chapter 30
still live (3)
Westwall Wall.
Protecting the kingdom from the barbarians on the outskirts was not made in our kingdom.
The old kingdom, which was originally the owner of this land, connected the mountain ranges with human power, but…
I spent too much money on the wall and went bankrupt very cool.
The Drakor dynasty, who would actually destroy them, had invaded from the east.
Still, the legacy of the old kingdom is being put to good use today.
Although the majesty of the fortress wall has weakened due to the development of summoning techniques, it is still much better than blocking the enemy from the ground.
My hands and feet tremble as I watch the endless lines of barriers that are tall enough to be 10 meters high.
Eolin, who sensed the vibration on my lap, woke up and jumped to the floor and went back to her room.
Once again, after getting dressed and leaving the room, I saw Maria and Christine out there.
Tangerine rice cakes floating around Christine.
As if he was refilling what he had already sucked in, he maintained the summoned state.
It is a wise choice to do so when you have enough mana.
A long line of tracks stretched out to Fort Westwall.
Unlike when I went to the north, there is no need to change to a wagon.
As I thought about it and made up my mind, Maria gave me a worried look.
It seems like he was worried when he brought me here.
When the train, which had been slowing down, came to a complete stop, students, tired of the long journey, poured onto the platform.
Fortunately, we are in a special room, so things are a little better.
Escape the train with Medusha, who gave strength to her shoulders.
As I was looking around the fortress with a very practical design, a guide came out from the inside.
“Everyone from Magnus Academy, please come this way. Oh, Miss Maria. You’ve worked hard to come this far.”
After all, the family of the lord is treated with respect as if it were a special treat.
After all, this field training itself is an event for the lords who donated money to the academy.
After a moment’s hesitation, Maria made a small gesture.
“Welcome. Let me introduce you to my family.”
“Oh, that one…”
The servant who found me belatedly looked at my face with strange admiration.
It doesn’t seem like he’s just concerned about the wrath of the Westwall Marquess.
Medusha, who stood by my side, coughed a little, only then came to her senses and moved to introspection.
Not understanding his reaction, I quickly fell into even greater confusion.
As they were walking side by side with Maria, others began to look at them similarly.
It’s like looking at some kind of strange animal.
They are very concerned about small flirtations among themselves.
I constructed a method for wiretapping in my left hand and secretly activated it.
It is a technique of summoning sounds around the eardrum.
“Who’s next to Miss Maria? I think I’ve seen it somewhere.”
“Isn’t it El Cloud? That, Miss Arianne, married…”
“From what I heard, they looked a little alike. No, they definitely did.”
“If Miss Arianne was a man, it would have been just that.”
A mother’s name I haven’t heard in a long time.
As I was feeling my heart tightening thanks to this, the tolerance of the Westwall family was approaching.
Even if it is a house of a great family, there is little sense of glamor or extravagance.
Instead, it appears to be quite sturdy.
Unlike the Ice Fortress, it has a traditional design.
As I struggled to move, engulfed in discomfort and awkwardness, a woman came out from the inside.
The appearance that can tell where Maria’s superior genes came from.
The mother welcomed her daughter back home and greeted her warmly.
“You came earlier than expected. My father went out on reconnaissance, so a little later… huh?”
The gaze that had been scanning my daughter’s companions completely stopped on my face.
I just got used to it and didn’t think much of it.
I didn’t know much when I saw the portraits of the mansion… They look very similar.
In my opinion, that’s the one that resembles my mother.
In the first place, is it a family with strong female genes?
As I was admiring myself for a bit, she greeted me with difficulty controlling her emotions.
“You’re welcome, Count Louis Elcloud… right?”
“Nice to meet you.”
Bewildered by the unexpected hospitality, he responded firmly.
Maria’s mother becomes my aunt, but now it doesn’t mean much.
Christine, Sylvia, and Elfriede, who sneakily intervened, finished their brief introductions, and she turned around with a smile.
Unlike the Ice Citadel, which felt a little like a mansion on the inside.
Westwall’s introspection just felt like a luxurious campground.
A space surrounded by tall towers and stone walls.
For the residence of the great lord, it is not simple enough, so it feels poor.
A spear knife is stored in the yard, and the open area is a target for archery practice.
It’s like an advertisement for always preparing for war.
Soldiers and vassals were constantly coming and going while we were talking, and they all gave me familiar glances.
I took the opportunity to move inside the castle and asked Sylvia quietly.
“Do I look so much like my mother?”
“I’ve never seen him in person… But wouldn’t it be similar of course?”
but. Sylvia is only one year older than me.
Now, I can’t remember my mother’s face.
After a bit of a nod in favor, we were assigned a room that we would be using here.
It is quite cozy and luxurious as if it was for a VIP.
“You can stay here during the field training. Sylvia is in the next room…”
“No, I’ll use this room too.”
Silvia shook her head and responded with a firm voice.
Thanks to that, Maria’s mother blushed a little, but…
Sylvia was burning with a sense of duty to protect me.
It seems that we should not forget that this place is in the middle of the enemy camp.
While her aunt, tired of her momentum, reluctantly agrees.
Christine quite naturally followed Maria’s room and placed her luggage.
The tangerine rice cake, which was flying around her shoulder, slowly regained its normal size and color.
After we were allotted a room, we had a quick meal and looked around the Westwall walls.
The other students seemed to be doing various tasks already, but…
We actually enjoyed the tour.
Elfriede breathed a sigh of relief as if she had done well to intervene here.
In the meantime, Maria’s uncles, cousins, and vassal-like people greeted me warmly and looked at me repeatedly.
Apparently, there are a lot of children of the Westwall Marquess.
After all, the age difference between my mother and Maria’s mother is quite huge.
I can’t even imagine how many more children there will be in between.
It is evening after seeing the wilderness and rocky mountains spread out beyond the fortress walls to your heart’s content.
We entered the lord’s hall for dinner.
Portraits of family members fill a large wall.
The aunt stopped in front of one of them and smiled softly.
“I drew this when my sister Arianne left here. I was very young back then… but my father said he was standing next to the painter with a sword until the portrait was finished. Without a word.”
“Ugh.”
It must have been a demonstration that I would kill myself if I couldn’t draw it straight.
Still, I loved my mother.
Perhaps thanks to the hard work of the Westwall Marquess, the picture in front of me was really vivid.
Looking at the portrait of a young mother, an embarrassing moan comes out.
It’s like looking in a strange mirror.
What remained in the El Cloud Mansion was much later than that.
My mother, who is sitting in the chair, is looking down at me with a light smile.
While the vassals from afar were whispering to see them.
Finally, the owner of this place appeared.
An old man wearing thick armor despite being over seventy years old.
The Westwall Marquee, who seemed to have washed away only the dust of the wilderness, looked straight at me.
“…”
Eyebrows bleached as white as snow twitched strongly.
A fierce conflict in the snow that still holds a gun.
Her dry lips twitched a little, then closed again.
The family members and vassals inside the room seem to be worried that he might even wield a sword.
Medusha and Sylvia, who had been nervous all day, stepped forward in front of me.
He moved heavily and headed for the lord’s seat.
The head of the banquet hall.
It is a place where you can see the attendees at a glance.
Of course, even at the banquet, there are few outsiders.
Our academy’s students came to Westwall as trainees, not guests.
Still, there were so many family members and vassals, it didn’t feel so plain.
Even though they are the same count, there is a far-reaching difference.
Was our family like this in the first place?
As I was a little jealous, the Count raised his glass and announced the start of the banquet.
The dinner, which started soon after, was quite good.
It was not a very luxurious food, but it was a dish that made use of the characteristics of the ingredients in a thrifty manner.
The earl’s personality seems to have influenced the cooks as well.
As I pecked him inwardly, I felt a very clear gaze.
Throughout the meal, the Count stared intently at me.
Thanks to that, the banquet was as quiet as a mouse dead.
There is hardly any sound of tableware clashing, let alone laughing and chatting as they clink glasses.
Hopefully it won’t end like this.
I was making up my own mind.
An unexpected face appeared at the entrance to the banquet hall.
“What kind of banquet is so quiet? Because I don’t want to come home like this…”
“Ah, master?”
“Michael. Why are you here…”
Not only us, but also the count’s vassals and family members were astonished.
Michael is in 3rd year this year.
You should have gone to another place for field training, but… Why did you come here?
As if he was taking advantage of the authority of the student council president, he headed for the senior seat with a leisurely gait.
As the next head of state, he was supposed to occupy the seat next to the Count.
One of Maria’s uncles quickly makes a seat, and he sits down, thanking him.
The Count, who had a slightly sarcastic expression on his face, looked at it and sighed.
He has a great voice and good pronunciation, like a commander of battle-honoring.
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to listen to hear the conversation.
“Michael. You left your seat at will.”
“This is one of my seats, by the way, sir. A relative not too far away has visited Westwall for the first time in my life, so why don’t we sit down at the top and have a chat?”
Michael smiles mischievously at me and goes to the point.
For me, the development was slower than I expected, so I was happy to see him meddling.
The Count turned his gaze to me again and muttered quietly, as if asking himself a question.
“… Relative?”
“father!”
My aunt raised her voice as if she did not recognize me as a relative.
Sylvia looked like she was about to pull out a dagger and run.
Next to her, Medusha has her eyes wide open and her arms crossed.
Fortunately, Elfriede and Christine are together.
Since there are two heirs of the Highlord, I will protect the least good.
The aunt, who seemed to have felt the Earl a bit too much, denounced him on behalf of everyone.
Maria is also looking straight at the Count next to her.
“Are you doing this because of Arianne’s sister? So it’s the same with me. I was born with my mother…”
Come to think of it, the count’s wife also died during childbirth.
The Count, who seemed to have recalled painful memories because of his aunt’s words, responded slightly wildly.
“What do you think of me? If that child was Arianne’s child, I would have brought her here and raised her. Do you think I would have just abandoned the Westwall-blooded child?”
“Yes? What the hell are you talking about…”
“It’s rude!”
Sylvia screams bravely as she gets up from her seat in the middle of the enemy line.
But Maria and Christine, let alone Westwall’s vassals, did not condemn her.
What the Count just said was that shocking.
In his words, I am not the son of Arianne Elcloud.
If I am not his father, I will not be able to use the title of Earl of Elcloud.
How can a person whose name is Dae Yeongju speak nonsense like that?
While Elfriede, who was genuinely surprised, was shivering, Michael asked in a cold voice.
“Louise isn’t Aunt Arianne’s child? She looks so much like her aunt’s portrait? Is there any proof?”
The Count answered Michael’s question coldly, as if he had been waiting for it.
It was hardened even more, but it was an expression that somehow felt refreshed.
“You called me cold-blooded. No matter how much Arianne died, you left Count Elcloud and her child. I didn’t.”
A count who keeps listing only words that he does not understand.
This time, while Sylvia and Medusha were about to be furious, he finally revealed everything.
The knight who has been guarding the earl’s back until now takes one step forward.
“When Arianne’s second child was born, I ordered Lindel to send money to the midwife, didn’t I?”
“Yes, Count.”
The knight a little younger than the Westwall Marquess nodded.
I’ve probably served him for decades.
The elderly knight testifies without hesitation even though his eyes are trembling when he sees me.
“Lindel. Recite what you said when you went there.”
“Sir Count. Sadly, Miss Arianne died during childbirth. And… her child was also unfortunately stillborn.
“… What?”
At the words of the knight, the banquet hall completely froze.
The Count nodded helplessly, then looked at me and murmured.
“Arianne’s child died at the time of birth. Then… Who are you, who looks just like Arianne?”
Questions filled with doubt echoed and spread.
I sat still, speechless for a while.