WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Prince of Rage ◈

Chapter 12

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Valerie, ready to depart, loaded his belongings onto Snow. All that remained was to step into the stirrup, mount up, and leave the castle.

Other than his friends, no one had come into the courtyard to see him off. Everyone went about their duties and daily lives, only glancing at him as they passed.

It had been fourteen years. He had come here as a newborn and lived here ever since. People’s views of Valerie had changed greatly over the past month, but there was also the familiarity that came with time.

Whether they liked or disliked Valerie, losing that familiarity could not be an entirely happy thing.

The maids looked sad, as though one of life’s great joys had been taken from them.

Yet something else made Valerie uncomfortable. Gidwin was crying. Harald’s eyes were red as well, but Gidwin was the one whose face had crumpled as tears streamed down it.

“Sniff... sob...”

Valerie was weak against this sort of thing. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Did he really need to cry? Should he comfort him? Why was he acting like this?

Before returning to the past, Valerie had faced nothing but eyes filled with resentment and hatred. He had coldly and mercilessly cut down or trampled those gazes.

Having lived that sort of life, he had no idea how to accept someone shedding tears for him.

Hakon tugged at his clothes. Valerie tilted awkwardly at the pull and ended up falling into the crying Gidwin’s arms.

Gidwin buried his face in Valerie’s shoulder and wailed.

“Anyone would think you were going off to die.”

Tommy spoke. At times like this, even his cynical personality was welcome.

“We’ll see each other again someday, right?”

Harald asked, placing a hand on Valerie’s back.

“It’s only two days on horseback. I’m not going that far.”

“That’s true, but that duke and the people under him are scary.”

“Not to me... Now get off me.”

“Ughh.”

Valerie forcibly pushed Gidwin away. His cloak was soaked with tears and snot. Since Valerie liked things neat, his expression soured for a moment.

Still, he could not get angry at someone crying. Before Gidwin could grab him again, Valerie stepped into the stirrup and quickly mounted Snow.

He looked up at the castle windows, but neither the count nor the countess was watching.

It was not because they felt no regret. Valerie now knew they were trying not to waver as the lord and lady of the land.

He was simply grateful to Count Aethelred. Even if Valerie had half forced the situation by causing trouble, it must have taken great resolve for someone with a duty to protect a prince.

Put bluntly, if Valerie died in some incident at the duke’s house, it would be House Winslow that was ruined. They would bear the responsibility for failing to protect a prince while the king still lived.

In that sense, Count Aethelred had chosen to bear an even greater responsibility. It was a great kindness to show a boy who was neither his son nor even an illegitimate child.

Both of them had been immature. Valerie could not say he was perfect even now, but perhaps they had done their duty to one another.

Valerie bowed toward the castle, waved to his friends, and pressed his heels into Snow’s sides. As if waiting for it, Snow kicked off the ground and ran.

Toward another future he had never experienced before.

Places where people lived were like islands. Islands floating in a sea of forests, swamps, and mountains.

There were only limited roads connecting cities, towns, and villages. People might as well have lived in isolation.

No one knew who, or what, lived deep in those forests or in remote mountain valleys. The kingdom had its borders, but there were still many unknown lands within them where no human foot had ever stepped.

Beyond the lands inhabited by humans, that was exactly the world that awaited. A world where wild beasts, monsters, bandits, thugs, and robbers were ordinary.

To survive in such a world, I too had no choice but to become a monster or a devil.

That world was more familiar to him than peaceful days spent with friends.

The moment they crossed the border of Winslow territory, even the air seemed different. The birdsong in the forest somehow sounded out of place.

Valerie, Ketilmund, and one attendant rode along a river through the forest, with no road in sight. The river beside them was the one the Norsemen had sailed down when they invaded the kingdom.

Perhaps because of that, broken docks from long ago appeared here and there. Vines and moss covered them, as if nature were swallowing them whole.

“Looks like you got along well with people your age.”

Ketilmund asked from a short distance away. Valerie merely nodded.

“How would you prefer I address you? I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m a concubine-born child. Our circumstances are similar.”

He seemed to be trying to establish common ground. Valerie only nodded again.

Ketilmund looked at least ten years older, so he might well have taken offense at Valerie’s cursory nods, but showed no sign of it.

“I’ll just call you Wid. You can call me Ketil. There’s one thing I’m curious about. How did you cut off someone’s nose so neatly with an unsharpened practice sword?”

“...I just, well...”

“It may feel awkward. Let us get to know each other slowly.”

Valerie was not uncomfortable or awkward, but Ketilmund seemed to take it that way. Even if Wid possessed great skill, that did not mean he was mature for his age.

“Have you ever felt that, Wid? Wondered why I was born an illegitimate child?”

Valerie finally turned to look at Ketilmund.

“I have. Many times. Very, very often. There was a time when I suffered every night. I don’t think I lack ability compared to my legitimate siblings, but my fate was decided by birth alone. I hear Norse custom does not discriminate against concubine-born children. Then why did the Founding King reject Norse traditions and customs and adopt Astrian laws and systems? Even killing those who opposed him. Men who had earned merit during the Founding War, no less.”

It was an honest statement. Yet within that honesty was an intention to stir the inferiority and resentment Valerie might feel as an illegitimate child.

Ketilmund also seemed to want to draw Valerie to his side while making him hostile toward House Winslow.

Valerie no longer had any feelings of inferiority or injustice. He could see the other man’s intentions clearly.

Still, he focused on Ketilmund’s honesty.

“I hold no resentment toward the royal family. It isn’t wrong to dream of a world where people are treated according to their ability, is it? I was only voicing a complaint.”

Ketilmund gave Valerie a bitter smile.

Then Valerie, who had only nodded or given vague answers until then, spoke.

“The problem is that every dog and cow struts around because they think they have ability.”

“What?”

“How would you decide whether someone had ability or not? In the end, it would only be decided through bloodshed. And if armies were mobilized, it would not end with one or two people dying. Innocent farmers would die as well. It is wrong to expect a king to make the best choice. Most choices are unavoidable. The law that says, ‘A man may have only one lawful wife, and only legitimate children have inheritance rights,’ is part of that. Even so, look at what happens. Brothers fight each other, fathers kill children, and children kill fathers. Such things still happen from time to time. Now imagine if concubine-born children and illegitimate children had rights as well. What would happen?”

“...”

Ketilmund’s eyes widened. It was a fitting rebuttal, but he could not help wondering whether an illegitimate child should be saying such things.

“The Norsemen did not discriminate against concubine-born children or illegitimate children in the past because they had no attachment to their land. That was especially true when the Death Blizzard swept in after the gods died. They needed every person who could fight, and an enemy arrow would not avoid someone merely because they were legitimate. But that is no longer the case. They have settled here, after all. In my view, this is what happens when people have to divide what already exists.”

“...You are remarkable, Wid. How do you come up with such thoughts?”

“I have simply seen them while living.”

“...”

Ketilmund blinked. He had thought Wid would come over if he soothed his emotions, but what was this insight? People skilled at fighting were usually uneducated. It would not be easy, but Ketilmund found it interesting as well.

“The journey will not be boring.”

“So, how did you ease the sorrow of being a concubine-born child?”

When Valerie seemed to show some interest in him, Ketilmund smiled faintly.

“Fortunately, His Grace is not such a narrow-minded person. If someone has ability, he gives them a suitable place. There is one thing I can promise. If you achieve great merit with your skill, even being granted a countship is not impossible.”

Valerie almost laughed to himself. The more he looked, the more Ketilmund seemed like a fool who only thought himself clever.

“...You believe that?”

“I am the proof. His Grace not only made me a knight, but also lets me take part in major and minor affairs as his adjutant. Even my half-brothers watch their step around me. Where do you think such influence comes from? It is all thanks to His Grace’s favor.”

“...”

At this point, Valerie could not tell whether Ketilmund was innocent or foolish. Then again, when Valerie recalled his life before returning to the past, he could understand. The desire to be acknowledged by one’s father was powerful. If one became blinded by it, that could happen.

Had not Valerie’s own hatred come from that desire as well?

It was not Valerie’s place to worry about Ketilmund, but he could not help feeling sorry for him.

“...Please be careful.”

“Me? Haha, I appreciate the concern, but it seems our positions have been reversed. I’m not such an unreliable man. I will earn your trust in time.”

Ketilmund laughed boldly.

Time passed, and night came. Valerie’s group spent the night at what seemed to be a campsite often used by those traveling between Winslow and Torvik.

They built a campfire, softened hard bread in water, and ate it with jerky, cheese, dried fruit, and the like. After filling their stomachs, they took turns standing watch.

More time passed. When the stars in the night sky began to fade, Valerie woke up. He had slept with only his cloak over him, so his body was not in perfect condition. Sleeping outdoors was like that. There was no point complaining.

“If we hurry a little, we may arrive by evening.”

Ketilmund said. Valerie nodded readily.

“I do not mind.”

“Good. By the way, do you not normally tether your horse...”

Thunk.

Thududung!

Thuck!

“Ghk!”

Thud.

It happened suddenly.

Arrows flew out of nowhere and struck Ketilmund.

Valerie reacted quickly. He immediately lowered himself and grabbed the back of Ketilmund’s neck, dragging him along the ground. At the same time, he moved away from where the arrows had come from and hid behind a tree.

Ketilmund coughed, blood surging from his mouth each time.

One arrow was lodged in his arm, another in his neck. The arrow had struck the side of his neck, sparing him instant death, but it did not seem likely that he would survive.

Short bolts. They were used in crossbows, and Valerie had heard four shots. That meant there were at least four crossbowmen. He began calculating the time it would take them to reload.

Considering that the bolts had focused on Ketilmund, they did not seem to be targeting Valerie.

Besides, judging by their weapons and skill, they were no ordinary bandits or highway robbers. The attendant was nowhere to be seen. Of course.

Valerie judged all of this almost instinctively and in an instant.

He immediately threw Ketilmund out from behind the tree where the enemies could see him, then ran in the opposite direction.

“Snow!”

From far away came the sound of clip-clop, clip-clop.

Snow soon came charging through the trees.

Snow had no bridle or reins on, but thankfully, the saddle and baggage were still in place. Valerie’s sword was tied to the saddle as well.

Yet Valerie did not mount the horse and flee right away. Instead, he made a wide circle around the site of the attack.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

Through the trees, he saw people reloading their crossbows and approaching slowly. As expected, their equipment made it clear they were not bandits.

A soldier crossing the stream looked up and aimed a crossbow at the sound of hoofbeats.

Before the soldier could see him, Valerie hung from Snow’s side and hid himself. The soldier assumed it was merely a riderless horse running away.

Valerie judged the distance from the sound of splash, splash as the soldier crossed the stream, then climbed properly back into the saddle. He drew the sword from the saddle and charged at the soldier.

The soldier had thought the riderless horse was fleeing into the distance, but when its hoofbeats came closer, he turned his head again.

In the pale dawn, Valerie’s sword flashed past his neck.

Thwack!

Valerie slashed upward, cutting through one soldier’s neck. Without slowing, he passed the sword behind his back and hurled it at another soldier nearby.

Whirr! Whirr! Whirr!

Thuck!

Thunk!

The second soldier had a sword buried in his chest the moment he turned around. As he fell, the bolt he fired went far off target.

Meanwhile, masked men approached Ketilmund to confirm his death.

Ketilmund was still alive, but he seemed destined to die soon. One of the masked men spoke.

“Sorry, Ketil. But you were getting too cocky.”

Even as Ketilmund coughed, he glared with eyes full of hatred. He had recognized who it was despite the mask.

“F... fuck...”

Ketilmund cursed in a voice bubbling with blood, squeezing out every bit of strength he had.

Whether he cursed or not, and though he seemed likely to die if they simply left him alone, the masked man approached to finish him off.

At that moment, Valerie took down two men in an instant without losing any speed. Rather, he became even faster.

He charged straight at two others walking together.

Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop.

Thump! Crash!

“Argh!”

The huge horse barreled into them at high speed and trampled them. Their bones broke and their insides burst, killing or critically wounding them.

The three masked men who had approached Ketilmund hurriedly turned at the sound of the approaching hoofbeats and dying cries.

“What is that?”

Then Valerie shot out like lightning from the shadows cast by the dawn trees. He pulled a spear from the ground and pierced one man through, then simply rammed into another.

Thuck! Thump!

“Ghk!”

“Argh!”

The last man panicked and hid behind a tree. Then he fled toward an area where the trees were dense enough that a horse could not pursue him.

Valerie immediately drew a dagger from his clothes and threw it with all his strength.

It flew with astonishing accuracy, but unfortunately only grazed the man’s neck before embedding itself in a tree. He was the only one to survive and kept running.

That was all.

The campsite was littered with corpses and people groaning in pain.

Valerie dismounted and checked Ketilmund’s condition. In truth, there was nothing to check. Blood kept pouring out and blocking his airway, while blood loss had turned his face pale.

“I told you to be careful...”

Valerie spoke with regret.

Soon, the light left Ketilmund’s eyes, and he died.

Valerie closed Ketilmund’s eyes, then rose to gather his sword, dagger, and anything else worth taking. That included cutting off the attackers’ heads to take with him.

When something like this happened on a battlefield or in daily life, they were important evidence. They could prove merit, claim a bounty, or reveal those behind the criminals.

He hadn’t even reached Torvik, and this had already happened. It made him want to sigh, yet he found it absurd.

He could return to Winslow, but after spending one night away, he did not want to.

Someone experiencing this for the first time might have been startled and frightened enough to return, but Valerie was not. Rather than making things more complicated, it was easier to handle it himself.

“Interesting.”

It was an absurd thing to be doing before dawn, but no one at the scene was there to hear Valerie’s brief remark.

Even the early-rising birds were silent. In the forest, only the babble, babble of the stream and the slice, slice of cutting could be heard.

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