episode_0050

*

Luna said hello to Karelia again and then left.

In the throne room, where only the two of them were left, Vanessa finally opened her mouth.

“Master.”

“I know. I know what you’re trying to tell me. It’s okay if we don’t talk about it.”

Karelia spoke in a playful tone, but Vanessa answered in a very serious manner without a single smile.

“I don’t think I should talk about it, so I’ll tell you. Don’t trust Lunarien Yniang too much. She was once a feudal lord. I am not a person who will be satisfied with being under others.”

“… … .”

When Runarien first brought Kane and Tifa with her and begged for them to be accepted.

Although there were those in favor, including Karelia and Cecil, there were also those who opposed accepting it in reverse.

Vanessa was a representative figure among the opposition, and she most strongly argued that hiring someone like Runarien was like accepting a tiger’s cub and should never be accepted.

Of course, I thought it would be a good idea to kill the Runarien that had crawled to my feet here.

I just didn’t say that because I knew it was an offer Karelia would never accept.

In fact, Vanessa still did not trust Luna at all.

Karelia sighed briefly after hearing those words.

Soon, I looked at Vanessa with a slightly calm expression.

“Vanessa. Do you know about the rumors coming from the place where Lord Luna worked?”

“I know. Isn’t this what the local residents who worked with unanimously praise her for?”

“Okay. He is a person who has the ability to capture the hearts of others just by working together for a short period of time. Not only that, agriculture and commerce. Castle wall repairs. He stands out for his excellent performance in training soldiers.”

Just now, Luna said, ‘I don’t think I can achieve the result.’

It was really just a matter of the weather, but her ability was so outstanding that she could do anything she asked her to do.

It’s not just about ability. Wherever he went to work, he naturally captured people’s hearts.

“Tepelo Castle is one of the front lines of our military, and its importance for the future is very high. With Lord Luna’s abilities, he should be able to manage Tepelo Castle wisely. Wouldn’t it be a big loss for our military if we don’t use talented people with such abilities?”

“It could be a big threat. In the hearts of the people of the territory and the people of our Karelia county, it is enough to have only a place for Master Karelia. I believe that a person who would be second in command to an absolute lord should not exist in this country.”

“Wouldn’t that be difficult as the size of the country grows?”

“It doesn’t matter. Because I plan to make it happen.”

“… … That’s right.”

In most countries – it was the state secretaries who served as the de facto second-in-commands of the state.

Because they were the ones who were closest to the lord and helped him make his most intimate decisions.

But Karelia was different.

Her agent, Vanessa, wanted to stay in Karelia’s shadow without taking on power, and even if she did her best, she was moving everything to return to Karelia’s favor.

When it comes to running a country, virtue cannot solve everything. Getting blood on her hands was also Vanessa’s job.

Naturally, the Karelian military was firmly returning to the Karelian one-man system, famous for its benevolence.

In the process, it was all her credit that Karelia’s reputation remained unblemished.

From Vanessa’s perspective, Lunarien’s temperament did not overlap with that of her master, Karelia, in many ways.

So, I thought I shouldn’t give her the opportunity to grow even more.

Karelia shook her head as if embarrassed, and then spoke in a calm tone.

“It’s okay. Rather, if someone like Luna stands up to take control of the world, and if she stands up again and becomes a great feudal lord that surpasses me. At that time, I didn’t think that the world she created, not me, would be bad. As long as this world can become peaceful, what does it matter who reigns over it?”

“… … The only heaven I wish to serve is my lord. Those words, for me, add to the reason why I must stay by my master’s side. Nothing more or less than that.”

“… … Is that so?”

Karelia let out a few good-natured laughs and spoke.

She certainly had a somewhat soft temperament.

She also acknowledged that the contribution of Vanessa, the tactician, to being able to expand and solidify her power in the South to this extent was very significant.

“Let’s change the story. Did you hear that?”

“What do you mean?”

“They say a man who works miracles has appeared in Brans County.”

“If that’s the case… … Are you talking about the incident where a huge stone fell from the sky and hit Serpina-kun?”

“If you knew about it, it looks like the rumor has already spread.”

“Because it took about that long.”

A stone suddenly fell from the sky.

Even so, in the process, the fact that a white-haired man was performing a strange ritual became a hot topic.

The news reached Karelia County, located in the southernmost part of the country, so there was probably no one among the continent’s feudal lords who had not heard the news.

“A man with the power to drop stones from the sky. What kind of person do you think he is? I think the wizard who only existed in legends has finally appeared.”

“Well… … There are some things that are hard to believe because you haven’t seen it with your own eyes, but my thoughts are a little different.”

“Different?”

“For example, rather than using magic-like power himself to drop the stone, isn’t it possible that he already knew that the stone would fall and simply performed a modest ritual to make it look like he had planned it? … I think so.”

Karelia’s dark green eyes lit up at those words.

“Ho, that view is a bit unusual. Why do you think that way?”

“Simple. There’s no way something like magic would make a stone fall from the sky, right? Wizards are just creatures of legend. Excluding the impossible, I just thought it was a little more plausible that he had somehow read the timing of the stone falling and acted accordingly.”

Karelia once again questioned Vanessa’s words.

“Then, conversely, what does it mean to ‘read the timing’? I think it’s already great enough in itself even if it’s not magic.”

“… … .”

surely.

At this point, Vanessa also couldn’t help but be speechless.

Whether it was summoning a stone from the sky and dropping it, or knowing exactly when and where the stone would fall – both were amazing abilities that were almost divine.

Although it was initially described as some kind of method, I honestly didn’t even know what it was.

“I want to meet you sometime. From what I heard, he was a young man with white hair.”

“If there was someone with such abilities in Brans County, I think they would have placed him in the forefront a long time ago due to Lin Brans’s personality of showing off… … .”

“Well, it may be that a talent buried in the wilderness has been discovered. Just like I met you. If we talk carefully, wouldn’t it be possible for you to share the same thoughts as us?”

“… … .”

Vanessa thought.

If I could meet someone who could create such an absurd ‘miracle’, whether it was magic or reading the timing-

Rather than taming him and handling him, it is safer to kill him.

A person with that level of ability would never be satisfied with being under someone else.

‘It would be good to be careful when confronting Brans’ army someday.’

She and her country had priorities.

Conquest of the South.

It would not be too late to think about the matter with Brans later.

‘I will definitely make our lord a unified monarch.’

Although he may be a bit soft-hearted, he is the only feudal lord who truly cares about the people of Yeongjimin and the peace of the continent.

From Vanessa’s point of view, a world in which Karelia could not unify was a world that was wrong no matter what.

*

‘Then we can leave now, right?’

The moment I finished preparing to leave and was about to go on a horse ride.

Runarien heard the soldiers chatting.

“Did you hear the news? They say a wizard has appeared in Brans County.”

“I heard you called a stone from the sky and dropped it?”

Wizard?

Come to think of it, I didn’t listen closely because I was concentrating on work… … There was a rumor going around that a ‘wizard’ had appeared in Brans County.

I remembered hearing that even though he was a wizard, the miracles he performed did not match any of the magic left in legend.

When it came to Brans, Luna had something a little different in mind than the rumors about him being a wizard.

‘Swen… … ‘Are you doing well?’

Swen was practically sold to Brans’ army.

I was very worried about whether I was doing well under Lin Brans.

at that time.

Words she could never ignore came to her ears.

“They say he is a young man with white hair. They say they performed a ritual towards the sky.”

‘… … !!’

Among young men, those with gray hair were by no means common on the continent.

At least among the people Luna encountered, there was only one young man with white hair.

“Hey, over there! Excuse me!”

“Wow! Lu, Runarien… … ?”

The soldiers who recognized Luna bowed in embarrassment and spoke.

“What’s going on?! Maybe we did something wrong… … ?”

“Are you sure it is a man with white hair?”

They were unable to hide their nervousness for a moment, but as soon as the keyword ‘white-haired man’ appeared, they immediately felt relieved and answered.

“Ah, you are talking about that rumor. yes. From what I heard, it’s a white-haired man. It is said that they performed a sacrifice to heaven.”

“After performing the ancestral rites, I heard that the sky suddenly moved and a huge stone, like a divine punishment, fell on Serpina.”

“Is that so… … ?”

A white-haired young man belonging to the Brans Army who performed an absurd miracle.

Somehow she was sure it was the person she knew.

‘Swen… … You’re alive… … !’

A miracle occurred?

It wasn’t that surprising.

Swen has always been like that. Even when I was with her, things that must be called ‘miracles’ happened time and time again.

So, if you’ve done something this outrageous – it’s unthinkable to anyone but Swen.

“I… … Lunarien, we have somewhere to go, so would you mind if you excuse us first?”

“… … .”

“… … Please excuse me first. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Just like that, the soldiers fled the scene, leaving Luna behind, who did not respond.

Luna slowly sat down on the spot, not even noticing that the soldiers had left.

‘Swen… … ! I’m really, really glad you’re safe… … Swen… … !’

How long has it been since I last heard of Swen?

Because I believed in the words, ‘I will definitely return to my master’, I wasn’t too worried… … Nevertheless, it was true that I was anxious.

If you think about it, Swen tended to speak with strong conviction when making her claims. She also knew very well that that appearance may not be viewed very favorably by others.

In particular, I used to think that it would be dangerous in various ways if I showed that kind of attitude in front of Lin Brans, who was famous for his arrogant personality.

But it seemed to be alive somehow. Just like he showed off when he was alive and under him-

It seemed like an absurd miracle was happening again.

A huge stone was summoned from the sky.

It was a ridiculous story, but as soon as I found out that the person who did it was Swen, I stopped having any doubts.

She firmly believed that Swen had conjured it.

Because I’ve always been that kind of person.

Swen was the one who came up with ridiculous things like ‘I will do it like this’ and ‘It will happen like this’ and carried it out.

Luna slowly stood up from her seat.

Her ruby eyes were burning fiercely.

Now that I know that Swen is alive-

For her, hesitation was nothing but a sin.

‘… … ‘You need to prepare in advance so that you can be proud when you meet Swen again someday.’

Someday, when the time comes.

If a time comes when it is so firm that no one can deny it.

I will definitely hold that moment in my hands.

Even for Swen, who is still alive to this day.

‘… … .’

So Luna, with a great determination in her heart, rode her horse and set off to her new destination, Tepelo Castle.

I have to tell Tifa and Kane the news about Swen.

For the first time since she lost her country, her heart was pounding hard.

* * *

and.

Luna in the southern part of the continent was not the only person who lost their senses after hearing the term ‘white-haired man’.

“Is that really true? A young man with white hair and gray eyes?!”

“Keu… … … That drama.”

Serpina asked the leader Julian while holding him by the collar.

Unusually for her, she was extremely embarrassed.

In a battle that took 33,000 soldiers, more than 30,000 soldiers died from being hit by rocks.

Commander Julian, who returned barely alive, brought with him about 3,000 soldiers.

Moreover, I heard that a man was holding a memorial service toward the sky on top of the fortress until this huge stone fell.

This alone may be full of things that don’t make sense, but surprisingly, that wasn’t what was important to her right now.

‘White hair, gray eyes… … That person… … !’

Serpina had rarely seen a young man with white hair before.

If you’ve ever seen it – just once.

It was in her dream.