As Vincent had said, for someone weak like him, the forest was very dangerous.
If not for the original Vesper's good luck, he would have died not long after he entered the forest.
That was why, even though he initially wanted to decline his offer, he accepted it and nodded gratefully. "Thank you for the help."
"Insolent!"
As soon as he spoke, Wilfred shouted.
Vesper looked at him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. He was no longer afraid of him killing him because Vincent had already promised to escort him back. So, he wouldn't allow him to die.
His expression enraged Wilfred further, while Vincent's eyes flashed with an inscrutable glint.
"Did I do something wrong?" Vesper asked before Wilfred could say anything else, but right as he asked, he realized why he got angry, and his face fell.
It was a custom to address those stronger than yourself with respect. Low-ranking mages usually addressed mages stronger than themselves as senior or something similar, while the commoner had to address mages and people in power as Lord.
He knew this, which was why he addressed Vincent as 'Young Lord' earlier. However, because he felt uncomfortable being so servile, he didn't add 'Young Lord' when he thanked him. Besides, he had already done so a few times before and didn't feel there was a need to do it in every sentence.
However, who knew this guy would get so angry over it?
"You don't realize what you did wrong?" Wilfred huffed, clutching his sword, barely holding himself back from taking a swing and lopping his head off.
Vesper sighed in his heart and turned to Vincent. "My apologies, young Lord. I meant no disrespect earlier."
Vincent waved his hand and chuckled, "Don't worry about it. You don't have to call me Lord every time if you don't want to." He then turned to Wilfred, "And you need to relax a little."
"Yes, young lord." Wilfred quickly nodded.
'I really don't like this guy.' Vesper thought, looking at gently smiling Vincent. If he really didn't care about it, he wouldn't have waited until he apologized.
And what was that don't call me Lord if you don't want to?
Wasn't he deliberately trying to anger Wilfred to make things difficult for him by phrasing it like that?
"Alright, sit with Wilfred. We are leaving." Vincent said before turning his horse around and moving away. The girl on her horse followed after him without a word, but before leaving, she cast a pitying glance at Vesper, which he didn't notice.
Vesper walked over to Wilfred's horse, and seeing there was nothing to place his foot on to climb, he glanced at Wilfred. "Can you help me up, Lord Wilfred?"
Wilfred was staring at him in disgust and had no intention of helping him, but when he heard him call him 'Lord', he flinched and hurriedly looked in the direction Vincent and the young lady had left.
Seeing they had vanished behind the bushes and trees and most likely hadn't heard Vesper, he sighed in relief and sternly said, "Call me Sir when I'm with young Lord Vincent."
"I understand, sir." Vesper nodded.
…
An hour later, three horses entered the Ironhart town.
Sitting behind Wilfred on the last horse, Vesper watched townspeople passing by, houses, and buildings.
From the old-fashioned clothing people wore to the mud-and-stone houses, the unpaved roads, and the horse-drawn carriages, everything made him feel as if he'd stepped into a European town from Earth—four or five centuries in the past.
'How wonderful!' He mused. There was no traffic, and the air felt so fresh that he felt energized.
They soon reached the town square and stopped in front of an inn where the trio was living.
Vesper, for courtesy, offered them to stay at the Baron's mansion. Wilfred looked at Vincent, who shook his head. "No need to bother Lord Ironhart. We aren't here for an official visit anyway, and not to mention we will leave the town in a few hours."
"I understand," Vesper nodded and bowed his head slightly. "Have a safe journey, young Lord, young Lady, and Sir Wilfred. Now, if you please excuse me."
Saying this, he turned around and was about to walk away when Vincent spoke.
"Ah, brother Vesper. I forgot to ask, why did you go to the forest?"
Vesper paused, his brows furrowing slightly. Though the question was simple and didn't seem to have any hidden meaning, he felt a little uneasy. Still, since he asked, he had to answer.
"My maid is sick, young lord. I went there to find some Yellow Beard Roots for her." He said, his expression turning worried without him knowing.
When he realized he was feeling sad and worried for her, he couldn't help but frown.
The maid in question was his mother's personal maid, a lovely and very kind lady.
After his mother passed away, she had taken care of him and his younger brother. Because his father had stopped giving them any financial support, not only did she not take any salary, she even used her own money to keep them fed.
Maybe because she was the only woman who treated him well, Vesper had fallen in love with her, though he did not reveal his feelings to her.
She had a fever a month ago. They thought she would get better in a few days, but she did not. Instead, she rapidly lost vitality and was now bedridden.
Vesper couldn't bear to see her die, and since he couldn't expect any help from his family and Selene, the maid, didn't have any family, he decided to venture into the forest and found the commonly known vitality-boosting magic herb—Yellow Beard Roots.
Unfortunately, he didn't find any even after roaming the forest until night. When he wanted to return, wanting to come back in the morning, he realized he was lost.
Because he wasn't going to stay in the forest for long, he hadn't brought any food or water. After wandering the forest for several hours and then spending the night hiding, he got hungry and ate some wild berries.
To his misfortune, although the berries alleviated his hunger somewhat, they made him very thirsty, and this thirst continued to increase as time passed. He desperately tried to find water but failed and ended up dying.
'Although useless, he was a good lad.' Vesper thought,
Realizing he was going off track, he shook these thoughts away. But before he could ponder over why he was feeling worried for the maid, Vesper's voice snapped him back to reality.
"I see. It seems you didn't find the herb."
Vesper sighed as he nodded.
Vincent smiled and raised his hand in front of him, palm facing upwards. "Luckily for you, I happen to have some."
As he spoke, the herbs appeared on his palm out of nowhere. "Here, feed them to her. Hopefully she will get better."
Vesper's eyes lit up, his heart racing at the sight of yellow, entwined roots in his hand.
'She can get better with this much, right?' He thought, instinctively reaching for it—but then his hand froze.
'Something's wrong.'
---
A/N: Enjoyed the chapter, my friend? Yes?
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