CHAPTER 09……………………………………..
Adamas took a step back to observe Sapeiros and noticed something curious. Whenever people from the Marquisate saw him pass by, they didn’t bow directly in front of him, but to his side or his back instead.
They must be very shy.
But somehow, she felt she understood.
Sapeiros had an intimidating presence. There was an aura around him that made approaching difficult.
Still… why did he look so fragile to me? Was it because I knew about his short, doomed history?
A man who would abandon himself first in a crisis. Classic tragic hero material.
Adamas realized recently what it meant to be so anxious that she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Wait a minute…
“Hey, Sir Sapeiros. Why did you listen to me back then?”
“What do you mean? Back then?”
“When I first met you. You were so sure that a woman like me wouldn’t exist in Mano, so why did you agree to come all the way to Varantu Island with me?”
Why would you, seeing me for the first time, promise to protect the rear for my sake?
“Because you had that ring.”
Sapeiros nodded toward Adamas’s hand.
“The beetle ring?”
“Yes. At that time, I was certain that the Onyx family had stolen my ring.”
“Why’s that?”
Sapeiros sighed deeply.
“I thought you were connected to the Onyx family.”
“So… why?”
“If that’s the case, then you’re also from Mano. My duty to protect you doesn’t change.”
So even though he thought I was some unlucky Onyx family connection, he still protected me because I was from Mano?
Huh. What’s with this guy? Does he naturally enjoy sacrificing himself?
“Anyway… what is that ring, really?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? It’s a family heirloom from my father.”
Avoiding his gaze, Adamas slowly twisted the beetle ring on her finger.
“I see. Got it.”
“That’s it?”
“The beetle ring is a symbol of the Marquis family, but it’s not unique. Anyone born into the family receives one. And you resemble the Marquis a lot—especially those green eyes.”
Sapeiros pointed at Adamas’s eyes.
Of course I resemble him. After all, the Marquis resembles my father.
And I inherited the same eye color from him.
“I don’t know the Marquis family’s relatives well. Seeing that the Marquis doesn’t recognize you, you are probably…”
Sapeiros bit his lip and stared into the distance.
From that, Adamas understood.
Sapeiros suspected she might be the illegitimate child of a previous Marquis.
A girl arriving in the Marquisate with a relic of her real father, inherited from a foster father who passed away… something like that?
She wanted to deny it, but there was no way to prove it. Saying she came from the future would only make her seem insane.
So she smiled brazenly, pretending to know nothing.
Actually, Adamas had a solid reason to stay by Sapeiros’s side.
No matter how gloomy he seemed, as far as she knew, he was the strongest man in the Marquisate.
“You’ve sped up your pace again. Walk slowly. I don’t know the way.”
Yes. So what if he’s capable?
He’s my lifeline… the lifeline of this Marquisate.
There was a faint smell of brackish water. A small log cabin sat by a stream branching from the Baran River near Sapeiros’s house.
Ah… it was a real place. Adamas had seen it before, in a framed landscape on her wall as a child.
She had thought it was just a decorative painting, but it was real.
Its appearance…
“Someone might think it’s a hunter’s cabin.”
It was fairly large for one man, but by no means the kind of residence suitable for the Captain of the Marquisate’s knights.
“How did you know? I heard hunter families lived here before, but they abandoned it.”
“Wow…”
“So there’s something special about it. Not ordinary, huh?”
“Um… the Marquis isn’t withholding your salary or anything like that, right?”
“He just lives frugally.”
Sapeiros muttered while avoiding her gaze.
“Alright. Let’s go with that. Show me the house, Sir Sapeiros.”
Adamas extended her hand dramatically.
“Only chivalrous when convenient.”
Sapeiros chuckled softly and quietly took her hand.
He opened the creaking door and led Adamas to the dining table, then lit all the lamps inside.
The house was surprisingly comfortable. Not cramped at all for two people.
Adamas ran her hand across the table. Seeing this, Sapeiros quickly said:
“W-Wait, it’s usually clean.”
Cleaner than this? Honestly, it was cleaner than her own room. Papers, magic journals, and books were scattered everywhere in her room, along with the dust.
“I normally keep it very clean. I’ve been focused on defending the Marquisate, mainly dealing with golems. Suddenly the Robiana nation attacked…”
The first battle in fifty years. If they fought this well with a hastily organized army, victory was certain. Yet the vassals of Mano found fault from morning.
“Honestly, I don’t even know why Robiana attacked. Quiet for fifty years, then suddenly…”
Sapeiros grumbled while filling a dented tin kettle. Adamas prevented him from using a flint and instead summoned a small flame to light it.
Suddenly… yes, it was sudden from their perspective, but not from the attackers’.
Still, Adamas didn’t want to tell Sapeiros that fact for even a second.
Not only could she not explain her source, but the reason was…
Spinel, the crown prince of Robiana, a hopeless romantic.
Because of his love, a fifty-year truce was broken, and countless Marquisate citizens died. Adamas couldn’t bring herself to tell Sapeiros.
She fudged it instead.
“No one probably knows Robiana’s situation right now.”
“Still… we need money.”
“Huh? We were just talking about Robiana! We just talked about golems yesterday!”
“….”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“What did I do?”
“You’re giving that look of ‘What am I supposed to do with this foolish woman?’”
“Sharp, aren’t you?”
Sapeiros smiled crookedly. He poured warm water from the kettle into her chipped cup and pushed it toward her.
“Adamas. I’ll say it again. The Marquisate needs money.”
“How much? Exactly what for?”
“We’re rebuilding the southern walls.”
“But the south is just desert. Are the sandstorms really that bad?”
“You just saw the golems yesterday and still ask that?”
“I don’t understand. Why are golems coming from the desert?”
The Glaive Desert lay south of the Marquisate. A lifeless void.
“The desert has nothing at all. If you waste time on pointless construction… ruin will follow…”
Adamas couldn’t continue.
A fact flashed through her mind—one of the main reasons the Marquisate had declined:
Unnecessary and mysterious construction projects.
“Wait… are the walls being built because of golems?”
“Of course. The walls are being built to stop the golems.”
“No way! Golems aren’t naturally occurring. They have a creator.”
Naturally, golems could not come from the desert; no humans lived in the Glaive Desert.
“A famous story, isn’t it? A mad mage built an underground dungeon in the desert, creating golems there,” Sapeiros said quietly.
Adamas had never heard this before.
“Why would someone do that?”
“I told you. He’s insane. How could I know why?”
“When did the rumor start?”
“Maybe a hundred years ago.”
“So we’re building walls to stop golems from the desert? Shouldn’t we investigate first? Not build walls—catch the mad mage!”
Sapeiros sighed deeply.
“The Currendum did investigate.”
“….”
“And yet, even after investigating, they say they don’t know. The golems keep appearing, the villagers panic.”
Ah… that’s why he glared at the Currendum mage.
“But you helped with the golems.”
“The second golem was heading toward the Currendum residence.”
“…Terrible.”
“Want to hear something worse?”
Sapeiros’s expression looked almost like he was about to cry.
“Onyx Romel is leading the wall construction. Labor comes from the Marquisate peasants, but all materials come from Onyx family mountains and mines. All costs fall onto the Marquisate’s debt. And it keeps increasing daily. They probably won’t be able to repay it.”
“That’s really bad.”
It’s a matter of influence in the territory.
It’s not just that the walls are paid for by Onyx; it’s a demonstration of who rules the land.
“If these walls are completed as they are, the southern walls will become a symbol of Onyx, not the Marquis.”
“Meaning that it will look like Onyx, not the Marquis, is protecting the people.”
“Exactly.”
A radical, unprecedented solution to change deep-rooted relationships—the most reliable solution.
“Yes, Adamas. The Marquisate needs money.”
Money… yes, they needed money first.
“Alright, Sapeiros. What are the region’s specialties?”
“Winter wheat and desert beans.”
Wheat and beans… how could that possibly fund walls? Adamas asked.
“How much do they yield?”
“Enough to survive.”
‘Yielded enough,’ not ‘yields now.’
“So they don’t yield as much now?”
“Golems appear at intervals, making it hard to farm. Many villagers abandon their homes.”
“The residents are running away?”
“Yes. Even if knights were sent to stop them, the Marquis couldn’t. He’s too kindhearted.”
Sapeiros gritted his teeth.
“We need to build the walls as soon as possible.”
Yes. Otherwise, the Marquisate’s survival would be in jeopardy.
Adamas swirled her hands around to clear her thoughts.
If anyone could solve this easily, the Marquisate wouldn’t be in this state. Neither the Marquis she’d seen nor Sapeiros before her were fools.
“Let’s think this through. First, we should rest, especially you, just back from the battlefield.”
“Right. You should rest too.”
“Then… where’s my room?”
“Use that main room. I normally use it.”
Normally used? Could it be…?!
“You mean we’ll use the same room?!”
