Chapter 59
Chapter 59
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Dragon Demon Prince (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘But that day might come again.’
As he clashed with the Dragon Demon Worshippers time and again, a growing sense of foreboding had taken root. The premonition that in this peaceful era, a massive darkness might descend once more…
Boer asked,
“But Sir Azel, where do you plan to go after leaving the capital?”
“For now, I’m going with the Duke. That’s why we’re leaving so soon. I have to match his schedule.”
“Ah, so the Duke is heading back as well?”
“He hates palace life even more than I do.”
Kairen had never liked appearing at official events since his youth. But being such a big shot, news of his arrival in the capital had everyone clamoring to catch a glimpse of him. Even the royals were like that, so no matter how much Kairen grumbled, he had no choice but to get dragged around. Meeting Azel to vent and then sparring before leaving had become routine.
Zail said,
“I’m jealous. I’ve got half a year’s leave, but I have no idea what to do with it.”
“The Western Border Guard sure is generous. Giving you half a year off.”
Boer chimed in.
“Well, Sir Zail was representing the Western Border Guard on princess escort duty… This is probably their way of telling you to visit home. It’s been a while, so sharing some tales of valor should make your family happy, right?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Zail’s expression darkened as he replied. Boer asked, flustered,
“Uh, did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that. Have I ever talked about my family?”
“No, you haven’t.”
“It’s nothing much… The Vince viscount family isn’t doing so well.”
Zail, his face slightly flushed from the alcohol, shared his circumstances.
The Vince viscount family was in dire straits even for a viscount house. They’d been decently off as rural nobles in the past, but things took a sharp downturn in Zail’s grandfather’s generation. His grandfather lacked any sense of reality and gambled away the family fortune to boot. Then drought hit, monsters rampaged, and when crises struck the territory, he failed to handle them properly, and the family’s fortunes plummeted overnight.
In the end, to survive, they had to sell off the territory itself. Now, what passed for their lands was just one small village.
“From a young age… my father drilled it into me that I had to go out into the world, raise the family name, and restore our fallen house.”
Before he’d even come of age, he gripped a sword until blisters formed and burst dozens of times over. Having watched his father drive him mercilessly with ghostly strictness after seeing the family decline due to his grandfather. Zail becoming a Quadruple Master at a young age was thanks to that harsh childhood.
“But what power does a fallen house like ours have?”
Even in decline, as a noble house, they had the right to train their children as knights. But that was it. The connections built by previous generations had all been ruined by his dissolute grandfather, so he couldn’t even choose a place to build a career.
After much deliberation, Zail enlisted in the royal army. He figured that was the only way to seize a chance at success without any backing.
“Funny thing is, after enlisting… it felt like a breath of fresh air. Being bound by military discipline? Compared to home, it felt like a vacation.”
Zail’s father had demanded he become the noblest of nobles. From childhood, he endured hellish training to hone his martial skills, and was educated in etiquette and learning so he’d never be ashamed anywhere. Compared to that family atmosphere, the royal army felt like paradise.
Hearing his story, Boer muttered like a groan,
“So that’s the situation…”
It was the complete opposite of Boer, who had risen steadily thanks to his family’s power from youth. Boer newly realized just how advantageous his position had been.
“I’m grateful to the princess. Without any background, piling up merits in the Western Border Guard and climbing the ranks would’ve taken forever. I might’ve rotted there my whole life.”
He’d successfully escorted Arietta to the capital representing the Western Border Guard and received praise from the king. He’d earned a merit worthy of recognition in his own right.
Boer poured Zail another drink.
“Drink up. You’ve finally buttoned the first button the hard way. Everything from here should go smoothly. With the Dragon Princess remembering you, good opportunities will come, right?”
“Thanks.”
Zail smiled bashfully. And so the night deepened with drink.
8
The next day, Azel followed Boer to the palace as he went on duty. Having drunk until dawn the previous night, he was half-dead when he woke in the morning.
“Ugh, so this is a hangover. It’s been ages since I felt this pain.”
Boer, in the same carriage, laughed.
“I’m feeling pretty amazed right now.”
“Why?”
“It’s surprising there’s something you’re weaker at than me. I thought you were strong with booze too.”
“I think I used to be strong… but my memory’s fuzzy. I’ll have to be careful from now on. Urgh.”
In his prime, Azel never suffered from getting drunk. No matter how much he drank, he’d just get a pleasant buzz—never blackout or deal with hangovers. That’s because his body had become ridiculously resilient after the Dragon Slaying Ritual.
Thinking back to those days, he’d kept drinking, but now he was incomparably weaker to alcohol. Thanks to that, he’d had the rare experience of slurring and babbling as his eyes grew heavy. The silver lining was that his memory hadn’t blacked out…
‘Should’ve used the technique earlier.’
Among Spirit Order’s applications was a technique to protect body and mind from alcohol or drugs. Azel had realized he was quite drunk and used it to prevent memory loss, but since it wasn’t perfect, it couldn’t handle the hangover.
“Ugh, riding in a carriage feels this awful?”
“What are you saying running on a paved road? On a dirt path, you’d have puked already.”
Utterly fresh without a trace of hangover, Boer reveled in his superiority and teased Azel mercilessly.
Back at the palace, Azel dove into meditation to escape the hangover. He aimed to expel the alcohol from his body with Spirit Order. But even sitting still, with his head throbbing and dizziness threatening to make him hurl, meditating was no easy feat.
‘I can do this! I’ve done it while taking sword strikes and bleeding—surely not this?’
Azel gritted his teeth and focused his mind. But conversely, it was as hard as meditating while getting slashed and bleeding profusely, so progress was slow.
“Ugh, booze smell!”
Enora, who’d come looking for him, pinched her nose and grimaced.
“What the heck? How much did you drink for it to stink this bad?”
“Mm.”
Azel, barely in meditation, opened his eyes with a wry smile.
Sure enough, the air reeked of alcohol. Not just from drinking a lot, but like he’d splashed it everywhere.
“I’m expelling the booze built up in my body. Feeling alive now.”
“You can do that?”
“Yeah. Gotta wash up first, though… Anything urgent?”
“Not really. And you need to wash up anyway, so hurry.”
Enora shoved Azel’s back and fled the booze-filled room.
After a thorough wash, Azel returned somewhat refreshed. But his condition was still off.
‘Ow, today’s gonna suck.’
Azel frowned, thinking of Kairen who’d surely come demanding a spar.
Enora said,
“The princess wants to have dinner together tonight. Since you’re leaving soon, she wants to see your face before then.”
“Got it. I’ll recover enough to act normal by evening. Oh, and… Miss Enora. Something just occurred to me—mind if I ask?”
“What?”
“Last time the Western Border Guard left, you said something to the princess, right?”
Enora tilted her head, clueless about what he meant.
Azel asked with a wry smile,
“When you said you’d follow her, didn’t you argue about making you unable to marry?”
“Argue? How could I dare…”
“Anyway. I still don’t get what that had to do with anything. The princess said the same.”
“Where we’re from, it’s obvious.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re born a noble and can’t even handle the duties given to you, they say you’re not fit to marry.”
“That’s the reason?”
“Don’t say ‘just’ that, Sir Azel. It’s a huge deal.”
“Mm. But Miss Enora, you’re still young…”
Azel trailed off as Enora glared daggers, quickly changing tack.
“…a flower of a girl. Risking your life for that.”
“But the princess is the same.”
“Huh?”
“The princess fights risking her life unlike other royals, just because she was born a Dragon Princess. At first, when I became her maid, I was disappointed—this famed Dragon Princess? But once we got there… I truly thought she was amazing.”
Assigned as her personal maid, she’d been let down. Arietta was stunningly beautiful, but in the palace, she was sloppy and sleepy.
But seeing Arietta fight to fulfill her duties on the battlefield shocked Enora to her core.
“My father always said nobles are treated nobly because they must be prepared to die first when trials come.”
The rural Byre barony didn’t command many troops. Baron Byre, the lord, and the family men had always led in repelling threats. People respected them, and it was the Byre family’s pride.
Arietta resembled the men of Enora’s family. Forced into danger at a young age, she never complained. Bearing her fated burden without resentment or sorrow, using her strength for others—her nobility moved Enora.
“So I didn’t want to run. If the princess fights like that and everyone flees, leaving no one to even brush her hair… that’d be too sad.”
“Ha…”
Azel stared at Enora blankly for a moment.
“Hahahahaha!”
Then he burst out laughing uncontrollably. Enora flushed, embarrassed.
“P-people are having a serious talk, and you laugh like that? Rude!”
But Azel couldn’t stop. He laughed so hard tears welled up.
Finally calming, Enora fumed at him.
“Sir Azel, you’re the worst!”
“…Sorry. Wasn’t mocking or teasing.”
“Say something with even a speck of convincing power.”
“It’s true. Just reminded me of the old days.”
Azel smiled vacantly, gazing into the distance.
“There was a kid who said something similar to you…”
‘…Uncle fights bleeding for everyone, but if there’s no one to wipe his face, it’s sad.’
When everyone fled for their lives and despair loomed, someone stayed by Azel and said that. Shunned as an ill-omened child, that girl had saved him with those words.
Thinking back, she’d been even younger than Enora. Orphaned, drifting among people day by day, yet she shone dazzlingly.
Back then, it was like that. With darkness so thick it blanketed the world, the things that shone in people stood out even brighter.
Enora, watching Azel lost in memory, asked,
“What happened to that kid?”
“She found a home. Don’t know after that.”
Shunned by people, Azel had found her a place. He hadn’t seen her since, but hoped she lived happily.
Enora pouted.
“Hmph. I’ll forgive you, considering the story.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
“Sweet talker.”
Enora pursed her lips.