Chapter 38: How a Mercenary Handles a Night Mission (6)
Regina growled at the masked man who had come close and grabbed her hand. He’d barely reacted to her attacks before, and now he was stopping her altogether.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“…”
Still no answer. Regina clenched her teeth. Not once had this man spoken. But tonight—she was determined to tear off that mask.
She grabbed him by the collar and rolled on the ground with him, struggling to take the mask off. But Valentine wasn’t backing down either. He did his best to stop her rough attempts.
They tumbled and wrestled across the dirt, until she ended up on top of him. Regina reached for the mask again, but Valentine grabbed her wrists before she could.
“You protected my head while we were rolling but still wouldn’t let me take off your mask? What are you, a kind attacker?”
As they rolled, he kept shielding her head from hitting the ground. It was the only reason she wasn’t hurt—but it confused her even more.
What kind of enemy does something like that?
Regina tried to break free, but his grip was too strong.
‘Guess I’ve got no choice.’
Seeing her struggle, Valentine let out a small sigh.
He suddenly sat up, flipping her underneath him with the momentum. Now both her hands were pinned—she could only squirm, but it was useless.
“Let… me go.”
It was dangerous. When her head hit the ground, her mind went hazy. She didn’t even realize both her hands were being held down by just one of his.
Then he covered her eyes with one large hand. He’d figured out the sleeping drug Allen gave her had finally kicked in—he realized it when she tried to stab her thigh earlier to stay awake.
As the darkness covered her vision, her movement slowed. Her angry breathing softened into a slow, sleepy rhythm.
Valentine kept his hand over her eyes for a long moment, then finally sighed.
“…Ha.”
What kind of twisted joke was this?
He got off her, hesitated, then picked up the white mask. Just as he thought—it was her. Seeing her sleeping face, he pulled off his robe.
“…I’m going crazy.”
Thank goodness Allen’s sleeping potion finally worked. If she had stayed awake and kept fighting, it would’ve been a nightmare.
“My wife is impossible to predict.”
Valentine lay down beside her. This felt oddly familiar. Like that time she had protected him from assassins.
But this time, the feeling was different—his chest felt tight, and he didn’t know why.
“…What are you doing?”
Whale slithered up in shadow and asked quietly.
“Can’t you tell? A husband lying beside his wife.”
“…Did you just say wife?”
“Can’t hear properly in that shadow of yours?”
Whale blinked in confusion and looked at the woman beside his master. The moment he saw her face, he froze.
“L-Lady Regina?! Why is she here…?”
Whale’s shadow trembled like ripples in water.
“I plan to figure that out soon. But for now… what do we do?”
Valentine sat up, looking at her sleeping form. It would be strange to just leave her in her room after being found like this. But he couldn’t leave her out in the cold either.
“…I have no choice. Whale.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Bring the things I asked for. And also…”
She was dreaming.
Someone was stroking her hair. Holding her close, keeping her warm. It didn’t feel like just a dream—it felt real.
‘Like it actually happened…’
As that thought floated through her mind, something soft brushed her cheek.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw dew sparkling in the morning sun… and a grey carrier pigeon in her view.
“Joo?”
The pigeon stretched its neck and cooed in response.
Still foggy in her mind, Regina reached out and petted the small bird’s head without thinking.
Joo pecked her hand sharply.
The sting woke her fully, and she quickly looked around. She was still in the same forest where she had fought the masked man.
“…Why are there a blanket and pillow here?”
She sat up and realized there really was a fluffy pillow under her head and a warm blanket over her.
And only one person could’ve left them here.
“…Next time I catch him, he’s dead.”
Was this some kind of twisted act of kindness from an enemy? Or just a way to mock her?
It was the kind of humiliation she’d never felt before—and she hated it.
Damn it.
‘If only my body had been normal…’
She slammed her fist on the ground.
But a scary thought came to her.
Even if she had been at full strength… could she have beaten him?
She clenched her fist tighter, silent.
If that strange masked man had really wanted to ruin her mission—if he wasn’t the kind of lunatic who gave pillows to passed-out enemies—he would’ve killed her, chased after Gael and Shanro, and ruined everything.
Not only would the mission have failed, but her people could’ve been in danger too.
Her heart pounded as guilt and helplessness slowly crept up from her feet to her head.
She almost got pulled under by it.
If it weren’t for Joo pecking her hand again, she might not have snapped out of it.
“Gu gu gu…”
“…Sorry. I’m really pathetic right now.”
‘Pull yourself together, Regina Lofman. Why did you become a mercenary? Why did you build this guild?’
What had she endured all that pain and training for?
She did it to protect her family—people who could be thrown away like rusted scissors. Since she was young, she had sworn to get stronger for them.
Now, she was close. Just a bit more and she could turn Persona into a home and shield for them all.
She couldn’t afford to break down now.
Regina punched her left shoulder hard. The pain helped clear the fog in her head.
‘First things first—I need to fix this mask.’
She took off the mask.
Whether the masked man hadn’t removed it, or removed it and then put it back on out of annoying kindness, she didn’t know. But next time, she’d enchant it so it couldn’t be taken off easily, no matter what.
“Gu gu!”
Joo flapped its wings hard and pecked again—like it was urging her to hurry back.
The morning dew had already dried. It was time to move.
* * *
Eileen was always the first among the staff to greet the morning. It was partly because of her hardworking nature—and partly because she simply didn’t need much sleep.
“Hm, the weather’s nice today. I’ll start by checking around the castle.”
Back when she worked as a maid in the prestigious Felgberg Marquisate, her first task every morning had been to refill the noble family’s water bottles.
But ever since becoming the head maid here, her early morning duties had changed. The mornings of Duke and Duchess Julius were handled with extra care.
In her 30 years of serving nobles, Eileen had never met a couple quite like them.
For one, Duke Valentine never entered the Duchess’s room—apparently by Allen’s recommendation.
And Lady Regina, too, seemed sensitive to the presence of others. Eileen had stopped checking in on her early because every time she entered to change the water, the Lady was already awake.
‘Maybe it’s because she used to be a mercenary,’ she thought.
But still—if they sleep in separate rooms, how do they spend their nights as a married couple?
The curious thought popped up but was quickly dismissed. Their lifestyle was partially for medical reasons, and besides, Eileen had just recently arrived at the duke’s estate. It wasn’t her place to meddle.
‘Besides, the lady knows what she’s doing. I was worried at first, but…’
As she made her morning rounds through the castle, checking for dust, Eileen remembered Miss Pollymé—the energetic girl who used to run around like a monkey just weeks ago. It was Pollymé who had asked her to come to Balmen.
At first, Eileen had thought it was ridiculous. A sudden request to become the head maid in a new place?
No servant from the high-ranking Felgberg house would willingly serve a noblewoman who used to be a mercenary. Eileen couldn’t even understand why a noble family would be close to a mercenary in the first place.
If not for the debts she owed the Felgberg house—for her weak son’s medical bills and education—she would’ve refused outright. All the staff she brought with her also owed debts to the marquisate.
“But after coming here… wow. She’s more of a lady than an actual noble.”
