The funeral of Count Volpen was conducted swiftly.
The entire family had sensed Count Volpen’s impending demise for months, as he had been suffering from a festering wound.
Perhaps Count Volpen himself had foreseen his death, as he had chosen his coffin months prior to lying on his sickbed.
“O heavenly saints and angels, come forth to receive this brother, that he may live a holy life in the exalted heavens…”
Father Martin, who served as both a priest and a scribe in the territory, raised his voice solemnly.
The sound of Lady Bellaf, Count Volpen’s wife, weeping grew louder alongside him.
Once Martin’s funeral mass concluded, the coffin, woven from maple, was moved.
The coffin that Count Volpen had chosen was, to put it kindly, neat; to put it harshly, it was crude.
Unlike other nobles who adorned their coffins with jewels or gilded decorations, Count Volpen’s coffin bore only a pure white cross.
Perhaps his faith deepened when he sensed his final moments approaching.
Keldric could not say for certain.
Count Volpen’s coffin was interred in the churchyard behind the territory’s church.
Although the Bellaf family was not particularly old, every head of the Bellaf family had been buried here.
The ground was dug, and the coffin was placed inside.
Soon, dirt began to cover it.
Count Volpen had once been a robust warrior, renowned for his bravery on the battlefield, engaging in noble cavalry charges.
But all of that was now rendered meaningless.
The muscular body that once impressed was reduced to a pitiful state by a blind arrow, and ultimately met its fate sleeping beneath the cold northern earth.
Keldric felt a somewhat peculiar emotion as he watched the coffin being covered with dirt.
“Please, fulfill my wish…”
What suddenly came to mind was Count Volpen’s final words directed at Keldric just before closing his eyes.
To fulfill his wish.
Something he had not achieved.
“What could that be?”
Keldric was confused.
Regardless of his feelings, Count Volpen had been the father he had looked up to in this life.
If possible, he wanted to honor the wish he left behind.
However, as things stood, he couldn’t do anything.
Without knowing the meaning of the wish, it was of no use.
Why did Count Volpen utter such words at his last moment?
Even if he had a wish, there were others, like Hilmer and Fritz, who could fulfill it.
“Why me?”
He couldn’t understand.
The Count who could have answered was no longer present in this world.
“I’m sorry… Keldric, my son…?”
Was he feeling guilty for having treated Keldricdifferently from his other two sons?
Or was guilt weighing heavily on him in the moment of death?
Or perhaps, he had seen something in Keldric.
Despite having never easily given away a sword in his life, what was the reason he left behind armaments fit for a knight?
“…I don’t know.”
For a moment, Keldric reflected on Count Volpen’s last appearance and soon resolved to let go of the past.
Before long, Count Volpen’s coffin was completely covered with dirt.
People from the distant future would only be able to know of Count Volpen’s existence through the modest tombstone that would be erected above it.
Keldric quietly lifted his head to gaze at the sky.
The peaks of the towering mountain range tickled the edges of his vision.
The cold northern winds flowed smoothly over the mountain peaks, splitting into two.
One of the gusts had likely diminished in size slightly.
Keldric silently watched the scene unfold before him and turned away.
The people surrounding Count Volpen’s grave were also preparing to leave.
Lady Bellaf exited the churchyard with swollen eyes, followed by others.
And Keldric saw the distorted face of his second brother, Fritz, trailing behind Lady Bellaf and their eldest brother, Hilmer.
Keldric felt an unusual chill run through him and shivered.
A bad premonition loomed over him.
Even as this happened, the cold wind continued to sweep over the mountain range.
Keldric sensed a wind of change within it.
Now, Count Volpen’s funeral had concluded.
“These are the items you can take with you.”
Hilmer, who had become the new head of the Bellaf family, handed Keldric a piece of parchment.
“May I read it?”
“Do as you please.”
Keldric quickly read through the parchment handed to him.
It was possible because he had learned to read through Father Martin since childhood.
Saying that a knight could not read was half true and half false.
Long ago, there was a superstition that becoming smarter weakened the body, which led knights to refrain from learning to read.
However, things had changed a bit now.
While there were still many knights who could not read, there were a few who could manage to read at least one book.
It was a transitional period.
And Keldric was among those who could read.
Being able to read placed him in the category of an intellectual.
The only illiterate in the Bellaf family was Fritz, who had dedicated himself solely to martial arts and physical training since childhood.
‘But he’s weaker than I am.’
Keldric pushed aside various thoughts to the back of his mind.
The list of inheritances written on the parchment did not omit anything from Count Volpen’s will.
On the contrary, it didn’t particularly add anything either.
For Hilmer, who inherited the family, it was apparent that giving away expensive war horses and various weapons to Keldric without compensation would twist his insides, so Keldric held no grievances about it.
Especially, even Keldric found it hard to estimate how much a sturdy, well-trained war horse would cost.
‘Saddle, chain mail, surcoat, sword…’
In addition, the parchment detailed equipment sufficient for Keldric to become a knight.
Keldric nodded with a satisfied expression.
“This should be sufficient.”
“…Do you not wish for more? Even though we are half-brothers, you are still my brother.”
Keldric looked at Hilmer with a slightly surprised expression.
Hilmer maintained a stoic face but, unlike before, he subtly avoided Keldric’s gaze.
It was true that their relationship felt somewhat awkward to call family.
Keldric thought it was clear that doing something he had never done before must have felt uncomfortable for Hilmer.
“It’s alright. The funeral costs must have been substantial, so you should preserve the family’s wealth.”
“Cough… I couldn’t spare any expense for your father’s funeral.”
“Wasn’t most of it for the coffin? It wasn’t a coffin made from local timber. It must have been ordered directly from the city.”
Hilmer seemed at a loss for words and fell silent, his eyes dim.
The cost of crafting a coffin from premium hardwood that does not grow in the vicinity and transporting it was considerable.
‘This guy is going out in style.’
Count Volpen left, showcasing at least a minimal display of his noble wealth until the very end.
In good or bad ways, that was knightly.
“Anyway, those items have already been prepared. There is nothing that needs to be changed.”
“Ah, yes.”
“And… if you wish, I can assign a servant from the family. Do you have anyone you wish to leave with?”
“…A servant?”
“Why? Were you not planning to leave the family? As your father said.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Your eyes show that you no longer feel any affection for our family, so your father must have noticed too. It is only natural to leave if there is no attachment.”
No, there had never been any from the start.
Keldric swallowed the words that had risen to his throat and lowered his gaze.
It meant he had nothing to say.
Hilmer’s gaze upon Keldric suddenly grew heavy.
“Keldric, I will speak frankly. There was a time when I feared you might threaten my position, which is why I was overly cautious of you. That was relatively recent… until just a few days before your father’s funeral.”
“However, the reason I began to think that it shouldn’t sever the bond between us as brothers is due to the recent funeral of our father.”
Keldric silently listened to Hilmer’s words.
“What I want to say is that you can reach out to me for help whenever you need it. Whether it’s about people or finances.”
“Brother.”
“You make me talk about things that embarrass me at my age.”
Keldric had always stood out for his seriousness since childhood.
Even when he fell and scraped his knee, he didn’t burst into tears like other children; instead, he responded calmly.
In a good light, that was seen as mature; in a bad light, it was childlike in a foolish way.
How strange it was for a child to act less like a child!
Keldric, who had been sitting with his gaze lowered, lifted his head.
His navy-blue eyes were deeply sunken.
“Is it because you’ve become the head of the family now?”
“To be honest, I’m a little taken aback by this sudden change in you.”
Nobles place great importance on family, especially their own blood.
Even if they are bastards, if the blood flows through them, they would at least be taken in by the lord and given basic education.
Let alone Keldric, who was not a bastard but a legitimate son.
Moreover, he was the offspring of Count Volpen’s first wife.
If things had gone according to plan, he should have been the eldest son.
Though Keldric’s mother was the first wife, he was the third son because the first wife could hardly bear children.
The Bellaf family is a noble family allowed to inherit.
When no heirs appeared from such a family, the two of them agreed to take in a second wife, from whom the two sons Hilmer and Fritz were born first.
For various reasons, Keldric had suddenly been born as the third son, even though he was the legitimate son of the first wife.
‘What a fate to have.’
Keldric clicked his tongue inwardly.
There couldn’t be a more absurd family tree than this.
The reason Hilmer had been particularly wary of Keldric was because of this situation.
Though the status of being the third son was ambiguous, aside from that, Hilmer and Fritz were comparatively lacking in legitimacy to Keldric.
However, now that Count Volpen had named Hilmer as his heir before passing away, being wary again was meaningless.
Therefore, Keldric’s remark of, “Aren’t you just being generous because you no longer have anything to fear from me?” was not at all wrong.
Realizing Keldric’s intentions, which were close to the truth, Hilmer cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
“Ahem… There’s no reason to be surprised. As brothers and as family sharing the same blood, it is only natural to do what should be done.”
“If that’s the case, I won’t take any servants with me.”
“Do you understand the reason? It is common for siblings in noble families to marry out and split into branches. Moreover, if you leave the family name to manage your territory, that means you are stepping out as a knight. Your father taught you swordsmanship, after all.”
“…As a knight, if I don’t even take my servants with me, that might be seen as disgracing the family. Others might take our family lightly.”
Hilmer, while speaking, realized he had made a misstep; after all, Keldric was leaving the family.
From Keldric’s perspective, there was no reason to be persuaded by a statement that suggested he might disgrace a family he was about to leave.
‘What kind of riches could I gain by being indebted to you?’
Of course, Keldric was suspicious of his eldest brother, who had shown cunning traits since childhood.
And fortunately for Keldric, he had a timely reason to bring up.
“In my father’s will, the family servants are not included in the inheritance I can take.”
“Right, if Keldric responds like this, Hilmer is at a loss for words.”
Hilmer stared at Keldric for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head.
“Very well. Leave without any servants. While it is important for a noble to maintain outward dignity, if their conduct shines, that outward dignity will pale in comparison.”
Although it might sound a bit condescending, if it were Keldric, he would have no faults as a knight.
Thinking that way eased Hilmer’s worries that had been gnawing at him.
“The items listed will be prepared before dinner tonight.”
“Yes, brother. Thank you.”
“Alright.”
Immediately after Hilmer nodded, an awkward silence fell between them.
Keldric had said everything he wanted to say to Hilmer, and Hilmer had done his best to accommodate Keldric’s wishes.
There was no longer a reason to continue the conversation.
“…Do you have anything else to say?”
At Hilmer’s cautious question, Keldric looked silently at Hilmer, his fingers twitching slightly.
If Keldric had something he wanted to say to Hilmer, it would be, “Brother, can I just slap you once before I go?”
Of course, he could never actually do that.
“Thank you for everything so far.”
“You don’t need to. I know very well that I haven’t done anything for you until now.”
“That’s fine.”
However, isn’t it okay to make fun of him like this?
Leaving behind the speechless Hilmer, Keldric quietly exited the office.
‘Just about half a month left.’
In the northern lands, the snowstorm had not yet ceased.
He would have to wait for the storm to stop before leaving.
So, during the time the snowstorm continued, Keldric had to finish his preparations thoroughly.
He estimated that it would take about half a month until the snowstorm calmed down.
After fifteen nights had passed, Keldric would leave the territory.