Rumble, rumble.

Inside a carriage that was remodelled from a dog sled to run on the snow.

Callius sat and looked at the girl facing him.

The same hair colour as him.

The same eyes.

Emily von Jervain.

The two looked at each other curiously.

The two attendants accompanying Emily were murmuring and mumbling about Callius. Bruns was a little dissatisfied with the situation.

After leaving the mountain and reaching the nearby village, they got a wagon, loaded it with their spoils, and headed North.

And now, half a day has passed.

Callius and Emily kept looking at each other without uttering a word.

There was no one in the Carpe Kingdom who did not know Jervain of the North.

Black hair.

And gray eyes.

Callius and Emily are both from the same family.

‘There's no way that master was married, so maybe it's like a cousin.'

Emily's attendants seemed to think so, too.

Khm.

Here, Callius' servant and friend of the heart must step forward.

“Ah, let me introduce my master… An imposing Pilgrim who worships the great God Valtherus…”

That was then –

Emily's cute voice cut off Bruns' words, piercing to the heart of the matter.

"Jervain's scapegrace."

Huk! Bruns, as well as the attendants, were startled and swallowed their breath.

"A dull man who has never had a talent for swordsmanship since he was a child. One who has an arrogant attitude as if looking down on and educating others, even though his own head is empty. Addicted to sensual pleasures and debauchery, so he often wastes his wealth. A rare piece of garbage."

Bruns blinked.

Aside from the authenticity of the words poured out in rapid-fire, he was confused as to whether it was real or not that a child as cute as a doll really uttered those words.

He rubbed his ears once to check if he had heard it wrong.

But there were far too many words in that tirade for him to have somehow misheard.

Bruns gulped.

The Callius he knew was a Pilgrim with no mercy in his actions.

A man among men who had no hesitation when drawing a sword, one who always put his life on the line when it comes to fighting.

‘To say that he has no talent in swordsmanship…'

He didn't understand.

Bruns glanced at his master, Callius.

Despite the child's degrading remarks, his face was calm.

"Emily. How did you know I was Jervain's scapegrace?"

"Jervain's direct descendants, as well as the people from the collateral branches are all busy subjugating the White Forest in the North right now."

Emily pointed a finger at Callius' neck and then at the back of his hand.

"Add to that the rosary around your neck, and the stigmata on your hand. I heard that you are the only one with Jervain's blood who is a Pilgrim. You, the scapegrace."

"You're smart."

"Unlike you."

Psik.

Callius grinned.

She was only a little over twelve years old.

She was far more bright and nimble than you would expect from her age.

But after all, she was a child of Jervain.

If you inherited Jervain's blood, you should indeed be like this.

Because that is befitting the name of Jervain praised by the masses.

‘Jervain… ‘

I came to the North to meet Bernard, but I didn't expect to meet somebody from Jervain before that.

“Then why were you captured by bandits?”

"I don't want to tell you."

Quite hostile.

She'd probably heard the rumours and stories about himself from others in the family.

‘Yeah.'

Callius, the scapegrace of Jervain, who did not cover his family in glory, but rather painted its name with dung.

Even a small child won't have a good opinion about him if she has heard stories about him from an early age.

‘That's why I didn't want to meet anybody from the family.'

There is no reason to meet, and there is no good outcome even if you meet.

The relationship between Jervain and Callius is tangled like a knot.

One that is better to cut than to untie.

For this reason, Callius has never set foot on the Jervain estate in the three years since he became a Pilgrim.

‘But whose child is Emily?'

I have no memory of setting this up.

‘If it was the direct line, I would've known.'

At a guess, maybe a child from a collateral branch.

‘It doesn't really matter.'

It's pretty interesting, but Callius' current goal is the Spirit Sword owner, Bernard of Jervain.

Still, she's like a niece, so let's just take her home.

Moreover, since she got captured by bandits, he felt a little anxious.

‘She looks smart on the outside, but how did she get captured by a bandit group, of all things?'

He was curious.

"Emily."

"Don't talk to me like you're my friend. You idiot."

"How are you with the sword?"

"Better than you."

"Then how come you got captured?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe you don't have any talent?"

"That's not it! Don't slander the family name by saying things you don't understand!"

She then kept her mouth shut, saying it was meaningless to explain.

"I don't think it's some kind of great story, though."

"It's a great secret that you can't understand."

"If it's just being caught by the bandits, what kind of great story can be behind that? The story became uninteresting from the moment those two-bit bandits got involved."

One who has the blood of Jervain –

Captured by roadside bandits.

Callius noticed Emily giving him a venomous stare.

"Is your divine blood (sacred orifice)[1] blocked?"

Hearing that, Emily's hands curled into fists.

‘That seems to be the correct answer.'

Some ancient noble lineages, including Jervain, have their own characteristics.

It is the result of divine baptism from the time of the Kingdom's founding.

That is why the royal family and some founding families have unusually coloured eyes or hair, or have stigmas somewhere on their body.

Therefore, members of those families can have divine power even without being baptized.

Of course, the same is true for Jervain.

Their gray eyes contain the traces of God.

Therefore, Jervain are born with divine power and handle the sword relatively easily.

‘But Emily's divine power is too light.'

It's not that there's no divine power at all, but it feels strangely fragile.

Just like when Callius was wearing [Vivi's Bracelet], Emily's presence felt quite light.

But there's no way a child like this could have such an artifact.

It is reasonable to assume that the sacred orifice, the channel through which divine power flows, is blocked.

"Did you have an accident? Or was it intentional?"

“……”

Emily shut her mouth.

Large tear droplets hung sadly from the corners of her eyes.

She was desperately trying to hold back her tears.

Seeing Emily look down at the floor like that, Callius turned to look at the scenery outside the carriage.

‘You must have a story that you can't tell me.'

He was a little curious, but didn't ask further. He didn't want to talk much, nor did he want to listen to Jervain's situation.

After all, it was just a short-lived friendship.

One that would soon come to an end.

So there was no point in worrying.

Their journey continued for three days.

The wagon finally arrived at the Jervain family's territory. Straight ahead they could see the town built on a huge piece of land, and the castle standing majestic at the end.

Jevarsch Castle, the ancestral home of the Jervain family.

"Then, let's part here."

Callius immediately said his farewells to Emily.

Emily also snorted and turned her back, and started trudging towards the castle.

"You don't want to go?"

Emily and her attendants were making their way to the castle through the rough snow.

The castle was perched on top of a steep cliff, with sturdy walls and high battlements. Jevarsch Castle was nothing less than a natural fortress, and it was where Emily von Jervain should have been instead of running around outside.

"It's the Jervain family's estate. They'll recognize me, and that's not going to end up anywhere good."

“We're running out of food… and we have some things to sell.”

"You're being noisy."

The people of the North treat the Jervain bloodline with utmost respect. Jervain is the shield of the North, so it is impossible that the locals would not recognize a Jervain on sight.

Therefore, it was difficult for Callius to enter the Jervain estate.

Because the news would quickly reach the family once the locals recognize and greet him.

‘There's nothing good about having the local scapegrace wander around the place.'

It's considered fortunate if nobody waves a knife at you and scolds you to get the hell out of there.

"Let's go."

What is urgent now is not Emily's existence, but the Spirit Sword owner, Bernard.

"But what kind of person is this Bernard whom we need to find?"

The corners of Callius' lips twitched at Bruns' question.

His eyes became sharp, and his hands brushed the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.

"That damned old man."

Jevarsch Fortress.

Cheleleleuk.

Thick chains rattled as the enormous gates slowly opened.

Kugugung. A child and two attendants could be seen entering.

Black hair and gray eyes.

A girl with neat short hair and a prominent headdress.

It was Emily von Jervain.

As soon as the gates opened, Emily walked in and hurried towards the chapel.

Opening the door, there was an old man with gray hair, drinking alcohol in front of the statue of Valtherus.

"Oh, this is the Holy Water…"

His face was flushed as if he was completely drunk, and alcohol was dripping down his white beard.

If he was pretending to be a priest, he didn't give off the impression of a very good one.

"Grandpa. Do you know where I just returned from?"

"Huh? Who are you?"

"It's Emily, Emily! Don't you even remember me anymore?!"

"Ah, Emily, my sweet granddaughter!"

"No, I'm not grandpa's granddaughter, I'm more like your grandniece."

"But where were you? The servants were looking all over for you because you disappeared."

Emily sat down on one side of the chapel with a prickly face.

"I went and raised my sword against the bandits."

Then I got caught.

"Ohh. Why did you do such a reckless thing? I told you it was too early for you."

"I've never killed anyone. Albert said, you have to kill to become a true Knight. Then my divine blood could get unblocked."

The priest looked at Emily with pity and patted her shoulder.

"But how did you escape?"

"… Somebody helped me."

"Oh, may he be blessed! Who is it, I need to give him my thanks."

"It's someone grandpa knows."

"Um? Somebody I know? Gilbert? No, he's on the front line right now… Then Charlie? No, he's hunting beasts in the White Forest…"

Who could it be?

"Jervain's scapegrace."

The drunken priest's eyes narrowed.

"Hey…"

“That bastard… he saved me.”

"How was he?"

"He's handsome. He called me smart."

"But he wasn't vulgar, right?"

“Yeah… just like grandpa said.”

Hahaha!

The priest, laughing happily, touched the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist.

"Callius. So he's back."

His name is Bernard.

He's a Paladin, who had found his own sword after a long pilgrimage.

Editor's Notes:

[1] 성혈 (聖穴) is being translated as divine blood (sacred orifice). From context, this seems similar to the meridians for channeling qi in Chinese medicine, however only for channeling divine power.