Chapter 140

〈 Chapter 141 〉 Reedval Mansion (1)

*

It’s the fourth day since I arrived in Leim Kingdom.

There were some ups and downs, like trying to wrestle with Elsie on the first day and getting caught by Yusera, but fortunately, everything somehow worked out fine.

In the end, the plan was far more important.

“The kingdom is bright again today,” Elsie said as we went out together.

For reference, Yusera, who hadn’t been able to leave the dormitory for several days, was in pretty bad shape.

“I, I want to go out too…”

But after some soothing and coaxing, she calmed down quickly.

“You just have to hold on for a few more days.”
“Yes, and today, I’ll bring something even more delicious when we return.”
“Really?”

Yusera, who looked almost heartbroken with tears in her eyes, perked up at the mention of something tasty.

I felt a little guilty seeing her like that, but even without the closed country order in effect, Sakh’s reputation in the Leim Kingdom wasn’t all that great, so it was unavoidable.

Especially since today was an important day for us to go somewhere.

‘By the way…’

I heard murmurs in the street.

I didn’t know if Elsie could hear them too, but as someone who oddly had sharp hearing, I could clearly make out their voices.

“Have you heard about the Masked Hero? Isn’t he cool? They say he appears dramatically from the sky.”

“I wonder what he looks like?”

“They say he has blond hair.”

“Huh? But in the stories, he has black hair.”

For reference, in the original tale that Libero shared, the Masked Hero had blond hair.

But for some reason, it had been passed down through Elsie as having black hair.

Not that it mattered much.

‘The rumors are spreading well.’

Using the Masked Hero, a character from a famous tale in Leim Kingdom, seemed to have been a good idea after all.

Moreover, the guy I recruited on the first day turned out to be quite talkative too.

After that, I continued cautiously yet surely building rumors while acting as the Masked Hero.

‘However…’

Not everyone was favorable towards the Masked Hero.

In fact, most adults, except for children, didn’t take kindly to the Masked Hero.

“Aren’t they just a crazy criminal? The first person rescued turned out to be a criminal later. He claimed he wasn’t, but who would believe that?”

“Right? They even said he operates at night. I’m worried kids might learn bad things.”

Their reactions weren’t wrong, and I had somewhat anticipated it.

And I even hoped for such reactions.

The Masked Hero in the tale I knew wasn’t universally liked either.

‘The Masked Hero is good enough for now, so what’s the next operation?’

The next operation was separate from the Masked Hero.

However, it was still crucial for the success of our plans.

Walking down the bright streets of Leim Kingdom, I finally arrived at my destination.

The building outside the royal castle was quite sizable.

However, it looked rather old as if it had been around for a long time.

And hanging from the outer wall of the building was a shabby flag depicting a red rose.

“Is this the place?”

I responded to Elsie’s question.

“Yes, this is your master’s family home.”

This was the Reedval family mansion and the base of the Enemy Knights.

As Elsie and I approached the main entrance of the building, two guards standing at the door blocked our way.

In a polite tone, they asked, “What brings you here?”

I replied. “My name is Hero Sung Yoo-rang. I’ve come to meet the head of the family.”

Upon revealing that I was a hero, the guards immediately bowed their heads.

I didn’t necessarily expect that, but it was inevitable since a hero from the Church had a higher status than the guards of the declining Reedval family.

“My apologies, Hero. If you could state your business, I’ll promptly relay it to the head of the family.”

A business to discuss.

However, I couldn’t share my true intentions with the guards.

In that case, I could use another motive that I had brought along.

“Please tell them that the student of Hero Gwen Reedval has come with news of her.”

After saying that, I looked over at Elsie.

The guards were astonished at Gwen’s name, then shocked again at the mention of Elsie being her student, and replied, “Understood!”

He hurriedly vanished inside the mansion.

Not long after, he reappeared.

With the head of the Reedval family.

“Please, come in, Heroes.”

*

Once inside the mansion, we followed the head of the family politely.

The head’s flowing red hair.

It was almost the same color as Gwen’s hair.

But there was a significant difference between her and Gwen.

‘She’s mature.’

Of course, for a head, she was relatively young.

Only in her thirties, at most.

But her physique was mature, unlike Gwen from the same Reedval family.

‘But where are we going right now?’

The place we arrived at, following her, was the garden situated at the center of the mansion.

There, I noticed affiliated soldiers and knights practicing with wooden swords.

And the head picked up one of the wooden swords placed there.

“Did you say that the woman over there is Gwen’s student?”

Before I could comprehend what was happening, she pointed the sword at us and said, “Please draw your swords.”

Only then did I grasp the situation.

It seemed Elsie understood it too.

She shot me a look, and I nodded.

“Understood.”

Elsie also grabbed a wooden sword nearby.

She took a stance and said to the head, “You can come at me now.”

“Alright.”

The head responded and stepped forward toward Elsie.

Then she swung her sword.

It was not a modified style to fit Gwen’s preferences, but the traditional Reedval swordsmanship.

Thud

However, since it was the same lineage of swordsmanship, Elsie easily parried it.

But…

‘This really is Reedval’s swordsmanship.’

Reedval’s swordsmanship pours out many attacks in a short amount of time.

And traditional Reedval’s swordsmanship was no exception to this.

Even after Elsie blocked the first attack, the head continued to launch a series of attacks without hesitation.

But naturally, those attacks were ineffective.

There was an unbridgeable gap in skill level between Elsie and the head, aside from status.

Elsie deflected all of the head’s attacks and, after a slight pause, shifted into an offensive stance.

She did this to give the head time to switch to defense.

Swish

Without a doubt, in the previous attack, the improved swordsmanship I had taught her would have been more effective.

Yet, she used Gwen’s swordsmanship for the attack.

That swordsmanship was known even to the head, and since Elsie had completely eased up, the head managed to block it once.

But that was the end of it.

The head couldn’t withstand Elsie’s next attack.

“Is that enough?” Elsie asked, lowering the tip of the wooden sword pointed at the head.

The head smiled and commented, “You are indeed Gwen’s student.”

*

Inside the mansion’s reception room.

The interior was relatively well-maintained, unlike the outer wall of the building, which looked quite neat.

The head personally brought us tea while we sat in the reception room.

“I apologize for what happened earlier.”

“No, it’s fine. Such thoroughness is also a virtue of a captain and the head of the family, right?”

I genuinely believed that.

If she had accepted us without hesitation, I would have been a bit disappointed.

Whether my sincerity was conveyed, she smiled and set the cup down.

“Please enjoy it at your leisure.”

Taking her words to heart, Elsie and I lifted our cups.

Elsie appeared quite graceful, utilizing her court etiquette skill as she raised her cup.

However, I, just a country bumpkin, likely looked quite ridiculous.

‘But at least I know I should smell the tea first.’

With that confidence, I inhaled the hot steam of the tea, only to end up coughing for a while.

The disapproving gaze of Elsie beside me was an added judgment.

“Ugh…”

Seeing my antics, the head seemed unable to suppress a chuckle.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“No, it’s rather my fault.”

It was my fault for shoving my nose into the cup and inhaling the hot steam without manners.

Then, after I set the cup down, the head said, “It reminded me of when my sister first learned tea-making, and I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Sister?

“Speaking of which, you mentioned you were here to talk about your sister, right?”

Only then did I comprehend who the sister was.

‘The head is Gwen’s sibling.’

But it didn’t quite match up.

Unlike the kid-sized Gwen, this sibling was a fully matured woman.

It seemed they were indeed sisters, but one had the Rose Emblem while the other didn’t.

“Yes, this one will talk about Gwen.”

I pointed to Elsie.

The head’s gaze shifted to Elsie.

“Indeed, you have learned your sister’s swordsmanship quite well.”

Her expression was complicated.

She seemed happy, yet sad, or perhaps there were other emotions mixed in.

Despite receiving such looks, Elsie calmly began sharing stories about Gwen.

About how she became Gwen’s student, how strong Gwen had grown, where she was headed now, and whether she had found the Rose Sword—the most important details.

Once all the stories concluded, the head nodded and said, “I see. So, in the end, your sister couldn’t find the Rose Sword, could she?”

It sounded like a resigned remark.

After all, her frantic movements might have made it seem as if she had given up on finding the sword by nurturing a student.

But having directly talked with Gwen, I understood that wasn’t the case.

“No, she created a student to serve as a bridge to pass on the Rose Sword and teach swordsmanship to her child.”

She hadn’t given up on looking for the Rose Sword.

“And she has practically already found the Rose Sword.”

To be precise, once the events in Leim Kingdom concluded, I would ensure that I would find it for her.

As I declared this, the head looked at me skeptically. “I’m sorry, but what relation do you have with my sister?”

The intention to deliver Gwen’s news had been completed.

So, it was time to get to the main subject.

But before that, there was something I had to clarify.

“First, let me make it clear, I am High-ranking Hero Allen Pleuk. I am a comrade of Gwen’s.”

Even if I said this, it was likely that she wouldn’t know due to the long-standing isolation order.

However, there was significance in mentioning that I was a high-ranking hero in advance.

“However, with that alone, you wouldn’t know who I am, so a more recognizable name would be… the Masked Hero.”

At that, her eyes widened further.

“And I’m aware that you plan to infiltrate the royal castle on the day of the Nameless Festival.”

*