When My Enemies Began to Regret

I wish I had shouted out loud, ‘You dropped something!’

At that time, I was still timid, and I couldn’t speak out loud. Eventually, I hesitated and lost sight of the man, so I belatedly picked up something that had fallen on the floor. It was a fragrant bag.

“Uh… How can I give this back to him…”

I looked at the spilled object and was worried for a moment. But after a few seconds, judging by my calm reason, it was concluded that it wouldn’t be difficult to find him.

“Ouch!”

There was a cloak hung on the man’s back as he moved away. How could I not know the pattern on it, as a person of Kingdom Kasius? Obviously, the cloak was worn only by the knights of the Kingdom. I didn’t look closely at his clothes, but it seemed to be a knight’s uniform.

‘Maybe he hadn’t already run out of here.’

Knowing who the owner of the item was, I went back to the party to return it.

‘Obviously, several knights were standing at the entrance to the banquet hall. The man has rare bright red hair, so they will return it to its master if I tell his colleague.’

At that time, I had not lost my gentle personality, even in a desperate situation, so I willingly offered my kindness. And…

“Uh!”

“Ooh?”

In the Rose Tunnel, the last gateway to exit the garden, I just ran into the one I was looking for. Maybe because my pace was slow, I could meet the man who had come back to this place halfway to exit.

“Hello?”

There I met Carl Andras, whom I should have met a few years later. As I had expected, the man with red hair as red as rose and red eyes like blood was dressed in a knight’s uniform.

“Sir, did you come back because you lost something?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right. I shouldn’t run around recklessly just because something urgent happened. When wearing a ceremonial uniform like this, things will quickly fall out if I put anything in the pocket.”

“I happened to be on my way to return it to you…! Here you go.”

After a brief conversation, they wondered if they could achieve each other’s goals.

“Thank you. Huh? Did you have this in your pocket too…?”

“This too?”

“T-The thing I lost isn’t this. It’s much more important.”

But somehow, things got twisted, and the man started to panic.

“What I’m looking for is a jewel necklace for my nephew…”

“Where did you start running? Wouldn’t it be better to look back from your memory?”

“From the annex…”

“You ran from there until you crossed this garden?!”

I opened my mouth wide to his incredible physical abilities, but it was not the time to be shocked. It was because the gentle-looking knight began to cry.

“It’s a big deal. Can I find the necklace before the end of the day? Today is my nephew’s birthday. If I don’t deliver the present on her birthday, my sister will kill me for ignoring her daughter.”

“Calm down, I understand that your sister will be angry, but you’re not really going to die…”

“I’m not kidding. My sister is really capable of doing that!”

Without a moment to be surprised, Carl Andras bowed to me and asked me to help him find the necklace because he was in a difficult position to make a personal request to his fellow colleagues. He explained the details, but my answer was decided.

“It’s an expensive item, so it’s a big deal if someone picks it up. Let’s find it together quickly, Sir knight!”

“!”

I willingly helped Carl. Fortunately, we could find the necklace without difficulty when we looked back on the road he had been running. In a way, it was no big deal. If he had to pay for my kindness, it would be the price for one meal at the most.

“Your name is Vanora Celcius?  Thank you very much. I will never forget it. I will definitely repay this favor by all means!”

I took his words lightly, but I couldn’t ignore the words that followed.

“My name is Carl Andras, the third son of Marquis Andras. So, if you need anything, please send a letter to my family.”

“…?”

What?

While I was surprised by the name I heard to the point I couldn’t open my mouth, the knights in uniform, just like Carl, ran out from afar.

“Sir, you have been here. The commander is…”

“…”

“Is he mad that I’m leaving my post?! I must go right away. Thank you for today!”

So to conclude this story, here’s the thing. The boy, who is playing around with the necklace on the stairs, will become the youngest Vice knights commander who has made incredible achievements in various battles in the future.

“Is that person really him? I only heard that he looked scary like a brown bear.”

Even at that time, there was a big difference between his rumors and real impressions. Perhaps it was because he rarely showed his face except on the battlefield.

* * *

Returning from a brief recollection, I thought for a moment.

‘A person who always repays favors.’

I already confirmed what kind of personality the boy in front of me had in the future. Because he wants to repay the favor for merely finding a necklace in a surprising way.

I had once been framed and imprisoned because of a scheming devised by Haures at the behest of Naverius. Suppose the person in the engagement relationship had committed a criminal offense. In that case, even a weaker family could unilaterally terminate the engagement. I didn’t even get a decent lawyer in prison at that time. Naverius, the only person to come to see me, would also rot in prison if he committed a crime. The guards would torture me every day and scared me that I would never survive even for a year.

‘I have to get married to get out of this house. I should run away sooner than later and earn a living by grazing the grass. Why did I think of my family as a family, why did I spend all the money I saved only to get scammed, why did I meet a bastard like Naverius…’

I was terrified at that time.

I felt at the thought that I would never get out of the prison, so I trembled alone in solitary confinement, then recalling the memory I had forgotten. It was when the third son of the Andreas family told me to send him a letter if I needed something.

‘I don’t know why he did it back then.’

To be honest, it was not a good story. It was just that I only found a necklace for his nephew. If I hadn’t been there, he would have found the necklace. Because it was in an obvious location. Besides, it must be out of courtesy that he said he would return the favor. But it was the only string I could grab at that time.

So I wrote my first letter to him from prison. I pressed down the fact that I was unfairly imprisoned and sent it to him. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to do anything about the situation. I just wanted to complain because I felt so frustrated.

But what was the result?

I was released from prison a few days later.

“…”

It was Carl Andras who paid for my huge bail. His subsequent actions were also bizarre. He requested a retrial of the judgment against my charges. At the trial held shortly afterward, he even sent a lawyer from Marquis Andras.

‘He is the third son who didn’t inherit the title. Even if he obtained a high position in the Knights Templar, he would not have a lot of wealth, as the money he earned from his salary and estate were different… But he paid my bail.’

That’s too much.

At that time, I had lost everything I had, so there was no benefit in helping me, and he would not have even known whether it was true that I had been falsely accused. Nevertheless, he kept his promise to help.

‘After that, a war broke out during the trial, and I never saw him again because he was sent out.’

“Europa… Do you really know the whereabouts of the holy relic Europa? No, how do you… What’s your name? I need to hear your name first. What family are you coming from?”

After a moment’s thought, Carl poured out questions to me.

‘Well, anyway.’

The Holy relic, Europa.

That thing was good as a strong leash to tie this crazy dog. I must be the only person in this world who knows the whereabouts of both the holy relics.

‘Is my life such a mess because I’m lucky on this side?’

I belatedly focused my conversation with Carl.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Vanora from the house of Celcius. And the clue for that holy relic is… Europa’s form is one earring with a bull on it.”

I cherished even the promise he had made to me, so I decided that I would better keep him with a sincere deal. I also knew from my previous life that he wanted to have the holy relic Europa. How could I know that? Because he even published a notice in the newspaper later. He said he could give everything he had to anyone who brought him the holy relic Europa.

Now that I think about it, it was a foolish act. Europa is in charge of ‘time’ among the three holy relics that interfere with the world’s laws and is said to bring eternal life to its owner. Who would sell eternal life for money? Unlike Ganimede and Io, which were owned by the royal family and the pope, only the owners of Europa were historically unclear.

“No ordinary person would know, but I can’t believe you know that…”

“I’ve seen it myself, so I know how it looks.”

“!”

I didn’t know why Carl wanted Europa. But what is certain is that before regressing, he said he wanted this holy relic so much. Thanks to this, in the past, rumors of him had spread in society, and he had been deceived by swindlers who were asking for money because they knew Europa’s information. Standing as the flower of the wall, I overheard Carl always questioning the shape of the holy relic to anyone who came to him to give information about Europa.

“How do you know the shape of Europa?”

“Ah, that’s… I have an old book about holy relics at home. It’s completely different from the holy relic books that sell on the market.”

Did I succeed in passing the first gate?

Carl Andras continued with a flushed face as the conversation progressed.

“Ugh, but do you really think you can give it to me?”

“Do you want that holy relic so much?”

“To be exact, only Europa. I really want that!”

From that look on his face, he seems to have wanted Europa since he was this age. He acted as if he would do anything for Europa. Did he really want to live long?

‘But, considering the family history of Marquis Andras…’

I understood his greed without difficulty. Marquis Andras’s family, to which he belongs, has been used as a spear and shield of the Kingdom for generations. This might be a good explanation, but the problem was the nature of their family.

‘It is reasonable for the Andras family to die at a young age, so it is worth having Europa.’

Their family was a crazy family who regarded combat as the best pleasure of their lives. Perhaps because of their tendency to be too violent, they often made feats. Still, the members of their family were often short-lived.

“If you could change your personality, you could live long without Europa.”

“You know what the blood of the Andras family is… Uh, D-Don’t tell me the condition for receiving Europa is not to fight?”

I was silent for a moment with a pose that didn’t fit my current young age and then brought out the next words.

“It’s not that. I already said before that I need a servant.”

“Dog… right?”

“Yes. There is something I want to ask Carl. You need to help me achieve all of my goals, so when my 18th birthday comes or before that, I will let you have Europa.”

“Aren’t the conditions interesting?”

Carl showed great interest that I went through a simple confirmation process before forming a secret deal with him.