“They started this,” Avelyn said as she sheathed her sword.
Gavin shook his head before turning to Edren. “We met this man when we first arrived at the castle.”
“So you should know.”
The high-ranking knight that came with Gavin faced the crowd. “Alright, show’s over! Get out of here!”
The knights immediately started dispersing, murmuring to each other all the while. Belle and Sia waited for Elyscia.
“Are we going?” Sia asked.
Elyscia shook her head. “You can go ahead. I have to take care of business here, considering she’s my subordinate.”
“You didn’t tell us she was actually your subordinate. Not just an associate.”
“I didn’t think it was necessary to point that out.”
“... Alright, we’ll be going. Come, Belle.”
Belle nervously smiled. “Eh? I’m coming with you?”
Sia placed a hand behind her back and slowly pushed her forward. “Who else did I come with?”
Belle, with a worried expression, anxious about being alone with a noble of higher rank, left with Sia. Elyscia returned to face the problem in front of her.
“He’s still alive,” said the high-ranking knight.
“That failure of a noble overdid it!” exclaimed one of the knights that Avelyn beat up, aggressively pointing at her.
“You’re blaming me for his and your weakness?!” she scoffed. “Pathetic.”
“I’m gonna kill you!”
The high-ranking knight aggressively grabbed him. “Lashing out of control, unbecoming of a knight! Stand down! Get this captain of yours to the medic. Go!”
Gritting his teeth, the knight sheathed his sword and beckoned his team to help Edren up. Given that he was unconscious, they had to carry him away.
“I’ll give them a tough talk,” said the high-ranking knight to Gavin. “But you also need to work on your subordinate.” He pointed at Avelyn.
“Of course, I’ll take care of it.”
With that, they all left, leaving only Gavin, Avelyn, and Elyscia.
“The both of you, come with me,” Gavin said.
Elyscia and Avelyn followed Gavin to an isolated area under a tree. There was no one around, and far from any potential eavesdroppers, so they were free to talk. However, not too loud.
Gavin first turned towards Elyscia with a stern look. “Elyscia, you were there. Why didn’t you stop it?”
“They’re all stubborn. Avelyn and that guy Edren.” She crossed her arms, a frown on her face. “I tried stopping it, but to no avail. With Edren there, there was no way I could stop it, anyway. I did say to Avelyn not to overdo it.” She turned a sharp look at Avelyn. “But she still did.”
Heavily beating up Edren was completely unnecessary. He could no longer fight, but she still kept going. She only showed her own cruelty and even more displayed her strength. What she did would only grow resentment within Edren and his men when he awakened. Something that they absolutely had no need of.
Avelyn merely scoffed, shaking her head. She didn’t seem to regret what she did at all.
Gavin turned towards Avelyn. “You, what the hell were you thinking?! I already told you to leave it be. Not to garner attention. Why didn’t you listen?!”
“The asshole started it! He insulted me. I ignored him, but he still kept on doing it! I just couldn’t resist.”
“And so you hit him in the face?” Elyscia said.
“Hmph!”
Gavin was flabbergasted to hear that. “You hit a knight superior to you? Unbelievable! You do not do that!”
In the knights’ ranks, Edren, as a captain in rank, was indeed of higher status than Avelyn. She may be in a different team, but still, Avelyn was just a common knight. One should never hit a superior officer, despite one’s noble status — that would bring about at least a temporary suspension. If they get lucky, she would get away with scolding.
At any rate, that brought them too much attention. Negative at that.
“I don’t regret it, not one bit! He deserved it!”
“Avelyn.” Gavin placed a hand on his forehead, feeling a bit frustrated. “Why didn’t you listen to Elyscia? She’s your direct superior.”
“...” She pursed her lips as she averted her eyes away.
“Do you never listen to authority? At all? You disrespected her. Furthermore, you defeated them, with not even a scratch. Are you insane showing your power in front of numerous knights?”
“There’s no way I would let myself lose.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. But now you've invited a lot of curiosity. Something that we are trying to avoid.”
Avelyn clenched her fists. “If that man just left me alone, none of this would have happened. The people here are annoying. I can’t wait for the mistress to destroy this city.”
Gavin raised an eyebrow. “You really think the mistress would destroy the city?”
“Of course she would. You think she wouldn’t? This place is built by the hero, built from her sacrifice. If that was the case, I would destroy this place. Undo it all.”
“You are not the mistress, Avelyn.” Gavin said in a grim tone. “Do not presume her actions.”
Avelyn looked away, shutting her mouth.
Indeed, that was right. They should never presume what the mistress desired, what she wanted to do. It was the height of arrogance against her, and rude. That being said, Elyscia did hear the mistress mention about her destroying everything that they have built. Could it really mean destroying the entire city and the people in it?
Personally, Elyscia didn’t care if she did, despite feeling a bit conflicted about it. But then again, even that was too much. Destroying the city completely would bring loud echoes throughout the land. Something that could never be ignored.
Truth be told, Elyscia felt a bit annoyed that she still could feel a tiny amount of compassion for people. She carried a lot of care for humanity when she was still human. And that remnant of humanity still lingered to bother her. It was just like in that village.
Gavin let out a sigh. “I have to minimize whatever damage this has caused. And you, Avelyn, will have to cool off.”
“Cool off…?”
“I will have to report to the mistress about what happened.”
Avelyn had a worried expression on her face.
“I’ll ask her to have you escort her around the city,” Gavin continued. “As for whatever punishment she might give you, that’s not my business. You just might have caused her some trouble. Reflect on that.”
With the actions that Avelyn had committed today, it would be expected that she would be punished. Depending on the mistress’s mood, she might become furious and end up erasing Avelyn out of existence. That thought frightened Elyscia. Avelyn might be a stubborn and troublesome person to work with, they were still allies. She wouldn’t want any of them disappearing.
“For the time being, you stand down and avoid interacting with any of them,” Gavin said. “Do you understand, Avelyn?”
Avelyn subtly groaned with a worried frown. “... Yes, sir.”
“Good. Make sure to behave, like actually behave. You have been a liability today.”
Avelyn lowered her head.
“Elyscia, look after her. I must see whoever I have to talk with to settle this mess.” With that, he left.
Elyscia let out a sigh and turned towards Avelyn. “Are you feeling sorry now?”
“... Why should I feel sorry?”
“Because of what you did.”
“Why are you saying like this is completely my fault?!” She looked up at her with a face that was on the brink of crying. “I was the one who was insulted. I was the victim here! I was only defending myself, my honor, my identity!”
Upon seeing how Avelyn was acting, Elyscia felt pity. Her life experiences have certainly affected her to be so sensitive in things that talk negatively about her. Even more so to those that degraded her as a person. However, that didn’t excuse her for her actions.
“I know you want to defend yourself. But you should realize this is not just about you. You are doing a job for the mistress.”
Avelyn froze in place.
“You’re here for the mistress. Not for yourself. Make sure to remember that. So next time, you don’t jeopardize the mission.”
“... I just…” She lowered her head with a sad expression. “I just don’t want to be looked down upon.”
“... I know. But next time, don’t let your emotions drag you.”
“What would you have done?”
Elyscia paused for a moment, pondering. “... I don’t know.” Indeed, she didn’t know. She was not in Avelyn’s place. Nor could she say for certain whether she let it be or do something. Because it all fell down to emotions. And emotional reactions were often unpredictable. “However, I might consider the mistress. I would try my best not to make things difficult for her.”
“...” Avelyn took a deep breath as she lowered her head in shame.
“Now then, let’s go back to the barracks. We can’t stay here for too long.”
“Where are we even going in the barracks?”
Elyscia shrugged. “The cafeteria. It’s where we can eat.”
“There are people there.”
“... You’re free to not talk to them or whatever. I just want you somewhere I can see you. That is my job, after all.”
“... Fine.”
They made their way back to the females’ cafeteria. When they arrived, Avelyn received several curious gazes. Word spread fast.
“That’s the girl that beat Edren?”
“She’s so young. How did she do that?”
“I heard she’s an Ismena.”
As the women chattered, Elyscia and Avelyn sat down on a vacant table. And the gaze of the surrounding people remained on them.
Elyscia stared into Avelyn. “Do you see this, Avelyn? This is the consequences of your action.”
“...”
“This is good that you’ll see it in person.”
Avelyn averted her eyes away.
It was then that Sia and Belle arrived and approached the two of them.
“You’re back,” Sia said as the two of them sat down, Sia sitting beside Avelyn. The latter shifted away. “And you’re that girl. You made quite the show.”
Avelyn ignored her.
“Oh? Not in the mood to talk?”
“... Leave me alone.”
Sia’s smile widened. “Care to introduce us to your junior, Elyscia?”
Elyscia sighed.