Part 2 – Episode 31
Rue turned into a stone.
He turned into a stone after blocking Rein’s flames.
“Rue.”
There was no answer no matter how many times I called out to him.
‘Is he really that upset? Or is he in such a bad state that he can’t even speak…?’
Both were reasonable deductions, making it difficult to judge easily.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
“Ah. No, Ash. This is Rue. You’ll hurt him if you peck him with your beak.”
For now, I carefully put the stone in my bag and gently patted its surface from the outside.
[Mary Slough is the magician who developed traps.]
“Calm down. I’ll let you play as much as you want once we get to the capital, so be good for now.”
Ash, the world’s greatest bird, quietly accepted my suggestion.
The Imperial Guard standing beside me waiting for the train looked at me with curious eyes. That is to say, while their bodies were clearly facing the railway, their eyes kept darting over to me.
Yes, a dead man has returned alive and well. It wouldn’t be easy to maintain composure.
Soon, the train bound for the imperial capital, Ragel, arrived at the platform.
As I was about to board the train, the voice of the assassin-butler stopped me.
“I will return to Midwinterre, Master. I will see you there after you finish your business.”
When I looked at him unconvincingly, he whispered in my ear.
“Have you heard about the curse?”
“Yes.”
“I and some of the employees cannot leave the mansion. Thanks to the power of Rogue that we’ve borrowed, we can only leave the boundary for exactly 72 hours in a month. There’s not much time left, so I must return.”
A curse that prevents them leaving the mansion? The unexpected story momentarily stunned me.
“…Could it be that Rein’s curse?”
“Yes, you can hear the details from Elder Malcolm. I will contact him immediately and send him to the Imperial Capital. He was away from the mansion at that time, so he is free from the curse.”
I looked down at the butler assassin with a strange feeling.
‘It’s my fault.’
There was no denying it: this was definitely my fault.
Rein seemed quite knowledgeable about my past, so he must have gathered a considerable amount of information about the Weatherwoods family.
And he probably found out easily.
The fact that these people were now my family.
“I’ll save you.”
I got on the train, leaving the assassin-butler’s sincere cheers behind.
The seat on the train going up to Ragel was a VIP seat, just like the one on the way to Brisher.
True to its status as an aristocrat’s seat, even three men over 180cm tall could sit comfortably without much discomfort. Just the fact that the knees of the person sitting opposite me didn’t touch mine was very satisfying.
The atmosphere was strange.
Why was it strange? Because I had no thoughts, but the other three seemed to be thinking a lot.
Especially the young knight in front of me, who was fidgeting with his fingers.
“Um…”
He was trying his luck to speak anyway.
“How… are you alive?”
The knight sitting next to him nudged his waist lightly with his eyes fixed on the window, as if signaling him not to be too forward.
To lighten the stiff atmosphere, I answered casually.
“I met a god and begged to be saved.”
Ooh. The three young men burst into exclamations simultaneously. Even if they pretended not to be, the other two seemed quite curious as well.
“Did you really perish together with Mephisto?”
“He said he’d commit suicide together if he lost in a game of rock-paper-scissors three times in a row.”
“Hey, we may be young, but not young enough to fall for such a joke.”
Receiving the bright, eager gazes of the three young men all at once was somewhat burdensome. This time, the knight sitting next to the one across from me spoke up.
“I have a question as well! I’m talking about Archduke Hailo. Was she really very kind and warm-hearted in the past?”
“Archduke Hailo?”
“He means Princess Natashia. This guy has a real crush on Her Highness.”
“Ah, Natashia. She was a warm friend.”
The question about whether she was very kind and warm-hearted in the past… implied that she was now the opposite.
‘Natashia’s liveliness was unmatched… She was definitely the gentlest among us. Has she changed a lot? Well, it has been four years…’
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.
A cold-hearted Natashia, devoid of warmth… If we meet again, she’d probably scold me for not contacting her all this time… But I was also a victim…
“Um, Count Vladiev. Just one last thing…”
I nodded, feeling goosebumps at the unfamiliar title.
The knight sitting next to me cleared his throat quietly and cautiously began to speak.
“The guild master of the <Gray Spear> who was following you earlier. By any chance, did you subdue him and make him your servant?”
After finishing his question, he even swallowed dryly. Judging by the reactions of the three, this seemed to be the matter they were most curious about.
“Is Grayspear famous among the Imperial Guard as well?”
“What? Of course. Among the 100 heroes, only five are Penrotta nationals, and among them, Greyspear is the only one whose name wasn’t well-known.”
“He’s also a strong-willed individual who’s turned down sponsorship offers from high-ranking families several times. My family was one of those lined up before Grayspear.”
“Hey, you shouldn’t say that…”
So that’s how it is.
Looking at the assassin-butler’s track record so far, it seems that the Weatherwoods family’s mansion had transformed into the headquarters of the <Grayspear> guild under the judgment of the retainers.
It was probably because of Rein.
Given the curse, it seemed they joined the Penrotta Guild Alliance and rose in the rankings of the 100 heroes to draw attention to themselves and prevent Rein from threatening them recklessly.
“He’s our butler.”
“Yes?”
“I said butler. To be precise, a butler who’s an assassin.”
Assassin-butler for short.
The knights looked completely confused. Yes, what would they know? I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.
“I’m going to sleep. Don’t wake me up.”
“Yes.”
It was fortunate that the kids were well-behaved.
‘…Come to think of it, what is Jean doing these days?’
The last memory I have of Jean was her excited face right before we set out on our journey.
However, according to the ‘New Heroes Guidebook,’ Jean’s name was ranked 12th out of the 100 heroes.
<Jean the Swift Blade. One of the main figures who introduced the guild <Gray Spear> to the world. She has been with the Sword Elite Party, one of the elite parties that carries the hopes of the Contaninos Republic, for a year.>
What exactly is a party?
Since Jean seemed to be a member of <Gray Spear>, a party seemed to be a word with a completely different meaning from a guild. The term ‘elite’ attached to it made me think it might be similar to the military.
‘I should ask about this when I wake up.’
Time passed quickly, and the train arrived at the capital of the Penrotta Empire, Lagal.
And I forgot to ask about the party.
When we arrived at Ragel Station.
The station was much more chaotic and noisy than I remembered.
Damn it.
“Attention! Salute to Count Andert Vladiev, the hero who protected the Penrotta Empire and led the Magic Alliance to victory!”
A solemn trumpet sound echoed.
The magnificent sound of drums filled the station.
Against the backdrop of the blue sky, rainbow-colored fireworks exploded incessantly, and the cheers and applause of the people were even louder.
“The King’s Sword!”
“Fager!”
“Fager!”
“Andert Fager!”
This was the scene I saw as soon as I got off the train.
For the first time in my life, I felt hatred towards Natashia.
Had Natashia really become… such a heartless and cold magician?
I earnestly pleaded with the Imperial Guard standing behind me.
“Get me out of here.”
“The King’s Sword!”
However, the knights whispered with even more excited faces than mine.
“On our way here, a new knight announced your resurrection, Count.”
“Fager!”
“I said, get me out.”
“Aaaaaah! Andert Fager! You’re so handsome!”
“It seems that His Majesty the Emperor, as well as Archduke Hailo and Duke Raphael are waiting for you at the palace! Everyone is blessing your return to life, Count!”
This brat isn’t even pretending to listen to me.
[Courtship behavior is when an animal acts while seeking a mate for mating.]
“Long live Andert Fager!”
Thus, I became a bird trapped in a cage and was escorted away like a criminal.
LMAOOO I KNEW SHE WOULD HATE THIS
Natasha really knows how to punish a socially awkward person but I can’t say Daisy doesn’t deserve it
This is your reminder that for Daisy, the war ended merely an year ago. Everything’s fresh to her. I feel like she’s wishing she had really died in war than have to experience this LOLOL
Sorry for the loooooong wait. I’m currently in the process of moving out so it’s been hectic and I haven’t really had the time to translate. Hopefully I’ll be able to push out some more chapters this month tho. Of course, I have no intention of dropping this novel, so don’t worry.
Oh, on that note, my expenses have shot up drastically since starting uni, so any ko-fis are appreciated more than ever T-T. Trying to save for a new laptop (yes, I am still using my on-the-verge-of-dying laptop from way back when)
and yea that’s Ash randomly info dumping in the background. Don’t mind him.
Thank you for the update!
This chapter feels intentionally lighter than previous, as if to compensate. Ash random lines mix with novels unpredictable developments seamlessly too.