Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Gotta Push Through (2)
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This was already the third day wandering through this forest.
The Parean Forest was as vast as an average barony, but at my usual pace, I should have passed through it by now.
“Let’s take a short break.”
Having put some distance between us and the pursuers, I set Lordr down beneath a tree trunk blooming profusely with plum blossoms.
“Cough, cough!”
Lordr coughed as if he were about to hack up a lung.
His condition had deteriorated from the relentless pursuit over the past three days.
We’d minimized clashes with the enemy, but even just being carried on my back was taking a toll on his stamina.
It was only natural.
He hadn’t eaten proper meals or gotten any real sleep.
The enemies gave us no chance to rest properly, hounding us without mercy. Even when we shook them off, they stuck to us like ghosts, forcing us to weave through the forest in zigzags like a winding river instead of breaking straight through their defensive lines.
Damn bastards.
Still, I’d managed to carve out moments like this for brief rests and meals.
After all, the key was his stamina.
If he recovered even a little energy, we could smash through this encirclement in one go.
But strangely, his energy wasn’t recovering at all.
“Are you okay?”
“...Hoo, I’m fine.”
His face pale as a sheet, he managed a faint smile.
If anything, he looked worse than when we’d first met.
I’d been feeding him well and, whenever I could, pumping internal energy into his Chugung acupoint, yet his body grew weaker with time.
Normally, even someone on the brink of death would rally a bit with this treatment.
But he showed no signs of recovery whatsoever.
As if something inside him was devouring him.
Yet as no doctor, I couldn’t pinpoint the cause.
This vicious cycle was making me more cautious with every passing moment.
“It’s strange. Even a dying man should regain some energy with qi infused into the Chugung acupoint. You’ll probably need a doctor. Is there anywhere that hurts?”
“No particular pain. Guess it’s just my time to go.”
“We’ve bought some time, so rest well for now.”
With great effort, he nodded and leaned against the tree trunk.
I’d strained myself to create this breathing room, so his body must have suffered for it.
But there was no choice.
The edge of the forest was drawing near.
Once we hit the plains, there’d be nowhere to hide from the enemy. I planned to settle things there one way or another, so he needed to be in fighting shape.
He looked up at me with a weary expression.
“You’re even more impressive the more I see you. Are Sword Masters not human? How can a person become that strong?”
It was genuine admiration.
He’d gotten a full taste of my prowess over the past three days. But I was starting to tire as well.
Caring for a frail old man, carrying him on my back as we ran—no real rest for me either.
My body, reforged through marrow cleansing, far exceeded human limits, but I was still human.
It had been a while since I’d felt this worn out.
This must be their strategy.
Not that it mattered much.
Lordr let out a long breath and spoke.
“My heart feels heavy.”
“Not this again.”
I shot him a displeased look.
“This time it’s not about leaving me behind.”
“Good. I was starting to think you’d hurt your head with all the repetition.”
“Heh heh heh.”
He chuckled at my pouty attitude, then ended with a bitter smile.
His gaze drifted to bygone days.
“...Just. Seeing you makes me resent the heavens. If only you’d been with us back then, so many wouldn’t have suffered like this. The skies are truly indifferent.”
What he lamented wasn’t the past.
It was the pain the people were enduring now.
His self-deprecating voice always carried a heavy burden of responsibility.
Lordr believed the hellish ten years in Francia were all his fault.
He’d held such a high position, and the power he wielded demanded an equal weight of accountability.
Wasn’t that why I’d crossed over from one life to this one and ended up in this mess?
But the responsibility on his shoulders might be even heavier than that of the crown prince I once was.
He’d actually led the realm back then.
Watching him, I suddenly asked,
“What kind of country did you dream of?”
I’d once stumbled upon him debating with my father.
The scene had shocked me so much it was still vivid in my memory.
He’d been pointing accusingly and shouting at my father, who’d seemed like a god to me then—the stern king.
I’d rubbed my eyes in disbelief.
But it wasn’t a one-off.
I’d seen him grab my father by the collar and yell another time.
And once, those two who couldn’t stand each other had been arm in arm, laughing heartily.
Their rapport was far too casual for king and subject.
I hadn’t caught their exact words, but I knew they were talking about the kingdom.
Spending time with him now stirred up memories of my father.
He chuckled at my question and replied,
“What kind of country? It’s been ages since anyone asked that. Ages since I’ve thought about it myself. Makes me think of those who’ve gone far ahead long ago. That bastard’s probably resting easy in the afterlife now.”
“Who’s that bastard?”
I asked, though I suspected.
He stuck out his lips and said,
“Who else? Pedric Kuhn Francia.”
Just as I’d guessed—the father.
“The country we dreamed of seems idealistic now. We just wanted as many people as possible to be happy.”
His words reminded me of myself and Lucian.
Father and son, cut from the same cloth.
“Grown men thinking like kids.”
“Yeah, childish dreams. Building a nation for the people is no easy task. You’d have to take the wealth and power hoarded by fat nobles and share it with the masses. Funny part? We—the ones pushing it—were the fattest nobles in Francia.”
I understood what he meant.
Their reforms, simply put: redistribute wealth and power from the elite few to the people.
But if led by those at the pinnacle of power?
Could such policies gain legitimacy and noble support?
Impossible.
The nobles would see it as the king and prime minister weakening them under the guise of populism.
What if those leaders surrendered their own power and wealth first?
They’d lose the very strength to enact the reforms.
“So what do you do?”
“Play politics. Give them some flesh, take their bones. Clash, persuade, compromise—chip away at what we want. But we hit a wall. Reality’s limits, you could say. That’s when we realized: the top dogs can’t change the world. Not even the smartest few.”
I grinned.
One guy’s words came to mind.
“If the king’s clean, will the world change? If nobles are clean? Life improves, sure. But no real revolution. Just happiness and misery divided in the same old frame. That’s an unstable system. History proves it. Old dynasties rot inevitably.”
“So what do you do?”
“What do you think?”
“The people have to do it.”
I said it, but it wasn’t my answer.
It was Lucian’s. What he’d told me.
I’d just pulled it out.
“That’s right!”
He lit up, eyes gleaming in agreement.
His eyes, alive for the first time in ages, sparkled like stars.
Looking into them, I recalled the night sky Lucian and I had watched in the merchant group’s small garden.
Why was that?
Two men I’d never met felt connected as one.
Their ideals from different eras wove into a single tale.
They wanted reform starting from the people.
For true change, it had to rise from below.
A king’s power had limits, as Lordr said.
Funny thing.
That the frail masses could do what even the king above all couldn’t.
He rambled excitedly about it.
Watching him, I felt true vitality from him for the first time.
As if the dying man had never existed.
After listening for a while, I asked,
“What was the king like?”
It hit me suddenly.
What the hazy memory-father had been to him.
Lordr snorted, twisting his lips.
“A weakling. All he could do was brag about his son. But I’ll say this: serving him was the greatest fortune of my life. Where do you find a king who weeps for his people? One who collars his prime minister and trades punches for them? A true weak, foolish king. That’s why meeting him was my lifelong stroke of luck.”
Lordr’s eyes, misty with emotion, swirled with feelings.
Mine, reflected in them, were the same.
Seeing him kept bringing father to mind.
Even after another life and these years, “father” resonated deeply.
Lordr continued,
“If war hadn’t broken out, we could’ve left you a better country. I always wonder: what would Francia have been without it? What would our nation have looked like? Never reaching the end haunts me... Just ramblings from an old man who’s lived his life. The delusions of a senile fool.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“True. You’re still here. That’s a blessing—and a curse. No face to show.”
“No, Lordr. You have to serve the country again.”
“Me? This worn-out old husk? Breathing’s a chore now.”
“Can’t believe that after your eyes burned with passion just now talking about your dream country.”
Moments ago, speaking of his ideal nation, his eyes had sparkled like Lucian’s.
The nation he wanted to build still stood vivid in his heart.
“You still want to build it. You’re dreaming of a new Francia right now.”
“...”
“You want to live passionately one more time.”
He stared, then shook his head in defeat.
“...Damn brat. Praising me shakes this old heart? Fine, what now, punk?”
“Independence.”
I met his gaze.
“We can do it. I’m here now, unlike before. At 62, you’ve got at least ten more years, right?”
“Hey! If you’re living, make it twenty! Countries don’t flip overnight!”
He bellowed, blue veins bulging like in his prime.
Just like the old days.
Greedy old man.
I’d known his ambitions were huge.
I smirked and said,
“So stick tight to my back. I’ll get you past your allotted lifespan.”
“Yeah, punk. I beg you. I’m old, but my mind’s sharp. Gotta atone for passing you this mess of a country.”
He said it half-jokingly, but I knew he meant it.
He still loved Francia.
Empathizing with his regret, I thought of it.
Francia.
The land with a king who’d gladly let his prime minister grab his collar for the people.
The land with a prime minister who’d grab the king’s collar for the people.
What if it had lasted longer?
If no war had come, as he said.
If their will and ideals had reached me and Lucian.
Could we have built the Francia we wanted?
...Damn.
Chatting with the old man had me lost in sentiment.
The fire in his chest had spread to mine.
My heart pounded.
A deep, intense throb beyond what my previous life should hold.
That life was coloring this one more vividly, I felt.
The weight of emotion for Francia grew heavier.
Naturally.
Since returning, I’d lived for its independence.
Witnessing their pain firsthand.
Emotions couldn’t help but deepen.
Just like back then in my previous life...
Before I knew it, Francia’s independence had transcended a past-life duty, becoming my new mission.
Damn.
Not entirely welcome.
Gruffly, to the man stirring such feelings in me, I said,
“Give me your wrist.”
Time to infuse qi, as always.
“You need to stay healthy and live long for all that.”
I grasped his twig-thin wrist and sent in qi.
That’s when I felt resistance in his body.
Something foreign, never there before, lurked inside him.
What?
Unease rising, I probed the energy carefully.
Then let out a short groan.
“Hmm.”
Only then did I understand why he was wasting away.
Something unknown in his body was gnawing at his frail form.