Chapter 257
Chapter 257
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 257
Chapter Title: 73. Blossoming in Turbulent Times (3)
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"The moment our eyes met, goosebumps shot across my skin! I thought, 'I might even die today.'"
It had already been several days since then, but the ranger was still talking about his encounter with Adelia as if it had just happened, his face pale as a ghost.
"No doubt some of our boys pissed their pants."
I could fully empathize with his feelings.
There she stood, smack in the middle of a pile of mangled corpses—a woman, no less, but not just any woman. She was drenched head to toe in blood, gripping a longsword caked with gore and chunks of flesh.
How terrifying must that have been?
And it wasn't just any woman—it was Adelia Bayern.
The world might not know it, but the rangers who had fought countless battles alongside her in Winter Castle knew exactly how fearsome she was.
A swordmaster whose blade could slice through the tough, leathery hide of orcs like paper.
A berserker who, once her eyes glazed over in battle fury, wouldn't stop until every living thing around her was wiped out.
After she took the field, all that remained were unrecognizable chunks of meat and pools of blood—and even the hardy rangers would toss and turn in their sleep after witnessing the carnage.
Of course, there were a few lunatics who cheered even louder for her in those moments, but they were the exceptions.
Most rangers adored the kind and gentle Adelia, yet they dreaded going into battle with her.
And in that situation, with her madness not yet fully subsided, their eyes met head-on. How horrifying it must have been.
No doubt Adelia's gaze—now awakened with the traits [Slaughterer], [War Maniac], and even [Gluttony]—looked just like a predator eyeing its prey.
In that instant, the rangers must have felt like frogs before a snake or rabbits before a lion.
"That's why I told you to just wait for Adelia to come back on her own."
"We planned to, but we were worried too."
"You were worried about Adelia?"
"Like a mouse fretting over a cat."
The ranger let out a deep sigh of regret.
I offered a small condolence to the rangers still haunted by yesterday's horrors and asked about what happened next.
"We shouted ourselves hoarse that we were on the same side. But not only did Lady Adelia not lower her sword—she gripped it even tighter. I thought it was all over and we should run, but right then!"
"Right then?"
"Our boys pulled something out from their bosoms like they'd planned it. The second she saw them, Lady Adelia's eyes snapped back to normal, like a miracle. She even dropped her sword. It felt like we'd come back from the dead."
The ranger shuddered, as if just thinking about it gave him chills.
"Oh! What was it?"
If we played this right, we might uncover a way for her to control her madness even without me around. I pressed him eagerly.
"Your Highness's personal belongings."
"My belongings?"
"There was a handkerchief with Your Highness's crest. And combat gloves too."
The ranger, who had started bragging proudly, began trailing off sheepishly.
"My handkerchief, my gloves. And what else?"
"Underwear too. And quite a few other things."
"So all one hundred rangers pulled out my stuff at the same time?"
"Yes."
I let out a hollow laugh at the ranger, who had shrunk back and averted his eyes.
"So, when exactly did you steal my things?"
I growled, and he scrambled for an excuse.
"Well... Before heading out on the mission, just in case, we grabbed whatever might help, and when things got urgent, we just pulled them out..."
"I thought it was an emergency deployment right after the orders came down. Did my command not get through properly?"
The ranger froze at my icy tone and shouted desperately.
"No! It came through fine! It was so urgent we cut off mid-shit and bolted!"
"Right. And in that rush, you went to my quarters, grabbed my stuff, and came out? All one hundred of you?"
"Well... you see..."
"I was in my room at the time."
At my words, the ranger bowed his head flat to the ground.
"S-sorry!"
He groveled as if he'd committed a capital crime.
"Explain."
I glared at the top of his head and growled.
He squeezed his eyes shut and spilled the beans.
"It's... like a good luck charm!"
His explanation was so absurd I couldn't help but snort in disbelief.
"Having Your Highness's belongings brings good fortune."
"Ha. What nonsense is that?"
"It's true! Some really have seen results!"
I just chuckled dryly as he kept babbling utter bullshit.
"No. How did Jordan even manage you rangers..."
The ranger's expression turned strange as he looked at me.
"No way..."
"Captain Jordan started it first."
I couldn't even laugh anymore.
"The castle lord knows about this ridiculous superstition spreading among the rangers?"
This time, the ranger turned his face away completely. My expression twisted involuntarily.
"This is insane. Vincent too."
Trust the axe you rely on to chop your own foot—that saying fit perfectly here.
"Since we're spilling it all, the castle lord has the most."
Helpfully, the ranger volunteered info I hadn't even asked for, chopping my foot again.
My head started to throb.
I had no desire to keep talking.
"Leave the others be for now, but drag whoever took my underwear in front of me—no exceptions."
"Bring them alive? Or dead?"
The ranger asked slyly, like a shaman offering a sacrifice.
"Half alive, half dead."
I rubbed my temples, tossed out a random reply, and shooed him away.
Alone again, I waited for the expeditionary force with a nagging sense of unease.
Half a day passed, and as the sun dipped low, word came that Adelia and the knights and rangers had reached the fortress.
I headed straight for the gates.
Stepping outside, I was greeted first by about a hundred tents.
Temporary shelters for the five hundred mercenaries out of the thousand who arrived days ago—the ones I hadn't sent packing.
Spotting me, the mercenaries poured out of their tents, wondering what was up.
They followed my gaze across the plain to the returning troops and started murmuring among themselves.
"What's that? Where'd they come from?"
"Monster hunt?"
Ignoring their chatter, I watched the force, now just a hundred paces from the gates.
Adelia led the way, wrapped in a thick cloak, shoulders slumped as she trudged toward the gates. Spotting me, her eyes widened round.
A smile spread across her gloomy face, joy lighting up her eyes.
She looked ready to run and throw herself into my arms.
And she was practically sprinting toward me.
Flutter.
Her strides lengthened, the cloak billowing open.
Revealing clothes soaked crimson.
"Isn't that blood?"
"Looks like blood."
The sharp-eyed mercenaries caught on and buzzed with excitement.
Meanwhile, Adelia kept charging straight at me.
Drip.
She skidded to a halt right in front of me.
Flushed cheeks, breath heaving from her shoulders.
A swordmaster at the peak of perfection—running a few steps wouldn't wind her.
Adelia's breathing steadied. Her eyes locked straight on mine.
Snap.
She straightened rigidly and placed a hand over her heart.
"N-no casualties or injuries. Adelia Bayern and one hundred thirty troops. Mission accomplished without incident. Returning."
Just like a knight.
Awkward as hell—and all the more commendable for it.
The acrid blood scent stinging my nose faded from my mind in the swell of pride.
Unthinkingly, I raised my hand toward her head.
Flinch.
Then I paused, looking at her.
The Adelia who would normally be sniffling and whining by now gazed back with surprising composure.
I withdrew my hand.
To honor her effort in reporting her mission completion in that stiff knightly tone that didn't suit her,
"Well done. Debrief later."
I stood tall and addressed her formally too.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Adelia bowed slightly and stepped back.
It was so impressive I nearly ruffled her hair a dozen times over.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat needlessly and turned away.
Thirty knights and ninety-nine rangers stared at me.
Adelia had done all the fighting, yet they looked more exhausted.
"Everyone, good work. Rest up."
They saluted with limp, deflated motions.
No wonder—Winter Castle men who lived for battle, forced to circle the edges without drawing steel.
But that lasted only a moment.
Mindful of the mercenaries' stares from the tents, the knights and rangers squared their shoulders dramatically.
The earlier sloppiness vanished like a lie.
"Move out!"
At the lead knight's call, they marched past me through the gates, steps perfectly in sync.
Though they never bothered with drill before.
Behind them rumbled wagons piled high with weapons.
The mercenaries erupted at the sight.
"Hey, that's the Gray Wolf Mercenaries' standard."
"Blue Lark's too!"
"Shadow Panther's as well!"
They recognized the tattered banners shoved haphazardly amid the arms.
"Why do they have those..."
The murmurs cut off abruptly, as if on cue.
Wide-eyed, they stared at the troops vanishing through the gates, faces hardening like stone.
Finally dawning on them what happened to the owners of those standards stacked beneath the gear.
Heavy silence, trembling eyes, a creeping wave of unease.
As their dread peaked, I stepped forward and spoke.
"Remember this: the kingdom shows no mercy to those who covet what is the kingdom's.
No matter how trivial."
A few quick ones got it and groaned.
Leopards can't change their spots—they'd tried thieving again and got caught.
I'd thought the bad apples were the ones I booted, but no, they stirred trouble.
As whispers spread, faces twisted in disgust.
"Pah!"
"Serves 'em right! Tarnishing the mercenary name!"
"Knew they'd croak like this someday!"
Some even spat on the ground, cursing the dead.
Seemed those mercenaries had quite the infamy.
One, mid-rant, suddenly piped up.
"Wait. So Leonberger Kingdom forces—thirty knights and a hundred soldiers—wiped them out?"
"That lady knight said no casualties or injuries..."
The question ignited shock that rippled through the mercenaries.
"Not those guys—Gray Wolf, especially Turk and Yol?"
"Insane. What kind of monsters are they?"
"Heard Leonberger smashed imperial forces several times their number. Guess the rumors weren't exaggerated."
Their belated awe made me smirk inwardly.
Truth was, it wasn't thirty knights and a hundred soldiers—Adelia soloed them.
Even without her, the outcome would've been the same.
Winter Castle's knights, survivors of countless wars, were veterans who could handle any mob of mercenaries.
The rangers, hardened by orc warriors, had felled imperial knights like wheat. Four times the number? They'd laugh and cook them up.
Especially against mercenaries whose "combat experience" was mostly butchering the helpless.
I kept [Third Eye] and [Third Ear] active, scanning their reactions.
Awe at the kingdom's might for annihilating triple their number unscathed—yes. Mourning the dead or hostility toward the kingdom? None.
If any, they'd be the same scum as the wiped-out lot.
Feigning nonchalance, I scanned the faces.
You never know what's in the deep hearts of men—some wolves might've slipped in undetected.
Sure enough, I spotted unease on a few.
I memorized them and ordered a nearby ranger to watch closely.
Then I headed inside the gates. Adelia followed.
Glancing back after a while, she gazed at me steadily.
A kind, gentle face—hard to believe she'd just ended hundreds of lives days ago.
Still, I had to ask.
If she was okay.
She replied with startling calm that she was fine.
She looked much the same at a glance, but I could see it.
A soul incomparably steeled.
Adelia had changed. She was already an outstanding knight.
Suddenly, I recalled the day she first offered her [Oath of Subservience] before me.
She swore: If she truly became a knight, she would live as my sword.
That was her [verse].
"I merely slew non-humans for Your Highness. Henceforth, if you desire, I shall step forth without hesitation."
And in this moment, her [verse] was complete.
The instant I realized it—