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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“What’s going on…?”
After the sudden recruitment offer.
We couldn’t just blindly head beyond the blizzard-swept Wall. We needed to thoroughly prepare supplies and secure a guide.
Inevitably, this required about a week of preparation. And during that week, I, the only one from our mercenary company staying at the Grand Duchess’s residence, was experiencing a strange phenomenon.
I kept feeling like someone was secretly watching me.
At first, I dismissed it as my imagination or simply being sensitive due to the change in environment. But the subtle feeling of being watched persisted.
Once, I felt such a blatant stare that I abruptly turned my head, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.
I was certain someone had been watching me, but when I tried to find them, they were gone. While it sounds mundane when described, it was a chilling and unsettling experience for me.
I even asked the maid who brought my meals every day.
“Excuse me, but…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Do ghosts appear in this mansion? Or are there any rumors about them?”
“…Excuse me?”
The maid looked at me as if I had said something absurd, but I was quite serious.
I could definitely feel someone’s gaze on me. But when I tried to find them, they were invisible.
Even when I used detection magic, I couldn’t sense anything. The conclusion I reached after a series of these incidents was simple.
It wasn’t a person watching me, but a ghost.
“I feel like someone is constantly watching me… but when I look, there’s no one there.”
“…Are you mistaken, honored guest? The Grand Duchess’s exclusive… no, in any case, it’s been over a decade, but I’ve never heard any rumors of ghosts appearing.”
“It would be difficult for anyone but a truly powerful individual to avoid my detection magic… Are you sure there aren’t any rumors of ghosts?”
“There are none.”
The maid flatly denied it, set the food as usual, and left.
She muttered something about the Grand Duchess as she left…
It was strange to dismiss it as just me being sensitive to the unfamiliar environment.
Well, what could I do by worrying about it?
In any case, a week passed with me living under the watchful gaze of something unseen.
Finally, it was time to depart beyond the Wall. The reason our mercenary company was hired in the first place was to exterminate the monsters and barbarians beyond the Wall.
Moreover, the northern winter was notoriously harsh, so if regular troops were deployed, they would have to worry more about non-combat losses than combat losses.
It was a win-win situation, the mercenaries earned money, and the Duchy solved the problem with money without losing their own troops.
I was told a guide provided by the Duchy would accompany us, so I assumed I would just be protected by the other mercenaries and cast spells as usual.
However, on the day of the expedition, when the identity of the guide was revealed, everyone in the company fell silent.
“…Is there a problem?”
Eileen Nord, the Grand Duchess, asked innocently, her face hidden under a leather hood that seemed out of place for her status.
The captain nudged me, being of the same noble status, to speak to her, so I asked on behalf of the group,
“Grand Duchess, the guide…?”
“I am the guide.”
The Grand Duchess uttered those absurd words without blinking an eye.
Between the recruitment offer before and now, the image of the iron-blooded Grand Duchess of Nord was solidifying in my mind as something of an eccentric, or perhaps a stalker.
The Grand Duchess quietly added,
“Is there a problem with that? There are few who know the geography beyond the Wall better than I do.”
“There’s no problem with that, but… isn’t it usual to just assign a ranger or two for this kind of thing?”
“I know the skills of the rangers in our Duchy best. They would be fine for simple guidance, but let’s consider this hypothetical scenario.”
“…What scenario?”
“What if three hundred ogres attack us beyond the Wall?”
The Grand Duchess uttered those preposterous words with a completely serious expression.
“Haha… Grand Duchess, even if the North is a harsh environment, there’s no way three hundred ogres, the kings of the mountains, would roam around in a group.”
“Mercenary Captain, I wasn’t asking you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The captain, having needlessly spoken up, quietly closed her mouth after being met with a chilling glare. The Grand Duchess looked at me expectantly, as if urging me to answer, so I reluctantly spoke,
“I’d still win.”
Three hundred ogres.
I hadn’t fought that many before, but I didn’t think I would lose. If necessary, I could just fly around using flight magic and snipe them from the air.
It would take some time, but I could definitely win.
When I was cooped up in my territory before running away, learning magic, I wasn’t sure about my skills. But now I knew I had a talent for this and was quite skilled.
There was a reason why people said you needed to prepare platinum coins if you wanted to sign a condottieri contract with our mercenary company.
Then, the Grand Duchess asked again, with a serious expression,
“What if there were three thousand ogres?”
“…That would be a bit difficult. My mana would probably run out before I could obliterate them all with magic.”
“Exactly.”
“But if three thousand ogres were roaming around, the North wouldn’t be a habitable place…”
“It’s simple. If I accompany you, even if three thousand ogres attack, you won’t have to worry about a single hair on your head.”
“…Huh?”
What kind of novel nonsense was this?
I almost blurted it out, but managed to swallow the words.
Even I wasn’t foolish enough to use the word nonsense in front of the Grand Duchess of Nord.
“Grand Duchess, your joke has gone too far.”
“Adjutant, I’m not joking.”
“…If that were the case, there would be no reason to hire mercenaries, Grand Duchess.”
And then, the sharp-featured woman called the adjutant quietly intervened, trying to dissuade the Grand Duchess.
Wait a minute.
Wasn’t that the maid who always brought me food? The adjutant?
I just stared blankly, wondering what was going on, when the Grand Duchess added the final touch.
“I don’t think there’s no reason.”
She glanced at me.
Although we hadn’t known each other for long… she seemed incredibly brazen.
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It wasn’t normal for the Grand Duchess of Nord to personally act as a guide, especially after hiring mercenaries. But because it was the infamous Eileen Nord, she could pull it off.
As if it was no big deal to act as a guide, Eileen, having forced her way into accompanying the group, stuck to Rudrick like glue.
The mercenary captain, who was supposed to give directions and commands, was practically treated like a useless ornament, as Eileen constantly stayed by Rudrick’s side without any consultation.
“Would you consider signing an exclusive contract with our Duchy?”
“I’m not interested.”
“You must have heard of the fame of Lorenzo Tonali, the current court mage. I can arrange for you to become his apprentice.”
“Not interested.”
Rudrick was a solid wall, and Eileen’s persistence, undeterred by his repeated rejections, was like a battle between a spear and a shield.
“…I don’t know whether to be happy or worried about this.”
Eileen’s adjutant, who had been forced to play the role of a maid, sighed softly.
While early marriage was prevalent, even calling Eileen’s age a ripe old age for marriage was an understatement.
At her late twenties, it wouldn’t have been strange if she were already married with children.
However, she hadn’t shown any interest in the opposite sex until now, which was a great concern for everyone.
Should they be relieved that she was finally showing interest, or worried that her interest in the first person she liked was excessive?
Regardless of the adjutant’s indecision, Eileen seemed unconcerned.
She continued her relentless pursuit of Rudrick, undeterred by his rejections.
“You seem overly modest. With your skills, you’re more than qualified to sign a formal contract with our Duchy. If you desire a higher level of magical achievement, I can recommend you as an apprentice to the court mage.”
“This doesn’t seem like a matter of modesty…”
Rudrick made a troubled expression.
Even if he was from a humble family in the countryside, he was still a nobleman.
He had lived as a young nobleman for twenty years, and it had already been over a year since he had, in his own words, ‘run away’ from a prearranged marriage.
Living the rough life of a mercenary after being raised like a flower in a greenhouse, he learned one thing, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
It was something Rudrick, who hadn’t completely abandoned his past life’s way of thinking, couldn’t understand. But during his time as a mercenary, the number of women who had tried to take advantage of him by getting him drunk or drugged had already exceeded a dozen.
Eileen’s unprovoked kindness was difficult for Rudrick to comprehend. And the underlying romantic interest, in Rudrick’s mind, was also difficult to accept in this reversed situation.
Unless he was a fool, or incredibly dense, Rudrick himself knew why Eileen kept showing interest in him.
‘…She’s beautiful, though.’
Rudrick’s gaze quickly swept over Eileen.
The jet-black hair, characteristic of the North, contrasted with her skin, as white as the swirling snowflakes.
Her delicate features combined to give her the appearance of a finely crafted doll, rather than a human.
But even setting aside Eileen’s beauty, the straightforward kindness was quite disconcerting for the recipient.
Eileen, who kept chattering away by his side, was becoming burdensome, and Rudrick, feeling the need to create some distance, spoke up.
“…But Grand Duchess, why are you trying so hard to be nice to me?”
“Hmm?”
Eileen looked genuinely surprised.
Considering her usual lack of expression, the change was enough to surprise even her adjutant, who was watching from the side.
Eileen responded as if he had asked something obvious.
“Because I like you, of course. Didn’t you notice at all?”
“…Huh?”
“If you’re asking why I like you… well, let’s just say there’s no one in this Nord Duchy who can speak as boldly as you do in front of me.”
Eileen stopped walking and stood in front of Rudrick.
Since Eileen was slightly taller, she looked down at him.
Whether it was because of the northern cold, or Eileen’s sudden blunt words, Rudrick’s nose was tinged red.
Looking down at him, Eileen asked,
“Your answer?”
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