Chapter 12
Calyx picked up his sword and left with the soldiers to another place.
Vodka’s eyes shone brightly in front of me. I tossed a biscuit from my pocket. Vodka caught it in one bite and ran over to Calyx.
I watched him leave with a sigh.
Even you, Vodka…
I stared for a long time at their disappearing backs. The fire had gone out, and the wind blowing against my face was cold.
I held my sword with a gloomy expression.
No matter how strong I am, is it okay to leave me alone out here?
Then, I heard wolves howling. Somehow, the Berok seemed to know I was alone and gathered like ghosts.
You scammer bastards.
I swung my sword, wanting to cry. Fueled by even more rage than before, I cut the Berok faster. How many minutes had passed?
At some point, no Berok appeared. I washed the blood from my sword in the snow and looked around. Everything was silent. Only the sound of the cold wind blowing occasionally reached me.
I stared blankly ahead, my body starting to tremble. The cold wind had cooled my sweat. I wrapped Calyx’s cloak, which I had left on the ground. Suddenly, the wind didn’t touch my body.
I looked around. The pile of Berok was so high the smell of blood hung thick in the air. I didn’t count, but there were at least a hundred.
Calyx’s words came to mind.
“…If you’ve killed a lot of Berok, they won’t appear much anymore. Even if they do, only a few will come out.”
He said only a few.
What, a hundred is “only a few”?!
A curse escaped my lips.
Then, the wind hit my face hard. I bowed my head and shivered.
How long do I have to wait?
While trembling in the cold for some time, a soldier suddenly called out:
“Mercenary!”
I looked up. One soldier approached and said:
“You’re still here?”
“Uh?”
Confused, I listened as the soldier explained.
“It’s now a time when Berok don’t appear. You should return to the walls.”
I immediately checked the watch around my neck. 11:30 PM. No wonder the Berok had stopped appearing.
“Do Berok really not appear at this time?”
“Normally, Berok are active from 7 PM to 11 PM. After that, they don’t come out, and we also go to sleep.”
I had been waiting, thinking maybe more Berok would appear, but it was useless. I sniffed and gripped Calyx’s cloak tighter.
The soldier glanced at me, eyes widening.
“You still haven’t returned that cloak?”
“He told me to wear it.”
The soldier’s eyes grew even wider. I looked puzzled, and he quickly added:
“Did the Duke not ask you to give it back?”
“Yes. I wanted to return it, but he said it was fine.”
Actually, he had meant to tell me to throw it away. I didn’t say more.
The soldier covered his mouth for a moment. Curious, I narrowed my eyes at him. He smiled awkwardly and quickly said:
“I’ll go ahead. I need to check around here.”
I nodded and, tightening the cloak around me, returned to the walls.
The next morning, I woke up with a messy face and checked my watch: 3:50 AM. After washing in the room’s bathroom, I changed clothes.
Before leaving the room, I checked the map I had prepared yesterday: Derilf. My grandmother had said Darangp, but there’s no such place. It’s actually Derilf.
I also took the map Herkel had given me.
Yesterday, I couldn’t go because of the snowstorm, but today I would go no matter what. Before that, I carried a silver basin. They said it would help in the morning, but since it was early, I couldn’t skip it.
When I fetched water and arrived at Calyx’s door, Herkel came out. Seeing him reminded me of what he had said with the soldiers yesterday:
The connection between Count Medix, who had hidden a fortune of one billion, and Calyx. If I could find that out, who knew where that billion was buried?
I quickly greeted Herkel.
“Hello!”
Herkel smiled warmly and bowed.
“Sir Lerit, you were amazing yesterday. How did you kill 300 Berok alone? Even our best-trained soldiers couldn’t have done that.”
No matter how much Herkel praised me, I couldn’t stop thinking about the 300 Berok he mentioned.
“Did I really kill 300 Berok?”
“Yes. The number we recorded yesterday was 300. Counting by scale, you probably killed around 30 more than that.”
I let out a hollow laugh. No wonder my body felt sore this morning. I felt Herkel’s curious gaze on me.
“I heard you had the Duke’s cloak last night. Even though you tried to return it, the Duke didn’t take it?”
The rumor had apparently reached Herkel. I nodded, and he drew a deep breath, eyes full of expectation.
“Can we look forward to it?”
“What do you mean…?”
“The cloak the Duke gave you is an official Demerut family cloak. Only direct family members may wear it.”
“Then that means…”
“It basically means he’s given his heart. Especially since you tried to return it and he didn’t accept, that’s clear enough.”
“Huh?”
I looked at him, confused, and Herkel smiled faintly.
“Honestly, from the moment we first saw you, you stood out. Your skills are exceptional, and you fit the North very well.”
“I fit the North?”
“Yes. You do feel the cold more than most, but you’ve killed the Berok very well.”
“Well… that’s because of the scammer…” I tried to say but stopped.
“Even though the Duke usually discards things easily, he doesn’t throw away cloaks or give them to anyone.”
“Oh, I was just really cold.”
“But the Duke hasn’t gone out of his way to give such things to anyone before. He’s never shown this much attention to a woman.”
Herkel spoke so seriously that I lost the will to respond. I just stayed quiet, curious how far he would go.
He smiled and continued:
“So, we think you’ll be eating whipped cream cake together soon.”
Eating whipped cream cake meant marriage. I couldn’t remain quiet at that.
“That’s too much of a joke.”
I laughed in disbelief. People from the North had a very straightforward way of thinking—it was surprising.
Herkel, unlike me, stayed serious.
“It’s not a joke. Right now, the Duke is caring for you more than anyone else.”
He leaned closer, speaking almost in a whisper.
“Earlier, the Duke couldn’t stop talking about you. He asked if you weren’t coming while we walked here.”
It probably meant nothing. I had been slow carrying the silver basin. I tried to say that, but my mouth wouldn’t move.
Herkel noticed the silver basin in my hands and tilted his head.
“By the way, why the silver basin…?”
Before I could answer, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Could it be the Duke is making you do servant work?”
I had no choice but to explain.
“I said I’d do it. I need to save a lot of money, and they said this job pays well.”
“But Sir Lerit, this kind of work…”
“I need to save enough money to buy land for my aunt. I want to buy it before spring.”
Herkel was silent for a moment. He pressed his lower lip and took a deep breath. Our eyes met.
“Sir Lerit, you’re really thoughtful.”
Unexpected words. I looked surprised. Herkel continued:
“Normally, even if someone urgently needs money, they wouldn’t go this far because of pride. But you’re working so hard for your aunt.”
“…”
“I should learn from you. Seeing how hard you work, I feel I’ve unfairly burdened the soldiers with too much work.”
“You don’t have to be like me…”
“No, it shows why the Duke cares about you so much.”
It was beyond what I could stop thinking.
At that moment, the door suddenly swung open. I turned in surprise. Our eyes met—Calyx and mine. Herkel hurriedly bowed and stepped back.
Calyx did not avoid my gaze.
“Do you know you’re late?”
“Ah, I was talking with Herkel…”
“At this rate, you won’t pay off the debt for two months.”
I felt my anger boil, but I stayed calm.
“Sorry. Next time, I’ll…”
“Are you going to stand there all day?”
He was relentless. Ugh.
Suppressing my annoyance, I quickly stepped into the office and placed the silver basin on the table. Calyx checked the water and washed his hands.
“I didn’t expect you to talk with Herkel for so long.”
Unexpected words. His ash-colored eyes looked strangely dark as he stared at me.
“Have you already grown close?”
His tone was sarcastic, and his gaze wasn’t kind.
So I can’t get close recklessly.
A displeasing, uncomfortable feeling rose. Whether I got close to Herkel or not, Calyx’s sharp voice cut through.
“Don’t get close with Herkel. He’s kind, but sometimes he has strange fantasies and gets pleased with them.”
