CH 38

Carlton sighed.

It was reasonable that such a ridiculous rumor that he had affections for Luisen had emerged. He must have been concerned enough about the young lord that it seemed unusual to others.

Hesitating to leave because of worries over a noble?

That sounded so pathetic.

He’d been living too comfortably–immersed in the relaxed and indolent atmosphere unique to the south. He’d become too relaxed. There hadn’t been any battles, and there was no sense of crisis as wealth just rolled in. However, it was time to tighten his resolve sharply again.

Alarmed, Carlton vowed to himself, ‘Keep distance from Luisen and focus on my work.’

Carlton deliberately turned a blind eye to the lord’s smile.

*****

That night, the general gathered Luisen and his retainers in the conference room. There, Luisen heard unexpected news: Carlton and his soldiers had decided to leave in two days.

The retainers, who were originally quite anxious, broke into a festive mood. They cheered and hugged each other as if Carlton had already left and all their troubles had come to an end.

While everyone was delighted, Luisen was bewildered. He felt increasingly burdened as everyone else said he did well and thanked him.

He didn’t feel any better when he returned to his bedroom, took a bath, and changed into his pajamas. Ruger hummed as he combed Luisen’s hair. As Luisen was in a particularly melancholic mood, the song agitated him. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Of course! Carlton is leaving! My duke, aren’t you happy?”

“I am.” Carlton’s departure would mean that all the hardships he had expected when he returned to the past were over. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time; but, somehow, he was more upset than joyful.

The Anies duchy had survived. What now? What should they do now? Thinking of the future made his heart sink, and he became gloomy. It felt a bit similar to staring at a blank exam without being able to write down a single answer.

Anxiety made unnecessary worries manifest. ‘Just, why is he leaving so suddenly? Isn’t two days far too soon?’

The road to the capital was long; it was doubtful whether or not Carlton’s troops could finish preparations for that trip within two days. In addition, he was also worried about the Vinard household’s envoys’ testimonies. If what they said was true, there was an unknown danger lurking outside the castle. They’d be traveling with a large amount of supplies and wealth; they should at least send a small advance team to scout the area.

Last night, Carlton seemed to accept Luisen’s suggestion to be careful. He thought that the mercenary would spend a few leisurely days preparing and finishing up their duties. ‘Why did he suddenly change his mind?’

Furthermore, he did not directly hear this change from Carlton himself but, instead, from the general. Luisen thought the other would at least let him know when he had planned to leave. The abruptness was strange and upsetting.

Ignorant to Luisen’s innermost thoughts, Ruger said excitedly, “My duke, you’re happy, aren’t you? When Carlton leaves, we can pack quickly and return to the capital!”

“The capital? There’s a lot of things left to do here.”

“What does my lord have to do here?”

“I need to take care of the estate–I’m the lord after all.”

“Since when have you paid attention to your noble duties? Even if the duke isn’t there, the general will be present; the duchy will be fine without you,” said the attendant.

Luisen became depressed at Ruger’s words–he wasn’t completely wrong, after all.

“Tell the others to do those boring and difficult things. Isn’t that what retainers are for? They need things to do as well. Let’s go to the capital and party and drink–have fun–like before,” Ruger said.

“What party…All our friends are dead…”

“Then we should make new friends. Everyone’s impatient to get to know you, my duke. Why must you continue to only say such depressing things? As expected, the capital and the city fit us better. Being stuck in the countryside has only made you worry and be bleak.”

“I’m serious right now–our future is bleak.”

The thing Luisen was most scared of was that his knowledge of the future was now useless due to all the changes in the timeline. So far, he had made up for his lack of ability with his knowledge of the future, but that nest egg was soon running out.

Ruger gently patted and smoothed his hair as if to console him. “What is my duke worried about when he has me?”

Then, he talked about how bad the situation was in the duchy and how they could have enjoyed themselves in the capital. His smooth talking was so efficient that his words could have crafted memories that didn’t even exist. However, none of his flamboyant speech penetrated Luisen’s ears.

‘I should tell Carlton to go slower. I need to steel myself as well,’ Luisen thought.

It was too late today–tomorrow, then.

He’d meet Carlton again and try to convince him.

""

*****

The next day, Luisen headed to the general’s office instead of going to the lower village. Now that Carlton was preparing to leave and the gates to the estate were opening, other work had appeared.

Luisen shadowed the general to learn about his duties and met with the retainers in the conference room to discuss the next steps after Carlton’s departure. All he did was sit at the head of the table and listen to the others’ words, but the retainers were very satisfied with that alone. They found it miraculous that their lord, who was usually busy running away and playing around, had sat through the whole discussion.

In his free time, he completed the homework and studies given to him by the general and the treasurer.

The lack of rest felt unfair, but Luisen was reaping his own karma.

In between all that, Luisen tried to meet with Carlton. Before, he used to be able to see the mercenary whenever he wished, but recently he hadn’t been able to see even the tip of his nose.

Of course, Luisen was also busy. Whenever Luisen tried to visit Carlton, a servant or one of the knights suddenly appeared from somewhere and dragged him away, saying that the general was calling for him. Then, when he visited the general, he was only given more homework.

‘This is too strange?’

But the biggest problem was not the retainers who followed Luisen around like baby birds, but Carlton himself.

Before, Luisen could find the mercenary without much effort; today, he couldn’t find him anywhere. After waiting for him, Luisen had decided to visit him first. However, his efforts were in vain, as the other was always said to be busy or not present. He waited–eyes wide open–and when he saw Carlton appear at the castle, he chased him, but the mercenary disappeared again.

‘Are you avoiding me…?’ As understandable doubt began to arise within him, Luisen slowly grew angry.

‘No, I’d understand if we’re too busy to meet. But don’t you think you should say goodbye before leaving?’ No matter what others may have said, Luisen was still the owner of this castle. If one settled down in another’s castle for more than a month, it would be polite and proper to leave their greetings before they left. Of course, the two didn’t meet under the best of conditions, but they’d been doing well since. Furthermore, they may meet again in the capital or city in the future…

Now that it had come to this, Luisen was agitated even by Carlton’s choice to ignore Luisen’s greeting down at the lower village. ‘Was this because I kept trying to feed him the buried old hags? I was only joking…why is he avoiding me? Did I give him any reason to do so? He even asked if there was a chance we could meet again in the capital.’

Recalling that night, Luisen felt as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. The atmosphere at that time was harmonious and pleasant.

‘In fact, there was no problem if we just left it like this,’ Luisen thought. ‘As the others have said, it’s supposed to be great news that Carlton can leave quickly.’ It was none of Luisen’s business whether or not Carlton would rush himself into an accident.

However, Luisen did not want to part with the man like this.

Carlton’s departure from the duchy meant more to him than the others. The war that changed Luisen’s life had ended; the long journey to correct his mistake of abandoning his estate and fleeing his troubles had finally come to an end.

Luisen had long been chased by the mercenary and had been afraid of him for a very long time–his appearance had destroyed the foolish young lord’s perfect life. Many things had changed since the regression. He felt as if Carlton had acknowledged him to some extent, and Luisen was also not as afraid of Carlton as he was before. The relationship with the mercenary was like a symbol of the correct choices the lord had made after regression.

That was why Luisen wanted to see Carlton off.

‘In this situation….’

The saint had said that those who hesitate and procrastinate would eventually find their life had come to an end. If your target is avoiding you, you should confront them when they can’t escape.

Luisen waited deeply for the quiet, lonely night to fall upon the castle.

***

He sneaked out of the room at the right time–if Luisen were to meet any servants, they may block his efforts, so he observed his surroundings carefully as he headed to Carlton’s room.

The lights were off in his bedroom, and Luisen charged right in. The room was dark, but Luisen knew the layout well since this room had once been his. Getting to the bed was no real trouble.

Carlton was laying on the bed.

‘He’s sleeping so well.’

However, sleeping well or not, that wasn’t going to stop the motivated Luisen. The lord approached Carlton carefully, taking caution not to wake him, with outstretched hands. But, before that hand could reach Carlton’s shoulder, Carlton pulled on Luisen’s wrist

“Huh? Hnnrk!?” Luisen was dragged along, just like that. His body was turned halfway around and thrown onto the fluffy bed; his eyes were spinning from the rapid change in momentum. Carlton held down Luisen’s chest tightly with one arm, and in one smooth flourish, he held a dagger to the lord’s throat with his other.

TL: Well that’s going to fan more rumors! How bold~ going to a man’s bedroom late at night.