I Am a Ruined Noble of a Ruined Kingdom

Chapter 19: One Day, The Dreams of a Fallen Knight (Extra Chapter)

A certain knight's dream.

"Ah... Aagh... Ah..."

A grotesque metallic sound flowed out from deep in the dark mountains. If anyone else had heard it, they would have mistaken it for a blacksmith sharpening a sword.

It was a sound so ugly that no one would have guessed it was a human groan.

"Aagh... Oo... Ugh..."

Because her tongue was mangled and her vocal organs were broken, she couldn't even speak properly and complained of pain. But there was no way anyone would help. Even if there were, she knew painfully well that she didn't deserve to be helped.

She wished she could shed tears because she was lonely and distressed, but her tear glands had long since ceased to function.

Squeak, squeak.

The heavy armor, dripping with rust from head to toe, made a chilling noise every time it moved. The dirty, ashen hair swept the floor like a broom, making it extremely unsightly.

When she turned her head, she saw a blood-stained Nodachi-shaped longsword stuck haphazardly in the corner. The woman now recalled her long-faded, silver-white ceremonial sword that fit her perfectly.

In the end, a fragment of an ignorant past who vaguely believed that everything would be alright.

"Eu... I... Ah... I... E..."

Now, only the hideous heavy armor and the eerie longsword were her symbols. People called her "The Terrible Destroyer Iruealfi."

As the target of countless grudges, her beautiful appearance rotted away, and her once powerful martial prowess faded with age. Inside the heavy armor, a crumpled paper-like, wrinkled naked body was covered with a rag-like covering.

Terrible Destroyer, what other infamy could be more fitting as a title to describe her wretched self?

She now sat in a chair that seemed about to break and closed her eyes. Perhaps because she hadn't had a proper sleep in years, she felt like she could sleep a little today.

Nodding. Nodding.

Squeak, Squeeeeak!

"..."

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

Even a slight movement caused the heavy armor to scratch and create a chilling friction sound. The scene was like a sobbing old woman. As if representing her tears that no longer flowed, the heavy armor cried incessantly.

It was only a short time later that complete silence came to the cabin.

It was dawn when Iruealfi fell into a light sleep.

◇

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

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that it was a dream, though.

[A dream... I see. If this is a dream... I wish it wouldn't end...]

Even if it was an endless prison-like space with nothing in it, it was still better than the hellish present.

Did the god in my dream read my wish? Before I knew it, my vision contained a world under a clear sky, reflecting the peaceful everyday life of someone.

I was now an observer from a third-person perspective.

[An unknown mansion...]

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

[It's bigger and more splendid than the four great duke families. Who could the owner be...]

The owner of such a mansion must be a great noble. It doesn't fit the relaxed atmosphere of the mansion.

Then, the complaint of one of the servants was heard.

"Please, Marquis, please stop the other Marquis from cooking!"

"The chef can't even explain what they're putting in that makes the kitchen smell like metal!"

I chuckled at the servants' absurd fuss. The pleasant feeling I felt after a long time wasn't bad.

At the servants' desperate request, a man scratched the back of his head.

"I think it tastes good, but isn't it just the smell that's weird?"

"I dare say, Marquis, your sense of taste can only feel sweetness. I'll bet my entire career on it!"

The servant patted his chest. I covered my mouth and sneered.

[Puhut. Don't be silly, there's no such person in the world.]

I watched the situation with interest.

"Hmm, wouldn't it be okay if the servants did it instead?"

"Oh, it's already too late. For some reason, they've become interested in cooking and are thinking of eating lunch inside, it seems."

"Such a terrible thing must not happen! I have to go negotiate right now."

"Good thinking, Marquis Alteon!"

[So his name is Alteon. I've never heard of the family before.]

I guess a dream is just a dream. A family I've never heard of is the owner of this huge mansion. There's a limit even to fiction.

Every time the man named Alteon moved, my vision automatically followed him. The mansion was so big that the journey to the kitchen was really long.

At some point, a childish hum that even a child would call came from inside the kitchen.

"Hmm~ Hheung~ I have a good feeling about today?"

The sound of chopping and boiling something.

Strangely enough for a dream, there was a smell, and it smelled pretty good.

[It smells okay, even though they said it smells like metal. It's rather good...]

On the other hand, Alteon and the servants were showing the exact opposite appearance to my muttering.

The servants were not only blocking their noses, but Alteon gave the impression of pressing down on his nose.

[Geez, those men are so dramatic.]

Pathetic.

Alteon strode forward, then slammed open the door leading to the kitchen and shouted.

"Hey! I told you to ventilate well when you're cooking! Is this a smithy or a kitchen?"

Alteon shouted spiritedly. But the answer I heard was a masterpiece.

"I think I misheard you, say it again, Nephi."

[So the name is Nephi. What a girlish name.]

The woman's voice contained a frosty indifference. Nephi trembled all over, lowered his head, and then opened his mouth with a warm expression that had changed in an instant.

"Well, um... there's such a thing as manners in communal life, you know. It exists in the world. So it's better to stop cooking..."

It was a truly abject attitude. I could see the future clearly, and a smile lingered on my lips.

[If they're living together as man and woman, they must be engaged, even if they're not married. Judging by how quickly he's backing down, he's destined to be dominated for life. Keuk.]

The woman cut off Nephi's words in an instant and retorted confidently.

"I didn't know that cooking in the kitchen was against manners. I can't believe I knew less about etiquette than Nephi, how should I beg for forgiveness?"

"St, stop with that villainous sarcasm from a romance fantasy...! I'm just saying... yeah, ventilation is good for your health... you know?"

"Romance fantasy? Villain? I don't know what that is, but Nephi, if your words are kind, my words will be kind too."

"O, okay... I'm sorry."

[Pfft, he has no spirit. But he's kind of cute.]

His appearance as he tried to somehow get out of it was like a husband getting nagged at. The servants sent looks of jealousy at the situation that had been reversed in an instant.

"That's enough, come here."

"Huh? Okay..."

Nephi nodded reflexively and went into the kitchen. Naturally, my vision also showed the kitchen, and I saw the woman clumsily chopping with a knife with her back turned.

Although I couldn't see her face because she was turned around, her white hair, as if it contained the brilliance of the moon, was beautiful. Every time her hair moved slightly, I felt that it was clear like a rippling wave.

[Did I used to be like that...]

At least I wouldn't have worn an apron like the fiancée facing Nephi.

The memories of the past were buried and became vague. Still, I think I've heard that I was beautiful quite often.

"Ugh. It smells like metal..."

[It smells good to me...]

Nephi whispered. Fortunately, the woman, presumed to be his fiancée, didn't seem to hear him.

"You came... Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No. I don't have anything I want you to do, but I have something to give you."

"You have something to give me?"

Nephi pondered for a moment, then forced a smile with his face contorted.

"Wa, wait a minute. I'm always satisfied with my lot in life. My life is abundant. There's nothing more I want, haha ha ha ha...!"

"No. There's one thing that Nephi has but doesn't have."

"That's because I don't need it!"

"Enough, come closer."

Her attitude was coercive. Nephi trudged over and stood next to her. The drooping figure was like a dog waiting for punishment.

"Well, this is my special sauce dish that even Nephi, who is so abundant and has everything, doesn't have. Consider it an honor."

"Eugh... Aagh... Ack...!"

Nephi groaned as the fork and its contents approached.

[That sounds just like me in reality. What a fuss.]

"Wa, wait. I'm not ready...!"

"My cooking never stops, you know?"

Her attitude was confident, not caring that Nephi's face had turned blue. As she declared, the fork was steadily shortening the distance to Nephi's mouth.

"Come on, say 'ah~'. Ahh~ You can't tell me Nephi can't do something that even a child can do?"

"If you do that to a child, it's child abuse!!!"

Just as I was watching with interest to see what kind of reaction he would show, the servants' murmurs were heard from outside the kitchen.

"Wow. I'm not jealous at all that 'that Marquis' is feeding him while saying 'ahh'."

"I know, right! All the fantasies are shattered after serving him for a while."

"I don't even know what the relationship between the two of them is. I wonder if it's friendship, but when I see things like that... I don't think even a couple who's been married for a hundred years could eat that."

"Ugh! If my wife tried to feed me something like that, I'd take the divorce papers and go straight to my parents' house."

I tilted my head, watching the servants' unreserved evaluations.

[It looks delicious, why is everyone like that? It's obviously love to make someone taste something like that.]

Everyone is making a big deal out of it because it's a relaxed family. I watch Nephi from the perspective of an interested spectator.

"Wa, waah... I'm not ready yet...!"

"No questions asked."

Paaht!

The fork that had been right in front of his lips suddenly accelerated and entered Nephi's mouth.

"I ate it!"

"He ate it!"

[Hoo.]

Exclamations flowed out from the servants and me at the same time. I was so curious to know what kind of reaction Nephi would show.

Nephi's oversensitive attitude must be because he's embarrassed. After all, there's no way that food with this fragrant smell could be bad.

"Nephi, if you tell me your impressions, I'll refer to them and store them as learning material."

"Eugh... Euughuh... Eugeugeuk..."

"Oh my. Is that a new skill? Spitting out white foam, like fresh seafood, hehe."

"Hheut... Ooh... Ooooh..."

[Hmm, I guess it tastes good after all. It's so delicious that one of them would die. His fiancée is quite something.]

If there's a next life, I might want to learn a thing or two.

Nephi twitched all over several times, then barely regained consciousness and focused.

"Huck! Huck! I think I saw something like a river."

"This pasta boasted a deep flavor like a flowing river... Me... Mo..."

"No!!! That's the kind of river you shouldn't see! More than that, was that pasta? I didn't even guess!"

Nephi shouted as if screaming. It's a shame for a grown young man to be embarrassed.

"I need to research the recipe a little more. Next time, I'll send you to heaven instead of a river!"

"Is that a murder threat...?"

"Please look forward to tomorrow morning too. I'll let you taste unimaginable and bizarre dishes."

At the declaration like a bolt from the blue, Nephi reflexively called out her name.

"Hey, Iruealfi!"

[What?]

When she turned around, the woman's appearance, which I couldn't see, was completely revealed.

Skin as smooth as white jade and eyes that resembled a lake with a surface that sparkled in the sunlight. A beautiful face that anyone, regardless of gender or age, would turn around to look at at least once.

The past me, which I thought I had long forgotten, was there.

"As always, Nephi has no right to refuse."

[W, wait a minute...!]

Just as I was calling desperately and trying to see in detail, the world blurred opaquely and was engulfed in darkness.

It was as if the dream was claiming that it was just a dream, and not to cross the line any further.

Creak, creak, Squeeeeak-!

Familiar sound. It's the sound of the hideous heavy armor that covered my whole body eating away at each other.

"Ah... Eeah... Eueh."

Unlike the dream where I had found freedom for a moment, a cursed and grotesque metallic sound squeezed through my throat. I was depressed and miserable because of it.

Then, a man's roar echoed loudly from outside.

"The Destroyer Iruealfi Yustiha, come out and face death!"

A familiar man's voice.

He was one of the valiant generals of the destroyed Eld Empire. He's a famous general who has come to me without getting tired and has overcome countless crises.

The skill of a warrior from the Chester family, which used to be a part of the four great duke families, has kept him alive until now.

I wonder what he's prepared today.

No, actually, I'm not curious.

Because the result was always the same.

"Eh... Aagh... Uueh..."

I suddenly had such a thought.

A monstrous appearance that was no different from a ghost, and a hideous voice. A messy and polluted body and mind. The monstrousness that unintentionally flowed out from somewhere increased noticeably as time went by.

Is there any meaning for me to live any longer? Am I supposed to hate someone right now? Is it worth continuing to live while enduring countless grudges and hatred?

Now, even the face of my beloved younger sister, Miren, has become blurred. I don't even remember what color her eyes were, or how tall she was.

"Eu... Oo... Ah..."

Yeah, today won't be any different.

Let's fight once.

Traces of my weak enemies.

If you want to kill me, do so gladly. But if you can't, everything you have will be destroyed.

"The Destroyer has revealed herself! Zicharun, are you ready?"

"Yes, today the deep darkness of the Empire will be destroyed."

A voice I heard for the first time and a powerful unfamiliar energy. My gaze turned to him. He was the owner of pale skin and red eyes with powerful energy lurking beneath his hood.

Soon, the man chanted an incantation.

"O paper of the spirits running through the earth..."

At the same time as the man's chanting, the earth boiled from around. A pillar of golden light enveloped the world and emitted a brilliance more brilliant than starlight.

If someone were to send down a light of salvation, I thought it would feel like this.

"Ah... Euwoo..."

Enveloped in a light that seemed to blind me, I unconsciously recalled my dream.

Me in my youth, cooking leisurely in a large mansion somewhere. The relaxed atmosphere of the mansion and the gentle servants.

'I don't know much, but it looked good. Would it be an exaggeration to say it was happiness?'

Nephi, was it?

For a character in a dream, I like him quite a bit. He's cute in what he does, and I like that he eventually gives in if I push him relentlessly.

I think he's a decent man.

If it wasn't a dream, but reality. If I could really spend such a gentle and blessed time. If the same luck flickered like a mirage to me too.

I would definitely try to achieve it even if it meant selling my soul.

'If it were really possible... Then I want to live as a normal Iruealfi Yustiha, not the Terrible Destroyer Iruealfi.'

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

Someone, if you're okay with someone like me, please save me.

Chapter 19: One Day, The Dreams of a Fallen Knight (Extra Chapter)