Death's Daughter and the Ebony Blade: Volume 7 Finale [Parts 1 to 9] by Maito Ayamine

Author:Maito Ayamine
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter Twelve: Light and Darkness

I

Soft afternoon light poured in through the window. Blood had returned to Galia Fortress and was lying on the sofa in his work room. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice himself let out a massive sigh.

How am I supposed to respond to a request like that...? Still lying down, he reached for a cup of tea left on the table. But he couldn’t reach it. He kept trying, stretching as hard as he could without getting up, when—

“What are you doing?” said a cool voice. Blood craned his neck around to look behind him and met Lise’s exasperated gaze.

“How long have you been watching?”

“Oh, not long. Now, what are you doing, ser?”

Blood hesitated, then said honestly, “Trying to drink my cold tea.”

Lise’s voice grew several degrees chillier. “I can see that much, ser. What I wanted to know was why you wouldn’t just sit up.”

Blood had to think about this. Good question. Though he felt like a mouse staring down a hungry snake, he arrived at an answer. “Because, um, if I get up, I lose?”

Lise made an unintelligible noise that did not sound like an appropriate way to address a superior officer. He knew ought to reprimand her, but his body, instead of listening to him, jumped up stock straight.

Was I always the sort of guy who does everything a woman tells him? As he entertained such pointless thoughts, a cup of tea came sliding into view. His own tea cup was still on the table. The one in front of him was steaming.

As he stared blankly at it, Lise said, “It’s getting cold.”

“R-Right...” Blood muttered, scratching his nose and avoiding her gaze to hide his mounting embarrassment.

Lise cleared away the cup on the table. As she did so, she said, in the tone of one making small talk, “So, are you going to say yes to the Azure Knights?”

A week had passed since the shocking message had arrived. The decision of what to do about it had been left to him, but it wasn’t like choosing what to have for lunch.

“Well, whatever I think, it seems like you’re against it, Captain.”

“Huh?!”

He had vaguely suspected from the way she was talking, but her reaction confirmed it.

Lise looked at a patch of floor to his side and said reluctantly, “The might of Azure Knights is legendary across the continent, and given how many commanders we’ve lost—first among them Marshal Cornelius—it’s no exaggeration to say they could be the Royal Army’s salvation. So I’m not against it, exactly...”

Blood waited for her to continue.

“The thing is,” Lise said, lowering her voice and speaking more cautiously, “until yesterday, we were enemies. Even if one fully understands our circumstances, it isn’t easy to set aside emotion. Chances are, many will not be happy about it were we to accept their plea for aid.”

She was probably right. It would be a tall order to get the troops to accept the Azure Knights. Having lost many of his soldiers and friends to them, he understood how they would feel.

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