Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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After a hasty bath, I emerged to find the hallway in a state of mild disarray.
Servants were gathered in twos and threes, whispering with worried expressions.
"What's going on?"
At my question, Pielle gave me a brief bow.
Then, he stopped a passing maid.
"The situation?"
I turned to look at Pielle.
He wasn't asking what was happening, but rather asking for the situation, which meant Pielle already had some idea of what had occurred.
He was in the bathroom with me, so how?
However, the maid's next words instantly erased the questions in my head.
"The third sector of the Endless Sea has been breached."
"...!"
Even if I wasn't an Argenta, I knew what those words meant.
It was the Argenta's job to stop the monsters that swam from the Endless Sea to attack the land.
And they were saying it had been breached?
My gaze quickly darted to the window.
It was night, so I couldn't see anything, but if the defenses had truly been breached and monsters had entered the land, it wouldn't be this quiet.
"Has the entire defense line collapsed?"
Pielle asked seriously. The maid shook her head.
"That's not the case."
The maid hesitated before continuing, glancing at me.
She was probably weighing whether it was okay to talk in front of an outsider.
I was going to be the mistress of this place for a while anyway.
Unless I planned to go around blabbing about how I was going to get divorced soon, I had to act like the perfect mistress.
In other words, there was no need for me to step aside just because the maid was being mindful of me.
To show that I had no intention of leaving, I crossed my arms and stared at the maid.
"...Two units of monsters attacked the third sector. The first unit that attacked the third sector was much larger than usual."
The maid began to speak.
As I listened to the maid, I thought.
How could a maid in the mansion, not a knight, know so much about the battlefield?
Reports wouldn't be sent to the maids, would they?
"The field commander, Roa, naturally ordered them to contain the larger force, but the second unit that attacked was overwhelmingly large, and the defense line was breached in an instant."
It wasn't just this maid.
The knights, as well as the other servants, seemed to be sharing the same story.
"So, the number of monsters was much larger than usual."
"Yes. According to the testimonies of those on the scene, it seems that several monster groups joined forces."
Ah. Hearing this, I remembered.
This seemed to be the part in the original story that only mentioned, 'The movements of the monsters in the Endless Sea are unusual.'
Pielle frowned with a serious expression at the maid's words.
"It doesn't seem like the final defense line was breached, but how did they handle it?"
At those words, the maid bowed slightly.
"The sinner Roa took all the responsibility and jumped into the middle of the monster horde. While he was rampaging, they rebuilt the defense line..."
I couldn't hear the rest of the words properly.
Sinner?
Didn't she just say that the person named Roa was the field commander?
"Is that what happened? What about reinforcements?"
"They've already departed."
The maid bowed briefly and resumed her walk.
I watched her glance at me as she left, then turned to Pielle.
"Why is he a sinner?"
I couldn't understand.
Even I, who had read the original story, didn't know that many monsters would attack.
So how could the person guarding the field know?
This was like a natural disaster. Something an individual couldn't be held responsible for.
But Roa seemed to have naturally assumed it was his responsibility and threw himself into stopping the monsters.
In my opinion, it was a noble sacrifice.
However, neither Pielle's face as he turned to me, nor the way the others were whispering, suggested an atmosphere of honoring Roa's sacrifice.
Rather, it was as if it was the obvious thing to do.
"Because he didn't do his job properly. If he hadn't thrown himself to buy time, he would have been punished more severely according to Argenta's Code."
I frowned slightly at Pielle's words.
Pielle hastily straightened my slightly disheveled clothes.
Then, he said in a calm voice.
"You wouldn't have seen this in Alloze, so it must feel unfamiliar."
At Pielle's gesture, the servants who had been whispering in the hallway disappeared one by one.
Now, only Pielle and I were in the hallway.
Pielle opened his mouth in a composed voice.
"You asked why he is a sinner, didn't you?"
I nodded briefly.
It was true that he hadn't done his job properly... But still, if he hadn't thrown himself, he would have been punished more severely according to Argenta's Code?
It was something I couldn't understand with my common sense.
"The Argenta have an absolute code of conduct."
Pielle said, escorting me like a knight.
"'Do, or do not.'"
My eyes widened at the words that came out in a calm voice.
I had heard, no, seen those words before.
It was the phrase that came up first when talking about the Argenta in the original story.
It was a phrase I had passed over without much thought, but hearing it in this situation felt chilling.
"So, if you don't finish the job properly, it's the same as not doing it at all?"
Do, or do not.
As I thought about those words and asked again, Pielle smiled.
"You're adapting quickly."
Do, or do not...
A place where it was natural to give your life if you didn't finish the job properly.
Furthermore, a place where you would remain a sinner even if you gave your life to do your job.
It was newly chilling, and not just because I had just finished taking a bath.
"..."
I pursed my lips tightly.
Suddenly, Dielo's smiling face came to mind.
According to the original story, he was a very affectionate person.
But the other side of the Argenta seemed completely different from his kind image.
In a place like this, his kind nature would have been a poison.
Thinking of Dielo Argenta in the original story made my heart ache a little.
Although I hadn't read the book to the end, I could guess the rest of the story well enough.
How much he must have suffered in the Argenta with his weak and kind nature.
It seemed that both Alloze and Argenta treated life carelessly.
Thinking of his bright smile, I felt strangely sorry for him.
"Roa."
At that moment, Dielo Argenta was also receiving a report.
Of course, the information he received was much more in-depth than the information Krua Alroze had received.
What kind of monsters had attacked, how many, and how the field commander Roa had thrown himself to stop them.
"He rampaged with Argenta's Power and died."
Argenta's Power.
The three Duke families each had the power to control fire, water, and wind.
That much was known to the outside world, but there was something unique.
Those who swore allegiance to the head of each family could use the power of their family until the head withdrew that power.
Of course, the power was significantly weaker than that of those who had the family's blood, but the strength of the power depended on how strong the head of the family was.
So, all the family members wanted a strong head of the family.
And currently, Dielo Argenta, who didn't even have Pero, was known as the weakest head among the three.
Just as Dielo Argenta had intended.
"The body?"
Dielo asked again without any change in expression.
The knight who was reporting bowed briefly.
"It's salvageable."
"Bury him right in front of the Endless Sea."
Dielo answered immediately.
The sinner Roa would continue to guard the Endless Sea even in death.
"Understood."
The knight retreated.
"We'll need a new commander for the third sector."
Dielo was thinking that when he suddenly thought of the bride.
She had said that she was in the bathroom when she heard the emergency report and came out in surprise.
And she had asked.
Why he was a sinner.
With a face that showed she really didn't understand.
"What should I do with that bride?"
Dielo smiled silently.
Krua Alroze was too,
too pure for his liking.
