abcnovels
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
In medieval aristocratic society, which was unaware of hereditary diseases, inbreeding was rampant to maintain pure bloodlines.
The Duke of Somac and the Count of Chimac, who shared the same grandfather, also formed a marriage contract while in the womb for this purpose...
It's impossible for a novel writer who ignores the local culture and history to feed the protagonist chocolate and coffee to know such delicate verification, but anyway, the protagonist and her fiancée were close relatives.
"It's too far!"
He showed off a cool look to the girl, as if he was going to walk away, but it was very reckless to walk foolishly from one metropolitan area to another.
He could encounter vicious bandits, it would take too long, and it would be difficult to find accommodation.
So he decided to spend money.
'It should be around here... Right!'
He diligently dug under the roots of a lonely tree standing in the middle of the meadow.
Whoosh-
What was hidden there?
A money pouch secretly buried in anticipation of the future before being dragged to the battlefield!
He was worried that someone might steal it, but the first step of the plan was safely done.
Jingle?
"Haha! I never get tired of hearing this!"
The refreshing sound of coins clinking together inside the pouch.
He carefully placed it inside his battle uniform and headed to the Chimac Count's castle.
'First, the clothes.'
Since wandering around in rags would attract attention, he quickly bought clothes and changed into them...
Then he went to a restaurant that also served as an inn and eavesdropped on the conversations of the guests to gather the information he wanted.
"I'm glad it ended peacefully."
"The prince himself came and mediated the war."
"But this completely breaks the alliance between the two families, doesn't it?"
"Right. The prince did a great job in pursuing the princess!"
"Cheers to the Count of Chimac and the beautiful princess!"
"Cheers~!"
The war between the two families ended in a draw, as predicted by Manager Seo Hye-joo.
However, due to the intervention of the prince, the two families ended up in a completely separated and uneasy state.
'This is unexpected.'
Who would have thought that the prince would personally intervene to get rid of the protagonist's fiancée!
But it was not just a move for a woman. It was probably intended to check the expansion of the Duke of Somac, who had grown enough to threaten the royal power.
"I've seen it again."
In the original novel, he was a fool who only thought about the protagonist all day long.
But the prince in this world is thoroughly thinking about national interests and moving strategically?
It was chilling to think that the prince's judgment was just my misunderstanding.
The reason is,
"But that's too much. Demanding a concubine as a reward for mediation!"
Concubine.
For the protagonist who wants to receive the love of numerous men, he made a completely opposite request, not even monogamy or a legal wife.
And that's not all?
The situation wasn't good to dismiss as the prince's absurdity.
"There's no choice. After all, there was such an incident with the escort knight..."
"Do you believe that? That the princess spent the night with the escort knight..."
"There's no way the rumor just started."
As more men gathered around the protagonist in the original novel, it became stranger.
All the men became fanatics who blindly loved the protagonist with empty heads.
However, it seems that the fake protagonist possessed by the patient didn't have as much charm as the real one.
'Is this the end of volume 2?'
A novel where a beautiful protagonist gets dumped by her fiancé and becomes a concubine due to the prince's cunning strategy!
It doesn't seem like anyone would read it.
"I didn't know the prince would emerge as a variable..."
I couldn't predict it at all because the disparity from the original novel was so severe.
'No, it's not necessarily the case.'
There was a description that the prince was a handsome and smart character who caused numerous princesses in the kingdom to suffer from unrequited love.
It was just one line, but it doesn't mean the setting collapsed.
It didn't matter anyway.
"Excuse me."
No matter what choice the patient makes, I'll just act as planned.
"Did you call me?"
The man who was drinking beer with his friends looked at me.
"Yes. It seems like you're going to the Somac Duke's territory."
"Right. Why? Do you have something to send to the Somac Duke's territory?"
"I want to accompany you."
In this world, there's no public transportation like taxis or buses.
So people with the same destination gather like this or pay mercenaries to escort them...
"What about the other companions?"
"I'm alone."
"Hmm. Do you know how to fight?"
There are many places to find power in this dangerous world where public order is not perfect.
"I've learned a bit. I've also experienced war recently."
"Oh! It turns out you were a comrade who fought together! That's reassuring!"
"It's nothing special."
"But just surviving is amazing. A lot of foreigners like us who were forcibly dragged here died."
"...That's true."
'Was that the case?'
I didn't notice at all. I didn't know that there was such discrimination among the commoners who weren't nobles!
It seems they arbitrarily sacrificed people from other places to minimize the damage to their territory.
Is that acceptable?
It was an outrage that was no different from using foreigners for their own war.
"In this war, I lost my precious son."
"Ah..."
"I wanted to show my son, who had just had his adult ceremony this year, the wider world, but I guess he didn't like it. He left before his parents."
"......"
I didn't know what to say to a man who had lost his child.
But he seemed to have calmed down after some time had passed, and I couldn't help but feel somber too. I had seen many deaths in that war.
"What about you?"
"I want to see the sea once more before I die."
"Indeed... The port city in the Somac Duke's territory is world-famous. What's your name?"
"It's Kang Moon-soo."
"Kang Moon-soo? That's an unusual name. In fact, we were looking for people to accompany us to the Somac Duke's territory as well. But it was difficult to gather people because of the awkward relationship between the two families... I appreciate it."
"I'll try not to be a burden. Thank you."
We promised the departure date and parted ways. The intention was to recruit more people for a few more days, as more people meant more safety.
And we had to prepare our necessities individually.
Clothes, food, sleeping bags, weapons...
I headed to the blacksmith first.
"What do you need?"
"A spear I can use. The length should be a little shorter than my height..."
"What's the purpose?"
"For self-defense."
"Then a lighter one would be better. But the price will be a bit..."
"That's fine."
I will show off my spear skills, which I honed in real combat, in exchange for my life.
* * *
The party going together to the Somac Duke's territory consisted of 11 men, 2 women, and 1 child.
...Or so I thought, but when I was introduced to the child as the husband and father of a family responsible for his wife and a nursing baby, I was speechless.
'At 16? Wow...'
I was quite shocked by the fact that a guy four years younger than me became an adult first.
Clatter clatter.
Two carriages carrying luggage and companions were driven by two women.
Meanwhile, the men preserved their strength in the luggage compartment of the carriage, preparing for ambushes from bandits or packs of wolves...
Without anyone instructing, they skillfully divided the roles.
"I hope we get along well for the time being."
"Let's pray for a safe arrival."
"Let's have a drink when we arrive."
The overall atmosphere of the companions was harmonious.
Especially,
"You wouldn't know if you're newlyweds."
"What do you like about your wife?"
"It's still a good time~"
"How did you two meet?"
The youngest 16-year-old groom in the group became the plaything of the mischievous adults during the boring carriage journey.
"Uh..."
Everyone laughed at the boy's reaction to the embarrassing questions that were difficult to answer, his ears turning red.
Then,
"Kang Moon-soo. What have you done until you turned 20?"
"Well... I've lived diligently."
The baton was passed to me, the second youngest.
'What have I done...'
I never thought I would hear such a remark just after graduating from high school.
"Judging by your skin, you must be from a wealthy family...
"You've been through a lot, considering you look fine."
"But you must have experienced love, right?"
"Yes, I have."
Song Seon-young's face flashed through my mind.
"Is she pretty?"
"Yes, she's really pretty."
"Ho? How much?"
"Well... She's prettier than Lady Angelina of the Chimac Count’s family."
"Hehe! This guy, you're full of bluffs."
"That's right. To say she's more beautiful than the jewel of the kingdom."
"You don't have to believe me."
"Have you seen the princess?"
"Yes. I had a chance to accompany her by chance. Thanks to that, I've seen her up close getting off the carriage."
"Was she as beautiful as the rumors?"
"She was pretty."
However, it didn't seem like she had the beauty that anyone would have to fall in love with, as described in the original novel.
It would be unrealistic since people's tastes vary.
But she did have the beauty that anyone would say, "She's just like the protagonist of a novel."
Speaking of which...
'Everyone is so relaxed.'
Is it because I've been living in a busy city all this time?
Sitting in the carriage all day without doing anything, this leisurely time felt unbearably boring like torture.
At that moment,
"Huh?!"
A woman who found something was surprised and pulled the horse's reins.
"Hiing~?!"
"What's going on?!"
The startled horse stopped abruptly, and the men in the carriage's luggage compartment were also surprised as their bodies were thrown forward due to inertia.
Rustle.
A group of men emerged from the bushes on both sides of the road, walking arrogantly.
Their expressions, holding threatening weapons, were not friendly towards us.
"You can't pass without paying."
"You're surrounded."
"Give up resisting and put down your weapons."
"We'll let you go if you pay the toll."
It would be nice if we could ignore them and force our way through, but it was difficult because they blocked our path by pulling a rope tightly at the height of the horse's ankle.
"They're bandits."
"One, two, three..."
"There must be more of them hiding."
"What should we do?"
"Let's try negotiating first."
"Never let go of your weapons."
We quickly made a decision and frowned upon hearing the amount of toll the bandits demanded.
Even I, who don't know the prices in this world well, felt it was,
'Excessive.'
It was an amount that I felt was too much.
"If you don't have it, you can't pass."
"Ah! Even if you give up, you'll have to pay some toll."
"This is for making us wait!"
"You'll regret it if you don't pay!"
The bandits, who didn't want to go back empty-handed, began to threaten us, urging us to make a decision.
"......"
"......"
We exchanged serious glances and prepared ourselves.
At that moment,
"I'll pay the toll."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Everyone looked bewildered at the woman who was driving the second carriage.
She was a woman whom no one had considered more than a companion due to her lack of sociability and ordinary appearance...
Even when surrounded by bandits, her calm manner of speaking began to make her look different.
"Don't worry. I won't cause any trouble for you."
She meant she would cover the toll alone, not dividing it among everyone.
All I knew about her was her name.
"What's going on?"
"Does she have money?"
"By herself?"
The corners of the bandits' mouths slowly rose as they were taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
And they made a new proposal,
"If you hand over that woman obediently, we'll let the rest of you go!"
However, we were not foolish enough to trust the bandits who went back on their promise.
Was there a need to exchange glances and ask for opinions?
The answer was already determined.
"Attack...!"
"Waaaaah!"
Armed with our own weapons, we charged towards the bandits.
But...
'Something's strange?'
Thud!
The bandits were easily falling to the spear I swung and thrust.
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