Chapter 127: Fateful Battle (2)

“Don’t come any closer.”

Despite their bold words as they drew their hammers, the knights’ bodies betrayed no strength.

Not only were they physically wounded and exhausted, but mentally they were at their limit. Seeing their master, who they had believed invincible, defeated had taken its toll.

I’d worn my academy uniform thinking it would show I wasn’t an enemy, but covered in blood, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Jessica, go!!”

Sensing they wouldn’t listen to anything I said, I called for Jessica. Their eyes widened in surprise.

“Everyone, don’t worry!! This person may be mentally defective, but he’s not an enemy!!”

“Lady Jessica…”

Though she’d subtly insulted me, Jessica’s appearance – the family’s only daughter – was enough to ease the knights’ wariness.

Some even collapsed in relief, their guard completely lowered.

As they all relaxed and lowered their hammers, one knight cautiously approached Jessica.

When he removed his helmet, Jessica’s expression twisted momentarily before her eyes welled up with tears.

‘Ah… I see.’

From Jessica’s expression and the knight’s golden hair and blue eyes matching hers, I could guess who he was without being told.

Confirming my guess, Jessica ran to the man and hugged his battered form, softly saying:

“Brother…!!”

“…Jessica, you must have gone through so much to get here. But why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at the academy? More importantly, how did you get here?”

After pulling away from her brother’s embrace and wiping her tears, Jessica pointed at me and said:

“I was able to come here with his help. Brother, this is Count Ian Barthow. And this is Miss Hori, a fellow academy student.”

As Hori bowed politely, Jessica’s brother startled at hearing my name, then looked overjoyed.

He came over, grasped my hand, and said with an expression like he might cry:

“I’m so glad you came…!! We thought royal reinforcements would take weeks to arrive. We never imagined help would come so quickly. On behalf of my bedridden father, I thank you…”

“Wait, I think there’s a misunderstanding. I did come to help, but not on royal orders.”

“Not on orders…? Then why…?”

“I have territory nearby. Jessica wanted to come too. And more importantly…”

There’s someone here I must kill with my own hands.

To end this persistent feud that’s followed me from Earth, I had to come here.

Whether he understood or not, Jessica’s brother nodded, looking bewildered.

“I don’t quite understand, but I see…”

“Haah… Brother, half of what comes out of this person’s mouth is nonsense. It’s best to let it go in one ear and out the other.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

For some reason, Jessica’s brother looked very surprised when she spoke normally.

“But brother, how is Father? I heard he was in critical condition. Surely not…”

“Don’t worry. As you heard, he was critical, but he’s passed the worst of it and regained consciousness. Come, let’s not stand here. Let’s go see him.”

As Jessica and her brother headed towards the shabby hut, I followed.

Hori seemed unsure if she should enter such a place, but not wanting to be left alone outside, she hurried after me.

As the door opened with a rusty creak, the first thing I noticed was the dust on the floor.

The interior matched the exterior – it looked like an abandoned house, hardly suitable for a patient.

Stepping carefully on the creaking floorboards, we were greeted by a middle-aged woman who greatly resembled Jessica and a haggard-looking man with an impressive mustache.

“Mother!! Father!!”

Jessica, who had entered first, cried out. Her mother looked surprised, while her father seemed displeased.

At first, I thought he just looked exhausted, but his furrowed brow and clenched fist clearly expressed anger.

“Jessica!!”

As mother and daughter embraced in a touching reunion, Count von Grund spoke in a stern voice:

“…Jessica. Why do you call me ‘Father’? Haven’t I told you countless times how to address me properly?”

Jessica shrank at this unexpected scolding.

As expected of a high noble, perhaps he wanted her to call him ‘Count’ or ‘Head of the Family’ in front of outsiders like me?

Thinking this, I looked at Jessica, and our eyes met as she glanced at me nervously.

Jessica kept glancing at me, then cleared her throat and spoke to the Count again.

“A-ahem… I was so happy to see you again, I forgot for a moment. Um… Pa-Papa…”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard, but the Count’s utterly satisfied expression suggested otherwise.

Jessica’s brother and mother sighed and hung their heads, as if this were a regular occurrence.

“…What the hell is this?”

At my unconscious remark, everyone in the cramped hut turned to look at me.

As Jessica’s mother gently took her hand and asked, Jessica’s brother answered in her stead:

“This is Count Ian Barthow. He came all the way from the academy with Jessica to help subdue Baek Jeong-nam.”

“Ah, I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard much about you.”

The Count extended his hand for a handshake. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it.

“So, you’re Count von Grund. Pleasure to meet you too.”

As soon as I said this, I felt a chill sweep through the hut, as if Marina had cast a spell.

Though we were both counts, there was an immense gap between the von Grund family, which had held its position for centuries, and the newly elevated Barthow family.

“I was trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but it seems I failed.”

“A joke, you say… Well, I suppose that’s possible. In any case, thank you for coming.”

The Count looked unconvinced but nodded, accepting my explanation.

As we shook hands, I noticed a sharp glare from beside me. Turning slightly, I saw Jessica’s mother glaring at me with narrowed eyes.

It reminded me of when I first met Jessica, filling me with nostalgia.

Recently, Jessica had been either ignoring my words or just sighing, so seeing this kind of reaction again was oddly refreshing.

“Now, let’s discuss the current situation. I’ve heard that Baek Jeong-nam is currently in the von Grund family castle. Is this correct?”

At my words, Jessica’s brother began explaining on behalf of the bedridden Count, just as he had earlier.

“As you know, Ian, Baek Jeong-nam is currently occupying our castle.”

The knights and soldiers had either fallen to him or evacuated on the Count’s orders, but unfortunately, the castle servants hadn’t managed to escape in time.

The one silver lining was that Baek Jeong-nam hadn’t killed them, presumably needing people to serve him.

He hadn’t brought barbarian soldiers, so entering the castle would be simple. The problem was that ninjas were now guarding the castle.

“Ninjas? Did you just say ninjas?”

“Yes, we don’t know how he’s associated with ninjas, but our reconnaissance shows he’s accompanied by several.”

However, judging by how he treated the ninjas and the fact that they stayed on the outskirts rather than inside the castle, it didn’t seem to be a cooperative relationship.

“I’m not sure how to describe it, but… the ninjas seemed to be both protecting and monitoring him, as if following orders from someone else.”

“…I don’t know what their purpose is, but I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

As I stood up saying this, everyone looked at me in shock.

“Ian, surely you’re not planning to go alone? As I said, powerful ninjas surround the castle. Besides, why go alone when we could all subdue him together?”

“…A Josenjing[1]’s neck is only meaningful when cut by a katana.”

“…Josenjing? What does that mean…?”

Ignoring Jessica’s confused brother, I headed for the door. Suddenly, the Count rose and grabbed my shoulder.

“What is it?”

The Count, breathless just from standing up, managed to speak:

“I’m grateful for your initiative, but this is our family’s problem. We can’t leave everything to an outsider like you.”

“So, Count, you’re saying you want to come along?”

The Count nodded at my question, but anyone could see it was unreasonable. He was trembling and out of breath just from getting out of bed, let alone making it to the castle.

But the determination in his eyes made it clear that words alone wouldn’t dissuade him.

Left with no choice, I nodded and then gently punched the smiling Count in the stomach.

“Urgh…!!”

As everyone watched in shock, the Count, struck in his wound, slowly collapsed onto the bed.

“You’re slow, even in falling.”

—

[1. raei: Josenjing – derogatory term for Korean people]