Chapter 9
“Since you said you wanted to pack light, I only picked out the clothes you wear often, my lady. Is there anything else you need besides what’s here?”
“There’s nothing else I need, let’s just take out half of that. Surely there must be a salon in the capital as good as the one here?”
“Still, you absolutely must take this! Your beloved teddy bear!”
Marie tossed the dresses to the other maids and took the doll from a young maid standing in the back. The teddy bear, small enough to fit snugly in one’s arms, was a staggering same age as Esdel. The doll, which had been in this room since she was a baby who couldn’t even speak, had one eye dangling as if it would fall off any second.
“…No, it’s fine.”
“But will you be able to sleep without it? I won’t be in the capital either, my lady!”
“Anyone who heard that would think I sleep clutching a doll every night.”
“You do it often. If there’s really no room in the luggage, I’ll tell the coachman to hold it.”
“…Shove it in the space where you took the dresses out.”
“Yes, my lady!”
Marie answered as if she had been waiting for it, then stuffed the doll deep into the large luggage bag. Then, along with the other maids, she announced they were going to the supply room and they all rushed out.
Click. Hearing the sound of the door closing, Esdel let out a small sigh.
“Beloved doll, my foot.”
It was just that the size was perfect for hugging while sleeping. If she could find a new pillow with the right height and volume, she would be satisfied.
Even while thinking that, Esdel didn’t pull out the doll peeking out from the top of the luggage. Instead, she sighed softly and leaned her body against the headboard of the bed. The expressions of the maids who had gathered around to pack came to mind.
“…They think they look excited just because they’re talking excitedly. All while looking like they’re at a funeral.”
Reinhardt people, I swear. None of them knew how to honestly show their emotions. Of course, Esdel herself was the same. Roan, found dead four days ago, had been a maid who had worked at the mansion for a long time. As such, there must have been many maids who were close to her.
Esdel wasn’t the only one who had to face a sudden death.
A little while ago, Lars, whom she had run into in the hallway, briefly told her about the events of the past few days.
“After you left, my lady, we mobilized the entire knight order to stop The Consumed from entering the residential areas. In the process, three or four knights suddenly collapsed, and soon their whole bodies were covered in black text, turning into something similar to The Consumed. Upon checking, we found that all the knights who had a problem were not wearing gloves.”
“Those knights are now….”
“Dead. They took their last breath at dawn. You have no idea how worried I was that you might have passed away in the same way, my lady.”
Lars shook his head.
He lamented how tense the atmosphere in the Count’s household had been for the past few days. He said he couldn’t even breathe properly because if he so much as sneezed while passing through the hallway, everyone would glare at him as if to kill him.
But even amid his exaggerated complaints, a weariness he couldn’t shake remained on his face. For the first time, Esdel realized that the ever-lighthearted knight commander was capable of making such a serious expression.
“I heard the situation from the Countess. Still, you’re not planning to go up to the capital right away, are you?”
“I plan to leave as soon as possible. As you know, there’s no benefit to the domain for me to remain here.”
Since there had been a commotion, the royal family would form an investigation team and send them. They would have at least some minimal information about The Unknown, so it wouldn’t take long for them to question why Esdel was able to survive.
If the royal family were to summon her under the pretext of creating a system to counter The Unknown, Esdel would have no way to refuse. And if she cooperated with the Royal Army, which prioritized the defense of the capital, her revenge for Lin’s death would end up taking a backseat.
“I understand what you mean. Still, you should at least attend the funeral before you go. We were postponing it because Baz is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.”
“The funeral.”
Esdel pressed her temples and then turned her head to the window. She felt as if Lin might step over the windowsill and enter at any moment. But such a thing would never happen again.
She stared at the window for a long time before turning her head away.
👑🏰
The funeral was conducted under the supervision of the Reinhardt County. The temple would have normally taken charge, but the matter fell through because they adamantly refused, saying that cremating the bodies was unacceptable.
“Mother, the funeral procedure is….”
“Yes. We’ve decided to omit the procedure of bidding farewell to the deceased.”
She saw the Count standing with a dark face next to the Countess, who was dressed in a black gown. The Count, who had woken up from fainting only to immediately attend the funeral, still looked confused.
“Your mother, she told me something strange. That you’re going to the capital at dawn tomorrow…. That, I, I know this isn’t the time to talk about such things, but I don’t understand….”
His expression showed he couldn’t believe that his daughter was getting married, nor that she would be leaving the domain soon.
Esdel, for her part, fidgeted, unable to say anything. If she said the wrong thing and he fainted again, she might have to leave this time without even getting to see his face.
While she was in a predicament, the Countess strode over and linked arms with the Count.
“Darling, children originally come without warning and leave without warning.”
“No, but still…. I, I thought I’d at least get to see my son-in-law’s face before the wedding….”
“How old-fashioned. If you act like that, it’ll be hard to get along with the kids these days, darling.”
“This is normal nowadays?”
“Of course.”
The Count looked back and forth between his wife and daughter with wide eyes. He still seemed not to understand, but the Countess resolutely led him onto the platform.
Watching her father, who kept looking back even from the platform, Esdel felt a faint sense of guilt. While she had spoken directly with her mother, to her father, everything from the marriage to her departure had been nothing short of a notification.
‘I’ll have to explain it properly in a letter later.’
Esdel took a small breath and looked up at the platform. Upon it rested the coffins of the three knights who had been consumed and died five days ago, the five Consumed that Theodore had found and killed over the past month, and Lin’s coffin.
“Sir Lars, what did you decide to do with the bodies of The Consumed that swarmed the domain five days ago?”
“Ah, someone came forward and said they would collect those.”
Lars briefly explained the whole story.
“While the Count’s family was inquiring about The Unknown, a person from the Kartara Archipelago came, saying they would provide information. They said they would provide information on The Unknown if we allowed them to collect the bodies of The Consumed who came from the archipelago.”
“And so….”
“It would be difficult for us to give them a proper funeral anyway, and it feels a bit wrong to just burn them without procedure, doesn’t it? It’s not like they wanted to end up like that. We gave permission on the condition that they load the bodies onto a ship and leave the domain immediately.”
Esdel nodded slightly.
She had wondered where her mother had gotten such detailed information; it seemed there had been a deal with someone from the archipelago. It would have been nice to meet them, but since they had already left, that would be difficult.
A soft music began to play. It was the sound of a piano, its volume so faint it couldn’t compare to the organ one heard in the temple. Esdel pressed her lips together at its insignificance.
What a bunch of narrow-minded fools. Whether the bodies were cremated or buried, why was that so important that they’d refuse to preside over the funeral?
Although they had been careful not to let rumors spread, the fact that the victims had black patterns on their bodies had already spread by word of mouth.
‘There were even talks of it being the wrath of God, and now that the temple has turned its back on the funeral…’
Esdel ground her teeth. They take everything they can from the domain, like subsidies and tax-exemption benefits, but when there’s actual work to be done, they just slink away? It was utterly despicable.
She furrowed her brow and lifted her head. Starting with the Count and Countess, the families of the victims began to line up one by one to place flowers on the closed coffins.
One, then another. White roses filled the tops of the coffins. Esdel stared blankly at the roses. The white rose she had placed on Lin’s chest overlapped in her vision.
While the roses were piling up, a sudden murmuring sound was heard from a corner. Turning her head toward the source of the commotion, Esdel discovered the back of Lin’s mother, Baz, standing before Lin’s coffin.
In Baz’s two hands were the daggers she normally used as her main weapon. Instead of placing a white rose, Baz was carving something onto the coffin with the daggers. Scrape. The sound of the dagger scratching across the wooden coffin lid was chilling.
“What is that….”
Through Esdel’s aghast voice, Lars’s words were heard.
“It’s an oath.”
“That’s an oath?”
“She’s carving her name on the coffin, to be buried in the ground with the deceased. It means she will live as a dead person until she has avenged the grudge.”
“I’ve never heard of such an oath.”
“It’s not a common oath. After making this oath, they won’t take on new commissions or belong to any organization until they’ve completed their revenge, so as a mercenary, they truly become as good as dead. I’ve only ever heard of it; this is the first time I’m seeing it myself.”
Even as Esdel listened to Lars’s story, Baz continued to move the hand holding the dagger.
Once it became clear that she was writing her own name on her daughter’s coffin, the brief stir quickly subsided. Whether one knew of the mercenaries’ oath or not, it wasn’t difficult to guess what the act meant.
As Esdel stood with her shoulders tensed, Lars’s voice reached her ears.
“Whoa, it’s our turn already. Our knights, receiving flowers from you, my lady, it must be an honor for their families even in death. How about you place two each since you’re at it? They’ll like it even more.”
Esdel barely came to her senses after hearing his jest.
“…What do you mean two. I’ll make a bouquet and place it for them.”
She strode up the stairs and gathered a handful of the prepared flowers in her arms. Then she placed bouquets of white roses not only on the knights’ coffins, but also on the coffins of the nameless domain residents and on Lin’s coffin.
That was the end of it. Esdel didn’t pray or shed tears in front of it; instead, she turned around and came straight down.
Just as Baz’s mourning would take place outside the funeral hall, so too would Esdel’s.
‘They call it The Unknown because no one knows about it, was that it?’
What a terribly irresponsible thing to say.
Esdel had no intention of letting the power that had stolen the lives of her friend and countless others in the domain remain as ‘something unknown.’
What on earth the Arpenta royal family was thinking, keeping their mouths shut until now, was none of her business. She would dig into it thoroughly. From the reason The Consumed came here, to the circumstances of how those Consumed came to be.
And they would, without fail, pay a fitting price.
👑🏰
Esdel’s departure for the capital was carried out quietly.
In such a sensitive time, there was no need to add the news that the Count’s heir had left the domain.
Standing in front of the carriage at dawn, Esdel checked the luggage one last time, then said her goodbyes to the Count and Countess. The Count, with reddened eyes, fought back tears and pressed something into Esdel’s hand.
“Th-This is a sword. Baz said she would teach you some basic swordsmanship on the way. It was prepared in a hurry, so throw it away and get a new one when you get to the capital.”
“Yes, Father. I’ll accept it gratefully.”
“Right…. Be sure to contact us before the wedding….”
“Of course.”
“You really, really must contact us.”
The Count grasped the shoulders of Esdel, who had taken the sword, and repeatedly implored her. Since she was the one at fault, Esdel kept nodding with a smiling face at his repeated words.
Compared to him, the Countess was composed. She handed Esdel a file in an envelope, saying it was the information the Count’s family had found out about The Unknown.
“You said you were going to the capital to gather information for the domain, but I don’t believe that. It’s clearly because of your friend. I’m only letting you go because I know you won’t listen even if I try to stop you.”
“…You knew?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t? It’s written all over your face.”
Accepting the thick file of organized documents about The Unknown, Esdel smiled with a troubled expression. Blood is blood, after all; no matter how much she hid her emotions, they weren’t easily fooled.
The Countess let out a small sigh.
“I was wondering why the child was so obediently compliant. If she were like me, there’s no way she would be.”
“I’m sorry. But Mother, I can’t let Lin go like this.”
The Countess stared intently at her daughter, then sighed once more. This time, it was an even deeper breath.
“See, I told you not to get so close to a kid who handles a sword… And now my husband brings home a man who also wields a blade….”
Contrary to her harsh words, the Countess’s furrowed face was full of sorrow. Perhaps from the moment she saw that her newborn daughter’s eyes were exactly like her own, she had thought a day like today might one day come.
Deep wrinkles formed on the Countess’s face, which had always looked younger than her age.
“I will give you a grace period of one year. Until then, I won’t care whether you’re avenging your friend or doing whatever else.”
With those words, the Countess turned around. It was a cold attitude, unbecoming of a mother seeing her daughter off, but Esdel knew it was the greatest tolerance she could show.
Esdel watched her mother’s retreating back with a bitter heart. The one who bore the fruit of a marriage that defied convention, Esdel, was not the only one who felt a sense of responsibility for its consequences. The Countess, too, had lived her life taking responsibility for the escapades of her youth more fiercely than anyone.
From being disowned by her parents in her youth, to tenaciously building a business and finally reuniting with them. The time she had spent would have been anything but easy. That must be why she raised her daughter, Esdel, with such strictness.
Esdel knew. She knew that the responsibility her mother so often preached about was connected to her wish for her daughter to have a peaceful life.
However, even knowing that, she couldn’t possibly stay in the domain with her eyes closed like this.
Esdel tried to suppress her guilty heart.
“Now, now. The shorter the farewell, the better.”
As if he knew Esdel’s heart, Lars chimed in with a bright smile, saying the sun would rise at this rate.
“Everyone else has already boarded. The luggage has been checked twice, too. We’ll depart as soon as you get on, my lady.”
Esdel confirmed that the rest of the party was already in the carriage and finally boarded. Click. With the sound of the door closing, she thought she heard a sob mixed with crying, but Esdel did not stop.
Soon, the sound of a horse snorting was heard. If they ran without stopping, it would take less than an hour to cross the domain’s border.
Esdel rested her chin on the small window. A sudden pang of sorrow struck her heart at the scenery passing by her view.
‘I thought that if I ever had to leave the domain for a long time… the first time would be to go on a trip with you, Lin.’
How I resent you.
You never keep a promise, do you, Lin Pendra?
Esdel leaned her head sideways against the windowsill. The next volume of a book she could no longer see, a trip she could no longer take, and the face of a friend gone forever flickered over her closed eyelids.
She had a premonition that for a long time to come, she would be greeted by the sudden afterimage of her friend.
👑🏰
A total of three people accompanied Esdel in the carriage to the capital.
There was the maid Marie, who would handle chores including meals until they reached the capital, Baz, who would serve as an escort, and a coward knight who she didn’t know why was tagging along.
The carriage, carrying a mother who had lost her daughter, was silent. The coward knight seemed itching to speak and kept trying to start a conversation, but Marie, sitting next to him, pinched his thigh each time to make him shut up.
‘Baz….’
She hadn’t had a single conversation with her since they met again. It wasn’t a situation where she could carelessly strike up a conversation, either.
‘I heard she received a new mission.’
As soon as the joint funeral was over, Baz had apparently gone to the Count and Countess and requested a mission to gather information on The Unknown. For her, who was bound to the Reinhardt County by a lifetime contract, that must have been the only way to avenge Lin.
Esdel briefly glanced at Baz. On her lap, as she sat with a straight posture, rested the longsword Lin used to use.
It was the next moment that an unsuitably cheerful voice was heard. The coward knight was muttering with sparkling eyes.
“Are you thinking of changing your weapon now?”
“……”
“Actually, I’ve always thought it would be great if you used a one-handed sword instead of daggers, Baz. Isn’t that way cooler!”
“……”
Marie’s jaw dropped at the knight’s cluelessness, and Esdel, not daring to try to resolve the situation, was uncharacteristically frozen.
Amidst it all, Baz, who had been sitting silently ignoring his words, opened her mouth.
“My lady, there is one thing Sir Lars asked of me.”
“…What is it?”
“He asked me to make it so that even if you are ambushed, my lady, you can survive at least the first attack. He said you would handle the rest well on your own.”
Baz tapped on the window, knock, knock, to have the coachman stop the carriage. Then, she flung open the carriage door in the middle of the road.
“Since we’re training anyway, one more person won’t be a problem.”
“Wow! I get to train with you too? It’s an honor! For a day like this to come…. By any chance, can I learn that too? The shadow walk that lets you kill a hundred men without being detected!”
The knight, still not grasping the situation, was overjoyed. In contrast, Esdel’s face grew paler and paler.
Esdel, who had started learning swordsmanship around the age of eight, graduated from the lower-knight level in just two years. And she immediately quit swordsmanship. Afterwards, even when those around her clamored that her talent was a waste, she never picked up a sword again, and the reason for that was just two things, or rather, two people.
Lars, and Baz.
Lars would take his subordinate knights on light strolls around the domain, but he made Esdel do lap after lap in the training yard. There were more days she didn’t throw up from running than days she did, but that was nothing compared to Baz’s training.
Pain that doesn’t kill you is growth.
That was Baz’s motto, and the biggest reason Esdel came to loathe swordsmanship. After reaching the level of a lower knight, she thought she would never have to train with Baz again.
‘I was sure of it, but…’
Baz, with an impassive face, gripped the hilt of her sword and pointed to the road.
“Get out, right now.”
“Uh, Ma’am Baz, but it’s still some distance to the next inn….”
“Get out.”
“Uh….”
“Want me to carry you out?”
“N-No, ma’am!”
The knight seemed to finally realize something was amiss, but it was far too late. Following the knight who hastily jumped out of the carriage, Esdel also trudged outside.
“From now on, we will run following the carriage.”
“…Uh, um, what if we fall behind?”
“That won’t happen, rookie knight.”
Watching Baz warm up, Esdel despaired. And soon, only a single thought remained in her mind.
How long does it take to get to the capital from here?