Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 16

“Blech.”

“Are you alright?”

“No… Ugh.”

The weather was clearly clear without a single cloud, yet the waves were fearsomely savage. Rowy, gripping the bow of the boat, retched uncontrollably. Having had nothing to eat since moving early in the day, he kept spitting out nothing but white gastric juice, his eyes bloodshot.

Van moved frantically, sticking by Rowy’s side to pat his back, then offering him water. Seeing the person who had been burning with a fever since yesterday now losing his mind like this on top of seasickness, Van feared something truly terrible might happen.

“Haa, are we still far off?”

“I told you we have at least three more hours to go. We’ve only just left.”

Van had asked for the arrival time for the eighth time exactly. Despite the continuous questions, the captain gave a reasonably kind answer. It was a service for customers who had paid a lot of money.

“Can’t you sail the boat more gently? Someone’s going to die at this rate.”

“It wouldn’t make a difference. That young master gets seasick even on calm days.”

The captain, who had carried Rowy several times before, shook his head.

“Ugh, just knock me out instead….”

“Would you like me to do that?”

“Please, do it painlessly….”

“Goodness.”

The captain, who usually carried Rowy around when he traveled alone, clicked his tongue at the sight of the two of them glued together. Where did he pick up something like that?

“Ha….”

Whether he had actually knocked him out or not, Van came over to the captain sighing after laying the collapsed Rowy down inside the cabin.

“You said it’s only two hours away now, right?”

“I told you about ten minutes ago that it was three hours.”

“Is a resort island originally this far away? I could clearly see the island from the mainland….”

“The resort island was passed quite a while ago. You boarded the boat without even knowing where you were going.”

“Pardon?”

Van asked, puzzled.

“I assumed we were naturally going to the resort island.”

“Did you really follow him here knowing absolutely nothing?”

Van nodded. As for himself, he just went wherever the master went. Above all, what kind of island could there be where a noble lives in Serafilla other than a resort island?

“Then where is this boat going?”

At that question, the captain, who was taking out a cigarette, grinned.

“We are currently… heading to the Cursed Island.”

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“The waves are too rough to bring the boat in close. I will carry you over on my back. Please, get on.”

“Ugh, are we here?”

“Yes, let’s get off for now. You’ll feel better once you step on land.”

Van, having forced the disoriented and dizzy Rowy onto his back, plunged into the sea. Taking care not to let Rowy’s feet get wet in the knee-deep water, Van surged forward through the waves. Carrying Rowy on his back and luggage in front, Van crossed the sea without much difficulty.

Stepping onto the land with heavy, purposeful strides, Van scrambled up along the rocky mountain. It was a path Rowy could never have climbed on his own. To get the boat as close to the island as possible, they had no choice but to climb this way. Had they docked anywhere else, Rowy surely would have been drenched in seawater.

He couldn’t let Rowy, who still had a piping hot fever, fall into the water. Fortunately, Van knew how to climb a rocky mountain with no path while carrying Rowy with ease.

“The castle should be visible if we head toward the pier….”

“I will head that way. Please, get some sleep.”

“Mm….”

Van’s back, climbing the mountain, was more comfortable than the rocking boat. Rowy buried his aching head into Van’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Van, having hoisted the now-quiet Rowy up once more, strode toward the path with even more cautious steps than before.

‘The pier….’

Having climbed the mountain and entered the forest, Van scanned the surroundings to find the spot the captain had described.

‘He definitely said to follow the mountain path….’

However… he couldn’t see a path. He looked around this way and that, but all he saw were overgrown trees. Perhaps because the island was situated far to the south of Serafilla, it was filled with trees that had exceptionally large and dense leaves. Van was bewildered by the situation where, let alone a path, he couldn’t even see properly ahead.

“Did I come up in the wrong direction?”

“Ugh, no. You just have to go that way.”

“That way? But there’s no path there.”

“It’s just because the trees grow fast here.”

“The trees grow fast enough to cover up the path?”

Rowy provided no further answer to Van’s doubt. After pondering for a moment, Van drew his sword and began to carve a path.

“…”

Even while walking and clearing the way, something felt off. The forest was so lush, yet it felt strangely devoid of any signs of life. Not even a single chirp from a common bird could be heard. Van braced his body, tense, and pushed forward while hacking away at the overgrown grass.

Rowy seemed to have fallen completely asleep. Van walked a bit faster. He had clearly been told it was a very small island, but it took quite a lot of time to push forward while carrying luggage in front and back and hacking through the grass. Crunch, crunch. How long had he walked like that? Finally, the trees and grass began to thin out.

‘Is this it?’

Van narrowed his eyes at the suddenly wide-open view. A small path barely wide enough for a carriage to pass. And at the end of that path, a castle that had crumbled halfway revealed itself.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“Yawn. Hello, butler.”

Rowy, who only came to his senses when they had almost reached the castle, greeted the butler who was waiting in front of the castle gate.

“Master.”

The middle-aged butler bowed his head deeply. Van watched that sight with interest. From the man called the butler… the scent of a seafaring man was strong. From his peculiar hair color, which had faded from exposure to seawater, to the bulk and muscles that couldn’t be hidden even beneath neat clothing.

‘If you say butler of a noble house, I imagined an atmosphere like the employee at the Seto Inn.’

Someone who used polite, refined language and moved elegantly without a sound. But the butler before his eyes… he looked exactly like the captain of the boat they had arrived on if he were dressed in a suit.

‘Did he make a nearby sailor his butler?’

But why on earth? A noble with that much money surely wouldn’t have lacked for someone sent from the family. No, in the first place, why come to live in a place like this? For Rowy to live in, this castle was far too….

“Butler. This is Van. About organizing the luggage, and are there any rooms left? Anyway, all sorts of… Yawn. I need to get some sleep.”

After that lackluster handover, Rowy skipped into the castle.

“Greetings.”

“…”

The eyes of the remaining Van and the butler met. Van offered a friendly greeting, but no reply came back. Van was flustered, but the butler just silently helped move the luggage.

“Haha… It’s alright. I will carry them.”

Even at Van’s words, the butler remained silent. The butler, carrying the luggage with a stubborn expression, strode into the castle. Van followed him in, feeling awkward. The first impression of the castle they faced was….

“The castle… is a bit old.”

Van struggled to choose his words. He had seen that it was partially collapsed from the outside, but… the inside was even more of a spectacle. The interior was divided into two sides based on the main entrance, and the left staircase leading to the second floor was completely broken, leaving a door hanging in mid-air, while the staircase on the right, the only one somewhat intact, was reinforced with haphazardly placed wooden supports. In this situation, the cracks in the wall seemed like nothing at all. Although, they were cracked quite a lot.

‘Is it okay for people to live here?’

What if it collapses while walking? Van stepped carefully. Seeing as there seemed to be stairs leading to the basement as well, in this state, he wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on if the floor he was treading on collapsed. Van’s pace gradually slowed as he walked slowly, fearing the ground might give way. Meanwhile, the butler was already treading on the stairs leading to the second floor. Van followed him even more slowly on purpose.

‘Because it shouldn’t collapse if both of us climb it.’

Someone as fluttery as Rowy might not mind even if he jumped on the stairs, but for two large men covered head-to-toe in muscle to climb them… the state of the stairs was very poor. Creeeeeak. The moment a foot touched them, the stairs screamed. Terrified, Van climbed the stairs as if he were almost flying.

‘The second floor… is intact.’

The second floor he climbed to was surprisingly neat, putting the ruins of the first floor to shame. Although time had inevitably left its mark on the wallpaper and interior decorations, there were no cracks, and it was clean without a speck of dust or soot. Van realized this was the area where Rowy primarily stayed.

“You may stay in the room across from the master’s.”

As Van approached, the butler said this while opening a door engraved with antique intaglio.

“Is that room the master’s room?”

When he pointed to the door directly opposite, the butler nodded.

“For meals and such, look for the dining room in the hallway on the other side. Since there is no path leading up from the first floor, go around from the second floor.”

“Please, speak comfortably.”

Van said warmly while taking the luggage held in the butler’s hands. The blunt middle-aged butler just stared blankly at Van.

“Please, call for me if there is work to be done. Such as repairing the stairs.”

People shouldn’t get hurt, right? Van continued to chat with a smile. He intended to try to get close to the butler since he would be living here for a while. However, the butler still showed no reaction. Still, Van did not give up.

“Haha, I wonder if the master is doing alright. He had such bad seasickness… I will prepare his meal when he wakes up.”

The butler, who had been watching Van for a moment, opened his mouth.

“…The young master doesn’t go to the dining room often. Bring his meals to his room.”

“Yes.”

“Then.”

The butler turned his body just like that. Before closing the door and leaving, the butler stopped his steps for a moment and spoke in a low voice.

“…Did you say your name was Van?”

“Yes.”

“Do not leave the master’s side at night.”

“Pardon?”

Van asked back at the sudden remark. And the answer that returned was….

“Because this castle… is cursed.”

Here it was again. A curse. Van’s expression stiffened awkwardly.