Despite the late hour, Count Eckhart was still composed.
Even with his stiff expression, there was no trace of fatigue in his appearance, which sohow reminded Laius of Arendt, leaving him with a sowhat strange feeling.
Arendt was composed and elegant in everything he did.
He was truly a model of a well-educated nobleman.
Even when relaxed, he never crossed the line, not even in combat.
From the posture in which he drew his sword to the impulsive mont when he charged into the enemy, his movents were completely free of unnecessary elents.
“Captain, I appreciate you taking the ti out of your busy schedule to et with . I also heard that you were seriously injured.”
Count Eckhart, who gave an extrely emotionless greeting, was also like that.
The Count’s gaze was fixed firmly on Laius’ shoulder, preventing him from moving.
Laius t his gaze calmly and answered indifferently.
“No, it’s nothing. It’s only natural for to visit since you must be curious about the situation. As for my injury, it’s not severe enough to prevent movent.”
“I won’t take up too much of your ti.”
It was an extrely polite remark.
Normally, he would have taken it for granted, but for so reason, Laius didn’t like the Count’s tone.
“I’m fine, but I think I’ll have to stay here until my n’s injuries have sowhat recovered. I haven’t shared the situation with the First and Third Knight Orders that were dispatched to other regions, so I’ll probably be staying with the Count for a while. Is that okay?”
The Count furrowed his eyebrows for a mont, but answered without much change in expression.
“Of course, there’s no problem. Stay as long as you need. I apologize for having to house you in such a shabby place.”
“…”
It was the ti to give a formal thank you, but Laius found it difficult to open his mouth.
Count Eckhart, who had a rough idea of what Laius was trying to say, let out a slow sigh.
“It was sowhat regrettable, but I do not want to involve personal matters in official business.”
Laius’ blue eyes sank coldly.
“If that’s what you an, then I understand. It wasn’t my place to interfere.”
“…I’m sorry, but I don’t know what part of it upset you, Captain.”
“Are you serious?”
Count Eckhart paused at the answer that ca without a mont’s hesitation.
His unusually deep and blue eyes captured the Count’s entire being.
“If you truly speak with no falsehoods, then I, too, won’t feel the need to add anything further.”
It’s not even worth ntioning.
Those cold words sounded like that to Count Eckhart.
The Count remained silent for a while, neither easily agreeing nor disagreeing.
Without needing to wait any longer, Laius took the initiative and changed the subject.
“During our stay, the expenses will be covered by the imperial palace. The recovery of the bodies has been entrusted to the city guard and your knights. The enemies who appeared imdiately have been completely dealt with, but since there may be lingering forces, it would be wise to restrict passage for the ti being.”
The Count hesitated for a mont and then slowly nodded.
“I will do as you say.”
Laius continued speaking stiffly.
“We have kept those with less injuries on site, so you don’t have to worry too much. However, there is a possibility that the Evil Cult will attack again. Please keep an eye out for any further abnormalities.”
The Count did not respond and just quietly listened to Laius’ flat, emotionless voice.
“Arendt is currently at the forefront of the conflict with the Evil Cult, so I suspect that this attack is also a retaliation against him. There is no guarantee that it will not happen again in the future, so it would be wise not to let your guard down.”
After a long pause, Count Eckhart slowly nodded his head.
“…Thank you for the advice.”
There was still an unrecognizable crack on his expressionless face.
“I will apologize for the trouble caused to the Eckhart family. I will take responsibility, resolve the situation, and do my best to prevent any further harm.”
At first, it seed like a natural thing for a Captain of the Imperial Knights to say, but it was a clear statent that drew a firm line.
The Count and Arendt were not related in any way, so Arendt had no reason to apologize or worry about the influence he may have had on the Count’s family.
And from now on, Laius, as the Captain, would act as Arendt’s representative when discussing things with the Count’s family.
It wasn’t exactly sothing surprising or new.
It was Count Eckhart who first proposed severing ties, and he and Arendt declared their formal breaking of ties in front of the Crown Prince and all the nobles who were watching.
Besides, recently, he was waging a fierce battle against the Khan Union.
The Count’s hands, which had been clasped neatly on the table, tightened.
After a long ti, the Count opened his mouth.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Please speak.”
“I heard that even His Highness the Crown Prince trusted him. I even heard a rumor that His Majesty the Emperor showed interest in him at a banquet.”
Although there was no subject, it was clear enough who the Count was referring to.
“I feel like the Captain is being overly concerned. My eldest son has also turned his back on .”
As Laius listened quietly, the Count continued speaking slowly.
“Am I missing sothing?”
Before he knew it, the Count had raised his head and was staring at Laius.
Laius looked straight at him and said sharply.
“My father died with his arms wrapped around .”
The Count’s eyes opened slightly at the unexpected words.
A calm voice ca from the knight captain.
“If he had run away alone, he would have definitely survived, but he died at the hands of an intruder to protect .”
There were few people in this Empire who did not know the story of Laius de Winfried.
The sa was true of Count Eckhart.
The only son of the wealthy and peaceful Winfried family.
Marquis Winfried, who had been taking care of his family and managing his lands, was killed in an instant by a group of thieves blinded by money.
The castle was on fire and all the servants fled.
The Marchioness was killed by bandits while trying to evacuate her servants first, and Marquis Winfried was stabbed in the back while hugging his young son.
Laius de Winfried was the sole survivor of the incident.
“Recently, seeing Arendt stay up for days on end due to the issues with the Khan Union reminded of that ti. Of course, I am not asking the sa sacrifice of you, Count…”
Laius, who had montarily trailed off, coldly added.
“If you felt that you were missing sothing, then this story is not so irrelevant. If you simply felt that Arendt’s talent was wasted, then my long-winded explanation would be of no use.”
“…”
“You should have asked about Arendt’s condition as soon as I entered, Count. If you had done so, I wouldn’t be feeling this discomfort right now.”
Count Eckhart did not answer.
As the silence stretched on, Laius let out a short sigh and got up from his seat first.
“I will be in your care for the ti being. Please take good care of .”
The captain didn’t bother waiting for an answer.
Count Eckhart couldn’t bring himself to stop him as he got up and went out of the office.
Thud.
The door closed and the office was plunged into an eerie silence.
After sitting still for a while, as if nailed to his seat, the Count let out a deep sigh.
“Hoooo…”
The hand holding his head was pale, as if drained of color.
It was the day, after a very long ti, that his father returned ho.
It was a rare morning when he ate a proper al of rice instead of cup ran, went to bed early, and woke up.
For so reason, the house was empty.
Trapped in the silence of the small house, with a stinky blanket half-draped over him, the boy blinked for a long ti.
There was mold on the ceiling, and the whole house slled musty, as if it hadn’t been properly cleaned in a long ti.
Even that had beco so familiar that he couldn’t even sll it.
But that day, the cold air inside the house was unusually eerie.
“…Cold.”
He shivered and instinctively pulled the blanket over him.
Even though he listened carefully, he couldn’t feel any movent.
The humming sound of the old refrigerator was strangely ominous.
Sohow, he felt uneasy.
So he did sothing he normally wouldn’t do.
“Father?”
In the tiny house, he called out to an unseen presence.
As expected, there was no answer.
It wasn’t scary.
Because he was used to being alone.
It had been quite so ti since his mother had left ho, and his father rarely ca ho.
He would show up once every two weeks or once every three months, give him a few pennies, stay for just one night, and then suddenly disappear sowhere else.
So he thought it would be the sa this ti too.
But soon the boy realized that the room was a little different than usual.
All of his father’s clothes that were hanging on the hangers disappeared.
Thinking about it, he rembered his father, who had been taking out valuable items like TVs and watches one by one when he ca last ti.
The man spoke clumsily to his son, who was looking at his father carrying the TV with a puzzled look.
“Because it’s been so long.”
He instinctively knew it was a lie.
His father was bad at controlling his facial expressions, and he was unusually perceptive from a young age.
But he didn’t say anything.
It was because he knew full well that nothing would be solved even if he interfered.
And again today.
The refrigerator, which was running noisily, made its presence felt special, and the empty hangers looked particularly out of place.
Yesterday, his father, who ca back after a long ti, had a big bag with him.
He probably just stuffed a few sets of clothes into that bag and left.
He vividly rembered him moving cautiously like a thief, afraid that his son might wake up.
“…”
As he looked around the small room, he soon noticed another unusual occurrence.
On the small tray, barely big enough for two people to lean in and eat together, a white envelope was placed.
There was quite a bit of money in it.
After thinking about it for a mont, he slowly started counting the money.
He couldn’t figure out why that was.
Maybe, by the ti all the money was counted, he had hoped that soone would suddenly open the door and co back.
Even at that mont, he felt the bitter cold.
Was the heating system broken?
Was it winter to begin with?
He had a vague doubt, but soon shook it off.
Because he was faced with more important issues than such trivial things.
He calmly counted the money, even though he felt his body tremble.
The envelope contained exactly three months’ rent.
The mont he saw the amount, Lee Soo-hyun, who was in his mid-teens, realized it.
The fact that his father would never return.
The door to that cramped house would never open again.
“Ah…”
Bam.
The hand that had been holding the envelope fell limply to the floor.
He wasn’t that sad or angry, but he felt a bit empty.
“What a shitty life.”
It felt as if a puff of white breath was coming out of the mouth that cursed.
The cold that made his body shiver showed no sign of going away.
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