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143. Engagement – Elson

“You can use this room, Young Master. Have you had your meal?”

Yuan opened the door only after seeing his uncle’s mercenary insignia. Leo, putting on an air of formality, spoke up.

“Yes. I had a simple meal with my uncle. By the way… I heard you’re an adopted child.”

“That’s right. The bedding and spare clothes are in the wardrobe, and towels and water buckets are in this drawer. But there’s a shower in the courtyard well, so you shouldn’t need to wash in your room. And the bathroom…”

Yuan brushed off his words nonchalantly. He guided Leo to the room politely, emphasizing his humble orphan background, while Leo just casually looked around the mansion.

The mansion was small.

It couldn’t be compared to the grand noble estates Leo had seen so far; it was just a single-story building with a modest one-story building next to it. Honestly, it didn’t seem significantly larger than his father’s house at Abrival Castle.

However, the walls were thick with ivy as proof of its long-standing knightly lineage, and the spacious courtyard was surrounded by a tall fence.

“You said your name was Lady Lena, right? You can use this room. Similarly, the bedding and spare clothes… Well, I’ll take my leave now. Have a good night. If you need anything else, just call for me. My room is upstairs.”

Once Yuan disappeared, Lena and Leo began unpacking their things with giggles.

When Leo tried to put her undergarments in the drawer, Lena Ainar blushed a bit but didn’t stop him.

After tidying up, the two of them stepped outside together. The dark courtyard smelled of rich soil.

“Look. There’s a stable too.”

Lena showed great interest in the mansion where Leo was born, glancing around and pointing to the stable on one side. Leo barely held back the urge to say, “I know, right?”

At the stable, where he approached as if he knew it was here, there were no horses.

Elson, who had set up the mercenary band, sold them off as part of capital and hadn’t refilled them.

“This place is nice. So you grew up here? What did you do for fun? Did you have any friends?”

That was a tricky question.

Leo shrugged and replied, “Just, you know… it was ordinary.”

It was a dull answer, but Lena knew he was naturally this boring. So, she decided to shift her focus elsewhere.

Next, her gaze was captured by a storage building next to the single-story building. Lena sneaked a peek inside and quickly went in.

She did so without hesitation, as if rummaging through her own house’s storage.

When Leo followed her in, the storage was filled with various odds and ends. Most of it consisted of scarecrows and wooden swords used for practicing swordsmanship, and some household items awkwardly occupied space.

“Wow, how cute. There’s even a kid’s one.”

As she curiously looked around, Lena picked up a wooden sword that was sitting in the corner.

At first glance, it seemed to be a one-handed sword. Among other things, it appeared to be a bit smaller, but considering the length, the handle seemed long, indicating it was a two-handed sword designed for a child to wield.

“Ah? It’s broken?”

But that wooden sword was indeed broken. It looked like someone had struck it against a rock, the tip scratched severely, and owing to that, there was a crack between the handle and the blade.

“Did you break this when you were little? Hehe, just kidding. Surely our Leo wouldn’t…”

“Who are you?! Are you a thief?!”

At that moment, the storage door burst open.

A middle-aged man in shabby clothes, tightly gripping a club, planned to show an intruding thief in the knight’s mansion a lesson, but his eyes widened in shock.

“Oh dear! Could it be the ‘Little Young Master’? Right? Do you remember me?”

“…No. Who are you?”

He was a servant.

After a brief introduction filled with one-sided excitement, the servant said, “It’s no surprise you don’t remember me. I haven’t seen you since Noel went out on his own. I hear he left with the little Young Master to your mother’s hometown after the war… But when did you arrive here?”

“I just arrived. Oh, I’m fine with the room arrangements. My cousin just showed me a moment ago.”

“Your big brother already assigned rooms? Well, why didn’t you call for me… Alright. Is there anything you need?”

Leo wrapped up the conversation with the servant moderately.

“Then have a good night. My wife will prepare breakfast for you tomorrow. I have to go work in the fields early… I’ll see you tomorrow evening.” The servant greeted and went back to the single-story house.

I found out later that this building was the servants’ quarters. Apparently, there had been four or five servants back in the day, but they were all evacuated during the Nine-Day War.

Only one of them returned and now lived here with his wife.

“Lena, let’s go inside.”

As the servant left, Leo took Lena’s hand. But she shook her head and began to stretch.

“Go in first. I’ll train a little before heading in.”

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard these days? Take a break. You might hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine.”

Lena pulled a sword out from the storage and assumed a stance.

Standing in the darkening open area, she inhaled deeply to concentrate and then slowly, almost painfully slow to the point that it would frustrate anyone watching, she brought the sword down vertically.

As her arm lowered, the breath she held in her lungs slowly exhaled with a steady rhythm.

Leo silently watched that.

He grabbed a sword too, standing four steps in front of her and mirroring her movements as he lowered the sword.

In the peaceful quiet and slow rhythm, Lena couldn’t help but smile.

Even knowing that she was imitating his swordsmanship, Leo silently demonstrating was endearing. It was pathetic that I was worried about whether I could catch up to such a kind man.

‘Maybe I should’ve just asked for one room?’

With that audacious thought, Lena raised her sword again. Her eyes met Leo’s, who raised his sword in perfect synchronization.

Unwavering eyes. As Lena met his gaze, she brought her sword down. Leo’s sword mirrored hers, slowly descending, the tips of both swords kissing lightly with a ‘cling-‘.

The chilly spring breeze rustled the curtains of ‘this layer’ violently.

*

The next morning.

Waking up at dawn, Leo packed a towel, water bucket, and spare clothes and headed towards the well. There was a wooden partition shower at the well, and he undressed to put his clothes into the water bucket.

– Creak.

The water drawn up with the lever had sitting ice that hadn’t melted yet. Spring had arrived, but the northern mornings were still cold.

Wishing there was no ash powder, Leo filled the bucket with water. He let his clothes soak and poured the frigid water over his body.

The chill ran through him like electric shocks.

However, his body quickly started radiating heat, adjusting his temperature, and Leo calmly checked his physical condition.

There were no problems.

His body had begun to find its balance. Though only four months had passed, he hadn’t slacked off from the training aimed at equalizing his left and right balance since the start of the scenario.

Muscles filled every part of his body. His forearms were as thick as a child’s head as a reward for his hard work.

“Young Master. Did you cough? You’ve come out earlier than me again today.”

It was the voice of the servant he met yesterday. As Leo casually washed himself, he emerged with a towel wrapped around his lower body, prompting the servant to correct himself.

“I meant the little Young Master. You really are diligent. I guess you were always hardworking since childhood. If the former Young Master had seen you grow up like this, he would have been very pleased.”

“Are you talking about my grandfather? I can’t remember, but when did grandmother and grandfather pass away?”

“Both of them left without seeing the mess. They didn’t live long, but they did see their grandchild’s antics. The former Master was worried sick that Elson hadn’t gotten married… Haha.”

The ‘mess’ he referred to was the Nine-Day War. Leo sat down by the well, pondering about his grandparents whom he couldn’t remember.

“Did my uncle not think of marrying since then?”

As Leo stuck his hands into the bucket, intent on washing his hands, the servant patted him on the shoulder.

“Oh, don’t even mention it. You can’t imagine how heartbroken he was during that time… It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry; he simply missed his chance. Come this way.”

Following the servant to the back of the shower, there stood a washing machine.

It was made of wood and hand-operated. Leo put his wet clothes in there, filling it with water while asking.

“What happened that made him miss his chance?”

“At that time, the Master was a squire of the royal family. He encountered a nasty knight.”

Leo nodded as if understanding. He scooped ash powder from next to the washing machine, poured it in, and turned the handle on the lid with all his might.

The life of a squire is tough.

Most who aspire to become knights undergo this process; squires serve knights for years.

If they happen to meet a kind knight, they could learn swordsmanship and receive recommendations.

But that was a lucky rarity; usually, they learned by watching the knights and had to train at night after finishing their work, sacrificing sleep.

But what if they ended up serving a knight with a nasty personality?

Then it would be fair to say that the squire’s career would end before it even began.

Even if they somehow honed their skills and took the entrance exam for the royal knights, it was customary to inquire about the knight’s character from the knight they served.

– Creak. Creak. Creak.

The washing machine couldn’t endure Leo’s strength and screamed.

The paddles inside, connected to the handle, turned and slapped the clothes around, while Leo exerted his powerful muscles, cranking the handle.

Watching from the side, the servant, intending to help, just stood back with his arms crossed and continued telling old stories.

“Still, your uncle endured for several years just to become a royal knight. But when the little Young Master suddenly became a knight himself, he must have been deeply disappointed and quit.”

The servant reminisced about those days.

When Noel, recently of age, broke into the knightly order without any work experience or recommendations as a squire, only relying on his skills, Elson drank heavily that day. He sat with the young servant, lamenting.

+ + +

“Damn it. I knew it. I’ve always known. My little brother is way stronger than me. But you know what’s really frustrating? He hasn’t been showing his full power. He’s been letting me slide all this time. What a pathetic older brother I am…”

The young servant fiddled with the wine glass.

Not knowing what to say to the Young Master, who refrained from drinking at all due to training.

A moment of silence passed, and Elson gulped down the wine. With a firm tone, he declared, “You know what? I’m quitting. I’m throwing in the towel tomorrow.”

“Y-Young Master. You’ve worked hard all this time…”

“Nope. I’m quite tired of cleaning up that bastard’s mess. Father will be disappointed, but with my little brother running the family, I can live my own life now. Haha! Exactly. I’ve never been cut out to be a knight. I was dreaming a dream that didn’t fit me.”

Not true. The Young Master was meant to be a fine knight. Always diligent and polite to the servants, he had no deficiencies in becoming an honorable knight.

The servant was about to tell him “Absolutely not!” but before he could speak up, Elson raised his glass.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to console me. Let’s just celebrate that my beloved little brother became a knight today! Cheers to the youngest knight of the Asran Kingdom, Noel! Hahaha…”

Drunk out of his mind, Elson toppled over, and the servant carried him off to bed.

He was a strong man, so by tomorrow he would rise and live his life fiercely… or so he thought, but the next day, the Young Master was gone.

Leaving behind a letter on the bed, he wouldn’t return until years later on the day of Noel’s wedding.

“I’m~~ back! Hahaha! Hey, buddy. How have you been?”

Elson had changed a lot.

With a beard and boisterous laughter, he casually threw an arm around the servant—now he was a free mercenary.

“My goodness, you’re alive! I’m so glad you’re back. But what happened to your face? You’re bruised…”

“It’s nothing. Just got slapped around a bit by Father. Since he’s still strong, he’ll probably live long. Hahaha! Oh look, there’s my little brother. Looks like he found a nice girl. I haven’t met a single one. By the way, are you married?”

“I got married last year. We’re expecting soon.”

“Oh wow, congratulations. Damn. Am I the only one not married? I’m jealous.”

The wedding was underway.

The priest solemnly announced that a couple had been joined before God, and Noel faced his bride.

The girl he met while helping at the Maunin-Letii Tournament. A warrior of the ‘Ainar’ tribe, she was bold, never bowing her head during the ceremony. Their kiss was stunning as she looked straight at Noel.

“So, are you completely back now? You can’t leave again. Your master and mistress have been so worried about you.”

“I know. I thought I was disowned… but Father told me to take over the family. Well, it worked out. Now I have things I want to do.”

“What is it?”

Elson just smiled.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Saying that, he dashed over to hug his brother tightly.

He looked so happy.

+ + +

“I see. Ah, thank you.”

Leo accepted the water bucket handed by the servant. He pulled out the soaked clothes from the washing machine and began rinsing them off.

“Then I should wash up and head out too. I’ve spent a lot of time chatting.”

“Huh? Aren’t you having a meal?”

“I already ate. If you go home, my wife will have prepared a meal for you. Then…”

The servant entered the shower, while Leo rinsed off his clothes and headed back to the mansion.

Inside, a kindly-looking lady was busily preparing a meal.

“Nice to meet you, little Young Master. Please wait just a moment. I’ll prepare some wonderful food for you,” she said, yet the meal preparation took quite some time.

She was putting in a great effort for the first meal served to the Young Master.

Gurgle—

Lena, Leo, and Yuan, who had risen a bit later, were patiently enduring their hunger when Elson entered.

He looked as if he’d barely slept, his eyes were red.

Yuan, sensing the door open, rushed over to take his father’s outer clothing.

“Welcome back! You must be very tired. Have a meal and rest.”

“No, I need to change and head out immediately. Something urgent has come up.”

“But you should at least have breakfast. I heard you barely managed a meal last night… Lady! How’s the food coming?”

“It’s ready! Coming out now!”

Puffs of warm steam from the cooking dishes wafted into the air.

The main dishes were ‘Pena-Lan’ (a type of stir-fried minced meat) and ‘Danpudel’, a steamed white bread, which smelt divine.

And since it was spring, vegetables hadn’t come into the city much yet, so pickled Radimu was on the table.

Soon, the five of them sat around the table.

Yuan cut into the chewy Danpudel and picked up the pickled Radimu with his hands as he asked, “So, what’s the urgent matter that’s got you dressing up at this hour? Are you off to meet some nobles?”

“That’s right. Count Brina urgently wants to meet.”

“Pfft! Cough… cough.”

As Lena coughed while scooping up pickled Radimu with her fork along with the Pena-Lan, Leo was also taken aback, stopping his utensils in surprise.