Chapter 57
The Crimson Heroine
A few days later.
Having finally finished his preparations, I boarded the train heading to Rezantin City, leaving the Kellogg mansion behind.
Irena, who had now beco both a hostage and a disciple, ca along with .
Thanks to her breaking out of her shell much faster than I had expected, I was able to solidify my decision to head for Rezantin City.
Even Spring Parsley, after hearing my explanation about Irena, agreed that I had a chance of surviving in case sothing went wrong.
“I’ll put your luggage up.”
“Oh, thanks.”
When we reached our compartnt, I took Irena’s bags and stowed them in the luggage rack inside the cabin.
“Rezantin City. It’s famous for its water quality.”
“Are you going there to have fun?”
Irena asked in response to my comnt. The phrase “good water” could be interpreted in many ways, but this ti, it could be taken literally.
“The water’s so clean, they produce a lot of good liquor.”
“Oh, that’s what you ant? Right. That’s why the commander liked it a lot. He’s crazy about Heilan.”
I let out a thoughtful hum. It’s a liquor made from distilled corn, aged for exactly one year in a charred oak barrel.
It’s produced in Rezantin.
“Considering his status, he’s surprisingly down-to-earth.”
Heilan was known for being quite inexpensive. Of course, it’s nothing like pruno, which could barely be called alcohol.
“The commander’s favorite is the Red Label.”
“Oh, the one with added molasses.”
Irena nodded at my words.
“No need to guess. If he’s not on the battlefield, he’s always drunk. And now he’s stationed in the city where his favorite booze is made.”
He was probably living a life drowned in alcohol. Naturally, drinking every day would weaken a person, but...
Knight captains weren’t the type to be weakened just because they drank a bit.
“Anyway, what are we going to Rezantin City for? I assu it’s not for sightseeing.”
“To handle sothing your father asked to do.”
Rezantin City had a cri rate that was practically zero. It wasn’t the kind of place where cri could easily happen. It was practically a sterile room.
And yet, I was planning to rob a museum there that stood dangerously close to a military facility—right in a city with a cri rate nearing absolute zero.
“Oh-ho, so it’s like you’re a fixer or sothing? Like one of those protagonists from cheap novels they sell at train stations.”
I clicked my tongue.
“What, did you lose a cat or sothing?”
Irena grinned at my words.
“Could you find it for ?”
“I wouldn’t stop at finding a cat. As long as the price’s right, I’d even clean your whole mansion.”
She burst out laughing, probably imagining sothing weird from what I said.
“Without using any tools, just your tongue?”
“If you’re going to make clean under that condition, there’s a surcharge. Better prepare plenty of money.”
After saying that, I scratched the back of my head and spoke.
“Still, would the captain of the Scarlet Leaf Order really offer you a place to train under her supervision?”
In response to my question, Irena nodded.
“If the captain judges that you’re worthy enough to teach .”
I let out a short laugh at her words.
“That sounds pretty damn threatening.”
Dana Watson was better kept close and watched. She posed the greatest threat in this museum job.
The scary ones, after all, were best kept nearby and under constant observation.
“If you’re too scared, then just say you wanted to greet the captain. Then try your best to win her over from there.”
“As if that would work.”
I replied with a look of disbelief. At that, Irena rested her chin on her hand and scanned from head to toe as if admiring a display.
“When you et the captain, don’t get too intimidated. Stay confident. Then she’ll toss you her bedroom key without hesitation. You’re good-looking enough to pass.”
“Wow, how exciting.”
I let out a half-hearted cheer, pulled the curtain over the window, and covered my face with my hat.
“…”
With her arms crossed for a mont, Irena looked at as if disapproving of my behavior, then drew her sword and began tending to it.
She wiped it down with oiled paper, then rubbed the blade with a cloth soaked in mineral oil specially made for sword maintenance.
The upkeep lasted about twenty minutes.
“You don’t need to maintain battle gear like that.”
I’d dozed off, but upon waking and seeing Irena tending to her sword, I made the comnt.
“This isn’t about maintaining the blade.”
It was about steadying her mind. What she was wiping wasn’t just the blade—it was her own resolve. What she was sharpening wasn’t the edge—it was her will.
She was oiling it to keep her determination from rusting. It wasn’t the action itself, but the thought provoked by the act that mattered.
“That so.”
I replied and pressed the bell in the cabin. After a short wait, a train attendant knocked on the door.
“Is there anything I can assist you with?”
“A cup of coffee.”
The attendant bowed and left at my request.
While I waited for the coffee, Irena spoke up.
“You said you were active in Bennett City, right?”
Still polishing her blade, she asked.
“That’s right.”
“Were you born in Bennett City?”
I gave a small chuckle and nodded.
“For soone born there, you sure play the noble pretty well.”
Resting my chin on my hand, I gazed out the window at the scenery flying past and answered calmly.
“Why are you suddenly digging into soone else's secrets? Just go finish polishing your sword.”
I had no intention of telling her anything. There was a good chance Irena had buried my na sowhere deep in her mory and forgotten it entirely.
And I didn’t want her to succeed in recalling that mory.
‘She’s a disciple I can use in all sorts of ways if I raise her well. What a waste it would be to kill her.’
Irena might rebel against , but she wouldn’t betray .
There’s a saying that black-haired beasts aren’t worth taking in, but to , she was the exception.
“Did you learn all that just to seduce so old noblewoman?”
Irena asked again. I recalled hearing similar questions back at the Carlson Labor Correctional Facility.
“No. I learned it to seduce old noblen.”
While we talked, the attendant brought a cup of coffee and a few cookies. I took a sip of the coffee.
“Anyway, once we arrive, we might be indebted to her. Is there anything I should be cautious about when dealing with Knight Captain Dana Watson?”
Irena answered without hesitation.
“Anything our captain says is worthless. She’ll promise to spare you and then kill you, and she’ll scream like a banshee that she’ll kill you, then let you live.”
It didn’t an she always did the opposite. Dana Watson was simply soone who acted on her own whims. Even if you did the exact sa thing, the result could change depending on her mood.
“Sounds like she has no sense of responsibility.”
“Well… she used to say, ‘I’m not an idiot who feels responsible for hollow words.’”
Words had no power and no binding force. They were nothing.
“I get what you an.”
Before leaving the correctional facility, I too had sworn to serve as a loyal subject to His Majesty the Emperor.
But now, I was hiding the banner of rebellion that was being secretly woven within the Valorn Empire.
That’s how aningless words were. People didn’t need words—they needed guarantees.
That’s why Valorn and Aylan had governnts. That’s why the Rose Garden existed in Bennett City.
Unlike the journey from Bennett City to the Kellogg mansion, the trip from the Kellogg mansion to Rezantin City wasn’t one that took several days.
Having departed early in the morning, Irena and I arrived at Rezantin Station just as the sun began to set.
“Why is the station even called Rezantin? It’s so far away.”
As she stepped off the train, Irena muttered in disbelief, staring out at the wide, empty plain.
Though the station was nad Rezantin City Station, the actual arrival point was in the outskirts, about 35 kiloters away from Rezantin City itself.
“Probably because of the museum.”
The Empire wasn’t stupid enough to build a train station with a direct connection to the Imperial Order’s massive private depot for show.
“We’ll be conducting an identity check.”
As soon as Irena and I stepped off the train, we were greeted by mbers of the Security Corps checking passengers’ identification.
Naturally, we weren’t an exception. One of the officers approached and requested our IDs.
“…Are they out of their minds.”
I didn’t even need to say anything. Irena briskly tossed her ID at the officer.
“Apprentice knight of the Scarlet Leaf Order, Irena Kellogg?!”
Just the nas “Scarlet Leaf Order” and “House Kellogg” turned the expressions of the officers who had demanded IDs to stone.
“Can we go now?”
“Apologies for the inconvenience!”
“Give your nas. I’ll rember them.”
When Irena snapped coldly, the officers trembled and began stating their ranks and nas.
She repeated their nas a few tis as if committing them to mory, then waved them off.
Of course, she had no intention of rembering them.
Even she knew they were just following orders.
“Hey, fresh at!”
A woman’s voice rang out from the distance. Both Irena and I turned toward the sound.
A woman with blazing red hair appeared. She was waving her hands enthusiastically, wearing nothing but a skin-colored leotard.
“…You’ve got to be kidding .”
I turned my eyes away in disbelief. There was no mistaking it—that was Dana Watson.
The leotard itself was shocking. But even more staggering was the absurdly massive greatsword she had slung over her back.
‘That must be Angelene’s Answer.’
It was a legendary masterpiece, often ntioned alongside the House Featherwing’s Veil of Plud Mist and Lunaseeker’s Moon Sand.
It was notorious for requiring exceptional skill to control its output.
If soone of diocre ability tried to wield that battle gear, they’d literally explode from the sheer force, body and all, while still holding the blade.
“Captain?”
Even Irena looked visibly shaken to find her captain at the station. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened—she was clearly in shock.
Even in that shocked state, she still managed to salute sohow.
“You may be moved to tears, green apple. I ca to pick you up personally.”
Dana Watson marched right up and gave Irena a hearty slap on the back, then burst into laughter like a waterfall.
“The station’s a long way from the city, isn’t it? We’ve got a jeep. Let’s ride.”
“What about your city defense duties…?”
At Irena’s question, Dana snorted.
“Screw that shit.”
Then she popped the cap off a hip flask she was holding and took a swig. While drinking, her gaze turned to .
“And who’s this dick? Packed yourself a lunchbox for just a few hours’ trip? You horny brat.”
“….”
I went slightly blank at the absurd nickna—“dick.”
“That’s… the person I ntioned over the phone.”
At Irena’s answer, Dana made an intrigued sound and walked toward .
‘What the hell… who is this woman.’
That was all. Just a woman wearing skin-toned leggings and army boots folded over like slippers, walking toward .
And yet, the pressure I felt was unreal. It felt like my lungs were being wrung out like wet rags—while I was still alive.
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