Chapter 286: Side Story – What Do You Want to Become? (1)

To be honest, Jager was not that angry.

Because he had always thought that something like this would end up happening sooner or later.

After all, they were still children barely between thirteen and fifteen years old.

And on top of that, this class was practically the first to recruit squires from across the entire continent.

It was inevitable that some kind of problem would arise sooner or later.

“Although I didn’t expect them to pull it off this quickly. It’s only been two weeks since they arrived.”

That was his honest opinion.

He was not surprised that it had happened.

He was surprised by the speed.

“Congratulations. You’ve just achieved something that even your father never managed. Reaching the crime of insulting the imperial family at the age of thirteen. It’s truly impressive.”

Though, strictly speaking, it could not even be called insulting the imperial family.

Renvar Mordian only had imperial blood.

He did not belong directly to the imperial family.

However, seeing Emil sitting there with that proud expression, and the mole on top of his head wearing an even prouder expression while crossing its arms, managed to irritate him.

“They really make a good pair. At least it’s good news in the middle of this whole mess.”

“Yes. After all, we’re comrades who fought together on the battlefield.”

When Emil finished speaking, both he and the mole nodded at the same time.

They looked like companions who had fought side by side for years.

And that was precisely why it was so absurd.

“…It’s incredible. You became friends with a spirit you can’t even talk to. So why couldn’t you do the same with the squires from the center?”

If the boy sitting before him had been anyone else, Jager would have already beaten him and hung him upside down.

But he did not.

Because he had already learned from experience that physical discipline did not work on someone like Emil.

“I wouldn’t say we failed to become friends. I’d say we were in the middle of becoming friends. At least that’s how I see it, Lord Jager.”

“Oh, really?”

Jager shrugged after hearing that shameless answer.

The look he gave him clearly said.

Go on with your nonsense.

“Yes. Because Renvar wanted this to happen.”

“Renvar wanted this?”

“Yes. At least, I think so.”

However, the answer that followed was not simple nonsense.

On the contrary, it was a conclusion born from surprisingly deep reflection for someone his age.

“He was always nervous. Renvar, I mean.”

From a very young age, Emil had been caught up in all kinds of conflicts.

His origins were complicated.

And there were many people connected to those origins.

“Every time he tried to provoke me, his heart would beat really fast. That means he was afraid. It also seemed like he didn’t want to do it.”

That was why Emil had immediately realized that Renvar was different.

People who pick fights generally fall into one of two categories.

Those trying to look brave.

Or those who are simply idiots.

But the accelerated heartbeat that his sensitive ears picked up told him that Renvar belonged to neither category.

“And he also seemed to be constantly watching someone. I’m guessing the escort knight who came with him. The more I ignored him, the more nervous he got. So I decided to give him what he wanted.”

“…..”

“I don’t know for certain, but I’d bet that Renvar will sleep soundly tonight. After all, he completed his job.”

He did not understand complicated political matters.

But he did understand instincts.

And even though he was still young, he had managed to reconstruct part of Renvar’s situation using clues that could only be perceived on the ground.

Many of his conclusions matched information Jager already knew.

“Hmm, I see.”

Honestly, that’s not bad.

I thought he was a hopeless savage.

But in certain ways, he resembles his father a great deal.

“And that’s why you caused this entire disaster? Fine. It sounds convincing.”

After hearing the explanation, Jager nodded with satisfaction.

Seeing that reaction, Emil relaxed a little.

But shortly afterward, he was handed an object that completely changed his expression.

“…What is this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? A doll.”

“Yes, but why are you giving me a doll?”

It was a small toy elephant.

Just an ordinary doll.

Emil did not understand the intention.

And although he was still young, he was already too old to play with dolls.

“Even if there’s an explanation for Renvar, I can’t ignore the fact that you turned it into a full-scale brawl.”

Jager was right.

The fight had been so large that the entire manor heard about it.

Nearly a hundred boys had become involved.

It was hardly a minor incident.

And on top of that, the escort knights from the various families had already filed complaints.

Jager needed to settle the matter properly.

“They say it’s a disciplinary tool from Dorothea’s Lu tribe.”

Upon hearing the words “disciplinary tool,” Emil had a bad feeling.

He carefully examined the doll.

Especially that pale green trunk that seemed to be begging someone to squeeze it.

And when he finally pressed it, the doll immediately demonstrated its purpose.

“Hello, little one. Why don’t we start by introducing ourselves?”

“…Couldn’t we just end this with a beating?”

“No.”

“What if you hang me upside down again? Last time was really awful.”

Emil continued proposing physical punishments for himself.

But Jager merely stirred his tea with a teaspoon.

“From now on, Squire Emil will speak with this doll every night, reflect on his day, and repent for his actions. And it would be good if the accomplice mole participated as well.”

Jager knew perfectly well that physical pain had little effect on someone with dragon blood.

In fact, they tended to enjoy it.

They viewed it as a trial to overcome.

“Dorothea will check it every day, so don’t even think about skipping it.”

That was why he had to attack him mentally.

It was one of the most important lessons he had learned while teaching Vlad.

“Uuuu…”

“Kyuuuu…”

With dejected expressions, the boy and the yellow mole left the office.

Once both had disappeared, Jager slowly lifted his teacup.

“…Even so, the fact that even a child was able to notice means they’re putting too much pressure on him.”

Lost in thought, he began lightly tapping the table with his fingers.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A low, repetitive sound.

After organizing his thoughts amid that calm rhythm, he opened a drawer and took out a letter.

“It seems the current Lord Chamberlain is considerably more impatient than the previous one.”

The letter was a recommendation.

A formal request for Renvar Mordian to be accepted into Sturma.

It came in a high-quality envelope.

And at the bottom was a signature.

Lord Chamberlain Razmael.

The man who had been appointed after the death of the previous Lord Chamberlain, Armand.

***

“It must have been very difficult for you. Of course you could feel that way.

But what do you think about trying to think first about the friend who got hurt?”

“This is completely insane…”

Holding the talking elephant as he walked toward his room, Emil felt miserable.

‘A talking doll at my age. Damn it.’

Boys Emil’s age were especially sensitive about things like that.

They were no longer little children.

It was the age when they began worrying about appearing masculine.

And at precisely that delicate stage, he now had to walk around carrying a doll that looked like it was made for babies.

And not only that.

From now on, he would have to tell that strange creature about his problems every night.

Just thinking about it made him want to cry.

“Hampton, I’m back. Give me a sausage.”

Even though it was someone else’s room, Emil opened the door as if it belonged to him.

Immediately afterward, he hurled the elephant doll against the wall with all his strength.

Then he tried to open the sausage box as usual.

However, sitting on top of it was a child watching him with a surprised expression.

“He’s not a girl. He says he’s a boy. His name is Tarenian.”

It was a boy with light brown skin and orange eyes, features uncommon in the North.

He had just arrived because he lived very far away.

And now he was smiling as he extended a hand toward Emil.

“Hello. I’m Tarenian. Tarenian Morvia. Nice to meet you.”

The southern boy explained that his territory was famous for sugar.

“Sugar made from sugarcane. We make all kinds of products from it. In fact, we also sell molasses to the North. You know, the kind used to make rum.”

He was incredibly talkative.

His way of speaking sounded strangely rehearsed.

Normally, Emil would have thought he seemed like a fun guy and would have continued the conversation.

But he was not in the mood for that today.

“Fine, Tarenian. I understand that you’re happy to meet me.”

But I just want to rest for a bit.

You don’t know it, but today has been a really exhausting day.

“It must have been very difficult for you. Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Shut up, talking elephant!”

The doll took every opportunity it could to butt in.

Annoyed, Emil kicked it.

He hit it so hard that it flew up to the ceiling and bounced several times.

However, Tarenian seemed more interested in the doll than frightened by it.

“So, if you would kindly move away from Hampton’s box, I’ll take a few sausages and quietly return to my room.”

“What box? This one?”

Tarenian pointed dramatically at the box he was sitting on.

“Sorry, Emil, but this is no longer Hampton’s sausage box.”

“…What exactly is that supposed to mean, Hampton?”

“It means exactly what you heard. It belongs to Tarenian now. I sold it to him.”

The first thing Tarenian did after officially becoming a squire of Sturma was collect items related to the Swordmaster.

He was an obsessive admirer of Vlad.

And among the things he had acquired was Hampton’s sausage box.

“It’s not just any box. It’s the box that contained the sausages Sir Vlad shared with his friend Portly Kannor when they were young. I bought it for only ten gold coins. What do you think? An excellent deal, right?”

While Tarenian rambled endlessly about heritage, historical value, and antiquity, Emil looked at Hampton.

‘You scammed him? You told him this box is more than twenty years old?’

‘I only sold him a dream, Emil. Besides, if the buyer is satisfied, what does it matter?’

As Emil shot him an accusing look, Tarenian finally finished his explanation.

“But the box is what has value. The sausages don’t.”

“Could you immediately take back what you just said? The sausages are the pride of the Kannor family.”

“That’s precisely why I can give you all these useless sausages. You can take every one of them.”

Upon hearing that, Emil’s ears practically perked up.

However, the request that followed made him frown.

“In exchange, I’ll only ask one favor. I have my favorite piece in the collection here. I just need you to get some signatures.”

Tarenian carefully opened a case that he guarded as though it were a treasure.

He handled it so delicately that he had even put on white gloves.

And what he pulled out were two handkerchiefs.

“They are exact replicas of Lady Zemina’s and Lady Alicia’s handkerchiefs. Exact down to the smallest detail. Look at this one from Lady Zemina. They even copied the mistake in the original embroidery.”

According to Tarenian, the romantic stories connected to those two ladies were the most popular in the South.

In the North, the most famous legends were usually those of the Dragonslayer or the Honorable Banner.

But in the South, the love stories had traveled much farther.

“If you can get signatures on these two handkerchiefs, forget the sausages. I’ll do anything that can be solved with money.”

He clasped his hands together pleadingly.

He looked exactly like a hungry brown cat.

But even a hungry cat could not be granted everything.

“I can help you with anything else. But not with the handkerchiefs.”

“Why? Why?!”

Those words wounded Tarenian deeply.

Because the main reason he had crossed half the continent to reach the North was precisely to obtain those signatures.

“Why not? They’re my favorite pieces!”

With his eyes wide open, the brown cat clung to Emil.

Emil peeled him off and answered in a tired voice.

“In my family, talking about the handkerchiefs is forbidden. Every time the subject comes up, the atmosphere becomes awful.”

Upon hearing that he would not get the signatures, Tarenian’s eyes began filling with tears.

Emil also became depressed when he realized that meant no sausages for him.

And Hampton, wounded because someone had called his sausages useless, buried his face in a pillow.

Inside that small room, three boys were completely miserable.