Chapter 394

Chapter 394

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 394: Rohan Yareunshade (2)

“After realizing that Laura had been assassinated, I frantically searched for the culprit. But even after using the Jarl’s power to its fullest, I couldn’t find out who it was.”

Yareunshade was a considerably large territory. In the Levantin Empire, it boasted a scale and economic power comparable to a margraviate.

Naturally, the Jarl’s power was also strong, but the fact that he ultimately couldn’t find the culprit was telling.

“Either she was assassinated outside the Yareunshade territory for a completely unexpected reason due to a grudge…”

“…Or the culprit was confident from the start that they wouldn’t be caught by you, the Jarl and her father.”

“That’s right. And it was very likely the latter. Laura’s parents were outsiders, but she herself was a native who had never moved.”

If he couldn’t find the culprit, he had to at least know the reason why Laura was assassinated.

A reason to kill Laura even knowing she was his lover and had borne his illegitimate child.

“I could think of two main possibilities. One was that she was a human alchemist who had never even held a hammer, which was the reason I couldn’t formally marry Laura. They must have thought she was a blemish on the family. The other was the issue of succession. Astrid was a capable woman and was quickly seizing control of the household as the mistress. In other words… she was driving those who weren’t in her faction into a corner.”

The situation was precarious.

Rohan and Astrid’s son, Svid, was intelligent but had a weak personality. He even had little interest in either crafting or combat.

It was an un-dwarflike appearance, but… how could all dwarves be the same? Sometimes, someone like Svid would emerge.

The problem was that he was the Jarl’s son, nonetheless.

In another country, Svid might have become a decent lord. But that wasn’t the leadership image that Nidavellir desired.

Fierce warriors who fought with passion, and admirable artisans worthy of respect. Only these two were highly regarded in Nidavellir.

In that sense, it was likely that attention was focused on Faye, an illegitimate child who, though not publicly known, was known to those in the know.

Half-dwarf blood from her mother. Even more so, she was the child of Rohan, a Meister, and Laura, who, though in a different field, was a considerably skilled individual.

“The reason I was able to become a Meister was because I combined blacksmithing with gemcrafting. Thanks to that, I was able to create special equipment comparable to magic tools. What if Faye could do something similar?”

If she became a hybrid artisan who could create alchemical steel on her own and forge special weapons with it… the Yareunshade family would become a lineage that produced Meisters for generations.

Even if not, Rohan’s heart still leaned towards Laura, so he must have thought Faye would also have a chance.

Well… he was definitely running the “happy circuit” quite strongly, but wasn’t the succession dispute itself a battle of “happy circuits”?

A flawed legitimate son, an un-scratched lottery ticket of an illegitimate child favored by the Jarl.

It was a traditional rivalry structure.

…Frankly, from his perspective, the reason for the flaw was a bit absurd, but that must be the difference in thinking between races.

In the Levantin Empire, which valued lineage and male offspring, they would scoff at comparing a legitimate son to an illegitimate daughter.

Alfheim would judge based on who was born with a stronger blessing from the World Tree.

Crasius was a country that would make them fight to the death to see who was stronger.

From the dwarves’ perspective, it must have been a significant issue. At least enough for Rohan to brace himself.

“Once my thoughts reached that point, Faye surviving at all felt like a miracle. Whether it was because she was a blemish on the family or to prevent a succession struggle in advance, the culprit must have intended to kill Faye as well. They just failed due to Laura’s desperate resistance. So, I thought I couldn’t leave things as they were.”

From that day on, Rohan gathered his vassals and elders and announced that Faye had fallen out of his favor.

Rohan declared only two things. Either way, she was his own flesh and blood, so he would provide her with at least the basic necessities of life, and even if she changed her mind, she could never become the next Jarl.

Of course, this story never reached the ears of young Faye. In the end, Faye had to live as an invisible person without knowing why, and leave for the academy as soon as she turned twenty.

After that, she lived a poor and sickly life until she met him… and that leads to the present.

It sounded plausible at first glance, but as he listened, something felt off.

Staring straight at Rohan, who was coughing up blood again, likely due to the strain of talking so much, he opened his mouth.

“One thing. May I ask you something?”

“ Cough Speak.“

“I understand that you realized Senior Faye might be assassinated and tried to prevent it somehow. But wasn’t your method wrong? Shouldn’t you have assigned guards and made protective equipment for her there? What kind of logic is it to ruin someone’s life so they don’t even need to be touched?”

“……”

Rohan closed his mouth tightly at his sharp question.

“Ugh!”

Iris, who had tried to attach a spirit as a guard to Elisha and was reported, clutched her chest after receiving splash damage… but that wasn’t very important right now.

As he glared at him, waiting to hear his excuse, Rohan slowly opened his mouth after a while.

“…I was afraid.”

His gaze flickered towards Faye. Rohan’s face was distorted with regret and self-reproach.

“I had already failed once to protect Laura. What if I lost Faye too? Thinking that way, I was so afraid I couldn’t bear it. Back then, I was a coward who couldn’t risk even the slightest danger.”

“That’s…”

“Yes. I know. I caused Faye great pain because of my lack of confidence. I belatedly realized that fact, but by then it was already too late.”

Faye had already closed her heart and was only waiting for the day she could leave the mansion.

“Having come this far, I thought I had no choice but to stick to the current method. I thought that was the best way, that as long as she was alive, she could start over far away, that Faye could live well no matter what… That’s what I thought.”

“To say that now! No… you were wrong, Father. I… how much I…!”

Faye, who had been listening silently, raised her voice as if overcome with emotion, but in the end, she couldn’t utter the next words and only breathed roughly.

Having seen Faye’s future in H&A, he knew what words would follow.

There was no next chance for Faye. The students, who didn’t want to cause trouble with the Yareunshade family, ostracized Faye, and because of that, she was alone even at the academy.

Nothing worked out, and there was no one by her side to comfort her.

Faye had always been alone since her mother died. A life that was even more difficult because there was no hope for things to get better in the future, more so than the immediate hunger or humiliation.

All of this was an overwhelming ordeal, more than enough to break Faye’s spirit…

“In the end, Faye, who couldn’t receive help from anyone, chose death herself.”

No, it shouldn’t be called a choice.

Since the entire world was driving Faye to her death, she had no other option.

Of course, this was all a future from when he wasn’t there. It was something that hadn’t happened yet, and something he wouldn’t let happen.

So, he knew Faye wouldn’t commit suicide, but… why did the memory of when their bodies first intertwined suddenly come to mind?

Faye, who was begging him to acknowledge her, to love her, as she offered her body and heart, her soul, her future, everything.

Considering she called it an equivalent exchange, wasn’t it a very unfair trade? But Faye must have been that desperate.

However, he was by Faye’s side now.

When he silently placed his hand on her shoulder, Faye reflexively covered it with her own.

Perhaps it helped a little, as her rapid breathing slowly returned to normal. Faye, who had strongly gripped the back of his hand once, lifted her head.

Her bangs were still messy, covering half of her face. But the eyes beyond them were shining transparently.

They were the eyes of someone living in the present, not the past.

“I understand what Father was thinking. The method was wrong, but I also understand that you did it for me in your own way.”

“Faye.”

“However, that doesn’t mean my memories disappear. It doesn’t mean everything becomes something that never happened.”

“I’m sorry. As you said, I know very well that saying these things now has no meaning. That’s why I was planning not to say anything until the day I die…”

“You thought that if it was my junior, he could safely protect me no matter who targeted me, right?”

“…That’s right. I pushed you away thinking I would never see your face again, but as I face death, I wanted to see you even once.”

Rohan looked at Faye, but couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. Faye nodded briefly at his appearance.

“I understand.”

“Wh-what did you just say…?”

“I can’t forgive Father. I don’t want to either. But I can understand. I also have someone I like, and my heart drops when I hear news that he’s in danger. I can do anything for my junior.”

Saying that, Faye took his hand from her shoulder and interlaced her fingers with his.

As if she would never let go, Faye’s tightly clasped hand held his, and a faint arc formed at the corner of her lips.

“Let’s stop here. I have no intention of getting along with Father again, but I won’t hate you anymore.”

So, you don’t need to blame yourself anymore.

Tears welled up in Rohan’s eyes as he understood the meaning.

“Ah. Ahh…!”

Faye looked at Rohan for a moment and then abruptly turned her head.

“…Let’s go, Junior. There’s nothing more to say or hear now.”

“Let’s go together.”

Faye put an end to her past. There was no need to stay here any longer, so they could leave early tomorrow morning.

They left Rohan behind, their clasped hands not letting go until the very end.

“Madam Astrid has summoned the forces of an Evil God!!”

“Son of a…”

They were planning to leave tomorrow, but they were attacking at dawn today.