Barbarian Quest

Count Whelan was sleeping well at night. Though he had not had an audience with the emperor, he was told that the emperor was pleased because of the information he had provided.

‘King Varca of Porcana must have been quite a headache.'

Thanks to Count Whelan, the emperor was able to uncover the true intentions of Varca. The king of Porcana was going to betray the empire if he ever got an opportunity to do so.

'Most kingdoms are like that.'

No kingdom was satisfied with being a vassal state of the empire. It was natural for them to want to escape their vassal status considering the annual tributes they had to pay.

Yet, no kingdom dared to raise its flag against the empire first. They all just watched and monitored the empire's movements.

"Hehe."

Count Whelan laughed as he sipped his wine. Once this time of chaos passed, he would receive the empire’s patronage to become a strong noble in Caselmaroni.

"I will be back, father."

Lesley curtsied, lifting the hem of her skirt. She looked decent when dressed up nicely. She was by no means an extreme beauty per se but not unpleasant to look at either.

"Who have you been seeing so often?" Count Whelan asked Lesley, who had been frequently going out.

"Don’t worry, father. My company is of high standing."

"That's reassuring. You’re a smart girl, so I trust you will handle things well on your own."

Count Whelan trusted Lesley enough to utilize her as a diplomatic tool.

'But at the end of the day, a girl’s use is in marriage.'

He needed to find a suitable man from a good family to marry Lesley off to before her marriageable age passed.

"Another reason why we’re staying at the Swallow Residence for so long is to find you a partner. If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know," Whelan said to his daughter.

"It would be splendid if you could get us a good horse. This man likes to go riding."

"He sounds like a manly gentleman, seeing how he is into horses. A man should enjoy horse riding and hunting! Of course!"

Count Whelan laughed heartily. He told Lesley she could take his horse.

Before heading out, Lesley looked back at Count Whelan and asked, "Do you wish for my happiness, father?"

"What father would not want his daughter to be happy?" Whelan replied.

"Then, please wish for my happiness."

Lesley smiled broadly and left the room. Count Whelan chuckled with satisfaction as he watched his daughter walk away.

"She must really fancy this man."

Lesley stopped by the stable at the Swallow Residence to fetch Count Whelan's horse. She held the reins and waited anxiously for someone. Soon, a maid approached the stable.

"You look great in that, Pahell."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

"It is a compliment."

Lesley covered her mouth and giggled. She looked at Varca, who was disguised as a maid. The wig and maid's outfit Lesley had found fit Varca like a glove.

Varca reached out and held Lesley’s finger. It was trembling ever so slightly.

"It will be fine."

Varca swore to take Lesley as his queen. Trusting his words, Lesley was prepared to leave with Varca for the kingdom of Porcana. This was an adventure of a lifetime for her.

Lesley stared at Varca's face. With the wig and light makeup, his facial lines looked quite androgynous, almost prettier than the less-than-ideal maids.

"As long as you don’t speak, no one would know you're a man."

Lesley soothed her fluttering heart.

'...I never thought I'd be eloping with a man.'

Lesley was not a target of surveillance to the imperial guards. They performed a quick inspection out of formality and glanced over Lesley and Varca.

"Ah, you are the lady of the Whelan Family. Going for a picnic, my lady? Even with Hamel's good public order, it's not a good idea for two women to go out like this without a man with them. My shift ends soon, maybe I could accompany you…" The knight in charge of the checkpoint hinted slyly.

"No, thank you. There’s nothing for us to worry about with Hamel’s excellent security. We're not going far, so even if anything happens, we'll be seen from the city walls."

It was a clear refusal. The knight smacked his lips and looked at Varca, who was next to Lesley. The cascading brown curls, with the blue eyes beneath, were strikingly beautiful.

"Very well. Anyway, you are quite tall for a maid."

When the knight said this, Lesley answered on her behalf.

"Not just tall, her hands are fierce too. It would be best to keep your hands off her."

"Haha, just the type I like. There’s fun in taming a cat-like woman."

The knight laughed at his own joke, but Lesley showed a look of displeasure.

The embarrassed knight escorted Lesley out of the city. After sending Lesley off first, he playfully grabbed Varca's waist.

"Oops, you almost tripped over a rock there. Gotta be careful."

The knight's hand wandered from Varca's waist and lightly slapped her buttock. Varca, holding back his anger, hurried after Lesley.

"Aw man, she’s tall but her body’s built like a can."

The knight muttered as he looked at his palm. He watched Lesley and Varca walk away for a bit, then resumed his guard duty.

Lesley and Varca safely made their way out of the inner and outer walls. The security at the gate of the outer wall was lax, making it easy to pass through.

"W-we really made it out, Pahell! We did it!"

"You did well," Varca muttered as he looked at the city wall. Soldiers were moving along the high walls.

Varca's attendants were still inside. If the emperor found out that Varca had escaped, they would certainly be harmed.

'I hope we can meet again.'

The one under the imperial surveillance was Varca, not his attendants. They couldn't monitor every attendant individually. If they managed to escape individually, they might meet again in Porcana.

'If I don’t see them back in Porcana, they’re probably dead.'

Varca still attempted the escape knowing that his attendants might die. He was a king and knew his life was more precious than others'.

'Lou said all lives are equal, but surely the life of a king weighs more than that of other nobles, let alone commoners.'

That was the reality. Cowardly as it may sound, Varca had to live even at the expense of others.

'If I fall here... then the sacrifice of those who died for me would also become meaningless.'

Varca had learned to be deceitful. Living truly according to Lou's teachings was impossible. A king had to become a cunning snake.

Throb.

He was ashamed of his own actions. He wanted to run away from the sunlight.

"Pahell?" Lesley asked worriedly.

'I don’t have a pinch of affection for this woman in my heart, yet I held her and whispered love. How terribly fallen am I?'

Betraying and being betrayed, deceiving and being deceived. That was now the norm for Varca.

Creak.

Varca gripped the dagger he had kept hidden. He looked at the back of Lesley's neck.

'If I slit that slender neck and leave the body lying in front of the walls, it would be a dreadful gift for Count Whelan.'

It would be a definite revenge and a warning toward the emperor and Count Whelan who had deceived him.

‘But all she did was being loyal to her parents who birthed her... what sin does she have?'

Varca let go of the hilt of his dagger and grabbed the reins of Lesley's horse.

'Spilling unnecessary blood would make me no different from the beings I despised.'

Varca felt himself changing, but he constantly strove to maintain at least a minimum standard. He had strayed far from Lou's teachings, yet he did not forget the basic decency of humans.

For a while, Varca dressed as a woman as he pretended to be Lesley's servant. His usual appearance as a man was so noticeable that cross-dressing was actually better.

"Just hold on a bit longer. We'll be able to sleep in a village tomorrow."

"By village, you mean a room swarming with unknown bugs? We'd be lucky to get a room at all. Ah, what am I saying! It's fine," Lesley grumbled and then covered her mouth.

Traveling just the two of them was harder than expected. Lesley especially quickly grew weary of the rough sleeping conditions she was unaccustomed to. Even the village inns were so filthy that it made for a miserable rest for a delicately raised noble lady.

'This is not romantic at all.'

Lesley looked at Varca with a gloomy expression.

There was no such thing as counting stars as they lay side by side by the campfire. At night, they were busy scratching at bug bites. Their nightly routine was the rustling of the bushes that made their spines tingle.

'I didn’t think it would be this hard.'

Lesley clung closely to Varca as she brushed off a bug clinging to her arm. She was too exhausted for any desires to arise. All she wanted was to get to the Porcana Kingdom as soon as possible.

'There must be a grand castle waiting for me. All the women in the world will envy me. They say that the beauty of a woman is temporary but that of a man lasts a lifetime… Surely our child will be very cute and lovely, as well.'

Lesley endured the harsh reality by focusing only on a sparkling future.

Rustle.

A sound came from the bushes, indistinguishable whether it was the wind or a beast. Lesley, with a frozen face, stared into the darkness until she was sure no one was there and then sighed in relief.

"We should hire a mercenary or something. Didn’t you mention that you’ve used a mercenary squad for protection before, Pahell?"

"It's hard to find mercenaries unless we’re in a big city. And half of those self-proclaimed mercenaries turn into robbers at the slightest chance. They are not trustworthy. I was just lucky to have met a proper one for protection. Really lucky."

Varca chuckled.

'Urich’s Brotherhood.'

Varca looked into the campfire with a distant gaze. They were tough days with even the loss of a dear one, but they also held many memories.

'I didn’t expect you to come back as the plunderer after leaving so abruptly. You never failed to surprise me.'

Varca added more wood to the campfire.

"Most of my story dramatically changed because of a single barbarian. Honestly, I'm nothing special. I’m just a coward who can’t do anything without the help of others, just a commoner who resorts to shallow tactics," Varca muttered.

But no one was listening. Lesley had already fallen deep asleep, breathing softly.

It would have been nice if they could take turns keeping watch, but he knew he shouldn’t expect Lesley to go to that extent. But that also didn’t mean that Varca could stay up all night on his own.

Varca closed his eyes and slept lightly. Multiple dreams flashed by, perhaps because of the light sleep. Some were nightmares, some were pleasant.

Rustle.

A noise woke him up. Varca opened his eyes wide. He grabbed his dagger and looked around. He was almost too quick for someone who had been sleeping.

"Lesley."

Varca shook Lesley by the shoulder. She was slow to wake.

Snap.

There was a sound of a twig snapping. Varca stared in the direction of the sound.

'Please.'

People were scarier than beasts. Varca hoped the noise was just a passing animal.

"Hehe."

A laughter passed chillingly down Varca's spine. He stepped on Lesley's hand.

"A-argh!"

Lesley woke up with a yelp. She was about to complain, but seeing Varca's serious face, she closed her mouth.

woo's Thoughts

Oh how I wanted to say he was 'built like a baked bean'

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