Published: August 10, 2026
Today is clear and sunny. In the crisp winter air, the Ivory Castle bathed in the light of the fire looked as though it were glittering.
Thinking how dazzling it was, I stared blankly at the scenery.
Half sitting up on my bed, my lower body was still buried under the blanket.
Beside the bed was a small window, from which I could see the Granado Castle main gate—my workplace—very well.
Today, someone else was standing guard there instead of me.
I... Divomov Thomas Tender was currently on leave.
Originally, the job of gatekeeper wasn't all that demanding a position.
There were plenty of us besides me, and I was the youngest newcomer among them.
In a peaceful world, a gatekeeper was less a guard and more like a receptionist, errand runner, or even a menial servant.
I wasn't hired for my combat ability either.
If anything, the reason was probably my friendly personality—or rather, that sounds nicer than it is.
To put it plainly, I guess it was because I had a harmless face.
I'd only been dissatisfied with being treated that way for the first few months after coming here.
Now I didn't care anymore.
The peaceful Granado Castle was comfortable, and I thought nothing would be better than for things to stay this way forever.
...Though sometimes, trouble did happen.
Just thinking about it made the base of my neck throb.
The other day, I'd been strangled right around there.
A mysterious group had suddenly appeared.
I was accused of being a thief, something I had absolutely no connection to.
They were even about to drag me away, when at the last moment, Lady Mio, the Chief Lady-in-Waiting, rescued me.
In the end, I came away without any real injuries, but I had been choked until I lost consciousness.
Just to be safe, I was ordered to rest for a while.
Lord Cyrus, the lord of the castle, had said:
"Gate duty has always been on rotation, so you haven't had any proper extended leave, have you? If you like, take this chance to go back to your hometown and relax for a bit."
...It's not like my body or heart had taken any damage.
And if I took time off, I'd just be bored.
But after being told that much, I couldn't exactly say, No, please let me work.
There was no doubt that master had said it out of kindness.
...And yet...
I turned my face away from the window and let out a long sigh.
"...Where did master and Lady Marie go, I wonder?"
I spoke toward my own knees.
"They won't tell me when they're coming back, or what they went out to do."
Lately, I'd heard that there had been some sort of trouble over at the granado trading company run by master.
But I didn't know any of the details.
The identity and purpose of the people who had tried to take me away, the reason master and the others had set out early in the morning, where they were headed, and even the fact that Lady Mio had somehow disappeared from the castle at some point... I knew nothing.
It wasn't just this time either.
It was always like this.
I stood at the castle gate every day, watching people come and go, yet I would only be told much later who those people actually were.
I supposed it couldn't be helped.
Ordinary nobles didn't speak with their commoner retainers.
And in that respect, master was extraordinarily warm and generous.
He spoke kindly to a commoner like me, let alone a young foreigner, and even took care to look after me.
This castle, where no one was discriminated against, was as comfortable as paradise.
So it wasn't like... I'd ever been dissatisfied with that... but still.
"Haah..."
Once again, I let out a big sigh, curling up on the bed and burying my face.
"Should I really just go back to my hometown, I wonder..."
And then, at that moment—
Bang.
A strange sound rang out.
"W-What was that?"
Startled, I lifted my head.
The sound had come from the room's door, from the hallway side.
Something had struck it.
Bang. Thud. Bang.
...What was this? It sounded like someone was slowly hitting it with a heavy hammer, but could it be a knock?
Someone had come to visit me.
Someone who didn't speak dirts language...
Still shaken from the terrifying ordeal I'd just experienced recently, cold sweat ran down my back.