The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (11)

Not having a mouth even when you want to scream.

Not having tear ducts even when you want to cry.

Is that what this feeling is like?

‘Even if I wanted to run crying, there’s no mother in this world to hold me…’

Maybe I’m someone who lost their family in this world too.

Thinking that somehow gave me courage.

No, I hoped it would.

Please save me, grandfather.

I prayed and answered inwardly.

“…Both will burn forever, I suppose. They’ll just be buried and lived with.“

“Yes. Everyone would be the same.”

The old man smiled and bowed his head.

Phew! I’m saved!

I thought I was alive…

“As you may have noticed, my daughter passed away long ago. Izack lost his wife and Ronari lost her mother.”

The landmine was still under my feet.

Of all the topics in the world, of all things it has to be dead family stories!

But this was a story I had to hear.

I asked the question, and

I stepped into a minefield.

So I had to listen.

At least, if I wanted them to be my comrades.

I nodded as if treading on thin ice.

“I see. How could that have…”

“She simply fell ill. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. But I can’t deny that it became the catalyst.”

“…A reason to hate someone?“

The old man nodded.

“We simply needed an object of hatred. We had to pin the grief of losing a daughter and a wife on someone. It’s foolish, but when faced with unbearable emotions, people can only make such choices.”

The old man continued.

“I’m too old to have the strength to hate anyone so fiercely. But Izack is still young and remembers my daughter more vividly. So he still believes his wife died because of discrimination from the upper class.”

I didn’t know the background at all.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine.

Residents of the Lower Quarter cannot receive any benefit from the public healthcare provided by Denabi Castle.

Moreover, the Lower Quarter’s environment is deadly for the frail.

The air is poor, sewage flows down from the upper quarter, and rats swarm.

The imbalance and inequality between the upper and lower quarters are real.

‘What do the misfortunes of the Lower Quarter bastards have to do with me?’

People from the upper quarter can’t dismiss it like that.

Of course, those living in the Lower Quarter bear some responsibility themselves.

But as Pietro said, people try to find the cause of unbearable sorrow outside themselves.

I understood that feeling.

Pietro said.

“Honestly, I am grateful to Izack. That he still holds that much hatred means he still loves my daughter that much.”

My chest tightened for no reason.

My mouth moved unconsciously.

“I think I understand now.”

“If it’s the reason Izack ran out…”

“No.”

I shook my head.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I should say the next thing.

There’s nothing ruder than presuming someone else’s feelings.

I swallowed.

‘But isn’t crossing that line what emotional exchange is about…?’

“Even though you hate us so much, the reason you help us—I think I understand. You said you had no choice but to trust me…”

I looked at Ronari, who had been quietly listening beside me.

“It was actually because of your granddaughter, wasn’t it?”

“Hehe*.”*

He let out a faint scoff.

Their love that had lost its way turned into hatred.

But they still had love left.

Daughter and granddaughter.

Ronari.

‘There’s only one feeling that can cover the hatred of losing family… is that what you mean?’

I listened to the old man’s words.

“My old body wouldn’t be missed if I died tomorrow, but shouldn’t the young live on?”

Ronari’s face flushed, embarrassed.

I understand your feelings a hundred times over.

‘Nothing is as embarrassing as when your parents or grandparents talk about themselves. Ugh.’

The old man said.

“Ronari and I will go look for Izack. Young master, since you’re busy, go back and tend to your work.”

It was a kind offer.

But I shook my head.

“No. You don’t need to go look for him.”

“What? But still…”

“It will be fine. Really.”

Hearing Pietro made me feel that certainty.

Izack would surely return on his own.

‘And the reason Izack caused this commotion… I think I understand now.’

Not minutes after that certainty, Izack really returned.

“What. It’s still not quieted? If you have so little to do…”

Before he finished speaking, I bowed and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Izack.”

Attention turned to us and the area grew noisy.

I carried on regardless.

“I was the one who gave you full authority over the site. And I’m also the one who sent Avenger and disrupted the site. I’m truly ashamed.”

“…Save your apologies for the wasted hours. Go and do your job.“

“This is my job right now.”

“…?“

Izack’s eyebrow twitched at my firm tone.

I said.

“I want to speak quietly. Could you spare a moment?”

“…“

Izack snorted.

But it was a sign of agreement.

He retraced his steps and went back outside.

His collar brushed my shoulder.

I followed him.

“Make it quick. You know the site is busy.”

“Yes.”

I replied quietly.

“I’ve thought about why you refused Avenger’s plan.”

“…“

“At first I thought it was just dissatisfaction with Avenger or the upper class. But I don’t think Izack is that sort of person. Thanks to Elder Pietro.”

“So father said some useless thing again, huh. Ha. So you’ve developed some pathetic trust in me?”

“I’ve trusted you from the start. Izack may be prickly, but you get the job done.”

“If you want to flatter me, clear the board and go back to the castle, kid.”

Who said I wanted to flatter you?

Anyway, the sniping…

“There is a reasonable reason to reject Avenger’s solution. Ronari helped me realize it…”

I turned toward the workshop.

“As Avenger said, laying down a floor would cause problems.”

“Ha. Do you even know what problem?”

I answered immediately.

“It creates a step difference.”

And I pointed to the workshop.

The site was bustling.

A carpenter who builds the equipment, a craftsman who positions it according to the blueprint, and an apprentice who assists them.

Most noticeable among them were the workers in wheelchairs.

“Many of the workers we hired are wounded soldiers who lost legs. If a floor creates step differences, it will be a hardship for them.”

“You just realized that? Well, you brats need things explained to you. My fault.”

“No. I also understand why you didn’t explain it on the spot.”

When Avenger and Izack caused the uproar, Izack seemed to be watching the site workers closely.

He wouldn’t have acted that way for no reason.

He was the one who grabbed the lord’s son’s collar, after all.

He wouldn’t have behaved like that out of concern for how others saw him.

“Although they received wheeled chairs, those workers with leg injuries are already struggling to adapt. If you had brought up their situation then and rejected the solution, they might have blamed themselves. They would have felt helpless.”

A strange embarrassment crossed Izack’s face.

He denied it strongly.

“…I never had that thought. I just didn’t feel the need to explain.“

“Haha. That was a bit of a leap, though…”

I smiled awkwardly and said.

“Still, I think Izack would have considered the feelings of the wheelchair workers. After all, you came from the Lower Quarter.”

“What does coming from the Lower Quarter have to do with it?”

“You’d both feel like unwelcome outsiders here. Izack and those workers alike.”

“…!“

Izack’s mouth opened slightly.

I glanced at the workers in wheelchairs.

“That’s something that’s always worried me too. Would injured people be a nuisance? Do they even belong working here? Would they feel that anxiety…?”

So I considered the wheelchair adaptation issue more serious than the leakage.

“But if Izack has been taking care of that, I’m truly grateful.”

“…“

Izack’s silence was long.

He seemed embarrassed and confused.

He opened his mouth again with an unexpected remark.

“Those guys were soldiers before they were injured. If this place is their battlefield now, then I’m their commander. If I don’t think of them, who else will?”

After saying that, he looked at me.

“So I’m not the only one who thinks that way—maybe there’s some hope in this site after all.”

“Haha… Do I have the qualities of a commander too?”

I asked as a joke.

But Izack’s answer was serious.

“You stupid kid. Of course not. Even if you scour the earth, there’s nothing soldierly about you.”

“Told you so?”

“Don’t be deluded. Don’t try to act like a commander. You’re not that. You’re a leader.”

“A leader…?”

“Right. A commander of commanders.”

I was stunned by the completely unexpected answer.

“I don’t like you. But aside from that, there’s no doubt about your leadership qualities. You’ve succeeded in making both us and them follow you.”

Is that a compliment?

This old man? Me?

No way.

I smiled awkwardly and said.

“If I had such qualities, I’d have done it much better.”

“No. Don’t doubt your qualities. That would be an insult to me and the others who chose to follow you.”

He tapped my chest.

“Trust you. Don’t make my daughter’s choice pointless.”

His words came so suddenly.

‘You, who were so hostile…’

I didn’t know how to react.

So I mumbled an answer.

“…Ahem. Anyway, full authority over site management still belongs to Izack. There will be no infringement on that. We’ll discuss the leakage issue with Avenger and find another solution soon.“

“Fine. Don’t worry about that. I told you not to act like a commander. Just tell people like me to handle things and get the job done.”

“But…”

“The problem is already solved. Do you think I just went out and smoked? I’ve talked to the plumber. They say we can reroute the channel. Then even if water bursts again, there won’t be flooding.”

Wait, this man didn’t just storm off?

He’d been working the whole time?

‘Here’s the kind of self-solving talent I was looking for.’

I was so happy my head felt like it would burst.

My hand instinctively grabbed his hand.

“You’re truly our site supervisor! I really respect you!”

I grabbed his hand and shook it wildly.

In shaking it, a sleeve button came undone and fluttered.

Of course he was mortified.

“Let go! Damn it…!”

“If it weren’t for you, Izack, we couldn’t have even started! Please stay with us forever!”

“Forever together? We’ll leave as soon as we make enough money. Keep your promise not to betray us. Or else…”

He abruptly turned his face away from me.

It was right after he looked into my eyes.

“Huh… Fine. Go quickly.”

He turned and headed into the workshop.

Then—he came back?

“And don’t let me see this kind of thing again. It’s annoying.”

He grabbed my flapping sleeve and pulled me down.

It was the arm with the Mana crystal protruding.

Then, as he returned to work, he glanced once at his daughter.

‘Now that I think about it, Ronari also had a Mana crystal on her wrist.’

She bowed to her father and ran to me.

She looked surprised.

“Wow, young master, how did you know? That my father would come back?”

I thought she was asking something impressive.

“You have to work to survive.”

“Ah…”

‘Especially you.’

Izack and Pietro wouldn’t particularly want to work either.

Who in the world wants to be a working employee?

Especially with bad memories related to departed family.

Still, there’s one universal reason people must work.

‘Because there’s family to provide for.’

Fathers are the same in every world.

Perhaps everyone helping this venture feels the same way.

To think I have to lead those burdened people.

Honestly, it was burdensome.

Izack said I had the qualities.

But I still found it hard to believe myself.

“They’re all risking their lives and families; is someone like me fit to be in charge…?”

“Hmm? Young master? What did you say?”

Damn, my thoughts slipped out.

“It’s nothing…”

But then a shout rang out from inside the workshop again.

Thud-!

A soldier had toppled from his wheelchair and was shouting loudly.

“Damn it! I can’t do this anymore! How am I supposed to work sitting in this stupid chair…! Damn…!”

‘Ah, there was a problem we hadn’t solved.’

The wheelchair adaptation issue that Avenger reported.

Despite Izack’s consideration…

It surfaced anyway.