Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Dragon Demon Prince (2)
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Soon, the group entered the audience chamber with Arietta and Kairen to pay their respects to the king. Just as Azel had said, there was nothing for them to do there. They simply knelt with heads bowed while Arietta and Kairen formally announced their return and reported the important events that had occurred. Then they withdrew. That was all.
Zail wore the expression of a man who had just escaped death.
“Phew. It’s finally over.”
“It was nothing. What are you going to do when you rise in rank later?”
“Mm. Rising in rank...”
“Well, then I’ll take my leave for now.”
Boer said. As a member of the royal knights, he needed to return and report on recent events.
He said to the two of them.
“I’ll contact you after my shift. If you’re free, why don’t you come to my place tonight?”
The Jiled Marquisate was far from here, but nobles working in the capital naturally had residences there. Especially the prestigious Jiled Marquis family, which owned a fine mansion in the central district.
Azel answered.
“Ah, thanks for the invitation, but probably not tonight.”
“Why not?”
“I doubt the princess and the duke will let me go that easily.”
“Ah, right. Sir Azel was a huge hit with both of them.”
“I didn’t particularly want to be popular.”
“Don’t lie while looking in a mirror. Anyway, contact me as soon as you’re free from them. I’ll definitely invite you over.”
“Will do.”
“Sir Zail... mm. What about you? Do you have any family elders to greet?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll gladly accept the invitation.”
The Vince viscountcy wasn’t particularly renowned, and there was no family serving in the royal court. So Zail had been planning to find a place to stay starting today.
“Then Sir Azel, you have to contact me.”
“Ah, got it. Why are you so persistent about inviting a guy...”
“You just seem like the type who’d vanish without a backward glance if I didn’t nail it down...”
“Do I really seem that heartless?”
At Azel’s question, Zail and Boer looked at each other and nodded with expressions that said, “Of course.” Azel felt slightly hurt.
“Jeez. I’ll definitely contact you, so don’t worry.”
“We’ll see.”
Boer grinned and left. Watching his retreating figure, Azel chuckled.
Zail asked, puzzled.
“What is it?”
“No, I was just thinking Sir Boer has really changed a lot. If you think back to when we set out from here, who could’ve imagined this?”
“True enough.”
Zail chuckled too. No one could have expected such a dramatic transformation.
Just then, Enora walked down the corridor from the other end.
“Sir Azel, Sir Zail. Do the two of you have places to stay in the capital?”
“I don’t, obviously.”
“Nor do I yet.”
“I see. Her Highness has prepared accommodations for you both...”
“Thank you.”
Zail looked relieved. Truth be told, he hadn’t had much money and had been worried about the cost of lodging in the capital.
The two headed to Arietta’s detached palace. Per her instructions, a guest room had already been prepared for Azel.
It was a detached palace in the royal grounds. Even calling it a “guest room” was far from the ordinary sense—the space was as large and well-appointed as an entire house, complete with the opulence befitting the palace.
But Azel showed no surprise at the sight.
“As expected of the palace. So lavish.”
That was the extent of his reaction.
Zail was dumbfounded.
“I really can’t imagine how you lived before. It’s dazzling to me...”
“I’m curious too. Well, the princess and Miss Enora both said I must’ve been a noble, so that’s probably it.”
“Anything else coming back?”
“Little by little... Things overlap and surface when I do something. I don’t know exactly who I am, but various experiences from my life are coming back, and from them, it seems I was indeed a well-off noble.”
From traveling with him, Azel’s claim of memory loss was growing harder to believe. He was unbelievably strong and hid far too many secrets. But despite the inconsistencies, it was ambiguous enough that one couldn’t outright call it a lie and press him.
“Above all, he’s so brazen about it.”
If Azel were cunningly deceiving those around him, he wouldn’t act this way. No matter how you looked at it, he seemed indifferent to suspicion or belief, which made him more credible.
Moreover, unlike others, Zail had seen Azel’s wretched state when he was first found. When a person ends up in such a condition, isn’t it natural for something to be off?
Azel said.
“But I probably wasn’t from this country.”
“Why do you think that?”
“On the way here, too many things felt unfamiliar. The streets, customs, habits... So I must’ve been a noble from another land. I don’t know why I was there, though.”
“Hm...”
“That said, it’s fortunate the language hasn’t changed.”
In fact, this was one of the things Azel had been most impressed by since waking.
Compared to before he slept, the language and script hadn’t changed.
Script aside, for the language to remain the same after over two hundred years was truly remarkable.
The Barbe language from the Nadic Empire era was still in use across the seven kingdoms that divided the empire’s territory, including the Lurein Kingdom. There were differences in minor vocabulary and speech patterns, but the language framework was nearly identical, creating only a sense of being in a distant region.
“I’m grateful to the legend of Babel. Who’d have thought I’d one day thank a legend whose truth is unclear.”
A tale passed down as legend even in the Nadic Empire days, Babel.
Even now, countless languages existed on the continent. The Nadic Empire had come closest to unifying it, but the peripheries outside their territory retained their own languages and cultures.
But long ago, it was said there were far more languages than today—incomparably so. Languages changed over every mountain, preventing communication and causing endless conflicts and deaths.
Great ancient mages, pitying this, gathered and planned a massive magic ritual, called “Babel.” They built a tower piercing the heavens and used it to unify the thoughts of people speaking different tongues. Finally, they created a common language from the collective minds: Barbe.
This language, born from profound magical mystery, was said to be instantly known by all humans on the continent at its birth. Across generations, its framework barely changed, with only vocabulary evolving to facilitate communication.
Azel said.
“Then, until the princess summons me, shall we rest a bit? I shouldn’t wander off, so Sir Zail, how about a game of chess?”
“Mm. I’m not very good.”
“You should build some skill. It’s noble refinement, isn’t it?”
“You saying that really doesn’t suit you.”
Zail snorted.
3
In the end, Arietta didn’t summon Azel on the day they arrived in the capital. She had many reports to give upon return and was dragged around here and there until the day ended.
After receiving her apologetic message, Zail followed Boer home after his shift, leaving Azel alone. Azel finished the meal brought by the maids and servants Arietta had assigned, then stared blankly into space.
“I should’ve asked for library access.”
The royal library would have quite a collection. While staying here, he wanted to devour history books.
Azel flung himself onto the massive bed, large enough to frolic on, and gazed at the canopy ceiling. True to a royal bed, pillars stood at each corner, draped with fabric forming an ornate ceiling.
“Taking it easy isn’t bad...”
Come to think of it, it had been ages since he’d spaced out like this.
From waking in the Valan Forest ruins about a month ago, life had been hectic. He’d fought countless battles, constantly honing himself amid tension.
“Including before I slept.”
Even after the Dragon Demon War ended, true rest had eluded him. Postwar chaos and the Dragon Demon King’s curse devouring his life had seen to that.
So this time wasn’t bad. As he let his mind drift, there came a knock.
*Knock knock.*
Azel said to enter, and a maid came in.
“Sir Azel, a distinguished guest has come to see you.”
“A distinguished guest?”
Azel was puzzled. Arietta had messaged that she couldn’t visit today, so was it Kairen? But with their travels together known, would he be called a “distinguished guest” indirectly...?
Azel pointed to his head.
“Mm. Could you tidy me up a bit?”
“Yes.”
The maid understood, approached, straightened his tousled hair, and adjusted his attire neatly.
A wild man ignorant of noble etiquette would never do this—might even snap if suggested, unaware of the meaning. But as a palace guest, Azel knew he must maintain decorum for Arietta’s sake.
“That’s why they say I seem noble.”
The etiquette drilled into him upon becoming Marquess Karzark was etched in his bones. Azel gave a wry smile and left the bedroom.
He entered the parlor and widened his eyes at the boy sipping tea at the table.
‘Huh?’
A stranger, yet Azel instantly knew who he was.
Trim white hair, golden eyes, slightly pointed ears, and sharp, azure-white feather-like horn rising above the left ear...
‘Dragon Demon Prince Seiga Bail Lurein.’
The boy resembled Arietta strikingly. Two years her junior, he regarded Azel with a face flowing with cold dignity.
“Sorry for dropping by so late. You’re Sir Azel, knighted by my sister, right?”
“Yes. Your Highness.”
“I told the maid not to say, but you recognized me. Well, having spent time with my sister, it’s natural.”
The boy showed no surprise. As Dragon Demon Prince, he was used to strangers knowing him, and he knew his features resembled Arietta’s.
“Allow a formal introduction. I am Seiga Bail Lurein, current bearer of the Dragon Demon Prince title in the Lurein royal family.”
“Knight Azel Zestringer greets you.”
Azel performed courtly etiquette. Seiga’s eyes gleamed.
“They say you were a nameless savage before my sister knighted you, but you don’t seem it. I’d believe you were from a renowned house.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s odd coming from your visitor, but have a seat.”
Though only fifteen, his bearing was royally refined. Treating an elder as inferior felt effortless and natural, not disrespectful, but befitting his station.
As Azel sat opposite, Seiga said.
“I came to see you.”
“Me, Your Highness?”