WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 129: When the First Snow Falls (4)

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The bright midday sunlight streamed diagonally through the window. A man sat at a desk in the silent room, where even the sound of breathing seemed hushed.

Grand Duke Rivelius, Adrian Archandia.

The blond man, who had just entered his forties, scribbled with the pen in his hand, his eyes devoid of emotion. Though he handled his work mechanically, he could not stop other thoughts from running through his mind. There had simply been too much to worry about lately.

Most of all, his niece Elysia's whereabouts troubled him.

He had spent a massive amount of money continuing the search, yet there had been no meaningful results. It had been that way ever since news of her had disappeared in the southern part of the continent along with the two missing wyvern knights.

Gathering information about the southern part of the continent from the heart of the Federation had never been easy to begin with. No matter how much wealth Gilbert had amassed, pressure from all sides was inevitable.

To others, it probably looked as though he was throwing money away.

Could she have failed to escape and been taken back to the Imperial Palace?

As the possibility he had intentionally put off came to mind, Adrian unconsciously tightened his grip on the pen.

Or perhaps she died in some unfortunate incident.

Screech.

The paper beneath the pen tip darkened and tore apart. Adrian stopped working and looked down at his hand.

I should have stopped Hailen's fall somehow. Even if I had to tear the council apart. In the end, the complacency and selfishness of those old men, who only cared about preserving their own safety, caused all this. The Chevaliers, the council's direct knightly order, cannot even move without gaining a majority vote. It was doomed from the start.

Knock, knock.

"Your Grace."

A voice came from outside the door while he was lost in thought. Adrian swallowed a sigh and set down the pen in his hand.

"Come in."

An old man entered through the slowly opening door. He was the loyal head butler who had served Adrian since their days in the Empire. After naturally bowing his head, he held out a sheet of paper.

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"A letter has arrived."

"A letter?"

Adrian asked. The old butler approached with quick steps and respectfully handed him the paper instead of answering.

"It is a letter from Count Perian."

"Gilbert..."

"You should read it."

With that, the head butler fell silent. Adrian glanced at the man standing before him with his hands behind his back, then carefully unfolded the letter.

His deep blue eyes quickly scanned its contents.

"Ha..."

Before long, Adrian let out a sound that was neither laughter nor a sigh. The butler, who had waited quietly, asked briefly.

"What does it say?"

"It says Elysia has crossed over."

"Her Highness the First Princess...?"

"Yes. Fortunately, she seems to be unharmed."

The butler's eyes widened. Considering how little emotion he normally showed, he seemed greatly surprised.

Adrian turned the paper over in his hand.

Judging by the texture of the paper and the way it had been folded, it was not delivered by hand but sent through a messenger hawk.

The letter Gilbert had sent in haste was filled with neat writing. Every part of it was difficult to believe.

Not only had Elysia safely crossed into the Federation, but the two wyvern knights pursuing her had also died. It said they had secured confidential information about the Imperial Palace's Dragon Heart and wyverns, along with news of the Ash Knight accompanying her.

Did Damian Carvello truly die?

Adrian, who had once stood closest to the Emperor, knew every member of the Celestial Knights in detail. Damian Carvello had been one of the most promising candidates to become the next Commander. His appointment as Deputy Commander had all but been decided.

And not only had that man been killed, Elysia had been safely brought all the way to the Federation.

There had been two wyvern knights, not one. No matter how the Knights of Ash had once been called the greatest on the continent, they had their limits.

There was one more astonishing part.

The current Emperor was nothing more than an empty shell, a puppet of the First Emperor.

"...So it was true after all."

Adrian was not surprised by that. He accepted it with a calmness that surprised even himself.

He had suspected it for a long time, almost to the point of certainty. Still, this was the first time someone had openly confirmed his suspicions.

The Gilbert Adrian knew was not the sort of man who would lie. He did not know whether the contents were true, but he would be able to confirm them soon enough.

"What will you do?"

"Prepare a messenger hawk. I need to send a reply."

Adrian neatly folded the letter and rose from his seat.

"The timing is strange. Is it coincidence, or fate?"

Muttering to himself, he approached the large window. Warm sunlight, at odds with winter, lazily wrapped around him.

Unlike the recent political climate, heavy with signs of war, the sky outside was painfully clear.

Even Adrian himself could not know what lay beyond it.

* * *

Several days had already passed since they took shelter with House Perian.

Kyle and Elysia had spent their most peaceful days in quite some time.

There was nothing they could do until a reply arrived from the Grand Duke anyway. Worrying would change nothing, so they decided to enjoy the brief respite they had been given.

Fortunately, Count Perian had provided every convenience possible for the two who had come from far away. The mansion on a hill overlooking the city had everything they needed.

Neatly prepared meals arrived when it was time to eat, and the rooms they had been given were incomparably better than an inn. If they wished, they could bring books from the library to read or go outside for a walk.

Still, Kyle and Elysia spent most of their time inside the mansion. There were far better things to do than wander around outdoors in the cold winter weather.

Reading.

Magic training.

And the Dragon Heart.

Since parting ways with Alfred and leaving the Corsa Archipelago, Kyle had been using the Dragon Heart's mana whenever he had the chance.

Elysia scolded him every time, but Kyle took her words to heart in his own way as he absorbed Prisia's mana into his body.

At first, he had begun because it felt wrong to simply rest during his free time. At some point, though, it had become a habit.

At least while using the Dragon Heart, he could free himself from the curse's influence. Prisia's mana felt so familiar that he had to be careful not to use too much mana.

For now, I can only hold a tiny amount of mana in my body, but after one year, or two years, who knows?

If only I could glimpse the future like Prisia.

"Do you have a moment?"

On the fourth day, Gilbert, who had been attending to Kyle and Elysia's needs, came to see them for the first time.

"Is something wrong? Has a reply arrived already?"

"Not yet. I simply wished to speak with Sir Kyle alone. Would that be all right?"

Gilbert glanced toward Elysia, who was quietly reading a book in one corner of the room. Kyle also looked at her before rising from his seat.

"Let's go."

The old noble nodded. He led Kyle out of the mansion.

The winter sky in December was an especially deep blue. So was the cold air that pierced his skin.

Yet Kyle did not find it particularly cold. Perhaps it was because the place where he had met Alfred more than three thousand years in the past had been a snowfield covered entirely in white snow.

The dragon he had captured to stabilize Prisia's mana had also been an Ice Dragon with sky-blue scales.

By the time those thoughts passed through his mind, they had reached the garden in the mansion's front yard. Snow lay thick along the neatly maintained walking path.

The first snow scattered across the garden like decoration looked like a thin white blanket.

"When the first snow falls, I often come out to walk through the garden. I did the same when I was in the Empire."

Gilbert lightly touched a frost-covered flower petal nearby. Thin ice shattered, and the broken petals fluttered down over the thick snow.

"Did you recreate the garden from back then?"

"Yes. It is not exactly the same, but I made it as similar as possible. The entire city is like that as well."

"It certainly seemed orderly."

"Our family began as a merchant company. This may sound disrespectful, but His Grace and I do not hate the Empire itself. We only grew disgusted with the Emperor who changed, and the corrupt officials who busily sought their own gain by following him."

Kyle knew that.

Even Alfred had been the head of House Lucent, one of the Empire's most prestigious noble houses. Kyle did not feel anger or resentment toward that.

Instead, he regarded Alfred as a benefactor to whom he was grateful.

Not everyone in the Empire had taken part in the war of conquest.

"Much has happened over the past five years. There were good times and bad after I fled, but time passes quickly."

Gilbert began walking again. Kyle followed behind him.

"First, regarding the letter I sent to His Grace. A reply should arrive within a few days."

Gilbert finally brought up the main subject as they continued their walk.

"I see."

Kyle answered casually. Valone, where Grand Duke Rivelius's city of Rier was located, was not far from Russel, where the commercial city of Renvel stood.

The two kingdoms were geographically connected, one above the other. Even with messenger hawk relay outposts along the way, a letter would arrive quickly.

"Is that all?"

"There is nothing else particularly important besides the letter, but... even so, I wished to offer my personal thanks."

"Thanks...?"

Kyle trailed off.

Gilbert, who had been walking at a slow pace, suddenly stopped.

"Yes. Her Highness is more than a person of high status to His Grace and me. If not for Sir Kyle, the last Commander of the Knights of Ash, we would never have been able to see her again like this. It is only right that I express my gratitude."

Gilbert slowly turned and bowed his head. Then he raised it again.

In the middle of the snow-covered garden, the old noble's gaze met that of the fallen kingdom's knight.

Only the occasional chirping of birds echoed through the silent garden.

"Did Elysia tell you?"

Kyle broke the silence.

"No."

"Then since when?"

"From the beginning. The moment I heard your name, I was certain. Kyle Baldrick. Anyone who knows the matter knows that name. There are only a handful of Ash Knights who could defeat two wyvern knights, especially Damian Carvello."

Gilbert continued in a calm voice.

Rowen, the former Commander, and Kyle, who succeeded him and was appointed the final Commander.

Ash Knights were strong, but not strong enough to defeat two Celestial Knights riding wyverns. Their individual martial strength might have been somewhat greater, but the wyverns they rode were living natural disasters with resistance to most Sword Aura and magic.

On top of that, Kyle had been protecting Elysia.

If he had killed two wyvern knights in such a terrible situation and reached the Federation, there was only one possible conclusion.

Only two people in the Knights of Ash could have accomplished that.

"If I have offended you, I apologize."

Gilbert bowed his head again. Kyle shook his head.

"Forget it. There is no reason to hide it now."

Was that why Gilbert had flinched when he heard Kyle's name upon first meeting him?

Kyle muttered in a tone that said he did not mind. It was not a lie. He truly did not care.

To meet Grand Duke Rivelius and secure the Federation's cooperation, he would have to reveal his identity eventually. Gilbert was the Grand Duke's closest aide and had a deep connection with Elysia, so it would not be a major problem.

"Then this will be quicker."

Just as Kyle reached that conclusion, Gilbert's low voice suddenly slipped into his ears.

"What...?"

"Now we come to the real point."

Gilbert's eyes darkened. Staring intently at Kyle, he asked,

"When was the last time you saw an Ash Knight?"

For a moment, Kyle was left speechless by the unexpected question.

"Do you know where they are now?"

Gilbert continued questioning him regardless, digging through the deep wound Kyle had tried so hard to bury.

Did he know where the Ash Knights, who had been like family to him, were?

"...I don't."

He did not know.

He could not know.

They had scattered in every direction. Most of them died while fleeing after losing the capital. Kyle had barely escaped by cowardly using their lives as a shield.

"I do not even know whether they are alive."

Kyle felt his voice turn sharp without his meaning to. Every one of his senses sharpened. The mana in his ring reacted to Kyle's rapidly changing emotions.

Yet all of it collapsed at Gilbert's next whisper.

"There are Ash Knights alive in the Federation."

Gilbert looked around once before leaning close to Kyle's ear and whispering.

Kyle's body stiffened.

"And they have been here for quite a long time. Did you know?"

Footnotes:

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