WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 152: At Winter's End (1)

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Two weeks had already passed since war broke out between the Empire and the Federation.

The Imperial Army's advance, which had begun with a surprise invasion, had also come to a halt around then.

After Marent fell, the Celestial Knights' Wyverns and the Empire's cavalry supporting them suddenly vanished. More precisely, they stopped advancing. As if their role had ended there, they reorganized their front near the middle of the Russel Kingdom.

Having belatedly gained a little breathing room, the Russel Kingdom hurriedly gathered troops and stationed them in cities facing the Imperial Army. The other kingdoms were not much different. They had suffered almost no damage compared to Russel, but there was no guarantee they would not become the next target. Valone, where the Council Knights were based, and Calorf, where the Federation Council stood, were especially tense.

A few more days passed.

Inside the conference room at the Chevaliers' headquarters in the Kingdom of Valone.

"Cassius Mortein has withdrawn to the rear."

A middle-aged knight spoke cautiously. Heavy silence hung over the room.

"Where exactly did he withdraw to?"

"We do not know. He disappeared far too quickly. However, the reports say he flew toward the capital."

"Archandia..."

The old man seated at the head of the table tapped its surface with his fingers. The knights in dark navy cloaks seated on either side silently glanced at him.

"If that is true, his timing is exquisite. He should have pushed all the way to the Russel Kingdom's capital."

Then they would have been given an opportunity instead. The knights in the room quietly swallowed at the old man's tone, which suggested he might have even used the Russel royal family as bait if necessary.

No matter how fast and powerful a wyvern knight was, pushing all the way to the end of the Russel Kingdom carried great risk.

A Wyvern alone could not occupy a city. There was the persistent issue of stamina, along with the supply problem for the cavalry traveling with it. They could not face a large number of Chevaliers after fighting battle after battle and becoming exhausted. Perhaps Cassius Mortein understood that. After occupying Marent in the central south and preparing to enter the Russel Kingdom's rear, he had changed course and withdrawn.

Was it the instinct of the continent's greatest living knight, now that the former Commander of the Knights of Ash was dead? Or was it simply the Emperor's order? If neither was true, did he have another objective besides breaking through the Russel Kingdom's front?

"What of our losses?"

The old man turned to the knight delivering the report.

"We have lost contact with several Council Knights, including those on the front line and others carrying out missions throughout the region."

"Have the other knight orders suffered greatly as well, aside from the Chevaliers?"

"Yes. In particular, many knight orders of the Russel Kingdom have suffered losses close to annihilation."

"They brought this on themselves. Those fools. I have been shouting for years that they needed to increase military spending."

As a commercially developed nation, the Russel Kingdom lagged far behind Valone and Calorf in military strength. Like Selaine, which lay farthest to the rear, Russel had repeatedly rejected military proposals in the council meant to prepare for an Imperial invasion.

Increasing military spending meant increased expenses, and increased expenses naturally placed a burden on the economy. From the perspective of the Russel Kingdom, which had built wealth through trade with the Empire, and Selaine, which was relatively safe in the far rear, pouring money into a possibility that might never happen was unwelcome. They had also fiercely opposed sending troops when Hailen was invaded by the Empire four years ago.

"Then Grand Duke Rivelius is all that remains..."

The old man clicked his tongue and muttered.

Grand Duke Rivelius was an Imperial royal who had gone into exile.

Oddly enough, even after devoting himself to the Federation, Grand Duke Rivelius had not abandoned the surname granted to him by the Emperor. Some people remained suspicious of that, but the voices condemning him faded with time. After becoming a member of the council, the Grand Duke had consistently pushed policies hostile to the Empire.

"That royal bastard will surely lend weight to our position. We can only pray that the old fools in the council finally come to their senses."

The old man stood and looked around the conference room.

"From this moment, concentrate the Council Knights on the Russel Kingdom front."

His eyes were fierce despite his age.

"Order the knights who were sent ahead to wait. Dispatch the squires awaiting knighthood to investigate the knights who lost contact while returning under the recall order. Recover the bodies if you find them, and prepare yourselves until the council issues its next command."

* * *

Gilbert Perian, Grand Duke Rivelius's most loyal retainer, moved through the manor's corridors while suppressing every trace of his presence. The sun was still bright in the afternoon, yet the atmosphere inside the manor was chilling.

It was not the usual quiet, settled air, but the tense atmosphere of thin ice that could crack at any moment.

Now and then, servants' whispers reached his ears.

Since the Imperial Army invaded, nobles everywhere had trembled with anxiety. The wyvern knights' slaughter did not discriminate between commoners, knights, and nobles.

The fortresses on the front line that had been standing strong until recently were the same. The lords, knights, and mages who had guarded those places for generations had been massacred in groups overnight. The nobles had no way of knowing when they would be next. All they could do was pray that the enemy would stop and that the Chevaliers would move quickly.

How helpless. To think we would be this helpless...

Count Perian lamented inwardly as he stopped before a door with a grim expression. Though he knocked twice, no answer came from inside.

"Your Grace."

"......."

"I will enter."

Without waiting for permission, the elderly noble twisted the handle and pushed the door open. It creaked, revealing the room beyond.

As always, bright sunlight slanted into the elegantly furnished office. In its center, a blond man who appeared to have just entered his forties paced restlessly with an anxious expression. It was Grand Duke Rivelius, Adrian Archandia.

"...Gilbert."

Seeing the door open suddenly, Adrian barely managed to speak.

"What happened? Has there been any news?"

"Not yet."

"Not a single report?"

"No. Her Highness the Princess..."

Gilbert tried to continue, then fell silent.

Elysia's disappearance.

The Grand Duke knew, as did Count Perian, who had personally received a letter from her. She had left Renvel first and headed for Rier.

Yet there was still no news. She was later than Gilbert, who had left Renvel afterward and arrived in Rier first. It was an incomprehensible situation. Kyle, believed to be one of the Ash Knights, had been with her as well. Since Gilbert had met the two of them in person only recently, he could not help imagining the worst.

Perhaps Kyle, the last Commander of the Knights of Ash, was dead.

And perhaps Elysia had either died with him or been captured by the Empire.

"What happened to Sir Kyle, who was traveling with her? Is his whereabouts unknown as well? Nothing at all?"

Adrian asked again, his voice almost desperate.

"I am sorry. I know nothing..."

"......."

"However, there are reports that Duke Mortein stopped advancing after occupying Marent and withdrew to the rear. Judging by the circumstances, it appears close to the truth."

"Is that so?"

Adrian swallowed a sigh and walked to the window. The winter sky in January was dazzlingly blue.

Adrian did not feel the same. The problems he faced were piled as high as mountains. Elysia's disappearance was only one of them. What troubled him was the overlap between Kyle and Elysia vanishing and Duke Mortein, who had advanced without pause, suddenly withdrawing.

"I understand. You may leave now."

"......."

"I would like to be alone... for a while."

Adrian quietly dismissed him. Gilbert bowed his head slightly and carefully left the room.

Before closing the door, he caught a glimpse of Adrian's back. It looked smaller than usual. Gilbert moved his lips several times, then closed his eyes and turned away.

* * *

The biting wind of midwinter stole not only warmth but feeling itself. Elysia had been walking east without thought in a daze when, at some point, she realized she had lost consciousness.

There is still so far to go.

I cannot collapse here...

Lost in confusion, Elysia slowly moved her limbs. Strangely, she no longer felt cold. The same was true of the numbness in her frozen body. She was alive. What brushed against her skin was not the cutting winter wind, but the soft feel of silk.

A blanket?

Elysia slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was not a hazy sky filled with falling snow, but the canopy of an extravagant bed. Delicate silk draped long around her from every direction.

No way.

Her eyes trembling, Elysia sat up. Only after putting her feet on the floor did painful memories from the past rise one by one from deep within her heart, along with the emotions tied to them.

"Ah..."

She stood by the window and drew the curtains apart. An unbelievable reality stretched before her. The palace gardens lay below at a glance, and beyond them stood the enormous city. Church bell towers rose sharply throughout it, while countless people looked no larger than tiny dots.

Archandia, the capital of the Elandor Empire.

"No. No, this cannot be happening..."

Elysia barely remained standing at the window before she sank weakly to the floor. Her breathing quickened on its own. The room spun. Her heart pounded wildly.

How?

Amid endless questions and despair, a memory slowly surfaced. It was a faint, dreamlike recollection from when she had fled east alone after separating from Kyle.

At the time, she had been walking endlessly through the snowfield, overcome by cold and grief. Even when she collapsed repeatedly, she never gave up. Kyle was behind her. If she stopped here, everything would come to nothing.

Yet her body did not obey her heart. When Elysia collapsed for the fourth time, she could not rise as she had before. Through her fading vision, she saw it. The black-scaled Wyvern she never wanted to see again. Living despair, its massive body enough to call a Dragon to mind.

"Ksalak..."

Her question soon became a single answer. She had failed to escape in the end. Cassius Mortein, who had pursued her to the very end, had captured her. Then she had been brought to Archandia.

Then what about Kyle?

Kyle had gone east, where he expected Duke Mortein to come, to buy her time to escape. If he had won, he would certainly have come this way. But the last thing Elysia had seen was not Kyle's face, but Ksalak, Duke Mortein's Wyvern. What that meant was clear.

Kyle was dead.

Killed by Cassius Mortein.

"Ah..."

Her vision clouded over. An indescribable emotion crashed over her like a wave. It felt as though the floor beneath her had suddenly given way.

Why?

Elysia asked herself as though tormenting herself. Why had she run away alone? Why had she obediently listened to Kyle? No, why had she even asked Kyle for help at Ligrid Gate in the first place? If death was all that waited at the end, it would have been enough for me to disappear alone.

What will happen to me now?

After the deep guilt came fear, a beat too late. More than death itself, she feared that Kyle's sacrifice had been in vain.

Will I die like this? Will I become a sacrifice for Izra's Thorn, like my mother did? Or will I simply become a hostage to threaten my uncle? Either way, now that I have come this far, it no longer matters. My life is already in the First Emperor's grasp.

This futile struggle ends here.

So if I just die instead...

Tears gathered in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Her empty golden eyes stared blankly around the room.

Creak.

At that moment, the wide door to the room suddenly opened. Elysia, who had been staring into space as though her soul had left her, turned her eyes toward the doorway.

A handsome young man in elaborate clothing stood there. He had the same platinum-blond hair as Elysia and bright turquoise eyes.

Crown Prince Maximilian.

In the silence, their eyes met. Elysia's tightly closed lips slowly parted.

"Brother..."

Footnotes:

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