Chapter 23: The Heart of the Sword

Andy’s cold sweat trickled down his spine under the piercing gaze of Lyte. 

Swallowing hard, he tried to muster a facade of bravado, determined not to let Lyte intrude on his precious alone time with Noi. 

The two stood locked in a silent standoff, neither yielding, until a soft voice floated from within the villa, cutting through the tension like a breeze.

“He’s my guardian knight,” Noi said, her tone light but firm. 

“He swore an oath never to leave my side, to protect me through calamity or chaos. If you don’t let him in, I’ll head back to the church, tell Sister Chenxi, and have the Demon Suppression Division deal with you.”

Faced with the snow-haired girl’s veiled threat, Andy’s scheming thoughts unraveled. 

With a reluctant sigh, he stepped aside, allowing Lyte to enter the villa.

The villa’s interior was an eclectic patchwork, reflecting Andy’s haphazard tastes. 

Trinkets and curios from far-flung places mingled with odd, avant-garde pieces crafted by obscure artisans. 

It was less a home than a gallery of whims.

Lyte, who had seen the ostentatious grandeur of the imperial capital, remained unimpressed by the villa’s quirks. 

He trailed silently behind Noi, positioning himself as a barrier between her and Andy, ensuring the latter kept his distance.

Noi, who had spent much of her previous life confined to a hospital bed, found the villa’s oddities enchanting. 

She wandered from one peculiar item to the next, her curiosity a stark contrast to the sterile white walls and red tiles of her past. 

To her, even this unremarkable villa was a vibrant world compared to the hospital’s monotony.

Her fascination fueled Andy’s confidence, as if her interest signaled his inevitable triumph. 

He launched into a boastful explanation: his mother had passed away long ago, his father’s business kept him in the capital, and this villa was merely a summer retreat.

Glancing at the clock in the living room, Lyte interrupted Noi’s exploration. 

“It’s time to get to work,” he said, his voice steady but insistent.

Noi nodded, her curiosity sated. 

“Mr. Andy, please take us to where the supernatural incident occurred,” she instructed, her tone polite but businesslike.

Andy’s eyes gleamed with mischief. 

“Oh, Mr. Lyte, why don’t you head upstairs to investigate? The study door’s open—you’ll see everything you need. I’ll take Miss Noi to check another spot.”

His intentions were transparent, barely veiled by his sly grin. 

Separating Noi from Lyte was unthinkable to the knight, and Noi herself was ready to reject the proposal on his behalf.

But to her shock, Lyte nodded curtly and ascended the stairs without a backward glance.

Noi stood frozen, her silver braid swaying as her mind reeled. 

‘You idiot! Blockhead! Clueless, unromantic fool! Couldn’t you at least take me with you?’

Fuming inwardly, she forced a smile and turned to Andy, her voice tight. 

“Mr. Andy… lead the way.”

Upstairs, in the solitude of the stairwell’s turn, Lyte shed his mask of indifference. 

Guilt gnawed at him—not just for leaving Noi alone with Andy, but for his own calculated decision to test her boundaries. 

As her guardian knight, his duty was to protect her, yet his true purpose was to observe her every move, exploiting his position to scrutinize her.

‘Enough overthinking,’ he told himself. 

‘A quick search, and I’ll be back in time to protect her if anything goes wrong.’

Clearing his mind, Lyte pushed open the study’s half-ajar door. 

Bookshelves lined the walls, their spines pristine, arranged in chaotic patterns that screamed pretension rather than scholarship. 

The room was otherwise ordinary—neatly arranged sofas and teacups contrasted with a cluttered desk by the floor-to-ceiling window. 

Papers, tissues, and office supplies littered the desk’s surface.

Lyte picked up a few items, found nothing of value, and tossed them back. 

“What was it he lost?” he muttered, recalling fragments of Andy’s story from the church. 

Andy had visited a noble’s house in Wagner Town, only to realize later that a necklace from his mother was missing. 

He’d returned, found it among some strange wooden objects, and thought little of it. 

But the next day, his study had been ransacked—likely by human hands.

Rummaging through the desk, Lyte found the necklace in a drawer, carelessly left there by Andy’s negligence. 

He examined it with a thread of magic, probing for any trace of tampering. 

Nothing. 

The locket, containing photos of Andy and his mother, showed only normal wear—no chaotic energy or malevolent enchantments.

‘Am I overthinking this?’ Lyte wondered. 

Opening the locket, he found a single blue petal tucked behind the photos. 

It seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place it. 

Shrugging, he returned it to the locket, closed it, and tossed it back into the drawer.

His investigation complete, Lyte slipped into stealth mode, moving swiftly and silently back downstairs. 

His true mission awaited.

***

On the villa’s balcony, Noi stepped back, deftly avoiding the stack of star coins Andy offered. 

“Mr. Andy, please respect yourself,” she said, her voice calm but edged with steel.

“Why? Is it not enough?” Andy pressed, his tone teasing but insistent. 

“I just want to get to know you. I haven’t even asked you to be my girlfriend yet.”

Andy wasn’t your typical spoiled noble. 

He knew the art of patience, of warming the water slowly to boil the frog. 

But Noi turned her head, her silver hair catching the light. 

“I don’t like men. Is that reason enough?”

He smirked, undeterred. 

He’d heard every excuse in the book, including claims of orientation. 

“I don’t need you to like me,” he said, his voice dripping with strange sincerity. 

“Just treat me with the care you’d give a child. That’s enough.”

Noi’s brow furrowed at his bizarre request. 

Andy’s peculiarities were his own business—until they targeted her. 

She wasn’t about to indulge him. 

“Knowing I don’t like you, do you really think what I’d offer is care and not just lip service?” 

she retorted,  “I suggest you hire a nanny. They’d know better than me how to coddle a grown man-child.”

Her words were sharp, unyielding. 

She didn’t care about the commission for this job anymore. 

Andy’s behavior had crossed a line. 

He knew it, too—normally, he kept his oddities under wraps. 

But ever since finding that blue petal in his mother’s necklace the night before, its haunting fragrance had awakened something primal within him. 

A deep, subconscious yearning for maternal warmth had consumed him.

On his way to the church, every woman who fit his ideal had stirred his heart. 

Yet he was no mere playboy; he’d honed his restraint in the capital. 

But when he saw Noi step out of the confessional, her presence ensnared him. 

His thoughts became hers alone.

Reason abandoned him. 

The petal’s scent, the supernatural incident, his own restraint—all forgotten. 

He’d dismissed Lyte with a flimsy excuse and dragged Noi to the balcony to confess his obsession.

Andy stepped closer. 

“Do nannies have your beauty? I’m only this reckless with you. Ask around—my reputation’s spotless otherwise.”

Noi sighed inwardly, ‘Another fool falling for my face.’ 

Her beauty, it seemed, was both a gift and a curse. 

Meeting Andy’s gaze, she said, “Is beauty all it takes to play your mother? I pity her, then.”

Her bluntness stunned him. 

He hadn’t expected such venom from someone so ethereal. 

But desperation gripped him now. 

If he didn’t have Noi, he feared his desires would drive him mad. 

“I’ll give you ten million star coins,” he blurted. 

“An apartment in the capital. Name your price—I’ll buy it.”

Noi’s heart skipped a beat, but she steadied herself. 

In her past life, money had been a constant concern because her illness had drained her family’s resources. 

Yet she valued freedom above all. 

To trade her newfound life for a mere ten million would be to betray herself.

“I’m not interested in playing mother to anyone,” she said firmly. 

“Respect yourself.”

She turned to leave the balcony, eager to find Lyte and escape this suffocating villa. 

But Andy, now fully unhinged, blocked her path, his words a frantic stream of persuasion.

Noi’s patience frayed, but she held back. 

What if she struck too hard and killed him? 

She couldn’t risk it—not with Lyte nearby, potentially misjudging her as violent.

From the living room, Lyte watched silently from the corridor’s shadow. 

Andy’s relentless advance and Noi’s helpless restraint twisted his heart. 

He longed to rush in, to shield her as her knight, to uphold the justice of a hero.

But a vision stopped him—a bridge shimmering into existence, replacing the floor to the balcony. 

On one side stood his fallen comrades, their eyes pleading for him to honor their sacrifice. 

On the other, Noi, retreating, her sapphire pendant glinting, her lips bleeding from her bite. 

She awaited her knight.

Lyte stood at the bridge’s center, torn by duty and desire. 

Even facing the Sin Domain’s lord, he’d never agonized so fiercely.

On the balcony, Andy’s voice rose to a shout. 

“What am I doing wrong? Why do you keep rejecting me?”

Noi’s eyes blazed. 

“Because you don’t see me as a person! I’m human first, not just a woman. My heart gives this body meaning—without it, I’d be nothing but a poisonous poppy, beautiful but deadly.”

‘I’m not some hollow shell defined by my face, a fleeting illusion that shatters at a touch. I’m not anyone’s substitute. I’m Noi, and Vellirch is just my surname, not my worth!’

Her words struck Andy silent and snapped Lyte from his turmoil. 

Even as the chosen hero, he was human first. 

In his youth, before rebirth, he’d craved normalcy—play, love, the simple joy of holding hands. 

He wanted unconditional love, not the flattery of nobles.

But as the radiant hero, the singular chosen one, he’d borne the weight of a world’s hopes, sacrificing his time and soul to battle the Sin Domain. 

The gods had granted him a second life—a chance to break free from that cycle. 

He didn’t want endless war or to repeat his past as a savior. 

First, he’d avert the witch’s apocalypse, fulfilling his duty. 

Then, he’d resign his title, find a woman who loved him as he loved her, and build a quiet life with children and peace.

His heart pulsed with newfound clarity, his senses sharpening. 

The sword heart, shattered after his defeat by Noi in his past life, began to mend. 

A new path to the ultimate realm unfolded in his mind.

“How…” Lyte whispered, stunned. 

His sword heart, broken by Noi’s hand, was now restored by her. 

The irony was bitter.

Watching the standoff on the balcony, he made his choice. 

People could be shaped. 

Given time, he’d mold Noi into the person he needed her to be, preventing the tragedy of his past life. 

For now, he’d wield his holy sword to drive back the man who dared covet her, protecting the witch who stirred his soul.

“I’ll cherish your heart,” he vowed silently.

On the balcony, Andy’s face twisted with something unnatural. 

Noi, sensing it, scanned him with light magic but found no chaotic energy—perhaps a potion or ability was to blame. 

Knowing his actions weren’t entirely his own, she hesitated to strike.

She also feared ruining her image in Lyte’s eyes. 

The more she thought, the less she dared act. 

Andy, lost to reason, backed her against the glass wall connecting the balcony to the living room. 

Clutching her sapphire pendant, she whispered Lyte’s name, trusting he’d come.

Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed from the living room. 

A strong arm enveloped her, and Noi curled into its embrace. 

Andy, reaching for her, was sent flying with a single kick, collapsing unconscious against the railing.

“Don’t be afraid, Vivi,” Lyte said softly. 

“I’m here.”