WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Prince of Rage ◈

Chapter 61

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After soaking in the hot bath, washing up, and finishing in the sauna, the fatigue of the journey faded away, and it felt as though their whole bodies were melting.

On top of that, the clean, fresh blankets on the luxurious horsehair beds made it seem as if this place might be heaven.

That was how Valerie and the others fell asleep.

They slept soundly from early evening until the next morning, and when they woke, strength seemed to surge through them.

The Lokir Merchant Company estate was also an excellent place to live. Unlike most castles built for defense, it was not inconvenient at all. Bright sunlight, suitable temperature and humidity, spacious rooms and corridors. It was an ideal place for people to live.

As soon as he woke, Valerie washed up quickly and put on the clothes the merchant company had prepared. They were silk underclothes, a silk tunic, and a gambeson. They were not his old clothes after being washed, but entirely new ones.

Money really was nice.

Being bound by money and enjoying it were separate matters, so Valerie indulged in all of it.

After tending to his weapons and equipment, he fastened Wound, his dwarf steel sword, at his waist and went outside. Knut, who shared his room, was still asleep.

The corridors were entirely marble, with magnificent ceiling paintings, majestic tapestries stretching dozens of meters across, and ancient statues that looked almost alive.

It truly felt removed from the ordinary world. Without a hint of exaggeration, it was a far more splendid and luxurious estate than those of most nobles.

Valerie walked slowly, taking in the sights, until a sound from outside drew him out.

It sounded like a heavy barrel rolling. When he went out, Sigbold was indeed rolling a barrel of sand.

He seemed to be maintaining his chainmail. Chainmail was generally put into a barrel filled with fine sand and rolled around to remove rust. Afterward, the sand would be brushed off, then each ring carefully oiled with a soft brush.

Valerie looked around the stable and the place where the carriages were kept. Then he returned to Sigbold, sat nearby, and watched.

When Sigbold took out the chainmail, shook off the sand, and began oiling it, he spoke to Valerie. His hands continued brushing diligently, and his gaze remained on the armor. He oiled every ring with care.

“That was impressive.”

“What was?”

“Your swordsmanship.”

“You were incredible too. Are all Jomsvikings as strong as you?”

“There may be some variation, but I believe most are similar. We must pass a test before joining, after all.”

“Do you not regret it? You must endure for the rest of your life.”

“I would be lying if I said it wasn't difficult, but I don't regret it at all. Before joining, I truly lived like a beast.”

“Can you tell me what you were like before joining?”

“Well... I would sail out to sea, reach land, and kill and take whatever I could. The people didn't even speak the same language. The world was endlessly vast, and there were just as many people in it. No matter how many I killed, there was no end to them. There were even people living in seas made of sand. Then, at some point, I began to feel uncomfortable inside. I didn't know why. I kept wondering what exactly was troubling me, and then I met Father. He told me why I felt that discomfort. Then I joined the Jomsvikings.”

“Why did you feel that way?”

“Because I had no faith. Those who cannot resist must not be killed. You must not kill for the purpose of taking. You must mourn the dead gods and be grateful to be alive. Death is an old friend, so when it comes for you one day, do not fear it but welcome it. A pure prayer for another is invincible. Disappointment and frustration are part of becoming a better person... Everything is an illusion, and only faith has substance.”

Having no faith meant having no purpose or direction in life. It meant being no different from a wandering beast.

Sigbold had once lived such a life. A life without faith. He had lived only for the thrill of battle and the acquisition of spoils, until one day he began to wonder if something about it was wrong. That was when he met Eirik.

A life led by slaughter, conflict, and intense greed was perilous. Even if one survived, there was nothing at the end but emptiness.

Some abandoned their humanity and became endlessly cruel. Others, like Sigbold, came to think that something about it did not feel right.

The discomfort Sigbold had felt was emptiness, or perhaps guilt. For him, faith was a signpost showing that another way of life existed, as well as a source of peace.

Valerie could not truly relate to religious faith. He simply respected it, but it seemed like something worth considering deeply at least once.

“A person with faith can never return to how they were before. So if I compare life before and after finding faith, now is far better. My vow of chastity and obedience to the rules freed me from the discomfort that constantly followed me. A lifetime of endurance does not bind me. It frees me.”

“Freedom rather than restraint. I hadn't considered that. By the way, we're nearly at Nearcaster now. What do you intend to do?”

“The last information we obtained was that the traitor intended to sell the sacred remains. The buyer probably wants them in order to propose to a Valkyrie. So I intend to investigate that in Nearcaster. If necessary, I am willing to take that test or whatever it is.”

“Valkyries...”

Valerie had not given much thought to the Valkyrie’s marriage until now. He had heard so much about it on the road, and hearing that even Sigbold might participate finally made him consider it carefully.

The Valkyrie was technically his sister, but he had never met her. Naturally, he felt no familial attachment.

Still, he could not deny that he was curious. Lucas and Sigbold both seemed to have gathered around the common point of the Valkyries.

He even found himself wondering, out of nowhere, whether Lucas or Sigbold would make the better husband for a Valkyrie.

Then he imagined Lucas becoming one, and an indescribable discomfort came over him. No, it was more like displeasure.

“I am curious what kind of husband candidate could cause such a fuss.”

“I owe you a great debt, Valerie. If we part like this, I don't know when I will be able to repay you. So how about staying at this estate or in Nearcaster for a while? If you are not in a hurry to reach the royal capital, Valden. If we're lucky, we may even see a Valkyrie.”

“Very well. Let us rest one more day, then visit Nearcaster tomorrow.”

Sigbold looked at Valerie, smiled for the first time since they had met, and nodded.

The Lokir Merchant Company estate was only half a day’s walk from Nearcaster. It was quite close, but today would be better spent maintaining their equipment, repairing the carriage, and letting the horses rest.

They would not remain for too long, but no one was pursuing them either. There was no need to rush along the road.

Valerie stood up. When he returned to the room, Knut was awake, sitting blankly on the bed with his hair sticking up as though he was not fully awake yet.

There was no separate dining room. Servants brought them fresh meals instead.

Valerie ate with Knut, and they spoke of this and that. Then Yorick and Ivy entered the room.

The four discussed their future schedule, or simply chatted about meaningless things.

Around noon, Yorick and Ivy went out to repair the carriage and organize their luggage. Knut decided to laze about all day, while Valerie left his room again to take a walk.

The merchant company estate did not merely contain buildings for people to live in. It also had an enormous garden with walking paths.

Valerie followed one of the paths. The bushes and trees looked both tended and untended, as though natural beauty and deliberate design had been brought into harmony.

Just as one might judge a swordsman’s skill from the surface of a cut, Valerie looked at the garden and considered the gardener’s sense of beauty.

After walking for some time, he heard the sound of water somewhere and headed toward it. A girl in a splendid dress was crouched beside a stream, gathering flowers that floated past on the water.

Perhaps she heard Valerie’s footsteps. She suddenly turned her head, then looked slightly startled. The colorful flowers fell from her hands and drifted away again.

“Gasp!”

Valerie merely looked at her once. Without offering even a common greeting, he turned away.

“W-Wait!”

The girl hurriedly rose to her feet.

Valerie stopped and turned around. There was no expression on his face. He simply waited, as if telling her to speak if she had something to say.

Patches of shade and sunlight fell across Valerie. In his light attire, with a sword at his waist, he seemed like a painting placed within the scenery and breathing life into it.

Lucilia was beautiful in her own right. In a lavish white dress and an immense amount of jeweled accessories, she too looked like a painting.

If there was a tragedy, it was that Valerie felt nothing at the sight.

Lucilia stared at Valerie blankly for a while before speaking.

“Th-Thank you. For saving my brother.”

“I am also grateful for the food and lodging your household has given me.”

Valerie turned to leave again. The girl stopped him once more.

“W-Wait.”

“...”

“Lucilia. My name is Lucilia.”

“I am Valerie. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lucilia.”

Then Valerie turned to go again. He had observed only the bare minimum of courtesy, as if he had no business with someone like her.

Perhaps that attitude rankled Lucilia. Her brow creased slightly, and she raised her voice without realizing it.

“Hey! Gasp! I-I'm sorry.”

Lucilia’s mind was in complete disarray, and her heart was pounding so hard that she was nearly out of her senses. She did not know why she was reacting this way to Valerie, but she simply was.

“Did you need something from me? I didn't mean to be discourteous, Lady.”

“No, um, will you attend the banquet?”

Like a broken person, Lucilia could only think of Valerie asking whether she needed something, so she blurted out something rather sudden. Valerie’s somewhat cold attitude had made her panic.

“What banquet?”

“His Grace the Duke! The one he is hosting...”

“I do not know him.”

“No, I mean, it's more like a festival. You watch the jousting matches during the day, tour the city, and attend the banquet in the evening... Many important people will be there, so it would be good for you too if you came with me!”

Banquets were meant for enjoyment, but they had a more important purpose. They gave people the chance to become acquainted with those who had wealth and power.

People who normally had no reason to see one another could meet under the pretext of a banquet. Depending on the banquet, it could become a very important opportunity for business, politics, or diplomacy.

That was especially true of a banquet hosted by a Duke. It was even more so now, with people gathering from all over the kingdom because of the Valkyries.

Valerie had no particular interest in such things, but he thought he might learn about the whereabouts of the sacred remains or satisfy his curiosity about the Valkyries.

He did not necessarily need to involve the Thieves’ Guild to obtain information.

Since he had already decided to go to Nearcaster with Sigbold, attending the banquet did not seem like a bad idea.

“Very well. I shall attend, Lady. When is the banquet?”

“Ah... Tomorrow. Was that too sudden of a proposal?”

“No. It worked out well. We had decided to visit Nearcaster tomorrow.”

“Really!? Then this must be fate!?”

“Pardon?”

“Everything has worked out so perfectly!”

“Ah... Yes...”

Valerie wondered whether Lucilia might be a little dim, but he did not say it aloud. He quickly left to avoid the seemingly unhinged Lucilia.

There were several reasons Lucilia was so pleased.

Part of it was spite toward Lucas for caring only about the Valkyries. Public interest in her had also dwindled lately, and she thought attending the banquet with Valerie would help her save face.

He was tall, well-built, and so handsome that merely imagining the two of them together made happiness surge through her like a tide.

At the same time, she imagined Valerie eventually falling for her, leading to a sorrowful love that could never be fulfilled.

Because Valerie was not a noble, she believed there was a difference in status between them.

In any case, she felt heartbroken, as though she were the heroine of a tragic romance, but all of it was a kind of pleasure.

However, perhaps because bad things followed good ones, Lucilia, filled with happiness, soon faced an unexpected shock.

That evening, while dining with Lucas, she told him that she had decided to attend the banquet with Valerie. Lucas suddenly glared at her, his eyes blazing.

“What did you say? Why did you do something I didn't ask you to do?”

“Pardon? What do you mean, Brother?”

“Valerie has a schedule I planned out in my head. He must go with me.”

“What are you saying? You said Valerie was an honored guest, not an employee.”

“More stupid talk. Even an honored guest is my guest, not yours!”

Lucas raised his voice so sharply that Lucilia wondered what had gotten into him. Since he had never acted this way before, she stared at him in bewilderment.

Something did not make sense. Even if he was jealous, should that not be directed at Valerie? Why was he taking his anger out on her? Did he look down on her?

Normally, she would have burst into tears. Instead, anger rose within Lucilia. The word “stupid” particularly lodged in her mind.

“Watch what you say! Brother, just focus on the Valkyries! Why are you getting in the way of what I want to do!?”

“What!? Getting in your way!? Since Father collapsed, I have led this merchant company! What have you done? What can you do!? How dare you talk back to me!”

Lucas shouted as he sprang to his feet. The chair toppled backward with a crash!

Seeing Lucas like this for the first time, Lucilia was deeply shocked, her heart pounding wildly.

“...So this is the kind of person you are. This is who you are. Why did I not realize it until now? You have thought of me as stupid and incapable all along?”

Lucilia’s voice trembled, but she said everything she had to say.

Her hands and feet shook so badly that it was difficult to stand. Feeling physically threatened as well, she barely managed to rise and leave the dining room.

She walked away. Click, click. Grief surged through her chest. Memories of the past flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, and tears flowed down her face.

Fortunately, Lucas did not chase after his sister, so the situation did not worsen further. He fumed alone for a while, then set the chair upright and dropped back into it.

His resentment did not subside for a long time. Eventually, he realized that he had made a mistake.

Still, his resentment did not disappear completely.

For the first time, Lucas felt that his younger sister was an adversary.

Because he was adopted.

He could not reflect on why he had become angry in such an uncharacteristic way.

For a long time, he remained alone in the dining room, thinking about the things he did not possess. The symbolic status of a Valkyrie, Valerie’s strength and composure, and his gaze.

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