WYDM 16

So she knew well how to prepare for nobles too. The cook she’d ended up hiring was close to all-purpose, which pleased Sehera once again.

“Anyway, that’s for later—it’s in two weeks. Everyone get ready to come have fun.”

“If I tell Mom this, she’ll fall into deep thought about what to bake again, won’t she?”

Sana also seemed excited, speaking with a beaming face. Her reaction seemed so infused with anticipation in every word that even Sehera felt herself getting excited along with her.

“I’m not calling you to work… Ah, if she’s going to make something anyway, how about helping Romina instead?”

“Oh! That sounds good. I’ll talk to her about it.”

The discussion about party preparations was heating up. In the end, rather than preparing everything herself and inviting guests, it was becoming more like a party they’d create together, but that seemed quite fun too.

“By the way, shouldn’t you have a butler here? I’m a bit concerned there’s only one male servant in the estate.”

While they were drinking tea and sharing Ranshu’s desserts, Traver suddenly brought up a new topic.

Having focused on business rather than rebuilding the Count’s estate for a year, the estate’s employees consisted only of Sana, Romina, and one carpenter who handled estate repairs, garden maintenance, and even drove the carriage.

Even that carpenter was extremely introverted by nature and had made his own hideaway-like house in a place like the storage building, living well on his own.

Since she’d gotten to know the residents well through business, she hadn’t really felt the need for a butler. The carpenter handled small tasks, Traver took care of work-related matters, and Fredil, who occasionally stopped by, handled professional matters.

“I see… There’s no one to properly manage the household.”

Sehera suddenly nodded. She paid Fredil compensation, and Traver felt more like an employee for business purposes, but her only actual person was the carpenter she hadn’t seen in ages.

“You know there’s a wasteland just past the forest border, right? I heard it’s been really noisy there lately. Despite being far away, terrible sounds have been reaching the village here.”

“Terrible sounds? When?”

Though he didn’t specify what kind of sounds, there was no harm in being cautious about anything. Especially since sounds from there reaching here must be tremendous.

“Last… three days ago at dawn, was it? And last night too, apparently. People are saying it might be a war starting again.”

“…War?”

One word suddenly stuck in Sehera’s mind.

‘People think the war ended long ago… but taking advantage of night, or on uninhabited wastelands and plains, war continues unnoticed.’

And those words immediately connected to what Fredil had told her. She’d thought it was just something happening somewhere and casually dismissed it, hoping not too many people would die.

‘I heard Duke Croft was deployed to war starting a year ago. There’s no record before that.’

It wasn’t completely someone else’s business. In fact, from that moment the word “war” had unknowingly lodged itself deep somewhere in her mind.

“War? Wasn’t it over?”

“Apparently those kinds of stories are being heard here and there. Not using massive human wave tactics but switching to strategic warfare…”

“War still going on is ridiculous.”

While the others were each bringing up their thoughts, Sehera kept her mouth firmly shut and looked elsewhere, organizing her thoughts.

* * *

A wasteland filled with the sound of dry wind, even at dawn when the sky hung dark blue. All around were rough breaths struggling to stay quiet.

Those lying flat on the ground, holding their breath still like death, hid their bodies behind rocks scattered throughout the wasteland.

“Commander, going this far… wouldn’t it be better to aim for dawn and go with cavalry…”

A cautious voice directed toward one person whose jet-black hair blended with the darkness, making him hard to see.

He moved his ash-gray eyes to look at the one who’d spoken to him. And the person whose eyes met those gray eyes felt their heart freeze—not from the dawn’s chill but from this man’s gaze.

Warmth had long since vanished from that man’s eyes. Though he’d served him long in this knight order, he hadn’t known before that ash-gray eyes could feel this cold.

Exactly one year. It had started around when he’d begun distinguishing seasons by the sensation of night air brushing his face.

His eyes, which had been gray like fur warmly wrapping winter animals, had somehow become filled with sharp, chilling energy like midwinter ice.

“Fighting that way, we’ll honestly lose everyone.”

He understood intellectually what method he was advocating. In a numerically inferior situation, even with a dawn surprise attack, it was difficult to be confident of victory in what was ultimately a frontal breakthrough.

Instead of losing many lives, what he’d chosen was a method that could be very shameful for a knight. Only elite members holding their breath and entrusting themselves to darkness were carefully moving into enemy territory.

He understood the meaning… he knew why they were going this way…

“But entering like this is too… too cowardly…”

“Before judging cowardice, think about how many lives you, we, are carrying on our backs.”

Each body carried only a bow and dagger.

This was truly do or die.

His merciless gaze flashed like it would tear apart not only the enemy commander beyond but even allies.

Whoosh!

The jewel embedded in the dagger slicing through empty air flashed at the edge of the wasteland without a speck of light.

At the departure signal, the knights who’d been holding their breath instantly rose and began running.

Before the light flowing from enemy territory could reach them, those who’d surged from the ground headed in completely different directions.

A soundless commotion arose inside enemy tents they’d entered like seeping in unnoticed, then as blood splattered against the white tent walls, the commotion began to subside.

* * *

Huff, huff—

Breathing sounds echoed intensely in the darkness. This place had now completely left the wasteland. Houses filled with warmth continued all around.

The operation was successful. At midnight, when the thick dawn air was settling, ten knights who’d infiltrated enemy territory had managed to eliminate all the enemy commanders and leaders they’d been assigned.

He’d seen them all safely exit the tents.

What came after, he didn’t know. Escaping enemy territory was thoroughly left to each individual.

If problems with those in the tents were discovered, the surroundings would be in chaos and capture probability would increase. And even if they’d quietly escaped well, if they’d been injured during fighting, that was also a problem.

The man who’d barely escaped to the village now was exactly that case. Having quietly taken the commander’s head, he’d also been able to quietly exit the tent.

Because it was the leader’s tent, many sentries stood around, but he moved very carefully step by step, killing not just groans but even his breathing.

With the dagger that had deeply pierced between his shoulder and heart still embedded, he had to endure with all his dying strength.

Fortunately, enemy territory had pitched tents near grassland at the wasteland’s edge rather than its center, and the second fortune was that the dawn wind blew quite strongly, with rustling grass sounds killing much of the noise from his movements.

Moving so carefully that each step took several minutes, he crawled into the grassland and escaped through a slightly roundabout direction.

He too thought it somewhat reckless. But he thought most knights who could utilize this environment would survive to meet again.

Huff, huff.

Right. If I survive, that is.

Unable to treat the deeply embedded dagger at all and moving too slowly, he’d bled too much.

Having been assigned the commander’s head, he’d expected this. One tiny mistake and life hung in the balance.

Then he had to save at least one other person with this life. That’s why he’d desperately hidden.

He’d heard that due to recent high win rates, the 3rd Knight Order Commander’s face had started circulating in enemy territory.

The moment he was discovered, not only the knights who’d hidden together but the lives of the 3rd Knight Order members beyond, facing off across this wasteland, would vanish instantly.

Crawling forward solely to avoid discovery until all his blood drained out, he passed a small village and touched a estate wall with his hand.

Thud.

Unable to overcome the dizziness making his head spin, he collapsed on the spot but kept his trembling eyelids lifted to the end.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

Has God decided not to abandon him? Just… just not taking him today…

He saw himself moving away from what he’d ultimately wished for. Because he saw a hole in a corner of the solid estate wall before his eyes.

Not just a very small dog hole either, but a hole large enough for even his broad shoulders to pass through.

Though he resented heaven for extending this life he couldn’t abandon himself and had been barely sustaining, he had no choice but to gather strength again.

“Grrgh…!”

The dagger stuck in his chest made it too difficult to pass through that hole while lying prone.

Still, like he’d struggled desperately from enemy territory into the grassland, he crawled in diligently.

His breathing grew rougher and his movements duller. After slowly advancing bit by bit, he could finally get his body completely beyond the wall.

“Haa haa…”

Is this as far as I go… The moment he felt both feet fully inside the wall, he felt all strength drain from his body.

The moment light seemed to shine through his tightly closed eyelids, he passed out completely.

Because of that, his body, which he couldn’t properly control, fell to the ground in its prone position.

* * *

Morning came and Sehera opened her eyes.

Opening her eyes as the sun rose and with that rising energy wasn’t particularly strange. But it was an odd feeling. Something like the sense that someone had woken her.

So Sehera took a deep breath while lying in bed looking at the ceiling.