Chapter 211: The Blood-Stained Wooden Knife
“Salana!”
Carle rushed over as fast as he could after hearing the news. He didn’t want to make a big scene and cause panic, so he took a shortcut and ran the whole way. Even though the weather was cool in autumn, he was sweating all over.
Carle was the famous vice-captain of the knights. Even though his current job mostly involved paperwork, he had real battlefield experience. But when he heard that something had happened to his daughter, his legs almost gave out. His mind went blank, and he nearly collapsed right there.
It wasn’t until he arrived and saw his wife holding their daughter in her arms that he finally let out a breath of relief. He wiped the sweaty bangs sticking to his forehead.
Even though he had survived dangerous battles with blades and blood, he had never felt more thankful than in this moment.
Seeing Salana safe in Melian’s arms, he nearly sat down right there just to catch his breath.
“Salana, look, Dad’s here.”
Hearing Carle’s voice, Melian, who had been talking with the knights about what happened, gently patted Salana on the back and told her to lift her head to look at her father coming toward them.
Even though Salana had already cried a lot earlier, it was as if her tears returned the moment she saw her father, the hero in her heart, standing before her. She couldn’t hold it in anymore and began to cry again.
“D-Dad…”
She bit her lip. Her voice was shaking and hoarse. Her face, which was usually rosy, was now pale. Even though her face was clean, her clothes and sleeves still had blood on them, which stood out even more against her light-colored outfit.
“It’s okay now, Salana. It’s okay… You’re not hurt, are you?”
Carle crouched down and looked at the spots on her clothes where there was blood. Her skin had some scrapes, but after checking carefully, he didn’t find any serious injuries. Only then did he finally calm down. He hugged Salana tightly, his heart still pounding hard in his chest, not fully recovered from the panic.
But Armand, who had followed him, noticed something else. Next to Salana, on the ground, was a blood-stained wooden spring-knife.
It was the self-defense knife Armand had once given to Rachel. But now, it was in Salana’s hands… and no one knew whose blood was on it.
“Uncle Armand!”
When Armand’s eyes landed on the knife, Salana also noticed him. She quickly raised the knife in her hand and called out nervously.
“Uncle Armand! This… this was from Rachel! She… just now we met a bad guy! Then she… she gave me this! We hurt the bad guy… and tried to run away! The nanny ran behind us… but… but after Rachel gave me this knife, she and the nanny didn’t come out! And Rachel’s mom… she… she went in after them… and didn’t come out either!”
Salana tried hard to stay calm and tell Armand what had just happened. But the words coming out of her mouth were all jumbled from fear. Her speaking was too fast and broken, mixed with sobs and trembling, so you had to piece it together to understand what she meant.
“They… they—”
Salana still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock. She waved her hands around wildly, maybe trying to describe the tall bad guy or mimicking how they struggled. Her eyes were shaking, and it looked like she might break down at any moment.
“Okay, I understand. It’s alright now. Leave the rest to me.”
Seeing how terrified Salana was, Armand couldn’t bring himself to ask more questions. Even though he wanted more details, he knew he couldn’t pressure a child. Especially not in front of his friend and the girl’s parents. It wouldn’t be right.
“Here, you hold onto this for Rachel.”
Armand folded the knife and gently placed it in Salana’s palm.
“I’m sorry…”
Salana held the dagger tightly and cried loudly in Carle and Melian’s arms.
“It was me… I was the one who insisted on coming to give them my little gift… It’s all my fault… I… I didn’t protect Rachel… sob… sob… I’m sorry… Uncle Armand…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You did great, little one. You were very brave. When you go to school and tell your friends about this, they’ll look up to you for sure.”
Armand gently wiped Salana’s tears. Even though he was also very worried about Rachel and Evelia, as an adult he couldn’t let himself panic. Right now, what mattered was to calm the crying child who could barely breathe from all the sobbing.
“Sob… sob…”
“Alright now, Salana. You stay here and rest. I’ll go check things out. Be good and stay with your dad and mom, okay? Let me take care of the rest. In a bit, your dad can take you out for something sweet to cheer you up. I’ve got this, don’t worry.”
“Really… Uncle Armand…?”
Salana still didn’t seem to fully believe him, as she stayed curled up in her dad’s arms and looked at Armand, who was smiling kindly at her.
“Of course. Think about it, your dad is super cool, right? But to me, he’s just my assistant. I’m number one, and he’s number two. I’m a hundred times stronger than your dad!”
Hearing that, Salana instinctively looked up at her dad.
“Don’t listen to him talk nonsense.”
Carle wasn’t going to back down either, not even at a time like this. It was as if he was trying to lighten the mood a little by joking back and forth with Armand.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go take a look. Carle, you just stay here with your wife and daughter. I’m giving you a few days off. Make sure your precious girl doesn’t get traumatized by all this.”
Armand stood up and gently patted Salana on the head. Carle accepted his kindness and nodded.
“Got it. Be careful. If you need anything, just call me.”
“Don’t worry. You know I won’t hold back.”
As Armand turned around, he looked toward the small path that had a few drops of blood leading the way.
The playful smile he had used to comfort the child disappeared as soon as he turned his back. Now his face showed only deep worry and growing anger.
Carle was worried for his daughter Salana, but Armand was just as worried for his Rachel and Evelia.
He followed the trail of blood and the guidance of the knights who had arrived earlier, making his way to the scene of the incident.
Splat.
After just a few steps into the dark alley, Armand felt like he had stepped on something.
He pulled his foot back and looked down in the faint light, and saw a pool of blood coming from a body that had been cleanly cut in half.
Looking ahead, there were more.
Bodies were everywhere. You could see them all around, like they had been torn apart by a wild animal.
But each cut was clean and precise. None of the slashes hit a fatal spot right away. It looked like these people had been tortured. Only when the attackers gave up on getting answers did they finally cut the victims’ throats.
There was blood all over the ground, but no bloody footprints.
The dead men all held blunt weapons, but not a single one had blood from an enemy on it.
This had clearly been a one-sided slaughter. These strong men never had a chance to fight back.
In the corner, there was the body of an old woman. Armand had seen her before in Carle’s home, she was Salana’s nanny.
Her body was the only one left untouched. She had been quietly placed in the corner. She died from blood loss, but her wounds were different from the others, someone had even tried to stop the bleeding. Sadly, it didn’t work.
The alley was completely silent. The only one left breathing there was Armand himself.
Who… who could’ve done something like this…?
Could it be… is the “Red Crow” really back?