North x Northwest

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‘He’s even more handsome whenever he’s immersed in his craft like this…’

Her heart throbbed again as soon as that thought passed her mind. By now, it was a familiar occurrence, but pain was still pain.

Ed stopped his hand when he saw Lil’s frown.

“Why? Are you cold?”

“No.”

“Then?”

At first Lil thought about concealing it but then remembered Ed’s advice to be honest about her feelings.

“It’s just that… When I think of you, my heart aches… Why am I like this?”

“Is your heart pounding that strongly?”

Lil put her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. When she felt Ed approaching, she looked up at the sky and said,

“When I was young, I was really curious about what love was, but now that I’m experiencing it, I’ve come to realise it isn’t always as beautiful as I thought.”

“Is it not beautiful?”

“I’m selfish. And although I know I’m selfish, I can’t seem to change that.”

“What do you mean?”

“…”

Ed grabbed her waist and made her face him.

“I didn’t understand a word of what you just said.”

“I’m…”

At that moment, someone knocked harshly on the door.

“…Sir Edgar!..”

Lil and Ed looked at the door at the same time. Even though Ed already responded by asking what was going on, the banging on the door didn’t stop.

“Is everything alright? Sir Edgar?!”

Ed assisted Lil down from the window before turning around to head for the door.

“What’s going on?”

Lil instinctively stepped away from the window. Listening with her back against the wall, she gasped as the soldier explained the reason for his visit.

“It’s said that assailants have invaded the village.”

“Are they bandits?”

“We’re not sure yet, but if so it’s better to avoid them.”

“But if they’re bandits, they won’t enter buildings and kill people, right?”

“Well… they ran into the patrolling soldiers. There was friction, and several of them are on the run.”

“Are there any injuries?”

“Yes.”

Ed nodded his head. As soon as the door closed, he looked back at Lil, who was already picking up her clothes from beyond the partition and getting dressed.

Lil asked, putting her gun to her waist.

“What kind of guys do you think they are?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Then let’s find out first.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m all good now.”

“Just a little while ago, you were acting all tired…”

Ed glanced at her suspiciously. However, Lil only reacted by pointing to the partition to imply that Ed should change into his clothes as well. Ed sent her another disapproving glance but then picked up his pants and disappeared behind the partition.

Their escorting soldiers had already gathered on the ground floor of the lodgings. Levi and Linhardt were seated at one of the tables normally used for dining, while the others were standing around them.

Lil walked down the carpeted, plush stairs. As dawn was approaching, the air on the ground floor, where the fire had just been lit, was still cool.

Lil asked, sitting down next to Levi.

“What happened?”

“Linhardt said they’re most likely bandits, but we’re not sure yet. Apparently, a certain kind of group has been running rampant at the mouth of the Risch Mountains as of late.”

Levi frowned and adjusted her shawl. Meanwhile, when Linhardt was talking to the soldiers and Ed came down the stairs as well, Picard burst through the door of the accommodation and rushed in, wearing nothing but his outerwear.

“Sir Edgar! Sir Linhardt!”

No one stopped the man who was sprinting towards the table. He hurriedly looked around him, not paying any attention to the few strands of hair plastered to his face.

“Are you all okay?”

The moment Linhardt nodded his head, Picard flopped down on the chair next to him as if his legs had given out, but upon remembering something, he looked out at Levi.

“There are casualties. They broke into my mansion. They even brandished a sword when my maid tried to scream. They’re bold people. How dare they come to my house… Anyway, my butler went to fetch the doctor. However, if the situation at the mansion was like that, I cannot even imagine the damage they caused to the rest of the village. I’d like to apologise for the disturbance as well as ask for your help.”

“How severe is the injury?”

“Her shoulder was cut. It’s bleeding a lot.”

“All right.”

Nodding her head, Levi was about to get up when Linhardt held her down.

“No.”

“What?”

“It’s too dangerous. There are a bunch of people out there harming civilians, how are you planning to get there?”

“I can take a few escorts with me.”

“Still…”

Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, Lil looked up at the bickering Levi and Linhardt, who by now were standing. Levi was firm in her stance despite Linhardt’s strong persuasion. Picard anxiously watched their confrontation as his question seemed to have led to an unexpected conflict.

In the end, it was resolved when Linhardt decided to accompany Levi himself. Picard, who had been impatiently waiting for their argument to end, quickly added.

“That’s not the end of it. The Paradis Inn, where a group of merchants are staying, was completely trashed, too. They said they were robbed of all their belongings. From what I briefly heard, the game that was caught yesterday is also gone.”

The Roahn guards who had helped catch the game sighed.contemporary romance

“…How could they take all of it? Looks like only the bandits will be well-fed now…”

Everyone nodded at what that soldier muttered.

As Linhardt had put himself on escort duty, Ed unintentionally became the conductor and stood up with half his will. He wanted to bring justice to the village that hosted him, so he felt the need to somehow help resolve this tragedy. In addition, this luxury inn was left vacant by the villagers specially for them. And as everyone naturally thought that way too, not a single soldier complained about the atmosphere.

Ed asked as he pulled up a map depicting this area.

“Where are His Majesty’s troops stationed?”

Picard, with a relieved smile on his face, pointed at the edge of the map.

“The nearest place is Niord.”

“Please deliver an accurate damage report to Niord. It would be best to leave for the city immediately. Since there are casualties among the civilians, we’ll use your mansion as a temporary treatment centre and move the patients. Levi will be stationed there.”

“Yes, yes! I will order my servants to open the hall. By now, the village’s vigilante group is chasing them, but it’s difficult because the bandits normally appear sporadically. The bases currently identified are here, the eastern forest, and…”

Lil looked carefully at the spot Picard pointed. Since the map was unfamiliar to her, she instead visualised the terrain while listening to Ed’s instructions.

‘There’s a forest encompassing the northeastern part of the village, and beyond that, the Risch Mountains begin. To the south and west is the Great Trade Route along the sheer cliffs.

Lil decided to tag along with Ed to patrol the border of the village, while the others split into smaller groups to join the vigilante group to search for the assailants that escaped within the village walls.

Picard let out a huge sigh, feeling extremely relieved to receive help. He wiped his forehead as though he finally had the chance to do it.

“It’s fortunate that the Marquess is here at a time like this. If it were just us… I don’t even want to think about it… Those shameless people act so boldly…”

“There’s no time to waste. Let’s get on with it and keep moving.”

“Oh, yes!”

As soon as the order was issued, the noise of weapons being prepared roared. About ten soldiers moved in unison. Lil quickly tied up her hair and put on her gloves. From outside, she could already hear the sound of neighing as the horses were brought to the lodge.

Stepping out the door, Lil felt the near-dawn chilly air. Her ears, exposed by her tied hair, felt cold all over again.

Lil quickly got on top of Lumiere. Meanwhile, Ed asked after turning to look at her.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Lil nodded her head.

Without asking a second time, Ed rode his horse straight forward, Lil and Shail following his lead.

Torches were lit all over the village. The vigilantes were knocking on doors in order to evacuate the residents to the square. The square was filled with crying children, adults holding them, as well as people yelling and arguing with the vigilantes. Some were even holding pickaxes and torches to guard those who were gathered in the square. The dark tension looming around the place was in stark contrast to the festive activities from only a few hours ago.

Their group first headed to the border of the forest. Because Ed needed to receive constant reports, they followed a set route. Shail, who followed, updated them about the current situation.

“Identity verification wasn’t thoroughly carried out due to the many merchants passing through the village.”

Lil, who was looking around the square, suddenly asked back.

“Does that mean this group of bandits could’ve infiltrated the village beforehand?”

– – – – –

done.co