Chapter 32: Caught Red Handed (4)

’Do I appear in his dreams?’ she wondered as she spread the blanket over him. Even if it was only a small part, she wanted to be there when he closed his eyes.

She made a move as to walk away, but she was drawn in by his sleeping face. He was so still. It contradicted her heart that drummed an erratic beat. She sat down on the floor beside him, accepting the cold of the floor as her warming blood spread through her body.

She’d only allow herself to stay for a minute. One minute, then she’d go back upstairs. No one liked a peeper. So she watched him for a minute, which turned into two, then into three. Then an idea popped into her head, holding her in place as her glowing eyes traced his thick lips. Christina brought her hands together and narrowed her eyes in thought. No one would know besides her, and if Thadius found out, he wouldn’t be to angry right? Of course not.

With unsteady breaths, she leaned over Thadius. Once she heard herself, she held her breath so as not to give herself away. She was so close.

“We talked about this Christina.” Thadius whispered softly.

Christina froze in place, but she didn’t retreat. She was too close to the goal to back down now, so she gazed shamelessly into the eyes of the man beneath her. “I remember…”

“Yet you’d still tempt a man beyond his limits.”

“I tempt a man who’s known for his self-control. I know he won’t hurt me.”

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Thadius narrowed his eyes. “There are other men out there. Why not give them a chance to win your affections?”

“There are other women for those men…”

Thadius sighed heavily. It was hard to deny the beauty that look down on him. Her eyes were as blue as the sky in midday, when the sun shined down and shared its warm with the world.

“My heart is full Christina. It’s filled with the love of those that once loved me. I won’t tell you we will never be, and I won’t lie and say that I don’t have feelings for you. But you must understand that even though I see you as a woman, it may be quite some time before I see you as ’my’ woman. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“Yes.” The only thing that mattered to her was that no one was in her way. Everything else could be settled with time. She reached down to lay claim to her prize, but Thadius beat her to it.

He held her head in his hands as she latched on to any part of him she could grasp. But It was over all too soon as Thadius parted to gaze into her eyes. “I won’t run from your feelings Christina. I’ve broken one heart too many by doing so. I may not be able to give you all that you desire right now, but you can depend on me to support and protect you.” Thadius said as he lay back down and smiled. “Thank you for the blanket.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Christina just nodded as she hurried back up the stairs, touching her lips as she burned the memory of her first kiss into her mind.

Thadius sighed as looked at the corner of the room. “You know Marshal, I probably would have been sleep if you hadn’t been standing there watching me.”

“So you knew...Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.” the man said as he walked over to sit in the chair by the fireplace.

“I’m surprised you didn’t step in sooner. If you were that worried, we could have stayed at an inn. No need to watch all night.”

“It’s not you Thadius. It’s old age. Christina’s grown now, but she’ll always be my little ball of sunshine.” Marshal said as he searched through his memories in the dying light of the fireplace.

“She wants to go with you to Todos, you know.”

“Is that so?”

“I trust you Thadius, but I don’t trust the kingdom. That city will tear you to pieces if you let it. I’m sure you’ll be fine, yet I can only see her getting into some sort of trouble or dying from some unfortunate happenstance. I’d try to stop her, but she’s too much like her mother. She’ll follow you to the ends of the earth and then jump off with you if you hold her hand. She looks at you the same way Natalia looked at me, so it’s true. Neither of us will have a say in it.”

Thadius was silent. He truly didn’t know what to say.

“Just keep an eye on her for me Thadius. Can you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“...good. Then I best be off. Those pelts aren’t going to collect themselves.” Marshal declared as he rose up from his chair. He left just as silently as he appeared.

Now in the pitch black, Thadius pulled out a book from his inventory and started reading. The pages glowed softly into the night, highlighting the words written in blood.

---

Hammerrun, Sigurd Kingdom

A player was being stalked in broad daylight. As he kept to the shadows, trying to avoid detection, he completely missed the huntress that watched him from above.

The huntress was wearing leather armor underneath a glowing white robe, or what was left of it. The robe had been cut to waist length with the removed cloth being used as wrapping for her hands. The sleeves had been removed and discarded since they hindered her in a fight. Only the hood had been saved from the scissors, for it highlighted the glow of the menacing mark that arced over her left eye.

The walls of Hammerrun were high. They served as a perfect perch to watch the city. In his haste, the player had forgotten such a simple fact, and it would lead to his death.

He turned into an alleyway that led further into the city, further solidifying his end as the buildings around him increased in height.

The huntress leaped from rooftop to rooftop with practiced ease. She was looking for a sign, some clue as to whether her prey was worthy of the end she planned for him. Then the player looked back, momentarily revealing a neon red iris.

The huntress jumped down from the rooftop, using her weight and Barrier to crush the player into the ground. Then before he could recover and retaliate, she cradled his head. The resounding snap that followed marked the end of his life, a killing blow.

[Chaotic player killed.

+100 Alignment ]

Rosemary searched the body and found what she was looking for hanging around his broken neck; a necklace with a ring of mythril hanging from it.

She walked out from the dark alley into the crowded city streets. In the morning, the markets were busy, so it was quite easy for her to slip into the populace unnoticed. Even if it was only temporary. NPCs that recognized her called out their greetings.

"Momma look! The Red Hand!"

"Joshua don't point! Forgive him priestess, he's quite energetic in the morning."

Rosemary smiled at the boy, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "It quite alright. If anything, he gets all that energy from you Mrs.Roundtree."

The woman laughed, "I suppose he does! Come now, Joshua. The priestess has more important things to do!"

The boy and his mother walked away as she continued down the street.

"Ah! Sister Rosemary! Might I offer you an apple? This one is as red as your hair!"

"Red Hand, thank you for helping my brother. He was truly crushed when the Paladins turned him down."

"Well if it isn't the next High Priestess! Come inside and grab a bite to eat! It's on the house."

Rosemary smiled and waved as she turned down the offers. She was in no mood for pleasantries. She had quickly rose to become a full fledge Priestess. In the ceremony, Priestesses chose their primary God of worship and received a skill specific to that deity. Rosemary had shocked the congregation by choosing Tegaia and obtaining the unheard of Barrier skill. During the same ceremony, Priestesses could also take a vow of chastity, and anyone who made the vow received a Ring of Purity that boosted stats and helped to level skills and abilities of their holy class.

Everything had been fine at first. Rosemary did her duties diligently. When she'd finished her chores, she'd go to the training hall to work on her boxing. Then at night, when everyone else was asleep, she'd go to the library to read. She'd read nearly every book, burning through the lore and history of the world. She read books on etiquette and government that helped her improve her relations with her fellow priestesses in the temple and propelled her up the social ladder. It wasn't until she found one book in particular that the other priestesses and priest in the temple began to fear her.

In forgotten corner of the library, tucked away between a bookshelf and a wall, was 'The Art of Deduction'. Rosemary had read the book out of curiosity, but what she gained in return had shocked her.

[Perception (Static)

Using the senses of the mind to recognize and understand the psychological and aesthetic cues of the environment. Effectiveness increases with Intellect. ]

It was an extremely rare static skill. It didn't have any levels or ranks, which meant that it was only limited by her Intellect. Coupled with the fact that her Intellect had risen considerably from reading, it was something she had used immediately.