The Extra Wants To Live

The old woman bowed her head urgtly as if the momt wh her eyes met Carl's was an illusion.

They were young m dressed in fine clothes and leading fine horses from the hills near Himmeln. Anyone who saw them couldn't help but think they were nobles.

"…Are you heading to Himmeln?"

Carl, looking at the old woman's hunched back, spoke softly.

His voice seemed to have a strange resonance, and ev though it was spok on a windy hill, it was clearly conveyed to the old woman's ears.

"Yes."

The old woman bowed her head ev more and spoke in a trembling voice.

Carl licked his lips for a momt, th spoke in a calm, composed voice.

"But why don't you walk along the road instead of going up the hill?"

"I must have tak the wrong road because I couldn't see the road because of the snow."

One of the nobles laughed at Carl's words.

Carl looked at the old woman quietly with his mouth tightly shut. In the strange atmosphere, ev the nobles gradually stopped laughing and looked a.

"As I got older, my eyesight got worse, and I couldn't find my way a the snow-covered road."

The old woman's frighted voice was pitiful.

"… … ."

Only the dry sound of the wind lingered. Carl glanced at the snow-covered hills and fields without taking his eyes off the old woman.

"Isn't there a sign pointing the way?"

"I can't read."

"Ev so, why bother climbing the hill wh you could have just followed the signs and found your way?"

"I don't have good eyesight…."

Sabak, sabak… .

The momt the old woman oped her mouth, Carl began to stride down the hill.

The old woman cowered in fear, th shivered and fell face down on the cold snow. Carl simply acted calm and composed, but strangely ough, he felt colder than the first snow that covered the world, and sharper than a drawn sword.

"You're lying in the snow on this cold day. Get up quickly."

Carl spoke in a very gtle voice, and, not caring about the old woman's dirty clothes, he grabbed her by the shoulders and helped her up.

Mana… can't be felt.

There's nothing suspicious.

She's just an ordinary old woman.

But this strange feeling made him more cautious.

The old woman was lifted up, her face astonished by the incredible strgth that came from Carl's small body, but she still kept her head down and did not show her face to Carl.

If you were that surprised, it wouldn't be strange if you raised your head and looked at the face without realizing it...

"Do you know who I am?"

"… … ."

The old woman fell silt for a momt at Carl's slightly playful voice.

"I'm sorry. I…"

"No, it's nothing. It's just… … ."

Carl cut off the old woman from what she was saying and spoke with a smile. The tail of the horse hung, and tsion was rising.

"… … I just think I've se you before."

The old woman bowed her head at Carl's words.

Perhaps due to her lack of stamina, her rough breathing did not calm down easily and caused pure breath to disperse.

"… … This is my first time going to Himmeln."

"Is that so? What's the matter?"

At the old woman's words, Carl supported her as they climbed the hill.

The tsion that had be building up in the hearts of the noble youths suddly collapsed at the sight and voice of the detailed figure, and they were filled with a deep sse of relief.

"Isn't Himmeln the heart of the empire? Wh I was a girl, I dreamed of going to Himmeln, but it wasn't until I was this old that I finally had the chance to go."

The old woman seemed relieved by Carl's detailed attitude and smiled slightly as she spoke.

"I see. But the weather is not good. Do you see over there? That's Himmeln."

Carl pointed to the walls of Himmeln, which were dimly visible through the light snowfall. At those words, the old woman smiled excitedly.

"Harmon, can you take her to Himmeln?"

"Yes, Master Carl."

"Huh? No! It's okay, Nari!"

"No. It makes me uncomfortable to see you struggling in this cold weather. Don't refuse."

Carl nodded to Harmon, refusing the old woman's refusal. Harmon unloaded his horse and placed the old woman on it.

"Harmon, don't bother coming back here. Just wait in Himmeln."

"Yes."

"Oh, and… … ."

Carl smiled and spoke to the old woman.

"You don't remember seeing me, do you? Those eyes look familiar."

At that momt, the old woman sitting behind Harmon unconsciously turned her head slightly, and her hazel eyes, mounted on the horse, met Carl's gre eyes head-on.

Beath the drooping eyelids, sparkling jewel-like eyes. But more than that, Carl focused on the feeling he had the momt their eyes first met.

'Sight. I feel a mysterious ssation that cannot be described in words.'

"… I'm sorry. I've never actually met you."

"Is that so? Well, I guess so. Be careful on your way."

Carl smiled and spoke kindly to the old woman, th turned a and walked towards the nobles of the military.

"You are very merciful."

"Isn't the author also a subject of the empire?"

While Carl talked to them calmly, Harmon began to slowly ride his horse towards Himmeln.

Carl followed the old woman's figure without looking back. After moving for a while and becoming so far away that Carl could no longer be se, the old woman slowly turned her head and looked up the hill.

Her hazel eyes, as if set with jewels, were fixed on a single point, as if piercing straight into something unse in the blurry distance.

"… … ."

The old woman turned her head again and looked at Himmeln in the distance.

The snowfall was gradually decreasing. It would stop soon. It was later than scheduled. Aingir would be waiting. She had to go back quickly and report.

Of course, she would leave out the part where she was personally spying on Carl...and omit the strange part about Carl.

Camilla thought about the way Carl had looked at her. It was as if she had be cut by a knife or pierced by a spear. He was by no means an ordinary person.

However, she still didn't know which one was better compared to Adrian.

All four of the grown princes of the Hardion Imperial Family were outstanding in every way, and two of them shone brightly.

That was the problem, because she didn't know which line to draw. She guessed she'd have to wait and see until she was sure.

Until th, she'd have to hide Adrian by casting a shadow over him so he couldn't deal with Carl.

"we've come this far. Please let me down so I can go in on my own feet."

"Hmm...."

Harmon let Camilla, who was disguised as an old woman, go. Since Himmeln was right in front of them anyway, it didn't matter if she walked.

"Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to come comfortably."

Camilla smiled like an old woman and nodded to Harmon in thanks.

"Okay. I just did what I was told to do."

Harmon spoke calmly, but he waited there to make sure Camilla got into Himmeln safely.

Camilla tered Himmeln without any problems. And wh Harmon looked at the falling snow for a momt and th turned his gaze again, he could not find the shabby old woman.

Long, wavy black hair seeped into the alleyways and disappeared into the shadows.

***

Additional reports came in from Howell.

It was said that he succeeded in contacting and persuading most of those who had resigned from their posts and dispersed.

In the first place, these people, whose only options after quitting their administrative posts were being unemployed or farmers, would have be willing to give in to the mere thought of, "Do you want to become an administrative worker?"

Carl praised Howell greatly and gave him some of Hilfin's money to fund his activities.

Howell would remain in Himmeln in the future, providing Carl with wisdom and performing tasks that required judgmt wh needed.

Wh the time came, they'd either have to take Howell officially into their own hands or sd him to Hilfin to take control of the situation.

And to prevt Felt, who had done a good job, from having other thoughts, he secretly gave them some money.

The letters delivered through Lilly were full of all kinds of flattery.

'I hav't felt your gaze since that day.'

Carl hadn't felt the eyes following him lately.

It had be like this ever since he met the old woman on the hill outside Himmeln on that day wh the first snow fell.

'Was that the bloody ring finger? If so, was that Camilla? I had be doubting it over and over again, but I could not easily come to a conclusion.'

Evtually, Carl settled for changing his behavior to be a little more careful. But the hazel eyes he had se that day kept coming to mind, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable. It made him nervous to think that maybe those eyes were still looking at him.

'Okay. It's pointless to worry any more.' Carl cut his thoughts sharply. More important than that was the upcoming party at Milione.

"Looking at it this way, you've really grown a lot… "

Lilly caressed Carl's new clothes, her eyes filling with tears.

He couldn't go to the party of Captain Milione wearing clothes that were so small that they would burst, so he hurriedly got himself some new clothes.

He was 0% in line with the military's tastes, wearing a short, thick jacket, a long sword at his waist, riding breeches, and high boots that came up just below the knees.