Chapter 45: The Unmasking of the Knight

“???”

A look of confusion etched onto their faces, the three stared at the Knight.

“You don’t wish to leave?” Noticing their utter stillness, the Knight raised a hand to his face.

Naturally, his hand met only the cold metal of his helmet, which completely obscured his features.

“Hold on, you intend to release us? For what reason?” Qi Lin’s brow furrowed in a perplexed frown.

While the Knight’s words were clear, their implication left her utterly baffled. What possible advantage could he gain from such an action?

“Indeed, I’m setting you free. And, now that I think about it, did I neglect to inform you of this earlier?” The Knight tilted his head, his gloved fingers idly pinching his chin through the helmet, a note of genuine puzzlement in his voice.

In perfect synchronicity, the three shook their heads, conveying that no such information had ever been imparted.

Observing their collective denial, the Knight lowered his head slightly, succumbing to a moment of quiet contemplation.

“Oh, my poor memory! My apologies, truly.” He tapped his helmet, eliciting a faint metallic ring, before scratching the top of it with a chuckle.

“Then, why exactly are you rescuing us?”

Faced with the Knight’s peculiar demeanor and still lacking a satisfactory explanation, Qi Lin found herself compelled to press further.

“Why, you ask? Hmm…” The Knight, who had been absently rubbing his head while gazing up at the dark ceiling, suddenly snapped his fingers. “There’s no profound reason; I simply chose to save you.”

As the Knight’s words faded, the resounding echo of his earlier finger-snap continued to reverberate through the confines of the cell.

‘Wait, wait… you’re supposed to be rescuing us, aren’t you? With a snap that loud, are you certain we won’t be discovered? Why do I have such a strong feeling you’re utterly untrustworthy?!’

A faint twitch at the corner of her eye, and then Qi Lin let out a resigned sigh.

“Goodness, just tell me if you want to leave or not!” The Knight exclaimed, frustrated by their continued inaction, as they remained rooted to the spot like three unyielding statues.

“…K-Knight, sir, may I inquire if your rather considerable volume ensures we won’t be detected?”

Nia tentatively raised her right hand, her voice a timid whisper directed at the Knight.

The Knight fell into a profound silence, his mind clearly processing Nia’s meek observation.

Moments later, the Knight strode purposefully, almost aggressively, towards them.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing!”

Confronted by the Knight’s imposing advance, Ailin braced himself, his stance radiating readiness.

Disregarding Ailin entirely, the Knight simply reached out and pulled him aside, away from Nia.

Ailin, who had been poised to resist, froze in utter astonishment.

He could feel it—his magic energy was accessible once more!

With his hands half-raised, he watched as the shackles on both his wrists and ankles clattered to the floor, a wave of profound excitement coursing through his entire being.

He was free to wield his magic energy again!

The Knight, who had been squatting beside Ailin to retrieve the fallen shackles into his spatial magic, now rose to his full height.

Emerging from his initial burst of elation, Ailin cast a look of hesitant gratitude at the Knight, who showered a full head above him.

“You…”

“Shh!”

The Knight placed a finger to his lips, a clear gesture indicating no thanks were necessary.

“Alright, then, onward to the next!”

Before Ailin could fully process the situation, the Knight moved past him, heading directly towards Nia.

From seemingly nowhere, the Knight produced a slender, finger-length object and pressed it against Nia’s handcuffs.

Witnessing this, Ailin finally understood the method by which his own shackles had been undone.

The slender object in the Knight’s hand resonated with Nia’s restraints, causing a flurry of intricate, minuscule runes to shimmer into existence before fragmenting into dust.

With a soft ‘clink’, the shackles on Nia’s wrists fell away.

The Knight, with practiced swiftness, caught the falling restraints and spirited them away into his spatial magic.

After kneeling to unfasten and collect Nia’s ankle shackles, the Knight rose and moved towards the final captive.

Noticing the Knight’s approach, Qi Lin merely pursed her lips and, with a knowing air, extended her hand.

Having freed Qi Lin from her bonds, the Knight stepped out of the prison cell once more.

“Alright, you believe me now, don’t you? I’ve even removed the very shackles that suppressed your magic energy.”

Standing with his hands firmly planted on his hips, the Knight addressed the trio who had emerged from the cell and now stood before him, a distinct air of self-satisfaction about him.

Ten paces from the Knight, the three halted, their gazes meeting in a silent exchange.

“…We still can’t bring ourselves to trust you.”

Magic energy surged visibly in the hands of all three, and it was Qi Lin who delivered the reply.

“Hold on, hold on! I’m the one who went to the trouble of freeing you from the shackles that bound your magic, and this is how you repay me?”

As the trio advanced steadily, the Knight hastily waved his hands, gesturing for them to stop.

“Expecting us to trust a masked Candillac Knight? We’ll have to decline.”

A bone blade materialized in Ailin’s hand, which he twirled with a flourish, a smile playing on his lips.

“Alright, alright, I understand! You wish for me to reveal my true identity, correct?” The Knight spread his hands in a gesture of surrender.

In a moment of unspoken agreement, the three nodded.

“You could have simply said so! You gave me quite a fright, and you know, startling people can be truly terrifying.”

With these words, the Knight began to remove the helmet that obscured his features.

As the helmet came off, a cascade of flowing green hair tumbled down, settling gracefully upon the Knight’s shoulders.

“Well? Am I not dashing?”

Tucking the helmet under his arm, the man raised an eyebrow, a distinct note of pride in his voice as he spoke of his appearance.

The sight of the individual beneath the Knight’s helmet left the trio momentarily stunned.

Their astonishment, however, stemmed not from his attractiveness, but from his undeniable racial characteristics.

The flowing green hair, the distinctly pointed ears, and a refined face so naturally beautiful it seemed forged from nature itself—all screamed that this individual was no mere human.

“You’re not human!”

Nia gasped, but then, recalling their precarious location, clapped a hand over her mouth instantly.

“Excuse me, why am I suddenly not human?!” The man’s voice carried a hint of pique.

“Ahem, my apologies. Nia didn’t intend it that way,” Ailin interjected, hastily attempting to defuse the situation.

“Hmph, whatever,” the man scoffed, then dismissed it with an indifferent shrug. After all, Nia wasn’t wrong; he truly wasn’t human.

“You’re an elf?” Qi Lin inquired, her gaze fixed on the man who struck her as inexplicably familiar, yet she couldn’t recall ever having encountered him before.

“Indeed, you are correct. I am an elf,” the man affirmed, executing a flawless knight’s bow with a smile.

“Tell me, how did an elf like you come to be a Knight in Candillac? Or have you perhaps defected to their side?”

Ailin studied the man for a prolonged moment before his brow furrowed in a questioning frown.

“Absolutely not!” The man shrugged dismissively. “I would never serve those I consider my enemies.”

“Then how come…”

Before Ailin could finish his thought, the man cut him off. “I know what you’re about to ask. Suffice it to say, my presence here is also a matter of dire necessity.”

Observing the man’s resigned sigh, Ailin found himself at a loss for words. It became clear to him that this elf, much like themselves, had been unwillingly imprisoned.

“Right, enough chatter. Follow me; I’ll lead you out of this place.”

Donning his helmet once more, the man turned and headed towards the main prison gate.

The trio exchanged bewildered glances for a long moment, but with no other recourse, they reluctantly followed.

The man cautiously pushed open the iron door, peered outside, and then, with an outstretched hand, signaled that the coast was clear.

Stepping through the prison gate, nestled beside the imposing castle, the four immediately proceeded with utmost caution towards the castle’s exterior.

“Here, take these and put them on.”

Retrieving three sets of shackles from his spatial magic, the man handed them to Qi Lin, Nia, and Ailin, his gaze nervously fixed on the patrolman striding towards them in the distance.

“These are shackles that suppress magic energy?” Qi Lin questioned, a note of suspicion in her voice.

“They’re replicas. They possess no ability to suppress magic energy, but they’ll allow us to blend in should we encounter any patrolmen.”

As he straightened his own attire, the man offered Qi Lin a hurried explanation.

Grasping the urgency of the situation, Qi Lin promptly handed the remaining two sets of handcuffs to Nia and Ailin.

Without a single word, the trio fastened the handcuffs onto their wrists.

“Who’s there?”

The patrolman in the distance, spotting four shadowy figures, immediately tightened his grip on his spear.

“It’s me!”

Holding his breath, the man led Qi Lin and her companions directly toward the patrolman.

Upon recognizing the blue badge pinned to the newcomer’s chest—a wolf’s head adorned with two stars—the patrolman immediately rendered a salute.

“Major sir! Good evening!”

“Indeed, you’ve done well. Keep up the commendable work.”

Returning the salute with a curt nod, the man then led the trio away with confident strides.

Only after the four figures had vanished did the patrolman lower his saluting hand and resume his rounds.

Yet, after only a few steps, a subtle sense of unease began to prick at him.

The patrolman glanced back at the empty night, where no trace of anyone remained, and it took him a considerable moment of contemplation before he finally managed to dismiss the lingering oddity from his mind.

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