CHAPTER 16: KNIGHT COMANDER TOSIN [1]

"Sir Tosin is the strongest knight within the kingdom." Eeden said, with a smug look on his face.

"Yeah...." Kayan mumbled softly. "And he has been missing for days now."

Eden’s smile dropped instantly.

"....What?" Osmund said, his voice filled with confusion.

Kayan nodded his head seriousness clear on his face.

"He has been out of touch for a long while."

The king rubbed his face as a cold voice echoed.

"I believe Tosin has betrayed the kingdom in some way."

Kargil immediately stepped in the defense.

"That’s impossible, your highness." He spoke, voice strained. "I have known Sir Tosin personally, he would never do such thing."

"Than how do you explain the current situation?" Kayan spoke, looking at him. "Why do you think he vanished from the kingdom?"

"...He must be busy with something." Kargil didn’t back down. "You shouldn’t suspect your most trusted person, your highness."

"Betrayal comes from those who are the closest." Kayan said, looking back at the kingdom. "I know that more than anyone else."

’....’

Eden who has been quietly standing there couldn’t understand.

’....Why am I even part of the conversation?’

It would have made sense if it was just his father present but he wasn’t sure why the king asked him to tag along.

Eden stood there, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to another.

Sana hummed in his head.

[Maybe they just like your face.]

’That’s gay, and can you shut up for once?’

[Not in my programming, sorry.]

Osmund spoke softly. "Why are you telling us this?"

Eden raised his brow as he felt something odd. ’...Why is father talking informally?’

Even Kargil raised his brow but didn’t speak anything else.

Kayan didn’t respond immediately.

He just stared out over the balcony, the wind blowing his hair slightly.

"...Do you know what the last report said before he vanished?" Kayan finally asked.

Osmund shook his head. "I don’t."

Kayan’s jaw tightened. "He was investigating the slave routes."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Osmund’s expression darkened instantly.

"...So he found something," Osmund muttered.

"Perhaps." Kayan spoke. "Perhaps, he joined them."

’.. Wow, this guy is a pessimistic.’

Eden thought glancing at the king who had his face turned the other side.

"Doesn’t he have a family member?" Eden asked softly. "Someone who he cared for?"

"....Tosin’s wife is dead." Kargil replied to his inquiry. "He also has a young daughter who should be—."

"She is gone." Kayan, the king cut him off softly. ".... missing since the day, Tosin vanished."

Kargil’s eyes widened. "His daughter too...?"

Kayan nodded slowly, his voice low.

"Yes. A girl of fifteen...Disappeared the same week Tosin went off the grid."

That finally made the air turn cold around them.

Even Eden felt something tighten in his chest.

’....This really isn’t a coincidence.’

Osmund rubbed his forehead. "So we’re likely dealing with a group powerful beings."

"Precisely," Kayan replied.

"And," he added casually, "those people are hiding inside my kingdom."

The way he said it... calm, almost amused...

Made it 100 times more terrifying.

---

’...This is really troubling.’

Eden thought as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The king and his father were continuing the conversation while they send him away.

[Are you going to join—]

’Fuck no.’ Eden cut her off immediately. ’We are talking about the strongest in the kingdom, I don’t want to get involved in that.’

[Well, I guess you are still too weak.]

’....’

Eden didn’t like how she said that in a sassy way.

’She is really looking down at him, isn’t she?’

Eden rubbed his face as he glanced outside the window.

It was around three a clock and the sun’s glare has been toned down a lot.

The carriage was still standing outside the palace and Eden didn’t plan to wait for his father.

’I will just go back to our temporary house and sleep.’

He thought as he smiled in satisfaction.

But still...

In the corner of his mind something was really bugging him.

’...What really happened to the strongest person in the kingdom?’

---

[At The Same Time.]

[Unknown Location.]

Squelch!!!

In the empty red room, a girl sat with an emotionless expression on his face.

Squelch!!!

Her hand, holding a long still needle moved in small interval.

Squelch!!!

....The needle punctured holes in her face, blood dripping down.

The girl didn’t even blink, she just stab... pull out... stab again.

Her grey hair, once neat and silky, now hung messily over her shoulders, stained with red and sticky clumps.

Squelch!!

The needle sank into her cheek again.

"...Stop it..Stop."

But the girl wasn’t alone within the red room.

A man, sat on his knees his head bowed down, tears dripping down his eyes.

His grey hair was messy, the marks of snot, blood and tears were clear on his face.

He was the the Knight Commander, Tosin.

....The man, who have won countless battles, the one who lead an entire army.

"P-please stop it...."

Now, he begged to his daughter like a broken man.

She tilted her head slightly, as if examining the sound of his voice.

"...Father."

Just that one word.

And Tosin collapsed further, forehead touching the blood–soaked floor.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry, Lyria...! I couldn’t protect you... I couldn’t—"

His voice broke into a choked sob.

Squelch!!

Tosin trembled violently as the voice of the needle punctured echoed once again.

"...It hurts so much," she whispered.

Tosin quickly moved and grabbed her arm. "Stop it, my child—."

"AHHHHH!!!!"

Lyria yelled from the top of her lungs making him flinch.

"GET AWAY! GET AWAY!!!"

She yelled her head moved towards the needle on its own puncturing her face ruthlessly.

Tosin...completely broken, let go of his only daughter.

He began crying once again but Lyria didn’t stop at all.

Blood streamed down her chin, dripping onto the floor in slow, sticky threads.

Tosin covered his face with both hands, shaking uncontrollably.

He wasn’t the Commander anymore nor was he the strongest knight in the kingdom.

He was just a father who had already lost his child.

"Lyria... please..." he whispered, voice cracking. "I will do anything... just stop..."

The girl didn’t stop as her hand kept on moving.

Tosin turned to look around the place. "I SAID I WILL DO ANYTHING!!!"

He yelled; his voice echoed within the room.

"JUST LET HER GO!!"

Her hand paused mid-stab.

The needle hovered close to her eye now.

The door of the room slowly creaked open.

Hundreds of girls from age ten to eighteen walked inside the room....like puppets.

They formed a circle around the two of them.

Tosin glared at them but he couldn’t do anything.

Those children....they were just like his own daughter.

They were all someone else’s control.

"Did I hear it right, knight?"

A male voice echoed within the group of females.

"You are ready to do anything?"

Tosin’s blood boiled as anger burned through his entire body.

’I will tear him down, I cut him into pieces and feed him—.’

Squelch.

The needle pierced deeper than before.

Lyria’s eye twitched. Her lips quivered.

"...F–a...ther..."

That one broken word crushed the last piece of him.

"I can see right through you knight." The voice echoed once again. "....Kneel properly."

Tosin dropped to his knees, he didn’t kneel like a knight but as a slave.

"...Tell me what you want," he whispered.

"I want...."

The voice echoed from within the girls once again.

"....Death."