/
A warzone! How horrifying! In the first place, Luisen had no desire to go to such a dangerous place where people get hurt and die, but he also had no idea what Carlton would do to him in the midst of the battlefield’s confusion. A sword had no discerning eyes. Even the slightest misstep of an ally would be the difference between life or death.
“And if I refuse
.?”
“Then we’ll continue as if we never had this conversation. Of course, there will be no official document either.”
‘You’ve caught me. You’ve caught everything,’ Luisen thought.
Carlton had already figured out Luisen’s goals yet he pretended otherwise. Ironically, this insidious skill was required for nobility; Carlton suited aristocratic scheming more than the noble himself.
‘Ha
I really wracked my rusty brain for this
’ 1
The first scheme Luisen had ever plotted failed. ‘Maybe people should live as they look.’
Eventually, Luisen raised a white flag. “I see. Then we’ll do as you say.”
“Thank you. I’ll never forget the duke’s assistance.” Carlton smiled kindly again. Luisen felt like his soul was escaping from his body at the sight of that abominable smile. “But, how should we prepare for the locusts?”
“The locusts have been such a large problem, so countermeasures have already been prepared. There’s a magic tool that burns only locusts away–it’s called the Flames of the Holy Spirit. There’s one in every town and village,” Luisen spoke with pride. The groundbreaking invention of these flames had once again established the Anies Duchy as the guardian of the golden fields.
But Carlton was not interested in that. “Only Locusts? What about people? Can it burn humans?”
“Why would it burn humans?”
“Hn. Forget it. It only has a grand name. If you’d have made weapons of similar nature in the time you’ve made this tool, then perhaps the course of the kingdom could have been altered.” Carlton quickly lost interest in the Flames of the Holy Spirit. At that slight, Luisen felt a bit teary.
“The Flames of the Holy Spirit was an innovation in service of the people’s livelihoods. Don’t ridicule the duchy’s creed as the guardian of the golden fields. You wouldn’t understand.”
“What?” Carlton asked while raising his eyebrows.
‘Why do you have to clutch at your dagger again?’ Luisen winced. He had impulsively blurted out his feelings. His legs began to tremble, but for some reason, Luisen didn’t want to apologize. His pride as a member of the Anies family, which Luisen didn’t even know he had, sprang forth.
“
Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Luisen chose to retreat. He’d spoken back enough for the day. He rushed out of the office.
His steps quickened after leaving the room, and a chill ran down his back. What if Carlton hunted him down? However, even as Luisen rounded the corner, Carlton fortunately didn’t seem to have any intention of following him.
Whew.
Luisen could finally sigh in peace and slump his head. But at that moment, a familiar person appeared at the far end of the hallway.
“Huh? My duke?”
It was Ruger. He had been walking and chatting with a maid.
“What are you doing here?” Luisen asked.
“Oh, my lord!” The maid greeted her master and rushed away with soft, pattering footsteps. Luger gave a bashful chuckle at Luisen’s glare.
“What’s this? The master is busy trying to divert the estate’s biggest crisis, but the chief attendant is chatting up a maid?” Luisen said.
“Don’t jest. I’m here to bring you something you’ve left behind.” Ruger handed Luisen the key to the northern warehouse that Luisen had left in the general’s office.
‘Ugh.’ Luisen wrinkled his brow. ‘I’ve barely escaped Carlton now. Do I really have to go back? Let’s pretend I didn’t see this.’
“
Put it back in the general’s office.”
“What? Isn’t this important?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to my room.” First he’d have a meal. Then he could ask whoever, whether the general or the treasurer, about the official document.
Ruger naturally followed next to Luisen. “What did that person say? Did something happen?”
“Why?”
“Well, I heard you went to the general’s room in the middle of searching for this key. But now you say you don’t need this key anymore
I’m simply curious.”
“Ah. We talked about something else.”
“What did you talk about?”
""
“This and that,” Luisen responded listlessly, strength gone. Ruger looked at him suspiciously, but Luisen ignored his attendant’s annoying gaze.
Ruger grumbled as they walked down the hall. Carlton’s men were too crude and too arrogant. He and Luisen should have run away that night. Carlton was too rough with the duke
Ruger cursed Carlton and his men in various ways.
Luisen simply said one thing after letting him talk his ear off. “Watch your language. Why do you not call him Sir Carlton and instead refer to him as ‘that person?’” 2
“What, sir? He’s not even a real knight. Isn’t it embarrassing to call him that? That low-born is too arrogant; he should know his place.” Ruger snorted. Luisen was surprised, since this all sounded so uncharacteristic of his attendant. On second thought, though, Luger was of noble birth. He was a third son, so he may never succeed a noble title, but he was still born to a noble family. Perhaps it was natural for him to be socialized in this noble mindset.
‘Now that I think about it
what noble household is he from?’
The name of the household should have been contained within the letter of recommendation that came with him, but Luisen’s memory was hazy. Maybe he had been drinking; he couldn’t even remember who had recommended Ruger in the first place.
“Anyways, mind your words. Since you’re my chief servant, your mistakes will be attributed to me.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure no harm comes my lord’s way.”
That was that. Come to think of it, Luisen felt a bit of pity for Ruger. He had lived lavishly as a servant of the duke in the capital, but then he was brought to the far south and endured this twisted hardship. What’s worse, before regression, he had died defending his master.
“
Just be patient for a little while longer. Sir Carlton will leave soon.”
If the rumors about the locusts proved successful and all the lords surrendered, Carlton would most definitely leave without delay. Time would fly by during the hectic preparations; that day may come sooner than expected.
“Really? Why? What did you talk about with that guy? Huh?”
""
Luisen flapped his hands in annoyance. Suddenly, he remembered something very important–the first thing he must do as soon as he had the luxury of free time.
“Do you know any magicians?” he asked.
“A magician?
.What for? To find the person you were searching for earlier? To find someone without their age, their appearance, or even their name, you probably need the services of a magician far more than the intelligence guild. Who could you be searching for? The duke I know has no reason to search for such a mysterious man.”
The one-armed saint. Luisen’s saint.
Luisen couldn’t help but to scrunch his nose as he thought of the saint. He had no knowledge of the finer details of his savior’s life, but he could guess the man lived a rough life. A person who had lived a smooth life wouldn’t have such a calloused hand, a body littered with scars, and edges sharpened by hardship.
‘I’ll help you live comfortably so you may never suffer. I’ll protect you this time around.’
In order to do that, though, Luisen needed to find him.
“I don’t want to be even an hour late in finding him. You have a lot of connections, so please send out some feelers. 3 We can start as soon as Carlton leaves.”
“Well, it’s not that difficult, I guess
.Who is this person anyway?”
“He’s
my benefactor.”
Curiosity struck Ruger. ‘A benefactor? Who has the ability to do the Duke of Anies a favor?’
The recently deceased queen and second prince were kind to Luisen, but the duke was not indebted to them. Who could have been the duke’s benefactor if he never lacked anything?
""
Ruger was very curious but didn’t ask any further questions. Luisen’s eyes had begun to look slightly blurry, and his expression couldn’t hide his exhaustion. His lord needed his rest.
“Let’s hurry to your room,” Ruger said. “I will bring bread and some leftovers so you can eat straight away.”
Luisen’s face glowed at Ruger’s words.
“You praiseworthy attendant. Alright, let’s hurry!”
There would be food. Food, hehe. Luisen now looked at Ruger with new eyes. His previous worries seemed to have been washed away.
******
Luisen had composed the official letter with the help of the treasurer. In the process, rumors of an impending locust swarm had naturally spread within the castle.
Everyone was skeptical of the news, as it had originated from Luisen, but the rumors had forced several administrators of various departments to return to work. While helping with the official letter, the treasurer had naturally joined the ranks in the war against the locusts; he began to lead organization efforts.
This was wonderful news for Luisen. He was relieved that his advisor’s anger seemed to have abated. And, most of all, there was no more justification to further mess with Luisen, and Carlton no longer called him to do various errands.
The letters spread throughout the duchy through messengers. Everyone was shocked to see that their duke, usually absent from most estate issues, had penned the document. Setting aside their feelings, however, the villages steadily prepared for the incoming war.
The village chiefs took out the Flames of the Holy Spirit which had been securely stored in shared warehouses.
“Only thorough preparation will save our lives! You got it?!”
“Yes, sir!”
The villagers were more incensed, more aggressive than in combat. Thanks to Luisen’s quick movements, everyone managed to prepare themselves without disturbing the farming process.
TL: Thanks for readings. This is more of a in-between chappy~ But I hope you guys will be fine with it! Lately I’m going into finals period, but hopefully, when the semester is over, I’ll be able to update more (especially when the relationship picks up)
Footnotes
the original idiom used here is “roll the head.” Basically you’re using your head to think deeply — hence “wrack the brain.” was an english substitute In the original, Ruger is using pretty aloof/dehumanizing terms for him while being vaguely polite. Aka He’s calling into question his humanity. “A lot of connections” originally was “your feet are wide”