- The Hero
“Treason? The Marquis Hildegarde?”
“Shh, speak quietly.”
The maid, with freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks, pressed her finger to her lips.
“I told you it’s a story that shouldn’t be known yet.”
“Goodness… Who told you?”
“Sir Nidson. You know? Sir Nidson is particularly close to me.”
“I know… you’ve told me that about five hundred times…”
The maid who had heard the story nodded and then said,
“So that’s why the palace knights have set out today…”
“That’s right. They went to catch the traitors.”
“They say Marquis Hildegarde is the mastermind behind the rebellion.”
“Not exactly. They say the mastermind is someone called Count Olton, and the Marquis was just involved, but the Marquis is a much bigger figure. So it seems they went to capture the Marquis first.”
“So now, Hildegarde is done for?”
The maid, listening to the story, mimicked cutting her throat with her fingertips.
“Right, well. They’ll have to set an example… he’ll probably be completely done for.”
“What about his wife and children? It’s pitiful. They probably knew nothing.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. There were reports that the Marquis’s children frequently met with the mastermind and other accomplices.”
“Really? All of them?”
“Not all, just two of them… Ah, right. Henry Hildegarde and Laila Hildegarde, they said.”
“Laila Hildegarde? Kidon Reisic’s fiancé?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, wait a minute. Then what about Kidon Reisic?”
The freckled maid shrugged her shoulders and spoke up.
“Well, I don’t think anything will happen to Kidon Reisic. He’s not married to Laila Hildegarde; they’re just engaged.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Marquis Hildegarde had been funding rebellious activities for nearly a year and a half, using his children to establish close ties with the mastermind behind the treason and other accomplices.
The royal family arrested the entire Hildegarde family and made the facts public.
The noble society was in an uproar.
Those who had been involved in Marquis Hildegarde’s business ventures quickly withdrew their names and funds.
Anyone who owed money to Marquis Hildegarde sent documents to the royal palace, proving his debts.
The engagement between Laila Hildegarde and Kidon Reisic was annulled.
And a week after that incident,
On the day before the Hildegarde family’s trial began,
Marquis Hildegarde and Laila Hildegarde disappeared from the royal dungeon.
Taylor Igorton, one of the palace knights, also disappeared.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Sir Taylor. No, is it Terry now?”
“Why do you call for me? Lady Nana.”
Taylor replied, adding for emphasis,
“Lady Nana Rulla, the cherished daughter of Baron Rulla, please tell the capable mercenary Terry, whom you have employed, your business.”
“Seriously.”
Laila scoffed. A joke in this situation?
“You seem to like it, sir. Or rather, Terry.”
“What do you mean?”
“Running away.”
Taylor’s lips curled into a smirk upon hearing Laila’s words. Laila thought to herself that Taylor really does have the demeanor of a mercenary.
“Of course. Don’t you like this situation, milady?”
“I’m tired….”
“Your body may be tired, but you feel good, don’t you?”
Snowflakes hit Laila’s eyelids. She answered while gazing out at the snowy landscape with half-closed eyes.
“Not really.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve only achieved half of my revenge.”
“Ah.”
The wagon rattled. Taylor and Laila were currently sitting crumpled in the wagon’s cargo area.
With his gloved hand, Taylor gently brushed the snow that had piled on Laila’s hooded shoulders before speaking.
“It can’t be helped. You did your best.”
“No. Maybe there was another way…”
Laila sighed into the cold air, then continued.
“After all, I should have gotten married somehow.”
“With Kidon Reisic? Ugh, milady.”
“What?”
“Ugh, I said. Ugh.”
When Laila, unable to help herself, burst into a small, pointless laugh upon hearing Taylor’s playful tone, Taylor continued.
“Well, it’s fine. At least I was able to kill Marquis Hildegarde myself.”
“……”
“Sion will take care of Kidon Reisic. Once he returns alive.”
Taylor, diverting his gaze from Laila, stared at the snowy landscape like she did.
“There’s just a little over a year left.”
“……”
“You said we’d get news before the weather gets warmer…”
“Terry.”
“What is it? Did I not remember correctly?”
“You don’t have to take responsibility for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it looks like I’m about to be captured, I want you to escape alone.”
Taylor turned his head. Laila, on the other hand, averted her gaze from Taylor and focused again on the snowy landscape.
Laila silently waited for an answer while watching the snowflakes. Eventually, Taylor’s voice broke the silence.
“I should have bought a white hood.”
“What?”
“Right now, the hood you’re wearing is only white on top of your head and shoulders, which looks a bit odd. If it were all white, it would have looked much better…”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
For reference, the hoods that Laila and Taylor were wearing to cover their faces were dark brown.
Taylor responded, staring into Laila’s eyes as she looked back at him.
“What are you talking about, Miss? You want me to run away and leave you behind if it seems like we’re going to get caught?”
“It’s better for at least one of us to survive than for both to die.”
“So you want me to be the one who survives? I don’t want to. I’d rather die myself.”
“How?”
“I’ll fight to the death by myself, so you can run away in the meantime.”
“Don’t resist and listen to me, Sir Taylor… I mean Terry.”
“Mercenary Terry doesn’t listen to others well.”
Oh my.
“But you should listen to your employer.”
“I don’t want to. Besides, you’ve only paid me a little.”
“What did you say?”
“The money Lady Nana gave me is less than half of my body value.”
“Don’t add details on your own.”
After giving a warning, Laila continued.
“I told you before. I’ve gone back in time several times. Do you remember?”
“I remember.”
“I don’t die. To be specific, if I die, I go back to the past. My situation is different from yours, Terry. So…”
“How far back?”
“What?”
“How far back do you go?”
“…I go back to when I was ten years old.”
“Do you want to go back?”
Of course not.
Laila did not want to wake up as a ten-year-old again.
It wasn’t just the fact that she would have to struggle again to survive.
If she were to regress…
Sion would…
“…It’s better for me to go back to the past than for someone I care about to die.”
“I won’t die. And you won’t go back to the past either.”
“…….”
“Let’s think of something when Sion comes back.”
Taylor smiled, a refreshing smile.
“……You’re not smiling like a mercenary this time.”
“What?”
“There’s something like that.”
Laila pulled her legs up to her knees and rested her cheek on her crossed arms. She closed her eyes. She thought about a person she missed but wasn’t sure if it was okay to say she missed them.
The wagon continued to move, rattling.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Miss, are you cold?”
“I’m… A-choo!”
Oh, how cliché. Laila, wrapped up in a blanket, continued to sneeze.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine, huh?”
“I said I’m fine.”
“……Just endure today. We’ll arrive at the port tomorrow. Once we’re on the ship, you’ll be able to sleep warmly.”
“Okay.”
“Seriously, to not even be able to use an inn in this winter, those bastards…”
The targets of “those bastards” were obvious. Laila said reproachfully.
“You shouldn’t speak about your comrades like that.”
“They’re not comrades.”
“Former comrades.”
“They weren’t comrades back then either. They were all enemies. Considering the treatment I received at the palace,”
Leaning against the wall of the cabin, Taylor gritted his teeth.
“That bastard, Nidson. I’ll pray every day for him to be demoted.”
“Was there really a knight named Nidson?”
