Episode 96 Was That Today? (6)
“……what?”
Baron Austin asked in bewilderment, but Giselle left the room without further explanation.
But he wasn’t that hopelessly stupid, as soon as he heard an irritated shout from beyond the closed door.
I realized that Giselle was a noble of Rutania.
Jiselle led the mercenaries who had been waiting in the waiting room out of the castle.
Belinda, sensing that the atmosphere of the guide was not good, approached Giselle and whispered.
“What’s wrong? Did something go wrong?”
“No, it worked out fine. Just wait a bit.”
“But why does he look like he’s about to die?”
“Yeah, do you have a stomachache or something?”
Belinda glanced at Giselle, dumbfounded.
Just as I was about to say something, a young woman appeared, led by the hands of the knights.
The woman’s clothes were shabby and she looked quite haggard.
Looking at the way he was glancing at the knights, it seemed like he didn’t even know why he had been brought here.
One of the knights who had brought her in spoke in a subdued voice, as if suppressing his irritation.
“You are free now. They paid the ransom.”
“Who, who?”
The woman raised her head in surprise.
Who on earth paid that large sum of money, two thousand gold?
There was no one left who would spend that kind of money on himself.
When she turned around, there was a man standing there looking at her.
Although he looked much more shabby than before, I could immediately recognize the man trembling and sobbing.
It was her fiancé, whom she once loved and thought she would never see again.
“Claude!”
“Anna!”
The two people hugged each other without saying who would go first and cried out loud.
“Why! Why! Why did you do that!”
“Um, sorry… … . Is it too late?”
Belinda just pouted her lips as she watched the two people.
‘Are they lovers? Or are they family? Did the young master know all about this?’
There were more than one or two suspicious points.
It’s strange that you brought a rune stone when you said you had someone to meet.
There’s no reason to pack such expensive items for your travel expenses.
‘They also said that if you’re late, your wrists will be cut off.’
And as soon as he got there, he looked for Claude, who almost had his wrists cut off, and gave him money without asking why.
It was like they knew what was going to happen and prepared for it.
Belinda asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
“Did you know this would happen, Master?”
“Well, more or less.”
“How?”
“I just did some research here and there.”
There is no reason to disagree. The problem is that I don’t know when such an investigation was conducted.
Belinda squinted her eyes and studied Giselle, but she couldn’t figure out his secret.
“Then do you know about the relationship between those two?”
“Yeah, we’re lovers.”
“Oh my, is this the cliche of saving a captured lover? How romantic.”
Belinda looked at Claude and Anna, who were speechless and had tears in their eyes.
Even though I don’t know the exact details, I couldn’t help but look at Claude a little more when I found out that it was to save his sold-out lover.
No matter how you look at it, you can’t excuse the fact that she gambled to save her fiancé.
“What the hell happened to those people?”
Jiselle stroked her chin, pondered for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“Because of that bastard Claude, Claude’s teacher died.”
“yes?”
“But that woman is the teacher’s daughter.”
“yes?”
Belinda, of course, as well as the other mercenaries who were eavesdropping from the side, opened their mouths in shock.
“No, you said you were lovers? But you killed your lover’s father?”
“He didn’t kill her, he died because of her.”
“That’s what you say!”
“It’s completely different.”
Jiselle crossed her arms and took a moment to consider her words.
“That master is involved with the revolutionaries.”
“Revolutionary group?!”
Belinda and the mercenaries jumped in surprise. I wondered if there could be anything more surprising, but there was.
The Revolutionary Group is a famous radical armed group on the continent that advocates equality and sharing.
Although they initially received support from many people because of their plausible justifications, they have now long since fallen to the level of continental bandits.
“But, how are those two alive?”
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The goal of the revolutionaries is to overthrow the existing system.
So, there was no way the kingdom could leave anyone associated with the revolutionary group alone. Anyone who had even the slightest connection with them was put to death.
Jiselle explained calmly.
“To be exact, he was falsely accused of being involved with the Revolutionary Group. Claude’s teacher was the head of the Royal Academy of Ceylon.”
Claude’s teacher was the president of the academy and a politically influential scholar.
The nobles belonging to the opposing faction were annoyed by him and planned to frame him by fabricating false evidence that he had been associated with the revolutionaries.
And it was Claude who passed the evidence on to his master.
“No, did you betray your master?”
“That’s impossible. Why would someone with such a bright future get involved in something like that? He was just fooled. He only studied so much that he didn’t know much about the world.”
Claude, being naive, did not notice the plot of the hostile faction.
I just heard that it was an important letter and passed it on to my teacher.
And that letter ended up becoming evidence that Claude’s teacher had joined the revolutionary group.
Of course, there were more complex tricks and schemes than that… … In any case, it was Claude who provided the starting point for the Master to be falsely accused.
‘I lived my whole life regretting it, feeling guilty because of it.’
Jiselle smiled bitterly.
“In the end, the two barely managed to survive after their master died in a factional fight. Anna was supposed to pay an additional ransom as she was a direct family member, but she couldn’t pay it, so she was sold here.”
“Oh my… … .”
“Anyway, that’s why Claude can’t help but feel guilty towards his teacher and his fiancée.”
“Then the reason I bought it at the casino… … .”
“Because no one will hire him. Who would hire a guy who killed his teacher and was involved in treason?”
A few of the mercenaries clicked their tongues and shook their heads.
“I need to save Anna, but I don’t have a way to get a lot of money. So I just gave up on life. I just hoped for a stroke of luck.”
“It only takes a moment for a person to lose their taste.”
“It was too high a price to pay for realizing how scary the world is. I lost my teacher, my bright future, and my loved ones.”
“Ugh… … .”
Belinda felt a gritty taste in her mouth.
I asked because I was curious, but when I actually heard the story, I felt really uncomfortable.
I was wondering why they were hiring a gambler, but I never thought he would have such a past.
The two of them were acting strangely awkward as their tears finally stopped.
It wasn’t Claude’s fault that his teacher died. Anna couldn’t blame Claude all the time.
But it’s human nature to want to blame someone when disaster strikes.
Anna’s expression as she looked at Claude was filled with both joy and resentment.
“But Claude, who are these people?”
“This person is… … the nobleman who paid the ransom in my stead.”
Claude smiled a little bitterly.
He also didn’t know exactly who Giselle was or why she was helping him.
To recruit talent?
If you can afford to spend that much money, you can easily find someone better than yourself.
Even after all this, Claude couldn’t trust Giselle at all.
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Anna was sure that there was some condition that Claude had not specifically stated.
But whatever the conditions, it was clearly a favor to readily give away such a large sum of money.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Anna bowed her head repeatedly as if she were a sinner, expressing her gratitude.
Jiselle looked at her with slightly pitiful eyes.
Anna probably thinks that Giselle has set conditions for Claude that are too high for him to meet.
No one in this kingdom would ever write to Claude, because he was indirectly involved in the rebellion.
Even if they hire you, most people will offer terms that are favorable to them in exchange for taking on the risk.
It’s not that different in essence from what Austin was holding onto, except in form.
“You don’t have to be so formal. I just want to help you.”
Jiselle didn’t bother to clear up the misunderstanding.
No matter what they say, it was obvious that I wouldn’t believe it until I experienced it myself.
* * *
Jiselle and her party led the two people to the inn without delay.
The mercenaries’ bags were very heavy with the 1,000 gold that Osten had given them.
With enough money to cover the expenses, Jisel and his party entered the largest inn next to the Kraken Game Center.
Only after they had secured the room did Claude speak to Anna with an apologetic expression.
“I’m curious about the details, but… … Let’s talk tomorrow. Right now, I have something important to discuss with this person.”
“… … Okay. Be sure to talk to me tomorrow.”
She looked anxious, but soon nodded.
The mercenaries had dispersed to stand guard or rest, leaving only Giselle, Claude, Belinda, and Gillian in the spacious guest room.
“after…….”
Claude took a deep breath and asked.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Jiselle thought for a moment and then spoke honestly.
At this moment, I didn’t want to lie.
“Because I owe you.”
“This is my first time seeing you, Baron.”
“Oh, that’s true. But I do owe you something.”
It was something that probably no one would understand.
Belinda was heard grumbling that her master was being strangely stubborn again.
But Giselle was sincere.
Claude helped Giselle, who was obsessed with revenge, until the very end, but eventually lost his life.
Would you mind spending a few pennies on a friend like that?
“I really wanted to recruit you. But if you don’t want to, I won’t force you. Live however you want. You don’t have to pay me back.”
“… … Don’t joke around.”
“Why can’t you trust what people say? I’m telling the truth.”
It wasn’t like this from the beginning. I just wanted to drag Claude along somehow.
But when I actually saw Claude’s face, those feelings disappeared.
‘Yes, this guy worked really hard. He ended up failing, but… … Claude did his best.’
In this life too, I didn’t want to be tied down by force because of my greed.
That was something he couldn’t do to Claude, who had sacrificed his life for him.
I was able to see the face I wanted to see, and I was able to prevent my wrist from being cut off. I was also able to save Anna, who I had been longing for.
Now Claude could live in peace.
Although Giselle’s revenge failed and Claude died without being able to see the end, Claude in his previous life at least helped Giselle willingly.
I didn’t want to force Claude.
Even if he is not with me, I hope that my friend from my past life will live freely and happily in this life.
That would be enough.
“Of course, I haven’t given up. It would be nice to live in this neighborhood as a writing teacher, but… … If you feel like you want to use your abilities on a bigger scale.”
Jiselle smiled softly.
“Come to the Fenris domain in Rutania. I will give you wings to use your abilities.”
Claude gritted his teeth.
I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on.
It was difficult to dismiss it as a common whim among nobles, but the warm and friendly gaze looking at him continued to bother him.
Claude closed his eyes for a moment and thought, then slowly laid down on the floor.
“Thank you for saving Anna. I will remain loyal as promised.”
He raised his head.
There was no longer any despair on his face.
His expression even looked relieved, as if he had decided on something.
Jiselle asked with a slightly stiff expression.
“I told you, you don’t have to do that. Live however you want.”
“This is what I want.”
“You’re good at talking… …. Actually, I think you want to live with Anna?”
Claude lowered his eyes as if he had been hit with a bullet.
“Five hundred gold coins will be enough for two people to live comfortably.”
“I can’t just accept that much money.”
Giselle narrowed her eyes and looked down at Claude.
“You really have made up your mind.”
“Yes, this is the best.”
Belinda couldn’t understand what the two men were talking about.
‘Why don’t you two just come to Fenris Estate together?’
Before she could even ask the question, the answer came out of Claude’s mouth.
“I may be shameless, but I have one last request. Please send Anna safely to the Royal Academy of Ceylon. I will follow you, my lord.”
Jiselle sighed with an expression that said, “I knew it.”
