Chapter 1 : The Blue Noble

Victor Vincenzo, a noble youth who sat wearily on his horse lazily staring with his electric blue eyes at the long march ahead of him as the light summer breeze caressed his baby blue hair.

Victor wore a noble landsknecht hat and shirt with long sleeves under a padded doublet,

linen hosen pants with a pair of pointy leather shoes.

His hair was neatly tied back with a white ribbon, the colors of his clothing were bright blues with white trims and black leather.

Victor's powdered face had two distinct features: the dark blue lipstick he had on and the dark eyeliner which brought out his eyes.

It had been a little over eight hours since he left his life of luxury to go on a crusade for something called the philosopher's stone.

Victor could not help but muse to himself.

Victor Vincenzo : ("If someone had told me I'd be marching for the crusade yesterday morning I would have laughed in their face".)

The gentle smile on his face had been the first smile since leaving his family's domain, for whatever odd reason he found the thought amusing despite the gravity of the situation.

Sadly the loud sound of men and horses marching drowned out any peace of mind that lasted too long.

The tedious march went on for another hour or two before stopping to set up camp.

Victor Vincenzo : "Pedro!"

I called for my peasant to report.

Being of gentle birth I am given higher priority then most of the men marching in the crusade.

The downside is that the quality of said treatment is beggarly at best…

From the corner of my eye I see Pedro hastily running to my side.

Pedro : "Yes milord".

He stops beside me crouched over sweating and hyperventilating trying his best to keep a respectful composure.

Pedro here is one of the few peasants belonging to my family's domain.

He is a young fat farmer in rags with sun tanned skin maybe in his mid to early twenties with short black hair, a neck beard and a small pudgy face.

Despite his large size his voice is rather high pitched and his limbs are stubby giving him a meatball like body shape.

Victor Vincenzo : "Prepare my lodging I expect it to be done by the time I return with my rations".

Getting off my horse I don't bother to give Pedro a second glance or hear his reply because I already know he has no choice but to do as I say.

Pedro : "Yes-(*Pant) mi-lord-(*Pant) ".

As I walk leading my horse through the busy camp I see Orlando, another peasant from my domain among the crowd of men waiting in line to get food.

Victor Vincenzo : "Ah perfect Orlando!"

Orlando immediately turned around recognizing my voice and his expression showed reluctance.

Despite both being farmers Orlando was the polar opposite of Pedro with a tall and lanky build his face was common, his hair the same short and black but with a stubble.

Orlando looked young for his age despite being in his early thirties he had sun tanned skin with the same dark brown eyes as Pedro.

Victor Vincenzo : ("Now that I think about it they might be related, hmm I don't remember?")

Normally I wouldn't waste my precious brain space remembering the names and faces of peasants.

But given that I have no official authority to order around others in this crusade I will make due with what I have.

Seeing Orlando's reluctance to leave the line for food rations I glare at him giving him a clear idea of what is really more important: between his petty hunger or my whims.

He nervously shouts.

Orlando : "Coming Milord!"

Leaving the line as his stomach growls Orlando stands to my side quietly and obediently.

Due to the height difference I do not want to look up at Orlando as it would be inappropriate for a noble of my status to look up at a peasant.

Victor Vincenzo : "Get on your knees".

Orlando : "What?"

Victor Vincenzo : "Get on your knees now".

Orlando : "uh?, yes-yes milord!"

Orlando immediately got on his knees not knowing why as he looked up at me with nervous anticipation.

Victor Vincenzo : "Good".

Looking down at Orlando I hand him the leash to my horse.

Victor Vincenzo : "Take her to the stables".

I don't bother to give him a second glance or hear his reply as I make my way to the line for food rations.

I don't wait in line instead I walk past the gathering of filthy commoners in dirty rags and cut to the very front.

No one questions it or complains, not even the poor hungry chap at the front.

When I receive my tray of food I cannot help but be disappointed.

The food is… edible I suppose.

A plate of salted pork, sliced white bread, mashed potato, cabbage with a cup of clean water.

While I had a look of dissatisfaction on my face many looked at my tray with envy.

The commoners ate a bowl of bean soup with white bread chunks and a piece of hard meat, I don't know what exactly the meat is and I have no plans on finding out.

As I made my way back I saw Pedro finished setting up the tent waiting for my arrival.

Pedro : "Is it too your liking milord?"

One of the benefits to being a noble is that I get my own tent.

I don't have to share my living space with a group of noisy smelly peasants.

Victor Vincenzo : "Hmm good job here's your reward".

I grabbed a piece of pork meat from my tray and casually tossed it to the dirt floor in front of Pedro.

With a look of mad hunger and joy Pedro smiled widely and quickly scooped up the piece of salted pork with bits of dirt in it before devouring it.

Pedro : "Mmm! Mmm! Tha-(*Chew)-nk you mi-(*Gulp)-lord".

Victor Vincenzo : "How disgusting get out of my sight".

Pedro : "Yes! Please feel free to call me again milord!"

I saw Pedro run off happily probably heading to get his rations for the day too.

Victor Vincenzo : ("For a repulsive man with poor manners my opinion of Pedro is actually higher than my opinion of most commoners after-all it is good to see peasants knowing their place".)

I walked inside the red tent.

It was small but without anyone else inside I had enough room to have two wooden crates act as a chair and table for me to sit and eat instead of on the floor like everyone else.

When I sat down to eat I took off my hat and rapier from my belt and picked up the wooden fork and spoon.

I could hear the chatter of the camp all around me.

It was comforting...

I had never eaten alone before as I was so used to having maids and servants by my side whenever I ate to attend to me.

Being without proper company in this march gave a strange sense of melancholy.

There were no other nobles around for me to associate with so I stayed inside the tent.

Keeping myself busy with a list of all the things I would do when I returned home, day dreaming about my life after this crusade.

After the horses rest we will be marching again towards the border and into some god forsaken savage land known as the Dark Forest.

Three months ago there was an incident involving a holy relic known as the philosopher's stone near the border of the kingdom.

The Dark Forest was a strange forest that one day magically appeared overnight covering a large area of plains and engulfing a few towns and villages after the incident.

It is believed to be a result of this philosopher stone.

What the stone actually is and does is beyond me but it must be important if they are sending an army on a crusade for it.

Information on the holy relic is kept tight by the church making it impossible for me to get any viable information or description of the relic.

But it was widely known that anyone who goes into the Dark Forest never comes out.

So after months of sending waves of adventurer parties and mercenaries with zero results the Church and Kingdom decided to gather an army for a crusade.

Whatever is inside of that forest is my grand opportunity to secure my noble status if not by my family then by the church as a loyal follower who participated in a holy crusade.

Naturally I had no plans to engage in any combat or to be anywhere near the front lines of battle.

The spilling of noble blood was something that was avoided at all cost by armies so I had nothing to worry about.

My role in all this was to essentially boost morale with my presence and to improve my family's relationship with the church.

Victor Vincenzo : "If I do a good job even if my father is unwilling to forgive me he will have no choice but to support me".

I ate until I was full and decided to save the rest for Pedro later.

After resting the long and tedious march went on again until sunset.

Victor Vincenzo sat wearily on his horse lazily staring at his destination a few miles away stood the Dark Forest.