The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (28)

“What, are you repeating what I said?”

She snorted and laughed.

“Haha. Was it obvious?”

I scratched my head awkwardly.

“But this isn’t something I only told Ronari. Izack and Pietro also said the same to me.”

“Your father and grandfather said that?”

She looked surprised.

‘No wonder she’d be surprised. It’s hard to imagine such taciturn people saying something like that, even from a daughter’s perspective.’

But it was true.

“Yes. It helped me a lot.”

Looking back, Alejandro also told me something like that.

I believe in you.

Believe in yourself.

Those words of encouragement were rapturous, but at the same time painful.

They kept reminding me of a thirst I thought I’d barely suppressed.

Praise me more.

Value me higher.

Lift me up more.

Those feelings kept pushing me on.

Before I knew it, I was consumed by the thought that I had to do better.

I worked not just for my survival but truly for Denabi.

And from there it occurred to me.

What if I could instigate that in Ronari as well?

If my deliberately used encouragement and praise could ignite her determination?

‘You might not just have potential S+; you could become a true S+.’

Sometimes sweet words become weapons.

“I’ve heard that you should return the words you’ve received, if they’re not bad words. But you can’t return them to just anyone…”

I trailed off.

“I entrusted it to the person I trust the most.”

“Is it not because you’re the family of those who gave you those words, young master?”

Ronari asked playfully.

“I admit that gave you bonus points.”

-Heh heh heh

She held her stomach and laughed.

“What. I’m disappointed.”

“You said earlier you weren’t disappointed in me?”

“That was that and this is this. Ah. Enough jokes. My stomach already hurts. If I eat more I’ll get sick.”

“If your stomach’s that bad, why don’t you donate to the ground like I did yesterday?”

“I said stop!”

She glared at me with narrow eyes.

“Ah, understood.”

I stepped back from her.

She calmed herself a bit and spoke gently.

“…Alright. I get it. It would be troublesome if the grand lord’s chief retainer was just Administrator Ronari Arenta.“

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ll try. Strategic Analyst. It’s a bit much, but it’s a cool title. If I have to live off a salary, I have to perform up to the title, don’t I?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. If you really become the grand lord, give me a big salary.”

“Salary? I’ll give you a title, fiefs, even a castle.”

She was impressed.

“Wow. Look at you begging to exploit me.”

I didn’t bother to deny it.

But then she said.

“Ah, but I don’t need a castle.”

“Why not?”

“Just… I don’t need it. Anyway, I need some time to think about the operation. Sorry, but my things are over there…”

She stood and reached for the luggage compartment behind my back.

But I beat her to it.

Without looking, I took something from the pocket behind me.

‘Of course she was going to ask for it now.’

It was a small tactical map and a notebook with notes on Dungeon conquest.

“Ah, thank you. But young master, you’re scary. Did you put it exactly there expecting this?”

‘Of course.’

“Improving staff efficiency is the boss’s job. Tell me if you need anything else.”

“Fine. I’ll just think alone for a bit. I might come up with something good. Young master, get some sleep.”

“I’ll do that if I’m sleepy.”

“…You’re a real monster.“

She got to work in earnest.

Her concentration was remarkable.

She muttered something, scribbled in the notebook, gestured, and drew on the map.

It really seemed like some sort of operation was being formed.

After three or four hours, she started to yawn, probably sleepy.

At dawn she fell asleep completely.

I organized the notebook and tactical map for her.

While doing so, I tore out a blank page from the notebook and put it in my pocket.

Sleepiness started hitting me too.

‘Sluggishly? Not really.’

To be honest, I’d been feeling like I was going to die for a while.

To have to retrace yesterday’s daytime route at dawn the next day.

It was a harsh journey for my body.

“Haaaaaah…”

The yawn that threatened to split my mouth nearly succeeded.

Instead, my nose started to tickle oddly.

A nuisance that comes every day.

It wasn’t a sneeze; it was a nosebleed.

I stopped it with a handkerchief before it flowed.

“At this rate I’ll just die of anemia.”

These days I’ve gotten into the habit of carrying four or five handkerchiefs.

After a few minutes, the nosebleed seemed to be stopping.

I picked up the blanket and climbed back into the driver’s seat.

The driver’s seat exposed to the outside must be cold.

“Ah, young master.”

“Take it.”

“Oh my, doing this yourself…”

“You’ve suffered a lot because of my reckless plan.”

“No, suffering? Not at all. Compared to the young master or the soldiers, I’m quite comfortable.”

“Haha.”

I’m grateful they think that way.

I said, almost to myself.

“Dawn is breaking soon.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

I called his name and said.

“Randen, don’t be alarmed and listen. My magic is starting to wear off.”

“Yes?”

He wore an expression as if wondering if this was a joke.

A futile effort to understand my words showed on his face.

I appreciated the effort, but it was in vain.

Because it wasn’t a joke.

“The pursuit party will start catching up soon.”

“What!? A pursuit party?”

“Yes. No matter how busy the Lord of Limone was, he wouldn’t have failed to check on us. They’ll catch up within an hour.”

Ludovica and Vittorio are thorough people.

They wouldn’t have skipped even that level of checking.

‘And they won’t just let us go when they don’t know why we left suddenly. They’ll definitely chase us.’

“Uh… what should we do? Should we run faster?”

“No. It’s fine. They’ll catch up anyway.”

No matter how fast these two carriages run, they won’t shake off cavalry.

Besides, we left only half a day ago.

And there’s still a long way to the Denabi border.

“I’m not asking you to do anything. I’ll handle it, so rest assured.”

“You’ll handle it…?”

‘What’s up with this young master. Is he really going to use magic or something?’

You could see that thought on his face.

“Yes. It shouldn’t be difficult.”

I signaled the rear carriage to slow down gradually.

And I told the same to the others.

‘Is this really okay?’

They seemed to want to ask just that.

They must be dying to know why I’m acting so nonchalant.

‘Ha. Not telling them is part of the fun.’

Leaving them alone, I sat on the rear carriage and hummed a tune.

It wasn’t to be petty on purpose.

They may all be low-level officials, but they’ll become my subordinates.

‘If I’m going to show something impressive anyway, it’s better to build up suspense until the moment.’

It’ll be more dramatic that way.

They’ll think of me as mysterious and respect me more.

After humming about fifteen K-pop songs, a sign finally came.

A group of riders was galloping toward us from beyond the horizon, bathed in the morning sun.

I waited for them leisurely.

-Thud thud thud
-Thud thud thud

The sound of hooves drowned out the morning birdsong.

“They’ve finally come.”

The riders who stopped looked up at me.

The fierce faces of Limone warriors were tinged with bewilderment.

Of course.

They probably couldn’t figure out what to do.

‘They must have come planning only to ambush our fleeing selves and stop us.’

As commotion rose, Ronari also woke and opened the carriage door to come out.

“…Young master?“

I said to her and the staff.

“Everyone go back inside. I’ll take care of it.”

Then one of the riders shouted.

“Stay right there! Don’t think of acting on your own! This is still Limone…”

“You’d better shut that mouth before I kill you all.”

My declaration froze everyone.

My staff and the riders alike.

The riders hurriedly looked around.

It was the correct reaction.

I couldn’t make such claims unless I had ambushes hidden nearby.

Then, as the riders stepped back, he appeared.

“There are no ambushes.”

It was Vittorio.

I smiled at him.

“At last, someone worth talking to has come.”

“You are arrogant. Shane Astrier. Leaving the territory without our permission. Do you still not know your life hangs on their blades? It’s best not to put on meaningless airs.”

“Arrogance?”

I tilted my head.

Arrogance? Hardly.

“Vittorio Leviner. You must have heard the conversation your mother and I had. Do I look like someone who wastes time with empty bravado?”

“There is no one in your party who can stand against us. Threatening Limone’s brave soldiers without a single reliable backing; what else is that if not bravado?”

I answered with a smile.

“It’s because I have something to rely on.”

“Tell me. What’s that?”

I motioned with my chin to indicate that thing I relied on.

Vittorio’s eyebrows twitched.

The atmosphere among the riders turned uneasy.

“…?“

What I pointed to was Vittorio himself.

“Because you’ll protect me.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, I put my hand in my pocket.

The riders were wary, but what I pulled from my pocket was just a piece of paper.

The paper I had torn from Ronari’s notebook earlier.

I folded it into a paper airplane and threw it.

The plane traced a neat arc and flew to Vittorio.

“Read it alone. Don’t show it to anyone else.”

He unfolded the plane and read the writing inside.

After a moment, his expression creased.

‘Drive off the riders and leave just you. Kill your soldiers with your own hands if you wish not to.’

That’s what I had written.

He slowly lifted his head and looked at me.

He seemed to want to confirm what my ‘reliance’ was.

But all I could offer him was a smile.

‘Sneaky. You’re not a mind reader; you can’t possibly read my thoughts.’

“Hmm.”

After a brief moment of torment passed over him, he spoke softly.

“Stand down.”

“General…?”

Vittorio didn’t say it twice.

When he glared quietly at the riders, they had no choice but to step back.

The riders mounted their horses and kept a distance.

Vittorio approached me.

“What do you mean? That you’ll protect yourself?”

His gaze pierced me as if to demand an answer.

‘And what did you mean by saying that if I speak in front of my men I’ll end up killing them with my own hands?’

It was a powerful killing intent.

‘Ugh. I would’ve told you even without seeing that.’

“As you saw yesterday…”

I rolled up my sleeve and showed the Mana crystal sprouting on my arm.

At that moment, his pupils trembled slightly.

No matter how desperately he tried to hide it, it was useless.

I had already read it.

Your secret.

“You weren’t missed either. Mana crystallization. And near the chest, too.”

He said in a voice that broke like a dumbfound scream.

“How did you… know that?”

Why keep asking things I can’t answer?

“Well, let’s just say I had reason to know. Anyway… we’re both ticking time bombs. Let’s not be so harsh on each other, okay?”