Preparations for the trip to the Kingdom of Britain were well underway. Shan reported his departure to the royal family and was busier than usual, handling business in advance.
Epen decided to take a short break from Targayel before heading to the Kingdom of Britany, to completely clean up the Guild with Calia.
He told Elze that he was going to erase the history of the Kalias and make it look like the entire guild had fled overseas. Although his actions were a bit bizarre, Epen was like a knife when it came to matters related to the guild. And before he left, Epen quietly visited Elze and told her a secret.
"The person who commissioned this assassination is Duke Enochs Seraph."
Elze was taken aback by the unexpected name. There was no reason for Duke Seraph to have a grudge against Targayel. In fact, he was the one who had worked hard to make Shan the Count of Targayel. And Epen could not have lied.
It wasn't a problem that could be easily solved by digging into it. Since the fact that Kalia had come to assassinate her was something that had been kept a secret from Shan, Elze decided to keep this fact to herself for now.
And then she got very busy. Elze had to move quickly to prepare for going to Britain. Elze thought about sending a letter to Astin in advance, but she gave up. She wanted to surprise Astin. How surprised and happy Astin would be if she went to the school secretly! Elze had fun imagining what that would look like these days.
When she was in Korea, Elze was an only child. Ever since she was little, she had desperately wanted a younger sibling. The happiest moment after she was reincarnated as Erzenes was when Astin was born. After her parents passed away, Astin, her only blood relative, felt even more special.
"Hmm."
Elze, who was packing her bags to go to the Kingdom of Britain after leaving the maids behind, was lost in thought while holding the bag containing the rapier and mangosh.
To take it or not to take it.
She had not yet shared a bedroom with Shan. She and Shan slept in separate rooms and brought her bag to the guest bedroom. While Elze was thinking about it, she suddenly remembered what he had said when he asked her to go to the academic festival at Aquis University.
"I just wanted to do something that you might like."
What did that mean? Elze wondered. It was a grand gesture of reconciliation to keep the show window couple together.
Come to think of it, even when Elze questioned him about his past, Shan readily admitted it and apologized. Considering Shan’s personality, it was a very strange thing.
Given his personality, it would have been more appropriate for him to give Elze a cold rebuke and tell her not to invade his privacy. Or, he could have just ignored Elze's anger from the start.
But Shan captured Elze. Just as he had captured Elijah's Elze when he left the battlefield, so he captured Erzenes of Targayel.
“Whew...”
He had a knack for making people feel strange for no reason.
At this point, she had even begun to suspect that he already knew that she was Elze and was watching her tremble in fear. So maybe he was being nice to her because she was his savior...?
When she thinks about it that way, it's a pretty plausible inference. But unless Shan says out loud that he knows she's Elze, whatever she thinks is just a wild guess.
Elze stopped thinking and started packing. She had decided to take the bag containing the rapier and the mangosh and ride in the carriage on the day of departure.
“Madam, this is Ivanna.”
There was a knock on the door, and Ivanna's voice was heard. It was not her usual raspy voice, but a dignified tone. Elze suppressed her laughter with a cough.
Ivanna was given the role of Elze's closest escort simply because she was a woman. All of the Elijahs were Elze's direct escorts, but Ivanna, being a woman, was the only one who could freely enter and exit Elze's room.
“Come in.”
As soon as Ivanna entered the room, she made sure there were no maids and sat down on the floor.
"Captain!"
Then she turned around, feeling uncomfortable in her clothes. She was wearing the black uniform of the knights of Targayel, but each of the Elijahs changed their clothes slightly to suit their individual personalities.
In Ivanna's case, she was wearing a long, sleeveless vest-like coat as her summer uniform. Inside, there were dozens of pockets, and they were filled with various bottles of medicine.
Ivanna, who had kicked away her dignified speech, spoke to Elze in a jaunty tone, her body swaying.
“The clothes seem a little small. I think I gained weight. Have I become uglier?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. You’re always pretty in my eyes.”
“Huh, that’s why I like the captain.”
Ivanna blushed slightly and hugged Elze. Then she sniffled at Elze and whined.
“There are only idiots here.”
Ivanna, the alchemist, had an incredible level of knowledge. By her standards, 99% of people were idiots. As far as Elze knew, the only people who didn't ignore her for being idiots were Rapine, Elze, and Shan. Elze giggled and asked her.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, there was a fight today.”
"Fight...?"
“With the private soldiers brought by Cirxus, and Elijah!”
“What?”
But before Elze could even begin to be surprised, Ivanna added with a calm face.
“Oh, and Cirxus and Tarkun also fought.”
Originally, when a group was formed, there was a hierarchy. It was inevitable that Elijah would clash with the private soldiers brought by Shan.
Most of them were familiar with Elijah's name, having been on the battlefield. At first, they were surprised that Elijah had come to Targayel.
But it wasn't long before they became hostile, which was actually more of a matter of circumstance than their fault.
Elijah and Kalia were members of the Ravens of Targayel, but in a slightly different position. They were directly assigned to Elze, not Shan.
Elijah and Kalia were free to train separately and move freely, as they had been doing since the old ways, without having to follow the orders of Shan or the Knight Commander Liv Cullens. From there, it was a situation that could not help but look bad. However, it was also revealed that Elijah was paid much higher than other privates.
It was a pittance compared to what the Elijahs had originally received as commissions, but there was no way the disgruntled private soldiers would understand such details.
Of course, those among the soldiers who had seen Elijah's performance on the battlefield kept their mouths shut. They knew that Elijah had the skills to be a knight commander. In fact, he was able to persuade other soldiers who were complaining.
But those who had not seen it considered the rumors about Elijah to be groundless rumors, and thought that if they only gathered together, they could easily deal with him. It did not take long for the pent-up discontent to explode. Within a few days of entering Targayel, a quarrel broke out over something trivial.
The Kalias were away to clean up the guild, leaving only Elijah behind. All of the Elijahs were gathered together under the cool shade of a tree, chatting away, when they came looking for them.
"Even if you are Elijah, shouldn't you have some basic training as a Targayel Raven?"
It was true, but the tone was full of criticism. Tarkun said angrily.
"Do we have to be at the right level to train together?"
"Tarkun."
Rapine quickly evolved, but his opponents who were determined to fight him didn't miss it. The one in front of them was grumbling.
As expected, they were all destroyed by Tarkun. They challenged all of Elijah, but not a single of them could get past Tarkum.
While Rapine and Ivanna watched from behind, Tarkun swung his wooden sword excitedly. One-on-man combat was one of Elijah's greatest strengths. Ivanna clicked her tongue as she watched Tarkun flying around.
"Tsk tsk, look at that military discipline. Didn't your skills decline after you rested for a while after the war?"
"That's right."
Tarkun responded steadily even as he beat up those who rushed at him.
"Hey! That's not it!"
He teased the people who rushed at him while he was answering. There was a time when he had about ten people crawling on the floor without even holding their swords properly.
“Fortunately, just before they were about to cry, the Knight Commander... What was his name? Love Curry and Cirxus came and settled things for now. It was because Tarkun started a fight there.”
Even though it was Liv Cullens and not Love Curry, Elze didn't point it out because she understood the gist of it.
According to Ivanna, Shan, and Liv, who had come home early today, came to visit while Tarkun was beating up the kids. They had heard that all the soldiers were gathered at the training ground. And they witnessed the scene of the dog fight and the crowd of onlookers surrounding it.
"What's the fuss about! Everyone's gone crazy!"
Liv stepped forward and shouted through the crowd. He looked at the soldiers crawling on the ground and Tarkun standing proudly among them and clicked his tongue.
"Oh my..."
While Liv was roughly cleaning up the area, Tarkun strode towards Shan and stood in front of him. The moment their eyes met, Tarkun aimed the wooden sword in his hand straight at Shan’s forehead and spoke.
"Let's have a go."
Everyone around him was shocked by his actions. To others, Tarkun's actions now looked no different from jumping into a blazing fire carrying a barrel of oil. Fortunately or unfortunately, Shan accepted Tarkun's challenge.
Considering Shan's status, it would have been natural to refuse or even yell at him, but since they were all born into battle, they didn't consider this rude. Even Liv, who should have been trying to stop Shan, seemed to enjoy watching.
Shan pulled out his sword from the waist of Liv, who was standing next to him. Tarkun's face filled with joy at the cool sound of the metal, while the rest's faces turned pale.
Tarkun also drew his two-handed sword. Both of them had real swords, not practice swords. Everyone was nervous that bloodshed might occur, but Rapine and Ivanna were chatting away in the front row with sparkling eyes.
"I'll bet my entire first salary on Tarkun reaching within 10 points."
"10 points? First paycheck and second paycheck. I'm betting on the one that gets settled within 5 points."
"Okay. Then I'll go within 3..."
"No! Then I'll take a two-shot."
Tarkun, who heard the two bettings, swung his huge two-handed sword vigorously and shouted.
"I'm betting my entire salary that I win!"
Tarkun's shout was cocky, but Shan was not particularly perturbed. He spoke briefly, still aiming his sword.
"Take the initiative."
Tarkun flinched at Shan's words.
"Aren't you taking this too lightly?"
It was understandable. Shan, who had been to the palace, was wearing uncomfortable formal attire and had not even warmed up. In contrast, Tarkun had finished warming up in his Targayel uniform, which was made to be easy to move in, and he was holding his favorite sword. In terms of the situation, Tarkun had an overwhelming advantage.
But he was Shan Cirxus, and to Shan, such trivial matters meant nothing.
"..."
Shan didn't respond and just flicked the tip of his sword. It was a gesture that told him to rush in.
Tarkun grinned and took a stance, then swung his sword at a speed incomparable to that of before. A heavy, dull sound rang out as it cut through the air. The sword, with tremendous power, swung down at Shan. In comparison, Shan’s sword looked so weak that it looked like a thin tree branch.
But it ended with just one word.
Shan lightly dodged the slash and struck Tarkun in the stomach with the pommel behind his sword grip. Tarkun could take most attacks with his bare hands, but Shan’s attack was different from his usual attacks.
"Hyah!"
Tarkun clutched his stomach and rolled on the floor. Shan looked down at Tarkun, who was crawling on the floor, coughing continuously, and said only one word.
"Bring Elze."
That ended the fight.
“With that being said, the situation is over! Cirxus returns to the mansion, and Love Curry cleans up.”
"I see..."
“Honestly, you have to be at least a captain to mix it up with Cirxus and the sword, right?”
As Ivanna pretended to swing her sword and chattered, Rosalie's voice was heard from outside.
“Madam, this is Rosalie.”
Ivanna, who had been clinging tightly to Elze, quickly moved away and took a serious pose. Elze also controlled her expression so as not to laugh before allowing her to enter the room.
“The Count has sent word that he would like you to stop by his office if possible, as he has some business to discuss regarding his trip to Britain.”
Elze put down her luggage and followed Rosalie to Shan's office. She had been to his study before, but this was her first time in his office.
When she entered the office, Shan was seriously discussing something with Marle. There was a considerable amount of paperwork piled up in front of him. As soon as Elze entered, Marle politely bowed and stepped aside.
Now there were only Shan and Elze in the office. Shan stood up, and Elze stood across from him. A large desk was placed between them.
"Today."
Shan quietly placed one hand on the desk. As the purple eyes stared intently, Elze's body trembled. Even if everything else became familiar, those eyes would feel unfamiliar to her for the rest of her life. Shan spoke softly.
“There was a small disturbance with your knight, Elijah.”
Elze tried to act calm when he said that. But it wasn't easy. It was even harder when she didn't know how much he knew.
“Weren’t you going to tell me about Britain?”
“...”
Shan's eyes narrowed. It seemed that she was not happy with what Elze had said.
“Erzenes.”
At Shan's call, Elze looked at him. Their eyes met.
“We are now on the same boat. That is why I told you the story about Machans without holding back.”
It was an unusually long explanation. It was as if he was giving Elze a chance as if he already knew everything.
“To me...”
Amidst the tangled gazes, Shan asked slowly.
“Is there anything you want to say?”
Elze was silent. What could she say here?
She was overcome with emotion. She was angry at Shan for asking questions and at herself for not being able to give a clear answer. She wanted to tell him everything.
But Elze still couldn't completely trust Shan. Just as he couldn't be sure of Elze's identity, Elze couldn't solidify her trust in Shan either.
And even if the moment came to tell him everything, she didn't want to say it like this. As if she was being pressured and had no choice but to confess.
“...Shan.”
Elze called him softly. She placed both hands on the desk that was blocking the space between her and him. As she leaned toward Shan, her face came closer to his. The sensation of her skin was heightened by the precarious distance. Elze asked him a question, keeping a distance of a hand’s length.
“You’re not asking because you already know the answer, are you?”
Shan's eyes sparkled at the provocative remark. He looked down at Elze with slightly lowered eyes. His eyes looked like they would burst at any moment. Elze didn't let her guard down, feeling like she would be swept away the moment they burst. However, unlike Elze's nervousness, Shan soon calmed down slowly. He smiled and said.
“I spoke nonsense.”
Shan's face came closer. Elze instinctively tilted her face back. Shan laughed heartily at Elze's appearance.
"You..."
How far did this man come in? If Elze hadn't avoided it, their lips might have bumped into each other. Shan said leisurely, watching Elze's flustered appearance.
“I’ll figure out the answer myself.”
“....”
Elze was about to say something because she found his leisurely manners annoying, but she closed her mouth. It would only harm Elze if she continued from here. Elze changed the subject.
“Let’s talk about Britain.”
Shan obediently moved on to another topic at Elze's words. He unrolled the paper that had been rolled up on his desk. On the paper was a detailed map drawn from Baluar to Britain.
“I called you to make the final decision on who will go to Britain.”
The journey to the Aquis College in the Kingdom of Britain took about two weeks. Normally, a procession of nobles would have taken dozens of private soldiers, but Shan and Elze went with a minimal number of people.
Elijah was appointed as Elze's escort. Rosalie, the head maid, was also to accompany Elze to attend to her.
Shan selected five of his most skilled knights, including the commander of the knights, Liv Cullens. Kalia, who was to secretly follow as an escort, selected ten men, including Epen, and they decided to follow secretly.
“Rosalie is following you too.”
Elze's face hardened slightly. She didn't need a waitress, and even with Ivanna, she had no problem putting on and taking off complicated dresses. However, Rosalie was the Crown Prince's eyes and ears. Leaving her behind would have risked arousing Raymond's unnecessary suspicion.
Elze scanned the map that Shan had spread out. Britain was a maritime nation. From Baluar, Britain was often reached by sea, but the sea route from the capital was too far, so it was better to go by land.
On the way to Britain, the Forest of Renando was seen. The Forest of Renando was a shortcut to Britain, but it was not a common travel route because the forest was deep and dense and was infested with bandits.
Elze gently traced the forest of Renando with her finger. Her thin, white finger rubbed the forest of Renando covered in black ink. Shan's gaze turned to Elze's finger.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll just exclude her.”
“No, I don’t want to attract His Highness’ attention over such a trivial matter.”
Elze muttered, tapping on the forest of Renando.
“Even if we start together...”
And then he smiled meaningfully and said:
“It may not arrive.”
The long-awaited departure day.
Elze and her party set off, escorted by their servants, including their butler Marle. Elze, Ivanna, and Rosalie rode in the carriage, while Shan and the rest of the people rode horses outside, forming a procession in front and behind. Kalia was scheduled to join them in Britain.
The journey was peaceful to the point of being a bit boring for a few days after leaving the capital and heading to the border. The incident occurred in the forest of Renando before crossing over to the Kingdom of Britain. The rumor of bandits was also known to Elze and her party.
However, if you go only on the road outside without going through the forest of Renando, you will have to go around the forest a lot, so you will waste several days on the road. It would be pitiful for them to be attacked anyway. There is no reason to worry about the thieves, so you naturally take that route.
Everyone took it for granted that they would be going through the Forest of Renando, but there was one person who seemed uneasy: Rosalie.
She couldn't even breathe properly after entering the Renando Forest. The forest was so large that she had to camp out for a day, and after hearing that they were going to camp out, she even broke out in a cold sweat.
“Madam, are you sure it’s okay?”
She pretended to be worried about Elze and secretly encouraged her to leave the forest. Rosalie desperately wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, even if it meant forcing herself to march through the night.
Rosalie's anxiety was natural. She had only heard about the Hundred Years' War, Shan Cirxus, and Elijah through hearsay and writing. The extent of their power and the fact that there was no need to fear bandits were far-fetched stories that Rosalie had no idea about.
“Let’s camp here today.”
Elze and her party prepared to camp in a wide open space in the middle of the forest. Unlike Rosalie, who was staying in the carriage and did not want to come out, Elze wanted to go for a walk outside. Elze said she would go for a walk and got out of the carriage. Then she opened her eyes wide when she saw a hand being held out in front of her.
“Let me go with you.”
The one who extended his hand was Shan. Elze readily accepted his escort.
The two walked a little further away from the campsite. Soon, they heard the sound of water and saw a small valley. Shan and Elze stopped walking as soon as they saw the valley without saying a word. After watching the water flow down for a while, Shan asked a question.
“Are you uncomfortable at all?”
“Not really. It’s a bit boring just being in the carriage. Isn’t riding a horse difficult for you?”
“It’s something I’ve always done, so not really.”
It was awkward when there were only two of them. Elze strode forward without any reason. She was thinking of getting closer to the valley. However, Elze, who was too concerned about Shan behind her to pay attention to her footsteps, slipped and stepped on the moss on the rock.
"Ah!"
The moment her body swayed, she lost her balance. There was a small cliff below. It wasn't bad enough to hurt her, but it wasn't enough to fall and come out okay.
“Erzenes!”
Shan quickly approached and extended his arm, but Shan had to hold up his empty hand.
It was because Elze landed on the floor with a perfect landing technique. Elze looked back at Shan and exclaimed, “Oh no.”
"...Ah."
Elze asked belatedly, seeing the hand stretched out into the air.
“Were you trying to catch me?”
“...”
Shan just quietly put his hand in. In this situation, it was the rule of love to pretend to be weak and give in, but Elze was too strong for that. As Elze looked up at him, Shan shook his head quietly and jumped down next to Elze.
“I don’t think it’ll be easy to come up wearing a dress.”
Shan had come down to support Elze so she could climb up. Although it was a simple outfit for going out, Elze was wearing a long skirt. If she climbed the cliff in this condition, her clothes would all get tattered.
Just as Elze was about to feel slightly moved, a woman's shrill scream rang out from far away. It was Rosalie's voice. However, Elze and Shan continued their conversation naturally, without being surprised or worried.
“Has it started?”
Elze nodded in response to Shan's words.
“Yeah. It should be over quickly.”
The two of them looked across the river in a friendly manner toward the direction where the screams were coming from, as if they were watching a fire across the river.
In fact, the reason they crossed the forest of Renando was because of Rosalie. Elze felt sorry for her, but she didn't want to travel with Rosalie, who was like the Crown Prince's eyes.
So Shan and Elze planned to disguise Kalia as thieves and get rid of Rosalie. While they were visiting Britain, they planned to take Rosalie to a nice place for a while.
By now, Kalia, disguised as a thief, would have set the mood. Since Elijah and the others had pretended to go somewhere to prepare for camp, only the knights remained at the campsite. Since she had told them in advance, they would be acting diligently to match Kalia's performance.
Shan and Elze had a tacit agreement to return when the situation was over. They were going upstream along the stream, thinking they might explore the valley a bit more.
A rustling sound was heard beyond the bushes. Shan and Elze turned to look at the same time. And their eyes met exactly with dozens of pairs of eyes flashing through the thick bushes.
“Um... Hey, Shan.”
Elze said, tapping Shan's forearm with her finger.
“Does it seem like a real thief has appeared?”
Epen decided to take a short break from Targayel before heading to the Kingdom of Britany, to completely clean up the Guild with Calia.
He told Elze that he was going to erase the history of the Kalias and make it look like the entire guild had fled overseas. Although his actions were a bit bizarre, Epen was like a knife when it came to matters related to the guild. And before he left, Epen quietly visited Elze and told her a secret.
"The person who commissioned this assassination is Duke Enochs Seraph."
Elze was taken aback by the unexpected name. There was no reason for Duke Seraph to have a grudge against Targayel. In fact, he was the one who had worked hard to make Shan the Count of Targayel. And Epen could not have lied.
It wasn't a problem that could be easily solved by digging into it. Since the fact that Kalia had come to assassinate her was something that had been kept a secret from Shan, Elze decided to keep this fact to herself for now.
And then she got very busy. Elze had to move quickly to prepare for going to Britain. Elze thought about sending a letter to Astin in advance, but she gave up. She wanted to surprise Astin. How surprised and happy Astin would be if she went to the school secretly! Elze had fun imagining what that would look like these days.
When she was in Korea, Elze was an only child. Ever since she was little, she had desperately wanted a younger sibling. The happiest moment after she was reincarnated as Erzenes was when Astin was born. After her parents passed away, Astin, her only blood relative, felt even more special.
"Hmm."
Elze, who was packing her bags to go to the Kingdom of Britain after leaving the maids behind, was lost in thought while holding the bag containing the rapier and mangosh.
To take it or not to take it.
She had not yet shared a bedroom with Shan. She and Shan slept in separate rooms and brought her bag to the guest bedroom. While Elze was thinking about it, she suddenly remembered what he had said when he asked her to go to the academic festival at Aquis University.
"I just wanted to do something that you might like."
What did that mean? Elze wondered. It was a grand gesture of reconciliation to keep the show window couple together.
Come to think of it, even when Elze questioned him about his past, Shan readily admitted it and apologized. Considering Shan’s personality, it was a very strange thing.
Given his personality, it would have been more appropriate for him to give Elze a cold rebuke and tell her not to invade his privacy. Or, he could have just ignored Elze's anger from the start.
But Shan captured Elze. Just as he had captured Elijah's Elze when he left the battlefield, so he captured Erzenes of Targayel.
“Whew...”
He had a knack for making people feel strange for no reason.
At this point, she had even begun to suspect that he already knew that she was Elze and was watching her tremble in fear. So maybe he was being nice to her because she was his savior...?
When she thinks about it that way, it's a pretty plausible inference. But unless Shan says out loud that he knows she's Elze, whatever she thinks is just a wild guess.
Elze stopped thinking and started packing. She had decided to take the bag containing the rapier and the mangosh and ride in the carriage on the day of departure.
“Madam, this is Ivanna.”
There was a knock on the door, and Ivanna's voice was heard. It was not her usual raspy voice, but a dignified tone. Elze suppressed her laughter with a cough.
Ivanna was given the role of Elze's closest escort simply because she was a woman. All of the Elijahs were Elze's direct escorts, but Ivanna, being a woman, was the only one who could freely enter and exit Elze's room.
“Come in.”
As soon as Ivanna entered the room, she made sure there were no maids and sat down on the floor.
"Captain!"
Then she turned around, feeling uncomfortable in her clothes. She was wearing the black uniform of the knights of Targayel, but each of the Elijahs changed their clothes slightly to suit their individual personalities.
In Ivanna's case, she was wearing a long, sleeveless vest-like coat as her summer uniform. Inside, there were dozens of pockets, and they were filled with various bottles of medicine.
Ivanna, who had kicked away her dignified speech, spoke to Elze in a jaunty tone, her body swaying.
“The clothes seem a little small. I think I gained weight. Have I become uglier?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. You’re always pretty in my eyes.”
“Huh, that’s why I like the captain.”
Ivanna blushed slightly and hugged Elze. Then she sniffled at Elze and whined.
“There are only idiots here.”
Ivanna, the alchemist, had an incredible level of knowledge. By her standards, 99% of people were idiots. As far as Elze knew, the only people who didn't ignore her for being idiots were Rapine, Elze, and Shan. Elze giggled and asked her.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, there was a fight today.”
"Fight...?"
“With the private soldiers brought by Cirxus, and Elijah!”
“What?”
But before Elze could even begin to be surprised, Ivanna added with a calm face.
“Oh, and Cirxus and Tarkun also fought.”
Originally, when a group was formed, there was a hierarchy. It was inevitable that Elijah would clash with the private soldiers brought by Shan.
Most of them were familiar with Elijah's name, having been on the battlefield. At first, they were surprised that Elijah had come to Targayel.
But it wasn't long before they became hostile, which was actually more of a matter of circumstance than their fault.
Elijah and Kalia were members of the Ravens of Targayel, but in a slightly different position. They were directly assigned to Elze, not Shan.
Elijah and Kalia were free to train separately and move freely, as they had been doing since the old ways, without having to follow the orders of Shan or the Knight Commander Liv Cullens. From there, it was a situation that could not help but look bad. However, it was also revealed that Elijah was paid much higher than other privates.
It was a pittance compared to what the Elijahs had originally received as commissions, but there was no way the disgruntled private soldiers would understand such details.
Of course, those among the soldiers who had seen Elijah's performance on the battlefield kept their mouths shut. They knew that Elijah had the skills to be a knight commander. In fact, he was able to persuade other soldiers who were complaining.
But those who had not seen it considered the rumors about Elijah to be groundless rumors, and thought that if they only gathered together, they could easily deal with him. It did not take long for the pent-up discontent to explode. Within a few days of entering Targayel, a quarrel broke out over something trivial.
The Kalias were away to clean up the guild, leaving only Elijah behind. All of the Elijahs were gathered together under the cool shade of a tree, chatting away, when they came looking for them.
"Even if you are Elijah, shouldn't you have some basic training as a Targayel Raven?"
It was true, but the tone was full of criticism. Tarkun said angrily.
"Do we have to be at the right level to train together?"
"Tarkun."
Rapine quickly evolved, but his opponents who were determined to fight him didn't miss it. The one in front of them was grumbling.
"Level? What level?"
He said as he tossed a practice sword to Tarkun.
"Can you please check it for me?"
Thus the ravens of Targayel began to fight in earnest to determine the hierarchy.
"So?"
Ivanna shrugged her shoulders in response to Elze's question.
“He gave them a hard time.”
He said as he tossed a practice sword to Tarkun.
"Can you please check it for me?"
Thus the ravens of Targayel began to fight in earnest to determine the hierarchy.
"So?"
Ivanna shrugged her shoulders in response to Elze's question.
“He gave them a hard time.”
As expected, they were all destroyed by Tarkun. They challenged all of Elijah, but not a single of them could get past Tarkum.
While Rapine and Ivanna watched from behind, Tarkun swung his wooden sword excitedly. One-on-man combat was one of Elijah's greatest strengths. Ivanna clicked her tongue as she watched Tarkun flying around.
"Tsk tsk, look at that military discipline. Didn't your skills decline after you rested for a while after the war?"
"That's right."
Tarkun responded steadily even as he beat up those who rushed at him.
"Hey! That's not it!"
He teased the people who rushed at him while he was answering. There was a time when he had about ten people crawling on the floor without even holding their swords properly.
“Fortunately, just before they were about to cry, the Knight Commander... What was his name? Love Curry and Cirxus came and settled things for now. It was because Tarkun started a fight there.”
Even though it was Liv Cullens and not Love Curry, Elze didn't point it out because she understood the gist of it.
According to Ivanna, Shan, and Liv, who had come home early today, came to visit while Tarkun was beating up the kids. They had heard that all the soldiers were gathered at the training ground. And they witnessed the scene of the dog fight and the crowd of onlookers surrounding it.
"What's the fuss about! Everyone's gone crazy!"
Liv stepped forward and shouted through the crowd. He looked at the soldiers crawling on the ground and Tarkun standing proudly among them and clicked his tongue.
"Oh my..."
While Liv was roughly cleaning up the area, Tarkun strode towards Shan and stood in front of him. The moment their eyes met, Tarkun aimed the wooden sword in his hand straight at Shan’s forehead and spoke.
"Let's have a go."
Everyone around him was shocked by his actions. To others, Tarkun's actions now looked no different from jumping into a blazing fire carrying a barrel of oil. Fortunately or unfortunately, Shan accepted Tarkun's challenge.
Considering Shan's status, it would have been natural to refuse or even yell at him, but since they were all born into battle, they didn't consider this rude. Even Liv, who should have been trying to stop Shan, seemed to enjoy watching.
Shan pulled out his sword from the waist of Liv, who was standing next to him. Tarkun's face filled with joy at the cool sound of the metal, while the rest's faces turned pale.
Tarkun also drew his two-handed sword. Both of them had real swords, not practice swords. Everyone was nervous that bloodshed might occur, but Rapine and Ivanna were chatting away in the front row with sparkling eyes.
"I'll bet my entire first salary on Tarkun reaching within 10 points."
"10 points? First paycheck and second paycheck. I'm betting on the one that gets settled within 5 points."
"Okay. Then I'll go within 3..."
"No! Then I'll take a two-shot."
Tarkun, who heard the two bettings, swung his huge two-handed sword vigorously and shouted.
"I'm betting my entire salary that I win!"
Tarkun's shout was cocky, but Shan was not particularly perturbed. He spoke briefly, still aiming his sword.
"Take the initiative."
Tarkun flinched at Shan's words.
"Aren't you taking this too lightly?"
It was understandable. Shan, who had been to the palace, was wearing uncomfortable formal attire and had not even warmed up. In contrast, Tarkun had finished warming up in his Targayel uniform, which was made to be easy to move in, and he was holding his favorite sword. In terms of the situation, Tarkun had an overwhelming advantage.
But he was Shan Cirxus, and to Shan, such trivial matters meant nothing.
"..."
Shan didn't respond and just flicked the tip of his sword. It was a gesture that told him to rush in.
Tarkun grinned and took a stance, then swung his sword at a speed incomparable to that of before. A heavy, dull sound rang out as it cut through the air. The sword, with tremendous power, swung down at Shan. In comparison, Shan’s sword looked so weak that it looked like a thin tree branch.
But it ended with just one word.
Shan lightly dodged the slash and struck Tarkun in the stomach with the pommel behind his sword grip. Tarkun could take most attacks with his bare hands, but Shan’s attack was different from his usual attacks.
"Hyah!"
Tarkun clutched his stomach and rolled on the floor. Shan looked down at Tarkun, who was crawling on the floor, coughing continuously, and said only one word.
"Bring Elze."
That ended the fight.
“With that being said, the situation is over! Cirxus returns to the mansion, and Love Curry cleans up.”
"I see..."
“Honestly, you have to be at least a captain to mix it up with Cirxus and the sword, right?”
As Ivanna pretended to swing her sword and chattered, Rosalie's voice was heard from outside.
“Madam, this is Rosalie.”
Ivanna, who had been clinging tightly to Elze, quickly moved away and took a serious pose. Elze also controlled her expression so as not to laugh before allowing her to enter the room.
“The Count has sent word that he would like you to stop by his office if possible, as he has some business to discuss regarding his trip to Britain.”
Elze put down her luggage and followed Rosalie to Shan's office. She had been to his study before, but this was her first time in his office.
When she entered the office, Shan was seriously discussing something with Marle. There was a considerable amount of paperwork piled up in front of him. As soon as Elze entered, Marle politely bowed and stepped aside.
Now there were only Shan and Elze in the office. Shan stood up, and Elze stood across from him. A large desk was placed between them.
"Today."
Shan quietly placed one hand on the desk. As the purple eyes stared intently, Elze's body trembled. Even if everything else became familiar, those eyes would feel unfamiliar to her for the rest of her life. Shan spoke softly.
“There was a small disturbance with your knight, Elijah.”
Elze tried to act calm when he said that. But it wasn't easy. It was even harder when she didn't know how much he knew.
“Weren’t you going to tell me about Britain?”
“...”
Shan's eyes narrowed. It seemed that she was not happy with what Elze had said.
“Erzenes.”
At Shan's call, Elze looked at him. Their eyes met.
“We are now on the same boat. That is why I told you the story about Machans without holding back.”
It was an unusually long explanation. It was as if he was giving Elze a chance as if he already knew everything.
“To me...”
Amidst the tangled gazes, Shan asked slowly.
“Is there anything you want to say?”
Elze was silent. What could she say here?
She was overcome with emotion. She was angry at Shan for asking questions and at herself for not being able to give a clear answer. She wanted to tell him everything.
But Elze still couldn't completely trust Shan. Just as he couldn't be sure of Elze's identity, Elze couldn't solidify her trust in Shan either.
And even if the moment came to tell him everything, she didn't want to say it like this. As if she was being pressured and had no choice but to confess.
“...Shan.”
Elze called him softly. She placed both hands on the desk that was blocking the space between her and him. As she leaned toward Shan, her face came closer to his. The sensation of her skin was heightened by the precarious distance. Elze asked him a question, keeping a distance of a hand’s length.
“You’re not asking because you already know the answer, are you?”
Shan's eyes sparkled at the provocative remark. He looked down at Elze with slightly lowered eyes. His eyes looked like they would burst at any moment. Elze didn't let her guard down, feeling like she would be swept away the moment they burst. However, unlike Elze's nervousness, Shan soon calmed down slowly. He smiled and said.
“I spoke nonsense.”
Shan's face came closer. Elze instinctively tilted her face back. Shan laughed heartily at Elze's appearance.
"You..."
How far did this man come in? If Elze hadn't avoided it, their lips might have bumped into each other. Shan said leisurely, watching Elze's flustered appearance.
“I’ll figure out the answer myself.”
“....”
Elze was about to say something because she found his leisurely manners annoying, but she closed her mouth. It would only harm Elze if she continued from here. Elze changed the subject.
“Let’s talk about Britain.”
Shan obediently moved on to another topic at Elze's words. He unrolled the paper that had been rolled up on his desk. On the paper was a detailed map drawn from Baluar to Britain.
“I called you to make the final decision on who will go to Britain.”
The journey to the Aquis College in the Kingdom of Britain took about two weeks. Normally, a procession of nobles would have taken dozens of private soldiers, but Shan and Elze went with a minimal number of people.
Elijah was appointed as Elze's escort. Rosalie, the head maid, was also to accompany Elze to attend to her.
Shan selected five of his most skilled knights, including the commander of the knights, Liv Cullens. Kalia, who was to secretly follow as an escort, selected ten men, including Epen, and they decided to follow secretly.
“Rosalie is following you too.”
Elze's face hardened slightly. She didn't need a waitress, and even with Ivanna, she had no problem putting on and taking off complicated dresses. However, Rosalie was the Crown Prince's eyes and ears. Leaving her behind would have risked arousing Raymond's unnecessary suspicion.
Elze scanned the map that Shan had spread out. Britain was a maritime nation. From Baluar, Britain was often reached by sea, but the sea route from the capital was too far, so it was better to go by land.
On the way to Britain, the Forest of Renando was seen. The Forest of Renando was a shortcut to Britain, but it was not a common travel route because the forest was deep and dense and was infested with bandits.
Elze gently traced the forest of Renando with her finger. Her thin, white finger rubbed the forest of Renando covered in black ink. Shan's gaze turned to Elze's finger.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll just exclude her.”
“No, I don’t want to attract His Highness’ attention over such a trivial matter.”
Elze muttered, tapping on the forest of Renando.
“Even if we start together...”
And then he smiled meaningfully and said:
“It may not arrive.”
***
The long-awaited departure day.
Elze and her party set off, escorted by their servants, including their butler Marle. Elze, Ivanna, and Rosalie rode in the carriage, while Shan and the rest of the people rode horses outside, forming a procession in front and behind. Kalia was scheduled to join them in Britain.
The journey was peaceful to the point of being a bit boring for a few days after leaving the capital and heading to the border. The incident occurred in the forest of Renando before crossing over to the Kingdom of Britain. The rumor of bandits was also known to Elze and her party.
However, if you go only on the road outside without going through the forest of Renando, you will have to go around the forest a lot, so you will waste several days on the road. It would be pitiful for them to be attacked anyway. There is no reason to worry about the thieves, so you naturally take that route.
Everyone took it for granted that they would be going through the Forest of Renando, but there was one person who seemed uneasy: Rosalie.
She couldn't even breathe properly after entering the Renando Forest. The forest was so large that she had to camp out for a day, and after hearing that they were going to camp out, she even broke out in a cold sweat.
“Madam, are you sure it’s okay?”
She pretended to be worried about Elze and secretly encouraged her to leave the forest. Rosalie desperately wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, even if it meant forcing herself to march through the night.
Rosalie's anxiety was natural. She had only heard about the Hundred Years' War, Shan Cirxus, and Elijah through hearsay and writing. The extent of their power and the fact that there was no need to fear bandits were far-fetched stories that Rosalie had no idea about.
“Let’s camp here today.”
Elze and her party prepared to camp in a wide open space in the middle of the forest. Unlike Rosalie, who was staying in the carriage and did not want to come out, Elze wanted to go for a walk outside. Elze said she would go for a walk and got out of the carriage. Then she opened her eyes wide when she saw a hand being held out in front of her.
“Let me go with you.”
The one who extended his hand was Shan. Elze readily accepted his escort.
The two walked a little further away from the campsite. Soon, they heard the sound of water and saw a small valley. Shan and Elze stopped walking as soon as they saw the valley without saying a word. After watching the water flow down for a while, Shan asked a question.
“Are you uncomfortable at all?”
“Not really. It’s a bit boring just being in the carriage. Isn’t riding a horse difficult for you?”
“It’s something I’ve always done, so not really.”
It was awkward when there were only two of them. Elze strode forward without any reason. She was thinking of getting closer to the valley. However, Elze, who was too concerned about Shan behind her to pay attention to her footsteps, slipped and stepped on the moss on the rock.
"Ah!"
The moment her body swayed, she lost her balance. There was a small cliff below. It wasn't bad enough to hurt her, but it wasn't enough to fall and come out okay.
“Erzenes!”
Shan quickly approached and extended his arm, but Shan had to hold up his empty hand.
It was because Elze landed on the floor with a perfect landing technique. Elze looked back at Shan and exclaimed, “Oh no.”
"...Ah."
Elze asked belatedly, seeing the hand stretched out into the air.
“Were you trying to catch me?”
“...”
Shan just quietly put his hand in. In this situation, it was the rule of love to pretend to be weak and give in, but Elze was too strong for that. As Elze looked up at him, Shan shook his head quietly and jumped down next to Elze.
“I don’t think it’ll be easy to come up wearing a dress.”
Shan had come down to support Elze so she could climb up. Although it was a simple outfit for going out, Elze was wearing a long skirt. If she climbed the cliff in this condition, her clothes would all get tattered.
Just as Elze was about to feel slightly moved, a woman's shrill scream rang out from far away. It was Rosalie's voice. However, Elze and Shan continued their conversation naturally, without being surprised or worried.
“Has it started?”
Elze nodded in response to Shan's words.
“Yeah. It should be over quickly.”
The two of them looked across the river in a friendly manner toward the direction where the screams were coming from, as if they were watching a fire across the river.
In fact, the reason they crossed the forest of Renando was because of Rosalie. Elze felt sorry for her, but she didn't want to travel with Rosalie, who was like the Crown Prince's eyes.
So Shan and Elze planned to disguise Kalia as thieves and get rid of Rosalie. While they were visiting Britain, they planned to take Rosalie to a nice place for a while.
By now, Kalia, disguised as a thief, would have set the mood. Since Elijah and the others had pretended to go somewhere to prepare for camp, only the knights remained at the campsite. Since she had told them in advance, they would be acting diligently to match Kalia's performance.
Shan and Elze had a tacit agreement to return when the situation was over. They were going upstream along the stream, thinking they might explore the valley a bit more.
A rustling sound was heard beyond the bushes. Shan and Elze turned to look at the same time. And their eyes met exactly with dozens of pairs of eyes flashing through the thick bushes.
“Um... Hey, Shan.”
Elze said, tapping Shan's forearm with her finger.
“Does it seem like a real thief has appeared?”
[End of Volume 1]
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