The Iron Maiden

Part 19

"I'll take the liberty of checking your Arcana first"

The old lady says as she takes an old set of cards

"Arcana? Where have I heard that before?..."

Raiden understandably looked confused. It was no wonder to Lia that a sheltered kid like him doesn't even know such a thing

"My lord, The Arcana is basically a set of cards with the figures of famous legends from different countries engraved on it"

Lia stated in a matter of fact tone

Knowing that Dina was the one that create this world, Lia was sure that this was taken from her old world or something. After all, it was basically just like tarot cards

"Hoho...I'm surprised that a youngster like you knows that. Arcana is an old tradition that is almost lost in time after all"

'True...But it's extremely famous back at Victoria'

Lia thought back at the fond...Or rather...Embarrassing moments she had back at her home

The old lady on the other hand began skillfully shuffling the cards. The speed and technique that she used were so proficient and beautiful that even Lia couldn't help but be impressed. She had learned how to shuffle cards back home, but not even she could do it in such a manner

At the same time, however, her admiration was accompanied by fear. She may have sworn in the name of Dina, but Lia still wasn't sure on whether or not she can fully trust her yet

'...Those cards could be a potential weapon. She only needs to add a bit of mana there and she can make that thing as sharp as a knife...And considering her range, It wouldn't take too much effort to slice of his neck...I need to be careful'

Lia scooted even closer to her master. Inside her sleeves was a knife that was ready to cut down the old lady at a moments notice

"...Oi, give me some space would you?"

Her master, however, scowled in response

Lia however just smiled and told him that she won't move an inch away from him no matter what he says

To which he embarrassingly hung his head down as he urged the old lady to continued

"Hoho...How fun it is to be young"

Chuckling slightly, The old lady brings down a card from the top of the deck

"That's..."

The card in question was a figure of a Knight that was wearing black armor. The figure was standing amidst a mountain of corpses as it kneels with a bloodied sword at hand. it was quite the disturbing sight

Lia immediately recognizes the legend that the card was portraying and couldn't help but thought to herself

'Sheesh...It's frightening how this thing is always so accurate'

"That right there is the Black knight"

"The black knight...You mean the one from the legends of the Empire?"

"...Exactly"

There was a legend that existed long ago after the Eight Great Families united the entirety of the western continent. It was the tale of the crazed and tyrannical warlord that resisted the occupation of the family alliance

Though there were many others that also resisted the rise of the Empire, this one was particularly famous for being the most troublesome one

It was said that the small land that the black knight was occupying managed to resist the Imperial invasion for over five years. It sounded pretty impressive at first, but that was far from the case