BTVF 26

Chapter 26

A man grabbed Aria by the nape of her neck and lifted her up.

He wore an elegant sword at his waist, as if he had looted it from some noble.

“What’s this? Did you bring a stick or something?”

Aria had been sneaking through what seemed like a secret passage. She must have been looking for treasure, perhaps.

He tossed the box he had seized over his shoulder in irritation and pulled off the hood Aria was wearing.

“I might as well sell this kid off.”

But under the tightly worn hood, there was a surprisingly large gemstone hidden.

Seeing Aria’s face revealed, their eyes glittered with greed even more.

“Wow, with this much, you could sell her to a duke… no, even a foreign king.”

“How did you end up here, little one?”

“And in such fine clothes too. Out for a midnight stroll?”

“If you wander at night, bad men will grab you.”

“People like us, you mean.”

They exchanged low, lewd jokes and laughed loudly.

Aria immediately frowned.

She had worried about how dangerous this place was, and now it had come to this.

‘I didn’t want to attract attention…’

But now, she had no choice but to act.

She couldn’t sing her songs of healing or destruction, but she could sing the song that erased memories—enough to deal with them.

It would be difficult with so many, but she had no other choice.

“Stay still, little one.”

As the man reached out to grab her, she slowly parted her lips.

At that moment,

“Hey, what are you doing?”

A boy in a pure white uniform appeared.

Even in the pitch darkness, he stood out, white from head to toe, as if reflecting the snow.

“What the… who’s this brat?”

“He’d be sellable too, maybe.”

“Wait, isn’t that a knight order uniform?”

The boy belonged to the Order of the Church.

The thugs froze and stepped back slightly.

Yet they didn’t flee immediately, because the boy didn’t seem threatening at all.

Small in stature, delicate build.

White hair, pale blue eyes.

‘A knight?’

Overall, his appearance was small, delicate, almost pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl at a glance.

‘Looks like nothing special.’

The thugs exchanged glances.

Seizing the distraction, Aria stepped back and quickly pulled her hood back over her head.

“Are you trying to bully a child in a group?”

“Can’t you see? Want some too?”

They laughed scornfully and advanced threateningly.

“Human trafficking is illegal.”

“Hah, Knight! Ever heard of extraterritoriality?”

“Even if the law can’t reach you, human decency still matters. God is always watching.”

“Hahaha!”

The thugs froze for a moment and then burst into laughter.

It was the first time they had ever heard such words since settling in the lowest parts of society.

“This is hilarious! Spreading divine teachings all the way down here!”

“Shouldn’t God just smite them already if He’s watching?”

Realizing reasoning wouldn’t work, the boy silently drew his sword.

In a textbook-perfect stance from any sword manual.

Even the thugs, who had been mocking him with casual threats, laughed wryly and drew their own blades.

Then…

“Pfft, unlucky.”

Aria watched the boy lying on the ground, a mess, while a thug spat at him.

‘Why did he even come?’

He drew his sword without hesitation, obviously thinking he had some backup.

And he was wearing the Church knight uniform, after all.

‘He probably thought he could take these street thugs.’

Aria realized he was wearing a trainee knight uniform.

‘In Garcia, anyone who aspires can become a trainee knight.’

The Holy Empire’s system offered equal opportunity to everyone.

Of course, those with big dreams but no talent usually dropped out within a month.

‘He must be very new.’

Aria thought to herself.

If his skill wasn’t enough to beat street thugs, he might not last long.

But she chose not to scoff at his dream.

She believed that anyone who dares to challenge themselves could eventually surpass their limits.

“Damn, his face is a mess. Lowers his value.”

“He still keeps fighting even when stomped? Never seen a stubborn one like this. Born tough, huh?”

“He’s not even a fist-length tall, ugh.”

As the thugs tried to put the unconscious boy into a sack,

‘Since he unintentionally helped…’

Though unintentional, Aria decided to help him.

She inhaled deeply, put her fingers to her lips, and whistled sharply.

At her signal, Silver—who had been hiding quietly in the bushes—pounced on them.

“Ah! Wha—what?!”

“A m-monster!”

At that moment, Aria recalled the voice of Grand Duke Valentine, telling her about feeding corpses to beasts.

She instinctively closed her eyes and turned away.

No matter what, she didn’t want to watch people being eaten alive.

But instead of attacking and biting their necks, the thugs’ screams gradually faded.

They had fled.

“Huff… huff…”

Aria slowly opened her eyes.

Silver held a tattered piece of their clothing.

The swords the thugs had been carrying lay scattered on the ground.

‘Good thing I closed my eyes.’

By now, they were probably wandering naked in the streets.

In this lawless place, being unarmed and unclothed would have dire consequences.

Aria patted Silver’s head appreciatively.

“Let’s go.”

As she prepared to ride Silver’s back, her gaze fell on the unconscious boy.

She sighed.

She placed the boy gently on Silver’s back.

‘This will delay us…’

Still, leaving him here in such a dangerous place could mean his organs would be stolen tomorrow, or he’d be sold at a slave market.

Aria had a weakness for the weak.

It was her nature; she couldn’t help it.

“Let’s head to the Church.”

Aria brought the unconscious boy to the Church.

She leaned him against the wall where he could be seen.

‘This should be enough.’

She searched her belongings for a teleport scroll.

Just as she tore it and prepared to leave…

She worried the boy might be discouraged by today’s events.

‘The boy who upheld his beliefs lost the fight, while those who sacrificed others for greed won.’

The world seemed unfair.

Yet even when it seemed over, there was always a next step. The unknown made the world worth running in.

Aria drew a card.

[You are right. Don’t doubt the path you walk.]

They might never meet again, but she wanted him to hear these words.

Returning via teleport scroll, the destination was the Sorcerer’s Tower.

As soon as she tore the scroll, Kalin’s face popped out.

“Ah, burdensome.”

Aria instinctively pushed his face away with her palm.

Kalin looked wronged and hurt.

He paused, then said,

“You’re late.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing much. Except that evidence came out proving the second young master is actually a spy in the sewers, and the whole estate is in an uproar.”

He had moved faster than expected.

Aria had thought they had at least a day or two.

She nodded as if to say, it has come.

She glanced at the precious box she carried.

The relic, God’s Judgment, rested quietly in her arms.

“Did you know?”

“Yes.”

“So this was what you were trying to prevent.”

‘If you knew, could you step aside now?’

Aria looked at Kalin as if to ask this.

After framing Vincent, time was extremely tight.

“Are you close to the second young master?”

Close? Not really.

In the past, she would have wanted to punch Vincent squarely in the face at least once.

‘Lately, he hasn’t been picking fights, so I just don’t care.’

Kalin lived a simple, clear life: help when it benefits you, ignore when it doesn’t. No losses.

“Nothing, really.”

Being involved with someone like him was mentally exhausting.

But that’s why those who act boldly in what they believe are all the more radiant.

Kalin couldn’t live that way.

He waved his hand impatiently, signaling her to go.

“The trial will be held soon, and if it’s confirmed that the young master is a spy, it’ll be hard to clear his name.”

Once the trial begins, it’s hard to reverse.

Today was the last chance to clear his name.

“Got it.”

Aria mounted Silver.

“Your captain…”

She paused, thinking, then changed direction.

“Your captain… guide me to the next strongest person.”