Chapter 388: Something Only She Could Do
“Dad… Dad…!”
In his ears was Rachel’s sharp, noisy childlike voice, but Armand didn’t find it annoying. He could feel Rachel wiping his face, her sleeve rubbing over and over against his blood-covered mouth and nose.
“Haa… haa…”
For a moment just now, it felt like he lost consciousness, but it had only been a few seconds. His chest really had been pierced through by Grey Dove’s long arrow, but it hadn’t hit a vital spot.
Armand had stabbed at Grey Dove first, and the shock of being pierced made Grey Dove’s aim shift slightly. The arrow missed his heart, if it had been three centimeters more to the right, things might have gone terribly wrong.
“Rachel…”
Armand shook his head and forced himself to sit up. Compared to the intense poison flare-up just now, his condition had eased slightly and he felt much better than before.
A few seconds later, he suddenly realized they were in the middle of a burning area, and Rachel was right beside him. He quickly covered her with the black cloak he hadn’t had time to give to the Crown Prince. The hood was so big on her that it nearly covered her whole face.
“How did you…”
Seeing Rachel in clothes different from the casual outfit he remembered, Armand froze for a moment. Then his foggy mind suddenly recalled her pitiful appearance under the moonlight.
He stared at the anxious little girl in front of him, almost like he needed to check if this was just a hallucination caused by his head being messed up. He pressed on his pierced chest, endured the tearing pain, and looked again at the completely unchanged Rachel in front of him, finally realizing this was real.
“…Amazing.”
Armand didn’t know how Rachel had done it, but the words slipped out without thinking.
“Dad, are you okay?”
As if deliberately ignoring what Armand was concerned about, Rachel reached out to wipe his cheek, but because of the ash on her hands, his face only got darker.
“…Yeah, I’m fine.”
It sounded like something said just to reassure a child. Even if Armand seemed able to talk normally now, in truth, it was like the last flicker of strength before the end.
“We can’t stay here long, you have to get out of here.”
Armand seemed to be controlling the pace of his words on purpose, not letting his weak breath slip out. His voice sounded steady, but his deathly pale face and dull eyes were perfectly clear in Rachel’s sight. After all, she wasn’t truly a child, no matter how much Armand tried to hide it, she knew exactly how bad his condition was.
“No… Dad… You once told me…”
After waking up at the manor, she had rushed here without stopping. Even though she looked like a child, she was someone who had lived through many things, an “old-timer” with an age in the hundreds.
In the past, she had needed to take on many identities and travel to many places, so she actually knew how to ride a horse. Not expertly, but enough to sit steadily. Her small body now might look fragile, but it was different from her old body, this one had been strengthened.
She knew well about Armand’s relationship with Luna, so she went straight to find Luna, who was waiting in the horse enclosure. Rachel stood on a high platform, and Luna cooperated by crouching low. It took some effort, but Rachel finally managed to sit firmly on Luna’s back, gripping the reins Armand had always held tightly.
Before Rachel left, she happened to run into the very busy old butler.
In theory, it was already the New Year. Armand’s birthday party was a big deal, but it still shouldn’t have been enough to make the old butler stay up late at night, leading several people to pack things up.
From their expressions, they were all in a hurry, and they seemed to be hesitating about whether to dismantle the carefully prepared venue for Armand. When they had decorated the banquet hall, they had been so excited. Now, they looked just as regretful.
Rachel had no idea what kind of news the manor had received, and it made her uneasy. She had just been “killed” by White Dove, and now the manor staff was packing things away. Coupled with the fact that White Dove’s actions were clearly aimed at Armand, Rachel felt her heart pounding so hard it might burst, her chest tight with pain.
Under normal circumstances, the old butler would have hurried to stop this little girl from riding such a tall horse. But this time, in the middle of the night’s busyness, the old man only gave Rachel a meaningful glance as she galloped past, then told the gate guards to open the manor gates and let her through.
Without looking back and caring about nothing else, Rachel rode off under the surprised gazes of everyone.
All of this happened before the explosion. When the explosion occurred, Rachel still hadn’t reached the royal capital.
A loud boom shook the air, and Luna let out a long, loud neigh. Even though Luna was a battle-hardened old warhorse, the towering blaze ahead still looked terrifying. Perhaps realizing that her master was inside, Luna’s pace quickened.
After the blast, the sound of people crying and screaming quickly followed. Rachel could tell that the fleeing crowd was getting closer, so she swung off the horse, steadied herself, and patted Luna’s leg.
“Luna, it’s too dangerous and too obvious for you to stay here. I’ll go find Dad and Mom. You take a back route and return to the manor.”
“…….” Luna listened, lowering her head to nuzzle Rachel gently.
Even though Rachel rarely visited the stables, she knew that with Armand’s habit of confiding in Luna whenever something happened, Luna must have heard about her from him.
With her human-like understanding, how could Luna not know that Rachel was a child Armand cherished deeply? That was exactly why she looked so worried now.
“Leave it to me, Luna. Go.”
Even though just looking up at Luna made Rachel’s neck sore, her eyes stayed firm. Luna let out a small sigh, then reluctantly turned and left.
In all the chaos, no one would notice a little child. Rachel’s small figure darted against the flow of panicked adults, running toward the palace.
She first followed the sounds of battle and found Evelia. But it was obvious Evelia had no time to greet her. A man with a large shield was holding Evelia back on his own, while off to the side stood a woman wielding two “Eastern sticks.”
Rachel had seen her before, she knew who she was. One of the people who had once “kidnapped” her, the one who always called herself “Big Sister”, Blue Sparrow.
Perhaps because of their long-standing bond, Evelia spotted Rachel hiding in the corner almost instantly.
In that moment, Evelia’s eyes went through many changes. First was shock, she had just seen Rachel’s body earlier, and now here Rachel was, alive and unharmed, running toward her.
Then came a trace of happiness, because no matter how, and no matter what Rachel had done, she had come back safely.
And then… another kind of emotion. She was worried for Rachel, watching her closely, but her gaze clearly told Rachel not to come closer.
Just like that, Evelia silently separated Rachel from the fight.
Of course Rachel understood what Evelia meant. She could see the worry in Evelia’s eyes. She even felt that Evelia wasn’t telling her to go find anyone, not even Armand. As the “mother” in their pretend family game, Evelia only wanted her to live. That was all.
But… even if Evelia refused, Rachel had come here for this reason.
She saw that there was nothing she could do here, so she decided to search for Armand. If he wasn’t on the outskirts, then he might still be inside the fire zone.
“—Little one.”
Just as she was about to hurry off to find Armand, a gentle, loving female voice sounded by her ear.
“—?!”
Blue Sparrow was suddenly standing in front of Rachel, blocking her path without making a sound.
“…You…”
“Are you here to find Red Crow and the captain? Clearly, this is not a place you should be.” Cutting off Rachel’s words, Blue Sparrow spoke her warning first.
Her voice was full of pity, like a nun praying to God. But the compassion in her expression didn’t match the two “Eastern sticks” in her hands.
In the moonlight, Rachel could see that these were not ordinary sticks. On the inner sides were sharp blades, and some parts of the shaft had intricate mechanical joints. Rachel felt it was entirely possible that with a flick, the weapons could turn into deadly scythes.
“……”
“This time… some people have died. Such things are bound to happen in war.”
“So… you want me to give up on my father?”
“That sounds terribly cruel.”
Compared to when they first met, Blue Sparrow’s mood now was clearly different. The smile that never left her face before was gone, replaced by sorrow. It was as if, even though she was one of those responsible for this fire, she still grieved for the lives lost.
“My task is to block all possible irregularities. Little one, you are one such irregularity.”
Blue Sparrow’s job was simple, she disliked bloodshed and violence, so she acted as a “gatekeeper,” guarding against outside help like Rachel.
“But… I also can’t allow a child to lose her father… Little one, do you remember the thing I gave you?”
“…What?”
The sudden change in topic made Rachel pause. Then she seemed to understand. She opened her imprint and took out a “Good Girl Card.”
It was something Blue Sparrow had given her as a “welcome gift” back when she was in the small house. Rachel had once thought that maybe she and Blue Sparrow could be like the children and caretakers at a monastery. Friends, maybe even family.
“Mhm, looks like you kept it well. Then… I’ll grant your wish.”
—Because it was also the wish of this almost “twisted” big sister.
“…Then please, let me find my dad.”
“Your wish… has been heard by God.”
Blue Sparrow took the little card Rachel handed her. It had been carefully drawn with cute pictures by Blue Sparrow herself. She released it from her fingers, and it drifted into the flames, turning to ash.
Rachel and Blue Sparrow didn’t speak. When they passed each other, their eyes met for only half a second. But how could something so complicated in their hearts be understood in just half a second?
Just like that, Rachel was able to rush into the flames, and she found the battered, exhausted Armand.
“Dad… I’ll take you out of here. It’s just that… it will hurt a little.”
Seeing Armand’s mind and body both growing weaker, Rachel took his hand.
There were still many things to do, she had to preserve Armand’s imprint so she could find things later, and she also had to tear his entire soul out of his body. Because the soul stone she had was of poor quality, the process would naturally be very painful.
She watched Armand curl up from the agony of his soul being torn apart, watched the crystal in her palm begin to glow.
She gripped the crystal tightly and stood up.
This was something Armand had once entrusted to her. It was also the one thing only she could do.