Chapter 42: Thank You (1)

“He was a strange man.”

That was the evaluation of the hero, Shihyun, by Louis La Reshvia.

Kalia thought that such an evaluation was quite unbefitting. From her perspective, there were very few people as simple as Shihyun.

Well, her older brother couldn’t understand Kalia either. She, who wanted to stay away from power, and the way she risked her life to become the leader of the knights and joined the hero’s party.

“There are plenty of people who can replace you. The second daughter of a duke doesn’t need to risk her life.”

Those were her brother’s words.

Kalia didn’t think her brother was genuinely worried about her. 

The position of being the second daughter of a duke was insufficient to inherit the title, but more than enough to marry another noble. 

Since her childhood, Kalia had been praised for her beauty. Even though she wasn’t called the most beautiful in the kingdom, she could certainly hold the lead role in a ballroom.

She thought Louis must not like the fact that Kalia was diminishing her ‘value’ by creating scars on her body. She thought that’s why he said such things.

But it seemed that Louis was not a man who could be understood by such simple thinking.

At times, Kalia felt that Louis truly cared about her. 

Letters that came with great difficulty through the knight’s order from the battlefield, and the equipment and supplies that were steadily provided under the family name.

If the sincere-sounding words written in those letters were all calculated, Louis would indeed be a terrifying person.

He was obsessed with power. He even looked for ways to oppose the hero, who was clearly a good person chosen by the goddess, as a political means.

But at the same time, he genuinely cared for his younger sister. He told her to quit the battlefield while subtly supporting her so she wouldn’t get entangled with his political rivals.

This duality in his attitude seemed extremely strange to Kalia.

Kalia’s older brother, Louis, couldn’t understand her, and at the same time, Kalia, his younger sister, also couldn’t understand him.

Perhaps their ways of thinking were too different. He was someone who thought about his political rivals more than his family. 

One might wonder if he had ever loved anyone. But still, his wife didn’t seem particularly unhappy. Louis’s wife was someone who resembled him very much.

“I tried to find a weakness.”

Louis said to Kalia as if confiding.

“But I couldn’t find any. At first, I thought that perhaps the goddess had sent him. If someone had no attachments to this world and no family, they wouldn’t be swayed by political weaknesses.”

He spoke while fiddling with his glass in front of Kalia, who had come to persuade him.

He didn’t drink alcohol unless it was necessary, as it clouded his thoughts, and he didn’t drink tea because it made his head dizzy. That was Louis’s personal philosophy.

To gain power, he would even suppress his own desires. Or maybe, his desire for power was so immense that it pushed other desires aside, Kalia thought.

“I even tried to create a weakness. When I saw the party forming, I thought about using their companions as weaknesses.”

Kalia was sincerely amazed that her brother, who was contemplating such things against a hero sent directly by the goddess, was so audacious.

She had known he thought like that for a while, but she never imagined he would actually try to put it into action.

“However, strangely enough, all of the hero’s companions are key figures in the kingdom. If I were to make them my enemies, the duchy could be torn apart. 

They aren’t powerful because they hold power, but because they possess truly fearsome strength, which has led to their power.”

Louis exhaled lightly.

“They were people who could not be swayed by any means. Money, honor, or persuasion did not work on these fanatics. Let alone the elves. They didn’t think highly of the nobility or royalty of the kingdom.”

Indeed.

Kalia could understand why her brother would think that way. He didn’t believe in miracles created by pure good intentions. 

He was the type of person who thought that for something to happen, there must be something that precedes it.

After all, even in the relationship with the hero, there were things that came and went. Though intangible, they were not easily visible.

“Before I knew it, his presence became too great. To the point where I can no longer handle it. Even if he is royalty, if they deny him, the people will rise up. 

We could suppress them, but can we suppress the hero too? Will he stay silent when he sees the people suffering?”

Louis frowned.

“Thinking about it, it feels strange. It’s an oddly wrong thought. Fundamentally, something seems twisted.”

Kalia, who hadn’t seen Louis struggle like this in a long time, felt a bit of freshness. Watching him with some intrigue, Louis suddenly asked her.

“After thinking for a long time, I finally understood. Kalia, tell me what a noble is.”

“Those who serve the people.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“No.”

“Right. If they truly served the people, they wouldn’t be in such positions. Of course, many noble sons go to the battlefield. They risk their lives and fight, like you.”

Louis stared at Kalia and spoke.

“But that’s not because it’s a noble action. It’s an investment. If they fight with their lives and come back alive, their legitimacy as nobles is recognized. But are only the nobles fighting there?”

No.

Obviously, far more soldiers, who are commoners, fight.

Nobles participate as commanders and leaders. They lead soldiers who are commoners.

The likelihood of dying isn’t drastically different, but in terms of the numbers of those who die, the soldiers’ numbers are overwhelming.

“Do all those who return after being killed or wounded receive noble titles?”

Of course not.

There is compensation. It’s certainly not a small amount. But it feels insufficient to be called the value of a person’s life.

Those who accomplish feats that cannot be ignored might receive titles. But such cases are very rare. 

So, should titles be stripped from the noble children who died without achieving such feats?

Of course not.

Instead, they are pitied as those who, ‘though noble,’ lost their children in the battlefield.

“Nobles are nobles because they are nobles. In fact, to become a duke like us, one must at least have royal blood or marry the queen. 

And to do that, one must be noble from the start. The queen wouldn’t marry a commoner… unless it’s a hero.”

Kalia now understood what Louis was trying to say.

“If the hero were to marry the princess, it would happen. If he said he would become king, it would happen. If he wanted to take the dynasty’s name as his own, it would happen. 

But he didn’t want anything. He didn’t want any of those things that everyone else would desire. Why?”

Louis’ brow furrowed.

“…Nobles disguise the word ‘noble’ as something they gain by sacrificing themselves for the people. But in reality, it’s not. 

The process is just a transaction with the people, and they only make minimal sacrifices that the people can understand while negotiating with them. And to have the power to negotiate, one must be born a noble from the start…”

Louis looked at Kalia.

“Then, what if it were someone who sacrificed for the people from the very beginning? Someone who is neither the child of a noble nor a royal, but someone sent directly by the goddess, with a nobility greater than anyone else’s?

 What if it were that person, someone who completely overturned the cause and effect we had in mind, someone who is truly recognized as ‘noble’ by all?”

It was wrong.

He believed that all people were precious. Truly and so, he mourned every death. 

Even for those deaths that could not be stopped, he blamed himself and constantly tried to save the world as quickly as possible. 

He had never served anyone. He only felt sorrow because he thought everyone was like him.

The premise that my brother set was all wrong. Kalia felt displeased by this.

“And I was afraid of that strange man. He destroyed all the premises we had in just five years. And he didn’t even realize it.”

“So, are you afraid to call him?”

“Well…”

Louis leaned back in his chair and frowned.

“…I am afraid. But…”

Louis shut his mouth, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

“If you want to call him, I will cooperate.”

Louis didn’t offer any further explanation.

Kalia still thought she couldn’t understand her brother.