GDTEA Chapter 113

Absurd

It was an offhand question, but the merchant didn’t particularly mind.

He figured Ren lived in the mountains and was simply behind on news, and in truth, most commoners wouldn’t recognize a noble’s face anyway.

The merchant kept walking as he opened his mouth.

“Gwendhill can be summed up in a single line.”

The House of Gwendhill had many epithets, and dozens of rumors trailed behind it.

But at this point in time, Gwendhill could be described in just one sentence.

“‘A house that will be recorded in history, generation after generation, as traitors.’“

Ren, who had been walking alongside the merchant, faltered.

Treason? The moment Ren reflexively moved to echo the word aloud, the merchant let out a sigh.

“They’ll go down in history most dishonorably.”

“……”

At the merchant’s added words, Ren furrowed his brow.

There was a vague, prickling discomfort, like a fishbone caught in his throat.

It seemed to bother him that, of all things, what it was entangled with was treason and dishonor.

“……Forget that—is there any other information about Gwendhill?”

Ren simply wanted to focus on the parts he’d overheard on the roadside—the word Grand Duke, and what the merchant had mentioned about a Sword Master.

Seeing that Ren’s reaction was lukewarm, the merchant began to unpack his bundle of stories.

“The reason the Great Empire of Neweiton became as powerful as it is now was because of the House of Gwendhill—and in particular, because of the Grand Duke of Gwendhill, who is a Sword Master. They call him a war demon or a murderous fiend, but who could cast a stone at his achievements?”

“……A murderous… fiend?”

Ren’s eyes wavered greatly.

“He’s called a war demon for cutting down countless enemies in battle, and murderous fiend is……well, it’s a term that refers to the Grand Duke himself.”

“……”

“You see, even before he was the heir to the House of Gwendhill, there were rumors that a corpse turned up in his bedchamber every single time.”

The merchant glanced sideways at Ren and whispered conspiratorially.

“They say it died down a bit once he came of age, but he supposedly killed just as many people with his sword outside as well. Not only in the Grand Duchy, but in the capital too—they say people were dying in tremendous numbers.”

“……Couldn’t it just be rumors?”

“Good heavens, if it were mere rumors, would they have spread all across the empire?”

The merchant chuckled, but in contrast, Ren’s complexion grew increasingly darker.

“……Were there eyewitnesses?”

“Oh, yes. They say he even swung his sword in front of a child.”

“……”

Ren covered his mouth.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe. His mind went blank.

He felt that if he lowered his hand right now, a string of curses would spill out.

“Still, the imperial family—well, His Majesty the Emperor—shields the Grand Duke, so it’s said there was a legitimate reason……. But honestly, who can really say. High-ranking people are like that, aren’t they? They kill someone because the weather’s bad, they kill someone because they’re in a foul mood, they kill someone because they find them irritating—just like that.”

Whether or not Ren’s face was stiffening by the moment, the merchant gave a casual shrug.

Ren felt his stomach turn, and he stopped his already-slow steps.

[The name—no, the surname—that Ren asked about is one of the names I can never forget.]

He recalled Sha, who had gone into convulsions at the mere word Gwendhill until she couldn’t even breathe.

In a state of complete exhaustion, she had collapsed into his arms, and with each breath that seemed on the verge of snapping, she had struggled to get out her words—that voice still echoed in his ears.

[The one who bears that surname is someone I must never meet, for the rest of my life, until the day I die. Someone I’d want to avoid even in my dreams.]

He didn’t know what her story was, or what had been done to her.

Sha had been in such agony that he couldn’t bear to ask, and hadn’t wanted to.

But separate from that, he was curious about Gwendhill. He wanted to know what kind of grudge had intertwined with her, keeping her living in pain to this day, and what kind of being this person was.

‘But to think……’

Ren ground his teeth.

The person bearing the name Gwendhill—no, that surname—was far more worthless than he had imagined.

‘No wonder Sha is wary of nobles, with a beast like that holding power.’

Ren clicked his tongue and swept his bangs back.

His chest felt suffocated, and he let out a long breath.

‘If a body was found, that means he’s dead.’

To betray the very imperial family that had shielded him and attempt treason—was that not the act of a monster?

Ren furrowed his brows. But strangely, his chest ached.

Was it because of what the Tower Master had said?

‘What on earth was the connection between him and me?’

The Tower Master’s warning—that merely uttering the name Gwendhill would be enough to land him in prison, that he had committed a grave crime—kept nagging at his heart.

What could he possibly have done to commit a grave crime against a traitorous noble?

‘Could it be that I reported the Grand Duke’s treasonous intent to someone?’

Beyond that, he couldn’t grasp even a thread of an answer.

But if his guess was right, then reporting the treason would mean he had rendered a great service to the empire.

Why, then, had the Tower Master used the word criminal without conveying any of that to him?

‘It was almost as though he was telling me to keep hiding.’

Come to think of it now, the Tower Master’s attitude had been thoroughly unsettling.

‘He had mistaken me for someone else.’

The Tower Master, who had been searching for a particular person and mistook Ren for them, had been quite amicable. Even after acknowledging the mistake, his attitude remained consistent.

That had remained a question in Ren’s mind until now.

Lost in a tangle of hypotheses and speculations, Ren suddenly let out a short, wry laugh.

“—Ha. I have no idea what kind of absurd thoughts are running through my head right now.”

The Grand Duke was dead. They said a body had even been found.

And Ren himself, though he had lost his memories, was alive and well.

Ren shook his head from side to side.

“My goodness! I was wondering where you’d gone!”

Just then, the merchant, who had gone ahead, turned back and found Ren standing still, lost in thought.

Ren said it was nothing and quickened his pace again.

He tried to stop thinking about Gwendhill, but the merchant resumed his storytelling.

“Still, there are many who followed or admired the Grand Duke of Gwendhill.”

Perhaps feeling he had said too many unkind things, the merchant belatedly began listing the man’s virtues.

“Being a Sword Master probably had something to do with it—he was quite highly regarded by the knights and soldiers for his exceptional swordsmanship. Above all, he was famous throughout the Grand Duchy for treating crimes and punishments equally, regardless of one’s social standing.”

“……Ha.”

And yet he was still a murderous fiend. Who was he to judge another’s crimes and mete out punishment?

Ren reflexively scoffed.

Having lost interest in Gwendhill, Ren changed the subject.

“By the way—is being a Sword Master really that remarkable?”

“Hmm? Oh, you’re not familiar with it. Sword Masters are a rare few in the empire, and even nobles apparently don’t treat them carelessly. For someone of our standing, if you hone your swordsmanship and become a Sword Master, you’re treated with the highest regard—it’s a kind of condition for rising in status, so to speak.”

“Does anyone with exceptional swordsmanship become a Sword Master?”

At the mention of a condition for rising in status, Ren snapped his head around.

At the intense, keen look in his eyes, the merchant scratched his head.

“Would a mage who excels at magic automatically become a Tower Master? At best, they’d become a senior mage—so for swordsmanship, even if you’re reasonably skilled, the most you’d reach is the captaincy of some knight order.”

Of course, the imperial knight order’s commander was a Sword Master.

It was only natural, since one must serve and protect the one who sits upon the throne.

“Ah, but the Grand Duke of Gwendhill wasn’t famous just because he was a Sword Master.”

It wasn’t as though an empire had Sword Masters but enemy nations didn’t.

“They say the Grand Duke of Gwendhill had such a peculiar constitution.”

“……Constitution?”

“I’m not sure how accurate this is, but they say he took a direct hit from an enemy nation’s offensive magic and came out completely unscathed.”

“……”

In that instant, something plummeted inside his chest.

And immediately after, an icy sensation spread through it.

“……A special constitution where magic doesn’t work on him?”

His mind was in chaos, when the merchant pointed ahead.

“We’ve arrived.”

They had reached the front gate of Count Chelonar’s mansion. Ren clenched his fist and pulled himself together.

What mattered right now wasn’t anything to do with Gwendhill.

He needed to safely bring Tein out and reassure Sha, who was surely anxious by now.

‘……There’s no harm in thinking about it after that.’

A merchant like this would surely deal in noble portraits as well.

Ren forcibly suppressed the stirring in his heart and stepped inside the count’s mansion.

In this moment, he was nothing but grateful for the memories that refused to return.

****

Tein was in a difficult situation.

Having hidden under the bed all night long, his stomach had begun making loud, gurgling noises even when he pressed a hand to it.

On top of that, he needed to use the bathroom.

‘Uugh……’

Tein stole a glance at the empty space beside him.

He had spent all night soothing the little angel, but when he woke up, she was nowhere to be found.

[Wait, why is she sleeping on the floor today?]

At some point while he wasn’t paying attention, Eryl had slipped out from under the bed and was discovered lying on the floor, far away from the bed.

‘What do I do.’

Tein was both thirsty and fighting the urge to get up, and he could only repeatedly clench and unclench his hand.

Anxiety crept onto Tein’s face at the thought that he might end up wetting himself.

“I’d better go report to the head maid and get someone to take over.”

“Yeah, I’m so tired.”

Just then, the maids who had been keeping watch over Eryl began to file out of the room, stifling yawns.

Tein perked up and watched from beneath the bed as the maids’ feet disappeared out the door.

Tak—. At the sound of the door shutting, Tein poked his head out from under the bed.

“It’s an emergency, an emergency.”

Tein grabbed hold of his waistband and scrambled hastily out from under the bed.

But he couldn’t simply walk straight out of the room. If he ran into any of the servants that way, the effort of hiding all night would be for nothing.

Hopping from foot to foot, Tein squeezed his eyes shut.

“There’s no choice.”

In moments of crisis, Tein always did as his grandmother had taught him.

[When you’re surrounded by enemies in a situation where you cannot surrender, target the weakest one. Even subduing just one of them gives you a fighting chance.]

Tein promptly turned back to the bed and grabbed the hand of Eryl, who was sleeping soundly, and shook it.

“Mmng……?”

Eryl, who hadn’t been sleeping deeply, opened her eyes with a drowsy face, and Tein shoved his face right up to hers.

“I-I need to use the bathroom!”

“Mm-mm?”

“I need the little angel’s help. Where’s the bathroom?”

“Mmm……”

At the address of little angel, Eryl—who had been rubbing her eyes—blinked. Then, responding to the urgency in Tein’s question, Eryl pointed to the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

“Over theeeere……”

“Thank you!”

Tein rushed into the bathroom.

Eryl tilted her head, watching as Tein disappeared in a flash.

The appearance of a child her own age, someone she had never once seen in the manor, intrigued her. Perhaps her father had brought this child here as a gift for her, since she was always playing alone.

“Eryl help?”

Eryl first worked up the courage to whisper softly in front of the bathroom door.

Being still very young, Eryl needed help even when using the bathroom.

“I can do it myself.”

“Mmm……”

At the plucky refusal that came from inside the bathroom, Eryl sulked and began sucking on her finger.

Soon, Tein emerged, having even washed his hands, and immediately held them out.

“I can’t find a towel. I need to dry my hands.”

When Tein asked for help, Eryl broke into a bright, beaming smile. Then she stretched out the hem of her nightgown dress.

“Dry them here!”

The moment a flustered Tein quietly moved to wipe his hands on her clothes—

Grrrrrrrrrrrrgle……!

His stomach clock finally went off with a vengeance, and Tein and Eryl both pressed their lips tightly shut.

Eryl blinked her large eyes. For someone like Eryl, who always had snacks on hand, it was a sound she had never heard before.

Tein looked at Eryl, his cheeks flushed red.

“Where is the kitchen?”

“Oh! Wait!”

Delighted at being asked for help again, Eryl climbed back up onto the bed.

Eryl pulled something out from beneath her pillow as Tein watched with puzzlement—a small handbell.

Eryl grinned and gave the handbell a vigorous shake.

The moment a startled Tein flinched, the bedroom door opened and the head maid walked in.

“Hmm?”

The moment the head maid and Tein’s eyes met, Eryl smiled.

“I don’t know where the kitchen is.”

The young lady of the count’s house naturally had no way of knowing where the kitchen was.

So in situations like this, it was only right to summon the servants.

“Where’s the kitchen?”

At Eryl’s bright, innocent question, Tein glanced nervously at the head maid and approached her.

Then he looked up at her with pitiful eyes.

“I’m very hungry……”

If you’ve been caught by the enemy, it can’t be helped.

You had to be in peak condition to look for your next opportunity.