He had fallen asleep late, but Kasim had to wake before long. It was because a lone cavalryman had suddenly come galloping at dawn. The rider was charging straight toward the mercenaries' camp.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
As a horse that had run at full speed stopped before the camp, snorting, Patterson—who had been keeping night watch—tensed and gripped his sword hilt. Caution in all matters was the best course, thanks to what had happened in Dontrel.
The knight on the horse was covered head to toe in dust. It was plain to see he had ridden through the night. After catching his breath for a moment, the knight spoke haltingly to Patterson.
"Are you not the mercenary band escorting Princess Karsel?"
When the stranger pinpointed their identity out of nowhere, vigilance flickered in Patterson's eyes. He could be a scout dispatched from Terbia to capture them. But Patterson did not think they needed to hide their identity. He had deep faith in Damon's ability; after all, the man had hunted even an Ancient-class dragon. With his strength and that of the Death Knights, not even division-level forces would dare bar their way.
"We are, but what brings you here?"
"Finally found you."
The knight immediately leaped down from his horse. At that sight, Patterson drew his sword in alarm. But the man seemed to have no intention of fighting at all, spreading both hands to show he was unarmed.
"There is no need to be on guard. Let me introduce myself first. I am Philip Lawrence, a Royal Guard Knight of Terbia."
Patterson's eyes widened at the unexpected turn. The black magician Damon's prediction had been exactly right. But since the stranger's intentions were not yet clear, Patterson cautiously called for Kasim.
"C-Commander. Please come out for a moment."
Kasim was already awake. He was not one to remain asleep after hearing a horse galloping at full speed. Kasim's eyes were dyed with shock as he rushed out of the tent. The matter he had half-doubted had become reality before his eyes.
'It... it was really true? How on earth?'
Forcing his expression under control, Kasim approached the dust-covered knight.
"I am Kasim, commander of this mercenary band. But what business does a Royal Guard Knight of Terbia have with us?"
The knight looked at Kasim, who was feigning ignorance, and hurriedly removed the helmet on his head. His flushed face was revealed. Because he had scoured the main road all night for Kate, his face was drenched in sweat.
"I... I have come to find my wife, who I heard was here."
"Your wife? Why on earth would your wife be here? Hmm... could you mean Kate?"
At those words, Philip's face brightened.
"Y-yes. So it was true that you have her."
Philip involuntarily let out a loud shout.
"Kate! Kate! Where are you? It's me. It's Philip! I have come running to beg your forgiveness!"
Philip ran about between the tents like a madman, shouting. Mercenaries emerged from their tents one by one and looked at him with perplexed expressions. No one had guessed that a man named Philip would come looking for them, just as Damon had predicted.
Perhaps hearing that voice, Yuliana's tent opened, and Kate finally appeared. She looked haggard, as though she had not slept through the night. Sparks flew from Philip's eyes at the sight of her.
"Oh, Kate...."
Philip slowly approached her. And he suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace, her expression bewildered.
"I was wrong, Kate. I am truly a wretched man. To think I resolved to abandon you and Timmy in this world... Though I am a sinner who can never wash away his guilt, I came running here because I wanted to beg your forgiveness with all my heart."
Philip pleaded with Kate, hot tears streaming down.
"Please forgive me. I will never harbor ill intentions again."
"I... I...."
Kate was instinctively frightened by Philip's drastically changed attitude. Could a person change this much? Was this not the husband who had ruthlessly cut off living expenses for her and Timmy just days ago? But Philip was truly desperate.
Shing!
When he suddenly drew his sword, the mercenaries tensed and tried to block him. But Philip did not swing the blade. He plunged it deep into the ground and immediately fell to his knees.
"What must I do for you to forgive my wrongs? I can give my life without hesitation to earn your forgiveness. I have already poured out my true feelings to Count Edward. I told him to call off the marriage arrangement, since I cannot abandon you and Timmy no matter what happens...."
"......."
"From now on, I will live my whole life looking only at you. I do not even need the status of a knight. If I can live with you and Timmy, I can endure even the life of a mere farmer. So please, forgive me."
Kate's body, which had been trembling, noticeably calmed. She had finally read the sincerity embedded in Philip's eyes. Tears were already streaming down her face as well. Philip had returned to the kind, considerate husband he once was. Sobbing, Kate threw herself into Philip's arms.
"H-honey......"
Philip's tear-stained face brightened. Kate had finally forgiven him.
"Th-thank you, my dear. From now on, I will live my whole life thinking only of you and Timmy. This is a vow I will not break even if I die a hundred deaths."
The couple, who had found each other again after many twists and turns, held each other tightly and caressed one another frantically. The mercenaries watched them with tears brimming in their eyes, praying that the dawn's light would shine upon the reunited couple's future.
"B-but where is Timmy?"
When Philip looked about with a tearful face, Yuliana silently approached him. She held out Timmy, whom she had been cradling in her arms. Timmy was still fast asleep, snoring softly.
"Timmy is right here."
The fierce emotions she had held toward Philip had vanished as if washed away. Seeing him kneel to earn Kate's forgiveness, the resentment in her heart had melted away. Yuliana was a clever girl. She did not want to ruin things by saying unnecessary words. When Philip received Timmy, his face lit up.
"Oh, Timmy...."
Philip rubbed his face against Timmy frantically. Because of that, Timmy woke up. Having been in a deep sleep, he might have burst into tears, but instead, Timmy smiled brightly. He seemed to instinctively recognize his father.
"Dadaaaa...."
Feeling Timmy's smile, Philip felt a decade-old weight completely lift from his chest. Now Timmy had returned as his son, whom no one could deny. No one could take him away.
"I'm sorry, Timmy. I'm truly sorry."
Philip, repeating his apologies, looked at Kate with gentle eyes.
"I will never make you and Timmy sad again. This is my sincere heart."
Hearing those words, Kate smiled through her tear-stained face. Thinking she had found again the happiness she believed completely lost, her heart swelled beyond endurance.
"Th-thank you so much, honey."
"Thank me? On the contrary, I am the one who cannot bear the gratitude. To think you have forgiven me for such a grave wrong... I no longer have any attachment to my position as a Royal Guard Knight. Even if I am dispatched as a garrison soldier to some remote mountain district, I do not care. As long as I can return home and see your and Timmy's smiling faces, that is enough...."
"R-really, you move me so."
Unable to endure any longer, Kate pulled Philip into another powerful embrace. Philip's eyes shone with resolve to protect the family he had found again.
Philip lightly kissed Timmy's face and handed him to Kate.
"Let us return now. To our humble home. Ah, but there is something I must do before that."
Philip softly pulled out the sword he had plunged into the ground and looked over the rigidly standing mercenaries with a stiff expression.
"Is there a man named Michel Bruno among you?"
Michel's eyes widened when Philip suddenly called his name.
"Wh-why me?"
Sparks flew from Philip's eyes the moment he saw Michel. The criminal who had tried to steal his wife and child was right before him. Though he had reclaimed them after many twists and turns, his feelings toward the man were anything but pleasant. Glaring at Michel as if he would devour him, Philip unconsciously gripped his sword hilt tightly.
"So you are Michel Bruno."
When the other man openly revealed his hostility, Michel also tensed and moved his hand to his waist.
"Indeed."
Michel took a stance, meeting the gaze head-on as if unwilling to lose. Seeing that, Philip realized the man was a Paladin of considerable skill. His fluid movements and agile actions showed he was by no means beneath Philip. Count Lawrence's words were proving eerily accurate.
Philip could not help but feel gratitude toward Count Lawrence, who had told him everything. Even though the Count had probably become a Death Knight by now.
'Truly, thank you, Count Lawrence. You made me realize my mistake at a most crucial moment.'
The staring contest between the two was on the verge of exploding. The mercenaries looked back and forth between them with expressions of incomprehension. They could not understand why Philip was suddenly revealing hostility.
As the atmosphere turned strange, Kate stepped in between them.
"Dear, what are you doing? These people saved me."
Strength instantly drained from Philip's hand. In any case, the taking of Kate and Timmy was something that had not yet happened. In the current situation, the other party was no different from his benefactor. Revealing hostility any further would be clear discourtesy, so he forcibly schooled his expression and bowed his head.
"I am grateful to you for looking after my wife and child."
Philip emphasized the part about them being his wife and child with particular force.
"Ah, yes...."
Michel also reciprocated the courtesy with a bewildered expression. It was impossible to get a read on him when he had revealed murderous hostility one moment and was suddenly showing manners the next. Having mechanically returned the courtesy, Philip looked at Kasim as if he had no desire to speak with Michel further.
"Are you the commander of this mercenary corps?"
"Indeed."
Only when addressing Kasim did a light of sincere gratitude appear on Philip's face.
"I sincerely thank you for saving my wife. I will never forget this grace for the rest of my life."
At the thanks overflowing with evident sincerity, Kasim made an embarrassed expression.
"We were merely fortunate. I am truly glad you had a change of heart, sir."
"If I had lost Kate and Timmy, I too would have lost the will to live. You are the benefactor who saved my entire family. How ever can I repay this grace...."
Philip knelt once again. Seeing a Royal Guard Knight of a kingdom kneel without hesitation to a mere mercenary commander, one could see how grateful he was. The flustered Kasim quickly approached and raised him up.
"There is no need for that. If the two of you live affectionately from now on, that alone is enough."
"Truly, thank you."
As if still unsatisfied, Philip bowed repeatedly. If by chance he had not saved them, Kate and Timmy would have ended their fleeting lives at a cliff, and Philip would have lived his whole life carrying that burden in his heart. Kasim smiled and urged him to take Kate and return home.
"Please take your wife and return home now. The lady's health has weakened considerably, likely due to the emotional toll."
"Ah, understood."
Philip hurriedly brought his horse. Lifting Kate into his arms and setting her on the horse himself, Philip gazed at his wife and child with warm eyes.
"Let us go home. To our narrow but incomparably precious home."
"Yes, honey."
Kate nodded and expressed her gratitude to each and every mercenary. Although her husband's heart...
Though the figure of the benefactor who must have played the greatest role in changing his mind was nowhere to be seen, she bowed her head to each of the others with an indescribable look in her eyes.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
After bidding farewell to the mercenaries, Philip left the place. With Kate and Timmy mounted on the horse, he walked along holding the reins firmly so they would not be shaken, and the sight made it plainly clear just how dearly he cherished his wife and child.
It was truly a heartwarming sight. Even after they had vanished from view, the group continued waving for quite some time. Until Mitchell’s sudden complaint burst out, that is.
“What the hell is with that bastard?”
Mitchell huffed, unable to contain his anger. Philip’s attitude from a little while ago had grated on him so badly that he could hardly endure it. As if glaring at him with those fierce eyes had not been enough, he had even looked ready to draw his sword... Not knowing why he had acted that way only made him angrier.
“Damn bastard. Maybe I should’ve just fought him and gotten it over with.”
Mitchell was on the verge of exploding. After all the hardships he had suffered up to now, resentment had filled him to the marrow, and he needed an outlet. Unfortunately, Philip had nearly set fire to it.
If Kate and Timmy had not been there, Mitchell might have been the one to pick the fight first. His temper had flared so badly that he was prepared not to care whether the other man was a royal guard knight of Terbia or anything else.
“Son of a bitch. Just let me run into you one more time.”
The mercenaries watched Mitchell, who kept huffing as he glared in the direction Philip had disappeared, with bitter smiles. Unable to stand it any longer, Juliana stepped forward.
“That’s enough, Mitchell. Philip changed his mind before it was too late, so isn’t this a good thing?”
“Then why the hell was that bastard showing hostility toward me? It pisses me off. What did I ever do wrong to him...?”
Mitchell’s venting showed no sign of stopping. But aside from him, the rest of the group still looked bewildered. Only after Philip and his wife had disappeared did doubts about the situation finally begin to arise.
“How on earth did that man Philip change his mind?”
“Well, seeing him in person, he seemed like an extremely upright man... In my experience, people like that can never be made to bend by force. What method could he possibly have used?”
“How should I know?”
Countless opinions went back and forth, but no answer came. It was an unexpected reversal in a situation most of them had already dismissed as impossible. Yet the very person who held the key to that reversal was still fast asleep. The mercenaries had no choice but to wait impatiently until Damon, looking weary, finally stepped out of the tent with a long yawn.
“Uwaaah! I slept well. Seeing as Kate’s gone, I guess the fellow came and left.”
Juliana quickly approached Damon as he rubbed his eyes.
“Just what method did you use?”
“......”
“How did you change Philip’s mind? And why is he showing hostility toward Mitchell?”
Damon smiled faintly.
“Is there any need for you to know?”
“I’m curious. What on earth did you do?”
But Damon did not give her a satisfying answer at all.
“Don’t try to find out. More importantly...”
Damon suddenly wore a sinister smile. It was a sly look in his eyes so wicked that Juliana, watching him, felt goosebumps rise all over her skin.
“Morning has dawned, so the enjoyable time has returned. Now then, shall you give me a kiss on the cheek? While calling me Uncle as sweetly as possible.”
Now it was Juliana who became flustered.
“W-wait a moment. We haven’t even eaten yet, have we? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“That’s more urgent than food. As you can see, I fulfilled the terms of our agreement splendidly. Don’t you think so?”
“E-even so...”
“Are you planning to break a fair contract?”
In the end, Juliana had no choice but to kiss Damon on the cheek as promised. The reason she felt less repulsed than yesterday was probably because she had seen Kate looking so happy.
“Ptooey, ptooey! You could’ve at least washed your face first.”
Watching Juliana run off with her entire face scrunched up, Damon burst into hearty laughter. Seeing that, the mercenaries leisurely began preparing breakfast. That morning felt exceptionally refreshing to them.