CH 4

Yulia, who was staring at the campfire, skillfully added firewood when needed. The fire was steadily burning.

Holding the fur gloves that she had borrowed from Bavaslov in her hands, Yulia looked at the direction where Carus stood.

Their eyes met. He was also looking at her.

It was a cold look. Although she deserved to be called his savior as she had saved the lives of his subordinates, he couldn’t let his guard down because he still didn’t have any guarantee that she wasn’t a spy. It was understandable.

Should she try to shake him a little?

"Sir Carus."

Yulia smiled gently at him. It was a smile that said she was up to something. Carus frowned.

"Did you know that the southern fleet and the pirates are getting along well with each other?"

The brutal truth that was shot like an arrow spilled out of Yulia’s mouth.

"Crazy…"

Bavaslov dropped the firewood he was holding with a loud sound. The knights who were nearby held their breath and looked at Yulia. The campsite that had been noisy was now filled with an uncomfortable silence.

Carus approached Yulia with heavy footsteps.

"What did you just say?"

"There is a lot of dirty money circulating in the port of Ortega. Of course, it’s the pirates’ money. Who do you think is laundering that money?"

"It must be the nobles."

"It’s Marjoram."

Yulia’s smile had now turned cold like a frosty blade.

"You will have to cut off Marjoram’s head."

As the ruthless smile of a beast was painted on Yulia’s girlish face, Carus couldn’t take his eyes off her.

*****

A week later, it started raining.

Short rain showers during the day and a continuous downpour at night.

Dawn was filled with heavy rain. Carus and his men stood at Ortega’s checkpoint.

"Where do you come from?"

"We crossed Titania."

"Oh my god, you crossed the mountain at such a tough period. Come in. The way to the inn is over there."

As expected from an open-minded country, they passed through the checkpoint smoothly.

Bavaslov, who was driving a huge wagon, talked to Carus, who was riding a horse beside him, with a sly expression.

"Since we did as Yulia said, we managed to pass through easily. Isn’t it intriguing?"

"What is?"

"It’s just that… I wonder if we didn’t gain a lucky charm."

Hehehe. Bavaslov’s shoulders shook as he laughed. Carus glared at his subordinate as if he were hopeless.

"Ortega is a peninsula. The only people who travel here would be merchants, herbalists and mercenaries who come to earn money. It’s obvious that the inspection would be more thorough at the beach which is the playground of the pirates…"

"Gosh, I get it. Who doesn’t know that? I just wanted to take Yulia’s side because I feel sorry for her."

"There’s a lot to feel sorry for."

"But, it did rain. After the rain showers, it rained continuously. Later, I am gonna go see whether the Liberation Army or Obstructing Army or whatever will really demonstrate in front of the palace."

"Bavaslov."

Carus called his name in a low voice as if warning him. The startled Bavaslov directed his eyes to the mountain far away.

At that moment, a clear and high voice that was completely different from Carus’s, came out of the carriage.

"Bavaslov."

Bavaslov looked back with a bright face.

"Yeah? What?"

"Drink this."

A small hand popped out through the curtains of the carriage. It was Yulia. She handed him a round and tall cup half-filled with a milky-colored drink.

"What is it, this time?"

"It’s milk, honey and alcohol mixed together. You’ve been having a hard time while driving the carriage."

"You should take care of yourself first…"

Although he had said that, Bavaslov took the drink without delay and drank it quickly.

It was a sweet and soft taste that also warmed his insides. After finishing the drink, Bavaslov smacked his lips regretfully and gave Carus a furtive look.

Then, he said to Yulia.

"Yulia, make one more. The commander is staring."

"Should I do that?"

The curtains rolled up and Yulia’s head popped out.

When she was in pain and dying, they thought she was an emotionless and boring woman, but after she had recovered her energy, she did a lot of things that intrigued them.

"Should I make one for you?"

Yulia asked Carus.

"It’s tasty."

Even the knights found Carus difficult to deal with so, except for Bavaslov, they couldn’t joke around with him easily. But Yulia wasn’t even afraid of Carus and would talk to him with a calm expression.

Carus didn’t reply and rode his horse forward.

It would be normal for her to look sullen after being constantly ignored but Yulia remained composed as usual.

‘She is a strong opponent’ Bavaslov thought while shaking his head. At that moment, the big knight from before silently approached Yulia and said.

"Me too."

"Wait a minute."

Yulia, who was sticking her head out, went inside and came out not long after with a drink in hand.

"Thank you."

"Carus is the one who bought everything. There is no reason for you to thank me. When you look at it, this carriage too was borrowed to carry the luggage and I got to ride it shamelessly."

"I guess that’s true."

The big knight chuckled and after emptying the cup at once, he handed it back to her.

"We still don’t trust you."

"I know."

"Still, we intend to go in front of Ortega’s palace later."

Predicting the weather could be a coincidence. Now and then, even farmers or fishermen who were exceptionally clever could read the weather quite well.

However, if she manages to predict the demonstration of the Liberation Army on top of the ambushes, the knights wouldn’t be able to ignore her words in the future.

"Tell Sir Carus not to go to the traveller’s inn but to the inn with a red sailor painted on it."

"Why?"

"Because we came in secretly. We have to go to an inn that accepts even pirates as customers to encounter an owner and employees who can hold their tongue."

Bavaslov tapped Yulia on the shoulders and exclaimed.

"Oh! You big fat lump of luck."

"Don’t say weird things…"

"Hey, you. You said you were being chased by those guys from Marjoram or whatever. You don’t know when these hyenas will show up again so make sure to look good in front of Carus and stick with us. That way, we won’t have to clean up your body."

"Stop cleaning up bodies. Whether he is a captain or not, why does he keep making you clean up other people’s bodies."

"You’re telling me not to do it?"

"Just throw it away."

‘There’s nothing good about collecting corpses’ Yulia said in a light tone.

In any case, if she died, she would go on to her tenth life so it didn’t matter much.

On that same day in the afternoon, Carus, who was resting at the inn with the red sailor hat painted on it, received the visit of the excited Bavaslov.

Through him, he heard that a surprise demonstration had been staged in front of Ortega’s palace by the Liberation Army.

*****

2. The one who takes revenge

In order to destroy the Marquis of Marjoram, she needed the strength of Baikan.

It was only after living eight times that Yulia came to that realization.

The Marquis of Marjoram was not an individual. It was a mass in which many families, including their shared interests, and all kinds of powerful people were intertwined. And at the top, there was the King.

‘That’s why I kept failing.’

There was no use in destroying the Marquis if the King was still alive. She was an individual while her opponent was a kingdom.

‘If I want to utilize the power of Baikan, I have to hold hands with Carus.’

That’s what she kept thinking. She tried to find a way to be of help to Carus while achieving her goal.

She could also use him and throw him away. However, she wasn’t sure about anything else but she didn’t want to betray him.

It was because he was the man who had rescued her every time. It didn’t matter if it was a coincidence and if he had no intention to do so in the first place.

It was close to midnight. Yulia stood in front of Carus’s room.

"Sir Carus."

The other knights had fallen into a deep sleep during the day in order to relieve the fatigue that they had accumulated due to the difficult journey, but she was wide awake.

"I have something to tell you."

Carus didn’t respond. It didn’t seem to be because he was sleeping deeply.

"Sir Carus is not here."

It was Bavaslov. He came walking leisurely from one side of the hallway.

"Go back to your room, punk. It’s late."

"Why are you awake?"

Yulia asked.

A dim lamplight lit up the hallways. Bavaslov stood under it and touched his chin as if troubled.

"Yulia, I like you."

"I like you too."

"I also believe you."

"Thank you."

Yulia promptly replied. She lightly smiled as well. However, Bavaslov didn’t smile back at her.

"But you know… It’s better not to act overly suspiciously."

He seemed to be genuinely worried about Yulia.

"Whether you are a witch or a fortune teller, you are the one who saved our lives so I don’t want to have to detain and interrogate you. That’s quite barbaric, you see. Do you understand what I mean?"

"…Yes."

"Go sleep. Let’s eat something tasty tomorrow morning."

Then, he led Yulia to her room with an awkward gesture. It was an excessively cautious attitude.

Yulia smiled lightly and talked to him.

"You know, Bavaslov. You don’t have to be sorry."

"Huh?"

"I know you’ve been watching me from the beginning. But I don’t hate you. It's true."

"It’s the same for me."

‘So, that knife, you don’t have to hide it’ Yulia whispered.

She knew they were suspicious of her from the beginning, and she was not naive enough to be upset about it.

Bavaslov smiled with a scowl on his face.

"Women who are quick-witted are scary."

A medium-length knife was skillfully hidden on his waist.

Yulia trusted that she wouldn’t resent Bavaslov even if he killed her using that knife.

It’s what she had decided ever since he had handed her those warm fur gloves.