CH 93

How dare a peasant mercenary ridicule the aristocracy and reverse the natural order of one’s birthright? The situation itself was unacceptable; the fact that Carlton was allowed to run wild made the Great Lord uncomfortable.

How many nobles had left their hometowns in order to request protection, frightened by the mercenary’s existence? Considering their pitiful situation, it wouldn’t be enough to place Carlton in jail right now and order the knights to torture the man.

“However, Duke Anies relied on you immensely. I’m accepting you all for his sake, so don’t act rashly.”

“Yes, Understood,” Carlton replied, relatively tranquilly. The Eastern Great Lord’s words were sharp, but this was not disgraceful compared to the humiliation he usually experienced at the hands of other nobles. Anyway, it wasn’t worth summoning a beating by running his mouth. And, as the Great Lord said, it would behoove him to be conscious of Luisen’s position.

The Eastern Great Lord waved his hands. At that gesture, a servant said, “Let us leave now.”

Carlton and Morrison couldn’t utter a word of complaint even though the conversation was so one-sided. The two bowed politely to the lord who no longer even looked at them and turned around.

Suddenly, the Eastern Great Lord opened his mouth, “Come to think of it, I’ve been hearing an incredibly absurd rumor. About *you* and Duke Anies,” he said scornfully. 1

Carlton turned and looked back at the older noble.

“According to those rumors, he’s been treating you in a special manner. Don’t be mistaken, though. There have been many deluded fools who have lost themselves to fantasies after the Duke showed brief interest in them. He’s the type to become tired of anything easily–and that goes for people as well.”

The Eastern Great Lord seemed to say, ‘Don’t think you’re so special.’ Carlton clenched his fist involuntarily; his trembling palms became white with tension. He was able to endure accusations that he’d been acting for money–he was fine with being treated like a stray dog…but it was hard to bear any negative slights towards Luisen.

Morrison looked anxious; he was ready to block with his body if Carlton were to rush forward. Earlier, as they had breakfast, Luisen slyly warned Morrison to stop Carlton at all costs if Carlton was unable to stand the Eastern Great Lord’s rhetoric. The young lord said the older noble had no one in command who could stop the mercenary.

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But, contrary to Morrison’s and Luisen’s expectations, Carlton lowered his eyes. All the anger and contempt boiling within him was hidden by his eyelids. “Thank you for your advice, my lord. I shall keep that in mind.”

Carlton did not forget to maintain customary courtesy towards those of higher status until he left the tent. His insides burned as if he had swallowed a fireball, but the mercenary endured while thinking of Luisen.

***

The Eastern Great Lord reopened the banquet in the evening. Though Luisen had no intention of enjoying himself at the banquet, he could not excuse himself from the festivities as it was held to welcome Luisen’s arrival.

Although he ate delicious food and drank precious, expensive alcohol, his heart felt uncomfortable throughout the night. Carlton and Morrison were not at the banquet even though they were in the same party. No one else thought that strange, and only Luisen felt uneasy the entire time.

The festivities continued into the night. Though the young lord narrowly managed to escape the Eastern Great Lord and the other noble’s grasps, he was found by maids who came and pushed Luisen into a tent. He couldn’t shake off the weak maids; he entered the tent in a state of disarray as he had been forced to drink a significant amount of alcohol just a short while previously.

‘I was going to go see Carlton…’

Luisen flopped into the bed. Though the mattress seemed quite simple, the wool made it fluffy. This was heaven compared to sleeping on a cape on bare ground, but the loneliness made the young lord feel empty. When he asked the maids where his companions were they informed him that Carlton and Morrison were assigned to a separate accommodation and were resting as well.

The Eastern Great Lord was a man who observed the strict standards of one’s status, so the young lord knew that, when he joined the older noble’s party, he wouldn’t be able to cling to his companions as he did before. However, now no one was around, Luisen felt so lonely.

‘If I don’t go, Carlton is sure to sneak out at night to come find me… I’ll just have to wait.’

When Carlton came, Luisen resolved to comfort the man so that he would forget what the older noble said. The young lord was sure nothing good came out of the Eastern Great Lord’s mouth.

Luisen rubbed his sleepy eyes; he slapped his thighs in order to keep himself awake for Carlton’s arrival. However, the mercenary did not come even after dawn broke. In the end, Luisen could not overcome the power of alcohol and fell asleep.

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***

The next day:

The Eastern Great Lord’s party prepared for an early start. Following the older noble, Luisen climbed into the Eastern Great Lord’s carriage.

The young lord had no need to lift a single finger in this journey–everything was taken care of by the maids. Delicious food and warm tea were always prepared. The older noble’s carriage was steady and comfortable, and the other nobles riding along joked and bantered so that Luisen wouldn’t feel too bored.

Luisen used to take such luxurious trips for granted, but now he felt somewhat awkward.

After traveling like that for the entire day, resting, the group once again set up tents and prepared to spend the night. Once again, the Eastern Great Lord hosted a grand dinner, so Luisen was occupied until the depths of the night.

After the banquet finished, the exhausted young lord entered his tent and stretched out on his bed. This scene was similar to the previous night.

‘For some reason… I think he’s doing this on purpose.’ Luisen whispered to himself. The young lord’s perceptive eye had matured a little on this trip, and he gleaned that the Eastern Great Lord was deliberately keeping him from his companions.

Luisen missed Carlton and was worried about him. He resolved to find the mercenary when he found the time. As the young lord rode in the carriage, his gaze looked out the window the whole time. And, when the carriage stopped, he wandered around, searching for the mercenary.

However, before he could even walk around properly, he frequently had no choice but to return to the carriage as he was interrupted by various nobles or servants. One time, around lunch, Luisen spotted Morrison helping a few servants in the distance and tried to approach. But, before Luisen could get close, a nearby knight said something to him and dragged him away. The Eastern Great Lord even called upon Luisen from time to time, nagging away.

As a result, Luisen had been unable to see Carlton since yesterday.

‘…There’s no way Carlton was chased away and kicked out…right?’

Carlton wasn’t the type to obediently let himself be kicked out alone, and Morrison would probably have informed the young lord earlier if that were the case. The mercenary was surely somewhere in this large encampment.

‘To think I’ve spent an entire day away from Carlton. Unbelievable’

Just yesterday the two traveled together as if they were one body and soul. Though the Eastern Great Lord’s carriage was of the highest quality–it shook less and was quite plush–it couldn’t compare to Carlton’s arms.

The young lord struggled with this empty feeling and, once again, he waited for Carlton to come that night. However, even as the night deepened, no one visited him. The mercenary could certainly have avoided others’ eyes on the way to Luisen’s bed; it dawned on the young lord that the mercenary didn’t try to come see him yesterday or today.

‘Is something wrong?’

Did he really hear something horrible from the older noble? Is that why he’s keeping to himself? Carlton had a large ego and sense of pride, but, at the same time, his self-esteem could be delicate.

‘I can’t let this lie. I suppose I’ll have to go find him.’ Luisen jumped to his feet. Since the tent was a simple construction, it wasn’t difficult to sneak out. He crawled out of the tent, careful to not jostle the central pillar and make it collapse. The tent looked a bit misshapen afterwards, and his clothes became covered in dirt, but he didn’t care. Carlton would accept him even if he rolled around in mud.

The thought of meeting the mercenary made his steps light; where there’s a will, there’s a way. As soon as Luisen popped out of his tent, Morrison also popped out of somewhere.

“My god. What are you doing here?” Luisen asked, startled.

“I was searching around for suspicious people. What about you, my duke?”

“I came out to look for Carlton. What good fortune to meet you now–where is he?”

“Ah…” Morrison adopted a vague expression.

“What is it? Is something wrong? Do you perhaps not know where Carlton is either?”

“No–I know, but…”

“Then, guide me to him.”

Morrison couldn’t win against Luisen’s frown, so he took the young lord to a dark, open space as if he had no other option.

There was an ongoing scuffle–Carlton, armorless, was fighting barehanded with four armed knights. Anyone could see that the knights had started this unjustified duel.

Carlton looked to be the overwhelming victor, but the situation seemed too dangerous and disadvantageous for him in Luisen’s eyes. Holding a sword against an unarmed opponent…wasn’t that basically declaring one’s intent to stab the other to death?!

“What are you all doing!” Luisen roared thunderously.

Carlton flinched and let go of one of the knights’ collars. Luisen strode past him, placing the mercenary behind him, and looked at the knights. “For knights to attack one person in a group like that…Aren’t you ashamed? Which noble here carries around honorless knights like you all?”

“No, we were just…”

Well. They were getting beaten one-sidedly. The knights were embarrassed and looked wrong, but they couldn’t make any excuses either. After all, how shameful was it to jointly attack an unarmed person?

“Name the lord you serve,” Luisen commanded.

“E-esteemed Duke. Please have mercy…”

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“Do as they say–just let them go,” Carlton said.

“But these people just attacked you.”

“I’ve won anyway. And, I wouldn’t want this to become a bigger incident.”

When Carlton, the person involved, said all that, Luisen couldn’t hold onto his anger. “Leave–get lost. I’ll keep all your faces in mind,” the young lord said, scornfully.

“Y-yes. Thank you so much. Thank you, Duke.” The knights ran away without looking back. Morrison had already vanished from the scene, leaving only Luisen and Carlton in this dark, open space.

Footnotes

네놈 is a way to say “you” with a scornful, derisive tone. There’s really no address in English that has that inherent derision, sadly