Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 185 - Goodbye

"Don't... Don't look at me, Medrauta."

Medrauta stood stock still as she faced her former mentor. Hundreds of questions raced through her mind simultaneously, but she could only bring herself to ask one.

"...Why?"

Slowly, Padraig removed his hand from his face, revealing the twisted features of a once handsome man. His eyes glowed bright and red, pulsing with every beat of his heart. His face was no longer full and flush with life as it had been the last time Medrauta saw him. Instead, he was gaunt and pale, as if nothing more than a walking corpse.

Medrauta attempted to search his eyes, but Padraig would not meet them. He averted his gaze shamefully, like a child who knew they had done something wrong yet did not wish to admit it. Yet, the silver-haired knight persisted, staring soundlessly at Padraig until he finally mustered the courage to answer.

"...I did not intend for everything to go this way." Padraig began. "The Imperial Order had become complacent. House Avimorne's influence had become too strong, and the duke's whispers in His Majesty's ears were too frequent. I could not do anything."

"Is that why you left?"

Padraig nodded. "You already know the nobility lost their trust in me after that incident. My demotion was no mistake."

"...Fine. So you left. But why...? Why did you join Amelia of all people? Don't you know what she wants? Do you even know what she's done!?"

Padraig shook his head, a sullen look on his bony face. "...Not at the time. I wandered as an errant for a few weeks before I was approached. She promised change. A new empire with a new ruler. The crown hasn't changed hands in decades. I wanted to believe her."

Medrauta nearly flinched, cringing at her mentor's apparent stupidity. "You... Did you know she was a witch?"

Padraig didn't answer, but his wordless response was enough. He hung his head in shame, unwilling to gaze upon even a single part of his former pupil's form. He knew he did not deserve to look upon her in any capacity. Not anymore.

"Such a thing... I don't want to believe it, Padraig. There must have been something else, right? There has to be!" Medrauta laughed, finding her own words ridiculous. She should have been angry beyond compare, but here she was, trying to fish out an excuse for her mentor's irrational decision.

"...There wasn't. She was the strongest knight in Avalyne Academy at the time. She showed me things I never could have dreamed of even in my youth... And she was also a witch. I thought she would have chosen to take the crown for herself. After all, there was no way she could possibly lose."

Medrauta stared at Padraig, her expression a mixture of disgust and disbelief. "You chose to help a witch conspire against the crown...?" She shook her head. "You've changed."

Padraig shrugged helplessly. "What was I to do? I could not stand to see the empire I loved slowly begin to rot away. I just... I never knew Duke Avimorne had already been ensnared by her words."

"What were you to do!?" Medrauta roared, only now beginning to feel the rage she should have felt upon discovering her former mentor's treachery. "You're Padraig! One of the empire's strongest swordsmen! How long ago was this!? One year ago? Two!? You could've killed her in an instant! But instead you fucking chose this!"

"...I did not know she was the one pulling the strings behind the duke's insidious whispers. I was lost at the time, and she appeared to guide me." Padraig's head remained low, shying away from Medrauta's anger. "I should have known... A witch's greatest weapon is not their magic, but their words."