Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Lena Rubel's Transcendence
-----------------------------------------------------------------
When Lena blankly stared at the torn cloak, Iura asked one of the Eastern Knights.
“Why did the Eastern Duke charge ahead alone?”
“That’s…….”
“Speak.”
Under Iura’s overbearing pressure, the knight hesitated before opening his mouth.
“He said the western borderlands fall under the North’s jurisdiction, so we needed to seize the situation first. Otherwise, the opportunity wouldn’t come around…….”
At the knight’s answer, Rubid clicked his tongue. It was just as he’d thought. The Eastern Duke had lost his head in his rush to claim glory and charged in. Though his prediction had proven correct, Rubid’s mood wasn’t great. The man had been a thorn in his side, but the Eastern Duke’s death was still an utter shock to him.
“Any trace of the Eastern Duke?”
“We couldn’t find any. From the way the cloak was torn, probably…….”
The wraiths dragged the body away. That was the knight’s guess, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. It was because of Lena, who was blankly clutching the cloak. But no one there failed to guess the unspoken words. The chances of surviving a fall into that steep ravine were slim. And with wraiths in pursuit, survival was impossible. This wasn’t just anyone—it was an imperial duke. The heretics wouldn’t let such a prized trophy slip away.
Those who had just arrived at the barrier fortress fell silent at the unexpected bad news. Though he’d been their enemy, the duke’s pathetic death still shocked them. Especially his fiancée, Lena Rubel—she hadn’t moved a muscle. She simply stood there like a statue, clutching the ragged cloak.
. . . And from very far away, something watched them. It was a monster with four legs and a human face—no, a wraith. The wraith observed them from a distance beyond the living’s detection, stifling its presence. And everything it saw was relayed perfectly. To a human far farther away still, one wearing a crow mask.
***
No sooner had Iura shed his disguise than he began receiving reports from the borderland soldiers.
“The wraiths have set up camp around Sirenchium Castle. Their numbers reached tens of thousands last night, and they’re forming ranks like a living army.”
Iura glared at the map spread on the table as he listened. The situation was worse than expected. Up until now, the living had triumphed over wraiths thanks to organization. Wraiths moved on instinct and habit alone, no different from beasts, and the living herded them with strategy. But if the wraiths gained intelligence and organization, the scales would tip endlessly against the living. Unlike the dead, the living needed food, rest, and sleep. Just maintaining this standoff was steadily draining their forces, while the wraiths felt no such fatigue or need for respite.
‘We can’t engage the wraiths in open war.’
That would mean years, or even decades, more of subjugation campaigns. They needed an alternative before it came to that.
‘There were reports that wraiths vanish when their king dies.’
When the King Who Swallowed the First Cry and the King of Burning and Smoldering had been subjugated, all the wraiths under their command had vanished as well. So perhaps striking the king first would be faster this time too.
‘But to strike the kings, we need their names first.’
It was then, as Iura quietly pondered.
“I’m a bit late.”
A calm voice announced the entrance of a lady into Iura’s room. It was Lena Rubel, her hair slightly damp as if freshly washed. At this unexpected appearance, Iura said coldly.
“I didn’t summon you.”
“If it’s a situation report, I have every right to hear it.”
But Lena didn’t blink as she retorted. And her voice was utterly composed. Iura found it a little surprising. Earlier, she’d looked quite shaken clutching the cloak, but now Lena seemed as calm as if it had never happened.
Lena ignored Iura’s gaze and asked the soldier to repeat the report, which he did word for word.
“In this situation, open war would be reckless.”
Lena’s assessment matched Iura’s. So Iura, who had been observing her composed expression, slowly spoke up.
“If open war is reckless, do you have an alternative?”
“Subjugating the kings first should make these wraiths vanish too.”
“To do that, we need the kings’ names first.”
As he spoke, Iura gazed steadily at Lena.
“You knew the King Who Swallowed the First Cry’s name.”
It was a pointed probe. Right after the first expedition, Lena had explained how she’d conquered the tomb, claiming she’d heard the name by chance. It was a lie no one would believe. At the time, there’d been no way to verify it and no real reason to press her, so they’d let it slide. But now the situation had changed, and Iura turned the question back on her.
“Do you know the other kings’ names?”
“No.”
Lena answered Iura’s direct question plainly. As Iura eyed her suspiciously, Lena smiled faintly and added.
“If I did, I’d have conquered them all alone by now. Before anyone else could get a look.”
Iura’s eyes narrowed at her brazen response. He couldn’t tell if it was an act or genuine. No—he found Lena Rubel’s entire demeanor baffling. It had been mere hours since she’d learned of her fiancé’s death. Yet here she was, so nonchalant. Was she desperately holding herself together, or truly unaffected? Iura couldn’t judge. And without knowing that, he couldn’t tell if her words were truth or lie.
“But if we wait a little, we’ll find out.”
Lena pressed on, ignoring Iura’s suspicion.
“I don’t know the kings’ names, but I’ve seen what they look like.”
It was an unexpected revelation.
“I left that information at the imperial palace. So the cardinal will soon identify the kings’ names and send them over. In the meantime, we…….”
Lena reached for the map on the table. She moved one of the flags forward a space and said.
“……need to reduce the number of wraiths outside.”
Lena’s argument was sound. From Iura’s position, mired in difficulty, it was even a welcome proposal. But instead of rejoicing, Iura looked at Lena with suspicious eyes.
“I heard you were engaged to the Eastern Duke.”
He didn’t just look—he asked outright.
“So I thought you’d need time, but apparently not?”
Lena’s eyes widened at Iura’s words. She looked shocked, as if she hadn’t imagined such consideration, then smiled softly.
“I didn’t expect that kind of thoughtfulness. Thank you, but we can’t delay what needs doing.”
Lena’s reply was firm. It was hard to believe this was the attitude of someone who’d lost her fiancé. Even if it had been a political match rather than true love, such transcendence showed no respect for the dead. Iura couldn’t comprehend Lena’s feelings or actions. So the gaze he fixed on her grew as cold as the one he’d once turned on the Eastern Duke.
. . .
As Lena left Iura’s room and headed to her own, Rubid was pacing the fortress corridor. He clearly wanted to pretend it was a chance encounter, but he looked every bit like he’d been waiting for her.
“Aren’t you tired? Why are you out here?”
Lena spotted Rubid first and greeted him. Her voice was surprisingly bright. Rubid’s already sullen face soured further.
“You’re really okay with this?”
“With what?”
Rubid, no good at playing dumb, lost his words at Lena’s feigned ignorance. He was the biggest scoundrel around, but also quite the coward, lacking the nerve to shout after someone had died. Yet he couldn’t just turn away either. He owed Lena a debt from the tomb, and Rubid hated being in debt. So he stood there, scowling, neither advancing nor retreating, until Lena, waiting for his answer, smiled and asked back.
“What, would you prefer I cried?”
Rubid was even more speechless at her question.
“But unlike you, Mr. Rubid, I’m not a crybaby.”
“What?”
Rubid’s face turned fierce at Lena’s playful jab. As he bristled, Lena waved it off like a joke, gave a light nod of respect, and passed him by. Rubid got caught up in it and could only let her go, staring at her back for a long while before finally muttering to himself.
“What the hell is with her…….”
. . .
Having finished her business, Lena returned to her room with light steps. The moment she entered and shut the door, the smile lingering on her lips vanished. But no sadness or emptiness filled the void. Alone, Lena’s face was cold. Just cold, nothing more.
***
It was early dawn, when the sky began to tint pale blue. But the west side of the barrier remained steeped in twilight’s bloody hue. Because of the massive rift tearing the sky. The cross-shaped crack etched in the heavens loomed like a gravestone. And beneath it, the crumbling city took the shape of tombs one and all. The rift had opened above Sirenchium Castle, once the heart of the west. That alone conjured visions of the hell unleashed when it tore wide.
The rift had appeared five years ago from the castle of Clavis Grasha, then Western Duke. The sudden calamity killed countless people and forced an entire city’s population to flee. It was one of the greatest disasters in the empire’s century-long history, but like all wraith-spawned events, its cause remained unknown.
Lena knew little of it herself. She’d heard nearly everything from Regina in the tomb, but the western rift was too recent for Regina to know the full story. Still, Lena could guess plenty from what Regina had shared. This too was surely that madman’s doing—the deed of Regina’s younger brother, Clavis Grasha, who wore an angel’s face to do the devil’s work.
Lena rode on with impassive eyes, gazing at the west so changed from six years ago.
That dawn, Lena was scouting beyond the barrier with Iura and the knights. The ruined city’s state was visible from the fortress ramparts, so they headed for the nearby forest. An vast, unexplored woodland lay there, too dense with trees to peer inside. If the heretics had a hideout, it was likely deep within—so to avoid ambushes and secure a base, Iura led them in.
It was while threading silently through the woods.
“Was it a political match with the Eastern Duke?”
After riding nearly half an hour in silence, Iura broke it with a sudden question. Lena let out a hollow laugh and asked back.
“Why do you ask?”
“If political, then the North is the target.”
“Ah, you could think that. But you’re mistaken.”
“Mistaken?”
“The targets were the tomb kings. The North wasn’t much…….”
of a concern. With laughing eyes, Lena swallowed the rest. It seemed provocative, yet playful.
“You seem to think the Eastern Duke is still alive.”
Iura muttered lowly, observing Lena’s attitude. Lena stared back at him for a moment, then shot back with a laughing voice.
“I think he might be dead. But is this interest in me, or in the Eastern Duke?”
It was as Iura opened his mouth to reply to Lena’s lightly teasing demeanor.
“My lord, we’ve found suspicious tracks.”
A knight scouting ahead called out. He pointed to a massive tree that looked normal at first glance—but up close, a deep hole pierced its trunk.
“Arrow mark.”
“……Recent.”
When the knight inserted his finger into the hole, fresh wood shavings poured out. Just as he said—an arrow shot and removed. The presence of archery meant people nearby.
As the knights went on alert around the mark.
Rustling grass sounded.
The knights whipped out their swords reflexively, heads turning toward the noise.
Black snakes had surrounded them. Wraiths.