Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: The 29th White Lion Knight Captain, Siron Crice
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29th Captain of the White Lion Knights, Siron Crice.
After their political marriage, his wife passed away soon after, leaving behind a daughter.
At the time, the Empire viewed remarriage among nobles as a grave insult to the family they had married into, so it was largely frowned upon.
But human hearts are fickle things.
Siron crossed paths with his old flame a few years after his wife's death.
Lady Gaibel, the girl he had pledged his love to in their youth.
Yet their romance had been severed by a political marriage.
She had remained unmarried even after Siron wed.
Siron and she rekindled their affections for one another.
And in the end, they created a secret meeting place for their love.
This was that very spot.
Lady Gaibel cherished Siron's daughter, Karis, as if she were her own.
She filled the void left by Karis's late mother.
Though they never formally remarried, she was essentially a stepmother to her.
This secret lovers' haven of theirs.
It had now been used to uncover the truth of Karis's death.
The Sword Saint carefully unwrapped the paper envelope in his hand.
A steely resolve burned in his eyes.
"...I'll open it."
"Do it."
No one yearned more for the truth of Karis's death than the Sword Saint.
There was no telling him to wait any longer.
Besides, Leyzon wanted to know about the Bluebird Knights' incident too.
He opened the paper envelope.
Inside were detailed records.
The location of Karis and the Bluebird Knights' demise.
The noble conflicts that erupted with the Emperor's absence at the time, and the era's backdrop.
Everything was documented without omission.
Any potential clues were all noted down.
But the most crucial piece of information was this.
[The Bluebird Knights serve as the Empire's bridge to the world beyond.
Though their name has faded now, records indicate they inherited methods to exit the Empire.
We couldn't pinpoint them, but from a certain point, Karis often wore a necklace of unfamiliar design.
I suspect this necklace may be the key to leaving the Empire.]
"That's true."
The Sword Saint recalled the necklace as well.
The account continued beyond that.
[To uncover clues about my daughter's death, I attempted to venture outside the Empire.
My efforts totaled 305 attempts, all failures.
Others besides me who tried to leave the city walls were gripped by an unknown force, their legs freezing in place.]
Confusion flickered in Leyzon's eyes.
And rightly so, for the land beasts freely crossed between the Empire and the outside.
'Could it be that Empire citizens can't leave the Empire?'
Empire folk sustained themselves on nutrients from transcendent beings' corpses.
This wouldn't exactly thrill the transcendent beings themselves.
'Maybe the transcendent beings are binding Empire citizens from venturing out.'
It was a possibility.
Of course, the Empire itself might have set up some barrier.
'This needs more digging.'
He had gleaned unexpectedly valuable intel.
Something special was required to exit the Empire.
'Someday, I'll have reason to head out there.'
The land beasts and the prophets.
As time passed, Leyzon's ties to them grew.
Like it or not, leaving the Empire was inevitable.
"Any more records?"
"A bit left."
The Sword Saint reviewed the rest.
He gleaned a few more details.
[To probe my daughter's death, I sought out a renowned necromancer.
His name is Garjun...]
"Hold on."
Leyzon halted the Sword Saint mid-read.
"Necromancer, what was the name again?"
"Garjun, it says."
Leyzon's eyes widened round.
He knew exactly who that was.
"...That's the Gray Mage Tower Master's real name."
The Sword Saint tilted his head at Leyzon's words.
"Gray Mage Tower Master? His real name isn't that."
"No, I mean the one from 100 years ago. The former Gray Mage Tower Master."
Leyzon's expression grew complicated.
The previous Gray Mage Tower Master had been human.
'Even back then, he was already an old geezer.'
He should've died ages ago.
So how did Siron commission the former Gray Mage Tower Master?
'Did he surpass his lifespan limit and still live on?'
Then Leyzon recalled something.
The way necromancers defied lifespan limits.
It was a method Leyzon himself had pondered recently.
"...He became undead."
The former Gray Mage Tower Master, Garjun, had undoubtedly turned himself undead.
He might still be alive somewhere in the Empire.
"Sorry, keep reading."
Leyzon shook off his tangled thoughts and urged the Sword Saint on.
The Sword Saint resumed.
[Garjun gladly agreed to help after hearing my tale.
He visited the site of my daughter's death and summoned her soul.
But she did not appear to his call.]
Even the former Gray Mage Tower Master's skill couldn't summon Karis.
The Sword Saint bit his lip hard at this.
[Instead, he summoned the Bluebird Knights.
They claimed to have ventured beyond the Empire.
Yet they recalled nothing from outside.
They also said Karis began acting strangely from then on.]
The Bluebird Knights had indeed gone beyond the Empire.
And they had encountered something there.
[Through them, I learned one shocking truth.]
The Sword Saint froze upon the next record.
Leyzon tilted his head.
"Sword Saint?"
Why had he stopped so abruptly?
But the Sword Saint remained rigid, unmoving.
Leyzon had no choice but to approach and read the paper himself.
[Karis killed the Bluebird Knights.]
Leyzon froze too.
A revelation neither the Sword Saint nor Leyzon had anticipated.
"At first, I thought they fought something. But for some reason, they turned on each other."?
It was something Syria had said the first day they met the Sword Saint.
That Bluebird Knights had fought among themselves after one attacked.
Leyzon had always assumed Karis was murdered.
But in truth, Karis had killed the Bluebird Knights.
Stunned, both Leyzon and the Sword Saint fell silent.
Why had Karis slain her own knights?
The records offered no answer.
[Thirty Bluebird Knight corpses.
Exactly matching their full roster.
The bodies were charred beyond recognition or separation.
There lay her violet flower hairpin, treasured since childhood.
She called it her most precious belonging.
She would never discard it herself.]
The Sword Saint nearly crumpled the paper unwittingly.
"...Abyss, forgive me."
He handed the records to Leyzon.
His eyes swirled with myriad emotions.
The violet hairpin was his birthday gift to her.
[Thirty corpses, matching the Bluebird Knights' number.
Yet I cannot confirm if my daughter's body is truly among them.
Or if she slew them for some reason and fled.
Or if something else possessed her.
I do not know if my daughter is dead or alive.
But I wish to know why this happened.]
Siron's anguish seeped through the pages.
[Why did the Imperial Family send the Bluebird Knights to the Vampire Queen?
And why conceal all records of the Bluebird Knights?
Today, I was summoned by the court.
They ordered me to relinquish my White Lion Knight Captaincy.
I can no longer uncover my daughter's death.
Thus, I leave these findings here.
May the truth of her fate and this incident come to light.]
The records ended there.
Inside the paper envelope was the white violet hairpin, her supposed treasure.
Slightly singed, but lovingly polished by Siron.
Leyzon carefully returned the records to the envelope.
A father's all for his daughter.
It mustn't be damaged.
The Sword Saint stood before the tree, fists clenched tight.
His body trembled faintly.
He barely suppressed his surging emotions.
To the Sword Saint, Karis was his love, his reason for living.
The girl he thought long dead might still live.
But was that living girl truly Karis?
Unprecedented turmoil gripped his mind.
Leyzon approached him.
"Sword Saint."
He handed over Karis's hairpin.
"Would Karis kill her own knights, no matter the circumstances?"
The Sword Saint slowly raised his head.
"...No."
He denied it with utter conviction.
Karis would never do such a thing.
"No matter what, Karis would never kill her knights."
This, the Sword Saint knew for certain.
Leyzon chose to trust that conviction.
"As the records say, we don't know if your friend died or lives."
Even so, their task remained unchanged.
"The Imperial Family hid the Bluebird Knights' annihilation. There must be a reason tied to this."
Uncovering it would reveal why Karis did what she did.
"You'll head to the Imperial Family and find out. I'll track down the former Gray Mage Tower Master, Garjun, and get more details."
He took the Sword Saint's hand and placed the hairpin in it.
"If your friend lives, we'll find her. If something possessed her, we'll rip it out."
Recently, Leyzon had stripped Gullian from the Shadow Warlord.
He'd just done the same with Granfin from Pandor.
Leyzon was now an expert soul extractor.
"Even if Karis truly died, I'll summon her soul from the spirit realm."
Garjun had failed to summon Karis.
But if she was dead, it was a matter of skill.
Leyzon was confident he could surpass Garjun as a necromancer.
"Abyss is the pinnacle of necromancers."
This, even the Sword Saint knew well.
"Whatever choice you make, I can turn it into the best outcome."
Leyzon's lips curved into a slow smile.
Just then, sunlight filtered into the backyard, illuminating him from above.
That light lent even greater certainty to his grin.
"Because I'm a necromancer."
A being who toyed with life and death at will.
Necromancer.
Thus, Leyzon offered his finest proposal as one.
"...Right."
The Sword Saint gripped the white violet hairpin Leyzon had given him.
"I have to return this to her."
Hope reignited in the Sword Saint's eyes amid the emotional storm.
This was enough.
Leyzon smiled at the sight and turned away.
"Everyone, let's go. We've got more work ahead."
His undead followed in unison.
A sight befitting the pinnacle of necromancers.