The walled city of Sturma.
Its owner, Peter Bayezid, clutched the telegram Ragmus had handed him and sighed.
"…Count Ravnoma has fallen."
Peter rubbed his temples with one hand and closed his eyes. {1}
He had known for a while that something was amiss in the West, but he never expected an outcome like this.
"...Did Count Gaidar's family have so much power?"
"They say the western families united. It seems it was insurmountable."
"Why didn't the royal family intervene?"
"…From our standpoint, we couldn't discern what was happening in the center."
Expressing it with apologies, Ragmus couldn't avoid it either.
The North was a place with a stronger identity than any other region. While they were free from the influence of royalty or central power by clearly erecting a wall, at the same time, they couldn't help but be ignorant of what was happening in other areas. In everything, there was a hierarchy that had to be respected.
"···It's a pity for a count's family from a country to fall like this. And furthermore, a family that upholds an oath."
Even in turbulent times where the empire was weakening, there were still limits that needed protection. However, the new tide that was brewing was sweeping away the established rules and traditions as violently as they had been forced.
"······A chaotic time."
Through the latest news, Peter clearly understood what era he was living in. For those who had just gained power, the rules and traditions of the past must have felt like chains oppressing them. The order of the West had been reorganized.
"···Indeed."
Lost in thought, Peter realized something and stood up as if he had understood, approaching the window. A procession of carriages entered the mansion with the intermittent spring rain falling. Watching the pilgrims enter the mansion carrying church emblems aloft, Peter murmured as if he finally understood.
"They were not pilgrims."
People entering the Bayezid mansion with church symbols held high. Observing the pilgrims entering the mansion, Peter finally understood as he bit his lip.
"····They were not pilgrims. They were refugees who brought with them an ancient oath."
***
Vlad carried his luggage under the pouring rain.
The boy's breath turned white in the cold spring rain.
It's a strange atmosphere.
Until last night, the group had been laughing together in a fairly friendly atmosphere, but not now.
With the sudden decision to leave, the group's mood had hardened, and with it, a subtle tension.
As a result, Vlad arrived in Sturma a day earlier than planned, and under close surveillance, the priests were transferring the luggage they had brought with them.
"Be careful, be careful!"
"Leave the servants out of this. We'll handle this."
Vlad's head naturally turned in that direction at the shout.
When loud sounds reached his ears, Vlad instinctively turned his head.
There was a heavy wooden chest with strange inscriptions carved on it.
For some reason, the chest caught the boy's attention in a peculiar way. However, Vlad quickly averted his gaze from the chest, simply shifting his position.
After all, rain mixed with the blood of the Deathworms flowing from their corpses might not be compatible with his soul.
Throbbing.
"It's not okay."
Probably, it was the smell of blood that accelerated his heart.
Like some people who are sensitive to certain foods or smells.
In his case, maybe it's the blood of the death worm.
"Well done."
Carrying his luggage to the entrance of the Bayezid mansion, Vlad kept his head down, waiting for the door to open.
A few more steps, and he would be inside, but that was all he could do.
Rutiger and his knights entered, giving him a quiet pat on the shoulder for a job well done.
The priests followed, surrounding the black wooden box.
They were all people he had been with all these years, but the boy didn't deserve to be with them until the end.
'.....'
Vlad looked up as they walked away.
Curious about the space he wasn't allowed, and a little resentful.
"....!"
And at that moment, their gazes met.
The highest-ranking person in the Bayezid family.
Where Vlad's gaze met, a world so vast that it could barely be encompassed, observed the boy.
Completely frozen by Peter's presence, Vlad could only remain motionless, unable to look away until the door was completely closed.
Until the doors of the corridors that marked the boundaries of privilege were completely shut.
***
"I'm going to go."
"All right."
Portly bid Vlad farewell with a stern expression, as if he had his own expectations.
The two squires returned to Sturma, expecting some kind of reward, perhaps even a small feast, for their successful slaying of a Deathworm.
However, they were forced back to their seats with the heavy feeling of a late spring rain.
Vlad watched Portly's back as he walked painfully back to his accommodation.
Even though they were in the same boat, at least he had someone to rely on.
"....."
As Vlad walked down the hallway, he recalled Peter's gaze from earlier.
"I don't remember."
It was clear that it had been a strong first impression, but the issue was that he didn't remember it.
It wasn't what Peter seemed like; it was what he was, and that was all that remained in the boy's mind.
"Hmmm."
It didn't matter if he didn't remember.
The Count must have looked a lot like the man he was about to meet.
"I'm here. Lord Joseph."
"Come in."
Announcing his arrival in front of Joseph's office, Vlad opened the door with a familiar gesture.
Although Bayezid's glorious halls did not grant him a seat, Joseph's office was more than willing to accommodate him.
"You're a day early."
"It just happened."
"Yes. I heard."
Joseph's office, where Oksana had insisted on sitting, was the room in the Bayezid mansion that saw the longest periods of sunlight.
It had been a burden for Vlad when he first moved in, but he had grown accustomed to it.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Good."
Vlad tensed slightly as he looked at Joseph, who quietly questioned him, and Jager, who stood by his side.
He wondered if he was about to receive a reprimand.
Helping to defeat the Deathworms attacking the pilgrims was undoubtedly a good thing, worthy of praise.
But it was also a bit uncomfortable for Joseph himself.
After all, he was helping Rutiger.
It was not something he would have wanted to do, given their rivalry.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
But Joseph didn't seem uncomfortable at all; he was only looking through the papers.
"...It's nothing."
Vlad responded with an internal sigh of relief.
It relieved him not so much that he hadn't been reprimanded, but that it had been exactly who he thought it was.
"I'm glad to know you're better, but you better pull yourself together."
Joseph, who had been shuffling papers for a while, looked up and looked directly at Vlad.
"I'm afraid I don't know much about the streets of Soara."
Vlad was surprised that Joseph suddenly mentioned the streets of Soara.
"I've heard that a gang uprising ends when all the members are dead or surrender, is that true?"
"That's... probably."
Vlad lowered his head, thoughtful.
Why was he suddenly asking about this?
Vlad shrank a bit as he saw Joseph trying to get to his innermost parts.
"Is that why you couldn't send her a letter?"
"What letter?"
"To your lover in the convent."
"She's a friend..."
"Whatever."
Upon Vlad's response, Joseph got up from his seat.
"Not that I'm not aware of what's been happening in Soara, where we couldn't send anyone for fear of hurting people."
He walked to the window and watched the spring rain for a moment before speaking.
"I wanted to be considerate, but it takes time and a track record to make up for it. Jack the Maimed deserved what happened to him."
Vlad nodded, still, listening to Joseph's words.
Maybe it was like that.
Even though they were streets, it also belonged to Count Bayezid's territory.
For a maimed man named Jack to roam freely in an alley, he would have to have contacts with powerful people in both places.
He was a man of great wealth, as his name suggested.
He had a lot of money, even if it came from the tears of the people in the streets.
"....."
Vlad looked at Joseph, who remained motionless by the window.
And the flag hanging beside him.
He had entered and exited Joseph's office countless times, but he had never seen it.
"What's that?"
A white flag, rectangular in shape.
It was a bit smaller than the flags he had seen before, almost as if he could hold it with one hand.
After thinking for a moment, Joseph spoke.
"Thanks to you proving your worth..."
With those words, Joseph carefully took out the flag he had by his side.
"Now that you've fought so much for me, I must repay you, as promised."
"Is that... right?"
Vlad looked at Joseph as he walked slowly toward him, and he could almost see the image of Peter from earlier.
The dignity radiating as he held the flag reminded him of that presence.
"They say that knights from my grandfather's time... carried banners like the one I hold now."
Joseph gazed mysteriously at the flag in his hands.
He smiled bittersweetly at the item he would never be able to carry.
"A flag representing your own honor."
But Joseph was the chosen one.
Since he couldn't hold both the sword and the flag, he would hold the knight who held them.
And there was a boy in front of him who could do that.
"You are a man worthy of your own standard. And you are backed by Heinal and Bayezid."
Vlad looked in astonishment at the white flag being handed to him.
It seemed blank, but in the upper-left corner of the flag were two small coats of arms.
They were the coats of arms of Heinal and Bayezid.
"Ha, but I..."
"Take this and go to your land."
"....!"
Hearing Joseph's words, Vlad felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
His head was spinning from the sudden words.
This was the moment he had been waiting for, dreaming of, and decided he would do someday.
But he never imagined that this moment would be today.
"Vlad, you who have taken the name Lady Alicia and you who are a squire of House Bayezid, hold your head high under the banner."
The boy raised his head with a dazed expression as he received the flag from Joseph's hand.
But despite his expressionless face, the boy's body was trembling.
The moment he had been waiting for so much was approaching.
"There, you will cut the ties that have held you captive, and you will come to me again, truly free."
Vlad didn't respond.
He just stared at the flag he held with a vacant look.
"As I promised, all sponsored by Bayezid. Vlad Of Soara."
From that day's contract.
The boy and the young man promised to give and receive.
And that promise was confirmed under the honorable banner that the boy now held.
Vlad Of Soara.
Return to your homeland.
There, break the bonds that bind you.
And claim what is yours.
"I accept the name..."
The boy tightly grasped the flag he held.
Until his hands turned pale.
(1): Joseph's father's name will change from Fether to Peter for better understanding.
The walled city of Sturma.
Its owner, Peter Bayezid, clutched the telegram Ragmus had handed him and sighed.
"…Count Ravnoma has fallen."
Peter rubbed his temples with one hand and closed his eyes. {1}
He had known for a while that something was amiss in the West, but he never expected an outcome like this.
"...Did Count Gaidar's family have so much power?"
"They say the western families united. It seems it was insurmountable."
"Why didn't the royal family intervene?"
"…From our standpoint, we couldn't discern what was happening in the center."
Expressing it with apologies, Ragmus couldn't avoid it either.
The North was a place with a stronger identity than any other region. While they were free from the influence of royalty or central power by clearly erecting a wall, at the same time, they couldn't help but be ignorant of what was happening in other areas. In everything, there was a hierarchy that had to be respected.
"···It's a pity for a count's family from a country to fall like this. And furthermore, a family that upholds an oath."
Even in turbulent times where the empire was weakening, there were still limits that needed protection. However, the new tide that was brewing was sweeping away the established rules and traditions as violently as they had been forced.
"······A chaotic time."
Through the latest news, Peter clearly understood what era he was living in. For those who had just gained power, the rules and traditions of the past must have felt like chains oppressing them. The order of the West had been reorganized.
"···Indeed."
Lost in thought, Peter realized something and stood up as if he had understood, approaching the window. A procession of carriages entered the mansion with the intermittent spring rain falling. Watching the pilgrims enter the mansion carrying church emblems aloft, Peter murmured as if he finally understood.
"They were not pilgrims."
People entering the Bayezid mansion with church symbols held high. Observing the pilgrims entering the mansion, Peter finally understood as he bit his lip.
"····They were not pilgrims. They were refugees who brought with them an ancient oath."
***
Vlad carried his luggage under the pouring rain.
The boy's breath turned white in the cold spring rain.
It's a strange atmosphere.
Until last night, the group had been laughing together in a fairly friendly atmosphere, but not now.
With the sudden decision to leave, the group's mood had hardened, and with it, a subtle tension.
As a result, Vlad arrived in Sturma a day earlier than planned, and under close surveillance, the priests were transferring the luggage they had brought with them.
"Be careful, be careful!"
"Leave the servants out of this. We'll handle this."
Vlad's head naturally turned in that direction at the shout.
When loud sounds reached his ears, Vlad instinctively turned his head.
There was a heavy wooden chest with strange inscriptions carved on it.
For some reason, the chest caught the boy's attention in a peculiar way. However, Vlad quickly averted his gaze from the chest, simply shifting his position.
After all, rain mixed with the blood of the Deathworms flowing from their corpses might not be compatible with his soul.
Throbbing.
"It's not okay."
Probably, it was the smell of blood that accelerated his heart.
Like some people who are sensitive to certain foods or smells.
In his case, maybe it's the blood of the death worm.
"Well done."
Carrying his luggage to the entrance of the Bayezid mansion, Vlad kept his head down, waiting for the door to open.
A few more steps, and he would be inside, but that was all he could do.
Rutiger and his knights entered, giving him a quiet pat on the shoulder for a job well done.
The priests followed, surrounding the black wooden box.
They were all people he had been with all these years, but the boy didn't deserve to be with them until the end.
'.....'
Vlad looked up as they walked away.
Curious about the space he wasn't allowed, and a little resentful.
"....!"
And at that moment, their gazes met.
The highest-ranking person in the Bayezid family.
Where Vlad's gaze met, a world so vast that it could barely be encompassed, observed the boy.
Completely frozen by Peter's presence, Vlad could only remain motionless, unable to look away until the door was completely closed.
Until the doors of the corridors that marked the boundaries of privilege were completely shut.
***
"I'm going to go."
"All right."
Portly bid Vlad farewell with a stern expression, as if he had his own expectations.
The two squires returned to Sturma, expecting some kind of reward, perhaps even a small feast, for their successful slaying of a Deathworm.
However, they were forced back to their seats with the heavy feeling of a late spring rain.
Vlad watched Portly's back as he walked painfully back to his accommodation.
Even though they were in the same boat, at least he had someone to rely on.
"....."
As Vlad walked down the hallway, he recalled Peter's gaze from earlier.
"I don't remember."
It was clear that it had been a strong first impression, but the issue was that he didn't remember it.
It wasn't what Peter seemed like; it was what he was, and that was all that remained in the boy's mind.
"Hmmm."
It didn't matter if he didn't remember.
The Count must have looked a lot like the man he was about to meet.
"I'm here. Lord Joseph."
"Come in."
Announcing his arrival in front of Joseph's office, Vlad opened the door with a familiar gesture.
Although Bayezid's glorious halls did not grant him a seat, Joseph's office was more than willing to accommodate him.
"You're a day early."
"It just happened."
"Yes. I heard."
Joseph's office, where Oksana had insisted on sitting, was the room in the Bayezid mansion that saw the longest periods of sunlight.
It had been a burden for Vlad when he first moved in, but he had grown accustomed to it.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Good."
Vlad tensed slightly as he looked at Joseph, who quietly questioned him, and Jager, who stood by his side.
He wondered if he was about to receive a reprimand.
Helping to defeat the Deathworms attacking the pilgrims was undoubtedly a good thing, worthy of praise.
But it was also a bit uncomfortable for Joseph himself.
After all, he was helping Rutiger.
It was not something he would have wanted to do, given their rivalry.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
But Joseph didn't seem uncomfortable at all; he was only looking through the papers.
"...It's nothing."
Vlad responded with an internal sigh of relief.
It relieved him not so much that he hadn't been reprimanded, but that it had been exactly who he thought it was.
"I'm glad to know you're better, but you better pull yourself together."
Joseph, who had been shuffling papers for a while, looked up and looked directly at Vlad.
"I'm afraid I don't know much about the streets of Soara."
Vlad was surprised that Joseph suddenly mentioned the streets of Soara.
"I've heard that a gang uprising ends when all the members are dead or surrender, is that true?"
"That's... probably."
Vlad lowered his head, thoughtful.
Why was he suddenly asking about this?
Vlad shrank a bit as he saw Joseph trying to get to his innermost parts.
"Is that why you couldn't send her a letter?"
"What letter?"
"To your lover in the convent."
"She's a friend..."
"Whatever."
Upon Vlad's response, Joseph got up from his seat.
"Not that I'm not aware of what's been happening in Soara, where we couldn't send anyone for fear of hurting people."
He walked to the window and watched the spring rain for a moment before speaking.
"I wanted to be considerate, but it takes time and a track record to make up for it. Jack the Maimed deserved what happened to him."
Vlad nodded, still, listening to Joseph's words.
Maybe it was like that.
Even though they were streets, it also belonged to Count Bayezid's territory.
For a maimed man named Jack to roam freely in an alley, he would have to have contacts with powerful people in both places.
He was a man of great wealth, as his name suggested.
He had a lot of money, even if it came from the tears of the people in the streets.
"....."
Vlad looked at Joseph, who remained motionless by the window.
And the flag hanging beside him.
He had entered and exited Joseph's office countless times, but he had never seen it.
"What's that?"
A white flag, rectangular in shape.
It was a bit smaller than the flags he had seen before, almost as if he could hold it with one hand.
After thinking for a moment, Joseph spoke.
"Thanks to you proving your worth..."
With those words, Joseph carefully took out the flag he had by his side.
"Now that you've fought so much for me, I must repay you, as promised."
"Is that... right?"
Vlad looked at Joseph as he walked slowly toward him, and he could almost see the image of Peter from earlier.
The dignity radiating as he held the flag reminded him of that presence.
"They say that knights from my grandfather's time... carried banners like the one I hold now."
Joseph gazed mysteriously at the flag in his hands.
He smiled bittersweetly at the item he would never be able to carry.
"A flag representing your own honor."
But Joseph was the chosen one.
Since he couldn't hold both the sword and the flag, he would hold the knight who held them.
And there was a boy in front of him who could do that.
"You are a man worthy of your own standard. And you are backed by Heinal and Bayezid."
Vlad looked in astonishment at the white flag being handed to him.
It seemed blank, but in the upper-left corner of the flag were two small coats of arms.
They were the coats of arms of Heinal and Bayezid.
"Ha, but I..."
"Take this and go to your land."
"....!"
Hearing Joseph's words, Vlad felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
His head was spinning from the sudden words.
This was the moment he had been waiting for, dreaming of, and decided he would do someday.
But he never imagined that this moment would be today.
"Vlad, you who have taken the name Lady Alicia and you who are a squire of House Bayezid, hold your head high under the banner."
The boy raised his head with a dazed expression as he received the flag from Joseph's hand.
But despite his expressionless face, the boy's body was trembling.
The moment he had been waiting for so much was approaching.
"There, you will cut the ties that have held you captive, and you will come to me again, truly free."
Vlad didn't respond.
He just stared at the flag he held with a vacant look.
"As I promised, all sponsored by Bayezid. Vlad Of Soara."
From that day's contract.
The boy and the young man promised to give and receive.
And that promise was confirmed under the honorable banner that the boy now held.
Vlad Of Soara.
Return to your homeland.
There, break the bonds that bind you.
And claim what is yours.
"I accept the name..."
The boy tightly grasped the flag he held.
Until his hands turned pale.
(1): Joseph's father's name will change from Fether to Peter for better understanding.
