Chapter 157: A Responsible Person (3)

Two days passed, and during those past two days, Lloyd halted all his operations after taking Countess Frontera’s advice for periodic breaks. Thanks to that, everyone sweating heavily in the field relaxed to their hearts’ content and appeased their spirits troubled by the recent accident.

“Since we have rested up, we will be resuming the operation starting today,” said Lloyd.

“Are you sure it is fine?” asked the count.

“Well, yes,” replied Lloyd at Count Frontera, who was having breakfast. “The past two days gave everyone enough time to rest.”

“Except you,” said the count with a worried look on his face.

“I’m always like this.”

Lloyd smiled brightly and picked up some salad with his fork. The past two days were a break for the workers, indeed. But it wasn’t for him.

“After all, people died.”

The undead Mastodons ruckus killed six knights of the White Cavalry who gave their lives away to ensure everyone else could evacuate. They bravely formed a defense line against hundreds of monsters and sacrificed their lives. As such, Lloyd held a formal funeral ceremony for those brave souls, but he didn’t bury them here. He instead collected their tattered remains, cremated them with care, and contained them in silver-studded jars. Afterward, Lloyd gave 30 knights of the White Cavalry a special leave and had them transfer the jars to the capital, along with a sincere letter of comfort and compensation.

The letter said that your beloved deceased was a man of valor who chose honor and gave his life to save others. It seemed like a platitude thing to say, but nothing else came to Lloyd’s mind for the bereaving families. And besides, Lloyd was feeling those words in his heart. He came to revere the deceased. So, he went further and sent another letter, this time to the queen, detailing their accomplishments and courage in their last moments and the honorable death they chose. Lloyd wrote as flowery as he could, thinking his eloquence would prompt the queen to take more care of the widows and children. Afterward, he visited Corgidus’s studio and requested the dwarf to build a memorial stone that engraved the six knights. He did the best he could for them. Why? The reason was simple.

They deserved that kind of treatment, after all.

They had sacrificed their lives to protect the people of this fiefdom, so it was only obvious that Lloyd should be grateful to them. And his gratitude brought about a visit from an unexpected figure.

Sir Blanc visited me last night.

Just then, he recalled what had happened the previous night. It was around the time Lloyd came back after putting Javier to sleep. He found Sir Blanc hovering around the manor courtyard, and upon coming up to him, Sir Blanc said that he had been waiting for Lloyd.

“Thank you.”

He first thanked Lloyd.

“You see, death is common for us. And as we stomp through the battlefields and wars, death is our friend, a daily occurrence. Maybe that is why I became slightly insensitive to losing my men.”

Sir Blanc, standing beneath the faint light of the crescent moon, had watery eyes.

“So I was very surprised. I had never expected your family to formally bid farewell to my knights. So, thank you. They will be joyful that their death wasn’t for nothing.”

“Oh, I simply did what I had to-”

“Nobody has done this until this moment.”

Lloyd was silent.

“It was the same for the royalty. Of course, we are loyal to them. But not even once did the royal family ever mention the subject of proper burial and compensation for the deceased soldiers. So, at times, I could not erase the feeling that we are a formality, a small but special commodity and nothing else.”

Sir Blanc continued to speak.

“Therefore, I thank you. Thank you for not taking my men’s death for granted. Thank you for respecting our honor.”

At that moment… a new message appeared.

[Sir Blanc has opened up to you.]

[Sir Valeradi Blanc, the commander of the White Cavalry, is deeply touched by your noble character.]

[He has decided to sincerely follow you as an honorable knight while being loyal to the royal family.]

[He secretly wishes to be bound to your command.]

[From now on, you can increase likeability and earn RP from him.]

[50 RP has been rewarded for forming a new connection with another human.]

[Current RP: 3,290]

[Your likeability with Valeradi Blanc has increased by 5 points.]

[Current RP with Valeradi Blanc: +52]

[You have earned 45 RP by improving your relationship with a character.]

[Current RP: 3,335]

Dang.

Lloyd sucked in his breath. What he received from Sir Blanc was an indirect and secret pledge of allegiance. He felt guilty and happy at the same time.

It would be problematic if the queen found out about this.

Sir Blanc worked for the royal family, yes, but here he was, promising allegiance to someone else. Lloyd quickly smiled and encouraged the knight commander.

“I understand you, Sir Blanc. It is truly unfortunate and sad that you lost your men. I am sure Her Majesty feels the same way as I do.”

Lloyd had mentioned Her Majesty on purpose, and it was only then that Sir Blanc looked like he had made a mistake. But his facial expression was removed after a second, and he bowed without a word and left. Lloyd was recollecting the event of the previous night when he heard someone call him.

“Master Lloyd… I have something to show you.”

“Huh?”

A voice interrupted Lloyd’s trance. He turned to the sound.

“Sir Bayern?”

Sir Bayern was in the dining room.

“What brings you here in the morning, Sir Bayern?” asked the count.

“As I said a while ago, I came to show you something. It’s this.”

Sir Bayern spoke and placed something on the table. It was a freshly cut head of a goat. But something was stuck in its forehead. It was a half-burned and ripped embroidery of the symbol of surrender.

“I have been conducting a search around the premises during the two days of rest, Your Excellency and young master,” said Sir Bayern. “It was done autonomously along with some men from the White Cavalry. And we found this late last night.”

“Late last night?” asked the count.

Sir Bayern nodded.

“Yes, Your Excellency. A member of the White Cavalry found it buried near the hole where we came across the undead Mastodons. We thought of reporting to you immediately, but we came here early in the morning since it was too late at night.”

“Hmm.”

The count observed the embroidery symbol and said, “A grim reaper with the head and wings of a black dragon. How strange. I have never seen it before.”

“Yes, Your Excellency,” agreed Sir Bayern. “I have never seen it before either. But judging from where it was buried and the goat’s head, I would guess that it is a talisman tied to an undead-preservation magic circle.”

“It probably is. After all, a magical device would have been necessary to preserve the legion of undead Mastodons underneath.”

The count and Sir Bayern held a rich discussion about the symbol. It was their first time seeing such a symbol, so they put their heads together about its origin and the rumors surrounding it. As for Lloyd, he lost all appetite at the sight of it. But it wasn’t because he saw the goat head during breakfast. Sure, it was a grotesque thing to behold, but he had a strong stomach. There was another reason why he lost it. That symbol of a grim reaper with a black dragon’s head and wings was familiar to his eyes.

That… appears in the novel.

He remembered it, but where? In the novel, particularly in the new flag the queen adapted. It was the symbol of the flag that fluttered at the top of the royal palace.

Queen Magentano chose it as the new symbol of royalty after she lost one arm and turned into a tyrant. That is after she takes up advice from one of her people. That must have been when her tyranny and terrorizing reign began.

It was the beginning of the dark age. So, this dragon head grim reaper symbol was synonymous with tyranny and the dark age.

But what’s it doing here?

Lloyd swallowed absentmindedly, and for a second, a scary thought crossed his mind. He wondered if Queen Magentano was behind the recent incident. He immediately shook his head.

No, it’s not that.

There was no way. What would she get by harming his fiefdom? It didn’t seem right. There was absolutely nothing she could gain from it.

I think it’d be more sensical to think that the one who proposed the symbol to the tyrant queen in the novel has something to do with this event.

The chances of that were more likely. The queen in this world didn’t lose an arm or turn into a draconian ruler. Even if Lloyd rushed to the palace and showed the symbol to her right now, she would only tilt her head and think how funny the symbol looked.

So, it looks more likely that the person in the novel is involved in this… Hm… That’s a pickle.

Lloyd frowned because he couldn’t put his finger on who this figure was in the novel. The reason was simple. The novel didn’t directly mention the person.

Not even a name appeared in the story. The figure was indirectly mentioned in her thoughts or monologues and nowhere else.

Lloyd wondered how they appeared in the story. It seemed likely that the person came up in sentences like, “Queen Magentano recalled the counsel of an advisor she recently hired” or “She looked back to the meeting with the advisor she recently hired.” That was why the online forum on the novel had some readers posting their guesses there. They theorized that this mysterious advisor was a disloyal subject trying to leech off the queen or that the figure was just a nobody. Some postulated that the figure was the true dark secret. But no one got the answer.

The advisor was never revealed, even by the end of part one. And the sequel never got published.

So, that was why this advisor was veiled in secret, only to be surrounded by so many speculations and assumptions. Lloyd was bitter that it had to be this way.

This is the reason why some authors are not good. They don’t have any sense of responsibility, not even a bit.

Lloyd internally cursed the author of the novel, how the author was irresponsible for not finishing the story and foul-tempered for leaving the readers hanging.

But still, it’s great that I know at least this much.

The difference between knowing an enemy and being entirely clueless was the same as the difference between the sky and the land. The knowledge of the enemy, regardless of how vague it was, allowed Lloyd to at least come up with some sort of preparation. He could even think of ways to attain more information in the future. At the very least, it pushed him in the right direction.

The reason Sir Bayern and the others searched the site for several days was to find a hint that will push us in the right direction.

So, for the time being, Lloyd had to rack his brain to find who the culprit was. He was planning to gather clues and have his ear to the ground about what was happening in the palace while doing his other work. Having decided what he needed to do, Lloyd spoke.

“Hmm… Sir Bayern,” Lloyd called.

“Yes?”

“I hope you did not bring this goat head for breakfast.”

“I did not, young master,” said Sir Bayern.

“Then, please remove it from the table,” said Lloyd.

“Oh…” he gaped.

The goat head boasted an amazing sense of presence with its tongue pulled out on the breakfast table. That was only when Sir Bayern realized what he had done. A flustered look appeared on his face. At that moment, a maid entered the room carrying a tray of cookies. She screamed her heart out when she saw the beast’s head, her yelling ringing aloud the whole manor.

“Ackk!!!!!!”

Once that commotion was over, the construction for the sewer resumed.

“Bibeong! Bibeo-beong!”

Bibeong, who recovered after being injured in the explosion, passionately dug the ground. The area for the sludge treatment grew wider. The soldiers, knights of the White Cavalry, and refugee workers alike grabbed their shovels and worked like a dog as though they had never experienced the accident. After one, two, four, and eight days passed, their hard work and sweat actualized in the sludge treatment facility. Lloyd chose to use the gravity thickening method for this sludge treatment facility.

Simply put, it uses the force of gravity to concentrate the sludge to the bottom. It’s much like the pit toilet used in provinces a long time ago. So, the structure is simple. I can also store and reduce sludge at the same time. It doesn’t use any chemicals and is easy to maintain.

Actually, there was another sludge treatment model, but it wasn’t suitable as this world lacked the right technology and equipment for it. He didn’t have any choice, to begin with. Thus, he opted for the sludge thickener type, which was suitable for this place. The sewage and waste would gather in one place through the main sewer and flow into the sludge thickener. Once they were in, the sludge would sink to the bottom, and the remaining liquid and buoy would flow out of the letdown line. And he made a giant wooden lid on the upper side of the sludge treatment facility for Solitas, who was expected to take care of everything inside.

That way, we will be able to treat sludge with magic. Open the lid, and take the sludge out.

Lloyd actually wanted to opt for a more sophisticated method. But he couldn’t do it. There was just no way to operate and manage the sludge hopper or sludge discharge pipe like in the modern era.

So, I should just do what I can.

He went on with the construction, doing what he could. Then, one day, in the middle of the hot summer, something other than the sweltering heat arrived. Letters. Marriage proposal letters from 59 noble families across the kingdom barraged the Frontera family.