WeTried Translations
Translator: Hydrogen B
Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 198: The King's Return (7)
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Duke Ehrenfeld, reunited with Kyle after several years, looked little different from the past. The only difference was where the two now stood.
One stood with the lords who had not forgotten their old oaths.
The other held the empty throne and the capital in his grasp.
Facing each other across walls over twenty meters high, the two stared at one another without a word. In the suffocating silence, the wind howled bleakly.
Outside Baldheim and atop its towering walls, not a single voice could be heard among the gathering of well over ten thousand people. Only fluttering banners danced in the wind. Above Baldheim’s castle tower, once belonging to the royal family, Duke Ehrenfeld’s banner flew high.
In contrast, the area surrounding the castle was filled with the banners of various houses. They belonged to the lords who had sworn loyalty to Kyle. Among them were House Rosenberg’s climbing rose and the wolf of the Baldrick royal family. Some averted their eyes uneasily at the sight of the royal and ducal crests.
So the city doesn't consist only of the Duke's private soldiers.
Kyle looked up at the soldiers avoiding his gaze and murmured inwardly. It had been the same when he first arrived, but Baldheim’s garrison included not only the Duke’s three thousand private soldiers, but also troops who had guarded the capital from before.
“Kyle Baldrick. So you’re alive.”
Duke Ehrenfeld was the first to break the heavy silence. After glancing over the more than six thousand troops surrounding Baldheim, he looked down at Kyle and Hermann standing near the gates.
“What have you come all this way for?”
With his knights spread out on either side of him, Duke Ehrenfeld spoke confidently. Feeling the attention pouring in from every direction, Kyle opened his mouth.
“To reclaim what was lost.”
“What was lost? And what would that be?”
“As the rightful last heir of the Baldrick royal family, I have come to reclaim the empty throne.”
“Backed by lords you have beguiled with outdated values like loyalty and oaths?”
Duke Ehrenfeld sneered at Duke Rosenberg, who stood at the head of the army behind Kyle. There were also many loyalist houses led by House Haska, along with neutral lords.
“Unfortunately, you’re too late.”
Duke Ehrenfeld took them all in and clicked his tongue softly.
“The right time passed long ago. Can’t you see that the times have changed?”
“No, I’m not too late. Baldheim has not forgotten its thousand-year oath.”
“...And now you intend to act like its master? An outsider whose origins and status are unknown?”
Clear anger colored Duke Ehrenfeld’s voice.
“A loser who vanished without a word for four years dares speak of oaths!”
His voice rang out. For a moment, it overwhelmed all of Baldheim. The lords standing behind Kyle frowned in displeasure. In contrast, Duke Ehrenfeld’s knights remained calm. Rather, they glared contemptuously at the soldiers gathered beneath the Baldrick royal family’s banner.
“When Hailen was ravaged by the Empire, what did you and the royal family do?”
Duke Ehrenfeld pointed at Kyle for everyone to see.
“Who ignored the Empire’s demand to surrender in exchange for guaranteed interests, and kept sending soldiers into certain death until the very end?”
Hailen had not surrendered. Not until the capital fell.
“Have you ever considered the feelings of the bereaved families whose loved ones died on the battlefield day after day?”
Because of that, countless people had died. Men and women, young and old, commoners and nobles alike.
“And after all that, what remained? Honor buried in the ground? The remnants of a homeland that vanished into history? A royal line cut off?”
Pointing at Kyle, Duke Ehrenfeld spread both arms wide. The soldiers lined up on either side looked at their former comrades with complicated expressions.
“Listen, everyone! That man is an outsider whose status and origins are unknown. He is also a coward and a loser who abandoned the Ash Knights who died for him and fled. Do you think the north will return to what it once was if someone with nothing in his head but revenge against the Empire takes the throne now?”
The Duke shouted repeatedly, as if seeking agreement from those around him. The people atop the walls exchanged looks, then nodded faintly.
“It seems you did not read the letter sent in my name.”
“I read it. It simply wasn’t worth heeding.”
At Kyle’s words, Duke Ehrenfeld curled his lips in a sneer.
“Kneel.”
He jerked his chin at the ground directly in front of Kyle.
“The times have changed. The Baldrick royal family is no longer the master of Hailen.”
“...”
“So accept the new king, even if it is late. Do that, and I will allow you to retain your position as Commander. I will even permit you to use the old Baldrick royal family’s crest. Unlike you.”
Duke Ehrenfeld lifted his gaze toward those behind Kyle.
“The same goes for all of you who have been deceived by that loser’s silver tongue. If you kneel before me now and swear loyalty, I will forgive every act of treason you have committed. I will also guarantee you various privileges. I swear in my name that there will no longer be obligations without rights.”
His eyes passed over the lords and turned to the soldiers exhausted from their forced march.
“The same goes for the soldiers. You are merely innocent subjects, so when I ascend the throne, I will pardon every one of you. You will also be given a vast amount of Gold Coins in return for your loyalty to the royal family.”
The moment Duke Ehrenfeld finished speaking, murmurs rose from all around. It was the same among both the six thousand soldiers gathered under Kyle’s name and the garrison troops atop the walls.
If they did not fight. If they could end this peacefully without turning their blades on their former comrades.
“I’ve always wanted to rip out that tongue of his. As usual, he’s up to his tricks again.”
A low, chilling mutter came from directly behind Kyle. It was Hermann. Kyle glanced at his Deputy Commander, then turned his gaze back toward the walls.
“What will you do?”
Duke Ehrenfeld looked down at Kyle with the same gaze as before.
“Will you accept? Or will you once again drive your soldiers into certain death?”
“I’ll ask you instead. Open the gates now, come before me, and prostrate yourself. Then I’ll spare the lives of your entire family.”
“What?”
“You will have only this one chance. No soldiers will have to die. The heads of you and your knights will be enough.”
“Ha...”
Duke Ehrenfeld let out a hollow laugh. It soon turned into mockery.
“You’ve lost your mind, Kyle Baldrick.”
“...”
“I heard that curse made you unable to use mana properly. It seems your mind has gone bad as well. What do you plan to do if you refuse to recognize me as king? Take Baldheim by force? Climb these high walls?”
As the Duke openly mocked him, the knights beside him sneered as well.
“Do not misunderstand. I have the superior forces.”
He spat the words at Kyle.
“Baldheim is overflowing with food.”
“...”
“Time is on our side. The houses under my command will arrive one after another soon. It will not take long for the ground where you stand to become your grave. I look forward to seeing the Count of the Royal Court of Ingrahim’s face when he sees your severed head.”
Duke Ehrenfeld did not wait for Kyle’s response. Leaving those final words behind, he turned and left.
The ornate hem of his clothing fluttered faintly behind him as he departed. Kyle stood before the gates and watched it all silently. The banners on both sides still snapped fiercely in the wind. All that remained were thousands of soldiers on the vast plain and a thick silence.
* * *
“The soldiers are greatly shaken. At this rate, morale will fall.”
Inside the command tent after sunset, one loyalist lord spoke while standing.
The mood was poor not only inside the tent, but throughout the temporary encampment before Baldheim.
“We expected this, but the walls are far too high.”
“I did not realize they would seem so mountainous from the attacker’s side.”
“The gates also appear nearly impossible to breach by ordinary means.”
“The houses that betrayed us will likely gather soon. Would it not be better to prepare in advance?”
“Before that, the soldiers’ morale...”
Discussion of what lay ahead broke out everywhere. On Baldheim’s enormous walls, the garrison patrolled around the clock beneath burning torches. Knights and mages were among them. Without proper siege equipment or a corps of mages, there was no clear answer to breaching those iron walls.
“Enough. That is quite enough.”
Thump. Thump.
Duke Rosenberg, who had finally had enough, struck the long table in the command tent. The noisy gathering fell silent as a grave.
“That was not our original plan, was it?”
“...”
“We never intended to attack Baldheim’s walls head-on from the start. If what you say is true, that is. Is it not?”
Unlike the others, Duke Rosenberg looked toward the seat of honor with interest. Kyle sat there silently, looking down at the map on the table.
The complete map of the north showed the route they had taken so far. Starting from Falken Bridge and Falken Fortress in the southeast, which connected to the Federation, several neutral lords had joined them. Now that they had passed through Duke Rosenberg’s territory, only Baldheim remained, situated below the boundary line near the Caldra Mountains.
“This is actually for the best.”
“...”
“The fact that Duke Ehrenfeld openly urged us to surrender proves that he is desperate. We have also confirmed from his own mouth that the Count of the Royal Court of Ingrahim is alive. That leaves only one thing.”
Kyle raised his head and looked toward one side. Everyone in the tent turned their eyes there at once.
“Count Haska.”
“Yes.”
“What is the situation?”
“Now that they have confirmed the Commander is alive, they should be making their move soon without needing a signal.”
The underground prison beneath Baldheim’s inner castle. Ordinary people would hesitate even to approach it, but the disguised knights of House Haska serving under the Duke would be different. They possessed both detailed knowledge of the inner castle’s layout and formidable individual skill.
“We will act tonight. We will wait until midnight for the gates to open.”
Kyle had seen the Duke’s private soldiers and the original troops of the capital hesitating atop Baldheim’s walls.
“Our soldiers’ morale is not an issue either. They are shaken not because they revere or fear Duke Ehrenfeld, but by the very prospect of taking one another’s lives with those who were once their comrades.”
Duke Ehrenfeld did not control his people through overwhelming force or charisma. Rather, it was the opposite. Sweet words, vast amounts of Gold Coins, and sowing discord. That was how Duke Ehrenfeld had gained real power in the north after Hailen’s fall.
“Commander.”
“Speak.”
“What if the gates have not opened by midnight? If something goes wrong...”
One of the lords voiced a concern. Kyle answered as though it were nothing.
“I will step in.”
“You mean you will climb the walls yourself, Commander?”
“No. There are several underground passages secretly passed down through the royal family. They were made for slipping out from inside, so the reverse should be possible as well.”
Kyle looked at Hermann and Walter. The two Ash Knights silently nodded. There was more than one underground passage within Baldheim. Duke Ehrenfeld might have blocked most of them in advance, but he would not know of the final one, known only to members of the royal family.
“I will say this again. I do not want northerners to slaughter one another.”
Kyle rose from his seat and slowly looked around the gathering.
“A few ringleaders dying will be enough. Not innocent citizens and soldiers.”
In the end, only the Empire would remain. Unlike Duke Ehrenfeld, Kyle had personal reasons to kill the Emperor, as well as a duty inherited from comrades he could no longer see.
“I will end it all with my own hands. The beginning and the end.”
Kyle spoke as though repeating it to himself. Those gathered around him nodded as one.
Yurian’s sword at his waist gleamed faintly in the light of the Magic Stone Lamp. Kyle looked down at it, then gripped its hilt in a reverse grip. Before the city steeped in old memories, as though he were clasping the hand of his only friend with care.
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