Chapter 56
Chapter: 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 056
>Chapter Title: Clanos (8)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
At the age of eighteen, Masain graduated from the academy.
His entry into aura had come far later than his peers, giving him some trouble, but fortunately, he managed to succeed just barely before graduation, allowing him to pass the imperial knight selection exam.
The reason he struggled at the end was partly due to his uncle, the Holy Emperor. The man had tried to help his nephew with vague, cloud-grasping explanations for a while.
"Before perceiving aura, you must first understand the vast emptiness of this world."
"Upon that emptiness stands the conception, and thereafter aura manifests—this is the principle that aura follows where the mind goes."
"It's not about infusing the mind into aura to move it. When the conception takes the form of an image, aura naturally follows that image."
There was a limit even to such nonsensical ramblings.
Eventually, the usually mild-mannered Masain lost his temper—a rare occurrence.
"Uncle, you should never try teaching anyone again!"
"......"
The Holy Emperor visibly deflated.
Fortunately, he was able to provide crucial help at the very end. After days of contemplation, he came up with the radical idea of directly channeling aura into his nephew's body to let him feel the movements.
Surprisingly, it proved extremely effective, propelling Masain in one leap to a level that even those who had trained in aura for years struggled to attain.
Though a late bloomer, once he grasped the feel for aura, his proficiency in wielding it skyrocketed. With his already exceptional swordsmanship, he quickly rose to the top among the new recruits.
Masain entered the Blue Rose Palace for the first time in his formal Royal Guard uniform, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"Wow! Brother! You said you were coming to work here starting today—is it really true?"
Mores, who had been running around the garden draped in a red cloth, spotted him and came dashing over with a beaming smile.
The boy no longer jumped from high places like he used to, but lately, he had become obsessed with that red tapestry.
It was an old decorative cloth stashed in a corner of the warehouse, quite antique with embroidery depicting the first Holy Emperor's battle against the demonkin. It was grubby and moth-eaten now, looking utterly hideous.
From some point on, Mores had taken to wearing the tapestry like a cape around his neck. He never took it off, even refusing to let it be washed. He even clutched it while sleeping, so who could stop him?
Empress Consort Elizabeth shuddered in disgust, but her hysterics weren't enough to break the boy's stubbornness.
"I greet Your Highness, Prince Mores."
Masain bowed as politely as any other knight, prompting Mores to ask with a puzzled look.
"Why are you suddenly talking like that?"
"Because I'm now an official knight drawing pay from the imperial house. I intend to remember my place."
"Hm?"
Mores tilted his head. It was a bit hard for a boy who had just turned five to understand.
But figuring he was just going to play knight from now on, the child grinned widely and grabbed Masain's sleeve.
"You're not going back to the academy anymore and will stay here with us from now on, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
Hehe. As Mores dangled from his arm laughing, another child slowly walked out from deeper inside the Blue Rose Palace.
"I sincerely congratulate you on your official appointment, Brother."
It was the 1st Crown Prince Logan, not yet six years old but already carrying himself with remarkable poise.
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Logan."
"Er......"
Logan seemed a bit flustered by Masain's response, but soon smiled faintly as if realizing something. Perhaps because of his slightly drooping eyes like water droplets, his smile sometimes looked oddly melancholic, beyond his years.
"Now I can see you every day in the imperial palace starting today?"
"If there are no other official duties with the knight order, that will be the case."
"That's wonderful. Father will be pleased too."
Logan smiled warmly, then his eyes widened at Masain's waist. An unfamiliar sword dangled from his belt.
The boy's eyes narrowed.
"...That sword?"
Ah. Masain glanced down at his new blade and gave an awkward smile.
"It's a sword bestowed by His Majesty. A bit too grand for a graduation gift, though."
On the day of his academy graduation, the Holy Emperor had sent Masain a sword via the chief chamberlain.
It was a longsword on the longer, thicker side, with some weight to it—perfect for Masain, who had grown into a sturdy build taller than most. And its shape felt somewhat familiar to him too.
Somehow, the new sword evoked the imperial family's famed sword.
The noble sword Misratis.
The sword of [Oath], passed down to crown princes through generations.
Famed as a blade that never dulled even after cleaving a thousand necks, it had been in the possession of the previous 1st Crown Prince Cameron during the last Holy Emperor's reign. Now that he was dead, it was stored away safely in the palace warehouse.
Masain had seen his father wear it a few times; he remembered it as an exquisitely ornate sword gleaming with intricate gold engravings.
This sword resembled Misratis in form. Unlike the imperial blade, it lacked elaborate decorations, with a plain guard and pommel overall.
Still, its subtle golden sheen gave it a luxurious air. Masain guessed it was a practical sword modeled after the noble sword's excellent balance.
But Logan, staring blankly at it, said something cryptic.
"Father must cherish you greatly, Brother."
"......?"
Masain blinked in confusion at Logan's enigmatic smile.
Of course, had Masain known what was happening in the Holy Emperor's office right then, he never would have carried that sword so carefree.
"Instead! Instead, why not just give him Misratis!"
Cardinal Benitus clutched his neck, while Dean Armand of the Theological Academy wailed like a madman.
The Holy Emperor replied with a somewhat sullen expression.
"Misratis symbolizes ambition for the crown prince's seat. I have no intention of putting that child—who barely survived becoming Clanos—back in the crosshairs."
"But even so! Even so......!"
"Besides, what use is a sword weighed down with all that gaudy ornamentation?"
"Then at least one of the other practical noble swords......!"
"Well, might as well use something good. They'll all wear out and break eventually anyway—better to get some use out of them first."
Urk. Dean Armand foamed at the mouth and collapsed backward, while Cardinal Benitus gripped his forehead and cried out in anguish.
"Your Majesty! What do you take sacred relics for!"
Indeed.
The sword Masain received was none other than the noble sword Misra—the original upon which Misratis was based. The sword of [Promise], and one of the few weapons officially recognized as a sacred relic in the Holy Empire.
Its importance far surpassed Misratis.
Yet even the Holy Emperor who so readily handed it over could not have foreseen it then.
That his nephew would seal the sword away in storage not long after, never to draw it again for over a decade.
* * *
Over a decade passed, and the once clumsy young knight had become a full-fledged Royal Guard captain. Masain now was even older than his uncle had been when he first took him out from the gateway fortress.
And now, he stood gripping that very sword he had always admired.
-This sword's name is Walnut Cracker. A perfect fit for its purpose, isn't it?
He should have told his uncle back then how terrible his naming sense was.
Masain let out a chuckle and gripped the handle, lighter and slimmer than his usual sword.
Wooong. As he channeled aura into it, a sword cry subtly different from his own blade resonated softly. A clean, serene vibration, much like the steady owner it had known. Masain savored the hum, slowly infusing aura until golden outer energy fully coated the blade.
Then, he began to swing.
Seongjin watched quietly from the edge of the training grounds.
It was his first time seeing the imperial knight order's standard swordsmanship flow seamlessly from form 1 through 8. Pristine technique, properly channeling aura per the Banahas training method.
In the dusky training grounds as sunset faded, only Walnut Cracker gleamed faintly gold, brimming with aura.
"Something... feels different?"
Seongjin murmured unwittingly.
It was the swordsmanship he saw every day in the grounds, yet Masain's version felt off somehow. Not just from the resident knights' practice forms, but even from his own.
The same motions, yet different; the same path, yet another flow.
Though everyone used the identical swordsmanship, he couldn't pinpoint where the difference arose.
Neither Seongjin nor Masain himself realized it, but Masain's sword traced a trajectory faintly reminiscent of his uncle's from long ago.
That sword always lingering in a corner of his mind during training.
The beautiful arc he had always yearned to emulate.
And soon, vivid golden aura enveloped Walnut Cracker.
A blazing golden aura blade, like sunlight. The technique that had bisected a Bantra larva in one stroke.
Not yet fully at sword master realm, he couldn't sustain it long, but for unleashing the skill he had so longed for and practiced, a moment sufficed.
Whoosh. A long golden thread streaked through the air.
This time, Seongjin caught the technique's essence more clearly. The golden afterimage detaching from the blade, trailing a long tail across the dark sky.
Moments later, something popped in the air, and fierce winds whipped around the training grounds.
Whiiiiiing—
Bracing against the gale, Seongjin muttered absently.
"...Crescent slicing the heavens."
The Holy Emperor had dismissed it as an ignorable nickname, but the technique Masain just showed truly resembled a pale moon slashing the void.
With that, Masain halted, standing dazed as he gazed skyward.
Though aimless, the strike was still somewhat weak. He had yet to reach his uncle's former heights.
Aura gradually faded from Walnut Cracker. The soft hum dimmed, then fell silent.
Still gripping the sword tightly in the grounds for a moment longer, Masain finally turned to Seongjin.
"It's no legendary sword forged by dragons, that's for sure. But even channeling the strongest aura shows no strain, so His Majesty's claim that it won't break easily must be true."
Masain grinned and offered the sword to Seongjin.
"The balance is excellent, but the weight distribution isn't ideal for me."
As Seongjin took it, Masain hesitated as if wanting to say more. But he soon steeled his face, placed a hand over his heart, and bowed formally.
"Thank you for granting my difficult request to borrow the sword, Your Highness."
His posture remained impeccably disciplined, just as when they first met.
Seongjin worked his mouth for a moment, but in the end just nodded without a word.
He had many questions, but they wouldn't come out. Perhaps Empress Consort Elizabeth wasn't the only one wishing to forget the past.
* * *
The next morning, Masain visited the main palace for the first time in ages and went to the Holy Emperor's office.
"I wish to resign from my position as Royal Guard captain, Your Majesty."
Sudden words, yet the Holy Emperor showed no great surprise. With his usual impassive face, he stared silently at Masain before slowly nodding.
Over the decade and more, Masain wasn't the only one who had changed. Already near poker-faced before, emotions had become even harder to read on the Holy Emperor's visage since that incident.
Whenever a strange glint flickered in those gray eyes, Masain would feel deep unease, as if his uncle were turning into something not quite human.
The Holy Emperor's gaze briefly touched the golden sword at Masain's waist, then met his eyes again. Masain scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Well, seems no other sword swings as comfortably as this one."
"...I see."
Noble sword Misra.
It must have taken immense deliberation for his nephew to draw it again after so long. Yet the two would never speak of it—not now, not ever.
"Masain."
As he turned to leave the office, the Holy Emperor called him back. Looking over, he spoke in a flatly calm tone.
"Take good care of that child."
No warmth in the eyes fixed on Masain. But having known his uncle for so long, Masain detected a faint note of concern in his voice.
This time, Masain could reply with a genuine smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
And that morning, Masain reported to Seongjin that he had been newly assigned as chief of security for Pearl Palace.
No need to mention how the resident knights' faces turned ashen pale upon seeing him arrive with all his luggage in tow.