Chapter 134
Princess Arina blinked.
Her vision, which once seemed shrouded in darkness, had returned to normal.
She looked at Sieg standing in front of her with an expression of disbelief.
"Si-sir Sieg? How... how is this possible...?"
Sieg replied in a calm voice.
"Princess, the truth is, I am of the healer class."
Though his class had since changed to Immortal, he simply said he was a healer to avoid a complicated explanation.
Princess Arina was taken aback by Sieg's words.
Then she slowly nodded.
"I thought it might be possible since you're Laura's son. But... being a healer and performing miracles are two different things."
"What you call a miracle, I have always considered it to be regular healing."
Princess Arina shook her head.
"The power to restore lost sight cannot be mere healing. If all healers had such power, there would be no sick people in this world."
Sieg nodded, considering her words.
In his previous life, he had never met another healer, so he had never thought about what might be considered normal healing.
"I thought other healers could do it too since I could."
Princess Arina slowly sat up and reached out to touch Sieg's face.
She smiled as she traced his nose, jaw, and eyebrows.
"Now that I feel it, I remember. Sir Sieg, you resemble Laura."
Princess Arina returned to her seat, looking around the mansion as if everything were new to her.
"When did you lose your sight?"
Sieg asked.
"When Sir Pav led me out of the church, I was still a child. It was difficult to escape the Holy Kingdom, and I fell seriously ill, after which I could no longer see."
Sieg was startled by her words.
"When the blood of Rubern escaped the Holy Kingdom, it was nearly 50 years ago..."
He looked at Arina, still incredulous about her apparent age.
"Sir Sieg, look at this."
At that moment, Princess Arina spread her palm, and a glowing magic array appeared in the air.
"What is this?"
"This is the latter half of the Book of Light that you brought. It is the essence of Rubern-style magic."
"It seems different from the first half."
"The first half contained the basic magic spells. As you may know, only those of Rubern blood, and among them, those who have inherited the light magic, can use it."
"So you are the only one who can use the light magic, Princess."
"For now, yes. But now that I have inherited the latter part of the magic, the situation will change."
"What do you mean?"
"The latter part consists of a mechanism that freely transfers the magic of light spells."
Sieg was surprised by her words.
"Does that mean that you can pass on the light magic to other descendants of Rubern?"
"Yes, and it's also possible to imbue items with light magic, though it requires rare materials."
"Goodness. Then you could provide artifacts imbued with light magic to the Rose Knight Order, just like the Holy Knights of Rubern in the past."
Princess Arina nodded with a smile.
Sieg, as if recalling something, took out his Orichalcum sword.
"This is a sword forged from the Orichalcum hammer that Sir Pav possessed. It has three light magic spells cast on it."
"That's a precious treasure given only to an Arc Paladin in the Holy Kingdom. I think no one but Sir Sieg can wield it. Currently, there are no Paladins like Sir Pav."
"Ah, so I could use it because I am of the healer class."
"That's part of it, but even someone of Rubern blood can find it difficult to handle such powerful weapons. Orichalcum is so potent that it chooses its own user."
Sieg tilted his head at her words.
"Did it? I must have used it without thinking."
Sieg, unaware of how different he was from ordinary people, asked as he sheathed his Orichalcum sword.
"By the way, Golyn mentioned that the Rubern dynasty knew how to craft Orichalcum. Is that true?"
The princess shook her head.
"Though our ancestors may have known the technique, it has not been passed down to us."
"I see."
Sieg had his curiosity partially satisfied.
He posed one last question to Princess Arina.
"What are the future plans for the Rose Knight Order?"
Princess Arina's expression darkened slightly at his words.
She spoke slowly.
"The Holy Kingdom and even the Rom Empire hunt and capture those of Rubern blood. We intend to save them."
"Why do they do such things? The Rubern dynasty descendants have neither the means nor the power to overthrow the kingdom or empire at this point."
Arina looked at Sieg as she replied.
"To find someone who can wield the miracle we perform."
Sieg was shocked by her response.
"My goodness. Are they capturing every Rubern blood descendant they can find to get a powerful healer?"
"The miracle capable of healing any disease is a divine gift that all rulers covet."
Sieg felt chills crawl up his spine.
In his previous life, he had avoided the healer hunts by being expelled from the academy and working as a hitman in the south.
He hadn't drawn their attention because he wasn't of Rubern blood, but had he quickly realized his healing potential and used it, he might have been mistaken for a descendant and captured by the church.
"I thought my past life was already the worst, but it could have been even worse."
The thought of being locked in the church's underground prison, forced to heal the ailments of those in power for a lifetime, was horrifying.
Sieg looked at the princess and said, "You will need power to save the Rubern blood, won't you?"
Princess Arina nodded.
"Justice without power cannot exist."
Though she appeared delicate, her gaze and voice were gentle yet resolute.
Sieg offered her a proposal.
"I will help the Rose Knight Order achieve their objective. How about collaborating with me?"
Princess Arina looked surprised.
"With Draker?"
Sieg shook his head.
"No. I am forming a private knight order called the Black Sword Knight Order. Think of it as an alliance. If you agree to work together, I will provide facilities, operational funds, and information necessary for the Rose Knight Order."
Unexpected by Sieg's proposal, Princess Arina fell into thought.
After a while, she slowly spoke.
"What would be required of us if we accept the proposal? Would we have to become part of the Black Sword Knight Order and follow your commands?"
Sieg shook his head.
"It's truly an alliance. I may request assistance from the Rose Knight Order, but you can refuse if it is against your judgment."
Hearing Sieg's proposal, arina expressed her concern.
"The terms are too generous to us. Sir Sieg, transactions shouldn't be like this."
Princess Arina spoke as if scolding a young nephew.
Sieg then said, "I never make proposals that are at a loss."
"Then what is the purpose of this proposal?"
"The faction opposing me has allied with shady figures who wield demonic energy. To counter them, I need the Rose Knight Order' ability to wield light magic."
Sieg intended to form an alliance with the Rose Knight Order, considering the looming threats connected to the Abyss and Abel.
Although he could handle purification alone, the faction would be vulnerable to attacks from servants who received a devil's power or from demonic beasts.
He sought to borrow the power of light for this potential situation.
Princess Arina, understanding his words, nodded in agreement.
"Alright. If it's something like that, we can offer our assistance."
Princess Arina extended her hand, and Sieg shook it.
* * *
Klone wept almost half a day upon witnessing Princess Arina's restored eyesight.
To soothe her, Princess Arina attributed her recovery to inheriting the latter part of the Book of Light.
Klone grabbed Sieg's hand in gratitude for bringing the Book of Light.
"Sob sob. I used to think the only good Draker was a dead Draker, but I was wrong. Thank you, really thank you. Sniffle."
Sieg managed to calm the tearful Klone down.
Princess Arina decided to move the base of the Rose Knight Order to the castle of Agamemnon in Mycenae.
Tempel was easily accessible by outsiders, thus posing a higher risk exposure. However, Mycenae presented a more secure option with its complicated entry protocols and its distance from the Holy Kingdom, making it challenging even for paladin trackers to reach.
While preparing to relocate to Mycenae, a problem arose.
Sieg scowled, having received a report from the syndicate's informants who were monitoring the paladins in Tempel.
"The paladins are blocking all the paths out of Tempel."
The Paladin Squad, having lost track of Klone and Sieg's party, decided to seal off the entire city to prevent any movement.
Klone exploded in anger upon hearing the news.
"Damn paladins! I'll go and wipe them all out!"
Sister Klone was steaming with rage.
After considering his options, Sieg calmed the agitated Klone and shared his plan.
"Felix, Liam, take Sister Klone and escort the princess to Mycenae first. I'll distract the paladins and draw them away."
Arina was startled by his words.
"N-no! We can't sacrifice you, Sir Sieg, because of us! I'll help."
Sieg shook his head.
"I know you just finished the ritual, and your strength isn't fully recovered. Don't worry, Princess. I can easily distract them and escape."
"But..."
Felix, standing nearby, also reassured Arina.
"Princess, our lord is not someone who dies even when killed, so you don't have to wo... Ack!"
Always testing his limits, Felix was.
Eventually, it was decided that Sieg would depart first to lure the paladins away.
"The others are with Klone and Liam, they should be fine."
Disguised as a mercenary, Sieg tousled his hair as he made his way along the highroad towards the Atlas gate.
Heading to Mycenae via Atlas and Panstus was faster than going directly from Tempel to Mycenae.
Therefore, Sieg planned to lead the paladins blocking the road to Atlas on a chase.
Amidst the crowd near the checkpoint, Sieg sensed something suspicious.
"Those guys are the hounds, aren't they?"
Recognizing the peculiar presence of hounds, Sieg clenched his teeth.
Unlike the paladins, hounds were adept at tracking and espionage.
If they had caught the scent, heading to Atlas could be dangerous.
Sieg noticed some disguised paladins around the checkpoint area.
Observing them, he realized that the hounds and the paladins were suspicious of each other.
"Hmm, it seems like they don't know each other's identities."
Sieg decided to cause a clash between the hounds and the paladins.
He called out to Richmond internally.
"Richmond."
Richmond, who was engrossed in studying devil artifacts and monster bones he acquired from the Barbarian territory, was surprised by Sieg's sudden call.
"Y-yes, master."
"I need you for a setup."
"What?"
* * *
The hounds and paladins who lay in wait along the road with eyes wide open were keeping watch.
Suddenly, a great lizard-like demonic beast leaped from the depths of the forest.
"Kaaargh!"
The tremendous roar of Gurav reverberated through the entire pass.