Chapter 80
TL/Editor: raei
Proofreader: Pickhead7
Schedule: 5/week
Illustrations: None.
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Catherine was a shepherdess.
Born as the daughter of a poor farmer, she became a girl who had to leave for work, practically sold to a wealthy family, when her household ran out of food.
The wealthy family handed Catherine over to be a shepherd's apprentice, and after she was trained, she was tasked with looking after the wealthy family's flock of sheep.
Being a shepherd in these times was an extreme job.
The work itself wasn't that difficult.
It merely involved letting the sheep graze in the field and moving them to a new pasture once the grass was depleted.
However, everything else about the job was hard and exhausting.
She had to eat and sleep alone in the vast fields.
There were no people to see, only sheep and dogs for company.
Wolves were always a threat, and if robbers came by, she had to fear for her life.
If the sheep were ever harmed due to negligence, Catherine was the one who had to cover the losses.
People pointed fingers at Catherine, calling her dirty and suspicious.
This was because she worked out of sight, so nobody knew exactly what she was up to.
For Catherine, the future was like an empty dream.
It was unclear if she could even marry properly.
It was a life where being kidnapped by thieves and used as a pawn was considered lucky.
"I want to live well..."
The only friends of the shepherdess were the sheep and the stars.
She would look up at the stars filling the night sky and make a wish.
"Please let me marry a rich man and live lavishly without lifting a finger, eating and living well!"
It was a wish that seemed impossible to fulfill.
That's why it remained a fantasy.
If it were to come true, it would be considered a miracle.
But perhaps her desperation reached the heavens.
One day, a miracle came to Catherine.
"Poor, pitiful child. I pity you and will give you a chance."
"Who, who are you?!"
"I am a nameless wizard."
With white hair and eyes, the wizard, who appeared to have descended from the heavens, handed Catherine a mysterious pill and said,
"In a few days, Baron Devosi will pass by this road. Put this in his drink, seduce him, and you will become his wife."
"Really...?"
Hundreds of thoughts swirled in Catherine's head.
Who was this wizard, what was this pill, and why was she being instructed to seduce the Baron?
But the wizard offered no explanation.
There was no need for it.
"If you refuse, so be it. If you decline, then its not your destiny."
"Dest...iny?"
"You have two destinies. One is to become the wife of the Baron and live that life. The other is to be taken away by thieves and bear a child you do not want."
Catherine knew it well. She had no future ahead of her.
This was her first and last chance.
"I'll do it! Please, let me!"
The wizard handed the pill to Catherine with a smile.
"Go and seize your destiny."
Indeed, a few days later, Baron Devosi passed by Catherine.
He even asked her for water from the well.
The opportunity had come.
"Destiny."
Following the wizard's words, Catherine claimed a new fate.
She became the wife of the Baron and bore and raised a son well.
Her miserable past was buried in darkness, and only a dazzling future shone brightly.
Everything felt perfectly right.
...Until the wizard returned.
"Its been a while, Catherine."
"You are!"
"Since you chose the destiny of being the Baron's wife, your destiny and mine have intertwined."
The wizard's white eyes gleamed brightly.
"I count on you, child."
The moment the wizard returned.
Catherine became the wizard's slave.
---
---
'Catherine was looking for an opportunity.'
Ian tried to calm Catherine, thinking to himself.
Catherine wasn't the wizard's employer; she was a slave captured by the wizard.
In the past, she had followed the wizard's advice and fed the Baron the pill.
As a result, the Baron took Catherine as his wife, and she lived as the Baron's wife.
Until now, Catherine believed she had been helped by a kind-hearted wizard passing by.
It was a naive thought, fitting for a simple shepherdess girl.
But Ian immediately thought of a specific type of wizard upon hearing the story.
'...Space-time wizard.'
Space-time wizards, who deal with the mysteries of time and space, know the future.
They move about, choosing 'a better future' and scheming to alter the future to their liking in any way possible.
Catherine had thought her meeting with the white wizard was a coincidence.
But to Ian, that person was a space-time wizard.
It was all planned.
If that's the case, Catherine becoming the wizard's slave was also a part of the space-time wizard's plan.
'Deliberately turning Catherine into the Baron's wife and then making the Baron fall ill...'
It was an action that was difficult to understand at once.
But what the space-time wizard saw in the threads of destiny was known only to them.
"I, I thought that wizard... felt pity for me and introduced me to the Baron."
"...You didn't something was off when you gave the pill to the Baron?"
Catherine, tearfully, said,
"I knew it was a damned thing to do! But...! If I hadn't done as the wizard said at that time, I would have died miserably!"
"Calm down. What's done is done."
The wizard who came back for Catherine, blackmailed her into cooperation, fearing her past actions would be exposed.
She couldn't defy the wizard.
Moreover, the wizard whispered promises of making her son a lord.
"After the Baron passes away, if you drive Lady Serena to be accused as a witch, the title will come to you," he said.
"...? But why would the wizard want your son to become a lord...?"
Another mysterious scheme of a space-time wizard?
Catherine hesitated before finally speaking out.
"That woman... said she would marry... my son."
Damn.
Ian managed his boiling energy with deep breaths, trying not to die from shock.
To make Catherine the Baron's wife in her youth.
Then, reappearing decades later to do what?
To marry Catherine's son???
F*ck, is this something a person can come up with?
Is she not a modern person reincarnated after playing too much of some medieval simulator called Crusader[1] or something?
Ian understood the wizard's plan.
Manipulate Catherine to eliminate Lady Serena and Baron Devosi, then marry Catherine's son to become the next Baroness...
At that moment, Ian was certain.
Space-time wizards are all out of their minds.
And to choose Catherine's son of all people?
Ian had seen him a few times.
Strong-willed, hot-tempered, and easy to manipulate.
Why on earth would she want such a half-baked guy as a husband...
That's when it happened.
Loud noises came from outside.
"Move aside at once!"
"Calm down! Right now, Wizard Ian is treating the Baron..."
"Shut up! Secretly calling in the mother, what sort of treatment is this supposed to be!"
"What are you talking about! Wizard Ian is a faithful man!"
"Pff! As if the halfwits who couldn't even cure my father's illness have much to say! If you keep blocking the way, I'll have you dragged out!"
This person, no way he's a gentleman.
Ian knew the owner of that voice. It was Catherine's son.
"You can't go in...!"
A quarrel was unfolding outside. The son trying to enter the Baron's room and the clergy blocking his way.
Reluctantly, Ian prepared to greet the visitor.
But the enemy acted faster.
"Ah...! Huh...!"
"Lady?"
"Ugh...!"
Lady Catherine clutched her chest and collapsed.
Her face was red, and her breathing was labored.
The lady's condition was not normal.
"This damn thing-"
Ian shouted at her with all his will.
"Get ahold of yourself!"
But it had no effect.
Is it because my summoning level is too low?
Ian, who even shared a friendship with a drake, was a decent summoner, right?
At the appropriate moment, a status window popped up.
[Creatures without intelligent thought, like insects, can only be controlled through instincts. Bug summons are very safe. They can't be taken away by enemies!]
[Master of Summoning, Demonite]
It was the same with Inglan's insect summons.
Ian, who preferred commanding flocks of birds, hadn't considered this, but insect summons were just too stupid to lure Maronius with.
Since they couldn't communicate, there was no way to control them.
The only option was to deal directly with the summoner.
Thud!
The door opened, and all eyes turned towards it.
"What?!"
The Baroness lay collapsed in front of Ian.
Belenka stood with a crossbow in hand.
The situation was all too obvious.
Eyes filled with confusion and anger were fixed on Ian.
"What is this-"
Ian focused intensely, observing the eyes of Catherine's son.
The pupils shrank in panic.
While expressions and gestures can be faked, controlling the dilation of one's pupils is much harder.
He wouldn't be able to fake that.
Catherine's son was genuinely flustered.
Meaning, he knew nothing about this situation.
"Belenka!"
"Ian!"
Ian and Belenka called out each other's names almost simultaneously.
The two moved in perfect sync as if it was all pre-arranged.
Belenka threw away the crossbow and drew her sword, creating space between the son and his guards.
Ian drew his magic sword, Anor-lsil, and aimed it at Catherine's son.
In the blink of an eye, they secured the VIP.
"Everyone, back off!"
"Knight Belenka! What is this madness!"
Belenka then shouted confidently,
"I am proving my innocence!"
Ian internally applauded Belenka's audacity.
Was this the so-called honor (by force)?
It was dubious how this proved her innocence, during the Middle Ages, this was how.
Getting captured by the enemy only meant undergoing a brutal interrogation, euphemistically called questioning.
What could one expect from the ignorant medieval justice system?
Now that Ian too was a medieval man, he needed to abandon the concept of justice of a weak modern person.
No lawyers to work for you, no trustworthy courts, no judges.
Suspected by someone? Solve it with strength!
"Wizard Ian! Do you realize what you're doing!"
"I do. I'm saving the Baron."
"What do you mean...!"
"We've obtained information that Lady Catherine's son has conspired with a wizard."
Ian glanced at the captured man as he spoke.
He pretended to be brave but was shaking.
"If we squeeze him a bit, we might find the culprit who harmed the Baron. Shall we?"
As soon as Ian finished speaking, the attendants screamed their heads off.
Ian understood their feelings completely.
Squeeze a high-ranking individual to find a possibly non-existent wizard?
Unthinkable.
But if they let go of Catherine's son now, they might never get another chance to find the wizard.
In short, they needed to lure the enemy out.
Ian decided to leave the aftermath to Lady Serena and focused on drawing out the wizard.
The wizard had invested a lot in Devosi Castle.
They couldn't abandon Catherine's son.
"Belenka. I'll need your help."
Ian was slightly worried.
What if Belenka refused to cooperate?
But Belenka, with her characteristic indifferent smile, replied,
"It's been a while since we've had such a big job. Of course, I'll help."
She was a knight with the attitude of a freelancer.
After all, freelancers have to work like dogs when there's work to be done.
Ian and Belenka used Catherine's son as a shield to escape Devosi Castle.
It was a bold provocation.
"I knew obstacles would appear in my destiny... but you're quite the madman."
It was intense enough to draw out the wizard.
"You? You're the one who unleashed a monkey in my room?"
The white-haired wizard looked at Ian and laughed.
She was dressed as a maid.
"Yes. I'm Larabel. A wizard who explores the secrets of the world."
Shadows began to appear one by one behind the wizard.
They were Larabel's summoned creatures, dire wolves.
"Our destinies are intertwined now. One of us will live, and one will die."
Feeling her intense will, Ian laughed.
His opponent was an accomplished summoner.
But.
Ian was no less formidable a summoner himself.
---
[1. raei: Crusader Kings! Funny enough, a reader in my discord (Paradigm) recommended this game to us a week ago. This must be fate! Going to try it this weekend.]
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