Chapter 29 - The Tree in Memory (1)

"She is waiting inside."

"We are ready."

Guided by the knights, Joseph and his knights entered.

"You may wait here."

"... Understood."

But Vlad, being a squire, could not enter with them.

"..."

The doors of the hall closed along with Joseph's fluttering cloak.

That place was not yet one permitted to Vlad.

As always, the only things permitted to the boy were small ones.

'This is one long stretch of boredom.'

He did not know how long they would be talking in there, but Vlad was in a position where he had no choice but to wait here.

Being unable to use his own time as he wished.

That, too, was the sorrow those bound to something could not help but have.

'Maybe I should at least look around.'

The boy, who had almost sunk for a moment into a pitiful sentiment, shook his head and instead revealed his curiosity toward this new place.

He was tied down, but he should still be able to look around nearby.

About ten steps or so?

Whenever Vlad entered an unfamiliar place, he always looked around.

To be precise, it was because of his habit of finding exits in advance, an action born from the instinct of a back-alley vagrant who had to look after his own life anytime, anywhere.

'It's smaller than the Bayezid estate.'

He had felt it from the moment he entered, but the mansion in Deirmar was small, and it looked old as well.

Perhaps comparing it to the estate of a powerful count's family was wrong in itself, but even by the judgment of Vlad, who had lived in the back alleys, this was not a very large mansion.

Though it felt less that way because it was neatly maintained, it was the sort of place that seemed as if it would quickly become a splendid abandoned house if its upkeep were neglected even a little.

'Maybe not entirely.'

But Vlad's eyes could see them.

The dust piling up in every corner of the corridor.

As if to say these were very troubled times, cracks were slowly spreading in places the eye did not reach.

"Ahem."

"..."

Using the cough of the servant waiting with him, Vlad roughly gauged the range within which he was allowed to move, and from then on began walking through the space permitted to him, getting a feel for the atmosphere of the place.

The corridors were narrow and winding, perfect for getting lost in.

Judging by the wallpaper of different colors here and there, it looked as though things like framed pictures had recently been taken down.

Judging by the old maid groaning as she lifted a bucket, it seemed they had recently dismissed some servants.

'Looks like they don't have money.'

Through such things, visible only when one looked closely, Vlad could guess a little of this place's circumstances.

This territory, famous for lemons, was currently having financial problems.

'Are we going to come up empty-handed?'

He had not been told the details, so he did not know the inner circumstances, but at the very least, the fact that Joseph had come here in person meant he intended to gain something.

Something he could report to his father, Peter Bayezid, and use to build his own accomplishments.

But from what Vlad could see, at least glittering gold coins looked hard to come by.

'Well, he'll handle it.'

In any case, he was only a squire.

They were in the same boat, but their roles were clearly different, so he probably did not need to worry that far.

Not that he had the right to worry about it anyway.

Just as he was relieving his boredom by looking around for a while...

HUM-HUMMMM.

The sword at his waist let out a short resonance and called to Vlad.

"Hm."

Vlad instantly turned his head to see if anyone had seen, confirmed there was no one except the servant, and then naturally grasped the sword's hilt.

The moment Vlad grasped the undecorated sword to hear the voice he could hear only while holding it...

["I think I have a memory of coming here."]

"... Oh."

Vlad let out a short exclamation without realizing it.

* * *

"Thank you very much for coming all this way, Lord Joseph Bayezid."

"The call of blood is more important than anything else. If it is a crisis of the rightful bloodline, then of course I must answer."

The woman seated at the highest place in this room.

"..."

A young woman with melancholy, water-blue hair sat in the seat only the Family Head could occupy and received Joseph.

She was young and beautiful, but Joseph was likely not the only one who felt that the clothes she wore looked heavy, and the seat she occupied seemed too much for her.

"Please give my regards to Lady Oksana as well."

"Of course."

They were kin.

Though they were well beyond the eighth degree of kinship through the maternal line, Alicia and Joseph were of such a relationship.

It was a relationship that could be called distant, and not particularly close even if one called it close, but if what both sides wanted aligned and each had something they could give, such a thing was in truth no more than a pretext.

"My father, Count Bayezid, has already given his permission. All that remains is your decision, Lady Alicia."

As soon as the brief courtesies were over, Alicia briefly closed her eyes at the sight of Joseph moving straight to the main subject.

Her trembling eyelashes looked especially dark today.

"..."

Responsibility, fear, terror toward an uncertain future.

Just as Alicia was slowly wavering under the weight of them, the old knight beside her quietly took her hand.

"... I have already decided."

Looking at the old knight who had offered her his sword even in a situation where everyone had turned their backs on her, Alicia steeled her resolve.

I am the master of this place.

I must reclaim my place.

"It will be as the Count wishes."

"Thank you."

At Alicia's words, Joseph bowed his head and smiled.

With this, he could take the first step in the work he had planned.

"If victory in the duel is granted to me, that is."

But the woman with water-blue hair was a proud person.

In this situation, where everything was still only a promise, she had not yet received her price.

"Naturally."

At Alicia's almost spasmodic declaration, Joseph merely answered with a relaxed smile.

"The sword of the Bayezid Family has always promised victory, Lady Alicia."

Along with Joseph's words, the one-eyed knight quietly brought his hand to his sword.

"..."

As he looked at the old knight protecting the woman.

Though he had only one eye left, the force contained within it held a spirit that could shatter hundreds of gazes.

The knight promised his victory through sheer presence.

A knight who sought to protect, and a knight who sought to take.

A woman who had to give, and a young man who had to promise.

Inside the widest hall of this mansion, the gazes of four people became intricately entangled.

* * *

"We must not underestimate her."

"She looked precarious, but she was still holding her center. I can see the makings of a strong woman in her."

"I think so as well."

Joseph thought back on his meeting with Alicia as he walked down the corridor.

From the desperate request for aid, he had thought she was already cornered, but she had not let go of even a sliver of control until the very end.

That meant she had not given up.

"Even so, our actions will not change."

Joseph spoke while looking at Vordan, who was walking after him without a word.

"Prepare for the unexpected as planned."

"Yes, Lord Joseph."

Every person had a use suited to them.

That was also the reason Joseph kept Vordan with him, even though he was not even half-competent with a sword.

When Jager opened the door to the reception room prepared for Joseph, Vlad was there alone, waiting for the group.

"You have returned."

"Yes. You must have been bored."

Joseph sat in a chair prepared in the reception room and let out a sigh that burst up from deep within him.

"I'm tired."

Dark shadows had settled beneath Joseph's eyes as he said that.

It had been a journey of over a week, and on top of that, he had engaged in a battle of wills with Alicia without a moment's rest.

For Joseph, whose body was weak, it had been quite a strain, so from now on, he needed time to rest.

"Vlad."

"Yes, Lord Joseph."

However, the reason he had come all the way from Sturma to Deirmar was, ultimately, to take profit.

He had confirmed the profit he had originally intended through the conversation just now, so now it was time to look after some smaller gains as well.

"From now on, you may move freely."

"Alone?"

"Yes. You may take that fellow Got with you as well."

Joseph instructed Vlad to move around as freely as he was permitted and see as much as he could.

"Of course, on the day of the duel, you will have to assist Jager."

"Well... I'd appreciate that, if you allow it."

Joseph fell into thought as he looked at the boy scratching his head, as though he did not quite understand his command.

The boy wore clothes given by his mother and armor given by his father over them.

Looking at the boy in whom the masters of the Bayezid Family did not hesitate to place their hopes, Joseph opened his mouth.

"The less I move, the better. There are no nobles of sufficient standing here whom I need to get to know, and everyone is watching me."

This Deirmar was a city of the Heinal Family, but in terms of simple status, there was no one here who could compare to Joseph, a legitimate son of the Bayezid Family.

Rather, everyone here would be salivating at the chance to make Joseph's acquaintance, more than Alicia's.

For Joseph, whose body was weak, it was not only lacking in practical benefit, but also troublesome.

"Think about why I brought you here. You, who still cannot even ride a horse."

"..."

There was a reason Joseph had deliberately pulled Vlad out in the middle of his training, when he still had much to learn.

"An honorable duel is a spectacle that is hard to see unless you go looking for one. On top of that, the honorable duel taking place in Deirmar this time will not be a single bout, but a duel fought as a group battle."

An ordinary honorable duel usually meant the two swordsmen chosen by the respective representatives facing each other, but there were sometimes cases, like this one, where it was conducted as a group battle.

A trial that arose within a family, with no certain evidence and only suspicions everywhere.

Moreover, since it was a duel with everything on the line, the two Heinals had chosen this method to encompass the complexity of the situation.

"That means knights from various backgrounds are here in Deirmar right now. Watch them and feel whatever there is to feel."

"Understood."

It was only natural that seeing something once would remain in the heart more than being told ten times.

Since he had decided to raise the boy properly anyway, Joseph thought it would be desirable to broaden Vlad's world through various experiences if possible.

"We will be sparring in the evening to loosen you up, so don't go get stupidly beaten up somewhere."

"... I'm not that stupid, you know."

If Joseph was the carrot, Jager was the stick.

It meant he should not act rashly no matter what, but words from Jager's mouth could never help coming out with a thorn stuck in them.

"No. You've already lost my trust."

"..."

At the sharp remark just thrown at him, Vlad lowered his head and looked dispirited, but for Jager, who was watching him, it was absurd.

'He bows his head so perfectly it leaves me with nothing else to say.'

Jager knew.

Though the fellow before him was acting as if he were frightened, in truth, he was perfectly fine.

Jager's pressure would have made other squires burst into tears, but Vlad merely processed that pressure in his head and understood it.

False threats could have no effect on this boy.

"Good. Report to me every evening, and if any unusual developments occur, tell me that as well without delay."

"Understood, Lord Joseph."

After setting Vlad's course of action, Joseph told him it was late in the evening and that he should return to his room and rest.

"..."

Leaving behind Jager's displeased glare, Vlad stepped out of the room.

Vlad walked through the unfamiliar corridor toward the servants' quarters, then stopped for a moment.

Bright moonlight shone in through a window set between the corridors.

Looking along the light, he saw a low hill that could only be reached through the mansion.

["I remember that tree."]

On that hill stood a single tree with bare, withered branches.

The poor voice, which did not even know who it was, said that it remembered that tree standing beneath the moonlight.

It was full spring, but the evenings were still chilly.

Yet for some reason, as Vlad looked at the tree standing on that hill, he felt that it was warm.

The branches swaying with the wind looked as if they were waving to him.

"I'll need somewhere to pray for the first time in a while."

The boy had made a contract with the moon of that day as witness.

You give me a sword.

I give you memories.

He had received until now, so now it was his turn to give back.