Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Strange's Sword
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Under the flickering candlelight, I found myself alone with Bess, engaged in conversation.
He pondered for a long while before carefully kneeling before the fireplace. He set his sword down on the ground and spoke in a heavy voice.
"Family Head, it seems the time has come for me to leave this place and meet my death."
His words shocked me beyond measure.
Bess, who had been more steadfast than anyone in serving as the Strange Family's sword—how could he say such a thing?
This couldn't be due to threats from the enemy. Neither the waves sweeping across the continent nor our current foe, Rothschild, posed a threat dire enough to make him sense death.
'Then why on earth...?'
Why would he say something like this?
I asked him carefully.
"What makes you think that?"
"I won't explain at length. I am a clone of Timeless, a knight who infiltrated the Strange Family in the past to bring it down."
"?!"
"And now that the time has come, I've received orders from the main body. Unable to refuse them, I plan to leave this place."
I was bewildered.
I had suspected there might be a spy within the family, but it had never once crossed my mind that it could be Bess.
"So you're saying Bess is one of Timeless's clones?"
"That is correct."
"Why tell me this? If you truly are a clone of Timeless and after my neck, it seems unnecessary."
Bess bowed his head deeply.
A tense atmosphere suddenly filled the quiet room. Our natural conversation came to an abrupt halt, and the silhouette of the curtains swaying along the wall cast an uneasy aura.
"Because I do not wish to kill you, Young Master. No, Family Head."
"......"
"Of course, Timeless's memories remain fused within this body, urging me to destroy the Strange Family—"
Bess turned his head toward the shaking curtains and continued.
"But the time I've spent here since you were born has been far too precious. And knowing that you, too, have endured the same trials I faced in my time as Timeless..."
"......"
"I do not want to repeat that nightmare under the name of revenge. That is the conclusion I've reached after staying here for so long. To sever the ill-fated tie between Timeless and the Strange Family, perhaps I should meet my death."
I paused the conversation and looked into Bess's eyes. Was the reason for these thoughts merely our shared memories?
Or was it pity for the countless hardships I faced within the family as a child, mirrored against his own experiences with Timeless?
Either way, it was certain that he was a clone of Timeless. My mind was in turmoil, but a clear solution had emerged.
"Bess, I'll ask three things."
"Please speak."
"First question. Is the knight before me now Bess? Or Timeless?"
He understood the intent of my question and answered immediately.
"Bess."
"Then the second question. Do you have memories from before becoming Timeless?"
He hesitated in answering. Unlike the previous response, which came in mere seconds.
"Let me rephrase. Do you have memories from before taking the name Bess?"
"It's a difficult question to answer. The time I've lived as Timeless in my mind is a fusion of far too many bodies over endless years. It's not the memory of just one or two people."
"...So you can't tell if the memories you have are from before becoming Timeless, or from the time you lived as Timeless?"
"That is correct."
It made sense. If he'd lived from Siegfried's era until now, just Timeless's time in this world alone would span centuries, leading to confusion.
"Then the third question. If I spare Bess now, will you join hands with Timeless's main body to kill me?"
"That will not happen. However, as a clone, I cannot refuse the main body's orders. That is why I've resolved to leave and die."
Bess tapped the sword laid on the ground with a resolute expression and continued.
"On the day former Family Head Roys passed away, I swore to become the Strange Family's sword and offer my heart to you, Berddin-nim."
"To me?"
"Yes. I believed that following your dream of conquering the tower and the continent held more value than merely living for Timeless's revenge."
The Timeless I met in the tower drew strength from rage toward the Strange Family and sought to destroy me and my house by any means.
'However.'
The Timeless before me now—Bess, by the name of this place—was entirely different.
Perhaps the long years spent on divergent paths had led to differences in their mindsets.
'Indeed.'
Even those with the same blood can differ in nature if their bodies differ. Just as I, a direct descendant of Strange, differed from my brothers.
"Then let's do this. Now that I know you're Timeless, it's hard to keep you within the castle."
"...Yes."
"From now on, conduct operations outside the castle. I'll handle the orders and assign the necessary troops."
"?!"
Bess looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if questioning why I wasn't killing him.
"Right now, at Louisnes Academy, my brothers who fled north and returned are trapped."
"...You mean Tony-nim, Jony-nim, and Rony-nim?"
"Yes, those fools. No, my brothers, along with the Louisnes Academy dean and instructors, are all trapped by the waves and can't move."
"Trapped by the waves..."
"I want you to lead a unit personally, rescue them without losing a single one, and bring them here."
"......"
"For this mission, I'll assign the knight and mage brigade we discussed in the previous meeting."
"...Even now that you know I'm Timeless, you trust me?"
I answered his question without hesitation.
"More than anyone else in this castle."
Bess squeezed his eyes shut, thought for a moment, then gripped his sword, stood, and raised it to chest height.
Clank.
Dawn broke.
The knight brigade assembled on my orders gleamed in their silver armor under the intense morning sun from the south.
'That should be sufficient.'
The unit departing for Louisnes Academy was mostly composed of Bess, with 7-star knight prowess or higher, and the guardian knight company that followed him.
'They can punch right through those waves.'
The knights on tall steeds, with luxurious banners and flags fluttering, began crossing the stone bridge out of the castle.
Clop, clop, clop.
Watching them depart, I said to Cynthia.
"Once they return, I'll head to the Papal Court."
"The Papal Court?"
"Yes. It seems I need to meet the Pope before the waves subside."
Timeless's clone had infiltrated deep into the Strange Family's heart. And from a highly threatening position.
Now that I knew this, I realized that severing ties with Timeless took precedence over the final battle with Rothschild.
"I'd like you to come with me then."
"...Why? Last time, you told me not to face them."
"True. But back then, we were keeping distance from the Papal Court. Now is the moment to settle things."
"Settle things?"
"Yes."
Teresia, who had been listening to our conversation, cautiously interjected.
"Lord Berddin, surely you're not thinking of attacking the Papal Court?"
"No. No matter how willful I am, I won't casually kill those who follow the will of the gods."
"Of course."
"I intend to warn them. Show them who stands with me, and what happens if they act recklessly."
I softened my words because Teresia looked so worried.
But the true purpose of the expedition was to deal with the Archbishop Juda, Timeless's clone infiltrating their midst.
Cynthia asked me with uneasy eyes.
"Can I know why I must go personally?"
"To show them."
"Show them?"
"Yes. Not just how they've used you until now, but to settle the past ill-fate we couldn't sever."
I turned my gaze to Teresia and continued.
"And to show both of you the end of the demon hiding in the Papal Court—the Archbishop Juda."
Teresia tilted her head.
"Then should I come too?"
"Yes. You must see it with your own eyes, Lady Teresia. The darkness unfolding in the shadows cast by the light, and what becomes of those who commit evil there."
With a resolute expression, I hurled and shattered the statue I'd received from the Papal Court in the past.
Bang!
"They will face judgment under the sword of Strange."
Berddin de Strange.
His three brothers, who had survived countless ordeals.
Tony, Jony, Rony.
Clad in silver armor emblazoned with the Louisnes Academy crest, they gripped their swords with resolute expressions.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
The eldest, Tony, unleashed his aura and charged at a massive troll that dwarfed him tenfold.
Their clash seemed utterly reckless, a mismatch no one would bet on.
"Jony!"
Tony shouted at full force, and Jony, awaiting the order, hurled a hook at the troll's neck.
Kwachik!
"Kreurgh!"
The troll's head snapped back.
Closing the gap, Tony slashed at the troll's ankle.
Thwack!
Rony then rushed in with his massive two-handed sword and severed the wrist gripping the club from the off-balance troll.
Shwick!
The three brothers' combat prowess was exceptional.
Even as academy students, they outperformed 5-star knights who couldn't handle giant monsters.
Vera Tir, the dean of Louisnes Academy watching them, called out with a satisfied smile.
"Well done!"
Tony, Jony, and Rony replied with bright smiles in unison.
"Thank you, Dean!"
"Thank you, Dean!"
But their battles were far from easy. No matter how many they cut down, enemies kept swarming.
The Louisnes Academy's barrier, shattered by prior foes, had long been broken.
Exhaustion from prolonged flight and depleted rations wore everyone down.
'At this rate...'
They wouldn't last three days before collapsing. Who could come to their aid amid continent-wide waves?
Though most Louisnes students hailed from noble houses, none were strong enough to escape this crisis.
As all thought this, the Strange triplets refused to abandon hope.
"The main family will surely send reinforcements. Just hold out a little longer."
Tony ground his teeth in fury.
"Brother's right. Berddin may hate us, but he'd never abandon his brothers."
Jony agreed.
"Hey, you idiots! If you wanna live, fight to the end even if you drop dead! Strange reinforcements are coming soon!"
The academy students with them didn't believe it. No matter how great Strange was, they couldn't reach a monster-overrun place.
We've already lost.
Give up and accept death.
As everyone lowered their weapons to surrender to the monsters...
Whinny!
A horse's neigh echoed from outside the academy, followed by the thunderous roar of knights.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
The newcomers bore the Strange crest on silver armor.
Bess at the vanguard gazed toward Tony, Jony, and Rony.
"Strange's sword! Under Berddin-nim's name, show mercy to Louisnes!"