MTEF 27

Chapter 27

“…Are you saying the servants working for House Leofric were paid separately? Who in the world would do such a thing…?”

“I purchased their labor. If you pay people properly, there won’t be any trouble afterward. That’s what I learned from Alistair.”

‘I knew it! So it was that bastard Alistair pulling the strings!’

At last, every piece of the puzzle fell into place.

At the same time, Galahad’s fury toward Alistair for orchestrating such an outrageous scheme exploded.

“You dared to buy off the proud people of House Leofric with a handful of silver? How insolent!”

Enraged, Galahad looked ready to charge at Ronin at any moment. The aggressive pheromones pouring from him were so overwhelming that even those merely standing nearby felt their legs give way, collapsing to the ground.

As a Beta, Ronin couldn’t sense pheromones, but he could still tell Galahad was furious to the very core.

His instincts for survival told him as much.

Though his breathing became ragged under the crushing pressure, Ronin refused to back down.

“Sir Galahad, do you know what that single silver coin meant to them?”

“What?”

“It was money that acknowledged the value of their labor and gave them a sense of pride. It was also medicine for a sick mother, a filling meal for their children, and savings that allowed them to dream about the future.”

The words flowed smoothly, as though he had rehearsed them countless times.

Inside, Ronin let out a sigh of relief.

‘Good thing I listened to the servants earlier.’

The servants had been excitedly chatting among themselves about the unexpected silver coins.

One laughed that he’d finally be able to eat quality meat for the first time in months.

Another quietly wiped away tears, saying she could finally buy medicine for her mother’s persistent cough.

Every one of them had looked genuinely happy.

Even if the reason the dowry had been used wasn’t entirely pure, even if the silver coins themselves were tainted, they had still given those people room to breathe.

And Ronin had no intention of taking away that breath.

Doing so would benefit neither them nor himself.

“If I don’t give them work, I can’t pay them. And if that happens, both their today and their tomorrow will disappear. Is that truly what you want, Sir Galahad?”

At Ronin’s bold words, Galahad’s eyes turned icy.

Even as Ronin could physically feel Galahad’s desire to tear him apart, he boldly made one final request.

“One last thing. I would like to correct the way you address me. I am not a child of House Alistair. I am the Grand Duchess of House Leofric. I sincerely ask that you address me by my proper title.”

How dare that rat proclaim himself the Grand Duchess of House Leofric?

Unless he was an utter fool, there was no way he didn’t understand the significance of this marriage.

Nor could he possibly be ignorant of the generations-long blood feud between House Leofric and House Alistair.

‘Judging by how cleverly he’s scheming, he’s certainly no fool. He’s simply a reckless brat born with a short life ahead of him.’

There was no point continuing the conversation.

Thinking so, Galahad reached for the bastard sword strapped across his back.

Then—

Throb!

A violent surge of pain shot through his body, enough to make him flinch.

It was a familiar agony…

One he could never grow accustomed to.

From experience, Galahad knew the pain wouldn’t disappear anytime soon.

He made his decision immediately.

“…Hmph. I’ll withdraw for today. I only hope that, from now on, the ‘Grand Duchess’ refrains from bewitching the proud people of House Leofric with that silver tongue of yours.”

His face remained expressionless, but inside was another matter entirely.

The sharp pain reminded him all too well of that day of betrayal.

Cold sweat streamed down his back as he endured it.

It likely dampened the old wound that had ultimately forced Galahad from the battlefield.

Yet he did not collapse.

He couldn’t.

Not while so many eyes were upon him.

‘And above all, I cannot fall before this cunning Alistair.’

Though retired from the battlefield, Galahad remained its living symbol.

As long as he stood, even their hollow territory could still be protected.

‘I have to endure until that child grows up enough to truly rebuild my domain.’

Thinking of the Grand Duke, who even now still wandered the battlefields, made this unbearable pain something he could tolerate.

No…

Something he had to endure.

Turning his back, Galahad climbed the stairs once more.

Fortunately, no one noticed the secret hidden beneath his broad, upright back.

Inside the command tent, lit by only the bare minimum of light, sat only the handful of people Calion trusted completely.

After hearing the report of everything that had happened at the castle, Calion’s expression darkened.

“A monster? How could a monster have gotten beneath there…?”

He was well acquainted with endemic diseases.

That was precisely why he had personally checked on Alistair when Ronin had collapsed with a fever.

Thanks to his unusual constitution, he himself was immune to endemic illnesses.

‘And that’s when that ridiculous incident happened.’

Even now, recalling what had happened that evening left him dumbfounded.

Forcing the vivid memory aside, Calion muttered,

“…I owe Alistair a debt.”

Regardless of what he thought of House Alistair or their intentions, he now owed Ronin his life.

Because the lives of the people of the North were no different from his own.

What puzzled him, however, was why—and how—Alistair had chosen to help.

‘What exactly was he thinking? Don’t tell me… was Alistair the one who released the monster into the water supply…?’

Although he was certain that couldn’t be true, the suspicion still lingered.

Ronin Alistair’s actions simply made no sense.

Especially considering everything that followed.

Even if Ronin had somehow discovered that the epidemic wasn’t caused by an endemic disease but by contaminated water, he had no obligation to solve the problem.

‘No. If anything, he should have concealed the cause and made the situation even worse.’

But Ronin Alistair had done the opposite.

He had uncovered the true cause of the fever that no one else had noticed and freely shared the knowledge he possessed.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Ronin Alistair had even used his own dowry to repair the castle and distribute fresh food.

He had effortlessly resolved problems that Lady Wyndham, who managed the castle’s finances, and Conrad had been unable to bring themselves to mention—problems that had burdened them with nothing but guilt.

The issues that had troubled them for so long had been solved all at once.

Yet Calion couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that remained.

Because the one who had solved them was Ronin Alistair.

“This came from Sir Galahad.”

A soldier cautiously handed Calion a letter.

He immediately broke the seal.

Though his face remained expressionless, the haste in his hands betrayed his urgency.

There is something important we must discuss. Return at once.

There wasn’t even a greeting—only the message itself.

Calion didn’t hesitate.

This week marked the beginning of his “safe period.”

“Baldwin, how is the monster subjugation progressing?”

Standing at attention opposite him, Baldwin answered immediately.

“We’ve destroyed the main force. As of this morning, the cave has been completely cleared. Only scattered remnants remain.”

“Finish the cleanup.”

“Huh? Commander, what about you?”

“I’m returning to the castle. …I need to find out what he’s really thinking.”

His godfather’s letter was reason enough.

But there was something else he absolutely had to uncover.

Perhaps it was even more urgent.

‘Ronin Alistair… I’ll expose the true face hidden beneath that handsome mask.’