War of the Roses (2)
The Smile of the Rose, an inn representing the city of Shoara.
Normally, it would have been filled with the fragrant smell of food and the sounds of chatter, but today there was only a vaguely heavy air.
“Is there anything else you want to order besides beer?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“Don’t you have a brother?”
“hmm.”
“Ha… Why are all the guests who came today like this?”
Ned, a dark-skinned boy, started scratching the back of his head in annoyance as he watched Haven and Otar, who only ordered one glass of beer each.
They say things are going well these days, so why are they writing so little?
“Then at least give me a tip. “If you don’t do something, you don’t get a performance bonus.”
“tip? “It’s okay.”
In response to Ned’s grumbling, Haven raised his middle finger as if to tell him to eat this and leave.
“Don’t ask customers for tips today. “This is my tip.”
“That sucks. Testimony.”
Ned just furrowed his brows as he looked at Haven, whose actions were playful but his voice was serious.
Even if it wasn’t as bad as Vlad, Haven was a person who was no longer in a position to be easily dealt with.
“Like Vlad said, if that guy kept pickpocketing, I wouldn’t have lived long.”
“Hmm…”
Otar sighed as he watched his younger brother leave with a huff.
The boy, who was agile in his own way but could not match his wits, seemed not to have noticed the strange tension in Rose’s smile today.
“This reminds me of the old days.”
Haven raised his beer glass, glanced around and said.
Was it like this when there was one-armed Jack and Jorge?
In fact, a sharp tension that I had not seen in a long time enveloped Rose’s smile.
“Everyone knows these faces.”
The owner of this place probably didn’t intend it, but the guests who came to Rose’s Smile today were naturally split in half.
People who are conscious of each other, just ordering a glass of beer each.
Although Ned may not have recognized them, they were all merchants representing the North.
“All the busy people in the world are gathered here.”
“hmm.”
As Haven said, people who could smell the amazing smell of money were gathered in the same place at the same time every day.
And the place where they were setting up their camp was in a separate room on the third floor where Gemina and Alicia were.
Will it be Shoara or Demarr?
The place where trade with the new world of elves and dwarves will take place.
Will it be Bayezid or Haynal?
Where a knight named Vlad, recognized by the Orthodox Church and sponsored by the Ironsmith, will stay.
“I bet on Jemina.”
“hmm. me too.”
It is not a simple political battle, but a silent war based on the interests of countless people and political calculations.
Haven, who adjusted his captain’s hat, raised his beer glass towards the other captains sitting on the other side.
People are divided into sides between red roses and blue roses.
And the place where Haven was sitting now was where the Red Rose side was.
※※※※
“It tastes great. “It makes me want to invite the person who made this dish to my mansion.”
Was it possible for a fight between a woman from the back alleys and a noble noblewoman?
Normally, this would of course have been nonsense, but if it were limited to just the topic of Vlad, it would have been completely unknown.
‘It looks like Bayezid is planning to take advantage of this woman.’
Alicia, who was a noble noblewoman but also the daughter of a Korean-American baron, knew very well.
The level of food you eat now cannot be achieved simply with money and cooking skills.
“Especially the quality of the meat is excellent.”
“This is meat provided by the Kannor family. “They are all healthy and running around in the meadows.”
It wasn’t just meat.
Various delicacies that people could not dare to buy even if they had money were still coming into the room.
The smile of the inn Rose, protected by the Bayezid family.
Now, Jemina was showing who was behind her through gorgeous food.
“…No matter how much they ran around in the meadows, they would have ended up being raised inside a fence.”
However, Alicia only responded coldly even as she looked at the fragrant smelling foods.
“The land called Bayezid is so large that you don’t even know you’re trapped.”
“……is that so.”
Does this woman know?
The fact that he was being used by Bayezid.
If you do this knowingly, it is probably not worth respecting.
“I’m worried that Lord Vlad, who is now free after his contract is over, will end up being tied down like this.”
Alicia is smiling while twirling the meat on her fork.
However, the eerie feeling toward someone at the end of that smile is probably not just an illusion.
“…Isn’t the Baron trying to keep Lord Vlad in his arms anyway?”
“that’s right.”
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“Then I think it would be safer for me to be on a large piece of land rather than a small fence.”
Gemina responds quietly to Alicia’s words and sprinkles sauce on the meat.
His behavior was polite beyond reproach, but his remarks were dizzyingly rude.
“No matter how good a horse is, it won’t be able to run around freely in a fence that is too narrow.”
“……”
A strange tension filled the room.
Even the old Duncan put down the utensils he was holding.
The women’s fight, which no one could withstand, was making the air in the room endlessly heavy.
“…Even though what I have is small, I am just thankful that it is not a fence trying to trap someone.”
Along with the answer, the sound of a knife cutting meat is chilling.
“Unlike some people.”
Alicia compares Gemina to a fence trying to trap Vlad.
Jemina was furious at those words, which struck her more strongly than any other insult.
“…But you too, Baron.”
“At least I won’t try to lock you up.”
Alicia wiped her lips with a napkin and smiled as she looked at Jemina.
It was at times like this that the blue blood of a cool-headed nobleman showed its true value.
“Rather, I gave it to you if you gave it to me.”
Alicia nodded at those words and at the large amount of food that was served, as if to look at it.
“All of these must have been borrowed from someone. Is there anything in this that is entirely yours?”
“…….”
Gemina remains silent at Alicia’s sharp advice.
Indeed, as she said, all that Zemina had was what Bayezid had lent and permitted.
“Hainal is a small and insignificant family, as you said, but I can at least promise Lord Vlad a lot.”
The gap between Bayezid and Haynal was so large that it was embarrassing to put it into words, but Alicia was confident as long as she could support Vlad.
“If he wants, I can share everything I have. “These are things that my ancestors have built up over hundreds of years.”
It was too much to give to one knight, but Alicia’s special situation made it possible.
A female monarch who must protect her family’s name alone.
For her, who had to pay a lot of attention to succession and inheritance issues, Vlad, a promising knight with no background, was the best alternative she could not miss.
“No matter what Bayezid promises Lord Vlad, he probably won’t be able to give that much.”
“…….”
Jemina was at a loss for words as she saw Alicia even offering to be by her side.
If her words of sharing everything are true, Bayezid will not be able to meet such conditions unless he offers Shoara.
“Why… like that?”
“So just let me go.”
Lady Gemina has Vlad’s past, but Lady Alicia is confident in Vlad’s future.
Two women were looking at the same man, but seeing completely different things, making eye contact.
“Isn’t it a waste of his potential? Even if Lord Vlad were here, he would just be a knight who listens to someone else’s orders for the rest of his life.”
From knights to high-ranking monarchs.
Alicia was saying that you may just be shackles, but I can be his wings.
“Isn’t it such a shame that a man named Vlad is tied up in an inn like this?”
“…….”
Jemina’s eyes began to become dizzy after hearing Alicia’s words.
Of course, I thought that being in Bayezid would be helpful, but if it came out so sincerely, even as Gemina, I would be confused.
‘Am I really…tying you up?’
Gemina, who always gave everything for Vlad.
But Vlad, who was now gone, was no longer the boy who stood in the mud like him, looking at the unadorned sword.
“…….”
Gemina thought as she quietly looked down at her toes.
It may have been suitable for the boy next to the mud, but I wonder if it is suitable for Vlad now.
What is the best that I can do for Vlad now?
※※※※
In front of the castle gate of Shoara.
Vlad looked at the familiar man standing in front of him and greeted him warmly.
“long time no see. “Mr. Marcus.”
“…His name is Vilmoshi now.”
The man with the scars all over his face stroked the tip of his chin as if he couldn’t help it as he looked at Vlad, who continued to call him Marcus.
“But why are you here…”
“Good. “Someone please wait here with me for a moment.”
A man with a strange atmosphere that greeted him after an ominous fortune.
Vlad began to feel that their current meeting was not just a coincidence.
“Do I have to wait a long time? “There is someone I want to find quickly.”
“You’re coming over there at the right time.”
Vlad turned his head to follow Marcus’ nod.
Flags visible from a hill in the distance.
The flags carved on the walls of Sturma symbolized Bayezid’s army returning from the Western Gate from afar.
“Who is this! The rumored Vlad A.U.RE.O. “Isn’t it you?”
“……long time no see. Mr. Rutger.”
Beneath the flag that came first were Rutger and his wizard Dorothea, smiling cheerfully.
“Is there such a coincidence? “I still wanted to see it at least once.”
Their relationship could have been uncomfortable thanks to his relationship with Josef, but Rutger approached Vlad without hesitation and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Has the rumor already spread there?”
“Rumors are birds that fly far away.”
With both hands rounded, Rutger playfully placed them next to his ears.
“Besides, as a wizard, I have ears that can be heard anywhere.”
As Rutger finished speaking, Nibelun and Dorothea, who recognized each other’s mysteries, began to greet each other.
They were a tribe of beastmen who wandered their entire lives because they had no place to settle, but because of that, there was a stronger relationship between the races.
“It looks like you’ve just returned.”
“I handed it over to the Maringen family. “I wonder if those people came a little late and had a hard time.”
Rutger jokes that he is tired of the dry dust of the West.
Looking at him like that, Vlad smiled awkwardly.
Although they were brothers born from the same bloodline, he had a completely different charm from Josef.
-Welcome to Shoara!
Shoara’s guards shouted loudly at the two knights passing through the castle gate.
It was a shout that made the eyes of Nibelun, who was experiencing such hospitality for the first time, widen.
“It’s nice to see you after a long time. “How about we go to City Hall and have a drink?”
Rutger is smiling and clinking his handmade drinking glass.
Vlad wanted to go with a rose smile right away, but he couldn’t ignore Rutger’s words.
Worse-!
If it weren’t for the water bottle standing upside down in front of me.
“Oh……”
“……!”
How to recognize your peers.
To Rutger, it may have been nothing more than a surprise, but Dorothea could not hide her surprised eyes when she recognized the mysterious weight contained in the water bottle.
“…I will make sure to come see you this evening.”
“huh?”
Rutger was taken aback by Vlad’s completely unexpected words.
No matter how busy things are, is there anything more important than Bayezid’s only successor?
“Where are you going?”
Even Marcus was mobilized to create the current situation.
However, Vlad recognized the wizard’s warning and quickly grabbed Noir’s reins and began to escape the procession.
“……what is this.”
Vlad dared to reject the offer of the heir to the family and the knight representing the North.
Rutger was just staring at Vlad’s back as he rushed away in bewilderment.
“Would you like me to go with you?”
“…….”
So, in the place where Vlad left, there was only a cat he had never seen before.
When Rutger saw Nibelun closing the entrance to his backpack, he just nodded, looking embarrassed.
※※※※
“……Vlad always had something he wanted to do. “Since I was very young.”
Alicia’s point was extremely harsh.
When asked what you could do for Vlad, Zemina had no answer.
“It was a back alley that would have shaken anyone, but that’s probably why Vlad was able to become a great knight.”
But Gemina knew better.
To Vlad, being someone else’s isn’t that important.
“What do you want to say?”
“…This is what I want to say.”
The girl who was standing on the mud with the boy understood it better than anyone else.
“Vlad will not need anything you give me, Baron.”
What the boy wanted was not a 5-gold sword, but the sparkle that only that sword had.
“Because Vlad is a person who only wants to have everything that is completely his.”
Not someone else’s, just mine.
Gemina knew very well that Vlad had been struggling to have his own world that no one could take away.
Drurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Beyond the silence created by the two women, there was the sound of rushing footsteps.
“…Gasp. Did something happen?”
A man hurriedly opened the door and came running in.
“…Why is the atmosphere like this?”
In front of Vlad, the two women who had become equals were looking at him at the same time.
Looking at their somewhat hideous eyes, Vlad was reminded of the evil fortune-telling that Nibelun had mentioned.
