Knight Fantastic Night A13chapter 7 Part2

There's a Part 3 coming up. I can't wait to release it so I'll give you this chapter slice by slice. So here's Part 2.



Arthur picked up his fallen sword off the ground. His fingers icy cold, he raised his head and glanced at the red-stained mark on his blade. He kept his gaze locked onto it for sometime, and next thing he knew, he was overwhelmed by sadness. It was unbearable to the point that he needed to held back his tears. The grief pierced till the depths of his heart.

At the Dark Duke's camp.

The moment he saw the unconscious Lin Ling on Percival's arms, Duarte felt a hole opening up from within.

This strange feeling left him confused, and that made him fearful.

"What happened back there?" 

He frowned.

Percival summarised the entire ordeal, and moved aside.

As he carried Lin Ling away from Arthur's camp, her bleeding never stopped. Since the escape, she remained unconscious. It was the first time Percival felt helpless. This was the first he had felt this way while a.s.suming his evil persona.

In order to suppress this strange feeling, he changed the topic of conversation.

"Sir, when will you declare war on the Englishmen? If we were to continue this stalemate, it'll be harder for us to emerge victorious. Arthur's reinforcement will arrive tonight. Perhaps we should retreat back to Rome."

Duarte did not reply, but merely gestured for his dismissal.

Once Percival has left the room, Duarte tended to Lin Ling like he once did before. He cleaned her wound and bandaged it again. Perhaps Lin Ling was getting used to the pain, she begin to recover slightly. When she opened her eyes, she saw the very same person tending to her wounds. Unexpectedly, she did not show hostility at all, and instead, turned towards Duarte and with a low voice, she said, "Thank you!"

Duarte was stunned for a moment. He did something unexpected in return. He extended his arms and embraced that warm, fragile frame of hers. Surprisingly, she did not struggle at all. He stroked* her back gently. He can feel every sudden s.h.i.+vering she makes beneath his palm. Next thing he knew, he could feel her shoulders trembling very clearly.

TL: No innuendo intended. When you comfort someone, you would give them a hug and gently pat/stroke their backs.

Tears began to flow like a tap with no faucet. Lin Ling sobbed quietly like a child hara.s.sed by bullies.

Even when she heard about Arthur's engagement, or when she was accused and imprisoned, Lin Ling remained steadfast. Even more so when the young king pointed a sword at her, the girl never once cried. She does not understand why tears are rolling off her cheeks so easily this time. She really does not understand why.

Why is she showing her weak side to an enemy?

Duarte's silver eyes looked at her pitifully. He hugged her even tighter. He listened to their rhythmic heartbeat, not knowing who it belongs to. 

He does not understand just why is he feeling this grief.

Thus, he whispered gently next to her ear. 

"Lin Ling, come with me to Rome*."

TL: Let's elope, Lin Ling! Let's go somewhere where no one knows about us! Let's make black haired and silver eyed babies!

Rome. Hearing the name of this place, Lin Ling s.h.i.+vered. She merely shook her head helplessly in the dark as though trying to deny it all. She does not want to see, she does not want to listen.

Lin Ling was woken up by a sudden cold draft. She propped herself up from an impressively large and embellished bed. She looked around in a panic. Stunning Italian Rennaisance paintings* hang on the walls, and cabinet decorated in gold ribbons* was placed in the room. Every object in the room is grandiose. She put on her clothes and gingerly stepped out of the bed. Lin Ling then noticed that the window was open and the very same cold breeze rushed into the room. A magnificient white wedding dress placed right in front of the window was in a disarray from the gush of wind. Out the window, it was pitch black.

TL: Not exactly from the Renaissance, just that the words used to describe the paintings seem to point more to the Renaissance ones. No idea about the cabinet one.

Perhaps it was due to her constant denial, she continued sleeping all this while. Perhaps it was her way of escapism, to avoid facing the truth.

Sometimes she slept far too long to the point that reality and dreams are the same to her.

Even if she woke up, she can feel her dreams becoming her reality, and reality is not endearing at all.

But if she does not wake up, her reality will not continue.

The door was pushed open all of a sudden. A tall silhoutte towers over her from behind. Perhaps it was due to the person's oppressive aura, Lin Ling did not bother to turn around. She already knew who it is.

"You're looking better." 

No emotions can be felt from Duarte's low tone.

"Hey, what do you want to do with me?" 

She can barely raise her throaty voice. 

"I believe Xiao Per has already told you about this, but Arthur and the rest don't remember me anymore. I have lost the value of a hostage to you. I don't understand why would you bring me with you to Rome."

"Whether the Englishmen remembers you or not, it is not important. As long as I remember, it's fine." 

He walked to her side. 

"The Romans are no stranger to the name 'Lion's Maiden'."

"Hey, so what am I to you here? A prisoner under house arrest?" 

Lin Ling turned over to lean on the windowsill. The autumn breeze blew past her cheeks.

"Prisoner? Of course not. The term 'comrade' is more accurate." 

The lighting was too dim to see his expression.

"What?"

"Someday, you'll realise joining my side is the correct choice. As for Arthur, since he has abandoned you, you should do the same to him. Don't you want to seek vengeance on him? Do you not want him to feel remorse for abandoning you? Make him realise how wrong he is to marry that woman! So, join me and we'll destroy everything that he has." 

WE HAVE COOKIES
This man truly is suave. He leaned towards her. Their distance is so near, anyone who saw the scene would a.s.sume that they were very close to each other.

When the other party held her wrist, Lin Ling could not feel any warmth from their touch. The cold tips of his seeped through the gaps of her broken heart. She struggled for a bit, but to no avail. Unable to break free, her gaze fell onto the ring Arthur gifted her.

"It may be unbearable for you, it may even cause you grief. You may even despair. Despite that, will you still choose to trust the other party? Will you still continue forward? Lin Ling..."

"I will. No matter what happens, I will believe in him like how he believes in me."

Merlin's words continued to haunt her once more. The silver ring on her finger hotter with time, as though rekindling* her hope.

TL: Woo! The Chinese here is 'keeping the hope burning'. Yea! Translation super on point!

She wants to protect everyone because their smiles are her greatest treasure. She wants everyone to be happy, because everyone is important to her. She refuse to give up like this. She refuse to let it end this way.

Which is why, Arthur... Will you please grant me courage, Arthur... Will you please give me a sliver of hope...

"My comrades are Arthur and his knights! Even if there were some misunderstandings, I will not give up hope! I refuse to join you! It's best that you let me go, or I'll escape from here myself!"