WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 188: The Road Home (9)
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Though not to the same extent as the Federation’s Chevaliers, the Knights of Ash were made up mostly of nobles. That was why it caused such an uproar when Rowen Ragnell, the previous Commander of the Knights of Ash, took on a squire for the first time.
A young mercenary whose origins and status were unknown.
One with exotic features who might even have been a commoner.
It drew even more attention because he was Rowen’s first squire. He had not even been formally knighted, only an apprentice, yet he was already famous enough that no one in the north failed to know of him. Without the wholehearted support of Rowen, the Commander, and Yurian, the Crown Prince, he would never have been able to enter the order at all. No matter how gifted he was, the barrier of social standing was firm.
Yet as if mocking those concerns and doubts, the young man grew quickly. When the Northern War broke out, his position only became more prominent. After Rowen’s death, he was even raised to become the new Commander, though only provisionally. All those loyal to the royal family fought under his name.
Until the capital, Baldheim, fell and Hailen was destroyed.
What had he called him then?
“Baron Falken. I never thought we would meet face-to-face like this.”
Black hair and black eyes. Exotic features. Though they had never met before, Baron Falken immediately deduced, no, became certain, of the man’s identity. He looked exactly as he had heard.
“...I greet the last scion of Hailen.”
The aged noble lowered his head so deeply it seemed servile. Kyle’s gaze on the back of his head felt strangely sharp.
“You speak as though you have seen me before.”
“That is...”
“You must know who I am. We knew each other’s names, after all.”
“.......”
“Raise your head, Baron. There is no need to act like a criminal.”
The Baron’s fingers twitched for an instant before he slowly raised his head. Only then did things he had failed to notice enter his muddled vision.
Hermann was staring down at him from nearby. So were the other members. Upon recognizing the Deputy Commander, whom he had met before, information about the other members began surfacing in his mind one by one. At the same time, every hair on his body stood on end.
I am going to die.
One wrong word, and his head would roll. In truth, other than Kyle and the Ash Knights before him, there was no one left in the courtyard.
The dead were silent. There was no sign of the living, either. His soldiers, knights, and servants. He could sense none of them. It could only mean one thing.
The fortress had already fallen. To only nine people.
“You are thinking hard. Do you need time to consider?”
Kyle’s cold voice pierced the old noble’s ears. Baron Falken reflexively lowered his eyes.
“No. It is only that...”
“Only that?”
“I never expected to see you here. After all...”
“You thought I was dead.”
Baron Falken did not deny it. Kyle did not particularly rebuke him for it either. Hermann and Walter had not known that Kyle was alive, either. Conversely, Kyle had never imagined that surviving Ash Knights would be in the Federation.
“When did you come to the north?”
The Baron hesitated, watching Kyle’s expression, before asking again.
“A month ago.”
“...Around the time the Federation Grand Banquet ended.”
“Do you have informants in Grandesia?”
“At most, we hear things in passing from travelling convoys.”
“But you know the affairs of the north well enough.”
The Baron’s expression stiffened.
“The other day, I stopped by a village called Arenbach. They were robbing passing travelers. I heard they had no choice because of the tribute payments they had to make every month...”
“.......”
“I hear Duke Ehrenfeld, who seized the capital, has the lords throughout the land pay enormous tribute to the Empire. He plans to establish a new northern dynasty as a vassal state of Elandor, backed by the Emperor. Is that true?”
As the Baron’s twisted face drained pale, Kyle watched his labored breathing and pressed him again.
“Baron Falken.”
“...It is true.”
“I see. So that is why you served under Duke Ehrenfeld, playing the Empire’s slave?”
“N-No, you misunderstand! We had our circumstances.”
“Circumstances?”
Kyle let out an involuntary scoff. Hermann, Walter, and the other members watching were not much different. Whether he realized it or not, the old noble gazed up at Kyle with desperate eyes.
“We did not cast aside our loyalty to the royal family. We were merely struggling to survive.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. What choice did we have? Continue resisting the Empire to the end? Or abandon our homeland and seek asylum in the Federation? Neither was an easy choice. Many people remained in the north even after Hailen fell.”
“.......”
“To give up the homeland where we had lived our entire lives, or meet an honorable death. The weak, like us, had no choice but to choose survival with tears in our eyes and hearts torn apart...”
A single tear ran down the old noble’s cheek. Then a long explanation flowed smoothly from his dry lips.
After the capital of Baldheim fell, the north split into several factions. Lords throughout the land were lost and unable to decide what to do. At that time, Duke Ehrenfeld stepped forward and proclaimed himself the new ruler of the north in place of the king. As a duke backed by the Emperor’s authority, the other lords had no choice but to follow suit.
“That is how it came to be...”
The Baron wiped away his tears and bowed his head deeply. A brief silence fell before he added in a low, hoarse voice.
“We merely kept our heads down until Hailen’s rightful heir appeared...”
“Count Haska too?”
Kyle cut him off. The Baron’s shoulders suddenly stiffened. Kyle’s face remained so blank that his emotions were impossible to read, as if he could kill without the slightest hesitation.
“C-Count Haska...”
The Baron’s voice trembled as he barely managed to speak.
“He was a loyalist who devoted himself to the royal family until the end.”
“.......”
“On my way here, I heard something interesting. They said Sir Rudolf Alten was in this fortress. Yet strangely, I cannot sense him.”
“How did you...”
“Did Count Haska betray Hailen too? Like you?”
Kyle glared down at the Baron. The Baron could not bring himself to meet his eyes.
“Or did you kill Rudolf Alten, who came as an envoy? Because Count Haska, who refuses to submit to the Emperor, was in your way?”
As he continued, strength entered Kyle’s once emotionless voice. Baron Falken looked around at the Ash Knights while breathing raggedly, then suddenly clung to Kyle’s leg.
“P-Please forgive me!”
Forgetting even his dignity, the old noble cried out desperately.
“I was blinded for a moment. Wealth and greed robbed me of my senses.”
“.......”
“Sir Rudolf Alten is in the underground prison now. He is not dead. I know many other things as well. They will surely be of great help in retaking the capital, Baldheim. So please, give me one more chance. Please...”
Tears dripped down his wrinkled cheeks. The sight of the Baron sobbing and pleading as he clung to Kyle’s leg was utterly pitiful. Kyle simply looked down at him.
For some time, the old man’s aged sobs echoed through the fortress.
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
After a little while, Kyle finally spoke. At those words, the Baron snapped his head up. A sliver of hope entered his face, which had been full of despair.
“No person is perfect.”
“Then...!”
“But not you.”
Squelch!
The Baron, kneeling at Kyle’s feet, stared blankly with his mouth open. The moment he blinked, something had smoothly pierced his chest. Bright red blood ran down beneath it.
What?
“Did you truly think you could live?”
“Ghk!”
The Baron vomited blood. Kyle looked down at the old noble with cold eyes.
“You want one more chance?”
“Ghk, ghk...”
“You already had your chance. You simply knew and chose to ignore it.”
During the Northern War, not every northern lord had answered the call to arms. The lords of the outer regions had deliberately made all manner of excuses to avoid joining the battle. Like Duke Ehrenfeld, there were many nobles who professed loyalty to the royal family while placing their own safety above all else.
“Once can happen.”
Kyle remembered every one of them clearly. He had never forgotten.
“But not twice. You already turned your backs on your homeland during the Northern War. After Hailen fell, you were so busy selling out the north. And now you dare beg me for mercy again?”
The Baron did not hear him. Blood pouring from him soaked his clothes and stained the ground bright red. Kyle twisted Yurian’s sword, buried in the Baron’s solar plexus, half a turn.
Crunch.
The blade came free. The Baron’s body, its eyes already unfocused, slumped limply beside the knights who had died before him.
* * *
The underground prison was bitterly cold.
The only sound was the occasional drip of water falling from somewhere.
Rudolf lay helplessly on the freezing floor, staring up at the dark ceiling. He had already grown accustomed to the chains binding his hands and feet. The same went for the agonizing pain that occasionally spread through his body. He could endure it. This much torture was nothing.
Even so, Rudolf felt fierce emotions churning within him. They were raw, violent waves. Then unbearable self-loathing washed over him. His sword had been taken long ago, yet his bloodied hand still seemed to feel the grip of its hilt.
I knew this would happen in the end.
Rudolf raised a hand. Clink. The chains rattled as he covered his eyes. Once his vision was completely swallowed by darkness, all kinds of thoughts churned through his mind.
He had prepared himself when he came here alone. He knew he might die. Even so, a small part of him had held out hope. No matter what, they were fellow northerners. Even if the royal family was gone and Hailen had fallen, he thought there would still be at least some loyalty left.
It had all been a misunderstanding.
Rudolf gave a hollow laugh. Baron Falken’s voice, telling him again and again to submit to the Emperor, kept echoing in his ears.
Am I supposed to become the Empire’s dog?
He gritted his teeth. Then suddenly, clomp, clomp, footsteps rang through the silent underground prison. Whoever had come down was approaching exactly where Rudolf was. At some point, the footsteps stopped. Then a question came.
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
The voice was unfamiliar, almost unnatural. Rudolf did not move even a finger as he replied.
“Thirsty?”
“I mean, don’t you want some water?”
“The Baron sent you. Is this his final mercy before I die? Or did you come to persuade me again?”
Rudolf answered with quiet anger. Though he had endured brutal torture the night before, his tone had not softened in the slightest.
“Your body must hurt.”
“Of course it does. Your people tortured me. It is laughable for you to state the obvious.”
“Pride does not guarantee your life.”
“Sometimes one must die for honor. Rather than live as the Emperor’s dog, I would follow my lord who went before me and die. I will never bow my head to you.”
“Do you not think it sounds ridiculous coming from someone in that state?”
Someone asked with a taunting laugh. Rudolf bit down on his lips, crusted with dried blood.
“If you are here to spout nonsense, leave. I have told you repeatedly, I will not beg you pitifully for my life. Even if Duke Ehrenfeld, that usurper, takes the throne, my resolve will not change. I would rather, right here...”
“You are as rigid as ever, Sir Rudolf. Cecilia liked that about you. So did I.”
The voice changed. It shifted from something strange and unfamiliar into a memory filled with longing.
“It has been a long time, Sir Rudolf.”
Rudolf removed the hand covering his eyes. At the same time, his mouth fell open foolishly. Beyond the thick bars, someone stood illuminated by a Magic Stone Lamp in the darkness, wearing the face of one of the people he most wanted to see.
“Lord Kyle...”
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