If Elaine’s eyes were full of fire, then inside Hadjar’s gaze, something… awakened. Not the dragon. It was still sleeping in the depths of his eyes, curled up and only lazily opening its own eyes every now and then. And yet, something had changed dramatically in Hadjar. He didn’t shift his stance, didn’t even make a single movement. Energy storms and elemental whirlwinds didn’t spring up around him. All the same, he became more deadly. As if his entire ‘self’, his whole being, had rejected the mundane and craved only one thing —battle.
Hadjar would never allow himself to injure his own sister. Nevertheless, he wanted to see how much stronger he’d become. If the Princess was offering some ‘friendly sparring’ to help him test his might, he wasn’t going to refuse.
Elaine raised her white sword. The gigantic, fiery blade hanging above the Princess’ head echoed her actions.
Hadjar put his palm on the handle of Moon Beam. As he did so, the wind lifted some grass into the sky. These blades of grass began swirling around him. Around Elaine’s feet, a circle of fire had burnt the greenery away, but Hadjar stood surrounded by freshly cut grass.
When the flame and the grass collided, a look of shock appeared on Elaine’s face. She’d felt a thin, almost imperceptible sword strike hiding among the seemingly innocuous grass. However, she’d sensed so much... sword energy in this ghostly strike that Elaine’s heart missed a beat.
The grass cut through the fire as easily as if it had never existed at all. None of the green blades summoned by Hadjar’s attack were even charred. The wind died down, the fire disappeared into beautiful ruby petals, and the blades of grass dispersed like a green rain.
They stood still.
It began to rain, gradually extinguishing the fire in the village.
The Princess looked at the sword still resting in the General’s sheath. She hadn’t even managed to see him drawing and sheathing it.
“What are you fighting for, General?” She asked.
Her exhausted voice was drowned out by the noisy rain. She wasn’t the first person to ask him that. Hadjar couldn’t give her an honest answer yet. He didn’t know.
He pulled a raincoat out and angled it over his head.
“Come here, my Princess,” Hadjar suggested. “The smoke from the fire was visible for miles around. I’d bet my head that Ner... I mean, Prince Eren, is already on his way here.”
Elaine nodded and got under the cover quietly. She didn’t agree with the General, but could understand him. In spite of everything, for some reason, she trusted this dark-haired young swordsman. She felt calm around him. Like she was home.
Together, they sat down on the ground. She lay her head on his shoulder as Hadjar covered them from the rain and wind. They waited like that until the galloping of several horses was heard in the distance.
Chapter 222
adjar was woken up by the cold feeling of danger. Developed over the years and through his many misadventures, it was now howling like a siren. Throwing away his cloak, Hadjar looked around. A dust cloud was approaching from the east, and behind it was the halo of dawn, painting the sky in golden hues.
Apparently, they had slept through the night since Nero and the search party had managed to reach them. The burnt village was a good ways off from the pit they’d fallen into.
“Wake up, my Princess.”
Hadjar turned to Elaine. Like a little girl, she reluctantly opened her eyes and started rubbing them. She didn’t immediately realize that, as she’d slept, her mouth had opened slightly and a thin, transparent stream of drool had gathered in the right corner of her mouth. Sensing something amiss, she immediately wiped it off and turned away, her face turning red.
Hadjar smiled. Once upon a time, she’d have fallen asleep on his shoulder almost every night. Elaine had refused to listen to a fairytale if her older brother hadn’t been nearby.
The General rose and helped the Princess up. He put the cloak around his shoulders and fastened it with an iron pin. He turned toward the black, smoking ruins. His heart still ached, but it felt better than it had last night.
“Elaine!” A familiar voice shouted.
Dirty and tired, Nero rode up to his sister and, jumping off his horse to the ground, embraced her tightly. Elaine returned the hug just as enthusiastically.
“Wait,” Nero whispered. He pulled away from his sister and began to examine her carefully. “How are you? Are you okay? Have you hurt yourself?”
“Eren!” The cheered up girl smiled instantly. “I’m not a baby. I can stand up for myself.”
Nero completely ignored her protests and still examined her carefully.
“So, you rushed in to embrace the girl, but don’t want to even shake your friend’s hand,” Hadjar grumbled.
Nero looked at him over Elaine’s shoulder and grinned wryly.
“While you’re covered in blood and dirt? It’s the standard appearance of the Mad General, I’ll grant you, but still, no thanks.”
“Don’t you want to feel me, too? Maybe I have a bump?”
“You can feel your bump yourself, you madman.”
“Eren!” The Princess exclaimed, her face cherry red.
“Sorry, sister, that’s just how we are.”
By that point, the rest of the group had ridden up. Oneg led them. By now, the elegant and dignified disciple of the Imperial school had managed to forget his recent shame. He was once again looking at Hadjar like he was an insect. Jumping off his horse, he rushed up to the General and grabbed the front of his shirt.
“Bastard!” The aristocrat howled. “What did you do with the Princess?”
This outburst shocked Hadjar, as well as the Prince and Princess. The three of them stared at Oneg, wondering what was wrong with him. How brave or stupid was he to treat the Mad General like this? The young man perceived the shocked silence as weakness and decided to keep going.
“Princess, are you all right? Did this peasant touch you? Did he bother you?”
Elaine didn’t even manage to answer before Oneg, obviously
