Episode 0. Prologue

One side of my vision is red. I shake my dizzy head, feeling the lack of blood. The more I shake, the dizzier I feel, so I stop. With my one remaining good eye, I stare at the bastard who’s supposed to be the greatest warrior of the barbarians.

‘That damn bitch.’

I want to curse, but I can’t say it out loud. This damn Count Family has ears even in the walls, and if it gets to the Countess’s ears, it won’t end with just a nagging. If I get kicked out, I have nowhere to go, so I have no choice but to swallow it down.

“Hoo…”

I take out a cigar from the balcony and put it in my mouth. This balcony is the only place where I can be alone. Neither the Countess, who ignores me every day, nor the maids and butlers who are her eyes and ears, come here. I light it with the worn-out tinderbox, and the smoke hazes my mind. Negative emotions scatter like smoke.

‘They say you get married when your judgment is clouded, and you get divorced when your patience runs out.’

To get married to a woman like that, my judgment must have been clouded. The fact that this bitter cigar tastes sweet means I’m still not right in the head.

Well, how can I be sane when I’m constantly getting nagged and my self-esteem is plummeting? There’s no way a child will come from this kind of marital relationship. I’d rather she bring in another man so she’d pay less attention to me. The Count Family’s son-in-law, the Countess’s legal husband, living a life like a doll in a display case, unable to do anything. My situation won’t change until I die.

“Cough, cough.”

“Pfft.”

I choked. I hear someone laughing, not missing the chance to mock me. I turn around and see a maid standing there, one the Count just hired.

“Sir Edward. The Countess-nim told me to deliver a message.”

Here we go again. Every time a new maid comes, it’s a ritual to make fun of the newbie who doesn’t know anything. I can see the anxious look in her eyes, wondering if she’s allowed to say this.

“…What is it?”

“The Countess-nim said, it’s late, so stop being pathetic and go inside and sleep.”

Seeing the maid saying it like she’s throwing it out there with her eyes closed tight, I felt complicated. Well, what fault does this young maid have?

“…I’ll go in soon.”

“Then, I’ll be going.”

The maid retreated as if running away. Seeing that nothing bad happens after doing this, she’ll probably start ignoring me like the other servants. There are hardly any people in this castle who treat me like a noble.

Annoyed, I put a second cigar in my mouth, and then I sensed someone behind me.

“Why are you out here in the cold?”

“Mother-in-law, what brings you here…”

Vera Yulstein. In the Yulstein Count Family, where I have no one on my side, my mother-in-law, who is the only person I can confide in, came to find me. It was when I was on the balcony, the only place where I can be alone, smoking a cigar and feeling pathetic.

“I think my daughter is causing trouble again. I’m sorry. It’s my fault for raising her wrong…”

“No, Mother-in-law, how is it your fault…”

My mother-in-law was a kind and elegant person, both in appearance and heart. What can I say to someone who almost had a falling out with the Countess for taking my side in front of her daughter?

“When she was young, she listened well and was kind, but after losing her father…”

My mother-in-law started complaining again. She must have a lot bottled up. I gave her a half-hearted answer and let it go.

“You know I don’t have a son. You know I cherish Sir Edward like a son, right? If my daughter is giving you a hard time, come and talk to me right away. Don’t be alone like this.”

“Haha, yes, I will.”

I’ve heard my mother-in-law say she considers me like a son for over ten years, but I’ve never thought of her as a mother. She looks only six or seven years older than my wife, how can I think of her as a mother?

“I’ll go in now. It’s late, so go in and sleep.”

“Yes, Mother-in-law, have a good night.”

“Then, goodbye…”

That was last night, when I was alone, sadly smoking a cigar where Vera had left.

Keulkeok.

I can’t feel any strength in my body.

When I heard the news that the northern part of the territory was lost due to the barbarian invasion, and even when they were right in front of the lord’s castle, I didn’t feel anything. No, I might have even welcomed it, thinking I could escape this shitty situation.

‘But I didn’t want to die…’

Even when they said the best warrior came out from the northern barbarians, I didn’t feel much. How many ‘best warriors’ have fallen to my sword until now? But this guy was different. The warrior who united all the barbarians in the north was stronger than I could have imagined.

“Knight with white skin, it seems the victory or defeat has already been decided, won’t you stop?”

“I can’t, do that.”

Surrender to the barbarian bastards? As a knight, that’s absolutely impossible.

“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing I can do.”

The barbarian warrior held a red stone he was wearing around his neck.

“My name is Ujal, the wind from the north. Warrior with white skin, reveal your name.”

“I have no name to give to the likes of barbarians.”

“Then you will die without leaving a name.”

A name that remains in the history of the barbarians is not an honor, but an insult. I didn’t answer Ujal’s words. You could say I didn’t have the strength to answer.

“Instead, I will finish you with this well containing the blood of the mother. This stone is a vessel for containing the blood of strong warriors. If you are a warrior of your caliber, you may not leave a name, but you can leave blood.”

What kind of bullshit is that? I thought he was a barbarian who could speak for once, but it seems that just because you speak the same language doesn’t mean you’re not a barbarian.

The barbarian sat in front of me, who had fallen.

“Farewell, nameless warrior.”

The last thing I saw in my eyes was the red stone rapidly approaching my head. After that, my vision went dark, and my consciousness sank as if falling asleep.

That’s how I regressed.