Chapter 181. Father’s Waiting (1)
“Bibung-!”
Biveongi’s powerful cry resounds as always.
With that eco-friendly alarm, the morning of the Countess of Frontera was bright.
Count Prontera’s heart beat a little more than usual as he greeted the morning.
It was because the long awaited day had finally dawned.
‘Is it today?’
The Count held up the warm teacup brought by the maid.
I looked out the window at the drizzling snow.
From his bedroom window, he could see not only the small garden, but also the hill road leading up to the mansion all the way down.
It looked even better because it was the season when the branches were bare.
The Count was glad of that fact.
You will be able to find your son coming home a little earlier.
‘Maybe he’ll come back today.’
Suddenly, he remembered the telegram that had flown into the mansion a few days ago.
It contained a letter from Count Namaran.
the letter said
Lloyd and Xaviel left Namaran City.
He said that someday it will arrive at your estate.
And I sincerely thank you very much.
‘I never thought I’d go through something like that there.’
The count’s eyes darkened as he recalled the contents of the letter.
just got the job done.
I’ll be right back as soon as the construction is done.
Saying so, it was the son who left for the city of Namaran.
That’s why it never occurred to me that my son would go through something dangerous there, such as defeating a group of warlocks and facing a knight of hell.
‘Embracing the leg of an enemy that even Xaviel found difficult to handle…Whoa.’
What if the kid is wrong?
Just thinking about it made my heart sink.
His son had done meritorious work for that, but he didn’t even notice that.
Even without merit.
Even if you don’t have a good corner.
because he is his son
I just want you to stay unscathed.
Just because that’s enough already.
‘Once he comes, I’ll have to scold him.’
From now on, never do anything like that.
If you think you’re in danger, run away first.
I was thinking of sternly scolding him at this point.
So Count Frontera guarded the bedroom window.
I skipped breakfast with an excited heart.
Instead, I drank another cup of tea.
Still, somehow I was thirsty.
I drank tea again.
drank and drank more
Every time the maid came in and out.
I brewed a new cup of tea and removed the empty cup.
In the meantime, the morning passed and even lunch passed, and the short early winter sun slanted westward.
Even then, Count Frontera lingered by the window.
Could it be that you are not coming today?
Are you coming tomorrow
Or did something happen while you were there?
Just as Count Frontera was walking by the window, he was getting impatient.
For an instant, he stopped walking.
and quickly ran away.
left the bedroom
I ran down the mansion stairs two at a time.
Passing through the main room on the first floor, I opened the door and stepped out.
I crossed the garden, refusing even the coat suggested by the maid who hurriedly followed.
And I looked down at the hill road leading up to the mansion.
“ah.”
A carriage was coming up.
Breaking through the thick snow before I knew it.
Leaving long traces on the white-covered hill road.
I was climbing the hill slowly and steadily.
I finally stood in front of the mansion gate.
At that moment, Count Prontera made an involuntary noise.
“uh?”
His gaze turned to the driver’s seat of the carriage.
Then the coachman who was sitting there greeted him.
Dalgrak!
He waved his bony hand in welcome and laughed, rattling his lower jawbone.
So it was a skeleton soldier.
“Ahhhhh?”
No, I said my son was coming.
I thought Lloyd would come.
Why was there a skeleton soldier riding in the coachman’s seat of the returned carriage?
Count Frontera was so frightened that he almost hit his butt.
If the carriage door had not been opened at that time, it would have been unsightly to have covered my trousers with muddy snow.
Click!
“what? When did you come out?”
Lloyd’s face poked out through the lightly open carriage door.
I sent a welcome smile to the side that was frightened.
The Count barely managed to get his mind together and replied.
“That’s it. What did you just come out of?”
“Are you very surprised? It’s cold and you’re not wearing a coat.”
“uh. that is.”
Lloyd came down from the wagon before he knew it.
I took off my coat and put it over my shoulders without hesitation.
Its warmth soothed the Count’s frightened heart.
“Don’t be honest. I thought you were here, so I came out to greet you, and I almost fainted. What are those skeletons?”
The count’s hand pointed to the skull on the coachman’s seat.
Besides, the skeleton was not the only coachman.
Soon after, along the road the wagon had come up, the remaining skeleton soldiers came up like sausages in two columns of marching ranks.
Lloyd shrugged.
“Eh, Count Namaran said he would tell you the circumstances so far by telegram. It seems there was no mention of the bone guards?”
“The old bone soldiers?”
“yes.”
“What was it?”
“The new workers.”
“Those skeletons?”
“yes.”
“….”
“It’s nicer than it looks. It’s a bit spooky at first, but if you keep working together, you’ll get used to it sooner than you think. Especially since everyone is not lazy and does a good job. Oh, let me introduce you. The friend sitting in the driver’s seat is a turtle neck. He is the leader of the bone soldiers.”
Dalgrak!
Geobukmok, the leader of the Goal Brigade, who was sitting in the coachman’s seat, waved brightly at the Count.
Lloyd pointed to the rest of the skeletons.
“The two at the front of the ranks over there are the first team leader of the bone guards, Square Jaws, and the second team, Fifty Shoulders. As for the rest, uh, everyone’s names are confusing, so I can’t memorize them yet.”
“….”
“Anyway, you don’t have to be afraid. They don’t ask.”
“….”
Even if you don’t bite, if you make a mistake, I think you’ll bury it.
The Count struggled to shake off the feeling of being spooked.
But that was then.
Lloyd’s expression turned mischievous.
Then he looked back at the carriage.
Could there be anything else left to show?
While the Count questioned him, Lloyd smiled and said to the inside of the carriage.
“Hey, isn’t it time to come out soon?”
But there was no answer coming from inside.
Lloyd’s smile grew even more mischievous.
“Look at this? Are you shy?”
Who else is inside?
Come to think of it, I can’t see Xaviel.
It was a cloudy and snowy day, so the inside of the carriage was dark.
I couldn’t see who was there.
The Count narrowed his eyes.
At that moment, a cold reply came from inside the carriage.
“It’s a misunderstanding that you’re shy.”
“then?”
“I was tidying up the skirt.”
“To look pretty?”
“Ten thousand words. It is to keep the minimum example for the lord I haven’t seen in a long time. I can’t bear to show you my disheveled appearance.”
With those words, Xaviel came out of the carriage.
Count Prontera’s mouth fell open.
It wasn’t just the count.
Even the maids and servants who followed him.
Even the Countess, who was delighted with her son’s return from afar.
The moment everyone saw Xaviel, they felt their eyes light up.
ah.
The world was so bright and beautiful.
Was the weather this hot today?
It was that beautiful.
The figure of Xaviel getting off the carriage, tidying up the hem of his plain dress.
Even the posture of kneeling down on one knee towards the count and showing respect as a knight.
Did you wear a wig?
I wore an apron.
Whether you’re wearing old shoes.
Even though the outfit is sober.
It didn’t matter.
It was just beautiful and beautiful.
Even the expression on his face as he bowed his head toward the count shone.
It was to the point where the urge to be crushed suddenly bloomed between that slightly frowning brow.
In other words, everyone in front of the mansion was speechless at the unannounced appearance of Lady Ella.
“Meet the knight Asrahan, the lord.”
“…uh huh Cool! Coke!”
The bewildered count heard a shriek.
After the bow, Lady Ella or Xaviel stood up.
I shot through everyone’s panic and silence.
before someone gets caught.
Or before asking a question.
I hurriedly escaped and entered the gate. crossed the garden He went into his quarters in the annex of the mansion.
And as soon as I entered the dorm, I took off my wig and dress in one second. No, I threw it in the garbage basket so I could never wear it again.
“after.”
A sigh comes out.
How did I come to do this?
Suddenly, I remembered what happened in the morning.
It was the last morning of the journey from the county of Namaran to here.
He was organizing the camp as he always had been.
But Lloyd approached stealthily.
I asked if I had forgotten anything with a sly look.
Then she gently shook that hideous wig and dress.
In front of him, he could not resist.
Because I made a bet.
Because you have to keep your promise.
‘I’ll never have to wear that outfit again.’
That should never happen.
no it won’t
Xaviel looked at the wig and dress crumpled in the garbage basket and made a firm resolution. And all day that day, with a sullen look on his face, he locked himself in his inn and didn’t stick a toe out the door.
♣
The next day was bright.
“Hey Miss Ella.”
“….”
“Miss Ella?”
“….”
“Sir Asrahan?”
“Yes, you say.”
Xaviel’s answer came back chilly from the morning.
At that coldness, Lloyd smiled brightly.
“Were you very angry yesterday?”
“at all. I didn’t.”
“But you won’t even open the door. In the evening, I went to sing a lullaby.”
“I was sleeping.”
“really?”
“yes.”
“But I heard a sigh inside.”
“I think he was talking in his sleep.”
“It’s not. It sounded like a sigh exhaled as my nostrils trembled to relieve my anger.”
“I must have been having a bad dream.”
“for example?”
“Meet Lloyd-sama in a dream. Like talking to Lloyd-sama in a dream. Had dinner with Lloyd-sama. Like being with Lloyd-sama. I saw Lloyd-sama from afar. Or that I accidentally heard about Lloyd-sama. Or a dream like seeing a lump of cow dung resembling Mr. Lloyd’s.”
“….”
“Can I tell you more?”
“Oh, that’s interesting. It’s because I feel like I’d be offended just by hearing the sound of my breathing.”
“You know me well.”
“huh. That’s why teasing you like this is fun.”
“is that so. Lloyd-sama must be very nice.”
“why?”
“Because soon you will be escaping from being single for 27 years.”
“huh? What are you talking about?”
Lloyd tilted his head.
he’s still single
I don’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a woman who flirts with me.
But soon to escape from being single?
Xaviel’s cold reply continued.
“Sooner or later, the new year will come, and then Lloyd-sama will be single for 28 years.”
“….”
“Congratulations in advance.”
“Oh yes. Thank you to the point of tears.”
“It was nothing.”
“….”
It feels like something was given in return and received in words.
Like throwing a bouncy ball and getting hit in the stomach with a shot put.
Lloyd said, forcing a bitter smile on his face.
“Yeah, are you feeling better now?”
“yes. Thanks a little.”
“okay? Then let’s go.”
“Where are you going?”
“Construction site.”
Raising his collar in the cold winter wind, Lloyd said.
Yesterday was enough for me to take a break from travel poisoning.
Now is the time to do what you have been putting off.
“The apartment complex and the great sewer. First of all, I received a report from Lord Bayern last night. Still, you have to see it with your own eyes.”
While this was going to Namaran.
Lord Bavaria has done a lot.
Construction of apartment complexes and large sewers.
He said he did a great job finishing it.
“So let’s go and see for ourselves.”
It was from that day.
Over the course of five days, Lloyd inspected the apartment complex and the sewer.
Is there any place where the construction is different from the original design?
Are there any flaws or flaws in construction?
Even surveying skills were mobilized and thoroughly checked.
The result was satisfactory.
‘good. This is enough to give 90 points out of 100.’
I especially liked the bee apartment complex.
It would be a bit inconvenient to go up and down on a high floor, but it would be okay for the refugees to live warmly while avoiding the wind and rain.
That’s how refugees started moving into apartment complexes.
Those who are older or physically handicapped are mainly on the lower floors.
Those who were relatively young and strong were assigned houses on the upper floors.
It was not a particularly luxurious or spacious house.
No, it was a simple structure that could only sleep.
However, most of the refugees were happy nonetheless.
They were people who lost their livelihood due to being swept away by the monster domino crisis without warning. They became refugees and lived a poor life in a refugee camp for over a year.
For those who did, they had a strong house where they could shelter from the rain and wind.
‘Well, going up and down the stairs might be a bit inconvenient, but for now, I’ll have to let them live like this. And then what if everyone gets a little better? I just need to go out and build a house and live there.’
What if the apartment becomes empty little by little?
From then on, each building can be used as a quarter for the Corps of Engineers and Guards.
‘Anyway, that’s for later. For now, it’s like crossing a big mountain.’
The day when many refugees finished moving in.
Lloyd threw himself on the bed exhausted.
My body was tired, but my heart was happy.
Refugees were delighted to find a new place to live.
It seemed that I had received thousands of thanks from them in the past few days.
It was the first time in my life that I had heard so many compliments and thanks.
‘Well, it’s possible.’
If you were living in a gosiwon.
What if someone willingly gave you a free studio?
If so, wouldn’t he have been so thrilled and grateful?
‘You did a good job. It’s also something that will benefit you later.’
Refugees who have moved into apartments are no longer refugees.
You will be reborn as a decent citizen of the Countess of Frontera.
‘That’s all coming back as taxes.’
It will be your lifelong pension.
When I thought about it, the corner of my mouth caught in my ear.
‘iced coffee. good night. We also solved the refugee problem. Thanks to the money and jewels I got from Namaran, there will be no shortage of funds for the territory for the time being.
There will be no major construction work.
You won’t have to go through a big storm.
I will only enjoy the rest of my life in peace and abundance.
With that promise, Lloyd asked for a good night’s sleep.
I had a happy dream.
and the next morning.
A special envoy to the Sultanate was welcomed by King Alicia Terrmina Magentano.
