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Episode 2 : If one problem is solved, another appears.
Ruger stood in front of the lonely guest room, located in a remote corner of the duke’s castle. The soldier guarding the door inspected the tray Ruger had brought. Meanwhile, he gave a long sigh.
Luisen was chased away to this room after losing his bedroom, the nicest room in the castle, to Carlton. Luisen had said he offered the bedroom willingly to Carlton, but most of the servants seemed to think he had been forced out.
‘How could the Duke of Anies end up like this….’
The guard finished his examination and opened the door. Ruger nodded his head briefly at him and entered the room. Luisen had already woken up, changed his clothes, and sat at the table without a servant to help him. At his appearance, Ruger let out another sigh.
Luisen was always surrounded by the finest of materials and waited upon by a dozen servants. He would pay no attention to things unless they were expensive and precious. Of course, he had always stayed in a refined and splendid mansion within the capital as well.
‘This room, by comparison….’
The room was spacious and clean, but the furniture was worn-down and the decorations were old-fashioned. The space seemed even shabbier as Ruger compared it to an empty storage room.
Furthermore, Luisen was not assigned any attending servants. All of the duke’s servants were busy cleaning up after Carlton and his men. Only Ruger stayed behind to attend for Luisen, but it was hard for him to finish the work of many people. He prioritized retrieving meals on time and keeping the room clean–and even that was tiring. As a result, Luisen washed himself, clothed himself, and took care of his own needs.
From Ruger’s perspective, Luisen was someone who had never lifted a finger for himself; he would wear pajamas all day long if the servants didn’t prepare a change of clothes.
‘Ha….The duke is somehow brought low like this….’ Ruger thought Luisen looked so pitiful.
Ruger put the meal down on the table; the meal’s quality was less than what the duke would usually be served. Bread, soup, meat, and various vegetables–poor barons in the capital would eat more extravagantly than this–though certainly the meal was plentiful for Luisen’s changed life. The butler secretly wiped away tears thinking about his master’s current situation.
But Luisen was different.
“It’s a feast today, too!” He happily welcomed the shabby, unfit for a noble meal. Ruger looked at Luisen in bewilderment.
“What’s wrong? Do you have anything to say? Can you say it while I’m eating–I’m quite hungry.”
Ruger did not know whether or not Luisen was trying to stay positive, or whether he was simply air-headed. The one who had his pride scarred the most, the one who should have been the most melancholy, seemed perfectly fine.
“No. Please eat.”
“Mhmm,” Luisen answered brightly, and began eating.
First, he cut off a large piece of the bread and *aang* pushed it into his mouth. While chewing the bread, he gulped down the nice hot soup in one long slurp. Then, he calmly targeted the vegetable and meat dishes. Luisen ate happily, the sincerity of the feeling disseminating through his whole body.
‘Since when did my duke eat so well…?’
The Luisen that Ruger remembered would always look apathetically at his meals. Even when the royal chef prepared particularly ambitious food, with ingredients that would appear once in a decade, Luisen would offer no appreciation nor admiration. The chefs in the mansion had a hard time trying to satisfy his short mouth…But now Luisen was gnawing on a chicken leg, chewing the salted gristle.
‘Three hours ago, he ate three apples–cores and all–because his mouth was bored.’ At times like this, Ruger felt that he wasn’t serving the same lord as before. He had an inexplicable feeling that there was a beggar wearing his lord’s skin?
‘I’ve heard of cases where binge eating relieves psychological pressure….Is he in shock?’ Ruger looked at Luisen with a complicated gaze.
Ignorant to all the misunderstandings Ruger was crafting inside his head, Luisen was just ecstatic at his delicious meal.
‘As expected, bread really is the best.’ In his beggar days, he had scrambled to eat bread as hard as bricks that had been thrown into the trash…But white bread made only with wheat that was so soft it melted in the mouth? Luisen was in bliss.
‘The best! Surrendering was such a good idea.’ He passed his days captive as if he were having the most satisfying time in his life.
When mealtime arrived, Ruger would bring freshly prepared, warm meals. the tables were laden with fruit–he only had to reach with his hands to take his fill. Luisen could sit still and still have enough food to fill his belly.
Ruger lamented the shabbiness of the room, but the bedroom, which had working walls, a roof, and heating, was just like a palace for Luisen. If he had wanted to sleep in a random barn overnight, he would’ve had to show all sorts of flattery to the barn’s owner just for a bit of hay. He had no fear of being covered in frost while sleeping, nor did he have to stay on guard all night for fear of being attacked by a wild dog.
After a night of sleeping, swaddled in the soft downy mattress, Luisen felt so refreshed in the morning that he felt as if his body could fly. And all these benefits were free! This preferential treatment was thrown at him through the force of his name and status as duke!
In the past, it was so easy to take all this for granted–privilege came as easily as breathing. Now, though, he looked at this treatment with new eyes. Perhaps because he had corrected his mistakes, he felt like he could take some pride in his role.
Well into his dinner, there came a knock on the door, and Carlton’s soldier stepped into the room. Luisen froze with a spoon halfway to his mouth. Him again? Was this the end of his happy days?
“I was asked to escort the duke,” the soldier said.
“I’m in the middle of eating……”
“You must go right now, without delay.”
“….I see.”
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Luisen put down his spoon and washed his hands clean in the wash basin that Ruger had brought.
“Do you always have to run when called? Isn’t he timing this on purpose? You’re always summoned in the middle of a meal,” Ruger whispered to Luisen.
Luisen agreed with his suspicions, but there was no choice. He could not afford to be stubborn.
“….I have to go.” He gazed down at the table. Warm food stared back at him.
Half-eaten chicken legs sang to Luisen affectionately, ‘Are you really going to abandon me like this? Truly?’ Luisen knew that if he left now, all this perfectly good food would be thrown away–his heart was breaking at the waste.
But he had to go.
“If I don’t go, I don’t know how Carlton will retaliate…” Luisen murmured melancholically.
*****
Contrary to popular expectations of pained screams and crying, the inside of the duke’s castle was quiet. Luisen’s words at the time of surrender seemed to have led Carlton to a revelation.
Carlton was careful not to cause problems while keeping his men under control. How harsh the military discipline must have been–even those who had nothing to do with Carlton’s occasional scoldings shriveled in sympathy for their comrades.
Carlton’s soldiers were mostly mercenaries; they were rough and cruel, but they were also well disciplined. They did not cause any scandals. According to the butler, they sometimes quarreled with the more energetic servants, but these scuffles could be overlooked.
It seemed the brutal events that occurred during Carlton’s occupation of other territories did not occur through Carlton’s lack of discipline over his men but through his explicit permission. However, no one was brave enough to complain about that–that had happened on other properties, not their own.
Luisen arrived at the room Carlton was using as his office. Worry bred anxiety within his chest; he could feel his heart thumping.
“Haaa.” He took deep breaths but still couldn’t seem to relax.
“Shall I open the door?” his escort asked.
“Yes.”
He gave his permission to open the door but couldn’t control his heart. Not long after the soldier complied, Luisen entered the room.
Carlton was deep within his work at his desk. As soon as he heard Luisen enter, he smiled and stood up from his seat. As if they were two friends that had met outside on the street, he approached quickly and placed his hands over Luisen’s shoulders. As soon as his big hands wrapped around his shoulders, Luisen’s heart sank to his stomach.
‘Ah, my heart hurts.’
Carlton dragged Luisen’s helpless body to the sofa. After sitting him on top of the cushions, Carlton sat himself in a low position before him.
“Here you are, Duke. I’m sorry I called you so suddenly.”
“Yes, it’s nothing…”
“I don’t know much, so I need my lord’s advice from time to time. Please understand with your generous heart.” Carlton’s attitude was impeccably polite. He treated Luisen like a superior; he showed respect and used formal language. Despite Luisen’s awkward responses, he maintained a friendly attitude and an open smile.
That. That right there was why Luisen was scared.
‘I don’t know when he’ll change again.’ Luisen was reminded of a few days ago, the night he surrendered.
Carlton had held a banquet to celebrate his victory, to which he also invited Luisen.
‘Should I or should I not go?’ Luisen was in a far too ambiguous position to easily join the celebrations, but he was too cautious to reject the invitation. He had no desire to give Carlton any impression of dissatisfaction.
‘Maybe it would be better to attend, since none of the other retainers are going.’ Luisen, still worried, attended the banquet.
As the banquet was held in Carlton’s honor, Luisen had expected to become an object of ridicule. He went with the determination to endure all mockery. Unexpectedly, Carlton treated Luisen with nothing but respect. Carlton’s men also cautiously aimed to please him.
Luisen was wary of Carlton’s schemes, so he was cautious and suspicious at first. However, the banquet food was so delicious–high-quality liquor that wrapped his tongue, food as far as the eye could see. So, little by little, the tensions began to ease and his boundaries began to soften.
When the atmosphere of the party was at its climax, Carlton approached Luisen.