I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 56

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 56. A Fairy Tale for a Knight
‘What? Why is Rohengreen here?’
Camilia stared at him intently, concealing her bewilderment.
Rohengreen Ashen seemed to share her sentiment, his eyes widening as he gazed back at her.
“Lord Camilia…?”
Rohengreen Ashen lingered at the entrance, hesitant.
He fidgeted like a puppy uncertain whether to enter its master’s chambers, though I couldn’t fathom why he was so reluctant.
‘Have I been that intimidating?’
I pondered whether I should temper my stern and solemn demeanor as lord, then opened my mouth to speak.
“Don’t stand there like that. Come inside. Do you fear I might torment you?”
“No, my lord. I merely worried I might be intruding on your time…”
“It’s fine.”
With my permission granted, he obediently stepped into the library.
Perhaps yesterday’s grueling gold farming had exhausted him, for Rohengreen Ashen wore not his usual plate armor but casual garments with a subtle blue hue.
His hair was also braided more loosely than usual.
From the face alone, one might mistake him for a wandering bard rather than the Knight Commander, so elegant was his bearing.
Of course, that illusion shattered the moment one’s gaze dropped below his neck.
His broad shoulders and thick forearms proclaimed unmistakably that this was a true knight’s physique.
I watched as Rohengreen Ashen approached and stood before me, somewhat awkwardly, and asked him a question.
“Aisha should have been outside. Did you not realize I was here?”
Rohengreen Ashen answered with his gaze lowered.
“I didn’t see the maid. The Librarian was there, but she looked so exhausted that I hesitated to disturb her…”
It was odd that Aisha had stepped away, but upon reflection, it seemed plausible enough.
‘She must have gone to fetch blankets or something similar. I have been here quite a while, after all.’
The Librarian’s utter exhaustion was my doing.
She lacked the strength to hold even a single book properly, so I had worked her relentlessly.
‘I should send her something nourishing later.’
With a touch of remorse, I gestured to Rohengreen Ashen to sit.
Yet the conscientious Knight Commander declined with a somewhat stiff smile.
“That’s quite all right, Lord Camilia. There’s no need to concern yourself with me. I came to borrow a book.”
“A book? Are there books about knights in the library?”
Rohengreen Ashen, unprepared for the question, hesitated and his cheeks flushed.
“Not that sort of book. I came to borrow a fairy tale.”
“A fairy tale?”
“To show Nashu.”
A fairy tale to show Nashu Shumel?
Why suddenly?
As I stared at him intently, Rohengreen Ashen offered an awkward smile.
“It seems the child you brought has been mocking Nashu. He said he’d never seen a knight who couldn’t read.”
‘That Vlad…’
I let out an exasperated sigh, and Rohengreen’s smile became more natural.
“It doesn’t seem like he meant any malice. But Nashu appeared to be in low spirits.”
Hearing this explanation, I began to understand the situation.
‘So he’s trying to teach Nashu to read.’
It was such a Rohengreen thing to do.
“I understand the reasoning, but does this Library have anything like fairy tales?”
“There aren’t many, but I believe there are a few. I used to see them often when I was young.”
Had such a thing happened? When Camilia showed a puzzled expression, Rohengreen explained.
“My Lord’s memories may be confused, so you might not recall, but the Ashen Family has served Nidst for generations.”
Rohengreen continued in a gentle tone.
The children of the Ashen Family would enter the Castle once they could walk and run, and work as squires in the Knight Order’s Training Grounds.
He himself had entered as a squire and attendant of the Knight Order from a very young age.
“It’s shameful to admit, but when I was young, I considered the Castle my home rather than my own house. I spent almost all my time here.”
Rohengreen’s expression grew wistful as memories surfaced.
On the surface, it was an ordinary reminiscence.
If Camilia were truly a Lord who had lost her memories, she would have sympathized gladly.
But as someone who knew all of Rohengreen’s backstory like a stagnant pond knows its depths, I felt somewhat uncomfortable.
There was a crucial part missing from his story.
‘Rohengreen… this Castle is also where your mother was executed…’
The Previous Lord had executed Svanhild Ashen, the head of the Ashen Family and Knight Commander, in the center of the Banquet Hall.
The charge was that she had harbored treacherous intentions and acted as a spy for the Fallum Empire.
The Previous Lord didn’t stop there—he had tried to utterly annihilate the Ashen Family.
If the knights hadn’t risked their lives in opposition, arguing that without the eldest of the Ashen line, who would lead the Nidst Knight Order, Rohengreen would likely have died as well.
After that day, Rohengreen had suffered greatly in various ways.
Having fallen out of favor with the Previous Lord, he was dragged into all manner of menial tasks, barely able to train properly.
Yet Rohengreen’s loyalty never wavered.
He believed that only through this could he wash away his mother’s and the Ashen Family’s sins and restore their honor.
Speaking of honor to the one who was the enemy of his parents—I simply couldn’t understand his motivations.
But in the pseudo-medieval world of the Dark Tower, honor held tremendous value.
Even an emperor of the realm would be so devastated by a loss of honor that he’d take his own life.
‘If I want to upgrade Rohengreen’s traits, I’ll have to follow the honor recovery route eventually…’
Even in the game, after seeing it once, I’d kept skipping that Quest because the content felt so uncomfortable.
I’m already ignoring the main Quest and just running around recklessly—do I really need to pursue that route now?
‘Well, it’s not something I need to think about right now.’
I switched off that line of thought like flipping a switch and spoke.
“It’s good that you’re looking after Nashu, but there’s no need to sacrifice your own personal training time. Leave it to the subordinates.”
“It’s fine. I do it because I want to.”
I chuckled and asked in a joking tone.
“If your skills deteriorate because of this, I’ll put Nashu in the vanguard instead and climb The Tower. Would that still be acceptable?”
Rohengreen’s eyes widened in surprise.
She hadn’t realized he could tease her like this.
But finding it not entirely unpleasant, Rohengreen laughed along with her.
“…If that is what you wish, my lord, then I shall follow accordingly.”
‘Looking at this, I have to say there’s no one quite as loyal as my Rohengreen.’
But I can’t understand why his loyalty refuses to climb past 80.
Nashu reached 100 ages ago.
Grumbling inwardly, I brought the conversation to a close.
“If you’re resolved, I won’t stop you. The fairy tales should be in the bookshelves I haven’t touched—look for them over there.”
I gestured with my chin toward the shelves where fairy tales were likely to be.
I thought he’d eagerly rush off to find the books, but the emotion that flickered across Rohengreen’s face was disappointment.
“What? Do you want to stay with me longer?”
Teasing him, I asked, and Rohengreen answered with a startled expression.
“No, my lord. How could I possibly take up your time?”
“It’s not quite that dramatic.”
Rohengreen’s gaze lingered on my face for quite some time.
Thanks to that, I could gaze long into his blue eyes.
Beneath his silver eyelashes—slightly darker than his hair—lay shadows that made them look like a winter lake.
How long had I been looking?
As if entranced, Rohengreen suddenly opened his mouth.
“My lord… you seem very different from before.”
Well, I am a different person, after all.
But since I couldn’t say that, I simply smiled.
“Do you miss the old me so much?”
“That is… well, it’s not really my place to judge….”
Anyone could see he clearly preferred me now, yet he claimed it wasn’t his place to judge.
“Then let’s do something easier to answer. Go fetch those fairy tales. I’ll help you choose which ones would suit Nashu best.”
Rohengreen looked startled, as if he hadn’t expected me to go that far.
Still, the way he hurried toward the shelves suggested he didn’t dislike the idea.
As Rohengreen brought the fairy tales, I examined their contents and spoke.
“When you teach Nashu his letters, instruct him in knightly virtues as well.”
“You mean music and dancing?”
“I’m thinking of conferring his knighthood formally at the autumn festival.”
I couldn’t leave Nashu in this ambiguous state—neither a proper servant nor an officially appointed knight. I’d already decided to grant him his formal title.
By autumn, he should have accumulated plenty of knightly achievements, so the timing would be perfect.
I selected two fairy tales from the collection—”The Cannibal Bear and the Young Prince” and “The Little Girl Who Severed a Hundred Witches’ Heads”—and held them out as I asked.
“Since it’s a formal investiture, there will be no shortage of guests. He needs to look presentable before them. Can you manage that?”
Though it wasn’t even his own matter, Rohengreen answered with evident joy.
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
I thought to myself.
‘You’re going to have to work very hard for this, my dear Rohengreen.’
After all, Nashu Shumel would prove to be far more formidable than anticipated.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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