The Third Life of Helena Blackmoore

34. Lament

Siegfried remembered his first meeting with that man. No. He was a boy at that time.

He used to be noble and lived with his parent in a mansion before. Siegfried had shown a talent for swordsmanship since a young age. His parent noticed this and hired multiple teachers to develop those skills. His ability bloomed further under many experienced tutors.

His life changed when his parent died in a carriage accident. Wealth, responsibility and title fall onto his shoulders. Siegfried was too young to bear everything. His uncle helped him and took control of the problem as a guardian. He promised to give everything back when Siegfried reached adulthood.

His uncle treated Siegfried well but spent too much gold for himself. Things were fine until his family ran out of money. He sold a lot of lands, dismissed servants and pawned many items to pay his debts.

Siegfried could not allow his uncle's bad habits to affect the family. He tried to find an alternative to make more money. Siegfried eventually established a guild to gather information. He obtained gold from that small business, but it was not enough. The expense was greater than the income.

Siegfried worked hard to pay off some debt. Upon looking for information for a client, he discovered a terrifying truth. Siegfried stumbled on an assassination offer. He found out his uncle used the same service once. Siegfried's parents death was not an accident. It was orchestrated.

Siegfried was sixteen when he murdered his uncle. He had no choice but to flee away or get arrested. Siegfried erased his trail by joining the mercenary on a stormy day.

His skill in swordsmanship proved to be worthwhile. He received a great title as a slayer among mercenaries. Yet, his achievement was muddled by his behaviour. Siegfried was a rude, alcoholic and misbehaved man. He lived as a shrewd mercenary without a home. Instead of saving money to rent a room, he would spend it on booze and women. That man had no self-preservation as a human. He lived a miserable life without purpose.

That life went upside down when that boy appeared. It only took one glance to know he had a high status. His blue clothes were decorated with golden thread and cufflinks made of red garnet. Two buff knights were standing behind him.

Siegfried ignored the bodyguards and glared at the kid. "Scram, kid. Go back to your home."

That boy chuckled. "My, how rude. It is just like the report." He stood in front of Siegfried with a smirk on his face. "Do you want to work for me?"

His eyes glinted with the spark of pride and greed. No children should have such a look. Siegfried somehow was intimidated by that gaze. He was not an ordinary child.

Siegfried was frowning. "What do you want?"

That boy threw a pouch in front of him. Siegfried opened it and was shocked by the amount of gold. It was more than enough for him to live for a year.

"If you work for me, you can get five times more than this pouch. You can even kiss your mercenary job goodbye."

He could not believe his luck. "Why me?"

That little boy chuckled. "You have the same eyes as me."

Siegfried should have rejected the offer, but avarice blinded him.

His first job was to establish his guild further. He must collect and give every kind of information to his new superior. It was an easy task since he had the experience. His financial status became better, but it was not enough. That boy promised him five times gold. He only laughed when Siegfried mentioned it.