Chapter 444 - Fading Memories
Arthur could see Rae sitting on her bed as he walked into the room, jotting into a leather notebook. The servants have said that she had just woken up, so there was no reason for her to write down into her diary.
"What are you writing?"
"We are required to document every discovery we make and report it to the council," Rae said before she paused. "Do you want to conceal the matter?"
"The matter of...?" his voice didn't hide his confusion, and Rae turned the notebook to Arthur. A paragraph was written in Yalveran Language about the effect of the princess's fire on the soul.
"This is what I have experienced during the attack," Rae said before placing down her notebook and looking straight ahead. "However, I have no intention of revealing your secrets. I come here with goodwill."
"I would prefer it if you report nothing about us," Arthur frowned before he continued. "Your loyalty may align with the Devils Hunters, but I don't trust them. I only allowed you into my city because I know you."
"You know me of the past, Lord of Hidden City," Rae shook her head before she ripped the edge of her notebook and offered it to Arthur.
"We are who we were, a part of us, at least," he said as he took the paper, and it disappeared into his subspace. "I saved you from the slaves' auction because you saved me before we arrived to this world. Should I have not?"
Rae was quiet, and Arthur gave a sigh and walked toward the window, opening the curtains. The bustling city and patrolling knights came into their view, and the massive walls stood proud in the distance like a mountain range.
"We have successfully fended off the Mernars, thanks to Courage and Dia," Arthur said before he pulled a chair and sat in front of her bed. "There are very few cities that have a Titled Knight and a wielder of two elements. However, this is a temporary peace."
Rae met his eyes, and she seemed to know what he wanted to say. Her hand grabbed the blanket before throwing it away, and she placed her feet on the ground, sitting opposite Arthur.
"That woman is coming," Rae said, and Arthur nodded. "A being only inferior to calamities is coming after your city because of a promise you made but couldn't fulfill."
"Thank you for the summary," Arthur rolled his eyes.
"No, I just want to know how you feel about it," Rae said with all seriousness.
"My promise was a solution," Arthur said after a brief silence where they stared at each other. "If we didn't clear the Mernars, we would have never traded using the river."
"Now, every maritime trading route is disabled," Rae sighed. "The nobles of this kingdom. They knew about this issue, but they chose to ignore it. As a result, countless people will suffer famine because they were afraid of offending the culprit behind this."
"You know who kidnaped the child," Arthur squinted his eyes in suspicion. "It seems your people know everything."
"We have capable people and made countless sacrifices," Rae said as she stared at her gown. "I believe you know the traitor too, so it shouldn't be hard to know the location of that child."
"The child has escaped after turning a few thousand people into crystals," Arthur frowned. "It shouldn't be with the traitor," his words made the whitish woman confused.
"I... see..." Rae looked down before grabbing her head. "It seems this is another effect of her attack. I need to add it to the report," Rae grabbed her notebook again, but she couldn't find the report she had just written, which made her frantically flip the pages.
"Are you looking for this?" Arthur took the paper from her subspace. "You gave it to me a few minutes ago, telling me that you came with good intentions and not to reveal my secrets."
Rae paused and turned silent before placing her notebook down. Arthur watched her clench her fits around the notebook, and he knew that her wounds never healed, only recovered a bit.
"Do you want to live like this?" Arthur said with a surprisingly angry tone. "You don't remember yourself, and you might even forget the current you. Diana's attack might have brought back some of the damage, but the wound is always there."
"I don't care," Rae said with her crimson eyes shaking behind her white hair. "I may be a broken container who can never hold anything for long, but I am still myself, and I will never lose that."
"You might be yourself today, but you won't be yourself tomorrow," Arthur said as he stood up. "Before the Devils Hunters took you, you wrote things on the walls; you drew things of your past life using chalks I gave you. Can you remember them now?"
Rae was quiet again, and she couldn't answer his questions. Arthur realized that even if he found a way to heal her soul and free her of the abyssal spirit, some of her memories might never return.
"You will turn into nothing but a husk at this rate, a puppet with no soul to call its own," Arthur knew he was testing the limits of what she could accept, but he needed to help her, to make her recover.
"I am fine with that," Rae suddenly lifted her head and looked at him with unwavering eyes. "I will be a puppet with my own choice instead of being forced to be one."
Arthur had no words to reply to that. Rae stood up and began to change her clothes before him, wearing her old clothes again. She threw away the gown and stood there with her garments before picking up her clothes and wearing them without caring for Arthur.
"You should worry about your city instead of worrying about me," the cold woman wore her longest veil, hiding her face and emotions from him again. "I might be the one losing my memories, but you are the one losing your life if you don't find a solution."
"I just need to find the child before she comes to my city," Arthur said before he sighed. "However, the child has disappeared, and I am the one responsible for losing it."
"You are not. There are very few abilities that can counter its powers. So, there was nothing that you could have done," Rae shook her head. "I am not trying to make you feel better, but it's self-conceited to think that you are responsible for what you couldn't prevent."
"Who would take responsibility for those who died? The least I could feel is remorse or guilt."
"You are arrogant to assume that your feelings are enough," Rae smiled. "We need to take revenge for those who died. The culprits will pay with their blood for the sins they have committed. However, first of all, I need to tell you what the council wants from you."
"It seems you aren't here for rekindling our friendship," Arthur smiled helplessly before standing up and leading her toward his study to have a proper talk. "If you meet the princess again, then don't say anything that will cause problems."
"I won't make any promises," said Rae as she donned her mask.
***
The news of what happened to the Lord of Perfumes and his city shook the kingdom. After the kingdom investigated the matter, it was hard to prevent the truth from reaching the public.
A catastrophe of this magnitude was enough to remind the people of the previous dark ages and the calamities. As a result, legends, which were more near past than legends, resurfaced among the people, spreading fear throughout the kingdom.
King Solomon's avatar appeared in every city of Freda to reassure the people, looking majestic and omnipotent. There were no elaborate speeches or emotions involved, only a promise to protect the city and a clarification of what was going on.
"We are surrounded by enemies who want to stop our freedom," the king said with sadness. "The Mernars are now another enemy," he didn't mention the hydra's child, which bothered Arthur. "We will provide the necessary resources to every city until the trade routes are safe again. Until then, place your faith in me."
His speech calmed the people down, but many had their families or friends turn to crystals. However, life goes on, regardless of how we feel.
His Majesty summoned Diana to return and aid in the war against the Mernars. The cities most affected by the attacks were Aquamia and the Baron of Pearls, so they needed to be rescued.
However, Dia decided to stay one more day after running into Arthur and the masked Rae again. There was an electrifying tension between the two for no reason whatsoever, but it diffused when Diana bowed her head.
"I apologize for attacking you like that," the apology came as a surprise to both Arthur and Rae, who knew that the one who attacked first was Rae.