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Under dark grey linen cloaks, the men wore silver bird-beak masks. The look reminded Joanna of Granada's seedy night alleys, the wandering doctors who peddled alchemy to addicts.But this man is not a doctor. At the very least, the information gathered so far suggests that the man with the beak has nothing to do with medicine.Joanna stood behind the wooden frame, her hands stiff beside the leather pockets in the corners of her skirt. She had been watching him for some time through the corner of her eye between the barrels.Until Birdbeaks walked twice around the wooden coffin with the cross carved on it, and took from his arms a foot and a half long Uzi steel knife. At this point, Joanna carried out the next action.Bird beak male immediately toward coffin board high steel knife, after a moment of silence, then someone pulled the trigger.There was a crack of metal in the cellar -- the blade in the man's hand had been knocked off the corner of the room and rattled.The silent Joanna stepped out from behind the cask filled with wine and raised her revolver straight forward.Birdbeak clenched his quivering wrists and then lifted his head with difficulty. He looked silently at the scattered barrels of the gun and at the placid visitor.He could not help pronouncing the other person's name after studying his face."Joanna Johnson --"'Pleased to meet you, Sir Hawkwood Phelps.'Bird-beaked man said nothing."You must be wondering how do I know who you are? ... No one actually told me anything of the sort." "First, you unconsciously tilt your head when you're listening, so that your left ear is facing the source of the sound. This movement continued several times, which made me wonder if your right ear was showing signs of hearing loss; Second, when you walked around the coffin, the distance your feet moved was quite different... The left foot is about five centimeters shorter than the right foot. This seems to indicate that your left foot joint is damaged, or the symptoms of muscle weakness."Joanna took two steady steps forward. "It made me think of someone... Colonel Phelps, who fought for the Queen, suffered from a wound in his eardrum caused by the explosion of an alchemy charge, and from a battlefield bullet that pierced his left knee.""That doesn't mean anything." "Said Birdbeak flatly, sounding rather displeased." There are at least a hundred soldiers in Granada who have been discharged from the Northern Campaign for this.""But you are the only one who needs black glass to conceal the features of his pupils, Ser." Joanna replied, "Not long ago I was wondering why the killer would dress like a doctor. If it's just to cover your face, just wear sunglasses or a scarf or mask... The silver-plated mask was too much work anyway. But then I came to think about it from a different Angle and realized that maybe it was just a smoke screen.""... At any rate, I think it necessary for you to wear that mask. Sir Phelps, look me in the eye like a warrior." "Joanna added, with an air of awe." That's what you look like.""Hum... As you please."Through the filter hole of the silver mask, Bird-beaked sighed with relief. With one hand he removed the latch behind his ear, and the disguise gradually layered into his face.Joanna looked him in the face and mumbled, "Ugh... The purple eyes of the Phelps family and the pointy ears of the Queen's family. Without a full head covering, these features would have given the perpetrator away."He slowly took off the bird's beak mask and threw it on the floor, then pulled back the hood to reveal his messy hair.Hawkwood Phelps does not look old, but his hair is almost entirely white."The same man who used the silver mask was the Doctor of Sigmund. A similar outfit could have diverted the investigation of Granada in the first place... It's also a chance to discredit someone else." Joanna kept talking. "To buy myself time to kill five people in a row. That seemed the logical thing to do."He took off his black raincoat again -- Hawkwood's leather waistcoat had a twine tied in front, and a gleaming silver sword in the knot behind it... This was not surprising. Joanna had noticed Hawkwood's slightly humped back while he was still wearing his raincoat.In places like Granada, anyone decorated by the Queen is allowed to carry a weapon. For those close to the royal family, a fine silver sword was the image of an aristocrat. And it's all legal."Tell me, Miss Johnson... Do you like my art?" Hawkwood's hand lay lightly on the hilt of his sword."Am I low enough to look at dead bodies like you?""They're not corpses, they're perfect offerings. For the coming of the Great Dominant.""... You seem to have lost your mind, and I do not think it necessary to enter into such a conversation." Joanna's thumb pressed down on the firing pin of her revolver. "This time I might as well save the girl in the coffin. I think she's still alive.""But she's going to die soon... And you too." Hawkwood grinned twice. 'Miss Johnson, I'm warning you for the last time. The moment you decide to pull the trigger, my sword will strike your head in the same instant.'"Want to try it?""You'll be sorry.""I only regret that I didn't find a way to catch you, so my client wouldn't be tortured in jail, and I could have saved more girls.""There's no chance."'said Hawkwood, leaning instantly to his left.The silver sword came out with a clear trill. There was a flash of the sword in the light of the oil lamp, and a second shot rang out, like the crack of a cloud.There were bright sparks in the air and Joanna's second hair popped out of the chamber.The 7.62mm large-caliber warhead, however, missed Hawkwood. The bullet, to be precise, had struck his silver sword -- Hawkwood had evidently managed to parry the bullet by raising his hand invisibly. This amazing reflex took Joanna by surprise.With the skills Hawkwood had accumulated in northern combat, it was not difficult to stop a warhead or take a man's head across a gap of several metres in a moment. But as Joanna had said, the wound on his joint had not healed.The knee, pierced by shrapnel through his tendon years ago, was still unable to support Hawkwood's powerful jumping power. That's as much as Joanna can bet before she goes up against the first Granada cavalry.In the second second Hawkwood tried to close the distance, Joanna pulled the trigger again. For the first time Hawkwood covered his forehead with his silver sword, and bent slightly over his torso.The bullet hit the concrete wall this time, and again the desperate shot failed. Joanna gasped at this, fighting back her fear.Hawkwood was still unable to cut the knife at the woman. Joanna retracted several steps after the third shot, and the two kept a considerable distance apart. Hawkwood had to move quickly against the wall. He can't be exposed to the center, he'll just lose cover and become a target for the enemy.Hawkwood was on the watch like a wakeful animal, his hands clenched on the hilt of his sword, point up.- no!Joanna suddenly realized that she had stepped as far as she could. Behind her now was nothing but the cold barrel. Two metres away Hawkwood saw this, and suddenly he leaned forward, as if he had hit the ground with all his strength.'You'll be sorry, you idiot! Hawkwood snarled, the sharp edge of his silver sword pointing straight at Joanna's breath.But from the attic there was a kick at the door, followed by howling shouts."-- drop the sword!The momentary distraction made him stop and look towards the source of the sound.Hawkwood's blade came within inches of Joanna's, and both bodies froze. Just above their heads, new visitors burst into the cellar."You are too late." Joanna's anger was tinged with strange relief."I'll have to go inform the S.S.A. and wait for their orders."'Hire our clients, not the Queen's Government!Hawkwood Phelps was numb. In principle, as a veteran, he should not have acted in such a way as to give the enemy a chance to execute him.But there's nothing you can do about it. Hawkwood's courage was remarkable until he was sure he could stave off a deadly attack.It would have been a different story if the golden muzzle of the infantry fusiliers had been pointed directly at his head, half a meter above his head... Especially the young men with guns, but also a pair of killer like black and determined eyes."Then I'll have to call in some men," the man said, a little helplessly. "At least the sheriff is keeping order at the cellar entrance now, so we can make sure Mr. Phelps doesn't run away.""Aren't you afraid there'll be another corpse?""Oh, you mean you're losing to the old man?"Joanna smiled sadly. 'The girl in the coffin, I mean.'"A girl... ? So she's alive! 'Hawkwood seemed to hear himself saying that if he hurt Joanna in the least, the man in his head would surely be determined to blow his head off at the same moment.... Perhaps only the life saved from the war years is more important than dignity.After a great deal of hesitation, Hawkwood drew the silver sword dutifully back from its sheath, like a silent declaration of defeat."The girl and I needed to see a doctor, and this... You need to go to the Guillotine."......My life is always a prayerPray for a sunny tomorrow, pray that the road is not hard;I also pray that I can light the fire in my home and that my life will be safe.I have crossed countless rivers and mountains in prayer.Also in prayer, witness the end of the legend.It's a story of rebirth;It is also my journey to regain hope;