C23 - 24
Episode 23. Return (1)
“I found it! It’s over here!”
In the dim light of the dawning daybreak, those who heard the call gathered in one place, unable to close their mouths agape in astonishment.
Surrounded by knights, in the midst of the dew-laden shrubbery, lay an unfamiliar figure collapsed, seemingly unconscious.
Exactly 24 hours after disappearing by falling into the Blood River, Sian Berth, the youngest of the Duke Berth family, was discovered.
Considering his drenched attire from head to toe and his close proximity to the Blood River, it was presumed that after escaping the river, he had dragged himself here before becoming utterly exhausted and passing out.
Now, the only thing left to do was to confirm whether he was alive or dead.
-Swish
A high-ranking knight bent down to cradle the body, pressing an ear against the chest in search of a heartbeat.
In the surrounding silence, the knight concentrated all his senses on his hearing, searching for any faint hint of life’s breath.
-Thud.
“……!”
The distinct throb of a beating heart.
Breathing was evident, subtle but unmistakably present through the nose.
“He’s, he’s alive!”
To everyone around, it seemed nothing short of a miracle.
“From now on, we will transport Lord Sian to the rear. Be prepared for any unexpected attacks from demonic beasts!”
Having completed the search, ensuring safe passage was the next step.
No demonic beasts were encountered during the transport, and as a result, Sian’s body was safely returned to the rear without incident.
* * *
-Clump, clump
The urgent footsteps of Duke Berth echoed down the corridor.
He nodded in response to every bow from those he passed, though he had no time to focus on such formalities.
He stopped in front of a door, pushed past the saluting guards, and hurried into the room.
“Lord Sian of the Berth family, at your service, Father.”
As if expecting his arrival, the young man greeted him calmly.
It was the Duke’s son, Sian.
While Sian was indeed sitting up in bed, the mixture of emotions crossing the Duke’s face was complex.
The Duke calmed his excitement, approached Sian with steady steps, and asked:
“Are you alright?”
“I am focusing on my recovery. Considering how important matters at the front are, I apologize for causing you such great concern.”
The place where Sian was recuperating was a monastery in Belias, outside the border guardianship.
This location also served as a military hospital for knights wounded on the front lines. The Duke had already been informed through a messenger that Sian was in good condition.
“……”
The Duke had many questions, but no words came out.
Sian’s composure was chilling for a child who had just danced with death.
Instead of a ten-year-old boy, he seemed more like a veteran who had witnessed the horrors of war countless times.
“Do you remember what happened that day?”
“Son. I successfully evacuated the princess and eluded the trolls that pursued us, but, unfortunately, I encountered a formidable demonic beast, a Devil Dragon, near the Blood River. It seemed to recognize me as prey and captured me instantly, and I was powerless to resist.”
Sian’s response flowed as if he had rehearsed it.
The Duke continued his questioning.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“You’ve said even if caught by a dragon, if one keeps wits about, survival is possible. I clung to the desperate desire to live, attacking the dragon’s foot relentlessly in hopes of inflicting even a minor injury.”
Now, the Duke understood why the dragon had circled the area continuously.
Not only had Sian saved the princess but he had also stood unflinching against a Devil Dragon.
While a commendable feat, the Duke felt little joy.
“Since it has come to this, I won’t make excuses. Rather than save you, I prioritized defeating that Devil Dragon. Ultimately, the dragon fled, and you plummeted into the river and nearly met death, but I do not, not even once, regret my actions. I hope you understand why.”
“Actually, I see it as a natural decision. The primary goal here is to subjugate the demonic beasts, after all. Isn’t it that one must take care of their own life on the front lines?”
Sian remained unfazed until the end.
Could this really be the mindset of a mere ten-year-old child?
Despite being his flesh and blood, the Duke felt an inexplicable distance.
‘Wouldn’t it be alright for you to show just a little bit of childishness … ?’
It seemed like all of this had somehow stemmed from him.
The immense responsibility of the family creeds burdened not just him but his children as well.
Could the Duke’s own lack of paternal care have crafted such a prematurely mature child?
The Duke was unsettled.
“Regardless, I must recognize your heroism in safely protecting the princess. I am inclined to grant you a reward.”
“A reward?”
“Yes. If there is anything you desire, speak freely.”
Prompted by the offer of a reward, Sian pondered carefully.
What could someone who had narrowly escaped death possibly request in his current situation? The Duke couldn’t help but wonder.
“If so, may I make a request?”
“What is it? Speak.”
“Please do not send me back to the front because of this incident.”
Silence enveloped the room for nearly ten seconds.
While gazing silently at Sian, a myriad of thoughts fluttered through the Duke’s mind.
He realized, irrespective of his age, the boy was fully primed to uphold the family’s legacy.
Any traces of his youthful innocence, glimpsed briefly during fencing practice, were now entirely erased.
All that remained was to watch how much more he would grow.
The Duke spoke with a serene tone.
“I will grant your request. But understand that nothing changes. As always, you must protect yourself till the end.”
“I shall heed your words.”
Having finished his business, the Duke turned to leave. As he took a few steps, he glanced back at Sian once more.
A faint smile lingered on his face.
“I look forward to witnessing your endless growth.”
With that, the Duke left the room.
* * *
[You still haven’t come to your senses?]
“Why, what now?”
[After causing such a commotion, you plan to go back there?]
“What commotion? At most, I was merely swept away by the river and happened to venture to the demon world once.”
[Oh really? You were so confident that it would be thrilling even if a Demon King appeared, yet you trembled in fear upon meeting one—have you lost that memory due to the shock?]
“Did I? Perhaps I felt a thrill without realizing.”
[Enough! It’s already remarkable that a child like you returned alive.]
Keram’s teasing was deftly shrugged off, and she sighed as if exhausted.
Sian had walked back from the demon world for half a day to reach the front.
Upon sensing the search party, he positioned himself to be naturally discovered.
If Sian had not been found by then, he heard that the Duke had given preemptive orders to declare him dead—understandable given the slim chance of survival with his diminutive stature.
Extending the dangerous search when dealing with unnecessary circumstances would not have been prudent, so elevating the leader’s decision as the best course of action seemed fitting.
Truthfully, even Sian was bewildered as to how he managed to return.
[Is that guy really a Demon King? The Demon King you fought, was he truly that trivial?]
That remained an unresolved question.
Sian knew the Belkarion he was familiar with—a deeply cruel and ruthless incarnation of evil without an ounce of compassion. However, the demon he encountered that day seemed no less foolish and senseless than Emily had been.
Regardless of whether it was a demon or not, people didn’t change in an instant.
Sian had a hunch that something significant had transpired in the demon world which he had overlooked in his past life.
Possessing knowledge of the future as if it were a separate world was not something he could ignore.
For now, he had established a “life insurance” of sorts through a deal—though immediate action wasn’t possible, it was something to consider over time.
[Hm?]
Suddenly, Keram glanced towards the door.
Simultaneously, hasty yet restrained footsteps approached from the other side.
[Ho~?]
“What? What’s with that laugh?”
An unsettling sensation surged within him at the unexpected mischievous smile.
[It’s good that you have many people who worry about you~]
“What?”
[So please, try not to be too grumpy with them. Getting on the wrong side of a woman can be like sinking into a bottomless swamp. I’m off to sleep~]
Leaving behind baffling words, Keram vanished into the sword like a wisp of mist.
-Knock, knock
A moment later, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Carefully, the door opened a crack, revealing the happy face of Emily.
“Wow, milord! You really are alive?”
Not a ‘glad you’re alive,’ but ‘you’re alive?’ What sort of reaction was that?
“I knew it would be like this! While others were clicking their tongues, certain you were dead, I believed without a doubt that you’d return in perfect health! See, I was right?”
She rushed over and hugged him tightly, but somehow, the gesture lacked heartfelt emotion.
While grateful that she was the only one who believed in him, he couldn’t help but feel the situation was awkward.
Emily wasn’t the only visitor.
Hovering uncertainly at the open door was another guest, Princess Arin.
When their eyes met, she flinched in surprise, then mustered her courage to approach.
“I’m, I’m glad you’re alive.”
“I am relieved to see that you, as well, have evacuated safely.”
Her demeanor was as hesitant as ever.
Not only for life’s reassurance, it seemed she had something else she wanted to say.
Emily’s glance shifted surreptitiously, and with an unfathomable gesture of encouragement, she swiftly exited the scene, leaving just the two of them behind.
“Your maid is quite extraordinary. No one else thought you were alive… It was clear how much she believes in you.”
Would anyone actually say that after living together?
For the time being, he remained silent.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Oddly enough, I am quite unscathed, perhaps by a stroke of good fortune.”
“Th-that’s good to hear……”
Expectedly, silence followed again.
“If you are thinking of apologizing, you needn’t.”
“Eh? Wh-why?”
“Because it is not something you need to apologize for. The emergence of demonic beasts isn’t your fault, is it?”
“That may be so, but if I hadn’t come to you that day, you wouldn’t have…”
“Then you shouldn’t have come to the front lines in the first place. The root of the problem is demonic beasts, not your actions. Please don’t speak of this any further.”
She reluctantly nodded her head.
Having dismissed the trivial chatter, it was time to broach the main subject.
“That day, you told me to become the emperor… What did you mean by that?”
Her voice dropped suddenly.
Sian lowered his tone as well, whispering softly.
“I meant exactly what I said. If you genuinely wish to contribute to the empire as a member of the imperial family, I suggest becoming the emperor and truly making a difference.”
“Do you think it’s possible for me?”
“That is for you, Princess, to decide. I merely provide direction. I am not a kingmaker with the power to make you an emperor.”
Disappointed by the unexpected answer, the princess once again silently gazed into Sian’s face.
“…Can’t you help me?”
She apparently didn’t understand.
“What power do you think I possess? I am but a scion of a duke’s house.”
“That’s not true! You have exceptional insight and talent, don’t you? If you were by my side, I believe I could make far greater progress than now!”
Determination shone in the princess’s eyes.
Then, she finally revealed her true reason for visiting.
“Would you become my person?”
-------------------------
Episode 24: Return (2)
“No.”
Refusal came in one resolute word simultaneous with the proposal.
It was so swift it made my somewhat meaningful comment seem embarrassing.
Perhaps angered by my immediate response, the princess’s face flushed red.
“Why, why not!?”
“Do you not know the reason better than anyone, Your Highness?”
Without needing any grand reasoning, this one line silenced the princess.
“That makes sense. I have no power of my own…”
To become someone’s person is like grasping an unstable rope.
If the rope is strong and durable, one can climb to the skies; but if it’s old and frayed, it will snap before long, plummeting one down.
Though a member of the imperial family, the orphan princess had no power or backing – a freshly twisted, fragile rope.
Besides, I had vowed to live this life for myself—I had no intention of becoming someone’s person, not even as much as the dirt under my nails.
She didn’t say any more, only bowed her head in silence.
If she truly wanted me, she should have come up with a fitting proposal instead of hastily begging for it.
Though I had jokingly told her to become the emperor, the reality of a powerless princess ascending to the throne was as likely as her four siblings dying all at once.
This is why I preferred to remain uninvolved…
Her clenched fists revealed her frustration.
However, this did not mean I had completely cast her from my mind.
Now that I knew she was under the scrutiny of that devil…
“Then, may I ask for some time?”
“Time?”
“You currently have nothing, Your Highness. No power to protect yourself, no backing, nothing. That is the biggest reason I cannot be ‘your person.’ Becoming bound to a princess in this powerless state is far too great a risk, isn’t it?”
“That’s true… You’re right.”
The princess nodded as if conceding the point.
“Yet, one of the things that should never be underestimated in this world is human potential. Who’s to say how much you might have changed in a year, three years, or ten years? Since I am not currently thinking of serving anyone, I can certainly afford to watch Your Highness grow.”
“Watching me?”
“Yes. Though the time is indefinite, if the day comes when I wish to truly serve you as my sovereign, then I will reach out my hand to you. If that is acceptable, may I ask for your patience?”
On the surface, it seemed like I was asking for time, but in reality, I was giving her time.
In other words, ‘if you want me, prove your worth by growing stronger.’
It didn’t take long for her to understand what I meant.
“So I have to grow strong enough to earn your recognition?”
I responded in silence.
“I see. I’m not sure if I can meet your expectations, but I will try. And when the day comes that I am fit to be an emperor, I will speak to you again! I will ask you to become my person!”
It all depended on her, as I’ve said time and again.
Even if she someday became capable of being an empress, whether I would stand by her side was uncertain.
But for now, the orphan princess’s face held a clearer resolve than ever before.
Having finished her business, she rose to leave.
“We’ll see each other in a year at the Royal Academy, won’t we? I hope you stay well until then. You’re tenacious, as your maid described, so you’re unlikely to die easily!”
“……I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Her earlier cowed appearance was gone; now, she regained her composure.
As the princess moved towards the door, she looked back one more time.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Speak your mind.”
After a brief pause, she asked with a soft smile.
“What do you want to live for?”
I didn’t reply immediately to the unexpected question.
“Ever since I first saw you, I felt that like me, you have a clear goal. If it’s not too much trouble, can you share it?”
It wasn’t a problem to tell her.
After all, my current life wasn’t for anyone else.
Ever since my first death and my second chance at life, I have only pursued one thing.
“I will live for myself.”
* * *
Ten months had passed since the emperor’s circuit tour.
The dry season gave way to a bitter winter with swirling snowflakes.
While the snowy veil over the stark gorge was indeed beautiful, looks can be deceiving.
After all, beneath that white blanket lay a horrific curtain of blood…
“Heave-ho!”
Somewhere on the outskirts of the rear camp.
A man wrapped in a white cloak hurried toward an unknown destination.
He soon arrived in the middle of a deserted forest.
After ensuring he was alone, he sat on the ground and took out an item.
It was a small transparent cube with the appearance slightly larger than a palm.
– Ping!
He directed a small concentration of mana at the cube, and with a short flash, a tiny dimensional gate opened.
“Not much time left…”
Pleased with what he saw inside, the man reached into the cube for its contents.
Just then,
“Freeze.”
A chilling voice cut through the air, halting all his senses.
“This… What is this?”
-Crunch, crunch.
The sound of footsteps crushing thick snow approached.
Exactly five steps behind the man, the presence of an unfamiliar entity could be felt, carrying a strange aura.
Although he wanted to see what it was, his stiff neck refused to turn.
“Dimensional box, eh… It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these artifacts. Or is it not yet mass-produced at this time?”
“……!”
“A high-grade artifact that uses a space within dimensions created by magical power to store potentially infinite items. Wasn’t it a masterpiece made by the Garam Kingdom’s Magic Society?”
The footsteps drew nearer while the owner of the voice continued to speak.
“During the past year, I kept an eye on how they stored and transported these items out of the front lines. The supply cart that comes every quarter, could someone inside be an informant?”
The unfamiliar figure finally picked up the artifact from the man’s hand.
“If valuable items were hidden not in plain sight but in a special dimensional space known only by a few, and one such person was present in this front-line region?”
A chilling mist obscured the man’s vision.
Though he couldn’t see clearly through the mist, he could sense overwhelming malice.
After the haze lifted, a figure appeared unscathed—Siân Bert.
Holding a crimson dagger, with blood dripping from below.
“A bumptious fellow like you really doesn’t burn well. I might have to deal with the insiders who helped you if things get worse.”
Alone with Siân, the man felt why he had appeared here didn’t matter anymore.
This child may be extraordinary, but after all, he is inexperienced in real combat.
The man calculated he just needed to move quickly and leave this place.
-Swish
As his frozen fingers began to move, Siân rummaged through the scattered corpses, apparently distracted by the grim spectacle.
The man secretly gathered mana under his fingertips and chanted.
“Hell’s flames shall engulf everything!”
-Whoosh
With the incantation, a surge of fiery blaze shot up.
It was ‘Inferno Flame,’ a seventh-tier fire-spell that engulfed Siân in a monstrous fiery maw.
The scorching flames made the snowy terrain irrelevant.
It seemed impossible for any human, let alone a higher demon’s corpse, to withstand such heat.
Convinced of his success, the man relaxed.
-Skrrk
That’s when the peculiar sound caught him off guard.
His eyes trembled as they shifted to his left hand.
Through the blurry heat haze, the expected sight was gone.
Instead, trails of red seeped downwards, and a strange pain registered.
Seeing his left wrist pouring blood without its hand attached, he screamed.
Wreathed in the consuming blaze, instead of smoke, a black mist rose from within.
-Whisk
The small mist expanded enough to swallow the infernal flames.
“Black mist?”
The man desperately hoped that what he saw was not the dark element he anticipated.
This was not a natural phenomenon nor a human-made magical creation.
It was the vile power worshiped by the followers of a god-like being.
In disbelief, the man watched the flames die down, revealing Siân, unharmed and gripping a blood-stained dagger.
“You shouldn’t have underestimated us. Now, it all depends on your actions. If you want to suffer less, forsake your pride and confess everything.”
The figure before the man exuded the presence of a ruthless assassin, no longer just a boy.
The man, realizing death was upon him, opened his mouth intending to bite his tongue.
“Ugh!”
But his attempt was swiftly resisted by an unfathomably strong grip.
“This is why your kind are called dogmatic, protecting worthless gods at the expense of your own life…”
Siân’s tone grew grave with displeasure.
The man, overpowered by the young hand, felt his options and time running out.
His despairing mind understood that his final moment had come.
Resolved, he mouthed to endure the agony, to bite down on his tongue anyway.
(To be continued)