When Calix, who had blinked for a moment as if surprised, nodded, Herse put both hands to his mouth and burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty smells like dirt!"
At those words, Damien flinched and approached the two people.
"He keeps saying sorry, Your Majesty."
Calix smiled and gently stroked the child's head.
"No. My hands smell like dirt."
Herse looked up at Calix and smiled silently. Seeing that warm smile, the child thought to himself.
'I wonder if the person my aunt mentioned, the one she wanted to see, was Your Majesty?'
Somehow, the feeling was similar. The subtle smile, the smell. If he said this, his father would obviously not believe him, saying it was nonsense.
Nevertheless, Herse was secretly convinced. And there was a reason for that! The flowers that bloomed in his aunt's backyard were also present in His Majesty's garden.
Herse was very eager to go and tell his aunt.
'I saw the person my aunt wanted to see!'
***
New reports piled up in Odelia's office every day.
The farm was raided. The livestock purchased as part of Lady Odelia's dowry disappeared. The border of the territory is in turmoil.
As she calmly flipped through the pages of a pile of documents, looking at brief accounts of the local banditry, something kept bothering her.
I should have gotten used to that word, Bandit Horde, but why does it keep bothering me so much?
It was then. Among the reports, a document, whose age perhaps didn't even register, caught her eye. It was unusually neat and systematic, the handwriting balanced. Odelia frowned slightly and lifted the paper.
"...There was a report like this."
"A compilation of personal information of villages and soldiers within the empire that fell or were destroyed during the war."
Although the content was clearly old information, the texture of the paper and the writing style were recent.
Within it, there was a village that Odelia was familiar with. It was a small village on the Western Front, near the Talamand Territory, but it had already disappeared from the Empire's maps years ago.
Looking down further, the lists of dead and survivors were jumbled together.
Next to some of their names were notes that read 'Affiliation unknown' or 'Whereabouts missing'.
If something keeps bothering you, you'll feel uncomfortable. Odelia made a quick decision.
It may not be a thief.
A few days later, Odelia put on her armor and left the castle with some soldiers.
Her strategy was simple yet sophisticated.
The method was to intentionally lower security at dawn, when those targeting the fields were sure to move, to lure them in and out, and then stalk them. Odelia ordered her soldiers not to suppress them with force, but to pursue them silently, like shadows.
After several days of tracking, they discovered that they were living off of food and crops stolen not only from the Talamand area but also from other local farms. Rather than having a fixed route, they were moving from camp to camp, rotating their hideouts through the forest.
And finally, while the men in the group were away, Odelia took her chance.
On a quiet night, a trail of movement was spotted, its moonlight behind it. She silently gestured and, with a small group of soldiers, began to follow the trail.
The pressed blades of grass, the trail of a sack left on the dirt, the branches broken in a hurry. She followed each trace, like a skilled tracker.
The silence deepened, and the sound grew closer. Finally, they reached a campsite hidden between the trees, across a small, gloomy valley.
A collapsed tent, a thin layer of straw covering the floor, iron utensils that looked like they had been thrown out by the military, and even the shadow of a young child wandering among them.
It was hard to believe that the place was a 'thief's hideout'.
"...As expected."
Odelia strode forward, muttering to herself. She moved with precision alongside Allan, Gideon, and a small group of soldiers, quickly securing the hideout where they had been.
No one took up arms to fight back. Most of those left were elderly people, women, and children who had difficulty moving.
Some people looked at her with surprised eyes, but soon an old man slowly came out of the hut.
The old man lowered his head with a resigned expression, as if he recognized her. He even raised his hand, as if signaling surrender to the soldiers.
Odelia, who had been watching the scene from the side, let out a small breath and looked back at Allan and Gideon.
"...No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like a group of thieves."
Allan nodded silently, and Gideon whispered softly, his arms crossed.
"As Odelia said, it seems like people with nowhere to go have gathered here."
The quiet atmosphere didn't last long. Soon, a noise was heard beyond the forest, and the men who had been away for the frost began to return one by one.
As soon as they saw the hideout taken over, they drew their weapons with furious faces. Seeing the elderly and children being held hostage, they rushed at Odelia, Allan, and Gideon, who were standing in the front row.
"Let go! I told you to take your hands!"
The largest and most robust of them all rushed forward, but was overpowered by Odelia.
With a quick, precise movement, Odelia took a deep breath as she slammed his arm into the ground. Then, for a moment, she paused.
"...Philip?"
"What, do you know me?"
The man snickered and questioned despite being subdued, but the moment he turned his head and met Odelia's eyes, his face became flustered.
"No way... you, Odelia?"
Odelia nodded silently. She had nothing to say, so she just nodded.
"...Crazy, I never thought I'd see you here. Were those rumors true? That you were a debutante and all, trying to become a nobleman. Oh my gosh, so you actually debuted and got married? This is no joke."
There was a moment of silence. Odelia stood up, helped him to his feet, and spoke.
"Why did you ruin the land like that, Philip?"
He was speechless for a moment. He clenched his teeth and shook his head.
"We had no way to make a living. We were loyal to the Empire, but with nowhere to go, no one would take us in, and this was our only refuge. We originally lived in a ruined castle, but at some point, workers came and fixed it up. Then, suddenly, someone moved into that abandoned castle and started living there. And who knew it would be you?"
Odelia listened quietly to his words and looked around the campsite again.
She saw the fierce traces of people who were neither soldiers nor anything else, who had lost their place to return to, struggling to survive.
She finally nodded slowly and said.
"Yes. I'll give you the land. I'll build you a house. Until the house is finished, let's live together in my castle."
Surprise, disbelief, and a faint hope all came across people's faces.
"But there are conditions. Men must serve as soldiers of the castle. Those who can work must become servants and work alongside us. To stay on this land, you must also take responsibility."
Philip looked at Odelia for a moment, then nodded and extended his hand to her.
"I understand. I guess you can look forward to it. I'll accept it."
Odelia took his hand. They shook hands firmly, as if they were comrades.
***
News soon reached Damien that those known as the bandits had been captured and were now preparing to live among the people of Talamand Territory.
"So you're bringing in bandits and turning them into soldiers?"
Damien muttered quietly. No matter what his father said, Herse jumped up and down on his lap, squirming and squirming.
"Dad! Let's go see my aunt?! Really?!"
Damien patted his son's head and chuckled.
She was a funny woman. Normally, she would have punished them severely, hoping to establish her authority. But instead, she tried to make them her own.
Now, it was time to keep the promise from last time.
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