2. Wilhelm



It was said that doctors and wizards were still hanging from the prince's right leg every day.


The Crown Prince finished the matter by stripping her of all property and authority of the Rinke family. People praised Michelle, thinking that the prince must have had some affection for the swallow.


'That damn bastard. I should have cut his throat.'


Hearing the sound of the scabbard rattling at his waist, Reinhardt thought. There was only one reason why her crown prince kept her alive.


<How long will that crazy bitch who has lived with a proud nose all his life in the capital city survive on the street? Two days? three days?>


Those were the words the prince uttered as he saw her spread out in the dungeon inside the prison.


So, he had his revenge. From the time she was born, she was the daughter of a great noble, and if her family and property were taken away from her, who was respected as the crown princess, what would she be left with?


Certainly, unlike his previous life in which he was engaged in 'surplus business', Reinhardt had nothing left.


The adopted son of the collateral branch, who entered the Rinke family instead of the married Reinhardt, fled after Reinhardt's revenge in this life. It must have been because he wanted to blame the Rinke family.


I don't know where it went, but when I saw that short hair, there was a high possibility that I ran away with a jewel and was buried in a valley somewhere.


The property of the Rinke family belonged to the Crown Prince as a consolation money. Thus, all that was left in Reinhard Rinke's hands was a jewelry box inherited from his mother and a single sword from his father.


'For that bastard, I did a really good job on the pedestal, but I got the wrong person.'


Reinhardt laughed. Perhaps if she had been Reinhardt before then, she might have really thrown her body into the sewer because of her deprivation. However, Reinhardt in this life was different.


Reinhardt asked Johanna to buy her jewelry box.


Johana was the daughter of a good family and knew every inch of her jewels. This is because she was Reinhardt's closest handmaid. She paid well for those jewels.


Among the earrings inherited from his mother, a flawed pearl with no value and his father's sword remained in Reinhardt's hand. He bought his horse and clothes with the money he sold.


It took two months to get to Luden, even if he rode his horse as hard as he could.


It took three days using the crystal gate, but it cost an enormous amount of money for someone who was not of the royal family to use the crystal gate on their own. She was in no position to use the crystal gate, and even if she had money, the imperial family would not allow her passage.


So Reinhardt left for a long journey to Luden. One of her mercenaries, attached to her yohana, followed her.


Contrary to the prince's words about two and three days, it had already been a month and fifteen days since he left the capital. Reinhardt was still alive and well on the street.


There were two more mountains left to Luden, but she and the mercenary escort were struggling in bad weather. It was because soon the northeastern part of the empire would enter winter.


When barley is harvested in the middle of the summer in the center of the empire, corn is picked in the northeast to prepare for the winter. Because winter is coming so quickly. Even now, the days are getting colder and it feels like late autumn. A mercenary grumbled at the cloudy sky.


“Sir, it looks like it will snow. How about resting at the foot of the mountain today?”


“Then if it snows all night, won’t the road to Luden become more difficult?”


"ah… … .”


Maybe in the early 40's? In terms of experience, the middle-aged mercenary who loudly shouted that there was no one to follow him in Alanques was often irritated as the journey got longer. He is still frowning and sighing openly.


“When it snows, there are ways.”


“What way? Let's listen.”


“What snowshoes… … If you buy a sled and go up... … .”


“Do you pull that sled?”


Where does the money to buy the sled come from and who draws the sled? The horse Reinhardt rode was a war horse, not a cart horse. There was no training to pull the cart.


This mercenary who only smokes tricks and is lazy often treats her as an immature noblewoman who is busy going to Luden. She said that her age was pitiful, but I didn't know that even such a mercenary brat would ignore me.


Until now, I didn't want to bump into them, so I listened to them if possible. However, with only about 15 days left on the journey, I was annoyed at the constant fussing and said a few words.


"I can't go with you any more."


“… … Didn't you get money from Johana?”


“It’s valid because we’ve performed more than two-thirds of the contract. You are too picky. I can't do any more.”


Reinhardt looked at the mercenary in a fit of spirit.


“If I had talked about it in the village, I would have saved at least more people.”


“And there is one more thing. I need you to give me the money to go back.”


“… … aha?"


Somehow, with that lazy temperament, he dared to climb up the mountain and leave it there.


Reinhardt stared at the mercenary. The Northeast is a sparsely populated area. The road to Luden was, of course, the same. In a deserted mountain, the mercenary must have intended to terminate the contract and commit robbery.


“… … It's hot.”


Reinhardt had no choice but to toss the pouch he was wearing. It was all that was left of her travel expenses.


Unfortunately, she didn't have the strength to fight the mercenary who had gone through all sorts of battles. It was better for her to give up her travel expenses than to lose her life in a place like this. She should be able to go to Luden while digging up grass roots from the mountain.


'Because starving has a history.'


I didn't know it would be helpful when I couldn't eat properly because of my intestines. The mercenary came and picked up her pockets and snatched the bridle from her hands as well.


'Damn it. This is a bit of a hit.'


However, I couldn't lose my life because of words. Reinhardt sighed and stepped back. But his mercenary greed did not stop there.


“Give me that sword too.”


“… … This."


He was talking about his father's sword. Reinhardt hesitated and then shot the mercenary.


“This is the Rinke family sword. If you and the like carry it around, your neck will be blown off at once.”


“Before my head is blown off, the head of the noble former Crown Princess will fly off first.”


Threats were useless. Her mercenary, of course, knew who she was. How the Rinke family was destroyed. You also know that there is no one left to avenge her. He groaned and opened his hand.


“Give it to me.”


Anger flared up in Reinhardt's throat. But she tried to swallow the anger.


'I can't die here.'


The mercenary could have killed her and taken the sword if the scuffle continued.


Reinhardt thought of his father. If it were her Rinke Hu, he would ask her to hand over her sword. Rinke Hu was a person who was different from the common knights who live and die on honor.


He always affectionately called her "apple pie," saying that Reinhardt's golden eyes and curly blonde hair looked like honey-covered apple pie. It is she who has given her own lovely apple pie her name, passed down only to her sons from generation to generation, and led her near-retired old man to Sarawak for the apple pie.


In a place like this, it would not be acceptable for a lovely apple pie to risk its life to protect something like a sword.


'I can't waste the life that my father gave me again.'


Reinhardt had been thinking all along in prison. She must have died of a cold in her last life. And she concluded that her father must have given her this life back for the poor woman.


I couldn't let that precious life go to waste.


At the beginning of this life, he thought it was just a dream and took revenge clumsily, but now that he knew it wasn't a dream, Reinhardt really intended to kill Michelle this time.


'To do that, I have to live first.'


Reinhardt slowly loosened his belt. He pulled out the scabbard from his belt and threw the whole thing on the floor. The mercenary took a couple of steps, pulled out the sword, and looked at it with a satisfied expression. Looking at the white silver sword in my dirty hands made me feel sick to my stomach.


“If that’s all right, just give me the map and go. I have to find my way alone.”


“A map, a map. That much, I can give you anything.”


The mercenary smiled and approached. That said, maps were also quite expensive.


Since he had to pay a lot of money to buy a proper map, it was a welcome surprise for Reinhardt, who thought that the mercenary might not give it to him.


However, the mercenary who came close to her nose grabbed Reinhardt's right hand. She who was holding on to her belt startled her.


"what are you doing?"


“Ashu, how much does the map cost?”


“I bought it with my own money… … ”


"But now that you're in my arms, you'll have to pay the price."


The mercenary laughed. Reinhardt narrowed his eyes.


“But the money is yours… … ”


The moment he said that, Reinhardt realized what he was talking about. At the same time, a disgusting aura rose up in his throat.


“If there is no money, there are other ways. For girls.”


“This crazy… … .”


For so long, I forgot because no man approached her. In her previous life, she was the lord of a great estate called Helka. In her feelings, she couldn't have had anyone who could act like this to her. Reinhardt tried to shake off his right hand, but he couldn't match his strength. Her left hand was even more so as she was gripping the undone trousers of her belt.


“I don’t need a map, go away.”


"Oh yeah? I'll do it for free today, right?”


Insulted, Reinhardt finally couldn't stand it and spat in the man's face. The mercenary did not understand what had happened for a moment, and then his face turned red.


“This bitch!”


With a slap, I was slapped on the cheek by a hand that looked like a pot lid. Oops, the sound came out of nowhere.


I didn't scream even when I was kicked by the knights before entering the prison.


Only now did she know how humiliating and painful it was to be barbaric in an unexpected place.


"It's said that he ate the crown prince each time, so I tried to taste it, but there's enough of it!"


dog-like pups. I wonder if I'm a side dish for meat. Taste it.


Instead of saying that, she kicked the mercenary in the stomach. The mercenary grabbed her by the hair again and shook her.


Ahhh, Reinhardt wavered mercilessly at the touch. Even so, she was arrogant enough to slash her mercenary with her fingertips. It seemed that even if she died, she would only be able to get rid of her anger if she stabbed her eyeballs out.


It was then.


Fuck.


A dull sound was heard. The next moment, the savage grip holding Reinhardt's head gave way. Reinhardt fell to the floor.


Looking at the mercenary through his disheveled hair, he was spread out as if he had been hit by something.


The one who grabbed his head and fell on the floor was the same as Reinhardt, but unlike her, the mercenary was covered in blood.


Reinhardt did not miss the opportunity. He grabbed the sword that had fallen to the floor and pulled it out. She drew it hastily and severely cut the second finger of her left hand, but she didn't care, she raised her sword with both hands and slashed her mercenary's back with all her might.


“Oops,”


The breath that didn't sound like a scream was the mercenary's last breath. His struggles were of no avail.


Reinhardt put all his weight on the sword so that the man could never get up again. I felt a terrible pain in my left leg. The man would bite her leg with the hem of her dress.


Even so, when she did not move, the mercenary grabbed her leg with his arms and scratched her, but Reinhardt gritted his teeth and endured.


The man's arms lost strength and his body completely stretched out, but Reinhardt held onto the sword for a long time and did not move.


It was because I was afraid that the man would wake up again.


Eventually, when the surroundings became quiet, she managed to relax her hands. She was so strong that her hand seemed to stiffen as it held her sword. Reinhardt slammed her on the buttock behind her. At the foot of her cold mountain was her corpse and only her.


The place she stabbed was near the mercenary's heart. she was lucky If she had stabbed her arm or leg, as she had done to the prince, she might have died herself.


Sitting on the ground, Reinhardt stared blankly at the black blood oozing from the corpse and realized. Beside his corpse's head was a large, hard fruit that no one could see had fallen from the tree. It was as big as two of her fists put together.


'Who is it?'


Reinhardt looked around. There was no sign.


Did someone help? if not… … Suddenly, fear overtook me. Because it might be a thief. She flinched as she quickly got up. Blood was oozing from the leg the mercenary had bitten off.


“Fuck ... … .”


Reinhardt, who unknowingly spat out a curse, picked up a belt that had fallen nearby and tied it to his trousers. Even if you run away, you can hit it only if you fix the pants dance. She quickly adjusted her pants and was about to get up when she caught something in her field of vision.


“!!”


Reinhardt almost screamed involuntarily. Because something filthy stood before his eyes. A lump as if a huge bush had been thrown into the mud and clumped together. At first, I just thought it was a monster as soon as I saw it.


It took me a while to realize that it was a person. It was because there was a leg under the mass.


It was dirty and muddy, but it was definitely a human leg. What I thought was a clump of brush was, unbelievably, clothes. It was probably originally a pretty good fur coat, but now it looks like a monster that appears in the Fram Mountains because of the messy hairy bushes and mud lumps. It must have been that he hadn't washed his overcoat in a long time.


Reinhardt looked at the other person with wide eyes.


The black mass that rose above the overcoat must have been the head. messy messed up hair. I couldn't even see the eyes. Only the chin peeking out from under the hair indicated that it was a human, not a monster.


"couple… … .”


And when the jaw moved, Reinhardt almost fainted. It was because the incredibly cracking and hoarse sound coming from my throat was too unfamiliar.


“Call… … ”


She was quick to judge.


"Help me!"


Reinhardt quickly fell flat.


“I am on my way to Luden. I'll give you anything you want, so please save me!”


Cold sweat broke out again. It was a mountain beyond a mountain. Looking at him, he seemed to be a monster who had lived in the mountains for quite some time. In any case, it was clear that he was not normal.


'Are you the cannibalistic savage I've only heard of?'


Beyond the northern border live barbarians who have been at odds with Alanques for decades. I heard that savages can't stand the harsh winter and eat cannibals. Could it be that they were aiming for mercenaries for cannibalism? Reinhardt lay on his stomach for a while while thinking that.


'… … ?'


But it was strange. It was quiet all around. She furrowed her brow, then raised her head to examine her sneaky surroundings. And she was startled.


Because the monster in front of her was squatting right in front of her.


There was a strong musty smell, but Reinhardt couldn't even turn his head. It was because their gaze met the black eyes shining through the messy hair. The moment Reinhardt was about to say something, the monster reached out from under the cloak. Then he immediately grabbed Reinhardt's left hand and put it in his mouth.


“!”


Reinhardt closed his eyes without even having time to think about whether he was really a cannibal. Because I wanted the monster to chew on my fingers right away. It was in preparation for her pain, but to her surprise, her eyes widened the next second at the unfamiliar touch.


There was a hissing sound.


It was. The monster was licking her left hand. To be precise, the middle knuckles of the second, third, and fourth fingers that were cut and bleeding while drawing the knife.


Reinhardt stood still and watched the scene for a while. Unlike its filthy face, the monster licked my fingers with its surprisingly bright red tongue, sucking between them with a chomp.


“… … That… … .”


Eventually, when the blood stopped, the monster put down its hand. And he looked up at her. glistening black eyes.


“… … Person?"


Ignoring her words, the monster tilted its head slightly and pulled its neck all the way toward her left leg.


His left leg was still bleeding. No way, the moment it knelt down in front of her. Reinhardt was startled for a moment and pulled his leg toward him.


“Ha, don’t!”


It was a reflexive cry. I had no idea that the monster would listen to me.


But the effect was amazing.


The monster flinched, lifted its arms, and looked up at itself from its knees.


“Ha, don’t… … .”


Besides, you got what I said. I even stuttered and followed.


Now Reinhardt knew for sure. It wasn't a monster, it was a person. And it was clear that he had no intention of hurting himself.






***






After briefly observing it, Reinhardt noticed that the opponent was a child.


I don't know how long I've been wandering the streets. What is certain is that she had no hostility toward Reinhardt, and even tried to save her.


Reinhardt stood up and pointed at the bloody fruit and said, “… … Did you do this?” He hesitated when asked, but nodded.


“… … thanks."


And there was no reaction to Reinhardt's words. As she walked away with a limp on her leg, her child hovered around her restlessly. Then it came again as she struggled to wrestle her sword from her mercenary's corpse.


“… … Can you help me?”


The child did not answer her question and just looked at her. Reinhardt pondered for a moment, then removed his hand from his sword and stepped back.


Then the child approached the sword and groaned and exerted strength. Surprisingly, the sword that had not been pulled out when Reinhardt was struggling was pulled out straight away.


Blood dripped down the sword, making Reinhardt nervous. I wondered what would happen if I licked the blood of a corpse the same way this child licked my own. But the child held out the sword to me, not paying attention to the blood.


Taking the sword, Reinhardt clicked his tongue. It seemed that the blade of the sword had pierced the bones of the corpse thanks to the insertion without looking at the human being.


It was upsetting that the teeth of the beautiful and smooth blade were slightly out. At one time, I thought it wouldn't matter if I gave it to a mercenary, but it came back to me like that, and my appetite was bitter.


Then, looking at the child, she tilted her head. for her child was shrugging her shoulders.


What.


The child's head, seen up close, reached about Reinhardt's shoulder. Considering how tall Reinhardt was, he seemed to be about twelve or thirteen.


I seem to understand what you are saying... … .


She reached out. She was a little dirty, but it was to express her gratitude. However, in the next moment, Reinhardt was a bit surprised. For she stretched out her hand over her child's head, and the child raised her arm in amazement and covered her head.


“… … you."


Upon hearing her words, the child bent over and crouched down. Reinhardt furrowed his brow.


It was only then that I could roughly understand why the child with her arms raised when she shouted not to. This child was very used to being hit by someone.


"no."


So Reinhardt hurriedly said. And he raised his hand. After there was no response for a long time, the child quietly removed his hand and looked this way. Reinhardt sighed. And again she saw the child wince at her sigh and reflexively shut her mouth, then she said quickly.


"no. I won't hit you.”


“… … .”


“Don’t hit me.”


“… … .”


Rather, the child took a step back. Reinhardt spoke again forcefully.


"thanks."


“… … .”


“Thank you, thank you very much.”


Only then did the child slowly lower the arm covering my head. but it didn't come close. Reinhardt spoke again one last time.


"thanks."


The gleaming black eyes shook greatly.






***






Reinhardt set out on the road to Luden.


While dragging her injured leg, she looked at the map and moved, but curiously, the child continued to hover around Reinhardt.


“Are you not going home?”


Even after asking that, the child hesitated and followed her, wandering far behind her.


It was not enough to go to the next village with a limp leg, so it was the same as the night I ended up sleeping awkwardly in the mountains.


After Reinhardt pulled out all the dry grass, gathered the twigs, and started a fire with a flint, the child said, “Hyaaa… … .” made a noise. Reinhardt crouched five paces away, met eyes with the child looking at him, and smiled.


"It's cold. Come on."


However, the child didn't approach her recklessly and just watched her from a distance.


Reinhardt shrugged and then bumped the flint a few more times. Seeing the flashing fireworks, the child opened his mouth again.


“… … will you give it to me?”


Reinhardt held out his flint. Her child crept up, flinching again as she stretched out her arm.


She chuckled and tossed the flint at the child. The child jumped up behind her and came back, looking at her. Then she picked up the flint and ran away at ten paces.


That night, Reinhardt regretted giving the flint to the child.


It was because I couldn't sleep all night because of the sound of stones hitting.






***






I thought it would fall off in the middle, but the child continued to hover around Reinhardt. When Reinhardt stopped by the village in the middle, it disappeared like a ghost, and then appeared when he went up the mountain.


“Are you homeless?”


“… … .”


I didn't answer her words. Reinhardt gave up her child's answer. Instead, as if she was muttering to herself, her words increased.


Until now, the mercenary had been talking unsolicited words next to her, and it might have been a reflex.


Reinhardt bought two loaves of bread from the village. One belonged to him and one belonged to his child. The child seldom came close to Reinhardt, and she had to throw even her bread.


The child grabbed the bread thrown in front of him and sniffed it. Reinhardt deliberately dropped his bread on the ground and pretended to eat it by picking it up and shaking off the soil.


What was funny was the child's reaction.


The child saw that, and as if he knew that much, he brushed off the bread and ate it up. Not knowing that Reinhardt's eyes had become round, the child ate the bread as if he were hiding his eyes. And he smacked his lips.


She handed out the bread. The child came slowly, grabbed her bread carefully, and ran away. That evening she was hungry, but she didn't hate it.






***






There were times when she woke up while sleeping.


Reinhardt woke up feeling a strange sensation in his left leg, but when he got up, the child ran away. She looked at her legs in the light of her fire and wrinkled her brow. Grinding grass was stuck to the leg.


I touched it reflexively, but the child said from a distance.


"no."


“… … What are you talking about?”


The child stared at Reinhardt for a moment, then spoke again as if she had gathered up her courage.


"no."


“… … Don't take it off?"


Reinhardt removed his hand from his leg, and the child nodded happily. She laughed and lay down again.


Surprisingly, when I woke up the next day, there was a scab over the wound. It was a wound that didn't heal for days. She again pulled her neck from a distance and said to the child watching her.


"thanks."


The child's mouth fell open.






***






It's been a week since she arrived at Luden Castle, the center of Luden's territory. It was because of her child.


The nasty kid often said "no" as she watched her follow the map, but as a test she followed her and found the next town.


There were almost no paths, or they followed the path of the beast, but the path the child taught them shortened her journey by leaps and bounds.


“… … Oh my gosh."


However, it was a thankful and surprising thing to shorten the way from 15 days to a week.


At that point, the child walked right behind Reinhardt or trotted right in front of him. The borders of the village below Luden Castle. Standing in front of him, Reinhardt saw the guard in the distance and grabbed the hand of the child who was a step away from behind.


"OMG!"


The child unknowingly startled and screamed loudly. Reinhardt held the child's hand tightly. She was dirty and sticky, but she didn't care and gave her strength to prevent her child from running away. Then she leaned over and met her eyes with the child. Dark eyes shone chaotically in her swaying hair.


“You come with me.”


“… … iced coffee!"


"I don't know what you're doing Angie, but I know you don't have parents."


“Ah, ah, ah.”


“Or I know that I am not interested in you. So come with me.”


The child struggled, but soon calmed down. Still, she didn't stop straining her arms to get out. What was he wearing on his hand, it hurt between his fingers. However, Reinhardt looked at the child's black eyes and said clearly.


“You may not believe it, but I am the lord of Luden. I don't know if you understand me, but I can't just let you go with grace.”


“… … ah.”


“Okay? I will give you a lot of bread.”


The child didn't quite understand her words, but he seemed to understand the word 'bread'. She ate her bread all day long, so she was right. Reinhardt spoke again forcefully.


"bread. A lot of them."


“… … bread… … .”


"bread. bread. bread."


"bread… … .”


After repeating the same words several times, the child stopped pulling his arm. Reinhardt grinned.


"yes. bread."


“… … bread… … .”


My black eyes blinked a few times before stopping at her hand holding mine tightly. The strength in her child's hands was draining.


Creepy, sticky fingers wriggled in her palm, then slowly took her hand.


The two held hands and walked into the borders of Luden's territory.






***






The old lady, who had been in charge of the Feildon family for generations, revealed her name as Sarah.


Sarah was a very strict-looking old man, but she did not bow her head even when she saw Reinhardt.


"It's been 20 years since the lord came to Luden in person."


"Is it?"


Reinhardt wiped his nose with his finger. After two months of wandering outside in the cold, when he entered the warm castle, his runny nose kept coming back. Sarah stared at the new lord in silence, as if wiping his snot was more important than her own words.


“My maternal cousin.”


“The former lord was born and raised in the large city of Velcain, and handled business through an agent. He came to Luden three times during his lifetime.”


aha. So, the lord, who is just an outsider, should play and eat without thinking about meddling in the affairs of the territory. Reinhardt nodded his head, looking at the gray eyes with a little hostility.


“Your wife must have suffered a lot.”


“… … .”


“A dethroned woman who committed a crime and was expelled from the capital must be too much of a lord for a wife. Respect her wife.”


“… … I didn't mean that.”


Reinhardt grinned.


"I'm going to need your wife's advice for a while."


Sarah's eyes twitched.


Reinhardt's meaning was clear. He's a lord, and he doesn't intend to be condescending. But he has no intention of giving up.


Helka and Luden were very different. Helka's lord's castle was over ten times the size of Luden's. But the lordship of Luden, well.


It was a shabby castle that seemed to be 300 years old.


There was only one spire, and it was so small that two of the vigilantes' drawbridges could stand with their arms outstretched. Seeing the moat, Reinhardt made his flagship.


I thought it was made for medaka swimming.


It was not enough to stop the fire, but it was impossible to fight the Yeongji.


'… … but. It's only when there are people who will bring troops here.'


Helka and Luden, who were at the center of transportation, were very different. She went through all kinds of hardships even though she came all the way to Luden alone. There was no way anyone would want to own this barren territory.


“Rather than that, I have something to ask of you.”


“Tell me.”


“The child I brought.”


“… … children… … Yo."


The old lady stuttered for the first time.


'yes. It surprised me too that it was a person.'


Thinking so, Reinhardt grinned. At first, when Luden's guard saw Reinhardt holding the child's hand, he said, "It's a monster! It's savage!” he made a fuss.


He showed his identity card and entered the castle, but when he looked in the mirror, Reinhardt understood why the guards were making such a fuss. Reinhardt, who had been wandering outside for a week, was also scruffy and didn't look much different from the child. At first glance, he must have only looked like a barbarian shaman who brought monsters.


“You are the one who saved my life. It looks like an orphan, but if you can find out where it came from, recognize it, and wash it well... … .”


Having said that, Reinhardt raised his eyebrows. Because a distant scream was heard from somewhere.


She got up, went to the window, and lifted the tapestry from it. “Ah! Stand there!”, “Hold!” An untimely chase was taking place in the quiet courtyard of Luden Castle. And at the forefront of the chase, a monster with the appearance of a drowning mouse... … No, there was a child.


Reinhardt tried to hold back his laughter and turned around.


“… … Just give me a lot of bread.”


“Bread.”


"okay. please.”


Reinhardt glanced sideways at the yard. The forehead of the child running at full speed was exposed in the white sunset. It was dirty and cute.






***






Reinhardt took the child and went directly into the bath. He didn't want to mess with people's hands, so he was natural.


The old lady said that the bath in Luden Castle had been used for a long time because there was no owner, but Reinhardt waved his hand. The maids poured hot water and glanced at Reinhardt and the filthy child in their underwear. This is because the story that the servants who tried to wash the child severely scratched it had already spread throughout the small castle.


Reinhardt tried to put the child in the warm water, but he didn't listen. The strength of her child was as great as she knew, and her child stretched her whole body, and there was no way she could overcome it. Eventually, after much thought, she hugged her child. The child stiffened at the unexpected touch.


She slipped into the water with the child in her arms. The child acted like a stranger at first, but soon relaxed her body as if the warm water was pleasant.


“Hey, you look good.”


Reinhardt didn't mind that the water was dirty. He briskly picked up a whole bar of expensive soap and washed his child's hair. Her fingertips were rough because she had never washed others, but the child meekly entrusted herself to her hands. And what was revealed was the face of a boy who was unexpectedly far-sighted.


“I thought it was a boy.”


A body exposed when removing the filthy overcoat and the covering that barely functions as a garment. He was very dry from not eating, and after wiping it off with water, he found that he had big scars in several places. I expected. It was a sign of being abused by someone.


<Bur... … >


It was only when he saw that body that Reinhardt remembered what the boy had said when he first appeared in front of him, and he immediately understood why.


After killing the mercenary, she said, "Fuck... … .”


Someone would have called the boy a fuck. The child, who could not even tell her father, would have heard her and appeared before her like a learned dog. 'No.', 'Yes.' How much abuse was inflicted until a child who could only speak was able to answer when he called.


My heart, which I thought had already worn out, ached a little.


Reinhardt's eyes went sour, and he deliberately turned the child on his back and wiped his back. The child shrugged his shoulders, but did not run away. The maids had to go in and out of the bath dozens of times to change the dirty water.


"What is this?"


Suddenly, Reinhardt was washing the boy and found a ring on the boy's finger. A copper ring with an egg missing. The workmanship was all wrinkled and there were quite a few scratches. When I held the boy's hand, I wondered if it was because of the pain between his fingers.


“Can I have a look?”


Saying that, he took the ring off his finger. Her boy just stared at her blankly. She didn't seem to know what it was.


'Is it a family thing?'


In case it might reveal the child's identity, she decided to keep the ring aside. After Marger washed her child, Reinhardt also began to wash.


The scars she suffered in prison for a long time still haunted her.


Such were the wounds of the knee and elbow. The wounds from the torture at first did not heal even during the journey. The spot where the hot water had touched was painful, and she hesitated for a moment. So did her leg, which she had been bitten by a mercenary. She was healing, but it still hurt a little to get the water on her bloody crust. When the water hit her, her wounds were grievous, and her scars were enormous.


“I am You're all married.”


Married once and now deposed, she inadvertently looked down at her wounds and said such a thing, then laughed dumbfounded. What is a collection of poems?


It was then that warm warmth touched her legs. The naked child who had been sitting beside her had placed her palm on the wound on her leg.


The maids repeatedly coaxed her to go with her, but she didn't listen, so she was wrapped in a cloth to dry herself. The child squatted and gently patted her wound.


Tok, tok. Watching the child silently patting her wound with the palm of his hand, Reinhardt's nose turned cold.


<Good night, cute apple pie.>


It reminded me of the warmth of the same palm patted her shoulder on one hot, sleepless night.


It was fortunate that the heat rose thanks to the hot water. Reinhardt soaked his head in the water and cried. Her child stared blankly at her, then patted Reinhardt on the shoulder again.


After washing, I took the child to the restaurant with my tired eyes barely open. After passing the pile of white and black bread to the child, Reinhardt fell asleep on the table.






***






I opened my eyes.


It smelled of warm, slightly dusty straw. Reinhardt looked at the object in front of him with eyes that hadn't woken up and smiled while lying down.


White bread on the bed. Just looking at it, it was obvious who had gone.


It's already been two months since I came to Luden Castle.


The child has become accustomed to life in Luden Castle. She was like that too.


The child who blindly followed Reinhardt seemed to have finally convinced himself that he had to stay away from her at night. There were times when people all over her castle were on her day, as she cried out for not to be separated from her.


In the end, it was only after Reinhardt hit and scolded him several times that he fell down with a disapproving face. After that, I quietly slept in the room given to me. But I couldn't stop him from occasionally climbing over the window and leaving white bread on my bed.


The maids said that the child did not always eat the white bread served at dinner and carried it away. That bread is probably this bread.


Reinhardt suddenly stood up. He had bread in his mouth.


Winter in Luden Castle has already begun.


Thanksgiving was just around the corner. Straw was already piled up in front of the castle. Reinhardt lowered the tapestry after checking through the window that the workers who had been carrying straw since dawn were busily going back and forth in the yard.


The parchments from last night were rolled up and piled up in one corner of her room. Reinhardt tried not to be as intrusive to the old lady as much as possible, but focused on understanding the life in the castle.


It was natural. Because her revenge isn't over yet.


'I have to make money somehow.'


It is the time that my father gave back once again.


In this precious life, she hoped that her revenge would not end with only crippling the crown prince. In her previous life, Michelle rose smoothly and comfortably to the throne. Princess Canary became Empress and gave birth to three of her children. Reinhardt couldn't see it with both eyes open.


In my previous life, even after the divorce, it took me three years to come to my senses at Helka Mansion.


The death and divorce of Rinke Hu was a huge blow to her.


I couldn't sleep no matter how much I drank, so most of the time I fell asleep drunk. Even after she decided to take revenge, she didn't know how to do it. She was a woman who had lived a fine life as the crown princess, but no one helped her because she was trying to take care of her estate. There were dozens of dogs flocking to the wealthy Helka estate for food.


'It's fortunate that there are no bastards here.'


She chewed and swallowed the bread, unfolding the parchment.


It snows six months a year in the Luden estate. The main products were potatoes, corn, and barley, but even that was consumed within the territory. This is because there are many mountains and there is little land available for cultivation.


The number of territories was also unclear. Because it was so barren, most of them fled to the mountains and worked on slashing fields rather than paying rent to the lord to clear the land.


There is a large lake, but this too was frozen for half of the year.


In a word, there was almost no hole for money to come out. That was a big problem. You must have money to get revenge.


She suddenly missed the enlisted man of the Helka Territory.


She had secretly amassed 3,000 enlisted men. You have to make a lot of money to roll a private soldier like that. The amount of food eaten by 3,000 people every day was staggering. How about a place to sleep? Still, the Helka estate was rich enough to cover the cost. It was possible because it was the most prosperous flatland in the Alankes Empire.


But in Luden, there was no way.


'Let's roll our heads. If you roll your head, you'll find something.'


Reinhardt tried to remember his previous life by reversing it. After about five years of rolling her Helka estate in her hands, she was barely able to grasp the flow of her money.


After 10 years, I was able to recite things like what was popular in the capital city, what areas were lacking, and which roads were the fastest and which were the slowest.


… … But that was when she was thirty-four. Reinhardt is now twenty-four years old.


'I should drink less.'


thud. Reinhardt banged his forehead on the table the next day after binge-drinking, regretful enough for a drunkard with a hangover.


There was enough money to buy a mountain of alcohol in the Helka Manor, and she drank like a mountain every day. It was her usual thing to spend the day with a hangover. Later, as she drank too much, her amount increased, so she refused to touch low-alcohol alcohol, saying that she was full. She stays drunk all day, drinking only enough hard liquor to burn her throat.


“… … wait."


She raised one eyebrow. She felt like something was getting caught in her head. what… … She remembered... … What… … .


smart.


"ah!"


Just as he was about to think about it, someone knocked on the door, and Reinhardt screamed and fell back on the table.


Who is it! When her resentful gaze turned toward the door, Sara, who had just entered, was taken aback.


“… … Ah, madam.”


“Did you sleep well?”


"Thanks. The yard has been noisy since morning... … .”


“I have to stock up on straw for the horses all winter long. I apologize if I disturbed your sleep.”


She never said 'I'm sorry'. It must be the pride of the old lady. But Reinhardt didn't care and waved his hand.


“It's okay. I can't starve the horses all winter just to get some sleep.”


"Yes. And… … .”


“Tell me.”


“That kid.”


It was the child Reinhardt picked up on the way to Luden.


Thanks to the boy who left the white bread today as well, Reinhardt, who had been largely full since morning, blinked his eyes.


Sara hated him and rarely mentioned him in front of Reinhardt. The reason was that she didn't speak her language very well, and she didn't even have a name. The fact that she mentioned her child was probably because the work Reinhardt had entrusted to her had some success.


“Did you find out anything?”


"Yes. Well, this morning a worker carrying straw recognized the child.”


"yes?"


Her eyes twinkled with interest. Sarah hesitated.


"That… … .”


“Do you have parents? Age is? name is?"


Reinhardt, who was talking, burst into anger.


“If there are parents, they should be called and beaten! Oh my God, leaving a child like that in the mountains like that! When I first saw it, I just thought it was a monster!”


“… … .”


Sarah's gaze brought Reinhardt back to his senses.


“… … Anyway, tell me.”


“Well, that’s a bit of history.”


“Well, the kid wanders around the mountains like that. Especially in this town.”


In a harsh land like Luden, children are the property of good families. Even when they are only five or six years old, they make them pull the grass and help with the work. The little girl she picked up would have been twelve or three or four years old at the slightest glance. Besides, her strength is colossal. A family that neglects such good manpower must have a lot of problems.


“… … Surprisingly, he is not a commoner's child.”


"Well?"


Sara said with a sigh.


“The worker who recognized him lives in a village about a week away from here. The worker said he was Colonna's son.”


Colonna. It's a name I've heard a lot.


Once, as the Crown Princess, she had memorized the entire list of Alanques' nobles. A fallen aristocrat somewhere? Her explanation continued in front of her, who tilted her head at her.


“Colonna is a ruined family that was attacked by barbarians. He was also a vassal of the Feildon family in the past.”


“Oops.”


“The daughter barely survived, but died ten months later.”


Reinhardt's face hardened. The meaning of the woman's death after ten months was clear. Sarah sighed and said.


“They say they gave birth to that child and hanged themselves in shame.”


At that moment, Reinhardt jumped up as if struck by lightning.


Colonna. That name she knew.


“His name is Bill. The worker said, ``I don't know who started calling it that, but everyone called it that.”


Bill Colonna.


A man who suddenly appeared one day and became Alanquez's war hero.


He was known to be from a mixed race of barbarians and stood in front of Michel Alanquez, who selected him, and showed off his prowess as the prince's first dog.


But she knows his real origin.


He was not of mixed barbarian blood.


was the emperor's illegitimate son.






***






Reinhardt dismissed Mrs. Sarah and was lost in thought.


Bill Colonna was the reason Reinhardt couldn't easily rebel even after gathering so many privates in his previous life.


Michel Alanquez was a man who did not know how to care for people. As if he had abandoned Reinhardt, even if he was one of my closest aides, he immediately threw me out if I felt useless. There was only one crown prince, so it didn't matter.


There were many people who asked for information about the crown prince for a fee, as their master did not spare them. A proper private soldier and a knight. and yourself. Rinke Hu was a veteran, and there were certainly knights who were angry at his death. Reinhardt was confident that the rebellion would succeed.


Until the arrival of Bill Colonna.


He was a knight brought by Michel Alanquez, the crown prince one day. He had a large body and a disposition that hated people. However, only to Michel Alanquez, he was known as a half-breed of northern barbarians who acted like a loyal dog. His mother was said to have been attacked by barbarians and hanged her after giving birth to him.


But that was a lie. Reinhardt knew what kind of person Michel Alanquez was because of information leaked to him by someone close to him.


About 17 years ago, the emperor left for a northern inspection to congratulate the Marquis. At that time, Viscount Colonna went to pay homage to the emperor on behalf of the Paledon family of Luden, a territory in the northeastern part of the country. Since she was a small family, she did not have a proper attendant, so her daughter served as the Viscount.


When the empress learned that the daughter of a small nobleman from the frontier was pregnant with the emperor's child, the empress tried her hand.


'The reason Michelle was the Emperor's only son was because of the Empress.'


The empress was the one who put the current emperor, the third prince, on the throne, and she knew very well that the more the emperor's bloodline, the more dangerous it would be to her son. So it was only natural that the Colonna family was completely drained from her hands.


But there, somehow, Bill Colonna survived.


And Michel Alanquez turned thirty-four. So, more than 10 years after Reinhardt was kicked out, he brought Bill Colonna and made him his knight.


Of course, many people were surprised to see that Bill Colonna was brought in. He was the brightest on the battlefield. It was also thanks to Bill Colonna that Michelle won the hearts of the public.


Naturally, to the enemies of the empire, it was the same name as the enemy. Bill Colonna exterminated the beastmen in the eastern part of the Empire and brought vast territories to Michelle. Barbarians in the north also did not dare to invade the territory when they heard the name of Bill Colonna.


And it was the same with Reinhardt. Despite her vast army and wealth, she had no confidence to deal with Bill Colonna.


'It wasn't just a person who excelled in dancing... … .'


When Reinhardt was collecting information on Michelle, he had received a portrait of Bill Colonna at the time.


When he first appeared in the imperial castle, he had long black hair like a savage, and his eyes were barely visible, so the artist had a hard time painting it secretly. His beard was also shaggy, so it was messy because he hadn't trimmed it, and he wore the armor that Michelle gave him every day like a treasure, so it smelled like me. The ladies hated it when they stopped seeing it, but Bill Colonna didn't care.


But two years later, Bill Colonna was no longer a name to be reckoned with. Fighting like a madman, the nickname of the prince's mad dog had become the prince's loyal dog before he knew it. Bill Colonna, who commanded 10,000 soldiers in the snow and slaughtered all the barbarians' strongholds.


Michel rose to the throne amid cheers and support from the people of the empire. It wouldn't have been possible without Bill Colonna.


Reinhardt opened and closed his fists. Because of the cold sweat on his palms.


“… … Really Bill Colonna?”


She still remembered the portrait of Bill Colonna from her previous life. She was the first person she had to deal with to defeat Michelle, so she collected his current status every year.


I've only met him once, but I've actually met him. It is because he passed by Helka on the way back from leading an army to war. Being Michelle's close aide, she treated him just like a lord. We didn't have long conversations, but his intense eyes and quiet personality were memorable.


Incidentally, the last thing she saw was Bill Colonna standing next to Michelle at the spring banquet.


Michelle did not leave the hero standing next to her as a savage. He cut his hair and put on sloppy clothes. Standing next to Michelle with a trimmed beard, Bill Colonna had the look of a hero. A dignified and young face. Gray eyes with firearms shining. He is one hand taller than Michelle, who is already tall.


The child she brought with her had dark hair and dark eyes.


However, the color of the eyes changes several times as it grows. Besides, the shaggy, long-growth hair was very similar. Her body trembled.


'If it's real... … .'


Reinhardt covered his mouth. If the kid who brings me white bread every morning and disappears through the window is the real Bill Colonna.


Her eyes trembled with uncontrollable joy.


“Damn it, Dad… … .”


Even when she came to Luden, she thought that if there was a God, it couldn't be like this.


Such a barren territory, and himself who was expelled penniless for committing a crime. Because of my sudden action, all the knights of the family scattered. In my previous life, they were knights who gathered under me because of my father's unjust death. But in her present life, because Reinhardt stabbed her crown prince, they didn't want to serve her without her due cause.


'but… … .'


What if this is all your father's arrangement?


“Oh, my God, no, Father.”


Reinhardt put his hands together. It felt like his heart was about to explode.


“Father, did you know everything?”


If all those trials were to give her Bill Colonna.


She blew away any remorse that had flooded my heart at that moment. Thoughts that maybe she made a mistake and blew away the golden opportunity her father had given her.


The opportunity is not over yet. Reinhardt closed his throbbing eyes. He hadn't come yet when he wept.


I will stab Michelle in the chest with this hand and avenge my father. And he will take out the entrails of the bastard and bite them.


At that time, Reinhardt thought that it was time for him to shed tears.






***






Reinhardt tilted his head.


'this… … Eighteen years old.'


When she was thirty-five, Bill Colonna was known to be twenty-nine. So the skinny kid in front of her right now must be eighteen years old. If the count is correct.


But no matter how you look at it, this little boy is about twelve or three or four years old. Fourteen years old no matter how much you look at it. Unbelievable, Reinhardt summoned Sarah and asked when the tragedy in the Colonna family had occurred. Mrs. Sarah said, “Well, about ten years… … .” ' she answered, counting her fingers.


“Seventeen years ago.”


“… … Are you sure?"


“It happened the year I married my first daughter, and my granddaughter was born the following year. My granddaughter is 16 this year. I'm sure.”


That would mean Bill Colonna now is at least 16 years old.


Perhaps Michelle was wary of Bill Colonna being too young and added a few years to her original age. Reinhardt gestured to the kid. The child who was suddenly called and rolled her eyes happily approached and stood next to Reinhardt.


Reinhardt glanced at the little boy's fingers. He handed the child back the copper ring he was wearing, but the child threw it away shortly after, as if he didn't even know it was mine. It was after Reinhardt took care of it without any special choice. I wondered if the missing egg might have been a cameo from the royal family, but I couldn't figure it out because the child couldn't speak. Reinhardt erased his thoughts and asked.


“What is this kid doing these days?”


“… … That."


The old lady hesitated. Maybe it's because he's not doing anything.


Reinhardt nodded as if he knew everything. He was a difficult child to deal with. He wasn't easy to get along with either. He still lives in the castle, but his child was acting like a beast. He couldn't help the family members of Luden Castle, who were too busy preparing for the winter, to be able to take good care of the child.


"I'm not blaming you, Mrs."


The old lady looked at her and sighed.


“I'm trying to take care of the child brought by the lord in good faith, even if it's not frugal... … .”


"I didn't give any instructions."


"Yes. They have that too, but they don't want to play in the hands of the maids.”


It is not a separate study or training.


In fact, Reinhardt tried to find good parents and adopt them if the child was okay. This is because there are many families looking for strong boys in places like Luden. However, as a child, she seldom made friends with people. He was poor at talking and often ran away when people talked to him.


“I am especially afraid of older people.”


“A man? if not… … .”


At that point, the old lady glanced at the child. He moved a little closer to Reinhardt, the child wincing. The thing is that she is afraid of both men and women. Reinhardt beckoned her child by the shoulder, pulling him closer.


“Okay. Come out and see.”


"Yes."


The old lady politely left. Now, only Reinhardt and the child were left in the room. She looked at me at the child who was holding her shoulder.


Reinhardt was sitting and the child was standing, but their gazes matched well. If this was really sixteen years old, it was clear that he hadn't eaten very well.


The maids in the castle barely managed to wash the child, but the child's hair was neatly trimmed and tied up. Her clothes were also quite decent. It seemed that he was wearing a small piece of servants' clothes. Reinhardt found and squeezed the slender arm exposed under the sleeve of her dress. Reinhardt's hands are on the small side, but her child's arm is so thin that her fingers remain a little bit in her hand.


“… … Is your name Bill?”


The child blinked and looked at her. It was clear that she didn't quite understand what she was saying. But she didn't care. Reinhardt stroked her child's forehead gently.


In the middle of the right eyebrow, there was a small scar. There was no hair in its place, as if the eyebrows had been cut off. Reinhardt had seen the scar in the portrait of Bill Colonna.


sure This kid was Bill Colonna.


“Bill. … … no."


Reinhardt shook his head as he called the child's name.


Bill Colonna was Michel Alanquez's dog. She didn't want to be reminded of that every time her child's name was called.


From now on this child will grow under her, and no Michel Alanquez will ever touch it.


“Wilhelm. yes. I like Wilhelm.”


Reinhardt smiled and stroked the child's head. The child - Wilhelm - shrugged his shoulders as if it tickled him, and when he saw Reinhardt's smile, I smiled too.


It was a clear smile without a spot.






***






Luden Castle was agitated. It was because of Thanksgiving.


Sarah notified Reinhardt that there was a Thanksgiving ration in the courtyard of Luden Castle three days before Thanksgiving.


"rationing?"


“There are things you need to get through the winter.”


It was that the territories would share things that were difficult for them to procure on their own in the name of Lord Luden. It was things like salt and flour and dried beans.


“Since the territories also farm grain flour, can’t they procure it on their own? You have corn. Flour is too expensive.”


“Winters in the mountains are harsh. Territory people cannot grind corn and store it. This is because there is no capacity to dry and powder in large quantities. It is often dried in the yard in front of the house and then eaten by birds.”


However, corn is bulky and humid to be stored as eggs, so it rots easily. That is why people in the Luden Territory sell corn cheaply in the summer. Luden Castle sells corn instead and collects a small commission. Instead, they buy flour in winter and sell it cheaply.


Reinhardt scratched his chin and said.


"Can't the villagers take the corn they farmed, have the soldiers dry it, grind it into powder, and return it?"


The old lady raised her eyebrows.


"It's a good idea, but it's not producing enough to make powder."


"Damn it."


Reinhardt spat out a curse. It wasn't just a matter of manpower. The old lady did not pretend to be surprised anymore, as if she had gradually adapted to the harsh tone of the lord.


“How come the territory only has less than 100 soldiers?”


“If we hire 100 young men from Luden, all the villagers will starve to death.”


The population was so small that there were no people who could become soldiers. Reinhardt gnashed his teeth. Sara, as if she was used to this kind of thing, quickly recited the size of the ration.


“And there will probably be geese at Thanksgiving dinner.”


"maybe?"


“Originally, you would have eaten turkey in the capital, but it is difficult to find turkey in Luden. The captain of the guards is out hunting wild geese, so you should probably be able to eat it.”


“Ah, the captain of the guard. yes."


Reinhardt narrowed his eyes and rested his chin.


'He's the captain of the guards hunting down the menu for the lord's dinner. It's worth seeing, yes. It's a great estate.'


“Is anyone invited to dinner?”


“Usually, lords invite their vassals… … .”


Having said that, Sarah glanced at her. Reinhardt snorted at her.


“It means that no family will dare to come to see a lord they haven’t seen in over 20 years.”


“Shall we send out invitations?”


“If you send out the invitation three days before Thanksgiving, the invitation will arrive the day after Thanksgiving. All right.”


Sarah bent her knees. Reinhardt had to listen to Sarah's story for a long time after that.


They brought in a bag of dried apples ahead of winter, but there were only trivial stories about it being given as a reward to the guards at the beginning of the new year, and that octagons were sent as gifts to the vassals every year.


“I’ll be thrilled.”


After Sarah left, Reinhardt buried his face in his arm.


It was a terribly poor estate. All of the castle's servants, including Sarah, acted as if they didn't even notice the lord who had stabbed the crown prince in front of the winter preparations and became a deposed lord.


In his previous life, Reinhardt had been arguing the price of a thousand new iron swords to be given to the soldiers, renewing the interior of the castle every year, and buying hundreds of carpets, but now he had to count the price of a bag of dried apples.


"Damn it… … .”


As soon as she muttered and cursed, a rustling sound came from beside her. Reinhardt glanced at her and smiled apologetically.


“Sorry, Wilhelm. I didn't say anything to you.”


Next to her was a boy sitting at a small desk. It was Bill Colonna, no Wilhelm.


Wilhelm stopped writing something on the slate and looked up at her with wide black eyes. He was obviously taken aback by her swear words. Reinhardt said "ugh", washed his face dry, and stroked Wilhelm's hair.


“I decided not to swear in front of you, but it often comes out… … . sorry."


"no."


“Yes, no.”


Wilhelm spoke with clear pronunciation. Reinhardt smiled in response.


“Should I see if I used up everything I promised?”


“… … no."


The boy shyly hid the slate, but Reinhardt's arm was longer and faster. She gave the boy a tight hug and swung the slate away from her.


“Let’s see. Flour, corn, apples.”


“… … .”


“Hey guy. You have another idea.”


On the slate, the stories Reinhardt exchanged with Sarah were written. Flour and cornmeal, a bag of apples. Reinhardt laughed at the word of octagon to give to his vassals.


“My God, Wilhelm. I did not leave you here to be my scribe.”


“… … no… … .”


Wilhelm, who embraced her tightly, blushed. Not knowing what Reinhardt was saying, Wilhelm sometimes felt so embarrassed when Reinhardt laughed. He must have thought it was obvious that he was making fun of himself.


Reinhardt let Wilhelm go along with the slate.


Wilhelm, unable to look at her as if embarrassed, turned around and stepped back. She rubbed Wilhelm's forehead gently with her thumb.


“Still, it’s quite good. I only learned to spell it once.”


It was difficult to find a teacher to teach Wilhelm in the Luden estate.


However, he could not employ servants or vassals. Because each manpower was precious. Moreover, Reinhardt had yet to gain the favor of this territory and castle. Her Sarana barely talked to her, but her maids flinched at the sight of her. She deserved it and she did.


'A deposed woman who lost her father went crazy and stabbed the crown prince with a sword. I will avoid the country too.'


During the two months she was imprisoned, rumors of her madness spread widely. Luden would be no different. Reinhardt did not try to explain the rumor, and he had no intention of doing so, but if such a rumor spread even in this estate, he would probably have a hard time winning public opinion.


In the end, Reinhardt decided to teach Wilhelm himself. It wasn't even that difficult. Her Wilhelm followed her well, and her cleverness helped.


Wilhelm couldn't stand sitting still most of the time, but he did what she told him to do. On some days, she struggled to no avail, but after Reinhardt pinched her cheeks and hugged her tightly, she hesitated and eventually wrote the letters as Reinhardt dictated.


His movements were also quite good.


The commander of the Yeongji's guard was surprised to see Wilhelm wielding a wooden sword. Even if boys my age grab hold of a wooden sword, they tend to injure their shoulders while wielding it, but they say that they seem to know how to handle a sword well.


“Honestly, it would be nice to have at least one knight from a different territory than a guy like me.”


The captain of the guard scratched the back of his head and said so. Reinhardt laughed out loud and encouraged, "What are you talking about, a captain leading a large army of 30 people!", but he was right. The chief of Luden's guards was far from skilled enough to teach Wilhelm. It was clear to her that she had watched her father, Rinke Hu, train her soldiers for over 20 years.


“Grunt.”


As she crossed her arms and thought about it, Wilhelm watched carefully, then hurriedly pulled the slate and pretended to study as Reinhardt originally ordered. She seemed to think she was offended by him.


Reinhardt tried to block Wilhelm, but he left the child alone because he wanted to do what he had to do.


'… … I'm paying too much attention.'


It was obvious that Wilhelm had not been living a normal life for a long time. He reacted with a flinch at every swear word, and even now, sometimes, when a servant made a big gesture, he would raise his arm above his head in surprise. It was evident that he had been beaten everywhere. As well as the skinny body.


Thinking that far, Reinhardt looked at the basket next to the boy's desk. The basket containing the snacks he had given me to eat while studying was empty.


'I also have an appetite.'


The child had an appetite for food, perhaps because he had been starving while wandering around the country for a long time. I swept everything on the table, including bread, into my mouth. Then I often had an upset stomach. When they gave me snacks, I ate whatever I saw, and so did the water. At first, the maids were surprised as they drank all the water without distinction between drinking water and non-drinking water. In the meantime, leaving white bread for Reinhardt was a surprise.


'How did Michelle put up with a kid like that?'


It was something that Reinhardt had been puzzled over for the past few days. In his previous life, he heard that Michelle selected Bill Colonna, who was wandering as a savage, and made her his knight. But if Bill, no Wilhelm, had been wandering the streets like he is now, Michelle would probably have squinted as soon as he saw him and ordered the knights to get rid of him. Michelle was such a person.


Besides, I had another question.


'Michelle knew that Wilhelm was the Emperor's illegitimate son.'


Michel never brought Wilhelm by chance. Otherwise, Michelle's closest aide wouldn't have leaked that information to Reinhardt. It was clear he knew and brought him. It wasn't just one or two things that were unclear.


It was like that since Wilhelm survived.


Reinhardt had no doubts that the fact that the Colonna family was attacked and destroyed by barbarians was the empress' trick. Perhaps she tried to get rid of the emperor's child and the woman she was pregnant with at once, and blamed the savages for it. But she gave birth to a woman. She survived when she was attacked ten months ago.


'Could someone intentionally save them?'


The question remains. Reinhardt glanced at the child's fingers.


A loose, missing copper ring was worn on the middle finger of his left hand. Reinhardt had already polished and returned the ring the child was wearing. I couldn't figure out how the child was wearing something so loose in the mountains. Couldn't someone have put it in to prove the child's identity? Something like a cameo ring engraved with the family crest. However, since the egg was missing, there was no way to recognize it.


However, Reinhardt soon erased all doubts from his mind. It was because before I knew it, Wilhelm was holding out a slab filled with letters in front of me.


“Are you done? That's great.”


Reinhardt smiled and stroked Wilhelm's head again. Wilhelm blinked his eyes and shook his head.


"no."


"yes? what."


Wilhelm hates all negative sentences like no, no. Because he used to express it in one word, Reinhardt had to ask in detail every time. Wilhelm lifted her neck and looked at her, then with her hand pulled back her bangs, exposing her forehead.


"yes?"


“… … .”


When Reinhardt tilted his head, not knowing what he meant, Wilhelm slightly furrowed his eyebrows as if frustrated, then stuck his head in. I put my forehead on the lips of the girl who was sitting in front of me.


“… … .”


Reinhardt was far away, so he looked at Wilhelm, wanting something warm from his lips. Wilhelm took one look at her, dyed her red enough to make her face black, stepped back from her, and she ran away.


Bang, the office door closed. Reinhardt blinked his eyes several times before realizing what had happened and laughing.


“The little girl does all the cute things… … .”


Would you feel this way if you gave birth to and raised a child? Reinhardt worked with a smile all afternoon.


Yeongji's poverty could be forgotten for a moment.






***






Reinhardt's troubles were resolved in an unexpected place. It was thanks to one person who came in on Thanksgiving morning. Seeing the man who came to Luden Castle alone, Reinhardt jumped up from his seat with his eyes shining with joy.


“Dietrich!”


"majesty."


After spending 30 years on the battlefield, Rinke Hu naturally had many vassals he cherished.


Among them, Viscount Ernst was an outstanding knight who had been with Rinke Hu since his youth, and his second son, Dietrich, also followed his father and grew up to be a great knight.


However, Viscount Ernst died of fever three years before Rincke. And his first son succeeded him as a vassal of Rinke, but after the death of Hu Rinke, he was scattered like other vassals. Just protecting their territory would have been too much for them.


So Dietrich Ernst's visit was unexpected to Reinhardt.


“How are you!”


Seeing Dietrich kneel down as soon as he saw him, Reinhardt smiled cheerfully and knelt down in front of him, making eye contact with him.


“Dietrich! What's happening?"


“I heard the news too late.”


Fluffy brown hair swayed. There was a light of kindness in her green eyes, which seemed to have good character. Reinhardt almost shed a few tears when he saw that face that even aroused longing.


Dietrich and Reinhardt were similar in age, so they were childhood friends. When he grew old, he became a knight of Rinkehu and fought.


He stumbled upon the news that Reinhardt was imprisoned, but returned to Ernst's estate after being persuaded by his older brother to return for the sake of the estate. It was because there would be quite a few lords aiming for the territory of the vassals whose shields were missing.


Reinhardt nodded.


“Because Ernst is a good place. He is also a transportation hub.”


Ernst was also a place where two of the largest roads in the Rinke estate intersect. There was no way the lords would leave such a territory unattended. Dietrich was an outstanding knight, and his older brother would not have thought of leaving Dietrich idle in the capital, who had nowhere to go after the death of Rinke Hu.


“I heard that Her Highness was released from prison and left alone, so I hurriedly left Ernst, but the capital and Ernst are quite far... … .”


"this. I'm no longer Your Highness, I'm just a sinner.”


“Isn’t the reparation for sins over? I am not a sinner.”


Dietrich tightened his eyes and looked at her.


“You compensated too much for cutting off a leg.”


Reinhardt was embarrassed. Those words that anyone who heard would know that it was not her prince who had stabbed her, but a passing bully. Something about crippling the prince and keeping his life attached. Dietrich, of course, never thought so.


"Anyway, it's a rough road to Luden, but I was worried that Your Highness might be attacked, so I followed."


“Ah, Yohana sent me a mercenary.”


"I heard. but… … Isn't that lady sloppy in her work?"


Dietrich also knew Johana, who was Reinhardt's maid, because she often accompanied Hu Rinke to the palace when she was the crown princess. She once nagged Yo Hana to do this and that, so of course she knew she liked Yo Hana.


Well, aside. There was no disagreement that Johana's handling of work was poor.


'That's why I thought he was a mercenary and gave me money to attach him to me.'


Reinhardt gritted his teeth thinking about what had happened with the mercenary Johana had assigned him. But he didn't bother to talk about it.


“I have no car. Yohana will be sad.”


"I don't know if that girl is sad or not. Anyway, I'm glad you're okay.”


A harsh tone forged on the battlefield in the outskirts. However, the cool personality was what Reinhardt liked. Looking at Dietrich, who was also Reinhardt's first love for a very brief moment in her childhood, she was able to laugh happily for the first time in a long time.


“Anyway, welcome. It's Thanksgiving today, and I didn't have anyone to eat dinner with, so it went well at the moment.”


What was Ernst like, what became of the vassals after Rinke. I didn't ask about that. Even if her people are unhappy or exhausted from fighting her estate, it is because there is nothing she can do about it.


At least, the fact that Dietrich came running to inquire after me meant that Ernst was still safe. When Reinhardt patted her on the shoulder of Dietrich, he looked at her with her kind eyes and smiled slightly at her.


“You are strong.”


“What do you mean, that?”


“Don’t talk.”


Before anyone knew it, Dietrich was sitting at the desk in Reinhardt's office. Reinhardt was so friendly with Dietrich, and Dietrich's open-minded personality also played a part. When Reinhardt crossed his arms and raised one of his eyebrows, Dietrich playfully raised his hands in response.


“I didn’t know that the Northeast, which I had only heard about, would be this cold. When I came over the last mountain, I even thought that I might find the body of His Majesty, who died frozen.”


"Because it's not Your Highness."


“… … Then what do you call it?”


Reinhardt tilted his head.


“Before you got married, you called me lady.”


“Since you have a title now, may I call you Viscount?”


It was rare for Dietrich to be silent. Reinhardt was dumbfounded and laughed.


“Call me whatever you want.”


“Yes, viscount. Anyway, I didn't think it would look good. The territory is so barren... … .”


"yes. There were over 3,000 enlisted soldiers... … ”


Reinhardt, who had been talking that far, almost bit his tongue. The Helka Mansion was just her previous life. After Rinke, there were about 500 enlisted soldiers. She barely kept her words together.


“… … It was a little surprising to come to a place like this after living as the Crown Princess.”


“What are you going to do?”


Reinhardt's eyes narrowed as he tried to answer inadvertently.


"kyung. Why are you curious about that?”


“Yeah… … .”


Dietrich, who opened his mouth, scratched his head.


"sorry. It's over-the-top.”


"no. Sir, if you have something on your mind, tell me.”


“… … As expected, the viscount was a waste of money to the crown prince.”


Recognizing Reinhardt's meaning, Dietrich smiled shyly and said, Reinhardt leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.


Dietrich didn't just come to see what she was up to. If Dietrich had come to visit after a year or so, she might have thought that Dietrich had come to inquire about his former lord's daughter and childhood friend.


But it was too soon.


Counting the two months in prison after she stabbed the prince, and the time she was exiled as a deposed and exiled to Luden, it would have been five months at most. The crown prince still couldn't escape the shock of her injury, and it was time for all the lords of the empire to sacrifice their bodies to keep an eye on her emperor.


At a time like this, why did he come all the way to Luden alone?


“Are you kicked out or abandoned?”


“If you have to say it, it’s an afterthought.”


“You said you were going to abandon Yeongji, but you must have been kicked out by Gyeong-ui’s brother.”


“You are correct.”


Dietrich sighed and lowered his upper body to meet her gaze.


“Michel Alanquez is frantic about not being able to get his hands on everything in the Rinque estate.”


“Maybe he didn’t mean to, but he must have been coveted because I was able to have it.”


Michelle wanted to marry Princess Canary even if she had to abandon the Marquis of Rinke. that was certain


However, when Reinhardt stabbed Michelle and became a criminal, the prince greedily tried to absorb the legacy of the Marquis Linke. In addition to the property taken as compensation, all of the 500 private soldiers of the Marquis Rinke family belonged to the crown prince.


So did the knights. In the first place, private soldiers and knights were the biggest asset of the Marquis Rinke family.


Most of the knights returned to their own families, but among them, some of the knights that Rinke Hu cared about went under the crown prince's command. It could be said that it was a natural choice since they did not have any property or title to receive even if they returned to their families.


However, when Dietrich saw that scene, it seemed that the blood flowed backwards.


“I couldn't stand watching a guy who couldn't even walk properly command Rinke's knights with his fingertips. therefore… … .”


“I bet the late Sir Ernst would like to have a thunderbolt fall on me from the sky.”


In a word, he had come running to offer his allegiance to Reinhardt. Part of it was that she asked her what she was going to do. Dietrich is the second son of the Ernst family, so he too has neither property nor title. At that point, he'd rather go under the crown prince like the others.


"kyung. I'm sorry, but this is a place to send octagons as New Year's gifts to your vassals. I have nothing to give you.”


“An octagon… … What is this?”


Dietrich tilted his head. Reinhardt laughed out loud.


“I have something to put in my car.”


“I don’t like tea, so that’s okay.”


“It's not that kind of problem. In other words, you are a vassal and you have to stick by my side so that you can get a sack of wheat for a year's salary.”


“Oh, that's a bit of a problem. A sack of wheat is enough for me to eat in ten days.”


Reinhardt giggled at the joke that felt even carefree. Dietrich shrugged his shoulders.


“How much grace did Hu Rinke bestow on me? It’s enough to buy wheat with my own money.”


“I have more important matters.”


“Tell me.”


“There is nothing to wonder about here.”


“It seemed so.”


Dietrich calmly responded to Reinhardt's words.


“I saw it as I entered Luden Castle. At most, two people can cross the drawbridge, and two people guard it. Six people on patrol at all times. Excluding the side door, three more people went through the side door. one in the stable. Two on the border of the territory. If you count the number of non-residents out of a total of thirteen, it would be less than fifty.”


I was talking about the guards. He was like a knight Rinke Hu cherished. Reinhardt smiled brightly.


“There are thirty people.”


“Did you fail?”


“It is real.”


Dietrich shook his head.


"Damn it. Dietrich Ernst looks like an alley master.”


“Looking at cancer, it doesn’t look like you have any intention of going back.”


“If I had that thought, I would have gone back without crossing two mountains. How rough the road was.”


She crossed her arms and stared straight into Dietrich's green eyes. Dietrich Ernst. He was a knight that Rinke Hu loved and inherited the swordsmanship of the late Sir Ernst, and had the reputation of being one per hundred. Reinhardt made a quick decision.


“How about a swordsmanship teacher on top of the alley leader?”


“Are you saying that even the children of the Luden estate should be taught?”


“No, it’s similar.”


Reinhardt brushed his hair and looked up at him at an angle. Dietrich's eyes fluttered briefly, then he sank.


“You should get more than a sack of wheat.”


“A sack of wheat and a side dish of wild geese for dinner tonight.”


"Damn it. Isn't that what you originally intended?"


“If you don’t like it, starve. I don't have dinner for uninvited guests.”


It was only natural that Dietrich Ernst accepted the role of tutor. Reinhardt grinned.






***






Seeing Reinhardt appear at the Thanksgiving dinner, escorted by Dietrich, the child openly expressed shock.


After Dietrich had seated her in the center of the table in a nice manner, she tried to sit right next to the child. But her child jumped up and she hid behind a pillar in the dining room. Thanks to this, of course, the maids who served the meal were taken aback.


Reinhardt kindly and kindly called for Wilhelm, but the child shook his head and did not come out. 'Shall I bring it,' Dietrich asked with the look of her mouth, but she shook her hand.


“He was an abused child. Adults who are not used to it will be scared.”


"Is that so?"


Rather than forcefully bringing the child, Reinhardt deliberately ate dinner loudly. The geese caught by the captain of the guard were plump in preparation for the winter.


“Mm, delicious! It's so delicious!”


“… … .”


“There is a lot of meat and the fat is dripping with oil. Well!"


Dietrich touched her forehead at her table manners. She was so ravenous that she would never be seen as a woman who had once been the Crown Princess. Reinhardt didn't care.


"If you don't eat this much, the children who complain about food won't bother you."


“If anyone sees it, they’ll know that you’ve raised a child… … .”


Seeing Reinhardt giggling, the child peeked out from behind the pillar, but that was all.


Seeing Dietrich hand her some cheese, the child ran off to the other side of the aisle. She likes bread so much that she runs away without having a drink at dinner. Even though she knew how much she hated adults she didn't know, she did.


Reinhardt sighed. Of course, dinner was all eaten. It was because this year would be the last time I could have such a grand dinner in this damn estate.


If you starve for a few days, that kid will come to his senses. It was Reinhardt's idea.






***






However, the child was more difficult than expected. Reinhard put his hand on his waist.


“Wilhelm.”


When I stressed “Bill” and called Helm, the child, wherever he was, would stick his head out and smile when he saw her. But today's child was stubborn.


"no."


“What is it? Can't you come?”


“… … no… … .”


The child replied in a dejected voice from behind a pillar in my room. Still her face was not shown. Dietrich, who was standing behind her, clicked his tongue.


"As expected, I'm going... … .”


"no. If you do, it will only backfire.”


It was Wilhelm's room. The child locked the door and didn't come out of the room for two days after Thanksgiving dinner. He also took a bite of his favorite meal. Reinhardt stomped his feet and was about to receive a visit from Wilhelm today. By the way, the visit was won by Dietrich. It was a bonus that Reinhardt clapped his hands at the exciting force that completely broke the hinge.


“Wilhelm, come out.”


“… … .”


“If you don’t come out… … .”


Reinhardt said that and fell into trouble. “What terrifying threats are to be made to children of this age?” When I asked Dietrich after thinking about it, Dietrich frowned.


“How old is that?”


“Sixteen?”


"crazy."


At her words, Dietrich involuntarily uttered a curse word. Reinhardt raised his eyebrows.


“Did you just curse at your boss for being crazy?”


“I am no. I was surprised that he was 16 years old.”


“I think so too. Too small and skinny.”


He ate well and grew up, but Wilhelm was still small. But Dietrich shook his head.


“What is it? Sixteen dwarfs are everywhere. There are not one or two soldiers who are like horses that have not eaten.”


“Is that so?”


“Not all soldiers come from rich estates.”


"then?"


At Reinhardt's curious question, Dietrich sighed.


“I find it absurd that a 16-year-old child acts more childish than a newborn foal.”


“… … .”


“When I was 16, I went to war with Hu Rinke and took care of the Marquis.”


Reinhardt was taken aback at the sudden popping out of his father's name, then laughed.


“Yes, it was. You were his father's squire.”


It was a story of nostalgic times. Dietrich looked down at her with her kind green eyes, then sighed again and asked.


“What are you going to do with that child?”


"Well."


If he later grows up to become a hero of the empire, Dietrich will treat him like a madman.


The story that the queen who stabbed the prince went mad in the rough terrain for two months was quite plausible. Reinhardt smiled bitterly and opened his mouth.


“You are the one who saved my life.”


“… … Do you usually go this far just because you saved my life?”


"why? Aren’t stories of virgins giving their all to the man who saved their lives commonplace?”


Dietrich snorted.


“First of all, I want to dispute the statement that he is a man.”


“I agree with some. And?"


“If that's the case, the Viscount should have been very sincere towards me as well.”


"What are you talking about?"


“When I was nine years old, I was picking apricots from an apricot tree and it fell off—”


"Damn it. stop talking.”


Reinhardt laughed while swearing.


It was Dietrich who took care of her whole brash tomboy days. The sight of Dietrich's green eyes, which picked her up when she fell from her apricot tree, gave her heartburn for days. Reinhardt giggled and replied.


"That's why you proposed to him."


Dietrich was taken aback, then spoke back as if he hadn't prayed.


“Even if you repay the favor with enemies, it’s a fraction of a reason.”


“She was the woman who would become the Crown Princess.”


“Think about it. What do you think will happen to the Ernst estate if the woman proposed to the crown prince confesses her love and goes beyond that?”


“First of all, my father must have set your dorm on fire because he belatedly possessed his precious daughter!”


The two of them giggled and became serious. It was because a child quietly poked her head out from behind the pillar.


Reinhardt, who forgot the giggling he had just a moment ago, looked at Wilhelm with a stern look.


“Wilhelm. Aren’t you coming out right now?”


“… … .”


The child still glared at the two without a word. He was exactly glaring at Dietrich.


Dietrich, who was looking at the child with his arms crossed, snorted as if he wasn't even praying.


"It's astonishing that he's sixteen. Viscount.”


"why?"


“Wouldn’t you like to leave him with me for just 10 minutes?”


Reinhardt raised his eyebrows. Dietrich smirked with his arms crossed.


“Anyway, the Viscount seems to think that since it is as big as a kitten, it is a baby to carry in his arms.”


"It's not."


“The Viscount is doing just that. anyway."


Dietrich nodded at her. It was a very disrespectful and rude move. Reinhardt shrugged her shoulders, then turned and stepped back.


It meant to leave the room, but Reinhardt had no intention of leaving in the first place. It was clear that the child was afraid of grown men, but if he left the room, Wilhelm would have no one to turn to.


Dietrich snorted lightly when he saw her not leaving the room, then strode towards the child.


The child flinched, but since Wilhelm's room was not large, Dietrich soon found himself cornered. Dietrich looked down at the child for a moment, then he stood in front of him, arms crossed.


“Wilhelm.”


“… … .”


“I heard the name Wilhelm. It was the name given to me by the Viscount.”


The child looked up at Dietrich with disgruntled eyes.


Reinhardt stood at a distance and watched all of them nervously. Dietrich was an incredibly large man. Reinhardt was quite tall as well, but Dietrich was a head taller than her. His shoulders were wide enough to cover all of Reinhardt. So, how much of a burden would it feel on the skinny Wilhelm?


“If you behave like that, you will never be a man worthy of that name.”


“… … .”


“You are sixteen years old. I was proposed to by Reinhardt when I was eighteen.”


Reinhardt's face turned red at the sudden words and the casually called name. she squealed.


“Dietrich, you madman!”


Dietrich grinned in her direction at the scream calling for his childhood friend, then turned around. The child was now openly hostile to him.


“Did you see it? My words are real.”


“… … .”


“Don’t pretend you don’t understand. Seeing what you're doing, I knew a long time ago that you're a guy who knows how to roll his head. You must have already known this. No matter how childish he may seem, a man at sixteen is a monster.”


Reinhardt was stunned. What the hell is Dietrich talking about to a kid who can't even speak?


But Dietrich didn't care and tapped the floor with his right foot. The sound of good leather boots hitting the floor was quite loud. Perhaps it is because Luden Castle is a material that resonates well.


Reinhardt was distracted by the sound, but he wasn't a child. Wilhelm was intent on glaring at Dietrich the entire time. To the point where I didn't look at the floor even once at that loud noise. Dietrich grinned.


"It's worth seeing the concentration."


“… … .”


"Even when you're eighteen, will you just stare at Reinhardt from behind a pillar with astonished eyes like a rabbit?"


“You crazy bastard for calling me Viscount.”


Reinhardt's complaints intervened, but Dietrich didn't care.


“Would you?”


“… … no."


It was the same as before, but it was clear that the tone had changed. Reinhardt's eyes widened. The child had come out from behind a pillar and was glaring at Dietrich with his fists clenched.


"no."


"good night."


Dietrich grinned.


It was the moment when Luden Castle's worst teacher and student met.


The child stood in front of Dietrich, but he had no intention of looking after the child. The man held the child by the nape of his neck and walked away. The boy struggled. Reinhardt screamed in surprise.


“Dietrich!”


"I'm going to be a swordsmanship teacher from now on, so don't interfere."


Dietrich grinned. The lady I served was always mature, but her heart was weak and tender. see now


The man glanced down at the child. Eyes looking up at me with poisonous eyes.


It was poisonous. However, when I saw the young lady stomping her feet in agony as if she had just put a kitten on the water's edge after a poisonous snake like this, I laughed out loud. He smiled at Reinhardt.


“Men have their own way of talking to each other.”


“What about that child!”


“Shall we get off our hands and go back to Ernst?”


The effect was rapid. Reinhardt let go of his clenched fist. Then, looking at the struggling boy, he approached with a sad expression on his face.


“Sorry, Wilhelm. But Dietrich will make a really good teacher.”


After saying that, I secretly asked Dietrich as if he had promised.


“… … Aren’t you a good teacher?”


Dietrich laughed.


“First of all, this snot will be the best teacher in the territory.”


"Damn it!"


Reinhardt stomped his foot. And he brushed the child's forehead. The little boy blinked his black eyes. Look at that, that. The miasma flowing in her eyes. Dietrich clicked his tongue. But she kissed him gently on the forehead. At the sound of the side, the child straightened her up and then stretched her body. It seemed that his temper had been released. her. Dietrich chuckled.


“Wilhelm. Listen to Dietrich. Then you... … He's going to be a really, really cool person.”


“That sounds like a thank you. Then how about that teacher?”


At Dietrich's joke, Reinhardt smiled and squinted.


“You are still a wonderful person.”


“It’s not bad to receive a stab in the side.”


Saying that, Dietrich raised her hand. Reinhardt raised her head gracefully, and the man kissed her deeply on the back of her hand. It was very brief, but it was like a young lady and a knight in a fairy tale. Aren't they both people with a history of elegance and moderation?


Seeing the sight, the child still in Dietrich's hand widened her eyes. Dietrich laughed.






***






The place where Dietrich took the child was the parade ground behind the castle.


Luden's guards were at most thirty. Even so, because of shifts, only about 12 people actually moved during work hours, so the parade ground was rarely used. Naturally, it was full of dust and rubbish.


And Dietrich threw the child onto the dusty dirt floor. clattering. There was a roughly piled pile of dirt in the parade ground. “Ugh,” moaned the child who had bumped into it.


“Listen. You don't speak twice.”


“… … .”


“I hate children who can’t understand words. The viscount may have kissed a child on the forehead like that, but not me.”


The child, who had barely managed to get up, glared at him. Dietrich snorted.


“Do you know what I used to do every day next to the Viscount? It was to select bastards with eyes like you and kick them out of the estate.”


“… … .”


"I heard. You saved the Viscount's life. A child who can't speak."


The boy didn't respond. But Dietrich didn't care. He has eyes that understand words. I don't know why, but he just won't talk. It was clear that I understood everything, whether it was Reinhardt or what people were saying about me.


'You never know. Pretending to be clumsy and relying on the lady's kindness.'


For some reason, Reinhardt seemed to be unable to stand the cuteness of that child, but he seemed to be oblivious to those eyes because he was wrapped around him. But Dietrich knew it.


Guys with eyes like that are the most dangerous. Greed flowed in the eyes. It would be better if the greed was for money or food. That... … Dietrich clicked his tongue.


"I'm honored that someone like you dared to save the Viscount's life."


“… … .”


“I will make you a bastard worthy of that honor. Because the Viscount wants it that way.”


“… … .”


“You know, wake up. Move quickly.”


The boy looked at Dietrich gently. The look in his eyes as he sat down and looked up at him was quite defiant, but Dietrich knew it. That boy will wake up soon and listen to me. A greedy person becomes blind.


Even if that's a guy who can't tell the difference between blood and blood, and can't speak.


As if to prove Dietrich's idea, the boy got up and stood with his legs apart. He rummaged around the parade ground for a dusty wooden sword and threw it at the boy. As if he had expected it, the boy grabbed his wooden sword. It was a beastly movement. I let out a sigh as I felt that the future would be formidable.


Dietrich came to Luden for one reason. He wanted to persuade Reinhardt to leave this damn cold territory and, if possible, even abandon the empire. However, while listening to Reinhardt's words, he was handing a sword to a child.


Fixing the finger of the boy holding the sword, Dietrich blew wind into his bangs with a hook.


It seemed that the day of abandoning the empire was far off.






***






The day got really cold. In the capital, Thanksgiving had just ended, and now was the time for people to store hay and cut firewood.


However, Luden Castle had already stored all the firewood. A cold wind blew hard. Mrs. Sarah said there was going to be a blizzard soon.


A snowstorm at such an early time. Reinhardt couldn't believe it, but the guards at Luden Castle did what she believed or not. She tied the ends of the castle wall tightly with a hay rope. It is common for stones to freeze and melt in a blizzard in an old castle wall before eventually rolling down.


It was the season when food was running out in earnest. The wild geese all flew away, so the guard commander untied his bowstring. Yesterday I killed five pigs in the castle yard. Dietrich played the most. The proud knight of the Rinke estate received great applause from the castle servants for his skill in cutting off the neck of a pig in one stroke without pain.


“Well, this feels much better than being praised for cutting people’s throats.”


Seeing the knight grinning while saying that, everyone laughed out loud.


Reinhardt felt strange. It is because the image of her victims approaching Dietrich without hesitation came to me in many ways.


Even today, the servants were working noisily in the castle yard. To smoke and salt the pork before the day gets colder. The smoke from burning juniper trees shook the whole castle. Hearing the voices of people outside the window, Reinhardt thought. Should I go out and chop firewood? Of course this is nonsense. Rather than that, it's better to search the records of the Luden estate and find other help.


“Reinhard.”


Reinhardt, who was just about to pull out a record card from the bookshelf, blinked and looked around. A familiar boy stood next to her. Beneath the black hair, the twinkling black eyes. Her face had become quite pretty now, but Reinhardt laughed as soon as he saw it.


“What is that hair?”


“Didre-Higa.”


The boy's hair was cut in an ugly way. Dietrich, who complained that his long hair bothered him every time he trained, seemed to have picked up the blade today. Reinhardt held his stomach and smiled on the spot.


"What's this! It looks like it was eaten by a rat!”


"mouse… … .”


Wilhelm pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. Reinhardt laughed as if he were about to shed his tears. It was also true that Wilhelm's hair had distinctly different lengths on the left and right sides.


“Dietrich is the bravest of all the knights in our territory and has great swordsmanship, but he's only good at cutting people's throats. There is no hair-cutting technique, cancer.”


She groped in Wilhelm's ear and giggled. Her face blushed as if Wilhelm was embarrassed. Should I say it's fortunate that Luden Castle is so poor that it doesn't even have a mirror? Reinhardt sat Wilhelm on one side of the study and looked for scissors. Scissors for cutting parchment were on one side of the desk. The leather scissors were heavy and dull, but they worked well. If you cut your hair with scissors that don't cut well, the blade will be sharp.


"Weird?"


When the child saw Reinhardt approaching with scissors, he opened his mouth and asked in a dull tone. Wilhelm was more talkative than before. It was the result of Dietrich teaching him to beat to death every day. Dietrich treated Wilhelm much harsher than the knights after Rinke, and the reason was obvious.


It was said that the fastest way to turn a guy who couldn't speak and wield a sword by the age of 16 into a human was to catch it like a mouse.


Reinhardt thought it was an excuse, but Wilhelm followed Dietrich faster than he thought. Even when Reinhardt sat next to her and made her write on a slate, the ship learned her words faster, so she had nothing to say.


“No, it's nothing strange. cute. It's cute... … . I think it would be cuter if I trimmed it a little more.”


She patted Wilhelm's shoulder and trimmed his hair little by little. Wilhelm sat quietly and listened to Reinhardt brushing his hair. In fact, it was also the first time she cut someone else's hair.


'Still, I'm better than Dietrich.'


Of course, after a while, Reinhardt had to admit that it was his arrogance. It was because his hair was seldom cut neatly. Reinhardt groaned and groaned behind Wilhelm. Wilhelm flinched.


"Well. It just doesn't go well... … .”


After a while, the shape came out to be barely noticeable. Reinhardt satisfactorily brushed Wilhelm's shoulders. Then, all of a sudden, she noticed that Wilhelm was a little bigger than she knew. As she ate and moved her body like that, her dwarf body seemed to grow little by little.


'Is this what 'making people' is?'


When Reinhardt paused, Wilhelm carefully looked back. Reinhardt grinned as his black, sparkling eyes met.


"That's great. It's cute now.”


I was going to say cool, but the word cute still suits me well. She tilted her boy's forehead and kissed her. Wilhelm's cheeks turned a little red.






***






It seemed that the 'appearance worth watching' was only Reinhardt's position. As soon as Dietrich saw Wilhelm's head at the dinner table, he laughed and laughed.


"What's this? What kind of hair do you have?”


Yes, I did a lot of cutting to get the shape. Still, her hair was beautifully curly, so I thought it was okay. As Reinhardt wrinkled his nose, Wilhelm, who was sitting across from her, turned angrily at Dietrich.


"no."


“What do you know? You still haven't fixed that habit.”


Dietrich popped Wilhelm's forehead with a bang.


“It’s good that your hair is shorter so you can see your forehead better.”


Mr. Wilhelm rubbed his forehead. Reinhard scooped up the potato soup in front of his eyes and put it in his mouth. Dietrich also picked up a spoon.


"I expected it, but it's a bit staggering."


“Just eat. It seems that this is also a delicacy in Luden this season.”


It started to snow little by little in Luden. Right now it's just a little bit of snow, Sarah said, but it's going to be a crazy blizzard in a fortnight or so.


People reinforced the basement and put extras over the windows. This is because windows that open and close with wood quickly crack as they repeatedly freeze and thaw during the blizzard season.


“Do you see someone as a grumbling kid and say that?”


Dietrich grinned. Reinhardt shook his head.


“Even the kid in front of you doesn’t complain.”


The boy, referred to as 'Little Boy', blinked his dark eyes.


“Not that.”


Dietrich pounded Wilhelm's soup bowl nearby. On the table was potato and flour soup, corn bread with pork, and salted vegetables.


It was enough to feed three people, but that's not what Dietrich meant.


"I'm all grown up, so just filling my stomach is enough, but this kid needs to eat more meat."


“… … ah."


"Don't you remember when the Viscount was five or six years old, Hu Rinke fed him enough meat to make him sick of it?"


Reinhardt hesitated, then smiled lightly.


"It did. I had a lot of stomach upset because I couldn’t eat meat well.”


“Anyway, even in a place where meat is rare, the meat that a child this size will eat is completely different from the meat that an adult will eat.”


“But pork is supposed to be eaten by the castle family all winter long.”


Dietrich clicked his tongue.


“To think that Rinke Hu’s daughter was trembling because she was afraid of only five pigs.”


Somewhere the Crown Princess didn't say— Reinhardt chuckled.


“I ate a lot when I was young, so that’s okay. Wilhelm will have to eat the amount I will eat.”


“I’m not kidding.”


"why?"


Wilhelm raised an eyebrow. The boy also didn't seem to like it too much if I ate the amount Reinhardt would eat. It was surprising to think of a boy with an appetite. Dietrich continued.


“That's right, the Viscount is also a patient who would have to be bedridden for six months if he were in the capital. Not eating meat while shivering in the cold. It won’t even fit next spring.”


“Am I not cold?”


“Take off the fur cape on your back and talk about it, please.”


Reinhardt pursed his lips. "You're not a little girl, stop being so duck-billed." After Dietrich pushed Wilhelm his share of pork, he wiped her lips with her thumb, bruised. Wilhelm pulled Dietrich's without hesitation, then widened his eyes at the intimate gesture. Only Reinhardt was calm.


“Let’s try winter hunting for the first time in a while.”


“… … Huh.”


“The chief of the guard shot and caught a wild goose. It is said that reindeer the size of a house come out in winter in this area. Tomorrow, I will take a few off-duty guys and go out for a day or three, so you know that.”


“Ah, Dietrich. Please don't let me hear the news that he died after being hit by a reindeer's paw.”


Dietrich giggled as he scooped up the soup.


"While I'm gone, please keep the news that my lord died from freezing."


“Because it’s not cold.”


“You go too.”


Without listening to Reinhardt's protest, Dietrich spoke to Wilhelm. Wilhelm stopped eating and shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment. Even Reinhardt was surprised.


“That little kid?”


“I am a little boy. Are you small?”


Dietrich, scratching his head, asked Wilhelm. Wilhelm wiped his mouth and shook his head. Those eyes were full of displeasure. Only Dietrich laughed.






***






As soon as he had finished eating, Dietrich handed the child a wooden brush and left, threatening to put him first on a reindeer hunt the next day if he did not brush it.


The cornstalk sandwiched between the trees wasn't a high quality toothbrush, but it didn't scratch my gums. Wilhelm looked down at his toothbrush.


The two stood by the well in the castle yard. It was cold, and both were wearing thick fur coats, but Reinhardt rolled his sleeves up to his arms and trembled, deliberately brushing his teeth with salt. Wilhelm looked up at her blankly.


“I really hated brushing my teeth when I was younger too.”


Reinhardt, who rinsed his mouth with cold water so that his teeth were cold, grinned.


“But my father said that if I didn’t brush my teeth well, the prince would run away even when he came to pick me up.”


“… … .”


Oh, who would have thought that stabbing the prince would make him a leg asshole. Reinhardt, who was about to laugh out of embarrassment, suddenly hardened his face and said to Wilhelm.


“So you have to clean your teeth too. Otherwise, the princess won't kiss you."


“… … You don’t like Reinhard either?”


In response to Wilhelm's question, Reinhardt said, "Sure, then." and nodded his head.


“I hate men who don’t brush their teeth.”


At that, Wilhelm started brushing his teeth.


Dietrich nags her every time that she treats Wilhelm like a six, not sixteen. But how would you treat this cute kid as an adult? Reinhardt rested his chin on his chin and looked at Wilhelm.


After roughly combining the stories he heard from the worker who knew Wilhelm, he came up with an estimate.


The child has probably been wandering since childhood. Just by looking at the line, it is. She thinks she's a monster, but she's dirty, she's not good at washing, and she's clumsy.


It is natural that people are not aware of the things that they should take care of on a daily basis.


Wilhelm brushed his teeth proudly. Reinhardt crouched down to watch the boy spit water on the dirt floor, then smiled brightly and pulled the boy's hand. His wet fingertips were cold, but his palms held warm heat. Her boy's body temperature was slightly higher than hers, which is why she probably survived wandering outside in this cold climate.


The boy blinked and was dragged away. Reinhardt stretched out his finger and groped the inside of the boy's lips. The touch of soft lips wrapped around his fingertips. The boy straightened up in surprise. She felt her soft teeth and smiled contentedly.


"You did well."


The boy's face, who was looking at her, turned red beyond words. He's true too. Is it good enough to make her blush like that? Reinhardt stood up and took the boy's hand and entered the castle. The boy's ears turned red all the time, and he didn't know how to return to their original color.






***






Dietrich was sitting by the fire, sharpening his bowstring. It was given to him by the captain of the guard, saying it was a bow my father used. As soon as Reinhardt saw the bow, he said, 'Are we going to catch the griffin?' It was big enough to seriously ask.


It was difficult to tie a string to the bow with a normal string. Dietrich said he had a rope, and brought out a line made of very thinly sliced ​​tanned deer skin and Gulekt's tail hair.


The process of untying and re-twisting the rope was very difficult, and Reinhardt took Dietrich into his drawing room. It was because Dietrich's personality made it obvious that he would be alone in a cold room without a fire, trimming the line.


Even though it was a poor castle, Sarah did not turn down the lights even in the owner's room, and as a result, Reinhardt, Dietrich, and Wilhelm all gathered in the drawing room to bask in the fire.


“Halsey, the goddess of vengeance, hated the reindeer of my half-brother, Alutica. Alutika was the god of tranquility and fertility, and she always had her reindeer pulling her own cart to hinder Halsey's steps.”


Reinhardt sat Wilhelm on a long chair and leaned back next to him to tell him what he knew.


“Even though Halsey knew Alutica's tricks, she couldn't avoid the reindeer. The world tree grew from the reindeer's antlers, and the fruits of the world tree were Halsey's favorite flavor. After eating the sweet, enticingly scented fruit, Halsey always fell asleep on the reindeer's back.”


“You teach good things to a kid who goes hunting for reindeer.”


Dietrich made a sarcastic remark, keeping his eyes fixed on the line.


"Noisy. This is the only reindeer story I know.”


“Yes, yes.”


"Noisy."


Wilhelm followed Reinhardt's words. Dietrich narrowed his eyes. “That’s it.” “Continue, Reinhard.” At that, she nodded her head and opened her mouth.


“While Halsey slept, humans were at peace. Alutica carried the sleeping Halsey on her own reindeer back and roamed her continent to share her bounty. And Halsey woke up after twenty-one nights and days and was angry like fire. But Alutika had already put her Halsey down in her nest and had run away. That's how Alutica kept people's peace.”


Wilhelm was concentrating on her words, his black eyes shining. Reinhardt finished the story with a smile.


“So when the weather is warm for a while in the winter, everyone says that Alutica put Halsey to sleep. But after such a warm day, there is always a huge blizzard. It's because of Halsey's anger."


Dietrich snorted.


"You know that's not a fairy tale to tell a child, right?"


“What are you talking about? This is the Donghwan my father used to tell me when I was young.”


"Hu Linke probably didn't say this for the sake of her daughter's emotions, but do you know why spring comes after such a cold and new life is conceived, Viscount."


“… … What?"


Dietrich laughed and pulled the bowstring. The taut bowstring held its shape firmly, as if it hadn't loosened in his hand at some point.


“Anilak, the goddess of spring, was born from Halsey’s belly.”


“What is it?”


"I can't imagine what Alutica did to my sleeping sister during those twenty-one nights and days."


Silence passed. Reinhardt thought for a moment about what he had heard, then slowly covered Wilhelm's ears. Dietrich laughed.


“It must be late.”


“Dietrich!!”


Reinhardt's shout resounded in the cold Luden Castle.






***






“I had no idea that was such a story.”


Reinhardt grumbled as she placed a blanket over Wilhelm's shoulder as he fell asleep leaning against his arm.


Dietrich wiped the last dagger and wrapped it around with the others. Reinhardt hissed at the characteristic tinkling sound of steel and put his hand to his lips. Dietrich snorted.


“If I go hunting, I won’t be able to sleep for a few days, so let me sleep.”


Reinhardt didn't know about hunting either. Hunting in this season required a risk of death. I couldn't sleep in the snow for three days and had to wander with frozen hands and feet. Dietrich tied her bow and pike together and sat down in front of her bench and opposite her. The two of them were at the same eye level.


“Let me ask you one question, Viscount.”


"What."


“Are you saying that because you remembered the Marquis?”


Reinhardt closed his mouth. The green eyes of Dietrich stared at her, unwilling to fall.


“I was six years old when the Marquis brought a four-year-old child. Pia was also a child who couldn't identify, but she knew one thing. The Marquis said that the child he picked up on the street was strangely precious.”


“Dietrich.”


“Human Rinke raised a son of a retainer like his own daughter and did everything he could. I was in that bed when you hugged me and put me on the bed and read a storybook to me.”


Reinhardt habitually tucked his long, shiny blonde hair behind his ear, then hesitantly brought it back to the front of his face. Dietrich stared at her with her back bent, her elbows on either side of her knees.


It was the same in the bed after Rinke. When Reinhardt, who had been sleeping well, rolled away in Rinke Hu's arms, rolling over her sleeping habits, Dietrich, who was lying on her side of the bed, looked at Reinhardt with those eyes, then pushed her back and put her back under the duvet.


The old Rinke Hu always said to Dietrich. He said that you must protect Reinhardt. Her daughter, whom Rinke Hu cherishes dearly, was a child she picked up on her street when she was young. There were no children between her and the Marquis.


The wife also did not hate the child Linke Hu brought. She just didn't like her. Anyone who sees Rinke Hu giving her daughter a legitimate name despite the objections of her marquis does it.


Someone whispered that Like He had brought an illegitimate child. Of course, such gossip was few and far between. Because everyone knew of Rinke's hard and brittle temperament. Linke Hu was a benevolent father only to Reinhardt.


Dietrich knew everything about Reinhardt, and he knew where the gift she was giving to Wilhelm came from. Holding hands, kissing foreheads. Holding a fire and telling a fairy tale.


It was all Rinke Hu used to do to her.


“Viscount.”


“… … Know. My father is dead.”


"Nope."


Dietrich shook his head.


“If you can forget that child by loving him, do it.”


The man's green eyes were kind, as she had seen them all through her childhood. That tenderness resembled her father's. Her father, who always hugged her and said 'My apple pie!'


Ah, father.


“… … could you?”


Her golden eyes glowed in the light of the candle. Rinke Hu looked at her beautiful golden eyes and compared them to the apples of autumn. That's what Rinke Hu said when she first picked her up.


<Your eyes are like apples glazed with honey.>


“Thank you, Dietrich. It's sobering.”


“… … I wonder if I said something unnecessary to your peace.”


Dietrich let out a dry laugh.


Reinhardt leaned back in his chair and laid his body on his side. As the warmth flew away, Wilhelm burrowed into her arms. She gently twisted Wilhelm's hair with her fingertips. Her jet-black hair ran between her fingers.


'Bill Colonna.'


Dietrich was right. She treated Wilhelm as if he were her younger brother or child. It is also true that Wilhelm, who has gained weight and has become quite pretty, was so cute that he followed me and acted as if he had forgotten for a while.


But she didn't forget.


Reinhardt couldn't forget why he kept this child by his side.


"If it's the sorrow you can forget about that bastard's leg being cut off, it must have been like that a long time ago."


She gritted her teeth. It seemed that her heart-breaking sadness was about to overflow from his throat, so Reinhardt lowered his head and buried his face in the blanket.


“… … What am I supposed to say, but should I get caught? Should I say the viscount has a great eye?”


As if trying to lighten the mood, Dietrich turned around.


"What are you talking about?"


“That black viper in the bosom of the Viscount.”


poisonous snake Reinhardt glanced down at the child. Dietrich shrugged his shoulders.


“That guy broke five wooden swords in the past week.”


"What does that mean?"


“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”


Dietrich stretched out his hand and lightly pressed it with his thumb at the faint smile that appeared on Reinhardt's lips as he said that. Reinhardt was startled and shook his body. Because he didn't even know he was laughing. Dietrich shrugged his shoulders and smiled.


“How toxic being young is.”


“… … .”


"Wake up."


Dietrich got up and wrapped himself in Reinhardt's arms and shook the sleeping boy to wake him up. The boy narrowly opened his eyes.


“Sleep in your bed.”


“Diedrich… … .”


“This guy, his strong pronunciation is not good.”


Reinhardt brushed the boy's forehead and smiled. The boy narrowed his eyes, then pulled himself up.


"line."


“… … ?”


“Call me Line. When you come back.”


At those words, the boy rolled his eyes, then nodded. Dietrich clicked his tongue. “I don’t think I would raise a baby born in my arms like that.”


The two went hunting with five guards at dawn the next day. The hunting period, which was said to be three days, increased to a week, but the reindeer the seven people had caught was very large. The most notable among them was the severed head of a reindeer. Hearing that Wilhelm had been cut down in one fell swoop with Dietrich's ax, Reinhardt kissed Wilhelm on the cheek.


Reinhardt decorated his room with a stuffed reindeer head with antlers extending like branches.






***






Time flew by.


Except for a couple of big snowstorms, and about a dozen or so territories who went out of the house and got lost, Luden rolled along peacefully. There was a blizzard that made it impossible to distinguish the sky in all directions, but everyone was overcoming it well because it was a manor with a history of preparing for winter.


Reinhardt was struggling to put his thoughts into practice before spring came.


'In a few years, there will be a big fire in the Northeast.'


Because it is so cold and dry, the Northeast has always been exposed to the danger of wildfires in winter. However, what Reinhardt came up with was a big fire in this area three years from now.


Since these are the territories with a history of preparing for the winter, everyone was always preparing for forest fires. But three years later, the Raylan wildfires were a little different. The scale was truly vast, and it took more than a year to put out the fire because the fire burned in the ground.


Thus, the northeastern part of the empire is almost annihilated. It is also an opportunity for the father of the current emperor, Michel Alanquez, to lose public opinion.


There was only one reason why Reinhardt from his previous life, who was almost drunk, remembered this fire clearly.


'I stopped drinking well.'


If you ask what the forest fires and alcohol have to do with it, you can give many reasons. The brewery in the territory disappeared, or the craftsman who made the sake died... … . But in this case it was completely different.


The Raylan Wildfire is a fire that has spread to the Raylan Marsh. You might ask how a fire spreads in a wetland, but the reason was simple.


Leylan Marsh was a source of dirt coal.


Fallen leaves, soil, and suspended matter accumulated over a long period of time are hardened and become burnt charcoal.


This was called earth coal or peat. Its properties were very different from the black tans produced in the mountains. And the distilled liquor made by burning this charcoal was called Reylanju.


Raylan wine, mixed with the smell of burning Raylan peat, gave off a unique smell. This stimulated the taste of fans. However, the Raylan Forest Fire broke out and the production of Raylan State was completely cut off. The fire that burned in the ground in Raylan was none other than a fire that was maintained by burning peat.


'We have to stop the wildfires. Of course, it's not just about stopping forest fires.'


She had no intention of making Leyland. Strong spirits take a long time to produce, and she doesn't know how to make them. There were many locals who made alcohol in this cold region, but they were not good drinkers.


All she wanted was to make the Leylan Marsh her own and sell the peat there.


Leylan State was not produced in the territory where the Leylan Marsh was located. A brewer passing through the area accidentally found peat in the Leilan Marsh, secretly scooped it up, dried it on the way, and sold it on the estate in ten days by wagon. The name was given to such a subject, and he said that he expressed the landscape of the Leyland Wetland with taste.


The lord of Raylan Marsh, Nathantin, did not know that and was satisfied with receiving ten bottles of Raylan wine from the brewer every year. For Nathantine, Leylan Marsh was completely useless and neglected.


When the production of Leyland's liquor was cut off, the brewer, who gave up all because of people asking why, told the reason, but the lord was angry.


anyway.


If not for the brewer, now only she knew that Leylan Marsh was a treasure trove of peat.


Peat makes quite a bit of money. It was not easy for anyone to guess that the piles of mud piled up under the marsh would burn.


'But I know.'


The problem was that Raylan Marsh was not hers. When she told Nathan Tin that she was going to dig up the soil of Leylan Marsh, she was suspicious and would not give her permission.


plausible excuse. What is it?


'It's been a long time since it's been considered useless land, so my head hurts even more.'


There was another problem. It is manpower. In the Luden Manor, if you recruit people who are about to plow the soil in the spring that they will uselessly dig up the soil, you will feel resentment, let alone recognition. You will hear that the woman who stabbed the prince and was chased will starve the villagers to death.


It was when she banged her head on the desk and groaned. Queek, the door is open.


"line. Dietrich... … .”


Reinhardt smiled at the owner of the familiar voice.


He choked to death on his reindeer meat throughout the winter, and before spring, he was a boy who grew up like a seed sown.


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