Side Story – Continuation
There was Vlad standing alone in a wheat field with his back to the setting sunset.
While striking the ground that has not yet thawed with the hoe he is holding.
Go back a little in time, when it was still spring, Vlad was in the middle of learning farming at Ramund’s manor.
“This is such an amazing sight.”
It was an empty wheat field, with no seeds even sown, just the soil.
All you can hear from there is the sound of Vlad striking the hoe.
However, contrary to the loud noise, Vlad was clearly showing the clumsiness of a novice farmer.
“How can you look so stupid when you just replaced the sword with a hoe?”
“…is it that much?”
Vlad scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he looked at Ramund scolding him right next to him.
In fact, I was slowly realizing it myself.
The fact is that I don’t seem to have the temperament to be a farmer.
“Just looking at Amman, you shouldn’t be farming. Regardless of adaptation or anything else, I just don’t have any talent.”
Vlad was born in the city and had never been close to dirt his entire life.
However, even taking those circumstances into account, Vlad’s farming sense was not improving at all.
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
When holding a sword, he is a sword master praised by the continent.
However, Ramund, who was holding a hoe right now, looked like a clumsy novice farmer, and it was very painful to see the gap, so he sighed.
“Why do I suddenly want to farm?”
There was a spicy scent coming from the canteen Ramund had taken out.
It was so blatantly alcoholic that there was no need to ask what was in it.
“…Are you tired? So, do you want to get some rest?”
“It’s not like that.”
Vlad could sense that something was wrong from Ramund’s reaction.
At the same time, Vlad, who immediately threw away the hoe, flopped down in his seat and opened his mouth.
“Just because I thought about it”
“Because I thought about it?”
“The only thing I know how to do is steal, pickpocket, cut, etc.”
Ramund flinched for a moment when he heard Vlad’s voice coming from next to him.
A boy who wandered through dark alleys alone without his parents.
The path I had walked just to survive was filled with nothing but cold and sharp things.
“Isn’t it a little shameful to live a life that only knows that?”
I feel ashamed that I only know the art of hurting others.
Others call him a glorious sword master, but Vlad knew it well.
Kihano, the sword master of a previous era, did not lead a person like me with just sword skills.
“It doesn’t sound like much poetry. “Why is it embarrassing for a sword master to only know the sword?”
“That’s the problem.”
Vlad ended up laughing at Ramund’s somewhat harsh words.
“I don’t want to be a sword master all the time.”
To others, I may have been a shining sword master, but to others, I could be a completely different person.
To some, a great friend and to others, a benefactor who saved them from a crisis.
And now, to Ramund, he seems like a clumsy farmer.
“Do you know anything else? “I wonder if anyone will ask me about something other than the sword.”
Kihano, who was a sword master, was just a part of who he was.
Rather, what Vlad remembers of him was that of an unknown voice that always tried to lead me in the right direction.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson that Vlad learned from Quihano was not the swordsmanship of killing with a single blow, but the attitude toward life itself towards the world.
“That’s why I’m learning it. “So I can give someone an answer later.”
And Vlad also wanted to resemble that side of Quijano.
The side of Quijano that guided me as an adult rather than an emperor or a knight.
And to do so, the current Vlad was expanding his world by gathering the life experiences he had missed.
※※※※
It was a grandly held succession ceremony.
A splendid succession ceremony where knights in shining armor are inspected and distinguished guests from all over the continent congratulate them.
Seeing this perhaps the most spectacular moment of any gathering held in the North so far, Vlad was feeling a strange sense of elation that was difficult to explain in words.
“This is the first time in my life that I have seen so many nobles gathered together.”
“……okay?”
“Actually, this is my second time here. “When I received my knighthood and now.”
Seeing Vlad’s strangely excited appearance, Xayar began to get very nervous.
Vlad’s appearance now is like a warning of sorts.
Xayar, who remembers Vlad constantly having accidents when he was a squire, was also a person who knew well that the current situation was the time when he had to be most alert.
“…But why is Baron Alicia there?”
It was a succession ceremony for the Bayezid family that was carefully prepared because it was receiving attention from the continent.
In such a succession ceremony, it is basic to arrange seats according to the titles and positions of the distinguished guests.
That’s why Vlad couldn’t hide his strange feelings as he looked at Alicia standing close to Jemina.
“You look anxious.”
“Not at all.”
“I’m asking you to remain calm.”
“I feel better than ever.”
“…….”
Is that possible?
Even the sound of breathing that I can hear right now is suppressed, as if I’m very nervous.
And every time the two women in front of me whisper to each other, I can hear their hearts pounding up to here.
“Rutger Bayezid is entering!”
The door to the hall began to open along with the deacon’s voice.
The Gate of Bayezid is modeled after the walls of Sturma and looks large and sturdy.
As soon as the door began to open, the hall, which had been noisy just a moment ago, began to become eerily quiet.
“…….”
Tall height and straight shoulders.
Plus, there’s even fancy armor dressed up as formal attire.
When the door was opened, Rutger was seen standing in a serious posture, different from his usual appearance.
“It looks very unfamiliar.”
“That’s natural.”
At the highest point of the hall, where only the head of the house could sit, Peter was quietly gesturing.
It was a gesture announcing the succession ceremony that would begin now.
“Now you will no longer be the Rutger you knew, but Count Bayezid.”
They carry the family name on their shoulders and the territory that has been preserved for generations on their backs.
Therefore, Rutger, who has become heavier, will no longer be able to return to the way he used to be.
As he watched Rutger moving forward to shoulder his duties and responsibilities, Vlad’s eyes began to become somewhat complicated.
-Please come up here. Son of Bayezid.
Every time Rutger walked up the stairs, his relationship with Peter became closer.
At the same time, Peter Bayezid begins to stand up.
Holding the matriarch’s cloak in his left hand and a sword in his right, he spread his arms out wide as if to say, “Come here,” as he watched his son coming towards him.
-Put a cloak around you.
The place I reached by climbing the stairs step by step.
At last, at the highest point of Bayezid, Rutger was looking at the cloak that his father had hand-wrapped for him.
-This cloak I am wearing now symbolizes duty. Don’t forget that there are now countless people riding on your back for whom you must be responsible.
A lord is a person who rules the land and takes care of its citizens.
Therefore, the duty that must be borne will weigh heavily on Rutger’s back from now on.
-Raise your sword.
Eventually, Rutger stretched out his hand toward another item that was passed down.
It is the Bayezid family’s treasured sword that only the head of the family can wield.
This sword, which was said to have been passed down from his father’s father, was an item that only one person in Bayezid could hold.
-The sword you are holding now symbolizes your responsibility as the head of the family. From now on, you must swing your sword for your family’s honor, not your own.
Not for the individual Rutger, but for the family Bayezid.
Rutger, who received this sword, became a person who had to live with his family’s name ahead of his own name from this moment on.
-I, Peter Bayezid, make this declaration with you all here as witnesses.
Now that we have handed over everything that needs to be handed over, it is time to rush towards the end of the succession ceremony.
Peter, who now had to step down from his position as the head of the family, was shouting loudly to the numerous VIPs who were looking at him.
-Rutger Bayezid here has become the next head of the family!
So far, the only sound heard in the spacious hall was Peter speaking to Rutger.
However, by the time he finished speaking, there was thunderous applause as if the hall was about to explode.
Clap clap clap!
The applause of the VIPs, which seemed like it would not end easily, could still be heard throughout the hall.
From generation to generation. The sound of celebrating the banner of Bayezid that was finally able to be delivered even in those difficult times when the oldest dragon ran rampant.
However, even in the midst of this loud applause, Vlad was listening to a voice vaguely coming from above.
“……Good work.”
It was a very small voice that could only be heard because Vlad was born with dragon blood.
The sound originated from the father’s mouth as he hugged his son.
“You worked really hard to come up here.”
Peter Bayezid is now nothing, having laid down both the lord’s cloak and the family’s sword.
That’s why he, who was finally able to become a perfect father, was hugging Rutger and quietly whispering in his ear.
Thank you for your hard work to get to where I am.
※※※※
“It was really nice to see.”
Bayezid’s mansion, where a splendid banquet is being held on the night after the succession ceremony.
Everyone gathered here was laughing and chatting as if they had been waiting for this moment, but Vlad was not walking in the banquet hall where the nobles were, but walking down an empty corridor covered in thick darkness.
“What does it feel like to inherit? “I can’t even imagine.”
With Zayar walking in front.
The two of them were currently walking down an empty hallway, each holding a bottle of alcohol, toward what used to be Josef’s office.
“Well, Dragulia’s legacy is probably significant. “It would be a shame not to receive it.”
“No, I didn’t mean that.”
Vlad’s expression began to become irreverent, as if he had been in pain at Xayar’s sudden mention of Dragulia’s name.
“What can I say? “It’s something that a father passes down to his son.”
Vlad was gesturing here and there, feeling a sensation that was difficult to explain in words, but he was not even looking at Xayar, who he was supposed to be looking at.
“It’s not easy for even people with healthy parents to experience that. “It’s a fortunate world if we don’t pass on debt in the first place.”
“is that so.”
“And if you want to have that experience, shouldn’t you just make one?”
Squeak –
An unpleasant squeak was heard from the doorknob that was slightly turned.
It sounded a little rusty, probably because it hadn’t been used for a long time.
“Even if you don’t have the experience of inheriting something, you can still have the experience of passing it on.” I expected it to be
dark, but
Josef’s office at night was filled with blue moonlight.
However, the sight of the office where the moonlight stayed seemed completely unfamiliar, unlike the sight I had seen before.
“…Nothing has changed here.”
“Because nothing has changed. “All the furniture is covered with cloth.”
Josef’s office was now cold and gathering dust because there was no owner.
However, perhaps because of the two guests who came secretly, it seemed like the warm old colors were being restored to the place now.
“Are you having a drink here?”
“……okay. “Originally I was going to do it alone.”
I didn’t specifically say to do it this way, but when Vlad and Xayar entered the room, they were standing in their previous positions out of habit.
Vlad stood in front of the guest table and Xayar stood, as always, next to Josef’s desk.
Xayar burst out laughing, probably because it was funny to see Vlad standing like before.
“A guy who couldn’t even ride a horse.”
“At that time, I didn’t know I was a dragon.”
“A guy who was always beating up the same squires and causing accidents.”
“That’s it…”
Xayar, who recalled old memories for a moment, shook his head as he looked at Vlad, who was still coming up with excuses.
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen him since he was a boy, but I still can’t believe he’s grown up.
“You went from being such a kid to now becoming a sword master, but are there still so many things you envy?”
“…….”
“It’s okay.” Take it.”
Maybe that was why, in Zayar’s eyes, he still looked younger than Vlad.
“Alcohol?”
“That’s right, it’s expensive. “It’s been 50 years longer.”
The alcohol given to Vlad was one that Xayar had kept with special care.
The liquor he had kept since he was Zayar of the Oskar family before coming to Bayezid with Oksana was also the liquor his father had.
“Is it okay to give me such a precious drink?”
“He said he wanted to inherit it.”
“No, but…”
“Is that enough now? So, open a drink.”
Xayar removed the cloth from the cabinet and took out a drinking glass from there, extending his arm towards Vlad.
It was a gesture telling him to pour himself a glass, but Vlad just smiled and turned back the bottle he had just received.
“…It’s a bit of a waste to drink such expensive alcohol right now.”
The way he was quietly putting it in his arms, it didn’t look like he would be able to take it out easily.
“Can’t we start by drinking the alcohol I brought?”
“…I waited 20 years to drink that drink.”
“I think the taste will get better if it’s aged for another 20 years or so.”
Vlad’s hand gestures as he hid the bottle seemed determined, as if he had already developed an attachment to it no matter how long it had been since he received it.
“First of all, shall we start with the alcohol I brought today?”
“If you don’t want to eat it now, bring it back.”
“This is also expensive. “I took a peek at it in the kitchen earlier.”
Vlad quietly took out another glass of wine and poured it for Xayar and said.
“But Zayar. “Do you know how to fish?”
“fishing? “Why are you fishing all of a sudden?”
The drink I’m handing you now is for Zayar.
The next glass of wine is for me.
“no. Because I don’t know how to fish. Ramund also said that he doesn’t know much about fishing because he comes from a slash-and-burn farming family.”
And the drink I’m pouring now is for Josef.
After pouring three glasses of wine, Vlad looked at Xayar and said:
“I thought it would be good to learn. “There is no place to go to learn about things like fishing.”
“Fishing… I don’t know much about it.”
“Oh yeah. “This is a shame.”
Vlad stuck his tongue out, as if he was disappointed that Xayar said he didn’t know much.
Zayar, who was looking at the scene over the glass he had raised, sighed and began to speak as if he could not do anything.
“I know how to fish for smelt.”
“Smelt fishing?”
“You know, something like that. Drilling a hole in a frozen lake.”
Zayar slowly shook his glass and walked to the window.
To look outside where the blue moonlight is now shining instead of the sunlight that always shined brightly.
“If you want to learn even that, come back again.”
Vlad was smiling as he looked at Xayar’s back, telling him to come back in winter.
He said he wanted to inherit something, but in fact, he turned it around and said he wanted to continue.
Seeing Xayar clearly understanding what he said, Vlad cheerfully began pouring down the remaining wine in his glass.
