WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 127: When the First Snow Falls (2)

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There were quite a few Imperial nobles living in exile in the Federation. Most of them had belonged to the Emperor's opposition.

They were a faction led by Grand Duke Rivelius and House Lucent. Elysia, the Grand Duke's niece and a member of House Lucent through her mother's side, had inevitably been caught up in it. When Grand Duke Rivelius fled to the Federation and House Lucent was driven out of central politics, Elysia had no choice but to be deeply shaken.

She no longer had anyone to rely on.

A considerable number of opposition nobles had already left for the Federation. Even those who remained in the Empire had withdrawn as far from the front lines as possible, holding their breath as they waited for the Emperor's blade to fall.

Standing on that fragile sheet of ice, Elysia secretly exchanged letters with Grand Duke Rivelius. Even that correspondence had stopped several years ago, but it had not been fruitless.

She had learned many things from her uncle.

He had entered the Federation Supreme Council.

The opposition nobles who followed him had also successfully established themselves throughout the Federation.

"It feels strange. Even when I was exchanging letters with Uncle, I never thought I'd visit this place myself."

Having finished her brief explanation, Elysia kept looking around. They had traveled through many Federation cities over the past month, but Renvel seemed to affect her differently.

"Was he close to you?"

Kyle, walking beside Elysia, asked the question.

"Close? Who?"

"The lord of Renvel."

"Ah, Gilbert..."

Elysia could not answer right away. After quietly considering it for a while, she spoke as though choosing her words carefully.

"Rather than close, it would be more accurate to say he was one of the few adults I could rely on. Uncle was my closest family after Mother passed away, and Gilbert was the noble I could depend on most. He was so upright that he could be called rigid."

The part of Elysia's face visible beneath her hood was filled with longing.

"There were many other good people too. If they hadn't been purged by the Emperor, they would surely have been a great source of strength."

The current Emperor and Elysia's biological father were not the same person. She quietly spoke the names she knew, as though recalling them one by one.

Her whispers quickly vanished beneath the bustle of the early evening. Kyle silently listened to her murmuring. Some of the nobles she named were familiar to him, while others were not. It had already been nearly four years since the war between Hailen and the Empire ended. Much had changed within the Empire, so Elysia would know more than an outsider like him.

A member of the Imperial family, and Grand Duke Rivelius's niece through House Lucent.

Until recently, she had stood at the very center of Imperial politics.

"Thinking about it, I only had one friend my age, my maid. And I will never see her again."

Elysia smiled bitterly. Kyle almost said something, then closed his mouth.

Elysia's maid had died to create Izra's Thorn. She had been the sacrificial offering chosen after Elysia's mother, the one sacrificed in Elysia's place. Kyle did not know what Elysia felt about it or what guilt she carried.

He knew only one thing.

It had left a deep wound.

If someone's death became a scar that never faded from another person's life...

At least there would be no such concern after I die. I have nothing left. All I can do is live clinging to the blind goal of killing the Emperor.

As he lost himself in those pointless thoughts, the sun hanging between the city's buildings sank lower. The sunset cast across the ground deepened.

Kyle and Elysia hurried toward the center of the city. All kinds of people and carriages passed them by. A knight from a fallen kingdom and a princess who had turned her back on her homeland.

Yet in this distant foreign land, no one paid them any attention. They passed them by as part of the everyday scenery.

Have we really escaped the Empire's pursuit?

Something he had already known struck him anew. Before long, Kyle and Elysia had crossed the central plaza and approached the eastern hill.

"There it is."

Elysia narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the surroundings. It was not difficult to find the lord's estate. A mansion surrounded by high walls stood atop the gentle eastern hill, looking down over the entire city. It was faintly visible even from the outskirts.

"Those walls are high."

Kyle raised his gaze slightly and muttered.

"That is probably his preference. His estate in the Empire was built like that too. He preferred neat, old-fashioned mansions to stiff inner castles."

"What was his title again?"

"Count Perian."

"I take it his family is not a military house."

"That's right. Gilbert was one of the Empire's wealthiest men. His family had been a great merchant house involved in finance and trade for generations. He was only granted a title fairly recently, so some people disparaged him as a noble without proper roots. Still, the central nobles recognized him. The wealth and connections House Perian had built over centuries were not something even most high-ranking nobles could easily challenge."

"And yet he abandoned all of that and went into exile..."

"Gilbert was Uncle's greatest financial supporter. He left much behind in the Empire, but the connections he had cultivated throughout the continent did not disappear. The last time we exchanged letters, I heard he had properly settled in the Federation and recovered much of his influence. Even in the past, no one could match his skill with money."

As they quietly talked, the estate came into view before them. Two soldiers stood guard at the main gate, which was made of tall walls and massive iron bars.

"Halt."

"Stop."

The two soldiers spoke firmly. Kyle and Elysia stopped near the gate after climbing the gentle hill.

"What brings you here?"

One of the guards asked in a puzzled tone. The main gate was built into high walls and formed of massive iron bars. The soldiers maintained a decent level of discipline. Kyle could get some sense of Count Perian's usual character from that alone.

"We have come to see Lord Gilbert, the lord of Renvel. May we meet him?"

Elysia stepped forward and spoke politely. Yet the distinctly Imperial aristocratic accent she could not hide made both soldiers frown.

"The lord...?"

"Who are you?"

"Please summon the person in charge inside. I have something important to tell him."

"No distinguished guests are scheduled to visit this evening. Forgive me, but please state your identities."

"I am..."

Elysia narrowed her eyes and was about to add something.

"What is going on?"

A knight walked out from the estate's inner courtyard. Dressed neatly in silver armor, the knight looked exactly like a typical Federation knight.

"Remiel?"

"Why are you here...?"

The two soldiers turned and cried out in surprise.

"I came out for some air and heard a commotion at the entrance. Are they uninvited guests?"

"Well..."

The soldiers could not answer. The knight confidently pushed open the iron-barred gate with one hand. It opened smoothly with a creak. The knight walked out and stopped before Kyle and Elysia.

"What business do you have here? As you know, no one may enter this place without an invitation."

The knight openly showed displeasure while looking between them.

"I apologize if we have caused trouble. But the matter is urgent, so we had no choice. Is Lord Gilbert inside?"

Elysia asked politely, just as she had before. The knight's suspicious eyes swept over Kyle and Elysia in turn. A mercenary in a black cloak with a sword at his waist, and a young woman who appeared to be a mage, dressed in a pure white robe and wearing her hood low.

"...You are Imperials."

The knight's eyebrows twitched. Not ordinary Imperials, either. They were high-ranking nobles. As a Federation knight, Remiel immediately recognized it from Elysia's accent and Kyle's bearing.

A daughter of an influential house and the knight assigned to guard her.

With the border practically sealed, coming from the Empire to the Federation was a major event in itself. They seemed to have too many circumstances to simply turn away.

"Lord Gilbert is receiving an important guest. What is your business?"

The knight asked again. There was no open hostility, but the obvious wariness remained.

"Please deliver one message to him."

"What message?"

"Does spring come at winter's end?"

The knight tilted their head as though they did not understand. Yet it lasted only a moment. Their expression slowly hardened, and they parted their lips with a stiff face.

"...Please wait a moment. It will not take long."

The knight quickly turned and entered the estate. The two soldiers left behind stared blankly at one another. Kyle, who had watched silently, whispered to Elysia beside him.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing special. It is simply a password he cannot help but react to."

"A password? From the opposition?"

Elysia silently nodded. Kyle stared beyond the open gates with unreadable eyes.

Not long afterward, the knight returned from inside. Their expression was complicated. Leaving the gate guards behind, they stood before Kyle and Elysia again.

"Come in for now. As quietly as possible."

* * *

Following the knight, the two entered the estate. The mansion atop the city's hill was as quiet as the main gate had been.

"It is still the same. Nothing has changed."

Elysia spoke as they walked down the corridor a short distance behind the knight. The interior was even more orderly than it had appeared outside. Like the front courtyard and back garden, the corridors had a restrained beauty that was never excessive.

It was the distinctive atmosphere found only in old noble houses, unlike that of a newly rich family.

"How long has Count Perian been in exile in the Federation?"

Though he had only received his title relatively recently, House Perian itself was an old family that had endured for centuries. Thinking that far, Kyle asked Elysia in a very quiet voice.

"If I remember correctly, about five years. He went into exile less than a year after Uncle committed himself to the Federation."

"To become the lord of a city like this in five years..."

Grand Duke Rivelius being a member of the Federation Supreme Council could not have granted him such authority without effort. There must have been many unspoken hardships along the way. If Gilbert truly possessed the ability Elysia described, he would be able to provide considerable help.

That was assuming everything Elysia said was true.

"Here."

The knight walking ahead stopped. Kyle and Elysia stopped as well.

A large wooden door stood before them. Faint voices from two people could be heard inside.

"How long are you going to keep wasting your time on this nonsense?"

"Nonsense?"

"Do you know how far it is from Archandia to here? It takes half a year even on horseback. And that assumes you travel quickly without any trouble along the way."

"..."

"With the border practically sealed, it is impossible to arrive alive in the Federation. Do you still believe that rumor about two wyvern knights dying in the southern part of the continent?"

"It is not a rumor."

"But it has not been officially confirmed either. Did they not say they could not even find the Wyverns' bodies? And one of the missing knights is the famous Damian Carvello. Are you telling me to believe that the heir of House Carvello, practically confirmed to become the next vice commander and then the following Commander, died alone while chasing an unaccompanied Imperial princess?"

"...I do not wish to discuss this any further."

"Gilbert! Are you truly going to act like this?"

The final words were loud enough to ring clearly through the door. Kyle glanced at the impassive knight, exchanged looks with Elysia, then took the doorknob and slowly pushed it open.

"The money you have spent so far would be enough to buy several estates in Renavik. No matter how skilled you are, there must be a limit! Even members of our faction have begun to complain!"

When the door opened fully, the room's hidden interior came into view. The first person Kyle saw was a gray-haired, middle-aged man nearing old age, seated by the office window. Before him stood a broad-built middle-aged man with a flushed face, dressed in expensive clothes.

"If you continue searching for that princess whose fate is still unknown..."

The broad-built man was about to continue in a threatening tone.

"It is His Grace's will."

The sudden reply made him close his mouth.

"If you have said everything you came to say, leave now. I have no further answer for you."

The middle-aged man seated at the desk did not even look at the broad-built man. He had been reading through a stack of documents the entire time. The other man glared at him for a moment, then turned away with an angry huff. He gave Kyle and Elysia, standing beyond the open door, a single look before leaving the room without hiding his displeasure.

Creak, slam.

The door closed. The office became quiet as though nothing had happened.

"So, you came from the Empire."

Kyle and Elysia, who had been looking at the door the broad-built man had vanished through, turned their heads forward.

Gilbert Perian. The head of House Perian, the Imperial noble house now in exile, and Grand Duke Rivelius's loyal retainer, was there.

"It has been quite some time since an opposition noble fled after the border was sealed... You must have gone around through the south. Where did you come from? Archandia?"

Gilbert finished the document he had been writing and set his pen aside. Then he raised his gaze from the desk.

"This is good. Information from inside the Imperial family is just what..."

He froze.

Gilbert could not continue. The eyes that had taken in both Kyle and Elysia began to shake as though an earthquake had struck when they settled on Elysia. White robes. A hood pulled over her head. The platinum hair and golden eyes faintly visible beneath it.

"That cannot be..."

Denying reality, Gilbert slowly rose from his seat. He walked forward one slow step at a time and stopped before Elysia.

Elysia did not speak. She simply pushed back the hood she had pulled low over her face. In an instant, bright platinum hair spilled freely into the air like rippling waves.

Gilbert's eyes widened as if they would split apart.

"Gilbert."

"Ah..."

"It has been a long time. I missed you."

Elysia smiled softly. Gilbert stood there with his mouth open.

His expression changed from moment to moment. First came disbelief and shock. Then denial of an impossible reality. Then a desperate plea that perhaps it could be true.

Finally, joy at a miracle.

"Ah..."

The middle-aged man, his eyes filled with indescribable emotion, dropped to one knee before Elysia.

"...I greet Your Highness, the First Princess."

Footnotes:

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