HBWnovel Chapter 207 : Chapter 207
Chapter 207 : Chapter 207
“You don't know me?”Roxy nodded. Her brow was deeply furrowed.
“……Haha!”
Raven slapped his forehead and laughed as if he was losing his breath.
Tears even formed at the corners of his eyes.
“You really are dense. I didn't know it would be to this extent.”
“Who are you? I really don't know you. If you were a noble, there's no way I wouldn't recognize you, and you're not from the Brakenport side either……”
Roxy, who had been tilting her head from side to side, widened her eyes as if she remembered something.
“Wait a minute! More than that, why are you freely entering someone else's bedroom! And the bedroom of a fully grown lady at that!”
“That makes me sad. We aren't strangers to each other.”
Raven quietly stepped down from the window frame.
He approached Roxy directly.
Roxy shrank her neck and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
“Why are you being like this!”
“Do you really not know who I am?”
“W-who are you! ……sir.”
Raven lightly touched Roxy's hair with his fingertips.
At that single light touch, Roxy's body froze. Her long eyelashes trembled.
“Will this make you remember a bit?”
A sweet voice wrapped around her ears. A sweet scent lingered at the tip of her nose.
‘Ugh……, my heart feels like it's going to burst.’
Roxy only gulped down her saliva.
She didn't want to admit it, but his touch was so soft.
It was to the point that she thought of Masa.
“My poor Roxy.”
“P-poor……? M-me? Why?!”
Raven smiled and whispered in Roxy's ear.
“Did you forget already? That terrible disease you were born with.”
“…….”
“Your family's damn curse. Who was it that saved you from that curse? Are you really going to pretend you don't know?”
Raven poked Roxy's abdomen with his index finger.
Roxy's already large eyes grew even larger. At that moment, her whole body tingled.
“……Ah.”
“Did you remember?”
“Yeah.”
Only then did Raven take a couple of steps back. He held his hand out to Roxy as if inviting her to a dance.
“Good. Then come with me. Please don't ask for the reason. I don't have time to answer every little thing. Just think of it as repayment for that time.”
“Repayment?”
“Yes, repayment. A good girl should listen well, right?”
“A good girl…….”
“That's right.”
Roxy's pupils became cloudy as if she were possessed by something.
As if drawn by Raven, her hand slowly went up.
Right before the two people's fingertips touched―
“I remembered.”
In an instant, Roxy's focus returned clearly with a flash.
“My body hurt so much. To the point where even breathing was difficult. So I wanted to die even one day sooner. Because living was agony.”
“…….”
“But everyone wanted me to become an excellent knight. I didn't want to be a good girl…….”
And then she found out.
That in the family the adults of her family considered as an enemy, there was a child suffering from the exact same disease as her.
‘Masa.’
That was how they became close.
“We promised to die together.”
Roxy's gaze pierced into Raven. Her pupils, harboring killing intent, took on a deep blue hue.
“It was you. The one who got rid of my pain that day.”
“…….”
“The one who kept only me alive, preventing us from dying together, was also you.”
Chakangg―!
In an instant, a light flashed from inside the sleeve that puffed out widely only at the end of the dress.
The sword hilt stuck to Roxy's grip as if it coiled itself around it.
“If it hadn't been for you―”
“Ah, Roxy. Calm down.”
“Masa wouldn't have died alone.”
Charararak―!
The blade unwound above the sword hilt Roxy held.
The blade seemed to stretch in a straight line, then bent sharply to the side before rushing in a straight line again.
It looked like a viper fiercely slicing through the empty air.
Puk!
The blade pierced through Raven's left eye and came out the back of his head.
Drops of blood dripped from the tip of the sword that slithered like a snake's tongue.
“You've become quite aggressive since the last time I saw you?”
Her eyes snapped wide open. The voice came from behind.
“Shall I make you properly remember what happened that day?”
He was close.
She could feel his skin. It felt like their lips would touch if she turned her head even a little.
Goosebumps spread all over her entire body.
“……Kyaaaaaak!”
Roxy quickly spun her body half a turn to evade.
It was the spot where Raven had originally been.
Come to think of it, the Raven standing in front of her was completely fine as if nothing had happened.
As if it never happened, the blade was limply draped on the ground, soaked in blood.
“W-what? How come there are two bodies?!”
“Hahaha, do you think there are only two?”
“Monster!”
It was the moment Roxy was about to extend her Whip Sword again.
“Roxy!”
The bedroom door that Raven was backing against burst open.
Bolero, the Pretoria Lord, and Isaac stormed in at the same time.
All three had very surprised expressions.
They were even panting for breath.
Soon after, the mansion's servants came rushing in a crowd behind them.
“You baaaaastard!”
Bolero reached out a rough hand toward Raven.
It was a distance he could reach with just a light jump.
Hwirik―
Raven's figure disappeared and then reappeared in front of the window behind Roxy.
Bolero, who had grasped at empty air, narrowed his eyes.
Because of the backlight, he couldn't see the opponent's face well.
“W-who are you! How dare an intruder……!”
The Pretoria Lord also stood side by side next to Bolero.
Raven looked at them silently, then moved only his pupils to quickly scan the left and right sides of the bedroom.
A thin strand of smoke was rising from both corners.
Of course, no one except him noticed it.
‘This makes no sense. No matter how hastily I threw it together with a sloppy formula, there is no way my Gimun Formation would be breached by such insignificant bastards…….’
At that moment, the Pretoria Lord drew the sword at his waist.
At the same time, Raven's eyes narrowed.
“Reveal your identity, you bastard!”
Raven's gaze was fixed on the sword the Lord had drawn.
Whatever they chattered about didn't even enter his ears.
‘……What is that sword?’
He was so dumbfounded that a chuckle escaped him.
An unknown energy flowing out from the Lord's sword was scattering all the spell power inside the bedroom.
The Lord's sword was the very sword Bihen had briefly placed his hand on before leaving Pretoria.
Of course, Bihen hadn't done anything special at the time.
He merely tossed a blessing upon it, and that was all.
“Roxy!”
Breaking the brief silence that flowed, Isaac stood next to Roxy.
He carefully observed his sister and his close friend interchangeably.
A completely unexpected event had occurred.
Roxy being here, Raven suddenly showing himself, and the two of them being together like this were all things that were not in Isaac's calculations.
“B-brother!”
“Why are you here?”
Isaac tried hard to turn away from Raven and glared at the Pretoria Lord.
“What in the world is going on here, Lord! Why is Roxy here, and why did you hide that fact from me!”
“A-ah, t-that is……!”
“I will definitely report this matter to my father―”
It was then. Black smoke surged up as if something had exploded in front of them.
Everyone stepped back in surprise.
The smoke that was thick in the bedroom soon disappeared without a trace.
There was no one in the spot where Raven had been.
Only one large window was swaying, pushed by the wind.
“Dammit!”
Bolero ran over and checked under the window. Of course, there were no traces.
‘…….’
Meanwhile, Isaac gathered his senses.
Anyway, just finding Roxy was enough of a reason to have come this far.
Raven's unexpected behavior was something he could ask about when they met later.
“Roxy, you know well enough yourself what a dangerous situation you're in right now, don't you? No matter what the truth is, the justification for the War of the Roses originated from your and Masa's disappearance.”
“T-that is……!”
“Enough. I will hear the detailed circumstances while we go.”
Isaac's gaze turned to the Lord again.
The Lord read the room and carefully sheathed his sword.
“Lord. You don't think the price for deceiving Windermere will be light, do you. Because of this matter, Pretoria's neutral position will also be greatly shaken.”
“……I am sorry.”
“I will visit you again at a later date.”
When Isaac glanced at Roxy again, her shoulders heaved heavily.
She looked as if she was about to burst into a sigh, but soon drooped as if she had lost her strength.
Along with her pouting lips, her gaze also fell powerlessly to the ground.
“I am sorry, but―”
Isaac stopped his steps at the voice heard from behind.
Everyone's gaze turned to Bolero.
“Actually, I am also someone hired by the Young Lady, not the Lord here.”
Isaac twisted the corners of his mouth slightly as if he had gained interest.
“And so?”
“The Young Lady promised to pay my compensation when she returned to Windermere. So I also must go with you if I am to receive my delayed wages.”
The expressions of the four people diverged in their own ways.
Now that things had turned out this way, Bolero made a plan to go to the Windermere family and meet the Conwell family, while the Lord and Roxy blinked their eyes, not knowing what was going on.
Only Isaac answered with a bright smile as if he had been waiting for this.
“Good. I permit you to accompany us, Tiaro.”
Roxy furrowed her brow.
Suddenly, what Tiaro?
***
As soon as I entered the gateway of Springeus, I was surrounded by guards.
Of course, they didn't immediately recognize my identity to do that. It was after I had first revealed my name with my own mouth.
‘I only said my name, yet the welcome is fierce.’
There was no reason to be necessarily displeased.
It wasn't because it was me specifically, but rather a natural reaction to a rumored powerhouse suddenly appearing in times like these.
‘As expected of a renowned knight family, they are highly disciplined.’
My admiration continued as I crossed the territory, reached the Springeus mansion, and stood in front of the annex they called the Grand Assembly Hall.
The exterior of the building was so plain and monotonous that it seemed indifferent.
‘The lack of aesthetic sense in martial arts families is common whether in the Empire or the Kingdom.’
The soldier standing in front of the door raised his spear shaft to block my path.
“You must disarm all weapons in your possession.”
I briefly glanced at the space prepared like a sword disarmament area next to the door.
When I turned my head, the guards who had dragged me here semi-forcefully closed their eyes silently as if to say it was alright.
“Be careful. If you casually touch them out of nowhere, you might become possessed by ghosts.”
“I-I know. Who would dare touch the Sword Fiend's cherished weapons recklessly without any fear?”
Since all their expressions were frozen, it was a joke I threw lightly on my part but…….
Anyway, I unfastened the Heavenly Demon, Blood Lion, and even Zahara Toxeed, placed them in the sword disarmament area, and then entered.
Guuuuung.
The door opened, making a heavy sound.
‘Hmm.’
The interior was dark overall.
The air was cold and dry.
Beneath the curtains hung all around the walls, a tiered semi-circular table and the wide-open space below it immediately caught my eye.
‘…….’
Even this is similar.
The hall of my family came to mind.
The very place where my humiliating excommunication was engraved in my past life, and my parting with my father in this life.
‘Father, Grandmother, are you both doing well?’
I recalled the faces of those two and planted my butt on the seat prepared like a judge's bench.
The guards following behind me seemed surprised by my unreserved behavior.
‘Brother Palas, no, the Young Head must be busy with no time to even catch his breath right about now. I wonder if Duke and Sena have matured a bit by now.’
I recited the family's commandments for the first time in a while.
The path of the sword continues to the grave…….
My blood relatives.
I, Bihen, have carried the sword of Benkou across thousands of miles.
·
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“I've never seen a guy like that. His liver has really popped out of his stomach.”
“Since the establishment of the Grand Assembly Hall, has there ever been another guy who sat there and dozed off?”
“Hah, he really has some nerve.”
I secretly wiped the drool flowing under my chin.
I felt the presence of someone approaching this way.
I lightly raised one hand to stop them.
“I am awake.”
It was true that I couldn't hold out and had dozed off in that short time, but―
What woke me up was not their murmuring voices.
“Umm.”
I lifted my heavily folded eyelids.
While sitting cross-legged, I raised only my right knee, rested my arm on it, and carefully observed the members of the Springeus family in a relaxed posture.
I sniffled without realizing it.
“The stench of the sick is overflowing.”
The murmuring sound rang out once again.
I took them in my eyes one by one.
Unknowingly, Ghost Eye was already in an activated state.
I was pretending to be fine on the outside, but honestly, my sleepiness had long since vanished entirely.
‘……Why the hell are there so many Severed Meridians patients?’
I had no choice but to click my tongue in astonishment.