IRMHW Chapter 3

10-13 minutes 16.06.2023

Barton frowned and handed her a glass of water.

Even though he always had a disgruntled look on his face, he was rarely ever angry.

After gulping down the water in one shot, Libertisha opened her mouth.

“Are there already rumors about it?”

“What? No, there haven’t been any rumors yet. Only I heard about it.”

“From who?”

“From the sleeping commander.”

Barton shrugged his shoulders.

He probably overheard her talking in her sleep.

Barton was the kind of person who despised anything bothersome whether it was assigned to him by a superior or a subordinate.

So he spoke straightforwardly instead of beating around the bush.

“But, can’t you just get married?”

“ … Barton.”

“Don’t go straight into hitting me and hear me out first.”

Barton withdrew with a disgusted look on his face.

“Honestly, where else would you find a better opportunity than this? Surely, Baron Wilfred must be preparing to marry you off as a means to settle your debts. Whether it’s a marriage of convenience, a contract marriage, a transactional marriage, or whatever it may be! Ha, I’d rather see you marry an eight-year-old and eat off him than see you take such a bastard to be your husband.”

“ … No matter how much I eat, I won’t eat the duke.”

“That’s just how the analogy goes, the analogy! Think about it. Why would His Majesty even make such a suggestion to the commander he finds so dear? Surely, His Majesty anticipated this as well– Ugh!”

Libertisha rested her fist for a moment before landing a precise hit on Barton’s abdomen.

Her fist may seem like a small fern sprout, but it was incredibly strong. It was like being struck by a boulder.

“Don’t be so disrespectful and make assumptions about His Majesty’s intentions. Don’t even think of speaking about this even if it’s to yourself too.”

“Y-Yes…”

Even after being punched, Barton grumbled to himself, ‘When you’re the one who’s always the most disrespectful.’

Libertisha ignored his muttering though and finished her meal, swallowing the remaining food in one gulp.

As soon as her meal time ended, she changed her clothes and headed for the imperial palace.

Barton followed behind Libertisha and repeated what he had said like a parrot would.

“Kids these days grow up fast. In particular, the moment a boy turns sixteen, they’re no different from being an adult.”

“Oh, is that so? By then, I’d already be twenty-nine.”

“Twenty-nine is perfect. They say Madame Ellaie from that one play captivated the hearts of all men, both nobles and commoners alike, with her ripe beauty.”

“Okay, but a child doesn’t need a mature beauty like Madame Ellaie. There are plenty of bright and lively young ladies around his age.”

Smack.

Barton, who had been hit in the shin this time, continued to follow her as he swallowed his saliva. He was quite good at enduring pain.

Since the last battle had happened not too long ago, the atmosphere in the imperial palace was not very bright.

In that battle particularly, the respected Duke Valtale died of a spell called black magic.

It ended in victory, but it was a situation where it was no different from defeat. The atmosphere couldn’t help but get even worse.

In such an atmosphere, the ones who were targeted the most were those who had outstanding skills and were favored by the emperor, but did not hold much power.

A person with a bad reputation and one who no one would protect even if others openly cursed at them.

“Oh, look who it is. Aren’t you that mad dog who accidentally bit off their superior's head?”

She had fully expected this kind of conflict to happen.

Standing in front of Libertisha were a group of knights, but unlike the white uniform she wore, theirs was red.

They were the knights of the “Crimson Moon.”

In order to protect the palace and the emperor, this division of knights was made.

To these knights, they placed the highest importance on dignity and honor.

To begin with, the Crimson Moon Knights were a place where they gave higher scores to the sons of families with established names instead of those with outstanding skills.

On the other hand, the White Silver Knights led by Libertisha were the ones to move at the forefront of every battle.

Because of those dangers, their salary was several times higher than that of other knights and it eventually became a place where only those with talent gathered. However, it was still the most avoided division for apprentice knights who were just about to join.

It was because many knights were nobles and they needed the honor of being a knight rather than the money.

This was originally why the Crimson Moon Knights and White Silver Knights didn’t get along very well.

It was also Libertisha who had ignited that fuse.

She didn’t particularly want to get involved with the tricky Crimson Moon Knights either, but the awl in her pocket was always sticking out even if she didn’t do anything.

*note: it means that people will know if a person is talented even if they try to hide themselves

Thanks to Libertisha’s outstanding performance, she claimed not only the emperor’s trust that the Crimson Moon Knights deserved but also his admiration. In the end, the Crimson Moon Knights and the White Silver Knights became bitter enemies.

The image of a war hero could’ve been painted for Libertisha, but she was turned into a bloodthirsty killer due to the influence of the Crimson Moon Knights.

Among the knights in the red uniform, the man at the forefront approached her, brushing his platinum blonde hair.

“This is why you shouldn’t give a sword to a dog that is crazy about killing. We should’ve had her captured and confined somewhere.”

“Shut up. Don’t run your mouth so carelessly, Egan.”

Barton, who had been standing beside Libertisha, stretched out his hand to prevent him from approaching her.

A dark glint flashed in Barton’s eyes.

Egan Kellers.

He was the second son of Count Kellers as well as the vice-commander of the Crimson Moon Knights.

When seeing Barton, the Crimson Moon knights laughed.

“Who the heck are you? Shouldn’t idiots stay out of this?”

“How could you follow such a rabid dog around? What if you get bitten later?”

“Is that guy also a dog? Since he chases after a mad dog… Does that make him a mongrel?”

“Pft, hahaha!”

Bad jokes and vulgar laughter rang out all at once.

Barton clenched his teeth and looked over at Libertisha. There was no significant change in her expression.

She only raised her hand, quietly signaling Barton to step back.

As Barton backed away, Egan snickered and sarcastically pointed at Libertisha.

“I heard that you’ll kill anyone for money.”

With a pale, shiny face that was unlike that of a knight’s, he smiled.

The unnecessary accessories attached to his uniform, the extravagant scabbard devoid of any practicality, and even the faint sense of perfume that came from him.

Just who here was degrading the dignity of a true knight?

Libertisha scoffed at him and nodded her head.

“That’s right. I’ll do anything as long as I get money. Being a knight, killing someone, and going to the battlefield… I did it all for money.”

“As expected. You’re a dirty…”

“But I heard that you paid money.”

Pft.

A short sneer escaped Libertisha’s mouth as it was difficult to contain.

“They’re afraid of war, so they solve it with money and also resort to bribes in order to sneak out of subjugation missions because they find them so difficult… I envy the wealthy. At this rate, I wonder if even skills are bought with money.”

“Perhaps one’s knighthood could also be paid for.”

Barton sneered at them, nodding his head in agreement to what she had said.

Libertisha then struck the decisive blow at Egan, who was burning red.

“But what can we do? Money can’t buy love.”

“Hey, you…!”

When Egan was a low-ranking knight, he had been captivated by Libertisha’s skillful swordplay and fell in love at first sight.

Her graceful movements, the fluid trajectory of her sword, her flowing silver hair, and eyes that resembled spring.

This was before she acquired the name of “The Murderer” and at that time, Libertisha captured the admiration, love, and awe of all her fellow knights, igniting a spark in their hearts.

Count Kellers was a wealthy family and he attempted to seduce Libertisha with money.

However, Libertisha did not succumb to his advances.

As she continued to reject his advances and even surpassed him into becoming an exceptional knight, Egan’s infatuation with Libertisha gradually turned into a sense of inferiority.

In the end, Egan began to express his inferiority complex in the worst possible ways.

“Looks like you’ve given up on chasing after me everyday and begging me to go out with you. It was fun, so that’s a shame.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I would ever like someone like you? You’re just a filthy dog who’s obsessed with money!”

“I’m not ‘you,’ but ‘Commander.’”

Libertisha said this as she tapped the insignia on her chest with her finger.

It was a golden insignia and not the silver one that was used to imply the ranking of a vice-commander.

The Crimson Moon knights, who were behind Egan and witnessed this, began to murmur.

“What the? It’s really the commander’s insignia.”

“Didn’t you only receive it after Duke Valtale died?”

“Th-That can’t be. You didn’t even have a ceremony to appoint you as the next commander.”

“Since we were in the middle of battle, he delegated it to me in a hurry just before he died. In such cases, formalities can be skipped and the ceremony can be held at a later time…”

They looked into each other’s eyes.

No matter how bad the relationship was between the Crimson Moon and White Silver Knights, it was still a serious offense for a regular knight to show disrespect to a commander.

The reason why they stood so proudly in front of her was because Egan and Libertisha held the same rank as vice-commanders.

“Ahem. Oh, come to think of it, I have a lot of work to do today. Goodness.”

“C-Commander, please head on in.”

The Crimson Moon knights looked awkwardly at each other and quickly pulled Egan aside. Their demeanor had changed from them confidently mocking her to a sense of urgency.

However, Egan stood there dumbfounded, staring at the insignia.

“... Commander? You became a commander?”

“I’m not ‘you,’ since I’m a commander now.”

Libertisha kindly corrected him. Her noble voice only intensified the sense of inferiority that Egan felt.

How much effort did he have to put in to catch up to her?

In fact, it was true that he had resorted to offering bribes to become a vice-commander.

However, just when he thought he had caught up, she once again took another step ahead.

This time, it was to a position he could never reach.

Libertisha shrugged her shoulders and spoke.

“What are you going to do now? Looks like there’s more things that can’t be solved with money.”