Reassurance

*** A couple of minutes earlier ***

At the top of the chapel where the shadows and light overlapped in silence, a silhouette of a knight emerged from where the wind blew, his sharp scarlet eyes piercing through the dark interior of the old room, scanning for signs of life amidst webs and dust.

His gaze soon found something a few steps further, at the gaping hole in the floor where light fell through like a flood.

A woman sat there dressed in light crimson robes that defined her slender figure while gazing mindlessly at the empty sky.

Noah strode toward her calmly, his steps silent regardless of the steel armour on his shoulders.

However, despite making no sound at all, the woman's shoulder seemed to tense for a short moment, just long enough for the knight to notice and stop in his tracks.

Clearing his throat, the boy placed his palm over the pommel of his sword, trying to not lock eyes with the woman.

His voice came out rough; the aftertaste of the exotic fruit Valentine recommended to him was still clinging to the bottom of his tongue, making him lick his teeth before opening his lips.

"Do you really want to do this, Miss Ramona?"

The woman turned in his direction. Her eyes were tightly closed while her hands were held below her waist, her long fingers clutching at a letter of sorts that stood out with its thick wax seal hanging on the edge.

Noah tried to look away from the person in front of him, his body screaming at her merely paying attention to him.

She looked like a porcelain doll filled with nothing but thin mist, with skin so polished that if looked at long enough, one would see their own reflection on her figure!

However, a knight's duty is not to be swayed by beauty! Noah was immune to such things, although, as he was still a young man, he tried not to look away and instead focus on the task he was given.

"Did you really come up here to question my actions?"

The second she spoke, he felt the armour he so easily wore weigh a dozen times more.

The steel around his neck seemed to tighten around his throat while his knees sank down into the floor, taking him to the floor below.

If not for him being on high alert, it could have made him slump down on the floor right there, with no hope of ever getting back up.

It's as if I'm speaking to Lady Aurora herself... if I let down my guard for even a second, I will burn away like a match!

Noah was ready for her tricks, keeping a straight face while her tone fell and rose, immediately turning amused at the lack of noise from her side.

"Oh, my~" Her voice rang like a sea of chimes ringing on a clear, windy day. "Are you that concerned about that child?"

Ramona leaned toward the boy, closely examining his strained expression. Her cold breath brushed against his skin as he took a short step back.

"N-No, how could I worry when it's Miss Ramona herself taking him under her wing? I'm even honoured that it's you who chose Valentine. It's just that..." Stuttering, he looked down in shame at what he was worrying about in the first place; his thoughts were speaking louder than his words as his silence answered Ramona's question by itself, letting her think for a moment before she pulled back.

A smile appeared on her lips, a gentle smile directed toward a child who unknowingly made a mistake.

Stolen novel; please report.

She raised one of her hands, slowly feeling their shape with the tip of her fingers.

"My eyes are just fine." She turned toward the light, taking a deliberate step forward. "You should worry about yourself, Noah."

He quietly looked down and nodded.

"I will, thank you."

Stepping through the dark interior of the room, she made her way toward the only source of light that fell through the cracked slate roof and down the shattered wood flooring.

The surroundings there became easier to make out with light spilling into the corners and landing on nearby furniture like old drawers against the walls or rolls of unused wallpaper stashed in the corner, hiding even more unused materials.

"I'm assuming the selection went well?"

Ramona asked without any warning, catching Noah off-guard as his face fell briefly and hardened.

The sound of his teeth clenching, albeit faint, was far more than enough to understand what was going through that head of his.

Noah's grip over the pommel of his sword also became firmer, shaking from the strength he put into this little gesture.

"..."

Just hours ago, he was overseeing tens of children just as hopeless as Valentine, struggling to calm the wild flame roaming in their hearts.

Even though trained for situations like this, it was in fact his first time taking the life of another, and Ramona understood it well.

Everyone has to come to terms with the decisions they've made and what the path beyond them may hold; it's simply that the knights are just as short-sighted as the ones commanding over them, trained children with knives that could amount to nothing but regret over their own actions.

She sighed calmly while carefully sitting over the edge of the hole, hanging her feet with a thin smile on her face.

"If you're going to be depressed over a few lost lives, then you're not cut out to be a knight."

Without turning to him, she looked up at the sky, placing the ripped letter next to her.

"What could Aurora be thinking to let squires do something like this? Sending out children with knives to end lives that havent yet begun."

"A pity, truly."

Below them, light footsteps echoed upward, reaching the two as a young voice, directed at itself, spoke in a hushed tone as if not wanting to attract attention.

The words that came from it were careless and stupid, as no one would ever say something like this aloud while knowing someone might be right around the corner, and yet, like the idiot he is, he bluntly showed himself in the worst light that could be found in that chapel.

A bit later, he stopped in the middle of the chapel with a strange look on his face, murmuring words under his nose.

"I hope she looks good."

Noah's lips seemed to twitch lightly, his eyes closing at the noise of a vase shattering into countless pieces and panicked steps circling the same spot over and over.

"Is that the boy you brought here?"

Ramona's reaction was similar, but beneath that smile, he sensed something evil growing with each second the boy spoke.

Without looking at Noah, she whispered, not to him nor to herself, but to the man who was responsible for their meeting in the first place.

"Let's see what you've brought here... Master."

Tapping on the air before her, it rippled like water while her deadly song started flowing from it smoother than silk.