Overwhelming Firepower

Lucen had brought Cassandra to a healer. When he arrived, Cassandra’s body was sweating profusely.

”Young Lord, what are you doing here at so late an hour? Also, who is this?”

There were several healers and priests in the mansion, and the one speaking to Lucen right now was the head. She was a woman nearing thirty, with long black hair, and looked rather young for her age. This was Sasha Berg, the best healer in Stellhart.

Compared to most healers, she did not rely solely on herbs or divine spells. She was quite knowledgeable about the human body and always tried to increase her knowledge about the subject.

This might not sound much, but in this fantasy world with magic, her knowledge was quite impressive. She was even considered an eccentric amongst other healers.

She had been one of the few who tried her best to treat the sickly Lucen before he regained his memories of his past life.

When Sasha heard someone knocking on her door, she wondered who it was. She was truly surprised to see the young lord come here, and he even brought an unknown lady with him.

”Young lord, have you done something unsavory to this young lady?”

”Huh?”

”I understand that the young lord has become rather popular, and he’s also at the age were he’s curious about the female body, but... To be so rough that you made your partner faint and convulse like this...” Sasha then sighed as she continued, ”If you’re really that interested, even though I’m a little older than you, I guess I can teach you a thing or two if you wish, young lord.”

Sasha then showed a seductive smile as she emphasized the curves of her body. Lucen was momentarily stunned, and even for a second, he had the thought of pushing down the other party, but that quickly disappeared as he shook his head.

Lucen had only met Sasha a few times, and he already knew that this lady liked teasing younger men.

”What are you even saying? Of course, I came here since I need the help of a healer.”

Seeing the serious expression on Lucen’s face, Sasha became serious as well.

”Lay her down on the bed.” Sasha allowed Lucen to enter her room. Lucen went inside and gently placed Cassandra on the bed.

”Who is this, and what happened to her?”

Sasha asked as she stepped forward and placed her palm on Cassandra’s head. It was hot; her body was burning up.

Her fingers slid from Cassandra’s forehead to her wrist, then to her neck. Her brows knit together as she counted under her breath.

”Her pulse is erratic. What happened to this young lady?”

”This person tried to kill me.” The second Lucen said those words, Sasha froze.

”This woman is an assassin?”

”Knowing that, are you not going to heal her?”

Sasha did not stop checking on Cassandra as she answered. ”Don’t look down on me, young lord. I promised myself long ago that no matter what, I would never let anyone in my sight die.”

Hearing Sasha’s response, Lucen couldn’t help but smile. He really liked this kind of character. Watching them and hearing them speak of their convictions made him excited as an otaku.

Lucen then started explaining to Sasha what happened, on how he told Cassandra the truth about her brainwashing, and then having this reaction to that.

Sasha listened without interrupting, her hands never leaving Cassandra’s body. ”Her body itself is fine. There are no wounds; her mana and aura are flowing properly. She is sweating and heating up, simply because of what’s happening in her mind. This isn’t something my way of healing can cure. I can stabilize her body, but other than that, we can only hope that whatever is happening in her mind, she can overcome herself.”

Lucen fell silent. He had already guessed as much, but hearing it spoken aloud still made his chest feel heavy.

Cassandra Rook was a very important piece, as one of the few Saintesses; she had a powerful effect against the demonic.

She plays a critical role behind the scenes against the four major threats. Without her, things might get even worse.

”So there’s nothing else you can do?” Lucen asked quietly.

Sasha shook her head. She reached for a damp cloth and gently wiped Cassandra’s forehead, her movements careful, almost tender.

”I can lower her temperature, regulate her mana flow, and keep her body from collapsing,” she responded. ”But the mind is not like flesh or bone. You can’t stitch it back together once it’s torn.”

Cassandra let out a weak, shuddering breath, her fingers twitching against the sheets. Seeing her like this, Lucen could only sigh.

”I’ll leave her to you then. Please call me when she wakes up.”

Sasha nodded once. ”I will.”

Lucen turned toward the door, but paused with his hand on the frame.

”... She’s stronger than she looks,” he said, not turning back. ”If anyone can endure this, it’s her.”

Sasha glanced at him, then back at the unconscious girl. ”I hope you’re right,” she replied softly. ”Well, if the young lord who was weaker than a bunny could get better, then surely she, too, could do the same.” Sasha jest.

”Heh, I guess you’re right.” Lucen left after saying those words with a slight smile on his face. The door closed gently behind him.

For a moment, the room was quiet except for the faint crackle of the fireplace and Cassandra’s uneven breathing.

Sasha pulled a chair closer and sat beside the bed. She adjusted the sheets, then placed two fingers lightly over Cassandra’s wrist, monitoring the pulse that still refused to settle.

”Never again will I let anyone...” Her voice trailed off as she continued to look at Cassandra, who was writhing in pain.

***

In Vardon’s bedroom, the Iron Duke had his sword in hand, and his aura enveloped him. His enhanced senses were covering the entirety of the mansion.

The second he sensed a battle was happening, he quickly located the source and noticed that Lucen, Vahn, and Robert had met with the intruders.

He did not interfere with their battles and simply observed. He would only make a move if one of them got into trouble.

As he expected, each one was able to finish off, each of their respective opponents. Still, he was quite surprised to sense that one of those intruders was a magic knight, and unlike his son, whose mana core was unique, the intruder was a genuine magic knight.

Another surprise was that his son did not finish off his opponent and instead brought him to the healer, Sasha.

”Hm...” Vardon was deep in thought and, in the end, decided to simply call his son to listen to his side of the story.

***

The following day, Vardon called his son Lucen to his study. Of course, the first thing he asked was about what happened last night.

Lucen did not bother hiding things and simply told what he knew. When Vardon heard that these agents were brainwashed by Marquis Valeire, his stoic expression hardened even more.

”If that man made a move now, that means he is confident that he could achieve victory. A snake like him would never show his fangs if he were uncertain that his strike would kill.”

Vardon sighed, which surprised Lucen a little. The Iron Duke then stared at his son for several seconds before continuing to speak.

”Even if we try to blame Marquis Valeire for this attack, nothing will come of it. That snake’s tongue is sharper and wittier than the others... For now, tell me what you plan to do with those intruders? Since you haven’t killed them yet, you must have plans for them.”

”These people have worked their entire lives believing everything they did was for the good of Norvaegard, and their intentions were truly pure. Unfortunately, they had no idea that they had been brainwashed.”

Lucen then showed a confident smile as he was now using Acting Adept to control his facial expressions.

”Killing an enemy is easy; anyone can do that, but turning enemies into one’s allies, that’s the mark of a real leader. So I plan to make them my subordinates. I was in need of people who were good at gathering information, who knew that they would fall into my lap. Now I don’t even need to train them since these new subordinates have already gone through that kind of training.”

For a moment, the study fell silent. Vardon did not immediately refute his son’s words. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced, eyes fixed on Lucen as if trying to peel him apart layer by layer.

”That is easy to say, but hard to implement. Especially, since they are Marquis Valeire’s Hawk’s talons. Their loyalty to the Marquis is the same as that of the fanatics of those cults that worship evil deities and demons.”

”Even that kind of loyalty can change if what it’s built upon is nothing but lies. Since these people truly wish to do good for Norvaegard and its people. I just need to show them a path where they could achieve their goals.”

The Father and son stared at each other. ”Very well, I trust you, my son. You have always proven that your words can be trusted through your deeds.”

Vardon finally turned away, staring out the window.

”I will watch as you show me your efforts,” he said. ”But be warned if those assassins do something out of line, I will not hesitate to cut them down myself.”

”I will do my utmost best, Father,” Lucen replied while doing a knight’s salute.