Chapter 112
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Banquet (2)
A night when the cuckoo cries.
Thick night fog envelops the gray stone walls of the castle.
Inside the Meursault Castle banquet hall, preparations for the feast were in full swing.
On the surface, it was a celebration of the successful suppression of the Levarb and Frosange rebellions, but even the servants and maids cleaning the hall knew the truth.
This banquet was the stage for announcing the Meursault House's promotion from count to marquis.
That was why every servant and maid was pouring their all into decorating the hall.
Beneath the castle's high vaulted ceiling, candlelight from the massive chandelier rained down like a shower of light.
Polished long oak tables adorned with silver candelabras, and the layered stacks of glassware catching the chandelier's glow.
Pristine white cloth draped the tables like a spiderweb, scattered with red camellia petals atop it.
Large barrels filled with mead were carried in and placed beside the massive fireplace.
Rorschach oversaw all of it.
"Are the flowers ready?"
"Of course. We've brought the most beautiful and fresh ones."
Deputy Administrator Jules Bern bowed his head.
He rubbed the dark shadows under his eyes and continued.
"The banquet preparations are perfect. Since it's also the occasion to find a fiancé for Lady Cardina, we're putting in even more care than usual."
"Given his personality, I doubt he'll accept the engagement... but who knows. We'll see."
"It's for the house, so won't he go along with it? Most noble ladies enter political marriages anyway."
"She's not the usual type, so she's hard to predict."
Rorschach smiled faintly.
Cardina.
Soleil's adopted daughter, the woman who had lived her whole life as Federback's older sister.
But lately, Rorschach had vaguely noticed that the way she looked at Federback wasn't the same as before—or perhaps it had always been that way, from long ago.
Rorschach asked.
"Is Lady Cardina on her way?"
"Yes. Word came that she'll arrive within four days."
"She'll arrive around the same time as the other guests. Ensure the reception is flawless, without a single hitch."
"Naturally."
Rorschach thought of the prestigious northern houses where marriage talks with Cardina would be arranged.
The appearances, backgrounds, and careers of their eligible young heirs flashed through his mind.
Among them were quite a few handsome enough to make the northern maidens swoon.
But to Rorschach, all their faces looked the same.
"I wonder if any of them could even touch the hem of our Young Master Federback's robes."
"No such person exists. Not even among the imperial family."
Jules Bern replied.
It wasn't flattery—it came straight from the heart.
Rorschach nodded.
"Lady Cardina probably thinks the same, and that's the problem."
"Pardon? Ah, well, what can we do? Marriage talks are a separate issue. We'll have to choose the best among the heirs from the prominent houses."
"Is that what you think, Deputy Administrator?"
"Pardon? Y-yes? Do you see it differently, Lord Rorschach?"
To Jules Bern's question, Rorschach smiled brightly and answered.
"No. I think the same."
"...?"
Jules Bern tilted his head.
Rorschach had seemed in an unusually good mood lately.
He couldn't understand it, but a happy boss was nothing to complain about, so Jules Bern decided to let it be.
The day before the main banquet.
A group of horses and people arrived before Meursault Castle.
A massive black warhorse—so huge one might question if it was truly a horse—shook off the snow from its body.
The surrounding horses, nearly half its size, shyly backed away from the giant black steed.
Soon, its rider dismounted.
...Thud!
Silver hair, a left eye gleaming like a ruby, a black eyepatch over the right.
Cardina Meursault.
She had finally returned to the main castle.
"......"
Cardina's gaze turned toward the street.
A road bustling with countless merchants.
"It's completely different from when I left. So prosperous."
She gazed at the crowd with a faint smile.
Then, the castle gates opened, and a familiar face appeared.
"Long time no see, Sister."
Federback approached on a white horse.
Cardina stared silently at Federback's face for a moment.
Then she smiled brightly.
"You've grown taller. Before the expedition, I was still bigger."
"Even then, I was a bit taller."
Standing face-to-face now, Federback was a full handspan taller than Cardina.
"How are the promotion banquet preparations?"
"Going smoothly, no issues."
"Well, with that child Rorschach there, nothing will go wrong."
"We've bolstered the administrative staff even more than before. Took in a large number of refugees from Levarb and Frosange."
"That's good too. Their house heads were untrustworthy, but there were plenty of talented people below them."
The conversation between blood kin, reunited after months, was straightforward.
Suddenly, Federback's gaze shifted to Cardina's waist.
Two unadorned curved blades hung there.
"Oh, these? Got them from killing the Frozen Horror."
Cardina grinned and patted the twin swords at her hip.
The crude blades exuded a sinister aura.
Without sheaths, bound only by cords, their dark blue wavy patterns gleamed—like the cold poison the Frozen Horror had carried in life still lingered.
"I shaved off the softer parts of the centipede's fangs and mixed only the hardest core with mithril. That's why they keep the fangs' distinctive curve."
Cardina's eyes traced the blood groove, carved where the centipede's deadly venom once flowed, down to the tip.
The ferocity and venomous legacy of the savage centipedes, unchanged since the mythic age, fully preserved in these two blades.
Federback nodded.
"My sword was carved from Ice Dragon Adara's fang, but these are no less impressive."
"Centipedes are dragons' natural predators. Anything above juvenile Frozen Horror has incredibly tough fangs. And the one I caught was the 'Nightmare of Frosange'."
"Ah, that ancient dark female. After all that rampage, it ended up caught by you, Sister."
Cardina and Federback walked side by side.
Entering the castle grounds, countless people welcomed Cardina.
"The young lady is back!"
"Kyaa—Lady Cardina! Look over here!"
"The hero who reclaimed Beauvoir has returned! Scatter flowers!"
The territory's residents cheered for her, who had brought back massive ores from the Beauvoir Mine.
Appraising, smelting, and selling those ores would create countless jobs.
Cardina waved to the residents and asked.
"Where's the Patriarch?"
During her expedition, her term for him had shifted slightly from "Father" to "Patriarch".
But Federback answered without question.
"He's been in the underground forge lately."
"The forge? Why?"
"Easier to see for yourself."
"Hm. I have a lot to ask about the promotion. I'll arrange a separate meeting later."
Muttering to herself, Cardina soon grinned mischievously.
"Shall we spar in the meantime?"
"You sure? You've seen my skills in your dreams."
"Cheeky for a little brother. I've trained every night since then too—thinking of you. Never slacked a day."
"Hm."
Federback gauged Cardina's aura.
Her realm had surpassed the early 4th Circle, rising a bit higher.
Federback wore a faint smile too.
"Sounds fun. Straight to the training grounds?"
The two stood on the blue stone training ground.
Federback drew his sword and shield.
The sword 'Adara' made from the Ice Dragon's fang, and the shield 'Reverse Scale' from its scales.
Cardina stood before the sword-and-shield-armed Federback.
Instead of a shield, she drew an additional sword.
The dark wavy twin curved blades gleamed like crescent moons facing each other.
"You first, little brother."
Cardina moved first.
The two curved blades shone like full moons facing crescent moons.
The simplest, most basic swordsmanship that made Meursault what it was—yet the most destructive and efficient.
Slash—clang!
Federback blocked the sword with his shield, but Cardina had one more blade.
She alternated swings with her twin swords, probing Federback's gaps.
"These are real swords, so be careful. I won't go easy if you get hurt."
"Not something an inferior should say to a superior."
"Heh heh heh—fair enough."
Cardina chuckled lowly at Federback's retort.
Then, she arched her back to dodge the edge of Federback's shield.
In that instant, a flash of light.
The trajectory of the light was clear.
The air split in two, unleashing a sharp sonic boom.
The flames on the nearby bonfire tore apart like paper behind Cardina and Federback.
Clang—!
Dragon fang met centipede fang.
Cardina's slashes poured in like a storm, unrelenting.
Instead of retreating, Federback planted his shield in the ground and pushed forward.
A tense balance held.
Cardina kept up the assault.
"The best defense is offense."
True enough.
Her alternating two-handed curved blades struck with weight enough to split thick ice in one blow.
Federback hugged his shield tight to his body, enduring every impact.
Finally, Cardina played her trump card.
A powerful single— no, double—strike to avoid attrition.
The first sword thrust on inhale, the second slash on exhale, both hurtling toward Federback in a blaze of light.
But Federback tilted his grounded shield at an angle in response.
Boom—!
He deflected the two slashes in different directions and raised his sword.
Swoosh—
Federback's blade shot toward one point: straight at Cardina's chest center.
Cardina frantically crossed her two swords to block.
Whoosh—!
The force in Federback's thrust lifted Cardina's entire body into the air.
'Oh no!'
The moment Cardina sensed defeat, Federback unleashed his final technique.
Cardina had also reached the 4th Circle through dream training and mastered the 4th Form from the secret swordsmanship manual.
"Not a chance!"
Cardina executed the 4th Form mid-air.
Boom—crash!
The instant their swords met, the blue stone floor shattered entirely.
Rumble rumble rumble—!
The once smooth training ground lay in ruins.
Over the cracked and fissured ground.
...Thud!
Cardina dropped to one knee.
"I lost! Stop!"
Federback's shield edge was already at her throat.
As Federback withdrew his shield, Cardina let out a hollow laugh.
"If you'd just used a sword, I might've held out, but that damn shield."
"Meursault has shield techniques too."
"......Should I pick up a shield again?"
"Shields are heavy and bulky—not for you, Sister. Twin blades all-out offense suits you better."
"But ignoring defense entirely seems risky."
"Once your Aura Blade extends further, defense won't matter. Hit 5th Circle, and you'll have no weaknesses."
"Sword Master... Can I do it?"
"You have to. For the house's revival."
Cardina nodded at Federback's words and replied.
"Right. For the house's revival, there's nothing I won't do."
"Good mindset. So, about that..."
Hearing her answer, Federback brought it up as if it were perfect timing.
"This time, why don't you get married, Sister?"
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