Chapter 11

The boy stood in front of Dietrich, but he had no intention of letting him off the hook. The man walked towards the boy’s neck and strangled him. The boy struggled.

“Dietrich!” Reinhardt shouted in surprise.

“I’m going to be his swordmaster from now on, so don’t interfere,” Dietrich said.

The lady he served was always mature, but her heart was weak and tender. It was an obvious trait at times like these.

The man glanced down at the boy. The eyes that looked back up at him were filled with venom.

The boy was like a poisonous snake. Dietrich looked down at the boy, who was stomping his feet. Laughing at the sight, he smiled at Reinhardt.

“Men have their own way of talking.”

“He’s just a little boy!”

“Then should I just forget this and return to Ernst?”

The effect of his words were quick. Reinhardt lowered her clenched fist. She looked at the struggling boy and approached him with a distressed look on her face.

“Sorry, Wilhelm, but Dietrich is going to be a really good teacher.”

“You’ll be a good teacher, right?” She asked Dietrich, as if very determined.

Dietrich laughed.

“You’re probably the best teacher in this small estate.”

“Darn it!”

Reinhardt stomped on his foot.

She swept up the boy’s forehead, and his eyes gleamed. There was poison within the boy’s eyes, but she still kissed his forehead gently.

Dietrich clicked his tongue. Hearing the noise, the boy straightened and stretched. He seemed to have lost his temper.

Dietrich laughed in vain.

“Wilhelm, listen to Dietrich. You’re going to be a very, very great person in the future.”

“How encouraging of you to say. What about the teacher?”

At Dietrich’s joke, Reinhardt frowned.

“You’re still a wonderful person.”

“It’s not bad to compliment someone on the side.”

Saying so, Dietrich raised his hand and opened his palm towards her. Reinhardt also raised her arm gracefully and placed her hand in his. Dietrich kissed the back of her hand deeply. It was only for a moment, but it was like a fairy tale about a lady and her knight. Both of whom have a history of elegance and theft.

The young boy glared at Dietrich’s hands, and noticing the boy’s reaction, Dietrich laughed.

***

At the training ground behind the castle, Dietrich carried the boy.

Luden’s security force consisted of thirty people, maximum. Because of the shift, there were a dozen people who actually moved throughout the day and night, so the training grounds were rarely used. Naturally, there was accumulated dust and trash.

Dietrich threw the boy into a pile of dirt in the training ground, and the boy groaned in response.

“Listen, I won’t say it again.”

“…….”

“I hate children who don’t understand what I say. She may have kissed a child like you on the forehead, but I will not show you the same affection.”

The boy, who was still recovering from being thrown, glared at him. Dietrich snorted.

“Do you know what I would do with boys like you? I would always pick out boys in your state and kick them out.”

“…….”

“I heard that you saved her life. You, a boy who can’t even speak.”

The boy didn’t answer back. But Dietrich didn’t care. Even though the child didn’t speak, it was clear that he still understood everything Reinhardt or other people would say to him. He used his eyes to speak, rather than words.

‘Just in case. Maybe he’s pretending to be obedient and is leaning on her kindness.’

Reinhardt seemed unable to part with the young boy because of her attachment to him, and could not truly see through the boy. But Dietrich knew for sure.

Those kinds of people who possess those eyes are the most dangerous. Greed runs down their eyes. If that greed is about money or food, then it would be better. But…… Dietrich clicked his tongue.

“I am honored that such a thing as you could have saved someone else’s life.”

“…….”

“I’ll make you a bastard worthy of glory. Because you’ll do what you want.

“…….”

“Get up if you know what I am saying. Move, move, move!”

The boy glanced at Dietrich. The way he sat down and looked up at him was quite rebellious, but Dietrich knew. That boy will stand up soon and listen to him.

A man who has greed becomes blind. Even a man who can’t read nor who can’t speak would fall prey to greed.

As if to fulfill Dietrich’s beliefs, the boy rose to his feet, spread his legs, and stood.

Dietrich searched near the training ground and threw a dusty wooden sword at the boy. The boy snatched the wooden sword as if he was expecting it. His movements were beast-like.

Dietrich sighed. It seemed that he would have to seriously train this boy.

Dietrich had come to Luden for one reason. He tried to persuade Reinhardt to leave this damn cold land and abandon the empire if possible. Before he knew it, he was listening to Reinhardt and was giving a sword lesson to a boy he didn’t even know.

Dietrich fixed the boy’s finger grip and position on the sword with a sigh.

The day to abandon the empire was still a long way off.

***

The days have become cold.

If it was the capital, it would be just after Thanksgiving and would be time for people to store hay and cut firewood.

However, Luden Castle had already been saving firewood due to its cold temperatures.

Mrs. Sarah had said there would be a snowstorm coming soon.

Since stones froze in the snowstorm on the old walls, and it was common for them to melt and fall down. So, the guards at Luden Castle fulfilled their duties during this wintertime by securing the edges of the walls with strings of hay.

This was a season when there was nothing to eat. All the geese flew away, and the captain of the guard untied his bow.

Even though it was hard to find meat to eat, they were able to catch five pigs in the cathedral yesterday.

Dietrich played the biggest role in the catch, as expected. The proud knight of the Linke estate received a great round of applause from the servants for his skill in opening the pig’s neck painlessly with a single blow.

“Well, I feel much better being praised for doing this than being praised for picking people’s throats.”

Everyone was laughing when they saw how the knight smiled.

Reinhardt felt strange. The same people who were avoiding her would happily seek Dietrich without hesitation.

Even today, servants were noisy working in the cathedral. This was because they had to smoke the pork and salt it before it gets colder. The fumes burning spread all over the castle.

Listening to people outside the window, Reinhardt thought, Do I have to go out and chop firewood? Of course, it is nonsense. I’d rather go through the records of Luden’s estate and find other’s help.

“Reinhardt.”

Reinhardt, who was about to pull out a record card from the bookstore, blinked her eyes and turned around. There was a familiar boy standing beside her. Underneath his black hair, she saw his sparkling dark eyes. Now that she saw his pretty good-looking face, Reinhardt laughed when she saw his hair.

“What’s with the hair?”

“Dietrich.”

The boy’s hair was cut into pieces. Dietrich, who complained about his long hair being annoying every time he trained, seemed to have finally acted on his complaints. Reinhardt laughed on the spot.

“What’s this! It looks like a rat ate it!”

“Mouse…”

Wilhelm moved his mouth discontentedly. Reinhardt laughed her eyes out. That’s why Wilhelm’s hair was distinctly different in length from left to right.

“Dietrich is the bravest and greatest swordsman of all our knights, and even has a knack for slashing people’s throats. But I guess that his swordsmanship does not transfer towards cutting hair, huh?”

She rubbed Wilhelm’s ear and giggled. Wilhelm blushed in embarrassment.

I’m glad Luden Castle is so poor that there’s no mirror, Reinhardt thought.

Reinhardt placed Wilhelm on one side of the study and found scissors. There were a pair of parchment scissors on one side of the desk. It was heavy and dull because it was for leather cutting, but it was still a better tool than whatever Dietrich had used.

“Does it look weird?” The boy asked Reinhardt, who was approaching him with scissors.

It was clear that Dietrich treated Wilhelm much more harshly than Hu Linke’s knights. Even though it was harsh, it was the fastest way to teach a man who couldn’t speak or wield a sword at sixteen years of age.

Reinhardt thought that was an excuse, but Wilhelm followed Dietrich faster than she thought.

“No, it’s not weird,” she said, replying to his original question. “It’s cute. But I think it’ll be cuter if I trim it a little more.”

She tapped Wilhelm on the shoulder and trimmed his hair little by little. Wilhelm sat still and listened to Reinhardt trimming his hair. In fact, it was her first time cutting someone else’s hair.

But I’m still better than Dietrich.

After a while, Reinhardt had to admit it was all part of her arrogance. This was because the hair wasn’t cut neatly. Reinhardt sighed behind Wilhelm. Wilhelm flinched.

“Well, it’s not working well…….”

It wasn’t until a while later that the shape of his hair had formed. Reinhardt shook Wilhelm’s shoulder satisfactorily.

Suddenly, she realized that Wilhelm was a little bigger than she remembered. After eating and moving, his small body seemed to grow little by little.

Is this what makes people?

When Reinhardt paused, Wilhelm looked back slowly. Reinhardt grinned as their eyes met.

“Good for you. You’re cute now.”

She tried to say he was cool, but she still thought he was cute, and her true thoughts tumbled out.

She tilted the boy’s forehead and kissed him. Wilhelm’s cheeks turned slightly red.

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