Chapter 409: Tonight, Again
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 409: Tonight, Again
“...Sylvia?”
As I was heading back to the carriage, Sylvia appeared before me.
I tilted my head at her strangely enigmatic expression.
“What's wrong? Did something happen?”
“...”
Sylvia approached me without a word and tossed me a small pill.
“What's this?”
“It's an elven elixir made from a blend of herbs. It has a deodorizing effect.”
“An elixir...? But why are you giving this to me?”
At my question, Sylvia narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
“Do you intend to return to Lady Iris covered in the horrid stench of blood?”
“...Is it that bad?”
Sniff, sniff.
I thought I had gotten rid of most of it, but judging by Sylvia's expression, that wasn't the case.
“An elf's five senses are several times more sensitive than a human's. We're particularly sensitive to foul odors and loud noises. To think that Lady Iris's fiancé wouldn't even know that.”
“I'm your fiancé now, too.”
“...”
I popped the elixir into my mouth and wrapped an arm around Sylvia's shoulders.
Sylvia grimaced but didn't try to push my arm away. It seemed that through her experiences so far, she had learned that there was nothing to be gained from resisting.
“So, what happened?”
“Your tone.”
“...What happened, if I may ask?”
“I'll tell you later when Iris and Amelia are with us.”
I gently caressed Sylvia's earlobe as we walked back to where the carriage was parked.
As befitting an elf with sensitive ears, her body trembled faintly every time my fingertips brushed against her earlobe.
I was enjoying her reaction as we walked when suddenly...
“W-Wait...”
“Why?”
Sylvia, who had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, suddenly tried to pull away from my embrace.
At that exact moment, I sensed Iris and Amelia's presence outside the carriage. It seemed they were waiting for us.
Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but things were different now. We were so close that if anyone saw us, they would have no trouble mistaking us for lovers.
For the record, Sylvia didn't want Iris to find out about our relationship—even though it was Iris who had asked me to teach Sylvia about love in the first place.
“L-Let go, quickly! What if Lady Iris sees us...!”
“Dropping the formalities again?”
“P-Please. I'm begging you, let me go...!”
“Hmm, that's still not quite enough...”
Our eyes met, and Sylvia scowled. Her glare seemed to ask if I really had to be like this at a time like this, but I just shrugged and played dumb.
Truthfully, I didn't want to be this petty either. But Sylvia had brought this on herself. Her speech would become informal the moment I stopped pointing it out, so I needed to correct her habit whenever the opportunity arose.
“Grh...!”
Sylvia bit her lip, glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.
But that wasn't going to change anything.
More importantly, even as we bickered, we were getting closer and closer to the carriage.
Sylvia struggled, trying desperately to buy some time, but it had little effect.
Just as a complex mix of emotions flickered across her pale white eyes, she squeezed them shut and leaned in.
Peck—
A moist, soft sensation touched my cheek.
“I-I'm asking you nicely. Darling...”
“...”
I was momentarily speechless at Sylvia's unexpectedly bold move.
But I soon let out a chuckle and leaned my face closer.
“Once isn't enough.”
In the end, I only released my arm from her shoulder after receiving five pecks on the cheek.
For the entire walk back to the carriage, Sylvia's face was scrunched up as if she'd just chewed on bitter herbs.
*
That evening.
We had tried to hurry, but in the end, we couldn't avoid camping out for the night.
Then again, the Lugen Mountains were notorious for frequent monster appearances. It was only natural that there were no towns or villages nearby. Besides, we hadn't completely exited the mountain range yet.
The only silver lining was that we found a nice, flat area to set up camp.
“...A capital siege?”
“Yes.”
Over dinner, I explained to the three of them what had happened during the day—starting with the Noble Faction's army fighting the wyvern, the information I'd gleaned from the commanders' memories, and my own deductions about the current political situation in the Orsia Duchy based on all of it.
Amelia, who had been listening to my story, turned visibly pale with shock.
“N-No way... To think that Lord Hadrian has fallen in battle...”
Hadrian Margrave.
It was a name I'd heard from Amelia before. He was the duchy's Aura Master and the Orsia Grand Duke's most loyal vassal, someone she said she could trust and rely on like her own uncle.
It was no wonder she was shocked to hear that such a person had died on the battlefield.
To be honest, I had been debating whether it was right to tell Amelia this news. But she was bound to find out eventually. Learning about it later wouldn't lessen the shock she would feel. If I hid the margrave's death under the guise of being considerate, it would be nothing more than self-satisfaction and deceit.
I took Amelia's hand.
At that moment, our eyes met, her silver pupils trembling pitifully.
“I'm sure he has gone to a better place.”
“Sob, hic...”
Amelia finally burst into tears and threw herself into my arms.
I gently stroked her back, waiting silently until she had composed herself.
A good while later...
“Are you feeling a little calmer now?”
“I-I'm sorry...”
Her face as red as a beet, Amelia tried to hide her puffy, swollen eyes by ducking her head as she slowly pulled away from me.
My clothes were soaked with her tears, but I didn't mind.
“To continue the story, the Duke Faction is currently at a clear disadvantage. Not only was the Noble Faction's military strength greater than expected, but the fact that no one anticipated the rebellion played a major role.”
The aforementioned Hadrian Margrave and Count Marvil, the lord of the territory where Amelia had been recuperating before she fled the duchy, were key figures in the Duke Faction.
But Hadrian Margrave had fallen in battle, and Count Marvil's territory, overwhelmed by the Noble Faction's forces that rose up without warning, had fallen in a matter of days.
In effect, the Duke Faction's strength had been cut by nearly half.
On top of that, traitors were now beginning to emerge from their ranks. This was ultimately a result of the Duke Faction's biggest problem: the lack of a central figure.
The Grand Duke had been unconscious for nearly a year, and Amelia, the sole heir, had been missing all that time. In such a situation, it wasn't strange at all that the rebel army had reached the capital's doorstep. If anything, they deserved praise for fighting so hard for so long.
“Sir Hyun-woo, in that case, what is the enemy's troop strength?" Iris asked.
“Well... just because he was a battalion commander doesn't mean he knew everything. I don't know about the other branches, but in terms of infantry alone, it seems to be around one hundred and twenty thousand.”
“O-One hundred and twenty thousand...?”
At my words, Amelia was so shocked she couldn't speak.
120,000.
It was an incredible number, hard to believe for a mere rebel army. And that was just the infantry. The total number of troops might be close to 200,000.
I took Amelia's pale hand in mine and gave her a small, reassuring smile.
“Of course, most of them are conscripts, so you don't have to worry too much.”
Infantrymen weren't the ones who decided the outcome of a war. They were merely a means to maintain the front lines and occupy cities. War was the domain of superhumans like knights and mages.
In this world, an infantryman was literally an ordinary person who couldn't handle aura or mana.
A regular soldier? Just an ordinary person who knew how to handle a weapon.
Even if hundreds of thousands, no, millions of them gathered, could they even leave a single scratch on me? Of course, killing that many people would take a mental toll on me, but that would be the extent of it.
However, that absolutely did not mean I could end the war by myself. The enemy side would have mages and knights as well.
And there might even be a 7th Circle mage among them.
“For now, let's just focus on getting into the capital safely. It won't be easy through normal means.”
With the war drawing near, access to the capital would already be restricted. Of course, I had the letter of recommendation from Elisabeth, and with Amelia by my side, entering the city itself wouldn't be a major issue.
But there was one fact that could not be overlooked.
'Those rebel bastards must be searching for Amelia with their eyes peeled.'
And the same went for the traitors in the Duke Faction. One of the surest ways for them to defect to the Noble Faction and solidify their position would be to secure Amelia's person.
Furthermore, there was no guarantee that rebel spies weren't already hiding inside the capital.
'...Am I walking right into the tiger's den?'
Tug, tug—
“Um, Sir Hyun-woo...?”
“Yes?”
As I was lost in thought, Amelia tugged on my collar. Her eyes were still puffy and swollen.
“I-If it's not too much trouble... could I ask you for a favor again today...?”
Amelia fidgeted with her fingers, glancing back and forth between me and Iris.
Seeing her hesitant demeanor, a faint smile appeared on Iris's lips.
“A favor?”
“W-Well, it's about the mana wavelengths...”
“Ah.”
I nodded. If that was it, I was more than willing to help.
*
The level of development in this world was, at best, stuck in the medieval era. Of course, there were occasional objects that seemed to transcend the times, but most were merely remnants of the Mythical Era.
As technological development was slow, the infrastructure was pitifully lacking no matter which country you went to. Thanks to that, we spent more nights camping out than staying at inns.
The only fortunate thing was that the carriage was spacious enough for three women to sleep in without issue. As for me, I usually slept outside in a tent. Of course, since it was a product made for the wealthy, it was more comfortable than the studio apartment I used to live in.
Well, Iris snuck into my tent almost every night, so I rarely slept alone.
Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up out of the blue is that tonight, I'm scheduled to spend the night alone in the tent not with Iris, but with Amelia.
“P-Please take care of me...”
I looked at Amelia, who was sitting across from me, her head bowed shyly.
Dressed in only a thin slip dress, her attire gave off a strangely seductive air despite not being revealing. It was probably because of her chest. I felt sorry for Elisabeth, but Amelia seemed to be about a cup size larger.
“Aren't you too nervous? It's not your first time.”
“...”
I'd said it to try and lighten the mood, but it didn't seem to have much effect. Then again, just sitting here like this wouldn't make things any better.
“Well then, if you'll excuse me.”
“Ah...”
Rustle—
I carefully reached out, brushing Amelia's hair back from her face and gently caressing her cheek.
It was hot and soft.
“...I know it's strange to ask now, but are you really okay with this? We'll be at the capital soon, so there's no need to push yourself to sync our mana wavelengths—”
“No.”
Amelia took my hand in hers and slowly closed the distance between us. I could feel her hot breath and the pounding of her heart.
“...I'm not pushing myself.”
Her silver eyes were trembling slightly, but she was looking straight at me.
Seeing that, I said no more.
I slowly pressed my lips against hers and carefully laid her down on the mattress.
As always, I wasn't even sure if I could stop myself from crossing the line tonight.
*
In the beginning, there were two gods.
Lumiel, the Creator God who fashioned all things in the world.
And Malefis, the Evil God who presided over death and demons.
The conflict between the two gods soon escalated into a war, which only ended with Lumiel's victory after the world had been stained with blood.
Malefis, defeated in the war, vanished without a trace.
But his followers did not disappear with the changing times; they have always existed.
“...Lady Lavinia.”
Inside the tranquil temple, a man's voice echoed.
“An incident has occurred in the Nivia Kingdom. The 1st Prince, the 2nd Queen, and Marquis Laxion are dead. In addition, a significant number of other nobles have been found dead under mysterious circumstances.”
The man reported while prostrated on the floor, his posture clearly showing his resolve to never displease the woman before him.
“For now, it is presumed to be a purge carried out by the 1st Princess upon her recent ascension. Please give us your orders for our next course of action.”
“The 1st Princess, you say...”
Lavinia looked at a photograph of Elisabeth and gave a strange smile. It was a seductive smile that could stir lust in anyone, man or woman. At the same time, however, it was an unsettling expression.
“Just leave it. Now is the time to focus on the Orsia Duchy.”
Riiip—
The photograph was torn in two and burned away into nothing.
Through the scattering ashes, a pair of chilling, crimson-black eyes flickered.
“A backwater nation on the frontier... if I put my mind to it, wiping it off the map would be a trivial matter, wouldn't it?”
“I will obey your command.”
The man did not question Lavinia's words in the slightest.
He simply followed, blindly.