I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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The courtyard was bustling with knights preparing for the journey, guided by Taylor. As soon as I entered, the noise faded, and all eyes turned to me.

“Nice to meet you. I am Mir, the mercenary who’s joining the hunt.”

I awkwardly greeted among the gazes pouring down on me.

“Are you Mir?”

A middle-aged man clad in armor jumped down from his horse and stood before me, his sharp brown eyes filled with unfamiliar kindness.

As I nodded slowly, he deeply bowed in greeting.

“It is an honor to meet you. I am Parve Roman, Captain of the Black Dragon Knights.”

Flustered by his unexpected formality, I hurriedly mirrored his bow.

“The honor is mine. I look forward to working together.”

‘The captain is joining the hunt for monsters in a small village?’

I was quietly surprised. I had thought that Lujou Village, being a poor place that wouldn’t yield much profit, would only send a knight or two. Looks like the Duke isn’t such a bad person after all.

“There are many knights with no experience facing monsters, so I was quite worried about the hunt. But knowing that you, Mir, will be joining us brings me great relief. You are the best in monster hunting, after all.”

“…That’s too much praise.”

“How humble of you. Personally, I’ve really wanted to meet you. Everyone says that you’re the only one who can stand against the Duke of Crisis aside from Ainheart Marquis within the Empire.”

“Why would I be compared to the Duke…?”

“Just hearing that you’re helping the poor villages for just a small compensation makes you a knight worthy of admiration. I am—”

‘This is embarrassing…’

The stern-faced captain praised me with a serious expression. My face was heating up with the continuous compliments.

I had heard that knights considered mercenaries to be money-hungry scum. Thus, I had come prepared for the hostility to come, but now, with the captain showering me with kindness, I was at a loss for how to respond.

“Uh, Lord Roman. I appreciate the kind words, but now I’d like to hear how the hunt is going to proceed.”

Unable to endure the praise and murmurs around me any longer, I finally spoke up, and Parve, still with a serious expression, nodded slowly.

“I was too focused on my feelings. I apologize. Now, I will explain the hunt plan.”

“…You’ll be explaining it yourself, Lord Roman?”

‘Aren’t such explanations usually left to the lower-ranked knights for mercenaries?’

Looking up at him with questioning eyes, he smiled faintly.

“If I pass up this great opportunity to someone else, it would be a disservice to my position as captain.”

“There’s someone you need to meet, Mir. I’ll explain on the way.”

I followed Parve, smiling at his rather vague words.

“We’ll be alternating between horseback travel and teleportation magic circles. Five mages will accompany us to activate the magic circles. Today, we will teleport to a forest located halfway between the capital and Lujou Village, camp there, and travel by horse until the mages recover their magic power the next day. Once the mages are ready, we will teleport once more and head to Lujou Village.”

Teleportation consumes a significant amount of magical energy; moving about thirty people to the distant Lujou Village would surely tire even five mages out, so taking a break for a day was a wise plan.

“Don’t worry too much about the smaller number of hunters. One of our companions is a psychic mage. If he confuses the monsters, the hunt will be much easier.”

‘A psychic mage?’

His words reminded me of a character who turned psychic magic into a source of fear in the original story.

“I hadn’t planned on him coming along…”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing important. Please, carry on.”

Noticing Parve’s darkening expression, I felt something was off.

“Who are we going to meet now?”

I shook my head to clear my complex thoughts and asked. Checking a pocket watch from his coat, he looked tense.

“…It’s almost time. It’s best to see for yourself.”

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a massive surge of magic rippled through the courtyard. Red smoke burst forth.

‘An invasion?’

Swish.

Drawing my sword swiftly, I was stopped by Parve.

“They’re not enemies! Please sheathe your sword!”

Parve’s face turned pale. Though my gut was telling me something was off, if he said they weren’t enemies, I reluctantly sheathed my sword, still forming a wry grin. Someone must have used a teleportation device.

“Who is it?”

“Is it me?”

Steps echoed slowly.

A low voice replied in place of Parve. Against the backdrop of the red smoke, a figure emerged.

With short black hair flowing in the red haze and a face eerily resembling Caesar’s, his charming appearance looked as if the God of Beauty had crafted it with care, accented by glowing crimson eyes.

“Welcome, Young Lord Karl.”

Next to me, Parve, frozen and dazed, bent deeply to show respect, clearly tense.

This figure was none other than Karl Heimad, the first son of Duke Crisis, one of the male leads in ‘Fairy Night,’ and my half-brother.

‘Oh hell.’

Cold sweat dripped down my back. I bit my lip tightly.

Karl was one of the last people I wanted to face.

In ‘Fairy Night,’ a harem-style story, many male leads appeared; with a total of five male leads, the author worked hard to ensure each one had a distinct character.

Among them, Karl Crisis was a genre-bending presence that turned every appearance into an unsettling thriller.

‘How can I make you mine? If I control your mind… will you only see me? Answer me, Aria Freya.’

‘I don’t need your love; I just need to have you.’

‘A fairy hybrid, interesting. Is the internal structure exactly like a human’s? I wonder…’

He was, quite literally, a madman.

I wasn’t even sure if I could call Karl one of the male leads. His feelings for Aria were not the sweet notion of love but rather a mad obsession and desire for ownership, like seeing a fun toy.

‘Aria struggled so much because of Karl.’

Though he never harmed her directly, his visits always carried a madness, causing the original Aria to feel overwhelmed by his presence.

‘One of the main reasons I didn’t want to come to the Duke’s house was this guy.’

I genuinely hoped Aria would never cross paths with Karl again. I didn’t want her to suffer even a little.

“Are you fine to leave right after returning from the Magic Tower? Is it not exhausting?”

“Stop with your unnecessary worries.”

As I stood there, dazed, Karl’s red eyes shifted towards me.

‘…He’s more normal than I expected?’

As our eyes met, I blinked in surprise at his unexpected demeanor.

‘The red eyes, glinting like they’re infused with magic. They said his gaze carried madness.’

In the novel, Karl was a sadist who treated mental torture as a hobby and committed horrific acts well beyond comprehension.

However, the Karl I was facing now looked cold, devoid of any signs of madness.

‘Something feels off…’

Squinting my eyes in confusion, I continued to watch him closely. He looked normal, yet my instincts screamed danger upon encountering such a person. It was clear he wouldn’t harm me, but he himself was a dangerously unpredictable individual.

‘What’s up with Parve?’

Lost in thought, I suddenly realized Parve’s expression was quite grim. As I pondered on that, I turned my head back to find Karl observing me intently.

“Is this Mir?”

“Yes! This is Mir.”

Karl’s eyes, which resembled Caesar’s, examined me sharply. Snapping back to my senses, I quickly bowed.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Mir, the mercenary.”

“You.”

Karl’s gaze bore into me. His eyes sparkled with the glint of a predator assessing its prey—a similar madness glimmering within. A shiver ran down my spine as he clicked his tongue.

“I knew you were short, but you’re even smaller than I expected. Did you not eat well?”

“…I’m not that short.”

“Nonsense. You look like nothing but bones and skin standing there.”

His sudden assault took me aback, and he chuckled at my reaction.

‘This bastard?’

I clenched my teeth in frustration. My hand reflexively moved toward the sword sheath, but I quickly withdrew it, aware that pulling it now would only end badly for me.

“How considerate of you to worry about someone like me; you’re very kind.”

I forced a strained smile. As I looked at him, Karl suddenly turned away. For some reason, his ears were red.

“Let’s get going. Are you ready?”

“We’re ready. The mages just finished setting up the teleportation circle.”

‘Huh?’

“…Are you and the Duke really coming on the hunt?”

I asked in disbelief. Parve nodded.

“Yes. The psychic mage I mentioned is actually his Highness.”

‘This is insane.’

I had no desire to be involved with Karl. It felt like everything was spiraling out of control.

“Isn’t it too dangerous for your Highness to come along?”

Ordinary nobles live safely without knowing a thing about monsters; I thought it unnecessary for him to help a poor village’s hunt, no matter how skilled he was as a psychic mage.

But perhaps misunderstanding my concern, Karl’s eyebrows twitched. Parve’s expression paled at seeing his discomfort.

“Are you saying that a well-bred nobleman like myself is just going to be a burden if I join?”

“Yes?”

Karl’s pride appeared to be bruised. It was a perfect line to get him furious, so I quickly shook my head, rushing to apologize politely.

“It’s a misunderstanding. I was merely surprised that a nobleman would choose to help, as most would think little of such matters. I was informed that your Highness is an excellent mage, so I was out of line.”

The Karl I encountered was surprisingly sane, but he was still not normal, so I treaded carefully with my words. He observed me with inscrutable eyes before abruptly looking away.

“…I’m just going because there’s significant damage in Lujou Village that I need to see firsthand.”

Upon hearing Karl’s response, the expression of disbelief washed over Parve’s face before disappearing in an instant. Did I misread that moment?

‘…Even as a prince, he’s going to check on his territory’s damage? Is he not a bad guy?’

I tilted my head in confusion. Currently, Karl felt vastly different from the original version. He appeared stoic but seemed like a kind person, leaving me perplexed.

“Tsk. You’re such a foolish one.”

Blinking away my deep thoughts, Karl clicked his tongue, brushing my shoulder as he moved past me. My body swayed slightly.

‘…What was that?’

Following his actions, a cool energy spread from where he touched my shoulder. At the moment of contact, it seemed like Karl released some magic.

‘Not a curse, then?’

My weary body felt invigorated, and as I stood, bewildered, Parve approached me.

“Sir, it seems His Highness has taken quite a liking to you.”

“…?”

“It seems he’s usually reluctant to use blessing magic, but being willing to use it on you suggests he really likes you.”

‘He likes me?’

I squinted, struggling to believe his words, but a part of me saw some truth in it. Not that I had a large following as a mercenary, but there had been some who began to recognize my name. I never imagined Karl would be one of them.

“Maybe he just thought I was pathetic enough to show a bit of kindness…?”

No matter how I thought about it, there was no way Karl genuinely liked me, so I dismissed it as Parve’s exaggeration and erased such thoughts from my mind.

“Captain! The magic circle is ready! We can depart immediately!”

“It seems that’s the case. Are you ready?”

“Yes. Of course.”

I organized my chaotic thoughts and followed Parve.