Chapter 79
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 79
Translation: godsn
The spatial node that formed and separated from White Crow Canyon appeared on the evening of May 13th. From the evening of the 13th to the afternoon of the 15th—roughly two days. Those were the longest two days of Yurien's life. With every passing moment, the suffocating anxiety coiled tighter around his throat.
What if she never returned? What would he do then? He might even commit the very acts he had restrained himself from doing out of fear for her and her family. He would raise his sword against the father and brothers who had toyed with the Magic Sword. If she couldn't be happy, shouldn't he at least exact vengeance on her behalf?
At first, the Holy Sword had tried to calm him, but it soon gave up.
[You might soon lose the ability to wield me. I'll say my farewells now. You were a decent master. Live well from now on.]
"......."
[Ah, right—whether it's evil deeds or whatever, once you let me go, you'll forget everything about the Magic Sword's wielder too. That's much better. I'd rather not witness my former master going mad and being executed by the hands of my next wielder.]
"......Has that happened before?"
[Oh, yes. That man was also driven by love. At least you won't end up like that. You'll forget everything. That's the better outcome for you too.]
So Echinacea wouldn't return, he would despair, seek revenge, and in doing so, lose all memory of her—was that it? Was he supposed to live peacefully after that? A section of the tent pole Yurien was gripping crumbled in his grasp. He had imagined her running away, but he had never dared to envision a world where she died.
All his desires had become meaningless. A delusion even crossed his mind—had the spatial node formed because of his greed? It didn't matter if he could never reach her again. It didn't matter if she would forever turn away from him. He wouldn't be greedy anymore, please. Just let him keep watching over her. No—even if he couldn't watch over her, it would be fine.
So, God, please—just don't let her, who had suffered so much, fail to find happiness in her second life.
On the late afternoon of May 15th, as he prayed and stared at the empty space, the camp finally came back into view.
Echinacea Roaz had returned alive. That was enough.
For a moment, Yurien couldn't control his emotions. His shattered mind, pushed aside by her presence, partially returned to him, and Baraha's intervention brought it back fully. Echinacea and Baraha seemed to have grown closer inside the node—their lighthearted tone, their friendly touches.
He had just sworn not to be greedy anymore. Suppressing the boiling jealousy, Yurien turned away. If Echinacea was alive and happy, he could endure his own desires. No—he had to endure. To rein in his unruly heart, he forced himself to think realistically.
'What happened to Ian Pelletro?'
If the inside of the node had been as uneventful as Echinacea claimed, then Ian Pelletro should have survived too. His swordsmanship was quite exceptional. If she had lied, then she must have used her skills to save Baraha in some way. But what about Ian, who had been dragged in with them?
Yurien had heard the details from Baron Tilius about how Echinacea had been swallowed by the node. She had fallen in, and immediately after, Ian Pelletro had staggered and touched the node. Though he hadn't seen it himself, he had considered the possibility that it was truly an accident. But the moment he heard the report, he suspected she had intentionally pulled Ian in.
In the end, she and Baraha had returned safely. Ian had not.
'The likelihood that she dragged him in on purpose is high. If that's the case...'
The cadets had all crowded around Echinacea and Baraha, celebrating their safe return. Yurien walked alone between the camp tents.
The spot where they had been swallowed by the node was right in front of Echinacea's tent, he had been told. When he went there, he saw that her tent had burned down to ashes. Confirming that no one was nearby, he searched through the wreckage. He didn't even need to look carefully.
Finding the charred corpse of a man, Yurien examined it.
The corpse was charred black, but not so thoroughly that only bones remained—the wound on its chest was still visible. Yurien carefully examined the injury and the surrounding marks. Any knight would recognize this as a sword wound.
'This alone won't be enough to identify or punish her. But it will leave room for doubt.'
There was no concrete evidence, only suspicion. Regardless of what Echinacea might think, he had no intention of letting this slide. If she hadn't killed him, he would have done it himself.
[Did the wielder of the Magic Sword kill him?]
The Holy Sword muttered in displeasure, making Yurien frown.
"Wasn't he someone who deserved to die? In your eyes, would Ian Pelletro surviving have been justice?"
[The process wasn't just. Justice is about uncovering crimes and passing judgment. This isn't justice—it's revenge. You know that, don't you?]
"So, are you calling her evil?"
[Not exactly, but... Master, even I don't subscribe to that simplistic dichotomy of good and evil. To me, that's an outdated way of thinking. The world is full of things that are neither purely good nor purely evil.]
Yurien listened to Langiosa's grumbling as he picked up a piece of scorched fabric. Wrapping the corpse with it, he asked,
"Then, is this an evil act?"
[What are you planning?]
"I'm going to burn it completely. Until only bones remain."
[Of course it's evil! Stop it right now!]
"Is that your personal opinion, or is it the judgment of Langiosa, the Holy Sword?"
[.......]
"Ian Pelletro committed murder. Had Echinacea not intervened, he probably would have succeeded. Does the justice you uphold really consider burning such a man to be so wicked that it would cost you your status as a Holy Sword?"
[......No.]
The Holy Sword reluctantly denied it. Its sense of justice aligned with what most people considered universal. Under imperial law, an act like this would warrant execution by burning—few would call it evil. Most would say, "A bastard like that deserves to burn."
Silently, Yurien wrapped the corpse and lifted it. Slipping out of the camp unnoticed, he carried it deep into the canyon and burned it until only bones remained. He then returned the charred remains to the ruined tent. Afterward, he began working discreetly to ensure no suspicions would be cast upon her.
The information Wedge had sent included substantial evidence of Ian Pelletro's misdeeds. Ian hadn't left proof in the dormitory, but he had kept evidence in his room at the Pelletro family estate—and Wedge had retrieved it. His crimes were more numerous and far worse than expected. If unrecorded incidents were included, the number would likely be even higher.
Some were relatively minor, like stirring up animosity between clubs or spreading malicious rumors about other cadets. Others, however, warranted disciplinary action within the knight order—such as rigging tournament brackets for personal advantage or embezzling funds.
The worst were the cases where he tampered with equipment or weapons, deliberately causing injuries or deaths. If these were exposed, punishment within the knight order would be the least of his worries.
Yurien planted some of the evidence back in Ian Pelletro's room, arranging it to be discovered naturally during cleanup. The rest was used to silence the Pelletro family. When they demanded an investigation into whether their second son's death was truly accidental—insisting the surviving cadets be brought in for questioning—they quickly realized that pushing further would only unearth more of his crimes. In exchange for their silence, Ian Pelletro was officially recorded as an honorable casualty.
Still, whispers spread through the academy due to the evidence discovered on campus. The Pelletro family was thrown into chaos, scrambling to suppress the rumors and placate the families of the victims.
Wedge had also sent information on the Roaz family. They were, by all accounts, an unremarkable but respectable noble house. The only notable detail was that a mage they had sponsored without much expectation had become a Sage's disciple.
Echinacea had lived the life of an ordinary noble lady. She had never held a sword, nor had she ever been given the chance to wield one. After confirming this, Yurien could guess why Echinacea was so desperate to hide her skills—let alone the Magic Sword. It also made sense why she had started as an officer cadet despite her ambition to become a knight. She had no choice but to do so, lest she draw too much suspicion.
'I still don't fully understand why she insists on becoming a knight...'
There was a vague reason that came to mind, but he couldn't be certain. In any case, if she had decided that this path would bring her happiness, his only duty was to quietly assist her. It wasn't something worth agonizing over.
For Yurien, none of these matters were particularly difficult. The investigation results on the other individuals he had requested information on had also arrived, allowing him to weed out those who had been suspicious. That, too, was not a strenuous task. The investigation into Wedge was progressing smoothly as well.
What truly weighed on him began when, upon returning from the subjugation mission, he was met with a single telegram waiting for him.
―Lady Rosalin Diassant will soon arrive in Agenka. You are to become engaged to her. I trust you understand the implications of this without further explanation.
It was a telegram sent directly by Crown Prince Cruen. More akin to a unilateral decree than a request. And just as he had written, Yurien understood all too well what this engagement signified.
The Magic Sword sent to the Roaz family had vanished. The Second Prince's faction, unable to determine the cause, must have grown restless. And in the midst of this, Yurien had personally selected the Roaz daughter as his squire—an act tantamount to openly declaring his protection over the Roaz family.
On the surface, nothing had happened. It was merely the Azure Sky Knight Commander appointing a squire. But to those who knew the truth behind the Magic Sword incident, it raised suspicions—had the Third Prince uncovered the imperial conspiracy?
If Yurien, the Third Prince, had learned of the Emperor's intentions and was now hiding the Magic Sword while signaling his intent to shield the Roaz family, this would mark the first act of defiance from the prince who had always been obedient. Worse still, if the missing Magic Sword was in Yurien's possession, he now held concrete evidence of the Emperor's conspiracy against noble houses.
Even the mere possibility that Yurien had caught wind of the Magic Sword incident was enough to unsettle them. But the fact that he remained silent—neither protesting nor exposing the truth—only deepened the mystery. What was he plotting? Where was the missing Magic Sword? The Second Prince's faction had no choice but to scramble in the shadows. And the Crown Prince's faction, ever watchful of their rival, had taken notice of these movements.
They likely hadn't uncovered the full truth yet. But they must have pieced together enough to realize that the long-standing tension was about to shift into an entirely new phase—triggered by the Third Prince's sudden change in behavior. And so, Crown Prince Cruen made a bold move. A preemptive strike before the Second Prince could act.
Whose side are you on? If you refuse to bow to me, I will consider you an enemy. If you truly have no ambition for the throne, then prove your loyalty to me.
That was the meaning behind the fiancée the Crown Prince had sent.
Yurien had anticipated that his decision to protect the missing Magic Sword and the Roaz family would cause ripples—but he hadn't expected it to culminate in an engagement.
'...Perhaps, for her sake, this is the most peaceful solution.'
By accepting the engagement and, in accordance with the Crown Prince's will, becoming his sword against the Second Prince's faction, he could obscure the whereabouts of the Magic Sword without disrupting Echinacea Roaz's life.
The only cost was dragging the Azure Sky into the Empire's succession struggle—but that was a price he could bear.