CH 8

“Your feelings towards the Young Master… I… I understand—”

I was taking out the luggage and I suddenly heard a voice. When I turned my head, I saw Rimson Hyung with a sorry face.

It seemed his coughing fit earlier did a number on him. He already had to squint his eyes, but now it looked like he had aged a few years in just one day—.

I worriedly asked, “Are you okay?”

“You are asking me that, now?!”

Rimson Hyung burst out as soon as I finished speaking. But then, he caught himself and lowered his voice, being mindful of the knights assembling the camp behind him.

“You think you have many necks instead of just one? Why aren’t you afraid to say things like that! Asking the nobles to meet someone—”

“Hey, let’s get rid of that frown first. If those wrinkles get any deeper, no one will marry you.”

Hearing my words, Rimson Hyung pounded his chest with his fists as if he was going to explode. He really looked like an angry bear.

I tugged the hand and guided it to the luggage on the carriage. But then, he angrily tossed them onto the floor one by one.

I was worried for no reason at all. As expected, mercenaries are quite strong. As I continued helping with the luggage, I could see his troubled expression.

“Don’t worry too much.”

I reassured him. However, he was still puzzled by my actions.

“Why do you want to get attention from a Young Master like that?”

“Rather than wanting to get his attention—”

It was kind of like feeling sorry for someone suffering from the same ailment. I smiled bitterly, breaking off my response vaguely.

My biggest goal is to cure my illness, but as I got to know him, different feelings arose. When I saw him, I was naturally reminded of the times when I had to suffer in the past.

So what should I say?

Was it compassion or sympathy—? There was a unique bond between those who suffered from the same rare disease.

Although this is only a one-sided feeling—.

I calmly explained to Rimson Hyung, who seemed to want an explanation.

“At first, honestly, I thought it would be nice just to be together. Now, things have changed. I want to get to know him better and I hope he will do better as well. And well— things caught my eye.”

I decided to take care of him while we were together.

Even though there was the Crown Prince, he would only appear later, it would be hard for him to suffer until then.

But Rimson Hyung spoke hesitantly as if he were bringing up a very difficult subject that would hurt me.

“It’s—it’s because you’re still young. You can still meet many different types of people. You can change your mind and do something new too — and rather than serving someone and putting someone else first, wouldn’t it be better to live your life for yourself first?”

—That’s a strange way of describing things, though?

I was bewildered, but this Hyung asked with such a serious tone that I couldn’t ignore it.

“Is there anything you want to do other than being a servant? This Hyung will find out for you.”

‘What I want to do—’

Unintentionally, the memory of helping Edrick into the wheelchair earlier came to my mind.

I roughly guessed that the closer I got, the greater the effect would be, but I never imagined it would be that much. Just thinking about it again made my heart pound.

‘It would be nice if there was another opportunity—.’

While I was silently contemplating, Rimson Hyung’s face brightened.

“What? What is it? What do you want to do?”

“I want to assist the Young Master again. Or I want to hold his hand properly—. Oh, no. There was no reaction in holding hands. Well, then, I hope we can move him to the barracks soon. That way I can help him.”

“….”

“When are the knights going to come— Hyung, you can’t agree when he tells Hyung to do it. Okay?”

“Just get out of here.”

Huh? You just asked me if there’s anything I wanted to do, but, why are you suddenly acting like this again?

After I had roughly organized the luggage, I looked over at the Knights on the other side. They seemed to have finished their preparations.

I was thinking about going back to the Young Master, but Rimson Hyung, who was wiping his hands, looked over at them in contempt.

“Tsk, Why are they wearing such clunky cloaks? Those things will slow down their movements. These Knights are so pretentious.”

Since he was a mercenary, Rimson Hyung had a bad relationship with the knights, and the same was true of the Black Chain Knights.

I poked at his side with my elbow and interrupted his nitpicking.

And he was like, ‘Why? What?’

“Hyung. Can you take a look at one of the knights on the way?”

As a daughter from generations of a merchant family, in my opinion, Rimson was more reliable than anyone else.

So, I made a small request, one I believe wouldn’t get him in any trouble.

But then, he looked at me with suspicion in his eyes.

“What’s wrong with the Knights? What are you trying to do?”

“There’s a reason for that.”

“So, what’s the reason?”

“Hehe.”

Rimson Hyung stared at me but I only smiled quietly at him. He then helplessly sighed and asked.

“Which knight do you want me to take a look into?”

“Uhm. So— he has long blonde hair, tall like a knight, fair skin, broad shoulders, as young as Hyung— Oh, and he’s very handsome! He has piercing eyes, neat features, and is handsome with a good impression.”

I pointed out the characteristics of the Duchess’ knight one by one.

When I finished speaking, Rimson Hyung looked at me like I was trash.

*****

“Captain, we’re ready.”

The captain of the Black Chain, Blivan, finished his meditation. His eyes reached the carriage window, where the light of a lamp could be seen shining through.

His next master was there.

He was a child with beautiful blonde hair and a stubborn mouth. Just like when the current Master was a child.

But that was all they had in common.

Unlike the Master, who was a natural swordsman, that child was much more scrawny and even had crippled legs.

Unlike his master, who was so brilliant that he was acknowledged by everyone since he was a child, he didn’t seem to have any awareness of his surroundings.

Furthermore—.

‘—Did they say he was unreasonable and volatile?’

He usually tended to believe only what he had seen in person, but he couldn’t help but worry because he had only heard bad things about this young master.

There were also the complaints of the butler who had been with him for a while. The butler was always worried that the child would break the medicine bottles.

He even said that the child was ungrateful, refusing to even talk to the Madam, who was raising him with care.

However, Blivan did not waver much. The child was the successor, no matter the flaws. He would swear loyalty to him as long as he did not destroy the foundation of Denkart. Because that was what a real knight did.

Blivan, who had his back to the tree, spoke brusquely.

“I’ll bring the Young Master.”

“Yes, Captain.”

When he reached the front of the carriage, he saw someone in the back diligently moving the luggage.

From what he saw, he seemed to be a boy as skinny as the Young Master. Blivan had looked into things in advance and was able to recall his name soon enough.

‘It’s Rovel, the servant whom the butler had told him about.’

The butler had told him a lot of things before he left, but he specifically told him things about a boy in particular.

‘—I don’t know about anyone else, but I think the Young Master gets along better with this boy.’

In fact, he witnessed the boy taking over Young Master’s wheelchair in the morning.

Even at a young age, his bright smile was quite impressive. Perhaps he himself wasn’t even aware of this. It was especially bright when he saw him during the day with the annoyed Young Master.

He began to call out to the servant but caught himself.

He considered himself for a moment. He was conscious of how his face, weathered from the battlefield, came across to others.

Among them, children were the most problematic. There were many instances where they burst into tears due to his build and presence.

However, at that time, the servant Rovel noticed him and turned around. Blivan, who was a natural knight, was surprised by his amazing speed of reaction. And a more surprising sight followed.

When the purple eyes fell upon him, they widened for a second, and then they sparkled happily.

“You’re here, Captain! The Young Master is inside!”

“….?”

—Why are you welcoming me with so much enthusiasm?

Blivan was rarely puzzled. It would have been more normal if the boy had been scared or cried.

It was dark, but it wasn’t enough to hide his face.

Even though his harsh face could be seen clearly in the light of the lamp shining through the carriage window, Rovel still smiled brightly.

“I heard the Young Master’s barracks have been arranged. Where is it?”

The question couldn’t be asked any more eagerly than this. Even the new members who had been trained at the knight’s training center for years had a hard time talking to him at first.

At that moment, the words of the butler came to his mind.

[Rovel is sincerely serving the Young Master. Even during day shifts, he would give up half of his sleep and visit the Young Master. Despite being scolded. ]

Just as the butler had said, he was a servant who had sworn loyalty to the Young Master with all his heart.

But still, wasn’t it daring of him to ask the Captain himself about the location of the barracks? Wasn’t he afraid that some kind of punishment might fall on him?

Even in the heavy silence, Rovel’s eyes continued to sparkle. He seemed to want to help his Young Master right away to a more comfortable place covered with blankets rather than a hard carriage.

Blivan, who could deduct a situation only from the opponent’s breathing, was convinced.

That wasn’t just an emotion that could be made up.

‘—Is he the one prepared to take care of the Young Master better than anyone else?’

Blivan’s mouth was subtly loosened.