CH 40

Chapter 40

Hela and Stefan headed for the western border like dawn the next day. Quite a number of enlisted men were with them. I got up early and watched them leave.

“Why are you going by road? Aren’t you going through the portal?”

“The mana of the wizards has drastically decreased.”

Jane said the rumors she had picked up in the mansion.

“Mana?”

The mana decrease was a bad sign. It was a signal that Rodrigo’s awakening was approaching in this novel. And that means…

“Something must have happened to Rodrigo!”

I jumped out of bed and Jane looked at me with strange eyes.

“Sir Rodrigo is always on the battlefield where something is bound to happen.”

I shook my head at Jane’s eyes as if to ask what I was saying all of a sudden.

“He’s clearly in danger.”

“So, are you going to rescue him like a prince on a white horse?”

“Well, of course not.”

“Please, Miss. I don’t want to be scolded again.”

Jane said she was punished for rewriting the history book of Cartina three times because the last time she ran away with me. It was a huge punishment for Jane, who preferred to use her body rather than her head. Her hands still smelled of ink.

“You don’t have to come.”

Jane let out a deep sigh.

“Then I will die.”

“The answer is decided.”

I took off my pajamas. Jane let out a sigh and pulled out my comfy dress. At the same time, I pulled out the pants I had hidden under the bed.

“Miss?”

It was a call mixed with the question of whether I would wear pants or not.

“I’m going to put my pants on. It’s probably not serious.”

The commotion of the monsters on the western border, and the magicians whose mana is decreasing…

Do the western border and the border of the Veloki Peninsula meet?

“If you want to go, go quickly. It’s time for early morning training.”

Jane came out of the closet with a luggage bag.

“Are you packed already?”

“I didn’t do it.”

“You are smart too.”

Jane exhaled.

“Thanks to having a good owner.”

Somehow it didn’t sound like a compliment, but I didn’t harass Jane and headed out of the room lightly.

(3rd person pov)

Rodrigo leaned against the trunk of a tree and took a deep breath. A day has passed since he swore that he would behead the enemy general and plunged himself into the enemy army. The sun was setting and a new year was rising.

‘It’s a wizard.’

Rodrigo ruffled his hair with his dirty hands. He obviously got close to the enemy general. It wasn’t difficult for him to break through amongst the incompetent slaves. This was because the slaves only looked ahead, not worrying the things around them.

When he met the knights, General Besilo and some knights who followed him helped pave the way easily. It didn’t take long to get to the middle of the enemy army. The problem was after meeting the general of the enemy army.

“He is a powerful wizard.”

Rodrigo murmured. A pale face, a grotesquely large body, and the fangs of a lion that appeared when he smiled at Rodrigo. He had heard that somewhere among the wizards, there was a person who remodeled his body by using magic to strengthen his body. Of course, it was a procedure that was banned on all continents.

Rodrigo slowly looked back at the time he had met him. There was nothing to look back on. Rodrigo came to his senses and ran to him, and he cast his spell.

Rodrigo flew away and is now stuck in the trunk of this tree. He lost his mind. And now he opened his eyes. Luckily nothing was broken. It was thanks to reflexively hitting the magic shield.

Rodrigo stood up. It is clearly a mistake to hire a wizard, even a wizard who uses black magic.

‘I need to see Frans.’

Rodrigo closed his eyes and tightened his grip. Losing his words, the only way he quickly returned to the camp was through magic.

(Estiya’s pov)

When I arrived at Rodrigo’s barracks, it was empty. There were no soldiers. The barracks were trampled in a mess. There were no words to say in this dire situation.

“Did they lose?”

I shook my head at Jane’s words.

“If they had lost, I would have heard the news.”

Things must have come up.

“Then, this is…”

“A retreat.”

There were too few corpses to say there was a fight. And the bodies laying around were not from Rodrigo’s camp.

“It’s strange.”

“What?”

“Only bodies that look like slaves are dead.”

“Miss, don’t stare at a corpse like that, it’s scary.”

Jane sometimes says things that aren’t like Cartina. I glanced back at Jane and straightened my back. As I looked around, it wasn’t just one or two strange things.

Assuming that they pushed in and retreated, then there should have been a Veloki army occupying this place, but there was none. It was too clean to say that a battle had been fought, and everything was a mess to say that the camp had been moved.

“My head hurts.”

I crossed my arms and looked around.

“Huh? Miss!”

Then Jane pointed to the air and shouted. Looking back at the urgent voice, Rodrigo fell to the ground from the air.

“Rodrigo!”

His cheekbones were a mess. His eyes widened in amazement, and then he bowed in concern. He strode towards me.

“What else is going on here?”

I could feel the pain in his cracked voice.

“I guess I should ask. What happened?”

I looked around and asked, and Rodrigo put his hand on his forehead, covered in dirt.

“It’s a long story.”

We had a conversation in Rodrigo’s barracks, which had been slumped down. Dragging a chair that was in good condition, Rodrigo briefly explained what had happened. His explanation was brief because he also knew very little.

I asked him several times if he had anything else to say, but he only shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s how it happened.”

As he poured out his story, his pale face caught my eye.

Come to think of it, I heard that this person was attacked by a wizard.

“Jane, some water.”

Jane rummaged through the bag and handed me a canteen. I opened the lid and wet my handkerchief. Rodrigo was staring at the empty camp.

“Look here.”

Standing in front of him, I raised the tip of his chin with my fingers. Rodrigo followed my hand and moved. I met Rodrigo’s red eyes.

“The most powerful wizard in the world has red eyes.”

Rodrigo laughed.

Did you think my words were meant to comfort you?

I was just telling the truth. He was in despair at his first failure. Most of all, the guilt of not being able to protect the lives of those who believed in him and followed him must weigh heavily on him. I picked up my handkerchief and wiped the sweat and dirt off his face.

“I guess I didn’t look good?”

“Did I not tell you? That you look great with dirt on your face?”

Rodrigo smirked at my joke. No matter what I say now, it doesn’t reach his heart. He was upset. After wiping more, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down.

“Go back.”

He was serious

“I am stronger than you think.”

“I’m a better knight than you can imagine.”

“If you know, shouldn’t you at least ask me to stay with you?”

I turned my wrist away from him and wiped his cheek with the other side of the handkerchief. In fact, his face was so clean that I couldn’t believe he was on the battlefield. One wipe was enough, but somehow I felt the urge to touch his face. But it was strange to just touch it, so I needed a safety device called a handkerchief.

Jane glanced at me and slowly moved. She created a distance so that we could be seen but not heard. Rodrigo leaned down as he saw that Jane was far away. He whispered quickly in the distance.

“I don’t want to put you in a dangerous place. Didn’t I say I was going to propose on your birthday?”

Turns out, it was my birthday soon. Contrary to Rodrigo’s words, who said he would return soon after, the war lasted longer. With useless waste.

“I’ll be the first woman to be married on the battlefield, huh?”

As I let go, he grabbed my hand again.

“Estiya.”

His red eyes trembled. I looked into those eyes, trembling with anger at himself.

“I said I would definitely finish this.”

“Do you want me to stand still when you are being treated so harshly?”

He nodded.

“Do you want me to be a woman who plays noble games while guarding the mansion while my man is fighting for his life?”

Without realizing it, my voice rose. I was angry at him for not leaning on me when it was hard.

“I don’t mean that…”

“If you wanted a woman like that, you’ve made a mistake. I was never that kind of person.”

I slapped Rodrigo’s hand roughly and called Jane. Jane, with her quick-witted eyes, stayed away while I wiped Rodrigo’s face. She saw me ruffling my hair nervously, came over, and straightened my hair.

“Jane, take out the magic paper.”

“Miss? Then the location will be exposed.”

Cartina had a magic paper that’s used when one needs to make an urgent call. If you write on it and burn it, it will appear at the place you have designated. Instead, the location of the magic paper is inevitably exposed.

Of course, in order to communicate with each other, we need to know where we are.

“Anyway, my sisters and my brothers know that I am here.”

It’s already the third time. If they don’t know, they’re stupid. Seeing that they didn’t follow me right away, they may have resigned. Jane didn’t respond to my words and took out a pen with magic paper and magic ink. I looked around. There was no good place to use it as a desk.

Rodrigo’s eyes met mine. I snorted and walked up to him and slapped him on the shoulder. His back was slowly bent. I put the paper on his back.

“Miss! What are you doing?!”

Rodrigo doesn’t say anything, but Jane was upset. I started writing down messages using his back as a desk.

(3rd person pov)

Cartina’s information guild’s office was hectic and noisy all day long. Just categorizing the information pouring in from all over the Empire according to the truth and importance was a huge task. In addition, since it also serves as an errand office, they had to deal with incoming requests.

Poch ran the busiest office. He was also, at the same time, the man whom Estiya wrote to. He watched as Estiya’s message was written on the magic paper placed on his desk.

– The dynamics of the Veloki Peninsula are questionable. If there’s even a slight change, let them know.

Scratching his chin, Poch frowned. Where is this young lady, and what is she doing to ask about work in the country that they have classified as the highest priority? Her location appeared and disappeared like dots on the small map.

“On the battlefield? You’re crazy!”

Poch jumped up. He swept the documents containing information from the Veloki Peninsula in his bag and headed to Count Cartina.

What should he do when Estiya tells him to tell them?

He was terrified to meet Stefan and Hela, but he had no choice but to use the portal with her name. Otherwise… Poch shuddered.

“I hate riding a horse.”

(Estiya’s pov)

We decided to stay in Rodrigo’s barracks. It was dangerous, Jane said, but me and Rodrigo shook our heads at the same time.

“They will not come back here.”

I agreed with Rodrigo. The one who will return will be Devlan, said Rodrigo. Jane groaned.

I’m curious about Gunther’s story.

I impliedly asked Rodrigo if Gunther was well.

“Ah, he’s…fine.”

He hesitated for a moment, but he was somewhere alive on the battlefield. I patted Jane’s hand saying he was safe.

While we were sitting, Rodrigo walked around the barracks and gathered some useful stuff. When he moved a few times, the shades were over our heads and the chairs were covered with soft cushions. A table was made to put things on, and Rodrigo boiled water in a kettle that he picked up from somewhere. Read only at pm tl.

“You’re a wizard.”

I know he didn’t use any magic to do most things, but for a moment, what he did in a snap felt like magic.

“Did you not know? Your lover is a wizard.”

“I knew it, but it would be useful.”

Steam soon flowed from the kettle. Rodrigo poured warm water into the washed glass. I’ve contacted Poch, so he’ll come back somehow. I don’t know how long it will take… There was a rumbling sound.

It was not far from the place we were at. As we went out, we caught the eyes of Poch, who had fallen comically, and Ether, who grabbed him by the nape of his neck and got him up. Eyla was also there.

“Your brother is missing today.”

Rodrigo said he wasn’t surprised anymore.

“Dad and Mom are busy.”

Since they left for the western border, they left the family to Kaylan, so he couldn’t move.

“Sister!”

I ran to Eyla and Ether to relieve their anger and hugged them. Eyla and Ether held me tightly in their arms and took a deep breath.

“Our Estiya, you have worked hard. In a place like this… No, rather than that, why did you change like a beggar? I have nothing to say.”

I laughed silently at the poignant evaluation.

Reminder: pls do not repost ANYWHERE smh