Chapter 7 - 1.5 - The True Hero (part 1)

Chapter 7 - 1.5 - The True Hero (part 1)

Pale-blue-haired knight POV:
My name is Mizoe Auequas, I am one of the knights serving under the great duke Espine.
As you may have noticed I have a surname so I'm a noble but no middle name, meaning that my family isn't very important - it never had a strong position in the country, hence none of my relatives, even the distant ones, have a middle name.
I am the fourth son of the Auequas family and I never had a chance for inheriting the title of the family head because even though I wield water attribute magic, because of my lacking mana pool every spell that I produce is laughably weak.
...not that I am in a particularly good relationship with any of those relatives, honestly...
The thing is, even since a young age the only thing I was any good at was my physical prowess – I dare say that I even have a tiny bit of talent for the sword - so that became the focus of my studies, many of my schoolmates secretly laughed at me behind my back, thinking I can't hear them but that never really bothered me.
There was no use for me to make any connections as I was never going to get into politics anyway. Thanks to my extensive training after graduating from the Aspakeony Academy I managed to become a knight under a highly respected instructor and it just so happened that duke Espine was searching for new knights because his family was going to grow bigger.
I enlisted without an ounce of hesitation and to my overwhelming delight, I was accepted. After the official ceremony at which I pledged my life to duke Espine's family, I became one of their official knights.
My colleagues turned out to be amazing people and I was very proud to hew such excellent seniors. I cannot stay silent about the duke Espine himself either! Even though his position was much higher than my own he always treated me kindly and never discriminated or laughed at me, on contrary, it seemed that he was content with having a lower noble such as myself as a knight and he would always tell me to hold my head high!
Four months after I became employed the first child of the duke Espine was born. It was a healthy baby girl.
At first, the duke was worried because his child's hair and eyes were black, which was usually an indication of darkness attribute.
That was an overbearingly worrisome matter because darkness magic is the most troublesome, it has the greatest consequences if used incorrectly and is the least convenient. Some even dare to say that it's an attribute good only for perverts or assassins who are both unbecoming of a noble while reaching back to the tragedy that happened around three hundred years ago when a group of darkness magicians assassinated all but a single member of the royal family of that time.
Because of that, the royal magician was called over to perform the magic check on the toddler. And after doing so, to the great surprise of everyone, including himself, he declared that the duke's daughter doesn't possess the darkness attribute, on the contrary, she will be able to wield a wind attribute of unprecedented strength, she won't have any troubles in competing against the nobles with the light attribute, her hair and eyes weren't indeed black, they were just of such deep shade of green that for the human eye they seemed completely black.
Do I even have to say how much everyone rejoiced hearing that sort of news?
Duke threw a great party and announce the joyous news to everyone.
Now, when over five years have already passed, I couldn't even imagine my life outside of serving Espines.
These days both duke Espine and the duchess, lady Misena, often tease me about staying single.
But I devoted all my love towards the Espine family and I don't feel the need to search for a wife, especially not at such an important time.
It has been decided by king Rozulius Rezulius Bellcephora and duke Espine that the first prince and the duke's daughter will become engaged to each other and I was one of the knights who were chosen to escort the little lady Espine for the first meeting with the first prince in the royal castle.
...
...and to my eternal shame, we were attacked on the way to the castle by a large group of ruffians... We all fought them back will all we had and the bandits dispersed, but...
As we opened the door of the carriage the little lady should be we only found the corpse of her female attendant with a dagger sticking out of her chest.
Curse us for choosing the shortest route through the slums! Curse us for being overconfident in our strength!
Without a moment to spare we sent the youngest amongst us to deliver the message to the king, the rest of us split up and started searching everywhere for any traces of the little lady.
I couldn't forgive myself for allowing such a thing to happen...!
The only child of Espine family got kidnapped!
I cannot atone for such things with even with my life if by any chance harm will befall the little lady...!
I shudder at the thought.
If I allow it to happen even a thousand death won't be enough of a punishment!
As I and my junior Holke were checking the shacks that were passing for houses in this place and interrogating the inhabitants I was approached by a child.
It was a boy around five maybe six years old but one look at him almost broke my heart.
This black-haired child hasn't even had proper clothes and was covering his body with rags.
As rags don't give much of a cover I could see his ribs sticking out, and his limbs looking like dried twigs.
How could anyone drive a child to such a state?
There was not even a trace of baby fat on his sunken cheeks and his eyes black, lifeless eyes were looking at me pleadingly.
He was pulling on the scabbard of my sword so weakly that I barely felt it, he tried to say something but he was having trouble breathing.
I felt my eyes stinging.
I was a battle-hardened knight by that point but I almost cried at the sight of this poor little thing. Without hesitation I took out my purse, I intended to give this child everything I had on me, so I opened my purse and barely held back a curse...
Five copper coins, is this a joke?
On this trip I haven't taken money, everything was provided so there was just no need, I only carried this purse with a few copper coins so they would make a sound so that people wouldn't say that the duke's knight was poor.
But... Five coins...?
My throat was dry, one could buy two cheapest loaves of already stale bread and maybe a glass of milk for that if the shopkeeper was generous, but that child doesn't need a damn single meal! He needs proper care!
But it's not something I can provide him with.
Not in this situation.
Felling like the filthiest piece of garbage I offered him the coins and told him I don't have time.
The emaciated boy didn't even glance at the offered money and pulled the scabbard of my sword with greater urgency.
And he said that he knows where is the girl who looked exactly like little lady Espine!
I dropped to my knees and held the painfully skinny shoulders.
Dear god, this child was practically a skeleton covered in skin...!
I asked him if what he said was true and he confirmed, he looked genuinely terrified and worried about the girl he didn't even know.
I decided to go with him but Holke tried to stop me saying it could be a trap. But my heart was already wavering and I said some stern words to him.
And so I followed the child, alone.