Chapter 7 (1/2)

Light Beyond ~ Chapter Seven ~

Everything that happened after that passed by in an instant

The silhouette of the tanned reat force and, theit down She could hear the sharp sound of the passing wind by her ears And then, roughly at the saainst her Yuna was coed that she was going to be attacked by that unfa her cheek brought Yuna’s consciousness back to reality

Right now, Yuna was lying on the ground The one who had pushed her and thrown himself on top to cover her was– Asyut

By the tied to raise her upper body, Asyut had already brought hiainst their opponent

The person who assaulted her was soer in his right hand And he was looking down at Asyut and Yuna with hatred burning in his eyes There was an unthinkable strength that poured out of hiard appearance, but Yuna trembled with fear just from his appearance

“–Don’t get in my way!”

Shouting, the ain Asyut placed a hand on the handle of his sword, but he didn’t lared at the other person As the distance shrank, Yuna was unable to bear it and gave a sht at that moment, a thick arht hand of the ly Like that, the man’s body was thrown into the air and then iround

“Guah!”

The owner of that arcrest skillfully held the man down so that he could not move an inch

“… , that was a close call I’lad I came to check on you two”

It was around that tis started to make a commotion Everyone who had been here hadn’t been able tothose sudden events But the spell was broken, and it seemed like everyone started to realize the abnormality of the situation

“Wretch, there is no way you don’t knoho this lady is You ht!?”

Asyut, who had stood up, questioned the man harshly

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know!!”

Even though the crest, he was able to answer firmly

“As if I could forget this woman’s face! The saint, oing to kill you I’ll definitely– kill you I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Yuna lost her words at the shouts of theinto madness

This excessively violent and deep hatred –His murderous intent

It wasn’t so she could take Unconsciously, Yuna took a step back But, as if caught, she felt herself getting drawn into those burning eyes

“On top of co this kind of violence towards the saint, you would still mock her!?”

“I did it knowing that I would die, do you think I’d care?!”

Theabout the pressure from Asyut

“This woot! Give ive her back……!!”

“I won’t listen to your nonsense Guards, take this man to the prison immediately”

“–Wait!”

Yuna’s voice, which was out of place, broke in She had shouted instinctively

“Lady Celiastina!”

“It’s fine, let hi he wants to say”

Reining in Asyut, who had objected, Yuna faced the man His eyes widened, as if in disbelief, but then his expression was ier

“What, are you pretending to have mercy at this point in ti froer happiness!”

“……”

“Why did you kill Rin?! Why did you kill my wife!? Why couldn’t you just have killed me Why was it Rin!? What did she do?! Isn’t that absolutely mad?!”

–She re ht she had visited the Holy Jail, he was that voice who had begged her to spare just Rin–

“I absolutely won’t forgive you I WON’T FORGIVE YOU!!”

The h he was held down, but he was unable to thrust aside Siegcrest But still, so the ground for the dagger that had been thron beside him

“I won’t let you!”

Asyut quickly kicked the dagger, and it ht sound as it tuer, which had rolled close to her, and felt its coldness in the palm of her hand

In the er, theguards, including Siegcrest

“Guh, let o!”

“To think that you would still try to harm Lady Celiastina even now Do you want to lose your neck here?”

With cold eyes, Asyut drew his sword this time

The man’s shoulders tre its sheath At the sa the cereround, and soldiers who looked down at it And then it was killed all too soon– the poisonous bug

“Wait, Asyut!”

Yuna ran up to Asyut as if she sprung to him And then she held his left hand and looked up at him desperately

“Stop, don’t kill him!!”

“Lady Celiastina, please step back In any case, this man will receive capital punishment We cannot allow you to be hurt by any chance”

“I said no! Because, I don’t even have a single scratch For that to be a capital punishment is crazy!”

“You’re saying that? –Borrowing this person’s words, you’re saying that at this point in time?”

The gaze he had directed at the man moved onto Yuna There was also a flicker of hatred in Asyut’s eyes

“No, no! I don’t care if it’s too late! You absolutely can’t kill this person!”

“Lady Celiastina”

Irritated frocrest, who had been silent up to now, rebuked Celiastina in a low voice

“Hey, Celia, I told you to correct your selfishness, right? To direct a violent towards the saint is an act that is definitely not allowed It’s natural for that to be a capital punishment”

“But originally this person’s as……”

“EVEN THEN!”

Siegcrest’s voice was rough and Yuna shrunk her body at that

“Don’t you understand? If you forgive this person here, the royal palace will fall into chaos No one would be punished for carrying out their revenge on the hated saint There will definitely be lots of people, knights like me, ill come out Because there are heaps of people who hate the saint”

“…… ah”

It was such a sound argu back –The seeds sown by Celiastina had grown large, and those vines were now chasing her wherever she went and entwining around her Was he saying that if she overlooked this ht here then the resentment towards her will just increase even more?

“We have to settle this in front of everyone who is watching This is the duty of those who stand at the top That is why Asyut will harden his heart and execute this man Listen, Celia, the death of this et that”

So–

Her vision grew dark Siegcrest wasn’t wrong She was sure she was the one rong But if the only thing gained fro then, even so, was she supposed to withdraw?

–No

Yuna thought this strongly

Whether this was selfishness or arrogance, or if she was told that she wasn’t thinking about anything or the outlook of the circus, she didn’t want to hurt the people she could reach anyrepeat anymore, never

“No”

“Celia–“

“You absolutely can’t! How can you take a life so easily? He’s alive Right now, this person is alive He’s so, even into the future, I’m sure Please understand just how precious that is”

Siegcrest had a sour face

“Celia People like us are hu their livelihood Do you think we easily kill people without thinking anything? That’s impossible It’s obvious we understand, what it means to take the life of a person It is on top of that which we are saying this man should be executed”

They didn’t actually understand! Yuna’s body trembled from the shout that welled up from the botto to happen for an eternity; they were surely unable to really understand that ht through the blue sky, the trees that rustle and shake their bodies to the passing of a gentle wind, the soft and sweet sh the trees… just what exactly did it mean for this “world” that she could react to with her whole body to be lost forever? And, surely, she would never kno big that “world” was supposed to have spread over a long, long time–

Yuna put strength into her hands that clung to Asyut

“I’ you, don’t kill him Please……!”

And then she kneeled like that Seeing that, everyone in the area became speechless Of course Asyut did, the passerbys atching the course of these events, Siegcrest as holding theheld down Everyone was looking in mute amazement at the saint who had lowered her head

Fuu, Siegcrest exhaled a deep sigh What do we do, he pestered Asyut with just his eyes Asyut, who received that gaze, had an unpleasant expression, of course, and the furroeen his brows deepened

“…… It looks like Lady Celiastina will not be pleased to have dirty blood flowing in front of her But then that is very natural To sever the neck of this er of God, was a foolish ive me”

With an expression that oozed irritation, Asyut faced Yuna and bowed forhtly style

“Then–“

“For the moment, let us transfer this man to the prison Afterwards, the appropriate measures will be taken”

“–That’s!”

“Siegcrest”

Asyut interrupted the saint’s criticism and quickly called out to his friend beside him

“Sorry, but take this uards I will take Lady Celiastina back to her room”

“Aa, got it”

“W-Wait What I want to say is–“

“Now then, everyone, return to your stations It is forbidden to make a fuss about this carelessly”

This ti to defer to her Ignoring Yuna cos with a firm attitude In this way, an at an issue that was settled The people who had been standing still and watching the development of events, each and every one scattered quickly without saying a word And then what re to Asyut’s arm, and Asyut who looked down at her with an indescribable expression

“Lady Celiastina, you should return as well It would be best for you to compose yourself in your room”

–Horrible Horrible, horrible

Cal calh someone had been about to lose their life in front of their own eyes

Her anger bubbled and welled up but she couldn’t strike Asyut with it –In the first place the ht noas none other than herself If it had been Celiastina in the past, she ht have even drank her tea calmly in this situation

–Horrible Horrible, horrible Horrible–!

Just as? She didn’t know anyry towards? Yuna suddenly felt exhausted and was driven with the urge to collapse on the spot

Returning to her room, Yuna threw her body onto a sofa with a thud Exhausted She was completely exhausted

Asyut, who ca her, eyed Yuna, who had her head dropped, calht he would have immediately left once he escorted her to her rooly at his action

“You appear to be quite concerned about that person”

Yuna only stared blankly at Asyut

“Lady Celiastina, you should still beyour memories and so you must not knoho that person is, correct?”

She gave a small nod

“His nah He lived in the royal palace and worked as a cook Recently, he brought his fiancée to the palace and they had just inally, thelike a small stone in your soup, Lady Celiastina The one who made that soup was Duo, and so you called hiu sent to the Holy Jail”

Of course this was the first time she heard this, but she wasn’t very shocked She already kneithout a doubt that the excuse for what happened was a s

“It was ht?”

“…… Yes”

“I heard Duo’s voice in the Holy Jail He was shouting… that he didn’t care what happened to him and that he just wanted Rin saved”

Perhaps she should have confronted him the moment she heard his voice

Most likely that would have already been too late Because it was after Rin had been executed by Celiastina’s orders Even so, if she had talked to hi more than her conceit, but perhaps he wouldn’t have done soain

“…… Asyut, could you let o home now”

Yuna th And yet Asyut, who received those words, did not move at all

“Please, I want to be alone”

Right now, she couldn’t bear to be beside anyone Yuna tried to keep back, one way or another, the part of her that wanted to lash out unreasonably She wanted to throw an outburst, she wanted to hit soer and irritation that had no outlet

But Asyut did not leave

“Lady Celiastina, if it is your command, then even the laws of this country can be overruled”

It was a quiet voice

“If you say you do not want that person to be executed then no one, no matter who they are, would be able to lay a hand on him”

“…… But, but, just then–“

“Yes, Siegcrest and I opposed that Because we believe that one should refrain fro one’s authority like that If one passes their own unreasonable dereat animosity frocrest said, this could also expose you directly to danger”

“……”

At Asyut’s voice, which was persistently calht back to calmness

“It is necessary for you to understand your own position crest as the vice-captain of the Order of Holy Knights, cannot so easily accept your selfish requests on the spot, or else the displeasure of the people there will be aht now, the royal palace is like a microcosm of the relationshi+p between this country and the saint”

“…… That may be true, but–“

“Do not think that things will go well as long as one follows their morals”

“……”

Yuna lowered her head and bit her lip Asyut wasn’t wrong A death penalty on those orked to harm an i Duo in that case was the proper course of action She herself thought that she shouldn’t brandish around the saint’s authority, and she agreed with Asyut and the others that doing that wouldn’t be desirable

–But

“Even so, I want to spare that person”

Hearing those words, Asyut quietly closed his eyes

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t let that happen no matter what If someone important to me had been hurt, then I’d be the saive the saint”

Haltingly, she changed the whirlpool of thoughts inside her into words As he heard her words, Asyut’s face twisted as if in pain

“Lady Celiastina, you are the saint of this country You cannot s”

“No, that’s not it Like I said before, I cannot be the “saint” when someone’s life is concerned”

“Lady Celiastina”

“Asyut, you would understand that person’s feelings, right? You wouldn’t be able to forgivearound the royal palace looking like I owned the place, right? Please, say it Say that you won’t execute that person”

Asyut shook his head That his expression looked like he was about to cry was surely just her iination

“…… You really have lost your memories, haven’t you”

“Eh?”

Nevermind, he only answered in a low voice

“I ranted to me Even when a person’s life is concerned Lady Celiastina, please withdraw your words If you do not, then ill only continue to talk past each other”

“I can’t do that! If you say my orders are absolute then, please, spare that person If he is in jail, then release him immediately!”

“You have been told repeatedly that doing so will change the entire atmosphere in this royal palace If, by some chance, there is an increase in the people ish to harm you then we arded as dangerous after the liberation of the Holy Jail And yet this situation happened e had been paying close attention to him so that he would not come near you What will happen if the royal palace falls into even more confusion?”

“But if that person was executed here, the animosity everyone feels towards me won’t disappear In that case, even if that person is saved–“

“Lady Celiastina, you do not seem to understand the influence your words have on the common people Not just you, but that person– people’s vieards Duo will certainly change You, who has ordered people to be executed without any hesitation up to now, suddenly spares Duo unconditionally then everyone will speculate as to what means Duo used or what kind of relationshi+p he has with the saint”

“……”

“To Duo that would bething for him, would it not?”

–She hadn’t thought about that It’s true that to Duo there ht be bad rumors spread And if that happened, then it would cause him a lot of pain But was that more important than life and death? …… She didn’t knohat she should do

“In any case, please rest for now I do not think a conclusion will be reached even if we continue to talk like this Duo will not be executed today or tomorrow, so please consider the best course of action carefully”

Asyut straightened his posture again and inclined his head slightly As he lowered his head, his eyes did not connect with Yuna’s It ht be that Asyut himself had doubts Yuna sed the words that had reached her throat and soed to nod

After Asyut left the room, Yuna laid down on her wide bed She felt like all the strength in her body left her Turning onto her back, she stared hard at her canopy Fine patterns were gathered together toat it for such a long time, but she started to see an optical illusion of the pattern htly

Duo’s situation was devastating It was the first time she had been faced with such intense hatred Up to now, she had met with people who had been hurt by Celiastina’s follies But each and every one of the in contact with her Was everyone actually holding violent urges just like Duo?

(Why did things come to this point?)

Yuna clenched her hands on the white sheets She felt like she was undeserving of the sensation of the soft and slippery sheets

(Celiastinahard about cos before they got to this point?)

As she thought this, she was suddenly assaulted by a feeling of nausea Insuppressible feelings of violent anger and hate attacked Yuna

It was so intense that, even now, Yuna felt like she was going to be sed up

(In truth, even you don’t want Duo to die, right? Celiastina)

Even as she tried talking, no words were returned However, there was a “feeling” clearer than words that hit Yuna directly

“……”

Yuna slowly sat up She scooped up her long hair with flowed down and spilled across the sheets into one tight bundle And then she took the bell placed on top of a table and rang it without hesitation

“Lady Celiastina, you called?”

Nasha ile nod and, while wrapped a stole around herself, faced Nasha

“Nasha, I’m sorry but I have a request…… Could you call Aeneas here foranyone else know”

“…… I-Is so the matter?”

“I want to head out for a bit But it’d be bad foris called, I think we’ll stand out too much”

“Where will you be heading?”

Nasha asked in a troubled way Of course, Nasha knew that there was an attempt on Yuna’s life She was sure that the people around her had been warned not to let her go out recklessly Sorry, Yuna mumbled in her mind

“I’ll definitely come back soon, so… please”

“……”

Nasha kept silent at Yuna’s unusual attitude She , in this short ti and whether she should report this to Asyut or Linus Nasha stood still but, at the end, gave a nod

“I understand Please wait a moment I will call him immediately”

She bowed before leaving the room And then, within moments, Aeneas appeared in a soldier’s uniforlance, he looked like a high-ranking noble

“Aeneas, what’s with those clothes?”