The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

25 – North, Blood or Wine (01)

026.

The case of Sinat, which was expected to be the most difficult, turned out to be easier than expected.

-…Alright! But you must promise to come back this time too!

The revival of the Dranus family was something Sinat had also longed for.

Since heading to the Rakatus family was for that purpose from the beginning, it was understandable that things had gone a bit awry.

Sinat, who smiled at Kallen and told him to have a safe trip, had the expression of someone who had made a decision.

Perhaps the revival of the family being near made his mind complicated.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good.”

The north is a region with frequent battles.

It means that it is difficult to easily spare manpower.

Even if only one person was coming to fetch Kallen, it was not a small number.

This could be considered the utmost courtesy for the north.

Kallen was packing various things and waiting for the person from the north to arrive.

Having been there once before, he knew exactly what to bring.

“Kallen.”

“Yes?”

Blamia called Kallen a brat or a rascal.

It was a term that instantly revealed what kind of personality he had.

One might think it strange that no one called him by his proper name, but now he found it more comfortable.

So he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Blamia had recently been making a frustrated expression more frequently.

Especially when looking at Kallen, it was even more severe.

If his previous worries were merely reflections of his grandson’s tragedy,

now the accumulated memories were causing friction, driving him mad.

So calling him by his name like this had become somewhat unfamiliar.

“Thank you. Truly.”

“Yes.”

Words like “Take care of yourself” didn’t suit Blamia.

He was always grumpy and curt, an old man.

It wasn’t in his nature to speak aimlessly about this and that.

So Blamia had no choice but to cut his words short.

Kallen also knew Blamia well, and he understood his feelings.

From a benefactor to a teacher, from a teacher to something else.

Their relationship was gradually transforming into something indescribable.

“Are you there?”

At that moment, when a slight silence lingered, someone knocked on the door.

Judging by the time and the situation, it was undoubtedly someone from the North.

“It seems they’ve arrived.”

“I’ll be back, Master.”

“Alright.”

And so the boy headed back to the North.

The old man could only look at the boy’s back with pity.

*

Rough.

There was no better word to describe the man in front of him.

The North was still one of the last places where swords were treated better than magic.

The long, deep scar on his left cheek was enough to guess that he was from the North.

He was also cold.

Since guiding him to the carriage, he hadn’t said a single word.

He just crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

It wasn’t bad.

Kallen wasn’t much of a talker either.

Though he had improved a bit to match Sinat and Eliana, Kallen was fundamentally calm and blunt.

This way was much quieter and more to his liking.

‘Did they say he was a guard?’

The task in the North would also be related to escorting.

Basically, it was about protecting someone, so it was likely to be a high-ranking person from the North.

I heard that the civil war was intense, so the role of an escort didn’t feel too out of place.

During Eliana’s time, there was no particular clash with anyone.

Perhaps the only time was when they were inspected in the North.

This journey also had the purpose of breaking through the third rank, so I wanted to fight many people if possible.

The theory was sufficient, but practical experience was needed.

It was hard to find in a peaceful world like now, but in the North, there was at least some hope.

Surely, as I was thinking about it, the woman who came out as an inspector in the North came to mind.

A woman who was mature in many ways, including her height.

‘…Wine.’

The only thing that came to mind was the color of her hair, which resembled red wine.

I roughly thought she was a member of the Hiatt family.

The thought that I might be able to escort her made me chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh. You startled me.”

A voice as rough as his impression.

The man, who had opened his eyes at some point, was glaring with his arms crossed.

“Are you mocking the shabby carriage of the North? Well, a guy living in a city like Peltz wouldn’t know romance.”

“What?”

“Listen carefully, this is a carriage that has endured for 30 years in the North. It’s not something a brat like you should mock.”

Kallen had no choice but to retract his words.

Far from it.

He was far from being taciturn.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and started pouring out words.

And all of them were full of misunderstandings.

As I was being misunderstood for a long time, Kallen was also annoyed.

It was the first time I realized that someone could drive a person to this extent with mere assumptions without saying anything.

It didn’t feel like criticism, but rather, that made it more annoying.

Because looking at his expression and eyes, it seemed sincere.

“It’s not like that.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t laughing at the carriage.”

“Hmph, it’s just slippery because you only put greasy things in your mouth. In short, you’re a liar. Listen carefully, this carriage is…”

“Ah.”

Something went wrong.

Kallen couldn’t help but think so.

*

“Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“…It’s fine as long as you understand.”

“But this carriage, you see, is imbued with the spirit of the North… Ah, we’ve arrived.”

After somehow clearing up the misunderstanding, the carriage stopped as their bodies gradually grew colder.

When Kallen lifted the window, patched with worn-out cloth, he saw that indeed, everything was covered in snow.

“Get off.”

The man kicked open the carriage door and threw himself out.

He could have gotten off quietly, but he was certainly an unusual person.

“What should I call you?”

“Hmm?”

Kallen, who had gotten off the carriage, followed the man.

Why were his steps so fast? He was already walking away, leaving footprints on the pure white snow.

“Ah. Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. Call me Cradus.”

“I’m Kallen.”

“Alright, Kallen. Follow me.”

Despite the long speech he gave on the way here, he hadn’t mentioned his name.

Kallen sighed lightly and followed Cradus again.

A wall stretched out endlessly.

It was so huge that it could be called a fortress wall, and it marked the boundary of the North.

Although they had already stepped into the inland classified as the North, beyond this wall was the true ‘North.’

They had their own developed culture and valued tradition.

It was a world where swords were more respected than magic, and at the same time, it was a lawless area where battles could break out anytime, anywhere.

Before long, Craders spoke with the soldier at the wall, and the heavy gate opened with a loud noise.

Craders turned his head slightly and said,

“Welcome to the North.”

It was a kingdom built on the snowy plains.

“Looks like an outsider…”

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

“But isn’t he too young?”

“He’s carrying a staff. Cute.”

“Sir Craders is with him too. What a pity…”

Behind the wall was a village.

A village that could easily be seen in places other than the North.

It might seem dangerous at first glance, but it was actually the safest place.

The wall that stretched behind was not a border wall but one that led inland.

In other words, it was the rearmost area when looking at the North alone.

Passing through the wall and going further inside, bases where troops were stationed appeared.

At the end, the mansion of the Hyat family came into view.

Of course, it wasn’t the front line either, but since there were hardly any who dared to provoke the Claire Empire, peace was relatively maintained.

The biggest headache in the North currently was the monsters.

There were significantly more monsters compared to other regions, and no one knew where they might pop out from, causing damage to accumulate.

In the midst of this, the internal affairs of the North were also in a precarious state.

It was so bad that some people used the term ‘civil war,’ making the North a kingdom on the brink.

“Cal… what was it again. Just call me Cal. It’s actually more convenient that way.”

Craders tapped the scabbard hanging from his waist and laughed.

He never thought he would be called that by anyone other than Sinat, but it didn’t feel bad.

It was the first familiarity he encountered in this place where nothing was familiar.

Callen looked at the women gathered and whispering.

It certainly didn’t feel like a street, but rather a very old-fashioned village scene.

Instead, such a sight felt more endearing.

The women smiled and waved when they met Callen’s gaze.

“Oh dear. Be careful, Cal. They may look like that, but they’re women of marriageable age. You’ll be enchanted in the blink of an eye.”

“…”

“Haha! Just kidding, Carl! You don’t have to make such a serious face. We don’t usually take outsiders as companions. There are no men in the rearguard, so they’re just joking around.”

So, taking them as husbands is real.

Kallen felt a little dizzy.

“Hmm… It means that the North has its own culture.”

“Culture…”

“But don’t accept the bottle~.”

Craders said that and walked with long strides.

Why are his strides so big?

Kallen quietly looked around the village and then started walking.

The lively laughter of the women gradually faded away.

As they passed through each village, the surroundings changed rapidly.

Now, there were more barracks than houses.

They were steadily approaching the Hyat family.

After passing the last barrack and walking for about ten minutes.

“Oh, we’re here.”

With Craders’ words, a huge mansion came into view.

“A castle?”

“Haha. Does it look like that?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s up to the viewer. For your information, that mansion is imbued with the spirit of the Hyat family, which has protected the North for generations… Hey! Where are you going!”

As they opened the door of the mansion, which was closer to a castle, the unexpectedly quiet interior came into view.

The chill of the weather was more palpable than the warmth of people.

Luxury is a sin in the North.

It was more helpful to life to make one more warm vest than to indulge in such things.

The method of overcoming the cold with magic was popular, but that was something said by people who didn’t know the North well.

Tradition is more important in the North than one might think.

It means that it is not easy to break the tradition that has been maintained so far and replace the sword with magic.

That was possible because the ruler of the North had always been from the Hyat family,

And it should be seen that magic was great enough to break through such strong traditional bonds.

The North was a completely different world, marked by the long walls of the fortress.

“Hey, you. If you open it like that, you’ll get scolded by old man Makbel.”

“Is he like the head servant?”

“Yeah. There’s an annoyingly strict old man. He wears glasses on his left eye, just like you…”

“Craders.”

“Eek!”

A single cry from behind.

It was definitely the old man’s voice, but it had a somewhat heavy feeling.

It was different from Evam or Blamia.

“Ha, old man…”

“Is that the boy His Excellency mentioned?”

“Y-yes! His name is… Carl! He said Carl!”

“…It’s Callen.”

The old man called Makbel indeed looked strict.

His pointed mustache seemed to prove it.

“Craders, you go back. I am supposed to guide him to His Excellency.”

“Got it.”

Craders let out a sigh of relief, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered into Callen’s ear.

“Be careful, Callen. The old man hates anything that goes against etiquette more than death…”

“Aren’t you going quickly?”

“Then I’m off!”

With that, Craders quickly disappeared.

Makbel fiddled with his pointed mustache and stared at Callen.

“Follow me.”

His slightly bent back told of how many years he had devoted.

“Are we going to Grand Duke Hiatt?”

“Well. I would say yes, but the Grand Duke Hiatt we each think of might be different.”

What does that mean?

When one thinks of Grand Duke Hiatt, isn’t it usually the head of the family that comes to mind?

Callen cautiously guessed it might be related to the civil war and asked again, but the answer was the same.

“The one who could become the Grand Duke of Hiart.”

Eventually giving up on getting an answer, Kallen quietly followed behind Makbel.

The interior of the mansion was so vast that it was understandable to mistake it for a castle from the outside.

After wandering through the maze-like corridors for a while, it became so confusing that they no longer knew where they were.

After a long while.

As they turned a corner, Makbel spoke.

“We’re here.”

A room at the end of the corner.

The small room at the end of the slightly dark corridor was extremely quiet.

Also, for a master’s room… it was a bit small.

Even if luxury was considered a sin in the north.

The fact that the master’s room was in such a complicated place, and the small size for a Grand Duke’s room.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of incongruity, Kallen slowly approached the door.

Steadying his mind, he opened the door,

“Hello?”

A person slightly different from what he had imagined greeted him.