"If you knew anything about the Count, you wouldn't have even said something like this."
"What is that..."
"If you're really curious, do your research."
"..."
He wouldn't even get a chance to find out.
The Emperor's dog? It wasn't not even funny. Of those who participated in the Eight Year War, if they were to select the one with the least loyalty to the Emperor, they and their Captain would be chosen without a doubt.
Certain emotions were overlaid on the members' eyes.
Based on the madness, all kinds of negative emotions such as anger and hatred emerged and one member, who had managed to organize his emotions for a moment and waited for them to disappear, opened his mouth softly.
"So, stop harassing those who are having a hard time."
The members quietly gathered together to block the view of those around them.
It was enough to keep just one guy alive anyway, so it would be okay to kill at least this guy who spoke arrogantly.
The member who quietly drew his weapon spoke with a smile that could be seen as fake.
"Die."
***
I managed to get to my room, enduring Sir Lien's burdensome gaze, and instead of going out, I avoided her gaze and pretended not to notice, keeping my eyes fixed outside the window.
'They're gathered together again. What are they doing all gathered together like that?'
I hope they wouldn't cause another accident.
Why were those guys in my house before, anyways? Shouldn't they be in the imperial palace?
"Sir Lien."
"Yes, Count."
"Do you know what kind of situation this is?"
"Are you talking about the Revolutionary Army's attack?"
"No, about why they are here."
"Ah, I understand that Your Majesty has returned the order of knights that he had temporarily taken charge of during the Count's absence."
It was a shame to leave them for a while. I guess they tried to handle them but couldn't handle them so they sent them back.
Of course, before the war ended and I left as a hero's companion, the Emperor had said that he would temporarily leave the Lofty Knights in the charge of the imperial family during my absence.
But what naive person would believe that?
Cases where people say they will keep something in their hands and then quietly took it for their own were common facts that come up even if you looked in any history book right now.
There was also some evidence that the Emperor attempted to do so.
Although I haven't stayed here for a long time so far, he's had plenty of time to return them.
Nevertheless, the reason why they were being returned now was probably because the personalities of the members cannot be handled.
Damn Emperor.
'Did you think I could handle people that even the Emperor couldn't handle?'
If you ate it, you could have just wiped your mouth and been done with it.[1] Why bother giving it back to me?
While my expression was sour, Remember, who must have finished cleaning up, knocked and came in after asking for permission.
Pure white gloves and a wrinkle-free tailcoat. It was a uniformly neat outfit. To the extent that it was inconceivable that he defeated the Revolutionary Army just a moment ago.
He reported, brushing aside my narrowed gaze with a solemn smile typical of an old man, as always.
"The fire in the yard was completely extinguished. I would like to hire another competent gardener to revive the garden, but what do you think, Count?"
"...Remember can take care of it."
Since you are a competent butler, you will be able to take care of it.
His unexpected abilities were quite outrageous, but thanks to that, my anger at the bombs (mad dogs) that the Emperor gave me has subsided, so let's just move on.
Even if I ask, I wouldn't get anything anyway.
Rather than that, the priority was what to do with those who I was forced to take charge of.
"Remember."
"Yes, Count."
"I would like to provide separate lodgings for the knights, but is that possible?"
"Count Hardt's manor is big and spacious. We can provide separate accommodation for the knights."
After all, he was competent. He got the job done quickly without the slightest hint of embarrassment or hesitation!
It would be perfect if we just did something about his mysterious attitude.
While I was just thinking to himself, Remember turned his gaze to look at Sir Lien.
"What will you do with Sir Lien? Since the genders are different, if you want to stay, you have to prepare a separate room..."
"Oh, I will commute here. So, you don't have to prepare my accommodation."
"Yes, I understand."
Come to think of it, Sir Lien was a noblewoman.
Compared to a murderous group made up entirely of commoners… No, looking at the Lofty Knights, I couldn't think of them being nobles, even if they are knights.
'When I think about it, this is a big deal. When you think of knight, the rabid dogs naturally comes to mind. If this was the case, even if I meet another knight, I would be blinded by prejudice...'
"Anyway, it seems that His Majesty cares for you a lot."
"...Yes?"
Who cared for whom? I suddenly raised my head in bewilderment.
While I was lost in thought, I guess they had finished sorting out the situation. The knights were nowhere to be found, and Sir Lien, who seemed to be the person who had finished sorting things out, was leaving with a silent bow.
And the person left in front of me was Remember, who spouted something absurd.
"What did you just say..."
"I said that His Majesty seems to care for you a lot."
"...Don't you think you need a vacation?"
"If you give it to me, I will be grateful, but I am sorry that you are already treating me like a senile old man."
But, the Emperor cares about me. It seems like they're talking about the Lofty Knights, but that didn't make sense.
Where on earth are you looking?
"Usually, because of the risk of treason, it is not easy to station knights from other families in the imperial palace or to give them up again, isn't it? Probably no monarch would do this except with extraordinary faith and determination."
"..."
I think he was trying to swallow them up but it didn't work so he passed them on to me and gave them back?
But what can I say? Our deacon who likes to make fun of others will only hear what he wants to hear. Rather, he will find fault with this and try to make fun of it again. Finally, I opened my mouth with a sigh.
"I will rest."
"Yes, have a good rest. It'll probably get a lot busier starting tomorrow."
"...?"
"While the Count was away, a lot of work got pushed back. I processed what I could to the best of my ability, but there were more than one or two documents that required the Count's personal approval."
"Ugh."
"For your information, this is not something that can be solved by avoiding it. In fact, the work will be pushed back further."
"...I had no intention of avoiding it."
I did a little bit... but I didn't want to do it.
Ah, I miss the demon realm where I could just roll around.
'I never thought I would want to go back to the demon realm.'
Feeling the weight of the paperwork, I hurried to the bathroom, avoiding Remember's gaze with a subtle smile.
I'm tired. Somehow, it seems that the fatigue accumulated here is greater than the fatigue accumulated in the banquet hall.
'...It would be better to build a separate lodging for the knights.'
Go as far away from where I stay as possible.
This was all because of them. I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel tired after talking like that and putting everyone else on edge.
Now that I thought about it, the forest behind the mansion seems quite large for being inside the count's mansion.
Wouldn't it be a bit quieter if it were built in the middle of it?
'I'll have to have a serious discussion with Remember later.'
***
There were unspoken rules in the slums.
Rules created to somehow keep one's sanity and survive in a difficult life.
'Be friendly, but don't be affectionate.'
...
Contrary to appearances, the slums are sensitive to all kinds of rumors.
How can they not be sensitive to the atmosphere of the nobles as it was directly related to their livelihood?
If the nobles were in a bad mood, the children would starve.
When the nobles had no time to spare due to war preparations, those who sold their bodies went hungry.
For some reason, when nobles went out less often, people had to throw themselves in front of carriages to get money and chew on tree roots. As such, in the slums where rumors spread quickly, 'the birth of a new hero' and 'the return of Deon Hardt' were already outdated rumors.
And that empty space was quickly filled by other rumors.
A rumor that could be like salvation and provide hope to those living in the slums.
It was actually related to 'salvation'─such a rumor existed.
Sheia asked in a voice that had become faint after starving for several days.
"The Salvation Church?"
"Yeah, I guess they give out free bread and water in the slums."
"For free?"
"For free."
"Nonsense. Isn't there a drug in there?"
The voice was small, but the doubt contained therein was clear. In addition, a suspicious expression was clearly visible on Sheia's face. A scraggly face with messy hair.
Yes, Sheia was from the slums.
As she was born in the slums and had lived in the slums, she was a child of the slums who had been left behind and unable to receive favors without question.
That's why she couldn't believe what the other person said. Giving out free bread and water? There wouldn't be any benefit, right? Besides, wasn't the Salvation Church a religious institution? If it were a religion, it would need donations, but it was impossible for people in the slums to have money.
So this was a lie. There is no reason to believe it.
"No. The lame man next door tried it and said nothing happened. They even said they just let him go without asking for anything."
"...Liar."
If it's a lame man, Sheia knows it too.
A man who had no regrets about life, so he threw himself in front of the carriages without hesitation and collected money from nobles.
He probably would have just taken it without caring whether it contained medicine or not. At least to him, life and death had no meaning.
He probably thought that if you live, you live, and if you die, you die.
And he lived. Sheia still couldn't believe it.
There's no way that guy would lie, so then is this boy in front of her lying?
So why? Wherefore? What are the benefits?
"It's real! I felt sorry for you because you were starving for a week, so I told you, but... if you don't want to believe it, don't believe it! I'll go alone! If you don't go, you're the only one who loses."
Paul turned around with his face scrunched up.
Oh, he's upset. If he walked hard like that, he would quickly lose strength and get hungry quickly.
Sheia blankly followed the receding figure with lifeless eyes.
By the way, he said he was going alone, right?
Considering that Paul said he was going, it doesn't seem to be a completely unreliable rumor.
"You said it was the Salvation Church..."
Her voice was cracked and came out as if the wind was leaking because she couldn't even drink water properly.
After failing to pickpocket and getting beat up, she couldn't eat anything properly for a week.
She broke her wrist when she was supposed to pickpocket, but now that she had recovered a bit, she didn't have the strength to try again.
If this continued, she would die.
She could feel death, which had always been by her side, reaching out its hand.
People always die in the slums.
The person you talked to yesterday became a corpse, and the person you shared a rumor with the day before committed suicide.
The corpses were not given any comfort and were simply burned to prevent epidemics. There was always no one mourning.
'If I die, will that happen to me too?'
She guessed so.
There was something that the drunkard man, who was now dead, always said as if he were lamenting.
'I didn't cry when others died, so who will cry for me?'
And when that man committed suicide, as he said, no one cried for him. Sheia didn't cry either.
This was a place that was unkind to children's crying. Tears only encouraged physical exhaustion.
So she didn't cry.
So if Sheia died, no one would cry, just like no one always did.
When she thought about that, strangely enough, she became interested in the Salvation Church.
'What about adding something strange to bread and water?'
Even if you die of starvation, poison, or even disappear, the reaction of the people here will be the same.
And if you're going to die, wouldn't it be better to eat and die than to starve and die?
She raised her limp body.
She could feel her limbs shaking, but she began to walk with difficulty.
Now he had become a black dot, she chased after Paul as he walked away, and called out to him in a dry voice.
"It doesn't matter if it's salvation or anything else."
If they just give them bread and water like they said.
She turned before she knew it, surrendering herself to Paul, who supported her with his rough but careful hands, and closed her eyes helplessly.
[1] This is either a weird mistranslation or some Korean expression. I couldn't find anything on it, so just interpret this how you want.