Chapter 27: Who Do You Think You Are!

I check my attire.

I focus on clothing that prioritizes mobility and comfort.

The colors are generally dark, the kind that doesn’t show stains, dust, or blood easily.

I strap the real sword I’ve prepared to my waist, and on my thigh, I attach a dagger, a small hand axe, iron needles, and iron scissors.

I pack auxiliary tools as well.

Since I’ve steadily saved up an emergency fund, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.

I pack healing potions for emergencies and triage medicine in the form of dried powder, then check the packaging of several antidotes to neutralize toxic reactions before tucking them away.

‘Other than that….’

I’ll grab the dry rations from the warehouse.

I’ll keep the backpack to a minimum.

However, knowing well the truth that the lighter the backpack, the more grueling the journey, Kariel checks everything meticulously.

I don the hood, the cloak, and a robe that doubles as a windbreaker.

Finally, by hoisting the backpack onto my shoulders, the preparations are complete.

Dozens of times in my head.

No, days spent thinking, reflecting, and checking hundreds of times.

To actually carry it out now felt overwhelming.

A tiny spark of excitement flickered.

Though it faded quickly.

‘Spare shoes, too….’

If I could take a horse, the effort of packing would be reduced, but there’s no helping it.

…Even if I were to catch a wild horse later, there are no stirrups, and above all, encountering a herd of wild horses within the Empire is no easy feat.

…Let alone capturing one.

Tap, tap.

Kariel tapped the ground with leather shoes that reached above the ankles.

“…….”

He calmly surveyed his room.

He had left a letter on the desk, but after a moment of hesitation, he immediately retrieved it.

The only thing left to take was the lute.

That… I’ll grab on the way.

Looking toward the window, he turned away without lingering and left the room.

“…Young Master.”

He saw Sylphia standing there, holding a lamp.

“You’re… you’re going to where the Madam is, right? Right?”

“…….”

“T-today is a celebratory day, isn’t it? Also… I heard the rumors. That you dealt with His Highness Prince quite splendidly?”

There was a bit of a contradiction in those words.

But Kariel didn’t bother to correct her.

“S-so… now….”

“Sylphia.”

“…….”

Normally.

For a family of Count status, it wouldn’t be strange to have exclusive maids or valets.

However, the Brandiar family—new nobility who were initially called rootless—lacked a foundation due to their sudden rise to power.

Furthermore, thanks to a frugal mother and a father who looked down upon authoritarianism and formality.

The family home was managed by a minimum number of staff.

Even this was only because the Emperor had taken an interest; otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a single gardener, let alone a gatekeeper.

The maids were hired help paid a wage to assist with the chores.

And.

Sylphia was a child Kariel himself had brought along so she could be employed.

“…….”

Right.

I almost forgot.

“Young… Master?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“…Because I was lacking, I sometimes took my frustrations out on you and snapped at you.”

At that, Sylphia’s light brown eyes widened, and she shook her head vigorously.

“N-no! That’s, that’s because I was clumsy and lacked professional sense. I-I was slow to catch on….”

“It’s alright.”

I spoke, stroking her black hair.

“Still, because you were here, in this house, I was a little….”

What should I say?

The words don’t come.

There must have been a fitting sentence.

Still, my mind is empty.

But the gratitude is sincere.

“If only I… had been a more competent person who could have solved your worries, Young Master….”

“Enough. Don’t blame yourself.”

I held out the letter I had been carrying.

“The Academy Leave Period is almost over, and I need some time to organize my thoughts, so I’ll be leaving the Empire for a while.”

“…….”

She probably knows.

That I intend to leave the house without saying a single word to my father or mother.

Perhaps she had felt for a long time that I had no lingering attachment to this house and intended to leave.

…I must have shown so many signs.

“You’ll… come back, right?”

…Was that so unexpected?

Did she think I would leave forever?

“…….”

Well, that’s true.

If I weren’t who I am now.

Certainly.

I would have intended to leave forever.

So that they could never find me.

I probably would have tried to reach the very edge of the continent by any means necessary.

“Come to think of it….”

Long ago.

I wanted to go to the other side of the continent, the place not shown on the maps.

…I have no idea exactly when that was.

But.

“I will wait for you.”

Taking a step back, she calmly bowed her head.

And as I looked at Sylphia, who tried to smile despite her eyes being filled with tears.

I thought that sight was truly beautiful.

“Until the day I can serve you again.”

“…….”

Sylphia didn’t insist on accompanying me or following me on the day of my departure.

Because we both knew each other’s circumstances too well.

For her, who had to look after her sickly mother and younger siblings.

It was an inevitable choice.

Regret?

Hardly.

Despite her young age, she was faithfully fulfilling her role.

She probably wanted to run and play like others her age, or act spoiled toward her parents.

Even though she is younger than I am.

Since the first time I saw her… despite her lack of tact, she worked so hard.

“Is there… anything you wish to convey to others?”

“I wonder.”

I thought about it for a moment.

“I’ll think about that later.”

I will leave forever.

But not now.

Disappearing as if fleeing is not quite right.

Since the Imperial Equestrian Tournament takes place shortly after the leave period ends.

Alessius and many of my old acquaintances will likely attend.

The Hero and the descendants of heroes.

All of them are strong candidates for victory.

“…….”

On top of that.

I’ll sprinkle some Ash Water.

And then, I’ll bring it to a definitive conclusion.

So that there is no returning.

So that even they.

…Can never welcome me again.

Clearly and decisively.

…I shall sprinkle the Ash Water.

====

On the way to the park, crossing over the family home’s wall.

“It’s a son! A son!”

“Oh my! Is it true?”

“My goodness!”

As if a festival were being held in the middle of the night, people were pouring out and making a commotion.

Wearing a grey hood, I retrieved my lute from a secluded spot in the park.

Then, I quickened my pace again.

“It is the Empire’s great blessing!”

“Hero Lueld! Long live! Saintess Ermina! Long live!”

“His Majesty the Emperor has just heard the news and is heading to the Great Church!”

“I heard Lord Variel is already there?!”

…….

It sounds like a story from another world.

The capital is vast, and the road is long.

As usual, I scaled the walls of the buildings, leaped from the rooftops, and quickly exited the district.

The indifferent wind and the feast of countless crowds boiling below.

They were sincerely rejoicing and offering prayers.

That scene.

Continued until the moment I reached the city walls of the capital.

“…….”

Scanning the personnel patrolling the walls, I identified a spot where I was unlikely to be discovered from a high rooftop.

Landing on the ground, I sprinted and leaped up the city wall as if climbing a wall.

And then immediately.

I threw myself silently over the wall.

Suddenly.

While falling, I turned my body to look back.

The receding city wall firmly filled my vision.

As it grew larger.

Eventually, it looked like a towering barrier that could never be returned to.

Thump!

Landing safely on the ground by rotating my entire body, I pressed myself close to the wall again.

Naturally, patrol personnel circled outside the wall as well.

Though I had already grasped their cycle, this was only possible because I had observed them closely.

Even so, a watchful eye could be flashing from somewhere.

Hiding my breath in the darkness to avoid being exposed by torches, I threw myself forward.

The reason I chose a place with dense woods outside the wall was not for nothing.

‘It’s in the direction of my destination… and there’s less chance of being discovered.’

As such, I heard this area was intentionally used for external patrols, but that wasn’t a problem.

Inside the forest.

Within the woods and groves.

…I am far more free than any ordinary human.

I immediately climbed a tree to read the wind’s direction and moved, considering how my scent might spread.

I had to leave a certain area to be free from the patrols.

Camping in this area would be no different from begging to be caught.

I’m not on a picnic; I can’t afford to be held back here.

Even this is moving at a leisurely pace.

The goal isn’t to traverse quickly, but to steadily exit the zone.

While quickly moving through the trees.

Something caught my eye.

Two horses tied to a tree.

And someone stroking those horses.

Looking up at me.

For a moment, Kariel wondered if he was seeing a hallucination.

Having just landed on a tree, he turned back just in case and looked in that direction.

“…….”

Someone wearing a fur hood was staring up at me from the darkness.

At that moment, as if by chance, the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

Passing through the gaps in the trees.

It scattered light specifically toward that area.

As the red hood with white fur was pushed back.

A crimson wave surged.

And blue eyes, shimmering with Ghost Light.

Were revealed.

“Why….”

Why are you here?

And of all times.

……At this moment.

“I have not waited long.”

So for a moment.

“Let us converse while catching our breath.”

Kariel Brandiar.

“Or perhaps, are you now the Baron of Luthia?”

“…….”

Turning my back and disappearing would be one option.

“…….”

But the mere fact that she had personally come to this place.

Made it so I could not refuse the proposal.

If you think about it, she has done nothing wrong.

If there is a wrong, should the fact that she existed and succeeded be treated as a mistake?

That would be distorted.

That would be wrong.

In the end, my unnecessary emotional expenditure toward her was merely a product of my own inferiority complex.

Therefore.

“Very well.”

I climbed down from the tree and headed toward her.

The brilliant moonlight seemed to settle only around her.

Elhermina Berg Enzul.

My childhood friend.

A second-generation hero, just like me.

A descendant of the greats.

But are you and I so contrasting?

Bathing in the moonlight, she was beautiful, steadfast, confident, and sophisticated.

As the world says.

As they describe.

Within such a girl’s heart, frozen steel had been planted.

Even that golden blood. Those veins.

Perhaps.

Had they frozen cold?

And yet.

Everything that cold woman showed was kindness, nobility, and sublime self-sacrifice.

What kind of landscape is reflected in the world engraved in those blue eyes?