The tavern was overflowing with thoroughly drunk Imperial soldiers. The small establishment couldn’t handle the number of soldiers, so they had brought barrels out to the yard for them to drink freely. The tavern owner kept serving drinks with a constant smile on his face. The Imperial army, having won a great victory in battle, had bought out the entire tavern for the night.

“Well, who do we have here? It’s Florian.”

A heavily intoxicated soldier waved to the silver-haired man entering the tavern.

“How do you always manage to sneak into the front lines every time? You bastard, are you a spy?”

“A spy? What a hurtful thing to say to an innocent minstrel like me.”

Florian smiled brightly at the familiar joke. When he smiled, his cheeks flushed with a healthy glow. His body was still slender without an ounce of fat, but there was no trace of illness anywhere.

“How can you drink without music?”

When Florian held up his well-worn instrument, whistles sounded from all around.

“Florian!”

“Florian’s here!”

“Sing! Sing!”

The soldiers pounded the tables with their beer mugs. Coins were already piling up in the hat placed upside down on an empty barrel even before Florian began to play.

Someone shouted a song request loudly, and Florian nodded. As he began to pluck the strings and sing, the young, hot-blooded soldiers joined in the chorus, filling the small tavern with heated excitement.

Florian recognized the red-haired giant tucked away in a distant corner beyond the soldiers with their arms around each other’s shoulders. He was sitting alone with his back turned, drinking continuously.

Florian gave a bitter smile.

Blake Rowell often frequented taverns where common soldiers drank. Even though he must be the one who led today’s battle to victory, he had declined the celebration with the officers and was instead crumpled up in that corner.

While playing his instrument, Florian quietly asked a nearby soldier:

“Isn’t that Lord Rowell over there? Why is he tucked away in that corner? He should be the most excited person today.”

“Ah, he’s always like that on days when he hears news about the youngest princess. Doesn’t matter if it’s good news or bad.”

Another soldier cut in:

“Ah, so that’s why he seemed particularly crazed today…”

The soldiers glanced briefly toward where Blake was sitting, then shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

“The captain’s not going to die before his time.”

“When the Death’s Blade goes wild on the battlefield like that, it makes things easier for those of us following behind.”

From what he was hearing, it seemed Blake had heard some news that made his blood boil, and after taking out his anger on the enemy with his sword, he was now drowning himself in alcohol.

“That’s strange. There hasn’t been any news about the princess recently.”

“Hey, the higher-ups might hear things that don’t reach our ears.”

The soldiers who had been whispering among themselves turned to Florian. The wandering minstrel often had information that traveled faster than rumors.

“Florian, have you heard anything about the princess?”

Florian shook his head.

“I haven’t heard anything new about the princess either.”

Something else, perhaps, but surely not.

He slightly furrowed his brow.

‘No, surely not. But…’

His gaze caught the red-haired man at the edge of his vision. That back view, sitting in the same position and just drinking since earlier.

Should I probe a bit? Florian soon lifted his chin and smiled brightly. He looked around at the audience and raised his voice:

“Well, how about I sing you a different song to change the mood? Most of you probably haven’t heard it before.”

With the cheers of the drunkards, the melody of the instrument changed. Soon, Florian began to sing.

-In the deep mountains where not even a ray of sunlight could enter, there lived three wolves.

“What’s this? Even little kids know this story!”

As soon as he started the first verse, someone grumbled loudly. Florian smiled with his eyes toward that direction and put a finger to his lips. Those around the heckler quieted him down, saying to be quiet and let them listen to the song.

Well… As the song progressed, the head of the person who had jeered earlier began to tilt in confusion. Everyone thought they knew this fairy tale, but the content started to change.

In his song, the Moon Goddess, far from happily frolicking with the three wolves, had her fur pelt removed, revealing her identity and incurring the wolves’ wrath.

Even the soldiers who had been half-listening began to lean in, tense like children secretly enjoying a cruel fairy tale. The once noisy tavern gradually grew quiet, with only Florian’s clear voice resonating.

It was when the Moon Goddess in human maiden form was about to be torn apart by the wolves in the song.

Crash!

A chair tumbled to the floor from the corner of the tavern. It was where Blake had been sitting until just now. Blake was already staggering out the tavern door.

Seeing his retreating figure, Florian stopped singing.

“Ah, my throat’s a bit dry. Shall we take a short break?”

He carefully put his instrument in his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and picked up the hat with the tips. The soldiers tried to hold him back, curious about the rest of the story, but he promised with a smile that he would return soon and smoothly slipped out of the tavern.

‘Let’s see, where did he go…’

Normally, Florian wouldn’t have had a chance tracking Blake, but today he had left traces everywhere. It seemed he had been drinking to the point of complete submersion in alcohol.

The moon was quite bright, so Florian could easily find Blake.

He was sitting carelessly leaning against a tree trunk in the nearby forest, tilting a bottle of alcohol.

Belatedly noticing Florian’s presence, Blake spoke.

“Why are you here? To torment me more? Or to mock me?”

“Mock you? I’m just here to work. They say the winning side of a battle is where the money is.”

Florian smiled brightly and shook the heavy hat. The jingling sound of coins was cheerful.

Blake’s eyes looked up at him with annoyance mixed in. If he came to make money, he should have stayed put in the tavern and continued singing that damned song.

“Get lost.”

“Don’t be like that. It’s been a while, let’s talk.”

“If you won’t leave, I will.”

Blake rose to his feet, still clutching the bottle. Florian clicked his tongue. Blake was staggering so badly from being too drunk that he looked like he might collapse again at any moment.

Florian approached to support him.

“Let me help you back to the tavern. I don’t want today’s hero lying around in a place like this.”

“I told you to leave.”

Blake swung his arm with an expression of obvious annoyance.

“Lord Rowell, you’re so stubborn. Just lean on me.”

Florian took his arm and placed it over his own shoulder. But the moment the weight of the drunkard, much larger than himself, pressed on his shoulder, Florian also began to stagger.

“Ah…”

It was when Florian was trying to hold onto Blake and maintain balance. Something fell from the inner pocket of Blake’s officer’s uniform and rolled on the ground.

“…!”