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Chapter 255 – Side Story 4 – The Boy Meets the Girl (2)
by Heavenly CatThere was no time to run away.
Early the next morning, someone from the castle came looking for the boy.
The person who came from the castle was someone the boy knew.
It was the black-haired apprentice knight with the strange name, Choi Seowoo.
Though it was early morning, everyone in the inn where he was staying, as well as people living in the surrounding buildings, all stole glances at the young knight.
Vlad, who had come outside at the apprentice knight’s call, sighed at the flood of stares.
“Did I make a mistake? Since you haven’t come looking for me until now, it seems my business card wasn’t necessary…”
Though he tried not to show it in his expression, the young knight seemed to notice Vlad’s feelings.
The young knight’s words were true, but Vlad couldn’t speak the truth.
His counterpart was an apprentice knight connected to the lord’s daughter.
The boy did his best to shake his head.
“No, that’s not it. I simply wasn’t sure if I should dare to contact you.”
At Vlad’s words, the young knight scratched his head with a troubled face.
“That’s the same thing. I gave you that card to caution the young lady, but I didn’t know it would cause you trouble like this.”
The trouble was still continuing.
Now that such a famous person had come looking for him, it would be difficult to avoid people’s stares.
When you think about it, for Vlad, the young knight’s visit now was more problematic than meeting the young lady yesterday.
But he couldn’t say that openly.
The young knight looked around uncomfortably, then said to Vlad:
“Since things have turned out this way, I can’t back out now. Come with me. The young lady is waiting.”
“…Alright.”
Refusal was impossible anyway.
Even the considerate words of the young knight in front of him were ultimately just words.
As an ordinary person, Vlad had no choice but to follow the words of the young lady or the young knight.
Vlad gathered his belongings and followed behind the young knight.
The young knight, who had been waiting for Vlad, walked briskly ahead. Their destination was the lord’s castle in the northern part of the city.
The northern area of the city where the lord’s castle was located.
That high-end residential area was a place Vlad had rarely visited.
Though Vlad had diligently explored the city to understand its situation, he couldn’t approach the northern area where the lord’s castle was located freely.
Though invisible, various magical surveillance devices could be felt as one approached, making it impossible to get close easily.
In the end, this was the most relaxed moment for Vlad to observe the northern area.
This high-end residential area was even more luxurious than when he had seen it from a distance before.
Standalone houses rising to 3 or 5 floors, and neat shops lined both sides of the main street.
Large signs he hadn’t seen elsewhere, buildings filled with glass, and the relaxed, bright expressions of the people.
This place looked almost like a different world.
Vlad looked around as he followed the young knight.
He appeared like a country boy marveling at unfamiliar things upon first visiting the city.
In truth, this wasn’t an act.
He was genuinely amazed.
But more than being amazed, Vlad continued to carefully store images of the surrounding buildings in his mind as he walked.
Mansions that seemed to have grown from trees, houses with glass doors that opened and closed automatically despite no detectable mana,
And even the passing elves and somewhat unfamiliar people.
Storing each detail in his mind as he walked, he soon found himself at the castle entrance.
The lord’s castle.
This was the lord’s castle, called the “Knight’s Castle” just as this domain was called the “Knight’s Domain.”
The castle, viewed from the entrance, wasn’t much different from other castles.
Pointed towers, solid walls, and not too many windows.
Except for the iron structures that looked like they had been destroyed and reinforced, it resembled the castles he knew.
However, like at the domain gate and the city gates, fist-sized iron objects hung in various places around this castle as well, though their purpose was unclear.
There were several other incomprehensible objects, but Vlad didn’t ask what they were.
Not only was this not the situation to ask, but it wasn’t his place to ask either.
Vlad simply followed silently behind the young knight as they passed through the outer gate and the garden to enter the main castle.
The inspections weren’t strict, whether passing through the castle gate or entering the inner castle.
The soldiers at the gate merely confirmed his name after seeing the young knight, and they didn’t even ask when entering the castle proper.
Though puzzled by the inexplicable security, Vlad couldn’t ask about that either.
Thus, even after entering the main castle, Vlad continued to follow the young knight through the corridors for quite some time, stopping in front of a door after walking a considerable distance.
The castle interior seemed larger than it had appeared from the outside.
The young knight knocked on a door adorned with beautiful carvings, and a response came from inside.
“Come in.”
It was a girl’s voice.
And the door opened.
A woman who appeared to be a maid opened the door from inside.
Though called a maid, the woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties didn’t appear to be a commoner.
Whether she was a noble or not was unclear, but she was clearly someone properly educated.
As the door opened, the young knight entered.
Vlad followed the young knight inside.
Inside was a bright reception room.
A luxurious reception room with a sofa in the center and a table for refreshments.
It was identical to a noble’s reception room he had glimpsed by chance before.
An interior that would intimidate commoners just by looking at it.
In fact, the sights he had seen on the way here would have been enough to make ordinary people tremble.
Vlad also bowed his head deeply as he entered.
With his head bowed like that as he entered, he heard the girl’s voice from in front.
“I’ve been waiting. Your name was Vlad, right?”
“Yes.”
Vlad immediately answered the question from the high-ranking person.
But his answer didn’t seem to please her.
The girl’s voice, slightly raised, was heard again.
“If you keep your head bowed like that, we can’t have a conversation. Raise your head.”
“…Yes.”
After hesitating briefly, Vlad finally raised his head.
Directly in front, on the reception room sofa, sat the girl he had seen last night.
The same face and the same voice.
But her atmosphere was different from last night.
Instead of the free and mysterious girl, the girl before his eyes was exactly like the noble young lady he knew.
‘Was it because of the night atmosphere…?’
Slightly disappointed by her different appearance from yesterday, Vlad bowed his head slightly, appearing somewhat intimidated.
He wanted to look like a lowly commoner suddenly summoned by the lord’s daughter, but unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work.
“Vlad, I called you here for two reasons. I want to apologize, and also, I needed someone.”
The same words as last night.
Vlad couldn’t help but sigh… If she wanted to apologize, it would have been best to pretend not to know, but the young lady didn’t seem to have any such intention.
As expected, the girl before him was just a noble who could command commoners at will.
If that was natural, then it was natural.
Vlad could only offer one word of objection.
“I don’t know what task you intend to give me, but I’m just an ordinary commoner.”
Though it was barely spoken, Vlad’s words were immediately refuted.
“An ordinary commoner couldn’t possibly come all the way here alone, crossing the wall. Especially not at your age.”
Fortunately, the lord’s daughter didn’t seem angered by Vlad’s words.
So Vlad gathered his courage to continue speaking.
“I was just lucky. I’m just an ordinary person who can’t even sense mana.”
At Vlad’s words, the young lady asked the young knight standing beside her.
“What do you think?”
“It’s true that he doesn’t move mana or sense it. But as the young lady said, he’s not an ordinary person. His movements and reactions to danger are far superior to those of normal people.”
The young knight answered the young lady’s question calmly.
And his words were completely different from what Vlad had thought.
“See? I felt it last night too. It was the same then. If I had known you were alive, I wouldn’t have made that mistake. Though the distance was far, I shouldn’t have missed at that range. You must be similar to the awakened ones in Seowoo’s world.”
“There are indeed awakened ones in our world who use abilities without mana. Such things from other dimensions sometimes happen after the Demon King tried to merge dimensions. But I’m not certain if this person is such an awakened one.”
Awakened ones from another world?
Vlad bowed his head even lower at the conversation between the two.
There were many unfamiliar terms, but even if he understood them, they were clearly things he shouldn’t pretend to know.
“It doesn’t matter if he isn’t. If he’s skilled enough to come to this domain alone without mana, then he’s someone I need.”
At the young lady’s words, the young knight sighed.
“Honestly, I’m against it.”
Despite the knight’s opposition, the young lady asked with a smile.
“But you’ll still help me, won’t you?”
“Sigh… Alright. But what will they say?”
Even to the young knight’s final resistance, the young lady spoke confidently.
“They’re not the kind of people who would stop us as long as we don’t die.”
The young knight seemed to have no further response to her words.
He shook his head and said to the young lady:
“Still, you should ask for permission.”
“Then let’s go get permission right away.”
With those words, the young lady rose from the sofa, and as she was about to leave the room, Vlad hastily spoke up.
“Excuse me, could I know what I’m supposed to do?”
It was unavoidable that they were deciding things on their own without considering him, but he still needed to know what he was supposed to do.
Only then could he gauge what to do next.
“Ah, that’s right. I didn’t even tell the person involved what he’ll be doing.”
Fortunately, the young lady didn’t get angry at Vlad’s interruption.
That was fortunate. He had prepared to be scolded, but she seemed to be a much more merciful noble than expected.
‘Getting beaten and thrown out was unlikely after all.’
As Vlad was thinking this, the young lady told him what she would use him for.
“I need someone to help with my external activities. Someone to scout the surroundings and be a target for my magic. Seowoo is too busy to always accompany me.”
Another unfamiliar story came up. Moreover, this time it was related to magic.
It was somewhat frightening, but it made it even harder to refuse.
“Well, now that you’ve heard the explanation, let’s go get permission.”
With that, the young lady left the reception room with the two of them after giving an explanation that wasn’t much of an explanation.
Following the young lady through the corridors this time, Vlad stopped in front of another room.
Unlike the young lady’s room, this door was ordinary.
A butler was standing in front of the door.
“The second young lady has arrived.”
The butler announced the young lady’s arrival to those inside, and a response came from within.
“Tell her to come in.”
“Please enter.”
With the butler’s words, the door opened.
Vlad entered with the young lady and the young knight.
There was one person inside the room the three of them entered.
A middle-aged man sitting behind a large desk.
Though he wasn’t wearing armor, Vlad could tell at a glance that he was a knight.
And not just an ordinary knight, but one more extraordinary than any knight he had ever seen.
A knight in the castle called the Knight’s Castle.
A knight in the room to which the lord’s daughter had brought them—there could only be one person.
The lord of this domain, Knight Egger.
He frowned upon seeing Vlad.
“Could it be, a vampire?”
At that moment, Vlad felt as if his heart had stopped.
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