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The young lord walked around aimlessly, trying to avoid Carlton; soon enough, the ship began to move.
Luisen went up to the deck. The evening sun had almost finished its descent, and the skies and rivers were dyed red. The large river flowed calmly and silently. He watched the ship cut through the water as it progressed. He suddenly turned around – Mittil’s port was growing distant at a steady pace. It was only then the fact that he was leaving the South had fully set in.
The two had escaped those chasing them and managed to safely board the ship. After crossing the river, they would probably be a bit freer from the threat of pursuit. However, the young lord’s heart felt complicated–after all, he had finally returned to the comforts of his hometown after dying.
‘It’s not like I’ll be gone forever, though, right? My situation is different from back then.’
Luisen took a sidelong glance at Carlton. The mercenary stood at an ambiguous distance; the two were neither standing together nor separately. This non-committal distance was filled with awkwardness.
Carlton was looking far beyond the horizon on the river; his rigid gaze looked quite serious. Was it because the red glow of the sunset was beginning to subside? Luisen felt his chest squeeze tight. Occasionally, Carlton’s distinctive sharp atmosphere made the young lord’s heart flutter.
If someone were to ask Luisen if he was still scared of his companion, the answer would be an easy no. Though the young lord had long suffered delusions of a black knight–an illusory Carlton–coming to kill him, the man had saved his life many times and watched over him. This feeling felt more like dizzying tension rather than fear. Even though he knew the mercenary wouldn’t do anything to him, he still felt like he shouldn’t let down his guard.
Carlton turned and stared at the young lord; as soon as their eyes met, his brows furrowed.
‘Ah, I’ve been staring for two long’ Luisen, embarrassed, quickly turned his head away. ‘Carlton still seems very angry. What should I do if this continues?’
There’s still a long way to go, and he wanted to get along with Carlton in the capital.
‘Look… We’ll have to reconcile this someway, somehow… how do I… begin reconciliation?’ For the shallow relationships Luisen managed to procure in the previous timeline, one side or the other usually knelt down whenever there was a problem. Before his unfortunate midnight escape, others knelt down to the young lord; after the escape, Luisen had been the one to kneel.
""
‘I can’t imagine Carlton kneeling before me…’
It was the mercenary who insulted the one-armed pilgrim first, so he probably wouldn’t kneel first.
‘What to do…’ While contemplating, Luisen heard a welcome voice.
“So, this is where you are!” Morrison approached them. “If you have nothing to do, please come with me. I’d like to introduce you to my family.”
“Of course.” Luisen didn’t even ask for the mercenary’s opinion and accepted the invite. Carlton frowned, but the young lord turned a blind eye.
He felt suffocated being alone with the mercenary, and he wanted to talk with Morrison, a former benefactor. As Luisen followed the merchant, Carlton followed as well. ‘So, you’re still going to follow me, huh?’ Luisen released a deep sigh. “What is the name of the caravan that Mr Morrison’s works under…?”
“Nakatan caravan. You probably don’t know about it–we generally focus on the upper region. We’ve never had a need to come down South. At least, until now.”
“What is your main merchandise?”
“Fabrics.”
Luisen asked Morrison various things about his caravan. He wanted to know more in order to repay the merchant for the help he had received, once the young lord was able to restore his former status. Neither the caravan nor his merchandise was particularly grande nor unique.
‘It’s a little too iffy to connect business dealings with the city at the duchy castle itself…It’d be best to connect him with a village within the duchy instead.’
While conversing, they soon arrived at Morrison’s room. The man’s room was equipped with a small table; another room was attached to the initial one. The rest of the merchants’ colleagues were already gathered there–one woman and three men. Although they were at various stages in life, they all had the same atmosphere. As merchants that needed to travel around, they seemed quite strong and fit.
“These people are the ones I talked about earlier.” Morrison introduced his colleagues to the young lord and his companion. Luisen greeted them as befitting a pilgrim, and Carlton nodded curtly.
“I’m glad you two could come. You can’t believe how flustered I was when the previous mercenaries said they couldn’t come… Ah, would you like a drink? Please sit down.”
The merchant’s colleagues readily welcomed the two. They handed over chairs and filled empty glasses with wine. The mercenary refused and stood against the wall. Once again, Luisen stole a glance at the mercenary. Luisen felt a bit guilty and dispirited–the other was in a bad mood and he still dragged the mercenary here.
“There’s not much going on in the South or on this boat, but it’ll be different when we land on shore. Not only are there monsters, but bandits never left as well.”
“Is the security up North so sad?”
“Yes, there are many places where the ruling lord had either died or a moron had been left in charge. Monsters are definitely a headache, yes, but free-lance mercenaries have turned into bandits and begun to rob travelers’ pockets.”
It was common for mercenaries who were unable to obtain money legally to turn to thievery. The mercenaries’ guild had been formed to try and stopgap the situation, but they couldn’t control all the outlaws. Luisen opened his ears wide, listening to the merchants reminisce upon their travels.
“There’s no place in this world where you can leisurely travel without fear. I had heard that things were better down South, but… Supposedly, the Duke of Anies, one of the Great Lords, was kidnapped. According to one of the rumors.”
Luisen was appalled at Morrison’s words. Why this again? Though the young lord felt embarrassed, he was curious about what other rumors were flying around. “Rumors?”
“Yes, well. Some purport that it wasn’t a kidnapping, and that they eloped for love.”
“What?” It was so absurd that Luisen’s mouth couldn’t help but gape wide open. It was fortunate that his expression wasn’t revealed due to the hood. If not, the others may have become suspicious of his over-the-top surprise.
“There’s a bunch of nonsense like that. Carlton’s nickname is the aristocrat butcher; he wouldn’t have run away with a noble man. That’s why I think it’s more likely that…”
“That’s impossible.” Luisen strongly denied. Carlton glared at the young lord. The mercenary’s anger was so piercing the back of the young lord’s head felt hot. Morrison had unknowingly dealt a blow to both Luisen and Carlton.
“In anycase, we’ve been harassed–at checkpoints–so much because of that rumor. In a way, I envy you, revered Pilgrim. With that pass, who would dare stop you?”
“Of course.”
“If you don’t mind, could I take a look at your pilgrim pass?”
“Yes, well. If it’s only looking… Please return it to me though.” Luisen was fine with showing off the pass–he was just so glad that the topic had changed. Morrison used candlelight to view the pass.
Morrison gawked at the brilliant silver. “This is genuine. Where did you get this?”
“At the church, of course.”
“Ah yes. It is a pilgrim’s pass after all. I was wondering where you started your pilgrimage.”
“Ah, is that what you meant? I started in the northwest region.” Luisen kept his words vague; it wasn’t unusual for pilgrims to hide their origins.
“The northwest. When did you come down south? If you’re ignorant of the situation back home, then you must have been in the South for a long while. Did you two meet here? Or were you together from the beginning of your journey?” Though he felt like the merchant was interrogating him, Luisen answered sincerely.
“I escaped South as a refugee, so I have been down here for a long while. We met at Confosse.”
“Confosse, huh? It’s not too far from here, but you became intimate quite quickly.”
""
“Well…”
“That’s what happens when you travel. When you rely on each other, your affection naturally grows,” Carlton stated.
Morrison alternated looking between Luisen and Carlton. Somehow the gaze was so enthusiastic… it gave the young lord goosebumps. “We’re not like that.”
“Of course, of course.”
‘Honestly, this guy doesn’t listen well. Does he just like romance stories?’ Luisen’s impression of the man changed from a good person to a strange and delusional person.
‘Rather than helping with his business, do I need to introduce him to a lover…?’
Thankfully, though, that topic ended there. Luisen had a long talk with Morrison and his colleagues. If it weren’t for the merchant’s ridiculous delusion, Morrison was a pleasant and loquacious conversationalist.
Carlton continued to lean against the wall and watch the scene quietly. ‘…Damn it.’
Though the mercenary’s expression didn’t change, his insides were roiling. Luisen smiled throughout the conversation, but, whenever their eyes met, his face would become rigid. The young lord tried to avoid eye contact as well and wouldn’t talk to Carlton.
Though Carlton had been horrible to Luisen when they first met, the young lord had never ignored him this much.
The mercenary realized he really made a mistake. ‘Ha, fuck. Why did I say that?’
Frankly, he understood that he acted childishly. Who would like it when another called a person they respected a fraud? He knew that it wasn’t something he should have said in that situation, but he was blind back then. ‘And why’s that guy being so clingy?’
Morrison slowly narrowed the distance between him and the young lord as they clinked their glasses together. For some reason, Luisen liked Morrison, so the young lord was taking that as mere friendly behavior. ‘If someone approached me when I’m already on my last nerves, anxious about followers? I wouldn’t let my guard down for one minute.’
Carlton grit his teeth. ‘He doesn’t want to make eye contact with me but is perfectly willing to laugh along with that guy.’
At that moment, Carlton locked gazes with Morrison. The merchant stared blatantly at the mercenary before turning back to Luisen. For some reason, that trivial action caught at the mercenary’s senses. At a surface glance, there was nothing suspicious about this man–he was a friendly, affable merchant.
‘I don’t like that punk.’ Carlton narrowed his eyes and fiddled with the handle of his sword. He couldn’t tell whether the man simply annoyed him or if the mercenary was annoyed because the man was pretending to be friendly with the young lord. Carlton couldn’t read his heart at all. However, he was certain that he had to do something about the current situation.
Luisen was incredibly angry at him; meanwhile, a dubious man might take a seat next to the young lord. And *that* didn’t sit right with the mercenary. Who knows where the one-armed pilgrim may be, but, right now, Morrison was in his sights.
***
TL: I wonder if Carlton realizes his own jealousy…