Ch#56
Looking back, it was the first carriage journey of Elric’s life.
He had expected the road to be quite tedious. Contrary to those expectations, the week-long journey from the royal capital to Wibin held its share of unexpected pleasures.
For instance, there was the scenery passing slowly by.
Though the landscape was desolate in the dead of winter, the presence of the people moving within it felt warm.
The flora, huddling down in preparation for the coming year, possessed a certain modest charm, and the process of the clear sky being dyed crimson held the kind of romance Elbus used to love.
Every aspect had a way of bringing peace to the mind.
Elric thought to himself.
‘As expected, I prefer the quiet.’
It didn’t feel bad to feel the constant hum of clashing steel and the shouts of soldiers being gradually washed away.
After spending such a leisurely time, they finally reached Wibin.
The sun was setting by the time they arrived at the Portman estate.
“You have worked hard, my Lord.”
“No. It was Aldio who did all the work. All I did was sit still in the carriage.”
“Was it not for my sake that you boarded the carriage in the first place?”
As Tiria spoke with a hint of bashfulness, Elric chuckled and shook his head.
“It was a pleasant journey in its own way. I quite enjoyed sitting still and watching the scenery go by.”
“I am glad to hear that, then.”
Tiria’s aura grew a touch softer.
Elric was certain now that he had become capable of discerning such nuances.
It was likely thanks to spending time together in close proximity for a week.
Though she maintained a poker face regardless of the situation, if one looked closely, there were subtle shifts in the pitch of her voice or momentary flickers in her facial muscles.
Elric was happy.
Happy that Tiria did not dislike the time she spent with him.
“Young master! My Lady! We shall unload the luggage first! You must eat before you sleep!”
At Aldio’s shout, Elric took Tiria’s hand and spoke.
“Let’s go inside for now.”
“Yes.”
Wibin was in the midst of a chilly season.
Elric returned home, walking through the bare wheat fields alongside Tiria as she tucked in her collar.
Familiar servants, a familiar atmosphere, and a familiar scent.
And even a person he was becoming familiar with.
With a heart full of newfound welcome, Elric brought his journey to a close, and—
‘Kasha!!!’
For the first time in a while, he had a nightmare.
“Hah!”
Elric bolted upright in bed.
His hand reached out instinctively toward the dull-edged dagger on the bedside table.
Only after clutching the cold piece of iron to his chest did his breathing slowly return to normal.
Elric wiped away the cold sweat and let out a long exhale.
The dream was still as vivid as reality.
‘It’s been a long time.’
When was it?
The dream, as vivid as if it were real, made his heart pound.
‘…Three years ago? No, four?’
He couldn’t remember well.
Only the events of that day were drawn vividly in his mind.
It was a day when he stood on the defensive line of the Chebor front, holding back the soldiers of Kalbaran.
An infantry unit had charged him, and somewhere in their midst was a boy soldier.
‘Kasha!!!’
A cry filled with deep resentment, clumsy swordsmanship, and a fading breath.
What remained on the boy’s face was spite.
The reason the boy’s face lingered in his memory was because of the sword he held.
The scars engraved on the boy’s sword were ones Elric himself had made.
They weren’t made that day, but were old scars presumably made long ago on a different battlefield.
There is a certain peculiarity to the nature of a battlefield.
It wasn’t difficult to realize that the boy might have been the son of someone he had killed previously.
He could have denied it.
He could have brushed it off, saying that’s just how war is.
Yet Elric still couldn’t do that.
The resentment the boy spat out as he died occasionally returned in the form of these nightmares.
“Young master, have you awakened?”
Elric squeezed his eyes shut and composed his mind.
His answer came only after that.
“…I wish to wash. Please make the preparations.”
He thought he was fine since he hadn’t had nightmares lately, but it seemed that wasn’t the case after all.
Well,
“Yes, I shall inform the Madam as well.”
Lately, he hadn’t had a moment apart from Tiria.
When he was with her, he felt other strange emotions, and when he slept near her, he was too busy minding her sleeping habits to have nightmares.
His heart felt even more at ease at the thought of Tiria’s face.
Elric let out a small laugh.
For some reason, he felt like he wanted to see her soon.
Breakfast at the Portman house still consisted of bread, bacon, and eggs.
Why did sitting across from each other with that meal on the table feel like it had been so long?
“Good morning,”
He said, and Tiria replied.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
I had a nightmare because it was the first time I slept alone in a while.
It felt awkward to say that, so Elric made up a lie.
“As expected, home is best. I almost overslept.”
“Yes, I was the same.”
“Are you serious?”
“…….”
“To think my wife would make a joke.”
Tiria was looking embarrassed.
Judging by the slight droop of her eyebrows and the way her gaze dropped diagonally, it was clear.
“…Was it not funny?”
Was this shyness?
Tiria’s hands were moving busily for no reason.
Elric felt her appearance was somehow charming, so he deepened his smile and replied.
“It was a little bit funny.”
Answering her, Elric began his meal.
The conversation they shared was about the work they had to do starting today, and general details regarding the food supplies to be distributed to the estate residents for the start of the year.
One more thing was added to that.
“I am thinking of forming a Knight Order.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you not say that the Head of the family would need one?”
“Ah… I did say that, but.”
“The harvest was plentiful this year and the trade ended successfully, so we have quite a bit of funds remaining. It seems we could recruit one or two people.”
Had she remembered everything he had said in passing?
Elric suddenly felt grateful for her kindness.
And he felt a small spark of enthusiasm rising within him.
“May I take charge of that task?”
“Pardon?”
“I know a thing or two when it comes to Knight Orders. Ah, that… did I ever mention that my dream was to be a knight when I was a child?”
“…Yes.”
“I’ve done quite a bit of research, too.”
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason, but it was natural that he was more proficient in the creation of a Knight Order than she was.
After all, had he not faced most of the influential Knight Orders in the Western war zone?
For Elric, who was rarely skilled in estate affairs, this was a chance to show that there was something he could do well.
“Would that be alright?”
When he asked again, Tiria gave a slight nod.
“…Yes, please do so.”
“Thank you!”
Joy welled up inside Elric.
He finished his meal quickly, stood up abruptly, gave Tiria a brief farewell, and headed straight outside.
Left alone, Tiria blinked her eyes, then eventually let out a small laugh.
It was because she felt as if the Elric of his younger days had momentarily overlapped with his current self.
A Knight Order.
They are not merely personnel tasked with defending the estate, but one of the faces that represent the estate’s power and dignity.
As such, not only must their skills be outstanding, but their physical stature and discipline must also be something to boast about to others.
Considering those points, it was somewhat difficult to find suitable talent within Wibin immediately.
And it was also obvious that the process of recruiting from the outside would be arduous.
No matter how much firearms had developed, a knight was still a knight.
Since talent capable of handling mana is considered precious, their market value is also very high.
Amidst all that, there was a stroke of luck.
To be precise, it was luck only for Elric.
“Is this everyone? Five… for a single branch, that’s a rather small number of people.”
“Haha… I apologize for failing to meet your expectations, elder.”
“Well, no matter. Having too many people would only arouse my wife’s suspicion.”
The Reaper of the West, Wolyeong.
Danal, the man who had been the branch manager of the Ferdin branch, spat out curses internally.
‘Which tune am I supposed to dance to!’
It was only a few weeks ago that he had been discarded by the main group and sought refuge with Kasha when the branch was in ruins.
And it was five days ago that he arrived at this rural village of Wibin, which had nothing to look at, following his orders.
Finally facing Kasha, Danal shed tears inwardly.
‘I thought I’d just be doing odd jobs….’
To suddenly be told to be a knight.
And not just any knight, but to become the new Knight Order of the estate.
That much was fine.
However….
‘Why is the pay so low!’
He said the monthly salary would be a small amount that only newly appointed knights would receive.
If the estate’s finances are like that, then shouldn’t he just not accept knights?
Why is he insisting on bringing all five in as knights?
Was this really the right choice?
While Danal’s heart was filled to the brim with indignation.
“Do you have any objections?”
“We shall serve with all our loyalty!”
Danal shouted, pushed by his survival instinct.
His subordinates were the same.
Only then did Kasha smile with satisfaction.
“I look forward to working with you. Then, shall we start by deciding on the name of our Knight Order?”
“Yes, sir!!!”
Danal hated Kasha.
My Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
