Translator: CinderTL
Thwack!
Roland thrust his sword into Sam's chest, confirming his death before collapsing heavily to the ground.
As the adrenaline faded, his legs grew weak.
Huff.
Gasping for breath, Roland ran his fingers over the dent in the iron plate protecting his chest, a wave of lingering fear washing over him.
Without this crude breastplate to block the blow, Sam's dagger would have pierced his heart long before his sword could reach the man's throat.
Thank goodness my basic swordsmanship is maxed out, and I managed to wound his arm while he was locked in combat with Sean. Otherwise...
Recalling the life-or-death clash, Roland gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet.
I still lack practical combat experience. Otherwise, I should have been able to react to his desperate final strike.
"Roland!"
Turning toward the sound, Roland saw Sean stumbling toward him.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Roland replied, shaking his head slowly. "What about you?"
"What could possibly happen to me?" Sean's eyes frantically scanned Roland's body, only relaxing slightly when he confirmed every inch of skin was unharmed.
Before he could fully exhale, Sean's peripheral vision caught sight of the stiffening corpse on the ground.
"H-he's dead?"
"Unless something unexpected happened."
Unlike Sean, who was pale and visibly shaken, Roland struggled to maintain his composure. He forced himself to ignore the acrid stench of blood as he knelt beside Sam's body and began searching through his belongings.
"What are you looking for?" Sean asked, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously as his voice trembled.
"He said he was hired to come here," Roland replied without looking up. "I need to see if I can find any clues."
Though Roland was already convinced that Marco was the mastermind behind this, concrete evidence would be crucial. Given Hawk's strict adherence to separating public and private matters, such proof would undoubtedly lead to Marco's expulsion from the estate.
With this thought in mind, Roland quickened his search while glancing up. "Sean, go keep watch outside. If anyone approaches, warn me immediately."
"Understood!" Sean took a deep breath to steady himself, gripped his iron sword tightly, and strode out of the room.
"This is..."
Staring at the portrait of himself on the paper, Roland frowned deeply and tore it to shreds without hesitation.
Next, a heavy, coarse cloth money pouch caught his attention.
The moment he opened the pouch, Roland's pupils constricted sharply.
"One, two, three..."
He counted softly, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.
"A full eight silver coins!"
This was an enormous sum of money!
He barely had a dozen copper coins to his name.
After taking a deep breath, Roland set the pouch aside and continued searching.
A moment later, he slowly shook his head.
"They're more cautious than I thought. They haven't left a single clue."
Seeing Roland stop searching, Sean hurried over and asked in a low voice, "Did you find anything?"
Roland shook his head, his brow furrowed. "No direct evidence, but aside from Marco, I can't think of anyone else who would want to harm me."
"That son of a bitch!" Sean roared, his iron sword clanging as he drew it. He turned to charge out.
"Stop!" Roland grabbed Sean's arm. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To kill that bastard!" Sean's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his sword-gripping hand. "He dared hire assassins to kill you!"
"Calm down, Sean!" Roland pressed down hard on his friend's trembling shoulders. "Even if you kill Marco, what then?"
"Think about Uncle Gary. Do you want him to live the rest of his life under the stigma of being the father of a murderer?"
Sean froze, the tip of his sword slowly lowering, though the fury in his eyes remained undiminished.
"Are we just going to let him get away with this? What if he tries again? Maybe I shouldn't join the army after all. I'll come back to the manor and protect you."
His calloused fingers tightened around the sword hilt, knuckles white. "If I fail the assessment, I'll just go back and inherit my father's butcher shop."
"There's no need for that, Sean," Roland said, meeting his friend's gaze directly. "Marco's family is powerful. If they're determined to kill me, you won't be able to protect me. You'll only risk your own life."
"But if you join the army, distinguish yourself among the soldiers, and earn Lord Beckham's favor... heh"
At this point, Roland chuckled softly.
"Even though his father is a renowned blacksmith in the Blackwater Territory, he wouldn't dare offend a knight, let alone a knight's trusted confidant."
Seeing Sean still hesitating, Roland suddenly smirked.
"What's wrong? Don't you have faith in yourself?"
"Of course not!" Sean retorted hastily, his rough fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of his sword. After a moment, he reluctantly acknowledged reality.
"Alright, buddy, maybe you're right."
"That's the spirit," Roland said, patting Sean on the shoulder reassuringly. "Besides, you said yourself that Marco wouldn't dare act recklessly at the manor."
"So what do we do now?"
"Let's bury the body first. And remember, don't tell anyone about this, understand?"
"Of course."
Following the principle of making the most of every resource, Roland swiftly stripped the worn leather armor from Sam's body. He and Sean then worked together to bury the corpse in the freshly dug pit.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Roland pulled out the heavy coin pouch from his tunic.
"Eight silver coins."
He shook the coin pouch, the silver coins clinking crisply against each other.
"We'll split it evenly."
Sean's pupils constricted slightly at the sound of the coins, but he eventually turned away, muttering, "You killed him. I..."
He kicked at a clod of dirt. "I even lost my sword."
Seeing his stubborn friend's stiff neck, Roland sighed and instead shoved the leather armor and dagger into Sean's arms.
"Then take these. They're useless in the manor."
Faced with Roland's unwavering gaze, Sean stopped resisting and began putting on the leather armor.
Just then, he let out a puzzled grunt and reached into the armor's lining.
"What's this? Roland!"
Hearing the call, Roland, who was checking the area for any oversights, turned to look.
Sean was pulling a yellowed parchment scroll from the armor's hidden compartment, its edges stained with dark brown blood.
"Uh... this..."
Sean scratched his head, awkwardly handing over the yellowed parchment.
"Roland, you should take a look. I can't read all the words."
Roland frowned slightly as he took the seemingly ancient parchment.
The parchment was yellowed and wrinkled, its ink faded almost beyond recognition.
He had to squint and lean closer to decipher the blurred script.
Time passed in silence.
Roland's brow furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the parchment's edges.
Finally, he spoke hesitantly.
"This seems to be... a recipe for some kind of potion?"
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner:
If you are enjoying this story, you will absolutely love [System's Limit]. A lot of free chapters available on the site.
🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE