I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 45
Annoyed, Iruel charged at Rufus, brandishing his sword.
Rufus, with a calm expression, lifted his magic-infused sword.
The confrontation didn’t last long.
Boom!
Rufus’s sword emitted a powerful aura, pressuring Iruel. Overwhelmed by the magic, Iruel stumbled momentarily, and in that brief moment, everything was decided.
Rufus’s sword was already precisely targeting Iruel’s throat.
“…Damn it.”
Iruel cursed.
“Going to continue?”
“No, I won’t. Disgusting, seriously.”
Iruel threw down his sword.
“Fine, I was wrong. You’re skilled with a sword and handle magic well. Yes, yes, do well as our lieutenant.”
Iruel grumbled as he picked up his discarded sword.
Rufus, having sheathed his sword, looked around at the silenced squad.
“If anyone else wishes to challenge me, step forward.”
Silence.
The squadron members quietly bowed their heads.
They had underestimated him. They thought he was a young, inexperienced boy, but he was far from it.
The brief duel had shown it.
The way Rufus wielded his sword, targeting the vital points, was on par with a seasoned warrior.
Rufus, having silenced the squadron, turned to the grumbling Iruel.
“Iruel.”
“What?”
“I won. Follow me.”
“Why?”
“To talk.”
“Oh, come on. What’s there for men to talk about… What do you want to talk to me about, exactly?”
Then Rufus said something totally unexpected.
“About women.”
“What?”
Iruel was stunned. He tapped his head as if to check if his ears were functioning correctly. In this critical situation, where demons could attack at any moment, Rufus wanted to leisurely talk about women?
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up.”
Rufus gestured to Iruel to follow him towards his temporary tent.
“Really…”
Iruel scratched the back of his head, reluctantly accepting the awkward invitation.
As soon as Iruel entered the tent, Rufus blocked the entrance.
“What’s this? Why are you blocking the door? What are you going to do to me?”
Iruel’s voice echoed anxiously in the darkened tent.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”
Rufus used his magic to light a lamp inside the tent. Only then did the interior of the tent become visible.
“Sit down.”
Rufus pointed to the center of the tent. There, a small wooden box was being used as a makeshift table.
The tent was a pitiful sight. The damp canvas reeked of mustiness from the rain. Mold festered on the ceiling, and somewhere in the background, the sound of scurrying rats could be heard.
Iruel, casting an odd glance at Rufus, eventually settled down.
“Care for a drink?”
“What?”
“It was a needless question. You’ve always been a sucker for alcohol.”
Rufus rummaged through his sparse belongings and pulled out a bottle of liquor he had prepared before leaving the Inferna Barony. In a hurry, he had stealthily taken a few bottles of his grandmother’s cherished liquor.
Iruel’s eyes widened at the sight of the glistening bottle in the dimly lit tent.
“Wow, you managed to bring liquor inside the camp?”
“I’m a lieutenant, after all.”
Of course, Rufus was caught during the belongings inspection. The royal knights conducting the inspection had berated Rufus for thinking about leisurely drinking liquor when he was supposed to be ready for battle.
Rufus offered the remaining bottles to the knights instead of making excuses.
What was left was this one bottle.
“Wow, this is some strong stuff.”
Iruel grimaced after tasting the liquor Rufus had poured into a cup.
“What kind of devilish liquor is this? It’s remarkably tasteless.”
“It’s a famous liquor from the Inferna domain.”
“Inferna domain? What’s that?”
“My family’s domain.”
“You have a domain, being just a baron? Seems like a family with deep history.”
“Yes. Unlike some families, we don’t irresponsibly mess around and produce bastards.”
Rufus filled Iruel’s cup again. Iruel grimaced as he took the cup in both hands.
“Stop bringing up the bastard thing. It’s ruining the already terrible taste of this liquor.”
“You are a bastard, aren’t you?”
Iruel was the son of Viscount Eustice, born from a fleeting union with a nameless woman.
If Rufus’s memory served right, Iruel had lived with his mother until he was about seven. After that, Iruel’s mother left her son in the care of Viscount Justice and disappeared.
Although he was officially entered in the Eustice family’s registry, Iruel was always the outsider.
Within the Eustice household, Iruel was an unwelcome presence. So, when the demon subjugation campaign started, the family seized the opportunity to send Iruel away, hoping he would perish on the battlefield.
