Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 142



Only Noblemtl

Episode 142.

There is a saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul.

A person’s emotions are reflected in their eyes.

Aching eyes, cold eyes. The adjectives that go with them are also varied. The reason is that emotions are bound to be embedded in the eyes.

But Ronobe erased all such thoughts when he saw Count Enheid.

‘Is this person?’

As a hunter, Ronobe has encountered all kinds of beasts. Even beasts have their own eyes. By looking at their eyes, he can tell whether they are going to attack him or are planning to run away. That’s how important eyes are.

But Count Enhyde showed no such emotion at all. He was as if he were frozen, with no emotional ups and downs. His voice was the same. As if he were an old man who had lived for hundreds of years, his voice was dry and his pitch was constant.

What should I say?

‘It’s like ice.’

It was just like a block of ice.

To Ronobe, whose instinctive senses had become more acute as he learned transformation magic, her existence was strangely strange.

Maybe that’s why.

I ended up committing the rudeness of not daring to answer the count’s question.

Count Enhyde didn’t ask twice.

Just wait.

However, because Ronobe was shocked by her very existence, his mind was filled with many thoughts and he couldn’t come up with an answer, as if he was a calculator that had crashed. So instead of answering her question, he committed the rudeness of turning her question into a question.

“It’s strange. Only that hand has emotions. Nothing else.”

There was a faint emotion only in the hand, as if the hand was made of ice. Ronobe didn’t know how he could know this. Perhaps it was because it was ice.

That was when.

The brows of Count Enhyde, who had maintained a cold expressionless face without any change in emotion, suddenly furrowed.

It was only a moment, but Ronobe didn’t miss that moment. But if he said one more word, it felt like a knife would be stuck to his throat.

Only then did Ronobe gather his thoughts and answer the count’s question.

“I don’t know if I can melt the maple leaves or not. I have to go now.”

That was a pretty rude answer.

But the count did not blame anyone further.

The count turned to Ronnove and said:

“Follow me.”

Ronobe looked at Mick and his party.

Everyone was drenched in cold sweat.

Because it was so cold, the sweat quickly froze and frost formed on my face.

“Oh, it’s hard for us to get any closer from here anyway. Follow the Count.”

Brin shouted with difficulty.

Ronobé looked at Benny and Peter, then at Mick and said.

“I’ll be right back. They…”

“Don’t worry and go. And don’t be rude to the Count. He’s black. He’s capable of judging nobles based on their merits.”

“Can I die!?”

“Yes, if you are rude.”

Mick’s expression was serious.

Ronobe didn’t know how much power the knight with the black mark possessed, but now he thought he had an idea.

‘What an outrageous person…!’

Ronobe swallowed dry saliva and followed behind the Count who was trudging ahead.

*

After the Count and Ronobé left.

The remaining group gathered a campfire and started a fire because it was too cold.

Benny, who was warming his body, looked at the campfire and asked Mick.

“Can you tell me?”

“Are you talking about Count Enhyde?”

“yes.”

Benny had awakened as a knight and had some faith in his own eyes. It would be safe to say that he was somewhat proud. He broke none other than Cloud’s magic.

Of course, I also thought that there was nothing I couldn’t see.

‘I didn’t see it.’

But Count Enhide’s movements.

Benny didn’t see those ghostly movements from beginning to end.

To Benny, her movements were a shock in itself. He had been surprised by many things since entering the world of knights. However, the strength and movements of the white knights were surprising, but they seemed like they could be caught up.

Since she had good eyesight, I thought that it would take some time, but that she would eventually reach that level.

But it wasn’t the count’s.

‘It wasn’t a human movement.’

Black and white.

In between, there was an incredibly high wall.

There are only two in the kingdom.

Benny now finally realized why there are many whites but only two blacks.

“A count…”

“Are you in trouble?”

“No. It’s not a difficult question to answer. It’s just…”

Brin, who had been watching the sullen Mick, smiled faintly and joined in.

“I don’t even know what to say first. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

Count Enhyde is famous.

None other than the two black knights in the kingdom.

Besides, it’s a woman’s body.

Of course it has to be famous.

“The North is harsh, unlike here. When they are bored, orc tribes come south and eye the border. They are always warlike and want to fight. It is safe to say that they fight to the death. So there is never a day of peace in the North.”

The Countess is a daughter of the Enhyde family born in the North.

“He wasn’t the type to stand out from the start. It’s said that he didn’t even wield a sword originally. It’s said that the people of the Enhyde family wield a sword from the moment they start walking…”

Belita.

She was Enhide’s golden girl.

“But the war had no choice but to turn even her into a knight. The great knight Krukka. A loser appeared in the east of the frozen land.”

Grandmaster Crookka.

The eastern warriors of the orcs suddenly appeared and broke down the border with their amazing strength as well as the northern terrain and strategy.

“In that battle, most of the knights of Enhide’s direct line as well as collateral lines were killed. That’s why I had no choice but to take up my sword.”

A war broke out between the Orc warrior Krukka and the kingdom.

Having lost her parents and siblings, she awakened as a knight on the battlefield and grew stronger at an incredible rate. No, she had no choice but to become stronger.

Because it was a series of fierce battles where if you didn’t get stronger you would die.

“The war that lasted for years finally came to an end in the Battle of Royala Hill between the Count and Crookka.”

Krukka killed most of the knights and reached her. They fought hard, but the difference in ability between her and Krukka was not easily overcome. In the end, she was in danger of death when her right hand was cut off by Krukka’s axe.

“So?”

“We don’t know much about what happened after that. The Count ascended to the realm of darkness and learned to control ice. Krukka was beheaded by the Count’s sword, and the long, drawn-out war finally came to an end.”

Since it was told as a story, it may be filled with lies and absurdity. However, no one disagrees that she is a knight of the Dark Realm and an incredibly strong one.

“…”

Benny’s fist was clenched.

The end of her gaze.

All that was there was my husband following another woman.

*

I crossed the frozen forest.

It wasn’t snowing, so my feet didn’t sink, but the ground and forest were frozen solid, so there were some places that were a little slippery.

Every time that happened, Ronobe slipped.

I fell down three times in ten minutes, but the Count never looked back.

You might be curious to see how she would fall like a fool, but there was no sign of that at all. Ronobe was lost in thought, looking at her back while rubbing his tailbone.

‘He looks to be about thirty years old.’

She looks to be in her mid-twenties, but she has a scar on her face and her eyes don’t look human, so she looks like she’s been through a lot. But apart from that, she’s actually quite beautiful. She’s pretty even when she doesn’t smile, but she’s a cold beauty who looks even prettier when she does.

‘If he were a count, would he be married?’

I think maybe I didn’t.

A nobleman is one who fulfills his duty.

Among these duties are the duties of marriage and childbirth. So, since it seems that it has been quite some time since she received the title of countess, she must have been married.

‘Is that what arms are for in war?’

North.

I heard that place is swarming with orcs.

I also remember hearing that it was an extremely cold and lonely place.

‘The Count of Change is the one who defends the border.’

It was obvious that he had lost his hand during the war with the orcs. It would have been impossible for him to turn his healthy hand into ice.

As I was thinking about various things about her, I arrived in front of Danpung. If I were a man, I wouldn’t have been so curious.

“Are you curious?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… yes.”

I answered without knowing it.

I thought that Ronobe, who answered, was going to tell me if he was married, but he wasn’t.

“I lost my hand in the war. And then it came back. It was a moment.”

“ah…”

It was a story about hands.

Perhaps he was impressed by Ronobe’s words about his hands being imbued with emotions.

Losing a hand in battle is fatal for a knight, but I heard that it was restored immediately after it was lost.

‘Was it a tense battle that determined life and death?’

That would probably be the case.

I heard that the North often fights against orcs. Orcs are not just monsters, but are treated as a race of individuals. In Ronobe’s mind, there were only stupid and energetic orcs who teased the knights, but the orcs here were a little different. The orcs were a race with their own language system and tribal civilization.

“Orcs are warriors. They are warriors who desire death. They are not afraid to die on the battlefield. Because God is watching.”

“god…”

“It was the same then. We allowed a surprise attack and the great warrior showed up. It was a crisis. We were almost annihilated. That’s when I lost my hand.”

But rather, it was a blessing in disguise.

“I knew it as soon as I lost my hand. Or rather, I knew it because I lost it.”

When my hand was cut off by an orc’s axe.

The various emotions and realizations felt in that fleeting moment made the Count who he is today.

“Aesongi. Now it’s your turn to speak.”

Towering.

Count Enheid stopped walking and looked at Ronobe with the same eyes as before.

“Can you melt it?”

The count asked, touching the maple leaves that had spread their roots outside the castle.

Her eyes were the same.

It’s empty.

But emotions are not just expressed in the eyes. They are expressed in the fingertips, the toes, and in all actions.

Her hands, made of ice, were imbued with emotion.

I don’t know why.

Ronobe could feel it.

“Yes, you can melt it.”

Walking here, Ronobe quickly got used to the cold. It was only natural. In the end, what she made had the same blood-sucking coolness that Ronobe handled.

Although the Akan she had created were of a very high standard, Ronobe could tell just by walking along the road.

‘I wonder if I can melt it?’

I fell a few times at first, but the proof is that I haven’t fallen since.

Ronobe turned his gaze behind me.

Unlike the Count, who left no footprints at all, Ronobe left perfect footprints on the frozen ground.

This is because I simply walked while melting the ice where my feet touched.

‘It will take time, though.’

You can do it.

I’m sure it can be melted.

“…”

The count said nothing.

Contrary to the urging for an answer, the response was dispiriting.

But Ronobe knows.

Her hands answered for her.

Her hands, touching the roots of the blood-sucking maple, seemed to wish for Anna’s traces to never be erased.

That’s why I said it.

“But it won’t melt.”

It can be melted.

But it won’t melt.

The reason was simple.

‘If you melt it, Anna will disappear.’

It was a feeling.

But I also had a feeling it would definitely be right.

‘Even if this is there, it becomes blurry and disappears, so it doesn’t show up.’

So it was clear that if I erased it, it would disappear in an instant. Snowmen made in the winter are bound to disappear over time.

Ronobe didn’t want Anna to disappear like a snowman. That would be a lot more regrettable and sad than you might think.

More than anything, I don’t want to erase with my own hands any trace of her life. Perhaps this is what everyone who had a relationship with her wants.

Wouldn’t that be the same for the count in front of you?

“Even if I give the order?”

“Yes. Even if a knife is put to my throat, I cannot erase the traces of the Master.”

Then the count drew his sword.

“I will check if that is true.”

“… uh?”

And the sword was swung.

No, I only saw a trace of something.

I couldn’t even see it properly.

Gulp.

Blood flowed from Ronobe’s neck.

Before he knew it, the count was behind Ronnobe.

“Whoaaaaah! What the hell are you doing!”

“Next time I’ll cut your throat.”

A speed that cannot be followed with the eyes.

It was a speed that surpassed human speed.

‘It’s a place where everything is frozen…’

He moved faster and faster on slippery surfaces without any problems. It was truly an unbelievable physical ability.

“Why, why!”

“I am a Count who protects the kingdom. I have a duty to eliminate any magic that disturbs the kingdom’s territory.”

“What does that have to do with my neck being cut off?!”

The Count looked down at the fallen Ronobé and aimed his sword.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? Even if you disobeyed orders and had a knife put to your throat, I wouldn’t erase the traces of that woman. I must follow His Majesty the King’s orders and erase this coldness. But you refused the King’s orders. That’s why you must be beheaded.”

“…?! Are you a crazy psycho?”

The count’s eyebrows furrowed. Thinking that it was because he was speaking informally, Ronobe changed his tone to formal.

“Hey, are you a psycho?”

It didn’t have much effect.

The Count’s slightly furrowed eyebrows did not widen. Ronobe sensed that he was screwed.

‘You’re not really trying to kill me, are you?’

Ronobe looked at her.

I think they really want to kill me.

‘It’s not a feeling. It’s a duty.’

This is the duty of a nobleman.

She is the guardian of the border.

To her, the duty of a noblewoman is something that must be kept. That is why she has no choice but to kill Ronobe, even though she does not want to.

That is the duty of a nobleman.

‘This is fucked up.’

I spoke excitedly for no reason.

If you had just said you couldn’t do it, this wouldn’t have happened.

“I was just showing off for nothing. Damn it.”

As he spat out the curse, Ronobe took the staff out of his mouth.

The count’s expressionless eyebrows wavered.

Even though she had been through a lot, it seemed like it was the first time she had seen her take a large cane out of her mouth.

“It’s hers.”

It seemed like he recognized that it was Anna’s.

“This is the place where my master’s Akan rules. It won’t be easy to kill me.”

Actually, that’s not true.

Anna’s magic is to gather moisture and cool the blood.

Could there be moisture in this place where everything is frozen in the cold? Of course not. This is the place that is extremely dry.

Ronobe’s words are full of empty boasts.

It was like a beast puffing up its fur and inflating its body.

Obviously.

It must have been so.

“what…”

The neck that had been hunched over with tension straightened.

Ronobe’s gaze was no longer on the Count holding the sword, but on Anna’s tree.

Blood-drinking maple leaves.

“What is this?”

I felt it.

As I took out my cane, I felt something embedded in the blood-drinking maple leaves.

‘Akan has feelings.’

Emotions are also memories.

Fragmentary memories and the emotions contained within them.

A memory of emotion created by a miracle.

Ronobé felt her emotions.

She was sad.

“I don’t want to kill people with magic.”

The traces she left behind were imbued with such emotions.

As Ronobe muttered to himself, the Count responded with his usual expressionless face.

“Is it true that you’re a disciple? Seeing you talking like that girl.”

“Did the Master say that?”

“okay.”

“So you’re not going to kill me anymore?”

“The sentence must be carried out.”

“crazy…!”

There are no separate windows.

But it didn’t seem like there was no way out.

‘Contrary to what you say…’

Take a break.

If she had wanted to, Ronobe’s head would have been cut off long ago. It wouldn’t have been able to bounce off like the heads Cloud carried around, so it would have just left this world.

But it was taking a while. It seemed strangely like it was waiting for something.

What is that?

‘I don’t know…?’

My head is spinning because I feel like I could really die.

Ronobe called that name after a long time.

“Yonterion!”

The space that was once frozen white disappears.

The space of Ronobe appears as if black ink has been poured. Soon, a white god appears. Naturally, I thought a toad would appear, but it was not.

“Anna?”

Anna appeared.

It was Anna, the cold-blooded witch.

“Why… why did you appear?”

Ronobe’s hands trembled.

He never visited Anna again except when he was doing a puppet show.

It was a kind of feeling. As far as Ronobe knew, Anna was a god who spoke as if she had no great attachment to this world except for her disciple’s work. That was why she was not happy about this meeting. Even though it was a situation where she could die, she had no choice but to ask.

[Because there’s one last thing I want to ask you.]

“Is this the last one?”

Anna smiled bitterly.

[Please erase the maple leaves.]

Ronobe’s face suddenly distorted.

That means.

“Are you trying to die?”

It was as if I was going to die.

End