And how much time had passed?
The reception room was utterly silent after the commotion that had swept through it.
The only sound was the crackle of burning firewood.
The room looked as though nothing had happened.
However, the blood pooled across the floor and the shattered pieces of marble proved that what had just occurred there had not been an illusion.
"Lenin."
Walter quietly called her name.
Inside the reception room, Lenin, who was alone with him, bowed her head and answered.
"Yes, did you call for me?"
"......."
Walter gazed steadily at Lenin's right hand.
Drip, drip.
Red droplets still fell from the unhealed wound on her right hand.
It was the injury she had sustained while taking the sword from Crepin's guard knight moments ago.
Lenin flinched and hid her right hand.
Walter spoke firmly.
"Lenin, come closer."
At those words, Lenin hesitated before approaching Walter.
RIP.
Walter took a scarf from inside his coat and tore it.
"Your hand. Hold it out."
"I-I am fine......."
"That is an order."
Lenin had no choice but to hold out her right hand.
Walter wrapped the scarf around her wound and spoke.
"From now on, do not step in with your bare hands."
"......."
Before long, only after her bleeding had stopped did Walter tie a knot in the scarf and release her hand.
Lenin looked at the blood on his hand and spoke.
"......Are you all right, Your Grace?"
He knew she was not merely asking about his physical condition.
After all, every drop of blood on his hand belonged to Crepin.
Walter himself had not suffered so much as a scratch.
Yet if she still asked, her meaning was obvious.
She was asking whether it had truly been right to go that far.
Whether the consequences would be all right.
"It was something that had to be done eventually."
Walter answered her question firmly.
As he had said before—
Crepin was not the sort of man who would ever give up on the North.
That was why Walter needed to warn him clearly here and now.
He needed to show him exactly what would happen if he ever tried to covet the North again.
Had Walter not gone this far, Crepin would have set his sights on the North again without fail.
Walter had no regrets about his choice.
No, if anything, he was relieved that he had finally brought matters to an end this way.
Walter looked at Lenin.
"......Do you think I went too far again?"
Those were the words she had asked him several months ago, when Walter sent Rupel of the Grand Merchant Guild away.
But this time, Lenin shook her head.
"No. If that is your decision, Lord Walter, I will trust you and follow it."
She spoke without the slightest hesitation.
Walter chuckled and asked.
"Then what will you do if the ducal house bears a grudge over this and comes for us?"
"Then I will become Your Grace's sword and fight."
Lenin answered firmly.
Walter nodded as he looked at her.
"Good. Then when that time comes, I will trust you with it."
Walter's voice was quiet.
At his words, Lenin's fingertips twitched.
She stared blankly at her lord.
"......."
I will trust you with it.
She had no idea how long she had waited to hear those words.
Her lord had always been like that.
He had always tried to resolve everything alone.
Each time, Lenin wished he would share his burden with her, even if only a little.
Just the smallest part would have been enough.
But her lord had never allowed even that.
It had been the same in the middle of the cold snowfield in the past, when he bowed his head to Crepin.
Each time, she had felt bitter.
But the one she resented was no one other than herself.
She hated the reality that she could not be of any strength to her lord.
She hated the fact that, to her lord, she was not someone he could trust enough to share his burdens with.
'If only I had been a little stronger.......'
Lenin clenched her fist.
If she had at least possessed money, her lord would never have been forced to suffer such humiliation.
But back then, she had possessed neither strength nor money.
She had possessed nothing and could do nothing.
Yet now, her lord had told her—
—When that time comes, I will trust you with it.
He would trust her.
At last, she could stand beside her lord.
At last, she could help carry his burden.
That alone filled Lenin with joy.
"......Of course."
She smiled faintly and nodded.
I will always remain by Your Grace's side.
Lenin made that vow as she gently touched her right hand.
***
Before long, Lenin spoke as she cleared away the shattered marble table.
"By the way, I was surprised."
"By what?"
I asked as I scrubbed the bloodstains caked onto the floor.
Lenin recalled the black necklace Walter had given Crepin moments ago and answered.
"The necklace. I never imagined you had prepared even a Token of Oath."
A Token of Oath.
The name sounded grand, but it was a general term for items bearing restrictions that prevented slaves and the like from harming their masters.
"Ah, that thing."
I replied as though it were nothing important.
"That was all bullshit."
"......Pardon?"
"It was fake."
With a grunt, I straightened my back and looked at her.
"Do you have any idea how much one of those costs? Why the hell would I give something like that to that bastard? Who would that benefit?"
Not a chance.
Not unless dirt filled my eyes.
I would never stand for that.
We only finished paying off the debt today. Why would I spend money on that bastard just because he looked pretty?
I would rather use that money to buy the knights another serving of meat.
Of course, compared to the debt, that amount was pocket change.
But people could be generous about everything else and still begrudge a delivery fee once it went over 3,000 won.
To be honest, now that I thought about it, even smashing the marble table because of that bastard felt like a fucking waste.
Thanks to that, I could deeply sympathize with why Raphael had raised such bullshit when I shattered a marble table at the Magic Tower in the past.
Anyway, back to the point.
—DROP.
At my words, Lenin blankly dropped the piece of marble she had been clearing away.
"Will that truly be all right?"
Lenin narrowed her eyes and asked me.
"Come on, it is fine."
I waved my hand casually.
"You saw that bastard's face. He will never think it was fake."
"Even without that, he will not be able to move recklessly from now on."
I grinned as I answered.
No, given his personality, he had no choice but to act that way.
Crepin Selbirot.
The presumed next head of a ducal house in the royal capital.
However, below him, his younger sister constantly watched for a chance to seize his position.
Above him, his father refused to relinquish the position of head of the house until the very end.
Of course, once enough time passed and the current head died, Crepin would naturally inherit the position.
But he could not have been pleased with the current situation.
Even before my regression, the matter had made him unbearably impatient.
'Everything he had built in the royal capital had only been possible because people believed he would become the next head of House Selbirot.'
Crepin himself had never doubted it either.
First, he greatly expanded the pleasure district under his control.
At the same time, he began meeting and recruiting various nobles in order to build his own faction.
The process required a considerable amount of investment, but that had not been much of a problem for him.
After all, he was the proprietor of the pleasure district, and the Grand Merchant Guild stood behind him.
However, as the succession kept being delayed and mentions of it became increasingly rare—
Crepin had no choice but to grow anxious.
Other nobles began applying subtle pressure, asking when exactly he would become head of the house.
Meanwhile, as he recklessly expanded the pleasure district, the royal capital announced an ordinance restricting such businesses.
Some investors even demanded that he return their investments.
'So even that bastard could not have remained still.'
He had come to the North hoping to score a great windfall.
And what had happened instead?
Not only had the North repaid every last coin of its debt, but he had suffered the humiliation of bowing his head before me.
That was why I could guarantee it.
Crepin would keep everything that had happened in the North absolutely secret.
No, he had no choice but to remain silent.
The instant word spread that he had gone to the North only to be beaten by the Grand Duke of the North—
His standing would shrink even further.
That was why he could not move recklessly.
"People with something to protect tend to become cautious."
Just like the old me.
I grinned as I spoke.
Lenin nodded and answered.
"......I understand what you mean."
After all, there was already someone like that near me.
Lenin smiled faintly as she looked at me.
Before long—
—CREAK.
The reception room door opened, and several people entered.
They were none other than the northern knights.
I waved at them and spoke.
"So, did you see them off properly?"
At those words, the old knight standing at the front, Von Bayern, bowed his head and answered.
"Yes. As you commanded, Your Grace, we saw them off with the utmost courtesy."
Von placed particular emphasis on the word "courtesy."
Right.
A shabby bastard had graced such a precious place.
We naturally had to treat him with the utmost care on his way out.
"Good. Well done."
I nodded as I looked at Von and the other knights.
None of them showed it, but they must have been deeply worried.
However, now that the debt relationship with Crepin—the North's greatest source of concern—had been resolved, their faces looked far more relaxed than before.
"It was nothing. You are the one who has truly worked hard, Your Grace."
Von answered with a gentle smile.
After all, who had suffered more for the North than his lord?
Your efforts are finally bearing fruit.
Von reflected on everything that had happened.
The development of Northmedi and the mana ore mine.
On top of that, they had reclaimed the North Road, which even the previous head of the house had longed for.
And above all, today—
They had resolved the debt relationship with the ducal house, the greatest obstacle facing the North.
The North had finally shed one of its greatest burdens.
As long as his lord Walter remained—
The North would continue growing even further.
And now that Lenin stood beside him, Von could finally step away.
Yes.
It was time to step down.
With that thought, he opened his mouth.
"Your Grace. As I mentioned before, I believe the time has come for me to retire."
Von looked at me and smiled faintly.
I smiled in return and slowly nodded.
"Of course. I thought you would bring that up soon. What do you plan to do after retiring?"
Von chuckled and answered my question.
"What could an old man like me possibly do? I suppose I will tend a small garden to pass the time and admire the mountains."
Perhaps because a great weight had been lifted from his heart, Von spoke with a constant, gentle smile.
Then, as though something had occurred to him, he continued.
"Ah, if the opportunity arises, I would also like to raise an animal."
"Yes, animals are nice. Do you have one in mind?"
"Well, anything would be fine, so long as it could accompany this old man through the rest of his days."
"......Oh?"
My golden eyes gleamed.
Anything would be fine, you say?
I grabbed his shoulder and smiled pleasantly.
"Sir Von Bayern."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Congratulations."
"......Pardon?"
Von tilted his head at my abrupt congratulations.
But only for a moment.
He assumed I meant to congratulate him on his retirement.
Von gave it little thought and bowed his head.
All he had to do now was open the reception room door behind him, and it would be over.
"Thank you. Then I hope Your Grace will also continue to......."
But that was when it happened.
SQUEEZE.
For some reason, the hand gripping his shoulder gradually tightened around him.
I grinned.
"Starting today, you will be responsible for the North's wyverns."
"......?"
I had already been planning to start putting the wyverns to work soon.
What perfect timing.
Why?
You said you wanted to raise animals.
I will let you raise as many as you want from now on.
I looked at Von with the most benevolent smile I could muster.
"Congratulations on your lifetime employment."
Regrettably, Sir Von Bayern—
I will not let you go even if you die.
At the same time, I locked the reception room door.
—CLACK.