The Lady Of The Red Moon (12)

Unlike the first day, he did not walk ahead but strode side by side with her. His steps were so long that when he took one, she had to take two, yet their pace was similar. Liris tried to walk as quickly as possible while Kaiston deliberately kept his pace slow.

Several knights were already in his study when they arrived for the second time.

“Commander.”

Kaiston accepted their crisp salute and went to sit at his desk. Liris was seated on an auxiliary chair beside it.

Seeing his men’s gazes constantly drifting to her, he spoke up.

“As you all know, she is the woman His Majesty sent to me. I did not intend to show her to you, but introducing her like this means that you need to take care of her going forward.”

Kaiston continued in a serious tone as he looked at their expectant eyes.

“You have heard she saved three of our comrades. Treat her as the fortress’s benefactor.”

Liris was the only one surprised by his words. While the others accepted it as obvious, Saik added a question.

“Only as the fortress’s benefactor?”

Kaiston let out a short, dry laugh at the pointed question.

“Do I really have to point out that, above all, she is ‘my woman’ and should be treated as such?”

“No! We’ll remember that!”

They answered loudly. Kaiston glanced at Liris.

“Liris. These men are the captains, practically the power holders of the fortress.”

“Oh, ‘power holders,’ are we?”

“With the Commander here, how could we…”

Liris watched the men answer playfully with curiosity, then stood and bowed gently.

“Hello. I’m Liris.”

The captains’ eyes lit up at her clear, lovely voice. A huge man with red hair like a lion’s mane and bursting muscles introduced himself first.

“Haris. I command the Butterfly Corps, the strongest in the Red Moon.”

Butterfly? The butterfly that flutters?

“Ha! Don’t listen to him. The strongest in the Red Moon is certainly our Swallow Corps. I’m Nel, their captain.”

The man who said that was the most agile-looking, with a long green ponytail.

“Don’t mind those two. Clearly the Honeybee Corps is the strongest. Thank you for last time, Liris. I’m Zik.”

A grinning man with short gray hair introduced himself; he was one of those who had seen her sacred power firsthand.

“No need for talk. Prove it with skill. I’m Ban, captain of the Magpie Corps.”

A man with reddish-brown hair and gentle eyes introduced himself last. Saik, being the lieutenant and having already exchanged greetings before, only inclined his head slightly.

“The names of the orders are…”

When Liris murmured quietly, the captains’ expressions stiffened for a moment, then they looked at their commander with reproachful eyes.

“Commander, your naming sense truly exceeds imagination.”

Liris barely restrained herself from saying, ‘Is it just the naming sense? Look at my clothes.’

“What’s the point of grand names?”

Kaiston replied with no change in expression. In his old kingdom, there had been a superstition that the humbler and lighter the name, the longer one would live. He hadn’t told his men that purely because he enjoyed teasing them.

“Um, but… may I ask a few questions?”

Haris asked in a careful tone that did not match his bulk. Liris stiffened; she had a pretty good idea what he might ask, likely about her sacred power or…

“Liris, your age…?”

‘Huh? Age?’

She looked at Kaiston with a somewhat dazed expression and found him staring intently at her.

“Ah… I’m… twenty. I’ll be twenty-one soon.”

“Wow…”

The captains almost went wild. They almost exclaimed, ‘Commander, you’re so lucky! You should carry her on your back!’

“Then, when’s your birthday?”

This time Nel was the one who asked.

“It’s only proper to remember a woman’s birthday,” he added.

“It’s January 7th.”

“Oh, I see. Not long now!”

Someone produced a notebook and began to jot it down.

“So, any hobbies?”

“What’s your favorite food?”

“What’s your favorite color…”

Bombarded with questions, Liris was deeply flustered. Why would they ask such things to a mere slave?

“Enough.”

Kaiston stopped them with one word.

“If you have any further questions, submit them in writing. Follow the document format exactly.”

“Ugh!”

“Commander, that’s too harsh.”

He simply shot a cold smile at his complaining men.

“Now leave. Only those with business for me should remain.”

“Gah!”

“How did it get so late already!”

“We’ll be going then.”

The captains quickly saluted and dashed out of the study. It would be dangerous to linger and risk being dragged to the training grounds.

“Saik.”

Kaiston looked at his remaining subordinate.

“Yes, Commander.”

“Is there anything special I need to handle today?”

Saik thought for a moment and shook his head.

“No.”

Saik knew his superior had worked alone in the study until late last night, so only a few non-urgent documents remained on the desk.

“Then I’ll get some fresh air. With Liris.”

Saik blinked several times at Kaiston’s expression as he stood. Was this a look his commander even knew how to make?

“Ah, yes. Please do.”

They say when a person changes suddenly it means their end is near. Or maybe this was his true self all along.

“Let’s go.”

Liris bowed politely to Saik and left with Kaiston. Even after they had gone, Saik stood still for a long time, lost in thought.

“I’ll show you the boundary of the Red Moon.”

Kaiston said this as they climbed the tower stairs that seemed to stretch endlessly, effortlessly. Of course, Liris grew exhausted and her pace slowed.

“Hah, hah…”

Kaiston stopped when he saw Liris panting and unable to answer. He walked down to the step where she stood and lifted her up easily.

“Ah! Master.”

She worried she must be heavy, but whether he noticed or not, he began climbing the stairs again but now with her in his arms. Seeing his breathing calm and unchanged, Liris relaxed and leaned comfortably against him.

“Will we be able to see from the top of the tower?”

Kaiston chuckled softly at her question.

“How vast is the Red Moon? Even from the highest lookout you can’t see it all at once.”

His voice near her ear was pleasant. Aside from very early childhood, he was the only man she’d felt comfortable being held by like this.

She suddenly wondered if he would have treated any other woman this well. If he would have touched her, given her pleasure, and taken satisfaction as he had with her. The thought left her feeling a little strange.

Before she knew it, they reached the top and he set her down gently. He unlocked the hatch and when they stepped out, beyond a wide open area, she saw a boundless plain stretching away.

“Liris.”

“Yes, Master.”

“You showed me one of your secrets, so I’ll show you one of mine.”

She blinked, not understanding, but then he turned and stretched out his hand.

“Aaron.”

At that moment, a huge white tiger, as if it had always been there, pushed its head under his outstretched hand. It was four or five times the size of an ordinary tiger. When Liris’s gaze met the beast’s golden eyes, she was so startled she nearly bit her tongue.

“It’s a spirit beast, so don’t be afraid.”

Kaiston took Liris’s hand and led her forward.

“Aaron. This woman is…”

Kaiston hesitated briefly on how to introduce her, then continued.

“My lover, Liris.”

Liris flinched again at being called his lover. Kaiston placed her on the tiger’s back and then mounted behind her. It felt different from riding a real anima; there was no warmth of a living creature. Instead, it felt as if the beast were an extension of his body.

“Don’t be surprised.”

He hugged her warmly from behind. While she was distracted by his embrace, the white tiger leapt over the wall and into the air. Expecting a fall, she was terrified, but the spirit beast ran through the sky as if it were solid ground.

“Ah…”

The dizzying height and speed might have chilled her, but she was bundled in heavy clothes and pressed to his warm, almost hot, body, so she felt no cold.

“This beast came to me when I had been in the Red Moon for a year, on the day I came of age. If it had come a little earlier, things might have been very different.”

Only then did Liris begin to understand why the Emperor had pressed so hard to seize the small eastern state of Baras. The prophecy, secretly passed down among the Empire’s direct imperial family line, seemed destined to come true soon—something the Emperor had sensed. Thanks to that, the Empire would not be overturned. This ill-fated crown prince had become the Empire’s greatest force, guarding the enemy’s land.

“It’s a secret, Liris. Understood?”

There was a faint smile in his voice. She didn’t know why he was showing her this, but likely no one but his closest aides knew Aaron existed. A spirit beast was not something to be taken lightly.

“Yes. I’ll remember, Master.”

From the tiger’s back, as it ran through the air, Liris looked down at the Red Moon’s desolate plains. The land, invaded by magic, grew not a single blade of grass. It had once been fertile red soil.

“We are near the Red Moon’s boundary now.”

A vast gorge began to appear in the distance.

“They say a great river once began at that gorge and crossed all of the Red Moon.”

“Ah… I think I’ve heard that story.”

The white tiger lightly landed atop the sheer cliff of the far-off gorge.

“Beyond this lies the Demon King’s territory.”

Kaiston whispered to Liris. Indeed, some uncanny, chilling energy seemed to press against her from afar. Seeing the small crease on her forehead between her sunglasses and cap, he asked her, “Do you feel the magic?”

“Yes.”

“It must be painful.”

Liris nodded without speaking. Seeing the cold sweat starting on her brow, Kaiston moved the spirit beast again.

“Monstrous beasts invade through the rifts in this gorge. That’s why boundary stones are placed here, so we can detect anything that crosses. It’s too dangerous to put up outposts. Most people can’t sense magic as strongly as you do; instead, they slowly lose their minds without knowing it.”

Kaiston descended to the gorge, removed the blackened, deactivated boundary stones, and replaced them with the crimson stones he’d brought. Once he confirmed the stones were activated, they took off into the sky again.

Aaron’s flight veered a bit westward from the fortress, which made Liris look around curiously. They seemed to be over the fortress’s southwest. From the southeast, towns like Korum and other settlements began to appear, but Liris did not know much about what lay to the southwest.

As Aaron gradually descended, their destination came into view.

“This place is…”

A massive temple of pale gray marble stood there.