Two Letters III

Brando listened quietly to Viscount Test's account before replying, "You brought this upon yourself."

But he was actually quite shocked. Only now did he learn that the Lionheart Sword had gone through such an ordeal before reaching Freya. When he had first met Master Beru beneath Fir Castle, the Sage's Stone Tablet had suddenly resonated. Thinking back, the Circle of Unity must have activated the Lionheart Sacred Sword at that time. But they had been far too presumptuous. The Knight of the Lake who guarded the Lionheart Sword was Krentel, the knight commander at Ek's side. Even before becoming a heroic spirit, he had possessed strength no less than Mephisto's current power. After making his oath to protect it, the entanglement of his obsession would only have made his will to fight even stronger. For Test, merely a Gold Rank, to challenge such a monster truly could only be called seeking his own death.

Otherwise, if he had known back then that the Lionheart Sword was buried near the Lake of Mists, why had he not gone there directly? Why had he gone to such lengths to obtain the Sage's Stone Tablet?

Speaking of that legendary knight at Ek's side, he suddenly remembered that the fellow who followed Freya like a Ghost had been appearing less and less often lately. This seemed to indicate that the Lionheart Sword had fully acknowledged Freya as its master. These days, he could only occasionally catch a glimpse of that knight in Fir Castle's courtyard. The castle servants had even begun treating the knight's fleeting appearances as a ghost story about the castle.

After hearing Brando's assessment, Test did not refute him. He replied in a weathered voice, "You are right, Count. I did bring this upon myself. Now I have even forgotten my