NOVEL NEXT chapter 21
21 – Bergall
“Damn it… I didn’t know she had the nerve to hit me for being wrong…”
No matter what, even though I’m a viscount, I can’t understand how she can insult me like this.
Nirsera is supposed to be a princess (though dethroned) and a renowned scholar on the continent. As my home tutor, she does have the right to discipline me properly, but shouldn’t she at least save my dignity as a viscount?
My great-grandfather is ignoring this situation (actually encouraging punishment.) My mother, while highly respecting Nirsera, talks as if it’s okay for her to hit me more if I don’t listen.
Satria acts as if she has nothing to do with this matter, and only Eilen embraced me tightly for comfort. Sobs…! Eilen, my dear…
I wanted to retaliate by hitting her harder, to completely overthrow her, whether she’s a princess or a scholar, so that she would suffer and not leave any lingering effects. But she struck me precisely, like a possessed math teacher from my past life, inflicting pain severe enough to make me nearly pass out and yet not leave any visible scars.
Her skill is vastly different from my father, who used to ignorantly strike forcefully… It’s terrifying!
Nevertheless, due to the horror of metafiction, the material I studied has been deeply ingrained in my mind. At this rate, I felt confident that I could grasp Lutenian basics within two to three weeks. Does this count as muscle memory? (Note: No, it doesn’t.)
The problem is that I’m not only receiving education from Nirsera. The training given by my master, Gerald, is just as rigorous as Nirsera’s lessons.
“hahahaha, Viscount. Why are you struggling so much when you possess great strength?”
“Ah… no… what… push-ups… for the… first… time, 200…”
“Are you saying that someone who was hit by an iron cauldron would whine after being thrown with all their might, barely causing any damage?”
Gerald must deeply regret leaving me unattended before since he’s now subjecting me to incredibly intense training.
“Now, if you whine, I’ll add one more wooden board on your back.”
“Oh, shi-*”
“What did you say?”
“Noth-nothing…”
From the very beginning of the training, he makes me do 200 push-ups without rest…
“Master… my palms are completely torn and bleeding…”
“That’s how it should be. It’s actually a good thing. It means you’ve worked hard, and calluses will form quickly. If the pain is unbearable, go see the priests.”
He even makes me swing a sword until my palms are completely torn and bleeding…
“Please, can we take a break… I can’t move anymore!”
“If you can’t endure even this, you won’t achieve anything in the future!”
He even forces me to climb the mountain peak fully armed during the middle of the night…
“Oh god, how long do I have to endure this…”
After enduring difficult classes and training, I collapsed on the bed like a lifeless corpse, groaning ‘uuuh’.
Suddenly, a chilling thought crossed my mind.
“Don’t tell me I have to put up with this bullsh*t until I’m 20 years old?”
Even at the age of 20, there is no guarantee it will end. Nyrsera is a precious body; I wondered if she would stay in this territory for more than three years, but Sir Gerard…
“Ugh…”
Unable to even scream, all I could do was tremble like a trembling squid, shaken by fear…
At that moment, someone knocked on my door and opened it.
It was Eilen, carrying a steaming stew into the room.
“Viscount, I heard you’re very tired today, so I brought dinner myself.”
“Uh…”
“Viscount…?”
Looking at my lifeless state, Eilen approached me as if she was worried, placing the tray with the food on the table.
She discovered my palm full of wounds when she touched my forehead and then held my hand with both of hers, asking me.
“Why didn’t you seek treatment from the priest?”
“If I go to the priest, they won’t heal the calluses…”
“Then…”
Upon my words, Eilen took out a small jar from her pocket. She opened it and applied something onto my hand.
“It’s sticky…”
“Endure it. You should apply this at least so your wound doesn’t worsen later.”
She seemed to be applying ointment to my wounds.
“Do you always carry it around?”
“Yes, accidents happen here and there.”
“Well, during this war, it was inevitable, but before that, you could have gone to the priest, couldn’t you?”
Our nobles are ‘slightly’ more important people than commoners or peasants, so once you become a Viscount, you arrange for at least one priest in your own castle as a reward for donating a considerable sum to the cathedral. It is to prevent sudden illness or death. If you rush to the patient and run to the cathedral, by the time you arrive, the patient would have teleported next to the holy altar.
It is impossible for commoner servants, made up of ordinary people in the castle, to meet priests to treat minor illnesses or wounds unless they suffer severe injuries. But a maid like Eilen, who is the daughter of a Marquis, has the right to ask the priest to treat even a mild injury without feeling burdened.
It was strange that Eilen carried the medicine for treating wounds.
When I was young, after being spanked on my buttocks by my father, an uncle with unkempt beard used to touch and treat my buttocks. I couldn’t bear it, so I carried ointment with me. However, there was no reason for Eilen to do so.
After a brief pause upon my words, Eilen responded.
“When I got hurt once, someone handed me the ointment. It was a situation where it was difficult to see the priest, so it was really helpful. I’ve been carrying it ever since.”
“I see. Well, it’s not like the priest is always available, and it’s good to have it just in case.”
“…”
“..? Eilen?”
Suddenly, Eilen stopped applying the ointment and fell silent in response to my words.
‘What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?’
Already, due to the fatigue from class and training, and on an empty stomach, my head wasn’t working properly. Now I understand why grandfathers always carry candy in their pockets. Is this what having low blood sugar feels like?
As I turned my body over from lying down to sit up, Eileen’s face looked slightly disappointed and sad.
Confused by this sight, I rolled my eyes back and forth, desperately trying to figure out why she was acting like this.
Just as something was about to come to mind, Eileen looked at my face and gave a little laugh.
“It’s nothing. By the way, are you hungry? I’ll go get some food for you.”
“Um, well…”
Eileen got up and brought a tray of food to the table.
I tried to pick up the utensils on the tray, but the goo made it slippery and hard to grip.
“Oh, it must be hard to hold the utensils because of the goo. Since you’re tired, I’ll feed you myself.”
“No, that’s not necessary…”
Despite my words, Eileen took the spoon from me and served me stew, bringing it to my mouth.
“Here, open up.”
“I can do it myself… but.. ah, ah…”
I couldn’t refuse after she had already brought it to my mouth, so I had no choice but to obediently open my mouth…
What’s hard once is easy twice, or so they say. True to that saying, I ended up eating the stew Eileen fed me like a baby bird.
It wasn’t as bad as I thought.
**
“What’s your name?”
Inside the huge ger (a movable dwelling used by nomadic people), a girl sitting on a stone throne asked the man in front of her, whose hands were tied and knees bent, between two intimidating guards.
The man, afraid of the fierce soldiers glaring at him, trembled as he answered the girl.
“My, my name is Kahlroy.”
“Kahlroy, Kahlroy…”
The girl pondered his answer, then a look of realization came over her.
“You must be from the Karmus people. That’s a name those men from that tribe often used.”
“Y-yes. That’s correct…”
The girl spoke as if she felt sorry for the man’s response.
“Ah, it seems the heavens have not been merciful to you. Coming back to the plains at such an unfavorable time.”
“W-what do you mean by that?”
“A week ago, your people were punished by our Bergol tribe. For nearly 200 years, it was difficult to handle the people who dared to rebel against our Ke Bergol Ulus, but thanks to divine help, it was very easy to punish them, because most of their troops were led by the commander and the ones who stayed to protect the tribe were in Yurmania.”
At the girl’s words, Karo turned pale and asked in horror, “Did, What happened to the tribe?”
“Well…”
In response to Karo’s question, the girl said with a smirk at the corner of her mouth, “You know our ways, right? And did you really think that the punishment was not as severe as the number of people who rebelled against us? That’s why hardly anyone survived in the tribe. Bergol made the execution based on a much smaller standard than the cartwheel for those who rebelled against us. So all the children died and there have been a few cases of an entire tribe being wiped out. And the Kamusins are one of the most ‘rebellious tribes’ with deep traditions.”
“Earth God, why have the Bergols come this far?” Karo resented his God for the first time in his life. The Bergols had been in a much farther place than here, and it was incomprehensible why they came to the east of Tylea.
After looking at the trembling Karo, the girl laughed and said, “But I am a merciful person. I had to kill all the stupid people who resisted until the end, but I am still contemplating the disposal of the remaining people. Do we really need to shed more blood than necessary?”
Upon hearing the girl’s words, Karo immediately hung his head. Seeing this sudden behavior of Karo, the girl seemed interested.
After a while, Karo banged his head on the ground three times and pleaded, “Please be merciful to our tribe.”
“You, the cheeky tribe who refused to bow to us for 200 years, is that what you’re asking?”
“Give us one more chance, and I will make sure to lead the tribe to become faithful subjects of Ke Bergol Ulus!”
“Hmm…”
After contemplating for a moment, the girl said to Karo, “Well, the boring story can wait. I heard that you were a mercenary in Yurmania and came back to the prairie.”
“Yes, correct.”
“Tell me what happened in Yurmania. I don’t know anything about that place.”
“Will be as you command.”
“By the way, despite everything, I think we should treat our guests well.”
At the girl’s gesture, the soldier holding Karo cut the ropes that held him and brought warm towels, salt, and bread to Karo.
“Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell you my name. I am Eke Edzen Bokda ‘Enekhra’ Khan.”
The conquerors of the prairie have come to Tylea.