Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Water Flow Manipulation (3)
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By the time they arrived in Quinis, the city gates had long since closed for the night. Of course, the gates opened right away when Roxana ordered them to.
The soldiers dispersed, and Galen followed Roxana to her mansion. It was to guard against any possible second attack.
"You worked hard today."
"Not at all."
"Get some good rest. Even if it's unlikely, absolutely do not step outside."
"Understood."
The security around the mansion, especially the guest annex where Galen was staying, had been tightened several times over from the norm. Roxana had ordered every available person to be mobilized, rotations be damned.
There was no way it could be breached under normal circumstances, so there was no need to worry. And if something extraordinary came barging in, no precautions would matter anyway—so no need to worry in that sense either.
Galen slept soundly without a care.
But Roxana couldn't sleep. Even sleep felt like a waste when she needed to handle things as quickly as possible.
Whether it was past midnight or not didn't matter. She went around roughly waking people up and kept herself busy.
By the time she finally finished the report, dawn had broken. Without a moment's rest, Roxana headed straight to the docks.
"Search every inch thoroughly."
"Yes, ma'am!"
They meticulously scoured the interiors of the requisitioned ships overnight and shook down the sailors for anyone suspicious. The remaining spots were filled with handpicked soldiers.
Once everything was prepared, they loaded Jerbon's coffin and his escorts under heavy guard. This was truly the best they could do.
That was when Galen arrived at the harbor.
"Sleep well?"
"Thanks to your consideration."
True to his youth, Galen looked fully refreshed after just a few hours of solid sleep. Roxana nodded wearily.
"We can depart right away. I've assigned two warships as escorts, so it should be safe unless the attackers bring an army."
"Thank you for the arrangements."
"Here's the report. Make sure to deliver it to the family properly. I'll send additional reports later."
"Understood. I'll see it delivered."
If she had the luxury for idle chit-chat like this, she wouldn't have pulled an all-nighter.
Roxana turned to go make up for lost sleep.
And the ship carrying Galen slipped toward the horizon.
Quinis is one of the southernmost cities on the continent—the big landmass, that is.
If you take a ship further south from there, you'll come across an archipelago of six large islands.
It's called the Sun Archipelago.
Solta is the name of both the largest island in the Sun Archipelago and its biggest city. That's also where the Oceanis Family's main estate was located.
Three days after departing Quinis, Galen arrived in Solta without incident.
It was the most comfortable journey he'd ever had since being born as Galen. With no one to attend to, he just lounged in the best cabin all day.
But as his destination drew nearer, his mind grew uneasy bit by bit. The attack wasn't his fault, but it was such terrible news that he worried about the reaction.
'I can't exactly withhold the report just because I'm worried...'
After instructing the soldiers and sailors to guard the ship rigorously, Galen disembarked alone and hurried straight to the main estate.
"Steward."
"Galen? When did you get back? Where's the Young Master?"
"That's..."
A short while later.
The main estate was thrown into chaos.
"Galen!"
The first woman to rush over upon hearing the news grabbed Galen's shoulders without even catching her breath.
Elisa Oceanis.
Jerbon's older sister by two years.
The siblings were incredibly close, so Galen had built up a fair rapport with her too. They'd seen each other so often. Same age, and they got along well.
"...Lady Elisa."
"Say it again. That Jerbon—how did Jerbon—? This is a lie, right?"
"...I'm sorry."
"Ah... ah."
"Lady!"
Elisa staggered. The maid who'd been following her quickly supported her.
Half-leaning into the maid, Elisa spoke with difficulty.
"You recovered... Jerbon's... body?"
"Yes."
"Show me. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. There's no way..."
"...I'll escort you to the ship."
A carriage was hastily prepared.
Galen led Elisa back to the ship and showed her to the cabin holding Jerbon's coffin.
He didn't go in with her. He just quietly closed the door and had the guarding soldiers step back a bit.
A mournful sob leaked out from the cabin.
Galen let out a sigh.
Having been an orphan all alone in both his past and present lives, he couldn't even presume to guess what Elisa was feeling.
And though he'd shown interest in the secret manual even with the body right there, he wasn't so heartbroken over Jerbon's death that he couldn't bear it.
Still, he wasn't heartless enough to interrupt her weeping. Galen silently stood guard outside the door.
A long while later, the door opened.
Elisa's eyes were red, bloodshot, and swollen. But her maid had wiped her face, so she didn't look a total mess.
"Let's head back."
Her voice was still thick with tears, but Elisa no longer wobbled. She'd forcibly composed herself, willing or not.
She knew there were things to handle before she could grieve freely. Galen knew it too.
The two returned to the main estate and headed to the conference room.
Normally, Galen wouldn't be allowed in, but he was granted special permission due to his duty to report on the incident.
Only three people were in the spacious conference room: two men and one woman.
Rius, the eldest son and heir.
Tarina, the second child and eldest daughter.
Raven, the third child and second son.
Elisa was the fourth child and second daughter, and Jerbon, the fifth and third son, was dead.
With the family head seeing all the living siblings, it was as if the children were all gathered.
"You're late."
Tarina, with her sharp eyes, spoke in a tone as cold as her glare.
"Don't you think about the people waiting?"
"Heavens, talk about cold."
Raven, with his sly features, picked up after her.
"You have to give Elisa time to compose herself too. Not everyone's as icy as you, sis."
"Shut your mouth, Raven. You were the one complaining the most just now."
"Sure, but unlike you, I don't say it so bluntly. So be a little more considerate from now on, alright, Elisa?"
"...Yes."
Elisa replied reluctantly. Raven kept his sly grin, and Tarina maintained her icy demeanor.
"Enough chit-chat."
Rius's gruff voice cut in. Drawing his siblings' eyes, he looked at Galen.
"You're Jerbon's valet?"
"Yes, Young Master."
"Explain. Everything you know, leave nothing out."
It wasn't a tough order. He just had to repeat for the third time what he'd already told Roxana and the steward.
The problem was that the atmosphere in the conference room was far worse than Galen had vaguely imagined.
'I didn't expect it to be this bad...'
Galen wasn't unaware of the siblings' conflicts. If anything, he knew quite well.
Rius, Tarina, and Raven were from the first wife. Elisa and Jerbon were from the second.
The three from the first wife hated their stepmother, and thus hated Elisa and Jerbon too.
No need for the other side to like them back, so Elisa and Jerbon stuck to their own duo.
That much was common in blended families.
But the Oceanis Family's situation was a bit more complicated.
The second wife had died a few years ago too, leaving no lady of the house, and even the family head was bedridden, with eldest son Rius temporarily handling affairs.
In short, there were no adults to mediate between the children, so old grudges kept festering and growing.
Even so, Galen hadn't realized they'd be this fractured.
They must have heard where Elisa had gone and gotten the basic report.
Tarina openly scolding her for being late, Raven pretending to intervene but doing the same, Rius just watching.
They didn't even pretend to grieve their youngest brother's death. It was far from dignified poise for an official setting.
'Hope I haven't made enemies needlessly.'
His worry came true.
As soon as Galen's report ended, Tarina spoke first again.
"So in summary, you ran away alone?"
No, how does it summarize to that? Did she even listen properly?
Everyone else was dead, and only then did he act—and that's running? Should he have stayed put till the end?
While Galen was dumbfounded into silence, Tarina pressed on coldly.
"What's with that look? You abandoned your master and fled alone—how dare you hold your head high?"
"There she goes with her temper again. This wasn't running away, sis. He survived. Similar outcome, sure."
Raven smirked. It sounded like he was defending Galen at first, but his next words proved otherwise.
"What bugs me more is how he came out unscathed. Hey, valet."
"Yes, Young Master."
"If the attackers were strong enough to kill Jerbon, how did a mere servant escape without a scratch?"
"Pardon? Because I didn't join the fight..."
"We heard that. But everyone else ends up in a perfect mutual destruction—except you. Doesn't that fit too neatly?"
"What do you... mean?"
"What if there was a traitor in Jerbon's group who tipped off the perfect moment? It wasn't even mutual destruction—maybe they deliberately spared just one? No way to prove whatever lies that one tells, right?"
"Absolutely not!"
Galen shouted in shock.
What nonsense was this, leading to such a ridiculous conclusion.
"Young Master Jerbon took in a lowly servant like me. Why would I betray him?!"
"How should I know why you betrayed him? You would. Gonna confess nicely? Or—"
"Brother."
A voice, suppressed and hardened, cut off Raven.
Elisa, who'd been silent, finally spoke.
"That's enough."
"Huh?"
"Galen recovered Jerbon's body and even brought the secret manual. If he were truly a traitor, why come back here instead of vanishing?"
"That's why I'm asking."
"Even got a supposed answer in mind? Do you?"
When Raven didn't reply immediately, Elisa sneered.
"No? Don't demand forced answers from others that even you can't think up. Stop trampling an innocent man's loyalty with your dogshit."
"...Bit harsh with the words?"
"Unlike some who think softening words fixes everything, I'm the straightforward type."
"Elisa, you—"
"Enough. What is this disgrace in front of a subordinate?"
The sharp crack of wood striking drowned out the escalating argument.
Rius, who'd slammed the desk, jerked his chin at Galen.
"You're dismissed."
"Yes."
"I heard your account. Stay put until your disposition is decided."
"...Understood."
Galen bowed politely and left the conference room.
His face was rigidly set as he returned to his room.
'Damn rotten lot.'
If Elisa hadn't intervened, he'd have been wrongly accused.
Not even sure she'd fully shielded him. They hadn't agreed or backed off—just stopped bickering.
The third branded him traitor, the second a deserter, the first a troublemaker. "Stay put" was what you heard after screwing up.
'They're practically shoving me out the door.'
He'd hesitated at first, but since Jerbon had treated him well, he felt duty-bound to repay it properly.
Instead of panicking and fleeing or going AWOL, he'd done his utmost to recover the remains and deliver the last words.
And this was the welcome back. With half-siblings openly showing disdain, that had to be the reason.
The esteemed facade of this prestigious family crumbled like a sandcastle against the waves, revealing its ugly truth.
'Fine then.'
The answer he'd perhaps unconsciously grasped the moment Jerbon died finally crystallized in Galen's mind.
It was time to leave.