I. Where the Frost Lingers (15)
I. Where the Frost Lingers (15)
Six days had passed since Yakov died.
In all that time, Keldric had done nothing.
He genuinely had nothing to do.
In a remote backwater village, all Keldric could do was hike with the woodcutters or drop by the cellar and watch Fritz eat with his feet.
Only four days remained before he left the estate, but Keldric didn't have anything in particular to prepare.
The servants had already taken care of everything on their own.
Keldric felt as if everything had been done for him without his lifting a finger. That wasn't half bad.
Besides, the snowstorm had ended sooner than Keldric had expected and was already nearly over.
He was only waiting four more days because he had said he would. The weather itself had improved enough for him to leave the estate immediately.
And because of that, Baron Yaven would set out from the castle even earlier.
That didn't mean Keldric intended to wait for Baron Yaven. He could leave the estate at any moment.
He hadn't done so because he'd had a lot on his mind lately.
'Yakov.'
Most of his thoughts were about Yakov.
Hilmer's words—that Yakov had desperately called for him in the end—kept circling through his head.
The sight of Mariam sobbing uncontrollably only added to it.
Even Keldric couldn't figure out why he was acting this way.
It was strange: he had been impassive at the deathbed of his true father, Sir Volfen, but the death of an old servant who had served the family for many years had left him dazed for days.
"Tch."
Keldric stared blankly at the ceiling and smacked his bitter-tasting lips.
Maybe because he had just been thinking about Yakov's last words, his mouth tasted as bitter as gall.
No matter how listless he felt, he couldn't stay like this all day.
Keldric finally sat up and headed straight for the stable.
Lately, Keldric's routine consisted of either training or visiting the stable.
Sir Volfen had bequeathed Keldric a warhorse, so he intended to build as much familiarity with it as possible before they left the estate together.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
"Lord Hilmer is calling for you."
Just as Keldric was about to mount his horse, his expression immediately soured.
He had planned to practice riding and enjoy the fresh wind, but the servant who came running from the manor house ruined everything.
Keldric gave the horse one last regretful look, dropped the reins, and followed the servant.
"This way."
The servant left Keldric in front of Hilmer's bedroom and disappeared.
For some reason, since the incident a few days ago, the servants seemed to be avoiding Keldric a little.
Before, they had at least acknowledged him when their eyes met. Now they passed with their gazes lowered before he could even look at them.
Keldric watched the servant's retreating back with mixed feelings, then placed a hand on the door handle.
The room where Yakov had beaten Fritz had already been tidied up.
The blood that had pooled across the floor and even the bedding on the hard bed were gone.
Every last item had belonged to Yakov, and all of it had been cleared away.
Only then did Keldric feel anew that Yakov was dead.
It seemed as though the smell of blood still lingered in the room.
The bedroom door Keldric had split in two had already been replaced with an intact one.
Without bothering to knock, Keldric yanked the door open and walked in.
"Keldric?"
"Yes, brother."
"Sit over there and wait a moment."
Keldric quietly waited for Hilmer, who was sitting at his desk reading something, as usual.
By the time Keldric had grown bored of studying the grain in the wooden floorboards, Hilmer finally turned around.
"Keldric. Do you know why I called you here?"
"I don't know."
Growing bored, Keldric answered curtly. He wanted to mount his horse and feel the fresh wind as soon as possible.
Sensing Keldric's mood, Hilmer hastily continued.
"There are three things you absolutely must hear, Keldric."
"I'm listening."
"First... it seems Baron Yaven is looking for you."
Keldric's brow twitched. Baron Yaven? Why would that man?
"Baron Yaven?"
"Yes. Another letter arrived yesterday, and he suddenly asked how you were doing. He only mentioned it in passing."
Keldric couldn't make head or tail of the situation.
The last time Keldric had seen Baron Yaven was roughly ten years ago. That was the last time Baron Yaven had used the hunting grounds in Carlton Village.
At this point, there was no reason for Baron Yaven to be looking for him.
After a moment of confusion, Keldric nodded for Hilmer to continue.
The meaning was clear: he would hear him out.
"Baron Yaven seemed curious about your martial prowess. I don't know how he learned of it, but Father appears to have written and sent several letters shortly before his death."
Hilmer's explanation went as follows:
Sir Volfen had known for months that his death was approaching. After watching Keldric train without missing a day, he had written to Baron Yaven.
Keldric scowled without realizing it.
The notion that his father had handed down the seat of head of the family to Hilmer and then recommended Keldric—stronger than most—to Baron Yaven as if pawning him off was deeply unpleasant.
"In any case, Baron Yaven didn't seem to attach much significance to it. Don't worry too much."
"Yes, brother."
"Even so, once you begin traveling beyond the estate, he may summon you to his castle. Keep that in mind."
"Summon me?"
"Yes. The way I see it, even outside this place, you're likely to stand out. That kind of martial ability is rare."
Hilmer believed in Keldric's strength.
If Keldric entered a tournament somewhere, Hilmer was certain he would crush the competition just as he had crushed the mercenaries.
Keldric, for his part, was left speechless by the unexpected news.
He knew well enough that his own strength was out of the ordinary, but once he went out into the world, he wanted to travel around first.
Someday he might have to fight under another noble. But not now.
"In any case, don't worry too much. Baron Yaven probably didn't mention you out of any serious interest. If he had, he would have sent you a letter directly."
"Understood."
"Still, this is a rare opportunity. It could even be a good one. Contact with the nobility isn't entirely a bad thing. You may not lust for wealth and glory... but it can bring you many other things besides."
Contrary to Hilmer's words, it wasn't that Keldric didn't lust for wealth and glory.
It was just that, for now, traveling freely came first.
"When that time comes, I'll give it some thought."
"Good. If a noble does happen to approach you, at least try to have a conversation. If you just ignore them, they might take it as an insult."
Keldric nodded grudgingly.
It still felt like getting ahead of himself, but if that time truly came, he would have to think it over carefully.
"Hmm, the next thing to say is..."
Hilmer took something out and offered it to Keldric, who accepted it automatically.
"This letter is for the Mormont Trading Company. Joseph committed a serious offense, but it would be troublesome if the merchant service itself stopped coming."
The letter's recipient was the Mormont Trading Company—the very same company to which Joseph had belonged.
Joseph had traveled back and forth to Carlton Village as a peddler for years, but he would never return to the company. It was best to inform them of what had happened.
Keldric opened the letter and skimmed the contents.
'For certain reasons, House Bellaf has detained Joseph, and does not wish to be at odds with the Mormont Trading Company. Should you wish for a detailed account, we advise you to speak with Baron Yaven.'
That was roughly the gist. Keldric fiddled with the letter in his hand.
"Where is the Mormont Trading Company based?"
"The head of the Mormont Trading Company is staying in Bellam. Someone must go there and deliver the letter, and I would like to entrust that task to you, Keldric."
The largest city in the region was, naturally, Bellam.
Keldric had already planned to make Bellam his first destination once he left the estate.
"I'll deliver it."
"Good. Thank you."
Keldric's heart swelled with anticipation. He was excited by the prospect of going to the city.
'Bellam...'
Keldric had never once left Carlton Village in his entire life. For someone who wanted to see, hear, and feel more, it was a perfect destination.
Keldric didn't show it on his face, but his mood subtly brightened, and Hilmer chuckled when he noticed.
"There's nothing strange about looking forward to your first visit to a city... but don't expect too much."
Hilmer had rained on his parade for no good reason, but Keldric focused on something else he had said.
"You've been to the city?"
"I went several times with Father. I've been to Bellam three or four times."
Keldric genuinely hadn't known. Even if he'd been treated like the family's ugly duckling, this was going too far.
A considerable sense of betrayal simmered inside him.
"Anyway, that concludes the matter of the trading company. Now, lastly..."
While Keldric quietly simmered, Hilmer finished what he had to say and picked up something from the desk.
"Time to settle up."
A small leather pouch rested in his hand, and its faint clinking reached Keldric's ears.
Keldric silently watched Hilmer hold up the coin pouch.
"As I told you a few days ago, the reason Joseph attacked our family is clear. He received six mounted soldiers and money from Baron Gofrit, then brought in the mercenaries. It seems Joseph was promised a considerable sum."
The image of Joseph locked in the cellar surfaced in Keldric's mind.
Joseph had been struck hard in the solar plexus by Keldric, but compared to the mercenaries locked up with him or Fritz, he was practically unscathed.
Keldric had thought he had gone too easy on Joseph. This proved it was wiser to squeeze everything useful out of a man before beating him.
Hilmer had worked on Joseph from every angle and finally found the coin pouch he had hidden away.
"And this is that money."
Coins clinked one after another into Hilmer's palm.
Gold coins piled up there, enough to leave Keldric staring blankly.
"This is...?"
Keldric stared blankly at the gold coins.
Eight Ducat gold coins, eleven gold coins of another kind, and about twenty Grasen silver coins lay in Hilmer's palm.
Among them, Keldric paid close attention to the gold coins that numbered only eight.
'Ducat gold coins.'
It wasn't the first time Keldric had seen gold coins, but he'd never seen so many highly valued and trusted Ducat gold coins together.
Suddenly, Keldric recalled what he had heard from Lucas in the kitchen.
According to Lucas, the mercenaries had been bought off by Joseph for eight and a half Ducat gold coins.
But Keldric had already either killed or captured all of them.
"These are your spoils, Keldric."
In the end, the money had made its way into Keldric's hands when he had never expected it.
Keldric accepted the pouch with a bewildered expression.
In the process, Hilmer deducted a few gold coins from Keldric's share.
"Why are you taking those out?"
"Don't you know? That's the cost of the bedroom door you smashed. Blood soaked into the floorboards, so I had to replace those too."
"..."
Keldric had nothing to say.
After grudgingly accepting the deduction, Keldric took out one of the coins. A Ducat bearing the face of the Republic's first consul rested in his hand.
"Are all of these my spoils?"
"Yes. You'll need some money for expenses out there, won't you?"
Keldric ended up with eight Ducat gold coins and twenty Grasen silver coins.
The eleven Florin gold coins went to Hilmer.
Even so, it was still an enormous amount of money—the price Joseph had placed on ten mercenaries' lives.
The thought left Keldric uneasy, but he quickly tucked the pouch inside his coat before anyone could take it from him.
"I'll put it to good use."
"Not at all. They're spoils you earned by fighting."
Keldric was pleased. He'd thought nothing else was coming his way, but fortune had smiled on him.
"Anyway, I'm counting on you to deliver the letter. Don't squander the money. Well, I'm sure you'll manage on your own, but..."
"I'll be reasonably frugal."
"In any case, when you reach Bellam, avoid the brothels if you can. I don't think you'd visit such places, but if you do, you might catch something, so stay away."
Keldric had no intention of going to a place like that anyway.
In a medieval world where proper treatment was scarce, Keldric had no intention of wasting away from a venereal disease.
"If there's nothing more to say, you may leave."
Once Hilmer had said everything he needed to, he coldly dismissed Keldric, who left the bedroom without complaint.
"..."
"Don't break it."
Keldric did glare at the innocent bedroom door on his way out, but Hilmer stopped even that.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Four days passed in the blink of an eye.
Whenever Keldric opened his eyes in the morning, it seemed to be evening already, and whenever he closed them at night, morning arrived in an instant.
During those four days, Keldric took a rare break from training.
Exhausting himself before he even left the estate would have been foolish.
Above all, once he set out, he would be forced to sleep rough. It was better to eat well and rest while he could.
By then, Keldric had received his repaired surcoat and his sword, which gleamed like new. At last, dawn broke on the day he would leave the estate.
Having risen early, Keldric enjoyed one last meal with Lady Bellaf and Hilmer.
Meals were normally nothing more than the process of putting food in his mouth, chewing, and swallowing, but that morning he enjoyed every bite.
After filling his stomach well, he donned the armor he had worn a few days earlier when slaughtering the mercenaries and headed for the stables.
The ivory-coated horse with the golden mane welcomed Keldric, having grown much more comfortable with him over the past few days.
"There, there. Boreas. I'm counting on you, too."
Keldric had even given his horse a name.
He had taken the name directly from Boreas, the god of the north wind in ancient mythology.
After gently stroking Boreas's mane for a moment, Keldric soon sprang up and settled into the saddle.
Saddlebags packed with preserved food and a small set of tools for maintaining his armor and weapons were secured behind the saddle. His helmet hung from his belt.
Several servants approached and checked the condition of the harness.
Keldric had spent the past few days learning how to care for tack from the stablemaster and servants, so he was already familiar with the work.
"Hyah!"
As Keldric breathed in the cold morning air from atop his horse, Hilmer, likewise mounted, came alongside him.
Lady Bellaf was riding on the pillion behind his saddle.
Keldric silently exchanged a glance with Hilmer and then urged his horse forward first. Hilmer, Lady Bellaf, and a few servants began to follow him down toward the village.
"Master Keldriiic..."
Among them were Mariam and Malcolm. Keldric looked at Mariam, who was on the verge of tears, with an awkward expression.
The villagers had also heard that Keldric was leaving, and several early risers had come to see him off.
"It's as if you are the head of the family."
Seeing this, Hilmer made a joking remark. Keldric shrugged and retorted.
"I don't want a position like that."
"Really, I wonder who you take after with that wanderlust of yours."
As they rode on like that, they soon reached the edge of the village.
After crossing beyond the edge of the village, Keldric turned his horse around and looked back.
Hilmer, Lady Bellaf, and the other familiar faces were all, without exception, looking at Keldric.
Some faces were missing, like Fritz, whom he would no longer see. Others looked exactly as they always had.
After scanning their faces one by one, Keldric soon raised his gaze high.
There, the towering mountain range was still veiled by clouds.
Keldric recalled the events of the past several days, the most turbulent period of his life.
Much had changed in those few days, but the mountain range alone had silently remained the same, rooted in its place.
Keldric liked that.
That was why, whenever he rested from his training, he always gazed up blankly at the mountain range.
The biting north wind was being split by a single jagged peak.
The two streams of wind he had once thought unequal were now so different that they could no longer be compared.
The larger one must now have grown beyond all control.
The great wind was Keldric, and the smaller wind was House Bellaf.
They hadn't fully merged, but both had accepted that they would now follow separate paths.
"Keldric."
At the sound of his name, Keldric lowered his head.
Hilmer and Lady Bellaf were looking at Keldric.
"If you ever need the family's help, you are welcome to return at any time."
"Keldric. Always take care of yourself out there."
Keldric nodded without a word.
That was answer enough.
Once Keldric turned his horse and slowly rode away, the farewell ended and the villagers began returning to their work.
Keldric rode on and drew a deep breath. Cold air filled his lungs.
After riding for a long while, Keldric suddenly looked back again.
Hilmer still stood in the same spot, now so distant that Keldric could barely make out his features.
Then, Hilmer's lips moved slightly. Without realizing it, Keldric narrowed his eyes and focused his vision.
'Stay safe.'
It felt as though those words had reached him.
Keldric faced forward again. The winding dirt road stretched on endlessly.
Until then, the towering mountain range had been the largest world Keldric knew. From now on, things would be different.
Keldric slowly advanced into a world vast enough to embrace even those lofty peaks.
There was no hesitation.
His homeland—Where the Frost Lingers—was somewhere he could always return to.
I. Where the Frost Lingers (End)