Love

"Wait!"

Before Lutto could go out, Fredrinn called him out. He put a thoughtful look as his eyes showed a cunning glint.

Emerging as the first party to help the viscountess would be too risky. It would directly expose him and make him stand out. It would be better to appear on the battlefield in a life-and-death situation to receive her favor since he would indirectly save their lives, earning the gratitude of Viscountess Nemhil and other forces.

Of course, all the mentioned risks above would be pinned to his persona, albeit a different one. The persona used to destroy the branch family was too cruel; it's impossible to create connections with this persona. The job it had was one: to kill!

Until he truly understood the situation of this kingdom, that's it. After all, other than the rumors he heard from the merchants in Litel Trading Site, he had no other places to gather intelligence.

It was also for this reason that the importance of making a connection with Viscountess Nemhil became crucial. Through cooperation, he could use her connections to understand everything.

If the undercurrents of the kingdom were extreme to the point where the king and other higher-ups couldn't afford to divide their attention to other things, then he wouldn't mind exposing himself. Hell, with his strength, he may even receive benefits.

He is a peak Grand Knight equivalence, after all. Even the king has to make an effort to please him.

However, if the situation was stable despite the undercurrents, by emerging as a peak Grand Knight force, others would have the time to stunt his development. The large pie called the Mystyr Kingdom would have to occupy another party.

The king, the 10 Supreme Commanders, and the 16 duchies wouldn't like that. With their accumulation of power and wealth, scheming against him would be too easy, ultimately leading to the death of his people. That is a big no-no.

He also needs information regarding the Kennel Family. It has been a few days since his raid, and he even heard that the family lost 20% of its annual income, yet there were no major movements.

"Damn, I lacked too many chips to make a certain step. There are too many unknown variables."

This factor makes him more determined to establish a connection with Viscountess Nemhil.

"What's wrong, my Lord?"

"I changed my mind. As soon as you hear that she fell into peril, report to me as soon as possible! That's where I make my move."

Lutto held a look of confusion; why not lend help from the start? Wouldn't Viscountess Nemhil hold more trust towards you, then? But he didn't share this thought. His Lord knew the best, and he trusted him in this.

"Understood. I will only send letters to inform you my lord, which will be delivered through pigeons; if I came in person, the news might be outdated by the time you received it."

Fredrinn nodded in satisfaction. This is the advantage of competent subordinates! They are capable of using their creativity and ideas to discover the most efficient path in their respective fields.

He also entrusted him with several gold coins. But this time, he wanted him to create a small establishment that would be used as a branch. He also permitted him to bring 10 people with him as his assistants.

Although he was rich now, it was just hard money; he must pour it into investments toward several businesses that could bring about stable income. Lutto, as a merchant, surely understands the best steps to make this come true.

The man was moved to tears by the trust of Fredrinn, and he bowed deeply.

Fredrinn also wanted to implement several ideas for business, but he shook his head in the end. Although he knew several products that could potentially bring him immense profits, he felt like it was not the time yet. It's fine to follow the current trend of this world.

There are too many things that need to be done and too many factors that could potentially bring him disasters if they were implemented; his already divided attention cannot be divided again.

As Lutto left the workshop, Fredrinn sighed tiredly. There are too many variables he must take into account; a careless move and he'd be done for.

"If I became a village head before I became a sacrificial soldier, I wonder if I could be careless? Quickly dominating the local forces and developing my territory with lightning speed without carrying about the consequences. After all, people said that it was better to act than to worry, right? Unfortunately, my experience as a sacrificial soldier was too significant and treacherous; I could not simply tread the path ahead without ensuring that my step would be safe."

"This is not my previous life, where carelessly moving forward would bring failure and disdain in a worse scenario. Here, my people would be killed, my wife and my mother would be raped and become lowly playthings, and even my unborn child would be used as a sacrifice by those extremists..."

"And that's not even the worst scenario."

Fredrinn's eyes turned cold and ruthless; he'd create a mountain of corpses to protect them. Especially since he had the power now.

Realizing these extreme consequences, he became restless, and he looked at the talents he could integrate himself with. The black gold talent along with other gold talents... If he could have them, how powerful he would be?

He hesitated, but for the sake of stability for the next step, he must not doubt!

"Don't be a coward!"

With a heavy look, he went out and decided to gather his mother and his wife. Fredrinn hesitates because he does not wish to break the little moral code he has left, but he doesn't even ask for his wife's opinion about this.

He purely acted like this to fulfill his self-vanity and selfishness, and that made him somewhat ashamed. Thus, after consulting them, Fredrinn and his family members sat at the dining table.

Rea, his little wife, directly planted herself on his lap and hugged him tightly. He did not refuse and started to rub her magenta hair.

Cecy smiled softly.

"Do you have something in your mind, my son?"

Looking at the haggard Fredrinn, it was clear that he had a lot in mind. Cecy showed a look of worry. Rea didn't say anything, but it's clear that she was agitated.

"I... I need to confess."

Fredrinn tried to remain unaffected, but even he couldn't help but stumble in his words.

"My poor child... It seems like bringing our village to its golden age took a lot of you."

"Darling..."

Cecy caressed his hair like how she used to do when he was just a boy, and the dignified Lord did not reject it.

If not for the continuous threats that keep surging in this dangerous world, he wouldn't mind being a naive boy like he used to be. Plowing the field, riding carabaos while enjoying the wheat field...

His eyes finally exposed his exhaustion, but Cecy didn't say much. Rea also stayed quiet. They just looked at him with love.

"What do you want to confess?"

Fredrinn felt stuck, but he was not a naive boy anymore; he was a man who was forced to stain his hands with blood. He was not afraid of hurtful words, and he was certainly not afraid of disdain.

He was not the person he used to be; someone who was mentally unstable by the continuous suffering he must endure. The tempering phase has passed, creating the man he is now.

"I vowed to marry a girl. It was my selfishness because she was really beautiful. To receive her blessing, I vowed to protect her in fifty years from an Emperor."

Fredrinn laid all of his cards on the table. He had no intention of lying. His eyes are resolute yet warm and regretful as he looks at two women he'd take on the world for.

Sincerity was the best form of confession. One he would undoubtedly show for these two people.

The dining room was silent for a moment. However, outside of his expectation, Cecy showed a strange look as she shared a glance with Rea, who giggled cutely.

"Fredrinn, my beloved son, I thought you were cursed by a devil in your outings or something; so it was this issue?"

"Hm?"

Fredrinn was dumbfounded. What's that supposed to mean? Looking at his face, the round-bellied Rea laughed melodiously as she laid her head on the side of his neck.

"My silly husband, Maltel told us this the moment she moved to the house near the main hall. She was so bashful when she revealed your vow to her."

"Darling, do you think we don't know your plight? Do you think we are unaware of your suffering? You improved the livelihood of your people through your own effort and created the brightest future we could ever hope for. And now you think you were wrong in this situation?"

Rea's eyes began to shine by her accumulated tears, planting a soft peck on his cheek.

"I may not know what sort of struggle you did to achieve this all, but you have to understand that I'm not here as a burden. I'm not someone who will go against your wishes. Even if you became the worst sinner in this world, the moment I accept your vow, I'll be right by your side until the end of my life."

"Me and my mother-in-law understood that your heart was so big that you're even willing to share everything you had for your people. In our opinion, an extra wife would not be a bother at all. We may have an extra companion."

Pure love may be a disdained, imaginary concept in modern times, but in this world, it has not been influenced by anything. It was truly the feeling of pure, unadulterated love.

In a world where ordinary people are nothing more than ants and equality does not exist, every second of a peaceful life was more than a blessing; it was a miracle.

The meaning of love is not as vain as copulation, getting married, and understanding each other. It was a matter where the only thing that could separate them was death. A form of trust so deep that even death could not break it.

People have no time to develop many nonsenses regarding this concept; they only think of love as something comforting, secure, and beautiful. Through this sacred vow, their life and death would be intertwined, living a life with no regrets.

People who held power may recognize love as something that could be easily discarded and manipulated to fulfill their bidding, but for ordinary people, it was something they held even in death.

Fredrinn witnessed Rea's gleeful tears and laugh. He saw her beautiful smile. He saw her twinkling eyes. He held the result of their union. He connected his heart with hers.

At this moment, he realized.

Maltel was beautiful like a goddess, but Rea...

She's someone irreplaceable. She is his object of adoration, a woman worth everything he had. She's willing to entrust her everything to him, so how could he not do the same?

This world was filled with greed and personal interests, but at this moment, Fredrinn found a haven called Rea.

Cecy witnessed this warm moment, and she silently left the dining room. She smiled softly. Her son, who worked tirelessly, has found his solace.

No matter what he became in the future, this would be the place where he could be at ease; a haven where he was free from the treachery of the world.