Chapter 26

***

***

It was already dark outside the tavern.

The bustling market nearby was very noisy.

Smoke was wafting from chimneys here and there, and merchants lit small lanterns on their stalls, enthusiastically trying to get some last-minute business.

Victor sighed and pulled her closer to him, away from the crowd.

“So, who were they?”

“They are the ‘Troll’s Right Calf’ mercenary group.”

“The troll’s… what?”

He looked confused.

She held up her sword and pointed to the handle.

“They have a small drawing of a troll leg on their armor and weapons. It is one of the units directly under the mercenary king Yaji. They are very skilled.”

Victor was silent for a moment.

“Okay. What did you talk about?”

“I asked about the movements of the monsters. It’s strange that we encountered so many on our way here.”

“Well, it’s not unusual to see an orc.”

His expression grew serious. She let out a short sigh.

“They didn’t know why either. But it looks like it’s being investigated on its own. They decided to let us know when the investigation is concluded.”

“I see. I’ll have to look into it when we return to our territory.”

Victor nodded his head with a stern face.

Suddenly, he glanced back at her.

“Wait… why did you come and check it out yourself? You could’ve had my knights do it.”

“But I want to find out for myself… and be sure of it.”

She blinked.

Most of his knights wouldn’t know how to talk to a mercenary, let alone how to make a deal.

And, to be honest, even if they knew someone, she didn’t feel comfortable pushing them into the unfamiliar world of mercenaries.

After a few days of observation, she realized that his knights were almost as weak as Jeffrey Sutherland.

Victor sighed deeply.

“Marion, although my knights are frivolous, they are not unreliable. They would have gathered the information.”

“But what if they got into an argument?”

Victor’s expression became very strange. She continued to speak anxiously.

“This is a town of travelers, where all kinds of people gather. Meeting a knight of their level is sure to cause serious injuries.”

“Marion, that…”

Victor was speechless.

It was a very rare sight.

“…There aren’t that many swordsmen at your level.”

“What do you mean? You’re good too! Of course, you are stronger than me.”

Thinking of his swordsmanship made her smile. The biggest honor for a swordsman was to have a strong knight by their side to watch and learn from.

But strangely, Victor looked a little pale. He opened his lips as if he was going to say something, but quickly closed them.

He swallowed dryly and continued.

“…Anyway, next time, please inform me before you leave. Do you know how worried I was?”

“It hasn’t been that long.”

“I thought you ran away or were kidnapped.”

She looked up at him quietly. There was a subtle nervousness on his beautiful face.

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

“I will tell you next time.”

“…Yes.”

Victor kissed the palm of her hand.

She pulled her hand away as it had been burned.

Returning to his shameless self, he pulled her in and kissed her on the cheek several times.

“Victor! You can’t do this in a crowded place!”

Her feeble resistance was drowned out by his laughter.

***

Thankfully, they didn’t encounter any monsters for the next few days.

The road had narrowed significantly, and the wilderness became riddled with more and more large rocks and thorns.

It was getting cold.

Amarion liked it, but Carlz, who was from the South, couldn’t keep up.

“This is why I stayed in the Capital. Being cold is just awful.”

“Then why did you become a knight of Morte?”

“It was an unfortunate twist of fate.”

He let out a deep sigh.

“When I was a knight in training, my unit got lost.. we didn’t know that we had stumbled upon the nest of a ferocious dragon… Of course, master killed it, and we were indebted to his service.”

“I think it would have been nice without you, too.”

Victor responded smoothly.

Victor, whose insomnia gradually improved as their trip continued, was now fully restored to his former self.

He unsheathed his sword and spoke softly.

“It would be nice to combine you and Leonard. You’re too free and Leonard is stern.”

Leonard trembled as he heard Victor’s quiet voice.

Carlz quickly changed the topic.

“Anyway, the Morte estate is a pretty cold place, but not as cold as Amari. When I was training as a knight, I always had a hard time waking up. In the middle of winter, I swung my sword all day in the snow, and when I went out to kill monsters, I trembled without a fire…”

She smiled.

Being a senior knight was actually very difficult. From a young age, they received rigorous training in swordsmanship and physical strength, and they had to prove their skills as an apprentice knight to be officially appointed.

Victor was appointed at the age of 14 due to special circumstances, but normally you had to wait until you were 20 to become an official knight.

So, of course, the Knights of Morte must have gone through very difficult training.

Carlz was now deeply reminiscing.

“Once, me, Leonard, and his highness went hunting for griffins. I think it was because Griffin feathers were good for something.”

“At that time, it was fashionable to put monster feathers on your scabbard.”

Leonard added.

Carlz nodded in excitement.

“The basement was a rough one, and I, being young, didn’t like it. In particular, he is a troublemaker, so he takes the lead in going more simultaneously.

“When will my chief of staff come back?”

Victor’s voice became dangerously soft.

But she wanted to hear the story.

“Then?”

“We climbed over mountains and cliffs to find the nest. Master was an invincible swordsman even back then, so he killed two griffins in an instant. The feathers were nice and large, and I pulled out a handful of them. But then…”

Carlz’s tone became serious.

“I was hungry. It was freezing, but we were far from home, and there were no mountain animals to hunt. The Grand Duke tried to take care of me, asking ‘would you like to eat this’ every once in a while.”

“What? No way.”

“Yeah, griffins look like birds, don’t they? I eat chickens and pigeons, so griffins… that’s what I was thinking.”

She burst out laughing. She knew the ending of this story.

“Griffin meat is poisonous.”

“Yeah, and we didn’t know that, which is understandable. Who would know that? There is no one crazy enough to grill Griffin.”

Carlz shrugged.

“The ending is as you expect. I had an upset stomach and rolled around, and I barely lived. They found me struggling in the morning.”

Suddenly, Carlz’s mouth clamped shut.

‘Huh?’

When she looked at Leonard, he was looking away with a similar expression.

Victor, who was sharpening his sword, called to her.

“Marion.”

When she looked back at him, he smiled very sweetly.

“What would you like to eat when we get to the next town?”

She stared at him. It was obvious that he was trying to change the subject.

‘Why are you asking me this all of the sudden?’

They were having a normal conversation, but she didn’t want to press because Victor was clearly uncomfortable.

So, she just smiled and replied.

“Pigeon.”

***

But the time to roast pigeon did not come quickly.

Villages became rarer and rarer the closer they got to the Morte estate.

It was safer to pay more taxes and live in the Grand Duchy than to live in the wilderness around the estate.

Thanks to this, they had to camp almost every day.

While the knights skillfully pitched tents, Diederick put dried vegetables and water into a pot and brought it to a boil.

He added some spices, jerky, and goat’s milk to make a hot and creamy soup.

It was a dish that didn’t look like much, but it was always so delicious when he made it.

She was kicked out of the tent pitching site because she was a lady, so she snooped around Diederick with a bowl, like a dog waiting for its meal.

Diederick, who was stirring the soup, apologized profusely.

“I’m sorry for making mediocre food every day, Madame”

“What are you talking about?!”

She was genuinely surprised.

To apologize for making such delicious food was an insult to cooking.

The butler laughed and continued.

“When we reach the Morte estate, you will be able to eat a lot of delicious food again. As soon as we get there, I will make Madame’s favorite turkey dish.”

She blushed with excitement and embarrassment.

Right before she left the Capital, she ate so well that she had no interest in food, but now she was so used to Diederick’s cooking that she couldn’t imagine eating anything else.

‘My entire life, I’ve been fighting just to get my fill.’

Diederick spoke warmly.

“But I don’t know how good my cooking is because Madame always eats well. His highness has always been a picky eater.”

“Did Diederek see Victor’s childhood?”

He smiled quietly at her question.

“Yes. At that time, I was not a butler, but a servant to the late Grand Duke. His highness has always been very strong.”

She nodded quietly.

The old butler’s eyes were clouded with nostalgia.

***