Brief Peace and Mysterious Currents
The lower slopes of the mountain stronghold were alive with raucous noise. The bounty from their large-scale hunt was the reason. The greasy scent of roasting meat and the rough clink of drinking cups echoed endlessly up the ridge. The bandits had surrendered completely to a festive mood.
To escape the clamor, Rodin had moved to a small clearing on the back mountain. In his hands he carried a few dry logs instead of his usual rusty pickaxe.
“It’s too noisy downstairs. The smell of booze is going to keep the cabbages from sleeping,” Rodin muttered, kicking the logs lightly and shoving them into the campfire. The rising flames painted his indifferent face a deep red.
“Still, everyone looks so happy. The harvest this time was enormous. I doubt the stronghold has ever had this much food stocked before,” Veronica said with a gentle smile as she settled beside him. A thick blanket was draped over her shoulders. The firelight danced in her eyes. To her, the dusty night air of this mountain hideout felt far warmer than the cold marble floors of the imperial palace.
“Oh Lord! With every bite of this meat, the juices burst forth like the Holy Spirit’s blessing! The wild boar’s hind leg is indeed the ultimate truth!”
Ivona was already tearing into an entire massive boar leg. Any trace of saintly dignity had long since been swallowed along with the meat grease.
“Saintess, please… You have zero dignity left. At least wipe the oil off your mouth.” Lize tilted her wine cup and scolded her. Yet she herself was far from her usual intellectual poise. Her cheeks were already flushed from several cups of wine.
“Rodin, why aren’t you eating? This is far more delicious than meat aged with 7th-circle magic.”
“I chewed on a cabbage in the field earlier. My stomach’s still full.” Rodin answered absently while gazing at the sky.
“There he goes again. He devoured the wraps I carefully prepared for him earlier, yet now he acts like this,” Veronica teased playfully. Rodin turned his head sharply in embarrassment and stirred the fire with unnecessary force.
“I only ate them out of gratitude. Compared to my cabbages, they’re still lacking. Don’t get any strange ideas.”
“Aha! I saw the way your mouth twitched earlier! The Lord hates liars!” Ivona waved a boar bone as she jumped in, and light laughter spread through the clearing. It was a lazy, peaceful night—so peaceful that the threat of the black arrows was momentarily forgotten.
As the night deepened, the crackle of burning wood grew clearer. Ivona was the first to collapse. Having eaten far too much meat, she mumbled something about “offering the after-meal prayer in my dreams” before pulling a blanket over herself and beginning to doze off.
The real problem came next. The usually cold-headed Master of the Magic Tower, Lize, had completely melted under the influence of alcohol.
“Hey, listen, Rodin… I’m talking to you. That pickaxe… any thoughts of selling it to me? I’ll give you a thousand gold coins. Hell, I could hand over the entire Magic Tower. How about it? You’ll sell it, right? Hmm?”
Lize staggered and grabbed his shoulder. Her tongue was already half-tangled, and her purple eyes had lost focus.
“Ugh~~~ If you’re drunk, just go to sleep nicely. You think something like that belongs in the hands of a mage like you? You don’t even know how to plant cabbages.”
Rodin brushed her hand away in annoyance, but Lize refused to let go of his sleeve.
“So mean… really… Why are you always so nice only to Veronica? I want to hear you call me ‘Lady of the House’ too… I can farm well… I can just burn all the weeds away with magic…”
“Oh Lord… send down a meat rain… please… glug…”
When the dozing Ivona began sleep-talking as well, the situation spiraled into complete chaos. Veronica panicked and tried to manage the pair.
“Saintess Ivona! You’ll wake up with a crooked mouth if you sleep here! And Master Lize, you mustn’t behave like this. Wake up, both of you. Stop troubling Lord Rodin.”
“It’s not troubling. Just noisy.” Rodin stood up abruptly. He turned toward the edge of the forest and called out quietly.
“Dagan! Carry these women back to their rooms. Drag them, carry them on your back—do whatever. But if you wake them, you’re dead.”
“Yes, Boss! Wow, how much did the Saintess even eat? She’s heavier than a sack of rice!”
Dagan and his subordinates appeared from nowhere and efficiently hoisted the two women away. As the drunken archmage’s whining and the saintess’s snoring faded into the distance, silence returned to the clearing.
“Finally quiet. My ears feel refreshed.” Rodin sat back down and rubbed his ears. Now only two people remained before the campfire—Rodin and Veronica.
The sudden silence carried a strange weight. The soft crack, pop of burning logs cut through the quiet night air. Veronica sat with her knees drawn together, staring blankly at the flames. The orange light softly embraced the side of her face.
Rodin pretended to be indifferent but secretly checked whether she was cold. Without a word, he gathered the scattered logs nearby and tossed them into the fire. The flames roared back to life, filling the space between them with cozy warmth.
“Sometimes all of this feels like a dream,” Veronica whispered, her voice so soft it seemed she feared the peace would shatter if she spoke any louder.
“What dream? The one where you break a tooth on the meat?”
“No, not that kind.” Veronica let out a small laugh. The tension in her shoulders eased a little.
“The dream where I, who once trembled in fear of death every day in the imperial palace, am now laughing in a bandit den. There were times when I dreaded the coming of tomorrow… but here, I find myself thinking trivial things like what kind of cabbages will grow tomorrow.”
“This place isn’t anything special. It’s just a mountain. Lots of dirt, lots of bugs, and nothing but worthless bandits crawling around.”
Rodin spoke bluntly, yet his gaze never left the campfire.
“But you’re here.” Veronica turned to look straight at him. “With the Empire’s strongest Mercenary King by my side, what princess could possibly be safer than me? Even if the entire empire came at us, you would swing your pickaxe with that same bothered expression.”
“The Mercenary King you’re talking about is gone. Right now I’m just an old man who grows cabbages.”
“For a cabbage old man, you’re awfully reliable. Thanks to you, I don’t even have nightmares anymore. Just knowing you’re in the room next door helps me sleep soundly.”
Veronica scooted a little closer. The faint scent of soap mixed with the cool night air brushed past Rodin’s nose.
“Then that’s good. If you can’t sleep, your complexion suffers and your face looks worn out. If the official wife’s face is ruined, what happens to my reputation? Rumors that the farm is failing would be a real pain.”
Rodin cleared his throat and looked away. He had no idea that at the casual word official wife, Veronica’s cheeks had flushed redder than the flames. He simply poked at the logs again, pretending nothing had happened.
The night at the stronghold grew deeper, and the once-roaring campfire had begun to die down. Perhaps it was because the tension had finally loosened, or perhaps it was the sense of security Rodin gave her—Veronica’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Her head began to nod precariously back and forth.
“If you’re sleepy, go inside and sleep. Why are you forcing yourself to stay here?” Rodin scolded quietly.
But Veronica shook her head, forcing her closing eyes back open.
“Just a little longer… I want to stay like this… It’s warm next to you, Rodin…”
Her words trailed off as her head finally tipped sideways. Rodin frowned as if annoyed, but his hand was already gently supporting her head. He carefully guided her so she wouldn’t fall onto the hard ground, resting her head against his shoulder.
Thump. Soft hair touched his shoulder. Veronica unconsciously nuzzled closer, seeking a more comfortable spot.
“Hey, Veronica. Are you asleep? Are you really sleeping?”
“Mmm… Rodin… you smell nice…”
Her drowsy voice murmured against his chest.
“Nice? All I smell like is sweat and dirt.”
Rodin’s heart began to beat a little faster than usual. He who had never lost composure even while breaking through thousands of enemy lines was utterly helpless before the delicate weight resting on his shoulder.
“No… It’s a very warm… comforting smell. It feels safe… like home…”
Veronica’s breathing grew steady as she fell into a deep sleep. Rodin stared up at the night sky for a long time in that stiff posture. A sigh escaped him.
“Ha… You really are a professional at being a bother.”
Even as he grumbled, Rodin removed his outer coat and gently laid it over her slender shoulders. Then, moving with extreme care so as not to wake her, he relaxed the muscles in his shoulder.
“Sleep well. This place must be more comfortable than the imperial palace.”
The night at the stronghold was quiet, and Rodin realized for the first time that he was facing something far more difficult than farming.
Veronica’s breathing against his shoulder had become perfectly even. Rodin quietly looked down at her face illuminated by the firelight. A woman who had been driven from the imperial palace and drifted all the way to a bandit den. At first he had thought of her as nothing more than a bothersome burden—someone he could keep around for a while and then send away. But before he knew it, she had become the lady of the stronghold. She organized the ledgers, looked after the people, and now naturally accepted even his clumsy consideration.
Rodin carefully brushed aside the hair that had fallen across her face. The skin beneath his fingertips was so soft that he froze, afraid he might accidentally apply too much strength and hurt her.
“At first I really thought you were just a bothersome burden.”
His quiet monologue sank low into the night.
“How did it come to this? My plan to quietly grow cabbages is completely ruined.”
He glanced at her small hand. Perhaps because she was a princess, every finger was slender and pale. It was hard to believe a woman with hands like these had survived that brutal imperial palace.
“Why are your hands so cold? Is it because you’re a princess?”
Rodin almost wrapped her hand in his large one but stopped. Instead, he adjusted the coat covering her more snugly.
“Don’t worry. Whether it’s the empress or the imperial army, anyone who steps on my land will be plowed under.”
In the past he had wielded a blade to kill people. But now it was different. To protect this peace, he was ready to become once again the monstrous figure that had made the entire continent tremble.
“You just… wake up tomorrow morning and pick cabbages with me. That’s your job now.”
Rodin gave a small chuckle and turned his head.
“I must be crazy. I’m supposed to be farming.”
Breathing as carefully as possible so as not to wake the woman leaning on his shoulder, he gently lifted her into his arms.
It was the hour when the dawn mist wrapped the stronghold in a bluish haze. Rodin had not slept a wink all night, yet his eyes shone brightly. Veronica was still sound asleep against his shoulder. The way the corners of her mouth occasionally lifted as if she were having a pleasant dream was utterly peaceful.
But that peace did not last long. Urgent footsteps rushed up from far down the mountain. Controlled, swift movements filled with killing intent.
“B-Boss! It’s an emergency! Down at the base of the mountain…!”
Dagan came running with a pale face but froze when he met Rodin’s icy gaze. Rodin placed a finger to his lips and pointed at Veronica.
“Keep it down. What is it?”
Dagan broke into a cold sweat and lowered his voice to report.
“It’s the Imperial Magic Corps! The owners of those black arrows… they’ve already reached the middle of the slope!”
Rodin’s eyes instantly turned cold. The gentle atmosphere vanished in a heartbeat, replaced by the chilling aura of the Mercenary King who once ruled battlefields.
“Faster than I expected. The cabbage harvest isn’t even finished yet.”
At that moment, Veronica stirred awake from the commotion.
“Mm… Rodin? Is something wrong…?”
Rodin gently covered her eyes with his large hand so she would not see any fear.
“It’s nothing. Looks like there are a few more weeds today. Sleep a little longer. I’ll clean up quickly and come right back.”
Rodin rose slowly to his feet. An enormous, invisible shadow seemed to flicker behind him. A terrifyingly cold smile curved his lips.