Chapter 11

“Ah, then I’ll go with….”

The knight, who had been standing awkwardly, also tried to follow Esdel. However, as soon as he took a step, Theodore grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

“Aargh!”

“May I speak with your knight for a moment?”

The knight sent a desperate gaze toward Esdel. It was a distress signal, asking her not to leave him alone with Theodore, but Esdel lightly ignored it.

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

“Of course not. I will return him with all his limbs intact.”

“His head can’t be injured either.”

Theodore answered with a slight nod, then took the knight and went toward the forest. Esdel turned her head away from the two receding figures.

The butler, who had passed through the iron gate and entered the vast garden, made a small sound of “Ah,” and looked back.

“Come to think of it, what is your knight’s name, my lady? We will prepare a room for him to stay in right away.”

“Ah, his name.”

Esdel’s steps came to an abrupt halt.

‘Have I ever asked for his name…?’

As she remained silent for a long moment, the butler immediately changed the subject.

“On that note, we must hurry with dinner preparations. We will have hot water prepared, so please relieve your travel fatigue in your room.”

“Alright.”

Esdel nodded and glanced sideways toward the forest where the two had gone. Since the knight was naturally timid, she wasn’t particularly worried. Even she, who had seen Theodore dozens of times, sometimes found that expressionless face eerie; it was unlikely the coward would act recklessly in front of him.

‘I should at least find out his name when he comes back later.’

Esdel felt a sense of emptiness at the fact that while she had gone around saying she would faithfully fulfill her responsibilities as the heir of the domain, she hadn’t even properly memorized the names of the knights belonging to her family.

Perhaps her efforts until now had been nothing more than a pretense. After all, her greatest interest had been choosing a husband who looked honorable and wouldn’t be criticized in high society.

Suppressing the surging sense of futility, she entered the room. It was time to wash her body, which had become a mess from rolling around for four days.

“Ah, I finally feel alive…. Huh?”

Esdel, who had finished her bath and was heading down to the dining room, paused. Something was squirming in a corner of the hallway.

‘The Consumed?’

Esdel instinctively took a step back, but soon realized that wasn’t it. The back of the head of the person staggering along looked quite familiar.

“Sir?”

Sure enough, the face that turned toward her was that of a person she knew well. She hadn’t heard his name yet, but he was the knight with whom she had endured a hellish four days.

“My lady!”

“Don’t run, Sir. You’ll mess up your hairstyle.”

“Th-This blasted hair! I told them not to, but the maids styled it into a strange shape!”

The knight tousled his pomade-fixed hair with both hands. Watching the curly hair, which had been barely holding its shape, get completely ruined, Esdel let out a small sigh.

Only those who have tried styling know how to do it; it was clear that the knight had no idea how much effort went into doing his hair.

The knight, his well-tailored suit a stark contrast to his demeanor, was fidgeting restlessly.

“My lady… c-can’t you just send me home? I want to return to the domain. Th-This place, from what I can see, seems safe enough.”

“Father will be disappointed if I send you back right away, so stay for two weeks and then go.”

“Th-Then, I’ll stay at another inn outside and go back to the domain on my own.”

“Why would you?”

“Yes, my lady. If you would permit me….”

“Did you get beaten up outside?”

Esdel asked, frowning.

Visibly, his arms and legs were fine, and there were no visible injuries. But this was something she had to be sure about. She couldn’t forgive violence against someone close to her.

She was about to ask the fidgeting knight again when a low voice was heard.

“Not a chance.”

“Theodore.”

As Esdel muttered, the man strode forward.

Theodore was wearing a suit of the same navy blue as Esdel’s. The jacket, falling perfectly from his angular shoulders, emphasized his waistline. It was a completely different look from when he wore a loose-fitting coat that made it difficult to discern his physique.

Esdel was just about to tear her eyes away from his white cravat with difficulty. A large hand approached her left cheek. She tried to pull her body back, but his hand approached faster.

‘It touched….’

As she squeezed her eyes shut, a blunt voice reached her ears.

“There was a hair on you.”

When she opened her eyes, she saw a face right in front of her. If another man had done the same thing, she would have undoubtedly thought he was making a move on her, but looking into his eyes, she couldn’t make such a mistake. They were polite, well-mannered eyes.

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. More importantly, it seems there’s a misunderstanding.”

Theodore’s gaze shifted to the knight.

“Have I done something wrong to you, Sir?”

“N-N-No!”

“We had a short conversation, in a quiet place, and I didn’t lay a single finger on you.”

“Yes, that’s right! All true…. Hiccup.”

The knight clamped his hands over his mouth, but he couldn’t stop the hiccuping sounds from escaping through the gaps between his fingers.

“Uh, hiccup, my lady, I’m going to get some water….”

As soon as Esdel nodded, the knight rushed into the dining room. His cheeks were deathly pale, as if he had seen a ghost.

‘What on earth did they talk about?’

How could he be so terrified just from a brief encounter?

“You really didn’t hit him, did you?”

“No. Really.”

“Hmm….”

“If you’re suspicious, you can go inside and interrogate your knight again.”

It’s just that he’s not likely to talk if I do….

Esdel let out a small sigh and held out her hand. He seemed so frightened right now that he wouldn’t talk no matter how much she asked, so it seemed better to probe for an opportunity later.

“Let’s go in too.”

Theodore silently took her hand and placed it on his arm. Once again, it was a perfect gesture, unbelievable for a noble whose name she had never even heard.

👑🏰

On the way back after dinner, Esdel was lost in deep thought.

‘He’s too perfect.’

Really, overly so.

It was surprising enough that the man who at first seemed to be living in seclusion in a mountain valley hut was actually the owner of Birchwood, but the interior of the mansion was so well-organized it was hard to believe there was no mistress. Even Theodore’s own etiquette was flawless.

Yes, everything was just perfect.

That’s why it was even more suspicious.

What was the true identity of this man named Theodore? She was pondering ways to uncover the secret he was hiding.

“My lady, where did you meet someone like that and get engaged? Can’t you break it off?”

“Why?”

As if he had been eavesdropping on Esdel’s thoughts, the knight, who had been hiccuping and picking at his food throughout dinner, spoke up.

“He’s scary.”

“More than Baz?”

“I’m not joking, my lady. No matter how scary Ma’am Baz or the Commander are, they’re still human. But that man… he doesn’t seem human.”

“I understand. He’s a bit expressionless.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

The knight shuddered and shook his head.

“I’m a knight too, and I’ve seen my fair share of crazy people. He’s not just a blunt person. To him, I’m just a mouse on the street… no, less than a bug. He seems a bit different when he’s in front of you, my lady… but it’s definitely an act!”

“To serve a meal and even lend a room to a bug. He’s a kind human.”

“No, my lady….”

The knight, with a frustrated expression, pulled at the cravat on his neck. Seeing the silk threads fray, Esdel clicked her tongue softly.

“I understand what you’re trying to say, Sir, so you can stop.”

Having reached the front of the stairs, Esdel gestured for him to go down. The knight, with a face that showed he was not at all reassured, drooped his shoulders and walked away.

“Ah, Sir. Just a moment.”

“Yes?”

“What’s your name?”

His face, which had brightened up thinking she was going to suggest returning to the domain, froze. The knight muttered with a dejected face.

“It’s Darren Winters.”

“…I’ll call you by your name now, so don’t cry.”

“I’m not cry, sob, ing.”

👑🏰

As soon as Esdel returned to her room, she called a maid and changed into her nightgown. Then, she sat on the sofa and brewed some tea. Her body was weary, but her mind was so complicated that she didn’t think she would be able to sleep at all.

She took out the envelope of documents her mother had given her just before she left. Even though she must have investigated in a hurry, the documents were quite thick.

Esdel quickly skimmed through the documents while drinking her tea. It summarized the first occurrence of The Unknown carriers, the regions where carriers appeared over the next 10 years and the process of subduing them, and the activities of The Unknown awakeners.

“There are about three organizations created by the awakeners….”

It was just as Theodore had said. Chapters of each organization were established in the capitals of several countries, including Arpenta.

Esdel, who was roughly looking over the information on the three places, furrowed her brow.

“The Order of Healing Priests? This, this is a church-affiliated organization, isn’t it?”

According to the documents, the high-ranking positions in the Order of Healing Priests were all held by church officials. In other words, the church had not only known about The Unknown for a long time but had even gathered awakeners to form an organization.

‘And yet they said cremation was unacceptable and feigned ignorance about the funeral.’

Esdel let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. Then, without a second glance, she set aside the Order of Healing Priests. She didn’t want to lend any more power to the church, which couldn’t even take proper responsibility for the funerals of the domain’s people.

That left two places.

The Self-Governing Public Order Brigade, and the Order of Salvation Knights.

‘It seems they have a secret chapter within the capital, Westford, so I’ll have to visit each of them soon.’

The Consumed that invaded the domain came from the Kartara Archipelago. If it was an organization of awakeners, they might know for what reason they had crossed the sea.

Esdel, who had put the documents back into her luggage bag and was about to move to the bedroom, paused. The title of a book peeking halfway out of the bag had caught her eye. It was the second volume of <The Autumn Wheat Field>.

She reached out her hand without thinking and opened the book.

On a randomly opened page, a scene was depicted where the two main characters were eating together. During their long life on the run, the thin woman accepted the food the lord put into her mouth like a baby bird.

“I, I can eat by myself. My lord.”

“Yes, I know.”

“If you would just return the fork….”

“Say ‘ah’.”

“Ah?”

The lord slipped the meat on the fork into the small opening of the woman’s mouth. Unable to speak with food in her mouth, the woman, who had been glaring with wide eyes, opened her mouth as soon as she swallowed the meat.

“My lord, return the fork… mph.”

An unfamiliar warmth covered the lips of the woman who had been voicing her complaint. The movement of licking her lips was stimulating….

Esdel snapped the book shut there. She had read scenes far more explicit than this without feeling any particular emotion until now, but strangely, her face felt hot.

“Don’t mind the movement of my hand, and concentrate here.”

Out of nowhere, it felt as if Theodore’s voice was ringing in her ears. The sensation of the lips that had sucked away the heat consuming her body was vivid. Slightly rough lips and moist breath….

“……”

Esdel shoved the book into the luggage bag. Then she rushed into the bedroom, turned off the lamp, and pulled the covers over her head. In case her breathing might leak into the hallway, she covered her mouth tightly with both hands.

Then, her eyes met the teddy bear that had been tossed carelessly inside the blanket. She had the illusion that the beloved doll Marie had sent was looking at her pitifully from within the covers.

She threw the doll out of the blanket and rubbed her cheeks hard with both hands.

‘Of all things, why did Lin have to like this kind of book.’

Guilt tangled with her reddened face. If Lin were here, she would surely have teased her and asked her to talk more about her fiancé. While cackling, she would have consoled her, saying it wouldn’t be easy to be indifferent to a fiancé with such a handsome face.

The fact that all of this now only happened in Esdel’s head was unbearably sad.

Right now, she could hear that voice so clearly, but one day she would forget. The low-pitched voice, the peals of laughter, the habit of fidgeting with the tip of her dagger when flustered, and even the content of the conversations they had shared.

👑🏰

Esdel, who had finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for a long time, suddenly came to her senses at dawn. Her senses, sharpened by her time with Baz over the past few days, felt a presence.

She first gauged the location of a weapon. The luggage bag and sword were in the study, so she couldn’t use them now. She had taken out her hairpin before lying down, but its tip was blunt and not very threatening. The most useful thing would probably be the flower vase on the table next to the bed.

‘If I swing it and hit their head, I might be able to buy enough time to escape.’

Esdel waited for an opportunity. She was holding her breath and pretending to be asleep, about to kick off the covers and get up. A small, uttered sigh was heard. It was a voice she knew.

‘Theodore?’

Esdel’s foot, which had been about to kick off the covers, froze. So bewildered that she had even stopped breathing, she soon realized her mistake and deliberately made a rustling sound as if tossing and turning.

“Umm….”

Pretending to roll sideways, she pushed down the covers she had been under. She didn’t hear the sound of footsteps leaving, so it seemed he hadn’t noticed she was awake.

Esdel lowered her head diagonally and opened her eyes into a slit. She could vaguely see the man standing next to the bed. She didn’t know if he was about to go to bed or had woken up and come, but he was lightly dressed.

‘But why did he come?’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t a time to be relieved just because it was someone she knew.

Esdel blamed herself for easily relaxing her guard as soon as she confirmed the intruder’s identity, and raised her alertness.

A sleeping person’s breathing is slower than that of an awake person.

In the time Esdel took one breath, Theodore exhaled twice. In the long-stretching silence, Esdel struggled not to lose the rhythm of her own breath.

That effort became futile the moment a shadow fell over her narrowly opened eyes. Startled, Esdel quickly retracted the breath she had let out off-beat. And then she opened her eyes wide.

Her wide-open eyes met Theodore’s directly.

His face was expressionless. Just like at their first meeting when he had proposed to her amidst a sea of blood.

Esdel, startled, sat up. She tried to light the lamp on the table, but was stopped by Theodore’s outstretched hand. He took the lamp away with a gentle but firm gesture.

“What are you do….”

She didn’t finish her words and shut her mouth.

The moonlight shining through the window cut diagonally between the two of them. Over Theodore’s pupils, she could see pulsating black text. In the darkness, The Unknown looked like just a single stain, but the ominousness was not diminished.

Esdel looked up at the impassively standing man with trembling eyes. The man looked as if he had no emotions, only a shell remaining. In that state, if Esdel made even a small movement, he would follow it keenly with his pupils.

‘The mark of The Unknown.’

She thought she understood why he had prevented her from lighting the lamp. Inside his blue pupils, the mark of The Unknown was endlessly swimming. It was a sight that made her feel as if she were being eaten alive just by looking at it.