The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 25.2

When the rescue operation was nearly finished, Ilya and his knights prepared to return. Some of them had gotten on closer terms when they first arrived and were exchanging greetings with the villagers.

“Your potato soup was the best I’ve ever had!”

“The liquor that night was excellent. Did you say you made it yourself?”

Amidst the clamorous atmosphere, Ilya was quiet. He sat on a flat stone and brooded over the past few days.

The landslide search and rescue operation went smoothly. The village, which was once a mess from the mountains and the remains of collapsed buildings, was now tidied up. Most of the people trapped inside buildings were rescued thanks to the quick response of the knights.

Nazz approached Ilya and handed him a long piece of paper. When Ilya looked up at him, he saw that Nazz was grinning from ear to ear.

“What is this?” Ilya asked, taking the paper.

“You’ll see,” Nazz replied, still smiling.

Ilya looked down at the paper and saw a list of missing people, the names filling the entire page and making him feel sick to his stomach. However, more than half of the names had two lines drawn through them.

“What are these lines?” Ilya asked.

“It’s written there. I know my handwriting is terrible, but it’s still readable!” Nazz replied.

Ilya looked closer and tried to make out the letters. “Survivors?” he read aloud after a moment. He burst out laughing. “Nazz, did you write ‘Survivors’?”

Nazz replied in a sulky voice, “It’s true that most of the missing people turned into survivors! You know how hard we’ve been working these days!”

Nazz was right. The rescue efforts had been successful and the removal of debris had gone smoothly. Although it was unfortunate he lost the initiative to Count Edith and Selice, food and supplies for the mission were quickly provided thanks to the vice-captain. The villagers seemed to have forgotten about Count Edith and Selice, and no one called Selice a saint. The lead in the operation were Ilya, the Grand Duke of Ajauntice, and the Black Forest Knights.

Nazz whispered to Ilya, “Your Highness, I’m thinking of leaving two senior knights behind. No one will object if you say they are staying to help restore the village.”

Ilya glared at the red-bricked building towering over the ridge. He knew that the enemy would not stay quiet now that they had stolen the Mandrake. As soon as they left the village, he expected the enemy to make a move.

“Your Highness, we are ready to depart,” a knight announced, bringing Ilya’s horse over to him. Ilya mounted the horse and led the knights away.

The village chief approached him and knelt on the ground, bowing his head. The villagers gathered behind the village chief and bowed to him as well, folding their backs as deep as they could go.

“Thank you for your benevolence, Your Highness,” the village chief said.

Ilya looked at the crowd with an unreadable expression.

“Looking after the villagers of this land is the duty of a Duke. And get up, the ground is still wet,” he said gruffly, but his words were simple and almost down-to-earth. Despite his cold demeanour, the young Grand Duke had an unexpected side to him. He did not speak a word of complaint when he had to sleep on the dirty ground or when he ate whatever he was given like the other knights and soldiers.

During the day, he worked alongside the members of the rescue team, digging and removing rubble from collapsed buildings with a shovel. When people tried to stop him, he told them that it was more comfortable to move. People quickly understood why the knights who participated in the Tatar expedition called him Captain, not Your Highness.

As the village chief stood up, a young boy stepped out from the crowd. He was a red-faced boy who stood next to Ilya’s horse and looked up at him nervously. When Ilya nodded his head, indicating that it was okay for him to speak, the boy suddenly held out his hand, which he had been hiding behind his back. It was an apple as red as his face.

“For me?” Ilya asked, looking at the apple.

The boy nodded, and Ilya chuckled. “This is originally mine, you know,” he said, remembering that apples were served as dessert for breakfast.

The boy looked up at Ilya with a face that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. Nazz shook his head. It’s a child, Your Highness, he thought to himself.

Ilya chuckled again and took the apple from the boy’s hands. He took a big bite and smiled at him, causing the crowd to stop their breaths and stare.

“We’re heading back,” Ilya said, and with that, he kicked his horse into action, racing off at a terrifying speed with the knights following close behind.

“Long live His Highness!” the crowd shouted, showering Ilya and the knights with a rain of flowers. Among the crowd was a young woman with brown hair who stood out, holding a child in her arms. She stood rooted to the ground until Ilya and the knights disappeared from sight.