Red, the Crucible Knight, stood in the evergaol, resting quietly.
He had spent many years here.
For a Crucible Knight, this amount of time was nothing.
The lifespan of a Crucible Knight was hard to predict; even he didn't know how long he could live.
In the past, he would use a stone to carve a scratch on the floor tiles for each day that passed.
The floor tiles were densely covered with scratches, stopping at 2,639.
But after the stone he used as a pen was completely worn away, he gave up on keeping track.
He didn't want to continue recording; there was no need.
It wasn't like Godrick would ever let him out anyway.
As a Crucible Knight who had fought alongside Godfrey, Red had witnessed the rise of the golden royal family with his own eyes.
At the same time, he had also witnessed the birth and growth of the golden scions.
The memory of that small, trembling figure who still stepped forward to command the soldiers in a panic seemed like it was just yesterday.
That was why he could not tolerate Godrick's act of grafting.
Unfortunately, despite his best efforts to dissuade him, Godrick still chose grafting.
Today, the evergaol was unusually different.
Because two uninvited guests had barged into it.
Those two were none other than Bai Shi and Erlisa.
Though he had been imprisoned for a long time, Red's reaction was still swift. He locked onto them almost the instant they entered the gaol.
"A Banished Knight, and a Zamor... why are you here?"
Red drew his greatsword, took the greatshield from his back, and assumed a defensive stance.
Though there were many Banished Knights in Stormveil, a Zamor would not appear in Limgrave.
These two must have come from somewhere else.
He didn't know their purpose, so it was best to be cautious.
Bai Shi removed his helmet, revealing his grace-bereft eyes and letting Red know he was a Tarnished.
"Don't be tense. We're here to let you out."
"As you can see, I'm a Tarnished. My ancestors once fought alongside you."
Then, Bai Shi extended a hand to Red from a distance.
"We're going to defeat Godrick. If you want to join us, we'll let you out."
"Defeat Godrick... I refuse."
To Bai Shi's surprise, Red refused his offer.
"Hmm? Weren't you the one imprisoned here by Godrick?"
"I was indeed imprisoned in this gaol by Godrick."
"Then don't you want revenge?"
The helmet completely concealed Red's face, preventing Bai Shi from seeing his expression.
"I don't need revenge, nor do I hold any hatred in my heart."
"My imprisonment was my own doing. As his guard, interfering with his decision was overstepping my bounds."
"But it was something I had to do, no matter what."
"I must, I absolutely must, guide that child back to the right path."
In the end, Red was still released from the evergaol.
After learning that Bai Shi and his companion were here to defeat Godrick, Red had already prepared to fight them.
No matter when, even while imprisoned.
As long as he still considered himself a guardian of the Golden Lineage, he would not abandon his oath to protect its scions.
Was it blind loyalty? Perhaps, but Red didn't care what others thought.
However, the two of them were powerful, and Red was constantly looking for an opportunity.
But Bai Shi was reluctant to kill him. This Crucible Knight seemed to know many things.
And he seemed very familiar with a younger Godrick.
He even called Godrick "that child." At the very least, he knew what Godrick was like before he started grafting.
Perhaps this man had watched Godrick grow up; who knew what secrets he might be hiding.
And as it happened, Bai Shi was someone extremely interested in the secrets of the Lands Between.
Seeing that Red made no move to attack after a long while, Bai Shi left him with a sentence and then departed directly with Erlisa.
"If you're not going to fight, then forget it. I'll let you go on your own."
Red was dumbfounded. Not only did these two leave, but they also didn't even close the door to the evergaol.
Red was extremely hesitant. He couldn't decide whether to leave or stay.
Who likes being in prison? If he didn't leave, he would probably be locked up until he died.
But if he did leave, he couldn't go straight back to Godrick.
With his understanding of Godrick, he knew Godrick would likely assume he had defected to the enemy.
Although those two were going to defeat Godrick, they had genuinely freed him.
Red was the type of person who repaid both grudges and kindness, and he was extremely stubborn.
Now that they had freed him, he couldn't possibly attack them before they moved against Godrick.
Sigh, I'll just follow them for now and keep an eye on them.
Once they start to make their move on Godrick, I'll step in to stop them.
Even if I'm no match for them, at the very least, I should be able to rescue a nearly-dead Godrick, right?
Besides, after witnessing an enemy he couldn't defeat even with grafting, perhaps Godrick would have a change of heart?
Unfortunately, Godrick was no longer the Godrick he once knew.
If it really came to that, Godrick would probably only think of grafting on even stronger limbs.
In any case, a strange party was now heading down the road to Stormveil.
Bai Shi and Erlisa were in the front, while Red spread his massive wings and flew far behind them.
Bai Shi paid no mind to the Red in the sky.
He'd come out of the gaol but still hadn't attacked, so he probably wouldn't initiate a fight.
A nice guy who had been locked in a gaol for who knows how many years without getting angry at Godrick was a rare sight in this world.
And even if the Crucible Knight wasn't that kind of person, so what?
If he dared to attack, it would just mean dying in a different place.
Neither Bai Shi nor Erlisa feared a one-on-one fight with this Crucible Knight.
Not to mention they would righteously fight him two against one.
Along the way, Bai Shi was searching for any sign of a shack by the roadside. He wanted to find the place where Little Red Riding Hood was staying. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
But he found nothing along the road; there were no shacks whatsoever.
Instead, he found a Minor Erdtree and picked up a Golden Seed.
This was a treasure, a material for his sacred flasks that he could never have enough of.
As they hurried along, Bai Shi suddenly spotted a hidden small house in the woods by the road, with a spyglass next to it.
Bai Shi immediately ran towards the small house, but when he arrived, he found it was completely different from what he expected.
Inside the small house sat a man in a soldier's uniform, along with several large wooden racks.
On one of the wooden racks stood a massive stormhawk.
Seeing Bai Shi and the others barge in, the soldier scrambled to his feet but was immediately pierced through the chest by Bai Shi's sword.
The stormhawk flapped its wings but didn't attack at all.
Naturally, it was because of the Ancient King.
Bai Shi picked up a letter from the table. It detailed the situation at the gatefront and was probably about to be sent to Godrick via the stormhawk.
Bai Shi thought for a moment, added a sentence to the back of the letter, tied it to the stormhawk's leg, and sent it on its way.