Please Answer Me - Chapter 100

“Don’t worry. No matter who they are, I’ll protect you, Rigaina,” Sika reassured Rosetta. She slapped her own cheeks to snap herself out of her fear. If young Sika was standing strong to protect her, she couldn’t afford to tremble in fear.

“The intruders aren’t many. About twenty. But their individual skills seem quite good. They’re moving faster than I expected.”

Bang!

Another loud noise echoed, this time right outside their room. The doorknob rattled, and when the door didn’t open, it was pounded on violently.

“Rigaina, listen carefully,” Sika said quickly, adjusting his grip on his swords. “Even if something happens to me, I won’t let the intruders get to you without a fight. I’ll hold them off as long as I can. You need to escape down the stairs on the left and head to the stables. Ride out of the castle and take the right path at the fork in the road leading down the hill. You’ll find Elder Calante’s house. Seek help there.”

“Sika!”

“Just stay hidden there. Riga will come for you soon. Understand?”

Crash!

The door was smashed open, and the table blocking it was shoved aside. Rosetta covered her ears at the loud noise and looked on, trembling.

A large man entered the room, his head and lower face covered with a black mask. His eyes and the shape of his eyes were familiar to Rosetta. Without realizing it, she stared at him.

“…Allen?”

He lowered the mask, revealing his full face. Even then, Rosetta couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Allen? Is it really you, Allen?”

Sika, now bewildered, asked, “Is he someone you know, Rigaina?”

Rosetta didn’t know how to explain. She realized that the two men were still armed and facing off. She needed to get them to lower their weapons first to avoid any injuries.

“Yes, I know him well. Sika, put down your sword. Allen, you too!”

But neither Sika nor Allen lowered their swords.

“If you know him, does that mean he’s from the Basque tribe? Are the Basque tribe people attacking us now?”

Sika’s voice was full of agitation. Rosetta covered her forehead with her hand. In this situation, it was difficult to reveal that she wasn’t actually the daughter of the Basque chieftain. But leaving it as it was, Sika’s eyes were already blazing with anger.

“These bastards, how dare they come here!”

Thinking Allen was from the Basque tribe, Sika was fully enraged. He looked ready to attack at any moment. Rosetta grabbed Sika to calm him down.

“Sika, I’ll explain everything. Just calm down!”

“Let go! If those damn Basque bastards have come this far, I can’t stand it!”

Rosetta realized she needed to disarm Allen first. Sika was technically Rashid’s man, but Allen was entirely hers.

“Allen, that’s an order. Put down your sword immediately!”

Rosetta’s orders had always been absolute for Allen. He had even gone against the King of Lysa’s orders to ensure her safety. Once Allen lowered his sword, Sika would likely calm down too.

But contrary to her expectations, Allen didn’t release his grip on the sword. Just as Rosetta was about to order him again, Allen spoke through gritted teeth, “This time, I cannot obey your order. I’m sorry.”

Allen immediately swung his sword at Sika. Sika pushed Rosetta towards the wall, blocking Allen’s attack with his right sword.

From that moment on, the room was filled with the chaotic dance of flashing blades. Rosetta could only watch in a daze as the two people she cherished slashed and stabbed at each other with deadly intent. It was no longer a situation she could intervene in. The movements of the swords were too fast for her eyes to follow. Clothes were sliced, and blood splattered everywhere, but there was nothing she could do.

“Ugh!”

Sika staggered as he barely managed to block Allen’s powerful downward strike. Ignoring the pain in his arm, Sika immediately swung his left sword horizontally. Allen narrowly avoided it, receiving a shallow cut on his chest. If he had been a moment slower, it would have been a fatal wound.

‘The kid’s pretty good,’ Allen thought as he watched the boy block his heavily charged attacks. Even in Lysa, there were few who could properly counter his full-force strikes. His specialty was overpowering his opponent with sheer force from the start, crushing their will to fight.

But this was a dark and cramped room. He couldn’t swing his longsword freely for fear of hurting Rosetta. The boy, on the other hand, was nimble with two short, thin swords. Allen had never faced someone wielding dual swords before. He had heard that some people in the north used them, but this was his first direct encounter. As a result, he was accumulating small wounds.

‘I need to hurry up.’

Time was running out, and he was getting impatient. Their plan had always been a quick, decisive strike to rescue the princess and escape. With just a few dozen men, they couldn’t hope to take the castle. Their best chance was to exploit the momentary gap in the castle’s defenses.

To this end, they had orchestrated a distraction at the castle gates during the day. They paid a man disgruntled with Nazar Quat to create as much commotion as possible. While the guards’ attention was diverted, Allen and a few dozen soldiers scaled the walls and infiltrated the castle. After meticulously observing the troops’ movements, they concluded that a rapid, decisive strike could create a temporary opening.

The plan, however, required perfect timing. Any delay would give the castle guards time to regroup, tipping the balance back in their favor due to their superior numbers.

Despite his efforts, Allen found himself forced to confront a highly skilled opponent in a confined space, hindering his ability to fight effectively. The clock was ticking, and he needed to end this quickly.

‘I didn’t want to use this, but….’

Allen sighed softly, realizing that he had no other choice. Unleashing his golden aura would almost certainly kill the boy. It was a drastic measure, one he had hoped to avoid.

Allen stepped back, preparing himself. Sika, panting heavily from their intense battle, looked at him in confusion. Why had he suddenly stopped?

Rosetta, however, understood what Allen was about to do. She urgently called out.

“Allen, don’t…”

The sword in Allen’s hand began to emit a blinding light. Sika stared in bewilderment at the unexpected phenomenon.

What is this? A sword that emits its own light, and it’s golden too.

It’s like one of those sacred swords given only to the most distinguished knights in Lysa…

In a flash, Allen advanced and slashed downward with his sword. Sika reflexively raised his right hand to block, just as he had done before.

“Argh!”

But this time, the outcome was entirely different. The sword clashed with the sacred blade, shattering into pieces. Allen’s sword plunged into Sika’s right shoulder.

“Ugh…”

Sika barely managed to twist away. Blood gushed from his shoulder, quickly soaking his clothes. But it wasn’t over. Allen swung his sword again, this time aiming for Sika’s abdomen. Instinctively, Sika raised his remaining sword to block, but hesitated for a split second. If he lost his other sword, he would have nothing left to fight with. Desperately, he retreated, but Allen seized the opportunity and slashed deeply into Sika’s waist.

“…Ugh.”

With a pained groan, Sika fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the floor. In just two strikes, he had lost the ability to fight.

Allen kicked Sika’s sword away and turned to face Rosetta. As he took a step toward her, Sika grabbed his ankle.

“…Do you know my nickname?”

In this dire situation, Sika managed a grin.

“Traka Kanin. It means mad dog. Because dogs are good at guarding the house.”

With white-knuckled eyes, Sika glared at Allen and gritted his teeth.

“As long as I’m alive, you’ll never take Rigaina. Rigaina, now! Run!”

No sooner had Sika finished speaking than Allen’s sword pierced his body.

Rosetta stared in shock at the blood pouring from Sika’s wounds. Even witnessing this horror, it felt unreal.

Despite being on the verge of losing consciousness, Sika still clung to Allen’s ankle.

Allen frowned deeply. “I was going to spare you because you’re just a kid….”

He muttered as he raised his sword again, aiming for a vital point. But suddenly, he stopped.

His arm wouldn’t move, as if someone was holding it back.

Startled, he looked at the hand holding the sword. Then he realized it wasn’t his arm that was immobilized. It was the sword.

“What the…”

Having no other choice, Allen released the sword from his grip. Only then did the sword drop to the ground with a thud, as if nothing had happened a moment ago.

While he stood there, too bewildered to react, Rosetta rushed to Sika. She took off her gown and pressed it against the gushing wound to stop the bleeding.

Allen watched as Rosetta frantically tried to stop the bleeding.