Chapter 116: The Lord is With Us (37)
Chapter 116: The Lord is With Us (37)
The Yurdina family’s history was one of taming the desolate North.
At the continent's northernmost tip lies a land of ice and snow. Descending slightly, one finds the permafrost, where only moss takes root each spring. Only further south do the vast coniferous forests finally appear.
Few plants or animals could survive on such cold, barren earth—and humans were no exception.
Like any other species, humans could not survive in total isolation. A stable intake of nutrients was only possible when a complex ecosystem of flora and fauna supported them.
Thus, in the distant past, when the Yurdina family first planted their flag in the North, it was a land of exile.
Once loyal retainers of the Unified Empire, the Yurdina family was eventually cast aside as the years passed. Though they migrated north under the guise of being granted a new territory, everyone knew the truth: they were being discarded like hounds after the hunt was over.
Yet, even there, the Yurdina family survived.
Among the creatures that endured the harsh North, none were anything less than formidable. Even the tiny mice that nibbled on moss possessed a hidden, innate toughness.
They were creatures specialized solely for survival.
The Yurdina family adopted the ways of these natives.
They did whatever was necessary to survive. They worshipped strength and culled the weak, building their legacy over hundreds of years.
When the wars of division broke out and the Unified Empire collapsed, the Yurdina family stood at the vanguard.
Having become founding contributors to the new Empire, the Yurdina family reigned as the Lords of the North for a long time. Yet, their convictions never wavered.
Victory is everything; defeat is death.
The elegant etiquette they had maintained during the days of the Unified Empire had long since been abolished as mere vanity. Only one thing remained common between the Yurdina family of old and the Yurdina family of today.
The secret technique: Yurdina's Golden Silk Sword. It was a swordsmanship style said to be modeled after the claws of a lion.
In truth, there were no lions in the North. The land was not rich enough in prey to support such a massive predator.
The reason traces of a beast from the eastern grasslands remained within the Yurdina family was simply that their roots did not lie in the North.
Conversely, this meant that everything about the Yurdina family, except for the Golden Silk Sword, had been reshaped to fit life in the North.
Delphine Yurdina was born as the legitimate heir to such a house.
At the time, Marquis Yurdina was in his prime. He had conquered numerous settlements of other races remaining in the North and successfully driven the elves and orcs beyond the vast coniferous forests.
His skill was top-tier even among Sword Experts—a powerhouse who could arguably be called a Master in all but name.
The problem, however, was that such an outstanding figure was incredibly busy with public and private affairs.
Having little interest in women, he was equally indifferent to producing an heir. In fact, his vassals were shocked when he eventually brought home Seria and her mother.
Thus, Delphine grew up alone for a long time. As the Yurdina family's most precious treasure, her influence and status were beyond question.
Even during the years when she should have been receiving rigorous heir training, she grew up being pampered. She was a girl born with both the golden hair and red eyes that characterized the Yurdina bloodline.
Everyone in the family loved her. There were few who could dislike the young Delphine, who was both beautiful and charming.
Mingling freely with the vassals, Delphine enjoyed a happy childhood. She even loved the cold, barren lands of the North.
One day, when I become the Lord of the North, I’ll plant flowers and make the North even more beautiful.
Delphine grew up harboring the vain hopes that only a child can dream of.
That is, until she was six years old.
Delphine still remembered everything about that day. Inheriting the superior bloodline of the Yurdina family, her mind was sharp, and she was famous for her extraordinary memory.
In the stables of the lord’s castle, there was Elder Hanson. He looked exactly like an aged peasant, but he was a trusted vassal responsible for the horses—a vital strategic resource.
He was particularly fond of Delphine. A corner of Delphine’s memory held the reason: he had a granddaughter around her age in a distant estate.
Naturally, Delphine liked Elder Hanson as well. As a stablemaster, he knew many heroic tales of knights. Listening to those stories, Delphine never doubted that she, too, would one day become a righteous knight.
A child who admires knights naturally develops a strange longing for horseback riding.
Every time Delphine met Elder Hanson, she begged him to let her ride a horse. Each time, Elder Hanson would simply give a benevolent smile and say:
“Oh, my lady, you can’t handle the strength of a horse yet. When you’re a bit older, you’ll be riding them to your heart’s content, even if you don’t want to. Haha!”
Delphine would pout, feeling slighted. Children always believe they are fully grown, though Elder Hanson would only chuckle at her antics.
The disaster happened one night.
Delphine snuck into the stables. It was a place she wasn't allowed to enter, but for a child holding the castle's ring of keys under the pretext of opening the library, nothing was impossible.
With her clumsy knowledge of riding, Delphine struggled to mount a horse. The result was predictable.
A fall. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal injury, but it was enough to snap a child’s fragile bones. It was a prank that turned the vassals' blood cold.
Delphine groaned in her sickbed.
She was in pain, but rumors reached her that Elder Hanson was going to face severe trouble. She couldn't bear the guilt she felt toward him.
I’ll apologize to Elder Hanson as soon as I get better. And I’ll protect him.
Then, one day, Delphine heard that her father had returned.
It was just when she was finally able to move. Leaning on a crutch, she hurried out with a bright face to see the father she missed, just as she always did.
And then, she saw it.
Her father holding a sword, and Elder Hanson kneeling before him.
His hands were bound with rope. Elder Hanson’s face held nothing but a silent, desolate despair.
The moment she saw that scene, Delphine’s mind went blank.
It was a sight she had seen several times before—her father executing a criminal. Realizing what was happening, Delphine instinctively rushed toward him.
She was still clumsy with her crutches and tripped. Rolling on the ground and dragging her unhealed leg, Delphine crawled forward and grabbed her father’s ankle.
Before she knew it, she was sobbing.
That day, she learned for the first time that when one is desperate, pleas and tears flow naturally.
“Father, hic… P-Please don’t. It’s, it’s my fault! Ugh, hic… Elder Hanson did nothing wrong! I did it on my own…!”
But her father’s expression remained unchanged. He commanded in his usual solemn voice.
“Delphine, step back.”
“N-No! If I do, you’ll kill Elder Hanson! P-Please, punish me instead… It’s my fault! Elder Hanson is innocent!”
For the first time in her life, Delphine raised her voice against her father, who was like a god to her. At her pitiful cries, the surrounding vassals could only remain silent.
After a long while, Marquis Yurdina finally let out a sigh.
As if he had no choice, he uttered a single command.
“……Stand up.”
Only then did Delphine’s face brighten. Fearing her father might change his mind, she endured the pain and forced herself up.
And the moment she lifted her head with a hopeful face—
Blood erupted in a fan-shaped spray.
She didn't even see it. That was the first time she had witnessed the strike of a truly skilled swordsman.
She didn't even know the sword had been drawn, yet the blade was already being sheathed.
Delphine’s eyes slowly turned toward Elder Hanson. Blood spurted from his neck, and he collapsed, frothing at the mouth with bubbling blood.
Belatedly, the blood splattered across the earth. As the red liquid stained her own legs, Delphine let out a scream and collapsed.
“Ugh, ah, ugh… Aaaaaaaaah!”
“Stand up, Delphine.”
Marquis Yurdina didn't even flinch. Delphine, forgetting that he was the one who had killed Elder Hanson, grabbed the hem of her father’s trousers.
“F-Father! E-Elder Hanson is…!”
“I told you to stand up, Delphine!”
And then, those blood-red eyes glared down at her coldly.
Delphine’s blood froze. It was the instinct of prey facing a predator. She involuntarily scrambled to her feet.
Her legs, enduring the pain, trembled violently. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to collapse again.
Watching her, Marquis Yurdina spoke in a grave voice.
“Remember today well, Delphine. People like us do not even have the right to be punished.”
Delphine’s tear-filled eyes shook violently. Even seeing that small, shivering body, the man’s face remained devoid of emotion.
“Whether you make a mistake or you fail, your subordinates will bear all the responsibility. And each time, the people precious to you will disappear one by one… Do you understand, Delphine?”
Yet, perhaps Marquis Yurdina was human after all, for he could not maintain his icy mask perfectly when facing his daughter.
A flash of agony crossed his eyes.
Delphine was shocked. Shocked by the fact that there were things even a man as strong as her father could not control.
“……So, do not be defeated. Because every time you are, you will have to lose those precious to you.”
Instead of yourself.
With that final addition, Marquis Yurdina departed without offering a single word of comfort.
Delphine stood there like a stone statue for a long time before finally collapsing and wailing. She crawled across the ground and looked down at Elder Hanson’s corpse.
Not a single trace of emotion remained in his eyes. This made Delphine suffer even more.
Burying her face in the corpse, Delphine inhaled the scent of blood. It was as if she were hyperventilating. As she gritted her teeth and breathed in the blood through her nose, the young girl looked almost possessed by a ghostly aura.
It was fishy and warm. This was the trace of life.
The portion belonging to precious people who could never return.
The girl wept in the pool of blood. The Yurdina vassals watched her with pity, yet none of them moved to help her up.
For this was the burden the heir of Yurdina had to bear.
After that day, Delphine changed. She lost her expressions, and the charming smile she once had cooled into ice long ago.
Even when she met her half-sister, and even when that sister’s mother was driven away, Delphine’s advice was grimly serious.
“If you don’t prove your worth, you’ll end up like that too.”
That was the only advice Delphine, at such a young age, could offer her sister.
Thus, Delphine grew up without a single defeat. She naturally internalized the Yurdina worldview and realized that the lesson carved into her heart as a child was not wrong in the slightest.
Victory is everything.
The loser is stripped of everything. Whether it was something precious or anything else, ownership was determined solely by victory or defeat.
But that worldview, which she had protected her entire life, was shattered to pieces by a single man.
By Ian Percus—that very man.