She lined up to file a quest, and before long, it was her turn.
“Welcome. What did you come here for?”
A handsome man with a neat mustache greeted Leila.
“I want to entrust you with a commission.”
“What kind of request? Escort?”
“Yes, escort. I’m looking for mercenaries to escort me during my trip.”
“Ah, so it’s a trip! That’s good. Travel is always good.”
He said cheerfully, stroking his well-maintained mustache.
He seemed to show off his mustache implicitly, and he would have looked attractive enough if it weren’t for the scars on his jaw that flutter with every smile.
“Where is your destination?” The man asked.
Nobody knew if it’s because he buttoned his shirt all the way to his neck or because he laughed, but his face gradually turned red.
“The Kingdom of Sronakia.”
“Oh. You’re going pretty far.”
He said, writing something on a piece of paper.
“It’s a long way, but it’s a good place so that you won’t regret it if you go.”
“Yes, it is.”
Leila replied bitterly.
Had she known the receptionist would be so chatty, she would never have stood in this line.
“Unfortunately, the cost will be much higher. It’s a long way from here!”
“Yes, I will put it into consideration.”
“How many people are you planning to hire? Usually, when ladies travel, they hire an entire mercenary corps…”
“About three.”
Leila cut off the man’s words that seemed to be getting longer.
“I would like to hire three excellent, high-ranked mercenaries with a lot of experience.”
“That’s a good way too! Rather than hiring a lot of idiots, a small group with…”
Leila got tired of his lengthy words and turned her head slightly to the side. Then she saw a man next to her talking to another receptionist.
‘… What’s this?’
His eyes were red and bloodshot to the extent that even seeing it from the side surprised her.
His brown hair was dripping with oil and tangled up in that state.
It looked as if he had been homeless for three days and three nights. His clothes were so filthy.
‘Apparently, it seems like the capital is not such a good and a safe place to live, seeing that there are still people having such a life.’
“What are you going to do with the cost?”
After he had finished saying what he wanted to say, the receptionist asked Leila a question.
She asked about the average cost a high-ranked mercenary received as an escort. She added that if he tells her the approximate amount, it will be stated as the starting cost, and the detailed cost will be decided through consultation.
“It’s such a long trip, so you won’t get an application any time soon. Take your time…”
“I have one more thing to tell you.”
Leila quickly opened her mouth again before he could continue.
“I want to hire only female mercenaries.”
As Leila said that, the hand of the receptionist who was writing the contents on the reception paper stopped.
He frowned, making a strange “Hmmmmmm” sound.
“I’ll have to rewrite it. No, I wonder if there’s any meaning to writing it.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a nearly 90% chance that you won’t be able to find anyone that fits your request, so if you sign up, you’ll be paying only the notice fee.”
This time, Leila’s eyes narrowed.
“You mean it’s hard to find female mercenaries? Then lower-ranked will be okay too, and the cost could be higher.”
“Almost all female mercenaries have high grades. If a woman becomes a mercenary with clumsy skills, she will only face difficult things.”
The receptionist stroked his mustache again with a thoughtful look.
“Their cost is also expensive. More expensive than male mercenaries. Besides, there are not many female mercenaries. Therefore, they’re always busy because there’s a lot of demand.”
Just as Leila seeks female mercenaries, many ladies prefer female mercenaries.
There are usually female soldiers and knights within the noble family, but it was natural to ask for more from a guild because there are not many of them.
“Please just accept my request first, since we don’t know what will happen in the future.”
At Leila’s words, the receptionist pulled out a new piece of paper with an unwilling face.
“In a yard overflowing with simple and easy requests, a mercenary who dares to go that far…”
Leila was now completely fed up with the receptionist.
“I don’t want other people’s time to be wasted because of me, so please file it quickly.”
At Leila’s words, the receptionist gave a bewildered expression and then extended his head.
He stopped immediately when he saw the other customers lined up behind Leila with annoyed faces.
Leila was informed that the cost would be measured anew according to the additional requirements, and that there would be an additional notice fee depending on the period.
If she no longer wanted to post her quest, she could come at any time and inform him.
‘What should I do?’
Leaving the mercenary guild, Leila fell into thoughts.
She never expected to get a mercenary in the first place. The cost for female mercenaries was also much higher than expected.
However, she did not want to hire a male mercenary.
It will be a long journey that will take several months, so she was anxious and reluctant to be with men all the time, no matter if it’s just an employer-employee relationship.
‘Should I hire only one female mercenary and hire men for the rest?’
She didn’t really like it, but if the circumstances didn’t follow, she had no choice but to do it.
It was too expensive to keep paying the advertisement fee.
‘… Should I not go?’
As she originally thought, would it be better to settle in a city on the edge of the Empire or the capital of a neighboring kingdom?
Is it ridiculous to go to the Kingdom of Sronakia just because of one mysterious letter from her mother?
If there was a connection anywhere, I would go there without hesitation, but there really was no connection whatsoever.
‘Let’s go home and think again.’
If she wasn’t going to the Kingdom of Sronakia, then she had to think about another place.
A safe place for her to live alone, and a place where she can find a job. She had to rethink a suitable plan.
***
“Ah… I will live.”
Har, who was lying on the bed with a blanket wrapped around his body, murmured. He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet.
He didn’t know how much he slept, but he felt like he had enough sleep for a day.
It was thanks to Leila who went to the mercenary guild yesterday.
While Leila filed her request, he also entrusted the guild with a quest.
It was a quest to guard Leila’s mansion and catch any intruders.
The job was easy and simple, and the cost was high, so on that evening, five mercenaries came to Leila’s house. To be more precise, to Har.
Har stipulated that if there is an intruder or the landlord is attacked, no payment will be made.
All five of them accepted the conditions, so Har gave them a small advance payment and returned to the inn.
“Food. Now I just have to eat.”
Har slowly crawled out of bed.
He came into the inn when it was getting dark yesterday. Seeing that it was still dark, it looked like he had really slept all day.
He finally had a proper meal after days.
‘By the way, why is Leila going to the Kingdom of Sronakia?’
His mind was hazy, and he was also in the process of commissioning his own quest, but he did not miss Leila’s voice.
It was because he was paying all his attention to her in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.
Thanks to the chatty receptionist, he also got to know the details.
The receptionist who was in charge of Leila’s reception was pretty blunt.
Seeing her ignoring the receptionist’s refusal, she seems to be quite desperate.
Judging from the contents of her request, it will probably take several months just to get one person.
After eating, he headed to Leila’s house.
He was to make sure that the mercenaries were working well and that nothing had happened.
After seeing that the mercenaries were doing their job, he turned around while scratching his head.
His scalp was itchy, perhaps because he had dyed his hair with medicinal herbs.
‘Why is she going on a trip? It would be hard.’
He didn’t know anything about pregnancy. It’s not like he ever had a woman with his child.
He had been working as a mercenary and lived in a man-infested world, so he had little chance to see pregnant people.
Still, he had bits of knowledge. He knew the fact that being pregnant is hard on the body.
How can a job of embracing another life not be difficult?
And she is about to go on a long trip that will take several months with such a body.
‘Why? Why at this time?’
Har had numerous questions.
‘Maybe she wants to leave with the Marquis?’
However, while Har was hanging around Leila, the Marquis never appeared.
If they were planning to travel together, he would have come and planned together at least once.
‘What once. He should have come every day!’
If that had been the case, there would have been no need for Leila to recruit mercenaries.
To sum up his thoughts, Leila, now pregnant, seemed to be going alone.
‘Leila said she wanted to get rid of the child…’
After getting enough rest and eating a proper meal, Har’s head began to work normally. She could not get rid of the child, and she did not tell the Marquis about the child’s existence, and she wanted to leave…
Leila intends to leave the Marquis to hide the child’s presence. This is Har’s conclusion.
He didn’t know why. Har did not know the relationship between the two, and he never had any conversations or saw any exchanges between them. But, given the circumstances, it seemed to be the case.
‘Perhaps…?’
His footsteps, which had been moving leisurely, got faster.
He went to his sister’s house, where he had stayed long ago, but now his traces have completely disappeared. It wasn’t difficult to sneak into the mansion or find his sister’s room.
His past experiences, memories and outstanding skills helped him.
Even if it was the mansion of Duke Serios, one of the most prestigious families in the Empire.
And even if the younger sister he wants to meet has become a duke who can’t be approached by anyone.
“Thank God. You’re here?”
As Har opened the window and entered the room, his sister, Nivera, rolled her eyes.
Nivera, who was still wearing a man’s suit today, got up and walked to the door as soon as she saw Har.
“Don’t let anyone in until I tell you.”
Nivera opened the door slightly and ordered someone outside.
She stood in front of the closed door, and Har in front of an open window.
At first glance, the two are so similar that they cannot even be distinguished from each other, standing in different places and looking at each other.
The twins, who were born to the same parents at the same time, were now standing in different positions. One as a duke, one as a mercenary on the outskirts.
Har let out a self-deprecating smile.
He became a mercenary on the outskirts, and now he can no longer proudly enter the family he was born and raised in.
Even though he had a younger sister who was a duke, he secretly crossed the wall of the duke family with a humble appearance.
As Leila has experienced in the past, women in the Empire cannot inherit titles.
However, even though Nivera was a woman, she ascended to the duke’s position.
This only happened because Har gave his own name to Nivera, and left.
Nivera, who was given the name ‘Harsian’, Har’s original name, inherited the position and was living as a duke.
Thus, Har could neither use his original name nor go out into the world.
He was the heir to the duke, but he was living in a city on the outskirts, working as a mercenary under a false name.
All of this was none other than Har’s choice. But even though it was his own choice, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.