I. Where the Frost Lingers (10)
I. Where the Frost Lingers (10)
The dim interior of the manor house was gradually growing noisier.
It was no longer just the murmur of voices drifting through the halls. Hurried footsteps crossed the corridors as servants rushed about trying to understand what was happening.
An uproar had broken out in the kitchen, enough to alarm the servants sleeping soundly in the nearby rooms.
Listening to hurried footsteps approaching from afar, Keldric walked through the darkness with his sword drawn.
He had a lot on his mind.
'Did I really need to kill him?'
Looking back, Keldric had not actually needed to kill Lucas.
It was not as though he still felt any attachment to the family or affection for them.
Even if his idiot second brother tried to get clever, Keldric had no reason to interfere as long as it caused him no trouble.
Keldric had not subdued the mercenaries out of anger that House Bellaf was under attack.
Simply because they had attacked him.
And because this was the house where he was staying.
Even if he planned to leave in a few days.
But Lucas had been a separate matter. He had already lost the will to fight and had clearly signaled his desire to surrender.
But once Lucas became useless, Keldric wrung him dry of information and killed him.
He had not needed to kill him, but he had no particular reason to let him live either. At least, that was what he had thought when he killed Lucas.
So he had killed him.
Keldric silently looked down at his hands.
In the darkness, the leather lining inside his gauntlets showed as a murky outline.
When he pressed and rubbed his fingertips together, he felt something viscous and sticky—nothing like water.
He could not be sure, but they were probably covered in a fair amount of blood.
'...I did the right thing.'
Keldric steadied himself as unease began to creep in.
This was a house he still had to stay in for several days. Defending it from intruders was simply something he had to do.
The real source of his discomfort was Hilmer and Lady Bellaf. If Keldric had not intervened, the mercenaries would have killed them without resistance.
That would have haunted his dreams for a while.
Though he was not sure the mercenaries would have killed Hilmer immediately.
They might have tried something insane like holding him hostage and demanding a ransom from Baron Yaven, but either way, they would not have given him a clean death.
Lady Bellaf, beautiful enough to have caught Sir Volfen's eye, would have fared even worse.
Thinking of it that way put Keldric somewhat at ease.
'I couldn't afford to hold back.'
Once he had sorted out his thoughts, Keldric strode on, his footsteps thudding against the floor.
He had no particular reason to muffle his steps.
"Who is there? You... Eek!"
"Wh-what is it?!"
Several servants in the corridors nearly jumped out of their skin when they saw Keldric, but they calmed down as soon as he removed his helmet.
"So you are saying you dealt with all the intruders yourself, Master Keldric?"
"Yes. I captured five alive in the front yard, and the bodies of the other five should be in the kitchen. One of them told me there were ten in all, so that should be everyone."
Lucas had been out of his mind, but the information he had spilled so readily still seemed reasonably credible.
It would take extraordinary nerve to lie while facing imminent death.
Lucas clearly had not possessed that kind of nerve.
So Keldric simply believed what Lucas had said.
That there had been ten intruding mercenaries, with six light cavalrymen waiting outside.
'I was so damn sleepy.'
It was also a nuisance. People in this age usually went to bed when the sun went down.
After living that way for years, this was normally when Keldric would have been asleep too.
"You two, wake the rest of the servants. The rest of you, bind the men in the front yard properly. We don't know what might happen, so don't stray too far from the manor house."
"Understood, Master Keldric."
"Don't forget to clean the kitchen. Pile the bodies in the front yard, and post guards outside my mother's quarters."
With Keldric's orders given, the servants, each carrying a tallow candle, nodded quickly and scattered.
They were intimidated by Keldric standing there with a sword coated in sticky blood.
Keldric, oblivious to this, felt a little proud of how calmly he had handled everything.
"H-huh? Who is there... Aaaah!"
At that moment, a maid who had been slowly approaching Keldric let out a piercing scream.
Keldric quickly caught her wrist as she staggered.
"Are you all right?"
"Ah, um... I am sorry. I did not recognize you..."
It was Mariam. Her loose dark-blue hair spilled over her shoulders.
Once Mariam had regained her footing, Keldric looked her over carefully.
Perhaps because she was Yakov's daughter, he found himself especially concerned about her.
Her usual scatterbrained nature only added to his concern.
"Master Keldric. Are you hurt? B-blood..."
Mariam stared at Keldric with eyes as wide as a rabbit's. Her gaze was fixed upon the blood-spattered surcoat and helm.
"I'm fine, so don't worry. Go with the other maids and attend to my mother. She is probably confused too."
"Y-yes. Understood."
Mariam bowed and hurried away. His expression hardening, Keldric adjusted the helmet tucked beneath his arm.
'Then, this time...'
He had dealt with the mercenaries, but he had no idea where the cavalry outside were.
For now, Keldric decided to check the room where Joseph was staying.
Joseph might no longer be in the guest room, but he still had to check.
Just as he was about to continue, Keldric stopped dead.
He had just remembered something.
'Where was Fritz?'
Fritz was not an outsider. Of course he stayed inside the manor.
Not in an isolated guest room, but in the inner wing where Lady Bellaf's and Hilmer's bedchambers were located.
Since Fritz had conspired with Joseph, Keldric needed to watch his movements too.
If Fritz had gone off on his own to kill Hilmer...
"Damn!"
Keldric swore and broke into a sprint. His footsteps thundered so heavily that the floor seemed ready to break.
Within House Bellaf, Fritz was the strongest fighter after Keldric.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
The servants were not the only ones awakened by the distant commotion.
"..."
A light sleeper, Hilmer sat up quietly with a frown.
Not even the bluish light of dawn had appeared. Only silence, darkness, and the glow of the hearth fire filled the bedroom.
After rubbing his face a few times, Hilmer listened carefully.
He was trying to find the source of the noise that had woken him from a deep sleep.
But the faint commotion was already dying down.
Keldric had dealt with all the mercenaries, though Hilmer had no way of knowing that.
Still, the shouts and screams he had heard moments ago had been real.
That realization jolted Hilmer fully awake, and he hurried out of bed.
His fumbling hand soon found a well-sharpened dagger.
The cautious Hilmer always slept with it beside his pillow.
It would be useless if the intruders were well-armed or numbered more than one, but it was better than nothing.
"Yakov."
Hilmer reached his bedroom door and called softly.
His room did not open directly onto the hallway. An antechamber between them doubled as sleeping quarters for several servants and a multipurpose room.
Yakov, whom Hilmer trusted with all manner of tasks, slept there.
But Yakov did not answer.
Had he fallen into a deep sleep? Or had he been put into a deeper sleep by someone?
Hilmer could not tell. He carefully checked that the door was locked, then called out a little louder.
"Yakov. Yakov! Can you hear me?"
Rustling came from the other side of the door, followed by a familiar voice.
- Lord Hilmer?
Hilmer visibly relaxed.
The voice was thick with sleep, but unmistakably Yakov's.
Hilmer sensed movement beyond the door and heard slightly unsteady footsteps approaching.
- Lord Hilmer. Did you call me?
"It sounded a little noisy outside. Has something happened?"
- Noise, my lord? Forgive me. Perhaps I am getting old, but I did not hear any—
Bam!
A violent crash suddenly erupted beyond the door, and Hilmer's eyes widened.
"What's that?! Yakov! What is happening?!"
- Wh-what...?! Who the hell are you?! Do you know where you are... Gugh!
"Yakov! Damn it, Yakov!"
He heard a body collapse, bodies slam into one another, and then the sickening sound of flesh being torn.
Yakov's voice faded almost instantly.
In that split second, countless thoughts raced through Hilmer's mind.
'Would it be better to open the door and go out?'
Yakov was a loyal servant whose family had served the house for generations.
Should he try to save Yakov? But how many intruders were waiting outside?
After a brief hesitation, Hilmer reached for the tightly shut bedroom door.
- D-do not come out! There is more than... one—! Ugh...!
Hilmer's hand froze on the handle.
He faintly heard a wet gurgle and the sound of breath escaping.
Hilmer's mind went cold as he sensed several people outside the door.
There were more than one or two.
Yakov had been right. If Hilmer had stepped outside, he would undoubtedly have died.
'At least... three.'
A metallic rattling came from outside.
Someone had inserted a lockpick into the keyhole.
Among the three Bellaf brothers, aside from Keldric, Fritz was the fighter and Hilmer the thinker.
Hilmer's own fighting ability was only passable. One intruder might have been manageable, but two or more...
'Damn it.'
Hilmer pressed his lips together and tightened his grip on the dagger.
But he never got the chance to swing it.
- What...?!
- Who the hell are you?!
The sounds of a violent struggle erupted again.
Without lowering his guard, Hilmer slowly approached the door.
He heard three distinct voices.
One of them sounded strangely familiar to Hilmer.
- Grrgh...!
- Aaaagh!
- Wait! Wait! Hear me out first! I will explain every—Aaaagh!!
The three men's shouts gave way to screams, until only the horrifying sound of someone being beaten remained.
Hilmer's face went pale at the sounds.
He had no idea what kind of intruder had broken in this time.
Could the servants have rushed over and dealt with them?
Before long, everything outside went quiet.
Only an occasional groan of pain and someone's ragged breathing remained.
'Was it over?'
Hilmer had barely formed the thought.
Bang!
"Wh-what?"
Crash!
With two deafening crashes, yet another unidentified intruder entered Hilmer's bedroom.
The door did not survive the entrance intact.
The firmly locked door hurtled across the bedroom with a whoosh.
Stunned by the absurd sight, Hilmer turned toward where the door had flown.
The door panel that had shot into the room had split in two.
As an added bonus, a man beaten to a bloody pulp lay sprawled across it.
"Brother."
Hilmer flinched involuntarily, then slowly turned his head.
A hulking stranger in proper armor stood there holding a tallow candle.
"Wh-who are you?! If you’re a knight, name yourself and fight with honor!"
Hilmer assumed the stranger was a knight because of his equipment.
Chain mail, a well-dyed surcoat, and even a proper helm.
But on closer inspection, the surcoat bore House Bellaf's crest.
The moment Hilmer noticed it, the low voice came from inside the helmet again.
"Brother. It is me."
"Then who... Wait, Keldric?"
There was no answer. The stranger simply removed his helmet and showed his face.
"Brother. Are you hurt?"
The hulking stranger dressed like a knight was none other than Keldric.
Hilmer felt the strength drain from his legs.
"Keldric. What happened?"
Keldric turned toward Hilmer and let out a quiet sigh.
"I do not know the full story myself, and I cannot be sure that what I heard was true."
"What do you mean...?"
"We should hear it from the person involved first."
Keldric walked toward the corner where the shattered door had landed.
His expression was icy. He looked furious.
Hilmer had never seen Keldric truly angry before, and he swallowed hard.
It was a sight unlike his usual self.
When Keldric returned, he was carrying a limp man in one hand.
Keldric threw him to the floor. The battered man rolled to a stop in front of Hilmer.
Hilmer silently examined the man's face.
Dark-green eyes, ash-gray hair, and the scar beneath his jaw...
"Isn't this... Fritz?"
"Yes. He is our second brother."
At that point, Hilmer was left speechless.
Even setting aside why Fritz was there, his face had been beaten so badly that he was almost unrecognizable.
His nose was completely flattened, while the area around his right eye and cheekbone had swollen to almost twice their normal size, as though ready to burst.
His lips were bruised so dark they were nearly black, and the space where his front teeth should have been was empty.
In short, he looked as though someone had beaten him hard enough to raise dust on a rainy day.
Even tying someone down and beating him until he begged for his life would not have left him in this state.
Hilmer's gaze naturally drifted to Keldric's hands.
Beads of blood clung to the knuckles of his gauntlets.
"What is it?"
"Ah, nothing. I was just..."
Hilmer quietly lowered his eyes.
For some reason, lowering his eyes felt like the only thing he could do.