“Are you talking about followers?”
“Do you know them?”
“I have fought with them.”
“You were a member of the Imperial Knights, yes. Before you misunderstand, I’ll say this in advance, but we have bad relations with them. Well, this is going to be a long explanation.”
When the godmother started to look a little tired, Tan quickly brought her some cold water.
“Our clan entered the empire 200 years ago. It’s hard to survive in the desert.”
At that time, the empire was a large kingdom and was engaged in wars of conquest with several kingdoms.
“150 years ago, King Sandronia made a proposal to our clan leader. He said that if we lend him our power, he would treat us as one family and give us a territory where we could live together.”
King Sandronia.
He was the one who would later become the first Emperor of the empire. The chieftain accepted his proposal. As a token of his promise, King Sandronia took the chieftain's daughter as his fiancée.
The Shartins helped King Sandronia with their spiritual powers and sorcery. He conquered several small kingdoms and proclaimed himself Emperor of the empire.
The chieftain asked him to keep his promise, and the Emperor held a banquet to praise their achievements. Most of the elders of the Shartin tribe attended, where he announced that he would marry the chieftain's daughter and bestow a fief.
“But the Emperor broke his promise. He had no intention of keeping it in the first place.”
At the banquet that day, the Emperor poisoned the wine bottle. Countless chieftains and elders who trusted the Emperor died. Those who did not drink the wine were killed with swords.
The chieftain's relatively clever daughter ran away with the rest of the people.
“It’s different from the story I know.”
Judith nodded at Erne's words. According to Judith's memory, the Shartin tribe had betrayed the Emperor and started a rebellion to usurp the throne.
The story of how the Emperor loved the chieftain's daughter so much that he drank the wine she gave him without question, but when a single drop of wine fell on his silver utensil, the silver turned black, was known to all the people of the empire.
“That would be so. The Emperor would not want it known that he had broken his promise. As you know, history is not written by the victors.”
The Emperor used incitement and fabrication to demote the Shartin tribe to a rebellious people. Having lost all of their leaders, the Shartin tribe was unable to respond properly and was driven out.
“But isn’t there one leader left? The chief’s daughter.”
“She wanted to sacrifice herself to get revenge on the Emperor. It is said that she took her life and created something.”
“What is it? Even godmother doesn’t know what it is?”
The godmother nodded.
“There, our clan split into two. Those who wanted to seek revenge and protect something the chieftain’s daughter had made with her own body, and those who wanted to return to the desert.”
Those who sought revenge were later called followers.
“Was godmother heading back to the desert?”
“That was before I was born. My great-grandfather made that choice. But we couldn’t go back to the desert.”
This was because there were many Shartins who stayed in the Empire during the war and started families and lived there. They eventually chose to live mixed with the people of the Empire.
“We decided to mix blood. We decided to marry imperial citizens and have babies who don’t look like us.”
As a result of this mixed marriage, the number of children born with strong Shartin traits has decreased.
As time passed, some people left the group, some formed their own groups and became independent, and some even pretended to be citizens of the empire.
“But there seem to be a lot of kids with amber eyes in this group.”
“When such a child is born, they are abandoned by our group and go away. Anyway, thanks to that, we have had many children with strong clan blood since long ago.”
The followers called those who did not have imperial blood mixed in them 'pure-blooded'.
“A follower came into our group and started harassing the young people.”
And the followers brought the 'pure-bloods' into their fold. The discriminated young Shartins fell for the logic that they should come together and rule this empire.
Despite their godmother's attempts to dissuade them, they left her and became followers.
“My daughter also fell like that. If she had been caught up in this rebellion, she would have died.”
The godmother muttered bitterly. Judith muttered a small regret.
“Do you know anything else about the followers? They made my husband's body not rot.”
“They?”
The godmother shook her head as if in doubt.
“I don’t know why they created an incorruptible corpse.”
The godmother looked straight at Erne with blurry eyes. Her unfocused eyes moved as if they had their own will, which was strangely creepy.
“I wonder if they tested poison on you. There are many types of sorcery, but they mostly use poison.”
Cliff's claim that he had procured poison for the followers seemed reasonable at first glance.
“They made a new poison and tested it on you, but the results might have been unexpected. So they might observe you.”
It was a reasonable guess. In any case, the experiment itself didn't change. Erne felt dirty.
Tan followed me and Erne, packing various things into his large pockets as instructed by his godmother.
All the way to the store, Erne watched me.
“Stop staring.”
“Are you really okay? Don’t you regret spending two gold coins?”
Erne came close to me and whispered so that only I could hear.
“Just tell me a little bit.”
“I don’t think it’s a waste.”
I answered through clenched teeth. I kept seeing the child as myself, looking at the children who seemed bright but somehow timid and the harsh environment.
So I returned the gold coins I had received. In fact, it was not because I felt sorry for the children, but because they were gold coins I had given to my own childhood.
I couldn't turn away from the sight of a child scratching his entire body because of the damp sleeping environment, because it reminded me of my own childhood.
Well, I guess you could call it a level of comfort.
“Isn’t it a shame? Ah.”
Erne, who had been repeating my words, snapped his fingers as if he had realized something.
“Of course. I don’t regret it. After all, it was Henry who paid for it in the first place.”
“...!”
Was that so?
Somehow, I felt good even though I spent 2 gold as if I was donating it.
This is using other people's money to make a living and to console old memories and wounds from the hardships of the past with other people's money.
'I rather like it.'
“It’s here. I feel a strong resentment on the floor.”
As soon as Tan entered the store, he found the source of the foul smell. He was still young and unskilled in his studies, but his godmother's words that he had great spiritual powers were probably true.
“As expected, you are brave.”
Henry, who had just finished work and came to the store to help Judith, was surprised to see Tan but felt sorry for him after hearing the story.
I got the gold back from Tan, but I didn't bother to tell him that I had given it back.
“I think we need to tear up the floor here.”
“Do we really have to tear out the floor?”
At my words, Tan tried to peer through the gap in the floorboards and shook his head, indicating that the stench would not be eliminated without tearing up the floorboards.
I felt it was a waste to tear up the perfectly good floor, but I decided to sacrifice the floor to get rid of the bad smell.
“Let’s tear it off, guys.”
When I, who wanted to get rid of the stench as soon as possible, made my decision, this time it was Henry who stepped forward.
“Madam, it’s dangerous. Please go over there for a moment.”
Henry motioned for me to step back, wedging the tip of his sword between the floorboards. He also gave me a gentle warning to be careful, as the shards might fly.
“But.”
Tan, who had been watching quietly, leaned over slightly and asked Erne, who was standing next to him.
“What’s the relationship like here? Are you somewhat open-minded?”
“Say it so I can understand?”
“Miss Harrington and Sir are married, and she and Sir Henry are lovers? Sir Erne and Sir Henry are friends.”
Erne didn't immediately understand what Tan was saying and had to think about it for a moment.
Tan's question was that Erne and Judith were a married couple and Judith and Henry were dating, but would Erne and Henry continue to be friends?
It was so absurd that he couldn't even laugh. Erne hadn't lived a particularly moral or upright life, but he hated such dirty deeds.
It was something that Gold, who was grazing outside, would hear and curse, calling it a mess.
“It’s okay. I’ve seen this kind of relationship a lot while working as a psychic.”
“That’s not it.”
“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
After talking for a few hours, Erne seemed to be getting more comfortable, and Tan even patted his arm.
“I said no.”
“Yes, yes.”
A look of complete disbelief. Erne's eyes grew cold at the corners of his lips that were snickering.
“Your mind is not like that of a seventeen-year-old. If you want to run until you die and become pure-hearted like a seventeen-year-old, then try harder.”
Why is it that only the word 'to death' is heard so clearly? Tan shut his mouth tightly and took his hand off Erne's forearm. The jumping that had been like hellish training earlier came to mind again.
Luckily for Tan, Henry had just lifted half of the floorboards at that exact moment. When he struggled, Erne kicked the half-lifted floorboards away with her foot.
Sasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasak-
In an instant, dozens of martens began to run away in all directions, accompanied by a thick, foul stench.
“Do you know them?”
“I have fought with them.”
“You were a member of the Imperial Knights, yes. Before you misunderstand, I’ll say this in advance, but we have bad relations with them. Well, this is going to be a long explanation.”
When the godmother started to look a little tired, Tan quickly brought her some cold water.
“Our clan entered the empire 200 years ago. It’s hard to survive in the desert.”
At that time, the empire was a large kingdom and was engaged in wars of conquest with several kingdoms.
“150 years ago, King Sandronia made a proposal to our clan leader. He said that if we lend him our power, he would treat us as one family and give us a territory where we could live together.”
King Sandronia.
He was the one who would later become the first Emperor of the empire. The chieftain accepted his proposal. As a token of his promise, King Sandronia took the chieftain's daughter as his fiancée.
The Shartins helped King Sandronia with their spiritual powers and sorcery. He conquered several small kingdoms and proclaimed himself Emperor of the empire.
The chieftain asked him to keep his promise, and the Emperor held a banquet to praise their achievements. Most of the elders of the Shartin tribe attended, where he announced that he would marry the chieftain's daughter and bestow a fief.
“But the Emperor broke his promise. He had no intention of keeping it in the first place.”
At the banquet that day, the Emperor poisoned the wine bottle. Countless chieftains and elders who trusted the Emperor died. Those who did not drink the wine were killed with swords.
The chieftain's relatively clever daughter ran away with the rest of the people.
“It’s different from the story I know.”
Judith nodded at Erne's words. According to Judith's memory, the Shartin tribe had betrayed the Emperor and started a rebellion to usurp the throne.
The story of how the Emperor loved the chieftain's daughter so much that he drank the wine she gave him without question, but when a single drop of wine fell on his silver utensil, the silver turned black, was known to all the people of the empire.
“That would be so. The Emperor would not want it known that he had broken his promise. As you know, history is not written by the victors.”
The Emperor used incitement and fabrication to demote the Shartin tribe to a rebellious people. Having lost all of their leaders, the Shartin tribe was unable to respond properly and was driven out.
“But isn’t there one leader left? The chief’s daughter.”
“She wanted to sacrifice herself to get revenge on the Emperor. It is said that she took her life and created something.”
“What is it? Even godmother doesn’t know what it is?”
The godmother nodded.
“There, our clan split into two. Those who wanted to seek revenge and protect something the chieftain’s daughter had made with her own body, and those who wanted to return to the desert.”
Those who sought revenge were later called followers.
“Was godmother heading back to the desert?”
“That was before I was born. My great-grandfather made that choice. But we couldn’t go back to the desert.”
This was because there were many Shartins who stayed in the Empire during the war and started families and lived there. They eventually chose to live mixed with the people of the Empire.
“We decided to mix blood. We decided to marry imperial citizens and have babies who don’t look like us.”
As a result of this mixed marriage, the number of children born with strong Shartin traits has decreased.
As time passed, some people left the group, some formed their own groups and became independent, and some even pretended to be citizens of the empire.
“But there seem to be a lot of kids with amber eyes in this group.”
“When such a child is born, they are abandoned by our group and go away. Anyway, thanks to that, we have had many children with strong clan blood since long ago.”
The followers called those who did not have imperial blood mixed in them 'pure-blooded'.
“A follower came into our group and started harassing the young people.”
And the followers brought the 'pure-bloods' into their fold. The discriminated young Shartins fell for the logic that they should come together and rule this empire.
Despite their godmother's attempts to dissuade them, they left her and became followers.
“My daughter also fell like that. If she had been caught up in this rebellion, she would have died.”
The godmother muttered bitterly. Judith muttered a small regret.
“Do you know anything else about the followers? They made my husband's body not rot.”
“They?”
The godmother shook her head as if in doubt.
“I don’t know why they created an incorruptible corpse.”
The godmother looked straight at Erne with blurry eyes. Her unfocused eyes moved as if they had their own will, which was strangely creepy.
“I wonder if they tested poison on you. There are many types of sorcery, but they mostly use poison.”
Cliff's claim that he had procured poison for the followers seemed reasonable at first glance.
“They made a new poison and tested it on you, but the results might have been unexpected. So they might observe you.”
It was a reasonable guess. In any case, the experiment itself didn't change. Erne felt dirty.
***
Tan followed me and Erne, packing various things into his large pockets as instructed by his godmother.
All the way to the store, Erne watched me.
“Stop staring.”
“Are you really okay? Don’t you regret spending two gold coins?”
Erne came close to me and whispered so that only I could hear.
“Just tell me a little bit.”
“I don’t think it’s a waste.”
I answered through clenched teeth. I kept seeing the child as myself, looking at the children who seemed bright but somehow timid and the harsh environment.
So I returned the gold coins I had received. In fact, it was not because I felt sorry for the children, but because they were gold coins I had given to my own childhood.
I couldn't turn away from the sight of a child scratching his entire body because of the damp sleeping environment, because it reminded me of my own childhood.
Well, I guess you could call it a level of comfort.
“Isn’t it a shame? Ah.”
Erne, who had been repeating my words, snapped his fingers as if he had realized something.
“Of course. I don’t regret it. After all, it was Henry who paid for it in the first place.”
“...!”
Was that so?
Somehow, I felt good even though I spent 2 gold as if I was donating it.
This is using other people's money to make a living and to console old memories and wounds from the hardships of the past with other people's money.
'I rather like it.'
***
“It’s here. I feel a strong resentment on the floor.”
As soon as Tan entered the store, he found the source of the foul smell. He was still young and unskilled in his studies, but his godmother's words that he had great spiritual powers were probably true.
“As expected, you are brave.”
Henry, who had just finished work and came to the store to help Judith, was surprised to see Tan but felt sorry for him after hearing the story.
I got the gold back from Tan, but I didn't bother to tell him that I had given it back.
“I think we need to tear up the floor here.”
“Do we really have to tear out the floor?”
At my words, Tan tried to peer through the gap in the floorboards and shook his head, indicating that the stench would not be eliminated without tearing up the floorboards.
I felt it was a waste to tear up the perfectly good floor, but I decided to sacrifice the floor to get rid of the bad smell.
“Let’s tear it off, guys.”
When I, who wanted to get rid of the stench as soon as possible, made my decision, this time it was Henry who stepped forward.
“Madam, it’s dangerous. Please go over there for a moment.”
Henry motioned for me to step back, wedging the tip of his sword between the floorboards. He also gave me a gentle warning to be careful, as the shards might fly.
“But.”
Tan, who had been watching quietly, leaned over slightly and asked Erne, who was standing next to him.
“What’s the relationship like here? Are you somewhat open-minded?”
“Say it so I can understand?”
“Miss Harrington and Sir are married, and she and Sir Henry are lovers? Sir Erne and Sir Henry are friends.”
Erne didn't immediately understand what Tan was saying and had to think about it for a moment.
Tan's question was that Erne and Judith were a married couple and Judith and Henry were dating, but would Erne and Henry continue to be friends?
It was so absurd that he couldn't even laugh. Erne hadn't lived a particularly moral or upright life, but he hated such dirty deeds.
It was something that Gold, who was grazing outside, would hear and curse, calling it a mess.
“It’s okay. I’ve seen this kind of relationship a lot while working as a psychic.”
“That’s not it.”
“Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
After talking for a few hours, Erne seemed to be getting more comfortable, and Tan even patted his arm.
“I said no.”
“Yes, yes.”
A look of complete disbelief. Erne's eyes grew cold at the corners of his lips that were snickering.
“Your mind is not like that of a seventeen-year-old. If you want to run until you die and become pure-hearted like a seventeen-year-old, then try harder.”
Why is it that only the word 'to death' is heard so clearly? Tan shut his mouth tightly and took his hand off Erne's forearm. The jumping that had been like hellish training earlier came to mind again.
Luckily for Tan, Henry had just lifted half of the floorboards at that exact moment. When he struggled, Erne kicked the half-lifted floorboards away with her foot.
Sasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasak-
In an instant, dozens of martens began to run away in all directions, accompanied by a thick, foul stench.
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