Golden Cross - Chapter 10

.  The Road to Roidenponsk (1)

Contrary to her worries, Eva received a huge welcome from the Blue Force.  The fact that she has fought bravely as a woman and returned safely after having been a prisoner have made her a heroine.  The aristocrats, among the Blue Force, raced to be the first ones to pay their respect.  Myrus Langraf, who had prior relationships with her, volunteered to be her godfather, and she has gladly accepted it.  Having made the major contribution to all of this, Eugene’s situation was changed overnight.  Eugene was knighted as a reward for rescuing the Countess, and capturing the red bearded knight.  Myrus Langraf reported Eugene’s achievement to the grand duke Benfist, and the great duke rewarded him with the knighthood.  Eugene has now become a semi aristocrat.  However, rather than being happy, he was nearly out of his mind.

It was because he has heard the worst news since the war began.

He heard the news that Duke Christopher Markgraf of Eintelhoefel has suffered a great defeat.  Duke Markgraf’s army fought against the contingent force directly led by Duke Betin, and that they have suffered a complete annihilation after five long hours of battle.  The worst of all the news that Eugene heard was that his master Manuel was killed while fighting Duke Betin.  Duke Betin was a well known maestro level swordsman.  As Eugene’s master Manuel was only a provost, it had to have been a very challenging battle for him.  Furthermore, their duel was reported in striking details by the troops who had retreated.  Manuel had been at the border line of being a maestro, so the fight against Duke Betin was an awesome sight to behold.  Everyone on the battle field paid their full attention to the battle, and the countless many troops had witnessed the severing of Manuel’s head.

Eugene was enraged to the point of going mad because he could not believe what they were telling him.  However, as everyone who has escaped from the battle field spoke as a witness to the same ending, he could not help, but accept the reality.  Overwhelmed with despair, he immediately secluded himself, and cried his eyes out under a cover.  He could no longer be able to see his master who also had been like his parent.  He abstained from food and spent the next week like that before finally coming around.

‘Alright.  I can’t stay like this for the sake of my master’s teaching.’

As he regained control of his mind, his brain began to chug along, again.  He could not wait to revenge on Duke Betin for the blood he has shed, and he worked on devising a plan.  Not seeing anyone else, other than Leon who occasionally brought him food, he kept fine tuning his plan.  He was so engulfed by it that he has even ignored Myrus Langraf’s calling.

‘Shit.  Didn’t realize we were advancing toward Essengart.’

Certainly, Eugene’s first priority was to exact revenge on Duke Betin.  However presently, the plan to march toward Ubernile, where Duke Betin was positioned, has been cancelled.  The original plan was to go and rescue Duke Christopher Markgraf, but as his army has been dispersed, the plan was changed.  As a result, the current course of advancement was toward Essengart which was at the complete opposite end.

The grand Duke Benfist, who was the head of the command of the Blue Force, viewed the war from a macroscopic level, and he found a new threat at Essengart.  So, Eugene was deeply agonized over it.

‘If I leave the force here, it will have the effect of breaching my contract and deserting the army.  At the same time, I could not go to Essengart where I have no quarrel in any way, either.’

In his agony, a person came to his mind.  It was none other than Duchess Eva.

‘Wait, although the Danemark has fallen, she was still a Landgraf.  She, too, was a territory lord who could put together an army.’

Having organized his thoughts quickly, Eugene went to see Myrus Landgraf.  As he has been looking for Eugene, the meeting took place rather easily.

“I’ve heard.  You must be devastated because Markgraf’s forces have been annihilated.  I send my condolences to the warriors of the St. Marco’s Brotherhood.

Myrus Landgraf already knew of the situation, so he did not fault Eugene for ignoring his calling.  As a matter of fact, he personally poured wine into Eugene’s glass after seeing that the size of his face has been reduced to a half of the normal size.

“Thank you.  My lord.  However, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Speak.  You’ve done a great job in the last battle, so I’ll make it happen if possible.”

Mryus Landgraf turned serious after seeing the determination on Eugene’s face.

“I’d like to be the chief bodyguard of the duchess Eva.  And I’d like to personally escort her in her return to her territory.”

“Hm.”

Myrus Landgraf fell into a thought for a moment.

“Are you interested in her?”

“I won’t say I do not.”

Having only a lowly knight title, he was ambitiously saying that he wanted to be in the line to win the duchess’ heart.  However, that wasn’t the only reason for Eugene’s motivation.  It was that when the duchess was going to put together an army, he wanted to be nominated to a leadership position.  If he was to demonstrate how trustful he could be during the escorting duty, he was sure that the duchess would notice him and give him a position in her army.  If not that, asking her for an officer position was a possibility, too.  As war was fought as a group, it was not possible to exact revenge on Duke Betin by himself.  Furthermore, Duke Betin was a maestro level swordsman that it wasn’t possible for Eugene to assassinate him, either.

“Why not just stay under me?  It may be difficult now, but at some point in time, you would be able to draw your sword on Betin’s neck.”

However, Myrus Landgraf’s proposal was not attractive to Eugene.  Eugene was looking for much quicker way to attack than the one Myrus offered.  Should he stay under Myrus, there was a high probability that he would serve as a common platoon leader for a long time.  It was that much difficult to get promoted inside his army which was large and filled with traditions.

“I beg you.”

As his request was serious, Myrus Landgraf approved it, at last.

“Alright.  However, it is up to you to win that child’s heart.  Having just become her godfather, it is not in my place to tell her what to do.”

“I understand.”

There seemed to be some kind of small misunderstanding, but Eugene did not care.

“Then I’ll notify that you’ll be in charge of her escort duties.”

“Thank you.  My lord.”

Since that day on, Eugene was able to spend time in close proximity to Eva.  In order to win her trust, Eugene demonstrated upright servitude without any personal interest.  He, too, was drawn to Eva who was beautiful and kind.  And even though Eva was 22, 6 years older than him, they grew closer each day.  They communicated with each other better than expected, and Eva began to depend more on Eugene.  There must definitely be some sort of fate between people.

“Lord, where are you going?”

Leon came close to Eugene as Eugene was going somewhere.  Although they were friends, Leon’s attitude toward Eugene became more formal since Eugene was knighted.  It was uncomfortable for Eugene, but he accepted it as that was the way it was.

“I’m going to Stralsund.”

The captured red bearded knight was kept in the barracks as a prisoner.  However, there was progress in the talks for his life, and it appeared that he would soon be freed.  Stralsund has made a name for himself with his power, but he was also the son of Anhalt, a Markgraf.  As soon as he heard that his son was captured, he sent a large sum of money in exchange for his son’s release.  A part of that money would go to the military, but for capturing Stralsund, Eugene would be a rich man.

“Please come this way.”

Leon led the way pleasantly.

Soon they came to a clean and small tent, and Leon talked to the guard of their business.  Seeing Eugene, the guard opened the tent, so that he could walk in.  The inside was rather empty, and a one small bed and a temporary furnace were everything there were.

“You’ve come.”

Stralsund had the servant girl to bring a chair, and asked Eugene to sit.

“You’ve even got a servant girl?  Must be nice to be a son of Markgraf.”

“She was quickly sent from my family.  My chest was cut open by some bastard, you know.”

Stralsund’s eyes exhibited murderous ambience.  His defeat to Eugene has left more than a physical scar.  He rose to a provost at the age of 24, and he has been victorious all this time.  But then, his pride has been beaten down to the ground by the 16 year old Eugene.

“Avenge it next time.  Of course, I would not let you walk all over me though.”

Eugene also showed intensity in his eyes.  Although, he hasn’t been living for a long time yet, he has spent all his time as a swordsman, too.  He neither feared, nor dodged such challenge.  The energies of the two collided inside the tent, and the servant girl fell back as she was scared.  Leon who was standing at the back was also sweating with nervousness, so how big of a shock would it have been to the servant girl.  Stralsund ultimately broke out into laughter after putting away his belligerent spirit.

“Hahaha!  Your intensity is certainly great.  This child is in shock, so stop now.”

“Alright.  So why did you call for me?

“I want to challenge you to a duel.  I haven’t been able to sleep peacefully since the defeat.”

“However, you’re in no condition to do so?”

Stralsund was not doing well, at all, at the moment.  In fact, the injury that he has suffered on his chest was difficult even for a maestro to endure, let alone a provost.

“Of course, I’m not saying right now.  And I do not look for a small victory.”

“Then when is the right time?”

“When both you, and I become maestros.  At that time, you will be able to wield all the powers of the Brotherhood, and I would be able to wield all the powers of the 8 Swordsmen’s Order.”

“Maestro, you mean.”

That was the top level which not everyone gets to reach.  However, sufficient possibilities might exist for someone like Stralsund and Eugene.

“Right.  If we fight with all the powers at the maestro levels, I would be fully accepting and satisfied of the outcome, win or lose.”

It was an attractive proposal. As far as Eugene was concerned, he was a swordsman.  Such competitiveness invoking event was one of the things that brought thrills for him.

On top of that, as the maestros were reluctant to battle each other, it would be one of the rare occasions that they would be able to fight.  None the less, if someone like Stralsund, a highly regarded person, was suggesting such an event, it was something that Eugene was truly looking forward to, as well.  Of course, the price could be losing his life, but then that was the way of the swordsmen.  Eugene has been taught to never fear for such things ever since he was a little child.

“Good.  I’m looking forward to it.”

As Eugene nodded, Stralsund laughed with satisfaction.  It was truly like a red wolf which was starving for blood.

“I am confident that I would become a maestro within a few years.  Do not let me wait too long, Eugene.”

However, Eugene, too, had the attitude of a lion.

“Just don’t lose to some other bastard, in the mean time.  If that was to happen, I would feel so deflated.”

“How about learning to be more humble, knowing that you’ve only got a few years of life left?”

“Ha!  Next time, I’ll break your skull, rather than your chest.”

They were talking in murderous terms, but for some reason, Leon thought that they were strangely connecting with each other.  It was only that he felt sorry for the servant girl who was just crying, having lost the opportunity to fill their tea cups.