Prince of Rage - Chapter 52

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Prince of Rage ◈

Chapter 52

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A thought that came only now: loneliness was not an emotion but a kind of pain.

If it were merely an emotion, one should be able to control it alone. Yet that was not possible.

Therefore, loneliness was not something to be forgotten through comfort. It was something that needed healing.

To heal a wound, one applied proper medicine, ate fresh food, and got enough rest. Then what could heal loneliness?

There was no need to think deeply to know the answer. It was the affection of family and the friendship of friends.

But a prince, a king, could have no friends. Just as summer and winter could not exist at the same time.

Moreover, even family was not permitted to the Volsung clan.

The loneliness and sense of loss Valerie had possessed since birth gnawed away at his heart. Still, it no longer turned into rage.

Before, when faced with the question of why he should live, he had answered it by ending his own life.

But now, as he had often told his friends, he was seeking another answer.

That was why he could not remain here for long and bring harm upon others. Once it was known that he was a prince, most would bow their heads and submit, but not everyone would.

The status of a prince meant someone to be revered, and at the same time, someone who had to be removed.

It did not matter if Valerie alone faced threats to his safety. But his enemies would use every means at their disposal, and misfortune would inevitably befall those around him.

So Valerie decided to leave quietly.

Late at night, in a dark room lit only by a single candle on the table, Valerie picked up a pen.

Then he began writing farewell letters to his friends.

To my dear friends...

<...Arne, I believe your honesty is a truly rare quality. Gringen has stabilized, but where many people live, it is natural for conflicts both great and small to arise. I am certain that if you set them right with your honesty, you will become a light to many people. I think you should take ownership of the mercenary band’s building and become its leader...>

<...Skard, I know you will not mind. Still, there is a small burden in my heart, so forgive me for trying to ease it in this way. I am sorry for insulting your parents before. I will never again insult anyone’s parents in my life, so take this as my sincere remorse and atonement...>

Valerie also wrote down what he wished to say personally to Knut and Yorick.

After using several sheets of paper to finish the letters, he paused as he was about to write the sender’s name. Then he wrote his own.

Vǫlsungar Valery Helgisson.

He folded the letters, placed them in envelopes, and sealed them with red wax. He had nothing suitable for a seal, so he simply pressed his Valknutr cloak clasp, the symbol of the Einherjar, into the wax. It did not fit properly, so only part of the pattern was stamped.

After setting down his pen and thinking for a moment, Valerie also left a letter for House Winslow. It said that he was grateful to the Count, the Countess, and Harald.

He melted more red wax, let it drip onto the envelope, and pressed the cloak clasp into it.

Was that everything? Had he forgotten anything? Hmm. There was still something he regretted.

Valerie savored that small handful of regret, then rose from his seat.

He put on the deep navy gambeson Countess Sybild had made for him, a leather belt, leather gloves, boots, Wound, the dwarf steel sword, Thorvald’s axe, and several multipurpose daggers.

He wrapped travel rations, a waterskin, several pieces of firewood, flint, and some traveling money in a blanket and tied it tightly.

Finally, before leaving the room, he blew out the candle. A darkness in which nothing could be seen settled over the room.

Valerie did not use any particular stealth technique, yet no sound came from his steps.

When he left the castle, it was the last night of the lunar month, and the night was very dark. Yet Valerie descended the hill without hesitation as if he could see everything around him, heading straight for the stables.

He harnessed Snow, loaded the travel supplies, packed plenty of feed as well, and headed outside.

The castle gate was closed and the drawbridge raised, but Valerie approached a guard and said,

“I have somewhere to go. Open the gate.”

The watchman, who had been dozing, jolted awake. After looking Valerie over, the guard was startled and hurriedly opened the gate.

There was some noise at the time, but not enough to wake people from their deep sleep.

The gate opened and the drawbridge lowered. Valerie immediately mounted Snow. At first, he rode slowly along the river and around the outskirts of the city.

After traveling for some time, he reached the western gate and ordered it opened as well. Guards were there too, but what could they say when a prince ordered the gate opened? The gate opened, and Valerie finally left the city of Torvik.

Once outside the city, even the scent of the wind seemed different. It felt fresher, perhaps. The wind was not strong because it was night.

When he looked up, countless stars glittered across the moonless sky as though they filled it completely. He could also see a long Milky Way seeming to plunge diagonally toward the horizon.

They said travelers still asked the stars for directions, but Valerie did not feel the need to ask.

After admiring them for a moment, he continued down the dark road. Only the clip-clop, clip-clop of hooves could be heard. It seemed to be an hour when everything slept.

But how long had he traveled when he saw torchlight near a distant fork in the road?

He wondered who would be outside the city at this hour, while also suspecting they might be criminals.

He approached slowly and cautiously, only to find two unexpected people waiting for him. One was on horseback, while the other stood holding the horse’s reins.

It was Knut and Yorick.

“I knew you’d do this.”

Knut spoke as he looked at Valerie.

The moment Valerie recognized them, his chest tightened so sharply that his heart ached. At the same time, he was bewildered.

“How did you know?”

“It was written all over your face. I’m joking. But you always try to carry everything alone, so I knew you’d do this. I don’t know much about it, but being a prince can’t be entirely good, can it? It must be dangerous in some ways, and that could put the people around you in danger too. I knew you’d take all that into account. And since there was no reason for you to go farther north from here in the north, I figured you’d go south.”

Perhaps it was because he had spent time beside Valerie, or perhaps he had always been this way, but Knut’s powers of deduction were exceptional.

Valerie wondered if he had really made it that obvious. At the same time, having been understood made his heart tingle.

“Without someone to attend to you, travel is several times harder, Your Highness. I cannot fight, but I can preserve Your Highness’s and the Young Master’s strength. I learned that after experiencing war. In battle, preserving your strength matters more than skill.”

“...”

Valerie silently looked at the two of them, then gave a faint laugh as if he could hardly believe it. Yet his heart was full, overflowing with an indescribable happiness. Like the stars filling the night sky.

“...And you know where I’m going?”

“Wherever you go, there’ll be people living there.”

“My journal has not yet recorded the entire legend, Your Highness.”

Whenever Knut spoke, Yorick always followed. For some reason, that was funny.

“By the way... I’ll call you Valerie. Do you have a problem with that?”

Knut spoke with a mischievous smile, seemingly imitating what Valerie had said when they first met.

Valerie also smiled mischievously.

“What will you do if I do?”

“Well, should I get off my horse and bow my head even now?”

“Wait a moment.”

Yorick spoke. Valerie and Knut both turned to look at him. A commoner had dared interrupt a conversation between a prince and a young master. Of course, neither Valerie nor Knut minded at all.

“Then... are you two cousins?”

Knut’s mother was a princess. She was the former King’s daughter and Valerie’s paternal aunt. So they were indeed cousins.

“Huh? We are.”

Knut reacted as though he had only just realized it. Still, he did not seem to think much of it.

“I thought you two had something strangely similar about you.”

“In what way?”

“How should I put it? You both feel a little cold, like you look down on people.”

Valerie and Knut looked at each other and laughed at the sheer nerve of him.

“If I really looked down on people, you wouldn’t be able to speak to me like that.”

“Exactly. That’s why it’s strange. You are alike in that respect. To be more precise, you don’t even treat people who fall short of your standards as people, but you treat those who meet those standards well.”

It was a rather accurate analysis.

“I can’t really argue with that. It’s annoyingly irritating.”

“What are those standards?”

Valerie asked.

“I suppose they are people trying to live earnestly. Whether they have a gutter life like mine, whether they are good or bad, you seem to treat anyone trying hard to live well. But you despise liars as if they were insects.”

“You’ve been observing us enough to make us uncomfortable.”

“It’s the secret to survival for someone like me.”

“By the way, didn’t you have a maid you were seeing?”

“How could a true man who wishes to walk the great road be held back by a woman?”

“What are you even talking about...?”

“Your way with words has improved as time goes by. There’s no stopping you.”

“That’s a little scary. Anyway, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“South.”

“Where in the south?”

“The royal capital, Valden. More precisely, a place near Valden called Ringstre.”

It was the place Count Aethelred had once told him about. He had said that rune-mage Sigrún had entrusted Valerie to him there. Valerie was first going there, trusting in that one thing, to find his mother.

“Valden is incredibly far away. How long will it take?”

“If the road is as unobstructed as Yorick’s tongue, about a week. Or perhaps a month, or even longer.”

It was a journey from nearly the northernmost edge of the kingdom to its southernmost edge. And unexpected things always happened on the road.

Above all, traveling was difficult in winter. Considering that, it could take nearly half a year, or even a year.

Valerie turned his horse toward the left road, heading south. Naturally, Knut and Yorick went with him.

“Why Valden in particular?”

As Yorick held the reins of Knut’s horse and walked, he looked up at Valerie. The torchlight made Valerie’s hair appear red.

“To find my mother. I heard she is somewhere near there.”

“Hmm... I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Sometimes, it seems that some parents are worse than none at all. As I see it, Your Highness is already a perfect person.”

“Your rudeness surpasses Wid, no, Valerie’s swordsmanship.”

Knut spoke. He was not exactly criticizing Yorick, but it was remarkable how he casually said things that could make people gasp.

Of course, Valerie did not mind. That was precisely why he could call Yorick a friend despite their difference in status. Valerie was someone who could see Yorick’s true worth, the light within him.

“Thank you. I understand what you mean, but I can’t move on without confirming it. Even if I get hurt.”

Valerie’s bloodline, his birth, and even his destiny were all covered in wounds. Resentment and vengeance ran through his veins, while loneliness and loss filled his heart.

But what about now? Like a weed that survived to the end even after being bent and trampled, he had the strength not to be ruled by rage with only the slightest warmth, only a little water.

Just as stars shone brighter on the darkest nights, he had nothing to fear walking a midnight road if his friends were beside him.

The pain called loneliness and even deep wounds would someday heal, though they might leave scars.

“By the way, what will happen to Arne and Skard? I feel a little bad.”

Knut spoke. They could have come if they wished, but honestly, he had not thought of them. He could be somewhat thoughtless.

Perhaps because it was night, Valerie briefly remembered how Arne had taken his own life before the regression. Maybe gaining a new city would be like a gift to him. Valerie hoped so.

“I left letters. I told Arne to run the mercenary band. If he manages it with Skard, it won’t be difficult. They have ability and character. What was the name of that person from the Jewel Guild? Anyway, I think it would be fine for them to cooperate with that person too...”

“Since things have come to this, may I gossip about them?”

Yorick asked.

“Suddenly?”

“You know Arne? I think he’s a little inflexible. He nitpicks every little thing in strange places. I mean, even Your Highness and the Young Master stay quiet, so why is he meddling? And Skard is ignorant, but he has no desire to learn. If someone is going to be ignorant anyway, I think Young Master Gunnar, no, His Excellency, would be better.”

Valerie and Knut burst out laughing because it was so absurd.

“Wow, Yorick, you’re really the scariest one. If I’m ever absent, you’ll gossip about me too, right?”

“I don’t know... Remember that I hold the pen. It may remain for a very long time.”

He was referring to the journal he was writing.

“That’s genuinely chilling.”

“Let me read your journal later.”

“That won’t be possible. No matter how high your rank, you can’t read someone else’s journal.”

“Is there some decree about that?”

“There isn’t, but still. A journal must belong to its writer alone in order to be a journal.”

“That’s true.”

The conversation among the three of them never stopped.

Had he been alone, the road would have been unbearably lonely in the deep night. But they were too busy talking for loneliness to find an opening.