“Your daughter matured too quickly.”
A few weeks ago, when Reytan was living with Berry in a rural village.
In a dimly lit room where candlelight flickered, Marshall, a mixed-blood of different species and humans, spoke as she closed the lid of a medicine bottle.
Berry, whose fever had just subsided, was lying in bed, and Reytan was holding her small hand, looking at his daughter.
“A fever of 40 degrees is high enough to make you lose awareness of your surroundings. Any other seven-year-old would be crying their eyes out in pain, but your daughter is smiling, pretending she’s fine. Where in the world do you find a small child like that? She hates making her dad worry.”
“…Marshall, what kind of illness does Berry have? A fever that rises every month, rendering her bedridden — this doesn’t seem like an ordinary ailment to me.”
“If I knew, I would have told you. There are no previous symptoms, no known cause. In my entire career as a pharmacist, I’ve never encountered anything like this. Are you sure it isn’t some kind of curse your sword picked up on the battlefield?”
“Wyndis is not that kind of sword.”
Marshall observed Reytan through her glasses.
What a strange connection fate had created.
I can’t believe I’ve been tolerating that guy for six years, the one who used to threaten an older who gathering herbs with a sword, demanding water.
Chapped lips, eyes full of a will to live, the sound of a newborn’s cry that she hadn’t even known was there…
They say people get more compassionate with age. Marshall had originally intended to take Reytan in just to give him a few meals, but Reytan ended up settling down in the village.
He said he liked how isolated it was from the outside world.
No matter how isolated the village was, though, news still managed to find its way in.
“The Count of Travel has put a bounty on you.”
“…I saw it at the market today.”
“They say he’s richer than the Emperor, and the amount they’re offering is enough to make anyone go crazy. Someone must have already reported you.”
“Did you report me too, Marshall?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. If I sold you out for that money, I’d be expecting ten times more in return. I’ve never seen anyone hate losing money as much as you do. I’m quite greedy myself, but you’re on another level.”
They say he has the Midas touch. It was so ridiculous that it was almost laughable.
A man so thorough that he crafted the reputation he wanted to have in Travel.
Despite all this, Reytan wasn’t hated because people knew how desperately he clung to the one thing he wanted to protect.
Marshall’s gaze shifted to the bedside table.
“You know as well as I do that you’ll be on the run until the bounty is removed. Berry will also be chased just for being your daughter.”
On the table was a book, worn out from being handled too much. It was Reytan’s favorite book, How to Raise Your Child on Your Own.
Marshall spoke to Reytan’s large, silent back.
“Life on the run isn’t good for a child.”
***
Another night had come.
Reytan walked down the quiet corridor, deep in thought.
The last time he visited the main house, it had also been at night.
It was the perfect time to meet the Count while avoiding the direct line of heirs.
Callet, who was walking ahead, remained silent.
The childhood friend he hadn’t seen in six years had become the aide to Count Travel. Reytan was on edge, trying to grasp the time that had passed.
He needed to figure out who was still on his side, who he should keep close, and who he should be wary of.
Even though he was about to leave this place, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
“The Count is in his study.”
Callet stopped in front of a closed door.
A door so loyal that it didn’t let even a sliver of light escape, keeping everything inside hidden from the outside world.
It seemed they had been informed in advance, as Callet knocked twice before opening the door.
Instead of the bright ceiling light, the room was softly illuminated by a gentle light.
“You idiot.”
The words burst out sharply from the man sitting at the desk just as Reytan entered the room and the door closed behind him.
The speaker was a giant old man with hair tinged with gold.
This was Lassek Iron Travel.
The man who had raised the Travel Count family to unprecedented heights.
“What kind of fool gives up the position of Grand Master to raise a child? How do you expect to live if you can’t even calculate such basic profit and loss?”
Lassek spoke to his son, who had just entered the room, with a look of displeasure evident in the wrinkles on his brow.
The authority he held was immense. It was said that he could move mountains and split seas with just his words.
He was the third most influential person in the Hayshal Empire, after the Emperor and the High Priest. There was nothing in the Count’s domain that didn’t go according to his will.
Except for one thing.
“I was living just fine.”
Reytan stopped walking at the edge of the carpet and spoke in a defiant tone.
The bounty that the Count had placed on his head a month ago.
That bounty not only forced him to abandon his previous life but almost turned his daughter into a fugitive as well.
It was no wonder Reytan was in a foul mood.
“Apparently, you weren’t. Why else would you place a bounty on the fool you disowned? Did your memory decline while we were apart?”
“Is that how you speak to your father after six years? Tsk, tsk. How did I end up with a son like this? If your dead mother saw you now, she’d shed tears.”
“Well, I doubt those tears would compare to the ones she shed during her life, thanks to you. You should have treated her better when she was being disregarded as the second wife.”
“You, you…!”
The Count of Travel jumped up from his chair and pointed an accusing finger at Reytan.
Reytan remained unmoved, not even altering his breathing as he faced the furious gaze of the head of the Travel family.
Any other child would have already been trembling, falling to their knees to beg for forgiveness.
But then again, no one else would dare provoke the Count of Travel so openly, except for Reytan.
‘The prodigal son has returned.’
Callet, the Count’s aide, stood by the door, silently observing the situation.
Callet wasn’t someone who showed much expression.
But if he were to admit it, he had been quite startled by Reytan’s recent behavior as a dad over the past few days.
Who exactly was Reytan Quartz Travel?
He was a man whose infamous nicknames like ‘Bloodthirsty Brat’ or ‘Death’s Harbinger’ suited him well, as he had spent most of his life drenched in blood on the battlefield.
Even though he acted as if nothing mattered, there were no gaps in his defenses, and despite his seemingly laid-back demeanor, he was always on edge.
Moreover, he was renowned for his exceptional swordsmanship and being chosen by the Holy Sword.
Among the knights, Reytan was considered an untouchable being, someone who existed above the clouds.
At least, that was the Reytan Callet’s remembered…
“Oh, Uncle Callet is my dad’s friend? Do you want some snacks?”
“Berry, you should say, ‘Would you like some?’ instead.”
“Oh, I see. Would you like some?”
“Thank you, Miss Berry.”
“What about dad’s share?”
“Oh, that was the last one…”
“I see… so there’s none left for dad. There’s some for the man you just met today, but not for dad…”
“Don’t be upset. Next time we have snacks, I will ask for dad’s first!”
“Dad should be the first one.”
“Right, the first one!”
Reytan feeling down because he lost his priority to a stranger, and even sneakily calling him an ‘uncle,’ was a sight Callet found almost unbelievable.
It was a scene that Callet witnessed multiple times during the journey from the rural village to the Travel Count’s residence in the carriage.
Could time really change someone this much?
A shiver ran down Callet’s arm as he stood expressionless.
Even as these thoughts ran through Callet’s mind, the tension between Reytan and the Count remained high.
Reytan asked his father,
“Why did you put a bounty on me?”
Reytan had set foot in the Travel Count’s residence to settle things once and for all.
The rumor that the Count had placed the bounty out of longing for his second son was utterly ridiculous.
“I don’t think my life or death is worth ten billion Kona to you. And since I came here on my own, can I claim the bounty myself?”
“Why would you get it? Do you have any idea how much money was spent raising you? Give me my money back, you brat.”
“Did you give any money back to the previous Count?”
Bang! The Count slammed his large fist on the desk, causing the floor to vibrate.
It was the middle of the night.
Even though the Count’s study was soundproof, the vibration might have reached the ceiling below.
Callet quickly intervened to mediate.
“My lord, if there’s a commotion, the lady sleeping downstairs might wake up.”
“…You’re right. This insolent brat, always talking back to his father.”
There was a reason the Count had called Reytan secretly at night, avoiding the other direct heirs.
Reytan suspected it might be something significant enough to influence the next battle for the annex.
“So, let’s put the bounty issue aside for now. What kind of business is so beneficial to the family that it made you call me here?”
At Reytan’s question, the Count let out a groan, sat back in his chair, and pressed his throbbing temples.
“The guys from the church are causing a commotion.”
The High Priest. If it weren’t for them, the Count wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to find his son.
“That strange Holy Sword you abandoned isn’t choosing its next owner.”
