The Biography of Albrecht - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Translator: Nezu

Editor: Daed

“I brought the gemstones to Rutger the next day after we met him. He brought an appraiser and got the gemstones checked one by one. When I asked how much they would pay me, they told me that they could only give me 10 gold coins. It was suspicious, but since I wanted to pay my debts to you as soon as possible, I went down the second floor to go to your room. Then some big guys blocked off the way and told me that I wasn’t allowed to pass. I tried to call out to you, but you didn’t answer.”

Albrecht’s room was strangely soundproof. He was able to hear when people talk to him right in front of his room’s door; however, a few distance away from that and he was clueless about what was happening outside. Not to mention that Albrecht and Diego’s room were on opposite sides of the corridor.

Albrecht told him that he really didn’t hear anything.

Diego nodded and continued his story.

“At first, I really became worried about you. Funny, right? I can’t believe I even worried when you’re so strong. But I really did, so I kept trying to meet up with you. Then one day, Rutger called me.”

Rutger took Diego down to the basement of the Wolf’s Den. He led him to some underground stone chamber. The word ‘shocking’ was not even enough to describe the scene that he saw there.

Along the room’s walls was a long line of people strangled by their own entrails. Men, women and children all died with their eyes and mouth wide open, and their tongues pulled out. There were also people on display who had been killed in various strange ways.

Diego could barely hold himself from peeing his pants then because of the shock he felt from seeing such a scene.

Rutger told him, with a creepy expression on his face, “Shut your damn mouth and just quietly trade the gemstones to us. Don’t you dare tell the knight about this or else you’ll never get to die peacefully even if you beg me to kill you. I hate killing people quickly, you see.”

Then Rutger took the gemstones from him. He told Diego that he would keep the gemstones for now and pay for it later. It was ridiculous. Diego saw through Rutger’s thoughts and realized that he wanted to take the gemstones and Albrecht for himself.

Diego was practically imprisoned on the second floor. He was stuck there to show that he was fine if Albrecht ever decided to visit him. But he didn’t.

Diego was more concerned about what really happened to Albrecht than being angry at him. Eventually the security became lax. During that time, Rutger took Albrecht to attack the Great Families.

Then a person who came to his room told Diego that he would help him. Of course, he was surprised and confused at first. He didn’t know if he should follow the man or if it was just one of Rutger’s traps.

When the man gave him Ernst’s sword, he decided to follow him. He also brought the girls with him out of the Wolf’s Den.

If it was him from the past, it was possible that his greed for the gemstones would cloud his judgment. But that time, Diego prioritized the girls and Albrecht’s safety over the gemstones. He escaped the Wolf Den’s without any regrets that he had left the gemstones.

They hadn’t encountered any troubles while escaping. No one inside the Den really knew him except Rutger and some other members so they escaped safely. The man who saved him was a member of the Baldevick family.

The Baldevicks operated a wheat farm outside the city of Roybeck. They also had a herring fishing business that they used to support the city and trade with other cities.

The current head of the Baldevick family, Georg von Baldevick, told Diego that he would protect him.

When Albrecht began his attack on the Great Families, they decided to investigate his background. That was when they learned of Diego’s existence.

“Do you trust that guy, Georg?” Albrecht asked.

Diego replied with a smile, “There’s nothing more stupid than trusting a merchant. But it’s much better than trusting the Thief Guild.”

“Yeah. I know, right. Haha,” Albrecht laughed awkwardly.

“Anyway, since then, I’ve heard that you started killing the mercenaries that the Great Families hired. I know it’s impossible for you to become Rutger’s underling so I was worried about what happened.”

Albrecht felt ashamed. He didn’t kill those mercenaries for any particular reason. He wasn’t threatened or anything. The thing was he was never worried about what happened to Diego even though the guy was so worried about him. He had finished everything he had promised to Diego anyway.

He wouldn’t feel any guilt at all if his relationship with Diego was just that of an employer; but they were friends. He shouldn’t have left them alone in that shitty Wolf’s Den then act like he knew nothing.

“So what really happened to you? I know you won’t work for a guy like Rutger no matter how much he paid you.”

Albrecht remained silent with his head down. He was in desperate need of an answer. Everyone looked at Albrecht and worried that something might have happened to him. Even though he didn’t feel like telling them, he started mumbling.

“Well, I… There’s this girl named Elisa…”

Albrecht explained what happened starting from the time he met Elisa. Diego laughed loudly when he heard the whole story.

“Haha! Amigo! Of course, 15 year olds are capable enough to do that!”

Albrecht felt relieved at Diego’s unexpected cheerful response. But on the other hand, Elena stared at him with her eyes wide open.

Martina asked, “So, that Elisa… Is she really that pretty?”

“Yeah…”

She feigned a laugh at his answer.

Soon, the group talked happily after being reunited. Albrecht’s sullen expression from earlier quickly disappeared.

Diego and the women looked like they had been living well. They looked healthy which showed the real beauty of southerners. Even their inner being seemed brighter. Everyone was busy chattering.

Later, they talked about their future plans.

Diego said, “When spring comes, I’ll go take a boat to Lucrezia. I’m thinking of starting a business again. Then, once I earn money, I plan to go back to my hometown, Vivar, and settle down. What about you, Albrecht?”

“I…”

Albrecht fiddled with the pendant. He planned to go to Penbacht and deliver the pendant to Eric’s mother. After that? He’d never thought about what to do next.

“Tell me about Anglia. Do they really have a pretty queen?”

The women jeered at Albrecht’s words. Diego answered with a smile, “Haha. I don’t know how pretty that Elisa you mentioned is, but I’m sure she’s no match for the queen of Anglia.”

Albrecht thought that Diego was exaggerating because he had never seen Elisa before.

“Anyway, I’ll go to Penbacht first. After that, maybe I’ll go to the Eastern Continent or to Anglia. I have no idea where to go next; I just want to go far, far away.”

Half of the day was filled with endless conversation. Eventually, their words dwindled and the atmosphere winded down.

Albrecht said with a slightly melancholic expression, “I’ll have to go back first since Elisa’s waiting for me. I’m not Rutger’s underling. I no longer plan to listen to him, nor to her. Even if I end our relationship now,  I want to at least say goodbye to her.”

Everyone had a serene expression on their faces as they listened to Albrecht.

Diego nodded and told him, “I just want you to be safe.”

The two stood up and hugged. Albrecht also hugged Elena, Martina, and Anna. He had a hard time dragging his feet away from the room.

A servant of the mansion pulled his horse from the stable and handed the reins to Albrecht.

Once he climbed onto his horse, he announced, “I’m off. See you soon.”

Diego nodded and shaked the other person’s hand.

Albrecht left the mansion and headed back to Wolf’s Den. He passed through a road where market stalls were placed and people did their business. But no one could be seen because people were afraid of Albrecht.

He didn’t see a problem with how all these people stayed away from him, but somehow, he felt something was strange. He didn’t know exactly why.

He tried to ignore this feeling when he suddenly thought that maybe it was just his sentimental thoughts since he was about to say goodbye to Elisa.

He looked at a stall selling flowers.

‘It might be a bit cliché but I’ll go buy one.’

Albrecht dismounted his horse and stood in front of the stall with the reins in his hand.

“Could you please tell me about them? I want to buy one.”

For some reason, he wanted to listen to the flower language and know what their meanings were. The flower vendor hesitated for a little before they began to explain the meaning behind each flower.

Suddenly, Albrecht felt like someone bumped into his back. When he looked back, he saw a kid running away and turning into a corner.

‘Uh?’

He saw a dagger stuck in his lower back. Then, he sensed a knife moving closer to his abdomen. This time, he reacted fast and grabbed the opponent’s wrist. It was the flower vendor. The man was trembling with extreme fear.

Albrecht headbutted him, which caused the vendor to fall flat on his face.

He looked around and was dumbfounded at what he saw. Adults, children, elders, merchants, beggars, rich people, and all the citizens each held a dagger and rushed towards him.

His horse jumped up in surprise. With no time to calm down, Albrecht took Siegfried’s Thunder Axe and swept it sideways. In an instant, five to six people were horribly cut down and fell to the ground.

But what was even more astounding was that even though the people around were all afraid, they rushed persistently towards Albrecht as if it was their wish to stab their daggers at him.

Albrecht was stabbed all over his body by daggers .

He hurriedly pulled out his sword and swung it around with both hands. Dozens of people were slaughtered. This time, the people remaining hesitated a little to continue, but then they began to approach him again.

Many more people came out of the alley.

Am I having a nightmare?

Only a few daggers pierced the horse since their main target was Albrecht. The well-trained military horse ran around wildly but it didn’t run away from its owner. Albrecht quickly climbed up on the horse and let it gallop around violently. Dozens of people were killed and fatally injured.

Screams of people, who have not yet died and instead gained serious injuries like severed arms or waists, filled the market road.

Once the situation had developed up to this point, no one dared to come close to Albrecht anymore. But whenever they had the chance, they tried to run and strike him again with a dagger.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy. He thought maybe the daggers were poisoned. His heart jumped. Albrecht quickly drove his horse to flee from the scene.

‘Am I going to die stupidly like this? But who planned this? Rutger? Georg? Another leader of the Great Families? Or is it Diego?’

He needed to get treated quickly but he didn’t know where to go. Albrecht thoughtlessly turned to head back to where Diego was.

If Diego planned this, he’s dead. 

He thought that he only had himself to blame for his own misjudgment.