Under a blanket of gentle snow and fading sunlight, a long line of troops and wagons marched back into the city in proud and triumphant order, greeted by cheers from the townsfolk as they passed. Words of their flawless victory over the beastmen horde spread like wildfire across dry grassland.
I let them rest for the night. They were too tired to celebrate. They had fought too valiantly for me not to feel proud of them. And so, I marched them back to the barracks and let them sleep and rest to their hearts' content.
"Tomorrow, we'll party from dawn till dusk!" I declared to them inside the barracks, answered by loud cheers, before taking a carriage back to my manor. Not to rest, but to organize that very celebration for them.
I also had to decide what to do with the beastmen corpses, and what should become of the now-desolate village of Farville. No real rest for me for at least a week, I suppose.
Yet when I returned to my mansion, it seemed every maid, every butler, even the gardeners clapped their hands and cheered as I walked through the halls, doors opening as I ascended the staircase. I smiled gently in response. It seemed I had grown even more popular among the people, just the way I liked it.
But as I reached for the doorknob of my bedroom, another hand grasped it at the same time, our hands stacking atop one another.
"Oops!" Daisy shouted in panic and quickly pulled her hand away. "I was about to clean your room, young master. Sorry for the interruption!" Her face was as red as a ripe apple.
"No, don't be sorry. You've been doing your job well, haven't you?" I said with a warm smile as I pushed the door open. "Please, come inside. You can clean the room while I'm still here."
She bowed and slowly walked in, wearing an awkward, almost comical smile.
I closed the door behind us and sat down at the same chair I had used since the first day I was transmigrated into this world. I quickly prepared parchment, quill, and ink, ready to write letters requesting cooperation from alehouses, taverns, and bars across town for a massive quantity of drink. I also needed tables, chairs, bards, and—
Daisy placed her palm over my hand, which was writing in slow, wobbly strokes due to exhaustion.
"Young master, why don't you take a nap? I can ask Nikos to take care of these matters for you," she said gently.
"I can still… do it…" An incoherent jumble of words spilled from my mouth as my eyelids slowly closed.
"Young master, please rest," she said again, lifting my arm over her shoulder and helping me stand. She guided me toward the bed and laid me down beneath the soft sheets. "I'll have Nikos take care of it. It's his duty," she added, her voice firmer now.
I didn't resist or object. I knew continuing to work in this condition wasn't ideal. In fact, it would only worsen the quality of my work. So I complied.
And so I slept through the night while my subordinates handled the menial tasks, as they should have from the beginning.
A gentle beam of sunlight pierced through the curtains and landed squarely on my face, signaling the dawn of a new day.
I sprang upright in bed and checked my body. Nothing had changed, except my clothes, which had been replaced with sleeping garments. My maid likely had something to do with that. Cheers to them, I suppose.
I walked to my worktable. The parchment, quill, and ink that were supposed to be there were gone. That meant my subordinates had taken care of those matters already. By now, everything about the celebration event should be finished.
I smiled and turned toward the door. Finally, I can celebrate our victory alongside my soldiers, I thought, placing my hand on the doorknob.
Suddenly, the door swung open and struck me squarely on the forehead.
"Ouch!" I yelped, clutching my forehead as a bump slowly formed.
Then, a familiar scene played out before my eyes.
Standing at the door was Daisy, a young, fair-skinned woman with blonde hair and blue eyes (Again). She wore a Victorian-style maid outfit and carried a silver tray holding an elegant tea set (Again).
When our eyes met, she froze as if she had seen a ghost. A heartbeat later, she screamed at the top of her lungs, sharp and piercing like a banshee's screech (Again).
"The young master has woken up!" she screamed. (Again)
I stood there speechless. What the hell? I wondered, half-convinced I had been sent back in time. After all, I had transmigrated once already.
Then Daisy returned, this time with Nikos and a group of butlers and maids armed with herb boxes and strange medieval medical instruments.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I raised my hands in protest. "I don't feel ill at all. There's no need for medicine." I straightened my back, cleared my throat, and asked a simple question. "What's happening?"
"Master! You slept for three whole days!" Daisy answered, tears swelling in her eyes.
"What?!" I exclaimed. "Then what happened to the victory celebration?!"
"The event passed without issue, my lord," Nikos replied. "Although the atmosphere was far less pleasant without you. After all, you're their hero."
"Oh… so I'm a wet blanket," I joked, trying to brush off the fact that I had slept for three days straight.
"This is serious, master!" Daisy said loudly. "I even asked Lady Aurix to perform an exorcism today!"
"It's fine, I'm fine!" I said, flexing my arm slightly. "By the way, who is Lady Aurix?"
"She's the church's priestess. Don't you remember her?" Nikos answered.
"Oh! Right, I remember now," I said. "Cancel the exorcism and carry on business as usual. I have a lot of work ahead of me."
They all tried to object, but I raised my hand and spoke in an authoritative tone.
"This is an order."
They bowed in response.
Yet deep in my heart, a seed of doubt began to form.
"How much work could this body endures? "
----
Over a thin layer of snow atop the gravel road, I was riding my carriage to greet my soldiers at the barracks. This was to clear up their concerns about my well-being and to celebrate with them for a short while, although I could only celebrate with the knights and men-at-arms, as all the levies had already returned to their civilian lives.
But as my carriage passed through the entrance of the barracks, a quite unusual scene unfolded before my eyes.
A group of men-at-arms, led by John and his knights, was currently in a standoff against a group of twenty heavily armored horsemen adorned in deep scarlet clothing, capes, and crimson plate armor, standing on a dirt patch in front of the barracks.
"Mercenaries! You can't come further without permission!" John shouted loudly, his hand gripping his sword hilt tightly.
"Mamma mia! I just want an audience with your baron. No hostility needed here! Scemo!" shouted the horseman whose armor and clothing were more ornate than the others, clearly the leader of the group. His voice came muffled from a helmet shaped like a Lion's head, with black fur adorning his neck like an lion mane.
Meanwhile, men on both sides gripped their weapons tightly, ready for a clash as tension rose.
At that exact moment, my carriage rushed forward toward the scene. I descended down its still-moving steps in a dramatic fashion.
"I'm here!" I shouted, my fur cloak swinging behind my back as my feet touched the ground.
Seeing me, the leading horseman dismounted and saluted me in a professional Roman soldier's style before speaking from behind his helmet.
"Ave. True to the condotta," he said, then removed his helmet.
"Condotta? Are you perhaps condottiero?" I asked, having heard the Italian term before, amusingly enough, from a YouTube short about Renaissance Italy.
"Oh, a speaker of our local tongue, eh?" the voice replied, now higher-pitched.
As the helmet came off, to revealed a fair maiden.
Her long hair was a vivid, deep scarlet, a shade of red so striking it felt unnatural, sharply contrasting with the gently falling snow behind her. Her face bore a doll-like perfection, yet a small and subtle scar of battle could be seen at the edge of her near-flawless complexion.
Clad in crimson, her tall frame stood even higher than even John's as she strolled toward me. I could feel the gazes of my men fixed upon her as if enchanted by a spell. Her mounted companions, on the other hand, remained still, neither offended nor disturbed.
Feelings of love, lust, and awe radiated from my men, all except John, who stared at her with open suspicion. He might have been sensing the same thing as I was.
Danger.
It was the same feeling I had on the battlefield, sensing danger radiating from the far side of the wagon wall. A gut feeling, perhaps. An aura of awe and beauty that might be an illusion.
But the danger I felt was real.
"I'm Elena Isotta, proud condottiero (mercenary leader) of the Red Lion Mercenary Band, at your lordship's service."
She spoke with a graceful bow before straightening her back and looking me directly in the eye, her glistening ruby-pink irises and jet-black pupils locking onto mine.
"Uh… I don't recall hiring you?" I asked, a mix of confusion and alarm creeping into my voice.
"It's all in this letter, your lord."
She gracefully extended her steel-clad palm toward me, offering a letter bearing a yellow wax seal marked with a sea serpent coiling around a ship, the coat of arms of House Conti, with whom I was a business partner.
I hurriedly opened the letter and read its contents. It read as follows:
"Dear good friend, Libertas 'Victor' von Vindia,
By the time this letter reaches your hands, your fiefdom may already be facing a challenge in the form of northern beastmen tribes. I heard of this through a merchant whose wagon you seized. Normally, I would have my assassins cleanse anyone who dared rob merchants of the great House Conti. However, you are a friend in desperate need of forces to defend your land, and that, I can respect.
Thus, I have hired my old comrade, Elena the Red Lion, who is well-versed in the art of war, to aid you. She may be a bit annoying to deal with, but I assure you that she and her men will be sufficient to crush any beastmen horde, or any peasant rebellion that might form should they refuse to become your levies.
I have already paid her and her company in gold and supplies for this mission. If she asks for more, simply remind her of the contract and how "I am always watching". She will be with you for one month, after which she will report back to me.
P.S. When Elena and her merry band return to Venetia, why don't you travel with her and come visit me for a bit? We could share some wine and discuss politics.
That is all for now, my dear friend.May our friendship, coated in gold, endure as long as the moon and stars in the night sky.
With respect,Her High Lady,Valeria Conti."
That was all she wrote.
After finishing the letter, I raised my head to meet Elena's eyes. She was smiling at me like a war dog awaiting its master's command.
I smiled back, though my thoughts were already spiraling.
"Alright… now there truly will be no rest for me."