The Name That Bound Us
When did he start calling me Master?
I couldn’t remember. The boy who had once refused to even speak to me had, at some point, begun to utter that title. The change had been so gradual, so natural—like water flowing downstream—that it left no clear mark in my memory. I simply hadn’t noticed.
So in this life, too, we were once again bound as master and disciple. The moment I heard him call me Master, I wondered if fate itself was mocking me. Or perhaps Mathias already knew something I didn’t.
“We’ve found the young lady! Quickly, bring the escort carriage!”
Armored knights stormed into Kobeck, swallowing the blood-soaked scene. They stood speechless before the carnage. Blood pooled thick across the ground. Bodies lay scattered everywhere. And in the middle of it all, a frail woman drenched in crimson and a young boy who looked far too small for the violence around him.
The knights drew their swords, eyeing Mathias warily as he stood holding Odeliana’s hand. In response, she stepped forward, keeping him wrapped protectively in her arms.
“This is the man who saved me. Sheathe your blades.”
At her command, the knights reluctantly lowered their weapons. Soon the escort carriage arrived. Odeliana climbed in with Mathias. The carriage carrying them slipped away from the streets of Kobeck and raced toward Anatolia Castle in the inner district.
The castle was thrown into complete chaos. Blair looked as though he hadn’t slept in days—his face was gaunt, eyes bloodshot, far from his usual composed self. The lord of Anatolia appeared to have aged ten years overnight.
The moment Odeliana returned to the castle, she received treatment for her injuries. Being hurled aside by that massive brute had done serious damage. The diagnosis—fractured ribs, a broken right arm, and the leg she already couldn’t use—drained the color from the lord’s face. Blair immediately began raging that they must storm back to Kobeck, capture the culprits, and punish them all.
The lord of Anatolia declared that he felt profound sorrow over the incident and would completely purge the entire Kobeck district. The original plan had only been to retrieve Mathias, but now the largest slum in Anatolia stood on the brink of total annihilation. The situation had spiraled far beyond her control. Regrettably, it had already slipped from her hands.
Even from the lord’s perspective, Kobeck had long needed to be overturned and cleaned out. In any case, it would be reduced to rubble in a year when the great barbarian subjugation campaign began. It was tragic that the residents would lose their homes overnight and be driven out, but those who had survived in such a hellish place would not die so easily just because they were scattered.
They were cockroaches when it came to survival—they would adapt somehow. If one thought about it, wasn’t this a better fate than being slaughtered or enslaved when the barbarians launched their invasion during the civil war?
‘But Kobeck was the gathering point where the barbarians hid until they sparked the civil war. I wonder how much sweeping the entire district will affect the upcoming subjugation campaign…’
“By the way, Odeliana… that child you brought back…”
“He’s the one who saved me.”
“I know it must have been difficult, but… could you tell me exactly what happened there?”
Unfortunately, she could not tell the truth, so she offered a carefully tailored version.
“I was kidnapped by an unknown man at the marketplace and dragged to Kobeck. It seems he planned to sell me off for money. While I was being taken away helplessly… I received help. I even stayed the night. He gave me a comfortable place to sleep and tried to provide a meal. Things just went wrong in the middle of it all.”
“Went wrong?”
“The man who kidnapped me must have seen the flyers Brother distributed. Once he realized there was an enormous reward on me, he tried to cut out my tongue so I couldn’t speak and hand me over to you.”
“He… he tried to cut out your tongue?”
Blair’s already haggard face turned deathly pale. He couldn’t continue speaking. He covered his face with both hands and hung his head.
“…I’m so glad you’re safe. Truly… I’m so relieved you came back alive…”
She couldn’t bear to look at his face. The journey he had longed for, taken for his sister’s sake, had become a horrific nightmare. What sin had he committed to deserve such torment?
“I’m fine.”
“Does it not hurt?”
“It’s bearable.”
“Bearable? You’re a severe patient with a broken arm, leg, and ribs… How could you possibly be fine? Damn it. We never should have come on this trip. If only I hadn’t brought you here…”
“It was what I wanted. I enjoyed this journey. Even though something unpleasant happened, it wasn’t your fault, Brother. I was simply a little unlucky.”
“A little unlucky?! If anything had happened to you, I…”
“Anyway, I was rescued safely. I’m a bit injured, but it’s not life-threatening. I really am okay.”
The actual victim remained calm while only Blair writhed in agony. Afraid her guilt might show, Odeliana deliberately turned her head away from him.
At that moment, the door opened at just the right time. Mathias had returned from the brief interrogation. Even in an atmosphere as heavy as a funeral parlor, he approached Odeliana and Blair without the slightest sign of discomfort.
The suffocating tension lifted the instant he appeared. Odeliana, who had been tormented by the sight of her brother tormenting himself with guilt, felt genuine relief. She hurriedly grabbed Mathias’s arm and pulled him closer.
“This child saved me, Brother.”
“…”
“If not for him, I would have died. Or arrived before you with my tongue cut out.”
Right now, it was necessary to emphasize Mathias’s merits. Although she had been the one to bring him, the person with real authority over his fate was Blair.
Life returned to Blair’s dead eyes. He grasped both hands of the benefactor who had saved his sister and spoke with tears streaming down his face.
“Thank you… truly, thank you for saving and protecting my sister. I cannot express how grateful I am…”
“It was nothing. I merely did what had to be done.”
“I will reward you generously for this. Is there anything you desire?”
Instead of answering, Mathias looked at Odeliana. She answered in his place.
“Brother, I wish to take this child as my squire.”
“As your squire? You mean you want to keep him by your side?”
“He is my savior. Moreover, because he helped me, his home was destroyed and he is now being hunted by others.”
“If that’s the case, I can simply prepare a separate residence for the boy.”
Blair looked visibly flustered.
It was the reaction she had expected. While it was common for nobles to have squires, the villa in Hirschberg Forest where Odeliana currently lived was effectively a forbidden zone for men. Every task was handled exclusively by female servants. It had been a considerate arrangement made with her physical disability in mind.
How concerning it must seem to place a vigorous young man as a squire beside a girl who had already suffered terrible abuse from her own maids. Since he could not stay by her side all day, it was only natural that he would be reluctant.
“I intend to train this child and make him my knight.”
The following statement was even more absurd. Blair was rendered completely speechless.
“A knight?”
“This child possesses exceptional talent. He has the qualities to become a knight.”
Blair looked as though he might collapse while clutching the back of his neck.
“Odeliana, if you want a knight of your own, I can find someone with a proper background. This boy is still young, and besides… we haven’t even verified whether he is truly suitable to keep close. Even if you miraculously raise him into a knight, there is no guarantee he will choose to serve you.”
“I know what you’re worried about, Brother. You must feel uneasy. But this once, I hope you will trust me and support my decision.”
“Odeliana, I understand your desire to repay your benefactor. However… since you are a frail young woman, I cannot help but worry about placing an unfamiliar man by your side.”
In the end, he was still a noble. It was obvious he would not approve of some street urchin whose origins were unknown. Especially since he was endlessly sensitive when it came to anything involving his sister.
Faced with the expected resistance, Odeliana let out a soft sigh.
She hadn’t wanted to go this far, but…
“Once you leave, Brother, I will be alone again.”
Blair froze rigid. Yet Odeliana did not stop driving the dagger deeper into his heart.
“You cannot stay and protect me forever.”
“…”
“In the end, you will leave me behind once more. I will have to live in that place again, treated like a madwoman with delusions, suffering endless torment. Isn’t that right?”
“No! That’s not true. I will replace your servants with trustworthy people. I will make sure there is not the slightest deficiency in caring for you.”
“The people who tormented me didn’t start out that way either.”
“…”
“Brother, I need someone who will protect me and truly keep me safe. I want to fill my surroundings with people I have chosen, not those chosen by others. Am I… not even allowed that much? Does someone weak like me, born with a disability, not even have the right to make such decisions?”
Those final words struck Blair’s heart like a dagger.
He begged her to reconsider, but her will was resolute. Faced with her unyielding determination, Blair eventually raised both hands in surrender.
Having successfully pushed her agenda through, Odeliana drove the final nail in by turning to Mathias.
“Tell us your name, child.”
“My name is Mathias.”
And so, the plan to bring Mathias to her side and keep him there was successfully completed.