Chapter 66
“Wouldn't it be alright to tell me now? Why you're still staying with the Meyer family.”
“Have you still not given up?”
“It’s just that I can't stand being curious.”
Hans didn't seem like someone who belonged in a trash family like the Meyers, no matter how I looked at it.
Even to Karl, who had just become a Master, the Hans before him was clearly no ordinary skilled individual.
“It wasn’t anything special. My life was saved by the previous family head. Since then, I’ve remained to repay that kindness.”
The current head of the Meyer family, Karl's father, Lord Den Meyer, was not a man of great capability. He didn't even properly understand how valuable Hans truly was.
“Isn’t it about time you stopped? Serving the family for over twenty years seems like more than enough.”
“Right now, I don’t particularly have anywhere else to go, nor anything I want to do, so I’m just staying.”
“You are peculiar too.”
“Could I be more so than the young master?”
The two looked at each other and laughed heartily.
“Once this matter is concluded, how about working in the County of Collo? I don’t really have anyone who could be called a retainer. I’m a wanderer. I need someone here to handle my affairs.”
“It’s a gracious offer, but… I’ll tell you after this matter is finished.”
“Feel free to answer whenever you’re comfortable.”
Hans watched Karl, who rode slightly ahead of him, with meaningful eyes. Despite being only in his mid-twenties, this peculiar young master felt like talking to someone of his own age.
He had thought Karl would accomplish something significant, but he hadn't imagined he would become a hero featured in people's stories like now.
When he taught him as a child, Karl wasn't without talent, but he wasn't the possessor of extraordinary genius like many heroes or prodigies.
‘A Master….’
According to the rumors, Karl was a Master-level knight.
That was a legendary realm said to be attainable only by those chosen by the heavens. Even searching the entire West Continent, one couldn't find many Master-level knights.
Therefore, Hans still found it hard to believe. However, the very fact that he, who was at least Superior-level, couldn't properly gauge Karl's skill meant that his level was already unimaginably high, he knew that much.
‘He said he was in the East Continent for 7 years.’
Within three years of arriving on the West Continent, Karl had made his name widely known and even received a title by his own hand.
From the perspective of a retainer, it was hard to call the current members of the Meyer family incompetent, but compared to Karl, they felt like a candle before the sun.
“Will you be alright not going with the soldiers? I can already picture how they will treat you.”
“You still see me as the young Karl Meyer.”
“…I’ve overstepped.”
“No, rather, it’s good.”
“Pardon?”
“It means you’re worried about me.”
Come to think of it, the peculiar young master before him had only been scorned by those of Meyer blood. Everyone else inside the castle liked Karl.
Even those who initially avoided him due to rumors of being possessed by an evil spirit couldn't help but grow fond of him after spending time with Karl, seeing his attitude towards servants and people, and his respect for others.
“Are Emma, Joseph, and Molly all doing well?”
“You remembered them?”
“Of course.”
Emma was Karl's nurse, and Joseph was the gamekeeper. Molly was the stable hand, and all three were workers within the castle with whom Karl had a close relationship.
“Emma was kicked out of the castle for being too old. The mistress… as you know, doesn’t quite know how to look after the servants. I heard she received nothing substantial when she was driven out. I haven't been able to check how she's living outside now.”
As his story continued, Karl's expression hardened unprecedentedly, becoming cold.
“I also heard Joseph quit being the gamekeeper and is now living as a hunter. The domain’s current situation isn’t good enough to maintain the hunting grounds properly. As for Molly, that fellow was also kicked out because the second young master installed someone he brought from somewhere as the stable hand.”
The news that everyone Karl had been close to had met unfortunate ends and been driven from the castle was not pleasant.
“Once I arrive, I must meet them first.”
“I will make inquiries beforehand.”
“I ask this of you.”
Exchanging various old stories as they traveled, the two soon arrived at the Meyer family's domain.
“I wish to enter quietly. I’d prefer not to announce it to people.”
“Will you enter separately?”
“I shall do so.”
“The Twilight Shadow Inn is decent. I will meet you there.”
“Understood.”
After sending Hans ahead, Karl didn't go directly to the Lord's castle but looked around the vicinity.
Nothing had changed near the Lord's castle.
The forest where he used to come out and swing his sword was also the same. Karl presented his identification plaque and walked into the castle grounds. The inside of the castle was also just as it was when he wandered around as a child.
‘Back then, I really hated this place.’
Life had been truly arduous, having been suddenly dragged here and treated like a ghost. Those called family all looked at him as if he were a monster, and learning the family's swordsmanship was unthinkable.
Whenever he tried to do anything to survive using his modern knowledge, he faced interference from the family head and his biological mother, Serna.
To them, Karl remained merely something possessed by an evil spirit until the end.
What allowed Karl to endure here were thanks to Hans, who taught him basic martial arts, his nurse, and the servants working in the castle.
Karl wandered through the village, looking for the people he had been close to. After asking around, he easily found Emma's location.
Even in a world without labor laws, there usually wasn't a practice of kicking out a nurse who had worked faithfully for over 30 years without any form of severance pay, but to the greedy and ill-tempered Serna, such things seemed trivial.
He slowly walked towards the shantytown where the village vagrants and beggars gathered. Arriving at a place hardly worthy of being called a house, pieced together like rags rather than a proper home, Karl stepped inside the door.
“Who is it?”
A child's voice was heard. It seemed someone related to Emma was there.
“I came to see Emma.”
The child looked at Karl, who wore armor and carried a sword, clearly appearing as a nobleman, with an expression half-fearful and half-wary.
“Are you from the castle?”
“No, I am someone who came because I owe Emma a debt of gratitude.”
“A debt of gratitude?”
“Yes, I came to repay her, so could you guide me to Emma?”
“Grandmother is sick.”
The child appeared to be Emma's grandchild. Following the bright-looking child inside, he saw Emma lying on a dirty bed, her hair now white with age.
She was still at an age where she could be healthy, but her environment was pushing her towards the worst.
“Emma, it’s been a long time, but what is this state you’re in?”
She, who had been moaning with her eyes closed, slowly opened them at the familiar voice she seemed to have heard somewhere.
“Could it be? Young Master Karl?”
“Yes, when I left for the East Continent, I told you I would return someday and let you live in comfort… I was late.”
“…Oh, Essus…! I always prayed for the young master. Seeing you looking so fine, it seems my prayers were heard.”
Looking at her, Karl felt once again how foolish he had been.
His eyes were open, but it was no different from living with them closed.
Despite having people like these, he had lived only in self-denial, perhaps making him someone undeserving of complaining.
Karl swiftly lifted the lying woman and carried her on his back.
“Y-Young Master?”
“Say nothing. You are not someone who should be in a place like this.”
Karl first moved her to the inn where he planned to stay and had someone inquire about purchasing a nearby manor.
He then summoned a healer to care for her, while simultaneously feeding her warm food she could eat.
The next day, Hans came, and through him, Karl purchased a decent manor and moved Emma and her young grandchild there.
Karl then sought out Joseph, who was barely making a living as a hunter, and Molly, who was caring for different horses each day while moving between various inns, and settled them permanently in the mansion. Karl didn't even set foot near the inner castle until the three were settled.
***
“…What did you just say? That brat arrived at the castle, yet instead of seeking us out first, he sought out those lowly commoners?”
“That is correct….”
In the meeting room of Meyer Castle sat Lord Den Meyer, his wife Serna, the eldest son Hellip, and the second son Dave.
Serna's face flushed as she received the report on Karl's activities.
“How many times do I have to say it! That boy is undoubtedly possessed by an evil spirit. How can he seek out such lowly beings before his own parents and brothers?”
Serna shrieked sharply.
“Calm down, wife.”
“How can I be calm now? Aren’t you angry too?”
“…We are the ones in need now, wife. Besides, rumors say Karl received the Saint's Necklace from the Pope. In such a situation, talking about evil spirits will only make us look ridiculous.”
“That’s just because the Order made a mistake!”
“…Furthermore, the rumors say Karl is a Master-level knight. The one in need right now isn't Karl, it's us.”
“How could that be possible? Hellip is barely an Intermediate Expert, and you are an Advanced Expert, yet a Master? How could that be possible unless that boy sold his soul to a demon? It's just a rumor. That’s all the rumor is.”
Even though Karl was clearly the child she had carried for ten months and birthed in pain, Serna vehemently denounced him.
“You don’t know, those eyes, that tone, that voice! You’ve never seen such things!”
One day, when Karl was seven, Serna had entered his room. She remembered that time clearly.
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■!]
It was a language she had never heard before.
And that voice was not a child's. It could only be thought of as the voice of someone truly possessed by an evil spirit.
After that, not only Serna but also Baron Den Meyer felt a sense of otherness from Karl.
As time went on, Karl concealed such aspects, but they all knew.
Karl was not their third, young child.
“Enough. Regardless, we need Karl’s help. And even if only half the rumors are true, we absolutely need him.”
“….”
Serna wore a face full of dissatisfaction but remained silent at Lord Den's words.
***
That evening, Lord Den Meyer sat alone with Hans in his office. The Lord poured Hans a glass of precious liquor and looked at his face.
“Hans. What was Karl like when you met him? Has he truly… truly… reached that great realm?”
Looking at the Lord's face, Hans sensed not pride for his son, but a different emotion readable in his expression.
“Why do you ask? How would I know just by looking?”
“Others might not know, but I know, Hans, that you are a man of skill. I also know that if not for your connection with my father, you would have left our castle long ago.”
The previous Baron Meyer had been an outstanding Superior-level knight and a lord respected by all.
Though they say a great father doesn't necessarily have a great son, the current Lord Den Meyer was quite lacking compared to the previous lord.
Even so, as they say, 'even a rotten sea bream is still a sea bream,' he seemed to have some inkling of Hans' skills.
“If you are simply asking for my opinion, then I would say the rumors are highly likely to be true.”
“…Is that so.”
Hans drained the cup given by Baron Meyer. The Baron did not refill the empty cup. That essentially meant dismissal.
Hans rose from his seat, glancing sideways at Baron Den Meyer.
His hands were trembling severely. And his eyes were filled with disbelief. It was undeniably the face of someone unwilling to accept reality.
‘Baron Meyer, you, at least, must come to your senses. If the young master truly decides so, the domain will find it hard to avoid disaster.’
Leaving the room, Hans shook his head with a sense of pity and quickened his pace. And he too sensed that the day he would leave this place was not far off.
Thus, the next day, the third son, possessed by an evil spirit, returned to the hitherto quiet Meyer Castle.
Carrying countless rumors and glories.