151 – Hilde’s Decision
After the battle at the Abe River, a festival was held in the Whitebeard mercenaries.
Everyone was drinking alcohol and boasting about their martial arts skills, as if they were relieving their frustration from not being able to rest properly for nearly 15 days.
“So I am. “During the last surprise attack, he saw that our platoon leader was about to fall, so he dug in to the side and cut off the driver’s head.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m lucky enough to win a knight thanks to Deus’s help, but I brag about it a lot.”
“If you don’t mind, our Captain of the Ten Ten Commandments, try cutting off a knight’s head too. “At that time, I will take out my wallet and buy you a drink.”
Amidst the beautiful sight of everyone bragging about their martial arts skills and amicably praising each other for doing a good job, there was one person who was left out.
Officially, she was a slave serving Martin Mayer, but in reality, she was Hilde Baumann, a low-level knight serving Baron Custer who was only accompanying them.
“…… I’m so jealous. “I also wanted to laugh and chat like that with the soldiers under my command after victory…”
Muttering that, Hilde thought again of the Custer Baron family, to which she could never return.
Although she had the skills to be an expert beginner knight, she was unable to escape the rank of low-level knight for the rest of her life because she was a woman.
There, Hilde was a superior who was truly respected by the soldiers under her command, and she received sincere praise and recognition from the serfs of her barony as a great knight.
Her heart was pounding as she demonstrated her abilities in person at her Villa Hora Castle.
‘I thought Baron Custer would acknowledge me someday.’
I would have been very happy if that had happened, but all of this was completely ruined by Martin Mayer’s estrangement.
So there were more than one or two times when I wanted to blame Martin… But I couldn’t.
He saved all his money from a desperate reality where the best option was to be sold as a s*x slave and become someone’s concubine.
This is because he respected his honor, which was more precious than his life, which Baron Custer trampled underfoot, to the end.
‘I can’t give you my loyalty, but you say I will give you my body. ‘I’m crazy.’
Nevertheless, Hilde imagined.
The moment when she became the man who was her rival, who respected her until the end, and who rescued her from despair.
Although she was a bit distant, when she thought about it a few times, he wasn’t that bad.
No, seeing as I kept having these thoughts, I thought about whether I might like him.
“… It’s such a complicated feeling that I can’t really put into words.”
As he muttered that, one of Martin’s soldiers approached carrying a bowl of roast pork and a large bottle of beer.
“Lord Bauman, here is food and beer. “Century Martin told me to take it with me, so I brought it.”
“Thank you.”
Because he was a soldier who had great respect for Martin, he looked at Hilde with disdain and said,
“Are you saying you have something to thank me for? You should be grateful to Centurion Martin, who gave up all his money for the Lord and even risked his own life in this crazy surprise operation. “Thanks to you, Centurion Martin, his body is covered in bruises and wounds.”
Hilde had no response to those words.
“……”
Then, after the soldier was far away from Hilde, he grumbled.
“Century Martin is also crazy. He doesn’t even hug the beauty he bought with all his money, saying he respects her pride. And then when this war is over, you can leave or not? After all, all the smart guys are crazy.”
Hilde Baumann realized again what her situation was like after hearing his grumbling.
“…… I avoided being sold to a high-ranking person who was crazy about women, but my current situation is no different from that of a high-class prostitute. But even now, I still can’t let go of the attachment to being a ‘knight’…”
A few tears fell from Hilde’s eyes, but her mercenaries, drunk with the joy of her victory, paid no attention to her.
She was consumed by her depressed feelings as she ate alone the food and beer that had been given to her.
“…… I am no longer Baron Custer’s knight. The pride and honor that I risked my entire life for is already gone. Even if I return to the Barony of Custer, the serfs might welcome me at first, but as soon as they find out I am not a knight, they will immediately kick me out. “I have become a traitorous b*tch.”
Then she looked in the direction where Martin was.
She earned the sincere respect and loyalty of her white soldiers.
“No matter where I fall, I will only follow the centurion.”
Martin Mayer patted the shoulder of the soldier, who seemed to be 20 years older than her.
“Ah, I am grateful. Don’t follow me to my bedroom. “Anyone who isn’t beautiful is not allowed in.”
“hahahaha, why are you making me gay? “I like women too.”
“The mercenaries started talking about loyalty and all that, so I got angry and stopped doing that. Look here, you have skin on your arm.”
She gently stretched out her hand in the air in the direction of her Martin.
‘…… If I give up my stubbornness even now, will I be able to get in there?’
However, her loyalty and pride towards the Baron Custer family that has been passed down for her entire life, and for generations of her family, held Hilde back.
Still, her feelings for Martin Mayer grew stronger and she decided to show her courage.
“Martin Mayer, it is not too late to find out what kind of man you are and decide then.”
Having made up her mind, Hilde looked around Martin Baek.
She felt uncomfortable walking into a white hall and asking outright, ‘What kind of person is Martin Mayer?’ So she walked away from the banquet and looked for someone who was alone.
‘It would be better to ask one-on-one rather than asking many people.’
As she looked around, she saw Lucia, a silver-haired fox girl, standing up from her seat…
Hilde quickly walked to where Lucia was and asked.
“I want to ask you something for a moment, is it okay?”
No matter how gentle and kind Lucia was, she could not give a very kind answer because Hilde Baumann was the reason that Martin squandered all his money.
“What are you so curious about?”
Lucia looked at her, her fox tail perked up and her ears pricked.
Hilde stuttered her words and she asked cautiously.
“Ma, what kind of person is Martin Mayer?”
“Why on earth are you asking me that?”
“I, Hilde Baumann, am Martin Mayer’s slave. So, I want to know a little about my master…”
When Lucia heard that, she thought it was absurd.
‘Her horse is a slave, and White Captain Martin treats her as much as a nobleman, and after this war, she can leave here as soon as she wants. She asks, calling herself his slave.’
Still, her kind personality made me inevitably answer the question.
“Century Martin is scarier than anyone else to the enemy, but he is more dependable and kind to his allies.”
Lucia began her speech with a slightly sharp tone, but as Martin continued to talk, a smile appeared on her face.
Anyone could see that she was a girl in love.
“You will know better what kind of person the enemy is, so let’s move on. “To tell you a little about my story, I originally lived in an orphanage, but was lucky enough to go to the academy, and when I had just become a wizard, I met Centurion Martin.”
Hilde began to listen seriously to Lucia’s story.
“At the time, I was a beginner wizard who made a lot of mistakes, so I was often treated like a burden by the mercenary corps. Still, the centurion commander continued to encourage me and help me by saying that I could do it. “How did you know that I was sending almost all of the salary I received from becoming a mercenary to an orphanage? Since then, you have been donating a huge amount of money every month so that the children in my orphanage do not starve.”
“That’s a good boss.”
“Yes, the centurion is a kind man. Although I had been ignored all my life because I was an orphan, I was recognized and treated as a capable and proud wizard. And he is a very good superior not only to me but also to other soldiers.”
A smile appeared on Hilde’s face.
“If a soldier under your command dies with a family member, please send a few gold coins to the bereaved family as compensation. And although he can tolerate being treated unfairly, he cannot tolerate his subordinates being treated unfairly.”
“He is a capable and kind person.”
Lucia’s expression relaxed a little more as she continued to praise Martin, and her tail began to flutter a little.
“So, among the nobles, there were many who coveted the centurion. “There have already been dozens of offers, including the opportunity to become a knight, which a mercenary could never refuse, as well as beautiful women and money.”
Becoming a knight from a mercenary is a dream-like opportunity to turn your life around.
So much so, that one even says this when looking at those who started out as low-level mercenaries and became mercenary captains.
‘When I was a mercenary, I couldn’t get an offer to become a knight, so I held out and became a mercenary captain.’
And as they say, the majority of mercenaries quickly dismiss the mercenary even when offered to become a ‘lower knight.’
“Last time, Margrave Estelle even suggested giving Centurion Martin the Barony of Pappenheim and making him a baron.”
Going from a mercenary to a baron is a case of turning one’s life around to the extent that, with a bit of exaggeration, it is said to be something that only happens once in a decade.
Conversely speaking, it is also a representative indicator of how Martin Mayer is ‘evaluated’ in the world.
“Is it true?”
“Why would I lie to you? It may be harsh, but Kyeong is a woman that our centurion commander can defeat if he wants to. “Why would I lie to someone like that?”
Listening to Lucia’s words, Hilde’s heart was definitely inclined towards serving Martin.
He felt that he was the ideal lord he wanted to serve, as he respected his honor, was loved by his subordinates, and was more capable than anyone else.
However, there was one unresolved question in her mind.
“I understand you are Martin Mayer’s woman.”
Lucia heard those words and flicked her tail again.
From that reaction, Hilde could tell how much Lucia loved and liked her Martin.
And how attractive he is to women as a man.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What do you think of him as a man?”
Actually, there was no need for Lucia to answer this question.
However, perhaps because she was a little capricious and drunk, Lucia still answered with a bright smile.
“Century Martin is more precious than my life. He is also the person who helped me become a wizard recognized by everyone.”
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Lucia smiled brightly.
“I love him. I wish he was always happy, and I wish he had more things to smile about. And if I can, I want to be of some help to his dream. Because Centurion Martin’s happiness is my happiness.”
Hilde blushed at those words.
‘The man who made me care, the man whom I thought I could allow myself to be with for the first time in my life, was so attractive that he received the pure love of such a beautiful and kind-hearted wizard.’
Hilde’s favorability towards Martin rose rapidly.
Then Hilde made up her mind.
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‘Since I can’t return to the abandoned family, it would be better to serve Martin Mayer… No, it would be the best choice.’
In the meantime, she thought that one day she too might become Martin’s woman…
Even though such thoughts crossed her mind, Hilde was not at all displeased by it.
“No, it’s okay.”