Invitation from Deermar (2)
A white mansion surrounded by forests.
There was a low hill behind the old-fashioned mansion.
A tree and monuments there.
The blowing spring breeze was caressing the woman’s hair, but she just sat motionless.
“······.”
He sat down next to the small tombstone, brought his knees together, and quietly looked at the mansion.
Where I was born and raised.
The place where you will have to live in the future.
And it was a place that should rightfully be his.
The woman was looking there.
Clear tears formed in her eyes and her vision became increasingly blurry, but she did not stop looking at the mansion.
The woman’s tears did not flow downward.
He just quietly hid his presence.
With the sadness that should have been shed.
The time to mourn is over.
That time comes to everyone.
※※※※
“Ah, my heart keeps beating wildly these days.”
Next to Vlad, who was turning his head back and forth and warming up, Goth answered while chewing on a leaf.
“Isn’t it a disease?”
“I don’t know. It happened suddenly. Strangely, I have a hard time concentrating.”
“Have you even heard the spring breeze?”
“Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I came out.”
An insincere answer to an insincere question.
But it didn’t really matter.
After all, the two of them were just talking because they wanted to move their mouths.
“How much is left?”
“The driver says we have to go for three more days.”
“Aren’t you a coachman?”
“I am the coachman’s assistant.”
Although he was traveling while sitting in a carriage, the journey was bound to be boring for a boy who was full of energy.
“We’re leaving now!”
“They say we’re leaving. Leader”
“Oh wow.”
Vlad stood up, making a noise that only an old man would make.
“But can’t I just give me a piece of jamon or something?”
“It’s not mine anymore.”
Goth asked Vlad in a low voice, but Vlad just walked away without even looking back.
“So, how nice it would have been if you had given me a bite when it was yours…”
Goth let out the disappointment in his heart along with the leaf he was chewing at Vlad’s answer.
The blowing wind was warm and the weather was sunny.
The group was heading south along the spring.
※※※※
City of Deermar.
The only city owned by the Hainal Baron family.
The location was in the north of the central region, so even from Sturmah, where the Bayezid family was located, it could be reached in a week by carriage if the weather was good.
“After all, lemons are famous.”
“Aren’t lemons a fruit that grows in the south?”
“That’s why there is demand.”
This city, located in the northernmost climate capable of producing lemons, had lemon production as its main business and was well known for the products made through secondary processing.
“We harvest lemons around the time when other people are selling lemons and sell them when there is no stock in the market. Even though they were not able to harvest a large amount due to the climate, it can be said that their eye for timing was excellent.”
“Oh oh.”
You can sell it that way.
Even if it is the same item, the value can be increased that way.
Vlad, who was slicing jamon, nodded at Josef’s explanation and his eyes lit up.
Although it was difficult at times to be with Josef, who spoke a lot, the knowledge and insights he expressed through words were a great source of nourishment for Vlad.
“It is a grateful city for northerners who have difficulty tasting fruit. Moreover, it is also one of the gateways to the central region, the center of everything.”
Josef continues his conversation while looking closely at Vlad’s fingertips as he cuts off the jamon.
“It’s such an important city for northerners.”
“······.”
Vlad felt as if something red was flickering within his black eyes.
“Cut it quickly.”
“This has to be applied thinly. “It’s harder than you think.”
“Tsk.”
Josef clicked his tongue and turned his head at Vlad’s explanation.
“······So, Lord Xayar is moving?”
“yes.”
Currently, the party was heading to Deermar, the city of Baron Hainal.
This was because I had received an invitation from Alicia Hainal, the legitimate successor there.
“A crisis is an opportunity. Especially if it’s not a crisis I’m experiencing.”
However, although her invitation took the form of an invitation on the outside, it was in reality no different from a request for salvation.
“The world of nobles is really complicated.”
“If you look at it in a complex way, it’s complicated. If you look at it simply, it’s simple.”
Jayar took the piece of jamon that was finally handed to him and hummed.
“In the end, it’s just a fight to own the land called Deremar.”
“And that too among blood-related families.”
“······Antagonism with those of mixed blood is a long-standing tradition of nobles.”
As Josef said that, there was a bitterness on his face that was difficult to hide.
“······.”
Seeing that expression, Vlad just calmly focused on slicing the next piece of jamon.
Because everyone has a weight that they must carry alone.
The same was true for Alicia, who invited Josef to her estate.
She was currently in the middle of a succession dispute.
As with any other fight, the succession dispute taking place in the Hainal family was currently descending into an endless muddy fight.
“Still, cases like these are rare. “This is a situation that truly exposes the family’s shame.”
Alicia’s uncle, Endre Hainal, was claiming that his nephew was not a descendant of his older brother’s blood, but was born through an illicit relationship.
Although it was unknown whether she had actually been born through illicit relations, it was certain that if Alicia were to disappear, he would become the next Baron Haynal.
Alicia is the only child of the former Baron Hainal, but due to her inherent limitations as a woman, Alicia has a weak foundation.
In order to overcome the difficulties facing her, she had no choice but to prove her innocence through an honorable duel organized by the church.
But in the end, this was just the direction Endre wanted.
“I take this opportunity to repay my debt to the Hainal family. “My father agreed with this idea.”
“okay.”
Vlad looked at Xayar through the carriage window.
A knight so outstanding that Alicia Hainal specially invited him to entrust her honor.
‘That’s amazing.’
Reputation and skill are not necessarily proportional.
A knight who engages in a lot of external activities will have many opportunities to make his name known, but a knight who focuses on matters within his family, like Xayar, will not have many opportunities to do so.
“What are you looking at? “The look in your eyes is rude?”
“······.”
Xayar’s judgment was once again distorted by the suspicious look his squire gave him.
“How does it feel to have your driver ride a horse and you sit comfortably in a carriage?”
“······.”
Even if there are ten mouths, there is nothing to say.
That was exactly how Vlad felt right now.
I looked at it for no reason.
“It’s a shame. “It was a feeling I haven’t felt in a really long time.”
“······.”
I walked around with my shoulders straight because I was going around killing other servants, but in reality, I was a half-penny guy who couldn’t even get on a horse.
Zayar could still hear the laughter of others giggling at him.
“······The horses hate me.”
“Why do you think only horses hate you?”
“······.”
There is no knight who cannot ride a horse.
There is probably no squire who cannot ride a horse.
Even Goth, who was now driving the carriage in front, knew how to ride a horse.
“······You will be able to ride expensive horses. maybe.”
“You have to ride the expensive horse. “Because my body is more precious than yours.”
Seeing Xayar’s face twist as if that was an excuse, Vlad had no choice but to quietly lower his head.
It wasn’t just that I didn’t have the courage to look at it.
‘Why do you keep doing this?’
My heart was pounding wildly, as if I had been jumping.
It was a feeling I’ve been feeling often for the past few days.
‘Is it because you are wanted?’
It was a reason enough to come to mind, as Josef was constantly talking in front of him and Zayar was next to him whenever he could.
Because mental pressure is like the root of all diseases.
Exciting- Exciting-
Vlad was trying to calm his heart by taking slow, deep breaths, but this time it wasn’t calming down easily.
“huh?”
And it wasn’t just Vlad’s heartbeat that had a strange sound.
“······The ground is shaking.”
Not only Vlad but also Josef felt the shaking and their faces began to gradually harden.
It wasn’t a vibration that could be felt when moving.
Everything around was shaking.
“Power stop!”
Zayar, who was outside, must have sensed something unusual, so he stopped the procession and quickly looked around.
‘The trees are shaking.’
Through the window, Vlad noticed that the trees around him were trembling.
When everyone is holding their breath and tense due to a sudden situation.
Deeudeeudeeudeuk-!
The ground began to shake with a loud noise.
“It’s an earthquake!”
“Everybody get off your horses!”
Heeeeeeeeeee-
The horses, which were sensitive to the huge sound coming from under their feet, began to run wild.
“shit!”
As the carriage shook violently due to the horse’s gallop along with the vibrations coming from the ground, Vlad quickly wrapped his arms around Josef and opened the carriage door with his foot.
Vlad was greatly embarrassed by a situation he had never experienced before, but he followed his instincts and got Josef out of the carriage.
“Aaaah!”
“······.”
Then he wrapped his arms around him and fell to the ground.
However, Josef, who was actually being protected, just maintained his composure as if nothing had happened.
“······Sincerity is admirable, but don’t be too embarrassed.”
“this! “Is it an earthquake?”
“no. This is probably…”
Deeudeeudeeudeuk-!
Even before Josef finished speaking, the shaking of the ground reached its peak.
The sound was so strong that even if you stood still, you could see dust rising from the ground.
‘This is my first time experiencing an earthquake!’
No matter how much Vlad had experienced before, he couldn’t help but panic when it was his first time experiencing a disaster.
“It’s over.”
“······Hi.”
It only lasted a few minutes, but Vlad, exhausted, rolled to the side and fell away from Josef.
“This is my first time experiencing an earthquake.”
“This is not an earthquake.”
“yes?”
Vlad let out a dumbfounded voice as he watched Josef get up and shake the dirt off his body as if it was no big deal.
“Look.”
Vlad turned his head to follow the direction Josef pointed.
“uh?”
I could see the ground shaking in the plains in the distance.
It was a movement that made me wonder if a mole would move while digging in the ground.
However, since it was moving in the distance, even if it were actually a mole, it would have been a very large creature.
“It’s a giant death worm. “It’s a monster that lives in the west, but around this time of year it reaches the central region in search of food.”
“Giant Death Worm?”
Seeing Vlad looking at him with eyes asking what that was, Josef realized that he had to explain.
The boy, who was full of potential but lacked everything, was like a vessel that no matter how much he poured into it, it was still not enough.
“It comes from a dragon. “It’s like an earthquake in that it’s difficult for humans to handle.”
“dragon······.”
“To be exact, it is the remnants of a fallen dragon.”
With the last words, Josef left while the companions were busy moving around and checking the equipment.
“······.”
The boy just sat still and saw something moving forward, shaking the ground.
The boy’s eyes naturally bulged at the dust that had not yet settled, but he could not stop looking.
“That’s great.”
It’s something I experience for the first time in my life.
If I had been stuck in a back alley, I would never have seen it.
As it went further away, Vlad’s heartbeat slowed down little by little.
The boy’s world was expanding.
