Chapter 105 : Winter Soldiers (2)

The Knight Order.

A knight order is a symbol of a noble family’s military power.

An exceptional knight order elevates a family’s honor and authority. 

For this reason, any prominent family pays great attention to their knight order, as it serves both as the family’s face and problem solver.

However, there are tasks that even a knight order cannot perform.

Dishonorable acts—so-called “dirty work.”

Although nobles claim that their power struggles are honorable, the reality rarely aligns with such ideals. 

They denounce and vilify backdoor schemes as dishonorable, yet ironically, they excel at them.

To the point where people joke that mastering backdoor dealings is an essential skill for a noble.

However, nobles cannot use their knight order, which represents their honor, for such dirty work. But relying on random mercenaries risks exposure to other families’ pressure.

Thus, noble families often maintain another knight order specifically for such tasks—those who exist solely to handle the shadows.

They are called the Shadows.

Mars was one of these Shadows.

He wasn’t an ordinary Shadow; he was the captain of the Shadows of the Everflame family.

While not a position he could boast of openly, he still carried the pride of a knight.

Shadows are often looked down upon.

They are not knight orders that can be shown off to the world, and thus they lack honor. 

They can easily disappear without a trace.

Their work is far from dignified, and some consider them a shameful existence. 

If their presence is ever exposed, they are frequently abandoned as expendable pawns.

But despite all this, Mars held a certain pride and sense of honor in his role.

Though a Shadow, he was still a knight of Everflame.

Where there is light, there is shadow. If so, he believed his role was to embody the shadow.

Everything was for his family.

Yet today, Mars felt as though his honor had been further tarnished.

“Captain, is this truly the right thing to do?”

“It’s an order.”

Mars answered calmly to the subordinate questioning him with a dissatisfied tone.

They were currently pursuing a woman.

The woman ahead clutched a child in her arms, running desperately. 

Her silvery-white hair billowed wildly behind her as she ran.

Watching her, Mars questioned himself.

Is this truly the right thing to do?

If he were a true knight, he would never condone chasing down a defenseless woman.

Moreover, this woman wasn’t an ordinary person. 

She was the Saintess.

The Saintess.

The savior of humanity.

A beloved and protected figure to all humans.

And yet, here he was, chasing her.

This is disgraceful. I can hardly call myself a knight.

Mars steeled his resolve once again.

He was no ordinary knight. 

He was a Shadow, bound to carry out any task for his family, no matter how distasteful.

Though the order left a bitter taste, it was his duty to follow it.

It was a rule—an absolute one.

If anyone else discovered this situation, he would be condemned, perhaps even executed for blaspheming the divine.

But he had to obey. 

He had pledged loyalty to his family as a Shadow, fully aware of the sacrifices it entailed.

“Why are you doing this?”

The woman finally stopped running and turned to face Mars, her voice filled with exhaustion.

Beautiful.

The thought struck him as soon as he saw her.

Her flawless, porcelain-like skin, sapphire eyes that seemed to draw one in, and perfect features—she truly fit the image of a saintly figure.

She was the epitome of the ideal lady a knight would dream of protecting.

Evidently, even the knights he had brought were staring at her, mesmerized.

The vulnerable tremble in her eyes tugged at his heart.

Instinctively, Mars wanted to kneel before her and whisper his vow to protect her.

Had he not been bound to Everflame, he might have done just that.

But now, he had to do the exact opposite.

Mars silently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, intending to threaten her. 

Her eyes followed his hand, trembling.

“Please, tell me why,” she asked again.

“It’s an order,” Mars blurted out.

He startled himself by speaking.

Shadows were forbidden to speak during missions—he knew this better than anyone. Yet he had broken that rule.

Have I faltered?

His response sounded almost like an excuse, as if to claim this wasn’t his will.

Why had he spoken without thinking? 

Perhaps it was an unconscious attempt to escape his own guilt. 

Or maybe, it was a small effort to seek preemptive atonement for what he was about to do.

Mars clenched his resolve once more.

Whatever the reason, he had to follow orders. 

There was no room for useless thoughts.

As Mars steadied himself and took a step forward, he froze.

He couldn’t move.

More accurately, his body wouldn’t respond.

An experienced knight, Mars quickly searched for the cause—and found it.

His arms and legs were bound by black chains.

When did this happen?!

He struggled desperately to free himself.

The black chains bound to his arms tightened further the more he struggled.

“Could this be… magic?”

Had there ever been mention of the Saintess using magic? 

No, the documents he had received contained no such information.

“Yes, you said you received an order, didn’t you? You admitted it yourself.”

Mars looked ahead. 

The Saintess still stood there, radiating her divine beauty. 

Her face remained as lovely as ever.

But Mars instinctively felt a chill.

Her demeanor had changed—so drastically that she seemed like an entirely different person.

She smiled and spoke.

“Let’s have some fun together, shall we?”

As she approached, Mars thought to himself:

Something… something is very wrong.

“So, whose orders are you following?”

I asked in a voice softer than ever before. A reply came from below.

“I… can’t say!”

My brows furrowed slightly.

But only for a moment. I quickly smiled again and spoke.

“Rein, this gentleman says his back still hurts a lot. I think he needs a massage!”

“Okay!”

Rein energetically raised her hand and climbed onto his back with both feet.

“Yay!”

She began jumping up and down enthusiastically.

“Urgh!”

Pained groans came from beneath Rein’s playful stomps. 

I leaned down and asked again.

“So, whose orders are you following?”

“I can’t… urgh!”

Still no answer.

“This is getting troublesome…”

I sighed dramatically as I spoke.

We had been attacked by assailants disguised as Winter’s Soldiers. 

After fending them off brilliantly, we captured this one and began a delightful interrogation session. Yet, he refused to talk.

I thought I’d given him plenty of pain already.

This man had been stomped on by Rein at least five times. 

Not to mention the series of… vigorous massages he had endured across his body. 

Despite it all, his sheer willpower kept his mouth shut.

At this point, I couldn’t help but admire his resilience. His mental fortitude deserved a round of applause.

Unfortunately for him, that no longer mattered.

“Well, it’s fine. Someone else already told us everything.”

His eyes widened in shock. 

For the first time, his expression betrayed his composure. Seeing this, I smiled.

There had been two attackers. 

While this one remained tight-lipped, the other wasn’t as strong-willed and eventually confessed. 

Thanks to him, I now knew exactly who they were and who had sent them.

Still, I continued this interrogation purely for the satisfaction of seeing him break. No other reason.

‘W-we are knights! Knights loyal to the Everflame family!’

‘We didn’t want to do this! That damn bastard forced us!’

Recalling the earlier confession, I asked casually.

“So, you’re a knight of the Everflame family, huh?”

“…!”

Bingo.

Though he didn’t answer aloud, his trembling eyes gave him away.

Perfect. The confirmation was complete.

“Alright, Rein, you can come down now.”

I helped Rein down and then lifted the man to his feet, brushing the snow off his body.

Chains coiled tightly around him, ensuring he couldn’t move. The long end of the chains was gripped firmly in my hand.

“Off we go!”

“W-where are we going?”

“Where else?”

There was only one place we needed to go.

“To Rein’s lovely, despicable little friend—Rein Everflame!”