20demayo Chapter 263: Its too late to regret.
Chapter 263: Its too late to regret.
Despite the late hour, Count Eckhart was still composed.Even with his stiff expression, there was no trace of fatigue in his appearance, which somehow reminded Laius of Arendt, leaving him with a somewhat strange feeling.
Arendt was composed and elegant in everything he did.
He was truly a model of a well-educated nobleman.
Even when relaxed, he never crossed the line, not even in combat.
From the posture in which he drew his sword to the impulsive moment when he charged into the enemy, his movements were completely free of unnecessary elements.
“Captain, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. I also heard that you were seriously injured.”
Count Eckhart, who gave an extremely emotionless greeting, was also like that.
The Count’s gaze was fixed firmly on Laius’ shoulder, preventing him from moving.
Laius met his gaze calmly and answered indifferently.
“No, it’s nothing. It’s only natural for me to visit since you must be curious about the situation. As for my injury, it’s not severe enough to prevent movement.”
“I won’t take up too much of your time.”
It was an extremely polite remark.
Normally, he would have taken it for granted, but for some reason, Laius didn’t like the Count’s tone.
“I’m fine, but I think I’ll have to stay here until my men’s injuries have somewhat recovered. I haven’t shared the situation with the First and Third Knight Orders that were dispatched to other regions, so I’ll probably be staying with the Count for a while. Is that okay?”
The Count furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, but answered without much change in expression.
“Of course, there’s no problem. Stay as long as you need. I apologize for having to house you in such a shabby place.”
“…”
It was the time to give a formal thank you, but Laius found it difficult to open his mouth.
Count Eckhart, who had a rough idea of what Laius was trying to say, let out a slow sigh.
“It was somewhat regrettable, but I do not want to involve personal matters in official business.”
Laius’ blue eyes sank coldly.
“If that’s what you mean, then I understand. It wasn’t my place to interfere.”
“…I’m sorry, but I don’t know what part of it upset you, Captain.”
“Are you serious?”
Count Eckhart paused at the answer that came without a moment’s hesitation.
His unusually deep and blue eyes captured the Count’s entire being.
“If you truly speak with no falsehoods, then I, too, won’t feel the need to add anything further.”
Those cold words sounded like that to Count Eckhart.
The Count remained silent for a while, neither easily agreeing nor disagreeing.
Without needing to wait any longer, Laius took the initiative and changed the subject.
“During our stay, the expenses will be covered by the imperial palace. The recovery of the bodies has been entrusted to the city guard and your knights. The enemies who appeared immediately have been completely dealt with, but since there may be lingering forces, it would be wise to restrict passage for the time being.”
The Count hesitated for a moment and then slowly nodded.
“I will do as you say.”
Laius continued speaking stiffly.
“We have kept those with less injuries on site, so you don’t have to worry too much. However, there is a possibility that the Evil Cult will attack again. Please keep an eye out for any further abnormalities.”
The Count did not respond and just quietly listened to Laius’ flat, emotionless voice.
“Arendt is currently at the forefront of the conflict with the Evil Cult, so I suspect that this attack is also a retaliation against him. There is no guarantee that it will not happen again in the future, so it would be wise not to let your guard down.”
After a long pause, Count Eckhart slowly nodded his head.
“…Thank you for the advice.”
There was still an unrecognizable crack on his expressionless face.
“I will apologize for the trouble caused to the Eckhart family. I will take responsibility, resolve the situation, and do my best to prevent any further harm.”
At first, it seemed like a natural thing for a Captain of the Imperial Knights to say, but it was a clear statement that drew a firm line.
And from now on, Laius, as the Captain, would act as Arendt’s representative when discussing things with the Count’s family.
It wasn’t exactly something surprising or new.
It was Count Eckhart who first proposed severing ties, and he and Arendt declared their formal breaking of ties in front of the Crown Prince and all the nobles who were watching.
Besides, recently, he was waging a fierce battle against the Khan Union.
The Count’s hands, which had been clasped neatly on the table, tightened.
After a long time, the Count opened his mouth.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Please speak.”
“I heard that even His Highness the Crown Prince trusted him. I even heard a rumor that His Majesty the Emperor showed interest in him at a banquet.”
Although there was no subject, it was clear enough who the Count was referring to.
“I feel like the Captain is being overly concerned. My eldest son has also turned his back on me.”
As Laius listened quietly, the Count continued speaking slowly.
“Am I missing something?”
Before he knew it, the Count had raised his head and was staring at Laius.
Laius looked straight at him and said sharply.
“My father died with his arms wrapped around me.”
The Count’s eyes opened slightly at the unexpected words.
A calm voice came from the knight captain.
“If he had run away alone, he would have definitely survived, but he died at the hands of an intruder to protect me.”
There were few people in this Empire who did not know the story of Laius de Winfried.
The same was true of Count Eckhart.
Marquis Winfried, who had been taking care of his family and managing his lands, was killed in an instant by a group of thieves blinded by money.
The castle was on fire and all the servants fled.
The Marchioness was killed by bandits while trying to evacuate her servants first, and Marquis Winfried was stabbed in the back while hugging his young son.
Laius de Winfried was the sole survivor of the incident.
“Recently, seeing Arendt stay up for days on end due to the issues with the Khan Union reminded me of that time. Of course, I am not asking the same sacrifice of you, Count…”
Laius, who had momentarily trailed off, coldly added.
“If you felt that you were missing something, then this story is not so irrelevant. If you simply felt that Arendt’s talent was wasted, then my long-winded explanation would be of no use.”
“…”
“You should have asked about Arendt’s condition as soon as I entered, Count. If you had done so, I wouldn’t be feeling this discomfort right now.”
Count Eckhart did not answer.
As the silence stretched on, Laius let out a short sigh and got up from his seat first.
“I will be in your care for the time being. Please take good care of me.”
The captain didn’t bother waiting for an answer.
Count Eckhart couldn’t bring himself to stop him as he got up and went out of the office.
.
The door closed and the office was plunged into an eerie silence.
After sitting still for a while, as if nailed to his seat, the Count let out a deep sigh.
“Hoooo…”
The hand holding his head was pale, as if drained of color.
It was the day, after a very long time, that his father returned home.
It was a rare morning when he ate a proper meal of rice instead of cup ramen, went to bed early, and woke up.
For some reason, the house was empty.
Trapped in the silence of the small house, with a stinky blanket half-draped over him, the boy blinked for a long time.
There was mold on the ceiling, and the whole house smelled musty, as if it hadn’t been properly cleaned in a long time.
Even that had become so familiar that he couldn’t even smell it.
But that day, the cold air inside the house was unusually eerie.
“…Cold.”
He shivered and instinctively pulled the blanket over him.
Even though he listened carefully, he couldn’t feel any movement.
The humming sound of the old refrigerator was strangely ominous.
Somehow, he felt uneasy.
So he did something he normally wouldn’t do.
“Father?”
In the tiny house, he called out to an unseen presence.
As expected, there was no answer.
It wasn’t scary.
Because he was used to being alone.
It had been quite some time since his mother had left home, and his father rarely came home.
He would show up once every two weeks or once every three months, give him a few pennies, stay for just one night, and then suddenly disappear somewhere else.
So he thought it would be the same this time too.
But soon the boy realized that the room was a little different than usual.
All of his father’s clothes that were hanging on the hangers disappeared.
Thinking about it, he remembered his father, who had been taking out valuable items like TVs and watches one by one when he came last time.
The man spoke clumsily to his son, who was looking at his father carrying the TV with a puzzled look.
“Because it’s been so long.”
He instinctively knew it was a lie.
His father was bad at controlling his facial expressions, and he was unusually perceptive from a young age.
But he didn’t say anything.
It was because he knew full well that nothing would be solved even if he interfered.
The refrigerator, which was running noisily, made its presence felt special, and the empty hangers looked particularly out of place.
Yesterday, his father, who came back after a long time, had a big bag with him.
He probably just stuffed a few sets of clothes into that bag and left.
He vividly remembered him moving cautiously like a thief, afraid that his son might wake up.
“…”
As he looked around the small room, he soon noticed another unusual occurrence.
On the small tray, barely big enough for two people to lean in and eat together, a white envelope was placed.
There was quite a bit of money in it.
After thinking about it for a moment, he slowly started counting the money.
He couldn’t figure out why that was.
Maybe, by the time all the money was counted, he had hoped that someone would suddenly open the door and come back.
Even at that moment, he felt the bitter cold.
Was the heating system broken?
Was it winter to begin with?
He had a vague doubt, but soon shook it off.
Because he was faced with more important issues than such trivial things.
He calmly counted the money, even though he felt his body tremble.
The envelope contained exactly three months’ rent.
The moment he saw the amount, Lee Soo-hyun, who was in his mid-teens, realized it.
The fact that his father would never return.
The door to that cramped house would never open again.
“Ah…”
.
The hand that had been holding the envelope fell limply to the floor.
He wasn’t that sad or angry, but he felt a bit empty.
“What a shitty life.”
It felt as if a puff of white breath was coming out of the mouth that cursed.
The cold that made his body shiver showed no sign of going away.