A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 142



Only Noblemtl

Episode 142. The Land of Knights

“What about our Ashley?”

I replied with a bewildered expression.

“What should I do?”

“Ashley said she wouldn’t marry anyone unless they were stronger than her.”

“No, why are you telling me that… … .”

There are many strong knights besides me.

Like it or not, Ruthie continued to question me.

“What if you shake Ashley’s heart and then run away?”

“So why are you giving me the crap about that… … .”

“Take responsibility!”

“… … .”

Looking at her eyes, it seemed like it was half playful, but half sincere. It was like she was trying to disguise her sincerity as a joke. Now that the matchmaker count is gone, this is the guy.

It was embarrassing.

Why is this guy suddenly talking nonsense?

Are you really doing this because you care about Sir Ashley? Because you think you won’t have another chance?

Looking at it this way, I realized that he was a very caring little brother.

I don’t know why he tormented Sir Ashley so much when he found it so horrible.

Judging from Ashley’s reaction, it seems like he was half-reluctant.

Anyway, the important thing right now is to calm this guy down.

When she looked at her fellow knights with eyes that asked them to stop this crazy younger sibling, they just looked at her with eyes that sparkled with interest. Not a single one of them stepped forward.

“Tsk.”

They say that arms bend inward.

I had no choice but to sigh and speak on behalf of Sir Ashley.

“I think you’re mistaken.”

“Is this a mistake?”

“As for her statement that she won’t marry anyone stronger than her, it’s likely that she’s just saying that because she wants to focus on her sword. Even if you were to bring in a man stronger than her, she’d obviously make excuses and refuse. So I think it would be best to just let her do whatever she wants.”

“… …Is that true?”

“There is a high probability that it will happen.”

“… … !”

Sir Ruthie, who stopped working right away.

Looks like he was quite shocked.

Just as I managed to silence her… this time, the cold opened its mouth.

“So, when are you coming?”

I replied with a puzzled expression.

“Where?”

“In my mansion.”

“ah.”

The blunt man seemed to have come here just to say this.

I said, showing my miserable state of not being able to get out of bed.

“Once I recover, I’ll be able to go anywhere. I can’t say exactly when. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things go.”

“I see.”

Hokhan, who had been nodding and pretending to understand, repeated the same question as if he had been listening to me.

“So, when can you come?”

… … He was a more persistent man than I thought.

I said with a frown.

“I’ll know when to move, so just know that. And stop coming. People are uncomfortable.”

“i get it.”

“… … .”

“If you don’t come, I’ll come again.”

“Oh, I said I’ll go on my own.”

“If you don’t come.”

“… … .”

As if he had really come just to say that, Hokhan got up as soon as he finished speaking and walked to the door without hesitation.

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

The knight in the bitter cold leaves the hospital room after saying those words.

He was a cold man in many ways, not just with his sword.

“… … .”

As I blankly stared at the back of the figure that had escaped the bitter cold, my eyes suddenly turned to the dark brown bracelet on my wrist.

Come to think of it, I had to go see him anyway to get some chills.

In many ways, it was an unavoidable invitation.

As their superior made his hasty exit, the rest of the knights also began to hurriedly prepare to leave.

The knights seemed accustomed to the unruly behavior of the cold. They showed no sign of panic.

“then.”

I called out to Van Dyke, who was trying to leave the sickroom following the bitter cold.

“Sir Van Dyke.”

Van Dyke turned to look at me as he walked toward the door.

His arms were wrapped tightly in bandages.

It’ll take a long time to get back to normal.

“Cutting off both arms was clearly excessive. It wasn’t intentional.”

After receiving my apology, Van Dyke looked at me blankly and asked.

“Is that the monster that was sleeping?”

I smiled faintly.

“It’s hard to answer. That’s true, but he’s not the one who scolded the Knight of the Cold.”

Van Dyke nodded.

“I thought so.”

“Is that so?”

“Sir Sulkov is not the type of person to fall to such a degree.”

It was a word that conveyed boundless faith and respect for the bitter cold.

“Don’t worry about it. I lost my guard and lost both my arms. I’m just satisfied that I’m not dead.”

This guy was also quite a cool guy.

How many people would say that to someone who cut off both their arms?

I realized anew that the man I fought was a truly knightly man.

Victor looked at me again, with his helmet on.

“It was a good match.”

I answered with a smile.

“Okay. Next time, let’s fight with swords.”

Although his face was not visible due to the helmet, it felt like he was smiling slightly.

“then.”

Two heavy men, bandaged here and there, walked unsteadily toward the door.

Thinking about it, it made me laugh because it seemed like a sick person came to visit another sick person.

I watched the backs of the two knights leaving the hospital room with a faint smile.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident I could win even if we fought again.

Because they didn’t use their main weapon.

It’s as if I suddenly picked up an axe and attacked him.

Even if I were to wield an axe, I would by no means be weak, but it would be no match for wielding a sword.

The same goes for these.

In fact, it can be a very unfair thing.

Because I lost because I fought with something that wasn’t my main weapon.

But it was impressive how he admitted defeat cleanly without making any excuses in the end.

In Maya, they were true knights who knew honor, a rare sight.

Real exhaust article guys.

From today onwards, the Kingdom of Blake will be named the Land of Knights. No objections will be entertained.

I saw them off with courtesy to men who were stronger than me in many ways.

“Take a look, knights.”

After seeing the real exhaust men off, I looked at Lord Ruthie.

She still kept her position even after all her seniors had left.

“Why aren’t you going, Kyung?”

“… … .”

“Do you have anything left to say?”

Ruthie suddenly stuck her face out and narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth between mine.

“Are you sure you’re not dating Ashley?”

I lied when I first met you in a deserted alley in Valeria during the festival.

At the time, I dismissed it as a lie, but I wonder if I had doubts deep down inside.

I didn’t avoid her eyes. Of course not. I was innocent, and as innocent as I was, I was confident.

“You’re more innocent than you look.”

“no?”

“I said no.”

“hmm.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Even after I explained, her suspicious gaze did not go away.

Since I knew that no matter how much I explained, you wouldn’t believe me anyway, I decided to change the subject.

I have some questions too.

“Let me ask you one thing. Why did you make Sir Ashley suffer so much?”

“Oh, is that what Ashley said?”

“okay.”

“… … .”

Lord Ruthie smiled bitterly.

She seemed to hesitate a little, then looked at me with careful eyes.

“I’ll tell you if you promise me.”

“What promise?”

“I promise not to tell Ashley. If you don’t keep that promise, I’ll tell the Black Prince everything.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t have that kind of thought in the first place, so I readily accepted.

Holding onto each other’s secrets can also help build a stronger relationship of trust.

With that promise made, Lutie’s confession began.

“To be honest, I didn’t really want to be a knight. I was so talented that I had no choice but to take up the sword.”

… … It was unpleasant from the start.

I guess I shouldn’t have just asked.

“I just wanted to live a normal life. Marry a wonderful man, have a lovely son and daughter, spend my time knitting, look at the rainy landscape and tell my children old stories… .”

There was a lonely light in her eyes as she spoke like that.

“But I couldn’t. The fate that had me tied down wouldn’t let me go. So… I just wanted Ashley to be happy. Ashley wasn’t very good with a sword.”

I doubted my ears.

“… … You say you have no talent?”

that is?

That brilliant golden flash?

Lutie nodded.

“It’s a strength that blossomed solely through effort. To be honest, I was surprised. I didn’t know I could become this strong. As a knight, I really had poor talent.”

Those fucking geniuses… … .

In their world, Sir Ashley seems to be one of the untalented.

By my standards, it’s a talent that makes me jealous just by feeling mana.

If I could feel even a little bit of mana, my life would have been very different from how it is now.

I wouldn’t have had to wriggle around, I wouldn’t have lost to some fucking kid, I wouldn’t have fallen off a cliff… … .

But if that were the case, I wouldn’t have met Cheonma.

Life is truly unpredictable, I thought.

The misfortune that I tried to shake off somehow turned out to be a blessing.

Really, is life worth living?

Anyway, it’s hard for me to accept that Sir Ashley has no talent.

I questioned in a displeased tone.

“It’s a bit harsh to say that Sir Ashley has no talent. Most of them are completely unable to sense mana.”

Lutie looked surprised.

“Huh? No way. There probably aren’t many articles like that.”

“It may be like that among the knights here, but it’s quite common where I’ve been. There are even people who don’t have any mana in their bodies.”

Of course, it’s me.

Lutie snickered, probably thinking that he was being made fun of.

“Hey. There’s no way someone that insignificant could exist. If you had such a pitiful talent, you should have given up the sword a long time ago. If you didn’t want to die from a sword strike. You’re not only a poor talent, but you’re also stupid. That’s adding insult to injury.”

“… … .”

I don’t care.

That’s right.

I really don’t care.

“… … Ashvandemon?”

The sound of the devil giggling echoed faintly in my head.

She was a woman whose words were as sharp as her sword.

It seems that among the geniuses residing in those high places, the genius Lord Luti doesn’t know what true talent is. Should I tell him?

But soon he calmed down and spoke in a calm tone.

The strong are relaxed. There is no need to dwell on the past.

“Let’s continue.”

“Ashban-kong? Your voice is shaking slightly. Did I do something wrong?”

“… … Please give me some water. Is it because we’ve been talking so much? I’m thirsty.”

“Oh, yes. Here it is.”

I cleared my throat and listened to Ruthie’s story that followed.

“The path of a knight is dangerous and unfortunate, to put it simply. It involves killing people over and over again. Either you kill or you’re killed. It’s a path filled with blood. It’s not for the delicate-hearted Ashley.”

“hmm.”

“But Ashley wants to follow in her late mother’s footsteps and become a knight. Do you know how my mother died?”

He shook his head.

“He died while carrying out his mission. It was a mission that ended in failure.”

“… … .”

“The mission was to drive out the barbarians who had come down from the north, but that winter was unusually harsh, so more of them came down than expected. They fought bravely, but were eventually captured. To be honest, he wasn’t a very good knight.”

The corners of Ruthie’s mouth went up.

It was a smile that was full of life.

“Do you know her end? My mother was a knight, of course. She was surrounded by barbarians and torn to pieces. It was an unspeakable, horrible end. They couldn’t even collect her body. Can you imagine how my mother died?”

I kept silent for a moment and then asked.

“… … Does Sir Ashley know that too?”

Lutie shook her head.

“No. I don’t know the details. I just know that he failed in his mission, but fought bravely until the end and died.”

“… … .”

“I can’t stand seeing Ashley meet the same miserable end as her mother. That’s why I took up the sword. If I lived up to the family’s expectations, Ashley wouldn’t have to take up the sword. That’s why I became a knight commander and joined the Royal Knights.”

Lutie sighed.

“But Ashley kept trying to grab the sword. So, even though it was heartbreaking, I had to use some forceful methods. As I said, Ashley is a bit soft-hearted.”

They say there is no grave without a story.

Ruthie had her own story.

She played the villain for Sir Ashley.

If you ask me if that’s the right way, I wouldn’t be able to nod my head easily.

“But… Even so, Ashley didn’t put down her sword. Her heart may have wavered for a moment, but it was never broken. In the end, she ran away from the family she loved so much and became a knight. A proper knight.”

Lutie’s gaze floated through the empty space.

It seemed like he was reminiscing about the time he had exchanged swords with her.

“… … Now there is a knight strong enough to defeat even my older sister.”

She looked at her shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages.

It was a gaze that seemed to be looking at a proud medal, not one looking at a wound.

Ruthie smiled faintly as she touched the wound Ashley had inflicted on her.

“Oh, really. I didn’t expect you to leave the family.”