Chapter 30

Ghost Knight (2)

Let’s think a bit about the person known as the Warden of the Realm.

Even in the game, by the time the main scenario progressed, she was already dead, and only a brief background was ever mentioned about her.

Sir Teresa Adelaide. She was a peer slightly older than Noel.

However, her battlefield experience was far richer, and she was also the benefactor who took Noel in when she became an orphan with no family due to the war.

She had a huge influence on shaping Noel’s values and was practically her only family.

In short, she was like a parent to Noel.

She was also the one who taught her the ability she used—the Pure White Qi and her swordsmanship.

Of course, if we simply compare capabilities, Teresa was more like the one who systematized the theory, while Noel was the one who actually completed it, so the latter was naturally stronger.

"A ghost?"

…From the beginning, that wasn’t the issue here.

▶ Massive penalties will apply if events listed in this section fail!

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act I, <Imperial Capital Fracture>

* Chapter 1, <Ghost Knight Incident>

▶ The ‘boss’ has not been subjugated. The quest remains incomplete.

▶ Partial failure has triggered penalties.

▶ The boss becomes significantly stronger!

▶ The ‘Subjugation Battle’ will reoccur shortly.

▶ Failure in the upcoming Subjugation Battle will result in quest failure!

…For crying out loud.

Seeing the quest window sprawled out before him, Aiden let out a long sigh.

Honestly, he’d expected this. Letting the boss fight—the most important part of the event—slip by like that was never going to end cleanly.

Still, the idea that the boss would become even stronger now was making his head spin.

From what he saw earlier, the boss was already able to go toe-to-toe with Noel. If it’s going to get “significantly” stronger than that, even throwing both Noel and Katya at it might not be enough.

‘Oh, good grief…’

How was he supposed to come up with a solution for this now?

While he was quietly agonizing over that thought, Noel, who had been wrapping a bandage snugly around his forehead, pulled her hands away.

“This should be enough.”

“…Anyone seeing this would think I’d been shot in the head.”

He didn’t even get a chance to complain about how over-the-top this reaction was for just a scratch—Noel continued speaking, unfazed.

“I’ve called a specialist. Just in case, you should at least get examined.”

“No matter how you look at it, that’s—”

“Aiden.”

Noel cut him off with a bright smile.

Of course, her eyes weren’t smiling at all. It was clear she wouldn’t accept any objections…

“Go get checked.”

“……”

…Aiden nodded silently.

“It’s an injury caused by contact with a spirit. No one knows how it might develop.”

“…Aha.”

Honestly, if we’re going to talk about concerns, getting beaten up by Meyer almost every other day seems like a bigger issue but there was no need to bring that up out loud…

‘More importantly.’

Something was bothering him.

“…May I ask you one thing?”

“Yes?”

“Lady Noel, are you really okay?”

“All my injuries are just scrapes—”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Aiden paused for a moment, then opened his mouth again.

“Are you really okay?”

“……”

“You might have to face her again.”

Noel immediately pressed her lips tightly together when she realized he was talking about the spirit of the Warden of the Realm.

“You might have to fight her again.”

“…You’re saying that as if it’s guaranteed.”

“I am.”

There was a solution. From what he saw in yesterday’s battle, he had a vague idea of a possible “breakthrough.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

However—

The question was whether Noel would be able to go through with it.

Even yesterday, when she briefly clashed swords with Teresa, she had looked unusually… hesitant.

Like she absolutely, under no circumstances, wanted to do this.

“……”

Noel, who had been silent for a long time, finally let out a deep sigh.

“…No, I’m not okay.”

She spoke calmly, but the emotion etched in her face ran deep, drawn from the weight of long-held memories.

“Teresa was someone who’d been by my side since before I could even remember. She was like a real older sister to me.”

“……”

“…Just remembering her still hurts. How could I possibly be okay if I’m told to fight what may be her spirit?”

…Of course she would feel that way.

If she was in this state, it might be best to keep her out of the next confrontation—

“But.”

Then.

Cutting through Aiden’s train of thought, Noel continued.

“If you try to handle this without me, I’ll be angry.”

“…What?”

“I’m the one who dragged you into this in the first place.”

Before he could say anything, Noel lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.

Her lips curled into a faint smile. It looked light, but the weight behind it came through clearly.

“…Well, there’s no definitive proof that that really is Teresa’s spirit. And even if it is.”

Noel exhaled deeply and spoke with resolve.

“No matter what happens, I’ll take responsibility for you and make sure you get back to your family safely.”

Just like what happened yesterday.

Even if she had to cross swords again with something that might be the spirit of her older sister.

At the very least, she was determined to take responsibility for Aiden until the very end.

“Understand? Don’t worry about me. Your safety comes first.”

“……”

Aiden looked at Noel, momentarily at a loss for words.

‘…Honestly.’

He let out a dry laugh internally and ran a hand over his face.

He’d heard people say things like “I’ll protect you” plenty of times before.

…But he never imagined someone could be this serious about it.

Even with something like the Warden of the Realm involved, this person still prioritized his safety above all else.

“Why that face, Aiden?”

“I guess I’m a little embarrassed.”

“Pardon?”

“Lady Noel, you look a bit different to me now.”

How could he put it?

He’d never disliked her, not even once.

…But now, he truly felt close to her as a person.

He wasn’t entertaining any romantic thoughts or anything like that, but at the very least, he genuinely found her likable.

It was a bit of a problem.

“……”

And the moment he said that, Noel took a few awkward steps backward.

“…Why would you say something like that right now…?”

“Pardon?”

“Aiden, I don’t dislike you either, but… this isn’t really the time to be flirting, is it…?”

“……”

No.

That wasn’t what he meant…

…He really needed to change the subject.

“Anyway, what’s that?”

Trying to steer the conversation elsewhere, Aiden gestured with his chin at the newspaper sitting on Noel’s desk.

He’d never seen her read something like that before, so he asked out of curiosity but the moment he did, her expression darkened.

“…Ah, that…”

Seeing her trail off, Aiden narrowed his eyes and leaned in to get a better look.

And as soon as he saw the newspaper headline, his expression changed drastically as well.

< The Warden of the Realm’s ghost in the Imperial Capital… “Lionhearted, what happened during the Allied War?” >

“……”

“Looks like everyone’s in an uproar over what happened yesterday.”

While Noel gave a bitter smile and said that, Aiden quietly read through the article with a grim face.

In order for a ghost to materialize in the physical world, as they’d seen with Meyer’s case, several conditions had to be met.

The spirit had to have achieved an incredibly refined state, and they had to die with such overwhelming regret that they couldn’t rest in peace.

“…They’re saying Lady Noel caused the Warden’s death, and now she’s back for revenge?”

Given those conditions, it meant that the spirit’s appearance last night could easily be “reinterpreted” in this way.

The article had cleverly twisted the words to avoid any direct blame, but what it was actually saying amounted to treating those “claims” as established facts.

If this had been some trashy yellow journalism, that might have been one thing but the newspaper in question was one of the most respected and prestigious publications in the Imperial Capital. And they had openly published a piece attacking the Lionhearted, a hero of the Empire.

And on top of that—

‘…No matter how you look at it.’

It was too fast.

This incident had only happened last night. The fact that a piece like this appeared in such a major outlet in less than half a day strongly suggested some kind of deliberate, malicious “pressure” was at play.

As for who was behind it… well.

‘The Prince.’

…No matter how he thought about it, the only faction hostile enough to exert that kind of pressure on Noel right now was him.

“Well.”

Noel continued with a bitter smile.

“It doesn’t really matter what they say. People are free to think whatever they want.”

“……”

“I don’t pay it any mind. Not at all—”

She was about to finish that sentence when it abruptly cut off.

Because Aiden had stepped right up to her and firmly placed both hands on her shoulders.

“Lady Noel.”

“…Yes?”

“We haven’t known each other for long, but there’s one thing I’m sure of.”

Aiden said, pressing down on her shoulders with quiet conviction.

“I don’t believe for a second you’d do something like that.”

“……”

Noel fell silent, locking eyes with him.

“You don’t have to go into detail—just tell me. Did you do it?”

“…What are you…?”

“I’m asking whether you actually did the kind of ridiculous thing that this article is accusing you of.”

Noel blinked slowly, staring up at him with a stunned expression.

Her face looked as tired as always, but her eyes carried a different energy now.

It was like she’d made up her mind to do something big.

“…Of course not. Teresa was my benefactor.”

As soon as she said those words, Aiden nodded and took his hands off her shoulders.

“Good. In that case, let’s go.”

“…Huh? Go where? What do you mean—?”

“We’re going to crack the skulls of the folks spreading this nonsense about you.”

“……”

“That Prince guy—what’s he up to right now?”

Just like how Noel had spoken to Aiden earlier.

His expression made it very clear: he wasn’t accepting any objections.