IJIV 09

Chapter 9

The knight’s name was Lionel Dilf. He belonged to the Oberon family’s Frost Knights, specifically the youngest of the 5th Northern Squadron. He truly did his best to escort us. Anyone could see how hard he was trying. The problem was, he was really only trying—nothing more.

[What’s he doing?]

Harry, walking beside me, clicked his tongue in disapproval as he looked at Lionel.

[His whole body is full of holes. At this rate, he won’t protect you; you’ll end up having to protect him.]

Even I, who knew nothing about swordsmanship, could clearly see it. He tripped over a stone while walking, dropped his sword that was securely at his side…

[Even if you made a human out of paper, it would be sturdier than him.]

With Harry’s harsh comment, we finally arrived at our destination. After twisting and turning through narrow, dark alleys, we reached a small orphanage.

“This is where I spent my childhood.”

Emma said with an awkward smile as she looked at the lamp in my hand.

“Adults can somehow endure the cold, but here it’s all children, so I was worried…”

As Emma entered naturally, the narrow interior came into view. Naturally, the fireplace was cold.

“Unni?”

A girl rose from her seat as Emma stepped into the darkness with the light. All the children had gathered together, wrapping themselves in thin pieces of cloth.

‘They were probably trying to share body heat to survive the long, cold night.’

But that probably wasn’t enough. If Emma hadn’t brought the fire, someone here might have frozen to death. Children were fragile like that.

“Unni!”

“Sister!”

One child’s shout spread to the others. The raggedly dressed children swarmed around Emma, who gently patted their heads.

“You were really cold, huh? Wait just a moment. I’ll get the fire going soon.”

“We can’t start a fire. There’s no fuel.”

At the child’s complaint, Emma lifted a pile of black ironwood.

“Why isn’t there any fuel? Here it is.”

It was true that black ironwood overflowed in her domain; what she had collected along the way was more than enough to fill her arms. The children scoffed when they saw it.

“Hey, that’s black ironwood. It won’t burn.”

“No. I brought the fire that can burn this. Just trust me.”

Emma patted the children’s heads and approached the fireplace. As she filled it with the black ironwood she had picked up, the children’s attention turned to me, Harry, and Lionel. Harry was the most popular.

“Wow, a dog!”

“Woof!”

The children yelled and rushed at Harry, hugging him, petting him, even kissing him. Harry shouted in protest.

[Ah, what the heck! What are these things! I can’t breathe!]

Lionel was equally overwhelmed, surrounded by children.

“What’s this? A sword?”

“D-don’t touch it! It’s dangerous!”

“Why are you carrying something dangerous?”

“I’m a knight, so it’s fine.”

“No way. That’s a lie. Knights don’t look like that!”

“…Even to you, I don’t look like a proper knight?”

Unlike the two of them buried by the children, I had complete freedom. Only the area around me was clear, as if someone had drawn a circle.

‘They’re scared of my villainous face, that’s why they’re keeping their distance.’

I carried the lamp toward the fireplace, and the children stepped aside with flushed faces.

Then it happened.

“Eek!”

A girl, trying to avoid me, tripped and fell forward.

If she had just fallen, it would have been a small incident, but she knocked the lamp from my hands. The lamp, hit by her hands, floated in the air before falling to the floor. The fire, weakly burning on the candle, was already extinguished in midair.

Emma, who had been diligently filling the fireplace, froze.

“The fire… the magical fire…”

Emma repeated “fire” as if it were broken. The girl who had fallen looked crestfallen, clearly realizing she had caused an accident.

“What do we do, Miss? This is the fire we just managed to bring from the mansion… it’s… such a special fire…”

Emma sank to the floor by the fireplace, tears streaming from her eyes.

“The fire… the children need it to stay warm… sniff…”

“U-unni. I’m sorry. It’s my fault, okay?”

The girl who had fallen quickly got up and tried to comfort the crying Emma. That only made Emma cry harder. She pulled the girl into her arms and began wailing loudly.

Immediately, Emma’s crying spread to the other children. First, the girl Emma held, then the boy next to her, then the next girl…

The crying spread throughout the orphanage. Watching over ten children wail at the same time made me chuckle helplessly.

‘This is insane. Why am I meeting so many crybabies today? Am I destined to be a nanny today?’

I scratched my cheek and stood in front of Emma, who was crying the loudest. I had to calm the one who started it all.

“Don’t cry. If you cry, the others will cry too.”

“But the fire… the children… they’ll freeze… sniff!”

She showed no sign of stopping. There was only one way to end this noisy situation.

‘I have no choice.’

I signaled Harry. Exhausted and battered, he stumbled over to my side. I bent down, tidying his fur, and looked at the fireplace, full of black ironwood.

[Harry, we need the fire. Like before.]

[So many eyes watching… Didn’t you want the mansion fire to be accidental?]

[Yes… but…]

I slowly looked around at the crying children—thin, malnourished, wearing shabby clothes. Emma’s judgment had been correct. Without a warm fire, the children wouldn’t survive the night’s cold.

[If we hadn’t seen it, maybe we could ignore it. But now we’ve seen it, we can’t not help. I’m human too.]

Honestly, I wasn’t the type to do good deeds deliberately.

‘Volunteer work? Donations? When would I have time for that? I was busy surviving.’

But when someone in need appeared right in front of me, I couldn’t turn away.

‘Most people would do the same.’

I was just like them.

[So Harry, we need the fire.]

[Well, I’ll do what my contractor wants.]

Harry’s voice had a faint smile, and at the same time, flames shot up in the fireplace.

“Waah!”

Lionel, weak of heart, fell to the ground screaming, and Emma hiccuped in shock. The children’s crying slowly subsided as the black ironwood blazed and the room warmed.

“…Unni, is she a magician?”

A boy, staring at the roaring fireplace, asked cautiously. I answered with a smile and looked at Emma.

“Emma, remember? The promise we made at the mansion.”

Emma hiccuped and nodded. I asked her to confirm.

“What do we do with what we saw and heard today?”

“We must forget it all.”

Correct. I smiled, satisfied, and stood up.

“It’s time to return to the mansion. Emma, calm the children a little more before coming back.”

Emma stood up in surprise.

“No, I’ll accompany you, Miss.”

“Emma, remember, the children have mouths too.”

I meant she had to make sure they kept quiet. Fortunately, Emma quickly understood.

“My mistake. I’ll make sure they’re quiet.”

I nodded at her and then gestured to Lionel, still looking startled.

“You’ll come back with me, Knight.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Lionel scrambled to his feet and came to my side, leaving his sword behind where he had sat.

‘Is this guy really fit to be a knight?’

At the same time, Harry sighed.

[Contractor, can we just leave him behind? Watching him is driving me crazy.]

On the way back to the mansion, Lionel continued to fumble.

He was twice as clumsy as when we were heading to the orphanage. Clearly, he had been shocked by the black ironwood fire. Emma was handling the children, so it was my responsibility to handle Lionel.

“Sir Lionel.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“What you saw and heard today…”

I trailed off, and Lionel stiffened. He spoke with tension, resolutely:

“I will tell no one what I saw or heard today.”

“Good. If someone finds out, I’ll assume it’s you who leaked it…”

“Assume…?”

“You’ll hand over your fingers.”

It was absurd, but it worked perfectly on this timid extra knight.

“Eek!”

Lionel turned pale and gasped. I could see him thinking, ‘So the rumors were true!’

“I will never tell! Really!”

“Good. I trust you.”

I gestured to the sword lying behind him.

“By the way, that sword back there… doesn’t it look familiar?”

It was Lionel’s sword. Following my gaze, Lionel exclaimed in surprise.

“I see. It really looks like my sword. Not a sword you’d normally find lying around… wait, is that mine?”

As he fumbled at his waist, Harry sighed with a crooked smile.

[Contractor, it’s not too late. We could just leave him.]

Emma stared at the blazing fireplace, lost in thought.

Ebria Oberon. A name she had heard endlessly.

Erel was the Oberon Duchy, and among the servants, rumors about the main family were rampant. Most of all, rumors about Ebria were the juiciest, the most provocative. Whispering about her kept long nights passing quickly.

There were countless descriptions of Ebria, mostly negative: the witch who overturned the royal capital, the scoundrel of the Oberon family, a problem child even the Duke gave up on. Violent, selfish, arrogant.

So when Emma was told to become her personal maid, she had despaired. A master who would allegedly cut off a servant’s tongue for a slip? How could anyone handle such a cruel person? If the Baron hadn’t doubled her wages, she might have quit.

But meeting Ebria in person was nothing like the rumors.

‘I tried to steal that precious fire.’

Instead of punishing Emma, she personally brought the fire outside and shared it. Emma reached toward the warmth of the fire, feeling her frozen body thaw.

“Unni.”

The girl who had knocked over the lamp approached Emma.

“Who was that person just now?”

Emma smiled.

“She’s someone I serve. And someone who did a great kindness for you today.”

“So she’s a good person?”

Emma thought for a moment. Rumors painted Ebria as far from good. But the Ebria Emma saw was different.

“Yes. She’s a good person. Don’t you think so?”

“Hm… She kept us warm, so I think she’s good.”

“See?”

“Yeah. And she’s really pretty.”

The girl’s face flushed as she spoke louder.