Sigrid - 19

The compensation for the families of soldiers who died in this surprise attack was increased two to three times compared to the usual amount for a soldier’s death. At those words, Beramund glared at Serios, who subtly averted his gaze.

“What about Duke Fienscha?”

Beramund asked briefly.

“He said he avoided the magical beasts and that we should meet another time.”

“That’s rather suspicious.”

“I know, and also…”

As Beramund raised his head, Serios spoke with a serious expression.

“Due to the incident, Erial was examined, and they found out she’s pregnant.”

“What?”

Beramund’s face lit up as if a light had been switched on. Erial and Serios had been without a child for a long time. After losing a child to miscarriage, this was a child conceived after ten years of marriage. There had been many calls for Serios, as the Crown Prince, to depose Erial, but Serios had steadfastly protected her. Beramund asked with a trembling voice,

“Really? Congratulations. How far along is she?”

Serios grinned.

“Thanks for the congratulations. I’m bothered by the fact that Duke Fienscha specifically asked for Erial to come. If he knew about this and called for her…”

Beramund’s face immediately hardened. If the other party knew about Erial’s pregnancy when even they didn’t, it meant there was a spy among the doctors.

“That’s why I don’t want to miss even the smallest clue. I’m going to turn over everything that’s suspicious.”

Serios added firmly.

“So investigate that female knight. And tell her I want to meet her privately.”

After saying this, Serios felt a bit apologetic and added,

“I know you’re not in a position to act as a messenger like this, but—”

“It’s fine.”

Beramund cut him off and grinned.

“I’ll go.”

Beramund got off in front of the mansion in the 2nd District. Before pulling the bell next to the door, he spotted a man working in the garden. The man also noticed Beramund.

“Are you a visitor?”

Arkana asked curiously, and Beramund nodded.

‘This is strange.’

There shouldn’t be any visitors today.

In any case, all guests have the right to be welcomed at the front door. Arkana opened the gate and led the way, opening the front door as well.

“Siri? There’s a visitor—”

At the casual shout, Beramund’s eyes narrowed as he followed.

‘Siri? This gardener nobody is calling her Siri?’

“This way, please.”

As Arkana took off his gardening gloves and guided Beramund to the reception room, Mary quickly took over. Sigrid also came down from upstairs with a surprised look. She was wearing shabby clothes, the ones she used to wear when living in the 3rd District.

“A visitor?”

Arkana nodded lightly and said,

“I’ll go change and come back.”

“Okay.”

Mary quickly approached Sigrid and whispered,

“It’s Lord Lunatil.”

That person? Why?

Sigrid thought this as she walked to the reception room. As soon as Beramund, who was sitting down, saw Sigrid, he bluntly said,

“Do you let your gardener call you by name?”

“Gardener?”

“The person who just called you Siri.”

“Ah, he’s not a gardener, he’s my friend.”

“Friend?”

Sigrid replied “Yes” to Beramund’s skeptical look, then sat down and asked,

“What brings you here today? I’m sorry, but I need to go out now.”

“What kind of lie is that?”

At Beramund’s words, Sigrid frowned.

“What do you mean, a lie?”

“Where are you going dressed like that?”

“I’m going to a friend’s house.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, my friend is unwell, and he’s the head of his household. There must be a backlog of work, so I thought I might be of some help.”

After hearing about Alkerto’s family from him when his arm was injured, Sigrid thought she should go help them.

Isn’t helping in difficult times what friends do?

Since he said he hadn’t told his family, she planned to hide Alkerto’s injury and take care of all the backlogged work he couldn’t do. She had even gotten Alkerto’s home address from Morris.

“If you have nothing more to say, I really need to go now.”

“No, wait. Siri.”

“You should call me Ankertna.”

Sigrid retorted sharply. Siri was a nickname only her friends could use. Beramund shouldn’t dare call her that.

Beramund clicked his tongue. His instinct told him this was a line he shouldn’t cross.

“Fine, then Sigrid.”

“Call me Lady Ankertna.”

“Anyway, you don’t think you can just accept a temporary position and then dismiss it as you please, do you?”

“I clearly repaid my debt to you.”

“That’s suspicious too.”

“What do you mean?”

“That you were there at exactly that time, in that place.”

“It was a coincidence.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Lying is also a method—

Lying is also a method—

After consulting with Arkana, it was concluded that it would be better not to reveal to those around her that she had returned from the future—that she knew the future.

Sigrid didn’t care much, but she didn’t want her friends to suffer because of this fact. And even though she disliked him, she didn’t want to harm Beramund either.

Sigrid stood up and said,

“I’m sorry, but I’ll be going now. If you have anything more to say, let’s make an appointment for next time.”

“Alright.”

Beramund stood up.

“I’ll come with you.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to be friends?”

At those words, Sigrid tilted her head and then nodded.

‘Alkerto is a good person.’

If Beramund wanted to be friends with Alkerto, there was no particular reason to stop him. Or was there? Was it okay to introduce such a friend to her precious Alkerto?

But she had no grounds to stop someone who wanted to be friends.

‘Still, I’ll tell Alkerto what I think.’

Sigrid was determined.

“Arkana.”

“Are you done talking?”

Arkana poked his head out. Sigrid nodded.

“Lord Lunatil is coming with us.”

Curiosity flashed in Arkana’s green eyes, quickly replaced by wariness. However, befitting a magician skilled in illusion, deception, and trickery, it melted away like snow.

“More hands make light work.”

Instead, he said this and smiled gently.

Alkerto’s house was a small farm on the outskirts of the capital.

Unless they called for a public carriage, there was no way a carriage would come to a place like this, so when the carriage stopped in front of the house, curious-faced children came running out.

‘So young?’

As she got out of the carriage, Sigrid was taken aback by the children who came out.

“Who are you?”

“Where did you come from?”

Seeing the chattering children, cold sweat ran down Sigrid’s back. She had never had a good experience dealing with children. Moreover, these were her friend’s younger siblings. She didn’t want to make them cry.

“Ah, hello.”

Sigrid greeted stiffly and said,

“Is this Alkerto’s residence?”

At those words, the children looked at each other. One of them ran inside, shouting,

“Big sister! Big sister! Someone’s here looking for Big brother~”

“No, I already know where Alkerto is.”

Sigrid reached out her hand in confusion, but the child didn’t seem to hear. Soon, an adult woman came out from inside, wiping her damp hands on her apron, and Sigrid felt relieved.

A conversation partner she could communicate with had appeared.

The woman looked at Sigrid and Arkana, and finally at Beramund. Sigrid and Arkana looked similar to her, but Beramund was clearly a nobleman at first glance. So she spoke politely,

“I’m Rudi, Alkerto’s younger sister. What brings you here?”

“I’m Sigrid Ankertna, a knight from the same order and a friend of Alkerto.”

Sigrid also spoke courteously. Normally, she would have used informal speech, but this was Alkerto’s younger sister. Of course, she deserved Sigrid’s respect.

“Alkerto has been too busy to come home, so I came to see if there was anything I could help with in his place.”

“Oh—”

Rudi’s eyes widened in surprise. Sigrid tilted her head. These siblings didn’t resemble Alkerto’s dazzling blonde hair and blue-green eyes at all. Rudi had brown hair and brown eyes, with an ordinary appearance.

“No, that’s, it’s fine.”

As Rudi shook her head and declined, Arkana smiled and interjected,

“Don’t say that. We’ve come all this way, so let us at least help with the laundry.”

At those words, Rudi said “Ah” and hurriedly replied,

“Th-that, please come in. I’ll at least make you some tea.”

Leaving guests standing outside.

Rudi hurriedly guided the group into the house. The house was narrow and dark, thanks to the windows blocked with wooden planks.

“I apologize for the humble surroundings.”

“Not at all. It’s better than where I used to live.”

At Sigrid’s words, Rudi smiled awkwardly. She didn’t know that Sigrid’s words were true. The three sat on wooden chairs and drank the hot water Rudi brought. Rudi, who had opened the cupboard, said in a tiny voice with a red face, “We’re out of tea.”

Silence fell over the four of them. The eyes of the children standing at the kitchen doorway sparkled. Just then, a coughing sound came from the back room. Then a thin voice followed.

“Rudi, do we have guests?”

“Ah, yes, Mother. They say they’re Big Brother’s colleagues.”

Rudi answered loudly as she stood up.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Is your mother here? I should pay my respects—”

As Sigrid stood up and spoke, Rudi didn’t know what the word ‘jadang’ meant, but she understood it referred to her mother and shook her head.

“No, no, it’s alright. She’s not feeling well, so I’ll go and tell her.”

Rudi ran out of the kitchen.

Sigrid sat back down. Fiddling with the cup of hot water, Arkana said,

“The windows seem to need some work.”

“The blankets need washing too.”

Sigrid added. At those words, Beramund’s mouth opened slightly. He thought it would be faster to tear down this house and rebuild it.

It seemed quicker to find things that didn’t need fixing here. Sigrid looked up at the ceiling and said,

“We should check the roof too.”

“There’s probably a field as well. We should look at that too.”

Sigrid nodded. Soon after, Rudi returned.

“Is Big Brother—is Alkerto very busy?”

“Yes, he’s got a lot of work piled up.”

“I see……”

Rudi lowered her gaze, then raised it again and smiled.

“I’m sorry I can’t properly entertain you when you’ve come all this way.”

It was a treatment that couldn’t even maintain the face of successful Alkerto. Sigrid and Arkana might not mind, but it surely didn’t meet the standards for a nobleman like Beramund. Sigrid stood up and said,

“We didn’t come expecting to be entertained. We came to work. How long have the windows been like this?”

“What? No, it’s fine—!”

Sigrid rolled up her sleeves and said,

“It’s not fine. If you’re Alkerto’s family, it’s only natural that I help while he can’t take care of things.”

“Are you Big Brother’s friend?”

“Then are you a knight?”

The two boys who had run out earlier couldn’t hold back anymore and clung to Sigrid. As Sigrid stiffened, Rudi shouted,

“Both of you, where are your manners? What are you doing?”

“No, it’s alright. Yes, I’m a knight.”

Sigrid was able to answer more easily than before. The eyes of the twin boys immediately sparkled even more. One of them reached out to touch Sigrid’s sword, and she mercilessly slapped his hand away.

Slap—!

It was a sound that seemed painful just to hear.

“You mustn’t touch weapons.”

The boy’s eyes welled up with tears, then he hung his head low and nodded. Rudi repeatedly apologized and shouted,

“How many times has Alkerto told you not to touch swords! Apologize right now!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

The boy bowed his head deeply.

“I forgive you.”

Sigrid said, accepting the apology, and at those words, everyone looked at Sigrid with their mouths slightly open. Beramund chuckled and said,

“Wow, our Sigrid is so generous.”

“What’s generous about accepting a proper apology? Now then, Lord Lunatil, please strip the bed and sofa covers.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you come to work?”

“I came to become friends.”

“Then you should work.”

“If I work, will you be my friend?”