Episode 69. This is My Last Courtesy
A man was tied up in a pitch-black basement, blindfolded by a single ray of light. He was seated on a chair, bound, his eyes covered, his body limp, as if he hadn't regained consciousness. It was Gwen.
Gwen seemed to still be recovering from the effects of the anesthesia.
Across from Gwen were two mysterious men. One sat haughtily with his legs crossed, while the other simply stood motionless, his face expressionless.
The standing man slowly spoke.
"Shall I wake him up now?"
"Yes."
The man sitting on the chair spoke slowly, wiggling his fingers.
Upon receiving the order, the standing man immediately lifted the bucket of water next to his legs. He then poured it on Gwen, who was half asleep.
Swish.
The cold water mixed with ice instantly soaked Gwen's body.
Gwen, who had lost consciousness, began to squirm and move as the cold chill washed over her body.
“Ugh... ugh.”
A moan escaped his thin lips.
Unable to control his trembling body, he looked around. But he realized his actions were futile.
'...They’ve covered my eyes.'
He realized that a thick cloth was wrapped around his eyes.
Why on earth had they dragged him here?
Having just woken up, his head was spinning. However, he forced himself to concentrate, aware that if he lost consciousness, he could be killed.
'They kidnapped an old man like me with no money.'
Gwen quickly gathered her composure and tried to grasp the situation.
His body was bound so tightly that he couldn’t even move, and his vision was blocked by a black cloth.
Gwen strained his ears.
He heard the rustling of paper turning in the distance. They didn’t say anything to him.
“Judging by the musty smell, it’s definitely the basement. They’re handing over documents in a place like this...”
Gwen imagined a dark basement in his mind. Then he tried to figure out the intentions of the person who was silently handing over documents.
Gwen felt a strange feeling. A feeling like he was forgetting something... Then, a clang.
The sound of something falling and rolling on the floor was heard. Gwen looked around in surprise.
Unlike the distant sound of paper, the sound of an iron barrel rolling on the floor sounded much closer.
“...This isn’t funny.”
A low voice broke the silence and pierced Gwen’s ear.
As soon as he heard the man’s voice, Gwen stiffened.
His voice, echoing through the basement, was so familiar.
Gwen’s lips trembled. He bit his lower lip, as if he didn’t want to believe it. Hoping his prediction was wrong, he slowly opened his mouth.
“...Lord Cedric?”
The voice he heard was undoubtedly Cedric’s. Gwen, who had assisted Cedric for over thirty years, could not have recognized his voice.
However, he hoped his hunch was wrong.
Although they were master and servant, they were close enough that he sometimes considered them close friends.
“Let me go.”
As the man’s words echoed, someone roughly grabbed Gwen’s face. Then, they roughly ripped off the cloth covering his eyes.
As soon as the cloth disappeared, Gwen squinted to see the man before him. His vision, which had been blurry, gradually became clearer.
As the silhouette of the man came into view, Gwen could only despair.
“...Why... why did you kidnap me!”
The reality he had desperately wanted to deny was now before his eyes.
Reddish eyes gleamed beneath his jet-black hair.
It was Cedric.
He shook his head in disbelief and sent a resentful look.
However, it seemed Gwen wasn't the only one who felt betrayed.
Cedric, too, was sending a resentful look at Gwen.
"How could you betray me?"
Cedric forced himself to suppress his boiling anger and looked at Gwen.
He crumpled the paper in his hand and spoke again.
"Abandoning my family and me... and joining hands with the Serviat family!"
The thunderous roar echoed.
Cedric strode toward Gwen. He then thrust the paper he was holding at the tightly bound man.
"...Gwen, you're planning a very ridiculous business."
He waved a densely written piece of paper in front of Gwen, detailing the department store business.
Gwen's mind snapped to attention when he saw the document Cedric had handed him.
"I wondered why...!"
Cedric was holding a department store business plan. It was a document densely packed with the discussions he and Rose had had all day.
How dare he open something he'd kept carefully in his arms?
Gwen, forgetting he was tied up, reached out to Cedric.
Clap, thud!
But Gwen lost his balance and ended up falling awkwardly on the floor.
"Ugh..."
Cedric stared at Gwen, who had collapsed, then began mercilessly tearing the paper in his hand.
The pieces of paper were scattered like snow over Gwen's head.
"Were your ambitions really this shallow? All you're going to do with that ability is open a store for clueless women."
Cedric, who had torn the business plan to shreds, shook his hands clean. He then lowered himself to meet Gwen's gaze.
"I won't say more. Come back to Count Wence."
Cedric spoke softly, his eyes sharp.
He didn't even bother to help Gwen up.
"...How could I, having already been abandoned by my master, return to Count Wence? And, didn't I already reject your offer once?"
Gwen snickered in response. A bitterness etched on his face. Perhaps it was because the past thirty years of loyalty to Count Wence came flooding back.
Cedric's eyebrows twitched at Gwen's words. He sighed deeply, remembering Eric's face as he arbitrarily cut Gwen off.
"Yes. I admit to having upset you."
Cedric pressed his throbbing forehead and continued speaking.
"One, isn't this the work of someone who still doesn't know anything? I'll turn a blind eye to the injustice you've committed and the betrayals you've committed, so come back now. I never imagined that you, who said you wanted to spend your later years in comfort and rejected me, would be doing something like this behind my back."
This was a clear order.
Cedric's eyes grew cold, and he stared blankly at Gwen.
Gwen was someone who knew everything about the Count of Wence.
From the madness he'd felt from his master to the smell of blood all over his body.
He couldn't help but notice.
That Cedric was up to something unusual.
However, Gwen considered it his duty as a servant to pretend not to see or hear.
Gwen gulped and looked into those bright red eyes.
'If I refuse here... they might kill me.'
He knew without saying anything. Cedric's maniacal gaze was sending a savage warning to Gwen.
Gwen, clearly troubled by the current situation, rolled his eyes anxiously.
He pursed his lips and then shut them tightly.
"...That can't be."
"What?"
Cedric felt like he'd been hit in the back of the head with a hammer at Gwen's words.
To reject my offer to be with a worthless Rose?
It was utterly absurd. He had no doubt that Gwen would grab his hand.
"Now I serve a new master. Not the Countess of Wence, but Lady Rose de Serviat."
"Ha... Hahahaha! Gwen. You're truly insane, aren't you?"
Cedric let out a hollow laugh at Gwen's words.
He laughed less at Gwen's betrayal than at the fact that he'd been defeated by Rose.
"What you're saying now... sounds like you're turning me into your enemy?"
Cedric's cold voice cut into Gwen's ears like a blade.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid of death. Gwen's body trembled comically.
Gwen was afraid.
He wanted to run away at any moment if he could.
However, his loyalty was now directed towards Rose.
Even if it meant dying, he couldn't turn his back on Rose and stay with Cedric.
Cedric looked at Gwen, who was trembling silently.
He had been with Gwen for over thirty years.
Rebuilding his crumbling family would have been impossible without him.
Cedric turned his gaze away from Gwen and approached the knight standing beside him. He then pulled a long sword from his scabbard.
With a rustling sound, the sharp blade revealed itself.
'...Is this the end?'
The moment she saw the gleaming blade, Gwen instinctively knew his end was near. He humbly closed his eyes, as if accepting death.
Keeeek.
Cedric dragged his sword across the floor as he approached Gwen. Then, he stopped abruptly in front of him.
Cedric looked at Gwen, who was bowing his head, and raised his sword in the air. Then, he boldly swung the sword at him.
The blade flew towards Gwen with a slicing sound.
Gwen closed his eyes, waiting for a painless death.
But something felt strange.
'...Pain...Why can't I feel it?'
He had clearly heard the blade slicing through the air, but why couldn't he feel any pain?
Gwen slowly lifted his eyelids. When he opened his eyes, he saw the severed rope.
Gwen, staring blankly at the rope, realized it was only too late. Unlike before, his body moved freely.
“Ugh...”
After being tied up in one position for so long, even moving his body was painful. Gwen struggled to get up and stared at Cedric.
“Why... did you save me?”
He thought Cedric was definitely going to kill him... Was it because of the affection they had built up over 30 years that he was willing to let him go?
He looked at Cedric with a bewildered expression. Cedric took a step toward Gwen and slowly reached out his hand.
Gwen flinched involuntarily at Cedric’s touch. Cedric smiled at him and then patted his shoulder, which was covered in dirt.
Cedric’s eyes, smiling at Gwen, were chilling enough to send shivers down his spine.
“Shouldn’t I... give you time to say goodbye to your wife one last time?”
Gwen froze in place at Cedric’s voice.
He thought he was alive, but he realized he would never let his life live.
“We’ve been through so much over the past thirty years, and I can’t treat you so mercilessly. Please give my regards to my sister-in-law.”
His murderous gaze intimidated Gwen. Cedric nodded to the knight standing behind him and gave him an order.
“Take Gwen home. And don’t forget to give her a bouquet of flowers on the way. I was really bothered by the bouquet he left on the roadside.”
Cedric smiled bitterly at Gwen and continued.
“It’s your last gift to your wife, so choose the biggest and most beautiful one.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As soon as Cedric’s order was given, he began to drag Gwen away.
“Oh, and you shouldn’t even think about running away. There’s nowhere in the capital that I can’t reach.”
Cedric kept his warning words to Gwen until the very end, then nodded to the knight.
After Gwen and the knight disappeared, Cedric, left alone, his eyes gleamed with a strange gleam.
“This is my final courtesy, Gwen.”
There was no need to spare a traitor. However, Cedric, now emaciated with age, wanted to offer Gwen, who had been with him for thirty years, a final act of mercy.
To him, Gwen was one of those fragile beings he could kill at any moment. Therefore, there was absolutely no harm in freeing him now.
Cedric could kill him ten times, a hundred times over.
However, this was merely Cedric’s hubris.
Life always takes unexpected turns.
Cedric had taken Gwen too lightly.
Cedric wasn’t the only one who was being courteous. Gwen, too, still held a grudge against his former master.
Did Cedric realize how foolish it was to turn his closest ally into an enemy?
Today's events have made Gwen abandon all lingering attachment to Cedric.
The shield that protected him will become a blade, aimed at his neck.
A man was tied up in a pitch-black basement, blindfolded by a single ray of light. He was seated on a chair, bound, his eyes covered, his body limp, as if he hadn't regained consciousness. It was Gwen.
Gwen seemed to still be recovering from the effects of the anesthesia.
Across from Gwen were two mysterious men. One sat haughtily with his legs crossed, while the other simply stood motionless, his face expressionless.
The standing man slowly spoke.
"Shall I wake him up now?"
"Yes."
The man sitting on the chair spoke slowly, wiggling his fingers.
Upon receiving the order, the standing man immediately lifted the bucket of water next to his legs. He then poured it on Gwen, who was half asleep.
Swish.
The cold water mixed with ice instantly soaked Gwen's body.
Gwen, who had lost consciousness, began to squirm and move as the cold chill washed over her body.
“Ugh... ugh.”
A moan escaped his thin lips.
Unable to control his trembling body, he looked around. But he realized his actions were futile.
'...They’ve covered my eyes.'
He realized that a thick cloth was wrapped around his eyes.
Why on earth had they dragged him here?
Having just woken up, his head was spinning. However, he forced himself to concentrate, aware that if he lost consciousness, he could be killed.
'They kidnapped an old man like me with no money.'
Gwen quickly gathered her composure and tried to grasp the situation.
His body was bound so tightly that he couldn’t even move, and his vision was blocked by a black cloth.
Gwen strained his ears.
He heard the rustling of paper turning in the distance. They didn’t say anything to him.
“Judging by the musty smell, it’s definitely the basement. They’re handing over documents in a place like this...”
Gwen imagined a dark basement in his mind. Then he tried to figure out the intentions of the person who was silently handing over documents.
Gwen felt a strange feeling. A feeling like he was forgetting something... Then, a clang.
The sound of something falling and rolling on the floor was heard. Gwen looked around in surprise.
Unlike the distant sound of paper, the sound of an iron barrel rolling on the floor sounded much closer.
“...This isn’t funny.”
A low voice broke the silence and pierced Gwen’s ear.
As soon as he heard the man’s voice, Gwen stiffened.
His voice, echoing through the basement, was so familiar.
Gwen’s lips trembled. He bit his lower lip, as if he didn’t want to believe it. Hoping his prediction was wrong, he slowly opened his mouth.
“...Lord Cedric?”
The voice he heard was undoubtedly Cedric’s. Gwen, who had assisted Cedric for over thirty years, could not have recognized his voice.
However, he hoped his hunch was wrong.
Although they were master and servant, they were close enough that he sometimes considered them close friends.
“Let me go.”
As the man’s words echoed, someone roughly grabbed Gwen’s face. Then, they roughly ripped off the cloth covering his eyes.
As soon as the cloth disappeared, Gwen squinted to see the man before him. His vision, which had been blurry, gradually became clearer.
As the silhouette of the man came into view, Gwen could only despair.
“...Why... why did you kidnap me!”
The reality he had desperately wanted to deny was now before his eyes.
Reddish eyes gleamed beneath his jet-black hair.
It was Cedric.
He shook his head in disbelief and sent a resentful look.
However, it seemed Gwen wasn't the only one who felt betrayed.
Cedric, too, was sending a resentful look at Gwen.
"How could you betray me?"
Cedric forced himself to suppress his boiling anger and looked at Gwen.
He crumpled the paper in his hand and spoke again.
"Abandoning my family and me... and joining hands with the Serviat family!"
The thunderous roar echoed.
Cedric strode toward Gwen. He then thrust the paper he was holding at the tightly bound man.
"...Gwen, you're planning a very ridiculous business."
He waved a densely written piece of paper in front of Gwen, detailing the department store business.
Gwen's mind snapped to attention when he saw the document Cedric had handed him.
"I wondered why...!"
Cedric was holding a department store business plan. It was a document densely packed with the discussions he and Rose had had all day.
How dare he open something he'd kept carefully in his arms?
Gwen, forgetting he was tied up, reached out to Cedric.
Clap, thud!
But Gwen lost his balance and ended up falling awkwardly on the floor.
"Ugh..."
Cedric stared at Gwen, who had collapsed, then began mercilessly tearing the paper in his hand.
The pieces of paper were scattered like snow over Gwen's head.
"Were your ambitions really this shallow? All you're going to do with that ability is open a store for clueless women."
Cedric, who had torn the business plan to shreds, shook his hands clean. He then lowered himself to meet Gwen's gaze.
"I won't say more. Come back to Count Wence."
Cedric spoke softly, his eyes sharp.
He didn't even bother to help Gwen up.
"...How could I, having already been abandoned by my master, return to Count Wence? And, didn't I already reject your offer once?"
Gwen snickered in response. A bitterness etched on his face. Perhaps it was because the past thirty years of loyalty to Count Wence came flooding back.
Cedric's eyebrows twitched at Gwen's words. He sighed deeply, remembering Eric's face as he arbitrarily cut Gwen off.
"Yes. I admit to having upset you."
Cedric pressed his throbbing forehead and continued speaking.
"One, isn't this the work of someone who still doesn't know anything? I'll turn a blind eye to the injustice you've committed and the betrayals you've committed, so come back now. I never imagined that you, who said you wanted to spend your later years in comfort and rejected me, would be doing something like this behind my back."
This was a clear order.
Cedric's eyes grew cold, and he stared blankly at Gwen.
Gwen was someone who knew everything about the Count of Wence.
From the madness he'd felt from his master to the smell of blood all over his body.
He couldn't help but notice.
That Cedric was up to something unusual.
However, Gwen considered it his duty as a servant to pretend not to see or hear.
Gwen gulped and looked into those bright red eyes.
'If I refuse here... they might kill me.'
He knew without saying anything. Cedric's maniacal gaze was sending a savage warning to Gwen.
Gwen, clearly troubled by the current situation, rolled his eyes anxiously.
He pursed his lips and then shut them tightly.
"...That can't be."
"What?"
Cedric felt like he'd been hit in the back of the head with a hammer at Gwen's words.
To reject my offer to be with a worthless Rose?
It was utterly absurd. He had no doubt that Gwen would grab his hand.
"Now I serve a new master. Not the Countess of Wence, but Lady Rose de Serviat."
"Ha... Hahahaha! Gwen. You're truly insane, aren't you?"
Cedric let out a hollow laugh at Gwen's words.
He laughed less at Gwen's betrayal than at the fact that he'd been defeated by Rose.
"What you're saying now... sounds like you're turning me into your enemy?"
Cedric's cold voice cut into Gwen's ears like a blade.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid of death. Gwen's body trembled comically.
Gwen was afraid.
He wanted to run away at any moment if he could.
However, his loyalty was now directed towards Rose.
Even if it meant dying, he couldn't turn his back on Rose and stay with Cedric.
Cedric looked at Gwen, who was trembling silently.
He had been with Gwen for over thirty years.
Rebuilding his crumbling family would have been impossible without him.
Cedric turned his gaze away from Gwen and approached the knight standing beside him. He then pulled a long sword from his scabbard.
With a rustling sound, the sharp blade revealed itself.
'...Is this the end?'
The moment she saw the gleaming blade, Gwen instinctively knew his end was near. He humbly closed his eyes, as if accepting death.
Keeeek.
Cedric dragged his sword across the floor as he approached Gwen. Then, he stopped abruptly in front of him.
Cedric looked at Gwen, who was bowing his head, and raised his sword in the air. Then, he boldly swung the sword at him.
The blade flew towards Gwen with a slicing sound.
Gwen closed his eyes, waiting for a painless death.
But something felt strange.
'...Pain...Why can't I feel it?'
He had clearly heard the blade slicing through the air, but why couldn't he feel any pain?
Gwen slowly lifted his eyelids. When he opened his eyes, he saw the severed rope.
Gwen, staring blankly at the rope, realized it was only too late. Unlike before, his body moved freely.
“Ugh...”
After being tied up in one position for so long, even moving his body was painful. Gwen struggled to get up and stared at Cedric.
“Why... did you save me?”
He thought Cedric was definitely going to kill him... Was it because of the affection they had built up over 30 years that he was willing to let him go?
He looked at Cedric with a bewildered expression. Cedric took a step toward Gwen and slowly reached out his hand.
Gwen flinched involuntarily at Cedric’s touch. Cedric smiled at him and then patted his shoulder, which was covered in dirt.
Cedric’s eyes, smiling at Gwen, were chilling enough to send shivers down his spine.
“Shouldn’t I... give you time to say goodbye to your wife one last time?”
Gwen froze in place at Cedric’s voice.
He thought he was alive, but he realized he would never let his life live.
“We’ve been through so much over the past thirty years, and I can’t treat you so mercilessly. Please give my regards to my sister-in-law.”
His murderous gaze intimidated Gwen. Cedric nodded to the knight standing behind him and gave him an order.
“Take Gwen home. And don’t forget to give her a bouquet of flowers on the way. I was really bothered by the bouquet he left on the roadside.”
Cedric smiled bitterly at Gwen and continued.
“It’s your last gift to your wife, so choose the biggest and most beautiful one.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As soon as Cedric’s order was given, he began to drag Gwen away.
“Oh, and you shouldn’t even think about running away. There’s nowhere in the capital that I can’t reach.”
Cedric kept his warning words to Gwen until the very end, then nodded to the knight.
After Gwen and the knight disappeared, Cedric, left alone, his eyes gleamed with a strange gleam.
“This is my final courtesy, Gwen.”
There was no need to spare a traitor. However, Cedric, now emaciated with age, wanted to offer Gwen, who had been with him for thirty years, a final act of mercy.
To him, Gwen was one of those fragile beings he could kill at any moment. Therefore, there was absolutely no harm in freeing him now.
Cedric could kill him ten times, a hundred times over.
However, this was merely Cedric’s hubris.
Life always takes unexpected turns.
Cedric had taken Gwen too lightly.
Cedric wasn’t the only one who was being courteous. Gwen, too, still held a grudge against his former master.
Did Cedric realize how foolish it was to turn his closest ally into an enemy?
Today's events have made Gwen abandon all lingering attachment to Cedric.
The shield that protected him will become a blade, aimed at his neck.
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