Chapter 96

Yurik had the talent to utterly crush and humiliate his opponent within 10 minutes of meeting them.

He had intended to display his familiarity with the royal family to say, "I'm not interested in being the leader of the nobles."

But to have his words returned like that?

It seemed that from tomorrow onwards, requests for favor-seeking meetings would come pouring in.

How would he cover all of that?

"Cunning bastard. I'll hit him one day."

"If Your Grace's hands are alright with that. Or should I hit him instead?"

"When you hit His Highness, you must be prepared, Russel."

Otherwise, his hands would be chopped off.

He and Russel left the palace as soon as the conversation with Yurik ended.

Instead of going straight to the carriage, he circled around the garden surrounding the palace, and Russel dutifully followed him.

"Having the Eucharist together is a good thing. You'll be able to feel God's grace in tranquility rather than in the bustling atmosphere."

"No, more than that, I hate having to face him while eating. I feel like I'll get indigestion."

"But conducting the Eucharist solemnly in a quiet place would be more devout."

To hell with devoutness, he didn't want to eat with Yurik!

How could he share a table with someone who had killed him twice!

He wanted to shout this but held it in as he continued walking.

Russel asked tactlessly.

"By the way, where are you going? The garden of this castle seems to end here."

"Don't be so noisy and just follow me quietly."

He was sure that the Royal Knight Order's training ground was in this direction.

After passing through a couple of gardens and several unnamed small annexes, a familiar landscape came into view.

He was glad he had occasionally looked at Amelia's aerial view.

"Your Grace, this is..."

"Shh. We might be dragged away if we're caught."

"But this is a place where strolling is not permitted. Where are you going?"

"I just want to see Leandros's face and then leave. He wasn't at the banquet hall earlier, so I'm wondering if something happened."

Just to check if he was eating well and sleeping well.

Having raised his child with a piece of his own flesh, how could he leave without even seeing his face!

When he parted the bushes that reached up to his chest, an outdoor training ground with torches appeared beyond.

Only one person remained in the empty training ground where everyone else had left.

"Leandros!"

"Your Grace, if you rush in like that!"

Russel screamed quietly from behind, but it didn't matter.

Leandros, who had been wiping his sweat with a towel, startled when he looked in their direction.

He put away his sword and came to the fence, his face deeply tinged with surprise.

"Your Grace. What brings you here?"

"There was the eve banquet. I came to see your face while I was at it."

"Has it already become that time? It's been a while since I've seen you."

Leandros looked tired, but honestly, he seemed much more... settled than when he had been with him.

His eyes remained as calmly composed as ever, but somehow his posture or energy had relaxed, you could say.

If before he had been like a sharp sword, now he was like a blunt knife.

But even that appearance looked comfortable, which wasn't bad.

"Yurik must be feeding you well."

Leandros smiled slightly.

"It's edible."

"And it seems like you're getting all the training you want. The others aren't bullying you?"

"Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince's personal introduction. So far, I've been getting along well without major conflicts."

"Are you sleeping well? What about the pillow I gave you?"

"I'm using it well."

"How's the accommodation?"

"Not bad. Not good either."

Strangely, he was really doing well.

From what Yurik said, it seemed like he would roll him back out soon after taking him.

Wasn't that the case?

It felt foolish to have worried and imagined only bad situations until now, so he just scratched his nose.

Leandros looked at him and asked.

"Is Your Grace doing well?"

"Me? Oh, right. The mithril mine has entered redevelopment. We're also building a temple in the north, and the Dikenting weapons are doing well too. Though not bulk orders, people are placing orders here and there."

"I see. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. ...Was there nothing unusual in the north?"

"In the north..."

Just as he was about to speak, he recalled what Leandros had said to him.

If he told him that only he and Russel had gone and killed that winter moth-like thing, wouldn't he worry?

Why fight again when they were having such a friendly conversation?

In the end, he vaguely glossed over what he was about to say.

"Nothing unusual happened. It's just always cold there, almost froze to death."

"If there's nothing else, that's good. Have you been overexerting yourself?"

"There was no reason for that."

"That's enough then. Did you personally come all the way here to check on me?"

"Of course! You suddenly said you were going to the royal palace, but there was no news at all."

Leandros just smiled.

"Even so, I plan to return to the ducal residence after some time passes. And I thought Your Grace would be busy."

"No matter how busy I am, can't I receive one letter from you?"

Something felt off.

This didn't seem right. Weren't they more friendly before?

Somehow, he felt as if an unbridgeable distance had formed between him and Leandros.

Why had it become like this? Since when?

"Leandros, let me ask one thing."

"Please inquire."

"Why did you say you'd come to the royal palace? I saw Yurik talking to you that day. What kind of conversation passed between you two?"

Leandros had one hand on the scabbard at his waist.

But that sword wasn't the one he had gifted him.

It was a common sword that could be seen anywhere.

After thinking for a moment, Leandros spoke slowly.

"We didn't have much of a conversation. He talked about the old days when we trained together. At that time, if I could only focus on swordsmanship like that, I would have wanted nothing more."

"And?"

"He promised that if I went to the royal palace, he could fulfill that for me."

"Is that all?"

"For now, that's all. Your Grace can't imagine how tired I was at the time."

Tired?

Leandros? From what exactly?

In the original novel, he was an indomitable protagonist who didn't know how to get tired.

When he didn't say anything in response to this unexpected statement, Leandros continued.

"Everyone gets tired when something happens that they can't handle. It's the same with continuously watching a result that they can't change."

"Still."

"If I may dare say so, I was tired, and that might be why I listened to Crown Prince Yurik's proposal."

"What made you so tired? The escort knight duties? Because I didn't let you rest?"

"Your Grace, I..."

Leandros sighed.

Though it was an ordinary action, it gave him a feeling that something was deeply wrong.

"Presumptuously, I was tired of Your Grace."

"......"

"The former Duchess asked me to protect Your Grace. Therefore, I took responsibility for Your Grace's safety even when the family was ruined, and after that, I wanted to assist Your Grace."

"But."

"However, how many times have I fully protected Your Grace?"

He wanted to say that Leandros had always protected him, but at that moment, only one thought came to mind.

So when hadn't he died?

When he was attacked by Yurik's spy at Baron Arnold's place.

When he lured the unidentified demonic beast at the Schützenfest.

And to find ways to defeat the new demonic beasts and monsters in the north.

Because his head was torn off, half of his upper body was blown away,

His whole body was crushed, his intestines burst,

Eaten by monsters, thrown to strange places.

Freezing to death,

Drowning,

Crushing,

Necrosis,

Drowning,

Falling to death,

Suffocation,

Bleeding to death.

But all of that was...

"For the sake of others."

Because things could have turned out better.

When he was prepared to die, the situation dramatically improved.

Others could save their lives without getting hurt unnecessarily.

"For your sake."

"I know. But I should have told you that such a sight was hard to bear. I continued to not understand why Your Grace was getting hurt like this."

"And this is the conclusion you came to?"

"I concluded that I was too weak to protect Your Grace. Yes, that's right. It's my oversight."

He couldn't even get angry.

Leandros was talking as if reminiscing about the distant past, with a tone like, 'That's how it was back then.'

He wasn't angry with him.

But he seemed to have been greatly disappointed.

"So I'm trying to become stronger. More than training alone or slaying demonic beasts, I'll meet more people and build up my skills."

"When will you return to the ducal residence? You're my escort knight."

"I won't forget that point. I think the day I return will be when I've gained confidence in myself."

"That means..."

"I will return as soon as possible. Someday, when I become qualified."

He hadn't relaxed or found stability.

He had put down a burden and become unburdened.

Having put down the burden of him, the burden of the Hartmann ducal family, how could he not feel good!

Just before his voice rose, Russel blocked his path.

"It seems our Duke is somewhat excited. As you know, Brother, he's a person with a weak body, so you should be careful."

"...That's right. I'll be careful."

"In the future, I'll contact you before visiting."

"Please do."

"It might be excessive courtesy for someone who said they would abandon their position as an escort knight, but since you're addressing the head of the Hartmann ducal family."

Russel's tone was stiff.

"I hope that Brother will also observe appropriate courtesy in the future."

"I see. So you've filled my position? I'm grateful for that part."

"It's not because of you, Brother, but because of His Grace. Unlike you, I know exactly what path I should take."

"I see. Then escort His Grace back now. Even in summer, the night air isn't good."

This wasn't right.

This wasn't what it was supposed to be.

Leandros turned around without any regret.

Russel, supporting him, whispered.

"It's all over now. Let's go back."

Leandros's rugged sword and Russel's shining sword entered his sight at once.

Leandros had begun to walk his own orbit, leaving the supporting character behind.

* * *

A day of fasting followed after the eve banquet.

The Corpus Christi celebration held after the fast.

The nobles who had newly settled in the capital all entered the royal palace dressed luxuriously.

Before the priests and holy officials called for the Corpus Christi mass, people were each creating a serious and solemn atmosphere.

Except for him.

Shocked by Leandros's bombshell declaration, he hadn't slept properly and had no spare energy to care about solemnity.

He was sleepy, tired, and just wanted to lie down somewhere.

He didn't want to sit even for an hour among people who sparkled with jewels.

Pretending to pray with clasped hands, he halfheartedly listened to the sermon, hymns, and pretended to recite prayers.

Only after that could they all move to the Eucharist venue.

It was just as he was about to rise from his seat with Russel's help.

"Duke Hartmann, your complexion looks particularly bad today."

"I can sit. Don't worry."

"Really?"

Over there, Yurik, who had been occupying the seat reserved for members of the royal family alone, approached languidly.

Seeing that face naturally reminded him of Leandros.

He was fuming, but he couldn't let it explode here.

Yurik looked at him and smirked.

"Then, shall we go have a meal?"

"Isn't it just bread and wine?"

"For those people, yes."

Yurik pointed to the group of nobles lining up with refinement.

That finger returned to them.

"Not for the Duke and me. I've prepared a special Eucharist for the Duke, you see."