Chapter 3 (Part 8)

“It seems you are human after all.”

“……?”

“I found it suspicious that you didn’t even flinch after being stabbed with swords and struck by arrows all this time. Anyway, how can you take medicine while lying on your stomach?”

Grumbling, Sophia pushed the medicine into Roshan’s mouth and wiped the water that dribbled down his chin. Although she grumbled, there was a tenderness in Sophia’s touch.

“You know, those things that come back to life even after dying are like monsters.”

“……Ah.”

Roshan’s face grew serious at Sophia’s explanation.

‘……My subordinates.’

He only now remembered the subordinates he sent ahead before facing that monster one-on-one in the gambling den.

He had told Therese that he was guarding her alone, but since the gambling den was extremely dangerous, he had planted guild warriors everywhere.

When he signaled them upon spotting a suspicious person, the warriors began to chase the target. He waited for a signal that they had dealt with the matter, but no one returned.

‘What a disaster.’

Something must have happened to his subordinates. The thought didn’t last long, and Roshan immediately ran in the direction his subordinates had gone.

When he arrived, he saw a man standing over the bodies of his subordinates.

Realizing he was the only one who survived, Roshan found it hard to breathe. They were the ones he had sweated with daily, practicing swordsmanship together.

As he recalled each of their faces, his hands trembled.

‘Master was right.’

The weak are destined to be devoured.

Thinking Roshan was trembling from the pain, Sophia put down the medicine bottle and spoke.

“She said not to worry about the guild work at all.”

Unwrapping and rewrapping the white cloth around his body, Sophia muttered to herself.

“Anyway, she said she was quitting the guild work, but I wonder what she’s really going to do. Now that she’s become the empire’s top lady, what use is a guild?”

Sophia had been displeased from the start about Therese frequenting the Bazaar.

“They said it would be a few weeks before you could even lie down properly, so don’t even think about moving. Don’t make our Madame worry for nothing.”

“The master’s protection is…….”

“They said they’re recruiting more people because of this incident.”

“Perhaps my subordinates…….”

Recalling the subordinates who lay cold on the ground, it felt like the wound on his back was reopening.

“They were laid to rest in a sunny place. Compensation was given to their families, and still, she insists on continuing the guild work, who could stop her?”

Sophia’s face, deeply lined with wrinkles, was filled with worry. She simply wished for Therese to enjoy ordinary happiness.

‘Now that she’s the Duchess of Richard, shouldn’t she stop doing dangerous work?’

Of course, she could plainly see that things weren’t going as she had hoped, but it was all distressing.

‘I raised our young lady with such care!’

Sophia had cared for Therese more than her own child in place of Baron Demori.

‘With things like this happening, I won’t live to see my full life.’

As Sophia sighed deeply, Roshan spoke with his eyes closed.

“I apologize.”

Though Sophia didn’t approve of him, their concern for Therese was the same.

‘I also wished for Master to leave the guild work and just be happy.’

The problem was that it was questionable whether that marriage would bring happiness to the master.

Recalling the flag fluttering at the top of the Duke Richard’s castle, his fist clenched involuntarily. Even if he were to die a hundred times, he was determined to live a life for Therese.

‘I, Shin Roshan Jawad, will serve you until death.’

The vow he made in his childhood was a lifelong oath to him. As Roshan lay face down, bead-like tears fell from his red eyes.

❖ ❖ ❖

Early in the morning, Therese rested her head against the rattling carriage window with her eyes closed. Her body was unwell from the night before, and with a mountain of tasks to tackle, her heart felt heavy.

Due to the recent incident, recruiting new guild warriors was urgent.

‘This is definitely something Roshan should be involved in.’

But since he was bedridden and unable to move, there was no helping it. She had to overcome the current crisis by pooling the remaining subordinates’ strength.

Her expression darkened as she read the documents on her lap. None of the applicants were to her liking.

Because she dealt mainly with difficult tasks, she was looking for someone exceptionally skilled and capable of maintaining confidentiality. However, mercenaries who would kill anyone for money were not appealing.

“Work keeps coming in, and it’s a big problem.”

These days, she keenly felt how significant Roshan’s absence was. Gazing out the window with the documents in hand, Therese was suddenly caught up in old memories.

The reason she started working was quite simple.

‘I want to earn money on my own.’

From a young age, she followed her father to various shops and countries, learning the art of negotiation.

Though she never formally learned, she naturally understood the big trends in the market. She could appraise precious jewels or rare spices that her father valued at a glance.

‘But there’s something more important than that.’

Young Therese realized how crucial information was.

Baron Demori’s business was one of the most successful in the Caspian Empire, but there were times when ships capsized in storms or goods were lost in heavy rains. While those were things beyond human control, some things could have been prevented with information.

If they knew the forest was frequented by monsters, they could avoid it when transporting goods.

‘It’s advantageous to detect situations that might lead to war in advance.’

The political situation of other countries was extremely important to merchants.

If they couldn’t import necessary materials, there would be products they couldn’t make. Conversely, no matter how excellent the products produced in Caspian were, it would be troublesome if they couldn’t be exported.

‘Father! I think creating an information guild would help the business.’

But Baron Demori dismissed her suggestion as the naive thought of a child. In his eyes, Therese was always a child in need of protection, so it wasn’t unreasonable.

It was while she was strolling in the garden with Roshan, who had started living with the Demori family in Caspian with nothing.

‘Roshan. Then let’s do it ourselves.’

‘……Pardon?’

The beginning was somewhat impulsive.

But Sophia’s disapproval of her reckless nature became the driving force to proceed with the work.

‘If it’s money, I have some.’

Baron Demori generously gave her an allowance to buy dresses or jewelry. However, since she wasn’t interested in dressing up, Therese saved it all.

‘We’ll hire a few people to gather information.’

But it was easier said than done.

Gathering information discreetly required great effort and skill. Therese realized that people didn’t pay much attention to women or servants.

‘We’ll gather information from maids and servants.’

Building a network of informants took quite some time.

And through the process, Therese discovered that Roshan was much more capable than she had thought.

‘How many languages can you speak?’

Roshan was fluent in Pasa, the Caspian Empire’s language, and even Urcana. Unlike Pasa, Urcana was a place where winter lasted all year round.

Though she’d never been there, there were rumors that bears often came down to the villages to play with the children.

‘My master was from Urcana.’

‘You mean that bandit-looking man?’

First impressions last long, so Therese didn’t particularly like Zafar. Even after learning that it wasn’t him beating Roshan but part of the coming-of-age ceremony.

‘Roshan, are you riding a horse with your eyes closed?’

‘That’s because in Pasa, we ride horses from infancy.’

From swordsmanship, archery, horseback riding, to disguise, there was almost nothing he couldn’t do. Thanks to him, she was also able to properly learn self-defense. She couldn’t win against a man in a fight, but she could deliver a critical hit to escape a situation.

“I was too shocked to show my skills that day.”

Recalling the incident at the gambling den, cold sweat ran down her back. Though she had heard such things often happened, it was the first time she witnessed a nobleman trampling a maid.

“I didn’t think I was a flower in a greenhouse.”

Perhaps Therese was just one of those flowers.

Frowning throughout the carriage ride, Therese straightened her back as they entered Manus Bazaar.

No matter how capable Roshan was, she was the owner of this place.