Before Targayel reached the border, a letter from Duke Seraph arrived at Count Mapel's house.
Count Mapel was excited by the letter from Duke Seraph, a noble of the capital city, and the most noble noble in the empire.
The letter was simple: he wanted to make a proposition to Count Mapel.
As Targayel neared the border, he would soon be stopping at the County of Mapel. Duke Seraph wished to kill Count Targayel and capture his wife.
If Count Mapel succeeds in this undertaking, it was written that in addition to monetary compensation, he would provide material and spiritual support so that the Count Mapel family could advance into central politics.
As he read the letter written in simple and clear sentences, Count Mapel's heart pounded. He could not sleep at night at the thought that this was finally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the name of the Mapel family famous.
Count Mapel replied immediately, and Duke Seraph gave Count Mapel detailed instructions on how to move and act.
Count Mapel, who joined hands with Duke Seraph, was full of ambition. He even harbored a desire to make it look more successful than the Duke had expected.
In fact, aside from greed, he also had the intention of resolving his inferiority complex towards the central nobles. He felt that if he trampled on Count Targayel, a central noble, he would become a higher person than him. So Count Mapel prepared this and that...
"Ha..."
Half of his hair flew away.
Count Mapel looked in the mirror. The sight of his hair missing on one side was ridiculous.
He had been staring blankly at the mirror for over an hour. Nothing would change no matter how hard he stared, but Count Mapel could not take his eyes off the mirror.
He had already been wearing a wig because his hair was thin. Every single strand of his precious hair was blown away. If he were to trim his hair, it would have to be on the shorter side, but if he did that, he would end up with a bald head. Count Mapel, who was looking in the mirror, finally shouted in irritation.
“That damn Shan Cirxus!”
He was so embarrassed that he could have killed that ferocious man-eating lion in the blink of an eye. But that wasn't the only shameful thing.
“That damn Targayel!”
Countess Targayel easily pulled out the knife that even the physically fit lords were struggling to pull out. He couldn't figure out what they were doing to make the couple so strong.
As Count Mapel was sighing repeatedly, Cecilla burst through the door without knocking and came in. Count Mapel, who had been trying to greet her without much thought, shouted in surprise.
“Oh my God, Cecilia!”
It was because Cecilia was in a state of disarray. Cecilia cried and fell into Count Mapel’s arms.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were swollen, and her clothes were torn to pieces and stained with blood. Cecilla trembled as she complained to Count Mapel.
“Count Targayel... to me...”
Most of what Cecilla had been babbling about was a lie. But Count Mapel had no way of knowing the truth. He simply believed what his young wife was sobbing and was furious.
“No, how dare he touch my wife...! He has nowhere to touch! That bastard, right now!!”
As Count Mapel made a gesture of drawing his sword, Cecilla spoke quietly.
“Kill them all.”
“...!”
Count Mapel flinched for a moment. There was a cold chill in Cecilla’s words. Cecilla spoke to Count Mapel, who hesitated.
“Wasn’t it going to be like that from the start anyway?”
“But didn’t the Duke order that the Countess be captured alive?”
Count Mapel used Duke Seraph's excuse. Cecilla knew that the Duke had asked the Count to bring Erzenes alive. And that he was a perfectionist and could not tolerate mistakes. However, Cecilla pretended not to know anything and convinced Count Mapel.
“What do he mau lihat dari manaknow? If you just say that she died by chance, His Majesty the Duke won’t say anything more.”
"Hmm..."
“This happened to me! And yet you’re still hesitating?”
Cecilla screamed sharply. Finally, Count Mapel nodded.
“...Yes, I will do as you wish, Madam. I will bring the plan forward a bit.”
“Ahh! After all, you are the only one!”
Cecilia kissed Count Mapel on the cheek. And when Count Mapel smiled happily and melted, she said slyly.
“Please let me kill the Count and his wife with my own hands.”
Count Mapel nodded willingly.
“That’s about it.”
"Thank you!"
Cecilia hugged Count Marpell tightly. Having achieved what she wanted, she smiled a smile that the Count could not see. It was a smile like that of a snake.
The next morning, as soon as day broke, the guests hurriedly left Count Mapel's residence.
The guests seemed to be thoroughly exhausted from the party last night where Shan had split the lion. They even fought over who would get on the carriage first. And as soon as the carriage was ready, they ran away from Count Mapel's house one by one.
Originally, everyone was supposed to wake up slowly and then enjoy lunch together. However, since all the guests had left, lunch was simply canceled.
It was a good thing. In any case, Count Mapel and his employees were too busy cleaning up after yesterday to take care of their guests.
Countess Targayel and her husband were the last of the guests to remain at Count Maphel's house. There was no reason for them to mingle in the chaos of everyone trying to get into the carriage first, and someone was waiting for them.
“I have to show Cecilia the bitterness of life...”
It was Elze. She wanted to meet Cecilla before leaving Count Mapel.
After hearing the detailed story from Shan yesterday, Elze was furious to the point of hair loss. But lunch was canceled, and Elze couldn't see her single hair.
Shan smiled in front of Elze, who was extremely regretful that she would have pulled out all her hair if Cecilia had appeared in front of her.
“Don’t worry too much about it. I already gave her a good scolding.”
“That and this are different!”
While Shan was trying to calm down Elze, who was getting very upset, a knock was heard at the door. Shan thought it was a servant who had come to call for the carriage and allowed them to enter.
But the person who came in was not a servant. He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a handsome face and wearing nice clothes. With his brown hair cut neatly, he looked handsome at first glance.
He had the demeanor of a nobleman, but the problem was that he had never seen this man before. He had not been seen at the party, so he was not a lord of the border. Shan immediately and coldly retorted to the suspicious man’s appearance.
“Who are you?”
The purple eyes coldly scanned the man up and down. He could have been overwhelmed by the momentum, but he acted quite calmly.
“I apologize for my rudeness.”
The man bowed deeply and introduced himself.
“I am Hayden from Mapel.”
“!!”
Shan and Elze looked at him in surprise at the man's introduction. Hayden smiled awkwardly in front of the two people's gaze.
In the House of Mapel, there was only one male besides Count Maphel. Hayden Mapel was the son of the deceased former Countess.
Elze looked at him again. Count Marpel was quite old, and the son left behind by his previous wife was also a grown man.
But the surprise was short-lived. There was no reason for him, who had not shown his face even once at the New Year's party, to suddenly come to Targayel. Hayden honestly told Shan, who was not hiding his wariness, what the matter was.
“Actually, the reason I came here so suddenly is because I have something to tell Countess Targayel.”
It was a sudden nomination. Hayden looked straight into Elze's eyes and said.
“Countess Targayel...”
He asked slowly.
“Are you still Elijah’s Elze?”
It was a strange question. Elze looked at Hayden, then at Shan. Shan didn't show any particular expression. Elze answered him honestly.
“There has never been a time when I wasn’t Elijah.”
"Ah...!"
A color came to Hayden's face.
“Then, Elze.”
He said, taking a step closer.
“Please accept my request!”
A request to Elijah's Elze... It was truly a development that neither Shan nor Elze could have expected.
The two faced each other in front of the delighted Hayden. They were at a loss as to what to do. Their eyes exchanged quickly and closely in a silent silence. Shan didn't seem to like it. He didn't like the fact that the other person was ordering Elze to do something.
But Elze felt that Hayden Mapel's story needed to be heard, and they both agreed. Elze decided to cast a fishing line at Hayden.
“I’m a little confused. What do you want to say?”
Hayden's ears turned red at Elze's slightly sharp reaction. He spoke in a slightly shy tone.
“I’m embarrassed to bring up the request right away. But I don’t have much time....”
As he was looking at that sight, someone suddenly came to mind. It was Astin.
Both of them had a strong image of civil servants. If there was one difference, Hayden had a more determined look in his eyes. She thought that if Astin were to grow up and become an adult, he would feel like this.
Once Elze thought of Astin, she started to vaguely like Hayden. Elze's eyes softened a little. He didn't seem like a bad person.
While Elze was observing him, Hayden looked back for a moment. He bit his lower lip nervously. Elz e, who noticed why he was acting that way, spoke first.
“If you’re worried about someone coming, we’ll take care of it. We can easily sense someone’s presence.”
“Oh, really? That’s good.”
Hayden began to speak with a much more relaxed expression on his face.
“As you know, Lady Elze, the Countess Mapel is currently in an absurd situation.”
Hayden dropped his head without saying a word.
“The new Countess is a deadly poison to the House of Mapl. We have already squandered much of our fortune to accommodate her extravagance. So much...”
His voice trembled slightly as he continued speaking.
“I am the successor to the Count’s family, but if things continue this way, the Count’s family may go bankrupt before I inherit the title.”
Cecilia was the daughter of a wealthy noble family in the capital. The Countess of Mapel, a minor noble family in the frontier, could not possibly sustain the lifestyle she wore, ate, and enjoyed. Judging from the way Hayden spoke, the Count's finances seemed to be already in ruins. Hayden spoke with a grave expression.
“Please expel Count Mapel and Cecilla Epernon. This is my request.”
And Elze sighed in front of a very nervous Hayden.
“Hey, Hayden.”
"Yes...?"
“Are you talking about knowing what it means to be kicked out?”
Elze crossed her arms. A firm voice came out.
“I could kill your father.”
But as soon as Elze finished speaking, Hayden shouted.
“I don’t even call him father!”
“!!”
At Hayden's words, Shan and Elze looked at each other. Then they looked at Hayden again. Hayden said with a grin.
“That guy, Count Mapel... has been a piece of trash since long ago.”
Hayden clenched his fists as he let out his crude remarks. And Hayden's subsequent explanation was quite a sight.
The former Countess of Mapel had Hayden about two years after her marriage. In the two years before Hayden was born, she had been subjected to countless insults from the Count of Mapel, claiming that she was infertile.
After much hardship, she became pregnant with Hayden, but nothing changed. Rather, after Hayden was born, Count Mapel mocked his wife, saying that her body was ruined after giving birth.
Eventually, Count Marpel began to wander outside. Despite hearing the numerous rumors the Count spread, the Countess endured them all, seeing only Hayden.
However, Count Mapel abused even young Hayden. Usually, he would say, "You're cute, you're cute," but when he was in a bad mood, he would beat Hayden until his legs were broken, using the excuse of education. It was also common for him to abuse his mother in front of Hayden.
One day it got so bad that his mother ran out screaming. Count Mapel laughed in front of everyone else and said that nothing happened.
But that night, he beat her more severely than ever before, because she had embarrassed him.
Hayden's mother suffered from physical illness due to the beatings and mental illness due to the abuse. She tried to hold on for Hayden's sake. However, she gradually withered away without being able to do anything.
Her end was ultimately suicide.
It was Hayden who first found her hanging in the bedroom. Hayden ran to Count Mapel in tears. But the first thing Count Mapel said was not about his mother.
"Stop crying! What if other people find out!"
“...Count Marpel faked my mother’s death as an illness. And now he has a new wife...”
Hayden's eyes were red after he finished telling the story. Elze was astonished. She felt nauseous when she imagined Count Mapel acting like this at home while pretending to be a kind person outside. Shan, who had been quietly listening to the story, nodded to Hayden.
“I have something to ask.”
"Yes!"
Shan's eyes pierced Hayden.
“I bet they asked Count Targayel.”
Hayden's eyes opened wide.
"That..."
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to speak or not, but eventually, he spoke honestly.
“I fought in the Hundred Years’ War.”
And this time Elze was surprised by Hayden's words.
“The Hundred Years’ War?”
“Yes. I have fought in the same battle as Lady Elze. Of course, I was in the rear, so Lady Elze never even saw my face...”
There was no way a family as big as the Counts of Mapel would send their only heir to war. Hayden knew that, so he explained it to me.
“After my mother passed away, I wandered around for a while. The Count was against it, but I went to war at a young age...”
Hayden continued his words calmly. It seemed that Count Mapel, who had lost his former Countess, had been playing around with many women before remarrying Cecilia.
Hayden, who had a straight personality like his mother, could not accept Count Mapel's actions. That's why the refuge Hayden sought was the Hundred Years' War. And it was during the Hundred Years' War that Hayden met Elze.
“Do you remember...? Elze saved me in the Battle of Memnonsha.”
“Memnonsha?”
Elze remembered Memnonsha. It was a battle that was won after a fierce battle with Heglatan.
“The story might be a little long.”
Hayden began to talk, wiggling his fingers.
It's embarrassing to say that Hayden took part in the Hundred Years' War, as he only lingered in the rear.
The nobles with some title, like Hayden, were all properly equipped and safely in the rear. They didn't even know how to swing a sword properly, so they went out to fill in the numbers.
However, the Battle of Memnonsha was particularly fierce. As a result, even the troops in the rear had to put up a small fight.
Hayden, intoxicated by the excitement of his first taste of battle, moved forward without realizing it. As he was being swept here and there, he found himself at the front line before he knew it.
Only after being caught in the clash of iron weapons did Hayden realize what he had done. Not a great swordsman or a tough man, he was immediately targeted by the enemy. Three or four Heglatan soldiers were on Hayden.
"Please, save me..."
But no one answered Hayden's plea. Hayden, who felt death with his whole body, was frozen in fear. There was nothing he could do. It was the time when he prayed in his heart, thinking that he would die here today.
"There, Baluar! Get down!!"
A loud voice was heard. Hayden instinctively fell to the ground. Something flashed past Hayden’s head. Then, with a slap, a fountain of blood appeared. The soldiers of Heglatan, who had just rushed to kill Hayden, fell, blood spurting from their necks.
"...!!"
Hayden was left gaping at the horrific sight when someone grabbed his wrist. They pulled hard. Hayden was dragged away.
Hayden looked at the person who had grabbed his wrist. He was a mercenary with a rather small and thin build. He was soaked in blood and had a rapier and a mangosh on his waist. He had been swinging the mangosh just a moment ago, but now it seemed he had put it back in its sheath to grab Hayden’s wrist.
"Excuse me...!"
He turned around at Hayden's call. Hayden was surprised when they met his eyes. They were surprisingly refreshing blue eyes. The eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes and were beautiful. Hayden was momentarily lost in his pretty appearance when he heard a man's voice.
"Captain, where are you going!"
At the word captain, the mercenary who was holding Hayden's wrist looked diagonally. There was another mercenary wielding a huge two-handed sword.
"Tarkun! I'll put this guy in the back for a bit!"
"Ugh! I'm dying!! Go and come back quickly!!"
"The fact that it's so big and distracting is ridiculous..."
The mercenary clicked his tongue and led Hayden. He was truly great. Every time he swung his rapier, soldiers several times his size fell like straw.
Hayden had nothing to do but follow behind because before anyone could lay a hand on Hayden, the mercenaries had already taken them all out.
Hayden arrived at the rear in an instant. The mercenary who brought Hayden was a famous person, and the knights who were chatting in the rear were surprised when they saw him.
"You, you, why did you come all the way..."
The knights were confused, wondering if the front line had been pushed all the way to the rear. The mercenary clicked his tongue at the sight of the knights. Then he threw Hayden away and said.
"Gentlemen, please take care of your colleagues."
The knights belatedly breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that they had come all the way here to rescue Hayden.
The mercenary turned around without hesitation. He said, pulling out the mangosh from his waistband.
"Then I'm busy so I'll stop here."
Hayden came to his senses belatedly at the sight of the mercenary disappearing with a sword in both hands.
"Hey, hey...!"
He hurriedly chased after Elze and caught her. Then he spoke urgently.
"Please tell me your name!"
The mercenary blinked for a moment. Then he smiled faintly and said briefly.
"Elze."
Hayden, distracted by that smile, answered a beat late.
"...Elze?"
"If you say Elijah's Elze, everyone will probably know me."
"Thank you! Thank you so much...!"
"If you're grateful, buy me a meal after the war is over."
Elze smiled and added a word.
"If I were alive."
With those words, Elze ran back into the battlefield, leaving Hayden no time to catch her.
That day, the Battle of Memnonsha ended in a fierce battle with Heglatan, and Baluar won. It was thanks to the great efforts of the Elijah mercenary group. And Hayden came to cherish the name Elze deeply in his heart.
After the Battle of Memnonsha, Hayden learned about Elijah's Elze.
The mercenary named Elze was a much more amazing person than Hayden had thought. Elze was the leader of the Elijah mercenary group, and was renowned for her amazing swordsmanship, wielding a rapier and a mangosh.
She was already a famous person during the Hundred Years' War, possessing incredible physical strength and power that was hard to believe came from her delicate physique.
As it turned out, the front line already held the Elijah mercenary group in high esteem as a legend. Anyone in the Baluar Empire army who had fought Elijah even once wanted to fight alongside Elijah again.
It had to be that way. Elijah always won battles no matter how adverse the conditions were, and at the very least, they ended up with a draw.
Thanks to the Elijah mercenary group running wild on the battlefield together with Shan Cirxus, Baluar, who had been suffering from a series of defeats, was gradually gaining the upper hand. And thanks to them, the rear became even more secure, and it became more like a camp than a battle.
Hayden thought it was strange. He had clearly been in the war. But he had never killed a single person. He thought this was abnormal, so he confided his concerns to his superior.
"Why don't we fight? Why are you asking such obvious things?"
But the senior laughed at Hayden's worries for a long time. He said in a tone that suggested that he didn't even know that.
"We are nobles."
He explained with a shrug.
"Things like swordsmanship are something that only commoners do. We sit in the rear and plan operations, give orders, and stuff like that. You could call it the brains."
"Ah..."
It was a question that didn't need to be asked in the first place. Most nobles were like this. They took it very lightly and as a given, that soldiers would shed blood on the battlefield.
Hayden, who regretted asking the senior, hesitated for a moment and then told the story of Elze saving him, hoping that it would change his thoughts about the mercenaries even a little. The senior was truly surprised when he heard Hayden's story.
"That monster saved you!"
But the reaction was a little different than Hayden had expected.
"Hey, that guy is crazy too. The demon Shan Cirxus, and the monster Elze, these two are best avoided at all costs."
"But..."
"Elijah's Elze is the one who doesn't even mess with mercenaries."
But even after hearing the senior's story, Hayden's face still did not brighten.
Seeing Hayden like that, the senior sighed and brought up the story he had been keeping hidden.
"This is a secret. Keep it to yourself."
The senior sighed loudly and whispered in a secretive tone.
"That mercenary named Elze, it seems like he was targeted by Shan Cirxus."
"Huh?"
The senior said with a proud face at Hayden's startled reaction.
"My friend is a follower of Cirxus. He said that Cirxus is watching Elijah's every move, especially Elze's. Very thoroughly!
"That..."
"They say he is so persistent that he even asks for a detailed report on what he ate that day, not to mention which battles he fought in and what achievements he made."
“It’s almost like a stalker,” muttered the senior, folding his arms and nodding his head to himself.
"After all, they're mercenaries. If Heglatan demands a higher salary, they can always turn around. Doesn't that mean they're under strict surveillance?"
"..."
Hayden was silent. He wanted to argue that it was not true. Elze, as Hayden saw, was not someone who would sway money. If he were to look into those clear blue eyes, he would never say such a thing.
But Hayden's predecessor was a typical knight-errant nobleman. He would never encounter Elze running wild on the battlefield while he was rolling around in the rear.
Most nobles will probably never see Elze's blue eyes.
Hayden became depressed. The senior patted Hayden on the shoulder and gave him some awkward advice.
"There's no point in getting involved. Just think, "I was lucky," and forget about it."
After that, Hayden gave up asking anyone else about Elze.
And as time passed, the Hundred Years' War ended.
Thanks to the hero's efforts, the Baluar Empire achieved victory. After the war, Hayden also returned to Mapel County and began preparing to inherit the title in earnest.
But while everyone held Shan Cirxus in high esteem as a war hero, Elijah was always one step behind, in the shadows. He was a mercenary, not a noble, and his leader, Elze, had suddenly disappeared at the end of the war.
Hayden searched for the missing Elze. However, no matter how hard he searched, he could not find any trace of her. It was as if she had disappeared. Hayden, who had used every means at his disposal, had no choice but to give up on finding Elze.
But he never forgot the memory of Elze. Even when Count Mapel's tyranny became so severe that he felt like dying, thinking of Elze somehow gave him strength. His brief encounter with Elze became a big part of Hayden's life.
Count Mapel was excited by the letter from Duke Seraph, a noble of the capital city, and the most noble noble in the empire.
The letter was simple: he wanted to make a proposition to Count Mapel.
As Targayel neared the border, he would soon be stopping at the County of Mapel. Duke Seraph wished to kill Count Targayel and capture his wife.
If Count Mapel succeeds in this undertaking, it was written that in addition to monetary compensation, he would provide material and spiritual support so that the Count Mapel family could advance into central politics.
As he read the letter written in simple and clear sentences, Count Mapel's heart pounded. He could not sleep at night at the thought that this was finally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the name of the Mapel family famous.
Count Mapel replied immediately, and Duke Seraph gave Count Mapel detailed instructions on how to move and act.
Count Mapel, who joined hands with Duke Seraph, was full of ambition. He even harbored a desire to make it look more successful than the Duke had expected.
In fact, aside from greed, he also had the intention of resolving his inferiority complex towards the central nobles. He felt that if he trampled on Count Targayel, a central noble, he would become a higher person than him. So Count Mapel prepared this and that...
"Ha..."
Half of his hair flew away.
Count Mapel looked in the mirror. The sight of his hair missing on one side was ridiculous.
He had been staring blankly at the mirror for over an hour. Nothing would change no matter how hard he stared, but Count Mapel could not take his eyes off the mirror.
He had already been wearing a wig because his hair was thin. Every single strand of his precious hair was blown away. If he were to trim his hair, it would have to be on the shorter side, but if he did that, he would end up with a bald head. Count Mapel, who was looking in the mirror, finally shouted in irritation.
“That damn Shan Cirxus!”
He was so embarrassed that he could have killed that ferocious man-eating lion in the blink of an eye. But that wasn't the only shameful thing.
“That damn Targayel!”
Countess Targayel easily pulled out the knife that even the physically fit lords were struggling to pull out. He couldn't figure out what they were doing to make the couple so strong.
As Count Mapel was sighing repeatedly, Cecilla burst through the door without knocking and came in. Count Mapel, who had been trying to greet her without much thought, shouted in surprise.
“Oh my God, Cecilia!”
It was because Cecilia was in a state of disarray. Cecilia cried and fell into Count Mapel’s arms.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were swollen, and her clothes were torn to pieces and stained with blood. Cecilla trembled as she complained to Count Mapel.
“Count Targayel... to me...”
Most of what Cecilla had been babbling about was a lie. But Count Mapel had no way of knowing the truth. He simply believed what his young wife was sobbing and was furious.
“No, how dare he touch my wife...! He has nowhere to touch! That bastard, right now!!”
As Count Mapel made a gesture of drawing his sword, Cecilla spoke quietly.
“Kill them all.”
“...!”
Count Mapel flinched for a moment. There was a cold chill in Cecilla’s words. Cecilla spoke to Count Mapel, who hesitated.
“Wasn’t it going to be like that from the start anyway?”
“But didn’t the Duke order that the Countess be captured alive?”
Count Mapel used Duke Seraph's excuse. Cecilla knew that the Duke had asked the Count to bring Erzenes alive. And that he was a perfectionist and could not tolerate mistakes. However, Cecilla pretended not to know anything and convinced Count Mapel.
“What do he mau lihat dari manaknow? If you just say that she died by chance, His Majesty the Duke won’t say anything more.”
"Hmm..."
“This happened to me! And yet you’re still hesitating?”
Cecilla screamed sharply. Finally, Count Mapel nodded.
“...Yes, I will do as you wish, Madam. I will bring the plan forward a bit.”
“Ahh! After all, you are the only one!”
Cecilia kissed Count Mapel on the cheek. And when Count Mapel smiled happily and melted, she said slyly.
“Please let me kill the Count and his wife with my own hands.”
Count Mapel nodded willingly.
“That’s about it.”
"Thank you!"
Cecilia hugged Count Marpell tightly. Having achieved what she wanted, she smiled a smile that the Count could not see. It was a smile like that of a snake.
***
The next morning, as soon as day broke, the guests hurriedly left Count Mapel's residence.
The guests seemed to be thoroughly exhausted from the party last night where Shan had split the lion. They even fought over who would get on the carriage first. And as soon as the carriage was ready, they ran away from Count Mapel's house one by one.
Originally, everyone was supposed to wake up slowly and then enjoy lunch together. However, since all the guests had left, lunch was simply canceled.
It was a good thing. In any case, Count Mapel and his employees were too busy cleaning up after yesterday to take care of their guests.
Countess Targayel and her husband were the last of the guests to remain at Count Maphel's house. There was no reason for them to mingle in the chaos of everyone trying to get into the carriage first, and someone was waiting for them.
“I have to show Cecilia the bitterness of life...”
It was Elze. She wanted to meet Cecilla before leaving Count Mapel.
After hearing the detailed story from Shan yesterday, Elze was furious to the point of hair loss. But lunch was canceled, and Elze couldn't see her single hair.
Shan smiled in front of Elze, who was extremely regretful that she would have pulled out all her hair if Cecilia had appeared in front of her.
“Don’t worry too much about it. I already gave her a good scolding.”
“That and this are different!”
While Shan was trying to calm down Elze, who was getting very upset, a knock was heard at the door. Shan thought it was a servant who had come to call for the carriage and allowed them to enter.
But the person who came in was not a servant. He was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a handsome face and wearing nice clothes. With his brown hair cut neatly, he looked handsome at first glance.
He had the demeanor of a nobleman, but the problem was that he had never seen this man before. He had not been seen at the party, so he was not a lord of the border. Shan immediately and coldly retorted to the suspicious man’s appearance.
“Who are you?”
The purple eyes coldly scanned the man up and down. He could have been overwhelmed by the momentum, but he acted quite calmly.
“I apologize for my rudeness.”
The man bowed deeply and introduced himself.
“I am Hayden from Mapel.”
“!!”
Shan and Elze looked at him in surprise at the man's introduction. Hayden smiled awkwardly in front of the two people's gaze.
In the House of Mapel, there was only one male besides Count Maphel. Hayden Mapel was the son of the deceased former Countess.
Elze looked at him again. Count Marpel was quite old, and the son left behind by his previous wife was also a grown man.
But the surprise was short-lived. There was no reason for him, who had not shown his face even once at the New Year's party, to suddenly come to Targayel. Hayden honestly told Shan, who was not hiding his wariness, what the matter was.
“Actually, the reason I came here so suddenly is because I have something to tell Countess Targayel.”
It was a sudden nomination. Hayden looked straight into Elze's eyes and said.
“Countess Targayel...”
He asked slowly.
“Are you still Elijah’s Elze?”
It was a strange question. Elze looked at Hayden, then at Shan. Shan didn't show any particular expression. Elze answered him honestly.
“There has never been a time when I wasn’t Elijah.”
"Ah...!"
A color came to Hayden's face.
“Then, Elze.”
He said, taking a step closer.
“Please accept my request!”
A request to Elijah's Elze... It was truly a development that neither Shan nor Elze could have expected.
The two faced each other in front of the delighted Hayden. They were at a loss as to what to do. Their eyes exchanged quickly and closely in a silent silence. Shan didn't seem to like it. He didn't like the fact that the other person was ordering Elze to do something.
But Elze felt that Hayden Mapel's story needed to be heard, and they both agreed. Elze decided to cast a fishing line at Hayden.
“I’m a little confused. What do you want to say?”
Hayden's ears turned red at Elze's slightly sharp reaction. He spoke in a slightly shy tone.
“I’m embarrassed to bring up the request right away. But I don’t have much time....”
As he was looking at that sight, someone suddenly came to mind. It was Astin.
Both of them had a strong image of civil servants. If there was one difference, Hayden had a more determined look in his eyes. She thought that if Astin were to grow up and become an adult, he would feel like this.
Once Elze thought of Astin, she started to vaguely like Hayden. Elze's eyes softened a little. He didn't seem like a bad person.
While Elze was observing him, Hayden looked back for a moment. He bit his lower lip nervously. Elz e, who noticed why he was acting that way, spoke first.
“If you’re worried about someone coming, we’ll take care of it. We can easily sense someone’s presence.”
“Oh, really? That’s good.”
Hayden began to speak with a much more relaxed expression on his face.
“As you know, Lady Elze, the Countess Mapel is currently in an absurd situation.”
Hayden dropped his head without saying a word.
“The new Countess is a deadly poison to the House of Mapl. We have already squandered much of our fortune to accommodate her extravagance. So much...”
His voice trembled slightly as he continued speaking.
“I am the successor to the Count’s family, but if things continue this way, the Count’s family may go bankrupt before I inherit the title.”
Cecilia was the daughter of a wealthy noble family in the capital. The Countess of Mapel, a minor noble family in the frontier, could not possibly sustain the lifestyle she wore, ate, and enjoyed. Judging from the way Hayden spoke, the Count's finances seemed to be already in ruins. Hayden spoke with a grave expression.
“Please expel Count Mapel and Cecilla Epernon. This is my request.”
And Elze sighed in front of a very nervous Hayden.
“Hey, Hayden.”
"Yes...?"
“Are you talking about knowing what it means to be kicked out?”
Elze crossed her arms. A firm voice came out.
“I could kill your father.”
But as soon as Elze finished speaking, Hayden shouted.
“I don’t even call him father!”
“!!”
At Hayden's words, Shan and Elze looked at each other. Then they looked at Hayden again. Hayden said with a grin.
“That guy, Count Mapel... has been a piece of trash since long ago.”
Hayden clenched his fists as he let out his crude remarks. And Hayden's subsequent explanation was quite a sight.
The former Countess of Mapel had Hayden about two years after her marriage. In the two years before Hayden was born, she had been subjected to countless insults from the Count of Mapel, claiming that she was infertile.
After much hardship, she became pregnant with Hayden, but nothing changed. Rather, after Hayden was born, Count Mapel mocked his wife, saying that her body was ruined after giving birth.
Eventually, Count Marpel began to wander outside. Despite hearing the numerous rumors the Count spread, the Countess endured them all, seeing only Hayden.
However, Count Mapel abused even young Hayden. Usually, he would say, "You're cute, you're cute," but when he was in a bad mood, he would beat Hayden until his legs were broken, using the excuse of education. It was also common for him to abuse his mother in front of Hayden.
One day it got so bad that his mother ran out screaming. Count Mapel laughed in front of everyone else and said that nothing happened.
But that night, he beat her more severely than ever before, because she had embarrassed him.
Hayden's mother suffered from physical illness due to the beatings and mental illness due to the abuse. She tried to hold on for Hayden's sake. However, she gradually withered away without being able to do anything.
Her end was ultimately suicide.
It was Hayden who first found her hanging in the bedroom. Hayden ran to Count Mapel in tears. But the first thing Count Mapel said was not about his mother.
"Stop crying! What if other people find out!"
“...Count Marpel faked my mother’s death as an illness. And now he has a new wife...”
Hayden's eyes were red after he finished telling the story. Elze was astonished. She felt nauseous when she imagined Count Mapel acting like this at home while pretending to be a kind person outside. Shan, who had been quietly listening to the story, nodded to Hayden.
“I have something to ask.”
"Yes!"
Hayden swallowed hard and looked at Shan. Shan narrowed his eyes and asked.
“Why are you asking such a favor of my wife? A normal person would...”
“Why are you asking such a favor of my wife? A normal person would...”
Shan's eyes pierced Hayden.
“I bet they asked Count Targayel.”
Hayden's eyes opened wide.
"That..."
He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to speak or not, but eventually, he spoke honestly.
“I fought in the Hundred Years’ War.”
And this time Elze was surprised by Hayden's words.
“The Hundred Years’ War?”
“Yes. I have fought in the same battle as Lady Elze. Of course, I was in the rear, so Lady Elze never even saw my face...”
There was no way a family as big as the Counts of Mapel would send their only heir to war. Hayden knew that, so he explained it to me.
“After my mother passed away, I wandered around for a while. The Count was against it, but I went to war at a young age...”
Hayden continued his words calmly. It seemed that Count Mapel, who had lost his former Countess, had been playing around with many women before remarrying Cecilia.
Hayden, who had a straight personality like his mother, could not accept Count Mapel's actions. That's why the refuge Hayden sought was the Hundred Years' War. And it was during the Hundred Years' War that Hayden met Elze.
“Do you remember...? Elze saved me in the Battle of Memnonsha.”
“Memnonsha?”
Elze remembered Memnonsha. It was a battle that was won after a fierce battle with Heglatan.
“The story might be a little long.”
Hayden began to talk, wiggling his fingers.
***
It's embarrassing to say that Hayden took part in the Hundred Years' War, as he only lingered in the rear.
The nobles with some title, like Hayden, were all properly equipped and safely in the rear. They didn't even know how to swing a sword properly, so they went out to fill in the numbers.
However, the Battle of Memnonsha was particularly fierce. As a result, even the troops in the rear had to put up a small fight.
Hayden, intoxicated by the excitement of his first taste of battle, moved forward without realizing it. As he was being swept here and there, he found himself at the front line before he knew it.
Only after being caught in the clash of iron weapons did Hayden realize what he had done. Not a great swordsman or a tough man, he was immediately targeted by the enemy. Three or four Heglatan soldiers were on Hayden.
"Please, save me..."
But no one answered Hayden's plea. Hayden, who felt death with his whole body, was frozen in fear. There was nothing he could do. It was the time when he prayed in his heart, thinking that he would die here today.
"There, Baluar! Get down!!"
A loud voice was heard. Hayden instinctively fell to the ground. Something flashed past Hayden’s head. Then, with a slap, a fountain of blood appeared. The soldiers of Heglatan, who had just rushed to kill Hayden, fell, blood spurting from their necks.
"...!!"
Hayden was left gaping at the horrific sight when someone grabbed his wrist. They pulled hard. Hayden was dragged away.
Hayden looked at the person who had grabbed his wrist. He was a mercenary with a rather small and thin build. He was soaked in blood and had a rapier and a mangosh on his waist. He had been swinging the mangosh just a moment ago, but now it seemed he had put it back in its sheath to grab Hayden’s wrist.
"Excuse me...!"
He turned around at Hayden's call. Hayden was surprised when they met his eyes. They were surprisingly refreshing blue eyes. The eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes and were beautiful. Hayden was momentarily lost in his pretty appearance when he heard a man's voice.
"Captain, where are you going!"
At the word captain, the mercenary who was holding Hayden's wrist looked diagonally. There was another mercenary wielding a huge two-handed sword.
"Tarkun! I'll put this guy in the back for a bit!"
"Ugh! I'm dying!! Go and come back quickly!!"
"The fact that it's so big and distracting is ridiculous..."
The mercenary clicked his tongue and led Hayden. He was truly great. Every time he swung his rapier, soldiers several times his size fell like straw.
Hayden had nothing to do but follow behind because before anyone could lay a hand on Hayden, the mercenaries had already taken them all out.
Hayden arrived at the rear in an instant. The mercenary who brought Hayden was a famous person, and the knights who were chatting in the rear were surprised when they saw him.
"You, you, why did you come all the way..."
The knights were confused, wondering if the front line had been pushed all the way to the rear. The mercenary clicked his tongue at the sight of the knights. Then he threw Hayden away and said.
"Gentlemen, please take care of your colleagues."
The knights belatedly breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that they had come all the way here to rescue Hayden.
The mercenary turned around without hesitation. He said, pulling out the mangosh from his waistband.
"Then I'm busy so I'll stop here."
Hayden came to his senses belatedly at the sight of the mercenary disappearing with a sword in both hands.
"Hey, hey...!"
He hurriedly chased after Elze and caught her. Then he spoke urgently.
"Please tell me your name!"
The mercenary blinked for a moment. Then he smiled faintly and said briefly.
"Elze."
Hayden, distracted by that smile, answered a beat late.
"...Elze?"
"If you say Elijah's Elze, everyone will probably know me."
"Thank you! Thank you so much...!"
"If you're grateful, buy me a meal after the war is over."
Elze smiled and added a word.
"If I were alive."
With those words, Elze ran back into the battlefield, leaving Hayden no time to catch her.
That day, the Battle of Memnonsha ended in a fierce battle with Heglatan, and Baluar won. It was thanks to the great efforts of the Elijah mercenary group. And Hayden came to cherish the name Elze deeply in his heart.
After the Battle of Memnonsha, Hayden learned about Elijah's Elze.
The mercenary named Elze was a much more amazing person than Hayden had thought. Elze was the leader of the Elijah mercenary group, and was renowned for her amazing swordsmanship, wielding a rapier and a mangosh.
She was already a famous person during the Hundred Years' War, possessing incredible physical strength and power that was hard to believe came from her delicate physique.
As it turned out, the front line already held the Elijah mercenary group in high esteem as a legend. Anyone in the Baluar Empire army who had fought Elijah even once wanted to fight alongside Elijah again.
It had to be that way. Elijah always won battles no matter how adverse the conditions were, and at the very least, they ended up with a draw.
Thanks to the Elijah mercenary group running wild on the battlefield together with Shan Cirxus, Baluar, who had been suffering from a series of defeats, was gradually gaining the upper hand. And thanks to them, the rear became even more secure, and it became more like a camp than a battle.
Hayden thought it was strange. He had clearly been in the war. But he had never killed a single person. He thought this was abnormal, so he confided his concerns to his superior.
"Why don't we fight? Why are you asking such obvious things?"
But the senior laughed at Hayden's worries for a long time. He said in a tone that suggested that he didn't even know that.
"We are nobles."
He explained with a shrug.
"Things like swordsmanship are something that only commoners do. We sit in the rear and plan operations, give orders, and stuff like that. You could call it the brains."
"Ah..."
It was a question that didn't need to be asked in the first place. Most nobles were like this. They took it very lightly and as a given, that soldiers would shed blood on the battlefield.
Hayden, who regretted asking the senior, hesitated for a moment and then told the story of Elze saving him, hoping that it would change his thoughts about the mercenaries even a little. The senior was truly surprised when he heard Hayden's story.
"That monster saved you!"
But the reaction was a little different than Hayden had expected.
"Hey, that guy is crazy too. The demon Shan Cirxus, and the monster Elze, these two are best avoided at all costs."
"But..."
"Elijah's Elze is the one who doesn't even mess with mercenaries."
But even after hearing the senior's story, Hayden's face still did not brighten.
Seeing Hayden like that, the senior sighed and brought up the story he had been keeping hidden.
"This is a secret. Keep it to yourself."
The senior sighed loudly and whispered in a secretive tone.
"That mercenary named Elze, it seems like he was targeted by Shan Cirxus."
"Huh?"
The senior said with a proud face at Hayden's startled reaction.
"My friend is a follower of Cirxus. He said that Cirxus is watching Elijah's every move, especially Elze's. Very thoroughly!
"That..."
"They say he is so persistent that he even asks for a detailed report on what he ate that day, not to mention which battles he fought in and what achievements he made."
“It’s almost like a stalker,” muttered the senior, folding his arms and nodding his head to himself.
"After all, they're mercenaries. If Heglatan demands a higher salary, they can always turn around. Doesn't that mean they're under strict surveillance?"
"..."
Hayden was silent. He wanted to argue that it was not true. Elze, as Hayden saw, was not someone who would sway money. If he were to look into those clear blue eyes, he would never say such a thing.
But Hayden's predecessor was a typical knight-errant nobleman. He would never encounter Elze running wild on the battlefield while he was rolling around in the rear.
Most nobles will probably never see Elze's blue eyes.
Hayden became depressed. The senior patted Hayden on the shoulder and gave him some awkward advice.
"There's no point in getting involved. Just think, "I was lucky," and forget about it."
After that, Hayden gave up asking anyone else about Elze.
And as time passed, the Hundred Years' War ended.
Thanks to the hero's efforts, the Baluar Empire achieved victory. After the war, Hayden also returned to Mapel County and began preparing to inherit the title in earnest.
But while everyone held Shan Cirxus in high esteem as a war hero, Elijah was always one step behind, in the shadows. He was a mercenary, not a noble, and his leader, Elze, had suddenly disappeared at the end of the war.
Hayden searched for the missing Elze. However, no matter how hard he searched, he could not find any trace of her. It was as if she had disappeared. Hayden, who had used every means at his disposal, had no choice but to give up on finding Elze.
But he never forgot the memory of Elze. Even when Count Mapel's tyranny became so severe that he felt like dying, thinking of Elze somehow gave him strength. His brief encounter with Elze became a big part of Hayden's life.
Comments
Post a Comment