Turning Chapter 1066

Chapter 1066

Not long after, the people Enk and Kishiar had mentioned arrived. Nathan Zuckerman was also among them. Of course, in addition to them, so many people followed that it was difficult to memorize all their names, filling the long dining tables.

They sat in the seats they wanted without being greatly constrained by their positions or status, and they showed unrestrained joy towards Kishiar.

"Your Grace. Although I've been continuously seeing you through letters, making it feel like you were always here, it's still truly delightful to see your face again."

"Haha. I feel the same way."

"It seems the life in the capital suits you well. Your complexion has improved to the point of being dazzling."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"The person next to you must be the famous... guest Your Grace has personally invited to Peletta for the first time, right?"

Once the greetings were exchanged to some extent, questions about Yuder also began. It was closer to them being considerate to ensure that the unfamiliar guest, who was the talk of the town, wouldn't feel left out, rather than asking because they really didn't know who Yuder was.

"Yes. I am Yuder Aile, the Commander's Cavalry Assistant."

"Oh my! I wanted to introduce you first."

This time, Yuder introduced himself without giving Kishiar a chance to intervene. People laughed as they watched Kishiar exaggeratedly express his regret.

"Hmm! Then should we call you Baron Aile?"

"I prefer the title rather than the peerage... but you can call me by the title of Sir, like Sir Zuckerman. It doesn't matter whether you call me by my name or surname."

At Yuder's answer, the person who had asked the question and those who were listening all showed surprised reactions at the same time. It seemed most of them hadn't expected such an answer to come back.

As they murmured, Kishiar intervened with a smile.

"Isn't it fine as long as the meaning and heart are conveyed, no matter what you call him? To be precise, it would be correct to call him the greatest hero of the Orr Empire, who possesses both skill and beauty, the pillar of the Cavalry, and the one to whom I want to devote all my respect, but that's a bit... too long. So I usually just call him my assistant or Yuder."

"Pardon?"

The people who were blinking their eyes at the remark that flowed out so naturally, as if it was nothing, looked at each other's faces and opened their mouths.

Yuder thought they would laugh or be dumbfounded, but unexpectedly, no laughter came out. Among them, who were nodding their heads as if sharing some unknown meaning, an old man who elegantly brushed back his white hair answered as a representative.

"I see. I understand that you really mean it's okay to call you anything. Then this old man will call the guest Sir Yuder. After all, a name that has been used for a long time will contain more of that person."

Following him, other people also said what they would call Yuder.

Each had their own reasons, and they were all equally serious.

Only then did Yuder realize something. No one here considered Kishiar's remark as a funny joke. Even the Cavalry, who absolutely trusted and followed Kishiar as their Commander, wasn't to this extent, but they clearly knew that their lord was a person who put meaning into his words, even if they seemed meaningless.

Here, in this place, Kishiar was truly the perfect master of Peletta.

The fact that so many people followed Kishiar to this extent sent a heavy thrill down Yuder's spine.

The meal began after that. Kishiar spoke to Yuder several times in a way that reminded him of the meals at the Imperial Palace. He told him the names of dishes he didn't know and even pushed his own portion, telling him to eat more of some menus. It might have been strange, but none of Peletta's retainers expressed any doubts.

It was fundamentally different from pretending not to see. They quietly observed Kishiar's attitude towards Yuder and politely spoke to Yuder, just like their lord, to the extent that it didn't interfere with the meal.

Denny, the stable master, was younger than expected. As he was said to be a friend of Mick Shuden, he indeed loved alcohol. With a face that had turned pleasantly red from drinking the beer that someone from the brewery in the town had just sent up, he chattered to Yuder about Mick.

"It's truly a tragic thing for someone who loves alcohol so much to have a constitution that gets drunk easily. Well, it's the same as him loving monsters so much while having the skill level that makes it difficult for him to handle a single monster."

"I received great help from him in the West and South."

"Ah! I also heard a bit about what happened in the West. Actually, Mick originally often showed an impudent attitude, saying His Grace needed someone who treated him like himself, but after meeting you, Sir Yuder, he changed his mind about something and started acting more politely than before."

Was that so? It was a bit difficult to notice and empathize with the change in someone he had only met twice.

"I've been curious about you since then, Sir Yuder, so I'm glad to meet you in person. Haha."

Welliven, the captain of the Peletta Knights, was a large-framed old man. In Yuder's view, his skill level was definitely not at the level of a swordmaster, but Nathan Zuckerman, who was sitting next to him, treated Welliven with great respect.

'Well. There can't be any more hidden swordmasters. Not all positions are determined solely by skill.'

When the story of Yuder and Meghna's swordsmanship duel in the South came up as a topic, Welliven showed great curiosity and even made a request for Yuder to have a match with the knights once during his stay in Peletta. Despite his rough appearance, he seemed to be someone with a lot of curiosity and rich emotions.

The person Yuder found most unexpected was Shusainer, the chef and the one in charge of educating the retainers. The stylish old man who had said earlier that he would call Yuder "Sir Yuder" turned out to be him. It was said that he had an artificial leg and had come from the capital with Kishiar.

"I used to work in the Imperial Palace too. I had the misfortune of losing a leg while coming here, but it doesn't bother me at all in living. Even if you ask me to go back to the past and go to Peletta again, I would do it a hundred or a thousand times. Hellem finds it absurd when I say this... Ah, you know who Hellem is, right?"

"Yes. Of course, I do. She's been a great help to the Cavalry."

"Haha. If it weren't for her magic and His Grace's sword, I would have already become crow food without being able to come to Peletta. They are the saviors of my life."

At first glance, it sounds like a heartwarming old story with a happy ending, but Yuder, who had buried dozens of assassins on the way here, easily realized the underlying meaning.

'It means he almost died at the hands of the assassins they encountered when Kishiar first became the Duke of Peletta and came here.'

He had thought there might have been such people. But it made his thoughts quite complicated when it became a reality and appeared before his eyes.

It might have been more so because Kishiar was smiling as usual and familiarly agreeing with Shusainer's words.

Seeing the evidence of the countless hours it took for that man to become like that left a bitter taste in his mouth. But on the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a welcome sweetness from learning something he didn't know. It was contradictory, but it was always like that with Kishiar, so Yuder swallowed that emotion.

Everything that the Yuder of his previous life had always been curious about without knowing what he wanted to know was living and breathing here. Yuder unfamiliarly savored that emotion, which he had long forgotten because it was so old.

The following meal was plentiful but not flashy or excessive. The variety of dishes was small, but they were sufficiently delicious and felt like a lot of sincerity and thought had been put into making them.

Frugal people who knew how to consider the many people eating together.

It was a much more comfortable and pleasant occasion than the nobles' dining tables, where they were busy mocking or fighting each other while eating and obsessing over fancy food.

Around the time the meal was wrapping up with a dessert made by dipping soft bread in honey, Kishiar turned his gaze towards Yuder for a moment. A gentle affection lingered for a moment between their gazes that met in the air and disappeared. He soon opened his mouth towards the seated retainers.

"Thank you all for welcoming us like this. During my stay in Peletta this time, I plan to really take a good rest for once with the precious guest I invited, thinking that I've come home after a long time. In other words, while I'm here, Yuder Aile will not be my assistant but the one to whom I devote all my heart. I believe you all know what this means."

"..."

"It's because these are the days that have finally come after such a long time. I don't want to miss even a bit. So if you have something to say, please say it to me, not to the guest."