CHAPTER 86

Knight.

A word that can resonate even with a boy rolling in the mud in a back alley.

There was someone who opened the door to the world called a knight, which seemed impossible to reach even if he crawled all his life.

He was a person with a blue world who did not lose his presence even under the moonlight.

And the boy lost his nest by the world he wielded.

The vacant look in Jorge's eyes that trembled emptily at his fingertips.

Pieces of torn flesh falling down above his head.

The knight of the blue moonlight, who poured out pieces of salvation and despair, said.

"A knight always receives only a fair price."

The third discipline of the Swordmaster.

A knight must always be honorable.

Therefore, they must always receive only a fair price.

"I have come here to pay a fair price for your handkerchief, Lady Alicia."

And now the boy also understands that discipline.

The boy's toes, struggling to crawl through the mud, finally touched the blue moonlight.

Now, the boy, who can confidently reach out for a fair price, raised his head towards the noble lady.

"I will stake the honor of my knighthood for that price."

The world he dreamed of, the world he longed for.

And the world he vowed to break.

Vlad quietly shouted in front of the Blue Moonlight Knight.

I finally have the right to stand in front of you.

"With my name endorsed by Bayezid family."

Bayezid's knight, Vlad of Shoara.

"..."

"..."

Blue eyes and blue moonlight were quietly looking at each other.

The swirling eyes of the boy resembled his world.

※※※※

"Vlad. Vlad of Shoara..."

The reception room Alicia provided for the guests from the west.

There, Stephen was seated on a chair, savoring the taste.

Things were expected to proceed smoothly, but Bayezid brought an unexpected variable.

"It's a name I haven't heard before."

Stephen turned his head towards Godin sitting next to him as he spoke.

A man who always wore a smile on his face.

But today, he was a man smiling with a somewhat disheveled expression, unlike his usual composed smile.

"Do you know him?"

If it were the usual Stephen, he wouldn't have bothered with knights from the north.

His bold personality, born with veins and clenched fists, quickly pushed insignificant beings out of his memory.

But the lad from the north was different.

"He seemed quite arrogant."

"······Is that so."

Although he thought they had made eye contact, they hadn't.

Vlad's gaze was fixed solely on Godin standing behind Stephen.

Seeing Vlad casually ignore him filled Stephen with curiosity and a fresh sense of indignation.

"······If you know each other, you can say you know each other."

While Godin answered Stephen's question, he was still lost in thought.

The intense gaze sent by the boy continued to linger in Godin's mind, even amidst the smiles of roses.

"I never imagined I'd encounter him in a place like this."

That day, sparing the boy wasn't merely driven by simple sympathy.

It was because of the potential the boy possessed, and the encouragement it brought.

Even if it might turn out to be a disappointment later on.

'Quite impressive.'

The boy who crawled through bloodied floors.

The boy who cried loudly from behind him.

But now, that boy from back then is no more.

The boy standing before Godin today was Bayezid's knight, Vlad of Shoara.

'I never thought it would be him.'

Godin leaned back against the backrest, remembering the blue eyes looking at him.

It was an unbelievable result, but the Vlad of Shoara whom he had only heard about was really the Vlad he knew.

"Now what?"

"...?"

At Stephen's blunt question, Godin opened his eyes.

Now that he was out of his thoughts, he became aware of his position and quickly calculated what action to take next.

"There's still a way."

A knight named Godin was someone who could sever even precious old ties if it meant following the lord's command.

Though it was a regrettable possibility, if someone stood in his way, there would be no hesitation.

"It's a universal law that the victor takes all."

The boy was holding a handkerchief with a noble name engraved on it, and that was the only justification for stopping Stephen from making a false marriage proposal.

"Challenge the boy to a duel."

"A duel?"

An honorable arena where only qualified individuals could stand.

Now that the boy was a knight, he could step into that place with his own name, without borrowing anyone else's honor.

"Young men in love sometimes fight to win the heart of a noble lady, don't they?"

Godin smiled at Stephen.

It was his usual expression, a sight trusted by Sigmund, the conqueror of the west.

"Alright."

Stephen laughed along with Godin's smile, which had finally found its original place.

In the west, means and methods were not spared for the sake of gaining power.

Stephen laughed fiercely, recalling the blue eyes that had ignored him.

※※※※

"Thank you for coming, knights of Bayezid."

A place where one can see a tree rooted on a low hill outside the window.

Zayar and Vlad, who entered Alicia's office as guests, bowed their heads again in response to her greeting.

"Lord Josef wishes to demonstrate the strength of the alliance between Bayezid and Hainal."

"I guess I should send him a letter thanking him."

Alicia nodded with a trustworthy smile after hearing Zayar's reply.

For this mission, Josef had selected not only Zayar and Vlad but also from the top ranks of Bayezid, to be sent to Hainal.

Amidst the increasingly urgent situation, the value of Deomar's land had correspondingly risen.

"Here is a letter from Lord Josef."

Alicia accepted the letter.

"He said that even though Sir Vlad has Lady Alicia's handkerchief, it will not be easy for you to reject the marriage proposal from Gaidar."

After receiving the letter from Alicia, Josef quickly went to Sturma, leaving behind his duties in Shoara.

This move was not only to advance the preparations for the boy, which had been underway for some time, but also to prepare more certain measures for this occasion.

"What is this?"

"Read it."

Alicia tore open the envelope bearing the Bayezid seal upon hearing Zayar's words.

Josef's message written in the letter inside.

As Alicia's eyes moved down the letter, they began to tremble slightly.

"······Such a method existed."

"I did my best for Deomar."

After reading the letter, Alicia's eyes were looking at Bayezid's knights with a different light than before.

It was a look that was colder and more subdued, a little more noble than before.

"I am also someone with blood ties to Lady Oksana. So, it is a perfectly feasible method."

Duncan, standing beside Alicia, realized that her reaction was unusual and quickly read the letter.

'······I see.'

It was an unexpected event, but indeed, there was no one anywhere who would help Deomar purely out of goodwill.

Duncan, after deciphering Josef's intentions from the words written in the letter, set the letter down with a frustrated expression.

Like any noble, Alicia Hainal was born with noble bloodlines established through generations of marital relationships. Among them, Alicia had the blood of the Oscar family through her grandmother, which traced back to the family of Josef's mother, Oksana.

".....If the Countess Bayezid becomes my godmother, surely the current proposal can be easily dealt with."

"Yes, indeed."

Alicia's problem is that she has no parents.

Therefore, she was immediately shaken by Gaidar's marriage proposal, but the story would be a little different if Oksana became her godmother. 

If Stephen truly desired marriage with Alicia, he would need to obtain Oksana's approval.

"I am worried that I might be burdening the Countess."

"Lady Oksana has always welcomed Lady Alicia."

A godmother or godfather, the relationship between an adult and a child bound by religious forms through the church's blessing. 

In the worst-case scenario where bloodlines were threatened, it could become the only means of protecting a child who could not protect themselves yet, but responsibility always came with corresponding authority.

"Do I need to decide immediately?"

"No, we are well aware that this matter could burden you, Lady Alicia."

Alicia, the sole Hainal, and Oksana Bayezid, her sole guardian. If Alicia were to accept Josef's proposal, Bayezid's intervention in Hainal affairs would have a firm justification.

"...It's been a while since I've seen you, Sir Vlad."

Gaidar approaches a pure girl under the pretext of proposing marriage.

Bayezid uses protection as bait for an orphan.

For the powerless Alicia and Deomar, there were now few trustworthy entities.

"What about you? Aren't you burdened by the tasks assigned to you?"

Before him stood a boy, also a knight of Bayezid. Therefore, it was only natural that he would be more loyal to Bayezid than to her. Still, considering the obligations he had to fulfill, the boy might be slightly more trustworthy than Josef.

"I will do my best for you, Lady Alicia. That's what I was ordered to do, and it is also what I want to do."

Alicia smiled weakly as she looked into Vlad's unwavering eyes, knowing him to be someone who always did his best, as she had seen during their duel that day. 

She also knew him to be a boy with a sincere demeanor, as she had witnessed him praying beneath the family tree. Even though it stemmed from a misunderstanding, Alicia felt grateful.

"Thank you so much, Sir Vlad," Alicia said, extending her hand to Vlad with a smile. "Could you please show me my handkerchief? It's been in your care for quite some time now; perhaps it could use a bit of tidying up before being presented in front of people?"

Alicia felt a sense of pride as she watched Vlad carefully retrieve her handkerchief from a deep pocket, as if he had treasured it dearly. 

Despite being under pressure between the two noble families surrounding Deomar, seeing the genuine innocence of the boy somehow felt healing to her.

"Here it is."

The handkerchief Vlad presented was neatly folded, just as she had given it to him.

If it weren't for the other handkerchief that came with it.

"······."

Vlad looked at another handkerchief that came with it and tried to pick it up again as if nothing had happened, but Alicia's hand was faster to stop him.

Sometimes the woman moved faster than the knight.

"This doesn't seem to be the handkerchief I gave you," Alicia said, picking up the unfamiliar one as if to show it to Vlad.

The back of Duncan's neck turned red as he saw the terrible sight right next to him, and Zayar covered his only remaining eye with his palm with a small sigh.

"It's nothing special, it's a handkerchief my friend gave me. "It's actually a handkerchief that I use…" Vlad explained, feeling like his words sounded like a messy excuse. 

It felt similar to the excuses made by men caught in adultery, but he was different. 

There was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, it was an accident, not something exchanged between them for the purpose of confirming their feelings, right?

"It's such a trivial handkerchief..." Vlad's voice, once confident, now sounded increasingly feeble.

Although he had received a thorough education from Oksana, the boy still remained ignorant of the intricacies of noble society, merely gazing at Alicia with innocent eyes.

"Lady... Zemina."

Even though Vlad claimed it was just an insignificant handkerchief, Alicia could sense that the handkerchief, embroidered with delicate thread, was not just an ordinary item.

Alicia wanted to maintain her composure as much as possible, but today she felt incredibly exhausted. Therefore, she couldn't help but be shaken by emotions that were difficult to express in words.

"Is your friend a girl?"

"Yes. We've grown up together since we were young."

"Aha."

Vlad smiled as he saw Alicia nodding.

'Be quiet. If you say one more word, I will kill you.'

The boy looks around at Zayar's sudden warning.

A Baroness with an exaggerated smile.

An old knight with a face so red it felt like it was going to explode.

Zayar looked pale.

'······Ah.'

Although his knowledge of the aristocratic world was not deep, the boy who had a keen sense of insight realized this.

That he has now committed something again.

Not even the white snake hugging the tree outside can do anything about his current mistake.