Chapter 41 : A Sense of Dissonance
Chapter 41: A Sense of Dissonance
The drawing room was wrapped in silence for ten seconds.
Calimacos waited calmly for whatever would come out of Tefir’s mouth.
Tefir’s reaction was neither intense nor cold.
“That’s quite unfortunate.”
“Your son died. Are you not sad?”
“If I had cared that much, I wouldn’t have sent him away.”
Calimacos, as if he had expected such an answer, took a sip of his tea.
“What will you do now?”
“What is there to do? Nothing changes. I only asked you to check on him because I was curious whether he was living well.”
“Not that. Aren’t you curious about the boy I brought back?”
Tefir’s eyes, which had been fixed on his teacup, turned toward Calimacos.
Was it because he had just heard the news of his son’s death?
There was a hint of regret in his gaze.
“Robin, ten years old, an orphan. Your son died trying to save him.”
“…Tell me more.”
“How about hearing the details directly from him? For an orphan, he’s a sharp one. He even knows how to write.”
“Where is he now?”
“At the church. Had we been any later, he’d have lost an arm.”
“When his treatment is done, could you bring him to me?”
“Of course. Is that all you needed?”
“Yes. Now I’d like to hear about you.”
Tefir poured another cup of tea.
He filled Calimacos’s empty cup as well.
“As I said before, I’ve no intention of interfering in your revenge. In fact, I’m rooting for you. Did you have any success in Stonegoth?”
“Let’s say I did. It’s still lacking, but I can see a way forward.”
“Impressive. You’re probably the only one bold enough to challenge an imperial knight. Perhaps because you were once a knight yourself?”
The left eye behind Calimacos’s eyepatch throbbed.
He had never once forgotten that day’s defeat.
Even after three years, the phantom pain sometimes flared up.
“No matter where I came from, my hatred toward Verman wouldn’t have faded. If anything, I’d have thrown my life away in rage.”
“To wait until you’re certain of victory… cunning. But then again, without that level of determination, you wouldn’t have become a knight.”
“There’s no need to speak so highly of the Empire’s hunting dogs. I’ve dealt with them personally—I know what they are.”
Had anyone overheard Calimacos’s words, they would have charged him with defamation and brought him to trial.
And to say such things before a baron of the Empire—it was something unthinkable.
“I hope you achieve what you desire.”
“You’re quite the strange noble, Baron. Every aristocrat I’ve met brimmed with authority.”
“Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Not uncomfortable—just uneasy. I can’t read you.”
Tefir smiled faintly.
Seeing that self-deprecating smile, Calimacos smiled back.
As expected, he was difficult to read.
There was nothing harder to deal with than a man whose thoughts couldn’t be discerned.
Calimacos downed the rest of his tea in one go and stood up.
“I’ll be staying in Regiville for a while. Call me if you need anything.”
“Which means you’ll be leaving again soon.”
Calimacos did not deny it.
He had already decided his next destination.
Before leaving the drawing room, he spoke casually.
“By the way, that boy named Jeremy. Is he really your son, Baron? He doesn’t look much like you.”
“……”
Tefir personally opened the door for Calimacos.
It was rare for a noble to open a door himself, but Calimacos didn’t think much of it.
“Take care.”
Calimacos gave a perfunctory bow and left the drawing room.
Once the door closed and he was alone, Tefir drank his now-cold tea.
With the warmth gone, the bitterness surfaced.
“I’m sorry, Sella. I have no excuse.”
The nobleman gazing out the window carried an air of dignity.
Yet his back somehow seemed sorrowful—perhaps even subdued by guilt.
The three days Robin spent at the church were peaceful.
Since leaving Stonegoth, this was the first time he had done absolutely nothing.
Robin didn’t want to live crippled for the rest of his life, so he focused entirely on his recovery.
The effect of the holy water was better than he had expected. His whole body healed cleanly.
“Robin, you leaving now?”
“Yes. Thanks to this, I got to learn what kind of place Regiville is. I hope Edni recovers fully too.”
“Thanks for keeping an old man company.”
He said goodbye to the patients he’d become acquainted with during his stay in the infirmary.
People of various ages and occupations had gathered there to recuperate, and Robin had learned a lot from them.
Baron Tefir, Lord of Regiville, was known as a man who neither overtaxed his people nor neglected the city’s upkeep.
Hearing commoners speak well of him only made Robin more curious about what kind of person Baron Tefir truly was.
If news of Robin’s arrival in Regiville had reached the Baron’s ears, then a meeting was inevitable.
And sure enough, Calimacos came with word that the Baron wished to see him.
“Don’t be nervous. He’s not the type to harm you.”
“I’m prepared.”
Seeing Robin’s resolute expression, Calimacos chuckled quietly.
Calimacos escorted Robin to the mansion but didn’t go inside.
“I’ll be at the inn. Some others will arrive today.”
“Thank you, Captain. See you this evening.”
Robin entered under the servant’s guidance.
The mansion’s interior was just as grand as it appeared from outside.
There were so many rooms that he thought every orphan from the orphanage could have one to themselves.
Finally, they arrived at a spacious room.
The servant knocked, and a voice from within told them to enter.
When the door opened, a middle-aged man sat behind a long desk.
“So you’re Robin. Come in.”
The servant quietly closed the door and left.
When Robin sat on the sofa before the desk, the Baron took a seat opposite him.
‘This is Jeremy’s father.’
The days he had spent with Jeremy flashed through Robin’s mind.
How should he speak to a parent who had lost a child?
He had thought about it dozens of times, yet no matter what he said, he always came to the same conclusion—nothing could ease the sorrow.
With the resolve to speak calmly, Robin was about to open his mouth when Tefir spoke first.
“I heard from Calimacos. You were Jeremy’s friend, weren’t you?”
“Yes. He was like family to me.”
“Family, you say. Could you tell me more about that?”
Robin began the words he had prepared.
He told everything from his first meeting with Jeremy to the very end.
Tefir did not interrupt him once.
When Robin spoke of Jeremy’s death, his voice trembled with emotion, though no tears fell.
He recounted everything just as he had practiced countless times before, without omission or embellishment.
By the time he finished, Robin felt utterly exhausted, as if he had run a marathon.
“I see. So that’s what happened.”
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
Tefir maintained a perfectly composed posture.
Robin lowered his gaze, waiting for whatever words would come next.
If the Baron chose to resent him, he was ready to accept it.
“Thank you for telling me honestly.”
Contrary to Robin’s expectations, Tefir expressed gratitude.
“You don’t resent me?”
“Jeremy threw himself to save you. That was his choice. I respect that.”
Robin raised his head with difficulty to study Baron Tefir’s face.
There was no trace of resentment toward him in the man’s expression.
Robin took out the locket necklace and asked something that had been on his mind.
“I heard the crest engraved on the back of this locket belongs to the House of Tefir.”
“That’s right. It’s our family’s crest.”
“Was Jeremy… really eight years old?”
“Yes, he was eight.”
Robin looked up toward the ceiling, his eyes glistening.
‘Jeremy was younger than me… A younger brother saved me.’
He had imagined that moment countless times, but when it finally came, the sorrow and guilt washed over him all at once.
Tefir handed him a handkerchief.
When the trembling subsided, Robin asked another question.
“Can you tell me how Jeremy came to be abandoned—and why you’re looking for him only now?”
“Abandoned, you say? That’s the wrong question. He wasn’t abandoned.”
“Then… did he leave on his own?”
“Well, let’s skip that question.”
Tefir took a sip of tea.
He had no intention of answering.
“But I can tell you this much. I just wanted to know how he was doing.”
“Why were you curious?”
“He’s my blood. Isn’t it natural to wonder? Though he wasn’t born of my lawful wife, he was still my son.”
‘Just for that reason, he spent money on the Calimacos Mercenary Band? I’ve heard nobles were rich, but…’
Before Robin could sort through his confusion, Tefir asked another question.
“So, Robin, what will you do now?”
“Pardon? About what?”
“I heard you have nowhere to stay. I’m asking what you plan to do with your life.”
In his heart, Robin wanted to follow the Calimacos Mercenary Band, but Mirian had already made it clear that he couldn’t.
Protecting him on a real battlefield was far too dangerous.
After all, mercenaries could not even guarantee their own survival.
Robin hesitated, fumbling for words before finally speaking.
“I think I’ll stay in Regiville. If you’ll allow it, Baron.”
“Hmm. It’s not easy for a child without a guardian to live alone. Do you have a way to make a living?”
“I know a bit about herbalism. And I can hunt, to some extent. I can earn enough to feed myself.”
It was a bold statement coming from a ten-year-old.
Anyone else would have dismissed it as nonsense, but Tefir did not.
He suspected that Calimacos had brought Robin to him for more than just Jeremy’s story.
‘He truly is different from other children.’
Though Robin’s eyes were sorrowful, their light had not dimmed.
There was a spark of determination in them.
“You may stay in Regiville. But it won’t be easy for a child to live alone. How about this—work here at the mansion for a while.”
“At your estate, my lord?”
“There are more duties here than just where I live. Managing the estate requires many hands. Some of those tasks wouldn’t be too difficult for a child. You’ll be provided room and board.”
Robin couldn’t discern Tefir’s intentions.
He hadn’t expected a man who had lost his son to make such an offer.
“May I think about it a little more?”
“Take your time and let me know. It can’t have been easy to come this far. I won’t force you.”
“Thank you.”
As their meeting neared its end, a rapid set of footsteps came rushing down the hallway and stopped outside the door.
A moment later, the door burst open without a knock.
“Daddy!”
It was a young girl with long braided hair.
Her big eyes sparkled mischievously.
She was a pretty child—one who might grow up to be a beauty someday.
“Imelda, I’m speaking with a guest right now.”
“A guest?”
Imelda hopped into the study and took a seat beside Baron Tefir, staring intently at Robin.
Robin, too, looked her over.
Her light brown hair was a softer shade than the Baron’s, and her features bore a slight resemblance to his.
Imelda’s tiny lips opened.
“You’re handsome! What’s your name?”
“My name’s Robin.”
“I’m Imelda! Eight years old! What about you?”
“I’m ten.”
“Then you’re my oppa!”
Her face was pure and carefree, untouched by any sign of worry or sorrow.
A child who had clearly lived in a different world from the ones Robin had known.
Robin felt a sense of dissonance.
As he watched the fidgety Imelda, Tefir spoke again.
“I’ll remember what you told me today. I hope we can meet again.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll make my decision soon.”
When Robin stood to leave, Imelda pouted.
“Oppa, don’t go! Play with me!”
“Imelda, I told you not to trouble our guests.”
Tefir soothed the whining girl.
‘So that’s what an ordinary parent-child relationship looks like.’
Leaving the mansion, Robin wandered through Regiville.
People smiled as they walked along the neatly paved streets.
‘This doesn’t seem like such a bad place to live.’
He had set his goal when he left Stonegoth—he had come to Regiville to grow stronger, but things hadn’t gone as planned.
He had told Baron Tefir about Jeremy’s death.
That heavy burden had been lifted, but his work was far from done.
As he organized his thoughts, his feet carried him to an inn.
The same inn where the Calimacos Mercenary Band had agreed to meet.
He knew he should go in, but his feet wouldn’t move.
He stood still, staring at the entrance for over ten minutes.
Then he realized the source of the faint, lingering sense of dissonance.
‘Was Jeremy really Baron Tefir’s son?’
Having met the Baron in person, Robin couldn’t see the resemblance.