Chapter 16
Following Taylor's guidance, I stepped out into the courtyard, which was bustling with knights who had finished preparing for the journey. The moment I entered, the chatter died down, and all eyes turned to me.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm the mercenary Mir, here to join the subjugation."
I gave an awkward greeting amid the flood of stares.
"You're Mir?"
A middle-aged man clad in armor leaped down from his horse and stood before me. His steadfast brown eyes brimmed with unfamiliar goodwill. I nodded slowly, and he bowed deeply at the waist.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Parve Roman, commander of the Black Dragon Knights."
Flustered by the unexpectedly courteous greeting, I hurriedly bowed in return.
"The honor is mine. I look forward to working with you."
A whole knight commander for subjugating magic beasts in a small village? No way.
I was quietly surprised. Luju Village was a poor place that barely turned any profit, so I'd assumed they'd send maybe five or six knights at most. It seemed the duke wasn't a bad person after all.
"Many of our knights have no experience facing magic beasts, so we were quite worried about this subjugation. But with you joining us, Mir, I can finally breathe easy. You're the foremost expert in beast subjugation, after all."
"......You're too kind."
"Humble, too. Truth be told, I've personally wanted to meet you for a long time. Everyone says you're the only swordsman in the empire who can stand against Duke Crisis—aside from Marquis Ainheart."
"How could I ever compare to the duke..."
"When I heard you help poor villages for next to no reward, I thought you embodied true knighthood. I—"
I'm embarrassed...
The stern-faced commander praised me with a grave expression. My face burned under the relentless compliments. I'd heard knights viewed mercenaries as money-grubbing scum. I'd braced myself for hostility, but here was the commander himself showering me with kindness—I had no idea how to respond.
"Th-thank you for the kind words, Sir Roman. But now I'd like to hear about the subjugation plans."
Unable to endure the praise and the surrounding murmurs any longer, I spoke up. Parve sighed, his stern face unchanged, and nodded.
"I got carried away with my own feelings. My apologies. Allow me to explain the subjugation plan now."
"......You're explaining it yourself, Sir Roman?"
Don't underlings usually handle briefings for lowly mercenaries?
I looked up at him with quizzical eyes, and he smiled faintly.
"I couldn't pass up a chance like this on some subordinate. What would be the point of being commander otherwise?"
"You need to meet someone on the way. I'll explain as we go."
His cryptic words left me puzzled, but I followed silently.
"We'll alternate between horses and spatial transfer magic circles for travel. Five mages will accompany us to activate the circles. Today, we'll transfer to the forest midway between the capital and Luju Village, camp there overnight, then ride on horseback the next day until the mages recover their mana. Once they're rested, we'll transfer again straight to Luju Village."
Spatial transfer was an advanced spell that consumed immense mana. Moving a subjugation force of about thirty people all the way to remote Luju Village would exhaust even five mages, so resting a day was a wise plan.
"Don't worry if the force seems small. Our companion is a rare mental magic specialist. With him confusing the magic beasts, the subjugation will be much easier."
A mental magic user?
His words brought to mind a certain character from the original story who turned mental magic into something terrifying.
"He wasn't originally planning to join..."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing. Please continue."
Parve's face darkened as he hurriedly shook his head. Something felt off.
"Who are we going to meet?"
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and asked. He pulled out a pocket watch, checked it, and tensed up.
"......It's time. Best if you see for yourself."
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a massive surge of mana vibrated the courtyard. Red smoke erupted.
An intruder?
Shing.
I grimaced fiercely and drew my sword in a flash, but Parve urgently stopped me.
"Not an enemy! Sheathe your sword!"
Parve's face had gone pale. My instincts screamed, but since it wasn't a foe, I scowled and slid my blade back into its scabbard. Someone had used a spatial transfer device.
"Who is it?"
"Me, you mean?"
Thud, thud.
A low voice answered in Parve's stead. Footsteps crossed the red smoke, revealing a figure.
Short black hair whipping in the crimson haze. A face eerily like Kaiser's. A breathtaking beauty as if sculpted by the goddess of beauty herself, with blood-red eyes that sent chills down the spine.
"Welcome, Young Master Kal."
Parve bowed deeply beside me, rigid with tension. So this was the Crisis family's eldest son, one of the male leads in Fairy's Night, and my half-brother.
Kal Crisis.
Crazy.
Cold sweat drenched my body. I bit my lip hard.
Kal Crisis was one of the people I least wanted to meet. In Fairy's Night, true to its reverse harem setup, there were multiple male leads—five in total. The author had crafted them with distinct personalities to avoid overlap, each unique. Among them, Kal Crisis was a genre-breaker who turned the story into a thriller every time he appeared.
'How can I make you mine? If I manipulate your mind... drive you insane... will you only see me then? Answer me, Aria Freyja.'
'I don't need your love. I just need to have you in my grasp.'
'A fairy hybrid? How intriguing. Is your brain structured like a human's? I'm curious...'
He was a literal madman. It was debatable if he even qualified as a male lead. His feelings for Aria weren't sweet romance but a psychotic fascination and possessiveness, like eyeing an amusing toy.
Aria suffered a lot because of Kal.
He never directly harmed her—maybe he did care in his twisted way—but his every encounter left her burdened by his maniacal obsessions. In the original, Aria found him overwhelming.
One big reason I avoided returning to the ducal residence was this guy.
I desperately wanted to keep Aria from ever crossing paths with him. I wanted her to suffer not even a little.
"Will you be all right departing right after returning from the Magic Tower? Aren't you tired?"
"Mind your own business."
As the two conversed beside my stunned self, Kal's red eyes turned to me.
......He's more normal than I thought?
Meeting his gaze, I blinked in surprise at the unexpected impression.
'Blood-red eyes gleaming with demonic corruption. A chilling, madness-filled stare,' they said.
In the novel, Kal made mental torture a hobby and was a lunatic beyond comprehension. Yet the Kal before me seemed cold but devoid of any mad aura.
Something's off...
I narrowed my eyes and stared intently. He looked normal, but my instincts—which never failed around dangerous people—tingled faintly. He wasn't a threat to me specifically, but the man himself screamed danger.
Why is Parve so on edge?
Lost in thought, I suddenly noticed Parve's pallor. Tilting my head at his fear-filled eyes, I turned to meet Kal's lingering gaze.
"This is Mir?"
"Yes! This is Mir."
Those eyes, identical to Kaiser's, dissected me sharply. Snapping to attention, I bowed quickly.
"An honor to meet you, Young Master. I'm the mercenary Mir."
"You."
Kal's gaze flickered as he stared. His eyes gleamed with predatory interest akin to madness. Goosebumps prickled my skin, and I instinctively released killing intent. Kal tsked, his odd aura vanishing.
"I knew you were short, but you're even tinier than I imagined. Starved growing up?"
"......I'm not that small."
"Nonsense. You're just a sack of bones and skin propped up on stubby legs."
His cutting remark made my blood boil, and I snapped back before he sneered.
This bastard?
Fuming, I gritted my teeth. My hand twitched toward my sword hilt out of habit, but drawing here would get me crushed, so I dropped it fast.
"Worrying about someone like me? How thoughtful."
I forced a rotten smile. Kal, who had been watching, abruptly turned away. Strangely, his ears were red.
"We're leaving now. Preparations done?"
"Yes, sir. We'll depart as soon as the mages finish the spatial transfer circle."
What?
"......Young Master Crisis is joining the subjugation too?"
I asked incredulously. Parve nodded.
"Yes. The mental magic specialist I mentioned is the young master himself."
I'm losing it.
I wanted nothing to do with Kal, but things kept tangling up.
"Isn't the journey too dangerous for the young master to join?"
Ordinary nobles lived blissfully ignorant of magic beasts' very existence. No matter how skilled a mental mage he was, the ducal heir had no need to aid a poor village's subjugation.
Misinterpreting my question, Kal's brow twitched. Parve paled at his displeasure.
"What, you think a pampered duke's son like me would just be dead weight?"
"Pardon?"
Kal's pride was evidently stung. It was borderline noble insult territory, so I frantically denied it and apologized politely.
"A misunderstanding. Ordinary nobles disdain such duties, so I was surprised you'd join us. I've heard you're an exceptional mage, Young Master. I overstepped."
The Kal I'd met wasn't rabidly insane, but he wasn't exactly normal either, so I chose my words with care. Kal turned away with an inscrutable look.
"......Luju Village has taken heavy damage, so I'm inspecting it personally."
Parve's face flashed with disbelief at Kal's reply before smoothing over instantly. Had I imagined it?
......Even as the young master, he's checking on his territory's damage? Maybe he's not so bad?
I tilted my head in confusion. This Kal felt worlds apart from the original. Blunt on the surface but seemingly kind-hearted—it was disorienting.
"Tch. Useless fool."
Lost in thought, Kal shoved my shoulder with his as he passed. I staggered slightly.
What the...?
A cool energy spread from my shoulder, like he'd released mana on impact. Refreshing, not hostile.
Not a curse?
As vitality returned to my weary body, I blinked in bewilderment. Parve sidled up to me.
"The young master has always admired you greatly, Mir."
"He claims blessing magic doesn't suit him and avoids it... but he endured the discomfort to bless you. He must really like you."
He likes me?
I furrowed my brow skeptically but conceded the point somewhat. I'd gained a few followers as the famous mercenary. Kal being one hadn't crossed my mind, though.
Probably just pitied the poor mercenary a bit...
No way he genuinely liked me, so I dismissed it as Parve exaggerating and cleared my mind.
"Commander! The magic circle's ready! We can depart immediately."
"Looks like it. Ready to go?"
"Of course."
I sorted my tangled thoughts and followed Parve.