The Black Wolf Vice Captain stared in disbelief. Fresh blood spilled from the gap between his parted lips.
"Ha... isn’t this... a terrible way to go...?" he rasped weakly.
His hand fell limp against the ground. He closed his eyes for the last time, a faint, bitter smile lingering on his face. Just as Kael had killed Marcus to avenge the insults hurled at his precious comrades, the Vice Captain had done the same out of loyalty. In the end, in this cruel world, a mercenary only wanted two simple things: to live a decent life or to die peacefully beneath a tranquil sky.
Kael slowly withdrew his sword. His heart beat steadily, though a faint sense of respect stirred within his chest.
"Vice Captain... you always took care of almost everything on your own. Even though we were never particularly close, I hope you can rest peacefully over there," Kael murmured to the motionless corpse. "The battlefield... it’s an exhausting place for all of us, isn’t it?"
He flicked the remaining blood from his blade, then turned around to look toward the dark forest where Lizzy had disappeared.
"??????, ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????" Kael wondered. "???????? ?? ????????????, ???????? ??????????????... ?? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ???????? ????????’?? ???????? ????????."
With an unhurried stride, Kael made his way through the bushes, now transformed into a tragic scene: muddy ground smeared with blood, body parts scattered everywhere, and corpses strewn among the shadows of the trees.
He stopped abruptly when he spotted Lizzy ahead of him. The woman was sitting on the chest of a mercenary she had just killed, staring blankly into the distance.
"??????????????????... ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????? ???????? ?????????????????????’" Kael thought, sweatdropping.
Kael’s expression immediately darkened when he saw Lizzy begin giggling to herself, muttering incoherently while gesturing like someone drunk with euphoria.
"I shall erase your sins, Sinner! Become one with the beautiful darkness!" Lizzy screamed hysterically.
Kael quickened his pace and patted his wife’s shoulder. "Hey, he’s already dead, Lizzy. Stop stabbing the corpse."
Lizzy slowly turned toward him. Her face and clothes were now drenched in fresh blood from head to toe. She flashed a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth beneath the blood splatters, her gaze filled with terrifying bloodlust.
"Kael! Are there any left?"
"Who knows? You should’ve finished them all off by now, shouldn’t you?"
Hearing that, Lizzy’s shoulders immediately slumped. Her expression grew listless.
"Boring! Why did they die so quickly? I didn’t even get to listen to their screams for much longer..."
Kael glanced around at the field of corpses. "Can you show me where the other mercenaries died?"
"To do what I usually do on the battlefield."
Lizzy got to her feet and led Kael from one spot to another. Along the way, she watched him closely as her husband began searching every corpse’s pockets, collecting coins, weapons, and even clothes that were still in decent condition.
Once everything had been gathered near the cabin area, Kael began sorting through the spoils. "We got quite a haul tonight. There’s an axe, some decent daggers, a few spare swords, and, of course, gold and silver coins, along with some changes of clothes."
Watching Kael work without showing even the slightest hint of disgust, guilt, or discomfort after killing the men and taking their possessions, Lizzy felt an overwhelming curiosity well up inside her.
Of course, Kael noticed her scrutinizing gaze. Carrying a simple shovel, he gestured for Lizzy to follow him.
"Perhaps you’re wondering whether I feel any guilt at all after doing all this, aren’t you?" Kael asked calmly.
He smiled faintly, his gaze drifting through the dark memories of his past on the battlefield. "My hands have been stained with blood for a long time. Most of the enemies I had to kill in war were just innocent people who were as unfortunate as we were. Of course, I feel guilty... but I’ve chosen to make peace with myself and accept myself completely for what I am—a killer."
Kael turned and looked straight into Lizzy’s gray eyes.
"Besides, I’m a mercenary. We don’t care who’s friend or foe. We fight for whoever pays us."
Lizzy absorbed every word deeply. Rather than feeling afraid, her heart filled with a strange warmth. She felt herself becoming even more attached to the man standing before her.
"So... we have so much in common," Lizzy whispered, her eyes sparkling with dark affection. "We’re truly a perfect couple. Ah... that makes me so happy!"
After gathering all the scattered corpses, Kael began digging a large mass grave with the axe and shovel he had just found.
Once again, Lizzy was baffled by her husband’s actions.
"Why go to all the trouble of burying them one by one? They were just trying to slit your throat and kill you, Kael."
Kael stopped shoveling and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Because even in death, they’re entitled to a final resting place. No one knows what dark pasts they had or what foolish reasons led them to become mercenaries. But I understand one thing very well... they did it all for a bite to eat and a chance to survive."
’I may not be a saint free of sin, but I’m still a human being who holds on to his own principles and respects those who struggle to survive,’ Kael thought.
As she continued watching Kael from behind, Lizzy’s heart pounded violently. Her possessive desire suddenly surged. She picked up a small dagger from the pile of spoils and casually tossed it toward Kael. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Whoosh!
The dagger shot through the air and embedded itself in the tree beside Kael’s head, barely a centimeter from his ear.
Lizzy flashed a sweet smile.
"Please... never let anyone kill you except me, my beloved husband..."
Kael could only let out a long sigh and shake his head at his wife’s utterly incomprehensible behavior.
Once the burial was complete, Kael stood before the freshly raised mound of earth and brought his hands together in a final gesture of respect for his fellow battlefield veterans. He then glanced at Lizzy, who was still covered in dried blood.
"Clean your face and body first, then get some sleep, Lizzy. I still need to sort through all these spoils," Kael instructed gently.
Lizzy yawned widely, covering her mouth with her bloodied palm, a strangely adorable sight.
"I’m not sleepy yet... I just want to keep you company and look at your face a little longer."
Before Lizzy could approach him, her steps suddenly faltered. The physical exhaustion and the lingering effects of the night’s battle finally overwhelmed her. Her body swayed forward.
Kael swiftly caught her before she hit the ground. He realized that his wife’s eyes had already closed, and she had fallen asleep while standing up.
Kael smiled knowingly. He lifted Lizzy into his arms in a bridal carry and brought her to the bed of leaves near the cabin, then laid her down with great care.
"Sweet dreams, my Sweet Killer..." Kael whispered.
He placed a gentle kiss on Lizzy’s forehead, covered her with a warm cloak, then turned around and returned to sorting through the pile of spoils.
Beneath the dim glow of the campfire’s dying embers, Kael sorted through the weapons and equipment one by one. His gaze happened to fall upon a tattered piece of cloth taken from one of the mercenaries he had searched.
"Ah... what’s this?" Kael murmured as he picked up a small sewing needle tucked into the pocket of the cloth, along with a thick, still-intact spool of thread.
He smiled faintly, reminded of old memories with his late friend, Luis Valerius.
"You know, Luis? When Lizzy looked at me in confusion and asked why I bothered burying my enemies whenever I had the time or opportunity... her expression reminded me so much of yours when you first saw me burying an enemy while you were mending my torn cloak on the battlefield," Kael reminisced softly to the night breeze. "Thank you so much for all the sword techniques and life lessons you taught me, my friend."
Kael slipped the needle and thread into his pocket. He knew that in this cruel world, he might have lost everything in the past, but tonight, beside an unfinished cabin, he had found a new family — a flawed family, perhaps, but one precious enough to protect until the end of his life.