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Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ Prince of Rage ◈

Chapter 62

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In the year he turned fifteen, Volsung, who had grown up alone in the wild, gathered companions, wiped out the clan that had killed his father, seized their land, and finally avenged him.

Afterward, the clan led by Volsung grew stronger and wealthier by the day. They never failed on an expedition, and whenever they fought an enemy, they always defeated them.

Once the clan's rule entered a stable period, Volsung took a woman from the Elding clan as his wife.

But as time passed and his wife neared full term, her relatives grew greedy for Volsung's power and wealth and devised a plot.

On a night beneath a bright full moon, they burst in while Volsung slept and assassinated him.

Even while suffering grievous wounds, Volsung split one of his brothers-in-law in half and left his final words in a voice boiling with fury.

"I heard a witch's prophecy long ago, and I knew this would happen. But our clan does not flee before fate. Just as my mother did..."

His wife, deeply shocked, fled the scene with only one of her husband's swords.

Perhaps they could not bring themselves to kill their daughter or sister as well. Or perhaps Volsung's monstrous strength had frightened them senseless even as he died. The cowardly assassins failed to catch her.

On the day Volsung died, the day her husband was murdered, Hlyod gave birth beneath the cold moonlight, consumed by resentment, rage, and grief.

The children were twins, a son and a daughter: Sigmund and Signy.

Hlyod was no longer one man's wife. She was a mother.

The mother swore vengeance again and again as she wandered without purpose. She endured every hardship and did every kind of work. All the while, she raised her twins by obsessively instilling vengeance in them.

Sigmund grew into the bravest and most outstanding warrior in the region. Signy was beautiful and clever, and above all, she possessed the viciousness unique to the Volsung clan.

When the twins came of age, their mother sent her daughter to become the concubine of the Wilping clan's chieftain so that she might gain his aid.

Even so, their mother had one concern. Her son appeared proud and warrior-like on the outside, but deep down, he had a gentle heart.

So the twins' mother made a decision. Or perhaps she had been preparing for it for a long time.

"It seems I gave birth to you two wrongly, and your genders were switched. But what can we do? There is nothing we can change now. I, too, come from the family that killed your father. I will set an example first, so you must never forget revenge."

Before her children, the mother stabbed herself in the stomach with their father's sword and died.

The twins buried their mother together, held her funeral, and swore to avenge their parents.

But things did not go as they wished. The chieftain of the Wilping clan gave a lukewarm response to their revenge.

Still, Volsung's treasured sword caught the chieftain's greed-filled gaze.

"They say your father's sword is a famous blade without a single nick despite countless battles. Could you give it to me as a wedding gift?"

As proud as he was brave, Sigmund drew his sword on the spot and struck a hard boulder nearby. The sword broke cleanly in two.

"Take it, if you can forge it again."

The chieftain tried to melt down the broken sword and forge it anew, but the blade tempered by two generations of vengeance would not melt in even the fiercest flames.

A broken sword was still a wedding gift, so the chieftain took Signy as his concubine and accepted Sigmund as one of his warriors.

After that, Sigmund took part in one battle after another. He displayed the greatest courage and achievements in every battle, steadily building his strength.

Meanwhile, Signy intended to raise any children she bore as incarnations of revenge, just as her mother had done. Unfortunately, every child she had with the chieftain suffered from severe disabilities.

As tradition demanded, Signy personally took the lives of the babies she bore.

Growing increasingly frustrated, she sought out a capable diviner and asked why. He answered:

"Only one worthy of it may leave descendants in your clan. You are incompatible with the Wilping clan, but well suited to the Elding clan. Why not form a bond with a man from that clan? There is no other choice."

But the Elding clan was Signy's sworn enemy, the clan she had to avenge.

Signy considered it briefly, then fixed the diviner with the clan's characteristic fierce gaze.

"No choice? You know nothing of us. As my grandmother did, as my father and mother did, we always make the choice. It is not for the likes of a diviner to make."

That night, Signy borrowed the power of magic to disguise herself and entered the bedchamber of her exhausted twin brother Sigmund, who had only just returned from battle.

Later, after achieving revenge, she bore a child. Unlike before, the child had no disability and was very healthy.

That child was Sigurd the Dragonslayer, the greatest hero of the Norsemen.

Before sunrise, Valerie finished eating early and came out to look at the long tapestry hanging in the corridor.

A tapestry was a woven textile that depicted images using threads of different colors. The one in the Lokir Merchant Company estate stretched for dozens of meters, forming a single history, legend, or epic.

It was a work of art depicting a grand story, from the birth of the world through the twilight of the gods, to the tragedy of the Volsung clan and the War of Conquest.

The corridor was dark, but the deep blue light unique to early morning made the images visible enough to appreciate.

Valerie had stopped at the story of Sigmund, the father of Sigurd the Dragonslayer and Valerie's great-great-grandfather.

It was the part where his twin sister, Valerie's great-great-grandmother, disguised herself with a witch's potion and secretly entered Sigmund's chamber at night.

"I particularly like that part as well. Was it love, or was it vengeance?"

Someone spoke to Valerie as he quietly viewed the image. It was Lucas.

Valerie merely glanced back at him before turning his gaze away again, offering no real response.

"Have you eaten? Is there anything inconvenient? Yesterday, I was dealing with overdue work and failed to look after you. My apologies."

"I have been staying very comfortably."

"That is a relief. By the way, may I ask a favor?"

Valerie turned toward him and asked with his eyes what favor it was.

"There is an important transaction today. I would like you to come with me. I will reward you generously."

"I'm sorry, but I already have plans. I agreed to attend the Duke's banquet with your sister today."

"Haha, I heard. But I am the one who leads this merchant company. I am sorry to Lucy, but should public business not come before private matters? Lucy will understand. I will explain it to her properly, so you need not concern yourself with it, Valerie."

Lucas intended to get to Valerie first and take him himself, rather than let Lucilia do so. It was rather petty.

Still, regardless of Lucas's true intentions, Valerie thought he was right. Lucas was the effective owner of the merchant company at present, after all, and he was the one providing Valerie with hospitality.

Of course, Valerie did not feel indebted to him simply because he had saved Lucas's life.

So he agreed without much thought.

"Very well."

Only then did Lucas smile with satisfaction, without even knowing what he was satisfied about.

Still, Valerie felt a strange sense of discomfort. The corridor was dark, so he had not noticed at first, but Lucas's clothes, belt, shoes, and even sword were identical to his own.

Lucas's sword was not made of dwarf steel, of course, but its hilt, length, scabbard, and craftsmanship were almost identical. The clothes, shoes, and belt were exactly the same.

Looking closer, Valerie saw that Lucas had also cut his hair, which had reached his shoulders. Even its shape was similar to Valerie's.

What is this? Valerie wondered inwardly. He was knowledgeable only in his own field, and he had no idea what such an absurd thing could mean. Even before his regression, he had never encountered anyone like this.

"They say time while the sun is up is worth gold. It is a little early, but let us leave shortly."

Valerie agreed, then prepared to leave the estate early in the morning with the others.

Meanwhile, Lucilia could not sleep all night, her mind unsettled by her troubles with her brother and her promise with Valerie. She fell asleep at dawn and woke late in the morning.

When the fully risen sunlight shone into her bedroom through soft silk curtains, she forgot the worries of the previous night and jolted upright.

"What am I doing?!"

She hurriedly pulled the cord by the bed to summon the maids, then busied herself eating, washing, applying makeup, and choosing clothes.

She was utterly scattered, but the several experienced maids attended to Lucilia perfectly no matter how she moved.

"Not purple. It makes me look too mature. Pink... no, not this either. It makes me look too young. White could get dirty on the way."

"Then, my lady, how about wearing something comfortable first and bringing clothes with you?"

"Would that be better? Wouldn't it be too busy? Then I would have to be away from him for a while. What should I say?"

"Do you mean that handsome guest?"

"Yes. Lord Valerie. I told you I was attending the banquet today."

"Um... but I think he is about to leave now."

"What? What do you mean? Is he going for a ride around the area?"

"No, I heard he is accompanying the deputy head to some important meeting..."

"..."

Lucilia did not understand at first. But then the pieces of a puzzle came together in her mind, and rage surged up from her lower belly.

She had waited until late last night, expecting him to come apologize. And now he was stabbing her in the back like this?

Trembling with betrayal, Lucilia completely lost her reason. She leaped up from before the dressing table and headed somewhere.

She was headed for Lucas's office.

There, she picked up the gaudy gold-plated reliquary that had been carefully stored away, then walked down to the lower floor almost at a run.

It was the most valuable treasure in the world, which Lucas had intended to give the Valkyries as a gift.

When she reached the lower floor, she saw Valerie's group about to leave, along with Lucas talking to Valerie with a smile.

At the sight, Lucilia completely snapped.

"Hey!"

Her shrill voice rang through the corridor decorated with marble, ancient statues, and all kinds of artworks, as though piercing the air.

Naturally, everyone turned to look at Lucilia. She strode rapidly toward Lucas.

"Huh?"

Sigbold and Eirik both looked startled at the same time. The object in Lucilia's hand was the reliquary that the traitor had supposedly taken while fleeing.

The situation was so sudden that no one could react. Lucilia came close, glared at her brother as though she wanted to kill him, and hurled the reliquary hard onto the floor.

Thud!

The box was sturdy enough that it did not break, though it dented slightly. But its contents spilled out.

Compared to the ornate box, it was merely an old, unremarkable human skull.

As everyone stood bewildered, Lucilia raised her foot and stomped on the skull.

Crunch! Thud! Thud! Crunch!

The skull shattered, and fragments of bone flew all over the corridor.

They were fragments of the skull of Sigurd the Dragonslayer, Valerie's great-grandfather and the greatest hero of the Norsemen.

"..."

No one spoke at the sudden event. They could only stand there dumbfounded.

Lucilia glared at Lucas as she fumed, then spun around and strode away again.

Even the powerful Sigbold seemed to lose all strength and collapsed to his knees. The old priest, despite being physically unwell, supported him instead.

Could the scattered bone fragments be put back together? And even if they were, would that make it as though nothing had happened?

Episode 14: Shattered Faith. End.

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