novelraw Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Chapter 152
With the Great Jungle subjugation having become a fait accompli, the bloody calamity Gion had caused in the past, and now even news of discord in the South—events erupted one after another, swallowing the Empire in an instant.
And such news naturally reached Count Valaris as well, the steadfast pillar of the South. Along with even worse tidings.
“Such a damnable bastard, I could tear him apart…!”
The enraged Count crumpled the paper in his hand. His expression, too, was twisted and crumpled, just like the sheet in his grasp.
“He should have sunk his teeth into me instead!”
In the past, under Gion’s orders, the wretch’s hunting dogs had fearlessly rampaged through the Great Jungle, only to be annihilated by Yuwon and his subordinates.
At the time, Renania had accompanied them as the representative leading Valaris’s forces, and she had returned from the Great Jungle—where the hunting dogs had been wiped out—perfectly unharmed. Even more than eighty percent of the troops she had taken with her had returned intact. And yet now, Gion was seizing upon that very incident.
“Gion, you bastard…… you dare target my daughter…!”
The crumpled summons order in the Count’s hand was proof. Gion did not want the Count—he wanted his daughter, Renania.
The reason for the summons was an investigation into alleged collusion with the unfilial prince Yurion Aphahiel. A deep worry spread across the Count’s face as he stared at the crumpled summons.
‘This is Gion Tindal’s final ultimatum to me. An ultimatum telling me to choose one of two paths—submit, or die…!’
Grit—!
Unable to contain his rage, the sound of grinding teeth leaked from between the Count’s clenched jaws.
The move Gion had put forth was a transparent and obvious ploy, its intent plain for all to see—but its effect was undeniable. Even Count Valaris, possessed of loyalty as hard as steel, had been shaken this time.
‘The results of the investigation don’t matter. It all depends on what choice I… what choice I make.’
Gion would not stop until he obtained what he wanted. The Count was cast onto a cruel crossroads.
He could become Gion’s dog and protect his daughter and the people of his territory, or uphold his loyalty to his homeland and be branded a traitor, only to have them all slaughtered.
‘The deadline for the summons is one week… I must make a decision, or devise some countermeasure, before then. Think. Think….’
The Count of Valaris was not one to deliberate long over any matter, yet this decision alone eluded him. Left alone in his office, he agonized for a long time.
Clatter—
There was no way the Count would abandon his only child. At last, he reached the answer that had been gnawing at him and moved immediately to act upon it.
Swish—!
A sheet of pristine white paper was spread across the Count’s desk. He dipped his pen to fill the letter.
‘This may not be what you wish… but there is no other way. My daughter. Forgive this father.’
Six days after grim news reached Valaris Castle, a welcome guest arrived at the lord’s residence at long last.
“Welcome. Viscount Bartlett.”
“Haha. Thank you for welcoming me so warmly despite my sudden visit, my lady.”
The man was none other than Hastings. At the word “my lady” from Hastings’s lips, Renania shot him a playful sidelong glance.
“Hmmm….”
Noticing this, Hastings gave an awkward laugh and hastily corrected himself.
“…Should I have addressed you as Lord Valaris?”
When it came to those who might bring harm to Yuwon, Hastings would cut them down with an expressionless face—no matter who they were. Yet at moments like this, remnants of his days as a library clerk still lingered. Finding the sight rather amusing, Renania smiled softly and shook her head lightly.
“No. It’s fine. You’re here today as a guest of Valaris Castle.”
Hastings, one of Yuwon’s close aides, seemed a most welcome visitor. The two soon moved to the reception room, sat facing each other with refreshments laid out between them.
“Oh, right. Since you’ve come all this way, would you like to see the children as well?”
“The children? Ah… you mean ‘those children.’”
They were the children of the Thunder Bird Tribe whom Renania had taken in as attendants. Originally destined to be offered as sacrifices and reduced to a single meal for the Thunder Bird, they had been granted new lives through Terrien’s unilateral decision.
“Yes, would you like to see them? I brought them here under the pretext of making them attendants, but rather than putting them to work, I thought it more important for them to learn the Empire’s language and culture, so right now they’re probably… studying.”
“I shouldn’t disturb their studies. It would be better to put off meeting them until another time.”
“Is that so…? The children would’ve liked that. What a shame. But it can’t be helped.”
With a tone full of regret, Renania moistened her throat with the teacup before her. Hastings, seated across from her, followed suit.
Back when he had been a library clerk, Hastings had been closer to tea than anyone else, yet the aroma of tea he tasted after so long felt strangely unfamiliar.
‘How long has it been since I could sit so comfortably and drink tea like this….’
In the Great Jungle, there had been no opportunity to drink tea, and after coming north to the South at Yuwon’s command, there had been no such leisure. Reading the subtle change in Hastings’s expression, Renania asked cautiously,
“Is something wrong? Does the tea taste bad…?”
“Oh, no. The tea is good. It’s just that it’s been so long since I last had it… the feeling struck me anew.”
“Ah….”
At that ordinary answer from Hastings, an awkward silence drifted between them.
For Hastings, it went without saying—it was his own doing. And in Renania’s memory as well, the image of Hastings mercilessly cutting down enemies remained vivid.
“Ah… my goodness. You’re a busy man; I shouldn’t keep you like this.”
Coming to her senses, Renania broke the silence.
“You didn’t come just to see my face… and if it’s not to see the children either, then what brings you here? Does ‘that person’ have something to tell me…?”
“Ah, that is….”
Hastings glanced around as if being cautious. Sensing that something was amiss, Renania pricked up her ears.
“There is something, isn’t there…!”
Instead of answering, Hastings quietly nodded. Then he rose from his seat and stepped closer to Renania.
“…Viscount?”
“Please bring your ear a little closer….”
Renania’s eyes widened as she leaned her ear toward Hastings’s mouth as he bent down. Focusing all her attention on her hearing, she felt Hastings’s low voice resonate by her ear.
“Please forgive me.”
‘?’
Flash!
Hastings’s hand moved like lightning and struck her Sleeping Den. It was a thunderbolt of motion that gave her no time to ask what she was to forgive him for.
Hastings carefully lifted Renania as she fell into unconscious sleep. From his side, several black shadows—who might have been standing there all along—silently emerged.
“Master. Shall we secure the protection target?”
There were none in this world who would call Hastings “Master” like this except them. The Assassination Order of the South had ended its long seclusion and reappeared in the world.
“No. I will take charge of her myself. Provide cover.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Having accomplished his purpose, Hastings immediately ordered his subordinates to withdraw.
“You’ve all done well. Now, let us depart at once. If we linger here unnecessarily, our trail may be discovered by spies within Valaris Castle. There is nowhere we can be complacent.”
“Yes!”
At Hastings’s command, the members of the Assassination Order vanished all at once as mysteriously as when they had appeared.
Having unwittingly abducted Renania, Hastings looked up at Valaris Castle with a bitter expression.
‘Hah… the Count has made a difficult decision.’
Up above, Hastings’s gaze collided with that of someone looking down upon him from within the castle. From the moment he had stepped into Valaris Castle, Hastings had already sensed that gaze.
‘Your Excellency the Count….’
Early fifties. Wrinkles around eyes that could not hide his age, yet eyes that still shone keenly. They were the eyes of the Protector of the South, Count Valaris.
Standing far apart, the two exchanged only their gazes—no words, no movements. None were necessary.
‘Please… take good care of my daughter….’
‘Your Excellency, please remain in good health as well. I will return before long. Together with His Majesty…!’
Hastings understood what the Count wished to convey through that burning gaze, and the Count likewise read Hastings’s resolve from the look returned to him.
With no more time to spare, Hastings bowed lightly in farewell. The soundless conversation between the two ended without a single word spoken as Hastings departed.
Even after Hastings disappeared with Renania slung over his shoulder, the Count’s gaze lingered for a long time on the place where Renania had been.
‘It is done. By Your Highness’s side, she will be safer than by mine….’
Clenching both fists tightly, the Count held in his hand a tiny slip of paper that could hardly be called a letter. He took it out once more and read it again.
The sender of the letter was, of course, Yuwon. It was the reply to the letter the Count—lost in worry—had sent into the Great Jungle days earlier, without even a proper contact, on a desperate hope.
A letter he had read so many times he nearly knew it by heart. The words about no longer being able to use honorifics, and about meeting again soon, set the Count’s heart ablaze.
‘Your Highness will soon return. Not as the Fifth Prince, but under the name of Emperor of Aphahiel…!’
The Count’s gaze, directed toward the far reaches of the southern sky, burned fiercely with resolve.
And the next day at noon. The Protector of the South, Count Valaris, staked his name, honor, and life to issue a declaration.
He proclaimed to the entire Empire his determination to fight to the very end without yielding to the external pressure of the traitorous faction that had usurped the throne through lies and conspiracy.
The House of Valaris, Protectors of the South who had guarded the Empire’s southern lands for generations. When a great crisis befell the Empire for the first time in centuries since its founding, the House of Valaris ultimately chose desperate resistance.
A war that everyone had expected to begin with the Empire’s strike against the Great Jungle. That war began a little earlier, and from another place.
The great war that would decide the fate of Aphahiel raised its curtain. In Valaris, the remote southern land.
I have received your letter safely.
I understand your intentions well. Very well—let us proceed that way. Before long, my man will go to retrieve her. Do not worry. The person entrusted with this matter is someone she knows well, and someone trustworthy enough that I would stake my own life on him. Leave the aftermath to me and accomplish what you have set out to do.
When we meet again, I may not be able to use honorifics. I look forward to the day we meet again soon. Until then, please remain in good health.