17 – Welcome Dinner (1)
Subsequently, when Maru introduced himself by revealing his position and name, the warriors looked at each other’s faces as if they were surprised, convinced again that he was the person they knew.
“Thank you for coming to meet me. The Duke of Toledo.”
“Duke. We, Basilite Kingdom, actively support the Toledo family’s eastern expedition. It must have been a lot of hard work for you to come a long way, but I hope you put down your heavy burdens for a while and rest in peace.”
“It is just a pleasure to welcome you warmly. How is His Highness?”
“You are waiting for your first meeting with the Duke. And during your stay, a few big events… ”
Kiera stared at Maru like a distraught man while Maru conversed with the Duke of Toledo.
Maru, who lost more weight than before and changed to a stocky physique, was confident and never paid attention to her.
Like people who don’t know each other at all.
Her mind was full of questions.
‘What did he do to get ahead?’
Next to her, Lloris, who was smiling mischievously, was bothering Lucy.
“Are you going to blow the golden opportunity that God has given you? Didn’t you miss Mr. Maru and hire a porter to replace him? You say you need someone to vent your anger on? There you are. The person you’ve been longing for is over there. Hurry up and say hello.”
“Shut up, trash priest. I told you to stop!”
Lucy’s face reddened from embarrassment and cursed at Lloris.
Meanwhile, his expression brightened.
She sniffed quietly and laughed loudly so that no one else would notice.
“This is the hero Kiera. Say hello to each other.”
The Duke of Toledo politely pointed at Kiera, who was behind him.
Maru jumped off the horse after giving her a glance for a moment.
He came closer and kissed her lightly on the back of her hand.
“Welcome to the warrior. Please rest in peace.”
“Did you have an ointment here?”
Maru only smiled slightly at Kiera’s question, which felt a bit urgent, perhaps because of curiosity.
“Sorry for the personal question. Enough then.”
Maru turned around and looked at the Duke of Toledo.
“I and my men will serve you from now on.”
“Now, hold on!”
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Joseph approached on horseback and held out his hand.
“I am Joseph, the eldest son of the Duke of Toledo. You should say hello to me too.”
“Yes, thank you for visiting. Let’s go.”
After finishing the greeting, Maru got on the horse.
“Follow me. Knights, bring a distinguished guest!”
“Yes!”
***
two hours after that.
A warm afternoon in the spring-like sunlight.
In the courtyard, where a gorgeous tree was planted, it was crowded with numerous luggage.
It was all the burden of the Duke of Toledo.
While the servants organizing the luggage were busy coming and going, Maru was also giving instructions while watching various situations in the courtyard.
“Which building is the guest keep?”
When a servant carrying a heavy burden on his back approached and asked, Maru looked at the subordinates around him.
“Go with me and tell me the way.”
“four!”
As soon as the two left, another came.
He was a vassal of the Duke of Toledo.
He was holding a bale of hay tied with string in each hand.
“You can’t bring paradise grass? Was there a country that didn’t smoke this?”
“This is our kingdom. Smoking it here is the death penalty. Confiscate it guys.”
“ancient!”
“Oh no! How can I endure that difficult journey without this!”
“I’ll keep it for a while and give it to you when I leave. Items that cannot be carried are written on this paper, so if you have any, please return them voluntarily.”
“Huh, what a tricky kingdom.”
After accepting the paper, the vassal shook his head and left, followed by Yosef.
“Hello. Do you remember me?”
“Are you Josef?”
“Right. I hope you have a good head. ha ha ha.”
“What did you come for?”
“Um, that’s it. I looked around the room, but the size of the room the warrior will use is too small. So, could you give me the largest room in the palace?”
Maru shook his head.
“The lodgings provided to the distinguished guests visiting the palace are fixed. Change is difficult.”
“Don’t do that, let’s be flexible. What a warrior. Do I have to treat the warrior the world knows badly? What would you do if someone later complained about how difficult it was to live in the kingdom of Basilite?”
“I don’t care. Again, the rooms for the VIPs are reserved. It may be insufficient, but I ask for your understanding.”
“Ha, that’s frustrating.”
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Joseph laughed as if it were absurd.
Then, with a slightly arrogant expression, he shrugged his shoulders.
“Listen well. Our Toledo family is a family that is said to be the most influential in the Rupalum Kingdom.”
“I heard that too.”
“Then you don’t have to worry about it. If we are treated well, the future relationship between the Rupalum Kingdom and the Basilite Kingdom… ”
Maru gestured to his subordinate to bring a pen and paper while Yosef was chattering.
“To be recognized by the Duke of Toledo. That is why the Kingdom of Rupalum is recognized as well. The kingdom of Rupalum will also recognize the kingdom of Basilite, and the King of Basilite will praise you and give you many awards. And you will become a person who will go down in the history of this country… Well? What are you writing down?”
“Ah, don’t worry about it and continue with what you said.”
Maru had his subordinates bend down in an ‘a’ shape, spread a piece of paper on his back, and was writing something hard.
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Joseph, who came to the side and looked at the paper, tilted his head at the letter written at the bottom.
“Recipient, Kingdom of Rupalum Nobility Ethics Judgment Committee… ?”
His gaze went straight to the top of the paper.
I, Joseph, the eldest son of the Duke of Toledo, like the best prostitute, will fuck all the girls in the Kingdom of Basilite! Hehehe!
… Since Yosef-nim said this without hesitation in front of me, I think this is a very problematic remark, so I inform you.
“I swear I never said anything like that!”
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Josef tore the paper up and down.
Maru said with a smiley face.
“You kept pushing yourself, so I joked around a bit. In any case, we cannot change the room. Please know that everyone has been assigned based on their individual status.”
“It is rude of you to play with me! I will immediately go to your immediate superior, the prince, and demand punishment!”
“You do as you please.”
“huh!”
Yosef left in a huff, and Maru continued what he was doing.
“Don’t let people go around there.”
“Yes!”
At that time, Keira was passing through the outdoor hallway connecting the buildings.
Walking along the corridor with arched awnings on the ceiling, she found a floor in the courtyard where she was working with her subordinates and stopped inadvertently.
“… … ”
Looking back, the floor has changed a lot.
His body, which always wore a turtle neck, was straight and his body was solidly angular, unlike before.
and a confident voice.
A bright smile sent to subordinates.
A few months ago he wasn’t.
It was drastically different.
Suddenly, I became curious.
I wanted to ask what made you that way and how you got there.
‘If you have money and power, I’m willing to meet you again. Your personality suited me well.’
Unknowingly, as if being led, I stepped into the courtyard.
At that time, someone caught my eye in a two-story building overlooking the courtyard.
Kiera reflexively stepped back.
And I watched quietly.
“Guardian, are the Duke of Toledo, his eldest son, and the four members of the warrior’s party sitting at the same table as His Highness at the dinner party later?”
“uh. In addition, add a seat for the knight commander over there.”
“Oh, I think we should prepare another chair. All right.”
Maru stood with both hands on his waist and looked at the back of his subordinate running somewhere.
Then, suddenly, something fell from the top of my head.
When I picked it up and checked it, it was a pink handkerchief with a nice scent.
“Hey~ the old knight standing over there~”
When Maru tilted his head and looked up, Audrit stuck out his head from the window on the second floor and was smiling brightly.
“Excuse me, but that is my handkerchief, could you bring it to me?”
“This one?”
Maru raised the handkerchief high.
“Did you drop it on purpose?”
“It’s not~”
“I think you dropped it on purpose.”
“Did I drop it by mistake?”
“Um~ I’m busy right now, so it’s hard to go up there. Can’t I just have it?”
“No. That’s an expensive handkerchief made of silk~”
“It’s even better. I also wanted to write something expensive.”
“That’s mean! I’ll give you something better when you come up~”
“really? Is there anything better? Then we should go.”
Maru smiled brightly and walked towards the outdoor corridor.
At that moment, Kiera took a step back in surprise and hesitated.
She immediately changed her mind and stood still as if nothing had happened.
I was really looking forward to what kind of reaction he would show, but Maru went into the building without giving her a glance.
“… Are you ignoring me?”
Could it be that you promised to pretend you didn’t know?
‘Who is that woman?’
After meeting Maru for the first time in a while, questions are pouring in.
Kiera raised her gaze and looked up at the second floor.
Through the wide open window, I could see the scene of Maru and the woman meeting.
The two had a pleasant conversation and laughed non-stop.
The woman is also good at matching things up and is very active.
Apparently, that woman looks like a flirty girl to Maru.
For some reason, I felt uncomfortable.
“I hate that you seem to be getting along so well… ”
Kiera quietly bit her lower lip.
***
In the evening, the royal palace was filled with the smell of all kinds of food, including the smell of grilled meat, freshly baked bread, and fish.
A welcome dinner was being held in the great hall.
Because it was an event hosted by the king, all nobles living in the capital attended it.
As a result, the banquet hall was more crowded than ever.
While listening to the sweet music played by the orchestra, everyone seemed happy, but one wizard was the only one who couldn’t smile.
That wizard is Lucy.
She was distracted by something other than the hearty food.
Throughout the dinner, I only stared blankly at Maru, who was far away.
‘Should I go and say I’m sorry… ‘
Today, when I reunited with Maru, I was very happy as if I had met my old friend, and I wanted to run and talk to him.
‘Mut dog~ How have you been?’
But in the end I couldn’t.
Caught in the past
She was regretting everything she had done to Maru in the past.
‘I think he’s going to be caught by bandits on his way home. ha ha ha.’
Lucy sighed repeatedly, recalling the breakup scene with Maru.
“I was the devil… ”
During the period when Kiera lost the power of a hero, Lucy experienced heartache as a colleague and received various criticisms from people, such as ‘why didn’t the hero appear?’ and became more mature.
In her mind right now, Kiera, having been together since Maru left, seemed like something was wrong.
‘Is Kiera really a warrior? Like a poisonous flower, a person who is different from the outside is a hero… ? That’s not the look of the righteous warrior I hoped for. If you are a warrior… I should have hugged Maru, who seemed like an idiot back then, even if I had to persuade my colleagues.’
It was only then that Lucy realized what justice was.
“But it was fun to run around.”
I was only half aware.
F*cking bullsh*t!!!!!
You are going to f*ckedup b*tch..
Y’all go fúck yourselves