The Estate’s Anomaly

On the city wall, Yexi was skillfully bandaging the Marquis’s wound.

The battle for Pekoin City was over. With the arrival of the Sanctum’s Pegasus Knights, the unprepared heretic reserves were caught by surprise. Even those hidden deep within the dark forest were hunted down and annihilated. The beast tide, now without its masters, had scattered. The battle, though fierce, had ended with surprising speed, likely due to Taylor and Hicks’s decisive retreat.

The Marquis’s eldest son, Klieg, was already arranging the post-battle logistics, allowing his father to rest.

“Yexi, I’ve troubled you again.”

The Marquis looked with a wry smile at Yexi, whose expression was grim as she treated the poisoned arrow wound in his shoulder. “There’s something I was hoping you could help me with.”

“If it’s about pleading your case to the Lady, then don’t bother. You should explain it to her yourself, my Lord. But I can give you a warning: the Lady is furious. She has already thrown two tantrums.”

Hearing this, the Marquis’s face fell even further. Only the heavens knew how his formidable wife would torment him when she returned.

Yexi frowned at the purplish wound. “The arrow was poisoned. Fortunately, the dose wasn’t large, nor was it particularly lethal. I’ve used some potions to temporarily suppress the toxin’s spread, but for further treatment, I need to identify the exact poison. I don’t have the right tools here. I’ll go find some.”

“Thank you, I’m in your hands.”

“I believe I can help with that.”

Thomas entered at that moment with Ard in tow. He bowed to the seated Marquis. “Marquis, my apologies for our late arrival. I am the Commander of the Sanctum’s Pegasus Knights, tasked with handling this heretical uprising. My Blessing can purge toxins. Please, allow me to heal you.”

“For the Commander himself to come… The Sanctum has my deepest thanks. It is my duty to defend this land, and injuries on the battlefield are unavoidable. I am grateful that the Sanctum takes this matter so seriously.” The Marquis, clearly aware of Thomas’s high status, was taken aback and tried to stand, but a sharp pain from his wound made him wince.

Thomas quickly pressed him back into the chair. “You are injured, Marquis. You mustn’t move.” His Blessing flowed into the Marquis’s body, purging the poison.

Yexi glanced around, her eyes finally settling on Ard, a silent question in her gaze.

Ard understood. “Miss Seleu was taken by the knights to have her wounds treated. As for Reiss… uh, he’s been buried alive.”

“???” Yexi looked genuinely puzzled. Seeing her confused expression, Ard found it so endearing that he couldn’t help but laugh. Yexi’s gaze sharpened, sensing he was teasing her. Her eyes traveled from his head, to his neck, then his heart, his abdomen, and finally… his groin, as if weighing where to strike first.

The look sent a shiver down Ard’s spine, and he quickly explained, “It’s Reiss’s Blessing! Being buried helps him heal faster! They’ll dig him up tomorrow, he’ll be fine.”

The cold fact that being buried alive could aid healing was new to Yexi, but seeing Ard’s earnest panic, she figured he wasn’t lying. When Yexi gave a slight nod, Ard let out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t help but be a little terrified of the woman who had actually killed him once.

Just then, a massive explosion erupted from the direction of the Trefle estate, shaking the entire city.

Yexi reacted first. She was about to dash off when she stopped, hesitating. The Marquis was injured and needed protection. She worried it was a diversion.

Thomas had just finished his work. He stood up immediately. “Marquis, you rest here. I will see what has happened. I will leave some of my men to guard you. Excuse me.” With a crisp nod, he left.

The Marquis immediately turned to Yexi. “Xi-chan, you go help as well.”

“But…”

“That’s an order. My safety is already assured. Don’t waste your time on me. Their target isn’t me, and trying to assassinate me while I’m under the protection of the Sanctum’s knights would be suicide.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The Marquis’s words reassured her. Without further hesitation, she rushed to provide support.

As Yexi left, Ard called out, “Be careful.”

“Mm.” With a single grunt of acknowledgment, she vanished from sight.

The Marquis watched Ard staring after her, a playful glint in his eye. “Young man, you’re not thinking of going to help too, are you?”

Ard smiled bitterly. “Please don’t joke, Marquis. I’d only get in their way. I’m self-aware enough to know that.”

“Haha, good. For a moment there, I thought you’d been completely bewitched by our Yexi.”

Ard chuckled softly. “I think I am a little bewitched by her, though not just because of her beauty. Marquis, if I were to ask to take Yexi away with me, would you agree?”

Faced with Ard’s probing question, the Marquis answered with surprising frankness. “If Yexi is willing to go with you, I’ll agree. In fact, I’d be happy if you could take her to see the world.”

The Marquis’s easy consent stunned Ard. “Yexi is our family, not our subordinate,” the Marquis continued. “Truthfully, I’ve wanted her to go out and see the world for a long time. After all, her family misses her very much.”

Ard murmured, “Yexi’s family? You mean… her blood relatives?”

“Yes,” the Marquis nodded. “But let’s let nature take its course. Yexi knows about them, but she’s been unwilling to go back and see them. I won’t say more about her private affairs. After all, you haven’t successfully wooed our Yexi-chan yet. Winning her heart is a challenge on par with her beauty, you know.”

Ard smiled wryly. “Then that’s a challenge of heavenly difficulty.”

———

Let’s turn back time, to after the siege had ended, but before the explosion at the Trefle estate.

At that moment, the Trefle residence was an empty shell, devoid of any people.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The defenses are much looser, just as I thought. Even the most elite soldiers can’t maintain a state of high alert after a fierce battle. It was so easy to slip past the city’s defenses and get in here.”

A man dressed in the same black robes as Taylor and the others strolled leisurely into the estate.

This was the third Cardinal of the operation, Rile. He had taken advantage of the moment of lax security right after the war, slipping past the city’s defenses and infiltrating the Marquis’s residence alone.

“Honestly, I thought I could just slack off on this mission, but that fool Taylor had to go and fail. Now the whole burden falls on me.” Rile stretched lazily. Following the faint resonance of his own holy relic, he searched the residence, finally discovering a hidden symbol left by his church in a basement.

A corner of Rile’s mouth lifted. He pricked his finger with a small knife and let a drop of blood fall onto the symbol. This secret mark could only be activated by the blood of a high-ranking member of the Order who had received the Master’s blessing.

As the blood dripped, a blood-moon sigil was traced on the floor. The entire basement began to tremble as gears turned, and a dark staircase was revealed.

Rile strode down into a sub-basement. In this hidden chamber, there was nothing but a single, black, moon-shaped stone.

Seeing it, Rile shook his head in disappointment. “Without enough sacrifices, the holy relic is just a common stone. A pity. The lifeblood of everyone in this city would have been enough to unseal it.”

But now, with the Sanctum alerted, another sacrifice was impossible. Rile took the relic and turned to leave. He never expected that as he left the basement, the entire chamber would suddenly erupt in a massive explosion, engulfing a third of the Trefle estate.

Rile sensed the danger an instant beforehand and managed to dodge the direct blast, but the shockwave still threw him to the ground, giving him a mouthful of dirt.

“Damn it! I knew there’d be some kind of measure to cover the relic’s removal, but was it really necessary to plant so many explosive crystals?! Shouldn’t anyone tell me this?!” Rile spat out the grit, furious at being tricked by his own side. But he knew he couldn’t blame the current leadership. These defenses had been set up back when their Order walked openly in the world. The arrogance and madness of the Order back then was unbelievable. The old leaders probably never imagined their own headquarters would be booby-trapped to this extent. They truly didn’t even spare their own.

But Rile’s troubles were just beginning. The massive explosion had attracted attention he desperately wanted to avoid.

From the sky above, with a resounding neigh, Thomas descended on his golden pegasus, landing before Rile.

Rile’s face fell. “Oh, for crying out loud. A Templar Knight. Um, hello there. I was just passing by. I didn’t mean to destroy this place. You’ll believe me, right?”

“A passing Cardinal? I wish you would all ‘pass by’ so conveniently every day. It would save us the trouble of hunting you down all over the world. Whatever your reasons, you can explain them at the Sanctum!”

With that, Thomas wasted no more time, charging forward and swinging his greatsword at Rile. The terrifying sword pressure alone, even before the blade reached him, made Rile’s hair stand on end.

“You’re the stronger one, I’ll give you that. See ya, Templar Knight!” Rile had no intention of fighting. He scrambled away from Thomas’s attack and dissolved into a black mist, attempting to flee.

Thomas’s attack hit empty air, but that didn’t mean Rile had escaped. A silver glint flashed in the dark night. Rile, who had vanished into the mist, reappeared at the gate of the Marquis’s estate, a sharp dagger now embedded in his abdomen.

Seeing this, Thomas didn’t hesitate, sweeping his sword in a powerful arc. It seemed he had little hope of capturing Rile alive and was aiming for a killing blow.

“Tch, no other choice.” Gritting his teeth, Rile’s body suddenly exploded, dissolving into a fine blood mist. The sword qi tore through most of the mist, but found nothing else.

Yexi emerged from the shadows, her eyes fixed on the spot where the blood mist had dissipated. She had a feeling this enemy was not yet dead.