Re;Blade

Chapter 47 - After the battle

Alonso stared at Celia with a blank face. "Don't treat me like a child. I can still eat by myself..."

"Oh, you can? Please, show me." The noble lady flashed a cocky smile as she put the fork back on the plate.

Alonso shifted his gaze down to the utensil, staring at it like a foe. With his left arm immobilized, he only had his non-dominant hand. However, due to the wound on the forearm he received while getting the blood from the Grand priest, he could barely lift it above his chest, nowhere near close to his mouth. The only way to feed himself was if he bent his back, which sent shots of pain through his body.

Without any other option, he looked away.

"If you stop acting like a kid, I'll stop treating you like one." With a smile, Lia fed him a piece of the cooked meat. "I know you have your pride, but you should be happy there's a cute girl like me feeding you. Any man would be happy."

"Yeah. I'd be too, if you weren't my niece," Alonso muttered, chewing the food without looking at the girl.

"A young and beautiful woman not enough?"

"Young woman? Where? I only see a brat I know since she was born."

They looked at each other and then laughed together.

"Your dad would've strangled me if he heard you talking about that."

The girl flashed a sad smile as she fed him a cooked vegetable. "Yes... He even forbade anyone from talking about engagement for me..."

"And he was right. I doubt there's anyone here good enough for you... But he was a little crazy about that... He even didn't like when I joked about marrying you to my son."

"He didn't like you said it, but when mother talked, he didn't seem to dislike the idea."

"R-really? I had no idea that moron was considering..."

"Yes. And I agree with the idea. I like Ricardo. He's good and smart. And if I married him, that would make us a true family," she said with a shy smile.

Alonso pressed his lips. Though he would be lying if he said he never thought of the idea of finally becoming a real family with his best friend, the idea of his son marrying someone who was as pretty much his own niece made him feel weird. I treat her like my own daughter... It feels like marrying siblings...

Before he could say anything, someone knocked on the door of Alonso's chambers. "My Lord, may I come in?"

"Yes, Faela."

The general entered the room and bowed to the nobles. "We've finished searching the mines. We've found seventeen soldiers still alive. Their wounds are bad, but the healers believe they'll survive."

"How about worshipers?" Alonso asked in a grave voice.

"We found three still alive. They've been captured and brought to the prison. As instructed, their wounds haven't been treated."

"And what about the dead?"

"We've brought hundreds, but it's gonna take days to retrieve them all."

"Good. We need to study them and see what made them freakishly strong," Alonso said. "We need to know everything about them for when they come back..."

"We don't need all... Burn the rest and scatter the ashes away from mine lads. We don't need that here," Celia said in a commanding voice, her eyes empty.

"Yes, my lady." With a bow, Faela left the room.

"Lia..." Alonso wanted to pat the girl on the head, but with his arms wounded, he couldn't. "Hey, I'm still hungry."