Chapter 26 - The Stars Were Watching the Boy Too (3)

The sunlight pouring in through the window felt heavy.

For some reason, it felt as though there was not enough air around him.

"It suits you well."

"... Thank you."

And so, no matter how much he kept breathing in, it was still hard to breathe out.

"Is this one a little big?"

To him, the size of the clothes did not look all that different, but Oksana frowned as if it were a serious matter and gave some instructions to the maids.

"You need to hold out your chest."

"..."

At her instruction, the maids gathered around Vlad and began basting the clothes.

He was used to the mischievous touches of whores who sold laughter, but the hands of maids adjusting his clothes were completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

'How much is this worth?'

And so Vlad's thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.

The feel of the fabric against his skin was far too soft.

For Vlad, who had spent his whole life wearing rough clothes, it was a comfort so excessive that it actually felt uncomfortable.

"We shouldn't make it too tight, should we?"

"At seventeen, he's still growing."

"True, Joseph grew a lot around this age too."

The cold winter had passed, and spring was now drawing near.

A new season, a new opportunity, and new clothes.

"This should do."

And a person he was experiencing for the first time in his life.

Seeing the clothes fitted to Vlad's frame, Oksana finally rose from her seat as if satisfied.

"You have to wear clothes suited to the season so your stamina does not fall."

Watching her come closer and adjust his clothing, Vlad naturally ended up holding his breath.

It was because he worried that some strange smell might be mixed into the breath he exhaled.

"When summer comes, I will have other clothes made for you. For now, let us at least get you out of that beggar-like outfit."

"I'm sorry."

Until now, Vlad had been getting by with the clothes he had worn since the encampment.

Though the maids had washed them diligently enough that they did not smell, they did not fit his body, did not suit the season, and above all, they were clothes that had originally belonged to the dead Rhimann, taken and worn by him.

The part that Joseph and Jager, being men, had failed to notice was what Oksana was now taking care of.

"Who would look at you now and say you grew up in the back alleys? You look like a fine young nobleman."

"..."

It was exactly as Oksana said.

Right now, Vlad looked like the very image of a confident young man, no matter who saw him.

Perhaps it was because he was wearing clothes he had earned by proving his own worth, not clothes he had stolen from someone else.

Seemingly pleased with her work, Oksana lightly clapped her hands and smiled.

"... Thank you, Lady Oksana."

The boy, who found it hard to meet Oksana's smile, merely looked down at the innocent floor for no reason.

"You saved my son's life, so I am the one who should be grateful."

Oksana answered as she stroked Vlad's blond hair.

"It truly is a deep blond. Even nobles would envy that color. It feels different from my child's."

Vlad could not find anything to say in response and simply kept his mouth shut.

"I am sorry for calling you when you must be busy with training. You may go now. I will have the remaining clothes altered and sent to your room."

"Thank you very much."

Vlad gathered up the pile of clothes Oksana had given him and was about to leave the room.

"Take those over there as well."

"... Yes."

As if she had only just remembered, Oksana pointed with her hand to the clothes neatly placed beside the door and spoke.

"A man can only be called a real man if he knows how to keep proper manners even where others cannot see."

"..."

When Vlad looked at the place Oksana was pointing to, his earlobes turned red.

The things Oksana had prepared separately were underclothes.

The boy did not yet know that a mother's consideration sometimes came suddenly into places far too deep.

* * *

The corridor was being dyed red by the fading twilight.

Vlad felt that the wind blowing today was warm, but deep in his chest, an unknown discomfort was spreading.

'I can't get used to this.'

From the moment he entered the Bayezid Family's estate, he had been making constant efforts to adjust to the new environment, but each time, what he felt was that he was someone who did not belong here.

It felt as though he was growing fat.

The flesh clinging to his soul.

"..."

Only after arriving in his room did Vlad let out the sigh that had been buried deep inside him.

"... Not yet."

Looking at the cramped little room, Vlad finally felt at ease.

This is where I belong.

For now.

The boy set the clothes he had brought on the bed and took off the clothes Oksana had given him.

Then he changed into the mercenary clothes that had now become familiar.

Feeling the rough cloth prick the nape of his neck, Vlad smiled.

I am not yet ready to wear the fine clothes Oksana gave me.

So tonight, these clothes will suit me.

"Shall I go?"

When he had entered the room, he had been Vlad of Soara, but when he left, he looked like Vlad of the back alleys.

Today, he needed that appearance.

Twilight was falling.

Vlad walked toward the corridor where darkness was spreading.

The boy's steps were light as he headed toward a familiar place.

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

After the day's work was done, at the time when everyone was in their rooms tending to themselves, someone knocked on Portly's door.

"Who is it?"

Portly opened the door to a room that was bigger than Vlad's but too small to store a great many sausages, and poked his face out.

"Vlad?"

"Nothing happened, right?"

Seeing Vlad, who for some reason looked to be in a good mood, Portly smiled along with him.

They were still short of being friends, but even so, he was the only person who at least treated him like a human being.

"What is it?"

"There's something I need to get from you."

"Something to get?"

Vlad peered into Portly's room, and soon, seeming to find what he wanted, he lifted a finger and pointed at it.

"That. Give me that."

"That? The jamón?"

At the place Vlad's fingertip pointed to was a properly aged jamón.

It was expensive, salted meat that even Portly ate sparingly.

"You want that? The whole thing?"

"Yeah."

At Vlad's sudden visit at night after work hours, asking for jamón, Portly felt bitterness along with confusion.

"... All right."

Even if they could not become friends, he had still wanted them to at least have a relationship where they could exchange smiles.

But it seemed the boy from the back alleys did not think of him even to that extent.

Apparently, he was only someone worth tearing meat from.

Even for Portly, who came from a wealthy household, handing over an entire piece of jamón aged for five years was a burden in one way or another.

"..."

Even so, Portly handed over the piece of jamón without complaint.

Because he did not want to eat alone tomorrow too.

The loneliness of being alone and the alienation of not belonging anywhere were still too heavy for a boy of this age to bear.

"... A knight I know said something like this."

"What?"

Since Vlad had taken what he wanted, Portly had expected him to leave without looking back.

But Vlad was standing in the dark corridor, speaking to Portly.

"A knight takes only fair compensation."

"Huh?"

"This is the fair compensation I get to take. So don't feel too wronged."

"Huh?"

Looking at Vlad, who was saying something completely inscrutable, Portly could only tilt his head.

"If any other guys come knocking on your door tonight, don't open it. Don't follow them out either."

"What do you mean?"

"Just know that's how it is."

Portly wanted to ask in detail about what Vlad had said, but the boy, who wanted to be free wherever he was, was already walking down the corridor.

"Be careful."

Portly told Vlad to be careful as he walked down the dark corridor without a single candle, but what came back was only a single lazy wave.

Watching Vlad's back gradually sink into the darkness, Portly merely tilted his head and locked his door.

CLICK.

While thinking over what Vlad had said.

* * *

The sky was clear today.

There was not a single cloud, and the wind was calm as well.

On top of that, it was a night with a full moon, so it did not even feel that dark.

Under that bright night, someone was groaning.

"Urgh... Uaaaagh."

"Just lie there. If you move even a little, I'll smash your head in."

At the threat coming from above, the squire collapsed on the ground decided to stay still for now.

Because that bastard really was someone who would smash his head in.

"Fourteen people to catch one guy is too much, isn't it? Even back-alley thugs don't go this far."

"Shut your mouth!"

In a small clearing inside the estate, brightly lit by the full moon.

Sovanin growled at the blond boy standing with his back against the wall.

"Let's see how long that bravado lasts, you bastard."

"I'm so scared I'm going to piss myself."

Though he was surrounded on all sides, Vlad merely wore a relaxed smile.

"Come on in. I came all the way out here nicely for you, so you should do at least that much."

Seeing Vlad crook his finger with his palm, his face full of mockery, every squire there swallowed hard.

They were surrounding him, yet they felt as if they were the ones surrounded.

It was a standoff between one person and more than ten, yet strangely, the momentum had shifted toward Vlad, who stood alone.

They all knew it.

If they rushed in all at once, even that arrogant bastard would have no choice.

"Uuuugh..."

"Sovanin..."

But the sight of the others lying on the ground right now made them hesitate.

They looked terrible, and the positions where they had fallen were so chaotic that it made it awkward to charge in all at once.

It looked like a wall built from corpses.

"Fuuuck!"

When things did not go the way he wanted, Sovanin shouted roughly and began to rage.

"There are more of us!"

Greater numbers.

A better environment.

And young masters who had grown up under better conditions were pitifully barking as they surrounded one dog that had crawled up from the back alleys.

"Are you going to let that bastard keep running wild?"

"B-But."

"I asked if you're going to let him!"

No matter how much Sovanin glared and shouted, none of the squires could easily step forward.

Because the presence of the fellow in front of them was stronger than that of Sovanin beside them.

It was not even comparable.

"..."

In the shadows where even the moonlight did not reach, there were blue eyes burning brightly.

"That bastard..."

Those eyes had come to the squires when they were away from the group and alone, thrusting sharp teeth before them.

Sovanin's brats, who still had not shaken off the fear from then, could not move easily.

"I'm going first, you bastards! Follow me in!"

Seeing his companions refuse to move easily like frightened sheep, Sovanin realized he had no choice but to step forward himself.

"Go in!"

When Sovanin took the lead and began to charge, only then did the squires hurriedly follow and rush at Vlad.

"Looks like there'll be some blood tonight."

Looking at the squires charging toward him, Vlad thought he had done well to change clothes.

The clothes Oksana had given him were far too precious to ruin on bastards like these.

"I'll really kill you, you son of a bitch!"

Seeing Vlad smiling, Sovanin, utterly infuriated, began to charge with all his strength.

"...!"

Time does not flow equally for everyone.

To Sovanin, who was rushing in fiercely, swept up in rage, it must have been only an instant, but to the squires following behind him, it was a moment that brought countless thoughts to mind.

The moment they met Vlad's blue eyes, the squires unconsciously faltered.

"... That's right."

Just as someone had intended, the squires had already lost their will to fight.

The gap between Sovanin charging in and the squires coming to a stop was growing wider and wider.

'If I just land one hit!'

Sovanin, who had failed to properly grasp the situation, only grew even angrier at Vlad's sneer.

A wooden sword loaded with all his strength.

If that landed just once, no matter how tough that bastard was...

"...!"

But Sovanin, who had been charging at Vlad, widened his eyes.

Because Vlad had merely swayed once, yet his body was already leaning to the left.

It was movement like a rippling wave.

THWACK!

The wooden sword that lost its target fiercely tore into the ground.

When the dirt that sprang up struck his face sharply.

"Have you ever actually killed someone before saying that?"

There was an eerie voice whispering in Sovanin's ear.

That voice whispering in the darkness was laughing.

"You son of a..."

CRACK!

"Urk!"

A flash in an instant.

At the hard sensation violently digging into his lungs, Sovanin retreated without even managing to properly cry out.

Immediately after, a fierce blow flew toward his jaw.

"Hup!"

It was a blow he barely managed to block, but Vlad was continuing to press in as if he had predicted even that.

A series of blows linked together like flowing water.

But within them was the sharp presence Vlad had possessed since birth.

It was the kind of presence that felt as though poison would spread through the whole body if it cut you even once.

'Crazy!'

Sovanin felt that he had been trapped inside a massive current he could do nothing about.

'This bastard hasn't even been holding a sword for two months!'

Seeing Vlad show a completely different side from when they sparred, Sovanin was greatly flustered.

["That's right. You trap your opponent inside the distance you created."]

"..."

Vlad in the subjugation force had only been at the level of throwing out a single strike filled with all his strength.

But after training with Jager and the voice, Vlad had gradually matured, and now he had begun to know how to create at least a little of his own flow in battle.

Outwardly, it might not have seemed like much of a difference, but anyone who had reached a certain level would know that Vlad had climbed to another stage.

"Kergh!"

To a level the wild boar currently being beaten had not yet reached.

'At this rate!'

Sovanin was losing his senses under the attacks crashing in from every direction.

He had to twist the flow.

The moment he thought that and tried to thrust his wooden sword at Vlad.

'Huh?'

He merely thought that the wooden sword in Vlad's hand had flashed.

Along with that thought, the world began to tilt.

It was as if the ground were rushing at him while he himself remained still.

'Why?'

Vlad's sword was already beyond the range an ordinary squire could understand.

The secret of a one-hit kill comes from surprise.

And surprise means something that lies beyond what can be predicted.

Just like now.

THUD!

With a loud sound, Sovanin's body toppled over like a kite with its string cut.

"Ugh... Ugh!"

Sovanin struggled to gather himself as he lay fallen.

What was reflected in his eyes was a single moon floating in the night sky.

"Clench your teeth."

And someone's face suddenly jutting out to cover that moon.

"..."

Hidden by the backlight created by the moonlight, he could not see clearly, but Sovanin thought Vlad was smiling.

The winner above, the loser below.

The winner takes everything.

WHACK!

Aaaagh!

Every time the wooden sword flashed, someone's blood splattered up.

Together with a mournful scream that could not be swallowed back.

At Vlad's beating, which even carried a sense of madness, the surrounding squires unconsciously stepped backward.

"Krrgh... Hiiiii..."

"... From now on, don't meet my eyes."

Vlad spat at Sovanin, who was trembling on the ground, whether from pain or fear.

The falling spit clung coldly to Sovanin's cheek.

"And don't touch Portly either."

"Uuuugh..."

Though it was a humiliating treatment, Sovanin only instinctively tried to avoid Vlad's gaze.

'He really tried to kill me!'

Before that dense killing intent he had encountered for the first time in his life, Sovanin merely nodded helplessly.

Because it was the kind of killing intent only someone who had truly killed a person could give off.

"Phew..."

Vlad raised his head and loosened his stiff neck.

His revenge against Sovanin had just ended.

And so had the payment for the jamón he had taken.

They were small things, but they were things he had to do, and also things he had wanted to do.

"Who's next?"

Now that he had done what he needed to do, he could run wild to his heart's content.

When Vlad raised his head, his sweat-soaked blond hair glittered under the full moon.

"I asked who."

"..."

Vlad's eyes, holding a bloodstained wooden sword, flashed savagely.

But there was not a single person here who dared answer Vlad's question.

"If you were going to act like this, why did you do that to me?"

The squires, having lost their leader and even their momentum, merely looked at one another, not knowing what to do.

"If you won't come in, then I'll go."

Vlad, who had been hiding in the shadows, took a step toward the place lit by moonlight.

Life is an endless succession of struggles.

The boy born in a place where you had to take in order to eat and had to win in order to breathe knew that well.

That was why, even today, the boy wandered through the darkness and continued a fight that would not tire.

In order to survive.

And for the other acts of revenge he would have to carry out in the future.

"... Excellent."

There was someone nodding while listening to the squires' screams ring out beneath the night sky.

As he looked upon the battlefield where blood was bursting out, his gaze, wearing a satisfied smile, continued to rest on Vlad.

Just like the stars floating in the night sky.

The boy's wooden sword under the moonlight was still shining.