The woman was sitting in the centre of the room crying uncontrollably as she held unto a deformed baby.

When I saw its twisted and broken face, I knew it was… gone.

Even in the shallow light of the candles of the room, I could tell she must have given birth to it only hours ago.

I looked around, to see if anyone else was here with her, but she was on her own. Silika wasn’t here. Which was a relief of sorts. If she had seen what happened in this room… I don’t think any words in the world could have ever consoled her.

I slowly approached the woman, I couldn’t leave her like this even if she wasn’t the one I came for.

Her eyes shot up when she heard me and she grasped the child defensively. I stopped in my tracks.

“It’s okay!”

I tried to say reassuringly.

“I’m a friend! I’m here to take you out of here!”

She didn’t say anything, her eyes were hazy as she looked at me with a terrified expression.

I extended my hand, but she recoiled shielding her child.

“Don’t worry! The evil man is gone, he can’t hurt you anymore. Let’s go.”

I tried to say reassuringly.

“B– But! My baby...!”

I felt as though a bucket of ice water ran through my veins as she showed the remains of the infant.

I could feel emotions welling up within me, but if I let them out right now, I don’t think she would ever speak again.

I closed my eyes for a second to composed myself.

When I opened them again I looked straight at her with the most genuine smile I could muster.

“I’ll take care of him.”

I said as I extended my arms.

Every nerve in my body were screaming to withdraw my hands, but I held strong as the woman looked at me with a dazed expression.

Almost as if in a trance, she handed me the baby.

When I felt the weight in my arms my mind went blank.

Suddenly it didn’t matter that it had horns or that it had 4 arms. What mattered was that it was a child. A child whose life had been extinguished much before its time.

This feeling… This moment of holding a child for the first time…

“No, Marshal! That’s not how you do it! You’ll hurt her neck!”

Lilica scolded me.

“Her? What if it’s a boy?”

I said in a playful tone, much to her annoyance.

She snatched the doll from my arms.

“That doesn’t matter right now! You have to learn how to hold our baby properly if you want to be a good father.”

She said with a sigh.

“And it’s a her, I just know it…”

She said with a pout to which I raised my hands in defeat.

“Alright! Alright! She’s a girl. Just don’t come to me crying when it turns out it’s a boy!”

I said with a chuckle to which she growled in annoyance.

Still smiling, I slid along the bed and came to sit right beside her. I placed my hand on the growing bump under her robe.

“Have you thought of a name?”

I asked her as I once more borrowed the doll while she moved my arms in the correct position.

“Nuhuh. I decided we should wait!”

“Wait? What for?”

“Well, what if we named her Melisia and once we see her face for the first time she looks like a Catherine? No, no, no! That would be too sad! We should wait until she’s here.”

She said with a confident expression.

Evidently she had given the question a lot of thought.

“But what if you fall asleep? The midwife said that giving birth can be very exhausting, shouldn’t we have a name just in case?”

“No! Absolutely not! If that happens you give her a name!”

She said with an angry pout which made me chuckle.

“Then maybe, I’ll call her Lilica, just like her mother.”

“No you can’t do that! I would neve be able to face anyone again!”

She said slapping my shoulder angrily.

The midwife had explained to me that pregnant women often were angrier than usual, but for Lilica who had never had much of a temper in the first place, these moment of anger were little more than childish outburst which never failed to make me chuckle.

Because of that, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from constantly teasing her.

“Okay! Okay! I give up! I give up!”

I said while laughing.

“Then what about a name that’s similar?”

She looked at me dubiously.

“Like what?”

I looked down at the doll, considering her porcelain feature as I racked my brain for a name.

“Well, what about…”

“...Silika.”

The words echoed against the stone walls.

Lilica was gone and so was the doll, instead the remains of the infant replaced it and it’s mother still sitting on the floor, bloodied.

“...That’s a pretty name.”

The mother said in a broken voice.

I nodded and extended a hand toward her which she carefully accepted.

“It’s my daughter’s.”

She stood unsteadily on her leg and so I gave her my empty arm for her to lean on.

“That’s nice… I never had a daughter. Only…”

As she began saying this, her eyes glanced at my arms where it landed on the baby and her lips became sealed once again.

She needs to get out of here soon.

Marlot was waiting for me right outside the door. He delicately took charge of the remains without showing any emotions while another soldier helped support the woman who was about to collapse.

I signaled for the man to escort the woman out while I stayed back with Marlot.

He delicately placed the remains on a piece of cloth and wrapped them up while uttering a prayer.

Once the woman was out of earshot I spoke to him.

“Silika wasn’t there.”

He nodded.

“I know.”

He produced a diary and handed it to me.

“She isn’t here. She never was.”

I felt my heart sink.

Silika isn’t here.

“So none of this even mattered in the first place…”

“No, Marshal. What we did today might be one of the most important thing a man can do in his lifetime.”

He said as he placed his heavy hand on my shoulder.

“There is no saying what would have happened if we hadn’t come here. More people could have been killed. More women would have exprienced what this poor girl went through and whose to say what would have happened if this lunatic had achieved his goal? No, what we did today may very well have saved the entire kingdom.”

I felt anger well up in my chest.

I pushed his hand away from my shoulder.

“I don’t care about no gods damned kingdom! I want to see know my daugther is safe!”

I scream out.

I heard the sound of knights scuttling away. I wanted to scream at them too, but refrained. It wasn’t their fault.

“I know, Marshall, that the pain you’re experiencing right now is more than anyone could ever sympathise with, but this is good news. If she was never here, it means that she’s somewhere out there, it’s not too late, she must be safe.”

I wanted to dismiss him, but I couldn’t. Silika not being here meant she hadn’t witnessed the horrors of this place, it meant that she must have escaped somehow from these bastards… The anger welled up inside me once more and I put my hand on my sword once more, but Marlot stopped me.

“No, Marshall. You’ve done enough, you should head out and take care of that girl.”

“What?! But..!”

“Marshall. Look at your hand.”

Confused I looked down.

Vomit and dried blood stained the glove. It was trembling. Just staring at it made me feel ill.

“You're in no condition to fight. You need to rest. You’ve done your part.”

Reluctantly I nodded.

Istarted walking away toward the entrance of this acursed castle.

“Marshall…”

He called out to me again.

I was starting to feel irritated with the way he called out my name, but still turned to him.

He was silent for a moment, simply staring at me.

“I… Know why you’re shaking. I know it’s not because of Silika.”

I felt my jaw tightened.

How could he not? A soldier who can’t even stomach a little bit of…

“If you ever need to talk, I’m always there.”

He said before turning away.

I grunted.

I felt pathetic. How could I claim to be able to protect anyone if I couldn’t even control my own body?

With those thoughts, I began the long way up the corridor leading to the outside world. Midway, I encountered the knight still helping the woman walk.

Needing to feel useful, I took over from the knight and picked up the woman from her feet and carried her in my arms instead.

She was light, obviously underweight from malnutrition like the rest of the residents in this place.

“What’s your name?”

I asked her casually.

Both of us could probably use some distraction.

“Sarah…”

“Sarah? What a pretty name!”

“Thanks… What about yours?”

“You can call me Marshall. Marshall Ashbrook.”

“Ashbrook? That’s a big lastname. Are you a noble?”

“That’s right, I’m a baron and soon to be Count.”

“Wow a Count!”

She let out a dry laugh

“Never did I think I would be rescued from a warlock by a Handsome nobleman. I feel like a princess in a fairytale right now… ”

I smiled sadly at her words.

Fairytales always had had a tendency to romanticise the truth…

“I used to thing I’d get carried like this on my wedding day… But, I don’t think I can still get married after this...”

She said in a sad tone.

“Oh, don’t say that! I’m sure you’ll find someone who will do right by you!”

She smiled sadly.

“You’re just saying that, my lord. But don’t worry, I don’t think I want to get married after all this.”

She turned away probably in a vain attempt to hide her tears.

I couldn’t blame her.

After having experienced what she had, It’s a miracle she could even trust a man such as myself to even be close to her, let alone…

“I understand. I promise things will get better from now on… And please, just Marshall. You’re a princess.”

She let out another dry laugh.

“Ah that’s right, almost forgot. I’ll hold you to your word, Marshall.”

She said before turning silent.

We finally reached the exit and as the rays of the morning sun washed over us, I heard the girl, Sarah, gasp.

I looked down, worried, but she was simply staring up at the sky in awe as tears streamed down her face.

“Are you okay?”

I asked her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head softly.

“I think I just– I think I forgot how warm the world could be.”