Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 49

The village was surrounded by a wooden fence as tall as Luisen. It was rare to see such wonderful woodwork in such remote mountains.

Does this region usually have a lot of monsters?

No. Since were in the midst of high mountains and deep valleys, there are many large beaststhe walls were built high for those. As for monsterswe occasionally saw some goblins.

Luisen waited outside with the robbers as Carlton went ahead and scouted inside the village walls.

The village was deathly quiet. As Carlton had guessed, the monster swarm had already left.  At the mercenarys signal, Luisen and the robbers followed him into the village.

The place was in shamblesakin to ruins. Agricultural tools and other bits and bobs were scattered along the roads; they could see broken houses and dried blood stains here and there. Crying, the robbers hurried to find their own homes, and Carlton and Luisen were left to examine the ruined settlement together.

Sir Carlton, here. Luisen pointed at the wooden door of some building. There were traces of several scratches made with sharp claws on the wood frame. As the residents closed the door to hide inside, the monsters must have scratched at it to break it down.

Following that, the two found footprints left by four-legged beasts, teeth marks, and something that appeared to be fur.

These all seem like direwolf tracks, right? Luisen asked.

Yes. It seems like they belong to a direwolf. From the state of the blood spilled on the ground, Im certain that its been at least ten days, as the robbers have said.

Ten days Thats seven days before I was attacked. Do you think this was done by the same group that attacked me?

If there arent two groups of direwolves It would mean the monsters that attacked this town and my Duke must be the same group

Luisen and Carlton may have moved a fair distance as they winded around the mountainin terms of distance alone, the place where Luisen was attacked and this village were not too far away. In that time, the direwolves could definitely have crossed that distance.

Moreover, it was uncommon to see monsters that obeyed human orders. It would be reasonable to assume that the two attacks were conducted by the same group of monsters.

But ten days ago Ruger was with me in the castle. It couldnt have been him who had brought the direwolves into this village.

If not Ruger, maybe a collaborator?

Thats possible.

Looking at these circumstances, it was highly likely that Ruger was in some sort of criminal posse.

Ruger had been busyout of his mindwith packing for his master. Had he been in touch with his posse then, readying for an attack on himself?

No wonder he looked so harried, Luisen muttered. That damn son of a bitch. After doing all that, he dared to whine to his master about how tired he was? The flames of ire blazed within Luisen.

Carlton patted Luisen on the shoulder. Afterwards, the young lord released a long breath and swallowed his anger. Suddenly, the robbers came running back to them; they were spouting gibberish with dazed expressions, as if they had been possessed by a ghost.

Speak clearly! What is it? Carlton asked.

Nothing. Theres absolutely nothing.

What? Carlton was annoyed, threatening to punish them if they continued to speak nonsense.

The robbers shrieked and paled. Theres bloodstains, but no ones around!

Since monsters have appeared, all the survivors must have run away.

No, its not that We cant even see the dead folks. So While the two robbers who had arrived before could only speak gibberish, their companion, following close behind, cried. The corpses! We cant see any corpses!

What are you talking about? Luisen inquired.

The robbers hurried and crowded around the young lord and the mercenary. We dont know whats going on. Theres nothing! There should be some peoplethere should at least be corpses left behind!

After the monsters attacked, they did not return to the village. Therefore, the bodies of the dead villagers should have remained. However, there were only scattered blood stains. The robbers were shocked no bodies were left behind.

Couldnt someone have cleared the corpses away? There could have been other survivors, Luisen raised a counter argument.

The men were easily persuaded by the young lords illogical statement because they wished to believe there were other living villagers. I-Is that so?

That could be possible! The men said brightly.

As he watched the scene, Carlton muttered in a low tone that only Luisen could hear, I dont believe the villagers would have been responsible for cleaning up. Theres no signs of the bodies being moved.

Carlton had already noticed strange inconsistencies with what the robbers had found.

How do you know? Luisen asked.

If a villager were to come back and move the body, there should be drag marks on the ground or long trails of blood. But, nothing like that exists.

Then?

At the very least, they certainly wouldnt have gotten up and walked away on their own two feet.

Hmm

They must have been bitten and taken away or eatencruel things that Luisen didnt want to imagine. The young lord grew pale.

As soon as he saw that, Carlton thought to change the subject. There was nothing good about staying in a village that had seen such strange happenings. It doesnt seem like theres anything else to see here. Lets get going. We should find a place to stay before sunset.

At Carltons urging, Luisen looked over the ruined village once more. Though the place was small and poor, he could see it was a home that was cultivated with care and tenderness. Thus, this villages tragedy hit the young lord with more melancholy.

Understood. Luisen felt pity and sympathy for the disaster that had befallen this village, but there was nothing he could do immediately. If direwolves had passed through this place, then they could come back at any time, after all. Not only were the two being chased, but Luisen could hardly help anyone without Carlton.

If you know anything, please let me know. My parents were killed by those bastards. Wouldnt anyone like to know who their enemies are? The robbers cautiously made a request as Carlton and Luisen were talking. In one night, they had lost their homes, neighbors, and families; they would definitely wonder what was happening. They had no choice but to wander around the area because they had no capabilities, but they had never, not even once, felt comfortable with what had happened.

Looking at how earnest they were, Luisen choked with guilt. If I were their target, then they should only have attacked me. Why attack an innocent village?

We dont know anything either. Even if we knew, its better for you to stay ignorant as well, Carlton replied firmly. His words may have been harsh, but there was wisdom sprinkled there. This matter was intertwined with the Great Lord of the south and the unidentified forces aiming for him. These enemies clearly had extraordinary power and had been gunning for Luisen for many years; there was no way the culprit would be an ordinary person.

Carlton and Luisen both knew that knowledge of their identity alone would forge a motive to kill them.

Instead, Luisen apologized sincerely, Im sorry I cant tell you more. Please dont worry too much. More than that, what will you do now? Are you going to continue to stay in these mountains?

Well have to leave. Maybe due to those monsters, the animal populations and greenery in these mountains have dried up we have no way to make a living here.

Is there any place you can go?

There isnt, the robbers replied, embarrassed.

Luisen wasnt a stranger to having nowhere to go. How terrible must it feel to lose your home, one that youve had for decades, and be left with nothing? Even though the young lord was almost robbed, Luisen couldnt help but give them some advicehe was too anxious to ignore them. Go west from here and youll come upon a field. If you walk about two weeks south, youll arrive at a village. The population there has declined quite considerably recently, so theyll accept you all.

While Luisen was studying his duchy, he had found a village that was suffering from a shortage of manpower. The young lord also taught them about the Buried Old Hags. Now if they could sate their hunger, they wouldnt commit robbery anymore.

This amount of information wasnt much for Luisen, but the robbers didnt think of it so casually. They bowed over and over, thanking him. Thank you, my lord, thank you!

For those wandering around roads without a purpose, it felt very meaningful just to have a destination. Moreover, this information was guaranteed by Luisen, someone that anyone could tell was a nobleman at a surface glance.

Since Luisen had played the role of a good cop, Carlton then stepped up. What youve seen here should never be told to anyone. If any of this is disclosed

Carlton tapped his knife, reminding them to keep their mouths closed. Luisens advice and Carltons warning made the robbers feel just the right balance of appreciation and fear, making them even more determined to be cautious.

     The men gave Luisen and Carlton their parting farewells and left their village behind. They had steely resolve, as they had already lived hard lives.

The young lord and the mercenary also resumed their journey. Soon the sun set, and they found a place to stay. The two sat beside a bonfire as they burned some Buried Old Hags. Even though they had a fire, once again, they simply had the same old roots.

The two filled their stomachs and organized the things they had brought from the village. Afterwards, they laid a blanket on the floor and arranged their sleeping positions. Lying side by side, Luisen stared blankly at the sky. He couldnt sleep because, when he closed his eyes, images of the village flooded his mind.

The young lord tossed and turned. Because they were lying next to each other, Carltons face filled his view. There were dark bags under his eyes, and a scraggly beard was growing in. Though it wasnt usually an appealing look, such a rough, messy, wanderers look suited Carltons masculinity. The mercenarys eyes were closed, but Luisen could see the mans eyes moving underneath his eyelids.

TL: Masculine, huh?

Luisen that sounds like you need to get some gains.