon no longer budged.
The giant enemy soldier turned back to Lucy with a calm face.
Then, a shadow came running from the front, drawing an arc and gaining momentum.
It was the petite Sheri, wielding a long pole.
The semi-circular plate at the end of the pole dug into the enemy soldier's flank. The soldier groaned shortly and doubled over. Simultaneously, he had grabbed the pole with his large hand and pulled it toward him.
Sheri stumbled forward.
It happened in an instant.
There was no time to think about what to do.
Sheri staggered in a forward lean and fell into the enemy soldier's chest. The giant struck Sheri's side of her face hard with the back of his hand.
It was a blow that sent Sheri's body flying. Sheri collided head-first with the stone wall. A dull sound echoed. Letting out a muddy, choking sound, Sheri collapsed onto the floor.
"Sheri!"
The one who shouted was not Lucy. It was Carmilla.
Lucy was stunned. She stared at Sheri. While she watched, blood began to flow from Sheri's nose and mouth simultaneously.
The enemy soldier was also looking at Sheri. Sheri did not move. The giant clicked his tongue, sighed, and drew a barbarian sword.
"Lucy! Get down! Lyudmila!"
Carmilla shouted. Lucy could not move.
Sheri was lying there. The bleeding was expanding into a pool of blood. She intended to go to her immediately, but her legs would not move. Until this contradiction was resolved, it was impossible to "get down."
Before she knew it, the giant was standing before her.
Lucy realized she had long since let go of the weapon she should have been gripping.
The enemy soldier pointed the tip of the barbarian sword at Lucy's neck. He reached his hand toward Lucy's head.
Lucy stared at the enemy soldier's face. The man averted his gaze from Lucy. He was trying to look back.
A bursting sound echoed, and a rod-like object protruded from the enemy's neck. Lucy was bathed in blood that felt like boiling water. An arrow fired by Lyudmila had pierced the enemy's neck.
"Lucy! Run!"
Lyudmila, holding her bow, said.
Lucy moved away from the collapsed giant and immediately headed for Sheri. She intended to run, but in reality, she was walking sluggishly. She could not look directly at Sheri. She could not look directly at reality. Sheri's eyes were rolled back. By "rolled back," she meant the eyelids. Sheri's eyeballs were protruding from both sides. Lucy knelt and placed Sheri's head on her thigh. With her fingers, she corrected Sheri's eyelids and pushed the eyeballs back in.
"Sheri, wake up."
"Lucy! That's enough, look behind you!"
Carmilla said, descending the corridor stairs.
Lucy looked toward the window. Three new enemy soldiers had already infiltrated by climbing ladders and were inspecting the corpse of their comrade who had taken an arrow to the neck.
"I am the princess," Lucy said in the Enagamo language. "Please withdraw your troops."
All three looked at Lucy.
One of them approached and pinched Lucy's chin and cheek. After staring at Lucy's face for a long time, the enemy soldier said something in a foreign language and let go.
"I am the princess of Siddim," Lucy said again.
"We're the demons of the south."
The enemy soldier said in the Enagamo language.
All three drew their barbarian swords and began to run with an agility that belied their large bodies.
They paid no heed to Lucy's words.
Ignoring the enemy soldiers descending the stairs, Lucy lifted Sheri's upper body.
Sheri's neck bent backward so far that the back of her head touched her back.
In a panic, she settled Sheri's head on her knee. This was undoubtedly the most lost she had ever felt in her life.
"Lucy."
A nun with lead-colored hair ran over, speaking in a whispering low voice. It was Chloe.
"Sheri is dead. Lucy, you can stand, right?"
"Of course I can stand."
"Then let's stand. Lucy, let's leave Sheri here."
"Understood. Go on ahead. I'll follow."
Chloe did not seem satisfied with Lucy's answer.
Suddenly, Lucy was slapped. It didn't stop at one; she was hit two, three times. It didn't even hurt.
"Can you stand now?"
"I told you I can stand, Chloe."
"Lucy, many enemies have infiltrated from the west. Rosary and Daphne are dead. Colette is dead too. Beaten to death."
Lucy looked up at Chloe.
In this moment, Lucy hated Chloe irrationally.
"They're dead," Chloe repeated. "You can be angry, but just stand up."
Lucy tried to stand. She couldn't.
"—What about Prima?" Lucy asked, as if to hide her own pathetic state.
"She's retreating while keeping the enemy in check. Listen, Lucy, this is how you do it. First, slide Sheri's head off your knee little by little. Do it slowly. She's not someone who should be hurt any more than this. You might think I'm lying, but I loved her just like everyone else. Slowly, carefully, yes. That's it. Let's put her to sleep properly."
Lucy followed Chloe's words. She finally noticed that she was crying.
Before she knew it, the bell tower's bell had stopped ringing.
Lucy and Chloe dashed into the courtyard.
Halfway down the stairs, they saw the corpses of two nuns. They were nuns whose names she didn't know. One nun was gripping a weapon, and Lucy picked up that weapon.
Without a word, Chloe snatched the long-pole weapon from Lucy's hand and threw it on the stairs. Without fully understanding the meaning, Lucy was led into the courtyard by Chloe's hand.
"Where is everyone?"
Lucy looked around.
There was no sign of nuns in the courtyard, nor any sign of enemy soldiers. There was only the serene sunlight.
"Inside!" a voice called from somewhere.
Looking up, it was Robin from the bell tower.
"Chloe, get Lucy inside! The enemy is trying to open the main gate! The enemy is coming in!"
Chloe pulled Lucy's hand.
Lucy resisted. She shook off Chloe's hand. "Chloe, go."
Chloe stared back quietly. In her blue eyes, there was a clear, deep glow.
"Lucy, I can't leave you behind."
"Go, Chloe."
"We believe in the royal family. Everyone believes. Especially me—I believe in you."
"Don't say such stupid things! I killed Sheri!"
"Don't be ridiculous."
Chloe grabbed Lucy's collar. Lucy also grabbed Chloe's collar.
"Sheri died fighting the enemy. She died fighting alongside you. It's useless to play dumb; I've known since the first day I spoke with you that you two were fighting together. Lucy, as long as you are alive, Sheri hasn't lost. You cannot let her death be in vain. What is her name?"
"...Sherleen Blanche."
"If you die, the name of that brave woman will vanish. If you are here, her name will not vanish. She's a woman who fought the royal family; her name will live on. As long as the royal family continues. As long as the royal family continues, she can live along with us and the royal family. Because she's a Siddim person. Colette, Daphne, Rosary too."
"Are you okay with that? You're saying you'll protect me?"
"Yes. I'll live with the royal family too. Together with Luchentin Alish. That's what it means to be a Siddim person, Lucy. I won't let this country be changed into something else. It's our country; you're here, we're here, that's our country."
"I won't let go, Chloe."
"You first."
A noise echoed there. Lucy and Chloe pulled their hands away simultaneously.
They were the enemy southerners. Three enemy soldiers came charging fiercely. They ran toward Lucy and the others.
Behind them were cavalry. Four, five, their numbers were increasing.
The cavalry maneuvered their horses leisurely and poked one enemy soldier's back with a spear. The enemy soldier fell easily.
The remaining two were also knocked down in the same manner. The following cavalry delivered the finishing blow to the enemy infantry. The mounted soldiers entered the courtyard one after another, trampling the fields.
The cavalry were raising a flag.
"Just who on earth—"
"It's the Syllabus family."
Lucy replied as if in a trance.
Thinking back, around noon, Jilkito had seen a glimmer in the forest.
He hadn't paid it much mind. He thought it couldn't be the enemy. In Jilkito's understanding, Kosa's scouting was excellent.
If the enemy were approaching, they couldn't possibly fail to detect it.
How was it in reality?
There had been no contact from the scouts for a whole day. Jilkito hadn't given it a single thought.
Jilkito didn't want to make a grim face over such a thing. He intended to overlook the scouts' incompetence. Moreover, he didn't want to disrupt the schedule he had decided for himself.
The glimmer in the forest eventually took the form of cavalry and leaped out from the woods.
It would have been fine if they were unsightly cavalry, but they weren't.
They came straight toward him.
It wouldn't be impossible to mock such simplicity. However, if he had been caught off guard, that was a different story. Jilkito snorted, feeling displeased.
The enemy cavalry were light cavalry wearing leather armor. They held spears. They weren't horse archers; there were separate archers who ran over from the forest. Once they took their positions, they released arrows all at once.
Siddim's bows were longbows. Their range was long.
Dealing with these archers would be the role of the cavalry. Archers could not hold shields and wore no armor. Their defensive power could be called nonexistent. Archers without infantry support could be driven away just by approaching.
—I'll strike from the rear.
Jilkito sent a signal to the cavalry.
The Kosa cavalry turned their horses with sharp mobility and gathered into one.
However, a line of enemy heavy infantry appeared from the hill ahead.
To the right, the east side, was the forest. From the west, cavalry were charging.
Jilkito looked back at the Euryas Convent.
The infantry line that had been besieging it had already collapsed under the enemy's attack. He saw the silhouette of a man who looked like Salustus raising both hands.
It was simple; they had been surrounded.
"Retreat!"
Jilkito's reason commanded so in a thick voice. However, his unsatisfied sexual desire led Jilkito to take a different action. Jilkito, alone, approached the enemy cavalry. Just before contacting the enemy cavalry, he turned his horse with skillful maneuvering.
As expected, about three riders chased after him. Moving right and left, he lured them toward a deserted direction of the battlefield. Furthermore, using the method of firing arrows behind him while riding, he quickly knocked two riders off their horses.
He subdued the remaining rider in a mounted struggle. The opponent had swung a spear bravely, but Jilkito grabbed the shaft of the spear with his bare hand and snatched it away. He was bothered by the fact that it was a strangely long and light spear, but he threw it away. All that was left was to bring his horse close and capture the opponent.
It was a youth with golden hair.
Jilkito scooped up the young body and put him on his own horse. He was a fresh soldier. He was saying something in a young, high-pitched voice. In his arms, he was wriggling like a lively fish. Jilkito arched his back and looked at the buttocks of the youth he had made straddle the saddle.
While thinking the youth probably wouldn't understand, Jilkito whispered gently in the Kosa language into the youth's ear. While strangling the prey's neck to make him lose consciousness, he advanced the horse into the forest.
In this way, Jilkito had easily lifted the siege of Euryas.
Soldiers entered the women-only convent one after another.
The cavalry raising the Syllabus family flag and the Siddim infantry quickly cornered the infiltrating enemy soldiers. The interior of the convent was stained with blood. There were about ten infiltrating enemies; only two surrendered, and the rest were all killed.
The battle was over. It happened in the blink of an eye.
—Most of the enemy fled.
Robin, who had descended from the bell tower, told Lucy so.
"Fibril Village has also been liberated."
"Is this a victory?" Lucy asked, knowing she shouldn't.
"Yes. Be satisfied, Lucy."
The nuns gathered.
Under Robin's instructions, the maidens of Euryas were to gather the bodies in the courtyard.
One of the soldiers offered to help clean up the bodies. Robin politely declined. "Until the prayers for the repose of the souls are finished, we cannot allow men to touch the nuns, even if they are corpses."
Even so, the Siddim soldiers did not leave the courtyard. They stood there looking restless, as if they didn't know where to put themselves. All of them uniformly took off their helmets and held them under their arms, standing away from the lined-up bodies, looking down with sad faces. They were mourning. The soldiers continued to show their condolences. Some soldiers rubbed their eyes with their sleeves.
The number of dead nuns reached fourteen.
Headmaster Dagsaw and the sister nuns of the clergy stood beside the dead laid out on cloths and chanted prayers for the repose of the souls. The nuns, soldiers, and elderly who had evacuated, surrounding the bodies in a spiral, all bowed their heads. It was an incredibly quiet moment. It was a silence where one could almost hear the sound of something rising.
Among the fourteen, five were first-years. Sheri, Daphne, Rosary, Colette, and Lyudmila. Traces of wiped-away blood remained on the bodies. The water in the washbasin left beside them was dyed deep red.
When the prayers ended, Robin walked in front of the soldiers and bowed deeply.
"We wish to bury them quickly. I apologize, but please lend us your strength."
"Leave it to us," a knight who could be called elderly spoke up. "Pull the wagons."
The soldiers began to move all at once.
—I've seen him before.
Looking at the knight who gave the orders, Lucy thought vaguely. Godly Curier. She had met him at the royal palace.
The soldiers handled the nuns' bodies carefully. All the bodies were covered with cloths and placed in the wagons.
The burial site was the Fibril Village cemetery.
Passing through the iron gate that the enemy soldiers must have ripped up, three wagons pulled by horses left the convent.
The nuns formed a funeral procession and followed behind.
Stepping one pace outside the convent, there was a battlefield that still retained its raw vividness.
Southern prisoners with shackles on their limbs were gathered and made to sit in one place. One of the southerners whistled. When the nuns turned their faces, the southern prisoners laughed aloud. Beyond the laughing prisoners was a mountain of war dead.
They were piled up, separated into enemy and ally.
There must have been twenty or thirty bodies.
It wasn't just Lucy. Everyone, upon witnessing the sight, began to run.
The nuns surrounded the war dead, knelt, and began to pray.
The shock at the number of war dead made the nuns forget the distinction between enemy and ally.
A few soldiers were performing the task of throwing the war dead into wagons. When the soldiers saw the nuns running toward them, they perhaps felt intimidated and left the spot, taking off their helmets. When the nuns raised their voices in prayer, they listened with expressions of surprise. Eventually, the sound of the soldiers sniffing their noses could be heard.
Everyone there was silent. One nun who finished praying stood up, then two, passing by the prisoners. The prisoners looked down. The mocking attitude was nowhere to be found anymore.
In the Fibril Village cemetery, grave holes had already been dug. Since there were no coffins, the nuns' bodies were wrapped in cloth and buried. It was a hurried funeral.
After the funeral, Headmaster Dagsaw gathered the nuns.
"We will evacuate to the west under the protection of the Thora family. Please each pray so that we may return to Euryas once more."
The soldiers were throwing soil into the grave holes. The sun was already melting red in the western sky.
Headmaster Dagsaw's dark expression, the twilight cemetery, and the long shadows of the soldiers and tombstones seemed to merge into one, like an eerie painting.
"Wagons have been prepared for those who cannot walk and for the injured nuns. We will depart soon, so begin your preparations. ...I will give you some advice. You must not jump to a simple conclusion about today's events. It is foolish to settle this day's matters with things like victory or defeat, good or evil, right or wrong. Those who want an answer should continue to think about today for the next several decades. There are questions that require time. At least, I intend to do so. Because as I am now, I cannot reach any conclusion about today. Lucy."
Lucy looked up. "Yes."
"You will be taking separate action. Remember that this does not mean you are being exiled."
Headmaster Dagsaw stepped back, clearing the space where she stood.
Behind the Headmaster were knights kneeling on one knee, their cloaks touching the ground. All of them had their faces lowered. A knight with sand-colored hair spoke.
"Your Highness, we wish for you to move to a safe place with us as quickly as possible."
—Laika.
Hearing the voice, Lucy thought it must be Laicanel Thora.
Her arm was grabbed firmly. Lucy was turned around. A black-haired nun jumped into Lucy's chest. It was Carmilla.
Carmilla's eyes were bloodshot and wet.
"Lucy, Lyudmila..." Carmilla shook Lucy with strong force. "That idiot, because she's strong in a fight, she charged right into the enemy. That idiot, despite being an idiot, right before she died, she talked about you. Lucy, please remember Lyudmila. Her name was Lyudmila Raster; she saved you by firing an arrow, didn't she? She saved the princess, didn't she? Lyudmila, Lyudmila—"
"I won't forget, Carmilla. She saved me."
"Daphne too, Daphne saved you too, didn't she? Her name was Daphne Milano. I am Carmilla Caurof."
"I will not forget," Lucy said.
"I am Prima Calieri. My life was saved by Colette Bonnet."
Suddenly noticing, Prima was beside her.
Lucy was surrounded by the first-years.
"I am Neeshka Klausfon."
"Meriza Macken."
The first-year nuns gave their names one by one.
"I'm Delfina Low, Lucy."
"Aksana Petrova, here."
"I am Irma Kesian."
"Lucy, I am Yufie Dante."
"Amalfi Mariave. Of that Mariave family."
Lucy repeated all their names in her mouth. She didn't know if she could remember them. Her emotions were running high. She could only apologize through tears.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry."
"Rosary Hindley." Finally, Chloe spoke. "That's Rosary's name. As for me—this is ridiculous. I won't give my name. You don't need to remember it either. You'll come back, right? If the royal family is safe."
"Yes. I'll come back."
"You have to come back; we're still first-years. So come back."
"I am Luchentin Alish. I will come back."
Lucy grabbed the shoulder of the crying Carmilla. "Carmilla, in winter."
"Yeah, in winter—"
"Chloe, Prima, everyone, in winter."
"Yes, in winter—"
"In winter—"
Everyone answered in turn. Lucy looked over everyone's faces and then turned her back.
Armed men were waiting, still in their kneeling posture. Lucy roughly wiped away her tears. The knights stepped back while keeping their posture low, splitting into two to make a path. It was a path filled with blood-scent and bloodlust that forced tension upon a person. Lucy felt as if she wanted to cast off her habit. Lucy's white habit was stained with blood. Even that wretched habit seemed elegant compared to the path of the cloaked knights, which was filled with a dismal atmosphere.
Laicanel Thora was tense.
Beside him was Ness de Syllabus. Ness raised his face slightly and flashed white teeth.
Sir Godly Curier bowed elegantly.
Lucy continued to walk. At the end of the line, a black-haired knight had his face lowered. He was missing one arm.
Lucy stopped her feet.
"What happened to your arm?"
"I was caught off guard," the black-haired knight answered.
"You swore loyalty to me."
"I have survived relying on that oath."
"I shall reward you. Fulfill your duty."
"What is it you desire?"
"Revenge. I seek revenge."
Yugis Necrat raised his face. "It will likely be settled by winter."
"Very well."
Ahead where she walked, a plump youth was waiting, holding the reins of a white horse.
Lucy walked as if being drawn in. This bleakness was something she felt for the first time. Despite that, it felt familiar to Lucy. Only, this habit. Only this clothing did not suit her current self.