Do Flowers Bloom in the Fallen Land?

“Your Grace… Holy water!”

Seira’s uninterested eyes looked down at the priest who called her attention.

“I’ll give you holy water!” Vitol hurriedly added.

The Duchess raised a curious brow at him and said, “Sacred water? I don’t understand why you are offering such a thing all of a sudden.”

Even though she seemed apathetic, Vitol didn’t miss the corner of her lips rise.

Grabbing at the opportunity, the priest offered quickly, “I’ll give you 50!”

“Hmm…” Seira squinted her eyes, as if thinking if the price was just enough.

But then again, it was half just as much spare. Seira only crossed her arms.

“70!” the priest raised his offer higher.

Blood-curdling screams were creeping closer. The priests trembled and pulled Vitol’s robes and simultaneously hounded him.

“What should I do?”

“Please… do something…”

“I’m going to die at this rate!”

Vitol’s pupils shook violently. How many gold coins is worth it if not 70? He didn’t think that he’d be stuck in such a situation before.

“Everything! I’ll give you everything!” he finally said to Seira.

“All?” she said, an interested rise in her tone evident.

“There are about a hundred left. I will give you everything, so please save us!” Vitol begged.

Everyone could tell what the Duchess’ beaming smile meant.

“If that is the priest’s will, then there is nothing else we can do. Askan will gladly accept the favor from the temple,” she said.

Her voice was so sweet and soft, laden heavy with honey. But Vitol’s spine tingled with a sudden realization. What if they had nothing to give? Would she protect them even without payment?

“Good priests should be protected from harm. Isn’t that right, Aven?” Seira asked.

“Yes, Your Grace,” her vassal answered.

Count Aven Helford, a man in his black uniform who stayed next to the carriage, clenched his fist. He then raised his left arm to signal the others.

As if by cue, knights in black uniforms passed the priests and carriages with swift movements. They couldn’t even tell where they came from. They just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Aven quickly took the lead even as he was one step late. Everyone lost sight of the Count in black uniform like that of a black racing stallion. The same was true for the other Askan knights. Ordinary people’s vision couldn’t keep up with their speeds.

Seira had stood tall on the carriage as she lifted her scabbard over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits, as if to measure something.

It was precisely at the moment where the screams from afar stopped that Seira swung her arm behind her. With great force, she threw her scabbard forward. It left a black afterimage, and the sound was very much audible as it hurtled past.

KWAGWAGWAG!

At the tremendous explosion that came afterwards, all the priests fell to their knees screaming. A beastly howl erupted, and Seira confirmed she had caught the intermediate-level beast with magical powers at once. She jumped off of the carriage, her sword in hand.

The Duchess of Askan walked confidently amidst the flames. She got rid of the central part of their problem. Now, the rest was up to the knights. Even so, she had no intention of playing around.

If it was a battle of the same difficulty, it’s likely to be well-received if it was done in a flashy manner. She thought it would be necessary to increase customer satisfaction as the payment was rather high.

The issue left now was that her subordinates’ movements were too predictable. Others may not see where and how it happened, but the moves were pretty simple. Cut through the belly of the beasts, and then disappear without a trace left behind.

Seira walked to the middle of the battle. Dark red mists rose to the air as ordinary iron swords supplied by the army slashed one beast after the other. Left and right, bombs were exploding around her. The low-ranking beasts, who looked very much similar to one another, burst out like fireworks behind her.

Eventually, the beasts that wreaked havoc were nearly annihilated, while a few wounded fled. Seira and most of the knights didn’t bother to chase them, as they were surely to die from blood loss. The priests were quick on their feet to run away and soon was nowhere to be found.

She was rather disgusted at their display of cowardice, like they weren’t even supposed to be the ones fighting the lower-ranked beasts in the first place.

“Foolish customers,” Seira whispered under her breath.

Knights gathered around her one by one. They were generally expressionless, but there were a few who laughed as if amused by their little activity.

Knights gathered around her one by one. They wore generally boring faces, but there were some who laughed because they liked the situation. The joy of the ones being served should be enough happiness to those who served, right?

“Your Grace, did you get a lot?” Hul, one of the captains, asked in a whisper.

“Yes. Twice the last time,” Seira replied, a sly smile painted on her lips.

The captain hid his amusement, “Oh, it was worth the scare then.”

“That’s right,” Seira confirmed, her eyes veering at Priest Vitol and the others who weren’t brave enough to fight their own war, “That priest does not have much experience at all.”

The knights snorted, trying as hard as they could to hide their snickers from the rest of the priests.

The High Priest McClane and Saint Isabel – Seira did not forget them. They stood next to the Emperor and Calrad on the day her engagement was broken. She didn’t want to be openly so vindictive, but she swore she’d pay them back as much as she could.

While they were fooling around, the battle came to a complete stop.

Aven returned last. He dragged the body of an intermediate-level beast with just one hand. Its head was visibly smashed by Seira’s scabbard which she had thrown earlier.

THUD!

Askan’s loyal vassal laid the beast’s body at Seira’s feet. Its appearance wasn’t much different than that of a tiger, but it did have a much harder skin and could walk on two legs.

“What should I do?” Aven asked.

Seira looked down at the black body. The heart of a beast with magical powers is the subject of study for wizards. She only hit it square on the head, so the heart should still be intact and beating.

“Call Zion,” she finally instructed.

“Yes, Duchess.”

Seira turned around as soon as she gave the order. The priests had abandoned their carriages and didn’t even show the hem of their robes.

‘What should I do?’ she asked herself.

The carriage was filled with debris from the dismantled nest. Seira’s eyes narrowed into slits as she looked at the carriages lying around.