Even the stars were looking at the boy (3)
The sunlight pouring in through the windows is heavy.
It feels like the air surrounding me is lacking for some reason.
“It suits you well.”
“······thank you.”
So even though I continued to breathe in, it was still difficult to breathe out.
“Is this a little big?”
Although the size of the clothes didn’t seem that different to her, Oksana frowned and gave instructions to the maids as if it was something serious.
“You have to stick out your chest.”
“······.”
Following her instructions, the maids clung to Vlad and began basting him.
I was familiar with the mischievous caresses of the prostitutes who sold me laughs, but the hands of the maids who adjusted my clothes were completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable.
‘How much does this cost?’
So Vlad’s thoughts kept wandering elsewhere.
The texture of the fabric against my skin was so soft.
For Vlad, who had lived his whole life wearing only rough clothes, it was a level of comfort that felt rather uncomfortable.
“Can’t it be too tight?”
“When you’re 17, you’re still growing up.”
“Well, Josef had grown up a lot by this time.”
The cold winter had passed and spring was approaching.
New times, new opportunities. And new clothes.
“This should be enough.”
And this is the first time in my life that I am experiencing this.
Oksana, who had seen the clothes tailored to Vlad’s arms, stood up as if she was finally satisfied with them.
“It is said that you must wear clothes appropriate for the season to avoid losing physical strength.”
As he watched her come closer and touch his clothes, Vlad naturally held his breath.
He was afraid that the breath he was exhaling might contain a strange smell.
“When this summer comes, I will make other clothes for you. “For now, let’s just avoid dressing like crap.”
“sorry.”
So far, Vlad has survived with the clothes he wore from the garrison.
Although the maids washed it diligently and it didn’t smell, it didn’t fit her body, didn’t match the season, and most of all, it wasn’t hers, it was clothes stolen from the dead Lehman.
Oksana was now taking care of what the men, Josef and Zayar, had failed to pay attention to.
“Who would look at you now and say that you grew up in a back alley? “You seem like a handsome noble young man.”
“······.”
It was exactly as Oksana said.
Anyone who saw Vlad now looked like a confident man.
It’s probably because I’m wearing clothes I got by proving my worth, rather than clothes I stole from someone else.
Oksana seemed to like her work, clapping her hands lightly and smiling.
“······thank you. Oksana.”
The boy, who had a hard time looking at Oksana’s smile, could only look at the floor.
“You saved my son’s life, but I am grateful.”
Oksana answered, stroking Vlad’s blonde hair.
“You really have dark blonde hair. It’s a color that even nobles would envy. “It’s a different feeling from my child.”
Vlad couldn’t find anything to say in response and just kept his mouth shut.
“I’m sorry for calling you when you were so busy with training. Let’s go now. “I will repair the remaining clothes and send them to your room.”
“thank you.”
Vlad gathers a pile of clothes that Oksana gave him and tries to leave the room.
“Take the things you put there too.”
“······yes.”
Oksana said, pointing to the clothes neatly laid out next to the door, as if she had just remembered it.
“You can be considered a real man only if you know how to be polite even when others are not watching.”
“······.”
Vlad’s earlobes turned red when he saw where Oksana was pointing.
The things Oksana packed separately were underwear.
What the boy didn’t know was that sometimes mothers’ consideration goes too deep.
※※※※
The hallway was turning red in the setting dusk.
Vlad felt that the wind blowing today was warm, but deep in his chest, an unknown discomfort was spreading.
‘I can’t adapt.’
From the moment he entered the Bayezid family mansion, he was constantly trying to adapt to the new environment, but each time he felt that he did not fit in here.
I felt like I was gaining weight.
Flesh attached to the soul.
“······.”
When Vlad arrived at his room, he finally let out a deep sigh.
“······Not yet.”
Only then did Vlad feel relieved as he looked at the cramped room.
This is where I belong.
till now.
——————
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The boy put down the clothes he had brought with him on the bed and took off the clothes Oksana had given him.
Then he changed into the mercenary clothes he had become accustomed to.
Vlad smiled as he felt the rough cloth sting the nape of his neck.
I wasn’t ready yet to wear the nice clothes Oksana gave me.
So this outfit will suit you tonight.
“Shall we go?”
When he entered the room, it was Vlad from Shoara, but when he left, it was Vlad from the back alley.
I needed that today.
Dusk was falling.
Vlad walked toward the dark hallway.
The boy’s steps toward a familiar place were light.
※※※※
Knock knock.
After the day’s work was over and everyone was in their rooms doing personal maintenance, someone knocked on Potli’s door.
“who are you?”
Portli opened the room, which was larger than Vlad’s but narrow enough to store a lot of sausages, and stuck out his face.
“Vlad?”
“Did anything happen?”
Looking at Vlad, who seemed to be in a good mood for some reason, Potli smiled along with him.
Although it wasn’t enough to call him a friend, he was the only person who treated him like a human being.
“what’s the matter?”
“I have something to take from you.”
“Are you going to take it?”
Vlad looked around Potli’s room, and when he finally found what he was looking for, he raised his finger and pointed there.
“Give me that, that one.”
“that? “Hamon?”
Where Vlad’s finger pointed, there was a properly aged jamon.
It was expensive, and it was the kind of salted meat that even Potli ate sparingly.
“You want that? “The whole thing?”
“huh.”
When Vlad suddenly came to visit at night after work and asked for jamon, Portley felt both puzzled and bitter.
“······okay.”
We may not be friends, but I still wanted to have a relationship where we could at least exchange laughter.
But the boy from the back alley didn’t seem to think of himself that way.
I guess he was just a person who would eat meat.
Even if the potli came from a wealthy family, serving a whole block of jamon that had been aged for five years was a burden in one way or another.
“······.”
Still, Potli gave me a chunk of jamon without saying anything.
Because I didn’t want to eat alone tomorrow either.
The loneliness of being alone and the feeling of alienation from not belonging anywhere were things that were too much for a boy at this age to handle.
“······A knight I know said this.”
“what?”
Since I took what I wanted, I thought I would go without looking back.
But Vlad was standing in the dark hallway, talking to Portli.
“A knight only takes his fair share.”
“huh?”
“This is my fair share of compensation. So don’t be too upset.”
“Yes?”
Portli couldn’t help but tilt his head as he watched Vlad spit out something he couldn’t understand.
“If other guys come and knock on your door tonight, don’t open it. “Don’t follow me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I think it’s just like that.”
Portli wanted to ask more about what Vlad had said, but the boy, who wanted to be free wherever he was, was already walking down the hallway.
“be careful.”
Portli told Vlad to be careful as he walked down a dark hallway without a single candle, but all he got in return was a single whimper.
Portli just tilted his head and locked his door as he watched Vlad’s back gradually sink into the darkness.
Clap-
Thinking back on what Vlad said.
※※※※
The sky was clear today.
There was not a single cloud and the wind was calm.
Moreover, because it was a full moon night, it didn’t feel that dark at night.
Under that bright night, someone was moaning.
“Quaaa…Quaaaaa.”
“Just lie down. “If you move even the slightest bit, I’ll break your head.”
The servant who fell to the ground due to the threatening sound coming from above decided to stay still for now.
That guy was a guy who would really break your head.
“14 people are too many to catch one person. Even back-alley gangsters don’t do things like this.”
“Shut up!”
In a small vacant lot in the mansion, brightly lit by the full moon.
Sovanin growled at the blonde boy who was standing with his back against the wall.
“Let’s see how far that momentum goes. “You bastard.”
“I’m going to pee because I’m scared.”
Although he was surrounded on all sides, Vlad only smiled leisurely.
“come in. “I came out here quietly, so you should do the same.”
All the servants here swallowed their saliva as they saw Vlad clapping his palms with a sneer on his face.
I was surrounded, but it felt more like I was surrounded.
It was a confrontation of more than ten people versus just one person, but strangely enough, the momentum was leaning towards Vlad, who was standing alone.
Everyone knew it.
If you jump in at once, even that guy, no matter how proud he is, will be helpless.
“Ugh…”
“Sovanin…”
However, the sight of the other guys lying on the ground now made me hesitate.
It looked miserable, and the position it was lying in was extremely dizzy, making it difficult to attack at once.
It looked like a castle wall made of corpses.
“F-foot!”
When things did not go as he wanted, Sovanin let out a harsh roar and began to go crazy.
“There are more of us!”
More numbers.
A better environment.
And the young men who had grown up in better conditions were surrounding a dog that had come up from the back alley, barking pitifully.
“Are you going to let that bastard continue to run amok?”
“Yeah, but.”
“Are you going to leave me alone?”
No matter how much Sovanin rolled his eyes and shouted, none of the servants were willing to move forward easily.
Because the momentum of the guy in front was stronger than that of Sovanin next to him.
Because it was impossible to compare.
“······.”
There were blue eyes that burned brightly in the shadows where not even the moonlight illuminated them.
“That bastard…”
Those eyes came when the servants were alone with the group and bared their sharp teeth.
Sovanin’s children, who were still reeling from the fear of that time, were not able to move easily.
“I’m going first, you bastards! “Follow me in!”
Seeing his colleagues unwilling to move easily like a flock of frightened sheep, Sovanin realized that he had no choice but to step forward.
“Go in!”
As soon as Sovanin took the lead and started to rush in, the servants quickly followed and rushed towards Vlad.
“I’m going to bleed a little today.”
Looking at the servants running towards him, Vlad thought it was a good thing he changed his clothes and came.
The clothes Oksana gave me were too precious to be thrown away by guys like these.
“This bastard is really killing me!”
Seeing Vlad smiling, Sovanin became very excited and began to rush at him with all his might.
“······!”
Time does not flow equally for everyone.
It may have been only a moment for Sovanin, who was rushing in furiously with anger, but it was a moment that brought countless thoughts to the servants who followed him.
The moment they met Vlad’s blue eyes, the servants flinched without realizing it.
“······yes.”
As someone had intended, the squires had already lost their will to fight.
The gap between the rushing Sovanin and the stopping squires was gradually widening.
‘It only takes one time!’
Sovanin, who did not understand the situation properly, saw Vlad’s ridicule only intensify his anger.
A wooden sword loaded with power.
If you get caught by it just once, no matter how much that guy is…
“······!”
However, Sovanin, who was rushing towards Vlad, opened his eyes wide.
It only stumbled once, but Vlad’s new model was already leaning to the left.
It was a movement like a rolling wave.
grasp-!
The wooden sword, having lost its target, fiercely digs into the ground.
When the splashed dirt hit my face harshly.
“Why would you say something like that after killing someone?”
There was an eerie voice whispering in Sovanin’s ear.
The voice whispering in the dark was laughing.
“This bird…”
Bah!
“Oops!”
A flash of moment.
Sovanin fell back without even being able to make a sound due to the hard feeling that was roughly digging into his lungs.
Soon, a sharp blow flew towards his chin.
“Sigh!”
It was a blow that was barely blocked, but Vlad continued to dig in as if he had predicted it.
A series of successive attacks that flow like water.
However, it was full of the sharp spirit that Vlad was born with.
It felt like if I got cut just once, poison would spread throughout my body.
‘crazy!’
Sovanin felt that he was trapped in a huge flow that he could not do anything about.
‘This guy has only been holding the sword for less than two months!’
Sovanin was very embarrassed as he saw Vlad showing a different side from when they were sparring.
[yes. You are trapping the other person in the gap you created.]
“······.”
Vlad in the subjugation team was merely able to deliver a blow with all his strength.
However, Vlad, who gradually matured through voice training with Xayar, now knows how to create his own flow in battle.
The difference may not have been noticeable on the outside, but anyone who has reached a certain level will be able to tell that Vlad has risen to another level.
“Gagging!”
The wild boar that is currently being beaten has reached a level that has not yet been reached.
‘As it is!’
Sovanin was unable to come to his senses due to attacks coming from all directions.
The flow must be reversed.
With that thought in mind, he was about to thrust his wooden sword at Vlad.
‘uh?’
I just thought that the wooden sword Vlad was holding flashed.
The world was tilting with that thought.
It felt as if he was still and the ground was rushing towards him.
‘why?’
Vlad’s sword was already beyond what a single seed could understand.
The trick of a one-hit kill is its unexpectedness.
And unexpectedness meant something beyond what was unpredictable.
Like now.
thud-
With a loud sound, Sovanin’s body fell like a kite that had lost its strings.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
Sovanin is trying to collect himself after collapsing.
What was reflected in his eyes was a moon floating in the night sky.
“Bite this tight.”
And it was someone’s face that suddenly popped out, blocking out the moon.
“······.”
Although he could not see the details in the backlight created by the moonlight, Sovanin thought that Vlad was smiling.
Winners on top, losers on the bottom.
The winner takes everything.
Wow!
Wow-!
Every time the wooden sword flashed, someone’s blood jumped out.
With a sad scream that I couldn’t swallow.
The squires around him were backing away without realizing it as Vlad’s maniacal actions seemed so frantic.
“Keuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”
“······Don’t make eye contact with me from now on.”
Vlad spit at Sovanin, who was trembling on the floor, perhaps from pain or fear.
The dripping saliva stuck coldly to Sovanin’s cheek.
“Don’t even touch Tongtong.”
“Ugh…”
Even though it was a humiliating treatment, Sovanin just instinctively tried to avoid Vlad’s gaze.
‘I really tried to kill you!’
Sovanin could only helplessly nod his head as he faced the dark, deadly threat for the first time in his life.
Because it was the kind of death that only someone who has truly killed someone can exude.
“after······.”
Vlad raised his head and relaxed his stiff neck.
Revenge on Sovanin has just ended.
And also the price of the jamon I received.
It was small things, but they were things I had to do and wanted to do.
“Who’s next?”
Now that I have done what I had to do, I can run wild to my heart’s content.
When Vlad raised his head, his sweaty blonde hair glistened in the full moon.
“Who are you?”
“······.”
Vlad’s eyes flashed fiercely as he held the bloody wooden sword.
However, there was not a single person here who could dare answer Vlad’s question.
“Why did you do this to me if you were going to do this?”
The squires, who had lost their leader and lost their momentum, could only look at each other, not knowing what to do.
“If you don’t come in, I’ll go.”
Vlad, who had been hiding in the shadows, took a step into the moonlight.
Life is a series of struggles.
The boy who was born in a place where he could only eat by taking and breathing only by winning knew this very well.
That is why the boy continues to wander in the dark today and fight without getting tired.
To survive.
And for the other revenges that must be done in the future.
“······Great.”
There was someone nodding their head while listening to the screams of the servants echoing through the night sky.
His eyes continued to look at Vlad, smiling happily as he looked at the battlefield where blood was spilling out.
Just like the stars floating in the night sky.
The boy’s wooden sword was still shining in the moonlight.
