Rest in Peace, Along with My Innocence and Weakness

Another world.

Eager to return, Tina set foot on the land of Glittering Sand once more.

The town I remember is no longer the same as it used to be.

Just a few days ago, this was a bustling port town, relying on trade and crop cultivation for its economy. Pedestrians thronged the area, and the residents lived a prosperous and peaceful life.

The Good Family ruled this place, accumulating a great deal of wealth, and thus became one of the wealthier viscountries in the empire. They were able to recruit and support more than twenty knights, and even maintain a regular army of more than one hundred men and a larger militia reserve, thus maintaining peace in the area.

A place that is both stable and prosperous is the paradise that ordinary people of this era dream of.

But that's all in the past.

Now it is desolate and ruined, as if it had been plundered by vicious bandits. Carrion vultures circle in the sky, the streets are deserted, many houses are broken, the port and docks have been burned to the ground, the bones of the dead on the streets are left uncollected, and the central crossroads are piled with layers of human heads.

"I recognize this method of deterring the enemy; in Cathay, it's called 'Jingguan' or 'Wujun'."

A clear, slightly hoarse female voice rang out.

Her dazzling golden hair shone like the blazing sun, veiled by a silver headdress. Blue gemstones adorned the headdress and between her eyebrows. A deep blue cloak and battle suit enveloped her mature and voluptuous figure. The woman who spoke stood straight as a sword, her presence as imposing as a snow-capped mountain, cold and precipitous, making it impossible to look directly at her.

She raised her hand and pointed, and the mound of corpses exploded, revealing the bodies, limbs, and weapons inside. The woman glanced at the skeletons and equipment, then at the heads, and said, "Not civilians, not regular soldiers, and certainly not members of the Good Family. It seems they were bandits..."

She flicked her fingers, and the pile of corpses exploded. "Judging from the location and appearance of the fatal wounds, some died in direct combat, some died in ambushes, some died while fleeing, and some died after being subjected to brutal torture and torment. The nature of the wounds is highly consistent: burns, axe blows, impacts... Although these methods are chaotic, they were all done by the same person, consistent with what we asked earlier."

The woman drew a conclusion.

"I didn't believe you before, but I do now, Tina. That Cathayan you met on the Holy Seal Archipelago is an extremely powerful person."

"His physical strength wasn't particularly great, but he compensated for this deficiency with extremely ruthless and decisive methods, exquisite tactics, and a strong ability to make on-the-spot judgments. Furthermore, he must have been adept at manipulating people's hearts with fear to achieve such results..."

She exclaimed, "Most importantly, despite having experienced such an ordeal, the townspeople's accounts clearly reveal the madness and murderous intent in his heart. Yet, despite being surrounded and chased by the townspeople that night, he didn't allow the bandits to plunder the town and slaughter civilians. Instead, he killed all these scumbags. Whatever his motives, such behavior deserves praise and admiration."

Drawing the sword is not difficult; the difficulty lies in sheathing it.

Not everyone can earn the praise of the Sword Saint Cascading Snow.

At this moment, she was praising a Cathayan she had never met. "He single-handedly destroyed a viscountry, and he did so through strategy and wisdom, not pure brute force... Unbeatable crushing is nothing but bullying the weak; it is the weak who triumph over the strong that is worthy of praise. It's such a pity I couldn't witness it with my own eyes... Tina, I'm very interested in him."

But Princess Goth showed no sign of joy.

Even though she hated the Goode family and vowed to avenge those who died that night, seeing the Viscount's territory in ruins and hearing from the townspeople that a demon had summoned hellfire to raze Glittering Sand Manor to the ground, she felt no joy whatsoever.

Because she knew the price behind it.

The girl stared blankly, tears streaming down her face.

"The knight is gone..."

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow, Tina's aunt, was taken aback, then said, "The Prime Minister's son? The townspeople didn't seem to mention that. Perhaps he helped with this revenge..."

Tina shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"No... it must be because the knight died that Kang De became like this."

Tears streaming down her face, she sobbed, "Kang De wasn't like this before. He's never killed anyone. The knight and I didn't want him to have any blood on his hands, but he's become like this. It's all my fault. If I hadn't brought him here, if I hadn't trusted the people here so easily..."

The Sword Saint was startled, then murmured, "His first kill turned out like this? Tina, I'm becoming more and more interested in him..."

She immediately realized that now was not the time to say that.

So he quickly reassured her, "The situation isn't as bad as you think. Maybe it's just the townspeople's side of the story. Let's go to the manor and see if we can find anything."

She wiped away Tina's tears, sighing inwardly at the capriciousness of fate.

Fate is cruel. Teldrassil's most beautiful and beloved jewel, raised in the care of her father and relatives, never encountered true darkness, yet in the end, she still saw the reality clearly amidst conspiracy and betrayal.

"Stop crying. If what you say is true, and this is your friend's first time killing someone, then the pain and despair he feels after taking revenge must be beyond your imagination."

"We need to find him as soon as possible... He must really need comfort from his friends right now."

She didn't say the second half of her sentence.

If the Prime Minister's son is indeed dead, then Tina is probably the last friend of that Cathayan.

Upon hearing this, Tina quickly wiped away her tears, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes.

She nodded quickly. "Yes!"

Having witnessed all of this, she couldn't wait to see Kang De.

I want to give him a hug, to hold him close, to share his pain, to snuggle up to him, to warm and heal each other's cold and sorrowful hearts.

She and her aunt rushed to the Glittering Sand Manor.

Seeing the ground ravaged by the fire, looking at the ruins, the once beautiful and elegant manor had been reduced to ashes, and charred corpses were everywhere.

It was like hell on earth.

There's someone there.

Tina was initially delighted, but then her expression fell.

Not Kang De.

Instead, she was a disheveled woman, her clothes, though once luxurious, were now filthy, covered in mud and black stains. She knelt on the ground, her cries and laughter mingling like those of a night owl.

Sometimes she cries, sometimes she laughs, and sometimes she mutters to herself.

Tina approached and recognized the woman.

She murmured, "Aunt Susanna..."

Lady Samuel, the mistress of the Viscount's estate, perhaps the Viscount had made preparations in advance, or perhaps she escaped for some reason, but for her, it was a more terrible thing than hell.

She saw her home, her husband, her children, and everything turn to ashes.

Almost overnight.

For a moment, Tina was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. She didn't know how she should face this woman. In the past, this elegant and kind lady had been very good to her. The two corresponded frequently, and she would confide in her dear Aunt Susanna about any troubles she had, and the other would always give her a patient and wise reply.

And now...

Her gaze fell, and suddenly froze.

Aunt Susanna was holding a headless corpse in her arms. The blood had turned black and even smelled foul, attracting flies. Judging from the armor, it was undoubtedly Knight Lost.

And next to it, there was a head.

An axe was embedded in his skull.

Tina recognized the axe.

Although its appearance had changed to some extent, and the wooden handle gleamed with a metallic sheen, it was indeed Kang De's axe... Tina rushed forward.

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow followed, her powerful gaze falling on the corpse and weapons as she assessed the circumstances of the fight. Suddenly, she noticed a strangely shaped small sword clutched in the corpse's left hand...

The woman was taken aback at first, then her expression changed drastically. While Tina was looking at the axe, she reached out and grabbed the small sword, then hid it behind her back.

But it was too late.

"Aunt..."

Tina turned her head and stared at her without moving.

What is that?

She said, "Please let me see it."

His tone was calm, and his gaze was calm as well.

Even a swordsman as powerful as him was shaken when faced with that gaze.

"Tina..."

Her Highness repeated, "Please let me see it."

The other person gritted his teeth, sighed, and slowly took out the sword.

Death Coil, the Blade of Curse —though not a world-renowned treasure, Tina, with her vast knowledge, couldn't possibly fail to recognize it... a weapon coveted by assassins.

Tina stared blankly at the sword.

The sword had lost the wondrous glow that lingered in the Shadow.

That powerful cursed divine force is no longer present.

Connecting this to Lost's body, the girl knew what it meant.

She murmured, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."

No wonder Kang De left behind this axe.

No wonder Kang De left no information.

Her body trembled, her eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

Auntie whispered, "Tina..."

The girl didn't reply, nor did she cry.

He just stood there quietly.

A very, very long time.

Then his body swayed.

The woman tried to help her up, but Tina waved her away. She snapped out of her daze, as if waking from a beautiful but long dream, and murmured, "Auntie, I'm alright, it's just..."

The princess whispered, "How sad..."

Is this what growing up feels like?

"Before deciding to go on this mission, I said I wanted to grow up, I wanted to do something for Goth and my father, instead of being protected by others, I wanted to be a hero. But along the way, those who protected me kept dying, and those I wanted to protect failed to be protected. I accomplished nothing, and everyone is gone now..."

"Auntie, am I really useless?"

Everyone else is doing what they need to do, but I'm still living in a dream...

"That's... really wrong."

She turned around and grasped the handle of the Tomahawk that Kang De had left behind with both hands.

The axe blade was embedded in Lost's hard skull.

She stretched out her foot, stepped on the knight's already somewhat rotten head and face, and pulled it out forcefully.

He pulled out the axe and held it in his hand.

Seeing this, the madwoman Susanna happily placed her son's head on her body, overjoyed.

The princess calmly looked at her, waited for her to laugh for a while, then picked up the axe and walked over.

"Aunt Susanna."

She said calmly, "You've been very good to me, and I've considered you a very close person. We were once very, very good friends, just like Teldrassil and Goode."

"I've been thinking about this too. Did you know anything about it that night? If you did, what was your attitude? If you didn't know, what would you have done? I've been thinking about this a lot."

But it's pointless now.

"None of us live just for ourselves."

"Between us, it's not Aunt Susanna and niece Tina, but Goode and Teldrassil. The ways of the world are complicated, but in reality, they're also very simple."

Sometimes, we all have to do things, even if it's painful.

"Some things, if Good does them, Teldrassil will respond."

"But there's one thing you must remember: what I'm about to do isn't to bring you peace, nor is it to relieve your suffering. The real reason is actually just one thing."

The girl said softly, "Because that night, my husband said he was going to kill your whole family, and I heard it. He was a man of his word, but something unexpected happened, and he's gone now, but I'm still alive. So, I'll finish what he didn't have time to do for him."

Tina gripped the axe with both hands and swung it down with a sudden chop.

It wasn't an axe blade, but a window-breaking spike.

It crashed down.

It struck Susanna's left shoulder.

The sound of bones shattering rang out.

The madwoman let out a scream and instinctively tried to jump up to dodge, but Tina's second axe swung horizontally and struck her right arm.

The second sound was a bone fracture.

At this point, Susanna's arms were completely useless.

The crazed woman fell to the ground, screaming and wailing loudly, and lay back on the ground.

Tina looked at her, tossed the axe aside, and smiled.

Then, like a fierce lioness, she pounced on him bare-handed.

He pinned Susanna to the ground.

Those slender, jade-like hands once pruned enchanting flower branches, painted beautiful pictures, brewed fragrant tea, and wrote captivating poems.

Now, however, he has a woman in his throat.

Tighten it forcefully.

Seize it.

Susanna struggled fiercely.

Mad people often possess immense strength, especially when their lives are in danger. However, Tina had already severed both of her arms beforehand, so even her fierce struggles were futile.

The elegant princess, with strength from who-knows-where, pressed down on the other person firmly.

Watching that crazed face gradually become ferocious, its color turning red and then purple, witnessing even more intense physiological changes—saliva, eyeballs, face, everything.

She whispered, "Rest in peace, Aunt Susanna, with my weakness and naiveté."

Is that alright?

I will never allow myself to make another mistake.

I will never lose anyone again.

After a very long time, Tina released the corpse beneath her.

Slowly stand up.

"Aunt, we need to go back to Goth. There's no need for this trip to the capital anymore. I want to make what's happening here public. Goth is in deep trouble, but the scandal involving the Good Family is enough to change the political landscape of the capital. I want to use this power to recruit volunteers along the way and secretly make contact with the Crown Prince's opponents... If the Empire refuses to send us reinforcements, then we'll find a way to raise our own."

She picked up the axe and held it in her hand.

The Sword Saint Cascading Snow nodded silently.

"But before that, there's one more thing to do."

Tina said, "Let's sweep the Good Family cemetery clean, erase everything about the traitors—from this world, from history, from people's memories, everything."

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PS1: First update, 4,000 words! I'll write another one later.