CH 75

My Chance

Clásico, Viscount Clementz’s mansion.

The mansion was bustling with birthday banquets by Viscount Osnat Clementz. Viscount Clementz looked in the mirror with a gloating face, listening to the busy sound of hooves entering the garden.

In the meantime, Clásico had been a small city. But when the Patriotic Lord opened the port and Port Ducain’s capital came in, it began to grow rapidly. The time has come for his ambition to be exercised.

It was when he was in a sweet dream. Someone knocked on the door in a hurry.

“Lord Viscount!”

It was a maid who opened the door and entered.  The viscount, interrupted from his happy delusions, frowned.

“What is it? Didn’t I tell you not to call me until I leave?

“There is an uninvited guest, but he…”

“Send them away. It’s not the old Clementz anymore.”

The servant hurriedly said to the viscount who shook his hands like chasing a fly.

“He introduced himself as Gray Buchanan.”

While fixing his tie, Clementz’s hand stopped.

“It’s Buchanan!”

A shout came out.  Count Buchanan, no, the duke is one of the most influential people in the capital these days.  Moreover, after five years, this land will also become Buchanan’s land.

“Guide him to a separate room!”

Viscount Clementz hastily ordered and moved.

Not long after, a neatly dressed man entered the room with the impression of trust. He had blonde hair and purple eyes.  Viscount Clementz’s eyes lit up.

“I definitely remember this face!  Buchanan’s…”

“It’s Gray. I apologize for coming to visit you without an invitation, Viscount.”

“Hahaha! What are you talking about!  Rather, I should apologize for not giving you an invitation first!”

“I’m so glad you said that!”

The young man smiled brightly. Viscount Clementz smiled broadly as if he had discovered the dynasty of social advancement.

“I heard that you have been abroad for a long time, are you coming back?”

“Yes. Fortunately, we returned before the sea froze.”

“Haha. You mean Duke Buchanan? After all, the Duke is very thoughtful.”

Despite the outright flattery, Gray put on a kind-hearted smile.

“My father is always six steps ahead.”

“It’s fate that we met, so I hope you rest well. I’m very curious about the story of the North.”

“Can I do that? Clásico has nothing to be ashamed of for having such a merciful lord.”

“Hahaha! You are gilding an old man’s face” 

(TL/N: It means that he’s flattering him.)

After a show of modesty and some social courtesy, Gray finally spoke of the business that brought him there.

“Dear Viscount, can this Gray Buchanan get your help?”

Viscount Clementz held the handle of the chair and sat down.

“As much as you want! What do you need?”

In an instant, Gray’s purple eyes gleamed darkly. But Viscount Clementz thought he was mistaken. For a young man with such a likable appearance, it was obvious that even if he opened the dictionary, he would feel ashamed and run away when he knew the word ‘shameful’.

“Can I borrow a cell in the dungeon? A prisoner has been transported from the North Continent, and there is no secure place to monitor them.”

“You mean the dungeon?”

“Yes.”

Viscount Clementz, who felt puzzled for a moment, nodded with the thought, ‘It’s not my business.’

“I will lend you anything.”

“Thank you.”

Gray grinned.

“Then, shall we go to the banquet hall? I can’t monopolize the protagonist of this auspicious day! Oh, and I brought in some precious spices from the North Continent, and I heard that the Viscount is a gourmet.  It’s small, but will you accept it?”

Viscount Osnat Clementz was overjoyed and led Gray into the banquet hall.

Gray entered with people’s eyes on him, and after greeting those of high aristocratic rank, he leaned his back against the wall alone.

‘Could things be this easy?’

He felt like he wanted to burst out laughing. He got a message that Kyrie was well kept in the dungeon. He couldn’t take it any longer, so he burst out laughing instead of hiding it. The people who attended the viscount’s birthday banquet saw the handsome young man smiling cheerfully and smiled back, and no one looked at him strangely.

No matter what people think, Gray was busy figuring out what’s going to happen.

‘She must have done something wrong with the Legendary Lord. My father flattered him so hard that he became a duke. She was the only one with pride, and she couldn’t bend, she must have made a mistake. That’s why he got angry. She ran away! It’s obvious! Who’s bad at this?’

Gray giggled.

‘Oh the veil, it looks expensive. Did she steal something from the Legendary Lord?’

Gray remembered the veil that Kyrie was wearing. He thought about taking it and showing it to the Legendary Lord first, but it would be difficult if he was hated for taking someone else’s things.

‘Whatever it is, let’s give her to him. He might not be looking for Kyrie, so I’ll send the first letter first… If I’m mistaken, I can just send her to father.’

At that time, Viscount Clementz, who was celebrated at the heart of the banquet, stood out. A servant approached him in a hurry and was whispering to him.

Gray was quick to react. He noticed that something ‘very important and urgent’ had happened when he saw the urgent face of the servant and the reaction of his own son.

“What!”

After the viscount made a noise, his whole body began to tremble. People’s eyes turned to him.

“Wait, wait, is he coming here now? Is that true?  Really?”

“Yes, yes!  As soon as I got the message, he came right away! Now at the front door….”

“You should have given him directions!”

“Well, I was going to guide him, but he said that he had to get permission from the owner to visit…”

“Unbelievable! Of course, tell him to come in!”

People started to wonder what the hell was going on. Then Gray felt a foreboding tingle all over his body just before his guess came true.

Even the dullest man could feel it.

Something is coming.

Soon, the air began to flow toward the noisy banquet hall.  Through a crack in the door, through a window, or through a gap somewhere, a cool breeze blew into the banquet hall like sand in the desert.

And like that, he appeared out of the blue in the middle of the banquet hall.

“Oh my…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m sure there was no one……?”

“Yes?”

“Look, that’s…….”

Viscount Clementz, flustered from the innermost corner, realized a beat later that the surrounding area had become strangely quiet.

“Hey, you know…….”

“Yes?”

The eyes of Viscount Clementz, who turned his head, popped out like a carp. Someone almost had to tuck Viscount Clements’ eyes in so they wouldn’t stick out further.

“Oh, this is, oh, my God, oh…….”

Gray didn’t notice he was that surprised, either.

To that extent, the man ate up all the nerves.

He could tell at a glance that he wasn’t human. The face couldn’t have been human. He may have been made by God, or God himself.

But when the blue gaze touched him for a moment, Gray touched his neck without realizing it. It was eerie; he felt both the chillingness that would hold him back and the cruelty that would cut him off.

The banquet hall quickly became quiet as though three thousand years of snow had been dumped over it. Even the warm light that was lighting up the room seemed to have lost its temperature in an instant.

Kureng…

Gray swallowed his saliva as he heard thunder in the distance. Maybe everyone else.

A beautiful conqueror who appeared out of nowhere looked around without saying a word. It was simply a miracle that Gray felt a faint twinge in that laid-back movement. But the miracle was so tenuous that it quickly fell out of Gray’s consciousness.

It wasn’t long before he opened his mouth, and people didn’t even breathe in case they missed his first word.

[Haven’t you ever seen a man before?]

There was dangerous thunder outside the window. A storm was drawing near.

***

Kyrie opened her eyes, squirming like a fish just out of the water. She realized that she was lying on a stone floor. And the fact that she has handcuffs on her wrist.

The first thing she checked was the veil. Fortunately, the veil was properly covered. Once again she checked the veil’s closure and raised her head.

It was a prison no matter how many times she looked at it.

Kyrie grabbed her head and recalled her last memory.

‘It’s his command, sir, to move especially quietly.’

This was Gray’s doing. Kyrie clenched her teeth and looked up. The sentence on the wall of the hallway was by Viscount Clementz. It was clear that she had moved to Clásico.

‘But why? There’s no way Gray would turn down the money. I don’t think he has heard from the parents…….’

Anxiety enveloped Kyrie. Then, from the other side of the prison corridor, someone came up with a torch. Kyrie quickly lay back on the ground and closed her eyes.

“Is she awake?”

What appeared was a muscular, tall female servant. One of Buchanan’s servants, who followed Gray when he left for the North continent.

“Not yet. “

She turned her head to the soldier she came with.

“Tell her to stay still when she wakes up. It’s his command.”

“All right.”

A soldier with drooping eyelids yawned and answered.

“But what did she do wrong to lock her up like this? She looks just like a woman. She didn’t look very fit. Is she pretty?”

“Just follow the orders, and no matter what she does, don’t open the door.”

“Hey, don’t worry about surveillance, but you…”

“It’s Neveah. Please find me if something happens.”

“Oh, yes. Miss Neveah.”

“-ssi.” 

(TL/N: she is ordering him to call her respectfully, since -ssi )

There was a silence between the two. The soldier answered carelessly with envy.

“…That’s right, Miss Neveah. If you work at the Buchanans, will soybean powder fall a little? 

(TL/N: Idiom for getting a little benefit but it was from someone else’s work)

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This time, Buchanan became a duke. What about his subordinates? He’s risen up, but he doesn’t know how to take care of his subordinates…”

Neveah was still expressionless, but she showed signs of feeling pathetic about the soldier.

“There is no dog in Buchanan who is dissatisfied with the meal given by its owner.”

“……Is that so. Yes, yes.”

“However.”

Neveah fumbled in her arms with a cold face.

“He regrets having you stand guard alone. It was an inevitable choice for that prisoner, she would have a panic attack if there were a lot of people. This is your consolation.”

A silky bag with a strong sound came out of Neveah’s arms. It flowed into the soldier’s purse in a very smooth motion. The soldier looked pleased.

“Oh, well, our young master is such a man of manners. Tell him not to worry about this place!”

“Please.”

“Don’t worry and go!”

The soldier murmured only after she was out of prison very much.

“I doubt she would get married with that attitude.”

The soldier shook his head and sat on a small chair in the hallway. He did not doze off or leave, although he spat out intermittently whenever the thunder sounded small in the distance. Kyrie, who couldn’t find a way out, lay down and held her breath.

The biggest problem was the handcuffs. The key was likely to be held by the soldier, given the incised Clementz pattern.

Second, the jail door. As expected, the soldier will have the key.

The third one is to escape.

‘What should I do?’

None of the answers came out. When Kyrie breathed out a big breath without realizing it, the soldier under surveillance got up in a mess.

“Hey, did you wake up?”

Then, she heard the sound of footsteps drooping from the outside. Shortly thereafter, another soldier from Clementz appeared.

“Is it worth it?”

“Wow, what’s up?”

The guard’s nerves naturally turned to that side. The new man picked up a torch and stood on one leg.

“Check the ditch and the back door. It’s a storm. The back door flew by the door last time.”

“I was confused because I heard thunder, but this winter it’s a storm?”

“Yes, damn it. Why is it so cold when it’s not snowing? It would be less cold if it snowed.”

Kyrie felt as if cold hands were squeezing her heart. Snow and winter. Things that she doesn’t want to think of came to mind. The soldiers continued to talk.

“I want them to break that disgusting ice. I thought Fort Ducane would break it, but they just quit.”

“Or the Lord has no choice but to use his influence.”

“Lord, why are you here? He’s just eating me up.”

“Ah, yes!”

The new soldier hit his knee and made a bright face.

“Didn’t hear you because you were down there? Well, do you know who’s up there now?”

“But aren’t they the same nobles?”

“You’ll be surprised to hear that.”

Kyrie listened for information. She was thinking maybe she’d get something because they are talking about Gray.

But the next moment the soldier smiled and whispered.

“Well, up there now…….”

***

The first to move was made by Viscount Clementz. The Viscount staggered at first, then grew faster and almost jumped at the end.

“Are you, by any chance, the L, L, Legendary Lord……?”

The man’s blue eyes touched Viscount Clementz. He seemed very upset about the situation in which he had to explain his identity in person, but he anyway confirmed the obvious answer by blinking his eyes.

“Oh, oh, oh, my God!”

Joy spread over the viscount’s face.

“It’s an infinite honor to meet the Legendary Lord that I’ve only heard of……! And, again, the blessing to the family……!”

[You’re the lord.]

The Legend cut off his words like a sword. It was a more beautiful gaze because it was indifferent.

[I’m looking for something. Of course, you’ll help me, right?]

Viscount Clementz nodded furiously.

“If you’re in a hurry, shall we talk now?”

[Separately.]

“All right, separately! Huh, I’m sorry for the others.”

The viscount took the lead without hiding his shrugging shoulders.

Gray Buchanan was staring at him like everyone else.  The appearance of the viscount and the Legendary Lord was on the verge of disappearing beyond the hallway.

At that moment, Gray shouted out without even realizing what he was doing.

“Your Grace!”

The viscount looked back, and the Legendary Lord paused for a moment. Gray was belatedly embarrassed.

‘Why did I call the Legendary Lord?’

He didn’t even have time to think about why. He shouted all over to get even a little bit more of the eyes of the Legend that had already begun to fall away from him.

“My name is Gray Buchanan! Could you give me time too?”

Then, surprisingly, the foot of the Legend stopped.

[Buchanan?]

His beautiful blue eyes grew slightly larger, at least slightly. Gray felt his heart flutter for nothing.

“Yes! I have been abroad for a long time, but this time I am here.”

[Ah.]

A strange expression appeared on the Legend’s face. It seemed to be underestimated, or it seemed to be remembering something.

[You are that brother.]

“Yes! I am that brother. I don’t know what ‘that’ means, haha.”

Gray exclaimed in delight.

‘After all, the Legendary Lord is related to Kyrie!’

Although it was a bit disappointing to keep a cool distance despite his friendly behavior, which usually makes him laugh out loud, Gray was confident. He was a man who knew very well that his strength lies in his good looks and friendliness.

“But I think you know my sister. Is Kyrie indebted to you?”

At Gray who said that, the Legendary Lord looked at him with eyes that couldn’t understand what was inside. Then he mumbled in a low tone.

[You look like your father.]

“Do I?”

[Yes.]

“Thank you for the compliment.”

[If not a compliment?]

“Then I’ll have to make an effort to hear ‘You don’t look like your father.’ Would you give me a chance?”

A small smile appeared on the lips of the Legendary Lord. People blushed at that, but Gray noticed that the Legendary Lord’s smile was directed at someone other than himself.

[Wait for me.]

Gray’s face lit up.

“Yes! I’ll be looking forward to it!”

After Viscount Clements and the Legendary Lord headed to the other room, Gray couldn’t resist the joy and burst into laughter once. People looked at him with envy, and he was more elated.

‘All right, I can just get in touch with him and hand Kyrie over to him!’

The long-term benefit is the favor of the Legend rather than the money promised by Kyrie. Gray’s heart swelled in his dream.

***

“Really? Legendary Lord?”

“Yes!  I wondered where the Legendary Lord would come to in such a fishy countryside, but he’s here!”

Kyrie’s expression darkened. She couldn’t figure out what she was hearing.

“We’re going to go see him together later.”

“So you’re here to take over from me, aren’t you? Right? Right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oi!”

The soldiers’ conversation echoed but Kyrie’s mind had also grown distant.

It’s here who binds herself, locks herself up, and conceives an animal named fear in her stomach. No matter how hard she tried, in the end, he was waiting for her further ahead. Just like he said.

It was here in this cell bound and locked up, she conceived an animal named Fear.

Close your eyes and Nathaniel reaches out his hand. A face that never disappeared, as though carved in her cornea, smiling lightly at her.

‘Even if you die, you belong to me forever.’

The whispers of elegant pronunciation that sounded like auditory hallucinations encouraged anxiety. In the impatience of the fugitive, Nathaniel was becoming more brutal and beautiful than reality. Kyrie crouched on the floor and hacked up a painful breath. Her esophagus seemed to be twisted. Fear revived when she thought of hundreds of people monitoring her every move. The soldiers’ voices were distant in her consciousness.

“Oh, my gosh. Was there someone there? Hey, what’s wrong with them?”

“Oh, my God! Is it impossible for even two people to keep watch? Get out of here!”

“What?”

“Get out of here! I’m going to die if that thing breaks!”

“Oh, well, I get it.”

The other soldier left the dungeon with the torch. The remaining soldier urgently began to rummage through his waist.

“Hey, hey, don’t go through it! Don’t bite your tongue! I’m going crazy, I even got paid……!”

The sound of keys and the grating of the steel frame against the stone floor rattled her hearing. Soon after, his thick, rugged hands jerked Kyrie’s head.

“Oh, my God. Should I show the Viscount? Hey! Sit there for a second!”

The soldier lightly slapped Kyrie on the face and sat her up. It definitely helped. Colour returned to her cheeks up and her spirits flashed.

‘I have to run away.’

Kyrie stumbled and pulled herself up. Her hands naturally entered and out of her arms. She quickly flicked her finger and threw it back.

Krak!

“Huh? What was that?”

The soldier’s attention was directed there. The soldier bent over to pick up what had fallen reflexively.

The torch roared, shining a small stone between the fingers.

“Hearthstone…?”

The moment the soldier muttered, Kyrie rushed behind him.