Chapter 157
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: The One Who Takes Responsibility (3)
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Two days had passed.
During that time, Lloyd had halted all work on the site.
It was because he had taken the Countess's advice to occasionally take a break.
Thanks to that, the engineering corps and workers who had been sweating every day on the site were able to enjoy a sweet rest. Of course, they could also gather their scattered minds from the previous accident.
"...And that's what happened, so from today, everyone resumes work."
"Is that really okay?"
"Well, yes."
Lloyd smiled brightly at the question from the Frontera Count at the breakfast table.
"They've rested enough for two full days."
"You don't look like you have."
"I'm always like this."
He chuckled awkwardly again and poked at his salad with his fork.
It was true that the workers had rested for the past two days.
But he himself had barely rested.
"Someone died, after all."
The rampage of the undead Mastodon.
The workers fleeing in terror.
At that moment, six White Lancers had thrown themselves forward for everyone's sake.
They bravely blocked the path of hundreds of Mastodons and gave their lives.
He had held a solemn funeral for them.
However, he did not build graves here.
He carefully collected their mangled bodies and cremated them.
He obtained precious silver-adorned urns and placed their ashes inside.
He selected 30 White Lancers.
He granted them special leave.
He had them transport the urns containing the ashes of the fallen to the capital.
Along with generous consolation money to the bereaved families in the capital, he sent heartfelt letters of condolence.
Your son, husband, father was truly brave. He chose the most honorable and noble sacrifice in the world to save others.
It might sound clichéd and predictable.
But when it came time to write letters of comfort to the families, no other fitting words came to mind.
Because it was all true.
Because he truly felt that way.
Because he had come to genuinely respect them.
That was why.
He had also sent an additional letter to the Queen.
He wrote meticulously about the merits of the six fallen White Lancers, the courage they showed in their final moments, and their noble and honorable deaths. He used every expression and rhetorical skill at his disposal.
That way, the Queen would take even better care of their families.
He poured that wish into the letter.
And he visited the workshop of the dwarf craftsman Kogiduse.
He commissioned a memorial stone.
One engraved with the names of the six fallen members.
He did his utmost in everything he could do.
The reason was simple.
'They deserve that kind of treatment.'
They were people who had willingly sacrificed their lives to protect the people of his territory.
He thought this much was only natural for such grateful individuals.
Perhaps that was why.
He received an unexpected visit.
'Last night, Sir Blanc came to see me.'
Suddenly, last night's events came to mind.
It was around the time he had lulled Haviel to sleep with a lullaby and returned to his bedroom, as usual.
He ran into the captain of the White Lancers, Sir Valoradi Blanc, who was pacing in the mansion's inner courtyard.
He said he had been waiting for him.
He had something important to say.
-Thank you.
Those were the first words out of his mouth.
-We're used to death in our line of work. Traversing countless battlefields and combat zones, the death of comrades is something we encounter all the time. Perhaps that's why. We've grown somewhat numb to losing our men.
Under the faint crescent moonlight.
Sir Blanc's eyes were moist.
-That's why I was even more surprised. That you, that your family, would see them off with such dignity. So thank you. They must have been glad that their deaths were not in vain.
-Ah, that's just what we should have...
-No one has ever done that much for us.
-...
-The royals were the same. Of course, we are loyal to the royal family. They never skimped on solemn funerals for the fallen or compensation for their families. But we couldn't shake the feeling that it was all formal. Just the sense that we were a bit special consumables.
Sir Blanc continued.
-So thank you. For recognizing that our men's deaths were not taken for granted. For respecting our honor like that.
It was at that moment.
A new message appeared before his eyes.
[Affection Unlocked]
[White Lancers Captain Sir Valoradi Blanc is impressed by your noble character.]
[Valoradi Blanc, loyal to the royal family and an honorable knight, has decided to sincerely follow you.]
[Valoradi Blanc secretly hopes to serve under you.]
[You can now increase affection with Valoradi Blanc and earn RP.]
[50 RP awarded as affection unlock bonus.]
[Current RP: 3,290]
[Valoradi Blanc's affection toward you has increased by +5.]
[Current relationship with Valoradi Blanc: +52]
[45 RP acquired for improving relationship with a character.]
[Current RP: 3,335]
'Whoa.'
He involuntarily gasped.
Blanc hadn't outright declared it, but this was practically half a loyalty oath.
He felt inwardly pleased yet a bit guilty.
'If King Sis finds out, it'll be big trouble.'
After all, Sir Blanc was a royal knight.
To harbor loyalty beyond mere favor toward some random(?) person.
Lloyd hurriedly smiled and soothed Sir Blanc.
-I understand your feelings well, Sir. Losing your men must have been regrettable and sad. Her Majesty the Queen probably feels the same as I do.
He deliberately mentioned the Queen.
Only then did Sir Blanc make an "oh" face.
But that expression appeared and vanished in an instant, and he silently bowed his head before leaving the courtyard.
He was recalling that memory from last night.
"...Lord Lloyd, I've come because there's something I need to show you."
"Huh?"
A voice slipped through the gap in his thoughts.
Lloyd turned toward the source of the voice.
"Sir Bayern?"
Sir Bayern had entered the dining room.
"What brings you here so early in the morning?"
"As I just mentioned to the Lord and Young Master, I've come to show you this."
He placed something on the table.
It was a freshly severed(?) goat's head.
But something was embedded in the goat's forehead.
A half-burned and torn embroidered pattern.
"Actually, during the two days of rest you ordered, I conducted searches in my spare time. With a few like-minded White Lancers, on our own. And late yesterday evening, we found this."
"Late evening?"
At the Count's question, Sir Bayern nodded.
"Yes. A White Lancer found it buried near the pit where the Mastodon corpses were interred. I considered reporting it immediately, but it was too late, so here I am early this morning."
"Hmm."
The Count examined the embroidered pattern and spoke.
"A Grim Reaper with a black dragon's head and wings. Unusual. I've never seen it before."
"Yes. It's new to me as well. However, judging from where it was buried and the use of a goat's head, I suspect it might be a symbolic talisman for an undead preservation magic circle."
"Probably. To preserve that many Mastodon corpses without decay for so long, some magical device would be necessary."
After that, the Count and Sir Bayern continued discussing the pattern.
A completely unfamiliar emblem.
Who might use it.
Or if they'd heard any similar rumors.
They shared stories, pondered, and attempted deductions.
Watching them, Lloyd suddenly lost his appetite.
Because he had to inspect a severed goat's head during breakfast?
No.
It was quite grotesque, but fortunately, he had a strong stomach.
The reason his appetite plummeted was something else.
The Grim Reaper emblem with a black dragon's head and wings.
That pattern was familiar to him.
'That's... from the novel Iron-Blooded Knight.'
He remembered.
Where?
From an illustration in the novel.
At the top of the royal castle in the capital.
Fluttering on the royal family's new flag.
The emblem contained within was exactly that.
'In the novel, Queen Alicia, who lost an arm and became a tyrant, adopted that emblem as the new royal symbol. On the advice of a certain aide. That's when it started. Her reign of terror and tyranny truly began.'
It marked the start of the true dark ages.
In other words, that dragon-headed Grim Reaper emblem symbolized the tyranny and dark ages in the novel.
'But why is it here?'
Lloyd swallowed dryly without realizing it.
A chilling thought suddenly struck him.
Could Queen Alicia be behind this incident?
But he immediately shook his head.
'No, that can't be.'
There was no reason for it.
What would she gain by harming this territory?
It didn't seem likely.
There was no apparent benefit.
'If anything, suspicion should fall on that aide from the novel who recommended and urged the blackened Alicia to use that emblem. That person is probably connected to this.'
That seemed more plausible.
The Alicia here hadn't lost an arm like in the novel, nor had she fallen into tyranny.
If he ran to the capital right now and showed her the emblem, she'd probably just tilt her head and say something like, 'What an odd-looking pattern.'
'So that means the aide mentioned in the novel is likely involved in this incident... Hmm, that's a problem.'
Lloyd furrowed his brow.
The aide mentioned in the original work.
He had no idea who it was.
The reason was simple.
The character never appeared directly in the novel.
'The name was never revealed. It was only indirectly mentioned through the blackened Alicia's thoughts or inner monologues.'
What was the exact line?
Something like, 'Queen Alicia recalled the advice of her recently acquired aide,' or 'She briefly reflected on her recent meetings with the aide she had taken as her confidant.'
That's why, for a time, reader speculation about the aide flooded the novel forums.
A sycophantic bat clinging to the Queen.
Just a simple extra.
Or perhaps the true hidden mastermind.
Various theories.
But no one knew the answer.
'The aide's identity was never revealed by the end of Part 1 of Iron-Blooded Knight. And Part 2 never came out.'
That was it.
The aide's identity remained an unresolved plot thread, leaving only countless speculations and suspicions.
Lloyd smacked his lips bitterly.
'That's why some authors just can't cut it. No sense of responsibility, no sense at all.'
If you're going to write it, finish it properly to the end.
Teasing curiosity and then never revealing it—what kind of twisted hobby is that?
He inwardly cursed the author of Iron-Blooded Knight for a moment.
'Still, figuring this much out is something.'
Knowing who the enemy is versus being completely in the dark is worlds apart.
Having even a vague idea.
That alone allowed for some preparation.
He could think about how to gather information going forward.
At least a minimal direction was set.
'That's why I've been combing the site for days—to find clues that point to that direction.'
So for now, let's rack our brains to uncover the identity of that aide.
Collect clues diligently, keep ears open to news from the capital.
And in the meantime, do what needs to be done now.
Having decided on the path forward, Lloyd spoke up.
"Hmm. So, Sir Bayern?"
"Yes?"
"This goat head—you didn't bring it as a breakfast side dish, did you?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then could you please remove it from the table now? I'd appreciate it."
"...Ah."
The goat head, suddenly plopped on the breakfast table, sticking out its tongue and asserting its presence(?).
Sir Bayern seemed to finally realize his blunder.
Embarrassment flooded his face.
Just then, a maid entering with dessert cookies let out a shrill scream that rang through the breakfast room.
"Eeeeeek!"
♣
After a brief commotion, work on the grand sewer resumed.
"Bibbong! Bibbong!"
Bibbong, recovered from the blast shock, dug vigorously into the earth.
The pit for the sludge treatment facility expanded in real time.
The engineering corps soldiers.
The White Lancers and refugee workers.
As if the accident had never happened, they gripped their shovel handles and poured sweat.
One day, two days, four days, eight days.
Amid everyone's efforts and sweat, the sludge treatment facility gradually took shape.
Lloyd chose a 'gravity concentration' method for the basic structure of the sludge treatment facility.
'In simple terms, use gravity to settle the sludge at the bottom. Like the old pit toilets in rural areas. The structure is simple. It handles storage and concentration simultaneously. No chemicals needed, and maintenance is easy.'
There were other sludge treatment models.
But most were unsuitable here without equipment or machinery support.
The options were limited from the start.
Thus, Lloyd designed the concentration tank suited to local conditions.
The filth and sewage collected from the grand sewer.
He directed it to flow into the concentration tank.
Inside, sludge would settle at the bottom, while the remaining water and floating matter on top would flow out through an overflow pipe. He refined the design accordingly.
He also created a massive wooden lid(?) for the top of the sludge treatment facility that could be opened.
For the dragon Solitas, who would handle the sludge disposal.
'That way, it'll be easy for him to lift and remove the settled sludge with magic. Just open the lid and scoop out the sludge.'
Truth be told, he wanted to opt for a more sophisticated method.
But there was no way.
He couldn't see a way to operate and manage precise sludge hoppers or discharge pipes like in modern facilities.
'So, just do the best we can here.'
He proceeded with construction while adhering to that line.
Then one day.
Summer had finally arrived in full force.
Along with the sweltering heat, an unexpected letter arrived at the Frontera household.
A bombardment of fresh marriage proposals from a total of 59 families across the kingdom, all competitively nominating Lloyd as their groom.