[quote][sup]『 [i]Mirielle[/i] 』[/sup][indent]"I will not demand you to join me regardless, but be aware that you are already involved for travelling in this group. I doubt whoever came after Sir Thomas' entourage will make any distinction between you and I."[/indent][/quote]
[sup]『 [i]Ludvig[/i] 』[/sup][indent]"Fair points."[/indent]
The comment preceding that fluttered Ludvig's heart a bit, while he did indeed realize it was too self-deprecating even for him or for an excuse to basically 'skip work'.
Watching her little plight, he knelt beside her, conjured up a plain white handkerchief, and gently rubbed it on Mirielle's eyebrows, trying not to obscure her sight.

[sup]『 [i]Ludvig[/i] 』[/sup][indent]"Suppose I'll make an exception for you and your um... tendency to charge into three men head-on, it does gives me a bit of worry. You'll have my support, just... Don't ask me to kill anyone.
Take off your gloves later, I'll clean 'em for you."[/indent]
With a little demonstration of the stains on the handkerchief just disintegrating into cyan motes of light. He then waves the handkerchief once, obscuring it with his hand, [i]et voilà[/i] the handkerchief is gone. He hoped it gave her just a little bit of levity, as he stands up and gently pats Mirielle's shoulder one time.

[sup]『 [i]Ludvig[/i] 』[/sup][indent]"I don't care much for my own life, but yours is a separate issue."[/indent]
[sub][color=gray][i]Then...[/i][/color][/sub]

Two more corpses strapped onto burnt posts. Leaving Mirielle alone for now, Ludvig walked towards one of the posts, unsheathes his dagger and, in alarming speed, slashed three times to undo the ropes and caught the falling corpse by the neck.
The half-rotten, half-burnt carcass of a cleric, its head drooping backwards and presenting its blackened missing face towards Ludvig. A slight grimace emerged in his face as he laid the corpse gently down the ground. It does not look any less appealing up close, he thought.

Onward to the last corpse, Ludvig pondered on the efficiency of his sword-path and opted to slice all the ropes with a swift  slash through one wavy line. He didn't get to catch that corpse as it went down, stirring up more of the ash and soot that piled on the ground and creating a little smoke cloud. He shielded his eyes then waved the smoke away.
This is definitely not his best work, he thought. He deals best with the living.