WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 190: The Road Home (11)
──────
Kyle clearly remembered the faces of those who had died in the war. He could not forget them. They had fallen horribly beneath their family banners, never forgetting their loyalty to the royal family.
Those who had chosen betrayal from the very beginning were different. By placing their own safety above all else, they had managed to survive relatively unscathed even after Hailen fell. Lords like Duke Ehrenfeld and Baron Falken were exactly that sort.
Then there were those who belonged neither to loyalty nor betrayal.
Those who had fought fiercely until the middle of the Northern War, only to give up near the end.
The houses that had turned away only once defeat had become increasingly certain.
Those who had ultimately chosen the survival of their houses over loyalty.
“Now that we have seized Falken Bridge, we are already halfway there.”
Kyle spoke coldly. Rudolf still sat on the sofa, silently watching him.
“If we can retake Baldheim, the capital, we will be able to receive the Federation's support in earnest. At the very least, food will no longer hold us back. By then, the civil war should be over, and the north will have stabilized to some extent.”
“But Lord Kyle, isn't the Federation's situation poor as well after the Empire's surprise attack? Based on what you told me earlier...”
Rudolf, who had remained silent until then, raised a pointed question. Rudolf had heard a rough account from Kyle, but could not help worrying about the Empire and the Celestial Knights.
“Russel, which suffered direct losses, is. The others are different.”
“The others?”
“The remaining four nations. Russel was also the wealthiest of the Federation's five nations. Even if it lost half its territory, it must have accumulated an immense amount of wealth, so it will not have financial problems for a while. If anything, it is good news for us that Philip, the former king, died and Marquis Laporte, a hardliner to the bone, was elevated as the new ruler.”
Philip of Russel, who had been a moderate, had died by Kyle's hand. Sebastian, the king of Selaine, had been deposed and forced to hand the throne to Sebastian's eldest son.
The Council was now completely dominated by hardliners, including Adrian. Felbric of neutral Calorf was practically invisible. The Grand Assembly would be over by now, so support for the north would have been approved without difficulty.
All that remained was for Kyle to bring the north under control.
“We do not have only one enemy.”
Kyle began walking again. As he stood before the office window, the immense Falken Bridge came fully into view in the distance.
“Duke Ehrenfeld is only the beginning. In the end, I will have to kill the Emperor. I have no intention of dragging this out.”
The Voldra River glittered beneath the hazy northern sunlight. Ripples of light rose and vanished over its surface like jewels. From now on, that bridge would become the bridgehead linking the Federation and the north.
“How many troops does House Haska have left?”
Kyle turned around. Rudolf sat with their fingers interlocked, quietly staring down at the table before them.
“...Five hundred.”
“...”
“No, around four hundred, to be exact. Counting only those capable of fighting.”
“What about the other houses?”
Until the very end of Hailen's fall, more than a few houses had remained loyal to the royal family. Many had been wiped out, but a considerable number should still remain.
“Lunbern, Sigreta, and Wolfran.”
“...”
“They are among the houses with some strength that will reliably support you, Commander. Including the other lords, we have a little over two thousand.”
“Our numbers have fallen sharply.”
“Yes. It is nowhere near enough compared to Duke Ehrenfeld's three thousand troops. If we include the houses under him, a direct battle is practically impossible. On top of that, he has entrenched himself in Baldheim...”
As the capital of Hailen, Baldheim was its largest city and an impregnable fortress. The fact that even the Empire had suffered enormous losses to capture it proved as much. The walls alone stood over twenty meters high.
“It does not matter.”
Kyle did not seem concerned. He opened the drawer of the desk Baron Falken had used and took out a sheet of paper and a pen. Rudolf, who had risen from his seat, looked at Kyle with puzzled eyes.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Didn't I tell you?”
“Surely not...”
“There are no exceptions to a summons. This is an order given as the final Commander of the Knights of Ash and a member of the royal family. Especially for the lords who claimed neutrality. They will be tested on the loyalty they failed to show during the Northern War.”
If they answered the summons, they would be pardoned.
If not...
“There will be no third chance.”
Kyle wrote across the paper in elegant handwriting. Since he did not hesitate in the slightest, a letter bearing Kyle's name was finished before long.
“Deliver this to Count Haska. Use the fortress's messenger hawk and send it as quickly as possible.”
Kyle folded the paper into a small square and handed it to Rudolf. The middle-aged knight accepted it with trembling hands. It was a simple note to tie to a messenger hawk's leg.
But the weight of what it contained was anything but simple.
Whether Kyle fell or Duke Ehrenfeld died, the aftermath would be fierce.
“We leave as soon as the reply arrives.”
Kyle added this calmly. Rudolf's lips moved for a moment before they asked,
“What will you do with this fortress?”
“I will not abandon it. It is a vital place that will serve as our link to the Federation. Baron Falken's young son is still here, is he not?”
“That is...”
Rudolf trailed off. As Kyle said, Baron Falken was dead, but his family was alive.
In fact, many inside the fortress had merely been knocked unconscious. They had not been killed or seriously injured. Kyle had ordered the members to deal only with those who resisted. Though they had betrayed Hailen, he could not wipe out the entire family that had ruled the barony for generations.
Every pair of hands was still valuable to Kyle. It would be better to make the heir, who knew Falken Barony well, into a puppet.
“Please.”
Kyle nodded toward the closed door.
“Do what you can to ensure this letter reaches Count Haska, Rudolf. You are the knight he trusts most. Only you can do this.”
* * *
Having received Kyle's request, Rudolf immediately left the office, tightly gripping the note in their hand.
Kyle quietly listened to Rudolf's footsteps until they disappeared completely, then returned to his remaining work. Several days had passed since the fortress was secured, but there was still much to do. Most of it involved dealing with the aftermath of Baron Falken's death and sorting through his ledgers.
The wealth he had secretly hidden was so vast that Falken Bridge's value could be estimated in monetary terms.
This should be enough that we won't need to worry about supplies until we reach the capital. And I still have the war funds the Grand Duke gave me.
Then again, he had suffered almost no damage during the Northern War. Is this how much he had left even after all that extravagance?
The capture of this fortress carried great meaning for Kyle. He had gained more than a trade route to the Federation and an enormous sum of money. He had cut off Duke Ehrenfeld's source of income.
Falken Bridge was a vital point connecting the Federation and the north. The moment it was captured, much of the flow of goods toward Baldheim, where Duke Ehrenfeld was stationed, would be cut off. He might be trading quietly with the Empire as well, but the blow would still be certain.
The Duke would be bewildered. Though they had been listed as missing, he had believed Kyle and the Ash Knights dead. Yet they had returned alive.
“Kyle. Take a look at this. Didn't I do a fine job again?”
In the castle courtyard, after Kyle had roughly finished his work, at least ten wagons stood scattered around. Walter puffed out his chest proudly.
“You did not rob them, did you?”
“What? Rob them? Do I look like someone with no respect for merchants?”
Walter frowned. Kyle ignored him and inspected the wagons. The contents were even more impressive than Walter's confident voice suggested. They were filled with wheat, bread, and all kinds of food.
Several bottles of premium Selaine wine, as hard to find as Imperial wine, were an added bonus.
“You paid properly?”
“Of course. Though I did buy it a little cheaply.”
“How cheaply?”
“Seventy percent of the price they had planned to sell it for. They were going to risk their lives heading all the way to Baldheim, but they got to sell everything here cleanly. It was a profitable deal for them. They were so moved that they left with tears streaming down their faces.”
Walter grinned broadly. Kyle found himself at a loss for words.
“...Well, it should be fine. Crossing the north at a time like this is dangerous, after all.”
“Right?”
“Still, do not pressure them too much next time. Buy supplies from any trading convoys that come through, but make sure to treat the traders fairly. We have more money than we know what to do with.”
“It seems that traitor Baron Falken hid quite a fortune?”
“Enough for three generations to live without working.”
“Fine. Next time, I'll pay eighty percent of the original price. Is that good enough?”
Kyle shrugged. Just then, Hermann returned with several members after finishing a patrol.
“Kyle.”
“Deputy Commander. How is it?”
“There are no particular problems. The city's residents were confused on the first day, but they seem to have accepted it quickly enough.”
“That is good.”
The day Baron Falken died, the cities on both sides of the bridge had fallen into confusion. The first thing Kyle had done was calm them. From the residents' perspective, some even welcomed the change because, overnight, they no longer had to pay tribute payments.
“More importantly, what happened with Rudolf?”
Hermann asked. Kyle answered casually.
“Rudolf has almost recovered. We finished talking earlier.”
“Talking?”
“Yes. A summons will soon be issued across the north.”
A summons directly issued by the Commander of the Knights of Ash, a member of the royal family. With Yurian gone, it was effectively no different from a king's command.
Even if Duke Ehrenfeld held actual power, he was far behind in legitimacy and justification. The members knew that, and their expressions immediately hardened.
“How long will it take?”
Hermann asked again on behalf of the members.
“A few days. I asked Rudolf to make sure it reaches Count Haska as quickly as possible, so it should take no more than a week. We should prepare to leave at any time.”
“At last.”
“We have waited a long time.”
“After four years, it is time to shake off the rust.”
“There are more than one or two faces I remember... Soon, we will see them in person.”
The members each spoke their piece. Kyle glanced once at the wagons full of food, then raised his head.
The northern sky was filled with pale gray clouds, just as it had been when he first saw it a month ago. Standing in the wind, Kyle thought of Duke Ehrenfeld looking up at that same sky.
The cowardly usurper locked inside the capital.
And Yurian's funeral, which he had yet to hold.
* * *
Almost no sunlight entered the dark room. A silence so dense it swallowed even the sound of breathing filled the space.
At its center sat a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. It was Harald Haska, who had become the new head of House Haska after the previous Count Haska died in battle. He repeatedly tapped his fingers against the desk as if anxious.
“Was it a mistake to send Rudolf alone after all? No, the negotiations could simply be taking longer. Baron Falken is known for being stubborn.”
The man muttered quietly to himself. Naturally, no answer came from the empty room.
“Damn it.”
He cursed under his breath. It had already been more than two weeks since Rudolf left. There should have been some result by now, one way or another, yet there was no news worth mentioning.
Could Rudolf be dead?
At the sudden worst possibility, Harald's fingers stopped tapping the desk.
Realistically, the chance was low. But it was not nonexistent. That tiny possibility lodged itself firmly in Harald's chest and refused to let go.
What should I have done?
The reason Rudolf had gone to Falken Fortress alone was simple. Baron Falken had wanted it that way. The reason Harald could not ignore Baron Falken's request was just as simple.
Duke Ehrenfeld's movements had become increasingly ominous.
The houses that had devoted their loyalty to the vanished royal family were in dire condition. Their remaining troops were few, and their food supplies were no better.
It was only natural. All the members of the royal family who could have served as a focal point were dead. There were still quite a few lords loyal to the royal family, but there was no one left to receive that loyalty.
Rowen, the former Commander of the Knights of Ash, had died long ago. Yurian, the Crown Prince, had fallen during the battle for the capital against the Empire. Kyle, their sole hope and final Commander, had been missing for over four years.
“I...”
Harald bit down on his lip when a sound suddenly came from behind him.
Tap, tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap.
When he turned around, a hawk sat on the windowsill, pecking at the glass with its beak. Harald rose from his chair as though entranced and opened the window. Tied to the hawk's leg were one large letter and one small note.
After checking their contents, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha...”
Countless emotions flashed through Harald's eyes in an instant.
Could this be true?
He did not know. But neither could he refuse to believe it. Attached beside the large letter was a small note written directly by Rudolf. He could tell from the handwriting alone.
There is no time for this.
After standing by the window for a while, Harald rang the bell on his desk several times. Before long, the key knights of the house gathered in one place.
“My lord.”
“What is the matter?”
“Send letters to every house in Hailen.”
Harald looked over the knights as he spoke.
“Tell them that the rightful king of the north has returned.”
“You mean...”
“Yes.”
The knights' eyes slowly widened. Harald added, as though driving the point home,
“The time has come.”
The traitors would fall in proportion to the time Harald and his men had waited.
“Tell Lunbern, Sigreta, Wolfran, and the other houses to gather their troops. Tell them that the time has finally come to fulfill their duty.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
