By the time I stood up again, (2)
the darkness was getting heavier.
The hallway, which was difficult to see because there was no hanging torch, became pitch black as you went inside, and it was now so dark that it was difficult to distinguish even the people in front of you.
In such darkness, Josef was in the same situation as a blind man.
-Can’t you see ahead?
“……exactly.”
When Josef said that he couldn’t see, the color blue came to mind from the darkness.
Although the amount of light was insufficient to illuminate the surroundings, it was enough to at least make it possible to make out the outline of the person who lit the light.
-It looks like you haven’t taken the dose yet.
A man with only an empty helmet where his neck should be.
The Headless Horseman, who had kidnapped the children from Arnstein’s estate, turned his cold gaze on Josef without any hesitation.
-The scent is already strong.
Josef became nervous at the sight of him as if he was sniffing.
This is because the Headless One realized what he was checking on himself.
“It doesn’t have a face, but I guess I can smell it.”
-Because it’s not the smell you smell from your nose.
I tried my best to act resolute, but I couldn’t help but end my words trembling.
Looking at Josef like that, the blue natural flowers reflected in his helmet turned cold.
-The decay that comes from death is carried through the soul, not the body. Joseph of Bayezid.
Even more intense than the smell of a rotting body is the smell of a rotting soul.
After seeing that terrible smell in Josef, the Headless Horseman turned again and began to lead the way down the narrow hallway.
-The tea is a blessing given by Lord Ramasut, so drink it diligently. Unless you really want to face death. With those words
,
darkness opened the door from the headless knight’s fingertips.
It was a door that was right in front of me, but I couldn’t see it, and it was also a door with a curse that I couldn’t get out of alone.
-Go in. You are waiting.
“…….”
Traces of the fallen saint that no one in the church has been able to find because the living can never reach them.
However, looking at the door that revealed itself only to Josef, who was standing at the threshold of death, Josef quietly exhaled.
※※※※
“Has Lord Vlad woke up yet?”
“That’s right. “Count.”
The Count’s sigh was as complicated as the dizzy look of the study.
Facing the count’s inconsolable face, Pablo simply bowed his head.
“I greeted them warmly as they were guests from far away, but one of them was in a coma and the other completely destroyed the territory and left.”
The Count’s back looked shabby as he squatted in front of the fireplace, complaining.
If Pablo had known that the firewood the Count was holding was the remnants of his beloved desk, he would have felt the shabbiness even more.
“It’s really disturbing that this has been happening since the New Year.”
But what can I do?
Things have already happened and there are many enemies targeting me, so I have no choice but to keep moving.
The Count pushed the remains of the chestnut he was holding with his hands full of regret into the stove, stood in front of the pile of books, and picked up a feather pen.
“As the man named Sandor said, matters related to Josef Bayezid can be left to the Northern Coalition.” “That’s right. “I hope they do the same.”
“good. “Make sure you receive the full compensation at a later date.”
It was a very sensitive issue that the second son of Bayezid, a noble family in the north, had joined hands with an evil being.
For nobles, honor is important, and the reputation that comes with it is like a guarantee, so it was a matter that Bayezid had to handle on his own without any urging.
“Now that we have roughly settled the affairs of the territory, the problem we must resolve from now on is that of Vlad Aureo. “Have you researched what I said?”
The Count’s eyes as he looked at Pablo regained strength again.
Count Arnstein, the leader of the central region and the leader of the court faction, had already heard about the value of a knight named Vlad through Rodrigo of the Imperial Military Police.
“yes. “I have been investigating as you said.”
A knight who may not have been his bloodline, but may have inherited his will.
In some ways, it may have been an absurd claim, but the court duke wanted to confirm, and now the person who was in charge of the final process was none other than Count Arnstein, also known as the court duke’s eyes.
“Lord Vlad’s advisory wizard, Nibelun, is from the southern Burgundian tribe. “After investigating, I found out that he was the son of one of the most influential clans among them.”
If you want to know more about a person, it would be basic to start by understanding their surroundings.
The Imperial Military Police would have already confirmed things like the sword he was holding and the swordsmanship he was using, so what the Count needed to check was the size of the bowl that the man named Vlad had.
“The Burgundians… Isn’t this a group that has maintained its form among the beast people?”
“That’s right. “This is a tribe that even secured its own territory in the early days of the founding of the empire.”
Unlike the Northern Alliance, which had difficulty spreading across the continent, Arnstein’s intelligence network had already reached the South.
For them, researching Nibelun’s origins would not have been that difficult.
“Besides, it is said that he comes from a powerful clan among them.”
“I didn’t know it when I saw him, but he was quite a precious son… And.”
“It is said that Lord Vlad’s previous destination before stopping by us was the Dwarf Liberation Front. Moreover, according to the rumor, Captain Haven, one of Lord Vlad’s closest associates, has recently built a ship that moves without wind.”
“Without wind?”
“It seems like I have been learning the skills of the dwarves.”
You may not notice something when you pass by, but you can see it if you look closely.
Although Vlad was only thought to be a promising knight, Count Arnstein began to notice a strange trend stirring around him.
“What a strange ship. “Keep trying.”
The Count’s fingertips became busy as he listened to Pablo’s report.
No matter how much information you collect, if you do not have a correct interpretation of it, it is all useless.
However, even Count Arnstein, who tried to judge Vlad in the dryest possible light for the courtiers at the imperial court, had no choice but to put down the pen he was holding for a moment when he heard the reports that kept coming in.
“With an elf?”
“That’s right.”
“The Pope of the Northern Orthodox Church personally gave the stationery?”
“I say so.”
“The absilon sales route was cut off…”
“At least that’s what the Imperial Military Police thought.”
The count’s expression was full of disbelief, but all the information he was hearing came from sources he had personally distributed.
“…I was looking away for a while, and these things happened in the North.”
The reason Count Arnstein had not been able to recognize Vlad’s identity until now may not have been simple ignorance.
In the meantime, the Count was working hard to understand the trends in the central region for his future survival and for the fierce internal struggle within the imperial family.
However, in the northern part of the country, which had been ignoring it for so long, a variable that even one would find difficult to ignore was coming into its own.
“…This would be meaningless.”
After thinking for a while, the Count crumpled the paper he was writing on and threw it toward the stove next to him.
Pablo, who had been watching the Count for a long time, was well aware that his current behavior, which was like a habit, was not something that came easily.
“How was it? “Didn’t you see it yourself?”
Count Arnstein stood up from his creaky chair, walked to the window, and was looking out.
“Vlad of Shoara. “Aren’t you the one who first saw the beginning of that possibility?”
Now that we have completed the objective understanding, it is time to listen to subjective opinions.
And now, next to the count, there was a knight who could clearly state that opinion.
“…It was a place I didn’t expect, but it was quite a welcome light.”
Arnstein’s Pablo.
A knight who preached the sword master’s discipline for Vlad, who was just a boy from the back alley.
Pablo touched the shield he always carried and opened his mouth.
“It was the kind of light where I wasn’t at all ashamed to put up my shield.”
“……okay?”
A faint smile began to appear on the Count’s face after hearing Pablo’s answer.
One dot, which was just a faint possibility, suddenly became a line, drawing a picture before his eyes.
“Prepare the magic telegram. “I will report directly to the palace duke.”
My mansion looked miserable under today’s sun, but the Count’s expression as he looked down at the scene showed no sign of displeasure.
Thinking about it as the price I had to pay to obtain the current harvest made me feel relieved.
※※※※
There was a shadow moving in Arnstein’s mansion that evening when everyone was asleep.
It was a very slow movement, but each step of the toe was a sharp movement, and each breath exhaled was full of the thin sound that only a well-trained person can exhale.
“…….”
A shadow walks down the hallway past the sleeping servants’ room, avoids the eyes of the guards, and reaches its goal.
The shadow, which carefully killed even the sound of the hinges, was quietly entering someone’s room bathed in moonlight
.
Exciting-!
“…It’s a piece.”
There was a sword visible to his eyes.
The body was covered with silver waves, but the rough beating heart proved that it was clearly a piece of a dragon.
“That’s all you need.”
My fingers were pale and shriveled from the loss of blood.
However, the desire at his fingertips was burning brightly, and Radu Dragulia, who had grown old, was showing a burning thirst for the dragon slayer sword that was now visible in front of him.
One step at a time.
The closer I get, the faster my heart beats.
Even though all possibilities were taken away from the father who gave birth to him, as long as he has that, he can become a dragon again.
“What are you doing.”
“…!”
However, even if it was a desire that filled my soul, I could not ignore the sound coming from next to me.
The blue eyes that were looking at me right now were exactly like my father’s, which I was so afraid of.
“There used to be a senior named Burray.”
The moonlight shining through the window sparkled against the blonde hair as it slowly stood up.
Radu trembled as Vlad’s shadow grew bigger every time he got up, and he just walked along the floor toward the door he had come through.
“That person used to touch my things like that. So do you know what I did?”
Likes recognized likes.
And Radu, who was born as a dragon, could not help but feel how big the Vlad in front of him was.
“Bl Vlad Aureo.”
A man standing up alone in a mansion where everyone is asleep.
The name of the man standing with his back to the moonlight was Vlad Aureo, as Radu had just recited.
“I just stabbed him. Originally, kleptomania was a disease that could only be cured by death.”
Kwaaang-!
There was a sound that woke everyone in the quiet early morning mansion.
The sound was loud enough to startle even the sleeping servants and the guards on guard.
“What on earth did you learn from the parents who gave you birth, you b*stard? “Where are you stealing from others?”
“Save me, save me…”
Nibelun and Pierre, who were in the next room, also jumped out at the loud sound.
Nibelun, who recognized Vlad in the hallway he ran out of, raised his hand and was happy, but Pierre, who had worked the hardest, was only shocked to see Radu rolling around on the floor.
“No, you b*stard! “How can I get rid of a witness and you’re beating me!”
“Let go of this! “I’m going to cure this b*stard today!”
“You crazy guy! Why on earth are you doing this as soon as you wake up?”
Hum,
hum, Vlad’s sword was crying in an empty room.
Looking at the two dragons rolling around miserably outside.
However, the reason why the sound was filled with joy was probably because the owner was happy to have finally woken up from his sleep.
