Chapter 84 - Now Live Up to Your Name (1)

Joseph liked snow.

For him, with his weak body, cold weather was an unwelcome guest, but there was still a reason he liked the sight of white snow falling.

"... It will take some time to return."

As a child, Joseph had often felt relieved when he looked at the city grown quiet beneath the snow.

Because at those times, he was not the only one standing still.

Having a weak body meant that the reality of sitting alone while others moved forward had always been hard on Joseph.

"Lord Joseph. It's Vordan."

"Come in."

Awakened from his thoughts by the knock from outside, Joseph looked at the knight who opened the door and entered.

"A telegram from Deirmar."

A plump knight who looked as though he needed to watch his health as much as Joseph did came into his office holding a telegram.

Inside that small slip of paper clasped in his thick hand would be the result Joseph had been waiting for all this time.

"Give it here."

"Yes."

With a calm gaze, Joseph accepted the slip Vordan handed him.

He had prepared the boy as best he could, but it must have been a difficult mission for him.

He only hoped they had avoided the worst possible outcome.

"..."

Because it was a telegram sent through magic, many words could not be written into it.

And so the telegram Jager had sent contained only the result, with no real explanation.

"... I didn't expect this."

For that reason, the telegram, written in only a few lines without any prior explanation, was more than enough to complicate Joseph's thoughts.

"Is Ishtvan Gaidar an easy opponent?"

"... How could that possibly be?"

At Joseph's absurd question, Vordan answered with a question of his own before he could stop himself.

In terms of skill alone, he might find it difficult to stand shoulder to shoulder with existing knights, but Ishtvan was only in his mid-twenties.

There were few in the West who stood out as much as Ishtvan did at that age, so it would be hard to say Vordan's reaction was particularly exaggerated.

"Right."

Hearing Vordan's answer, Joseph tossed the slip onto the desk and gave a subtle smile.

It was the kind of smile that said he wanted to laugh, but did not know how.

"Bring me a mage. I need to reply to Jager."

"Ah... understood."

He had prepared for the worst, but not for the best.

All the careful plans born from his melancholy worries had been flowing in an entirely different direction from the ripples the boy created.

"... I prepared him just to hold out somehow."

Joseph had chosen Ishtvan of the West as the opponent for the boy's debut as a knight.

If the opponent was a strong man whose name was that well known, even if Vlad lost, it would not be a blemish, and if he so much as gave the man trouble, Vlad's evaluation would rise greatly.

On top of that, he had even finished calculating that if the handkerchief were lost as well, Alicia would have no choice but to take Bayezid's hand.

"I'll have to rethink everything."

With his thoughts growing more complicated, Joseph leaned his head against the cold window and let out a deep breath.

From outside came the soft scraping sound of large snowflakes falling to the ground.

The snow was no longer welcome.

* * *

Knights faced one another in the large reception room.

Though their weapons had been sheathed, the gazes clashing between the two groups were nothing short of murderous.

But if one looked closely, one would see that the knights' reactions were slightly different.

The northern knights wrapped in fur cloaks wore strange smiles.

The western knights with their collars raised high were grinding their teeth.

The victors smiled, and the losers lowered their heads.

The northern knights stood in the reception room, freely enjoying the right their youngest had won for them.

"We would at least like to have the sword returned."

Godin, who always smiled, was now looking at the man before him with a somewhat stiff expression.

Godin always dealt with others with a flexible attitude, but there had been few times when he had faced a situation this humiliating.

"Hmm."

Hearing Godin's words, Jager merely stroked his chin and put on a look of forced difficulty.

"As far as procedure goes, there seems to be no issue." "Even so, would it not be burdensome?"

Ishtvan was Count Sigmund's eldest son.

He was speaking indirectly, but Godin was asking whether they could withstand the aftershock that would come from taking such a man's sword.

"That is for us to handle, is it not?"

Jager crossed his arms and sneered at Godin.

In his appearance, which showed not even the slightest need for concern, one could glimpse Bayezid's attitude toward Gaidar.

"Even so, taking a sword over a mere duel is not common. It is clearly excessive."

As Godin said, taking a sword over a mere duel could be called excessive.

But in the current situation, it was spoils of victory that posed no issue at all.

"I think Gaidar was the first one not to consider what would come afterward."

It was certainly Gaidar who had first looked down on Heinal and Bayezid, so the humiliation now was merely the result they had brought upon themselves.

All of this was a result they had to bear.

"And you were the ones who crossed the line first."

He was smiling, but not smiling.

Jager had only one eye left, but the light blazing from it gave off a firm presence.

"... Tell me what you want."

The situation had already ended in ruin.

Because they themselves had led the situation here, Godin had no excuse even if he had ten mouths, but he nevertheless made one last offer in order to somehow recover Ishtvan's sword.

"You shouldn't be asking me that."

At Godin's question, Jager's gaze deepened.

The victor of the duel was Vlad, and the owner of the spoils was also Vlad.

So if they wished to exchange his rightful due, the boy's intentions would be important.

"You know very well why that boy took Ishtvan's sword."

Jager pulled himself closer to the table, as if he now had nothing to hold back.

The two knights knew well why the boy had so desperately longed for victory in yesterday's duel.

"... I suppose so."

At Jager's words, Godin nodded inwardly.

Godin remembered.

Although the sword had been raised sharply toward Ishtvan, those blue eyes had been fixed on him.

As if telling him to look here, to look at me.

"... The negotiations have broken down, then."

The reason Vlad had taken Ishtvan's sword.

It was to declare war against the knight of blue moonlight.

Because Godin was no longer the only one who could claim the rightful price of victory.

The ties that began with Jorge had twisted and tangled until they finally reached this place.

The ties that had flowed and flowed until they met now in Deirmar might have been karma from the past, or perhaps the tide of the times.

"In the end, we will meet again later."

Ishtvan and Vlad.

The first preliminary battle between the West and the North.

The victor of that war was the North.

"Leave."

The North spoke.

It told them to get out of Deirmar now.

"Please convey our farewells in our stead."

"That much I can do."

The western knights, defeated in the contest, had no choice but to rise from their seats according to what was proper.

For them as they stood, the northern knights opened the door toward the icy corridor.

* * *

In her office, Alicia held the handkerchief the maid had brought and carefully embroidered it.

"I did do it myself, didn't I?" "I said nothing."

Since the handkerchief was almost finished, it did not seem to particularly need her touch, but pretext was important anytime and anywhere.

"At this point, I did all of it."

"... That is correct."

If she absolutely had to do it, it was not as though she could not, but Alicia was already overwhelmed just handling her duties as Family Head.

In any case, it was true that Alicia had put in at least one stitch herself, so the boy receiving this handkerchief would understand the present situation well enough.

"Ahem. Now there is no need to accept Lord Joseph's proposal, is there?"

"That is correct."

Having the handkerchief taken away as if that was enough, Alicia carefully folded the letter Joseph had sent and put it back into the envelope.

Since Vlad had repelled Ishtvan's proposal as her knight, there was now no need to take Oksana as her godmother.

"Thank goodness. No matter how warm Bayezid's embrace may be, I was uneasy about giving them an opening."

"Yes."

Alicia's goal was, to the end, the survival of Heinal and the restoration of Deirmar.

No matter how warm Bayezid's embrace might be, Alicia knew that their goal, too, was ultimately to take possession of this place, so she was struggling desperately to stand on her own somehow.

And her struggle was now finding a new goal.

"... Knights like Sir Vlad are rare, are they not?"

"Of course, Lady Alicia."

If one obtained a single woman, one could obtain every right over Heinal and Deirmar.

For Alicia, who lacked the power to protect herself, the present situation was one where her very existence as a woman standing alone became a weakness.

"How far do you expect he will grow in the future?"

That was why Vlad, a knight whose future possibilities were even more promising than his present, certainly possessed every element she might covet.

"... If he continues to grow like this, then in the next generation, he will likely come to represent the North. He is a talent of that caliber."

As a knight, Duncan had already grown old, but his eyes, tempered by experience, were still sharp.

As someone who had watched the two duels that took place in Deirmar, Duncan had already realized that the boy's potential was far from ordinary.

"Hmm."

Hearing Duncan's words, Alicia sank into deep thought.

Her looks did not suit a frown, but she was now coming to possess the dignity of the lord of a domain, not an ordinary lady.

"... As expected, it is not easy for a woman alone to serve as Family Head. And there is no guarantee that something like this will not happen again."

Beautiful flowers were bound to attract insects.

There had been no one who proposed marriage as if invading like Gaidar, but letters sent by countless noble men aiming for her right of succession were already piled up in her office.

At this rate, it was dangerous.

"It would be better to bring even a knight with no background to my side."

In this situation, there was only one way for Alicia, as the sole Heinal, to firmly establish her foundation.

It was to find a husband untouched by the stain of another family.

"Oh, Lady Alicia."

Realizing what Alicia was aiming for, Duncan could not help but be flustered.

No matter how much potential he had, the boy was still a green youngster who had only become a knight a few weeks ago.

"Bayezid might like my proposal as well. In a way, wouldn't it feel like a blood alliance?" "Would it not still be too early? No matter that a knight holds the status of a quasi-noble..."

"You said he would grow more."

Duncan felt as though he wanted to take back the words he had just spoken.

But since he was in no position to offer another alternative besides the method Alicia had presented, he could only lower his head with a gloomy expression.

"It would be better to stake my claim before someone else snatches him up."

"..."

Silently, Duncan ended up agreeing that Alicia's decision was not wholly without basis.

"... Still, please do not make too hasty a decision."

"It is better than marrying some strange man."

With those words, Alicia turned her head and looked toward the place where Heinal's tree stood.

"And what he does is commendable, too."

Alicia's watery eyes were watching the boy's actions there.

The hill where her parents' graves lay.

The boy was bowing his head to the former lords of Heinal and pouring out the alcohol he held.

As if thanking them for watching over him.

Other men only clawed and clamored to possess her, but only the blond boy was pouring out drink for her parents.