Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Denial of Value
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Half a year ago, in the South. Southern Duke Bill Alles gazed at the glaring red rift with hatred and regret. They had finally made it this far. They had reclaimed all the territory taken by the wraiths and reached the passage to hell itself. Once they retrieved the altar below, the long war would finally end. Victory was just one step away, but that single step was impossibly distant and treacherous. Wraiths were still pouring out of the rift in droves. Who could possibly cut through those wraiths and stitch the sky shut?
The Southern Duke and his knights stared at the rift and the wraiths, clutching both despair and hope.
Then, far in the distance, a blue flag rose.
“They’re finally here.”
The knights and soldiers cleared a path at the sight of the flag. Through their ranks strode the executioner in black garb. Tanned black leather armor, a mask covering the face, hair that had been short at the first battle now grown long enough to reach the back and tied up tightly.
The Southern Knights stepped back in reverence for the executioner who had appeared under the blue flag. The executioner signaled to the knights with hand gestures. They nodded in agreement and scattered to their positions. True to the name Silent War, their battlefield remained eerily quiet to the end. In the suffocating silence, the knights struck their shields with their swords, creating noise. When the ones who had swallowed their first cries went berserk at the sound, the executioner unfurled the whip.
And people witnessed it. A sight impossible to believe or comprehend without seeing it firsthand.
***
The whip the executioner had used had fulfilled its role half a year ago and snapped in its final moments. So Lena picked up the newly made one, still unfamiliar in her hand, and stretched it out long.
Then, amid the flustered knights, she called for Eden.
“Sir Eden.”
“Lady Lena, how...”
“Pull yourself together. From now on, handle separating from the knights.”
“Pardon?”
Eden blinked in confusion, but Lena offered no lengthy explanation. Instead, she spread the whip wide toward the palace ceiling. The whip filled the air like unraveled threads. And time stopped.
Lena opened her consciousness, splitting time as she calculated. The number of wraiths, the positions of the knights, the layout of the palace, the secureable space, and the angle and force direction of the whip hovering in the air.
Finishing her calculations, Lena twisted the two whips gripped in her hands freely. The whips poured down like lightning, striking the wraiths fiercely.
. . .
At that time, the marquis was watching the situation at Do-um Palace from a short distance away.
Something was off. The knights had lured out the hundred wraiths as he ordered and dragged them toward the rift. The knights who had served as bait had already exited the palace and rejoined the group. Yet for some reason, the palace remained quiet. The occasional roar and shouts hinted at something happening, but not a single wraith emerged.
“What’s going on?”
The watching marquis eventually sent a knight into the palace. Moments later, the knight returned from Do-um Palace with a pale face and reported.
“The proxy of the Southern Duke is dropping all the wraiths with her whip.”
“What?”
It was not the marquis who snapped irritably, but Lubid. The prince, unaware of the marquis’s scheme, turned immediately toward Do-um Palace. The marquis followed with a stiff expression, and Enji trailed after them, gauging the mood.
Arriving at Do-um Palace, they could scarcely believe their eyes. Wraiths clutching fireballs were struck by the silver whip and scattered like shooting stars. In the midst of that radiant spray stood Lena Rubel.
. . .
Half an hour before the wraiths swarmed, Lena was quietly reading the signs.
“They’re starting to move, aren’t they?”
The Northern Knights were repeatedly reporting something to the marquis. The Southern border duty had entered its fifth day; with only two days left, if there was a plot, it was about time to act. Lena had suspected it from the start. Her father had turned someone among the Southern Knights into his own and set a trap. So she had been on high alert. It was par for the course that her father would dig a pit, but a knight harboring other loyalties was a significant issue.
“The most suspicious is Sir Eden, but...”
He was so blatantly suspect it made her hesitate. He might just be an honest man eager to step up, so Lena quietly observed. Then she spotted those giving off strange vibes. As the Northern Knights withdrew, a few Southern Knights subtly slipped away. From afar, it looked like they were making excuses like needing the bathroom to their comrades and peeling off. There were three of them, glancing around as they headed for the palace exit.
“Uni, remember those three well.”
“Why, miss?”
“They’re not on our side.”
Lena whispered to Uni and turned to Eden Pieta. He gazed at the departing Northern Knights with an oblivious expression.
“Sir Eden.”
At her call, he strode over with precise movements.
“You called?”
“Yes. Sorry for the misunderstanding first off.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s not much time, but it’s important, so I’ll say it. You mentioned before, wanting recognition of your value from your family.”
Eden nodded in bewilderment at the unexpected words. As Lena said, he had spoken those words once. Before the border duty began, upon hearing they would receive Eastern support, impatience had gripped him. He knew they were treated as ragtag, and he was well aware his comrades were dispirited because of it. Amid that, a few knights had strongly insisted they must not accept Eastern aid the moment Lady Lena left. So Eden had conveyed their words to her on their behalf.
Lena sighed inwardly at his affirmation. In truth, she had suspected Sir Eden might be her father’s lackey because of those words. They matched exactly the phrases her father used. Words like “good job,” “I’m proud,” “disappointing,” “try harder,” “I’ll be watching,” used alongside to dominate and shake the young Lena.
“Yes, but is there a problem?”
Eden asked seriously. Lena smiled and nodded at the rigid man.
“It’s quite late, but I’ll say now what I couldn’t then. Sir, don’t do that.”
“What do you...”
“Don’t put so much weight on fulfilling someone’s expectations. You might end up living someone else’s life instead of your own.”
Eden’s expression grew subtle at Lena’s calm words. But she continued undeterred.
“If recognition requires struggling for it, better to go without. Especially if it determines your value. You might end up struggling your whole life.”
If you stop struggling, those gauging your value will call it a disappointment. They’ll turn away, saying you fell short of expectations. Such things happened all too commonly. Pressure that felt all the more viscous because it began in intimate bonds. And yet believing it love in those naive days.
“Please be loved as you are, Sir Eden.”
Lena whispered to him the words she had wanted to tell her younger self while gazing at Sir Eden. Eden blinked at the embarrassing words, unclear if plea or blessing. Seeing his face, Lena smiled and added,
“Craving others’ recognition suits those with no future. But you’re not, are you? You can live plenty long, so find it now. Someone who’ll cherish you for you.”
As Lena finished, Eden, looking flustered, averted his eyes and rubbed his dry face. Then he asked back.
“I’m not sure I follow, but...”
“Hm, then I’ll get straight to the point briefly. We’re in a trap right now.”
“Pardon?”
Eden’s eyes widened at the sudden shift, but Lena remained composed.
“It’s fine. Don’t panic, just listen to me.”
Lena conveyed a few key instructions. Right after, the Northern Knights dragged wraiths out of the rift.
. . .
The silver whip flashed across the air. At a glance, it seemed swung wildly, but with every curve, it struck and tore the wraiths precisely. Wraiths flying with fireballs burst with dull thuds and plummeted. The fallen wraiths received their final blows from the waiting Southern Knights below.
The marquis, returned to Do-um Palace, watched the scene entranced.
“To think she could pull this off...”
This time, the marquis had thought even Lena couldn’t manage it. No matter how strong, she couldn’t catch everything flying. He believed the wraiths would slip through unscathed, earning her a reprimand from the emperor. But the marquis’s expectations were thwarted once more by Lena’s hidden prowess. Yet he wasn’t angry. Far from it—pride welled up.
“My blood.”
My blood, my child, my daughter. An extension of myself begun from me. The marquis felt as if he had finally resolved the burden he’d carried his whole life. He had striven lifelong to prove his own excellence. And Lena had finally achieved it. She had confirmed the superiority of his bloodline to all. The marquis gazed ecstatically at the scene of celestial bodies crumbling, gripping the note in his hand tighter.
—Watch till the end this time. Watch me fight.
Lena had told him to watch. Her fighting. Yes, they had diverged briefly, but Lena Rubel was ultimately his daughter. Still his lovable daughter craving his love and approval. The marquis exulted toward his daughter with more pride than ever.
And beside him, his son too stared wide-eyed at the scattering flames. Enji, habitually at Lubid’s side, murmured unwittingly, entranced by the sight before him.
“Amazing...”
A pure impression without intent. But as that voice reached Lubid’s ears, Enji’s single word sparked much.
Lubid, likewise momentarily lost, snapped to at Enji’s words and ground his teeth. Amazing? That woman was amazing? He could do that much easily.
“Such petty tricks...!”
Lubid drew his rapier, jaw clenched. He couldn’t lose to that woman, Lena Rubel, again. As the great prince of the North, he had to prove his worth. Covering desperation with rage, Lubid changed his eye color. Eyes glowing blue, he unleashed a slash with full power to shatter Lena’s solo stage.
Whoosh—a chilling wind sliced the air. Lena and the Southern Knights, in the midst of battle, turned in shock at the sudden massive force.
“Dodge!”
Lena shouted urgently. But her voice was buried by the roar that followed, unheard by anyone. What drowned Lena’s cry was the sound of the slash sweeping the wraiths and half-destroying Do-um Palace.