Chapter 157: A Warm Winter
Chapter 157: A Warm Winter
But there was no need to rush. Now was simply the time to rejoice in their feelings for one another.
"When Varda-nim said she was sorry, I thought my heart was going to stop."
Eugene had never known fear over the past year, facing countless wars and powerful foes. Yet the thought of being rejected by Varda made his mind go hazy and blank.
"Even the great All-Conquering Knight gets scared sometimes, huh? You really did look silly."
"A fool?"
"And it was terribly endearing, too."
"So this is what they mean by an older woman..."
"Yes, and it is a blessing that I am older. I will always be able to hold you and comfort you, staying a few years ahead. A monarch is always in need of an older sister."
For an elf woman who lived many times longer than a human, the word 'older woman' did not seem to register as any sort of provocation. Varda chuckled softly and laid her hand upon Eugene's left chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"For a heart that was supposedly about to fall, it doesn't seem to be beating all that violently?"
"Well, a little time has passed since then. The methods for regaining one's breath and composure were what my teacher drilled into me with the greatest care."
"How unfair. At this very moment, my heart is still pounding as if it's about to burst from your proposal."
Eugene's palm still rested upon Varda's chest. The elf lady's pounding heart felt greedy.
As if it were trying to steal every bit of Eugene's warmth. As if it were trying to convey his warmth to Varda's cheeks and ears, her lower belly, her fingertips and the tips of her toes.
"What if we did it like this?"
As Eugene took a step closer, Varda reflexively took a step back.
It was not because she was rejecting him. It was a reflexive action born from the purity ingrained in Varda's noble blood, the propriety that Grace had strictly instilled in her.
When Eugene took another step forward, Varda took a half-step back. When he took another step forward again, this time, she was the one who came toward him.
"Ah."
When Eugene took her chin in his hand, her trembling eyes gently closed and she rose onto her tiptoes. The young lady who had always faced the world with a poised mind and body now surrendered herself without any defense.
Her eyelashes were a brilliant gold just like her hair. They were as beautiful as shooting stars falling across the night sky.
Mwah.
The moment their lips touched, it felt as though all time in the world had stopped. Even the cold winter sea breeze of Kitania avoided the two of them just for this moment.
The moonlight poured down over their heads like a blessing. Lost in a rapturous sensation and fragrance, Eugene was about to pull his face away when he felt a hand gripping the back of his head.
"Not yet."
Varda spoke without parting her lips.
Slurp.
Though it was Eugene who had initiated the kiss, from that point on it was Varda who led. It was a wildness one could never imagine from her usual demure appearance.
Eugene soon came to understand exactly what she meant by 'not yet'.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It was only when the knight's heart exploded with love and pleasure that Varda's lips finally parted from his.
Their lips were hot and wet with each other's saliva. The winter wind that had been hovering about, watching its chance, only then slipped between them to cool them.
"Hehehe."
Varda smiled as she caressed the firm knight's chest. She was rejoicing in the fact that his heart had come to beat as fiercely as her own.
That pure, unguarded expression was like a single drop of pink paint falling onto a sheet of pure white paper.
Like the very first footprint pressed into an untouched field of snow.
"It is quite different from what I'd heard."
"What do you mean?"
"In the past, when I was active in Roman's social circles, I heard a few things from the noble ladies."
While traveling through Roman as a mage of the Emerald Forest, Varda had attended many banquets. Having a broad network of connections with the nobility had been useful for finding a way to save Grace.
"Their descriptions of a first kiss were not at all favorable. Unpleasant, smelly, and vulgar."
"Might that not be because a great many of them were arranged political marriages?"
"And on top of that, men who keep themselves as impeccably groomed as you are few and far between."
"That is all thanks to the people of the Rui Amor dynasty."
The sanitation-crop strains that had been widely propagated by the first unified continental dynasty. For the fastidious Eugene, it was simply a matter of gratitude.
"Yes. It is thanks to our ancestors."
Varda's fingers traced along Eugene's lips.
"I do not think I have ever been as thankful for my bloodline as I am today. To bestow such a sweet and pure pleasure."
"...!"
Eugene's eyes flew open wide in surprise, but he could not say a word. The elf lady's lips had swallowed his once more, as if a single kiss had not been enough.
The second kiss was more passionate. Varda's tongue slipped into his mouth, interweaving with his like a bee coaxing open a flower petal.
Just how far had things progressed between Eugene and Varda? That was a question the Wandering Castle's residents and warriors would idly bring up whenever they were bored.
-Kissing, of course, would be a given.
-The real question is where his hands wander amidst all that.
-Are you all kidding? They're both hot-blooded young people, and there's no family or elders to stand in their way. It wouldn't be strange if they'd already hooked up by now.
The common people enjoy stories about their rulers. And it is a rule of the world that they will even speak ill of a king when they think no one is watching. The fact that there was no ill talk and only stories of romance circulating was surely because he was a monarch who commanded that much respect.
Of course, there were some among them who felt that even such talk was disloyal.
-Have you all gone mad? What kind of irreverent talk is this? If we're caught, it won't end with a mere whipping.
-So long as we aren't caught, that's the end of it.
-We aren't telling dirty stories. We're discussing the future of this castle and its retainers. Wouldn't we all feel more secure once the Castle Lord has started a family?
-What a load of crap. What a flimsy excuse.
-Oh, don't be like that! Come on, say something yourself. Honestly, aren't you curious? Right?
-...Well, I suppose they've at least kissed by now.
-*Heheh.* See?
It was a subject that could easily get them flogged, but they simply could not quell their curiosity. And as it happened, all their speculations were wrong. Because the physical contact between the two of them had begun only today.
Mwah.
When their entangled tongues came apart and their lips parted, Varda hung her face, now flushed bright red, deeply downward.
"It is a kiss of pledge."
"Does this stand in place of a betrothal?"
"Yes. At least with this, Grace will not be angry."
Eugene respected the purity doctrine shaped by Varda's bloodline and upbringing. That was why he had kept his hands off her until now.
"I swear it. No blade in this world and no insult will ever reach Varda-nim. Only one thing—staying by my side may not be dangerous, but it will be exhausting. I still have a long road ahead of me."
"In that journey, I shall always be at your side. The things you cannot see, the matters you cannot tend to—those shall be my charge."
The two of them embraced each other. Varda's arms wrapped around the broad, solid back of the knight, and Eugene's arms enclosed the deeply curved waist of the elf lady.
"My beloved knight. Lead me onward. I shall uphold that dream, sometimes beside you and sometimes from behind you. Whenever you are weary, may you find rest upon my heart."
Eugene felt the lips of the whispering Varda tracing over his earlobe and his neck.
Was it because the curiosity that had accumulated through her social gatherings with noble ladies had finally burst free? Or had she always been closer to a carnivore by nature? Whatever the case, he did not dislike it.
Some time later.
"It is winter now. It is too soon to announce and carry out any celebration."
Varda spoke bashfully.
"Varda-nim's dowry will take time as well. The same goes for me."
Having wandered the world ceaselessly over the past year, he needed time to rest his weary wings.
* * *
The Wandering Castle's army rested in bountiful Kitania, enjoying an array of food and leisure.
'I'm telling you, the crabs and shrimp they catch in the real sea are several times bigger than the ones you've been eating.'
'*Tch.* That'll probably be a real treat that fellows like us will never get to taste in our lifetime.'
'Don't jump to conclusions. One day, the day will come when I let you all taste them.'
Eugene had kept the promise he made to the mercenaries back in North Fork.
The soldiers who had followed Eugene on his campaign all the way across the sea ate their fill of Sicily's specialty oranges and seafood.
"The Samur fried food was good too, but I like the steamed stuff better."
Crack.
As a mercenary twisted the tail off with a practiced motion, shrimp meat as thick as three fingers together came away with it.
Beside him were other mercenaries: one digging into the steaming body of a lobster and another gulping down soup full of abalone.
"You eat the same thing every day and don't get sick of it?"
"We never get sick of it, not in the slightest."
They all nodded back to Eugene, who was resting his chin on his hand.
"When the weather warms up next year, aren't we going to be heading out into the world again? We've got to get our fill of the taste while we can."
"Castle Lord, try some too. The ones caught today are especially meaty."
Eugene took the shrimp meat that his subordinate offered and gave a quiet laugh.
"Sitting here like this reminds me of when we first met at the tavern in Bonyard."
"Back then, all I had in mind was making a name for myself under a strong knight. I never imagined a day like this would come."
So much had changed in a single year. But at this moment, drinking and chatting over food in a Kitania tavern, it felt as though they had returned to those days.
The Mercenaries drank their beer, hoping they could enjoy the same happiness again in the coming year.
"It's lukewarm."
"Well, this isn't Bonyard."
The only thing different from a year ago was the temperature of the beer.
Not long after, the Apostolic Council officially recognized Eugene's title of viscount.
* * *
After gaining the title, he became even busier. He had to reorganize the administrative system and entertain the nobles who came to offer their congratulations.
"It seems the contents of the letter were true. You truly show no greed beyond the three cities."
The nobles of Sicily had been half in doubt about the conqueror's letter, but that uncertainty quickly vanished once interaction began.
Eugene treated everyone who visited with thorough courtesy. He made no exception, whether they were a house he had fought against as an enemy or a house that had crossed over as a comrade in the crusade.
"When I first heard the rumors, I thought he was a knight burning with ambition to swallow the whole island. Seeing him now, I sense a genuine sincerity."
"What do a few rumors matter? I faced the viscount directly on the battlefield. Whether his letter was sincere or not, I have no intention of opposing him again."
For reasons both good and bad, none of the nobles had any desire to be hostile toward the new viscount.
"And of all people, the Sage of the Emerald Forest is at his side, is she not? She is not one who would impart wisdom to a man mad with violence."
The presence of the elven lady who graced the banquet hall produced an especially strong effect. Varda, who had always kept a few steps back, had removed her hood and stepped into the forefront.
"Thank you for joining us at the banquet. The mermaid drawn upon your surcoat is the crest of the Mott family, is it not?"
Varda's voice was sweeter than any instrument that resounded through the banquet.
"It is, my lady. The founder of our house is Lord Dunling, who took up the sword to liberate Mott from the suffering inflicted by pirates."
"The beautiful mermaid maiden who waded through the salt water and approached Lord Dunling when he was gravely wounded and had fled to the shore. The story of the Mott family that began in that way is well known among the noblewomen of the continent."
It was not, in truth, a story that was all that widely known, but that was beside the point. Among nobles, such things were not lies but matters of good manners.
Sure enough, the corners of the Mott lord's mouth stretched up to his ears with delight.
"It is an honor that you know of it."
"The Mott family has ever served as a stalwart guardian of Kitania's southern coast."
"And it shall continue to do so. The sword of Mott stands beneath the honorable banner of Meyer. Peace linking sea and land is the mission of our house."
Overwhelming power and generous hospitality. What the wavering lords, shaken in both reality and feeling, needed to steel their resolve was a gentle nudge.
Varda displayed an innate talent for quietly nudging forward the nobles who came to the banquet with unsteady hearts.
"Among the many merchant companies that enter Kitania, the flag seen most often is the crest of the Peilas family."
A noble of a merchant house rose and offered Varda a respectful nod.
"Our Peilas house may not be renowned for the sword, but we take pride that our loyalty to Sicily is no less than that of its knights."
"It was the power of Peilas that made it so no one in Sicily starved to death during the great famine fifteen years ago, and that kept the island safe during the plague outbreak forty years ago."
Each time the entire continent suffered, Sicily had weathered the crisis safely. It was because the Peilas merchant company had preemptively stockpiled and supplied food and herbs effective against plague to the island.
"Forty years ago, the head of our house personally traveled until he collapsed from exhaustion, securing herbs for the island."
"That, too, is the genuine duty of a noble. Viscount Meyer himself has praised that the most threatening force on this island was not the count's army, but the Peilas merchant company that supported it."
"From now on, we will stand behind House Meyer."
With her brilliant intellect, Varda also served as Eugene's advisor and heraldic officer.
She had already familiarized herself with all the houses of Sicily and the Peninsula, so she was able to bestow appropriate praise no matter who came to visit.
The nobles of Sicily who had arrived harboring arrogance, wariness, anger, and discontent found themselves simply filled with awe before Varda's radiance.
"This is my son. My wife's body is frail, so he is a child we had great difficulty conceiving."
"I-It is a pleasure to meet you! I am overjoyed to meet the renowned Sage of the Forest!"
"May the blessings of the forest be upon father and son."
The boy, who had been dragged to a political banquet with a look of utter boredom, suddenly mustered an immense intensity of concentration.
"I am Chez of the Gilliam family. By God's help on this recent expedition, I was raised to the rank of baron."
"I have heard of your renown for executing numerous malefactors on the Peninsula. On this expedition as well, I am told you beheaded a commander of the Immortal knights and reversed the tide of battle?"
"That Varda-nim knows of me fills me with both embarrassment and joy."
Occasionally, there were those who tried to push one step further, encouraged by pride in a house more powerful than most, or by the joy of having won advancement on the Sicilian expedition.
Fortunately, most of them had an excellent father or a wise friend, and received appropriate counsel before they could act.
- My son. I have always told you how exceptional our house is, and how deep its history runs. But this one time, I must tell you to set aside that family pride. The girl walking on the wheat field is not a being your hand can reach. In this world, there are beauties that you can only gaze at from afar before they vanish like a mirage.
- My friend. Rising from a mere knight to a baron through a miraculous feat of arms is certainly a tremendous achievement. But you must understand that your dream soars too high this time. She is a being who has inflicted the anguish of unrequited love not only upon countless great nobles, but even upon the king of a nation.
What sort of relationship should they build with House Meyer?
A task that had seemed difficult was easily resolved, and at the same time, there was a sudden increase in young nobles who found themselves grappling with torments they had never imagined.
"Was dealing with nobles always this easy?"
Eugene, not knowing any of that, was simply glad. Building relationships with the local nobility, which he had thought would be the hardest part of the aftermath work, was resolving itself far too smoothly.
"It is for times like this that a household needs a proper mistress. Just imagine if you were facing them alone."
"The thought alone is dreadful. There was more than one who came storming in here fuming."
At Marbas's words, Eugene rubbed the bridge of his nose as if the mere idea were terrible.
The ones who had entered that way had seen their voices gradually shrink before Varda's soft-spoken welcome, compliments, and toasts. That was not something that could be achieved through strength and fear.
"But wouldn't it be better to make your relationship public soon? It must be unpleasant for you to have nobles who don't know the circumstances making advances."
"Not at all. On the contrary, I find it entertaining to observe the faces of those who are so nervously on edge."
"What a nasty hobby."
"Besides, for now, the nobles of Sicily must remain the main focus. It would also be troublesome to push our own happy occasions to the forefront."
After several large banquets had concluded, it became fully known that Eugene truly had no interest in conquering the island.
'The cities of Sicily only need to serve as relay hubs.'
What Eugene truly desired was a vast land that would promise an eternal future for the clans that followed him.
Contrary to the world's suspicions, he had no intention at all of becoming the master who ruled the island. The island of Sicily felt too small for that.
* * *
By the time winter ended, House Meyer had come to be fully accepted as part of Sicily.
They rooted out the last pirate forces hiding in every corner of the island and hanged them, forbidding any criminal organization from setting foot here, making the contrast with the former count's regime all the more stark.
Even the fierce new lords who had crossed over from the Peninsula dared not cause trouble where House Meyer's protection reached or along the routes its trade passed through.
And so winter ended, and as the new shoots of spring rose up, the gears of the world, halted by the cold, began to turn once again.
In Roman, the civil war that had paused resumed, while Sicily found itself in the opposite situation.
Just as the native nobles and the new conquerors were about to fall upon one another again, a third party intervened.
"The Hydra has awakened!"
The monster, long asleep, had opened its eyes at the sound of battle cries shaking the island and the stench of flesh and blood.
"Your Excellency! The vassals are in danger!"
"Because of the beast, the trade roads along the highways have been severed. If this continues, we will wither and die."
"We beseech you as brothers in the faith. Please, stand with us against this disaster!"
Those who had been battling each other came rushing in all at once, begging Eugene.
"Then you should have fought in moderation. Why wake something that was sleeping so soundly?"
"Please, have mercy..."
Eugene, who had been frowning, could not bring himself to vent any further anger toward those who were bowing flat before him.
"A Hydra is a roaming monster that keeps no fixed territory. If left unchecked, the damage will spread without end."
Rex spoke while looking at a map marking the areas of harm. As it happened, the creature's path of movement was headed toward Kitania.
"We'll have to take it down. Have you ever faced one before?"
"I have only seen them in records. It is a beast rarely seen inland. It will not be easy even for you, Sir. It possesses a regenerative power that even surpasses a troll's."
"To what degree?"
Varda, who had been listening, picked up the thread of the conversation.
"Enough that even if a morning star tears its throat or a ballista pierces its belly, the wounds close up in an instant. There are records of Sicilian knights attempting to subjugate one in the past and failing. It is said that many brave knights fell in battle before they could finally drive it away, but the hunt itself failed."
It was an almost unbelievably powerful vitality. At that level, even beating it with a large flail as he had done with the Lamia Queen might fail to deal meaningful damage.
"Surely if you cut off its head, it does not simply grow a new one?"
At Eugene's question, Rex waved his hand dismissively.
"Haha. Surely not. Its regenerative power is simply so great that the rumors have been exaggerated."
"Is that so..."
Eugene stroked his chin and nodded.
End
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