Star-Embracing Swordmaster - Chapter 27
The stars were also looking at the boy (2)
Step-step-
A one-eyed knight was walking down the hallway of the mansion, lost in thought.
The servants were quickly passing by with their heads down as they saw Xayar’s frowning expression.
I’ve never been a person who creates a comfortable atmosphere, but especially so these days.
‘I wish I could lend a hand.’
Jayar was having a busy day these days.
In addition to the guard duties for Josef that he was originally performing, he was also responsible for Vlad’s swordsmanship and various trainings, and occasionally had to be called to Oksana to report on the conditions of Josef and Vlad.
It was inevitable that among the five knights originally under Josef, Rodrik died in the last subjugation battle, and the other two knights were injured while protecting Josef.
The only remaining knight was Bordan, but he could not be entrusted with Vlad’s training, so Xayar had to act in the end.
‘Raising one person isn’t something that bothers me much.’
Xayar sighed inwardly, thinking of Vlad.
The new blonde boy in charge was not an easy one to deal with to begin with, and he also had to be raised with the utmost care.
This means that he was a guy who needed attention regardless of how busy he was.
‘Well, you have to have grown seeds to know that.’
As Zayar walked down the hallway, he relaxed his stiff neck and thought.
If I had known this would happen, I would have tried raising at least one seed.
However, Zayar did not complain in particular.
That was his personality to begin with, and if he was to be busy, his master, Josef, was the busiest.
Anyone had to struggle to rise to the surface.
Although Zayar was walking as fast as he was busy, there was a voice calling him from far away.
“Lord Xayar. “Where are you so busy?”
“……this.”
Xayar frowned as he recognized the man waving and talking to him from the end of the hallway.
“Aren’t you showing your dislike on your face?”
“Honestly, I’m a bit busy.”
“Well, you must be busy in one way or another to take charge of Joseph’s work.”
Although he was urging him to end the conversation quickly, saying that he was busy, Gregory, the knight who was blocking Jayar’s path, did not seem to have any intention of letting him go easily.
“Is there anything you want to say?”
“But your face looks good.”
“I said I was busy.”
Zayar was seething inside when he saw Gregory blocking his path while he was busy, but he did not treat him carelessly.
Because he was one of the knights who stood neutral.
All the knights of the Bayezid family placed the orders of the head of the family, Peter, above all else, but their political views were divided into two branches.
Is it Rutger, the first son?
Is it Joseph, the second son?
Deciding who would be the next head of the family and who to stand behind was an important issue.
In order to be used properly as a knight, it was necessary not only to have skills but also to choose a good lord.
“A knight of Sir Xayar’s caliber should have received a seed and raised him. Actually, it still feels a little late. “I think so, Gregory.”
“…….”
However, the knight Gregory in front of me right now was not the one standing in the middle to choose between the two.
It was just that he was so free-spirited that even among the knights he was called an eccentric, so no one chose him.
“You raise your seeds well.”
“Our potli was already big, but too big. “You guys need to lose some weight.”
“What do you want to say?”
Looking at Xayar’s eyes becoming increasingly sharper, Gregory gently rubbed his hands and opened his mouth.
“Did you say Vlad? “That guy looks pretty useful.”
“He was chosen by Josef himself.”
“He has a manly personality and strong spirit.”
“What do you want to say?”
Gregory quickly stopped Zayar, who was trying to get irritated.
“As you know, it is difficult for a knight to intervene in matters between squires. “It’s something that doesn’t agree with each other.”
“yes.”
Xayar looked at Gregory, stroking his chin, as if he finally understood what he was trying to say.
“Go Vlad is being friendly with our Portli these days…”
“That guy doesn’t have any friends. “He’s a guy who lives for his own good taste.”
“Just ask me to go with you…”
No matter how proud a knight was, there were times when he had to ask someone.
“But that guy is my cousin’s nephew, so I can’t just let him go around here getting beaten up. “I tried asking other guys, but it didn’t help at all.”
“For free?”
Gregory, who thought that Zayar’s question had been answered to some extent, smiled and offered his hand.
“If things go well, you can use it later. “Not in jobs that are too dangerous or difficult.”
“……hmm.”
Anyway, what Gregory was asking for right now wasn’t something he had to do.
And one of the reasons I was so busy was because of him.
“Let’s talk.”
Zayar, who had been short-handed for a while, took Gregory’s hand without much thought and shook it lightly.
“But he doesn’t really listen to me.”
“oh. “He’s going to be big.”
It was Gregory who was laughing with an exaggerated expression at Zayar’s words.
“You really don’t listen.”
“Uh huh. “This guy is going to be really big.”
Gregory also seemed a little surprised to hear that he was not discouraged even under a knight with the skills and eccentricity of Jayar.
“Well, if you’re going to become a great knight, you have to have your own world.”
“He’s just a stubborn guy.”
The knights, who shared their concerns with the hands they had just held, passed each other with light hearts.
‘But you’ll still pretend to listen, right?’
After breaking up with Gregory, Zayar thought.
‘If you don’t listen, you can listen.’
If you don’t listen, I will beat you up.
Anyway, this guy had to be loyal to Josef for 7 years.
※※※※
“Kkhi!”
Vlad, who was just about to climb on while holding onto the reins, let out a strange scream and fell to the dirt.
Puhihihi –
The horse that had thrown Vlad to the ground shook its head and began to trot wildly.
Wow-!
calm down! Calm down, you guy!
The stable keepers mobilized for this class tried to calm him down, but the horse was so startled by something that it started shaking its body and running wild.
“Mr. Geez!”
Vlad quickly rolled away to avoid the horse that was raising its front paws threateningly.
It was bound to be a mess, but it was better than getting hit by a horse’s hoof.
Heeeeeee- As
soon as Vlad got out of the vicinity, the horse began to find peace again as if it had never been like that before.
‘This bastard?’
Vlad was very upset when he saw the horse, which was normally calm, but became excited whenever he held the reins.
“Vlad! “You get out!”
“Instructor. Just one more chance…”
“No. The horse was surprised. Besides, didn’t you say you’ve never ridden a horse? “It’s too dangerous now.”
Seeing the instructor not letting him get close to the horse, Vlad was so angry that he let out a low curse in his mind.
‘shit! ‘Shouldn’t you climb on top of it and have a look?’
Vlad was so pitiful that he couldn’t help but feel sorry for himself.
I don’t know about the guys here, but Vlad knew very well how precious every minute of training was.
The classes that the Bayezid family provided for their servants were all about advanced techniques.
No matter where I tried to learn, there were only things that were not easily taught.
But I couldn’t help but feel bubbling inside because I was kicked out without even trying such a valuable opportunity.
How many times or how many days.
‘shit!’
Horses, and indeed most animals, did not listen to Vlad’s words at all.
“A guy who can’t even ride a horse wants to become a knight?”
“I should have learned horseback riding a long time ago.”
There were some guys who poured fuel on Vlad.
When I turned my head to follow the ridicule heard from behind, there were several servants who usually followed Sovanin closely.
They were so grouped together that I couldn’t handle them yet.
“…….”
Because of my temper, I wanted to crush him right away, but I decided to hold back for now.
Because, as those guys said, it was true that he was not good at handling words.
Moreover, if Josef rushed in blindly, he could have been in trouble.
It was impossible to burden Josef, the only person who looked after him, with such trivial matters.
‘I need to get it over with quickly or something.’
Instead, I planned to seize the opportunity and take him to a place where no one knows and beat him up.
A fist is such a mysterious thing that it can convey one’s intentions to the other person without having to say anything and can make the other person realize it without being asked to do so.
Just like the servants who are looking the other way and trying not to look at themselves.
‘Ah, but why not?’
Vlad ran his hands through his hair and went to where the servants were gathered and flopped down.
“Sovanin!”
“also!”
As soon as he sat down, he saw Sovanin riding a horse and jumping over obstacles.
Although he didn’t really want to see Sovanin, his eyes naturally met and Vlad’s stomach boiled as he looked at him.
‘Nimi has been riding horses since she was young, so of course she’s good at riding them…’
Vlad was a talented guy and a man with enough spirit to be the leader of ten mercenaries, but unlike Vlad, the servants here are all one-of-a-kind. It was just the guys who were ready together.
What these guys lack is just experience in combat. If they had that, they would be able to easily deal with half-baked mercenaries.
Except for a few like Potli.
“Are you okay, Vlad?”
“Do not talk to me. “Because I want to be alone.”
“Uh huh.”
Portli came over to comfort Vlad, but his sharp reaction left him embarrassed and he had no choice but to return to his original position.
‘I will definitely ride it.’
Vlad’s eyes were burning as he looked at the horse that had dropped him.
Heeeeeee-
not knowing that such an appearance would actually make the horse more scared.
※※※※
“The problem is not the captain.”
“what?”
After the horseback riding class, the servants dispersed to do their own things.
“I said it wasn’t the captain’s fault, so I couldn’t get on it at all.”
“It did.”
Vlad was following the stablekeepers as they drove the horses, wondering if he could get one more ride.
“I’m not a professional horse trainer, but there are very few people who can’t even get on a horse in the first place.”
“You’re not arguing, are you?”
“No. listen.”
Goat picked up the bucket he was holding and continued speaking.
“The horses of the Bayezid family are all well trained. “They’re not people who avoid people.”
“however?”
“But as soon as the captain approached him, he got scared and ran away. This is strange regardless of whether you are good at it or not. “I heard other people thought it was strange too.”
“……shit.”
After hearing Goth’s words, Vlad had scenes that came to mind.
‘Because everything that walks on four legs hates me.’
It’s been like that since long ago.
dog cat bird.
Without much to say, all the animals were scared whenever Vlad went near them.
He hated it so much that Jemina laughed at him, saying that even if he had done something wrong in his previous life, he would have made a big mistake.
In the first place, if you were to touch something like a cat, you had to set up a trap, catch it, and then approach it, so there was no way to refute it.
“…is it the same with words?”
Vlad felt uncomfortable as he wondered if the horse was also avoiding him.
Because this was not a matter of whether I liked it or not, it was something that had to be done.
“But you rode Sir Xayar’s horse?”
The night he fled from the dead, Vlad had clearly ridden Xayar’s horse.
Even though it was driven by a goth.
“The horse that Sir Xayar rides is a very expensive horse.”
When Goth said that he would not have been easily scared because he had such a good pedigree, Vlad bowed his head again.
‘I can’t say I can only ride expensive horses.’
Lamenting over something that hasn’t happened won’t solve the problem.
Anyway, it was hot today.
“good.”
“Why don’t you try it?”
“I was heartbroken.”
Vlad decided that it would be better to prepare for a spar with Xayar than to ride a horse that would not work, so he planned to go back to the training ground.
With that in mind, Vlad was about to leave when he heard someone’s familiar voice.
“hmm.”
He could have ignored it and passed by, but Vlad decided to go to the place where the sound was coming from.
Watching for unusual trends around you was something that Jorge had emphasized in the past.
Because danger and threats were always nearby.
Vlad walked along the quiet part of the mansion towards where the sound led him.
puck-!
Wow!
And there, a scene I had seen countless times when I used to live in the back alley was unfolding.
“I’ve been leaving this little pig alone these days!”
“Is it nice to have a friend after a long time?”
“Anyway, you dirty bastards are playing together. I heard you’re supposed to get together.”
Sovanin and his children were there.
Surrounding Potli, who was crying sadly.
‘I’ve been getting beaten up like that.’
Vlad had a bitter taste in his mouth as he saw Potli being beaten and crying without being able to speak properly.
“…Wherever you go, people live all the same.”
Those who are living well and those who are not living well.
In the end, they were just guys who preyed on those who were weaker than them.
Vlad quietly leaned against the wall of the mansion and closed his eyes.
“…….”
Should I step forward or not?
When I was in the back alley, it was easy to judge.
If someone from the Zemina, Haven or Jorge family was being beaten, Vlad would have taken action without even thinking.
Because it was the law of the back alleys that one had to move for the sake of those who were bound as brothers, whether they were bound by heart or organization.
However, the guy being beaten over there was not the person he was tied up with.
We were just having a meal together.
“…But I feel like shit.”
Normally, he would have left without even thinking about it, but now Vlad was standing still and thinking.
Should I step up for others or not?
To what extent am I and someone else?
And am I a person who can step up for others?
“…It’s ambiguous.”
The boy was not yet aware of the fact that as his world expanded, he could embrace more things.
Along with Portli’s mournful cries, Vlad’s worries were deepening.