A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

113 – Gray Winter (3)

January, 1st.

The sun rising over the canyon burned red as always.

What is different from usual is that there are a lot of people crowded around the first gateway to the canyon.

“Ah, look over there. The sun rising in the east.”

“It’s like… “

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

This proposition remains the same, the sun rises every day, but the time and place to see the sun are sometimes special.

“The 97th year of unification is a historic moment.”

Above the gateway, they each talk and celebrate in front of a magic device for video recording.

“Sunrise from the Gorge of Gibraltar! Who would have guessed this time last year that you would be able to see the sunrise from above this gateway!”

Many people in the empire shed blood to conquer the canyon and the gateway.

“I heard that my great-grandfather was killed here in Gibraltar. If he were still alive, I don’t know what he would say. Haha…”

But in the end, what made me open the gate and set foot on the walls of this gateway was peace, not war.

“Those who are crazy about war say nonsense and say it’s a shame they couldn’t conquer this place. That’s crazy. We can now live in peace with the kingdom and live peacefully in a world without war.”

Those who come to the canyon put their hands together and pray toward the golden sun rising from the east, beyond the horizon.

“I hope that peace continues on the continent.”

The new year has arrived.

* * *

County of Gibraltar, former county castle.

“ooohhh!!”

Afternoon.

A boy’s cheers overflow in the training hall.

“Finally, finally!”

The black-haired boy, Noir, raised a piece of paper in his hand and let out a cheer.

“Guys! I can finally go!”

Noir waved his hand at the twelve knight trainees with similar physiques to himself.

“I sincerely congratulate you, Master!”

“You got 100 points on all exam papers in the imperial language, so you will definitely be able to enter the school at the top of your class!”

“Orosol Academy… Heh, we have to go together and take care of the master…!”

Although the training uniforms were soaked with sweat, the copper-colored epaulettes on the trainees’ shoulders bore the clear emblem of Gibraltar.

“Really? Should I ask my father for a favor? You are all low-ranking knights.”

Knight candidates who are younger than 20 years old but already have the qualifications of a low-level knight.

“Do you know? If you go to the academy, there might be a family that wants to adopt you as a son-in-law.”

Since they are yet to become adults, they have not been officially ordained as knights, but if other noble families knew of their skills, they would be salivating to recruit them somehow.

“Don’t say things like that. I’ve served you by your side for almost seven years. But now you’re telling me to leave because you’ve set your sights on another woman?”

“That’s right! Even though I was the last to enter the orphanage for about four years, do you know how hard I worked to become your knight?”

“That’s right. I can’t tell a joke.”

Noir tried her best to hold back her laughter as she wiped her nose at the knight candidates who were pleading with her.

“Okay! When I go to the royal capital, I’ll find some ladies who are compatible with you guys and give them a seat.”

“oooh!!”

“Noir! Noir! Noir!”

“Praise! Worship! Black Light of Gibraltar!”

Clap clap clap.

As the knights applauded and cheered, Noir scratched his head and waved the test paper with 100 points written on it.

“Now, if you take the actual exam, it’s a given that you’ll be at the top of your class, right? Then you’ll be at the top of your class throughout the semester and graduate at the top of your class! Just like your father did!”

Noir clenched her fists and raised them toward the sky.

“Even though I didn’t become a master, I still have three years left until I graduate! I will proudly represent the students at the graduation ceremony, and if I become a master, my father will too…!”

Noir took a moment to catch her breath.

“Brother, you will acknowledge me too!”

Once again, she stretched her fist toward the sky, she resolved brightening.

“A person who graduated at the top of Orosol Academy and became a master at the age of 17! I will prove that age is just a number!”

“Oh! It’s Master Noir as expected!”

“I respect you, young master! You are the next Gibraltar…! Hmm.”

“Hmm. Hmm. If you’re going to say something like that, you have to show at least that level of ability.”

Noir shook his head at the words of the knight candidates.

“Okay! But let’s enjoy today! I’ll tell my father and come back, so everyone follow me to the canyon!”

“Are you going to the canyon?”

“Okay! If you disguise yourself, no one will notice!”

“Uh, um, okay. Then… “

“I’ll be back soon!”

Noir runs towards the mansion.

The knight candidates kept calling Noir’s name and waving their hands wildly.

“Captain.”

“Okay.”

Okay, everyone stopped their actions and gathered in one place like forming a circle.

“What should we do?”

“No problem. We can handle this much.”

“What if you suddenly try to go over to the empire?”

“One of us has to stop him, even if it means hitting him on the head. I will do it.”

The eldest and only young man wearing silver epaulettes raised his hand.

“I can only hope to be cut off from the Count’s line.”

From noble mtl dot come

“If the Count allows…”

“If you don’t give us a knight, that means giving us a mission. Do you have the qualifications to assist you?”

“Wouldn’t an escort knight follow you secretly? Sir Carlos or something.”

“Unconditionally. But if it doesn’t show on the outside, then they’re testing us with Sir Carlos attached.”

The knight candidates quickly exchanged their opinions and talked.

“Be careful where you move so that you don’t accidentally turn your eyes to the women of the empire. And continue to talk about the ‘fate of Gibraltar’. What happened to Gibraltar, who treated her body carelessly before becoming an adult?”

“Yes. Master, since you are sincerely aiming for it, you probably don’t want that.”

“Yes. If you truly want to become a count… “

The knight candidates looked at each other and shuddered.

“…I don’t know. How he will judge.”

“Don’t you have to report it first?”

“When you return, if you say you are going to the Canyon Outlet to have fun, you must report immediately. Just wait a moment.”

The cadet leader took out a bundle of paper from his inside pocket, took a piece of paper and started writing with a portable feather pen.

“The black shadow to the white rabbit. The crow…”

“Hey! Your father gave you permission! What are you doing? Everyone, get your pocket money!!”

“…I’m planning to go on an outing to the canyon. I’ll be careful not to go beyond Gate 2, which is the imperial territory.”

Sasak, Sasak.

“Yes, master! I’m coming!!”

The paper was folded in an instant, and the knight candidates left the training ground and joined Noir in great excitement.

“…”

The white-haired maid walked towards the paper tied like a knot and picked it up.

“…Ha.”

As soon as the woman opened her paper, she frowned.

“It’s not a crow, it’s a cat in heat who thinks it’s a black panther…?”

The woman kept tilting her head and quickly left her place.

* * *

What is causing the most buzz in Gibraltar these days?

Noir Gibraltar went to the Academy?

Sir Mente has been officially recognized as a Master?

Private exchanges, which were limited to commercial exchanges only within the canyon, have now officially become ‘open borders’?

The gates of the canyon are opened, and imperial citizens who have received permission can visit parts of Gibraltar’s territory on a very limited basis?

“This is the land of Gibraltar, beyond the Third Gate!”

January 1997 according to the unified calendar used in the empire.

Those who received entry permits and had their belongings thoroughly inspected crossed the gate and entered the land of Nostrum.

“Even though I’m only a few kilometers away, I feel like I’ve come a long way.”

“And it’s the countryside.”

Nostrum, the people of the empire who came to the land of Gibraltar expressed their regret.

“The County of Sirene was still nice to see, but this is a place where you can truly say, ‘I set foot on the ground.'”

A big bald man is babbling.

“Shh. But don’t leave the area carelessly. If you go over the lift, you will be immediately detained and subject to summary execution.”

A short man wearing glasses lowers his voice and warns.

“On suspicion of espionage? Who would dare do something like that?”

Gibraltar opened the canyon gates, but prevented imperialists from entering Gibraltar’s ‘castle’.

Instead, a small city was built between the existing territory of Gibraltar and the road between the canyons.

“This is the lift territory!”

“Mente Rift. Blade Master from Gibraltar. Give her this land, and let her people see only this far.”

The road connecting Gibraltar’s main city and the canyon, ‘Lift’, a free trade town created in between.

“I really want to live here when I retire.”

“Ah, how can I continue to live in a village like this?”

“It’s better than a system full of humans and the smell of magic and machine oil.”

“It’s good for traveling and relaxation, but when you start living, you’ll start to see bad things one by one, right?”

Although it was a restricted area, the people of the empire could feel it as soon as they crossed the canyon.

The kingdom is as clean as nature, beyond imagination.

“Really, this is a pure and good place.”

Unlike the empire, where the environment was ruined due to forest destruction and water pollution due to reckless development and war, everything in the kingdom was clean.

“People’s heads too.”

“Okay. I wrote it. But I wondered how it wouldn’t work…”

“Ha. Is this a waste of money again…”

“The food has arrived.”

A sturdy young man wearing a gray apron brought food and placed it on the table.

“Hey, look. Can I ask you something?”

“Uh, me?”

The clerk in the gray apron was about to go to the kitchen, but then turned around and approached the table.

“Yes, you. There are no customers right now, so you’re free.”

“It’s not that there are no customers, it’s that the customers come when there are no customers…”

The time is 3 PM.

“Oh, it looks like there’s no break time.”

“Break time… Ah, you mean break time. There is no break time…”

“I’ll give you some of this, okay?”

The bald man took out a long wallet and put a bill out of it on the table.

“Think of it as a tip, huh?”

“It’s a tip… Oh, it was like a gift to an employee, right? Thank you, but…”

The young man in the gray apron glanced in the direction of the kitchen and took one thaler with him.

“This is at the level of whether or not we should talk for about a minute.”

Invisible to the kitchen, he cleverly rubbed his fingers under the table.

“Uh-huh, this guy. Do you have any experience working at an outlet?”

“My friend works at the Morgania Outlet. I heard he received quite a lot of bonuses for serving Imperial customers, so I’m also coming to work at Rift like this.”

“Ugh. It’s a shame. There’s nothing we can do. We also have commercial ethics.”

The bald man took out five thalers with ’10’ written on them from his wallet and tapped them on the table.

“Sit here.”

“Oh, this is really difficult…”

The clerk in the gray apron tilted his head, took five 10 thaler bills, dragged a chair over, and sat down.

“What are you so curious about?”

“Gray Gibraltar.”

“…”

At the words of the man with glasses, the young man touched his cheek awkwardly.

“Uh, um… “

“Do you know anything? About the master of Gibraltar.”

“If you say that these days, you’re bound to think of Noir Gibraltar, right?”

The young man in the gray apron slowly lowered his voice.

“Don’t go and tell me. The people of Gibraltar are thinking that Noir Gibraltar will become an earl.”

“Really?”

“Yes. In the first place, only a sword master can become a count, right? If Gray Gibraltar had any talent, the count would have taught him how to use the sword a long time ago. Himself.”

“I don’t think so.”

The bald man sipped his coffee and shook his head.

“In my opinion, I left Gray Gibraltar alone because he can take care of himself if he left alone.”

“What? This person. So you’re teaching me the sword because Noir is someone who has to teach me directly?”

“I heard you train your child in the gym for over 10 hours a day? If you treat your child harshly from a young age, he or she will become a master. Isn’t that right, young man?”

“Haha… Still, some say that the reason Master Noir wants to go to the academy is because the Count’s training is so harsh that he wants to spend some time on his own at the academy for three years.”

“Look. Gray Gibraltar, I’m sure he’s secretly receiving training somewhere, right?”

“Is that so…? Why…?”

The young man in the gray apron kept tilting his head with an expression of incomprehension.

“I guess he’s just a person who doesn’t do anything in the estate and only eats food and criticizes his younger brother his…?”

“So it’s all an act and a smokescreen. Oh, do you know anything about His Royal Highness Crown Prince Habsburg von Tersian?”

“I know to some extent, but…”

“He did something like that when he was young. If he said something like that in the empire, he would be arrested for lese majeste…”

“A genius who played the role of an imbecile. That’s exactly what he did. With that, he deceived all his brothers and took over the crown prince.”

“…”

The young man in the gray apron just smiled softly.

“If Gray Gibraltar is useful, he’s the only one, right?”

“That?”

“Because it is of Gibraltar blood, we have no choice but to use it as a marriage alliance.”

“The Crown Prince with his own daughter his?”

“This person. What do you mean by saying that Gray Gibraltar is hiding its power, but denying the possibility?”

“Hmm… Well, I heard you have a pretty good-looking face.”

“It would be perfect to get her married. Great. A symbol of peace! The cadet of the canyon and the imperial granddaughter of the empire, getting married! Wow, she has great skills.”

“If he has a good father and is handsome, that is his ability.”

The young man stood up.

“Where are you from? They seem to be in business. Can I at least take your business card?”

“Huh? Why are you…?”

“Well, Baron Rift often comes here for a late-night snack, so I thought it would be good to introduce you guys then… ? I’ll take some more of this. Hehe.”

The young man rubbed his fingers again, and this time the man with glasses opened his wallet and took out a thaler with 100 written on it.

“Tell me in detail.”

“Perhaps the only person in the land who views Gray Gibraltar favorably is Baron Mente Rift.”

“Why?”

“He is also my teacher, but he said he feels very sorry for me.”

“Hmm… Then until this evening… “

“I don’t know when he will come. He comes whenever he feels like it.”

“Is that so? Then…”

The two men took out a thin, square piece of paper from their wallets and placed it on the table.

“…Thank you. This is your business card.”

The young man put the two people’s business cards into his apron pocket.

“I’ll keep it safe. Ah. As for Gray Gibraltar…”

For a while.

The young man did not stop talking until the two people finished eating.