CH 12

[“There was such a pathetic one among Shiraz’s men.”]

I also remembered getting heated while reading the book.

A soldier who has to carry out his mission quickly got drunk and leaked military information, and poured black water on the already bad image of Grand Duke Shiraz.

Shiraz, understandably, became enraged upon hearing the news and apprehended all of the soldiers assigned to the advanced squad.

Shiraz cut off the heads of the army’s advanced members in order to correct the army’s disorganized discipline.

The mistake was made by a drunken dog captain, but all of the soldiers who accompanied the advanced team were killed.

It was unfair to the dead soldiers, but as a result of the incident, the army became more disciplined and eventually won the Battle of Kienni.

Perhaps it was a small price to pay for the great victory that awaited them.

But, now that milk grandpa has revealed that his grandson will apply for the advanced team, it would be insane not to intervene.

‘Really. Driving me crazy. ‘

I wouldn’t be unable to sleep or worry like this if it weren’t for someone I know.

‘What do I do. He would be very sad if he died because he was his only grandson.’

It broke my heart to think of milk grandpa’s heartbroken face, who was always bragging about his grandson.

In my heart, I want to tell my grandfather not to send his grandson there…

‘Then he’ll think of me as a strange kid. When a maid tells him he can’t go…’

I sighed and turned around.

‘What do I do. Is there a good way to keep the grandpa and grandson in the castle?’

I got up and sat down on the bed.

It would be nice to have good thoughts come to mind like the pouring rain, but the only thing that came out was a sigh.

* * *

The sky was wonderfully clear the next day after the rain.

I couldn’t sleep at night, so I led my stiff body and followed the maids to the castle.

It was fortunate that a few more people besides me were being called out.

If I don’t jump out of the crowd, no one will care about me.

‘Wow! There were also places like this in the castle.’

While following along, I walked carefully looking around for at least one more place in the castle.

I was still a frog in the well no matter how hard I tried to transport the ingredients and go around the castle.

Even if it was a place that the lowest-ranking maid could pass through, it was extremely limited.

‘How wide is the castle? I thought Lord Willinger’s castle was spacious, but this place seems to be several times larger.’

That meant getting out of here would be several times, no, dozens of times, more difficult.

I was running after the maids in front of me with that thought in mind, but my gaze stopped somewhere.

‘Huh? That man!’

He was grandpa’s grandson.

I’d seen him talking to grandpa a few times when I went to pick up a milk barrel, but this was the first time I’d seen him in the castle.

‘He is working there.’

Each fortress had to pass through several gates within the fortress, but he was guarding the iron gate that connected the theater and the main castle.

‘The gatekeeper is just guarding the gate. Why apply for a job that’s not worth it. Ugh!

When I see him, I think of the future when he dies at the same time, so I can sigh.

“You, move quickly!”

As I continued to look back, I heard a voice urging me because it appeared that I was the only one left behind.

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

I came to my senses and followed the maids diligently.

I went to the inner castle like that, and I did not know how the time passed that day, whether to worry or work.

I was exhausted and returned to my dorm, but my concern for Grandpa and grandson remained.

I took a look around, crept out of the crowd, and went to look for him.

Fortunately, no one cared about me because the maids I went with were all having a hard time.

Some soldiers guarding the gate were wary of me and looked at me suspiciously.

“I’m a maid working in the castle, can I talk to you over there for a minute?”

As I spoke to the grandson, his eyes grew as large as pine cones.

Did he hear it wrong? He looked around and pointed his finger at himself.

“…Me?”

“Yes. Let’s go that way.”

He followed me with a puzzled look.

Strange booing voices were heard from behind.

“You’re milk grandpa’s grandson, aren’t you? Do you remember me?”

“That’s true, but… Come to think of it, I remember seeing you before. But why did you suddenly…”

He seemed to firmly misunderstand that I was even confessing.

His face turned red like persimmon, and he scratched the back of his head for nothing.

“I heard from your grandfather, is it true that you are volunteering for the Kienni advanced squad?”

He looked at me with more startled eyes than before.

“How did you know that?”

“Don’t go there! Have you applied yet?”

“What do you mean? Do not apply.”

His eyes suddenly changed as if he was looking at a strange person.

What should I say? After a moment’s sigh, I said softly as if to appease him.

“I’m worried about grandfather. Because the advanced squad is inherently dangerous. If you go there and it goes wrong, what do you say to the grandfather who is left alone? He is really nice to me too, and I hate seeing him sad.”

He replied with a smile to my words.

“If I avoid all dangerous things, I’m not a soldier. I can’t just act as a gatekeeper forever. If I do it, my rank will increase, and Grandpa will be happy.”

“B-but!”

“Is Grandpa worried about me? That’s weird. He liked you more than me.”

“No, not that.”

Something suddenly came to my mind, and I actively appealed to him with my eyes shining.

“They said there was going to be a war soon. Instead of going this time, you can go to the battle and make a contribution!”

Grand Duke Shiraz, who won the Battle of Kienni, gives generous rewards to the soldiers who participated in the war.

Because the strategy was successful, there was little damage from this side.

However, this man’s mind seemed to be preoccupied with only being a member of the advanced squad.

‘Wrong. He is not even listening to me.’

I was discouraged, but the man said to me in a voice that seemed to have taken great courage.

“I appreciate your concern for me. However, such an opportunity is rare. Nobody knows the terrain like I do. I’ve already decided to apply as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

“They’re recruiting volunteers tomorrow?”

My mind flashed. Time is running out.

“It’s not a recruitment, but I’m almost certain I’ll be going. The captain of the guard directly asked me. We’re leaving in two days, so there doesn’t appear to be any room for volunteers.”

“I see…”

“Originally, special missions are performed by elite soldiers from the capital, and I know this area well. The captain knows that too. So I think this is a great opportunity for me.”

He was quite proud of the fact that he had been chosen and his face was mixed with pride.

“My grandfather complimented you every day, but he wasn’t wrong at all. That’s what I think too.”

In the end, the talk went in a strange way.

My attempts to convince him didn’t seem to work.

“I just have to go. I think they might think it’s weird.”

He kept looking back with a shy expression, so I turned my gaze behind him.

His colleagues were giggling over there.

It was obvious what kind of messy thoughts they were thinking.

As I nodded reluctantly, he smiled softly and returned to his position.

“Thank you. For worrying about me.”

As I watched him run without knowing what was ahead of him, a sigh came out of my mouth.

“It’s not the time to be so happy. If you go there, you will die.”

* * *

Shiraz, who practices swordsmanship at the gym every evening, was drenched in sweat.

He stopped as he was about to leave, wiping his brow with the towel the servant had given him.

He saw someone standing among the trees.

Normally he would have just overlooked it, but today his gaze was drawn to it.

It was interesting to see a soldier following the maid with a puzzled face.

‘Haa. They seem to be dating in the castle.’

When Shiraz made up his mind and watched the scene, the attendant who was following was flustered and quickly followed the Grand Duke’s gaze.

“No, how dare they! I’ll take action right away.”

The attendant’s face became pale and he blinked at the soldier behind him to bring them quickly.

How dare they do such an improper thing on the Grand Duke’s road.

“Just stay here.”

At the command of the Grand Duke, he immediately shut his mouth.

So Shiraz looked down at them from behind the tree.

He had a reason to keep an eye on them.

He recognized that the maid was Willinger’s wife, who dropped the apple then.

It was after hearing Huey’s words, that he recognized her as soon as he saw her.

The ground was at different heights and quite far apart, so he couldn’t hear what the woman and the man were saying.

However, could roughly guess what was going on and on by looking at his reddened and embarrassed’s face.

The atmosphere was as if the woman was speaking seriously and the man was paying attention to her confession.

A cynical smile crossed Shiraz’s lips.

“I can’t believe she was the wife of someone like Willinger. A woman who was not picky about men.”

There was nothing else to say after hearing something from Huey and seeing it with my own eyes.

He remembered the first time he saw her.