Chapter Nine
.Chapter Nine.
He read the answer on Bernard's face.
In an instant, his thought almost stopped, and Max's hand flinched to rest on the hilt of his sword at his waist, then tightened and loosened angrily.
He looked at Bernard with a very cold look and said:.
“Go home and shut up. The decision will be made after evaluating the situation.”
He turned to face his cold face, trying to get rid of the strange feeling in his heart.
However, when he returned to the Imperial Palace… his eyes were frozen and blazing with anger, his face white with rage, but gradually his anger subsided and his face began to return to life.
Strangely enough, thinking about it made him feel unbearably suffocated. That was strange.
He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, his body shaking again with anger.
It is foolish to be affected by emotions whose cause he does not know. When he opened his eyes a moment later, his face was as cold as the first time.
It would be more appropriate to dismiss him as his escort knight for a few months.
“Was it Carmela, the daughter of an Armenian family…..”
Remembering for a moment the sight of her standing coldly like the dead on the balcony, staring at Bernard with spiteful eyes, he thought of visiting her and comforting her himself, but suddenly he shook his head.
“It is not good for me, to interfere in a relationship between a man and a woman.”
It's not something he would do in the first place.
It seems that his frozen head is still not working properly.
He rubbed his forehead as he balanced his mind and emotion.
He saw her standing in the window only once, and his mind was so confused that he felt like he was drowning in a deep vortex of thought and could not get out of that vortex.
He couldn't really figure out why he was upset.
Bernard was placed on probation at his home after being temporarily removed as punishment for causing a humiliating and highly unwanted incident.
After that day, he never saw the face of Max or Jed, so he had no one to consult on how to get out of the predicament he had gotten himself into.
Of course he wasn't complaining about that. He was humiliated and bowed his head and accepted everything he encountered from them, saying that he was only getting what he deserved for what he had caused.
It was just frustrating that the situation had come to this and that he had to think with his head and come up with an answer.
So he would just swing his sword in the gym until his thoughts went away, or he would lock himself in his room, read a book, or stare at a candle in deep thought.
He was desperately trying to think about the current situation and understand it on his own, because he couldn't ask for help from others.
He felt bored compared to his two best friends. Therefore, his thoughts were scattered and disorganized.
Sometimes she thought about himself, sometimes about the sensitive Reina whom he always felt sorry for and wanted to protect.
Sometimes, he thought about what happened today.
'Are you trying to kill Rena after leaving me by surprise? Is this the gift she said I'd get?.
Today Carmela's face was strangely unforgettable as she used her hands in anger and screamed.
'Why did you do that?' Why did you do that! Didn't I tell you to back off? Were you trying to surprise me? Answer me!.
He slapped her on the cheeks to the point that her body went limp.
Pale violet-like eyes stared at him stupidly and her head tilted violently from his sudden blow.
Suddenly her eyes darkened in concentration, and a group of strong, burning emotions formed.
A surprised smile hung on her bloodstained lips.
What he didn't realize at the time because of the anger, he realized as he looked at the memories of that time alone.
It was hate.
The deep hatred that boiled so intensely in her eyes that burned like the fire of hell seeped into his eyes, mouth, face, and entire body as he stared at him.
It was strange.
As if she had hated him for a long time, a long time ago, her eyes contained something black and boiling with fire.
It was clearly a murderous hatred that could not gather in a person overnight!.
Bernard was a knight, and he killed people, sometimes almost dying.
So he knew hatred, he knew intent from looks, starting with murder, a faint rage that was too shadowy, low, and damp to be an emotion that could arise from the rage of a mere slap.
And that smile that drew an arc with blood-red lips.
The more Bernard looked back, the more he realized that the hate-filled smile was rather frightening.
It wasn't just that Carmella hated him.
He was curious to know the source of the hatred that made her slap him across the face until she almost broke her arm. The moment their eyes met, a strange warning rose in Bernard's chest.
Something is not right. He realized something so intense that his head, which was boiling with anger, immediately cooled.
He opened his eyes again.
Her eyes, which looked like a piece of ice, were like the eyes of a crazy monster about to cross the border as a madman with murderous intent.
(First of all, there seems to be some misunderstanding. I just returned what I received. I don't think I can talk calmly now, so please go back to where you came from.).
Eyes tied.
Her tone was emotionless, without any desire to hide her murderous intentions.
There can be no reason for such feelings.
He had already met her once before that day's meeting.
However, at the first meeting it was clear from Carmella's eyes and actions that she did not hate him that much.
Yes, she changed slightly in the last meeting he met her.
Or did she hate him when he said he wouldn't care about her? , as if she had become a completely different person.
Or the moment he slapped her? Could such spiteful feelings arise suddenly?.
He suddenly wondered if he really misunderstood or something happened between them?.
“Could it really be my fault?”
Did he really slap an innocent person? So, could this resentment towards him turn into so much hatred?.
“Then I must apologise. By any means. But then, who the hell is the culprit?”
Everything was confusing.
“We saw…..”
I wanted to see her bright smile.
At that time, I saw my father coming out of the window with a murderous expression, wearing a uniform and leading the knights out.
"my father?"
Each knight carries a sword.
“Why is he like this at a time like this?”
Under the torchlight, Father Reimann's face appeared cold and unfamiliar.
When I saw him, I couldn't sleep. I walked around the window sadly, but my heart was beating hard at that moment.
I had a sense of danger about something.
On this night, he holds a torch and waves his sword – leading a knight, where does my father go with such a murderous expression… ….
And as if someone were whispering to him, these words came to Bernard's mind.
“Raina…..!”
His mind went blank.
Bernard ran out without any thought and headed towards Rena with only a robe and a single sword to cover his body.
The sound of horses galloping on the paving stones was deafening.
"Please. Please. Please."
A painful realization hit his chest piercingly.
“The culprit was my father...!”
That's why he was able to find out Rena's house right away by spending his own money.
"Well, that's the way home too. I can't possibly not know."
I want to arrive faster than my father.
It felt like an eternity had passed on the horse, and when we finally got home, it was all over.
A hollow sound leaked from Bernard's mouth.
The small house was in ruins as if it had been attacked by a mob. There was no evidence that the person who was there was alive.
In the window of the second floor, black shadows lit by a torch appeared, twisting and spreading on the top of the walls, there was still my father and the knights in the house.
Then maybe it's not too late.
As Bernard regained some resolve and tried to jump into the house, someone behind him grabbed him. His body was pulled violently and he was forced to turn around.
“Why are you so hasty?”
Jed's voice was so calm it was unexpected that he was here this night.
But Burn did not think about why Jed was here tonight. In one moment, Rena's life was on the line.
Hearing Bernard's voice rising, Jed put his index finger on Bern's lips and said.
“Quietly. Yes, Rena is alive.”
In an instant, Bernard took a breath and exhaled slowly.
While walking with Bernard, who was very quiet, Jed bruised him slightly.
“You are so direct and thoughtless. What were you trying to do by jumping? Were you trying to fight your father and the knights? Do you think you can win?”
Bern bit his lip and closed his mouth.
If the situation had been different, I would not have accepted what happened, and even if I had, I would have responded that there is no problem defending strongly because I am proud and confident.
However, Bernard had become aware of his helplessness in the past few days. There was very little he could protect with his sword.
Rena's safety cannot be guaranteed just because he is alive.
He felt his limits, and for Bernhard, Judd's conviction was like a lashing.
In the end, Bernard hesitated and bowed his head to Jed.
“I apologize for my unintentional behavior, sorry.”
It was Bernard who never bowed down. One eyebrow rose from Jed's eyes.
“You're doing something very strange...”
His white forehead was swollen.
"This is really strange. I have an unpleasant feeling."
It was like a sudden feeling of intense, unwanted realization.
It's like there are clicks before the world starts to grow and expand and turn into chaos.
Jed was already starting to feel uneasy about this mess.
In fact, this was not his main work, but rather an attempt to arrange matters out of simple concern for his friend.
But at this moment he had a strange certainty.
“This is worth all the effort.”
Bernard's condition was worse than he thought.
“Are these things enough to fix what is broken?”
But Jed wasn't happy about that.
He was very much as he was now, in a state where he could bite anything for them and himself, without being bribed by others.
It is enough for Bernard to grow up to become the commander of the Imperial Guard Knights without his position changing. Because this position is the most trustworthy for someone like Bernard.
So Jed simply finished calculating his profit and loss.
“As expected, let's get rid of this mess.”
With such thoughts in mind, Jed skillfully led Bernard.