Ruelle Gathering

During the battle, Eckhart’s reprimand rang out: “Damuel! Always aim for the feystone, even with the weaker feybeasts! If other feybeasts eat the weaker ones, the fight will only get harder for us!”

Hurriedly, I repeatedly stabbed the slightly grown feybeast with my spear, piercing its feystone. If the feybeasts became stronger through cannibalism, I, as a layknight, wouldn’t be able to handle them.

…This is tough.

We had to keep defeating the feybeasts while being surrounded by them, ensuring each one was killed; otherwise, the enemies would grow stronger through cannibalism. When I looked around, several pairs of red eyes glowed in the bushes. The enemies before me weren’t the only ones. No matter how many we defeated, more kept coming.

“Damn!”

Compared to the archknight Eckhart and the medknight Brigitte, I had a lower mana capacity. Since I couldn’t attack using mana, I had to rely on physical strength, which led to severe exhaustion. Even though I understood that we were buying time for Lady Rozemyne to collect the ruelle fruits, the anxiety of not knowing when it would end was slowing my movements.

“Huff, huff…”

I could tell my breathing had become labored, and my shoulders were moving sluggishly. My arms were tired, while my legs felt heavy and were starting to stumble. If possible, I wanted to drink a rejuvenation potion and focus on recuperating for a while. I glanced at Eckhart and Brigitte, but they seemed just as overwhelmed, dealing with the feybeasts in front of them.

“Justus, how much longer will this take?!”

“They aren’t even halfway to full size yet!”

Eckhart, who seemed to have noticed I needed to recover, called out while slaying an enemy. However, Justus’s reply was disheartening. At this rate, I would run out of mana, be unable to maintain my armor or weapon, and become feybeast fodder.

…This is bad.

The one who saved me when I felt a chill of fear from the threat of death was Lady Rozemyne. “O God of War Angriff, of the God of Fire Leidenschaft’s exalted twelve, I pray that you grant them your divine protection,” she intoned. A blue light of blessing rained down upon us as we fought around the ruelle tree. In the next moment, my body suddenly felt lighter.

Even when I crouched down and swung my weapon, it was no longer burdensome. It was as if the sharpness of my weapon had increased, allowing me to defeat more enemies with each swing.

…Is there really such a difference with and without a blessing?

I widened my eyes in astonishment. I had seen Lady Rozemyne pray for the knights going into battle during the trombe subjugation, and witnessed the blue blessing of Angriff descending upon Lord Karstedt as he fought during spring prayer. But this was the first time I had received and fought under that blessing myself.

“Lady Rozemyne, this divine protection is magnificent!” Brigitte’s voice rang out with excitement. I completely understood her feelings. It was precisely because we had been pushed to our limits that the blessing resonated so deeply within us. The movements of the guard knights improved significantly, and the momentum with which we scattered the surrounding enemies greatly increased.

“Lady Rozemyne, please firmly grasp this ruelle and pour mana into it. Continue to do so until its color changes completely,” Justus instructed. By the time Lady Rozemyne grasped the ruelle fruit with Justus’s permission, we had managed to push the surrounding enemies back a bit.

“Damuel, recover now while you can,” Eckhart ordered.

Shielded by Lord Eckhart, I quickly drank a rejuvenation potion. As I held my weapon, I waited for my strength and mana to gradually return.

…It seems we can take turns recovering now.

Brigitte and Eckhart still appeared to have some energy left, but if I could recover and return to the front line, we could take turns drinking a rejuvenation potion.

“I’m heading out!”

As I gripped my spear again and rushed forward, Lord Eckhart shifted his position slightly to create space for me.

The three of us would definitely protect the ruelle tree. I steeled myself, determined not to let any feybeasts get close. The feeling that I was finally able to perform my duties as a guard knight filled me with excitement.

“Got it!”

Lady Rozemyne’s cheerful voice signaled that the long battle was nearing its end. As I let out a breath and allowed myself to relax just a little, there was an unnatural rustling around us. Immediately afterward, the roar of a zantze and Lady Rozemyne’s startled scream overlapped.

“Milady!”

There was a feybeast that had leapt down through the treetops. As I noticed its presence and paled, I saw in my vision that Justus had struck the zantze, sending it flying in a wide arc.

“My ruelle!”

“No, milady! Eckhart, get away!”

From the flood of information entering my ears, I realized that Lady Rozemyne’s collected ruelle fruit had been stolen, and that Eckhart had rushed off in pursuit of the zantze. However, with so much information coming at once, my mind went blank, and I couldn’t figure out how to react.

“Summon your highbeast!”

Brigitte’s sharp voice registered as an order, and I instinctively summoned my steed and leapt onto it.

The zantze, which had been twisting its body with the characteristic agility of a feybeast, suddenly began to enlarge with explosive force before it could land lightly on the ground. Having consumed the ruelle fruit imbued with Lady Rozemyne’s mana, the zantze evolved into a goltze. The transformation was so rapid that, even though I saw it with my own eyes, my mind refused to accept it, it was utterly unbelievable.

“Lord Ferdinand, a zantze has eaten the ruelle filled with Lady Rozemyne’s mana and evolved into a goltze. It needs to be exterminated post haste. I request immediate assistance from the Knight’s Order.”

Unlike me, who was staring in shock at the goltze, Lord Justus quickly sent an ordonnanz to Lord Ferdinand. Eckhart, gripping his schtappe with both hands, transformed it into a large broad sword and poured his mana into it. I hoped that, as an archknight, Lord Eckhart might be able to defeat the goltze alone, but he only managed to wound it and could not bring it down.

“Brigitte, Damuel! Take Lady Rozemyne and flee at once! Stand by at the farming town!”

“Yes, sir!”

Under urgent orders, we retreated and took refuge in a nearby town, from where we could see the goltze rampaging in the distance. Lady Rozemyne’s face went pale, realizing the gravity of what had happened due to the loss of the ruelle fruit.

”…I didn’t know my mana could do that to a feybeast. This is all my fault, isn’t it?”

“No, Lady Rozemyne, it is our fault for failing to protect you,” Brigitte was right. We should never have allowed the feybeast to get close to Lady Rozemyne in the first place. Failing to notice the feybeast that attacked her through the trees, failing to recover the stolen ruelle, and failing to defeat the goltze immediately, all these were failures on the part of the guard knights.

…It was fortunate that Lady Rozemyne was uninjured, but I couldn’t help worrying about the potential damage if that goltze started rampaging.

There were many reasons why we failed to protect her, whether it was the lack of knowledge about the peculiarities of the Night of Schutzaria, or the fact that there were too few guard knights against so many feybeasts. Yet, despite all these reasons, I had once again failed in my duty as a guard knight. The mere thought of it made my stomach twist with pain.

In the midst of this, an ordonnanz arrived from Lord Ferdinand, detailing a plan of action. His instructions were for Lady Rozemyne to create a cage of Wind to trap the feybeast and prevent it from escaping. Even Eckhart, an archknight, questioned whether it was possible, saying, “Make a cage out of Wind…? Is such a thing even possible?”

However, Lady Rozemyne, relieved that there was something she could do, agreed resolutely. “He told me how to do it—I just need to reverse how a Wind shield normally works,” she said.

“I guess this is my mess, so I need to clean up the aftermath myself.”

…No! It was our failure!

But Lord Ferdinand said that only Lady Rozemyne, with her immense mana capacity—enough to become the Archduke’s adopted daughter—could possibly contain the goltze. We had no choice but to ask our lady to clean up after our mistakes.

Lord Eckhart led the charge, instructing us all to stay mounted on our highbeasts and protect Lady Rozemyne so that no lesser beasts could approach her while she focused.

We returned deep into the forest to subdue the goltze once again.

As the goltze targeted Lady Rozemyne, drawn by her abundant mana, Eckhart struck it with powerful slashes. Brigitte, meanwhile, had Lady Rozemyne riding with her on her steed, holding her protectively to ensure not a single scratch would reach her. Justus and I kept an eye on the goltze while staying vigilant for weaker feybeasts that might be after the ruelle fruit.

In the midst of this, Lady Rozemyne chanted a prayer and summoned a Wind cage, successfully trapping the goltze.

“Rozemyne, you don’t look so good. Is your mana holding up okay?”

As we anxiously waited, I couldn’t help but worry whether Lady Rozemyne’s mana would last, or if she could fight off the overwhelming fatigue, despite the large goltze rampaging within her Wind cage.

“Apologies for the wait!”

Lord Ferdinand’s highbeast burst into the scene. The moment I saw him, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief and confidence that everything would be alright. My trust in Lord Ferdinand was absolute, and I let out a breath of relief.

Indeed, with the combined efforts of Lord Ferdinand and Lord Eckhart, the goltze was swiftly defeated.

Although the forest was left in shambles, there were no human casualties, and the situation was finally under control.

…I’m glad it ended without any serious incidents.

Unlike me, who felt a sense of release after the battle, Lady Rozemyne stared down at her empty hands with a downcast expression.

”…I failed,”

Her small, childish voice was followed by a single tear that dropped onto the ground, forming a tiny stain. It struck me then that—Lady Rozemyne was crying, feeling crushed by her failure.

The goal this time wasn’t to subdue feybeasts. It was to collect the ruelle. While we avoided major harm, the original objective had not been achieved.

“You are not to blame here; we simply lacked enough information about the Night of Schutzaria. Next year, we will be fully prepared for this situation. So… do not cry,”

Lord Ferdinand placed his hand on Lady Rozemyne’s bowed head. I realized that I had failed even to comfort my lady who was so dejected over the failure. All I could do was raise a signal to inform Lord Ferdinand of our location. It was Lord Justus who told an interesting story to keep her awake, and it was Lord Eckhart and Brigitte who protected her from Lord Ferdinand’s attack.

As a guard knight, I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of my lack of ability, wondering what I could truly offer.

By the time we arrived at Dorvan’s Winter Mansion, Lady Rozemyne, who had been carried by Brigitte, was already unconscious and running a fever.

Since Brigitte, being a woman, would accompany Lady Rozemyne during her examination, I waited in the hallway, guarding the door while awaiting Lord Ferdinand’s return. The mansion, being a commoner’s winter residence, was not very large, so Lord Eckhart and Lord Justus were ordered to wait in the dining room. This left me as the only one standing guard in the hallway.

“Lord Ferdinand, how is Lady Rozemyne…?”

“She held back the goltze on her own for an extended period. She will likely be bedridden for several days. We won’t return to the temple until she has recovered.”

Hearing this diagnosis as Lord Ferdinand walked toward the dining room where his retainers were, I hung my head in shame. The one I was supposed to protect, Lady Rozemyne, ended up protecting her guard knights instead. To make matters worse, we had caused her, who was already so frail, to fall ill.

It was only natural that I should be reprimanded.

“I sincerely apologize. Despite being her guard knight, I failed to protect Lady Rozemyne once again…”

“This situation was so far beyond anything we could have anticipated that even Justus and I didn’t foresee it. The fault does not lie solely with you.”

Though Lord Ferdinand said this, I couldn’t help but feel that the responsibility rested most heavily on my shoulders among the guard knights.

“Indeed, it was unforeseen, but my abilities… my mana capacity is simply insufficient. As a layknight, guarding a member of the archducal family is a burden too heavy for me to bear.”

But it wasn’t just about mana capacity. I also lacked the knowledge and experience necessary for a guard knight. If the ruelle fruit was stolen, I should have retrieved it. When a feybeast attacked our lady from above, I shouldn’t have been standing idly on the ground. While Lord Eckhart and Brigitte knew how to act, I was the only one who didn’t understand what to do.

“Indeed, in the case of an ordinary guard knight for the archducal family, you would likely be dismissed immediately,” Lord Ferdinand declared firmly. However, after giving me a brief glance, he continued.

“But not just anyone can serve as ‘her’ guard knight. You are one of the few who can accompany her to the hidden rooms in the orphanage director’s office and the workshop, and who understands the people she cherishes and wishes to protect with all her heart.”

Few know Lady Rozemyne as “Myne” and understand that she became a noble to protect both her family in the lower city and the merchants there…

I engraved in my heart the unique role expected of me as her guard knight.

“Of course, the same mistake cannot be allowed to happen again. You should improve your skills as a guard knight as much as possible in preparation for next year’s ruelle gathering. I will instruct Karstedt and Eckhart to put you through special training.”

”…I am deeply grateful.”

Knowing that it was an order from Lord Ferdinand, Eckhart would undoubtedly carry it out without hesitation. The training would be far harsher than anything I had experienced before. As I anticipated the grueling sessions ahead, I could feel the blood drain from my face, but all I could do was express my gratitude.