CHAPTER 49

Sturma, the city of the fortress walls.

Its owner, Peter Bayezid, sighed as he grasped the message relayed by Lagmus.

"······ Count Rabnoma has fallen."

Peter closed his eyes, stroking his chin with one hand.

While he had sensed that something was amiss in the movements of the west, he hadn't anticipated such an outcome.

"······ Did the Count Gaidar have such strength?"

"The western families formed an alliance. It seems they were quite formidable."

"Why did the royal family stay idle?"

"······ We couldn't find out what was going on at the central government."

He spoke as if apologizing, but Lagmus too must have felt helpless.

The north was a place with a distinct identity stronger than any other region.

Indeed, because they had erected their own walls, they were free from the influence of the royal or central authority, but that also meant they were ignorant of events unfolding in other regions.

In all matters, there were pros and cons.

"······ To think a count family of a kingdom would crumble so easily. Especially one known for keeping oaths."

No matter how turbulent the empire was, there was a line that needed to be maintained.

However, the newly begun current was swallowing up the rules they had so far adhered to.

In a manner more brutal than ever before.

"······ An era of chaos."

Through the current message, Peter clearly realized the era he was now living in.

To those who had newly grasped power, the rules and traditions established in the past may have felt like chains constricting them.

The order of the west had been reshuffled.

By the Gaidar family, who had toppled the long-standing rulers of the west, the Rabnoma family.

The fall of Count Rabnoma may have been the first signal of a new era.

"······This."

Lost in thought for a while, Peter rose from his seat as if realizing something and approached the window.

A procession of carriages entering the mansion, accompanied by the patter of late spring rain.

Watching the pilgrims entering the mansion, Peter seemed to finally understand, biting his lip.

"······They aren't pilgrims."

People entering the Bayezid mansion, holding the emblem of the church high.

They weren't pilgrims but refugees bearing the weight of old oath, seeking refuge.

They had come not to seek traces of the dragon, as they had claimed to the Northern Ironmaster, but as refugees bearing ancient oath.

※※※※

Vlad was moving luggage while being pelted by rain.

In the cold spring rain, his breath rose white.

'The atmosphere is peculiar.'

Just last night, they were a group exchanging laughter in a warm atmosphere, but not anymore.

With the sudden decision for a forced march, the mood of the procession had hardened, and at the same time, a subtle tension began to flow.

As a result, Vlad arrived in Sturma a day earlier than scheduled and was now moving luggage brought by the priests under tight security.

"Careful, careful!"

"Hey, step aside. We'll handle this."

As loud noises reached him, Vlad instinctively turned his head.

There stood a rugged wooden chest with strange inscriptions carved on it.

For some reason, it caught Vlad's attention.

Thump-

But Vlad quickly turned away from the intriguing chest, hastening to move elsewhere.

 Because the blood flowing from the deathworm's body was mixed with the rain.

'Must be the smell.'

His heart racing was probably due to the scent of blood, much like how some people are sensitive to certain foods or fragrances.

In his case, perhaps it was the blood of Deathworm.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Vlad, having moved the luggage to the entrance hall of the Bayezid mansion, bowed his head, waiting for the door to open.

Although just a few more steps would take him inside, this was as far as Vlad was permitted.

Quietly thanking him, Rutger and his knights entered, patting his shoulder before heading inside.

Even the priests following behind, surrounding the black wooden chest, were allowed in.

They had all been together until now, but the boy didn't have the right to accompany them until the end.

'······.'

As they walked in, Vlad quietly raised his head, following them with his gaze.

With curiosity mixed with a hint of resentment towards the space not permitted to him.

"······!"

And there, their gazes met.

The highest point in the Bayezid family.

From where Vlad's gaze reached, an impossibly vast world was already looking down at him.

Completely frozen by Peter's presence, Vlad could only remain stiff, unable to avert his gaze until the door of the hall, dividing by qualification, closed completely.

※※※※

"I'll go."

"Go ahead."

Perhaps Potree had some expectations as he bid Vlad farewell with a sullen expression.

The two squires returned to Sturma, expecting some kind of reward or a modest celebration after catching a deathworm.

But with the heavy feeling carried by the late spring rain, they had no choice but to return to their original places.

Watching Potree's figure retreat to their quarters, Vlad moved his steps.

Even though he was in the same boat, Vlad could be considered in a slightly better position as he had someone to report.

"······."

Walking down the corridor, Vlad remembered the gaze of Peter he had briefly met earlier.

'I don't remember.'

While the first impression was vivid, the problem was that there was no memorable image left.

Rather than Peter's appearance, only the presence he exuded remained in the boy's mind.

"Hmm."

It didn't matter if he couldn't remember.

After all, the Count would likely resemble the person he was about to meet.

"I'm here. Lord Josef."

"Come in."

Announcing his arrival in front of Josef's study, Vlad opened the door with a familiar gesture.

Although the glorious hall of the Bayezid didn't welcome Vlad, Josef's study gladly embraced him.

"You've come a day early."

"That's how it turned out."

"I see. I got the gist of it."

Josef's study, which Oksana had specifically arranged, was the place in the Bayezid mansion where sunlight lingered the longest. Vlad initially found the sunlight burdensome when he first entered, but now he had grown somewhat accustomed to it.

"Is your health alright?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good to hear."

Vlad felt a slight tension as he calmly observed Josef's questioning and the presence of Zayar beside him. He worried if there might be any reprimand coming his way.

Defeating the Deathworm that targeted pilgrims was undoubtedly a commendable feat. However, it might have been slightly uncomfortable from Josef's personal standpoint. After all, he ended up helping Rutger.

As someone in a competitive relationship with Josef, Vlad couldn't help but consider this aspect.

"Why do you look at me like that?"

However, Josef showed no sign of discomfort, merely focusing on his paperwork.

"….It's nothing."

Vlad inwardly sighed with relief, not because he hadn't been scolded but because Josef's demeanor matched his expectations.

"Even though you're fine, it's best to take it easy as much as possible."

After rummaging through paperwork for a while, Josef raised his head and looked directly at Vlad.

"I don't know much about the back alleys of Shoara, but still."

Vlad was suddenly surprised by Josef bringing up the back alleys.

"I heard the conflicts between organisations end when all members of one organization are dead or surrender. Is that true?"

"······Yes. Probably."

Vlad replied, bowing his head in thought.

Why are you suddenly asking such a question?

Seeing Josef probing into his most sensitive area, Vlad felt a bit uneasy and shrunk back.

"So, you didn't send any letters?"

"What letters are you talking about?"

"To your lover at the convent."

"······She's just a friend."

"Anyway."

Listening to Vlad's response, Josef stood up from his seat.

"I wasn't unaware of the circumstances during these times when you couldn't even properly send news, in case the people in Shoara got hurt."

Walking to the window with his baggage, Josef observed the light rain outside.

"I wanted to be considerate, but to resolve that, time and achievements were necessary. One-armed Jack has his value."

Vlad silently nodded as he listened to Josef's words.

It was likely so.

Even if it was the back alleys, they were still under the jurisdiction of the Bayezid family.

For someone like one-armed Jack to rampage in the back alleys, there must have been connections to the powerful figures in the upper echelons.

Because he was a man with lot of wealth as his nickname name is money bug.

Although it stemmed from the tears of the people in the back alleys.

"······."

Vlad silently gazed at Josef standing by the window.

And even at the small flag hanging next to him.

It was an item he had never seen in Josef's office, despite frequent visits.

"What's that?"

A rectangular-shaped white flag.

Smaller than the flags he had seen before, it looked like it could be held with one hand.

Josef was lost in thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

"······However, you have proven your worth excellently."

With those words, Josef carefully took out the flag beside him.

"You've worked hard for me, so I must fulfill my promise to you."

"······yes?"

Vlad looked at Josef approaching him slowly, reminiscent of the sight of Peter he had seen earlier.

The dignity emanating from Josef holding the flag reminded him of the presence he had felt back then.

"I heard the knights of my grandfather's generation carried the same flags that I'm holding now."

Looking at the flag he held with a subtle gaze, Josef smiled bitterly.

"A flag symbolizing one's own honor."

But Josef was a chosen one.

Unable to wield a sword and a flag, he would grasp the knight who carried it.

And before Josef stood a boy who could do that.

"You are worthy to carry your own flag. And that qualification is endorsed by Hanial and Bayezid families."

Vlad, with a bewildered expression, looked at the white flag being handed to him.

It seemed entirely empty, but there were two sentences inscribed faintly on the top left of the flag.

They were the words of Hainal and Bayezid.

"B-But. Not yet."

"Take this and go to your hometown."

"…..!"

After hearing Josef's words, Vlad felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

His mind was going blank at the sudden words.

It was a moment he had longed for, dream of, and decide that he would do it someday.

But he never imagined that the moment would be today.

"Vlad, bestowed with the name Lady Alicia and a squire of the Bayezid family, raise your head proudly beneath this flag."

The boy, holding the flag handed to him by Josef, raised his head with a dazed expression.

However, despite his expression being dazed, the boy's body trembled uncontrollably.

The moment he had longed for was approaching.

"You must cut of the evil ties that bound you there, truly free yourself, and come back to me."

Vlad didn't respond.

He simply gazed at the flag he held, his gaze becoming increasingly unfocused.

"As promised, everything is sponsored by Bayezid. Vlad of Shoara."

In that day's contract,

The boy and the young man promised to give and receive from each other.

And that promise was now confirmed beneath the honorable flag the boy held.

Vlad of Shoara.

Return to your homeland.

Break free from the evil ties that bind you there.

And reclaim what is yours.

"I will uphold the name."

The boy tightly grasped the flag he held.

Until his hands turned pale.