It was probably already noon, Marianne imagined. She had already been locked up for a few hours, unable to see what was happening outside. She had prayed many times to the Goddess for the safety of her companion and tried her best to get them home, but things had worsened.
"No one can be good next to me, not even he," thought Marianne, lamenting. Suddenly, she felt someone enter her shop: it was Lorenz. With a seriousness that Marianne had not seen in him, he asked:
"Who is, or rather, what is it about your friend that the empire is looking for so desperately for him?"
"I can't tell you," she replied, with an angry expression Lorenz could never have imagined on her part.
"It's just that it depends on what I do with you," Lorenz replied, smoothing his hair with a nervous expression. "I have very little time to make a decision."
"What decision?" Marianne asked, confused.
"You know I don't want anything from that Death Knight. We fought to the death against him together with our master. However, if that guy shows up, my father has commissioned me to guard this border."
"I see..." she replied, with a hopeless expression.
"It's a fact that when Jeritza finds out you're here, he'll take your life, too. I can't allow that, even if it complicates everything with my father."
"I don't understand what you're getting at, Lorenz."
"I have to give the order, and the Imperials watching Leonard will disappear as if they were never there. But you must tell me what's so special about him."
"Well..." Marianne replied, gathering her thoughts. "Leonard has a book that allows him to recreate any of the heroes' Relics at will."
"This is more serious than I thought, Marianne," Lorenz replied, biting into the cuticle of one of her fingers. "Even if my father punishes or even imprisons me, that kind of power cannot fall into the hands of the empire, even more so if we know that they have a relationship with those dark beings with whom we fight."
"That's right, Lorenz," she answered, concerned. "But what can we do?"
As Marianne said these words, Lorenz stuck his right arm out of the tent. Immediately, he approached her partner from the Academy and said:
"I already gave the order; now you must flee," said Lorenz as a sack leaned out from the store entrance. "It would be best if you put on this cash suit. They will both flee before that wretch arrives."
At that moment, Lorenz called one of the soldiers, who immediately entered.
"Now!" he exclaimed, waving Marianne toward the exit with his arms.
Immediately, Marianne covered herself with her helmet, running in the direction where she saw Leonard being led. Once he arrived, the imperial guards were gone, and a ragged guy with the air of a prisoner released Leonard to take his place.
They both met while holding each other's hands. Leonard, seeing his companion's face of relief, was absorbed for a few seconds. He immediately woke up and said to his companion:
"We must escape now."
Marianne could not answer anything when her friend led her by one arm. They ran as best they could to go up a slight slope in a ravine next to the regiment. From there, they would escape as soon as possible. Surprisingly, they found a couple of horses. Marianne tugged at Leonard's arm and said:
"I'll ask them for help," she said, pointing to the horses.
"Are you sure?" Leonard replied, concerned.
"Yes, believe me, I can."
Immediately afterward, Marianne approached the steeds, which seemed to have moved away from the group that made up part of the regimental stables. To Leonard's surprise, his companion only had to caress both animals, say a couple of words to them, and they alone approached where Leonard was.
"We're ready," Marianne said, her expression calm. "The black horse said he could take you, but you must be careful. He doesn't like being hit in the ribs very much."
"What? Well, that's how I'll do it," he replied, not understanding.
They began to run as fast as the horses could go. The border post in which they were confined was northwest of Sauin, so the trip to the border with the territory of the Riegan duchy could take about 5 to 6 hours galloping in a calm way, which was not happening now. The important thing was to get as far away from the place as possible, to avoid meeting the dark knight.
"I hope we can outrun the Death Knight at this rate," Marianne said aloud as they walked side by side.
"What? You didn't tell me he was coming."
"Sorry, I didn't have time to talk, " she replied with a guilty expression."
"Don't worry; We must leave it behind, as you said."
They continued to ride as fast as their steeds, already running out of steam, could go. The sun was already setting, so it was likely that any attempt to reach them would be fruitless. In an instant, as Leonard galloped, he felt a jolt. Before he could react adequately, he jumped into the air while his horse fell to the ground, dying. He tried to lose as best he could, just as he learned in his training. Once on the ground, despite a bit of a beating, he got up to see who was coming after them.
"Leonard! Are you alright?" Marianne asked, dismayed. "Your horse is dead."
"Marianne, you must go. The Death Knight is coming."
Marianne felt despair swallow her up. If already during the year she was at the Academy, she felt a lot of terror facing that enemy, along with her entire group and her teacher, now that fear multiplied incalculably when she and Leonard were alone. The knight approached more leisurely until he stopped on his horse.
"You're pretty slippery, you piece of shit."
"It's for more fun, asshole," Leonard replied, spitting on the ground.
"Ha, look who we have here," The Dark Knight said, looking at Marianne. "One of the students of the Academy. It is a shame to have to impale you with my spear."
Those words made Leonard lose his mind. Immediately, he summoned Aymr to tear the fool apart. The way his rival dodged him was immediate, even graceful for his horse's roughness. Immediately afterward, Leonard was hit with the spear, throwing him into the air at about five meters.
"I thought you would give more resistance now. You're just a pushover. I must rip off your left arm and take it with me."
Immediately afterward, Marianne stood in the way of that enemy.
"Jeritza, If you want to take Leonard, finish me first."
"As if that were a complication, my dear —the Death Knight said, raising his spear to hack Marianne to shreds."
Just before the girl received that blow, an arrow hit the knight's shoulder, who instantly backed away. That impact had gone through his armor, causing more damage than expected.
Once he could react, the warrior saw three spears heading his way: Lúin, Areadbhar, and the Spear of Ruin. He tried to dodge them as best he could, but one brushed against his other arm. There was nothing left but to counterattack. The knight rushed at full speed against his enemy to see that he had summoned the shredder, with which he was trying to kill his horse instantly.
In an impromptu feint, the knight fled and used his lightning spell to paralyze Leonard with all the power he could. This had some effect, as Marianne healed him immediately, anticipating the situation.
After a few seconds, Leonard woke again and closed in on his enemy while summoning Thunder's Edge. With the agility that weapon allowed him, Leonard dodged Jeritza 's following spells, finally crossing weapons.
The knight repelled Leonard's attack with his spear. Sitting on the ground, this one jumped repeatedly against his enemy while the knight struggled to repel such attacks. While the attacks' speed and forcefulness surprised Marianne, she could subtly notice that Leonard was beginning to show signs of weariness. He could try to heal him, but as he had realized, his magic would not be able to replenish the energies his companion was losing by summoning the weapons.
Just as she thought, Jeritza lunged at Leonard, driving him away. Although he could have fallen well, he fell to his knees from one moment to the next while his weapon disappeared. Tiredness was winning. Moving closer slowly, Jeritza said:
"You have fought many, but those weapons squeeze your soul. It is time for you to leave this world."
At the moment when the Death Knight would deliver the final blow, he noticed that something was coming towards him. He barely managed to dodge an arrow coming from his right flank. Almost simultaneously, he felt a roar from that same direction. Even though it was getting dark, he could see that it was a Wyvern who was approaching. He couldn't make out who it was until he got close enough, but only by intuition could he guess:
"You are close to your territories, Claude. However, you dare come here without the duke's permission."
"The duke should know by now," Claude replied, dismounting from the dragon. I am charged with a diplomatic mission to conduct Marianne von Edmund to her residence with her father, Margrave Edmund."
"Humbug!" Jeritza replied angrily. "I should make you shed every drop of blood right now, but your life still cannot be claimed."
"Is that it, or is it that a whole battalion is coming to face you?"
"I would gladly die killing as many enemies as possible, including you and those two," the knight replied, pointing at Leonard and Marianne." Unfortunately, they also want me alive for a while longer.
"Alright, Nice then," Claude replied, letting the Death Knight flee with a teleportation spell.
Leonard's relief was evident: Marianne was alive, even after taking such a chance to stop this fearsome enemy. The girl quickly approached him, kneeling and taking him by both shoulders.
"Are you okay, Leonard?" Marianne asked fearfully.
"Yes, fortunately," he answered, still panting from the exertion of the fight. "Don't ever risk yourself like that again, please."
"Okay," she replied, moving away from that fixed look her partner had given her.
"Who would have thought to see you like this, Marianne," Claude said, putting his arms close to her neck, as usual.
"What?"
"Ha, nothing," Claude said, playing dumb. "I'm glad they're okay, and you didn't die in that assault, Marianne.
Claude knelt in front of Leonard, examining him briefly.
"You're that hermit the empire was chasing," he said curiously. "Well, Let me tell you, you caused Lorenz big trouble. He will be confined to his home for a season or two. Well, who cares; It is not especially pleasant to see it in social instances."
"Yes, it's me. Leonard Weber. Nice to meet you," he replied, somewhat surprised by how that guy was.
"Excuse me, I also must introduce myself," Claude replied, standing up with a mock ceremonial gesture. "My name is Claude von Riegan, the next heir to House Riegan and the subsequent leader of the Leicester Alliance."
"Great, now I meet the royalty," Leonard replied with a fake expression of admiration.
"I don't care if you're not surprised, Leonard; I even think it's better this way since I don't like formalities so much," Claude replied, with a laughing air.
"Claude, could you help us, please?" Marianne asked, with an air of shyness that Leonard was not used to seeing.
"Of course, Marianne! You don't have to ask. So, it will be done."
Leonard was surprised at how Marianne behaved around other people. She seemed not to want to bother anyone, and her shyness increased noticeably. He did not have much time to think about that since he fell to the ground from one moment to the next due to exhaustion.