Chapter 50: Shadows in the Night

“Letter from Scribe Berly to Nolan Cyril:”

A few days ago, I wrote to Nolan’s sister, Diya, at her request.

Thus, I learned of Diya’s unknown whereabouts.

After Miss Kritiya left, a black-robed monk, entrusted by the Grand Knight, delivered six gold coins to me.

When I asked why, he said a girl of pure Radiance, met by Grand Knight Kaswin of the Covenant Knights during an inspection of the Knight Academy’s recruitment at Roen’s Sanctuary, was chosen.

She was to be recruited into the Church before the academy’s trials.

Upon asking her name, I learned it was Diya.

I heard she first declined the Grand Knight’s offer, then, for reasons unknown, joined his tutelage.

Now, she’s training in the path of knighthood.

Before leaving, she entrusted the monk to send the coins and a message to me, to be passed to her kin at the right time.

I know Kaswin to be steadfast and just.

Diya is surely well-placed.

As her brother, you need not worry overly.

If there’s any rift between you, mend it with sibling love and clear it soon.

I believe you’ll reunite before long.

The message follows below—

Kritiya paused, unfolding the letter.

She looked up at the boy before her.

“What’s the message?”

Nolan’s lips moved, asking, but he saw Kritiya’s gaze waver.

“What is it?”

A bad feeling rose in Nolan, yet he pressed on.

“I’ve found my path. The family’s honor and shame go with me. Don’t seek me, don’t think of me.”

Kritiya closed her mouth, then met Nolan’s eyes.

“Do you… think it’s true?”

Nolan’s expression seemed dazed, as if he hadn’t accepted it.

“We can verify Kaswin’s story at the Sanctuary,” Kritiya said softly.

“I mean the message,” Nolan said, his tone stiff, unchanged.

“I still… can’t believe it.”

‘Right,’ I thought.

This message sounded like a farewell, as if Nolan were a burden.

“It might not be her true intent,” Kritiya said, unsure how to comfort him.

Nolan just lowered his head, muttering:

“Fine, doesn’t matter. At least… we know where she is.”

Through Kritiya’s slowly blinking eyes, I watched the bandaged boy.

His brows rose and fell, lips moving silently, as if wrestling fiercely within—

Kritiya stood by with faint worry.

Could she—or I—meddle in this?

Maybe, but a sibling bond, built over a decade, was a sanctuary we couldn’t breach.

“It’s not certain…”

I thought the dead silence would drag on, but Nolan looked up:

“Just some vague message—it proves nothing.”

“I’m going to find Diya.”

His voice was soft, weakened by injury, but no one could doubt its resolve.

“You need to heal first,” Kritiya said, her tone calm but firm.

“I…”

“You can’t do anything like this.”

Not persuasion, not a question—a verdict.

Kritiya assessed Nolan’s state and declared it.

“You’re… right.”

Nolan sighed slowly, muttering to himself:

“If Diya’s fine, I’d just burden her like this. If she’s in danger, I can’t help her either—”

“You’re right, I need to heal fast… thanks, Tiya.”

Had a long-term goal calmed his haste?

Nolan’s expression softened, leaning back on the bed.

He said:

“Mr. Leyak saved me, didn’t he? I need to thank him, and we’ve got things to discuss. Tiya, could you call Mr. Leyak in?”

“Hm.”

Kritiya nodded, weaving through the room’s clutter to open the door.

The room seemed split—inside was Nolan’s bedroom, outside led to the shop.

Stepping out, she saw the white-haired man in a courtyard chair, beyond which was his store.

“Finished the letter?”

Leyak opened his eyes, looking at Kritiya.

She said:

“He’s asking for you.”

The old man nodded slowly but didn’t rush inside.

Instead, he eyed Kritiya:

“You don’t need to serve others like this.”

“What… do you mean?”

“I’ve watched you these past days,” Leyak said, squinting.

‘So… what’s he watching?’

Kritiya looked at her toes, but Leyak tapped his chair’s armrest and stood:

“A precious gem, rolled into a corner, snatched by a wild bird to its nest, mixed with stones and wood. If that gem could think, what would it ponder?”

“I don’t understand,” Kritiya said, staring at her cold, rough hemp boots.

“No matter—think on it.”

Leyak passed her, heading to Nolan’s room.

“If it’s really a gem, why’s it lost with no one caring?”

As Leyak reached the door, Kritiya asked suddenly.

He shook his head, saying nothing.

‘If it’s a gem, why’s it abandoned?’

The question lingered in my mind, unanswered even late at night.

Kritiya had endured enough shocks lately.

Her body was saved, but her spirit unchanged.

Nolan and Diya’s matters tethered her like threads, but could that last?

Leyak’s words seemed to slide off her.

After dinner, Nolan took another dose and drifted into a heavy sleep.

Kritiya, as usual, sat by the fireplace.

I thought she’d soon doze off from exhaustion, but she sat, dazed, then stood.

She donned her cloak, moving from the courtyard to the shop’s front.

She pushed the ornate door.

Click-clack—the metal lock rattled but didn’t budge.

Kritiya stepped back, as if to ram it like a parrot, like Sam once did.

‘No use… it’s a magical lock,’ I thought.

After many failed tries, the lock clicked.

The double doors sprang open, revealing the quiet night street.

“Didn’t I say stop messing with my lock?

If you’re going out at night, I’ll open it.”

Leyak’s voice came from a drum-like device on the ceiling.

He’d said this before, but to someone else—Kritiya wouldn’t know.

She flinched slightly but lowered her head, showing nothing.

Glancing back at the empty shop, she bowed faintly to the void and stepped into the night.

Kritiya’s destination was clear, taking the shortest path.

She reached the small wooden house they’d rented recently.

Yes—I’d checked it days ago, but Kritiya couldn’t let it go.

After hearing of Diya today, she must’ve come to confirm something.

At the door, she saw the copper lock lying pitifully on the ground.

Guarding this small room wasn’t some arcane magical lock, just a crude folk mechanism, far from secure.

Kritiya breathed slowly, gripping the twin swords under her cloak.

She didn’t know Darryl’s swordsmanship.

The swords, longer than her training blade, were light and handy for defense.

She listened—no sounds inside.

Slowly, she pushed the door open.

I watched tensely as the room revealed chaos—smashed furniture, worse than my last visit.

Looking up, the opposite window was shattered, night wind whistling through, scattering torn wallpaper.

The dark night pressed in.

Kritiya hung the swords back on her cloak’s hooks, kneeling to gather the scattered papers.

Some were blank, others bore Diya’s practice writing.

“She came back here—”

Kritiya muttered, stacking the papers neatly on the table.

I pondered her urgency, then realized—the handwritten Proverbs Q&A wasn’t among the scraps.

A thief wouldn’t take just one book, especially a crude, hand-copied primer by Kritiya, neither rare nor profound.

Only its owner would care.

Was this a sign Diya was safe?

I tried reasoning—perhaps she faced some non-lethal threat?

A strange hum came from outside, startling Kritiya.

She dropped the papers, moving to the broken window, peering out.

In the dim night, two figures faced off outside the house.

By faint moonlight, I saw a half-elf in black chainmail—Darryl, alive!

Then I looked at the other—

Black Mage Ross.