Chapter 98
Chapter 98
[Axel's POV]
I awoke in the academy chapel to a cold breeze passing through the building. Someone had entered, but the shadows of the room obscured their face. It was somewhat surprising to see that it was still dark outside, so I took it as a sign to stay in my assigned bed.
“You're still asleep?”
A familiar voice spoke over me, and I rolled back to face him with a wide grin.
“Just woke up, in fact.”
Rex smirked slightly, but mostly remained as composed as usual.
“Wait… You haven't been checking on me, have you?”
I sprang up and looked around in horror. It was just as I feared, none of the girls I had wooed over the past few months were waiting at my bedside.
“Urgh! For my only visitor to be a , gross!”
“Shut up, idiot. I only came for a couple of minutes last night. This is my second stop.”
I let out a sigh of relief. But then his words hit me.
“Hold on, how long have I been here?”
Before he could respond, I held my hand out to prevent him from speaking, then flexed my muscles.
There was no doubt, my abs felt flabby, and my legs were creaking like an old man's arthritic hip. I must have been in a coma.
“...Three months?”
I peeked at Rex and took a guess.
“Try two days.”
He tossed a water flask my way, and I snatched it out of the air.
“Goddamn man, did you really need to beat me that hard? I've lost two days in this bed. These babies need attention, you know?”
I flexed my biceps and took a swig.
“Hm? You little imp, how'd you get this?”
The moment the sweet, amber liquid touched my tongue, I realised my good friend had gone through some special effort for me.
“Evelyn got taken away for questioning, so nobody is manning the tavern. I just helped myself as payment for saving the place.”
Rex shrugged and sat down on a bed next to mine.
“And for the record, I never intended to go that far. forced my hand, you absolute psycho.”
I cackled at his expense.
“You're welcome! C'mon, man, you act all calm, but I see how you are when the gloves come off. Don't tell me you don't get a thrill when your life is on the line.”
He folded his arms. I took special note of the fact that his severed arm was already restored.
“I fight and kill as a matter of necessity. Pointless bloodshed doesn't excite me.”
I laughed again.
“Then why were you ignoring Alma when she repeatedly commanded us to stop?”
“I didn't hear her.”
“Yeah, because you were so immersed in our fight that everyone else faded away, right? the world I love to live in.”
Rex had an annoying habit of deflecting, but I staunchly believed I was one of the few who had seen what lay beneath the surface.
“Believe what you want.”
He did not break eye contact, and his tone never wavered. As always, he gave no outward signs to tell me I was right.
But it didn't matter. No matter how much of a liar he was, the mask dropped once he bared his fangs. Maybe that was why he wore an actual mask? To hide his true self from the world.
If so, it was pretty stupid to fight me without it, not once, but twice now.
“There's a lot to catch you up on.”
He changed the subject.
“Pretty much none of the students are around anymore. Alma wanted to get some gold class volunteers to join the army, but nobody was confident enough to raise their hand.”
“How pathetic.”
Rex nodded at my comment.
“I know. Why even apply here if you're too scared to participate in the real thing? Anyway, the Soleans are gone, too. I tried to hold Alma off so we could be a part of the escort, but she wouldn't hear a word of it.”
I expected as much. With my earlier outburst, there was no way she would risk having me on board. And after Rex explained her goal, I understood that the hurried timeframe was too integral to her strategy, so she wouldn't delay it while we were recovering.
“Meztili and Rose joined the others and are headed to Kronenstadt. Oh, and your sister sent a message.”
That caught me by surprise. Rex pulled out an already opened letter.
“Oi, why didn't you wait to open that?”
I glared at him.
“It was addressed to me, though?”
He waved me off and read out the contents.
In a nutshell, word of my uncle's loss had spread, and the nobility were in an uproar as almost all of them were unaware that this war was ever meant to happen.
It went on to detail that a squad of vampire knights had already arrived at Lion's Maw and would be stationed in Farrowgate.
“It says there are only 10. Is that normal?”
Rex paused to ask my opinion.
“Not at all. That's a huge number of them to send out at once. Is there any mention of other reinforcements?”
Seeing him shake his head, I continued.
“Probably because Leonidas pissed the nobility off. They're not sending any support.”
“Couldn't he just order them to help?”
“Of course, but politics is one big game of making others jump through hoops. They'll delay, make excuses, do whatever they have to to put off obeying the order, and by the time they commit, it's too late.”
Rex nodded in understanding and continued.
“Apparently, more are going to join them. All of Guy’s family, by the sound of it. But they're all much further away, so no more reinforcements are expected for two months at least.”
That was bad news for us, especially if we hadn't taken Lion’s Maw before their arrival. The Vespertilles were one family I had to acknowledge as a legitimate threat, even to me. Fighting them in a cramped fortress was practically suicide.
Rex went quiet as he seemed to be re-reading the letter with a furrowed brow.
“What's up?”
“Nothing… Just thought there would be a mention of the Windsor family.”
He shook his head and finished the last part of the letter.
“And then she left a kiss in the corner and said she can't wait to see me again.”
“What!?”
Fury guided my hand as I snatched the letter from his unresisting grasp.
“Ha! You wish, this is clearly Gina's handwriting.”
My blood pressure returned to normal, and I tossed the letter back without a care.
“...Are you you should be on this side?”
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Rex looked at me sceptically.
“Of course! She'll be safe, she's a trooper.”
“Alright, well, now that you're awake, your lashing will be carried out tomorrow morning.”
Rex stood and produced a vial from his jacket pocket.
“Pain killer. Take it.”
“Pfft! The whips tear apart when they touch this body.”
I refused the offer.
“Alma's whip is specially made, little shards of mythril poke out, and she feeds her mana through them.”
He explained. We shared a moment of silence, and I remembered how resilient he himself was.
I took the vial.
“How many lashes did we get?”
“I had five. You've got ten.”
“Huh. I expected more, to be honest.”
I downed the rest of my drink and hid the vial beneath my pillow.
Rex seemed to be satisfied that there was nothing else to talk about and turned to leave without another word.
And I didn't stop him. There was no need for apologies. No need to talk about our fight. Everything had already been communicated and understood.
That was the beauty of our friendship. That was why I valued him to the point that I chose to stick around for so long.
Rex Jaeger was a true comrade who had earned my respect.
***
[Rex’s POV]
My days had grown rather burdensome since Alma's arrival. From the crack of dawn, we were all expected to give 100% into preparing for the next battle. Perhaps because of my incredible recovery time and the fact that I didn't need to sleep, she gave me special consideration in the work she forced on me.
For example, she would bring me into her office and have me assist with the ridiculous level of paperwork she had piled up, then she would use my talents to tame various wild wolves and bring them back to town.
That second task was quite fun, actually, but it didn't change the fact that I had practically zero downtime at all.
Even when I saw Rose and Tilly off, I was practically half-dead and barely comprehended what was said to me. There were tears involved, though, I remember that much.
It wasn't really a goodbye, seeing as I planned to follow them when all was said and done, but it did leave my relationship with Tilly a little undefined. We weren't a couple, nor was there any awkward confession. But certainly, saying we were just friends felt strange. Maybe “friends with a potential for more” was the best way to put it.
But did I even want that? Lily wasn't wrong to express doubt that our personalities could ever mesh in the long term.
“Hey, you.”
Alma kicked my leg hard.
I looked up, our heavily sunken eyes locking. The fact that she had stopped calling me “newbie”, “young blood”, “milk-breath”, and so on spoke to how her opinion of me had been raised. I think.
“We've got a strategy meeting now. Come along.”
She ordered while trusting a mug of coffee into my hand.
“You were serious about that?”
I gratefully accepted the offering and stood to join her at the door.
“There are some points that we need to cover where your perspective will be helpful. Get the door.”
I did as ordered and followed her out to one of the classrooms. It used to be used for history lessons, but every room had already been repurposed, and now it served as a briefing room.
We must have been the last to arrive, as the room was already filled. Draven and Klaus were present as expected, and most of the others consisted of knights in charge of their own squads. But most remarkably, were the two elves.
Fleur looked well and nodded amicably at me as our eyes met. Gaspard, on the other hand, was clearly in a bad state. His wounds had been tended to, but the eye I had claimed was apparently impossible to repair. An eye patchto be custom-made for him, as the hole regularly expelled an ominous black sludge. From what I heard from Alma, it had a spatial relocation enchantment that sent the sludge into his cell's latrine.
Still, the occasional leakage seeped through. And yet despite it all, he still sat with a proud serenity that made one forget he was a bound and guarded prisoner.
Alma made me sit by her. Presumably, this was her way of saying, “He is here by my decree. Don't question me.”
“Are we all accounted for?”
She asked as a matter of decorum before immediately proceeding.
“Any word on the Solean kids?”
Alma cut right past all the introductory time-wasting and addressed the first topic.
“There was an incident this morning.”
One of the knights, still bearing the signs of an intense training session, spoke up.
“Some of the kids decided to make a run for it. The escort let them go, but this turned out to be a mistake. They were found dead along the beach.”
He looked at me briefly, but the concern in his expression was wiped away by Alma's following comment.
“Idiots. If they couldn't handle the wildlife, they should have stayed put.”
“Actually, their wounds suggested that clean cuts were the cause of death, more akin to a fine blade than a beast’s pincers or claws.”
The knight responded.
This caught everybody's attention.
“Do we know the culprit?”
Alma pressed on.
“No, but the head of the escort opted to retrieve the bodies and bring them back here for autopsy. Luckily, the survivors are not aware.”
Alma sighed in relief.
“Good. Mikhail was in charge, correct? Prepare a bonus for his quick thinking.”
The knights nodded and finished up his report.
“They have decided to set up camp early to await your command. Should the children still be left alone if the Farrowgate soldiers don't show up?”
“This complicates matters… Send word that they are to escort them the entire way in that scenario.”
“Ma'am?”
Draven cut in.
“Would this not undermine your goal?”
“Of course it does.”
Alma responded with annoyance, though it was clearly aimed at the situation, not Draven.
“We have no choice, though. If some nutjob is out there cutting up school kids, we'll take the blame for it as the ones who left them there. This matter must be kept confidential, understood? Officially speaking, the deceased are missing persons at most, as far as we know.”
Draven and Klaus looked uncomfortable, but everyone else had been serving under Alma for years and took this in stride.
“Rex, we can't have scouts roaming that far out. See if your goblins can find anything.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Good. Moving on, I hear we have received letters from both the Leafwhisper commune and Soleo today.”
“That's correct, ma'am.”
Draven produced both letters in question.
“The elves have agreed to a ceasefire in return for guaranteeing the Sylvain siblings' safety. They also agreed not to interfere any further in any matters between us and Soleo, but that is as far as they are willing to go for now.”
“Great news. Now we only need to focus on one target. Rex, you may also want to tell the goblins to cease hostilities with the elves when you see them.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Neither Fleur nor Gaspard reacted much, but I did catch a subtle release of tension in their shoulders.
“As for Soleo…”
Draven continued.
“They have sent a lengthy reply. Parsing all the decries of foul play and declarations of our dishonourable conduct, they basically say they won't engage in diplomacy. They did demand the release of all prisoners, including, of course, their princess. But no offer was made in exchange for doing this.”
“prisoners? We only have Bridgit now.”
Alma looked around the room, seeking an explanation.
“Ah, yes. It seems that they believe we are holding someone by the name of Evelyn Rubycrest. I suspect this refers to Evelyn, the tavern owner. It is possible she is a runaway from a noble family."
That explained the interaction I had witnessed in the Burning Sprite.
“She has not confirmed the full story, but with this, I believe we have appropriate grounds to interrogate her and obtain some answers.”
“Ah, may I make a suggestion?”
I politely interjected before that line of thinking could proceed.
“Speak.”
Alma nodded.
“Axel is on friendly terms with Evelyn, and it is in our best interest to remain as morally superior to Soleo as possible in the public eye. Maybe we should approach with a more even hand, rather than arresting and questioning people.”
Draven paused to think on my words. I expected a sneer or dismissive remark, but instead, he looked to Alma and spoke in support of me.
“He's not wrong. I am happy with either approach.”
Ever since my duel with Axel, both Draven and Klaus had become much more respectful towards us. It likely had something to do with the therian attraction to strength.
“I'll speak to Axel after this meeting and have him handle it. Onto other matters.”
The following discussions covered various general issues, such as the installation of new defences, battle drills to run, and other matters I had little reason to speak on.
Finally, though, we turned to the elephant in the room. Or rather, the elven captive.
“The final point to discuss is that of Gaspard Sylvain and his request for an audience.”
As if he had been waiting for this, Gaspard suddenly stood tall. The knights assigned to guard him visibly flinched in preparation for an attack, but he merely spoke in an even tone.
“Rex Jaeger, my sister has verified your identity as a druid. I have a request to make on behalf of the commune.”
All eyes turned to me. Their unasked questions practically bored their way into my spine as I reflexively sat up straight.
I was certainly surprised, but I did not allow it to show. I did, however, glance at Alma, whose expression told me this was the real reason I was brought along.
“What do you need from me?”
I asked.
“The empire sullied our home with corrupted magic. The trees rot, and our hunts yield only foul meats and fruits that crumble to ash. You may be affiliated with the defilers, but your duty comes before that. I beseech you, cleanse this taint for the good of the wild.”
He bowed his head reverently.
Nobody responded. Clearly, it was I who was expected to take charge on this subject.
“As you said, I have responsibilities to both the natural world and the empire.”
I started, choosing my words carefully.
“How fast is the spread? Have you noticed any changes in the wildlife? Detail them as much as possible. When did this begin? Is there an origin point?”
I fired off my questions, and Gaspard answered everything concisely, but without leaving any vague details.
This, in turn, led to more questions and answers, and so on and so forth. Our exchange lasted a full 20 minutes before I was left in contemplative silence.
To summarise, it sounded like the same thing that had happened in Farrowgate with the aquatic life. Luckily, the spread seemed to be much slower for some reason.
“You're right. I cannot ignore this.”
I agreed with Gaspard, but before any complaints could be raised, I continued.
“However, there is no urgency as of yet. I will focus my effort on Soleo first, and only once that matter is resolved will I assist.”
It was rather arrogant to declare this, considering that Alma could easily order me not to go. However, I felt I had gleaned a good enough understanding of her that I could convince her either way. It was no lie to say this issue would eventually grow to affect all sides within three months anyway.
Luckily, Alma offered no opinion on the matter.
“...Understood.”
Gaspard clearly wasn't happy that I was not prioritising the issue, but he sat back down without further complaint.
“Done? Good. Take him back.”
Alma signalled the guards, and Gaspard was promptly removed, with Fleur silently following afterwards
Only when the door closed did the others start asking questions.
“What did he mean that we corrupted the land?”
“Why did you allow him to sit in all this time? We have spoken of matters he should not be privy to.”
“Could we not simply strike them down if they are truly so weakened? It would be more reliable than taking them at their word, which has been broken once already.”
They all presented valid points, but were all silenced equally when Alma slammed her boots up onto her desk.
“Quiet. Gaspard has been silent as the grave, outside of repeating this one request of our young friend here. I have determined that this was a required step If we are to understand anything about his motives and whether a restoration of our relations is possible.”
“Restore relations? I don't see how—or we would pursue such a thing.”
Despite my relationship with Fleur, I had to agree with the fiery-haired knight. The elves were originally just a package deal with Soleo, and offered some good trade and information as denizens of the forest.
But we had the Blood Thunderers now. They covered a much larger area, and their warped sense of value allowed us to get our hands on valuable ingredients they viewed as worthless for a fraction of the cost. Simply put, I had rendered the Leafwhisper commune redundant.
“It will come into play later.”
Alma answered vaguely, but the firm tone implied there would be no further clarification.
“Now then, there is one last important declaration to make.”
She clapped her leather-gloved hands loudly and stood at attention, causing us all to follow suit.
“As of the 12th of Taurus, we are to begin our first march on Farrowgate. This will be a declaration of intent and an example to Soleo of the gravity of their situation. Let this be our last warning.”
We saluted her in unison and remained at attention until she marched out of the room.
The 12th of Taurus was only three days away. I had no idea what role I would play, but even if I was forced to sit out, there were some preparations I could make.