Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 36: What Exists Beyond

Lucius looked at the candle burning brightly in front of him with calm eyes. The flame danced in his view, shining with orange warmth upon his scarlet hair. It floated out of the flame in waves. After staring at it for a few seconds, he waved his hand. The fire disappeared, placing its immediate surroundings in darkness once more. He turned around to behold his surroundings.

The bedroom was as grand as always. A large chandelier hung from the high, concave ceiling, while crimson curtains adorned by images of golden hawks lined the windows. The beige, enchanted stone walls made up the bedroom’s structure, while the floor was covered by a soft, red carpet. Lucius finally looked at the bedroom’s center, waving his hand to make the chandelier’s flames disappear.

The large poster bed was several meters in length and width, and upon it rested a woman with black hair and red eyes. She was dressed in a long black gown that only highlighted her incredible beauty, but Lucius didn’t even blink as he walked closer to the bed. Small balls of fire floated around him, lighting up her immediate surroundings and serving as the room’s only remaining light source.

“According to our spies in Ceotha, Rylan has left for Mar,” he said once he was a meter away from the bed, stopping in place. “All things considered, he should arrive in an allied kingdom two days from now.”

As always, there had been a delay between Rylan’s departure and the information reaching him, but it hadn’t been significant, thanks to the Empire’s information network and magical devices.

“And what are you going to do?” the woman, Laelia, asked with a furrowed brow.

Lucius rubbed his chin.

“While I think it would be best to approach him peacefully, it might be too late. We tried to kill him, after all. As such, there’s only one thing I can do,” his expression became more severe. “He must know the truth.”

Laelia slowly nodded.

“So, you will go personally?”

Lucius nodded back.

“Yes. But it might be too soon.”

Laelia tilted her head.

“Are you worried he’ll stop developing if his relationship with the Empire gets better?”

Lucius grinned.

Sharp as ever.

“I am. For now, we are his motivation to grow. Of course, it’s at the cost of our relationship with him. I’m not pleased to have the continent’s greatest genius on the other side of this conflict, but it might be necessary.”

Laelia shook her head.

“I disagree. If you’re really going to tell him the truth, that, by itself, should be motivation enough. He’ll realize that there are still people who might threaten the things he cares about. In the end, the result is the same, but we might be able to mend our relationship with him.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, there are far too many people in this nation cautious of him, including Marcus. It might be difficult for us to develop a relationship at all. But I’m not planning on letting anyone try to kill him again.”

Laelia stared at him, her red eyes almost glowing under the dim lighting of the magical fire.

“We owe him that, Lucius. You know what’s at stake, and you’re now this Empire’s absolute figure. The sun and the sky. My husband believed in you. At the very least, he would have told Rylan the truth.”

Lucius’ eyes softened as memories of his old friend surfaced. The conversations they’d had and the memories they’d made. At the same time, a sharp pain pierced his chest, the feeling that he’d lost something, and he indeed had. He clenched his jaw.

Rylan is really that important.

The previous Emperor, Tiberius, hadn’t revealed the truth to the continent out of kindness. He simply hadn’t wished for them to worry about something they couldn’t really affect at all. But even Tiberius would have revealed the truth to the continent’s greatest genius, who might have awakened Aura and Mana Cultivation at the same time at the age of nineteen.

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“Rylan will grow well under Catherina. For now, it’ll be enough. Even if I told him the truth, there’s no guarantee that he would agree with my methods.”

Laelia tilted her head again.

“Or it’ll just become harder to reach him. You won’t know if he’ll understand your perspective until you talk to him. Go to him, Lucius. There’s much for both of you to talk about.”

Lucius slowly lowered his body, then sat down on the floor, his head resting on one hand as he stared at Laelia.

“I’ll think about it. Thank you, Laelia.”

She nodded at him and then fully lay down. Once she waved her hand, the magical bundles of fire around her vanished.

“Get some rest. We’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Lucius nodded and closed his eyes, still sitting on the floor. His mind, however, was racing. He considered all the possibilities, including how Rylan would react to being told the truth. Would he side with the Empire? Or would he chastise Lucius’ methods and side with Mar, as he was more likely to? Would he decide to be a hindrance or a boon? Aside from that, as he’d told Laelia, there were far too many people cautious of him within the Empire. Even if he decided to side with them, his integration wouldn’t be uneventful.

At that moment, Laelia’s words crossed his mind.

…Tiberius would have done it.

Keeping his eyes closed, Lucius furrowed his brow in bitterness. Truly, the loss of his friend had been a heavy blow. He made his decision.

Once I’m free, I’ll go to him.

Because he was trying to conquer the entire continent, there was a lot for him to take care of. While he could leave it to his trusted officers, it was the kind of thing he preferred to address personally.

Either way, as soon as possible, he would go to Rylan and tell him the truth.

He needed to know about the Knights in the East.

***

Rylan looked up at the starry sky with a smile. The cold night breeze ruffled his hair and clothes, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. He looked back down and at the surroundings. The previously rugged terrain had turned into sharp cliffs and ravines, but the forest had remained, though sparser.

We’re getting close to the kingdom’s edge.

They were finally coming into contact with the terrain that caused Ceotha to be an isolated kingdom. He frowned. The moment they crossed the border, they would be in danger. There was no way to know what would happen, and he needed to prepare for the worst. His grip, which had never left Silver Twilight’s hilt, got a bit tighter for the umpteenth time.

Suddenly, Lillia’s head popped out of the carriage’s window, looking straight up. Rylan looked down at her, blinking.

“Rylan,” she said with a grin. “Come eat.”

Rylan threw her a bittersweet smile.

“You know I can’t,” he replied sadly. “Someone needs to keep watch.”

He was the only one who could go for a long time without eating or drinking because of Aura. Of course, Philip, who was eating inside the carriage, and Mar’s other Mages didn’t know that, but after a long conversation, Rylan had managed to convince them to let him be the one to keep watch while they ate.

Lillia sighed.

“We should eat together as a family. It’s going to be a long trip. Mom argued in favor of it, and I honestly agree with her. Just eat quickly. Save all the caution for when we’re out of Ceotha’s territory. Come on, come on down. Let’s eat.”

Rylan blinked, then couldn’t help but smile.

She’s gotten warmer.

Ever since she and Regis had decided to accept him again, their relationship had gotten much better. At the same time, he knew he shouldn’t go eat with them. By doing so, he placed everyone in danger, but it was also true that nothing had happened so far, and he hadn’t detected any Mages as far as he could perceive.

I guess that if someone manages to escape my senses and approach us while I’m eating, it wouldn’t make much of a difference if I’m fully alert or not.

He just needed to stay sharp while he ate and talked with his family.

After a few seconds, Rylan nodded.

“Alright, fine. Open the door.”

Lillia smiled brightly and went back inside the carriage, then opened the door. With a single movement, Rylan slid to the side and jumped inside, then looked around. As expected, the carriage was large enough to accommodate everyone without trouble. Elizabeth was smiling at him, alongside Gerard. Aelfric, Regis, Lillia, and Philip were looking at him. Except for Philip, they were all holding a plate of food, with Elizabeth holding two of them.

“I’ll go keep watch. Feel free to eat calmly,” Philip said.

Rylan smiled at him and stepped to the side. Once the man walked past him and climbed on top of the carriage, he looked back at his family, then at one of the plates of food that Elizabeth was holding. She extended her arm, bringing it closer to him.

“Let’s eat together,” she said with a warm smile.

Rylan smiled back at her and nodded. Aelfric made some space next to himself, and he sat down. Elizabeth handed him his plate. Rylan looked at it and nodded in approval. It was meat and potatoes, a meal that he’d always liked, simple as it was.

“It must have been tiring to stay like that all day,” Lillia said as she sat back down in her spot.

Rylan shook his head.

“No, not really. I could go for a lot longer,” he replied, taking care not to mention Aura explicitly, as Philip might have been able to listen in.

“Still, it must have been boring, at least,” Regis said, shaking his head as he stuffed some food in his mouth.

“Just relax for a bit,” Aelfric said, nodding.

Rylan couldn’t help but smile at them and their care.

He started to eat as he talked to his family. Everyone participated. Elizabeth laid her hand on Gerard’s shoulder, while Aelfric stood up at one point as he talked about his progress with magic and Mana Cultivation.

Rylan watched his siblings talk among themselves over the caring watch of his parents.

This is what I need to protect. No matter what.

The night went on.