CHAPTER 156

Sweaty forehead, white lips.

The girl was writhing in pain on a bed in the moonlight.

"······Ugh, ugh."

The scent of night fog creeping in from all directions was suffocating.

An inexplicable thickness between her fingers bestowed an eerie sensation upon the girl.

"Come with me. Quickly······."

It wasn't just ordinary mist.

The priestess of the World Tree, sensing it, grabbed Vlad's waist, urging him to hurry, but her words probably didn't reach him.

Because this wasn't reality; it was a dream.

A dream only the priestess of the World Tree could perceive.

-Chirp. Chirp.

A young canary was chirping in front of Vlad, who was struggling to walk through the darkness.

As if leading Vlad, the canary illuminated the path even in the dark like a torch.

"Hurry. Quickly."

The priestess instinctively knew.

Only that child could rescue Vlad from the darkness.

But the encroaching darkness was thick and deep, while the chirping of the young canary was too feeble to resist.

Swoosh-

The young bird vanished suddenly, as if blown away by someone's breath.

The priestess who was moving forward relying on that light was taken aback.

"······!"

In an instant, mist began to gather around Vlad and the priestess, thickening and enveloping them.

In the space filled only with darkness, the priestess of the World Tree hurriedly embraced Vlad's waist and fiercely glared towards where the canary had disappeared.

-······.

Someone was there.

With bright red smiling lips as if mocking.

A small feather that had now lost its light was floating around her.

"I'll never give it to you."

The light that had guided Vlad hadn't simply gone out.

It had been devoured.

Even now, someone was smiling in the dark, but their feet were not on the ground.

※※※※

Alicia's office bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

Looking out at the hills of Hainal visible from the window, Vlad quietly picked up the teacup in front of him.

The white snake on the hill in the distance seemed to be basking in the sun today, lifting its head as if contemplating.

"Sir Duncan said that there are only a few knights who have a special contract like yours."

Alicia's water-colored eyes, beautiful but seeming to hunger for something, rounded as she gazed at Vlad.

Meeting Alicia's gaze, Vlad quietly set down the teacup he was holding.

"······I probably would have agreed even if it had been longer than 7 years."

Vlad decided not to show his hand about Alicia knowing about his contract with Josef.

That's probably what Josef told her.

If so, Josef would also be anticipating the current situation.

"The period may have been short, but it was an excessive contract for me. I still appreciate it."

Although she didn't say it out loud, Alicia was hoping to recruit Vlad.

Even though Vlad was not accustomed to noble conversation, he couldn't help but notice the blatant atmosphere.

However, since Alicia had expressed interest in him many times, Vlad also had an answer in mind regarding the current situation.

"If possible, I would like to remain faithful to the contract with Lord Josef. Now and in the future."

"Ah."

Her expression of disappointment was pitiable, but he decided to answer honestly.

He didn't want to burden her with uncertain answers.

Vlad, who was also Alicia's knight, had some attachment to her and wanted to pass on this offer favorably if possible.

"······Is that so."

Although he shouldn't think like this, Vlad thought that the sad look of her trying to smile went well with the color of her water-colored hair.

"So that's why Lord Josef said it was okay to ask you."

He gave her this opportunity because he was sure that Vlad would not waver.

Alicia, who had finally figured out Josef's intentions, raised her teacup, feeling the anger calmly boiling inside her.

"It would have been better if you had met me first, instead of Lord Josef."

"If that were the case, I would have definitely signed a contract with you, Lady Alicia."

"······."

Vlad's smile as he spoke was unnecessarily sly.

What could he have said if he hadn't added that condition?

But what Alicia needed now was Vlad right in front of her, and he had just rejected her proposal.

He must be closer to Shoara than Deomar after all.

Though Alicia had already anticipated it, it stung nonetheless.

"Besides, you also have a friend named Zemina in Shoara."

"······Pardon?"

Vlad was taken aback by the sudden mention of Zemina, but Alicia's smile showed no sign of wavering.

"We still have four years ahead of us, and no one knows what the future holds, right?"

"Right······."

Alicia returned to her original demeanor as if the conversation hadn't happened at all.

Vlad could only quietly observe her attitude, which seemed different from before.

"I'll offer you the manor."

"······Pardon?"

The water lily flower that had been simply swaying wasn't here anymore.

Now Alicia's eyes are just filled with a desire that she can't hide.

"A manor. It is hereditary land that will be passed down to your children."

The manor. The greatest reward any knight could receive from their lord.

Upon hearing that word, Vlad couldn't hide his astonishment as he looked at Alicia before him.

"Fortunately, we were able to expand our territory through this war as well. Of course, with Bayezid's consideration."

Previously, the Hainal Barony had only one city and two villages, but through this war, they gained two more villages. 

Among them, the coastal village where Vlad arrived with the squid swarm now had a location that could potentially become a city. Alicia's offer of the manor to Vlad was no empty promise.

"Even Lord Josef himself wouldn't be able to offer such a condition."

If it was what she needed, she would take it, even if she had to snatch it away.

Whether it was from a man with deep eye shadows or a woman with red hair.

Alicia knew very well that Vlad was a perfect fit not only for these two, but also for herself.

※※※※

'Manor, manor…'

Vlad tried to calm his troubled mind as he walked the now familiar hallways of the mansion.

'Is a manor really that good?'

The word "manor," something he had never dreamed of, held unknown value to him.

But Godin had said it clearly.

For a knight, a manor was like a gateway to the world of nobility.

Even though Godin had given a false name, his desire to receive fair price through a manor was as genuine as his smile back then.

"It's not a decision you have to make right away. It's just a request to remember when the time comes."

The ruler of Hainal, who had offered Vlad the manor, spoke with a confidence that was entirely different from before.

"Not only me, but all the residents of Deomar value and admire you, Sir Vlad. Maybe not as much as in Shoara, but if you're here, this place could become another home for you."

Even if we are not the first person to notice you, we can be the people who cherish you the most.

After hearing Alicia's straightforward proposal, Vlad continued to walk the corridors, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

".....I'm not sure."

Though he was filled with uncertainty, one thing was certain: this dilemma was something he couldn't share with Josef or any other Bayezid knight.

Alicia passed her worries onto Vlad with a meaningful smile. Perhaps that was the best revenge she could exact upon the knight who dared to reject her.

"It would be nice if you suddenly appeared and gave me advice at times like this."

As Vlad's thoughts grew more tangled, he couldn't help but recall the presence of the voice.

The voice that only he knew, a confidant in times of need.

He couldn't identify its origin, but it was certainly a knowledgeable presence, one that would have surely been helpful in moments like this.

"Huh?"

For a moment, Vlad, walking down the hallway, stopped in his tracks, and perked up his ears when he heard a familiar sound ringing in his ears.

"Wooden sword?"

Someone was swinging what sounded like a wooden sword through the air. 

However, the faintly discordant sound of the wind gave an indication of the skill level of the person wielding the wooden sword.

'What's this?'

Vlad stopped still in the hallway at the sound of hitting hard but not finding a path.

The sound of working hard but not showing any improvement was mixed with a sadness that only those who have experienced it can recognize.

"······."

Without knowing why, Vlad followed the sound that was pulling him and walked into a hallway he had never been to before.

The old and winding hallways of Deomar, neglected for a long time perhaps due to the dwindling finances, were filled with layers of dust undisturbed by the touch of servants.

Following the narrow and dark hallway, Vlad found himself in a small garden he had never known existed—a neglected patch of land, overgrown and unkempt.

And there, in the garden, he saw someone vigorously swinging what appeared to be a wooden sword.

"Ha, ha..."

Charles Rabnoma.

A girl with green hair and the last Rabnoma. 

She was swinging what looked more like a club than a wooden sword, earnestly attacking the empty air.

"....A complete mess."

Her meaningless movements, whether striking downward or upward, showed no sense of direction. 

Seeing Charles's clueless actions, Vlad instinctively hid himself against the wall, observing her from a distance.

"Is there no one to teach her?"

Perhaps the lack of guidance had led to this state. 

The makeshift authority of an inexperienced Rabnoma would surely have left the girl adrift, especially after the sharpness brought about by the war, which would have undoubtedly dampened her spirits.

In the end, Charles would not have been able to ask anyone for help in this unfamiliar city.

"······."

Vlad, understanding Charles's situation, scratched his cheek in contemplation as he listened to the sound of the wooden sword.

Despite being unable to reach out to anyone, Charles Rabnoma continued to relentlessly swing her wooden sword.

Vlad, who was quietly leaning against the wall in the hallway, quietly closed his eyes while listening to the sound.

"Hmm."

The more he listened, the more familiar the sound became. 

The sound Charles produced now was reminiscent of the sound made by a boy who used to swing a wooden sword alone in an empty space in a back alley.

It was as if he was facing his younger, more timid self, so Vlad stepped out of the hallway and into the small garden.

"...Hey."

"Yes?"

Charles's eyes widened in surprise at Vlad's sudden appearance, tinged with a hint of confusion. 

However, any trace of genuine joy in seeing Vlad was surely not just his imagination.

"That, uh... That's not how you do it."

Facing Charles' eyes full of anticipation, Vlad's voice even trembled out of embarrassment, wondering if he had come forward for no reason.

While he was accustomed to learning, he wasn't used to teaching others.

The boy from the back alley wasn't yet accustomed to giving away what was his.

"Just try narrowing the angle of your elbow instead of swinging so wide."

Even if it's just a little advice, it's something to give. 

Now he knows. If it weren't for that voice, he might have been stuck in that back alley empty space for the rest of his life.

"Huh?"

"Draw the line... like this."

At the end of his familiar footsteps, Vlad found a scene reminiscent of the past, except for one difference: his position.

"Like this?"

"...Looks like you need to relearn the basics of grip."

Vlad's touch was gentle as he opened the girl's tightly folded hand.

A small garden in the mansion that no one visits.

-The angle of your elbow when you swing should be a bit narrower.

The sound that began from there was likely from some empty space in a dark back alley.

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