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n212 212. Song Of The Crusade

nThankfully, Isabella was a great healer when it came to minor wounds, and for that, she instantly became everyone’s favourite. Still, even when Sylvester did see her in a positive light, it was never with irrational blind trust.

nBut the crusaders were also happy with her as she healed the injured men. She was more like a real Bright Mother at this point.

nAfter a day of training, they left Baron Redman’s lands to reach the Duke the next day. They hoped to make the whole journey in one go.

n“You did well, Archpriest Sylvester.” Lady Aurora praised him as they sat around in the large carriage, doing their own things. Gabriel and Bishop Lazark were reading books. Felix was outside, messing around with Crusaders, while Lady Isabella stared boredly at the road. Miraj was, as always, sleeping on Sylvester’s lap.

n“If it was a real fight, I believe I would have died, Lady Aurora. You need not act humble with me. I know my body’s reality.” Sylvester replied while he prepared a few throwing knives for himself.

nLady Aurora took one and sharpened it too. “And if this were a real battle, I would have been blinded in one eye. So don’t humble yourself either, Archpriest. That clone move you made, if you had wished to, you could have thrust that spear into my eye—my weakest point.”

nThat Sylvester also knew. “I do have a decent brain, I guess.”

n“Indeed, and that makes you all the more deadly. Mastery over the body and mind at the same time is the toughest nut to crack. It is often the mind you subdue the last, but in your case, it’s the opposite. From what I’ve seen, you’re smart and mature, but your body has become its own limitation.” She put the blade down and stared into his eyes. “Yet, at seventeen, you have become an Archwizard. This is not normal, Archpriest—you will have many eyes on you—many wizards will be after your blood.”

n“I know. Nearly everyone I meet tries to kill me.” Sylvester grunted.

n“You misunderstood me. I meant they’d literally be after your blood to do tests and see how you can grow so strong so fast—they’d try to learn how to unlock their own potential too. So, try your best not to be turned into an experimental cat.” She gravely warned.

nAnd certainly, the warning sent alarm bells ringing in his head. ‘How do I protect my blood now?’

n“Wait! Experimental cats?” Sylvester blurted. “They use cats for experimentation?”

nShe nodded as if it was nothing major. “Of course, they are the favourite for most wizards experimenting with body tempering or some other biological magic.”

nSylvester’s eyes instantly darted towards his lap. ‘Could Chonky be someone’s test subject?’

nBut there was no way of knowing it unless he were to look into various records in the Holy Land. Not to mention, Miraj had no real name, so what happened to him before being turned invisible was impossible to know. Nevertheless, the fact that he breathed was proof enough that he was alive.

n“Lord Bard, see this.”

nHe was brought back to his senses by Bishop Lazark’s call. “What is it, bishop?”

n“Look at this coin. I bartered this coin from the child who handed you that little message. I found something strange on it.” Bishop Lazark said as he held the gold grace in his palm. “Look at the coin. It appears this has been forged, the weight is off by a fraction, and the series number makes no sense. According to this, the coin was minted on the other side of the continent, but we have no minting factories there. Only the engraving on blank coins is done there.”

nSylvester looked at the coin from up close and nodded. “Hmm, this was clearly minted in one go, from top to bottom, or else the engraving would have shown a slight difference in colour from the base coin.”

nSylvester closed his eyes and thought about all the clues. ‘S.S.R? And now this. The initials don’t make sense, but this coin screams at me, telling me to come to the West side of Sol. But why would someone invite me? Could it really be that spy? But the kid said the man had a long white beard. A real old man or a disguise?’

n“May I keep this coin, Bishop?”

n“Sure, lord bard. It’s useless anyway, or else, if caught, it can land one in trouble.”

nSylvester silently kept trying to find anything else on the coin. It was clearly not a coincidence. It was supposed to reach him one way or another.

n‘So many mysteries; I’m starting to understand now how tough being a Pope may be. He probably deals with a dozen such mysteries every day.’

nEventually, he gave up trying to read anything more and just looked outside the window. They were halfway through the way, and the Crusaders sang the Song of the Crusade while marching with their horses.

nThe roaring singing voice was disciplined and felt like one, which made listening to it greatly pleasant.

n“You’re amazing at writing songs, Sylvester.” Princess Isabella spoke in awe of a thousand men singing together.

n“That’s my thing, Isabella.” Sylvester chuckled and started to hum along.

n♫My brother on the left, brother on the right.

nWe come together for the evil we must fight.

nVanquish the darkness and paint the world in holy light,

nFear not; we’re the end of all your plight!♫

n♫Move the legs, move the hooves, now we march!

nVows we have taken, no sin we shall silently watch.

nOur hearts and honour remain forever tidy.

nFor we are the mighty, in service of the almighty.♫

n♫Off with the arm, off with the leg, off with the head.

nIn the hearts of unholy shall rise all but dread.

nStrong, we stand tall, until all fears are shed.

nIn name of the lord, we fight until our body lies dead.♫

n♫The reason we were made—for justice, our lives we trade.

nNo matter how heavy the price that must be paid.

nWe stand mighty, never afraid—We are the men of holy crusade!”♫

nThe song of the march was blood-pumping and exciting for all men, so they didn’t get as tired as they usually would have. After all, travelling was too dull in the current times.

nBut that seemed to be coming to a change as Felix exclaimed beside the carriage. “Woah! Look at that tree. A man and a woman are kissing… so much lov—Wait, is that a rope around their necks—Frick! They jumped!”

nBam!．𝚌ｏ𝚖

nSylvester also saw the scene take place. They were nearing a town, so they didn’t act surprised to see people. But, as the army marched, and the carriage passed by, he noticed a middle-aged woman and a young man kissing on the tree—and then hanging themselves.

nOut of reflex, Sylvester jumped out of the carriage and threw one of the throwing knives he was preparing. It cut the rope in the middle as the man and the woman tied one end of it each and jumped in opposite directions.

nBut, it appeared the woman was heavier. Hence her weight pulled the man further up, harming him more.

nThud!

nThe woman fell to the ground on her back, but the man hung onto the branch and remained on the tree.

n“Soldiers! Hold this woman strong!” Sylvester quickly ordered and looked up. “You, gentleman, come down.”

n“No! I will never! Go away. I love Jenny; if we can’t be each other’s, we’ll be nobody’s!”

nSylvester folded his arms. “Fine then, jump down. I will catch you.”

nThe man panicked and angrily growled. “Just go away! Why are you hindering my life? Let us end it ourselves. It’s our wish.”

n“Foolish boy!” A Crusader roared. “Speak with respect, for you stand before the Bard of the Lord, great Sylvester Maximilian.”

n‘When did they add ‘great’ before my name?’ Sylvester noticed the subtle changes.

n“No! Whoever you are, I don’t care. Let Jenny climb up and give me the rope.” The man barked.

nSylvester grunted and glanced behind. The Crusaders were now fully invested in this commotion. ‘Ugh! If I don’t show a good side here, they’d forever see me as a heartless bastard. I might lose a few loyalty points from them.’

nSylvester sighed and spoke into Bishop Lazark’s ear something. Following this, Bishop used a low-tier spell to bring out a skeleton from the ground. It was the lowest-level undead. The skeleton belonged to someone random from the past.

n“You see this?” Sylvester pointed at the skeleton. “Come down, or else, if you die, I will ask this man here to enslave you as his undead forever. Do you want that?”

n“…”

nThe man fell silent, and clearly, fear took over his heart. He didn’t say anything and slowly climbed down the tall tree.

nBam!

nHe was quickly caught by soldiers and made to sit with the woman. Now, when Sylvester looked at them, they appeared mismatched. The woman seemed like a middle-aged mother, while the man was young, maybe twenty. Both had similar black hair and brown eyes but were definitely not related.

nSoon, Sylvester and his gang stood in front of the two jumpers as he asked. “Speak in the name of the lord. Why did you try to end your lives?”

nThe woman dejectedly spoke. “I love Harris, forever will! I can not imagine a life without him, ever. We are one and the same.”

nFelix scoffed as if it was a simple problem. “Just run away then. What’s the big deal? It happens all the time around the world.”

n“We can’t.” Harris cried. “We sadly can’t.”

nThe woman completed. “I can’t go. I am married to a different man—against my will.”

nSylvester sighed, not knowing what he should do or what he was allowed to do in these civil matters. Marriage-related disputes were the local noble or chief lawman’s matters. “How long have you been married?”

n“O-One year, my lord. Harris and I have been together for a long time, but his parents refused to wed him to an older woman like me.” Jenny explained.

n‘She’s lying somehow—I can smell it!’ Sylvester was alerted by the faint smell.

n“Tell me the truth, why can’t you run away? Or else, I have enough ways to make you speak.” he tried scaring her. With a thousand men around there, intimidation was the easiest thing to do.

nLady Aurora also angrily voiced. “Speak, woman. Or we shall hold you for adultery, and you should know the punishment for it.”

nHarris kowtowed. “My lord, she has twin kids!”

nLady Aurora felt confused and asked further. “And?”

nJenny swallowed her saliva. “T-The twins are not my husband’s… they are Harris’.”

n“…”

nSylvester annoyedly rubbed his face. But he wished not to waste too much time, as the laws were completely clear in this case. “You two buffoons. You could have run away before, but you instead ruined another man’s life, also the kids’.

n“Anyhow, Article Null One of the Marriage Law of Solis stipulates that adultery shall be punished by hanging till death. So, unless you, woman, can get your husband to forgive you publicly—say goodbye to your necks. Or…”

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