WHCTC | Chapter 40

Northern Border Region.

Arthur was a large, muscular man with black hair and sunset-colored eyes.

He had just arrived near the former border with a massive knight order.

No other viscount in the Empire had such a large force. But this was the result of the mercenaries who had followed him 13 years ago becoming knights in a rush.

“Viscoooount!”

During a short break, while Arthur was stretching, one of his lieutenants came running.

“A message has arrived from the capital!”

It was a letter from Kayan.

Arthur beamed with delight.

“Oh my, how wonderful. It’s been so long since I’ve seen my son.”

Arthur, who was clearly a huge muscular man, had two peculiar traits.

The first was that he could only speak softly and politely in a gentle, composed tone.

No matter how much people tried to fix it from outside, it never changed. Even when asked why, Arthur couldn’t explain it, so eventually everyone just accepted it.

“Waaahhh! I’m so sorryyy! I’ll just slightly cut off your heaaad!”

But once anyone saw Arthur swinging his massive sword to slay monsters or barbarians…

There was really no need—or courage—to question him on anything.

Arthur pouted and took the letter.

“He should’ve just come with us until the end… Honestly, smart kids are too much sometimes.”

When they occupied the lands of the Ranchina tribe,

Arthur had secured the viscount title and was close to earning a countship.

But Kayan had chased after the escaped tribal chief.

Even though he was just a teenager, in terms of raw stats, he was far superior to Arthur. So he wasn’t too worried, but it was still a shame they had parted ways early when there was no real need.

“Is he doing well in the capital? I didn’t give him too much money in case he got scammed somewhere… Wait, how much did I give him?”

A year ago, Arthur had already known that life in the imperial palace wasn’t easy for Kayan.

He’d heard that Kayan couldn’t even learn the instrument he wanted because of his social status.

Out of pride, Kayan seemed to pretend he wasn’t interested, especially around Ivnoa.

“What was that instrument again? I’m sure I heard it a few times, but I can’t remember at all. Oh dear.”

And Arthur’s second trait was… he was a little too pure-minded.

To put it nicely: innocent. Honestly: not very bright.

“Wait… What was this letter about again? Ah! My son sent it, right?”

Then, as Arthur opened the letter—

“Oh my, oh my, oh myyyy?”

His eyes widened as he read the contents.

“Oh my goodness?”

Although it was supposedly from Kayan, it turned out the letter was written by Ivnoa.

Congratulations on receiving the viscount title! I heard you’re coming soon to be made a count?

I’m currently clinging onto Kayan at the manor, begging for forgiveness every day.

But don’t worry! I’m more than earning my keep.

It seemed Kayan had only let her stay, nothing more.

I feel ashamed before you, Viscount.

You trusted me and sent your son all the way to the palace, and I made him wear a sad face.

I imagine it must’ve hurt you, since you care so deeply for your son.

I’m sorry now, and I’ll apologize again when we meet.

Even if your heart doesn’t forgive me, I plan to keep apologizing for life.

And if it still doesn’t work, I’ll keep apologizing after I die. So please, try to forgive me.

That said, I do have something to tell you.

Would you mind listening for a moment?

If you don’t want to be humiliated in front of your son the moment you arrive, I think it’s best to follow my advice.

Arthur’s eyes widened again as he read the rest.

---

5. Ivnoa’s Secret

Everything was going according to plan.

The viscount’s manor was transforming day by day into something impressive.

“Ahahahaha! Everyone’s complexion looks much better too! Ahahahahaha!”

“Wasn’t that outfit from the tailor shop just pajamas? The actual uniform is both stylish and comfy!”

Even the clothes people wore had changed.

I took charge of Kayan’s education in culture, etiquette, and so on, while Connie handled the knight training. It was a perfect balance.

“E-E-E-Everyone, pay attention! T-T-Today we’ll learn how to fold a handkerchief!”

Every morning, Connie gathered the knights and gave them lessons.

“There’s a way to fold a handkerchief? I thought you just stuffed it in your pocket?”

“It’s too annoying to take out a handkerchief. Can’t I just wipe my hands on my sleeve?”

To them, it was all unfamiliar. But to be reborn, they had to be educated.

“S-S-Shut up and take out your handkerchiefs right noooowww!”

Connie had seemingly been reborn too.

She was the busiest person in the manor—managing everything from dishes to housekeeping, interior design, and even the exterior.

“Hey, Connie… Isn’t this too much work? Should we summon another maid from the palace?”

“No, Princess.”

But she seemed perfectly adapted.

“I’ve never had this much presence anywhere else… Please let me enjoy this sweetness just a little longer… It’ll all be over once we return to the palace.”

She was right. Once back in the imperial palace, Connie would have to live quietly again.

If word got out that I favored her too much, Simon would eliminate her first.

“But… you haven’t been sleeping well lately. And Princess, what’s this wound?”

“Don’t worry about it. I just scratched myself while sleeping.”

In truth, Connie was a loyal maid who genuinely worried about me.

She even noticed the small wound I made on the sole of my foot each night, which no one else had caught.

The reason I injured myself was simple.

This wasn’t the imperial palace, so I was feeding blood to the relic every night.

‘You never know, maybe it’ll grant me another miracle.’

But just as my brother said, no matter how much I wished, the relic no longer responded.

It seemed like the relic had only granted my wish to turn back time—and would do no more.

‘So maybe it wasn’t the relic, but just… me.’

In the end, I couldn’t rely on the relic anymore. I had to carve out my own future from here on.

Realistically, I couldn’t even keep Connie close when I was back at the palace.

‘At the very least, I need to take control of personnel decisions for my people.’

Currently, Simon held all the personnel authority over the Princess’s residence.

So I made another firm resolution.

Anyway, the day of my return to the palace was drawing near.

Even now, imperial spies were lurking around the viscount’s estate.

They were too far to notice the finer details, but they were monitoring me—checking if I was doing okay, if anything suspicious was happening.

‘Since there’s no response about the assassin, that must mean it hasn’t been discovered yet.’

Black magic was considered top priority for knight intervention.

If it had been discovered, the imperial palace would’ve immediately sent people.

Anyway, everything was going well.

I had sent instructions to Arthur, and received a letter back saying he would follow through.

‘Good thing I used a carrier hawk.’

Nobles in the capital usually used regular mail—it was fast enough.

But carrier hawks were a northern mercenary tradition.

And because of that, it was harder for Simon to trace.

‘I’ll survive using the very culture of northern mercenaries you looked down on, you bastard.’

And so, time passed…

“Today’s the day, right?”

“Yes, today.”

The date I had calculated using the palace knight rotation schedule had finally arrived.

“Let’s do our best today, just like when we used to hunt monsters.”

I confidently high-fived Kayan.

Today, I was going to make the name Barcklith known throughout the capital.

Very well. For now, enjoy your time with old friends.

Because once you return to the imperial palace, a brutal life will begin again.

Contrary to what that nosy “Mr. Anonymous” might think, I was living more fiercely now than ever.

One thing was certain.

Whether Mr. Anonymous was on my side, or Anna’s, or no one’s at all…

Once I returned to the imperial palace—he was in for a big surprise.

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