Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 146 - Ancient Sin

A flash of silver. A pool of crimson. The feeling of wind rushing past her cheeks.

Ugh... This dream again...? But... What was everything before that? Were those... my memories?

Medrauta's eyes fluttered as she attempted to push herself up groggily. Her head still throbbed with a dull ache as if someone had smashed a battering ram against it, and putting strength in her limbs was an exercise in futility as they felt numb and sluggish. Through her bleary vision, she managed to make out Viviane's face above her. The noblewoman's eyes were closed, and her soft breathing was the only sound that filled the room.

"You must've been worried, huh...?" Medrauta murmured as she slowly reached a hand upward, resting it tenderly against Viviane's soft cheek. Although the knight was overjoyed to be gifted the sight of her beloved Viviane's face as the first thing she saw after waking up, Medrauta knew Viviane had to be exhausted. In the first place, falling asleep in her current position couldn't possibly be comfortable.

Mustering all the strength she could, Medrauta managed to push herself off Viviane's lap and sit up, slowly maneuvering herself beside the noblewoman. The knight released a sigh as she settled herself against the bookshelf, leaning against it in an effort to recover the energy she'd spent. Medrauta could feel her strength slowly returning, but she remained drained for the meantime.

With Viviane still remaining asleep next to her, Medrauta decided it was probably best to let her lady rest for a bit longer. Normally, it would've been impossible for the knight to tell exactly how long had passed since they'd entered the tower as the first floor had no windows, but she had other ways of obtaining an answer, albeit an approximate one.

Closing her eyes, Medrauta focused all her effort on bolstering her auditory perception. Thanks to the nature of the witchspawn, they should still be rampaging while the sun was up. With their enormous numbers running past the tower, it would be easy for Medrauta to hear their thunderous stampede despite the thick walls enclosed around her. Should she hear nothing but silence coming from outside, then it'd be easy to assume that night had already fallen.

Looks like things still haven't settled down out there, Medrauta thought as the sounds of rampant scurrying from outside the tower continued to reach her ears. With what little information she could glean from her surroundings, Medrauta surmised that they'd been here for a couple hours at the very least, meaning that sunset was coming soon.

Finally found a moment to be alone with Vivi, and I'd been unconscious for most of it. How regrettable. Medrauta sighed.

Now that a portion of her strength had returned to her and her eyesight no longer seemed so blurry, Medrauta took a moment to inspect her lady. Gently, she brushed aside a lock of Viviane's golden hair, tucking it behind the noblewoman's ear to get a better view of Viviane's face. A pained look flashed in Medrauta's eyes as she noticed the deep furrow between her lady's eyebrows.

Despite her lack of physical exertion during the past couple hours, Viviane's expression was stressed and exhausted. Medrauta's heartbeat quickened with concern as a lance of pain shot through her chest upon realizing how much her sudden seizure must've worried Viviane. As much as she wanted to apologize, Medrauta knew that wasn't what Viviane would've liked to hear. After all, the seizure had been out of her control.

More importantly, she couldn't bring herself to wake Viviane after seeing the exhaustion on her lady's face. Left with no other options, Medrauta focused her attention to the room instead. Other than the bookshelves, the room was rather plain. The floor consisted of neatly arranged stone tiles, a choice that was mirrored by the ceiling. Most of the walls were obscured by the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, but the gaps that peeked out between them revealed a plain stone wall.