White Lily in the Field

The group reels at word that Farnese will stay behind. Serpico hands Isidro a sealed letter said to guarantee passage aboard any ship shown to its captain, then returns the enchanted gear Schierke had given them, the sylph cloak and sword and the silver surcoat and dagger. Speaking with stiff formality, he thanks them for bringing Farnese safely home and promises the Vandimion Bank will cover their costs in Vritannis before turning to go.

Guts rises to stop him, asking why the pair will not come along, but Serpico refuses to answer. When Guts admits he had hoped to cross blades with him again, Serpico replies that the old draw of fighting Guts no longer moves him, and he leaves. Unable to reach Farnese through thought transference, since she has removed the lock of hair from her finger, Schierke recalls the visions she caught while brushing against Serpico: Farnese's sorrowful face and Serpico's tangled feelings about it all.

Suspicious, Guts asks Puck and Ivalera to trail Serpico back to the mansion and scout it quietly. The elves slip inside and glimpse Farnese, barely recognizable in noble dress, entering the greenhouse where Magnifico waits. He thanks her for agreeing to his earlier proposal and presents an old friend, Roderick of Staufen, who kisses her hand and is revealed to be her new betrothed, a captain in the Ysian Navy and third in line for the throne of Ys. The two appear instantly taken with each other amid roses Roderick has gifted her, likening her to a standout white lily.

Having seen enough, Ivalera hauls Puck away to report, though Serpico spots them fleeing. Back at the room, Schierke and Isidro first guess Farnese is staying out of attraction to Roderick, but that clashes with her sincere wish to learn magic and her deep bond with Casca. Only Guts pieces together the truth: she traded her engagement for the ship. The others see how neatly it fits, yet Guts privately doubts the choice to marry was ever truly hers.

Toying with Serpico's sealed letter, Casca lets it slip into the fireplace, where it burns to ash. Guts reads it as an omen, judging the journey to Skellig hollow if Farnese, Casca's caretaker, and Serpico, the group's cook, do not come with them. Roderick makes his first appearance here. This twenty one page chapter ran in Young Animal issue 5 on 25 February 2005 as part of the Millennium Falcon Arc.