Just as I was about to settle my fight with the grave keeper, the giant had used the Heavenly Sword Vulpine Razor to attack both of our holy women. Although we had both succeeded in protecting our partners, the grave keeper’s wounds had left him on death’s door.
Even for a curion—let alone a human—his injuries were nearly fatal. For those of us who would meet our deaths a second time if our heads were cut off, a massive gash in the neck was seriously bad news. If the grave keeper were to die now, both of his abilities would go to the giant.
That left me with only one option—I had to kill him first. Carrying the princess in my arms, I raced toward the grave keeper and Nemophila. He was managing to hold down his neck, but he’d already lost a lot of blood. Her holy woman uniform covered in that blood, Nemophila kept her eyes locked on him even as we approached. She might not have even noticed us.
“What... What a foolish curion.” Though she berated him, her voice was shaking.
“M-My apologies.”
“Did you think I would forgive you for killing my partner if you gave your life to protect me?” The Grave Keeper of the Golden City was the one who had killed Nemophila’s first holy knight. Now she wanted nothing more than the death of the member of the Twelve Corpses who had sworn fealty to her. Her scorn was so great that she had invited the princess and me to her estate and requested that we kill him.
“No, Princess. I simply...”
“Allow me to rectify your ignorance—I asked Sir Albert and the others to kill you. I thought of you as nothing more than a sacrificial pawn. Yet you would give your life to protect me. You truly are a hopeless fool.” Nemophila seemed to be trying to make the grave keeper hate her—to make him think that protecting her had been a mistake.
The grave keeper gave a wide smile. “I’m aware.”
His smile only intensified Nemophila’s shaking. “What? Th-Then why did you...?”
“I betrayed you once already. That’s why I decided that when I was granted another chance, I would devote myself to you until the end.”
“I’m not your princess!” Nemophila shouted. “And you’re not my holy knight! Don’t you realize that?! You killed my holy knight! That person tried to protect me, and you killed them!”
“Yes, I did.”
“You tried to kill me too! And you should have! Now because you said you’d serve me, I’m stuck fighting alongside my partner’s murderer!” Nemophila’s true feelings finally burst to the surface. Due to the nature of her station, she had been unable to refuse the order by the head of her family to team up with the very curion who had killed her partner. She had only managed to get this far by bottling up her emotions. Now that her life had been saved by that same person, her heart had been thrown into disarray once again.
“My apologies.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Tears welled up in Nemophila’s eyes as though the dam holding back her emotions had burst. “Why didn’t you die? You should have just let Sir Albert kill you!”
“I intend to do so.” The grave keeper’s words made her finally notice us.
“He’s not quite dead yet, Nemophila. We made it in time,” I said.
“Sir Albert...”
I looked at the grave keeper. “We’re calling this my win, right?”
Despite how pale his face was, the grave keeper chuckled. “Yeah.” Then I wasn’t stealing the powers of someone on the verge of death—I had won them fair and square. It was a much better outcome than letting the giant steal them, both for him and for me.
“Albert.” The princess softly tugged on my sleeve. She understood that we had to kill him, but beheading a curion who looked human and who had just protected his holy woman was bound to take its toll on her mental state. Especially since her own holy knight would carry out the deed.
“You don’t have to look.”
The princess’s expression contorted for a moment; then she shook her head. “No, we’ll bear this burden together.”
“All right then.” Raising my sword over my head, I looked at the grave keeper.
“I leave my princess in your care,” he said. He was a member of the Twelve Corpses who had killed countless saints. He was a man who had long since lost his sanity, a threat who could go berserk at any moment, and someone who had conflated another girl with his past master. His only redeeming quality as a holy knight was the fact that he had protected his holy woman.
“Sure thing.” Acknowledging his request, I brought my sword down.
“Thank you, Skeleton Sword Saint.” Thus, after regaining his sense of self three centuries later, the grave keeper was beheaded and died for good at my hand.
My field of vision immediately changed—it was just like what had happened with Hector. I was about to see the grave keeper’s memories.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Theo! Are you even listening?!” Nemophila was sitting in front of me—no, it couldn’t have been her. These were memories from over three hundred years ago. In addition, she was far more expressive than Nemophila and seemed to not even be fifteen yet.
She had to be Nemophila’s ancestor the grave keeper had served when he’d been alive. Still, they looked exactly alike—a real spitting image.
I— No, the Grave Keeper of the Golden City was sitting in a carriage with his master, Ixeris. Reliving his memories felt like remembering my own past, so I’d lose myself if I wasn’t careful.
“My apologies, Princess.”
“Is something on your mind?”
“No...” The truth was, the holy knight Theophilus was feeling down because his master, Ixeris, had gotten engaged. He secretly pined for her, so it was difficult for him to accept.
As it turned out, it was difficult for her to accept as well. “I don’t wanna get married,” she whined, letting out a long sigh.
“I think it’s a good proposal,” said Theophilus. Due to his position, he couldn’t reveal the feelings he held deep down.
“He’s old enough to be my dad!” Indeed, Ixeris’s fiancé was a man from the same generation as her father who was planning on taking her as a concubine. However, noble marriages were generally intended to strengthen the bonds between families. It was a common occurrence, and it wasn’t a knight’s place to object. Ixeris sighed again. “Why must I marry somebody I don’t even love?”
“Nobles place a great deal of importance on family ties.”
“I know. I get that this is what’s best for father and our territory, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” The pouting Ixeris shifted her gaze from out the window and turned to face Theophilus. Her eyes were damp, and her expression held equal parts hope and anxiety. “H-Hey, Theo.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“I-If I said I didn’t want to get married no matter what and asked you to help me, um...would you run away with me?” It was basically a confession of love. The way she was blushing up to her ears, the way the pitch in her voice raised—in her own roundabout way, she was declaring that she wanted to be with him. Theophilus would regret his decision for the next three centuries.
“You mustn’t say things like that.” He couldn’t betray the family he served, and he didn’t think running away with him would make her happy. As a servant, Theophilus’s answer was probably the best one he could have given. But as a man, it was the worst.
Needless to say, Ixeris’s heart was very deeply wounded. “Right... Of course. I-I’m sorry for bringing it up.” She looked back out the window, trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.
Theophilus was unable to say anything in response to his beloved master’s sniffling. That incident marked the beginning of the darkness that spread in Ixeris’s heart.