Chapter 117
Excessively pale skin.
Silver hair and silver eyes. A cold face without any emotion.
It was a maid who didn’t feel alive at all.
Ruby is on the left. On the right is Rosalie.
They both look the same, and most importantly…
they are vampires.
“They didn’t come straight to Windsor Castle.”
“He was very upset.”
“Unspoken pressure is also an order.”
“Actually, I came because I was frustrated.”
“So, you should go.”
They were Victoria’s closest aides and were like family to the Windsor family.
Although they look cold, they are both tsunderes.
“Uh, these people…?”
“My house maid.”
Ruid deliberately withheld information.
Strictly speaking, Ruby and Rosalie are classified as ‘Mines’.
They are someone who should not be discovered by an empire that completely excludes other races.
“It doesn’t mean the head of the family ordered it directly.”
Irene suddenly intervened.
The twin maids’ eyes turned to Irene.
“Irene. “The head of the family was very angry.”
“Why did you go to the island without reporting anything?”
‘You didn’t even report it?’
I didn’t know that.
Irene looked at Ruid and asked.
“how will we do it?”
“…of course I should go.”
It’s been so long since I saw Victoria.
I didn’t contact you often through the crystal ball.
Since he said he was angry, it seemed better for him to go.
“If it’s Louis.”
Irene seemed to agree.
“Let’s go to Windsor Castle first. Then the problem is…”
The students were looking blankly at this direction.
The only people who still came in were Hersy, Damon, and Ella.
The first defense line and Windsor Castle are quite far away.
If they go away, there will be no one to guide them.
“Don’t worry about that, master! Because I will take you there. safety!”
“Hmm. “Charles is not trustworthy.”
“leader!”
Charles looked shocked.
“admit.”
Ruid also felt the same way.
Charlotte was doubly shocked.
“You’re going to go somewhere to have fun.”
Ruid looked at Charles hesitantly.
Charlotte is self-indulgent.
Don’t be fooled by that good-natured smile.
“Then, I’ll take you there.”
At that time, Amelia came forward.
“Ame sister?”
Amelia nodded quickly.
“There is no alternative. “I can’t leave it like this.”
That was correct.
Even Damon, the only person I could trust, was feeling cold.
But for some reason, the reaction seems to be that they don’t want to go to Windsor Castle.
‘Why?’
That was strange. Amelia often showed signs of wanting to return to the North.
‘What happened with Victoria… Oh, no way.’
A memory flashed through Ruid’s mind.
In the past, the content of the conversation when asked to lift the ban on allowances.
-Well, when did you say I cried?
…In short, Amelia seemed embarrassed.
It was clear to see that he was still avoiding eye contact.
Ruid decided to be considerate. As Amelia said, there was no alternative.
“Then I will also follow Amelia. “I also feel bad for the men I left behind at the first line of defense.”
Charlotte said, showing her thumbs up.
Ruid nodded and spoke to the students.
“I’m going to stop by Windsor Castle for a while, so I can rest a bit when I get there. “Because there is a city on the first defense line.”
The twin maids bowed their heads once, then turned around and walked away.
Irene and Ruid followed them.
At that time, Damon shouted from behind.
“Luid!”
Ruid stopped walking and looked at me with a puzzled look.
Damon asked with a serious face.
“Can I come with you?”
“That’s rude. “Uninvited outsiders are not allowed to enter Windsor Castle.”
Irene answered immediately.
It was quite different from before, when he showed a friendly attitude just because he was Ruid’s friend.
“I know. In particular, people from the imperial family, except the emperor, are not allowed to enter for security reasons.”
Irene spoke in a slightly softened tone.
“okay. In the past, a foolish prince visited the Windsor family and created a big fuss by tricking people into thinking that Windsor was behind him. “Do you understand?”
“What you say is correct. But, I am Kairos. Kairos cannot rebel against the imperial family under any circumstances. The right to succeed to the throne was taken away the night before. Also, I am not foolish enough to dare to do such a trick while visiting Windsor Castle.”
Ruid looked up at Damon and asked.
“Why do you want to go to my house?”
“miss you. How people in the North live. “That’s it.”
Ruid stared at Damon.
Those eyes were so pure, it didn’t seem like a lie at all.
‘Damon would have no reason to lie.’
Ruid nodded.
“good. “Then let’s go together.”
**
“It will take about an hour, just wait a moment.”
When we almost reached Windsor Castle.
Irene said that after hearing something from the twin maids.
“An hour?”
“It is the name of the head of the family. The reason why I’m the only one who wants to come early is probably because if Louis is there, he can’t scold me. “At least take your friend to see the manor.”
Irene smiled.
Ruid gave a look of sorrow.
Victoria is very scary when she’s angry.
“then.”
The twin maids folded their hands and lowered their heads.
Then, the space split and a gate appeared.
This is the gate to Windsor Castle.
“Magic?”
“It’s not magic, it’s power. “Only those two can use it.”
“…Right. “He said the energy he felt was unusual.”
‘That’s right. ‘Because he’s a vampire who’s been alive for over a thousand years.’
Irene was standing in front of the gate.
“Please come in.”
“You are waiting.”
“….”
He kept a smiling face, but even Damon could tell that he didn’t want to go in.
But then.
Wormwood.
A white hand came out from inside the gate, grabbed Irene’s arm, and immediately pulled her.
Irene disappeared as if she was sucked into a gate.
The twin maids also followed. The gate closed immediately.
Ruid spoke to Damon with bleary eyes.
“Let’s go too.”
**
“Is this the North?”
Damon’s pupils shook as he arrived safely at Windsor Castle.
“Is it big?”
“I heard it through rumors, but I never imagined it would be this bad.”
That’s natural.
Even Ruid was surprised when he first became possessed.
Especially developed roads and building styles.
It is similar to European architectural style, but the unique thing is that all the buildings are large.
It is surprising that a city has developed to this extent in the cold, snowy northern region.
“People’s expressions are bright. “That means you are living a prosperous life.”
“I’m not rich. Because it’s cold, grains don’t grow. But still…”
There are no crop taxes in the North.
If you farm and get a harvest, it belongs entirely to the farmer.
Although there are other taxes, they are minimal compared to other fiefdoms in the system.
“Is that realistically possible? So how on earth does the Duke of Windsor run their fiefdom? “There must be far more places to put money than other estates.”
“Monsters make money. There are quite a few mines in the north. Above all, we pay very little tax to our people and collect huge commissions from outside merchants.”
‘It’s still a surplus business, though.’
The north is called the merchant’s mecca.
This is because items that are relatively easy to obtain in other territories are traded at very high prices in the north.
Because of that, the empire’s merchants cannot stop heading north even though they take more than half of the taxes.
“…But that doesn’t solve the problem of making a living. “I heard that an astronomical amount of money is spent on food every year.”
“That’s right. But not to the point of starving. As you said, we earn a lot of money, and most of the time we make up for it with monsters.”
Damon flinched.
“Are you saying you eat monsters?”
“It’s delicious. “Do you want to try it?”
Ruid pointed to a nearby restaurant.
“…I decline.”
“I’ll be in the north for four months, and if I don’t eat monster meat, I’ll have to starve.”
Ruid chuckled.
“But, what should I say? …It seems like there’s more to it than just what you said. “This is my first time seeing lowlife people so lively.”
Ruid raised the corners of his mouth, but spoke coldly.
“Don’t call the people of the North lowlife. “If you do that one more time, I won’t forgive you.”
Damon’s red eyes stared at Luid.
“…I think I get the idea. “The reason the people’s facial expressions are good.”
“?”
Ruid tilted his head.
Damon looked at Windsor Castle again.
I saw a lot.
People sweeping their eyes.
Children running around.
Advanced architectural style.
Above all –
“The road is well paved.”
“Well, if the road is a mess, it’s hard to sweep the snow.”
“People are big. “Is that the effect of the building being so huge?”
“that’s right.”
‘But why am I small…?’
Ruid felt unfair.
Even if you just watch people passing by, you can often see tall figures over 2 meters tall.
“I see a lot of people riding horses. “Are they knights?”
“They’re just people who live. “Because our territory is large.”
“I don’t believe that. “How can commoners own such an expensive commodity as horses?”
‘To begin with, everyone in the North is commoners.’
Ruid didn’t bother to say anything.
Because Damon looked like he realized it right away.
“My worries were unfounded, are you saying?”
Damon muttered in a low voice.
He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.
It seems like I’ve gotten used to the cold now.
“I feel relieved that I am leading a decent life.”
“Were you worried about that?”
“Of course. I am also a member of the imperial family. “I don’t feel good when the people living in the rugged mountainous area are not living properly.”
‘Unexpected.’
Ruid blinked.
“Oh my, you are Confucius, right?”
At that time, the parents of a child passing by stopped walking.
Even though he was wearing a robe, he seemed to have recognized me.
She crouched down in front of Ruid and spoke in a very low voice while looking at her surroundings.
“I’m glad you’re healthy.”
“thank you.”
“I heard you went to the islands. Are you back?”
He seemed to be asking if he was expelled from school as quickly as Irene.
“It’s vacation.”
The child’s parents stood up and smiled.
“For the time being, we will be able to see Confucius sleeping on the snow again. And Confucius. “Rob, it’s a little raised.”
She pointed towards the bangs.
Ruid lowered his robe with a puzzled look on his face.
“Then, I will go. have a good day.”
“you also.”
“Leif, you should say hello to Confucius.”
“Why not!”
The little boy bowed politely.
They waved their hands with bright expressions and disappeared.
“You seem to be quite informal.”
“There are few nobles here, and there is no such thing as insulting a noble.”
Therefore, the people living in the North do not suffer from ‘abuse of power’ or ‘unfair treatment’, which are common clichés.
“And look over there.”
Ruid pointed somewhere.
It was a group of drivers who had just returned from work.
Everyone passing by bowed their heads and said hello.
“Thank you for your effort.”
“thank you.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Damon asked, looking at Luid.
“That one?”
“Northern greeting methods. Originally it was ‘Thank you for your dedication’, but it was changed recently because it was considered cringy. “It’s also too long.”
“…It’s an uncommon sight. Are knights treated best in the North?”
“of course. How many people die every day? “Someone’s parent, child, friend, lover.”
Luid’s eyes sank deeply.
“The people you greeted with a smile yesterday, you might not see them tomorrow.”
Moreover, this place where Windsor Castle is located, the 4th defense line, is where the monsters are the strongest.
30% of the population here are knights or people who were knights. These are people who have family members who are knights.
“So the people of our territory pay the knight the highest praise possible. “If you even insult the article here, you will be buried in real time.”
I once saw it while I was sleeping.
A merchant challenged a knight of Windsor, and the tavern owner impaled the merchant and the mercenaries guarding him upside down in an oak barrel.
It is said that the owner was an engineer who had worked in the 5th Defense Line in the past.
“…It would be scary if a war broke out.”
“that’s right. “If you give a sword to just anyone, he’ll be stronger than most knights in the empire, right?”
Ruid said with a hint of pride.
At that time, Damon stopped walking.
He ran his hands down his face with trembling hands.
I looked at the floor with a strange expression.
“Are you saying I was a frog in a well?”
‘…What is the expression on the face of the Joseon delegation that first set foot on American soil?’
Damon looked so shocked.
“…Anyway, I like the North.”
Ruid looked around with a gentle smile.
“If it’s to protect this place, I can do anything. Well, I wonder who would dare mess with the North.”
‘If you say something like this, something dangerous will happen.’
Ruid shook his head.
Oh, I guess not.