The Last Ravnoma (3)
A place where people come to relieve their base desires that are difficult to share with anyone.
Because it was a place like that, unexpected accidents sometimes occurred.
The men who came here had the misconception that they could buy everything from a woman with just a few faded silver coins.
“Ugh! “You crazy bastard!”
Under the dim lamplight that sighs as if it will go out, a man screams loudly as if Changgwan is about to leave.
The woman who was sitting down in front of the man and holding the child had a bright blue swollen palm mark on her neck.
If it had been even a little bit late, the wound would have been bent to a place where it shouldn’t have been.
“How dare this crazy guy stab me?”
There was a small, dangling piece of metal stuck in the middle of the man’s wing, which he couldn’t quite reach.
The man, who was struggling with both arms to pull it out, eventually chose to unleash his anger on the woman and child in front of him.
“…!”
A vibration that resonates deeply as if I had been hit.
Nevertheless, the reason it was worth holding on was probably because of the mother, who was covering her son with her entire body while gritting her teeth.
Motherhood, shining even in the lowest and humblest places, had no hesitation in embracing the young boy.
The sound of rain could be heard from outside.
Vlad still remembered his mother’s screams echoing with the sound of the rain.
Vlad was a man who always wanted to protect something.
However, the sword I used to protect someone for the first time was too small and short.
※※※※
Vlad was leading the way riding Noir.
However, he seemed uncomfortable as he kept scratching the back of his head.
“…Is that kid still staring at me?”
“yes.”
A quiet answer to a vague question.
Vlad frowned after hearing Stefan’s answer.
‘Why on earth are you doing that?’
The last Ravnoma rescued from slave traders last night.
The young boy named Karl was just staring at Vlad’s back while still being held in the woman’s arms.
“Why don’t you go and pretend like you know me?”
“…He’s holding a knife right now.”
“It’s not him, it’s Karl Ravnoma. “The more accurate the title, the better.”
He was told to treat him with caution since he was the son of the earl’s family who would be of great use in the future.
Vlad, who had been scolded by Marcus for no reason, carefully turned his head and looked at the boy.
A small boy who looks no older than ten years old.
The way he was hugged tightly by the woman made him look weak, but the dagger he was still holding tightly was shining sharply.
“It seems like he liked the cloak you gave him.”
“I just lent it to you to avoid the rain. “I’ll take it back anyway.”
The woman and boy who were riding the horse with difficulty were now covering themselves with black cloaks.
A northern cloak that spares no gold.
The cloak that Oksana had given Vlad was as warm as she had intended, and its warmth was enough to embrace the two people who were now wandering in the most humble place.
“Anyway, treat me with respect. “Nothing good comes from bad relationships.”
It is the responsibility of the child to take care of the child.
In this place full of ugly faces, the only one who looked reassuring was Vlad, so Marcus’ selection was accurate.
“……All right.”
With a mission that was not a mission, Vlad turned his head again and looked at the boy.
Green hair cut in a messy manner, as if it had been cut off in a hurry.
The boy’s sunken cheeks, perhaps due to a rough experience, certainly made him look shabby, but even so, his natural appearance had not faded at all.
‘When you grow up, you’ll make a lot of girls cry.’
Although he was a little boy who looked no older than ten years old, Chopal, the former Rose of Roses, was confident.
The boy’s appearance will be at a level that women will not leave alone.
But Vlad didn’t know.
The little boy I was facing now was thinking similar things to me.
“……excuse me.”
“go away.”
Rejection comes at me like a dagger before I even finish speaking.
It was a courageous first word, but the boy’s cold reaction only made the atmosphere colder.
“You didn’t say anything in particular?”
“go away. “Get away from Martha.”
The dagger swinging in the short hand was not threatening at all.
However, the eyes that were looking at the end were harsh.
“okay.”
Vlad nodded as he looked into the woman’s apologetic eyes.
Although it was not something one would do to a benefactor, it was an action that was fully understandable and empathetic.
Vlad knew very well that no matter how young you are, there are things you want to protect.
“You’re doing great.”
“…….”
Vlad smiled bitterly as he looked at the child, who had a lot of thorns like a wounded hedgehog.
Still, you are better than me.
Because I succeeded in protecting it in the end.
The slaver who was lying on the bed that day had a thin wound carved into his neck.
It was a small and shallow wound, but clearly fatal.
The boy took a clear aim and blocked the evil spirit that was rushing towards the woman.
It was a much better finish than his childhood self.
“Please continue to do so in the future.”
It was a similar scene, but a completely different result.
Seeing the boy blocking the wounded woman in the slaver’s tent, Vlad was able to find comfort for some unknown reason.
“receive.”
“……huh?”
Carol was very upset, but she was taken aback by the wad of paper flying at her without any context.
A fragrant smell that can be recognized even though it is piled up.
On the wad of paper was engraved a symbol representing the Kannor family.
“…What is this?”
“eat. “That’s expensive.”
Kannor family sausage.
It was a compliment and a sign of gratitude from Vlad to Karl.
※※※※
Like the heat of the crackling bonfire, the boy’s eyes in the distance were still following Vlad.
Now, Vlad was just quietly eating the beef jerky, looking away from the eyes that anyone could clearly see.
“It seems like Karl Ravnoma is very interested in you.”
“…I even gave you my cloak and my favorite sausage.”
“Well, if it were the Kannor family’s sausage, I would say it’s even different.”
Marcus quietly shook his head in response to Vlad’s answer.
It may not be that they showed this much interest simply because they gave something, but it wasn’t a bad relationship anyway.
I thought he lived in a lowly place and would only act like a stranger, but he was still a guy who knew how to be generous.
“…But is it really possible with that little guy?”
Vlad, who was cutting beef jerky with a dagger, looked at Carol through the flames of the bonfire.
The last remaining Ravnoma.
A boy who might become another axis of power in the West.
But the weight the boy was carrying was too heavy.
“We have to make it possible.”
Behind Gaidar, there were families that remained motionless and remained neutral.
Some families were just waiting for an opportunity, but it was true that there were still families that followed Ravnoma.
“If Gaidar’s momentum is broken in this war, the Western Allied Forces will definitely be shaken.”
War does not end with just one clash.
Peter was looking beyond the battle at Deermar and invested a lot of time and money in getting the last remaining Ravnoma out of the West.
“If there are fronts back and forth, no matter how Gaidar is, it will be a headache.”
He was moving forward, but if a fire broke out from behind, even Gaidar would have no choice but to panic.
In order to prevent such an unfortunate situation, Ravnoma’s bloodlines have been removed.
“Now all I have to do is go back…”
The mission was successful and resulted in an unexpected victory.
However, Marcus, who was chewing the beef jerky that Vlad gave him, just frowned.
“What’s the problem?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Marcus, a knight who has been operating behind Bayezid’s shadow for a long time.
He was always deployed in complex situations and successfully led most missions.
“This is because things are going so well.”
One superstition that I have gained through countless experiences is also a jinx.
If the beginning is good, the ending is not good.
“this.”
This feeling, which is difficult to explain with the word premonition, was like the result of countless experiences.
Marcus’s worries, which had been accumulated over a long period of experience, were not unfounded, and just like his ominous premonition, a crow flew through the dark night sky.
The smell of blood wafting through the flapping wings made it seem like this was not the one bringing good news.
“Somehow, I said things were going really well.”
A crow flew in covered in someone’s blood.
The book that the crow brought contained someone’s hastily written warning.
“…Stop camping.”
“Is this serious?”
Although they haven’t even given an order yet, the undercover group senses Marcus’s mood and quickly starts extinguishing the bonfire.
Seeing their swift appearance, Carol’s eyes, which had just begun to stabilize, began to shake violently.
“I thought it was going really well.”
Marcus’s eyes, as he was looking at Vlad, began to sparkle meaningfully.
Bayezid’s best dragon slayer.
And a northern knight who has steadily established a cordial relationship with Gaidar.
Sigmund’s gaze on Vlad was deeper than Marcus expected.
“It seems Gaidar has a deeper grudge against you than I expected.”
“…….”
Marcus hands the bloody sword to Vlad.
The note he received had his name written on it and a name he had never heard of before.
※※※※
“They say all the streets have been blocked?”
“That’s right. Count. “I received clear confirmation from the lords via magic telegram.”
Count Sigmund was quietly looking at the map in the tent of the garrison, where he had been forced to sit down due to Peter’s interruption.
“Then the net has been set up.”
A northern strike force that was sweeping the West.
Gaidar wasn’t the only one who was annoyed by Vlad’s interference.
Vlad’s sabotage, centered on the highways of the western coast, was a powerful enough blow to anger the surrounding lords.
“Anyway, I am a bastard. “You built up resentment so quickly.”
One by one, objects begin to block the path on the map.
The pieces moved from Sigmund’s fingertips were blocking all paths to the north, like pieces on a chessboard.
“Being too proud is also a problem. Vlad of Shoara.”
The western lords are much more proactive than expected.
The criminal record that exceeded Vlad’s expectations was now coming back in the form of resentment and was slowly strangling him.
“How soon will it arrive?”
“It’s three days.”
“good. “It should be at that level.”
And so, the last remaining path.
Hearing those words, a deep smile began to appear on Sigmund’s face as he slowly blocked the street.
“Send my cavalry to that brat. Show damn Bayezid the will of Gaidar.”
“All right. “Count.”
The last piece that landed from Sigmund’s fingertips.
Atop the piece was a flag symbolizing the fastest cavalry in the West.
“You will have to pay for your rampage, Bayezid.”
The West is the taker, not the dispossessed.
Sigmund had to show it to Peter and prove it.
The sound of horses’ hooves leaving the camp is filled.
A group of outlaws running through the rough fields without hesitation.
The flag they were holding had the emblem of the cavalry feared by everyone in the West.
