Chapter 393

Chapter 393

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 393: Rohan Yareunshade

Dwarves look older than other races of the same age.

It might be because they are short but stocky, or because they grow a lot of hair, whether it’s beards or head hair.

Well, it was a trait that hadn’t manifested in Faye, who was a half-blood, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

However, Rohan looked much older than he had imagined, like someone who could die at any moment.

White hair and beard. Wrinkled skin that conveyed the weight of time, and limbs that were once full of muscle had become emaciated.

It wasn’t just that he was old… Yes, the gaunt atmosphere peculiar to a sick person made Rohan look pathetic.

The faint breath flowing from his weakly parted lips, and his cloudy, unfocused eyes. All of it was something only seen in a patient nearing death.

He had heard he was critically ill, but he hadn’t known it would be to this extent. Faye, who had opened the door with a determined look upon hearing that Rohan had woken up, stopped in her tracks.

Rohan slowly turned his head and looked at Faye.

“Faye, you came. I truly didn’t expect it.”

“…What if the person who called is more surprised?”

“Well, considering what I’ve done. Hehe… cough!”

Rohan, who had started laughing, began to cough violently as if he had choked. Every time his weakened body shook, fresh blood trickled down his lips.

Faye’s expression became complicated at the sight of his white beard being dyed red. She seemed to have many thoughts, but in the end, she sighed and offered a greeting.

“It’s been a while, Father. I heard you were sick, but you look worse than I thought.”

“Thanks to that, I can see your face one last time. Ah, right. If this is the end, I should say it before I forget. I’m sorry for everything.”

“…H-how can you be so shameless? Do you know how much I suffered because of you!”

Faye was momentarily overcome with emotion, but Rohan simply wiped the blood from his lips and replied calmly.

“When you’re on the verge of death, you tend to let go of many things. Things like face, stubbornness, and shame.”

“Ugh!”

Faye gritted her teeth as if to snap back, but it didn’t last long.

“Hoo… What’s the point of getting worked up in front of someone who’s dying? So? Did you call me just because you wanted to feel a little lighter before you die?”

“In the end, that’s probably it. There are other things to talk about, but… before that, wouldn’t you introduce your companions for a moment?”

“You called us knowing full well who we are. Just so you know, no matter how much you plead with me, Saintess Helena won’t heal you.”

“Hah! Even though I’m the Jarl of this land, wouldn’t I have tried calling a priest? None of them had any effect. No, rather, my condition only worsened. I don’t think even the Saintess would be any different. I just– cough!”

Rohan spat out blood again mid-sentence. However, this time it didn’t stop quickly like before; the coughing continued for a while.

The increased blood loss soaked his beard and even the pillow. It was dark and foul-smelling blood, much different from normal blood.

He looked like he could collapse at any moment. But Rohan himself seemed used to it, as he casually covered it with a towel he had piled up within reach.

“…Where were we? Right. I’m just curious about what will happen after I die.”

“What does that have to do with this…?”

“Aren’t they the people who will become your family? Or did I misunderstand?”

“……”

Faye slightly furrowed her brow but didn’t deny it. He was right, but she didn’t feel like nodding at the words coming from Rohan’s mouth.

Instead of Faye, he nodded first. He intended to show at least minimal courtesy.

“Nice to meet you, Jarl Rohan. My name is Yandel Lindelheit. As you said, I plan to become Faye’s family.”

“Pleased to meet you. Rohan Yareunshade. I heard about the incident with the head attendant from Baron Baru. I apologize on his behalf.”

“It’s alright; I didn’t just let it slide. I also heard the general circumstances from Baron Baru’s daughter. However… shouldn’t the apology be directed at Senior Faye, not me?”

“You’re right. However, there are more than one or two things to apologize for. Don’t worry; I plan to do it all at once later. By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask. Count Lindelheit, I’ve heard you are incredibly strong.”

“I’m strong enough to protect Senior Faye, at least.”

“That’s a relief. I couldn’t.”

With a bitter smile at his sharp words, Rohan turned his gaze to Faye.

“Faye Yareunshade.”

“…What?”

Faye, who had been muttering “This isn’t it…” in a voice that had been losing strength since earlier, glared at Rohan again with renewed intensity in her eyes.

Whether she would forgive him was secondary; she resolved that she would at least listen to his apology. But the words that came from Rohan’s mouth were not words of apology.

“Your mother, Laura, didn’t lose her life in a robbery. She was assassinated.”

“…Eh?”

Faye blankly opened her mouth and asked again. She looked like she didn’t understand what she had suddenly heard.

Rohan clearly repeated to Faye.

“I said Laura was assassinated.”

“B-but, the culprit?! Who on earth…?”

“I don’t know. But if Laura was murdered because of me, I thought the next target could be you, Faye.”

“Me…?”

“Yes. I couldn’t lose even you.”

“……”

Saying that, Rohan wore a wistful expression. As if he was superimposing someone else’s face over Faye’s.

Laura.

She was a woman who ran a small general store on the outskirts of the Yareunshade territory.

She sold various items, but her main products were potions and over-the-counter medicines. As one of the few humans in the Nidavellir Kingdom, discrimination followed her wherever she went, but her skills as an alchemist were genuine.

One day, while running her store as usual, she received an unusual customer.

A stranger whose entire body was covered in black soot and minor scratches… It was a young Rohan.

“While on inspection duty, I wanted to make a new hammer with blast stones, a local specialty. But I failed spectacularly, and I had also run out of emergency potions, so I asked the territory residents and arrived here.”

Rohan was impressed by Laura’s alchemy skills, and Laura was surprised that Rohan, unlike other dwarves, did not discriminate against her.

In fact, most of the discrimination against other races by dwarves stems not simply from them being different races, but from the prejudice that they cannot properly wield a hammer, whether as a blacksmith or a warrior.

However, Rohan did not unconditionally believe that blacksmithing was the best skill. He believed that better products were created by everyone fulfilling their usefulness in their respective fields.

Perhaps that was impressive to Laura, as the two continued to contact each other regularly after their first meeting… and at some point, they fell in love.

“As always happens in these kinds of stories, reality was the problem. I was the eldest son of the Yareunshade family, who would one day become the Jarl and rule this land. Laura was a commoner without even a surname, and a human to boot, so the family must have been displeased with our relationship.”

The previous Jarl arranged a political marriage for Rohan as soon as he reached a suitable age.

Fortunately, his marriage partner, Astrid, loved Rohan despite it being a political marriage, and thanks to that, Rohan was able to lead a smooth married life. They even had a son.

However, even after marrying, Rohan couldn’t forget Laura and secretly visited her several times. That’s how Faye was born.

“When Laura became pregnant with you, Faye, she told me not to visit anymore. She said it would be better for both of us. I opposed it, but… every time I tried to visit, she would hide, so there was nothing I could do.”

Thanks to that, Rohan was able to become the Jarl of Yareunshade without much trouble.

After becoming the Jarl, he secretly had people check on Laura and Faye to see if they were doing well.

Then one day, news came that a robber had broken into Laura’s store, and Laura had fought to the death protecting Faye.

“I canceled all my schedules and went down immediately. I retrieved Laura’s body like that… and brought you, Faye, to the Yareunshade family.”

Of course, the family was turned upside down. They had only thought of it as a youthful indiscretion, and no one knew that he had a daughter in the meantime.

The most concerned was his wife, Astrid, but… she, who had initially wanted to give Faye some money and a few attendants and kick her out, eventually yielded to Rohan’s earnest persuasion and accepted Faye.

After several months passed and Faye had more or less adapted to the Yareunshade family, she cautiously spoke of her dream.

“I was surprised when you said you wanted to become a great alchemist like Laura… but blood is thicker than water after all. It wasn’t long after I gave you simple introductory tools that you surpassed the apprentice level.”

Rohan was delighted by this and spared no support for Faye, but after Faye’s dream became more concrete, he changed his attitude.

“You said you would make weapons. I was both pleased and displeased when I heard that you would one day surpass other blacksmiths with alchemy and become a Meister like me. I was a dwarf after all.”

Rohan didn’t think there was a hierarchy between blacksmithing and alchemy. Just like jewelry making or tailoring, he thought they were simply different fields.

However, when his own field was encroached upon, the unique pride and stubbornness of a dwarf suddenly emerged.

Rohan tried to dissuade Faye. He tried to calmly persuade her, and sometimes he sternly scolded her.

Of course, it had no effect. Rather, it only solidified Faye’s will.

“…So that’s why you became distant? To the point of treating me like I didn’t exist. If you were going to do it, you should have gone all the way. I don’t know what you want to hear from me, but I have no intention of saying what you want to hear, Father!”

Faye, as if recalling what happened afterward, bit her lip and rattled off her words.

Rohan, who had been quietly listening, slowly shook his head.

“No. Rather, I was the one who was persuaded. I came to think that if you, Faye, wanted to do it that much, I should help you.”

So, Rohan decided to prepare a gift.

Laura’s store, which he couldn’t bring himself to tear down and had left neglected until now. He planned to pass on the alchemy equipment from there to Faye.

“Nostalgia washed over me. I looked around the store, which I hadn’t properly examined in a while.”

A skilled artisan could see through the abilities of the person wielding the weapon.

Rohan had discovered it.

The traces left by the robber were not those of a commoner but of a well-trained assassin.