Chapter 155 - Follow in their footsteps (3)

Sweaty forehead, pale lips.

A girl writhed in pain on a bed under the moonlight.

"...Huff, Huff."

The smell of the night mist coming from all directions was terrible.

An inexplicable thick sensation between her fingers was giving the girl an eerie feeling.

"Follow me. Quickly..."

This was no ordinary mist.

The World Tree Priestess, noticing this, grabbed Vlad by the waist and urged him to hurry, but her words probably didn't reach Vlad.

Because this was a dream, not reality.

A dream that only the Goddess of the World Tree could enact.

-Tweet. Tweet.

A young canary chirped in front of Vlad, who struggled to walk in the darkness.

As if to guide Vlad, the canary was like a torch, illuminating the path even in the darkness.

"Quickly hurry up."

The priestess instinctively knew.

That only that child could lead Vlad out of the darkness.

However, even though the encroaching darkness was thick and deep, the chirping of the young canary against it was very weak.

Wham!

As if someone suddenly blew, the young bird disappeared as if by magic.

The priestess, who was guided by its light, was surprised.

"...!"

In an instant, the mist began to slowly gather around Vlad and the priestess.

In that space filled only with darkness, the World Tree Priestess hurriedly embraced Vlad's waist and fiercely looked at the spot where the canary had disappeared.

-······.

Someone was there.

With lips brightly red, as if laughing.

A small feather that had now lost its light floated around.

"I will never give it to you."

The light guiding Vlad had not gone out.

It had been eaten.

Even now, she smiled in the darkness, but her feet were not on the ground.

***

Alicia's office filled with the afternoon sunlight.

Looking at the Hainal hills through the window, Vlad silently picked up the teacup in front of him.

The white serpent on the hill seen from afar was curled up and silently lifted its head as if basking in the sun today.

"Lord Duncan said there aren't many knights with contracts as special as yours," Alicia said.

With water-colored eyes fixed on Vlad, bright but seeming hungry for something.

Vlad, facing Alicia's eyes, silently put down the teacup he was holding.

"...I probably would have accepted even if more than 7 years had passed."

Vlad decided not to reveal that Alicia knew about his contract with Joseph.

That was probably what Joseph told me.

If so, Joseph would also be predicting the current situation.

"It was a short contract, but it was too much for me. I am still grateful."

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

A brazen atmosphere that even Vlad, who is not used to conversations with nobles, couldn't help but notice.

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

"If possible, I would like to remain faithful to my contract with Lord Joseph. Just like now, in the future."

"Ah."

I felt sorry for his sad expression, but still decided to respond honestly.

Because I didn't want to cause her unnecessary trouble with an uncertain answer.

Vlad, who was also Alicia's knight, had a certain attachment to her and wanted to convey this offer favorably if possible.

"...Is that so."

Although I shouldn't think so, Vlad thought that her sad gaze trying to smile matched well with the color of her water-colored hair.

"I guess that's why Joseph said it was okay to ask."

I gave you this opportunity because I was sure you wouldn't be shaken.

Alicia, who had finally discovered Joseph's intentions, raised her teacup, feeling the anger boiling quietly inside her.

"It would have been better if you had known me before Joseph."

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

"..."

Vlad's smile when he said he should have done so was a bit funny.

If you assume what would happen if, what can you say you can't say?

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

After all, it would be Soara and not Deirmar.

Although Alicia already expected it, she couldn't resist.

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

"...Yes?"

Vlad was taken aback by the sudden mention of Zemina's name, but Alicia's smile didn't waver one bit.

"You still have four years left, and no one knows what will happen in the future. Right?"

"That's right."

Alicia returned to her original form as if she hadn't even said what she just said.

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

"I will offer you my mansion."

"...Yes?"

The flax flowers are no longer here to be swayed by the wind.

"A mansion. It's inherited land that will be passed down to your children."

Now Alicia's eyes are simply filled with an unmistakable desire.

Mansion (莊園). The greatest reward any knight can receive from their lord. [1]

Upon hearing those words, Vlad couldn't hide his surprise and could only look at Alicia in front of him.

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

Until now, the Barony of Hainal had only one city and two villages, but through this war, it was able to have two more villages.

Among them, the coastal village where Vlad arrived with a flock of squids now has a location that could become a city, so her words offering her mansion to Vlad were by no means a lie.

"This is probably a condition that not even Joseph can impose."

If it's what I need, even if I have to snatch it away, he must come.

Whether from a dark-eyed man or a red-haired woman.

Alicia knew very well that Vlad fit perfectly not only with these two, but also with herself.

***

'…Mansion, mansion.'

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

'Is the mansion really that good?'

The word "mansion" whose value I don't even know because I had never dreamt of it before.

But Godin had clearly said so.

For a knight, the existence of a mansion is like a gateway to the world of nobility.

Although Godin gave a false name, his smile at that moment when he wanted to receive fair compensation through the mansion was genuine.

"I'm not saying you have to decide right now. I ask you to remember me when the time comes."

The lord of Hainal, who had said he would give him a mansion, made the offer to Vlad with a confident voice that was completely different from before.

'Not only me, but all the residents of Deirmar care about Lord Vlad and like him. Although it may not be as good as Soara, where you were born, this place can become another home for you.'

Even if you're not the first to notice, you can be the one who cares the most.

After hearing Alicia's sudden suggestion, Vlad simply frowned as he walked down the hallway.

"…I don't know."

There were many things he didn't know, but one thing was certain: he couldn't share this concern with Joseph or the other knights of Bayezid.

Alicia conveyed her concerns to Vlad with a meaningful smile, and it was probably the best revenge she could give him.

This is the kind of revenge you give to an unpleasant knight who dared to reject her.

"It would be fantastic if he showed up at a time like this."

As Vlad walked down the hallway, following steps as dizzying as his complicated thoughts, he suddenly remembered the presence of the voice.

A voice that only you know and can freely reveal.

Although his identity was unknown, he was a person with a lot of common sense, so he must have been a great help in times like this.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Vlad, walking down the hallway, stopped and listened intently when he heard a familiar sound ringing in his ears.

"Wooden sword?"

It was the sound of someone holding something that looked like a wooden sword and swinging it in the air.

However, the sound of the wind that was still subtly different allowed him to guess the level of the person holding the wooden sword.

'What is this.'

Vlad stood still in the hallway at the sound of a strong blow but couldn't find the way.

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

"…"

Unknowingly, Vlad followed the sound that dragged him and walked into a hallway he had never been before.

The corridors of Deirmar are as narrow and winding as old ones.

Perhaps due to poor finances and fewer people, the corridors that had long been untouched were filled with dust that was slowly being stepped on.

What followed that narrow, dark hallway was a very small garden that Vlad had never known about.

To be precise, it is a rundown vacant lot that is not receiving proper maintenance.

And there, Vlad found someone swinging a wooden sword with all their might.

"Ha..."

Charlotte Ravnoma.

A green-haired girl who is now the last Ravnoma.

In this place where no one looked, Charlotte held a stick that didn't look like a wooden sword and swung it forcefully in the air.

"…What a mess."

Senseless movements where you don't know whether to strike down or up.

Vlad, seeing Charlotte who didn't have a clear path, unknowingly hid beside the hallway.

"Is no one teaching her?"

She probably ended up like this because there was no one to teach her.

The awkward title of Ravnoma must have bothered the girl, and the sharp atmosphere caused by the war must have intimidated her.

In the end, Charlotte wouldn't have been able to ask anyone for help in this unfamiliar city.

"…"

Vlad, who guessed Charlotte's situation, quietly scratched his cheek and listened to the sound of the wooden sword.

A wooden sword that kept striking even though it couldn't hit anyone.

Vlad, who was quietly leaning against the hallway wall, closed his eyes in silence as he listened to the sound.

"Mmm."

The more you listen, the more familiar the sound becomes.

The sound Charlotte was making now was the same sound as the boy who was swinging a wooden sword alone in an empty alley.

It felt like he was meeting his younger, weaker self, so Vlad left the hallway and entered a small garden.

"…Hey."

"Yes?"

There was embarrassment in the very wide and round eyes when Vlad suddenly appeared.

However, it certainly wasn't Vlad's illusion that the slightest welcome was visible.

"That… That's not how you do it."

While facing Charlotte's eyes full of anticipation, Vlad's voice even trembled with surprise, wondering if he had approached without any reason.

Although he was used to learning, he was not accustomed to teaching someone.

The boy from the dark alley was still not used to giving his things to others.

"Don't just strike, try to narrow the elbow angle a little."

Still, there's something I learned.

I know now.

If it weren't for the voice, I would have been bound in a vacant lot in an alley for the rest of my life.

"Yes?"

"I told you to draw a line like this."

At the end of my steps following the familiar sound, there was a scene that looked exactly like the previous one.

However, if there is a difference from then, it is that the standing position is different.

"Like this?"

"…You have to relearn how to grip."

Vlad's hand was careful as he gently opened the girl's tightly crossed hand.

A small garden in a mansion that no one visits.

- It seems that the boy needs to narrow the elbow angle a little more when striking.

The beginning of the sound that is heard from there probably came from some dark, vacant lot in a back alley.

T/L: 

(莊園) is a word in Korean that translates to "property" or "estate." The character "莊" means "villa" or "farm," and "園" means "garden" or "orchard."

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