Chapter 181
“Bibeong!”
As always, Bibeong’s vigorous cry echoed out.
With that eco-friendly alarm, morning broke over Frontera County.
Baron Arcos Frontera’s heart also beat a little faster than usual as he greeted the day.
Because the day he’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
‘Is it today?’
The baron accepted the warm teacup the maid brought him.
He looked out the window at the sleet drifting down.
From his bedroom window, he could see not only the small garden, but the entire slope leading up to the mansion.
It was even clearer in the season when the branches stood bare.
He was glad for that.
It meant he could spot his son returning home that much sooner.
‘He’ll probably be back today.’
His mind flicked to the messenger bird that had arrived a few days ago.
It had carried a letter from Count Namaran.
The letter said that Lloyd and Javier had departed Namaran City.
It stated when they were expected to arrive.
And it was filled with sincere, heartfelt gratitude.
‘To think he went through something like that there…’
The baron’s eyes grew heavy as he recalled the contents.
He’d thought Lloyd was simply winning a construction contract.
That he would return as soon as the job was done.
That was what his son had said before leaving for Namaran City.
So he had never imagined Lloyd would endure hardships like wiping out a group of Black Wizards and fighting a Hell Knight.
‘And he even grabbed the legs of an enemy that Javier found difficult… Hoo.’
What if something had happened to him?
The thought alone made his heart sink.
His son might have earned merit for it, but the baron didn’t care about that.
Even without merit.
Even without being exceptional.
Because he was his son.
Because he only wanted him safe.
That alone was more than enough.
‘When he gets here, I’ll scold him properly.’
Never take on something like that again.
If it looks dangerous, run first.
This time, he planned to reprimand him severely.
With that resolve, Baron Arcos Frontera kept watch at the bedroom window.
He skipped breakfast, too restless and excited to eat.
Instead, he drank another cup of tea.
But somehow, he was still thirsty.
He drank more.
And more.
Each time, the maid came and went—brewing fresh tea, clearing away empty cups.
Morning passed.
Lunch, too, slipped by.
And the short early-winter sun began sinking in the west.
Until then, the baron paced by the window.
Was Lloyd not coming today?
Would it be tomorrow?
Or had something happened on the road?
Just as his steps grew more anxious with every pass—
He stopped.
And ran.
He burst out of the bedroom.
Took the mansion stairs two at a time.
Cut through the first-floor hall, flung open the door, and dashed outside.
He crossed the garden, refusing even the coat the maid hurried after him with.
And he stared down the slope leading up to the mansion.
“Ah.”
A carriage was climbing toward them.
Braving the snow, which had thickened considerably.
Leaving a long track across the white hillside.
Steady. Certain. Unwavering.
At last, it rolled to a stop before the mansion gate.
In that moment, the baron let out a dazed sound without realizing it.
“Huh?”
His gaze snapped to the driver’s seat.
The coachman sitting there greeted him.
Clatter!
Waving a hand made of nothing but bone, he smiled—jaw rattling as he did.
A skeleton soldier.
“Eeeaaack?”
No—Lloyd was supposed to be coming.
Lloyd.
So why was a skeleton soldier sitting in the coachman’s seat of the returning carriage?
The baron nearly dropped onto his backside.
If the carriage door hadn’t opened right then, he would’ve disgracefully smeared himself with slushy mud.
Click!
“Oh? When did you come out?”
Lloyd poked his head out through the opened door, bright and cheerful.
He greeted the horrified man with an easy smile.
The baron forced himself to recover and answered.
“W-Well, yes. I just came out.”
“Were you surprised? You’re not even wearing a coat in this cold.”
“Oh. That’s…”
Lloyd stepped down and approached, then casually took off his own coat and draped it over the baron’s shoulders.
The warmth steadied the baron’s pounding heart.
“I’ll be honest. I came out to greet you because I thought you’d arrive today, but I nearly fainted. What are those skeletons?”
The baron pointed at the skeleton in the coachman’s seat.
And it wasn’t just one.
Behind the carriage, more skeleton soldiers followed the path up the hill, marching in double lines like links of sausage.
Lloyd shrugged.
“Hmm. Count Namaran said he’d explain the situation by messenger bird. Was there nothing about the Bone Corps?”
“Bo-Bone Corps?”
“Yes.”
“What is that?”
“The new workers.”
“Those skeletons?”
“Yes.”
“……”
“They’re more docile than they look. At first, they’re a little creepy, but you get used to them surprisingly fast if you keep seeing them. And they work hard without slacking off. Oh, let me introduce you. The one in the coachman’s seat is Turtle Neck. He’s the leader of the Bone Corps.”
Clatter!
Turtle Neck, still seated up front, waved cheerfully at the baron.
Lloyd pointed at the rest.
“The two at the very front are Square Jaw, leader of the first squad, and Frozen Shoulder, leader of the second squad. As for the rest… hmm. I’m still mixing up their names, so I haven’t memorized them yet.”
“……”
“Anyway, you don’t have to be afraid. They don’t bite.”
“……”
Maybe they didn’t bite, but it sure felt like they’d bury you if you slipped up.
The baron tried to shake off the creeping chill crawling up his spine.
But then—
Lloyd’s expression turned mischievous.
He glanced back at the carriage.
As if there was something else to reveal.
The baron frowned, wondering what it could be.
Lloyd smiled slyly at the dark interior and called out.
“Hey, isn’t it about time you came out?”
No answer.
Lloyd’s grin widened.
“Hey? Are you embarrassed?”
Who was inside?
Come to think of it, Javier was nowhere in sight.
With the cloudy sky and falling snow, the carriage interior was dim, hard to make out.
The baron narrowed his eyes.
Then a cold voice came from within.
“Embarrassed? That’s a misunderstanding.”
“Then what?”
“I was adjusting my hem.”
“To look pretty?”
“Far from it. It’s the minimum courtesy for the lord I’m meeting after a long time. I couldn’t possibly appear disheveled.”
With those words, Javier stepped out.
Baron Arcos Frontera’s jaw dropped.
Not only his.
The maids and servants who had followed.
Even the baroness, delighted by her son’s return.
Everyone felt the world brighten the instant they saw Javier.
Ah.
Was the day always this bright?
Was the weather always this beautiful?
Javier’s appearance as he stepped down—calmly smoothing the hem of a simple dress.
Even the way he lowered himself to one knee to offer a knight’s respect.
Wig or no wig.
Apron or no apron.
Old sneakers or no sneakers.
The outfit itself was plain.
It didn’t matter.
He was simply—beautiful.
Even the act of bowing his head to the baron seemed radiant.
And suddenly, an inexplicable urge rose up… to be crushed under those slightly furrowed brows.
In other words, everyone standing before the mansion was struck speechless by the unexpectedly revealed Lady Ella.
“Knight Asrahan, I greet my lord.”
“……Oh, hmm. Cough! Cough!”
The baron, flustered, choked on air.
Lady Ella—no, Javier—finished the greeting and rose.
Then he slipped through the stunned silence before anyone could grab him.
Before anyone could ask anything.
He hurried through the gate as if fleeing the situation, crossed the garden, and disappeared into his quarters in the annex.
The moment he was inside, he ripped off the wig and dress in a single motion.
No—he crumpled them and shoved them into the trash basket as if ensuring he could never wear them again.
“Hoo.”
A sigh escaped.
How had it come to this?
His mind snapped back to that morning.
The last morning of the journey from Namaran County.
He’d been tidying the campsite as usual when Lloyd sauntered over with that infuriating smirk.
He asked, with a sly look, if Javier had forgotten anything.
Then he shook the detestable wig and dress.
Javier couldn’t refuse.
Because they had made a bet.
Because a promise had to be kept.
‘I’ll never have to wear those clothes again.’
There should never be a next time.
No—he would make sure there wasn’t.
Javier glared at the crumpled wig and dress in the basket and hardened his resolve.
And that day, he locked himself in his quarters with a sulky face, not even poking a toe outside.
♣
The next morning arrived.
“Hey, Lady Ella.”
“……”
“Lady Ella?”
“……”
“Knight Asrahan?”
“Yes. What is it?”
Javier’s reply came back cold from the start of the day.
Lloyd smiled at the chill in it.
“Were you really angry yesterday?”
“Not at all. I wasn’t angry.”
“But you didn’t even open the door. I went to sing you a lullaby last night. First time in a while.”
“I was sleeping.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“But I heard you sighing inside.”
“I must have been talking in my sleep.”
“No. It sounded like you were sighing while trying to suppress your resentment.”
“I must have been having a bad dream.”
“Like what?”
“Meeting Lloyd in a dream. Talking to Lloyd in a dream. Eating with Lloyd. Being near Lloyd. Seeing Lloyd from afar. Accidentally hearing news about Lloyd. Or even witnessing a lump of cow dung that looks like Lloyd.”
“……”
“Should I continue?”
“Oh, fascinating. So even hearing me breathe would ruin your day.”
“You understand well.”
“Yeah. That’s why it’s fun to tease you.”
“Is that so. Lloyd must be very happy.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll soon be escaping your twenty-seven years of being single.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Lloyd tilted his head.
He was still single.
No girlfriend, no flirtation—nothing.
And yet he was about to stop being single?
Javier’s cold voice continued.
“The new year is almost here. Which means you’ll be single for twenty-eight years.”
“……”
“Congratulations in advance.”
“Oh. Yeah. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“……”
It felt like he’d tossed a bouncy ball, only to get smashed in the gut by a shot put.
Lloyd forced a bitter smile.
“Okay. Do you feel better now?”
“Yes. A little. Thanks to you.”
“Really? Then let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the construction site.”
Lloyd raised his collar against the cold winter wind.
Rest was enough for yesterday.
Now it was time to handle what he’d been putting off.
“The apartment complex and the Grand Aqueduct. Sir Bayern gave me a report last night, but I still need to see it with my own eyes.”
While Lloyd had been in Namaran, Sir Bayern had handled a great deal.
Construction on the apartment complex and the Grand Aqueduct.
He claimed it had been completed beautifully.
“So let’s check it ourselves.”
That was the beginning.
Lloyd spent five full days inspecting the apartment complex and the Grand Aqueduct.
Whether anything had been built differently from the original design.
Whether there were defects or flaws.
He checked everything thoroughly, even using his surveying skills.
The results were more than satisfying.
‘Good. This is a solid ninety out of a hundred.’
He especially liked the Honeycomb Apartment Complex.
Sure, it could be inconvenient on the upper floors if you had to climb up and down yourself, but it would still let the refugees live warmly, sheltered from wind and rain.
And so the refugees began moving in.
The elderly and those with disabilities were assigned to the lower floors.
Those who were young and strong were assigned higher up.
It wasn’t luxurious.
It wasn’t spacious.
If anything, it was barely more than a place to sleep.
But even so, most of the refugees were happy.
They were people who had lost their homes overnight to the Monster Domino Effect. They’d spent more than a year crammed into miserable refugee camps.
To them, this was a solid roof—a place to hide from wind and rain.
‘It might be a hassle going up and down stairs, but they’ll have to live like this for now. And once everyone’s circumstances improve a bit, they can head out and build homes of their own.’
And if the apartment buildings started to empty out?
Then, one building at a time could be repurposed as dormitories for the engineering corps and security forces.
‘That’s for later. For now, I’ve gotten over a big mountain.’
On the day the refugees finished moving in, Lloyd collapsed onto his bed.
His body was exhausted, but his heart felt full.
Over the past few days, it felt like he’d received thousands of thank-yous.
It was the first time in his life he’d heard so much praise and gratitude.
‘Well, it makes sense.’
If someone had handed him a free studio apartment back when he was stuck living in a goshiwon—
Wouldn’t he have been moved to tears?
‘I did something good. And it’ll pay off later, too.’
The refugees who’d moved into the apartments were no longer refugees.
They would be reborn as full-fledged residents of Frontera County.
‘And that all comes back as taxes.’
A lifelong pension.
At that thought, the corners of Lloyd’s mouth rose on their own.
‘Ah, perfect. The refugee problem is solved. And thanks to the money and jewels from Namaran, the territory’s finances are stable for now. All that’s left is an easy life.’
No more major construction projects.
No more huge storms.
Just peace. Prosperity.
With that decision, Lloyd fell into a deep, content sleep.
He had a happy dream.
And the next morning—
He was greeted by a special envoy from the Sultanate, dispatched by Her Majesty the Queen Alicia Termina Magentano.