Chapter 03
I quickly worked my brain.
“Instead of dying, I can make things right up until the moment before death. Didn’t you see my skills earlier? Even though I’m small, I can defeat people several times bigger than me. I also graduated top of my class from the Rollend Sword School. And people around me even—”
“We have no intention of using someone tied to the royal family.”
Calyx turned as if to leave. I quickly stepped in front of him. His expression creased, but I ignored it and spoke.
“I am under contract with the royal family, but I don’t like them that much. Of course, I took a short-term contract aiming for a lifelong one, but my dislike for them is stronger. Actually, I’m from the Lukru Kingdom.”
Thankfully, Calyx did not interrupt me. He didn’t look angry either. I hurriedly continued.
“I came here after my mother passed away when I was ten. In a way, since I’m not originally from here, you could say I have lower loyalty to the Saventry royal family than anyone else.”
Calyx looked down at me.
“Even if your loyalty to the Saventry Kingdom is low, haven’t you continued royal contracts?”
“Oh, that was just for money and fame. Any mercenary from Rollend dreams of contracting with the royal family. And once you do, your value goes up, and the treatment is better too.”
I didn’t like the Saventry royal family either. My mother had been part of the Saventry Kingdom’s knight order, got caught up in something bad, and that was why we came to the Lukru Kingdom.
I thought it would be good to say that too, so I quickly opened my mouth.
“My mother was also from the Saventry Kingdom. She was even part of the royal knight order. But she was betrayed there, so she fled all the way to the Lukru Kingdom.”
Calyx’s eyes sharpened.
“What was your mother’s name?”
“Selvian Bin.”
“Did she use that name in the Saventry Kingdom as well?”
“No. She said she changed her name after coming to the Lukru Kingdom.”
“What was her original name?”
“I don’t know. She said there was no need for me to know.”
Calyx stared straight at me. It felt like he was looking with some kind of intention, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Come to think of it, why was he so concerned about my mother?
Just as that question rose—
“When did you go to the Lukru Kingdom?”
“I heard it was when I was one year old. I don’t remember anything. I was too young.”
Calyx studied me closely. More persistently than before. He stared at my eyes for a long time. An awkward silence followed.
I avoided his gaze for no reason.
“There’s a mole under your right eye.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know the king’s lost daughter also has a mole there?”
“Oh, I saw the portrait of the child after coming here. But only the mole position is the same. The face is different.”
For twenty-five years, the Saventry Kingdom had been desperately searching for the princess. Finding her would bring enormous money and honor, but she had never appeared.
“Wouldn’t she be dead by now? They haven’t found her in twenty-five years.”
“She is alive.”
My eyes widened.
“Do you know something?”
If the princess were found, I could repay my debt quickly. Calyx looked down at me as if I were ridiculous.
“If I know, do I have to tell you everything?”
As expected of a duke with terrible personality—so prickly. Still, I smiled and said,
“No! Not like that. I was just curious. Most people think she’s dead.”
Calyx didn’t say anything more about it. Growing anxious, I spoke again.
“Anyway, I hold a lot of resentment toward the Saventry royal family. My mother did too.”
I looked at Calyx with all my determination, practically begging him to understand. Thankfully, he didn’t avoid my gaze.
His cold, ash-gray eyes settled on me. Maybe because of how thoroughly he looked, it felt like all my senses were being surrounded. Then came a silence so deep it felt suffocating.
I could smell Calyx’s scent—heavy, yet reminiscent of dawn air. Along with his piercing gaze, his presence became vividly clear.
My heart started beating faster than before. Maybe it was tension. It felt strangely unpleasant.
Then his low, pleasant voice pierced my ear.
“I don’t like it that you’re contracted with the royal family.”
The words fell reluctantly. My mouth tasted bitter. I had even revealed a past I never told anyone, yet it didn’t seem to help at all.
‘How am I supposed to repay two billion in a month?’
My mind went blank.
“I’ll watch to see if you’re useful.”
I paused to think. Watch to see if I’m useful? At least it wasn’t a rejection. Forgetting the bitterness from before, I quickly answered,
“Thank you! I won’t disappoint you!”
Overcome with emotion, I bowed deeply. While I did, Calyx passed by. I quickly raised my head and followed him.
“Where are we going?”
“To Setos.”
“Isn’t Setos a northern region about three hours from here?”
“Yes.”
Come to think of it, Calyx was the Duke of Demerut. That meant his territory covered the north. And then, what was waiting there—
“Don’t tell me the job I have to do is…”
“Killing Berok.”
My face stiffened instantly. It felt like my blood ran cold. Berok. A monster that mutated from wolves. It had red eyes and would tear apart anyone it saw.
I had struggled to settle in Rollend, the capital, just to avoid monsters like that. If I couldn’t establish myself there, I’d have to survive by killing Berok. I had tried so hard to avoid that fate.
“You want me to kill Berok?”
“If you don’t want to kill it, don’t. But then you’ll have to repay the debt within a month.”
How could I repay two billion in a month? It was hard enough just to find work right now.
“I—I’ll do it.”
To protect my duty, and to repay the debt in my current situation, this was the best option. First, I would work under Calyx and find a way to survive.
Feeling lost, I followed him. Outside, a carriage was already prepared.
I got inside. Thinking about what had happened earlier drained all my strength, but thinking about the con artist reignited my resolve. If it weren’t for that fraud, I wouldn’t have ended up this pathetic.
‘That bastard. I’ll definitely catch him.’
As I stared outside with wide eyes, a strange thought crossed my mind.
‘With this scale, shouldn’t he report it to the investigation bureau?’
I turned to look at Calyx. He was reading documents. The carriage jolted slightly, but his posture didn’t waver.
He seemed deeply focused, so I waited a moment before asking,
“Um… aren’t we going to the investigation bureau?”
Without even looking at me, Calyx replied,
“Do you want to go straight to prison?”
“No.”
Relief washed over me—and at the same time…
‘Is he going easy on me?’
After glancing at him a few times, I blurted out,
“You’re really not turning me in, right? I’m not going to prison, right?”
“I don’t want to create trouble that ends up in the newspapers. So you’d better keep your mouth shut too.”
As he said that, Calyx looked at me. I immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry. I’m very good at keeping my mouth shut.”
Calyx returned his gaze to the documents. I glanced at the sword at his waist. The red glow was completely gone now.
At least he wasn’t trying to kill me. That was a relief. Rumors said he was ruthless and cruel… Then I remembered what he had said earlier.
“You don’t look like someone who’s killed before.”
He said it as if he had killed people himself. Like he could see right through someone like me. Feeling chilled, I looked out the carriage window. People walked freely outside—children, women who reminded me of my aunt.
Suddenly, my aunt came to mind. She wasn’t my real aunt, but after my mother died, she took me in and raised me here. Coincidentally, the carriage was near the post office.
I quickly turned to Calyx.
“May I stop by the post office for a moment? We’re going far, so I should at least send my aunt a letter. Otherwise, she’ll definitely worry and come looking for me.”
Calyx knocked once on the partition. The carriage slowly stopped.
The post office was right in front of us.
As soon as I got down, a large man followed me, but I ignored him and entered the post office.
While checking for my mail, I found a letter from my aunt. It looked like it had just arrived.
**[From your aunt.
How have you been lately?
Is mercenary work hard?
If it’s tough, come here and help with farming. There’s plenty of land for you to work.
I’ll be waiting for your reply.
—Aunt]**
Aunt… I’m doomed. I have to go to a place crawling with Berok. My heart was in despair, but I calmly wrote my reply.
**[To my aunt.
Aunt! I’m doing well. But I have something to take care of far away from Rollend, so I won’t be able to write for a while.
I’ll write again once I return to Rollend.
—Lerit]**
I could never tell her about this. She had already supported me so much during sword school. I couldn’t ask for more.
Besides, she didn’t have the money to repay my debt anyway. She said she had plenty of land, but all of it was borrowed land. None of it belonged to her.
‘I wanted to save money and buy her some land… I was almost there…’
Tears welled up, but I barely held them back with anger.
‘Damn con artist.’
I would catch him with my own hands. My clenched fist trembled.
