I Am a Low-Class Aristocrat of a Perishing Country

19 – Extra – One day, a fallen knight’s dream

A certain knight’s dream.

“Ah… Ah… Ah…”

In the dark and deep mountains, an ugly metal sound came out. If anyone else had heard it, they would have mistakenly thought that the blacksmith was sharpening his sword.

It was such an ugly tone that you would never guess that it was a human moan.

“Ah… Uh… Uh…”

Because his tongue is crushed and his vocal organs are damaged, he is unable to speak insignificantly and complains of pain. He had no one to help. He knew deep down that he was not qualified to receive help, even if he had.

It would be nice if I could shed tears because I was lonely and suffering, but my tear glands have long since stopped functioning.

Kikkik, kiik.

The heavy armor dripping with rust from head to toe made a creepy noise every time it moved. Messy gray hair swept across the floor like a broom, making it very ugly.

If you turn your head, you will find a longsword in the shape of a nodachi stained with blood, arbitrarily stuck in the corner. The woman remembered her now faded white-silver, fitting designer sword.

A piece of ignorant past that vaguely believed that everything would turn out well in the end.

“Uh… This… Ah… This… Eh…”

Now, her obscene heavy armor and ghastly longsword were her only symbols. Her people called her ‘Ir Elfi, the Terrible Destroyer’.

She is the object of countless grudges, her beautiful appearance rots, and her strength fades with aging. Inside her heavy armor, shriveled naked bodies like crumpled paper are covered with a cloth-like cover.

Her terrifying devastation, is there any other notoriety worthy of her title that qualifies her for her adoration?

She closed her eyes as she sat in her now fragile chair. She seemed to be able to sleep a little bit today, probably because she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in years already.

Nodding off. Nod

Kikik, kiik!

“…”

Her eyes, which contained only a turbid and blurry world, closed peacefully.

Even the slightest movement of hers scratched her heavy armor, creating a creepy grinding sound. It looked like an old woman weeping. As if representing her tears that no longer flowed, her heavy armor wept incessantly.

It will take a while for complete silence to come to the cabin.

It was early in the morning when Irelpi was lightly asleep.

◇

I existed in a white space with nothing. For some reason, my body was light and full of energy.

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that it was a dream.

[Dream… I see. If this is a dream… I hope you don’t wake up…]

Even if it was an endless prison-like space where everything was blank, it was better than the hellish world.

Did the god in my dream read my wishes? Before I knew it, my vision captured the world under a clear sky and illuminated someone’s peaceful daily life.

Now I was a third-person observer.

[An unknown mansion…]

I was looking around a huge mansion I had never seen before. The relaxed atmosphere of the servants, which is not usually seen in aristocratic mansions, was new.

[It’s bigger and more splendid than the four major dukes. Who is the owner…]

The owner of a mansion of this size must be a great aristocrat. It doesn’t match the relaxed atmosphere of the mansion.

At that time, one employee complained.

“Please, Marquis. Please stop the other Marquis from cooking.”

“Even the chef can’t figure out what to put in to make the kitchen smell like iron!”

I ended up laughing at the employees’ ridiculous fuss. It’s not so bad to feel pleasant for the first time in a while.

A man scratched the back of her head at the servants’ desperate request.

“The person himself ate well, but isn’t it just the smell that’s strange?”

“I dare say that the Marquis’s taste is only sweet. I’ll bet my life’s work!”

A servant who beats his chest. I covered my mouth and laughed.

[Pu-huh. Not even an idiot, where in the world is such a person?]

I watched the situation with interest.

“Um, can’t we just say that the servants do it instead?”

“Oops, it’s already late. For some reason, it looks like you’re thinking about having lunch inside as well because you’re having fun with cooking.”

“It shouldn’t be such a terrible thing! I’m going to negotiate right now.”

“Well thought out, Marquis of Alteon!”

[It’s called Alteon. It’s the first family I’ve heard.]

As expected, dreams are dreams. A family I had never heard of owned a mansion like this. Even fiction has degrees.

Every time the man named Alteon took a step, my vision automatically followed him. The journey to the kitchen was a long one because the mansion was so large.

At some point, I heard a childish hum that was like singing an anime. It was a sound coming from inside the kitchen.

“Hmm~ hehehe~ How are you feeling today?”

The sound of cutting vegetables and boiling something.

It smelled unusual for a dream, but it smelled pretty good.

[I heard that it smells like iron, isn’t it okay? Rather good…]

On the other hand, the servants, including Alteon, showed the exact opposite of my murmur.

The servants simply covered their noses, but Alteon got the impression that they were squeezing their noses.

[Oh, the men are trembling.]

It’s pitiful.

Altheon strode closer, opened the door leading to the kitchen, and shouted.

“Hey! I told you to ventilate well when cooking! Is this a smithy or a kitchen?”

Altheon exclaims excitedly. But the answer I heard was excellent.

“I think I misunderstood. Say it again, Nefi.”

[Is your name Nefi? It’s a girlish name.]

The woman’s voice contained frost-like apathy. Nefi trembled all over her body and lowered her head, and she opened her mouth with a warm expression that instantly transformed.

“No, that’s… Manners of communal living. They exist in the world. So, stop cooking…”

Indeed, it was a servile attitude. A smile lingered on his lips as he could see the bright future ahead.

[If she is a partner of the opposite s*x, she may not be married, but she will be a fiancée. Seeing her tail wagging right away, she seems to have been caught and lived for the rest of her life.]

The woman immediately stopped talking about her blood and confidently asked back.

“I didn’t know that cooking in the kitchen wasn’t manners. How can I ask for forgiveness for not knowing more manners than Nefi?”

“S-Stop being sarcastic like that romantic socialite villain…! I just… Yep, to the effect that ventilation is good for your health… You know?”

“Ropan? Villain? I don’t know what it is, but if Nefi’s way is good, then the way he goes will be fine.”

“Uh, uh… I’m sorry.”

[Foot, there is no spirit. It’s kind of cute though.]

The way he talks gibberish and tries to get away with it somehow looks like an outsider getting ripped off. The servants showed jealous eyes at the position that was reversed in an instant.

“It’s okay, come here.”

“Huh? Eh…”

Nefi nodded his head reflexively and went into his kitchen. Naturally, my vision also illuminated the kitchen, and I turned around to see a woman clumsily cutting a knife.

I can’t see her face because she’s behind her, but her white hair looks like it’s holding a gun of the moon. The occasional movement of her hair gave me the impression that it was as clear as her winding waves.

[I wonder if I was like that in the past…]

At least she wouldn’t have looked around her apron like her fiancée faced Neffi.

Her memories of the past were buried and obscured. Still, I think I’ve heard quite a bit about how beautiful it is.

“Ugh. The smell of iron…”

[It’s good, but…]

Nefi whispered. Fortunately, she seemed unheard of by her supposed fiancée.

“I’m here… Do you have anything to order?”

“No. I have nothing to tell you. I have something to give you.”

“Are you going to give it to me?”

Nepi pondered for a moment before she forced a smile with her distorted features.

“Wait a minute. I’m always satisfied with my fraction. Life is full. I don’t want anything more? Whoahahahahaha…!”

“No. There’s one thing Neffi couldn’t have even if she had it all.”

“Because there is no need for that!”

“Okay, closer.”

Her attitude was forceful. Neffi trudged over and stood next to her. His drooping figure was like a puppy waiting to be punished.

“Now, this is my special sauce dish that even Nefi, who had everything, could not have because of the abundance. May you know it as an honor.”

“Ahhhhh…!”

Neffi let out a groan at the approaching fork and contents.

[It sounds just like me in real life. Making a fuss.]

“Wait, wait. I’m not ready mentally…!”

“My cooking never stops?”

Her complexion turned blue and her blood was a confident attitude. As she declared, the fork slowly closes the distance between her and her bloody mouth.

“Now, ah~ do it. Aang~ It doesn’t mean that Nefi can’t do what even a child can do, right?”

“If you do this to a child, it’s child abuse!!!”

As I watched with interest to see what kind of reaction it would be, the murmur of the servants was heard from outside the kitchen.

“Wow. It’s not anyone else, but ‘the Marquis’ says ‘Aang’ and feeds it, but I’m not envious at all.”

“I mean! After serving a little bit, all illusions are shattered.”

“I don’t know what the relationship between the two of you is like. Even if you think it’s friendship, if you see something like that… I don’t think even a couple who’ve been together for 100 years can’t eat that.”

“Whoops! If my wife tries to feed me something like that, I’ll pack up the divorce papers and go to my parents’ house.”

I tilted my head as I watched the employees’ unbiased evaluations.

[It looks delicious, but why is everyone doing that? Of course, it is love that makes you taste that.]

Maybe it’s because it’s a loose family, and everyone is extremely nervous. I watch Neffi from the perspective of an intrigued spectator.

“Hey, hey… I’m still ready…!”

“It’s a question and answer dance.”

Down!

The fork that came right up to the lips suddenly accelerated and entered Nefi’s mouth.

“Ate!”

“You did!”

[Huh.]

The servants and I were impressed at the same time. I was so curious to see how Nefi would react.

Neffi’s oversensitive attitude must have been because she was embarrassed. That’s right, there’s no way that fragrant-smelling food isn’t delicious.

“Neffi, if you tell me your impressions, I’ll refer to them and save them as a form of learning.”

“Uhhhhh”

“Huh. Is this a new organ? Bite white foam. It looks like fresh seafood. Huhu.”

“Ohhh… Ohhh… Ohhhhh…”

[Hmm, after trying it, it looks delicious. Two eat and one tastes like dying. My fiancee is pretty amazing.]

If there is a next life, I think it would be nice to learn a lesson.

Neffi convulsed several times before finally regaining consciousness and focusing.

“Heo Eok! Heo Eok! I think I saw something like a river.”

“This pasta boasted a deep flavor like a flowing river… Memo… Memo…”

“No!!! That’s the kind of river you shouldn’t see! Rather, was that pasta? I never guessed!”

Neffi screams as if screaming. It’s true that grown-up young people are shy.

“I’ll have to work on the recipe a bit more. I’ll send you to heaven next time, not to the river!”

“A premonition of murder…?”

“Please look forward to tomorrow morning as well. We’ll make you taste the most extraordinary dishes you’ve ever imagined.”

At the declaration like a thunderbolt in the dry sky, Neffy reflexively called her name.

“Hey, Ir Elfi!”

[What?]

When she turned around, the woman I hadn’t seen before was fully revealed.

Skin as shiny as white jade and eyes reminiscent of a lake whose surface sparkles in the sunlight. She is so beautiful that everyone, regardless of gender or age, looks back at least once.

The me of the past that I thought I had forgotten for a long time was there.

“Neffi, as always, has no veto.”

[Now, wait…!]

As I desperately tried to get a closer look, the world collapsed into opacity and was enveloped in darkness.

It was as if he was arguing that a dream is just a dream, and not to cross the line any further.

Creak, creak, squeak-!

Familiar sounds. It is the sound of the dirty heavy armor covering the whole body gnawing at each other.

“Ah… Uh… Uhhh.”

Unlike the dream in which I found freedom for a while, a cursed, ugly metal sound squeezes my throat. It was lamentable, so it was gloomy and miserable.

At that time, a man’s roar rang out from the outside.

“Ir Elfi the Destroyer, come out and meet her death!”

A familiar man’s voice.

He was one of the brave generals of the fallen Eld Empire. He is a great commander who came to me without getting tired and overcame the hardships of counting.

The armed skills of the Chester family, which were part of the four major dukes in the past, have been holding on to his life.

What did you prepare for today?

No, I’m not really curious.

Because the result was always the same.

“Eh… Ah… Ugh…”

I felt that way again.

An ugly voice that looks like a ghost. Messy and polluted body and mind. A fraud that comes out unintentionally from time to time. The monstrous nature that defines me has increased as the years have passed.

Is there any meaning to my life? Am I right to hate someone right now? Is it worth living life to the point of enduring so many resentments and hatreds?

Now the face of my beloved sister, Mirren, has also blurred. I can’t remember what color her eyes were or how tall she was.

“Ugh… Uh… Ah…”

Yes, today will be no different.

Let’s fight somewhere.

Traces of the weak enemy.

If you want to kill me, do so willingly. But if you don’t, everything you have will perish.

“The Annihilator has appeared! Siegharun, are you ready?”

“Yes, today the deep darkness of the Empire dissipates.”

A voice you hear for the first time and a powerful unfamiliar energy. My gaze turned to him. He was the owner of pale skin peeking out from under the hood and red eyes with a mighty aura.

Before long, her man recited an incantation.

“Servant of the Heroic Spirit that runs through the land…”

At the same time as the man chanted, the earth boiled from the surroundings. Pillars of golden light wrapped around the world and radiated a brilliance brighter than the stars.

I thought that if the light of salvation were to shine, it would be like this.

“Ah… Ugh…”

Being enveloped in a blinding light, I unconsciously recalled a dream.

A young and beautiful me, leisurely cooking in an unknown mansion. The mansion with a relaxed atmosphere and the relaxed servants.

‘I don’t know, but it looked good. Is happiness an exaggeration?’

Did you say Nefi?

I like it quite a bit for a character in a dream. The things he does are cute, and it’s good that he eventually listens to them if he pushes them recklessly.

I think he’s a pretty decent guy.

If it wasn’t a dream, but a reality. If only I could really spend such a comfortable and happy time. If the same luck flickers like a mirage to me.

‘If it’s really possible… Then I want to live as an ordinary Irelpi Justiha, not the terrible Irelpi.’

Wishing for a miracle that could not happen, I rushed with all my might towards the endless army.

Someone, if you don’t mind a country like this, save me.