Attachment Knight - Chapter 21

I blinked blankly. My mind… feels hazy, like I’m wandering through some distant galaxy. Dizzy. Scared….

“I can’t just stand by and watch you. I can’t do that anymore, Millie.”

Why?

It just… was.

“Why? Why can’t you just watch?”

“….”

“What does that mean?”

Leaning against him, I pressed him insistently.

“What do you mean by that?”

Instead of answering, Radem carefully supported my half-bent neck with one hand and laid me down on the sofa. The scent of blood growing thicker all around started to feel sweet.

It wasn’t for nothing. What Radem said sounded exactly like a confession. Ah, of course, it might just be my delusion. As Yerenika said, I tend to get overly absorbed in romantic fantasies, and I have a bad habit of interpreting situations however I like.

“Millie, are you alright?”

“My arms and legs are shaking because I’m cold.”

I trembled pitifully like a small animal left too long in the snow. In truth, I wasn’t cold at all. Between the alcohol, Radem’s body heat, and the strange warmth swirling through my chest, my body felt like it might burst, dry and burning. But I liked being held by him.

Just by saying I’m cold, that I’m lonely, a place that would hold me warmly without question at any time. How intoxicating that is.

My body was sinking, but my mind was strangely clear as I asked, “Am I very heavy?”

“You’re far too light. It’s worrying.”

Carried on his back, I left the room filled with the smell of blood.

“I think I’ve gained weight lately. Don doesn’t like it when I gain weight.”

“Lie down.”

He laid me on a clean sofa in another dark room and checked my pulse. I was breathing hard like I’d been running for a long time, and I knew this was one of the worse symptoms of the hallucinogen’s side effects. Radem seemed to notice it too.

“It didn’t get this bad before.”

Maybe because I’d been poisoned by the assassin and hadn’t fully recovered yet, my condition was a mess. My heart was beating very slowly. As if, after working so hard all this time, it was about to declare a strike.

I frowned at the sharp pain.

“Ah….”

“Endure it a little longer. It’ll stop hurting soon.”

Radem loosened the knots of my dress that were tightly constricting my body. His fingertips brushing against me made me laugh from the ticklish sensation. Unlike me teasing him, Radem’s expression was extremely serious. He drew the terrace curtains and locked the door, then placed his hand over the area of my heart, which was pounding like a bird with broken wings. For a moment, I was confused, and then something strange happened.

Golden light spread along the lines of Radem’s hand and began to seep into my chest. It was a beautiful light, like his eyes. Startled, I flailed, and he gently pressed down on my shoulders as if to calm me, patting me softly.

“Shh, it’s alright. You’re fine.”

Strangely, the pain gradually faded. My head cleared, and my vision sharpened. Like a child discovering a fascinating toy, I grabbed his hand with both of mine and asked, “It’s pretty. What is this?”

Radem didn’t answer, but I knew. Among the prisoners Don Pisano tortured, I’d seen people who drew out this kind of light from their bodies.

‘Holy power?’

The holy power, the authority of the Goddess Libra of time and balance, can only manifest in chosen devotees. As befitting a benevolent goddess, each of her powers carries restrictions. The same applies to its healing ability. It can heal others but cannot heal oneself, a power that gives both illness and cure.

It was astonishing.

So there’s more to Radem Rosenbauer than I know. Then it makes sense why Don Pisano took an interest in him. Of course, it doesn’t seem like that man discovered Radem’s holy power, but he must have sensed something unusual that set him apart from others.

‘That’s incredible.’

I felt excited inside. What if I casually tipped Don Pisano off about the secret Radem is hiding? The vision I glimpsed before, the scene of the island being annihilated by Rosenbauer, isn’t guaranteed to be the future, but if I reveal Radem’s secret, I can definitely receive a reward from Don. He’ll praise me endlessly. He’ll say I’m more necessary to him than someone like Grisha. He’ll cherish me without holding back and realize how important I am. Imagining Don being unable to live without me, I sank into a brief sense of happiness.

But….

‘Then what happens to Radem?’

His head would be cut off immediately. He’s not the type to die quietly, so he’ll endure for a while. Enraged, Don would kill him as cruelly and painfully as possible….

“….”

I blinked blankly. Still holding the back of my hand, the man continued to channel holy power into me. I quietly stared at him.

…No. Even gambling requires caution.

I don’t know what the future will be.

“How do you feel, Millie? Can you move?”

“It reminds me of the past.”

I rolled my eyes slightly and looked at the man holding my hand.

“I’m not used to asking for help. When I was young, I didn’t have parents, I didn’t have any real friends, and it was natural to handle everything on my own. Then you appeared.”

“….”

“At first, I thought, what kind of kid is this. Even when I said I didn’t need it, you kept sharing what you had, and even when I snapped at you rudely, you kept talking to me. I thought, Does he like me? You kept reaching out, but you didn’t seem like an idiot, so I wondered if you’d read some story about knights and were trying to act like a hero. It didn’t look like you were that well-off either.”

“….”

“Then, I accepted it eventually. I started waiting for you. What excuse will he use to come see me today? On days I didn’t want to see you, you’d find me like a ghost, but when I was bored, you were nowhere to be found. But when I was irritated or lonely, you somehow knew and showed up. Anyway, that’s why I liked you. Honestly, it could have been anyone, not just you. Kids help others purely. But Radem, you’re not that child anymore, so why are you still the same?”

I grabbed Radem’s hand firmly as he tried to pull away.

“Nothing’s changed. You’re still the same….”

I pressed my lips to the back of his hand with a soft sound. I’m probably rambling nonsense right now, lost in the false world I created, but it didn’t matter. It really felt like I’d met him in the past. Even if it wasn’t true, it felt like if I believed it, it would become reality. That’s why I love my lies. I love everything that breathes and lives in the false world I created.

“….”

The branches swayed downward in the wind. Shadows trembled. The long draped silk curtains fluttered lightly.

It was a night with breathtaking moonlight. I pulled my hand away from Radem and got up. A cool breeze slipped in through the slightly open terrace door.

“Can I borrow that?”

I took hold of Radem’s scabbard and drew the curtain aside.

An extremely subdued presence could be felt in the darkness. Smooth like a cat, insidious like a snake, a stealthy approach. The direction was the terrace railing covered in vines.

The figure that sprang up to the third floor, climbing the tree as swiftly as a squirrel, was, as I expected, one of Grisha’s assassins.

The woman drew a dagger and rushed toward her target with agile, efficient movements.

The reason I borrowed the scabbard instead of a sword was because I didn’t want to show Radem the sight of someone being killed twice. When I glanced back, our eyes met. Even with the assassin right in front of us, his gaze was calm and unmoving.

The moment I raised the scabbard, he moved. In an instant, the sword left Radem’s hand and spun at a sharp speed, striking the woman’s wrist. Not missing the moment the startled assassin faltered, Radem kicked away the weapon in her hand and subdued her in one swift motion.

“Ugh!”

What followed was a one-sided close-quarters fight. Radem struck only vital points with minimal movement, rendering his opponent helpless. She tried to counterattack, looking for an opening, but it was a futile struggle.

The assassin’s body grew slick with sweat. Realizing that her opponent had no intention of killing her, she tried to exploit gaps with agility and flexibility, but Radem allowed no distance. His attacks had no pattern, no rules. It resembled a dirty back-alley brawl more than a knight’s fight.

The woman stepped back in confusion. She barely dodged the hand aiming for her neck, and as a gust of wind blew, her hood fell back.

“W-wait—”

Her will to attack was already gone. Now that her identity was exposed, she decided to focus entirely on escaping. At that moment, a flash of red flickered across her vision. The next instant, a crushing impact struck her skull like lightning, draining the strength from her limbs. Her consciousness vanished in an instant.

“Ugh….”

Thud. The assassin collapsed to the floor. Blood trickled down from her forehead, dampening the ground.

“Wow.”

I let out an exclamation like a spectator who had just witnessed a spectacular fight scene.

“Bravo, Radem! Amazing. Amazing.”