Ch.8787. Revealing the Map

“Hey, why did Sir Gilbert suddenly join us? And Fermo too.”

“How would I know? What wind blew them to join the search party… I’m dying of anxiety.”

Buzz-cut Johnson and shaggy-haired Roel whispered while looking at Gilbert and Fermo who were surveying the surroundings from the middle of the formation.

They weren’t the only ones whispering like this. Most of the Rangers participating in the search party were mortified by the high-ranking officials joining them.

Those who had been wondering about the 30-minute delay in the search party’s departure became extremely tense when the Commander-in-Chief and his adjutant suddenly appeared.

Even though the Rangers were a specialized unit, weren’t they ultimately just common soldiers?

When the highest-ranking commanders voluntarily joined the search party, they couldn’t help but be nervous. If they were caught making even the slightest mistake, dishonorable discharge wasn’t just a joke.

Fortunately, the commanders seemed to be merely observing the search rather than conducting an inspection, but given the doubled number of search personnel, they couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up.

“Instead of chattering, look around one more time! No matter who joined the search party, we just need to do our job.”

Leila, the head of the Ranger unit and the leader of this search party, smacked the back of Johnson and Roel’s heads.

The two barely suppressed their cries of pain after being hit unexpectedly on the back of their heads.

This crazy captain has heavy hands too, what the hell! Seriously.

They grumbled even more quietly so Leila wouldn’t hear, but they had severely misjudged their opponent.

“I’ll show you what a crazy captain is when we get back.”

“Oh shit… We’re screwed!”

When the foul-mouthed Johnson cursed, Leila’s gaze grew even colder. Realizing this was the final warning, Roel elbowed Johnson in the ribs and covered his mouth.

“We apologize, Captain!”

“Shut up and do your search.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Watching the two push through the forest undergrowth, Leila sighed deeply. Their skills were among the best in the Ranger unit, but their personalities were the problem.

Of course, she knew her own personality wasn’t exactly pleasant either, but those two were the infamous troublemaking duo in the unit.

They got along so well that they would run around causing trouble everywhere, giving her headaches more times than she could count.

The only fortunate thing was that they never crossed certain lines.

Shaking her head as if to clear the reckless duo from her mind, Leila glanced at Gilbert, who had been appointed as the new Commander-in-Chief.

She had heard rumors about how Gilbert, who was famously known as a scoundrel, had changed, but seeing it firsthand gave her a strange feeling.

Even now, the residents of Bismarck were cautious around him, saying the bastard might snap at any moment. Considering how long they had suffered under him, their reaction wasn’t incomprehensible.

People were routinely beaten for simply catching his eye or pretty women were harassed. Since this had gone on for enough time for mountains to change, it had become a kind of conditioned response.

But exceptions always existed.

There were people who had benefited from what could be called Gilbert’s whims, and Leila was one of them.

Born into an ordinary commoner family, Leila was the child of a quite renowned hunter in Bismarck. Like most families, she had a taciturn father and a nagging mother, and she had lived an ordinary life with her younger brother in a place slightly removed from Bismarck.

A very ordinary life of complaining to her mother about having to wake up early and acting spoiled with her father when he returned from hunting.

At one time, she felt such an ordinary life was boring, yet she was satisfied with the stable daily routine.

During that time, Leila aimed to become the best hunter in the Lithuania domain, following in her hunter father’s footsteps.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it.

Being in her impetuous youth, her dream was to become a hunter renowned even beyond the Lithuania domain.

Fortunately, perhaps inheriting the blood of her father who was quite famous as a hunter even in the Lithuania domain, which was considerably large within the empire, her talent was exceptional.

Her archery skills and ability to track prey were incomparable to other children her age. If time had simply passed, it wouldn’t have been impossible for her to become the best hunter in the Infractus Empire as she had dreamed.

But as someone once said,

Misfortune comes without warning.

On the day misfortune struck, Leila had secretly left home to practice the hunting techniques her father had taught her.

Leila’s mother always disapproved of her practicing hunting skills.

It was because she knew how dangerous the profession of a hunter was, but to young Leila, these words didn’t resonate.

She just wanted to hone her hunting skills and become the empire’s best hunter as soon as possible.

Having lost track of time while engrossed in hunting, which she had snuck out to do to avoid her mother’s nagging, she returned home as the sun was setting.

As she approached her home, Leila suddenly felt something was wrong.

Her mother, who would normally be waiting on the hill in front of the house to scold Leila for not returning until sunset, was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be that her mother was so angry at her for sneaking out repeatedly that she didn’t come out to meet her?

No, that couldn’t be.

The moment she reached that conclusion, Leila had an ominous feeling.

Her body shot straight toward the house.

Leila ran to the house as if flying, using the running technique she had learned from her father.

The breath that rose to her chin was heavy, but she could somehow swallow it back.

Perhaps because of that?

Leila was able to stand at the door in less than a minute.

But somehow, as she stood at the door, her anxiety grew.

Perhaps it was because of the pool of blood seeping out from under the door.

But she couldn’t just stand in front of the house forever, so Leila opened the door with trembling hands.

Blood.

And family.

Seeing the situation inside the house, Leila collapsed on the spot.

There were traces of sharp claws all over the house and the bodies of her family, half of which seemed to have been torn apart and eaten, were right before her eyes.

In her shock, she recalled what her father had talked about recently—a giant beast. The story of a monster that had been transformed by the influence of mana, which he had been hunting.

She remembered her father’s determined face as he said that if he caught that monster, he could receive better treatment than now.

She instinctively realized right there that the beast her father had mentioned was responsible for this massacre.

What happened after that progressed like flowing water. Still young, she went to the guard station without shedding a single tear and reported the incident.

The investigation team that was promptly assembled concluded that it was the work of a beast that had evolved to monster level.

But finding the beast that had disappeared was extremely difficult. It wasn’t a matter for the guard to decide, as it had occurred in a place somewhat distant from the center of the domain.

The guard was already overwhelmed with handling matters within the domain, so it was difficult to immediately deal with the monster.

It was devastating news for Leila, who was burning with revenge.

But there was someone who stepped forward, and that was Gilbert.

Gilbert, who was then not the respectable knight he is now but at the height of his notoriety as a scoundrel, for whatever reason, ordered that the monster that attacked Leila’s family be captured as a top priority.

Even though he was a scoundrel, perhaps because the direct order came from the heir to the Hart County, the matter was handled promptly. Perhaps it was because it was a proper order for once, not his usual mischief.

Whatever the reason, knights dispatched from the Hart County led the domain guards to set out to subjugate the monster that had attacked Leila’s family.

How much time had passed since they left?

The monster subjugation team that had gone beyond the domain eventually returned after successfully eliminating the monster.

Overwhelmed psychologically by the thought that she might not be able to avenge her family, she felt all tension release at that moment and cried her heart out.

She poured out all her emotions right there, feeling that her father, mother, and younger brother could now rest in peace.

After crying for a long time until her tear ducts dried up, she suddenly stopped.

Because after burying her family in her heart, she had something to do.

Wiping away her tears, Leila immediately submitted an application to the Ranger Academy with her swollen eyes. The tuition was quite expensive, but she could somehow manage with her parents’ inheritance.

After completing several years of grueling training, she graduated from the Ranger Academy at the top of her class and immediately devoted herself to the Hart County.

It was something she did because she thought that was the only way to repay Gilbert, who had avenged her on her behalf.

It might have been a scoundrel’s whim, but if he hadn’t ordered the elimination of the beast that had evolved to monster level, Leila might not have been able to avenge her family.

Leila still couldn’t forget the sight of the house-sized monster being carried on a cart through the main gate.

Yes, that’s how it was back then.

Reminiscing about the distant memory, Leila smiled faintly, so faint that even the surrounding members couldn’t see it. It was a much more relaxed expression than her usual one.

Leila glanced at Gilbert and Fermo while pretending to survey the surroundings.

Or more precisely, she was looking at Gilbert.

From the county’s greatest scoundrel to being called the rising star of the empire, Leila had been watching Gilbert all along.

At first, it was just to repay the favor for avenging her family.

Having lost her family and left alone in the world, she needed a goal to continue living, and that was repaying the favor.

Enduring the harsh Ranger Academy.

Devoting herself to the Hart County at a young age.

It was all for that reason. It might have been a forced reason to live, but at that time, she needed even a forced reason.

As time passed and precious people began to appear one by one in her life, she gradually found stability. Leisure entered her daily life, which had been filled with finding things to do as if being chased, to hide her anxious heart.

Nevertheless, she still watched Gilbert.

After all, it was none other than he who had helped her to live again.

It didn’t matter if others cursed him as a scoundrel, or if he didn’t remember her.

All of this was her own self-satisfaction.

Once, she had a conversation with her unit members. They asked why she didn’t date men.

At that time, she dismissed it, saying she had no intention of dating, but when she was alone, she seriously reflected on herself.

As she told her unit members, she had no intention of dating.

Until now, she had lived with the obsessive thought that she had to repay Gilbert’s favor, so she didn’t have the heart to turn her eyes to men.

So, am I going to live alone for the rest of my life?

She smiled wryly and thought so.

But there was something she suddenly realized. There was one man she had been watching for almost half her life.

Of course, as soon as she thought of it, she shook her head to clear the thought. She had been watching him not as a romantic interest but to establish a goal in life.

But was it because she became aware of this fact?

It became an opportunity to look deeper into her own heart.

As time passed, Leila finally admitted it.

That she had come to harbor feelings for Gilbert in her heart, as if they had seeped in.

Of course, considering the difference in status, it was wishful thinking, even for a former scoundrel.

He was the heir to the great Hart County, and Leila was just the captain commanding the Ranger unit of the Hart County.

She was deeply aware of the difference in their birth status.

And that wasn’t all.

Now he had become the empire’s rising star, awarded a knighthood while still an academy student.

Not only the difference in birth status but also the gap in reputation built up through life had become insurmountable.

But she didn’t mind. She had vowed never to reveal these feelings anyway.

Just watching from afar like this was enough for Leila.

She truly thought so.

Until he called her.

“Captain Leila.”

“Yes, sir!”

Snapped out of her reverie by Gilbert’s sudden call, Leila hurriedly ran to him. He seemed to have discovered something while talking with Fermo.

“You called for me?”

“If my memory serves me right, Captain Leila had a father who was a famous hunter?”

“H-how did you…?”

Leila’s voice trembled slightly at Gilbert’s unexpected words.

“I just remember the incident with the beast that had grown to monster level long ago.”

“Ah…!”

He remembers that…?

Leila’s heart began to beat a little faster.

It felt as if the sound of her pounding heart was echoing in her ears.

“So there’s something I’d like to ask Captain Leila. I assume you inherited some hunting skills from your father?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Leila answered in a louder voice than usual, trying not to reveal the sound of her violently throbbing heart. It was contrary to how she had told Johnson and Roel to be quiet earlier, but she didn’t notice.

She was just happy that he remembered her.

“Good. Then I’d like you to examine the traces over here.”

“I’ll do my best, sir!”

“Hmm…”

Leila channeled this indescribable, overwhelming emotion into a sense of duty and examined the spot Gilbert had pointed out.

Perhaps today would be remembered as one of the most unforgettable days in her life.