Chapter 244
Chapter 244
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: 70. War Clouds Gathering (3)
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I jolted awake from a light doze.
Even though I'd only just woken up, my mind was strangely sharp and clear.
My floating heart refused to settle, and an inexplicable unease kept surging within me.
It looked like trying to sleep like this was pointless.
I pushed myself up from the bed.
"Ugh."
A groan escaped me involuntarily.
Not a single part of me—from my arms and legs to my shoulders and back—was free of pain, and nothing moved without creaking.
I gazed down at my body, covered in faint scars, then draped my overcoat over it.
And with that, I stepped right out of the room.
"Your Highness?"
The royal knight standing guard widened his eyes at the sight of me emerging so suddenly in the dead of night.
"I can't sleep, so I'm going for a short walk."
"But why bring your sword..."
Only after hearing the knight's words did I realize I was gripping Dusk in my hand.
I mumbled some half-hearted excuse—that I'd swing it around if the walk didn't help me sleep.
"I'll go alone, so no need to follow."
"It's chilly out there. Please don't stay in the cold wind too long."
The royal knight didn't press further and stepped aside to let me pass.
I gave a curt "Of course" and headed straight into the gardens of my palace.
I walked as if entranced.
I passed through the devastation—trees sliced and shredded by sword auras, grass strewn everywhere in disarray—and just kept walking.
When I came to my senses, I found myself atop the palace's tallest spire.
Thud.
A thick fur cloak draped over my shoulders.
I turned to see Adelia, who must have followed me without my noticing, gazing at me with her usual steadfast expression.
"Nights like this are just the worst."
She nodded with a somewhat subdued face and peered past my shoulder.
I followed her gaze.
There was a moonless night sky, not even a single star visible.
I stared into the pitch-black darkness, then shifted my eyes toward the distant horizon.
My hand never stopped gripping and releasing Dusk's hilt.
And so we stood there for a long while.
From the far edge of the dark plain, a small dust cloud rose.
A single rider with a red banner trailing behind.
A royal messenger bearing urgent news.
Even after the messenger galloped nonstop across the plain, passed through the city gates, and vanished amid the capital's buildings, quite some time passed.
A commotion stirred far below the spire.
"I heard His Highness the Crown Prince is up here!"
It was Kals's voice.
Soon after, heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs. Then Kals appeared at the top of the spire.
"Your Highness! The king commands you to the throne room at once!"
I muttered softly at the uncharacteristically stiff tone in Kals's voice.
"Really, nights like this are just the worst."
**
By the time I reached the throne room, all the kingdom's key figures were already assembled.
They must have rushed over; everyone's attire was somewhat disheveled.
"Your Majesty."
"You're here."
The king greeted me with a face hard as stone.
I offered a slight bow in return and scanned the room.
Every face was grim, but Vincent's stood out, twisted in anger.
"To repeat myself, Winter Fortress's defenses are perfect."
"I'm telling you, no one's doubting Winter Fortress's readiness."
Vincent's words carried clear strain as he forced down his ire, while Marquis Billefeld responded with beads of sweat on his brow.
"I'm begging you like this. Please, calm yourself."
Even the marquis's plea did nothing to soften Vincent's icy expression.
"I merely wished to confirm there wasn't some minor issue arising in the lord's absence."
Seeing Vincent so on edge—utterly unlike his usual self—I searched for someone to explain the situation.
"Minor issue."
Their exchange continued even as I glanced around.
"Does the Grand Marshal understand what it implies to link the monsters appearing in the central regions to Winter Fortress?"
Vincent's face looked ready to explode at any moment.
"That's no different from saying Winter Fortress has been breached!"
No, it actually did explode.
"And you spout that nonsense right in front of me, the fortress lord! Are you telling me to calm down?!"
Vincent unleashed a tirade at the marquis.
"That's not what I meant!"
"Not what you meant?! Then what is it?!"
The marquis's frustration mounted at Vincent's unyielding stance, raising his voice in turn. Vincent shouted right back.
Only then did I grasp the situation.
"Why do you keep twisting my words..."
"Marquis."
Having sized things up, I stepped in without hesitation.
The marquis looked my way. I shook my head calmly.
Then I turned to Vincent, signaling with my eyes for him to cool his temper.
Vincent stared at me for a moment before whipping his head away with a huff.
His insides boiled, but he couldn't ignore my gaze and visibly struggled to rein in his rage.
"I've heard monsters have appeared in the central regions. Did I get that right?"
With the situation clarified, I directed my question to Shiorin, who among those gathered wore the calmest expression.
"Urgent reports came in that three villages in Count Branburt's territory were reduced to ashes. Count Branburt dispatched investigators, but the traces didn't look like any human handiwork."
I nodded, and Shiorin provided further details.
The villagers had vanished entirely, as if evaporated. The investigators scoured the area and barely managed to find what they presumed was a resident.
"Presumed? If it's a villager, just say villager. What's this 'presumed' business?"
"They did find one, but it wasn't alive—it was a corpse. And the state it was in was so horrific they couldn't even confirm it was human, let alone a villager."
Shiorin added, his face paling somewhat.
"They said it looked exactly like something had been torn apart, eaten, and spat out..."
"Count Branburt suspects monsters, then. Worried there might be an issue with northern defenses, he sent a messenger posthaste. Is that my understanding?"
"No more, no less—just as Your Highness said."
I frowned at Shiorin's reply.
Ominous premonitions never missed their mark.
What a cursed turn of events.
I looked back at Vincent.
His anger still burned hot.
I fully empathized with it.
While I lounged in the warm palace, chatting idly with the king about bygones, Vincent had been wrestling monsters in the brutal fortress, reliving past horrors.
His resentment toward the royals and other nobles hadn't budged an inch since that day.
Had I not stayed in the palace, had I not wandered the empire's battlefields, Vincent never would have come to the capital to offer his aid.
So when the marquis—right in front of Vincent, who harbored such ill will toward the kingdom—linked central monsters to Winter Fortress, of course he'd erupt like this.
The king knew it too, which was why he stayed silent despite Vincent raising his voice so boldly before him.
The marquis was no doubt aware of the circumstances as well.
But given the gravity of the matter, he had no choice but to speak up cautiously, even if it meant stoking Vincent's fury. Perhaps he was even shouldering the blame on behalf of the king, to whom the Ballerhards owed so much.
"Marquis. From this moment, no more mentions of Winter Fortress."
Guessing the marquis's intent, I still had no choice but to side with Vincent now.
For me, the best move was to seal the marquis's lips before Vincent's old wounds reopened fully.
"Your Highness, this concerns the kingdom's safety. I understand your trust in Winter Fortress's lord, but given the severity of this incident..."
"I won't say it twice. Anyone here who questions Winter Fortress's defenses from now on will answer to me. For one, its defenses aren't that sloppy."
I cut him off firmly.
"And the monsters that struck Count Branburt's territory didn't flow down from the north."
All eyes in the throne room turned to me at once.
"Nor will such villages be limited to Branburt lands."
I was certain.
This was just the beginning.
What happened in Branburt territory would repeat everywhere.
Beings not human would emerge to tear the flesh from the weak and drink their blood.
Creatures far tougher and craftier than humans would topple human keeps and burn their cities.
They'd pile human corpses high, gather the rubble of fallen fortresses and cities, and build their own kingdoms atop it all.
"How could..."
The kingdom's officials paled at my words.
"All I can say is it's a shame. If we'd had just a bit more time, we could've prepared further."
The non-humans' arrival was far swifter than I'd anticipated.
The Silver Lions and Iron Lions had only just begun gathering, and their blades were only now being honed.
It was regrettable—terribly so.
But not everything was bleak.
"The monsters that lived on this land 400 years ago have been wiped out."
I looked at Vincent.
The Ballerhard clan—their blood soaked into the walls over centuries, forging an unbreakable fortress.
"The survivors were driven north, and now they're bottled up behind a single bastion, unable to push south."
Respect for their devotion and sacrifice.
"And it wasn't long ago that we slew what might have been existential threats: the Warlords and Great Lords."
Respect for the victories they achieved.
Vincent straightened proudly under my gaze, shoulders squared.
I continued.
"Thanks to that, fewer of the twisted ones have infiltrated our kingdom compared to other regions."
This land, once the world's most perilous, now the safest—an irony so bitter it nearly drew a laugh.
"Other regions..."
"Empire or wherever, it'll be chaos everywhere."
I laid out the law of the coming world for their stony faces.
Fail to win the fight, and die. Fail to hold the line, and perish.
The kingdom's officials watched me.
Some with sharp eyes sifting truth from lie, others brimming with dread, still others with steadfast faith.
All eyes on me.
Meeting them, I turned to the king.
I spoke directly to him.
Send messengers to every noble in the kingdom, bidding them prepare for danger.
"Grant me leave to depart the palace."
And one more request.
"Let me show these vermin invading our realm who truly owns this land."