Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: 12. Past Connections (1)
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Just as that heat was about to burst out of my body...
"Whoa there!"
A scream pierced my ears.
At the same time, something cold poured over my face. A sharp smell of alcohol assaulted my nose.
My mind snapped awake.
"Your Highness. Are you alright?"
An old man stood before me.
"I was rushing to pay my respects to Your Highness... I apologize."
The old man kept apologizing profusely while wiping my face with his sleeve. But despite his frantic demeanor, his eyes were eerily calm.
Our gazes met.
His wrinkled eyes held a wealth of unspoken words.
I glanced at the Burgundy envoy. Pushed aside by the old man's fuss, he scowled deeply. I turned away from the sight.
"I'll need to change my clothes."
"In my old age, my body betrayed me, committing a grave discourtesy. I am truly sorry, Your Highness."
The old man apologized again.
I waved him off dismissively and turned away.
"..."
The envoy gaped at me. But I ignored him and walked right past.
"Your Highness. We'll escort you."
Kals and the Royal Knights surrounded me.
"Who was that?"
"That is Marquis Billefeldt."
At the name Billefeldt, I couldn't help turning my head.
The marquis, who had been watching me, bowed his head politely.
"Not everything's rotten after all."
"Your Highness?"
My mutter drew a puzzled look from Kals.
"Nothing."
I wiped my cheek, and crimson wine stained my hand.
That old coot sure poured it generously.
Shake, shake.
I irritably shook my head. The alcohol dripped down.
*
"Your Highness?"
Seeing me drenched, Adelia gasped and rushed over, fussing with my hair using her sleeve.
"I'll bathe anyway, so just leave it."
I stripped off my clothes.
"Hoo."
The dampness was gone, but the sticky grime lingered.
I had to witness some ugly sights at tonight's banquet.
The kingdom had fallen into ruin after centuries, rotted to the core and beyond salvage.
The descendants of those who once rose boldly for the powerless had become serpents, while the vile Burgundy clan strutted through the heart of the realm.
The thought reignited the fire in my gut.
It didn't seem like a one- or two-day issue.
The arrogant imperial envoy and the nobles watching it all seemed utterly unfazed—unnaturally so. Their behavior felt as natural as breathing, like it had always been this way.
Had the empire and kingdom forged a dramatic peace over the past four centuries? Buried ancient grudges for a new era and become allies?
Impossible.
I recalled the banquet hall.
The atmosphere was too tense for peace, the relationship too one-sided for alliance.
The Burgundy clan acted like owners, and the kingdom's nobles groveled like obedient dogs, ever watchful.
The king's face came to mind.
"All show and no substance."
What had he been doing while the kingdom decayed like this? He'd mocked the prodigal prince's incompetence and brutality, yet let his own nobles worship foreign ones like kings.
It was absurd.
"Something happened, I hear."
A sudden voice made me turn. My uncle stood there, watching me.
"I've heard the gist from Marquis Billefeldt."
My uncle approached and plopped into a chair.
"What exactly were you planning?"
What was he planning to do upon meeting the Burgundy clan? An odd question—one I wouldn't have heard in the past.
For anyone born and raised in this land, what business was there with the Burgundy clan was obvious.
To kill or be killed.
"It was true, then."
My uncle sighed heavily after studying my face.
"The marquis said your expression looked like you were about to start something. It wasn't a misread."
"I'm not that reckless."
Of course, I'd been swept up in passion momentarily, but even without the marquis, I wouldn't have acted.
There could be circumstances I didn't know.
"How did things come to this?"
That's why I planned to investigate from now on.
"The kingdom in this state."
I intended to hear what flimsy excuses they had.
"Tell me."
My uncle's face grew grave.
"In the past, the kingdom withstood the empire's countless invasions. We suffered great losses, but brilliant knights always repelled them. We never yielded a single inch of soil, and every imperial incursion ended in failure. But as time passed, the situation changed."
The empire grew monstrously larger, widening the gap. The front lines expanded beyond what a few outstanding knights could hold. The small kingdom had no choice but to kneel before the superpower.
An unremarkable history. But hearing it all chilled me to the bone.
It was too coincidental.
"The gap started widening around two hundred years ago, didn't it?"
I had to confirm.
Nod.
My uncle nodded.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Then or now, this kingdom was minuscule compared to the empire. Yet the past kingdom had the pride and strength to defy imperial might.
This land held something unique, unmatched by any other.
It was founded by those driven to the edge of human territory.
They fought non-humans day and night, vanquished mighty "Lords of Other Races," and only then claimed their foothold. Only after slaying the pinnacle "Light Dragon" could they declare the nation's founding.
Innumerable poems and songs were born from that brutal saga.
This tiny realm brimmed with astonishing [Myths] and [Heroic Tales]. Those songs were the kingdom's shield.
But where had they gone now?
Forgotten, erased, disbelieved even by descendants. To unbelievers, they were mere fairy tales.
Thus, the [Myths] and [Heroic Poems] that guarded the kingdom lost their power.
That's how it reached this point. Transcendent knights vanished, replaced by those versed in mere mana chains. Numbers alone could overwhelm such a petty nation.
I steadied my breath and opened my eyes after a long moment.
My uncle was before me. The knight once called a Swordmaster wore a face etched with defeat.
"Uncle."
I might regret this.
"I've changed my mind."
No, he would surely regret it.
"I'll give it a try."
Yet I chose.
"I'll try being king."
Someone might say:
A stolen body—what right do you have?
If so, I'd reply:
Half this kingdom is mine anyway.
Because my dear friend and I built it together.
*
My uncle left.
The grime was gone, but I didn't return to the banquet. Marquis Billefeldt had given me the perfect excuse.
Yet two more days remained until it ended. And I had to attend.
I needed to see with my own eyes which trees were rotten and which weren't.
The next day, I dressed more meticulously than ever and headed to the banquet hall. My uncle came too.
"The rightful ruler of Leonberger Kingdom and direct blood of His Majesty King Lionel Leonberger, the most noble—His Highness Idrian Leonberger, eldest son of the royal house, enters!"
"Commander of the 3rd Legion and the kingdom's proud silver lion, Lord Bail Ballerhard of the Ballerhard County enters!"
The herald announced our entrance.
The same gazes from yesterday poured over me. Countless nobles already filled the hall.
Some were new, others familiar.
They offered half-hearted obeisance—worse than they'd give foreign nobles. At that feeble courtesy, I twisted my lips.
When my dear friend once stood before the people, no one thought him kingly. None acknowledged him as sovereign.
He was just a country bumpkin boy from some backwater.
Even among the exploited outcasts, he was unremarkable—nay, dismissed for his youth.
The tousle-haired lad stepped forward amid their scorn.
Just like me now.
"Standing tall before sightless sheep."
My Mana Heart throbbed as if tearing apart. But it was bearable.
This was no [Myth], but a heroic lay—and its opening verse, practically sung for me.
A low song resonated in my mind. In that instant, the air shifted.
Whoosh.
The nobles, peeking slyly while half-bowing, suddenly bent fully at the waist. Even some grand lords who hadn't knelt now bowed their heads.
Step, step.
I walked. Staring straight at those who hadn't yielded to my presence.
Perplexed, astonished...
Seeing their faces, I curled my lips. At my smile, they looked uneasy and lowered their heads.
Slowly, very slowly.
I stood at the banquet hall's center, receiving their obeisance.
"Raise your..."
I tried to speak with maximum authority, but an odd gaze prickled from somewhere.
Deeply alien, yet familiar.
I turned.
A figure in distinctly un-noble attire stared piercingly.
He approached. Light, floating steps.
Whoosh.
The fresh, grassy scent hit my nose, revealing his identity.
"An elf?"
At my words, he removed the hood covering his face. The area brightened momentarily. Gasps echoed everywhere.
Her beauty was that devastating.
But I couldn't savor that pinnacle of allure.
Why are you here?
She shouldn't be here.