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Chapter 57
You Followed Me All the Way Here?
I pulled my hood low and stepped down from the carriage.
The lord who came out to greet us was holding onto Sidor’s hand, talking at length about something before finally going inside without another word.
“Why does it look like Sidor’s the lord here?”
While the actual lord bowed politely, Sidor stood there like a king, dignified and imposing.
“He probably wouldn’t even flinch if someone pointed a sword at his throat.”
I watched him with faint admiration, but just then, Sidor suddenly turned his head, and our eyes met.
Flustered for no reason, I quickly looked down. The thick hood made my face feel uncomfortably hot.
After the lord went inside, the castle’s butler started assigning rooms — and that’s when the problem began.
“I’m sorry, but we’re short one room. There’s plenty of space outside for tents, so one of you will have to sleep there.”
It wasn’t a large castle, so naturally, not everyone could stay inside.
Usually, only the higher-ranking members got rooms, while the rest slept in tents set up in the courtyard. But apparently, even those few rooms weren’t enough.
Sidor raised a brow.
“No rooms left?”
“Yes, sir. We had an unexpected guest arrive today…”
“I see.”
He clicked his tongue and turned around.
Whether by coincidence or not, his gaze landed right on me. Of course, I was among those requesting a room — I was the only woman in the entire group.
Sidor slowly opened his mouth.
“Then…”
My heart began pounding for some reason, waiting for what he’d say.
But then, an unexpected voice came from behind me.
“Then I can share a room with my brother.”
“Huh?”
That cheerful, familiar voice— I turned around with a bright smile.
“Grisha!”
The slender young man waving his hand as he walked toward us was unmistakably Grisha.
That explained why the lord couldn’t turn away his “unexpected guest.”
He was Sidor’s younger brother!
Judging by Sidor’s expression, he hadn’t known Grisha would show up either. His face twisted sharply.
“Why are you here?”
Grisha only laughed lightly and shrugged.
“You mentioned there’d be monsters to see. I came right away — I’ve always been interested in magical beasts, you know.”
“You? And how exactly did you find out about this?”
Sidor’s eyes immediately shifted to me.
I shook my head fast — I hadn’t said a word!
The real culprit was Jacques.
With a solemn face, he said,
“Elves do not lie to their brothers.”
“…Never mind.”
So that was it.
Grisha had asked Jacques about the subjugation, and since Jacques had become his sworn brother after breaking his curse, he’d told him everything honestly.
It might have been complicated militarily, but from my perspective, I was just happy to see Grisha again.
I hurried over and grabbed both his hands.
“Grisha! I’m so glad! I felt bad about leaving so suddenly without saying goodbye.”
“I read the letter you left at the mansion. Don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean to run off just to get rid of me.”
Smiling brightly, he turned toward Sidor.
“Even if it’s a little inconvenient, we should give the lady her own room, don’t you think, brother?”
“…Fine. Sure.”
It almost sounded like Sidor’s jaw cracked from the tension.
Dinner that evening was a banquet hosted by the lord. The dining hall was enormous, large enough to seat everyone.
Sidor and Grisha, being noble guests, were seated near the lord at the head of the table.
As for me, wanting to avoid attention, I planned to sit quietly near the knights at the far end.
That was the plan, anyway.
“So how did I end up like this?”
Because both Sidor and Grisha came all the way down to sit at the end — and somehow, I ended up sitting between them.
At this point, wasn’t I sitting in the seat of honor?
Even the lord looked visibly uncomfortable, though he didn’t dare complain to Sidor about the improper seating arrangement.
Eventually, before the appetizers were even done—
“My stomach… feels a bit unsettled. My apologies, I’ll excuse myself.”
The lord practically fled from the room.
“I get it. I’m uncomfortable too.”
If they were going to sit like this, they could at least talk properly, but neither Sidor nor Grisha said a word. They just ate in silence.
Unable to bear it any longer, I broke the silence.
“I was so surprised! I didn’t think I’d run into you here, Grisha.”
“Me neither.”
Even as he answered me, Grisha smiled triumphantly at Sidor.
Sidor’s jaw cracked again.
“Wait. Were they… competing over who I talk to first?”
That couldn’t be. They weren’t children.
And yet, everything about this scene screamed yes, exactly that.
When I glanced at Sidor with a “You’re not serious, right?” expression, he shot me a look full of reproach.
“You’re serious?!”
What was wrong with everyone tonight?
“What’s the point of this stupid showdown anyway?”
Why did it even matter who I talked to first? How had this ridiculous power struggle even started?
“I only spoke to Grisha first because I’ve known him longer.”
The tension was so thick that even the knights sitting nearby couldn’t stand it; one by one, they picked up their plates and moved elsewhere.
Before I knew it, the three of us were sitting on our own little island at the end of the long table.
Grisha smiled softly and asked,
“By the way, what should I call you? I can’t use your real name here, right?”
“Just call me ‘Mage,’ or like at the academy — ‘Senior’ or something.”
“Living under a disguise is inconvenient, huh.”
“That’s not the inconvenient part!”
Feeling a sudden need to mediate before things got worse, I forced a smile.
“Um… the knights look uncomfortable.”
Honestly, everyone looked uncomfortable. Even I, the least perceptive person here, could tell the atmosphere was freezing.
But instead of lightening the mood, Grisha dumped a bucket of ice on it.
“They probably feel that way because my brother and I don’t get along.”
“Get along? This is about someone barging into an operation without notice. I honestly didn’t expect you to follow us this far.”
“Every citizen has the right to travel wherever they please. And from the knights’ perspective, isn’t another mage a good thing? I couldn’t just let someone I care about get dragged into a dangerous monster hunt.”
“There’s already a Swordmaster here. How dangerous could it be?”
“If it weren’t dangerous, we wouldn’t have to hold this subjugation every year, would we? Monsters would’ve gone extinct by now.”
“One is enough.”
“Which means having more is better. Let’s be rational, brother.”
“Rationally speaking, we’ve already assigned personnel to protect one mage. Having another suddenly show up is not a blessing.”
“Can’t you handle that much improvisation?”
“…”
The speed at which their argument escalated made my head spin. My mouth fell open in shock.
“Since when were they both this good at arguing?”
It was a scene I never thought I’d witness in my lifetime.
“Though… it’s not exactly pleasant.”
More like nerve-racking. The servants still quietly serving food through the icy tension deserved awards for professionalism.
I kept my head down, afraid I’d get caught in the crossfire if I so much as looked up.
Honestly, I started to miss those plates piled high with vegetables — at least I could’ve picked through them to look busy.
“Everyone looks so miserable.”
The argument showed no sign of stopping, and unlike the knights, I couldn’t exactly stand up and walk away.
I waved over a maid.
“Excuse me, could I get a beer?”
My throat felt dry. I needed something.
But the moment I took a sip of the golden liquid she handed me, my face scrunched up.
“Ugh, bitter!”
The beer I’d had at the academy had been much sweeter — and more herbal-tasting, too.
“What’s different about this one?”
To wash away the bitterness, I took a bite of the meat in front of me. Suddenly, it tasted incredibly rich and tender.
“Oh… they actually go really well together.”
Maybe they made the beer bitter on purpose — to pair it with the greasy meat?
“This goes down dangerously easy.”
A bite, a sip. A bite, a sip.
Who knows how long that went on before Grisha suddenly snatched my mug away.
“Ah! What are you drinking?!”
Even Sidor frowned in alarm.
“Beer? Did you drink all of that yourself?”
All of it?
I blinked and looked under the table — a small collection of empty mugs stared back at me.
“Huh. When did I drink all those?”
For some reason, everything suddenly felt funny. Light. Warm. My cheeks hurt from smiling.
“Why are you both so surprised? Grisha, you drank this all the time at the academy!”
Grisha grabbed my shoulders, panicked.
And only then did I notice I was leaning sideways — directly toward Sidor.
“Wait, or is the world leaning?”
As I pondered this deeply philosophical question, Grisha shouted,
“At the academy, that was root beer! This is real beer!”
“Eh? Aren’t they the same thing?”
“No! Root beer is brewed differently — it doesn’t make you drunk!”
“Really?”
So this one did make you drunk?
But what did being drunk even feel like—
The world suddenly spun. I squinted and muttered,
“I think… I’m dizzy.”
And then, I collapsed forward.
Everything went dark.
