WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 64: Dovan

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Dovan

Dovan stared blankly at the table.

‘Platinum...’

A platinum-colored rosary. Dovan knew very well what it meant.

“...So you were an Apostle of the Holy Kingdom.”

Dovan’s gaze turned to Rene and Vera.

Dovan knew. Among the Holy Kingdom’s Apostles, there was only one young girl like her.

“No, not merely an Apostle. I failed to recognize the Saintess herself.”

A dry laugh burst from Dovan’s lips with a Huff!

What was this? The identities of the guests, whom Dovan had merely thought unusual, were so shocking and unexpected that Dovan could not think of anything else.

Like anyone suddenly faced with an unexpected situation, Dovan could only wait blankly for Rene’s answer.

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t something I could speak of carelessly...”

“What is there to apologize for? It is only natural to keep the Saintess’s party concealed.”

Dovan shook their head, then adjusted their posture and bowed.

It did not matter that Rene was blind, that she could not receive such a greeting.

“I greet the Saintess. Please understand that I cannot kneel because of my condition.”

“Ah, no! You don’t have to go that far...”

“It is only proper courtesy. I am not such a scoundrel that I do not know who gave freedom to these hands of mine.”

A troubled expression came over Rene’s face.

“I didn’t do anything...”

“Considering what the name Saintess means, it is not something you need refuse. If it truly makes you uncomfortable, think of it as accepting my gratitude on His Holiness’s behalf and convey it to him later.”

Dovan raised their head.

At Rene’s earlier offer of help, made as she held out the rosary, Dovan let out a brief contemplative murmur.

Could they say this? Was it right to reveal their circumstances and ask for help?

As Dovan continued thinking, their gaze turned to Aisha.

Aisha was stiff with fear. She had clearly caused some trouble or committed some rudeness again. She was probably afraid of being scolded.

Dovan let out a weary laugh at the sight of Aisha before speaking.

“Aisha, could you prepare some tea for our guests?”

“Y-Yes!”

Aisha fled the room.

Dovan watched Aisha shut the door behind her with a Bang! and steeled themself.

‘...When a helping hand is offered, it is right to take it.’

If Dovan alone would suffer because of this, they would have refused the Saintess’s help. But Aisha was here with them. Dovan did not want that child to suffer the pain of loss twice.

“...It wasn’t something Aisha should hear, so I sent her away. Thank you for waiting.”

“Then...”

“If you are willing to help, I would gladly accept it. I don’t have much to offer in return, but...”

“No. I’m not asking for anything in return.”

Rene gave an awkward smile and waved her hands at Dovan’s words.

Then she continued.

This was the real question.

“So, I heard that army and other nobles have been making things difficult for you, Dovan. May I ask why?”

“Hmm, how should I explain this...?”

Dovan organized their thoughts, then asked a question.

“I ask just in case, but do you know why the Alliance of Kingdoms was formed?”

“Ah, yes. I understand that it was formed to maintain a balance between the powers and prevent someone like Haman from appearing again.”

“That is right. On the surface.”

A bitter expression crossed Dovan’s face.

“Then you must know this as well. Though they created an alliance, they are still tearing at each other.”

Rene flinched, her fingertips trembling, before she nodded.

Rene knew well about the beastfolk’s conflicts.

How could she not? When she had first been traveling toward the Holy Kingdom, the Alliance had been among those pursuing her.

They had sought her in order to end that struggle.

In the end, they had not reached her because of internal discord, but Rene understood well enough what they hoped to achieve by obtaining her.

Watching Rene’s expression darken, Dovan continued.

“What those five kingdoms desire is one thing. Unification accomplished by their own hands. And the title of Empire that would come with it.”

Dovan’s words were steeped in deep disgust. Rene felt it and nodded.

“That is why the war has continued for fifty years...”

“It has not ended. None of them are willing to yield, and none of them have legitimacy.”

Rene understood what that meant.

She had learned about the beastfolk’s disputes while studying the continent’s political situation.

“...Because they lack legitimacy.”

“That is right. The rulers of those kingdoms have no legitimacy. All the direct heirs of the original imperial family, the dynasty that ruled there before Haman took over the Empire, were killed. They have no grounds to claim the Empire.”

It was not a simple matter.

In beastfolk society, claiming the Empire without any legitimacy, trying to achieve unification through force, was an act that could never be tolerated.

There was only one reason.

Tiger King Haman had devoured the Empire in precisely that way.

Unification through force would mean repeating what Haman had done sixty years ago, when Haman alone stormed the imperial palace, massacred every member of the imperial family, and sat upon the imperial throne. That was why the beastfolk required legitimacy from anyone claiming the Empire.

Connecting what she knew with Dovan’s words, Rene spoke again.

“Is that why you are in trouble, Dovan?”

She could not understand the connection between Dovan’s concerns and the Alliance’s situation.

Dovan hesitated, lips moving soundlessly for a moment, before nodding.

What followed left Rene and Vera shocked.

“...That is right. I am the last surviving descendant of the former imperial family.”

* * *

The smithy’s backyard.

Rene sat blankly in a chair, reflecting on what she had just heard.

“I never imagined it. To think Dovan was...”

The last survivor of the fallen imperial family.

Vera nodded as he watched Rene, who could not bring herself to continue.

“Indeed. Even I could not have imagined this.”

Who could have known that the Empire’s bloodline remained?

Even Vera, who had turned back one life, could not have known this.

‘The Alliance of Kingdoms never achieved unification in my previous life.’

Until the moment it was destroyed by the Demon King’s rise six years later, Vera had never heard any talk of the imperial bloodline returning.

Vera looked toward the smithy.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal rang out as Dovan began working again.

Listening to it, Vera recalled Dovan’s final words.

-When Haman invaded the imperial palace, I was a baby, and I alone escaped. I lived at the edge of the Empire without knowing anything, only learning that I was an imperial descendant after I became an adult.

-I do not want to grant them the unification they desire. I do not want to take part in creating another Haman. Even if I chose one side and ended the war, I cannot believe peace would exist there.

-I would be content to live as the blacksmith Dovan, leave behind a masterpiece, and die. Yet their tyranny grows worse by the day, and I have no way to drive them away.

-I do not ask for much. Just one thing. Could you hold them back until I complete my masterpiece? After that, I wish to go somewhere far away and live quietly with Aisha.

The words were filled with bitterness, somehow desolate as well.

Vera expanded his thoughts, connecting Dovan’s circumstances with what had happened in his previous life.

‘The masterpiece is completed.’

However, Dovan’s wish would not come true. Dovan would ultimately die.

‘Aisha goes to the battlefield with the Demon Sword.’

Since Aisha had gone to the battlefield, since the sword in her hand had spewed resentment, it had to be so.

Vera did not know what choice Dovan had made here in Vera’s previous life, when neither Rene nor Vera had come here. But one thing was clear.

The result had not been good.

Ripples spread through Vera’s thoughts.

‘What should I do?’

All he knew was the final result. He needed to know the process to steer them away from it, but there was far too little information about that process.

The only clue was that the masterpiece’s nature had been resentment.

‘A masterpiece’s nature is determined by the karma engraved during its creation.’

There had to be an event that engraved resentment into that sword.

He had to find it.

As Vera considered why Dovan might bear resentment toward someone, he turned at the sound of someone approaching.

A small figure peeking out from behind a tree.

‘...Aisha Dragnov.’

Vera’s eyes narrowed.

‘If Dovan comes to resent someone...’

It would surely involve that ill-mannered brat.

* * *

Aisha slowly approached Rene and Vera with a tense expression.

‘A-apologize!’

She had to kneel and beg forgiveness. If she pretended not to notice and passed by, those Holy Kingdom people might harm her master.

...That was what Aisha thought.

In truth, no one had paid attention to Aisha’s words or behavior. But that was how a child’s worries were. Even the slightest guilt made anxiety bubble up inside them until their whole body twisted.

As Aisha crept closer through the trees, her eyes met Vera’s.

Her body jerked with a Jolt!

“If you have something to say, come here.”

At Vera’s words, Aisha grew tense all over again.

To Aisha, it sounded like, “If you don’t want to die, come kneel before me at once.”

Vera’s gaze was far too dark.

Aisha swallowed hard at Vera’s words. Her legs trembling, she approached Rene.

Rene spoke then.

“Aisha?”

“Uh... Yes?”

Aisha nearly spoke casually without thinking, then broke out in a cold sweat as she looked at Rene.

Her ears were folded back, and her puffed-up tail hung low.

In that tense moment, Rene smiled gently and asked,

“What is it?”

It was a kind question, but Aisha knew.

This Saintess with a hurting heart might suddenly change her expression and turn on her.

Aisha did not hesitate.

For her master, and for herself.

Aisha squeezed her eyes shut, dropped to her knees with a Thud!, bent forward, and shouted.

“S-sor... I beg your pardooon!!!”

It was a perfect, picture-book prostration.

“H-Huh?!”

Even as Rene’s startled voice escaped, Aisha’s full confession continued.

“I was wrong!!! I take back calling you a religious nut!!!”

Her voice began to tremble with tears.

Large tears rolled down Aisha’s cheeks as she tried to think of something else to apologize for.

“Th-theee...!”

She briefly wondered what else she should say, then remembered Rene’s earlier request and shouted again.

“I’ll keep it secret for the rest of my life that the Saintess cried!!! Cheating is bad...”

“Waaaaaah!”

Rene had a fit.

Without warning, Aisha had dug up one of Rene’s most embarrassing memories, and Rene reacted before she could stop herself.

A high-pitched cry burst from Aisha. Every hair on her body stood on end.

“Eeeek?!”

Vera, watching the scene from beside them, squeezed his eyes shut and looked away from Rene’s disgrace.

All the while, he thought to himself.

‘I did not see anything.’

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