Chapter 21 - Miltiades’s Savior

A black fluid appeared at the tip of the knife and fell off in droplets. Miltiades showed his skill in the fight. He had been destroying all the beasts in the area, but when he saw the black blood, his thoughts turned elsewhere.

‘Amelia.’  The name he had given to her was unfamiliar. He had chosen it after contemplating it for a few days and nights, but he had yet to call her by that name. There was a reason behind it, and he was aware of it. ‘It’ll be too late once I say it.’ 

He was scared.

“How laughable.” 

‘To think the emperor of the Rahel Empire is afraid of something.’ It was quite funny, but he couldn’t laugh. ‘I wonder if I’m growing fond of her.’ 

Did he think this laughable family was becoming reality?

Miltiades was standing alone on a pile of beast corpses, but his forehead didn’t have a single drop of sweat. However, his expression showed that he wasn’t satisfied.

“Your Majesty, are you okay?” Callian walked over. Miltiades put a hand up to stop him from coming closer. 

“The other beasts?”

“Only a few are left.”

“We’ll get rid of them all and return.”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t good to have drifting thoughts against the beasts because they lived off fear. That was why warriors who fought against beasts had to kill off their fear.

‘Is she awake right now?’ However, Miltiades couldn’t erase the image of Amelia’s teary eyes and the small hands that held him. It was usual for someone to react like that when they first saw a beast, but what was it about her that made him worry so much?

‘How annoying.’ He had felt it before; he didn’t like it when that arrogant child was unhappy. She was so small and weak that it looked like she would die at the touch of his hand. 

Miltiades looked down at his hand. He could recall the feeling of her small and weak body pressed against him even though he could kill her if he applied enough pressure. As he had held her body, he had felt the weight of her trust. It was the first time he had felt such heavy responsibility. 

‘You don’t even know how dangerous I am.’ He was probably more dangerous than the beasts. 

It was funny and a bit pitiful to see her walk around defenselessly, like a small animal. That might’ve been the reason why he wanted to protect her.

“I’m not being myself…” He let out a weak laugh. Miltiades scorned himself and squeezed his sword. 

‘This is why I didn’t want to associate with her.’

He was aware that he wasn’t normal. How many lives had he ended with his hands? Many of these lives were sinless. However, he didn’t have an ounce of regret. Because he had needed to do it. Who was he to protect another person?

“Still…” It was the first time he thought of protecting someone.

“Your Majesty! The beasts are separating!”

Miltiades’s expression twisted when he heard Callian’s words. “Kill every last one of them.”

“But, Your Majesty, our return would be delayed then.”

Miltiades’s expression darkened. “No. We’ll finish it today.”

“I will stake my life to follow your orders.” Callian bowed and went to the front.

Miltiades didn’t turn back even though his body had instinctively reacted when he had heard that his return would be delayed. Amelia was in the cathedral. 

‘She’ll be fine.’ 

The cathedral had divine power. He didn’t want to see her face as he felt that he wouldn’t be able to turn back once he saw it.

‘From what?’ Miltiades couldn’t answer the question he had asked himself.

“Follow the beasts!” After his order, he and his soldiers chased the beasts to the nearby village. The wrecked village was devoid of life.

Although he had experienced it a few times, Callian couldn’t adjust to the sight. He expressed his sadness. “They’re all dead.”

“It looks like the beasts ate them.” 

The soldiers looked around to see if they could find any survivors, but they had to shake their heads in the end.

“There are no survivors.”

It was a scene he was used to seeing, but Miltiades felt uncomfortable. “How strange.” 

His instincts warned him of an unknown danger. It was a bit late for him to worry about Amelia, but it was weird.

The village had no survivors, and when Miltiades looked at the corpse-less village once again, he realized what was going on. Miltiades held his reins tightly and screamed, “Callian! It’s an ambush!”