Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Baron Lenke (2)

“I will think about what work I should do and come to see you again.”

Faced with the baron’s completely rigid attitude, Aslaf first gave his farewell and withdrew.

‘Couldn’t he at least say the same thing in a nicer way? I’m still his son.’

Disappointed by the baron’s attitude toward his son, Aslaf clicked his tongue.

Even if the baron could not acknowledge him as his son, he could have encouraged him to find a profession he liked and raised his spirits.

If Aslaf said he was going to the city, he could have offered to write a letter of introduction to someone he knew.

Instead, he snapped at him and told him to know his place.

If Aslaf had not known Baron Lenke’s past, he might have simply let it pass. But now that he had awakened to his past life and knew all of the baron’s past deeds, the baron’s attitude felt unreasonable.

Aslaf walked out of the room, looked back at the closed door to the baron’s office, and shook his head.

‘Oleg. Others may be one thing, but you should not act that way. You were born a commoner too.’

Oleg Lenke had first been a page who looked after a knight’s horse. When war caused a shortage of knights, Alexei I trained commoners who knew how to ride horses and handle weapons as cavalrymen, then appointed those who qualified as knights. Oleg Lenke had seized that chance and become a knight.

Though his martial skill was not outstanding, Lenke fought bravely and never retreated to the end even in unfavorable situations. Alexei I had taken notice of him and introduced him to Anne, a noble’s daughter, giving him the opportunity to become a noble.

‘You were a commoner too, yet you treat your own son like that?’

Aslaf muttered inwardly.

‘I suppose I’ll have to remind Oleg of his original resolve.’

Since the baroness and Tyron would oppose it, it would be difficult to be acknowledged as a member of the family immediately. Still, for the sake of the future, it was necessary to change Baron Lenke’s mind when he refused to accept Aslaf as his son.

Aslaf crossed the mansion yard and went to the small chapel near the entrance.

It was a place open to the villagers as well, so they could come and pray.

Inside was an elaborately carved stone statue. It was made from rare blue marble, the kind that could not be found nearby.

It was a holy statue carved in the likeness of a saint, one hand raised while the other extended mercifully forward.

In front of it stood an altar, and on top of the altar were fresh bouquets and candles offered to the saint.

‘This is it.’

Aslaf approached the holy statue and examined it closely.

After confirming that there was no sign of anyone nearby, he braced the holy statue against his shoulder and pushed to tilt it.

However, the heavy stone sculpture did not budge.

‘This won’t work alone.’

He scratched his head, quickly gave up, and left the chapel.

‘I need help.’

He went to the mill beside the mansion. He was going to meet Iwan, a servant who worked there.

Iwan was scooping milled flour and had placed some of it into a bowl to knead dough for bread.

“Iwan.”

“Huh? Aslaf.”

When Aslaf called in a low voice, Iwan turned around. With flour on his face, he smiled brightly in delight.

Iwan, who was the same age as him, had been taken in by the mill owner after his serf parents died and had been working there ever since.

After Aslaf came here, Iwan had been the person who welcomed him and liked him the most. Whatever Aslaf said, Iwan listened with interest, and whatever Aslaf did, Iwan tried to join him. Because of that, there were times they were scolded together, but Iwan did not mind.

“Shh!”

Aslaf brought a finger to his lips so Iwan would not speak loudly. Then he beckoned him closer and said in a whisper,

“Help me with something.”

“What is it?”

Iwan blinked, shook the flour dough from his hands, and took off his apron.

“Will it take long? I have to bake bread by dinnertime.”

“It will only take a moment.”

Aslaf took Iwan with him into the chapel.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll tilt the holy statue, so hold it from that side to make sure it doesn’t fall.”

“The holy statue?”

Iwan looked at Aslaf with a dumbfounded expression, but seeming to trust that Aslaf had a reason, he soon took his place beside the holy statue.

“Heave-ho.”

When Aslaf pushed the holy statue with all his strength, it tilted and rose at an angle.

“Hold it.”

While Iwan supported the tilted holy statue, Aslaf sat down, reached out, and felt around the statue’s base.

‘There should be a handle here.’

As expected, there was a recessed space on the bottom of the holy statue and a handle that could be twisted and pulled.

He twisted the handle and pulled, but it did not budge.

‘Has no one ever opened it?’

“How long do I have to hold this?”

Perhaps he lacked the strength to support the heavy stone statue on his own, because Iwan was panting with his hands trembling.

“Just a moment. Hold on a little longer.”

Aslaf twisted the handle with all his might. Then, with a crack, the cover attached to the bottom opened.

He shoved his hand into the hole and groped around, and something was caught in his grasp.

“Almost done.”

Aslaf shut the cover again and set the holy statue back in place.

“What is it?”

Iwan looked at what he was holding.

It was an old, worn piece of parchment. Aslaf instructed him,

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“Of course.”

Though Iwan must have been curious about what he was trying to do, he did not ask many questions and kept his mouth shut. Whatever Aslaf did, Iwan trusted him blindly and followed him.

Aslaf returned to his room and read what was written on the parchment.

‘This will do.’

With this, he would be able to change his father Baron Lenke’s mind.

A few days later, Aslaf went to see Baron Lenke again.

“Yes. Have you decided what work you will do?”

The baron asked in a somewhat stern tone. It seemed he had resolved to keep his distance, fearing that Aslaf would ask to be acknowledged as his son again.

“I still do not know. I would like to pray and ask God.”

Praying and seeking an answer from God when faced with a problem one could not solve was something anyone often did.

Aslaf raised his head and looked at the baron.

“You do not have to acknowledge me as your son. Please go to the chapel and pray with me for my future.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

At Aslaf’s attitude of taking a step back, the baron’s heart seemed to soften a little, and his attitude eased.

When servants and peasants attached to his domain came to him to complain of their troubles, praying with them to soothe their hearts was also one of the duties he often performed as a lord, so it was nothing unusual.

“Very well. Let us go to the chapel.”

They went to the chapel together.

A shaft of light shone through the window of the dark chapel, and the candle flames flickered, casting their shadows long across the room.

“O God. Please watch over young Aslaf so that he may find his path.”

The baron knelt before the altar and sincerely prayed for him.

When they finished praying and stood up, Aslaf looked carefully at the holy statue.

“It’s a beautiful stone statue. It wasn’t made here, was it? There’s no stonemason in our village who could make such a delicate carving.”

Baron Lenke spoke proudly, preening a little.

“You have a good eye. I received that holy statue directly from Alexei I. He sent it to me as a wedding gift.”

Aslaf knew it was a stone statue he himself had given, but he looked at his father with an innocent expression, as though he knew nothing.

“Alexei I? He’s famous. Did you meet him in person?”

“Of course. I was very close to Alexei I. We fought many wars together.”

The baron recalled the past with a nostalgic expression.

“Ah, so that is why he gave you the stone statue.”

“Alexei, I trusted me greatly. He chose me over many brilliant generals and made me the lord of Beden Castle.”

Aslaf almost smiled at the baron’s boast. It was true that Alexei I had regarded him favorably, but rather than choosing him over generals, he had simply made the right appointment for the defense of Beden Castle, a small borderland.

He had gifted him the stone divine image as well because he feared Oleg Lenke, who had no influential family or background, might be looked down on by the local residents, so he had granted it to him to make use of divine authority. As the residents prayed before the divine image the baron had brought to the chapel, they naturally came to follow him.

Therefore, it was certainly true that Alexei I had been a grateful figure who had changed the baron’s life. Even though fifteen years had passed since his death, and many people criticized Alexei I as a tyrant, the baron still deeply respected him.

‘Shall I begin?’

Aslaf pointed at the holy statue and asked the baron,

“Have you ever looked inside the holy statue?”

“Inside the holy statue?”

The baron looked at him as if he did not understand what he meant.

“A holy statue shaped like that can be dismantled so that precious objects may be placed inside. If you received it as a wedding gift rather than purchasing it from a merchant, there may be a prayer for your marriage inside.”

It was true that there was a custom of sealing written prayers for wishes inside holy statues. However, the rigid Baron Lenke had treated it as a bestowed gift from Alexei I and had only tried to preserve the altar exactly as it was. He had never thought to examine the inside.

“I am not sure. I have never looked.”

“There may be a prayer or a letter left by Alexei I inside the holy statue.”

To the doubtful baron, Aslaf suggested that they inspect the inside of the holy statue.

“Usually, there is a space in the lower part of a holy statue for placing a prayer inside, and a cover attached beneath the statue. You open the cover and place the prayer there.”

Aslaf approached the holy statue as he spoke.

“I will hold it, so please check whether there is a cover.”

The baron was flustered by the sudden suggestion, but Aslaf’s words might have been true. With his heart pounding at the thought that there might be a letter or prayer left behind by Alexei I, he examined the bottom of the stone statue that Aslaf had tilted.

“Oh, there is a cover.”

The baron reached out and pulled the cover open. Then a piece of parchment dropped from inside.

“There really is a prayer.”

The baron cried out in surprise. With trembling hands, he unfolded the prayer.

“Ohh, this is Alexei I’s handwriting. He truly wrote it himself.”

Baron Lenke’s breathing grew rough with emotion.

“To think he personally wrote a prayer for a lowly subordinate.”

Alexei I had helped him become a knight, arranged his marriage so he could possess a noble domain and title, and given him a holy statue and a handwritten prayer as a congratulatory gift. There was no way he would not be moved.

The baron read what was written in the prayer.

***

[O God who governs the affairs of the world,

I look up in reverence and give thanks that Your virtue is spread far and wide to all people.

Oleg Lenke and Anne of House Beden are joined by the bond of husband and wife, so please grant them health and allow all they do to proceed smoothly.

Oleg Lenke has traversed battlefields with me and shed blood at my side. He is a loyal vassal who devoted himself wholeheartedly to defending the nation, and he has fought bravely again and again to drive back our enemies.

Though he was born a commoner, through his character and ability, he personally proved himself worthy of a title.

I hope that he will become an example and a hope to commoners who overcome the station of their birth, challenge the world, and seek to embark on great adventures.

Please allow the Lenke couple to be filled with God’s love, so that they may repay the grace they have received to others.

– Dedicated by Alexei I -]

***

After reading the contents of the letter, the baron’s lips trembled wordlessly.

“Traversed battlefields with me and shed blood at my side...”

He looked back on his life and recalled the spirited past he had spent with Alexei I, and his heart pounded.

“Though he was born a commoner, through his character and ability, he personally proved himself worthy of a title.”

The gray-haired baron read the letter again and again, his face flushed red like a boy’s.

“I hope that he will become an example and a hope to commoners who overcome the station of their birth, challenge the world...”