All the unwanted guests have departed, and now the only guests remaining in the mansion are Joseph's people.
The true guests are only the Bayezids from the north, and Alicia has organized a farewell ceremony for them on the day of their departure.
In essence, she would have offered them a grand banquet, but the Heinals were only just now repairing the rift.
Joseph, who knew the circumstances, dropped a hint in advance, and Alicia was able to organize it without pressure.
"Vlad of Soara, Bayezid's squire, please come forward, Lady Alicia."
At Duncan's call, the still bandaged boy took a step forward, looking a bit nervous.
Because Joseph or Jager. He hadn't heard anything from either of them.
"Get on your knees... not to the left. That's it, on your knees."
Vlad glanced at Duncan and knelt down carelessly as a sign of agreement.
Alicia smiled at the still innocent look on the boy's face.
A part of her wanted to tease him a bit more, but she had to fulfill her duty.
"Thank you very much, sir. Vlad of Soara. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you."
There was a small murmur in the room at the small ceremony that only Alicia and Duncan had discussed.
"You defended my honor and brought light to a duel plagued with deceit, and no amount of gratitude will ever be enough, so please."
The price of borrowing from Jager had already been generously paid.
But Alicia wished to repay the boy herself.
It was dramatic, and she was grateful.
From her dress, Alicia pulled out a folded handkerchief.
A handkerchief of purple fabric, embroidered with golden thread.
By its appearance, it was evident that it was made of the finest silk, as it reflected the light impeccably.
"I wish to entrust you with my name, to a man who was not a knight but was more honorable than a knight. Vlad Of Soara."
"!"
Heinal's vassals watched in astonishment as Alicia handed the boy a handkerchief with her name, but Joseph, who had been listening, nodded silently.
"Hmm."
Because he realized what Alicia intended by giving Vlad the handkerchief.
As expected... she is a smart woman.
She wants to demonstrate her connection with Bayezid and Heinal by having a prospect named Vlad.
It's the best way to show gratitude and take advantage at the same time.
Of course.
Joseph had every right to be unhappy with the ceremony that was organized without his knowledge, but at least it wasn't a loss, so he let it unfold.
If he had known what would happen a little later, he would have intervened.
"..."
Vlad thought as he watched Alicia trying to hand him her handkerchief.
"If a noble gives you something, you must accept it. That is common courtesy."
Jager's words echoed in Vlad's head.
'I can't mess it up again.'
How he had been punished for not accepting the peanuts Rutiger had offered him upon arriving at the Bayezid mansion.
So, it would undoubtedly be disrespectful to her not to accept the handkerchief now.
He might be beaten by Jager again.
"Thank you. Lady Alicia."
So, he took it.
With both hands, politely, with the best manners he knew.
"...!"
It came out so naturally that no one stopped him.
Alicia couldn't hide her surprise as she watched Vlad take the handkerchief with both hands.
"...?"
Vlad was puzzled, looking at the aquamarine-haired woman who blushed more and more.
"Well, that... that's not right."
Next to him, the face of the elderly knight Duncan contorted, and he began to stutter.
"Uh, uh. I see. I hadn't realized."
Even Joseph sighed, realizing his mistake.
The boy who had grown up on the streets had little knowledge of the noble world.
"Is it... okay?"
Uncertain of what to do with a simple handkerchief, Vlad just rolled his eyes.
A handkerchief with Lady Alicia's name.
There were two ways a lady could hand over a handkerchief as a symbol of her favor.
By tying it to the tip of her sword.
And by passing it from hand to hand.
Vlad had just received his name through the latter method.
***
Leaving Deirmar and returning to Sturma.
"...."
Seated in the carriage, Joseph couldn't suppress the boisterous laughter from earlier.
"It's been a while since I felt so amazed. Of course, it's all my fault."
"...I apologize."
Vlad, now aware of the situation, hadn't been able to lift his head since he got on the carriage.
It was a mistake for which he had no words.
"What's with you and the peanuts the other day, and why do you make such a fuss every time you're given something?"
Jager, on his horse next to the carriage, growled at Vlad as if he had been waiting for this.
"I didn't know..."
"Why did you grab it with both hands when you were on your knees?"
"Because aristocrats... shouldn't move?"
"Haa..."
Jager rubbed his temples and grunted forcefully from his horse.
He couldn't blame him for not knowing in the first place.
He did what he was told, so there was nothing to say about it.
It just burned inside him.
Only now did Jager realize that it takes pain and patience to cultivate something properly.
"Just look at me first when you receive something from nobles in the future! Understand?"
"..."
Vlad could only nod at Jager's insistence.
Receiving a handkerchief with a lady's name meant two things.
One was honor.
The other was love.
The swordsman who received honor extended his sheath, and the lady handed it to him with a handkerchief hanging from it.
It was a gesture so simple that a mother could give it to her son.
Hand-to-hand, however, was different.
It was just a sign of support for a loved one.
"People in this territory won't have to worry about making a living for a while."
Joseph rubbed his tingling temples from the longest laughter he had let out in a long time.
"In any case, congratulations on your promotion to the rank of quasi-knight."
"Knight?"
Vlad repeated, sensing the weight in Joseph's voice when he said the word.
"Yes, since you are a knight honored by the noble Lady Alicia, you will be treated as a knight, at least where your name is known."
A knight...
A knight!
Vlad's blue eyes lit up as if for the first time in his life.
"Well, she just became a baroness, so I guess her name is only recognizable in Deirmar."
"If..."
That's why it's called a quasi-knight, not a knight.
The emotions that threatened to overwhelm him quickly cooled.
'It won't be that easy.'
Vlad had met so many great knights in his life that even if they named him a knight now, he wouldn't take it seriously.
He knew he was still far from being in their league.
"Tsk."
Vlad toyed with the handkerchief Alicia had given him, nostalgically.
It was soft and pleasant to the touch.
"It was a mistake when you received it, but now that you know what it means, you must never lose that handkerchief."
"What if I lose it?"
In response to Vlad's innocent question, Joseph shrugged.
"Just have to live with it. You made it possible by grabbing it with both hands."
"It's better not to lose it..."
Upon hearing Joseph's response, Vlad buried the handkerchief Alicia had given him deep in his chest.
It was the first time in his life that he received something that had to be handled with care, and it started to feel unnecessarily heavy inside.
"Well, it's been a crazy way to end, but I guess I won't need it now that you've done your job."
Joseph pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in front of Vlad's face.
It was a piece of paper with rough handwriting.
"Once again, I appreciate your work. You've saved me a lot of trouble."
"What's that?"
Vlad asked, and Joseph handed him the now useless piece of paper.
It explains the essence of the case and tells us what position the boy held.
It's like a lesson for Vlad but also a reward.
"Just in case you lose a duel."
"Ah."
Taking the paper from Joseph's hand, Vlad remembered the day's events.
Joseph had asked him to hold on for ten minutes.
He said he had something in mind.
"For...?"
Vlad groped to read what was written on the paper now that he had learned to read thanks to Haven.
"Nevertheless, congratulations on learning to read."
"Thank you."
Vlad returned the compliment to Joseph and looked down at the signature line at the bottom of the loan certificate.
"Alicia?
The borrower was Alicia Heinal.
The amount is.
"Ten thousand gold!"
Vlad's eyes widened at the staggering sum, and he looked at Joseph.
His lord, sitting in front of him, was smiling from ear to ear.
"It was a way to secure her soldiers in case she lost a duel. Although she didn't actually borrow them."
Grasping the paper from Vlad, Joseph continued.
"Alicia was supposed to surrender if she lost all her status."
If Alicia had lost to Endre, she would have died.
Endre wouldn't have wanted to leave even a little of a legacy.
That's why Joseph had made a point to secure her enlistment in the first place.
And the power to enforce it.
"Is there any reason to bring Lady Alicia...? I thought you knew that if you lost the duel, you would lose your right to the throne."
The boy asked, feeling a strange sensation that saying her name would make him unnecessarily affectionate.
"That's true."
Joseph said, putting the paper back between his arms.
"But a cause is like an ember hidden in ashes, something that can flare up with the right wind."
Even if Endre had become the new baron of House Heinal, Joseph would have felt great pressure if Alicia were in the hands of Bayezid.
A cause is a cause.
It was an arrow that could fly at any moment.
"I see."
The boy, who understood a bit of the world of nobles, was impressed.
Now he understood why nobles lived by the order of the law.
"So, I guess I'll end up dueling with Lord Pablo again after all?"
"...Really?"
From what Vlad had just learned, Endre was still alive, so the embers of succession were still alive.
If so, someday he might face Pablo de Arnstein.
With that thought in mind, Vlad turned to Joseph, but the response he received was somewhat of a tepid half-question.
While Vlad was perplexed by Joseph's response, Jager suddenly appeared at the window.
"Lord Joseph. Unidentified people are approaching."
"What color are they dressed in?"
"They are dressed in black and have blue scarves on their forearms."
Upon Jager's report, Joseph nodded and commanded.
"Good. Send a signal."
"Yes."
Upon hearing Joseph's order, Jager signaled Bordan with a gesture.
Peevish-.
The old, chubby knight took out his whistle and blew it as hard as he could.
It was a thin, piercing sound that only a trained ear would recognize.
Peeeeeeep-.
Or at least Vlad, with his sharp sense of hearing.
"There's a response."
"Yes. And you ended up using it for something else."
"...?"
Vlad, unable to join the conversation, looked at the two alternately, astonished.
In the distance, men in black began to gallop towards them on horseback.
The men headed towards them in the blink of an eye, as if they were watching the road.
"Lord Joseph, we've been a bit delayed trying to settle scores."
"Good work."
One of them, who seemed to be the captain, approached the carriage without any inhibition and handed Joseph a black bag.
"Hmph, is that it?"
"Yes."
"The word has already spread in the territory."
"Well, at least be kind to me later."
While the stranger chatted nonchalantly with Joseph, Vlad realized he had an ally but couldn't hide his nervousness.
"..."
Vlad is finally in his own world.
So for a boy with new sensations he had never felt before, the man in front of him had enough momentum to make him feel danger.
The scars on his face.
The scent of danger in the air.
My instincts told me.
You couldn't play with the man in black.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"I think we should head back a bit earlier."
"It's a shame, thanks for your efforts."
"I was just fulfilling my duty as the Sword of Bayezid."
At a signal from the scar-faced man, the men in black began to move in disciplined movements.
They looked like an army in their precision.
"Hmph. Seems like they were eager for a duel."
"What?"
While Vlad was worried about the men who had entered and exited so abruptly, Joseph opened the bag given to him by the man in black and gave a subtle smile.
"I guess I'll have to come up with an excuse other than a duel to see your lady again."
"....."
Vlad felt the chill in Joseph's jest.
It was a sensation he was used to feeling in the alleyways.
Cautiously, Vlad opened the bag Joseph had handed him.
A familiar smell accompanied by moisture.
"...I suppose so."
Inside the black bag that the boy opened was the world of nobility.
The world of cold.
Brutal.
And also a world...
Relentless.
Endre, the man who mocked Bayezid.
His head was there.
With wide-open eyes.
All the unwanted guests have departed, and now the only guests remaining in the mansion are Joseph's people.
The true guests are only the Bayezids from the north, and Alicia has organized a farewell ceremony for them on the day of their departure.
In essence, she would have offered them a grand banquet, but the Heinals were only just now repairing the rift.
Joseph, who knew the circumstances, dropped a hint in advance, and Alicia was able to organize it without pressure.
"Vlad of Soara, Bayezid's squire, please come forward, Lady Alicia."
At Duncan's call, the still bandaged boy took a step forward, looking a bit nervous.
Because Joseph or Jager. He hadn't heard anything from either of them.
"Get on your knees... not to the left. That's it, on your knees."
Vlad glanced at Duncan and knelt down carelessly as a sign of agreement.
Alicia smiled at the still innocent look on the boy's face.
A part of her wanted to tease him a bit more, but she had to fulfill her duty.
"Thank you very much, sir. Vlad of Soara. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you."
There was a small murmur in the room at the small ceremony that only Alicia and Duncan had discussed.
"You defended my honor and brought light to a duel plagued with deceit, and no amount of gratitude will ever be enough, so please."
The price of borrowing from Jager had already been generously paid.
But Alicia wished to repay the boy herself.
It was dramatic, and she was grateful.
From her dress, Alicia pulled out a folded handkerchief.
A handkerchief of purple fabric, embroidered with golden thread.
By its appearance, it was evident that it was made of the finest silk, as it reflected the light impeccably.
"I wish to entrust you with my name, to a man who was not a knight but was more honorable than a knight. Vlad Of Soara."
"!"
Heinal's vassals watched in astonishment as Alicia handed the boy a handkerchief with her name, but Joseph, who had been listening, nodded silently.
"Hmm."
Because he realized what Alicia intended by giving Vlad the handkerchief.
As expected... she is a smart woman.
She wants to demonstrate her connection with Bayezid and Heinal by having a prospect named Vlad.
It's the best way to show gratitude and take advantage at the same time.
Of course.
Joseph had every right to be unhappy with the ceremony that was organized without his knowledge, but at least it wasn't a loss, so he let it unfold.
If he had known what would happen a little later, he would have intervened.
"..."
Vlad thought as he watched Alicia trying to hand him her handkerchief.
"If a noble gives you something, you must accept it. That is common courtesy."
Jager's words echoed in Vlad's head.
'I can't mess it up again.'
How he had been punished for not accepting the peanuts Rutiger had offered him upon arriving at the Bayezid mansion.
So, it would undoubtedly be disrespectful to her not to accept the handkerchief now.
He might be beaten by Jager again.
"Thank you. Lady Alicia."
So, he took it.
With both hands, politely, with the best manners he knew.
"...!"
It came out so naturally that no one stopped him.
Alicia couldn't hide her surprise as she watched Vlad take the handkerchief with both hands.
"...?"
Vlad was puzzled, looking at the aquamarine-haired woman who blushed more and more.
"Well, that... that's not right."
Next to him, the face of the elderly knight Duncan contorted, and he began to stutter.
"Uh, uh. I see. I hadn't realized."
Even Joseph sighed, realizing his mistake.
The boy who had grown up on the streets had little knowledge of the noble world.
"Is it... okay?"
Uncertain of what to do with a simple handkerchief, Vlad just rolled his eyes.
A handkerchief with Lady Alicia's name.
There were two ways a lady could hand over a handkerchief as a symbol of her favor.
By tying it to the tip of her sword.
And by passing it from hand to hand.
Vlad had just received his name through the latter method.
***
Leaving Deirmar and returning to Sturma.
"...."
Seated in the carriage, Joseph couldn't suppress the boisterous laughter from earlier.
"It's been a while since I felt so amazed. Of course, it's all my fault."
"...I apologize."
Vlad, now aware of the situation, hadn't been able to lift his head since he got on the carriage.
It was a mistake for which he had no words.
"What's with you and the peanuts the other day, and why do you make such a fuss every time you're given something?"
Jager, on his horse next to the carriage, growled at Vlad as if he had been waiting for this.
"I didn't know..."
"Why did you grab it with both hands when you were on your knees?"
"Because aristocrats... shouldn't move?"
"Haa..."
Jager rubbed his temples and grunted forcefully from his horse.
He couldn't blame him for not knowing in the first place.
He did what he was told, so there was nothing to say about it.
It just burned inside him.
Only now did Jager realize that it takes pain and patience to cultivate something properly.
"Just look at me first when you receive something from nobles in the future! Understand?"
"..."
Vlad could only nod at Jager's insistence.
Receiving a handkerchief with a lady's name meant two things.
One was honor.
The other was love.
The swordsman who received honor extended his sheath, and the lady handed it to him with a handkerchief hanging from it.
It was a gesture so simple that a mother could give it to her son.
Hand-to-hand, however, was different.
It was just a sign of support for a loved one.
"People in this territory won't have to worry about making a living for a while."
Joseph rubbed his tingling temples from the longest laughter he had let out in a long time.
"In any case, congratulations on your promotion to the rank of quasi-knight."
"Knight?"
Vlad repeated, sensing the weight in Joseph's voice when he said the word.
"Yes, since you are a knight honored by the noble Lady Alicia, you will be treated as a knight, at least where your name is known."
A knight...
A knight!
Vlad's blue eyes lit up as if for the first time in his life.
"Well, she just became a baroness, so I guess her name is only recognizable in Deirmar."
"If..."
That's why it's called a quasi-knight, not a knight.
The emotions that threatened to overwhelm him quickly cooled.
'It won't be that easy.'
Vlad had met so many great knights in his life that even if they named him a knight now, he wouldn't take it seriously.
He knew he was still far from being in their league.
"Tsk."
Vlad toyed with the handkerchief Alicia had given him, nostalgically.
It was soft and pleasant to the touch.
"It was a mistake when you received it, but now that you know what it means, you must never lose that handkerchief."
"What if I lose it?"
In response to Vlad's innocent question, Joseph shrugged.
"Just have to live with it. You made it possible by grabbing it with both hands."
"It's better not to lose it..."
Upon hearing Joseph's response, Vlad buried the handkerchief Alicia had given him deep in his chest.
It was the first time in his life that he received something that had to be handled with care, and it started to feel unnecessarily heavy inside.
"Well, it's been a crazy way to end, but I guess I won't need it now that you've done your job."
Joseph pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in front of Vlad's face.
It was a piece of paper with rough handwriting.
"Once again, I appreciate your work. You've saved me a lot of trouble."
"What's that?"
Vlad asked, and Joseph handed him the now useless piece of paper.
It explains the essence of the case and tells us what position the boy held.
It's like a lesson for Vlad but also a reward.
"Just in case you lose a duel."
"Ah."
Taking the paper from Joseph's hand, Vlad remembered the day's events.
Joseph had asked him to hold on for ten minutes.
He said he had something in mind.
"For...?"
Vlad groped to read what was written on the paper now that he had learned to read thanks to Haven.
"Nevertheless, congratulations on learning to read."
"Thank you."
Vlad returned the compliment to Joseph and looked down at the signature line at the bottom of the loan certificate.
"Alicia?
The borrower was Alicia Heinal.
The amount is.
"Ten thousand gold!"
Vlad's eyes widened at the staggering sum, and he looked at Joseph.
His lord, sitting in front of him, was smiling from ear to ear.
"It was a way to secure her soldiers in case she lost a duel. Although she didn't actually borrow them."
Grasping the paper from Vlad, Joseph continued.
"Alicia was supposed to surrender if she lost all her status."
If Alicia had lost to Endre, she would have died.
Endre wouldn't have wanted to leave even a little of a legacy.
That's why Joseph had made a point to secure her enlistment in the first place.
And the power to enforce it.
"Is there any reason to bring Lady Alicia...? I thought you knew that if you lost the duel, you would lose your right to the throne."
The boy asked, feeling a strange sensation that saying her name would make him unnecessarily affectionate.
"That's true."
Joseph said, putting the paper back between his arms.
"But a cause is like an ember hidden in ashes, something that can flare up with the right wind."
Even if Endre had become the new baron of House Heinal, Joseph would have felt great pressure if Alicia were in the hands of Bayezid.
A cause is a cause.
It was an arrow that could fly at any moment.
"I see."
The boy, who understood a bit of the world of nobles, was impressed.
Now he understood why nobles lived by the order of the law.
"So, I guess I'll end up dueling with Lord Pablo again after all?"
"...Really?"
From what Vlad had just learned, Endre was still alive, so the embers of succession were still alive.
If so, someday he might face Pablo de Arnstein.
With that thought in mind, Vlad turned to Joseph, but the response he received was somewhat of a tepid half-question.
While Vlad was perplexed by Joseph's response, Jager suddenly appeared at the window.
"Lord Joseph. Unidentified people are approaching."
"What color are they dressed in?"
"They are dressed in black and have blue scarves on their forearms."
Upon Jager's report, Joseph nodded and commanded.
"Good. Send a signal."
"Yes."
Upon hearing Joseph's order, Jager signaled Bordan with a gesture.
Peevish-.
The old, chubby knight took out his whistle and blew it as hard as he could.
It was a thin, piercing sound that only a trained ear would recognize.
Peeeeeeep-.
Or at least Vlad, with his sharp sense of hearing.
"There's a response."
"Yes. And you ended up using it for something else."
"...?"
Vlad, unable to join the conversation, looked at the two alternately, astonished.
In the distance, men in black began to gallop towards them on horseback.
The men headed towards them in the blink of an eye, as if they were watching the road.
"Lord Joseph, we've been a bit delayed trying to settle scores."
"Good work."
One of them, who seemed to be the captain, approached the carriage without any inhibition and handed Joseph a black bag.
"Hmph, is that it?"
"Yes."
"The word has already spread in the territory."
"Well, at least be kind to me later."
While the stranger chatted nonchalantly with Joseph, Vlad realized he had an ally but couldn't hide his nervousness.
"..."
Vlad is finally in his own world.
So for a boy with new sensations he had never felt before, the man in front of him had enough momentum to make him feel danger.
The scars on his face.
The scent of danger in the air.
My instincts told me.
You couldn't play with the man in black.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"I think we should head back a bit earlier."
"It's a shame, thanks for your efforts."
"I was just fulfilling my duty as the Sword of Bayezid."
At a signal from the scar-faced man, the men in black began to move in disciplined movements.
They looked like an army in their precision.
"Hmph. Seems like they were eager for a duel."
"What?"
While Vlad was worried about the men who had entered and exited so abruptly, Joseph opened the bag given to him by the man in black and gave a subtle smile.
"I guess I'll have to come up with an excuse other than a duel to see your lady again."
"....."
Vlad felt the chill in Joseph's jest.
It was a sensation he was used to feeling in the alleyways.
Cautiously, Vlad opened the bag Joseph had handed him.
A familiar smell accompanied by moisture.
"...I suppose so."
Inside the black bag that the boy opened was the world of nobility.
The world of cold.
Brutal.
And also a world...
Relentless.
Endre, the man who mocked Bayezid.
His head was there.
With wide-open eyes.
