WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 196: The King's Return (5)
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“After no word from you for years, what brings you all the way here now?”
Sharp features and a lean frame. Duke Rosenberg, the foremost great lord of the central region, fixed Kyle with a fierce stare. He looked somewhat older, but those eyes watching Kyle were unchanged. So was his flexible nature, one that followed principles while knowing when to compromise.
“You already know.”
“Ah... that letter?”
“It is a summons issued by the Commander of the Knights of Ash in the royal family's name.”
“You are still the Commander of the Knights of Ash? I did not think a fugitive who tucked his tail and vanished would have any honor left.”
At the Duke's blunt insult, the Ash Knights, including Hermann and Walter, watched Kyle's reaction carefully. Duke Rosenberg and his guard knights, meanwhile, did not so much as flinch.
Duke Rosenberg had never bowed to anyone but the king. His guard knights obeyed only the Duke's commands. His words might have sounded exceedingly rude, but Kyle was not bothered in the slightest. Instead, they reassured him.
Nothing has changed. Neither this castle nor Duke Rosenberg.
Or perhaps I have simply grown accustomed to the ravages of time.
“I trust you have not forgotten your oath of loyalty to Hailen and House Baldrick.”
“Loyalty? You are speaking to me of loyalty now?”
Duke Rosenberg glanced at Hermann and Walter, then gave a hollow laugh.
“During the Northern War, I provided more funds than anyone.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't. You do not know what I sacrificed. You do not know what it felt like to pour my family's foundation into a war we were bound to lose.”
Food, funds, soldiers, and countless other things.
“And now you are telling me to throw my house away again?”
The neutral lords had once upheld their oaths to the royal family no less than the loyalist lords. They had sacrificed their houses' soldiers and spent their accumulated wealth on the war.
The only difference was that the neutral lords had failed to keep their oaths until defeat was certain. There were those who devoted themselves to the royal family despite knowing death awaited them, and those who placed their houses' safety first. That was the only difference between those who had fought the Empire together during the Northern War. Kyle could not equate the neutral lords with traitors who had been testing the waters from the beginning.
“We, no, I had no choice but to bow to the Empire if we were to survive.”
House Rosenberg was one of Hailen's greatest houses, standing alongside House Ehrenfeld.
“Where were you, and what were you doing then?”
But that did not change the scars the war had left behind.
“Did you hide away in some corner of the continent, dwelling on your defeat in self-loathing?”
The duchy Kyle had passed through was proof enough.
“You can lose. You can fall and stumble. But you should not have run. Even if it meant dying.”
Kyle could not deny it. He did not.
Silently listening to Duke Rosenberg's bitter lament, Kyle finally spoke.
“I intend to set things right, even now.”
“What can't words accomplish?”
“Did Duke Ehrenfeld approach you before I did?”
The air around them froze. Or so it seemed.
After a brief silence, Duke Rosenberg curled his lips in a self-mocking smile.
“What if he did?”
“What do you think, Duke Rosenberg?”
“It would not be a bad offer. Duke Ehrenfeld said that if he became the new king, he would guarantee me the greatest benefits. Tax exemption on all grain produced in my duchy for the next twenty years. And the unification and absorption of the neutral lords who have joined your side.”
“That is certainly substantial.”
“What do you think?”
Duke Rosenberg suddenly turned the question back on Kyle.
“Do you trust Duke Ehrenfeld?”
“No. But I trust his greed. The houses under Ehrenfeld are all bound to him by that same calculation of profit and loss.”
“...”
“If I were to submit to you instead of Duke Ehrenfeld, what could you offer me?”
The Ash Knights waiting quietly nearby frowned. Every Ash Knight here had fought to the end, abandoning even their lives and the survival of their houses. Naturally, Duke Rosenberg's calculating attitude displeased them.
Kyle, however, remained calm, even at the Duke's potentially insulting words. Raising a hand to calm the Ash Knights, Kyle looked around before answering evenly.
“Freedom.”
“...Freedom?”
“I intend to give complete freedom to everyone in the north, including the lords throughout its lands.”
“How?”
“Because I will kill the Emperor with these hands.”
Duke Rosenberg was rendered speechless by the answer that came without a moment's hesitation. But when he saw Kyle's unwavering eyes, he turned toward the open gates with a resolved expression.
“Come in. The guests outside as well.”
* * *
After their short conversation in the inner castle, the lords and knights waiting outside the city received Duke Rosenberg's official invitation.
The remaining nearly five thousand soldiers stayed in the city outside the castle. House Rosenberg's main castle was not small, but they could not drive out its existing vassals and servants. Even so, being able to spend a night inside the city's buildings rather than camping outdoors was enough.
The Duke gathered his guests in one place and held a modest dinner.
“Come to think of it, I have not asked about the curse. Is it still there?”
In the great banquet hall of House Rosenberg's main castle, the Duke seated at the head of the table broke the silence. The Ash Knights and all the lords under Kyle had gathered there.
“There is no problem. By good fortune, I found an opportunity to resolve it.”
Kyle, who had been steadily using his utensils, raised his right hand and created a flame. Prisia's mana remained where the curse had vanished, and a purer white flame than before flickered above his palm. Unlike before, he no longer had any difficulty controlling mana. It came as naturally as breathing.
“Hah...”
“You seem stronger than before.”
“So it truly was real?”
The knights standing behind the Duke each let out quiet exclamations. The loyalist lords who had not seen Kyle fight reacted the same way.
They had only vaguely heard that the curse had been lifted. This was their first time seeing Prisia's mana directly. Most of them were excellent knights before they were lords, so they could vaguely sense how pure the mana within the small flame in Kyle's hand was.
His control of mana had been unmatched even before, but now it is on another level.
Could the Empire truly fall?
“...At least it will not hold you back.”
Duke Rosenberg, on the other hand, sounded indifferent. Or rather, he seemed to be trying to appear so.
“Very well, Kyle Baldrick. I will stand with you and fight. I will stake the future of House Rosenberg and the fate of the north on you once more. Not on Duke Ehrenfeld.”
Sighs of relief broke out all around them at the Duke's declaration. Though diminished, House Rosenberg was the only house currently capable of opposing House Ehrenfeld. That was why Duke Ehrenfeld had promised such great benefits.
“Before that, I have one question.”
“Please, ask.”
“Two thousand is the limit of the troops I can currently mobilize. Excluding the minimum number needed to remain at the main castle, the actual number would be fifteen hundred.”
“That will be enough.”
“No, it will not. Duke Ehrenfeld has three thousand soldiers in Baldheim. Including the traitorous houses under him, he must have well over ten thousand... Do you have a good plan?”
Even with Duke Rosenberg's aid, their forces would only exceed six thousand. It was a considerable number for a single army that could currently be raised in the north, but Duke Ehrenfeld stood behind Baldheim's walls. There were also the forces of traitorous houses that would join him.
“We will leave tomorrow and march directly to Baldheim.”
Kyle shattered Duke Rosenberg's doubts without hesitation.
“The traitors will not have time to gather.”
“That would be true if you could take the walls as soon as you reach the capital. As you know, Baldheim's walls are over twenty meters high, and its gates are made of Lunarium. How do you intend to break through?”
“I have an ally.”
“Who?”
“The Count of the Royal Court of Ingrahim.”
The murmuring grew louder. It came from the knights standing behind the Duke and the Duke's key vassals seated at the table.
“The Count of the Royal Court of Ingrahim...”
The Duke trailed off and tapped the table.
“He will likely help you. But can you say for certain that he is alive? Baldheim has not merely been cut off from outside news. It has been sealed off.”
“He will be. If Duke Ehrenfeld is as I know him, he will be.”
“You are very certain. What if things go wrong?”
“Even if the Count is not there, Baldheim has one hundred thousand citizens who have not forgotten Hailen. Duke Ehrenfeld's three thousand soldiers will not be able to control an entire city rising like wildfire. In the worst case, I will step in myself.”
“Hah...”
Duke Rosenberg let out a sigh and looked around the room. Neither Kyle nor the other lords and Ash Knights who had joined him held the slightest doubt. More accurately, they seemed ready to calmly accept it even if things went wrong.
That was the oath they had made.
“One way or another, we will have an answer soon enough.”
Duke Rosenberg lifted his glass again and gave a small smile.
“Either you die, or Duke Ehrenfeld does.”
* * *
After the short dinner ended, Kyle returned to the room the Duke had given him. The large guest room had been neatly prepared, as though servants had been assigned to it in advance.
Kyle washed quickly and changed his clothes. Perhaps because he had done nothing but camp since leaving Falken Fortress, a proper bath made his body feel pleasantly heavy. When he left the bath, Kyle did not go straight to bed. Instead, he sat at the table by the window. Gentle moonlight fell across the table and stretched long through the room.
Perhaps my thoughts are too tangled. I cannot sleep.
Or perhaps it is because all preparations are finally complete.
From tomorrow onward, nothing will stand between us and Baldheim.
All that remains is...
Kyle was lost in thought, his weary eyes unfocused, when a quiet knock suddenly came from outside the room.
“...Hermann? Walter?”
“I knew you would still be awake.”
“See? I told you I was right.”
The visitors were none other than Hermann and Walter. Kyle stepped aside to let them in. The two looked around the room, carrying a bottle and three glasses in their hands. It was Selaine wine, a Federation specialty they had bought from a merchant at Falken Fortress before.
“What is this?”
Kyle asked uncertainly as the two confidently took seats at the table. Hermann replied in a more relaxed voice than usual.
“Alcohol.”
“That is not what I am asking.”
“Come on, have a drink. We have just enjoyed our last supper, and from tomorrow on, we will not get any rest.”
“...Are you making fun of me? You know I cannot drink.”
“That is exactly why I am saying it. It is not good to be so tense.”
Hermann opened the bottle. Walter set out three glasses and poured a little wine into each.
“Ugh.”
“How is it?”
“It is bitter.”
“Still does not taste good?”
“Yes. It still does not.”
“You still have not grown up, Kyle. Though we like that side of you too.”
Kyle gave a bitter smile as Hermann and Walter snickered. The glass in his hand shone white under the moonlight. The strong scent of grapes brushing his nose and the sharp tang of alcohol did not feel so unfamiliar at this moment.
“What will you do from here?”
Hermann asked after letting out a long sigh.
Still looking into his glass, Kyle answered.
“I will proceed as planned. Kill Duke Ehrenfeld and reclaim Baldheim.”
“...”
“Deal with the other traitorous lords. Receive oaths of loyalty from the remaining nobles. And then...”
Kyle looked at the sword leaning against the bedside table. Unlike his own, Yurian's sword bore elegant decorations, and its smooth sheen remained unchanged even now.
“We must hold a funeral for Yurian, who died alone in Baldheim. And for the others as well.”
“Yes. The prince will surely be glad.”
“How did Yurian die in the end?”
“Bravely, like the other members. I was the coward. I should have stayed too. Instead, I ran away, cowardly rationalizing that I had to plan for the future.”
Unlike Hermann, Walter's expression stiffened the moment Yurian was mentioned. Kyle could sense that Walter felt deep guilt over failing to protect Yurian. Kyle felt the same way.
Perhaps all of them did.
“I will not make the same mistake twice.”
Kyle murmured as though making a declaration to someone. Hermann and Walter followed the black eyes looking beyond the window and raised their gazes to the night sky.
“If summer returns once more.”
Things would be different then. At the very least, better than they were now. If ruined Hailen rose anew and joined the Federation and the south in pressuring the Empire. If the Emperor died and peace came to the continent. If the wish that had remained both his reason to live and a brand upon him came true.
Then perhaps he could send the past away with a smile.
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