Interlude 1. Return (1)
The Bayemurn mansion was especially busy today.
Thanks to the housekeeper who left the word to treat the noble guests very much and did not give any hints, the fire fell on the feet of the people under him.
The maids, who were busily moving in the kitchen, whispered in unison.
The number of people he could call a VIP was so few that he could only be counted on three fingers. His disposition not to treat servants harshly also played a role, but on the other hand, it was also because there was no person in the world who could treat Stefan so generously that he even gave him the title of ‘Given’.
“Who is the VIP? They say they come from the Duke of Volfer?”
“How do I know? The head of the household didn’t say anything.”
Although Stefan was a veteran of the war who had lived most of his life on the battlefield, he was basically a man with a lot of playfulness. It must have been a smile and tossing the words, asking me to guess.
However, it seems that he doesn’t even notice how the playfulness affects the people under him. In ancient times, a frog was struck by a stone thrown carelessly and died.
“ha… Lord. Why would you say something like that… … .”
Stefan’s right-hand man, Marcus, who is in charge of the house, is one of the few beings who can freely set foot in his office. At the same time, he was also a person who could criticize him.
After spending so long together on the battlefield, sharing the joys and sorrows together, he had a strong feeling that he was a companion of a different kind from his wife rather than a servant. Otherwise, how could the servant sigh openly in front of him and not blink an eye?
“What is it? After my daughter-in-law left, the mansion was sluggish, so I just threw a joke.”
“Even so.”
This not-so-funny situation arose from a letter.
The news that Stefan’s one and only blood, who had been expected to enter as a disciple of the Sword Saint and not return for a long time, would return. However, if that was all, he would have informed the employees of this fact and prepared to greet them together.
But the problem was the following.
The fact that Sogaju of the Aifretz family visited the distant place where she trained, and that she would come back with him. At this point, Stefan’s head spun quickly.
It was only after the fact that the noble lady of the Bayern family had a man in her heart spread widely among the servants. The fact that the opponent was the head of the Aifretz family.
In the midst of this, if the word had been given three days in advance, the disturbance among the servants would have increased in the meantime. Perhaps they would criticize and speculate among themselves about a man named Ludwig, and say different things.
“You know my personality. I just didn’t want useless noise to flow out, even if it was only for three days.”
“There is a point in that statement, but… … .”
A man named Stefan is a model of uprightness. It also meant that he believed in what he had seen with his own eyes, and had a disposition to ignore the rumors that had spread to others.
That’s why he was on the side of hating that a person whom he admired would become the subject of gossip. The things that gossip are usually good, but sometimes they are mixed with impurities and deteriorated.
“It was half a joke.”
“I thought you would.”
“Anyway, thanks for keeping the secret. The servants still don’t notice.”
Seriously, he probably didn’t even give a word to his exclusive attendant. It was an example that disproved that he was doing his best to keep this secret.
“You managed to hide it even from Ern.”
Stefan’s attendant, Ern, was a man who caught his eye because of his good-natured and quick-witted personality. Maybe even if I showed a little gap, I would have been caught soon.
“I had a hard time because of that child.”
“Obviously, he even secretly asked me. Thanks to the family head, even I had to keep my mouth shut.”
Even though I told him very bluntly about my suffering because of you, Stefan shrugged his shoulders and shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
Again, a deep sigh escaped Marcus’ lips. I don’t know why I chose the wrong owner to serve for the rest of my life. My head was complicated by the fact that I realized only belatedly after nearly 30 years.
smart.
In the meantime, a knocking sound rang out.
The fact that he heard this sound despite being told not to let other people in because he was going to talk alone meant that there was an unexpected visitor.
【My lord. Lady Tanya is asking to see you.]
“Let them in.”
Sigh. With a sound, the door to the office opened and a girl with pink hair cautiously stepped inside. The other person was Tanya, who had visited two days before and was still staying at the Bayemurn.
When I greeted her by holding the ends of her dress politely, Stefan smiled happily and nodded. As well as being a close friend of her daughter, she was also a being whom the Bayern couple regarded as a foster daughter.
“Come on. Tanya. Did you keep the secret well?”
Tanya smiled lightly and nodded her head without being taken aback by the question she asked as if to confirm it right away. It’s okay to say it with my mouth, but I was able to be confident that my mouth was the second most heavy because I was on the sad side.
“Do not worry. Sir Stefan. He didn’t even open his mouth to Lell.”
“very good.
Unlike the owner, who smiled contentedly, it was a truly absurd situation for Marcus. Who is the owner’s order, and they are afraid that this fact will be leaked, and they can’t sleep at night, but it’s a sight that two people are just enjoying this matter as if it’s fun.
Is this the difference between the positions of those who stand above and those who are below in a master-servant relationship? There will be no one in this mansion who will take his side right now.
I don’t think I’ve ever been saddened by the fact that I don’t have a companion to comfort me by my side. Marcus was so sure.
* * * * * * *
The territory governed by the Bayern family is vast and vast. In particular, Lutentia, which is a direct management area, is also a trade area connecting the north, south, east and west, and is famous as a blessed farming area as there is almost no disease.
Unlike some areas that have been weeded out in rapid urbanization, it also means that it is a great city in terms of commerce and a cultivation area that still has its reputation.
“Awesome. It is the first time in such a big city.”
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve been to Lutentia, too. Indeed, it deserves to be called the direct domain of a great nobleman.”
Exclamations of exclamation flowed from the mouths of visitors, Ludwig and Rebecca, at the extraordinary scenery unfolding outside the carriage.
Featherbarn, the direct domain of the Ipretz family, was also a fairly developed city, but it was nothing compared to this place.
Even though he had never set foot in the central area, starting with the royal palace, I thought that this was enough to compare to him.
“I will definitely tell my father. You will surely be delighted.”
For nearly 18 years, she had seen enough of how much her father cared for and loved this land. And the heart he put into this manor was passed on to his daughter himself and was contained in it.
As she knew with her own eyes that the two of them had never said these words as a greeting, an overwhelming feeling slowly began to fill her heart. After all, that father and that daughter?
“Anyway, not only Sir Rebecca, but I don’t know if you can come too.”
“Don’t talk like that. If my father had heard the news about Ludwig, he would have said, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
While eavesdropping on the friendly conversation between the two, when Ludwig casually called his name, the Sword Master smiled with satisfaction.
On a fictitious day, calling Sir Stutenbaum, Sir Stutenbaum, it was almost like a scab sat on his ear. In the end, it must mean that over the past two days, when he turned his head to Lutentia, he had been pecked at to call her by her name comfortably at meals.
The problem is that the ‘Kyung’ attached to the back still hasn’t disappeared. Even though he repeatedly told them to treat him comfortably since he was not a nobleman, his will was firm.
“To think that Sogaju of the Aifretz family was talking high to a commoner woman… The world will laugh at you.”
If they knew that the opponent was that Sword Saint, no one would be able to say anything carelessly, but it was just what I said. I wondered if I would get a reaction if I touched my pride like this.
“Didn’t Sir Rebecca tell you? A teacher is like a parent, and a disciple is like a child. You can’t talk badly about your friend’s mother.”
But the results were disastrous. Originally, the most fatal thing in an argument is that the words you took out come back as arrows.
Eventually shaking her head and declaring her surrender, she waved her hands and made a gesture as if telling her to leave.
“Anyway, I can’t put it into words… Do whatever you feel like.”
Then, she turns her head out of the window and starts observing the scenery of the passing city.
The gazes of Ludwig and Emilia, who had been watching the series of actions like a pouting child, met, and at the same time, no one said anything first, and burst into small laughter.
“I think I know why Emilia said it’s hard to see the stars here.”
It was Ludwig muttering softly, remembering the first time she had visited the Eifretz family’s mansion.
There is a saying that the clearer the air, the better the stars can be seen. It can be difficult to find stars in the night sky of such a commercially developed city. At the time, I wondered if there was a different meaning to the Seon dialogue-like tone, but now that I’ve come to think of it, I’ve come to think that it didn’t mean much.
“I do not know. This time, I think Ludwig’s guess was wrong.”
“Yes?”
However, for Emilia, who had seen through his heart, it was truly absurd.
The person who found the star is ignorant of himself. He was sometimes mean, and this was just such a case.
The reason why there were so many stars in the night sky I looked up at that day was not simply because the air in Featherbarn was clear, or because there were so many stars that appeared that day. It was just a small change in the woman’s heart.
He wondered if he could look up at Lutentia’s night sky today, and see if he would be greeted by a myriad of stars just like he had seen then. And if he were standing next to him, he would be able to see it even more clearly.
‘I think I should go for a walk tonight.’
It was a small deviation for her who likes a regular life. But what can I do? Today, I had to show this man that a sea of stars spreads out even in Lutentia’s night sky.
Although it must be shabby compared to the stars he found, there was no such thing as a basket that could be gifted with a sea of stars to himself.
“Look forward to it. Ludwig. I will tell you that Lutentia’s night sky is as beautiful as Featherbarn’s.”
“I can’t wait to see how much Emilia can boast about.”
Despite the girl’s bold request for a tryst, the immature man seemed excited just to look at the night sky. Being obsessed with something he likes once, being unable to see his surroundings was his strength, but it was also his weakness.
The carriage carrying the three people then crossed Lutentia Square and headed for the Weimurn family mansion.
“It is very spacious.”
“Yeah. Although the mansion is a little on the small side.”
What was unusual was that there was a fairly large lake on the site of the mansion and the landscaping was nice, but the buildings including the main building were not that big. At most, it was similar to the Ipretz family’s mansion. Although it was not small enough to be called a mansion of a great aristocrat, it seemed quite easygoing.
“Your father is so hot-tempered. I heard that most of the buildings were reduced about two years after I was born.”
“It’s just amazing.”
“Yes? From what I heard from the butler, he shortened it because the mansion is so large that it is difficult for the owner himself to look around.”
Other nobles are impatient to increase the size of the mansion because some think it is the prestige of the family, but on the contrary, someone scrambles to reduce it.
Ludwig found the two contrasting situations really funny, but he smiled for some reason because he thought it was something that would suit a man named Stefan.
When I passed through the soldier who was guarding the entrance and went inside, I could see the spacious site at a glance.
A lake of that size could be on the premises. It was Ludwig who could not help but marvel at the scene he had once dreamed of, mouth wide open.
“It is quite wide. I will wander and get lost.”
The Sword Castle at least thought that it was not a suitable place for him to stay. If you stay in a place like this, you will not be able to find your way properly and you will surely die from a vase.
Everyone got off the carriage, and Emilia, a resident of this place, took the lead and stepped onto the long road that led to the mansion.
Two people quietly followed her. And did you reach the middle of the road? The corner of Emilia’s mouth rose slightly, and she turned around in place and greeted politely by grabbing the ends of her skirt.
“Welcome to the Bayemurn.”
Is the emotion contained in that smile the relief of having returned home, or the joy of being found by the two of them?
Perhaps it was the anticipation of the tryst to be held tonight.
Upon entering the mansion, without even thinking about the unexpected visitor who would have arrived, she walked with the two of them again.