PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

367 Chapter 367 How To Deal With The Canary

Nana had been educated to serve others; that was the sad fate of orphans adopted by the church, people like Cecilia being the few exceptions to the rule.

Sure, this was better than starving or freezing to death on the streets, but a life of servitude was still far from satisfying. One of the few consolations Nana had was that at least she didn’t have to serve the old perverts of the church who would no doubt abuse her given the opportunity.

In any case, serving others was what Nana had done all her life, so her current situation was utterly foreign to someone like her.

Desmond tended to make some tea to relax as a matter of habit, so he had brought along a tea set and some of Sasha’s unique herbal blends.

Trying to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth from the previous massacre, Desmond prepared the tea without delay, and this being something quite natural for him; Desmond also poured a cup for Nana as a courtesy.

For a moment, the gentle and refined air around Desmond gave Nana the strange illusion of being in the presence of a warm-hearted nobleman, but no matter how calm the smile on Desmond’s lips was, the coldness in his eyes remained intense.

That coldness in the deep blue of his eyes made Nana remember the nonchalance Desmond behaved while surrounded by corpses, that same smile on his lips as if none of that was his doing.

Regaining her composure and focus, Nana took her cup of tea with courtesy and well-practiced manners before taking a sip. To Nana’s surprise, the tea was surprisingly good, carrying a relaxing feeling that allowed her to let go of the tension that had been with her ever since she entered the room.

Looking at the satisfied expression on the girl’s face, Desmond remembered the first time he had had a similar reaction when he drank Sasha’s tea, bringing a sincere smile to his lips.

.....

That warm, vulnerable smile had overwhelming destructive power for an innocent maiden like Nana, who couldn’t help but blush at Desmond’s devilishly beautiful appearance.

Realizing her carelessness, Nana tried to calm her pounding heart with the tea before asking a question that had been on her mind for a few minutes.

“I understand why you called me here and that you seek my cooperation, but surely there were better times to do so, so you must have a specific reason for calling me right now; It is not like this?”

Letting the sweet taste slowly caress his taste buds, Desmond took a second to respond, “You’re right. It’s about the little canary that snuck out a few hours ago; Those ravens didn’t come uninvited.”

Despite Desmond’s strange use of bird names, Nana immediately understood what he was talking about; it was about Eria. A subject that even her mistress did not want to touch, perhaps because Cecilia still refused to accept how lonely her existence had become after being betrayed by one of her last trusted people.

However, how could the expressions on Nana’s face escape Desmond’s keen senses? The answer is that these didn’t; Desmond knew right away that the girl seemed to have more information than expected, so he decided to press the issue.

To his surprise, Nana’s expression turned complicated for an instant before the girl sighed helplessly as she began to explain the situation.

It’s worth mentioning that even Desmond didn’t expect both Nana and Cecilia to be aware of the spy in their ranks, but what left him completely speechless was Cecilia’s inability to deal with the girl named Eria.

Nana explained how the three of them had grown up together in the church orphanage and had been through a lot together before reaching their current situation. Apparently, Cecilia could not forget her affection for the girl, while Eria did not touch her heart by betraying her friend.

Desmond found it ridiculous; Cecilia had had the spy in her hands for a long time but never decided to do anything with her. Desmond knew it was due to those feelings from the past, but that was precisely why Desmond couldn’t understand it.

That betrayal should have been enough for Cecilia to brutally deal with the traitor, but instead, she could not lift a finger to defend herself against it. To Desmond, who was used to dealing swiftly and brutally with any threat, Cecilia’s approach seemed ridiculous to the extreme.

Even Nana shared Desmond’s opinion to a certain extent; at least, she believed something had to be done with the traitor, or the problems would keep coming. But that was where they both ran into a different issue.

Desmond had complete confidence that he could get all the information they needed from Eria before disposing of her cleanly, but doing so could make the conflict between him and Cecilia irreconcilable; the same he applied to Nana.

After some discussion, the duo concluded that Eria was a threat if they allowed her to continue hanging around Cecilia. In the same way, she had information that both Desmond and Nana needed to protect Cecilia, so obtaining that information was of vital importance.

But the original problem remained, and Desmond couldn’t torture the girl too brutally or kill her after it, or both he and Nana wouldn’t be able to bear Cecilia’s wrath.

Therefore Desmond devised a way to make the girl talk that would incur the least possible damage to Eria’s body and a way to get rid of her without having to kill her. Although the last part would require some cooperation from both Cecilia and Nana.

Having discussed the most immediate matters, Nana left the room to inform Cecilia about everything. Regardless of the deals, she made with Desmond, Nana’s loyalty was always with Cecilia.

Cecilia was quite annoyed at first, but after constant convincing from Nana, who insisted that such measures were necessary, Cecilia relented before leaving with an expression of extreme weariness.

Nana looked sadly at her friend’s lonely and frail back, swearing to herself that she would do anything to protect Cecilia, the woman she loved. With that last part being her biggest secret, Nana left the room to let Cecilia rest while she retired to her chambers to relax.

Back at Desmond’s side, Kyuru, in her childish form, clung to Desmond’s chest as the latter stared up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened.

At the end of the day, Desmond was a human being, and everything that had happened that day had left him exhausted, both physically and mentally.

“Katya could have let me rest even for a couple of days, tell me, Kyuru, what do you think will happen to Cecilia?”

About to fall asleep with Desmond’s heartbeat serving as a lullaby, Kyuru had a sleepy expression for a moment before responding with great sadness to Desmond’s question. “I guess what always happens in the television series is that she will be betrayed by the church who will make her a traitor or a martyr, although they will have to wait thirty days.”

Noticing the implied meaning in the fairy’s words, Desmond replied, “Well, they might as well try to kill me, which I think they will; After all, I am not invincible.”

Desmond’s voice was severe, and the sharp look on his face, from their confrontation today, Desmond was evident that nothing good would come from underestimating the people of this world.

If he had to face someone as strong as him, Desmond would be in serious trouble if the other party was armed with three-star class weapons and gadgets, which seemed quite possible.

But as always, Desmond was not consumed with worry, and instead, the battle intent within him burned with intensity, showing Desmond’s true nature hidden behind his smile.

However, before his predatory instincts kicked in, a question from Kyuru poured ice water on Desmond’s competitive mood.

“Desmond, do you plan to leave Cecilia after thirty days?”

The answer should have been yes, but Desmond couldn’t say it; no matter how much his logic told him the correct answer, every time Desmond thought about it, Cecilia’s lonely but warm image came to his mind.

No matter how much Desmond said that he despised saints and martyrs, seeing that beautiful girl in such an incomparably tragic situation did not cause Desmond any feelings of gloating.

How could he? Cecilia was precisely the kind of character Claire would admire, the young maiden with a pure heart and intentions surrounded by darkness waiting for the hero to save her.

But Desmond wasn’t a hero; he never would be. The image of that damaged child in front of the mirror haunted him, and no matter how much Desmond improved by accepting his past, that dirty and bloody child would not leave.

That boy would always be there to remind Desmond that no matter how much he tried to justify himself, he would always be tainted with blood and darkness, making him constantly aware that he would never be the kind of hero that Claire admired so much.

Perseus, Hercules, Susanoo, Arthur; Desmond grew up reading these and other legends to entertain Claire. From dragons to titans to gods, the books Desmond had read to Claire over the years had it all; but Desmond’s eyes had always looked with discomfort at the images that represented these characters and their heroic deeds.

Even the names, concepts, and images that Desmond used when developing skills were in one way or another related to these legends. However, Desmond used the monsters’ names, not the heroes, whether he did it consciously or not.

The whirlpool of negative emotions in Desmond’s chest was suddenly halted by a stream of incomparably warm and loving softness. Under the concerned but loving gaze of the faery, Desmond fell asleep.

“You will always be my hero, Desmond.” The fairy commented sadly before sleeping next to her beloved.

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