A curse almost slipped out from my mouth, but on reflection, Sir Richard’s anger was only natural.
A knight, after all, was quite literally bound to a family and sworn to protect nobles.
And yet, I’d asked this man to betray his own House.
‘No, I didn’t mean it that way… Besides, the person making the request is the daughter of that noble family…’
Sir Richard’s murderous aura grew even more intense at my lack of immediate response.
His sword was pointed straight at my neck. Enhanced by an Artifact, he could probably lop off my head with a single swing.
‘The third riddle… Duty will become the horn of the dead Susa Deer…’
The price must be hidden in this riddle. I have to solve it. But first, I need to buy time.
“Aigo… Sir Knight. What kind of statement is that? Betray the Ashford Family? I would never make such a request. I am only the messenger. It’s a misunderstanding.”
Even though his killing intent was clear, somehow the terror of death overrode it and my trembling subsided—I began to speak smoothly.
“The truth is, I am a storyteller. My hobby is to read and collect the wise stories of the world. May I tell you a story?”
‘Say anything if it’ll keep me alive.’
Interpreting his silence as agreement, I began.
“There once was a master in an ancient kingdom. Before he left on a journey, he distributed gold coins to his servants. Each of the three servants received 500, 200, and 100 gold coins from the master. The master then departed, embarking on an open-ended journey with no promise of return. The three servants pondered what to do, then acted according to their own thoughts.”
“The servant who received 500 gold coins immediately started a business and doubled his money, earning another 500 gold coins.”
“The servant with 200 gold coins also went into business and made an additional 200 gold coins.”
“But the third servant buried his gold coins in the ground. He did so out of fear of losing his master’s precious money, believing his duty was to keep it safe.”
“One day, the master suddenly returned from his journey. He called his three servants and asked them to bring the gold coins. When the master came back, two servants had done business and doubled their money, presenting him with 1,000 and 400 gold coins, respectively.”
“The master was very pleased, saying, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servants. Because you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.’ Thus, he greatly rewarded the two servants.”
“The last servant, who had received 100 gold coins, brought the money he had buried and said, ‘Master, I know you are upright and honest, and so I have always lived honestly myself. Therefore, I have carefully safeguarded your gold and now return it to you just as it was.’ This servant expected that, since the master was a just man and he had faithfully kept the gold, he would be praised just as much.”
“But the master was angry and said, ‘You lazy servant! It’s true I am an honest man, but don’t you know how hard I worked to earn this gold? If you were only going to keep it safe, I might as well have given it to someone else who could make use of it. With that, the master took the 100 gold coins from the third servant and gave them to the first and second servants as a reward. And he drove the foolish servant out into the wilderness.”
Even after such a long story, Sir Richard remained silent. He wanted me to continue.
“I learned one lesson from this story. That is, one must understand the master’s true intention without twisting it. Why did the master entrust gold coins to his servants? Two understood that they should manage and grow the money, while the third thought his duty was simply to guard it. The servants could not know the master’s intent for sure. But if you misunderstand it, you may bring great misfortune upon yourself.”
‘In short, if you misinterpret the master’s intent and kill me, you could end up paying the price yourself…’
“So, you mean if you misunderstand the intention of the person who entrusted the item, that misunderstanding could come back to haunt you?”
Thank goodness he’s clever—at least we can communicate.
“Yes! That’s right. I—uh, William—am not afraid of dying. What scares me is bringing disgrace to the reputation of the Ashford Baron Family that took in an Outcast like me. Even though my time has been short, I have received the Ashford Baron Family’s grace. I fear that my misunderstanding of the intent may bring disaster upon you, Sir Knight.”
Sir Richard was silent for a moment, then finally spoke again.
“I’ll give you one more chance. This time, answer well.”
“What is it?”
“The third riddle.”
So, he knew all along.
Indeed, all this was a test to see what I would do.
“The third riddle… Duty will become the horn of the dead Susa Deer…”
The Susa Deer’s horn symbolizes the Ashford Family… Duty that has died—surely that refers to the old armor.
Suddenly, like a crow snatching prey, the meaning pieced itself together in my mind.
If I get this wrong, I might lose my head…
“Sir, I understand now. The answer to the third riddle is the Secret of the Ashford Family. ‘Duty will become the horn of the dead Susa Deer’—that is, the Artifact, the Susa Deer’s Horn, is transformed by the Ashford Family. What is it transformed into? I believe the Ashford Family has the ability to create Artifacts. With the Ashford Family’s power, ordinary armor is made into an Artifact weapon. And since you said that not just anyone can enter this place… it must be because this is the Workshop where the Artifact is completed and made into a weapon.”
Sir Richard’s eyes narrowed and then closed again.
Was that the right answer…?
In that instant, something flashed before my eyes.
Shiiing!
With a speed I couldn’t see, something sliced through part of my body.
Don’t tell me… my head’s been cut off?
With trembling hands, I touched my neck. Thankfully, it was still attached.
What had been cut was only part of my bangs. And as if by magic, the killing intent vanished.
“Passed.”
“Pa…Passed?”
The killing aura disappeared, and he returned to his usual squint. I just stood there, frozen.
“You’re pretty clever. If you’d shown yourself as someone who would oppose the Miss, I’d have eliminated you. Good thing we didn’t need any bloodshed. The Miss said that if you weren’t trustworthy, I should just retrieve the item and send you far away… But I’m the kind of servant who buries people in the ground, not gold coins…”
In other words, if he didn’t like me, he’d bury me in the ground regardless of the master’s intent.
His killing intent was gone, but I was still frozen. He held up three fingers toward me.
“You faced a total of three crises. The first was greed. If you’d opened the package or tried to run off with it, you’d have paid the price. When you opened the package earlier, if it had already been opened, your head would’ve rolled. Also, when you met the bandits, you didn’t take another path or try to join them. That was good. Honestly, I thought you’d quit life right then and there…”
Wait a minute… was I being watched?
I thought the Red-Bearded Bandit crew weren’t actually bandits, but now I’m not so sure… not that I want to correct him.
“The second riddle—you solved that too, which was fortunate. Because you solved it well, you found me. If there’s an idiot near the Miss, that’s a bigger problem than someone running away.”
“Lastly, even if you’d given in to my killing intent, the result would’ve been the same. If you’d given up and easily handed over the package, or tried to flee, you know what would’ve happened, right? Someone who runs without completing the Miss’s Mission doesn’t deserve to be near her.”
He made a slicing motion with his sword, as if joking.
‘Not sure that’s really a joke, though…’
I’d thought this was a simple delivery request… turns out it was a life-or-death Test.
“But you were honest, clever, and worked to complete your request even at the risk of your life. And… your final interpretation surprised even me. How did you deduce from just this situation that this is the Workshop where Artifacts are made?”
Anyone can show superhuman insight when their life is on the line.
“The Ashford Family’s ability to make Artifacts… is a secret known only to certain nobles and prominent figures. Frankly, I don’t know why the Miss chose to go through all this trouble when she has someone as competent as me… But a test must be fair. You’ve passed.”
At his words, I froze, unsure how to respond.
As I stood there, I saw his eyes slowly widening again. It felt like his killing aura might return…
I had to stop that.
“I… I mean! Of course, it’s Frana Bella, Miss herself! I’m just amazed. Thank you for trusting a foolish nobody like me and even giving me this Test! Honestly, I still don’t know what’s what, but I’m just glad it all worked out. Haha.”
I forced a laugh. My eyes probably didn’t look like they were smiling at all…
A first-rate person laughs even in hard times, damn it.
“I’m telling you this because I want you to remember, whenever you carry out the Miss’s tasks, that I’m always watching.
And, I trust you won’t go running to the Miss to tattle on me or create any misunderstandings between us.”
“Yes! Of course. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Returning to his gentle, smiling self, Sir Richard took a swig of Beer.
“Well, you passed the Test, so let’s go back to the Miss.”
“Right now?”
“Can’t I have just one more sip of Beer before we leave?”
If I’m going to die, I’d at least like to wet my throat first. But it seems I’ve passed the Test.
I really did take just one sip, then set out for Ashford Castle with Sir Richard.
***
‘I almost died before even getting a Startup going.’
I’m glad I passed the Test, but… I can’t say I feel great about it.
Just what kind of Mission is she planning to give me, to go this far?
As a prospective Startup founder, I accepted the Mission from the Miss to raise capital, but it seems to involve a lot more risk than I thought.
I’ll have to hear her out and consider turning it down. But… haven’t I learned too many secrets already?
Judging from what Sir Richard said, the fact that the Ashford Family can create Artifacts is a secret, but apparently many nobles already know.
I do wonder why she needed to test me in such a roundabout way.
While I was pondering this, the Noble Carriage Sir Richard called for arrived.
‘So this is a Noble Carriage…’
The elegant carriage bore the Ashford Family’s crest—a Susa Deer.
It’s my first time riding a carriage. Do I get in with my shoes on, or should I take them off…?
He’s not going to start radiating killing intent if I board with my shoes on, is he?
As I hesitated, Sir Richard gestured for me to get in.
You wear your shoes on an airplane, so surely a carriage is the same…
After some thought, I boarded with my shoes on, and the carriage set off.
After a while, Sir Richard asked about something from the story I’d told earlier.
“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about. That story about the servants—you only talked about the ones who succeeded… What if the servant with 500 or 200 gold coins had gone into business and lost all the money, instead of doubling it? Business can fail, after all.”
‘I hadn’t thought of that… What would happen then…?’