39. Honorary Count Deon Hardt (4)
“If they knew anything about the Count, they wouldn’t have even said something like this.”
“What is that…”
“You won’t tell me. “If you’re really curious, do your research.”
“….”
I won’t even be able to find out.
The emperor’s dog? It’s not even funny. Of those who participated in the Eight Year War, if they were to select the one with the least loyalty to the emperor, they and their captain would be chosen without a doubt.
Certain emotions were overlaid on the members’ eyes.
Based on the madness, all kinds of negative emotions such as anger and hatred emerged and one member, who had managed to organize his emotions for a moment and waited for them to disappear, opened his mouth softly.
“So, stop harassing those who are having a hard time—”
The members quietly gathered together to block the attention of those around them.
It’s enough to keep just one alive anyway, so it would be okay to kill at least one guy who spoke arrogantly.
The member who quietly drew his weapon spoke with a smile that could be seen as fake.
“die.”
***
I managed to get to my room, enduring Lord Lien’s burdensome gaze, and instead of going out, I avoided her gaze and pretended not to notice, keeping my eyes fixed outside the window.
‘They’re gathered together again. ‘What are you doing all gathered together like that?’
I hope it won’t cause another accident.
Why were those guys in my house before that? Shouldn’t it be in the imperial palace?
“Lord Lien.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Do you know what kind of situation this is?”
“Are you talking about the revolutionary army’s attack?”
“No, about why they are here.”
“Ah, I understand that Your Majesty has returned the Order of Knights that he had temporarily taken charge of during the Count’s absence.”
It’s a shame to leave it for a while. I guess they tried to eat it but couldn’t handle it so they sent it back.
Of course, before the war ended and he left as a warrior’s companion, the emperor had said that he would temporarily leave the Lofty Knights in charge of the imperial family during his absence.
But what naive person would believe that?
Cases where people say they will keep it in their hands and then quietly swallow it up are common facts that come up even if you look in any history book right now.
There is also some evidence that the emperor attempted to do so.
Although I haven’t stayed here for a long time so far, I’ve had plenty of time to return it.
Nevertheless, the reason why it is being returned now is probably because the personalities of the members who tried to control it somehow cannot be handled.
Damn emperor.
‘Did you think I could handle people that even the emperor couldn’t handle?’
If you ate it, you would have just wiped your mouth. Why bother giving it back to me?
If it was consideration, if it was not at all grateful and was just trying to feed them, it is indeed an excellent choice.
While my expression was sour, Remember, who must have finished cleaning up, knocked and came in asking for permission.
Pure white gloves and a wrinkle-free tailcoat. It is a uniformly neat outfit.
─To the extent that it is inconceivable that the revolutionary army was defeated just a moment ago.
He reported, brushing aside my narrowed gaze with a solemn smile typical of an old man, as always.
“The fire in the yard was completely extinguished. “I would like to hire another competent gardener to revive the garden, but what do you think, Count?”
“…Lemember takes care of it.”
Since you are a competent butler, you will be able to take care of it.
His unexpected abilities are quite outrageous, but thanks to that, my anger at the bombs (mad dogs) that the Emperor gave me has subsided, so let’s just move on.
Even if you ask, you won’t get anything anyway.
Rather than that, the priority is what to do with those who were forced to take charge.
“Remember.”
“Yes, Count.”
“I would like to provide separate lodgings for the knights, but is that possible?”
“Count Hart is big and spacious. “Let’s provide separate accommodation for the knights.”
After all, he is competent. Get the job done quickly without the slightest hint of embarrassment or hesitation!
It would be perfect if we just did something about his mysterious attitude.
While he was just gorging himself, Remember turned his gaze to look at Sir Lien.
“What will you do with Lord Lien? Since the genders are different, if you want to stay, you have to prepare a separate room…” “
Oh, I will commute here. So, you don’t have to prepare my accommodation.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Come to think of it, Lord Lien was a nobleman.
Rarely, a murderous group made up entirely of commoners… No, looking at the Knights of Lofty, I don’t think of any nobles, even if they are knights.
‘When I think about it, this is a big deal. When you think of ‘knight’, ‘rabid dog’ naturally comes to mind. If this is the case, even if I meet another knight, I will be blinded by prejudice…’
“Anyway, it seems that His Majesty cares for you a lot.”
“…yes?”
Who saves whom?
I suddenly raised my head in bewilderment.
While I was lost in thought, I guess I had finished sorting out the situation. The knights were nowhere to be found, and Sir Lien, who seemed to be the person who had finished sorting things out, was leaving with a silent bow.
And the person left in front of me was Remember, who spouted something absurd.
“What did you just say…”
“I said that His Majesty seems to care for you a lot.”
“…Don’t you think you need a Remember vacation?”
“If you give it to me, I will be grateful, but I am sorry that you are already treating me like a senile old man.”
But the emperor cares about me. It seems like they’re talking about the Knights Templar, but that doesn’t make sense.
Where on earth are you looking?
“Usually, because of the risk of treason, it is not easy to station knights from other families in the imperial palace or to give them up again, isn’t it? “Probably no monarch would do this except with ordinary faith and determination.”
“….”
I think he was trying to swallow it up but it didn’t work so he passed it on to me and gave it back?
But what can I say? Our deacon who likes to make fun of others will only hear what he wants to hear. Rather, they will find fault with this and try to make fun of it again.
Finally, I opened my mouth with a sigh.
“I will rest.”
“Yes, take a good rest. “It’ll probably get a lot busier starting tomorrow.”
“…?”
“While the Count was away, a lot of work got pushed back. “I processed what I could to the best of my ability, but there were more than one or two documents that required the Count’s approval.”
“Ugh.”
“For your information, this is not something that can be solved by avoiding it. In fact, the work will be pushed back further.”
“…I had no intention of avoiding it.”
I did a little bit… but I didn’t want to do it.
Ah, I miss the Demon World where I can just roll around.
‘I never thought I would want to go back to the demon world.’
Feeling the grandeur of the paperwork, I hurried to the bathroom, avoiding Remember’s gaze with a subtle smile.
I’m tired. Somehow, it seems that the fatigue accumulated here is greater than the fatigue accumulated in the banquet hall.
‘…It would be better to build a separate lodging for the knights.’
Go as far away from where I stay as possible.
This is all because of them. I’m not human if I don’t feel tired after talking like that and putting everyone else on edge.
Now that I think about it, the forest behind the mansion seems quite large for being inside the count’s mansion. Wouldn’t it be a bit quieter if it were built in the middle of it?
‘I’ll have to have a serious discussion with Remember later.’
***
There are unspoken rules in the slums.
Rules created to somehow keep one’s sanity and survive in a difficult life.
[Be friendly, but don’t be affectionate.]
….
Contrary to appearances, the slums are sensitive to all kinds of rumors.
How can we not be sensitive to the atmosphere of the nobles as it is directly related to their livelihood?
If the nobles are in a bad mood, their children will starve.
When the nobles had no time to spare due to war preparations, those who sold their bodies went hungry.
For some reason, when nobles went out less often, people had to throw themselves in front of carriages to get money and chew on tree roots.
As such, in the slums where rumors spread quickly, ‘the birth of a new hero’ and ‘the return of Deonhardt’ were already outdated rumors.
And that empty space was quickly filled by other rumors.
A rumor that could be like salvation and provide hope to those living in the slums.
It’s actually related to ‘salvation’── such a rumor.
Shiia asked in a voice that had become faint after starving for several days.
“Salvation Church?”
“Yeah, I guess they give out free bread and water in the slums.”
“For free?”
“For free.”
“Nonsense. “Isn’t there a drug in there?”
The voice was small, but the doubt contained therein was clear. In addition, a suspicious expression was clearly visible on Shiia’s face.
A scraggly face with messy, messy hair.
Yes, Siia is from the slums.
As he was born in the slums and has lived in the slums, he is a child of the slums who has been left behind and unable to receive favors without question.
That’s why she couldn’t believe what the other person said.
Giving out free bread and water? There wouldn’t be any benefit, right? Besides, isn’t Salvation Church a religion? If it were a religion, it would need donations, but it’s impossible for people in the slums to have money.
So this is a lie. There is no reason to believe it.
“no. The lame man next door tried it and said nothing happened. “They even said they just let me go without asking for anything.”
“…lie.”
If it’s a lame man, Shiia knows it too.
A man who has no regrets about life, so he throws himself in front of the carriage without hesitation and collects money from nobles.
He probably would have just taken it without caring whether it contained medicine or not. At least to him, life and death have no meaning.
You probably thought that if you live, you live, and if you die, you die.
And lived. Shiia still couldn’t believe it.
There’s no way that guy would lie, so then is this boy in front of me lying?
So why? wherefore? What are the benefits?
“It’s real?! I felt sorry for you because you were starving for a week, so I told you, but… if you don’t want to believe it, don’t believe it! I’ll go alone! “If you don’t go, you’re the only one who loses.”
Paul turned around with his face scrunched up.
Oh, I guess you’re upset. If you walk hard like that, you will quickly lose strength and get hungry quickly.
Shiia blankly followed the receding figure with lifeless eyes.
By the way, you said you were going alone, right?
Considering that Paul said he was going, it doesn’t seem to be a completely unreliable rumor.
“I said it was the Church of Salvation….”
My voice was cracked and came out as if the wind was leaking because I couldn’t even drink water properly.
After failing to pickpocket and getting beat up, I couldn’t eat anything properly for a week.
I broke my wrist when I was supposed to pickpocket, and now that I’ve recovered a bit, I don’t have the strength to try again.
If this continues, you will die.
I could feel death, which had always been by my side, reaching out its hand.
People always die in slums.
The person I talked to yesterday becomes a corpse, and the person I shared the rumor with the day before commits suicide.
The corpses are not given any comfort and are simply burned to prevent epidemics. There was always no one mourning.
‘If I die, will that happen to me too?’
I guess so.
There was something that the drunkard man, who is no longer dead, always said as if he were lamenting.
[I didn’t cry when others died, so who will cry for me?]
And when that man committed suicide, as he said, no one cried for him. Shiia didn’t cry either.
This is a place that is unkind to children’s crying. Tears only encourage physical exhaustion.
So I didn’t cry.
So if Shiia dies, no one will cry like they always did.
When I thought about that, strangely enough, I became interested in Salvation Church.
‘How about adding something strange to bread and water?’
Even if you die of starvation, poison, or even disappear, the reaction of the people here will be the same.
And if you’re going to die, wouldn’t it be better to eat and die than to starve?
I raised my limp body.
She could feel her limbs shaking, but she began to walk with difficulty.
Now he had become a black dot, chasing after Paul as he walked away, and calling out to him in a dry voice.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s salvation or anything else.’
If you just give them bread and water like they say.
She returned before she knew it, surrendering herself to Paul, who supported her with his rough but careful hands, and closed her eyes helplessly.
