How long did he walk following the guide of the thief?
“There. I left my horse over there.”
We found a small lake and horses.
“It is quite a peaceful sight.”
Five or six horses, believed to have been ridden by thieves, were leisurely strolling around the lake, drinking water or grazing.
“… … Mrs.”
There was also a woman combing the horse’s mane, who seemed to be the wife of the boss the thief was talking about. It was far away, so I couldn’t see it well, but I didn’t feel a particularly thief-like atmosphere.
“Looks like you haven’t noticed this yet.”
“Please, don’t kill that woman. That woman knows nothing.”
The thief begged in pain as if the wound was throbbing. Listening to it, I feel like this is a thief.
“They tried to attack us and kill us, but they treat us as villains.”
From noble mtl dot com
“It wasn’t like I was a rogue from the start. I have no choice but to eat and live.”
As we approached the lake, the horse and woman noticed us and looked this way. It was a common brown haired woman, slightly shorter than Katyusha.
“Who is it?”
The woman raised a gun from the horse’s saddle and pointed it at us. It was a swift action worthy of a boss’s wife.
“Gee, calm down, madam! We got hit!”
Before we could react, the thief screamed in a shriek. The woman looked at the thief as she was aiming the gun.
“Have you been hurt?”
“… … yes. Everyone is dead except me.”
“Then, if you die, the thieves will end?”
At the woman’s question, the rogue nodded and shook her head again.
“No, the thieves are already over. run away together Buy a house anywhere with the money you save… … .”
Taang!
A woman fired a gun. The thief couldn’t finish his words.
“why… … .”
The thief, who had been pierced through the chest, looked at the woman with a look of disbelief, with sticky blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, and died while being supported by Dimitri.
“Now.”
The woman lowered the muzzle with her gaze.
“Now I am free.”
And smiled brightly.
She was quite a beautiful woman.
The woman put down her gun and expressed her intention to surrender. We accepted women’s surrender.
“Weren’t you a colleague?”
“I think they thought of me as a colleague, but I never thought of it that way.”
The woman who said that had a large scar on her face. The reason was roughly guessed.
“I kept wishing I was left here alone and they never came back, but it really did happen. Thank you.”
The woman bowed her head and politely expressed her gratitude. The atmosphere was completely different from what was expected, and the colleagues did not know how to react.
“When I only heard about thieves, I thought of innocent women who knew nothing, but that’s surprising.”
“Because I played it to make it look like that. It’s great that I don’t have to do that anymore.”
The woman’s rather arrogant yet direct tone made me think that she might be the daughter of a fallen nobleman somewhere.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I have to go to this guy’s home, but it seems wrong today.”
“Then let’s rest here. It’s a good place to camp for a day or so. There is also water.”
The woman said with a smile as if it was just fine. It was like a tour guide.
“I don’t mean to cry and cry, but you are very calm.”
It was a calm attitude that made it difficult to think that the bandits he belonged to had been massacred a while ago and that he had personally shot and killed the last remaining person.
“Because I knew that one day it would be like this. I consider myself very lucky that I am not dead now.”
The woman said with a sad smile. There was something about that smile that evoked complex emotions that I couldn’t describe, and it gave me a little idea why the dead thief was so obsessed with this woman.
“I’m thinking of going to a nearby town tomorrow, how are you guys?”
“… … Then, let’s take a day off and start riding tomorrow morning to our destination.”
I looked around and answered. There must be a lake, as the woman said, it was a perfect place for a day’s camping. Going on horseback isn’t too bad, though it’s a pity that you can’t sit comfortably and get there much quicker than going by carriage.
“Eh, are you riding a horse? I don’t know how to ride a horse?!”
It was Ver who came out annoyingly one by one. I should have left it at the knight academy.
“Get behind Katyusha. Two girls would be fine.”
“… … yes what I think it will be fine.”
Katyusha calmly expressed her disapproval and affirmed. The woman laughed as if she was having fun.
The next day after camping at the lake, we set off early in the morning without even saying goodbye to the woman.
Kaspal and Dimitri each rode their horses, and Katyusha and I carried Ber and Ethel on our backs.
“Are you okay?”
When we were quite far from the lake, Katyusha asked a question without a subject.
“We didn’t get to know each other very well, did we? You don’t have to say hello. It’s comfortable with each other.”
“Not that… … Wait a minute, Miss Ber! If you’re going to grab it, grab it by the waist, not there! Oh, anyway. It’s a story about whether it would be okay to let them live.”
Katyusha scolded Ver for holding too high.
“Maybe tell someone about us.”
“It doesn’t matter if I say it. No, maybe he will.”
“Are you okay?”
“Doesn’t that woman have particularly great information?”
“That is true, but… … . For some reason, it bothers me a little.”
As if Katyusha couldn’t understand it, his expression became distraught. I pulled the reins, telling Ethel behind me to be careful as I will speed up.
“Think of it as a message to Parabellum. Maybe it’s the party.”
“party… … ?”
“Anyway, it’s fine. Don’t think too hard.”
I picked up the pace and switched the lead with Dimitri to finish the story properly.
‘Now is not the time to get deeply involved. maybe.’
Strangely humiliated by the uncertainty, I was hit by the wild winds.
* * *
Lake in the morning, the woman yawned and looked around. The prince and his party had already left without leaving a trace.
“… … Everyone went too fast. Did you notice that too?”
The woman shook her head as if she knew this would happen. Then I started preparing breakfast.
“Did things go well?”
A man came to the woman when she finished preparing a simple meal. It was a silver-haired man in a neat suit. It was a look that was not at all suitable for a rough wild lake.
“Does it look like it went well?”
The woman smiled and asked.
“It doesn’t look like it.”
The man shook his head. The woman handed the man a sandwich that was embarrassing to even call it a sandwich that had just finished jam and cheese.
“Well, the objective has been fully achieved. To see how much power you have.”
Then he mumbled his share of sandwiches. The man looked at the sandwich, took a bite, frowned, and put it in his arms.
“Looks like you’ve already formed a decent faction of your own.”
“It’s a different development than expected.”
“Well, yes. and… … .”
Perhaps because she was hungry, she hurriedly ate the sandwich.
“They were cute. It’s good to be young. I envy you.”
Then he licked his fingers and laughed coquettishly. The man looked bored.
“Are all the bandits dead?”
“huh. I killed the last one left. for role play. I couldn’t help it because of the atmosphere.”
“I guess there must have been another way. It seems like it’s been quite a while this time, but it’s a waste.”
“At least a few months. I’m tired of being the boss’s wife, but that’s fine.”
The woman chuckled. And he laughed as he looked at the corpse of the thief being torn apart by the eagles outside the lake.
“Because like mercenaries whose brains are made of muscles, everyone was distracted by my misery. When the boss is bored, he says, ‘I’m an ugly person, but I can make at least one of you happy.’ Don’t they say the same thing narcissistically, ‘I can’t touch the boss’s woman, but this heart is real.’ Did half of the members have the same thoughts? Everyone went crazy because they were so romantic!”
“You were loved this time too.”
“okay. It’s disgusting.”
The laughing woman’s expression immediately frowned as if she had bitten an insect. The man shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t stop.
“Anyway, you worked hard. First of all, let’s go back and reorganize. Anastasia. Work has been delayed.”
Men called women Anastasia.
“huh. it should be I know.”
Anastasia answered and shook her head. Then, her plain brown hair——actually, what was actually a wig came off as if it were flowing down, and the long, shiny silver hair that was hidden inside gently spilled out.
“What role can I play this time? A femme fatale in a bar?”
The woman touched her face and removed the scar. It was a well-made makeup. The scar-free woman’s face reminded me of an actor in the city.
“It won’t be too late to think about it after deciding on the ‘scenario’. First of all, it’s always a lobby for nobles. It won’t be a character whose background is a bar. and.”
“and?”
“Aren’t you always a femme fatale?”
“That’s right.”
The woman chuckled. Then he rummaged through his bag and started making another sandwich.
When the woman asked if she would like another bite, the man flatly refused.
* * *
We rode for a long time on horseback.
We arrived at the Caspal family’s estate late in the evening, after things such as Berg almost fell while dozing off, Ethel stood on my shoulder, and Caspal vomited.
On the vast, red earth that stretched out in front of her eyes, not even a single proper blade of grass could be seen. No life was visible except for an occasional tumbleweed rolling around.
“Um, this… … .”
“Isn’t it barren?”
Dimitri, who was looking for something to say, spoke as if Caspal had been waiting.
“It’s a typical Sangvis land.”
“Well, yes. The land is like this, so I can’t even farm properly. It’s a shame there’s a mine at least… … Even if you say that, it’s a waste mine now. I feel sorry for you.”
Caspal said with a rare smile. The content was Youngji’s swearing, but it seemed quite enjoyable.
“Are you a little excited?”
“… … That, it can’t be.”
When I pointed it out, he was immediately embarrassed. His face was unusually hot.
“I just need to go a little further to the mansion. It’s a house as ugly as the manor, though.”
I don’t like it, I don’t like it, but when I come back, I wonder if it’s a good feeling. I thought it was a little bit cute.
“I can already smell it.”
Ethel behind me whispered softly in my ear.
“smell?”
“The smell of the black beast.”
And he laughed, saying that work would be fun.
With this, the half hopeful half ominous quest began.