75 – 19. Guests (6)
It was easier than expected to explain Roxanne to the people of her nature.
A person who fought during the Great War came to Lichtenau by chance.
He said that he had invited him to his hometown once in order to show his respect for the veterans.
He said he wanted to hear from her about what happened during the Great War.
“Let me ask you a few questions, Roxanne.”
Of course, the real intention is to find out more about Adele!
Roxanne, who even had the nickname of lieutenant during Wolfhedin’s days.
He said that he was very close to Adele.
I can’t help it, and I’m also jealous of myself.
In any case, he and Adele are the present, and Roxanne is the past.
Cut what to cut, and get what to gain.
Shien muttered inwardly and continued to ask questions.
“First off, what is Adele’s favorite food?”
It was Shien who still couldn’t let go of the lingering feelings about that part.
For now, I served Adele with grilled mushrooms and mushroom soup.
And I remember that the reaction was very good.
However, it is impossible to serve only mushrooms forever.
If you know his taste more precisely, it will surely be of great help.
“uh… What is the captain’s favorite food?”
“yes. It doesn’t matter. It’s okay to say that it’s a menu that His Majesty paid attention to.”
“The food the captain likes, the food the captain likes… ah.”
Roxanne exclaimed as if she remembered something.
In response to that reaction, it was the moment when Xian quickly prepared writing instruments and notebooks.
“Jerky.”
would have been less To be precise, even the letter ‘ㅇ’ in beef jerky was written down.
“No, no beef jerky. Is there anything else besides that?”
“Then there is beef jerky soup, and there is also beef jerky stew… .”
“So no beef jerky! Except for the beef jerky!”
At this point, I wonder if I really ate jerky made of gold.
As for beef jerky, let’s say you can understand it.
What the hell is that beef jerky soup or boiled beef jerky?
It was Shien right before the great chaos.
“Not jerky? hmm… That’s kind of difficult. … Oh, I see… .”
“Excluding mushrooms.”
Shien struck first, so Roxanne kept her mouth shut.
“… me, lord If so, I need some time to think about it.”
“no. Roxanne? Anything else? Are jerky and mushrooms really over?”
“When the captain competed, all he ate was beef jerky and mushrooms.”
“So you can get nutritional supplements? You can’t!”
Shien was so dumbfounded.
Ordinary people cannot get proper nutrition by eating only beef jerky and mushrooms.
Not to mention, Adele was from a troop subordinate to the imperial family who roamed around the battlefield as if they were eating a meal.
The consumption must have been extreme, but to fill it with beef jerky and mushrooms.
“I ate the other ones, but they complained that they didn’t taste very good.”
“Do you eat beef jerky and mushrooms?”
“yes. At least His Majesty took care of me, saying that I would get sick from eating that way… .”
oh my god. Shien unknowingly grabbed my face.
Adele lived a ridiculous life beyond what she could have imagined.
“… For now, let’s postpone this story until later. I want to ask you something else.”
“Would you like to? I think I need some time to think.”
Before asking a question, Shien withdrew his smile and put on a neat expression.
The questions to ask Roxanne from now on were very important, but also a bit sensitive.
“It’s about Wolfhedin, Roxanne.”
“… .”
The moment those words came out, Roxanne also took all the smiles off her face.
To the point where I wondered if she was the same person as the woman from before.
He had a very cold and hardened expression on his face.
“… What question are you asking?”
“I couldn’t bear to ask Adele. Even at first glance, the affection for old colleagues was considerable. Strangely, every time I talked about it, I looked very lonely and sad again.”
“… .”
“Fortunately, I met you, Roxanne, who is one of them, but… . Apart from you, how many survivors are there? Adele’s former colleagues… How are you?”
The question I asked now may be a little over the line.
Shien has nothing to do with Wolfheddin.
Considering that it is a special armed force under the imperial family.
If you don’t do it, you may get a terrifying misunderstanding that you are following the imperial family.
But she didn’t answer or close her question.
I simply wanted to know more about Adele.
I wanted to make it clear how much comfort he needed.
“This is a very sensitive question. Do you know, my lord?”
“yes. I know. Especially when you consider that you were His Majesty’s direct troops in the past.”
“Even though the captain told the head of the family his true identity. It is said that he learned the secret of Wolfhedin through that. However, there is nothing better to know than that. No one has ever revealed that to anyone like the captain.”
After saying that, Roxanne let out a light sigh.
I did warn you once, but it doesn’t mean much.
Hadn’t Adele told you everything about herself and Wolfheddin anyway?
“… Except for the captain, I was the last to retire. There were a total of five retirees before that.”
“five? five? Is that all? Because of the number of Wolfheddin… .”
“Because people like me, who are ambiguous in this and ambiguous in that, have retired. All of my comrades, who were really seriously injured, couldn’t leave in the end and died in battle. As you know, our fighting style was so rough that if we were injured, we would most likely be close to death.”
“Ahh… .”
Shien let out a sigh of regret without even realizing it.
If the concept of injury to someone is to get hurt and take the body out.
For them, it was just a process they went through right before death.
In response, Roxanne gave a bitter smile.
“I lost a lot. A colleague who was really close, and a colleague who was strong enough even if not as strong as the captain. Those who had hope, and those who never had it in the first place. Everyone died equally, on the battlefield.”
Every single word Roxanne said contained a sense of misery.
As if she went back to that hell, she touches her broken face.
“I think sometimes. Was I really not a coward? My comrades fought to the brink of death and exhaled their last breath. Because I am in a state where I can neither die nor fight.”
At those words, Shien noticed that Roxanne was in a similar state to Adele.
People who feel sorry for surviving and feel guilty again.
Now, you should be able to hold on to what is called life as hard as you can and live it.
It seemed that they were still walking in that battlefield, in that hell.
“It is not so. Both you and Adele. You shouldn’t think so much about surviving.”
“I know, my lord. I also say that to myself. because that’s hard that didn’t go well So I just feel like an idiot myself.”
“… Roxanne.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“If you want, you can come and stay here in Liechtenau.”
“Thank you for your words, but I will refuse.”
Roxanne refuses Cien’s proposal without even thinking for a second.
I have problems with my hands and face, so it must be very uncomfortable.
She added that making a living as a woodcutter wasn’t too bad.
“Is it true that the captain came here, to check that. If that’s true, I’m here to say hello after a long time.”
“Then you go straight back to where you came from? More to come. He said he met Adele after a long time.”
“Of course I would like to. But, my lord. Me and the boss too. It might be best to stay out of sight of each other as much as possible.”
“Why? Aren’t the two close? Weren’t we fighting while protecting each other’s backs?”
Shien asks as if he couldn’t understand.
Roxanne then nodded her head in agreement.
“Yes, the head of the family is right. My boss and I are definitely close friends. However, it may be an existence that reminds each other of that terrible day. This is what I heard from someone after I retired. They say it’s best to leave the past in the past. For now, you just have to stick to reality.”
“… .”
“I am no longer Wolfheddin. It can’t be. I’m just an ordinary woodcutter. And the captain is not Wolfheddin either. He’s a servant here in Lichtenau. An attendant who stands by the head of the household and is far superior to the others.”
“He is a great attendant. People who don’t know call me a genius attendant.”
At Shien’s words, Roxanne said ahahahaha! and start laughing
Genius attendant, that word sounded very funny.
“That’s fun! It’s a genius servant. I wonder if the word genius fits well, but it’s not bad. What expression will the captain make when he hears it?”
Roxanne couldn’t hide her smile as if she was having fun just thinking about it.
After that, he looked at Shien and parted his lips again.
“Lord Liechtenauer.”
“Yes, Roxanne.”
“Captain, please take care of me.”
“… yes?”
“It was like seeing someone else. Such a soft atmosphere, a smile that I see occasionally. It’s all things that I didn’t see when I was with us. I’m not sure how long he’s been here. What is certain is that it has changed differently from before. In a good way for the captain.”
* * *
Roxanne did not accept Shien’s request to stay longer.
Wild animals come in if you leave the house unattended for too long.
If that happens, it will be very embarrassing, so I have to go at least a day early.
And staying by Adele’s side for a long time doesn’t do much good for each other.
“Oh, my lord. before you go.”
Roxanne, who had approached Shien’s side, whispered in his ear.
“Come to think of it, Captain, I liked the whole roast with plenty of salt and pepper. I pretended not to be myself. Sometimes, whenever I ate like that, it was very combative.”
“ah! is it so? Thanks, Roxanne!”
“cheer up. To be honest, I feel sorry for the head of household, but the captain isn’t bad either.”
“… to?”
For a moment, Xian let out a sigh in a slightly foolish voice.
Roxanne winked in one eye as if she knew everything.