Book 5 Chapter 19
Episode 121
A young man, who had been sitting cross-legged in the center of a magical barrier surrounding him on all sides, painfully vomited blood and collapsed.
At the same time, with a *swoosh*, the isolating barrier that had kept him secluded from all surrounding noise and attention dispersed.
Although it was midsummer in the world, this place, where the early winter chill seeped through the windows, was the northern territory of the Holy Human Empire.
‘Bell Quirius, is it…?’
He interpreted the possession magic created by Grand Mage Zernix with *those* eyes, did he? In such a short time?
‘It would be impossible unless his level was equal to or above mine?’
No, it absolutely wouldn't be above.
Because no matter what anyone said, there was no mage in the current era who could rival Grand Mage Zernix.
Since the death of Obek, the 12th Grand Mage, who could be considered the last successor, the position of Grand Mage in the empire had consistently been vacant.
‘That little kid named Rin had as much potential as I do, so I wanted to take his body after he grew more, instead of killing him then… *Sigh*, this one will also die before he grows up.’
Since he attacked the Supreme Commander in the White Wolves' stronghold, regardless of his status, he would be beheaded according to the law of the Wall.
*Those* were the eyes I've wanted ever since Lyuken developed them, so it's a shame I won't be able to take his entire body…
Zernix, who had gotten up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, took off his usual ragged eyepatch with seven eyes drawn inside a triangle, and stretched refreshingly.
"Yes! My mission's over, and I won't have to control those stinky old men's bodies anymore!"
Having driven a wedge between the beastmen and the wolves to the extreme until one of the five foundations of the Spider Lord awakened, there was nothing left to do here.
"Should I just watch how Young Master Baek massacres the beastmen?"
No, never mind. Maybe it's because I've been in the north for hundreds of years, but I'm sick of this place now. Except for that brief trip south to unseal the Lizard Lord…
Was the next mission in the Antarctic?
On the way down, I should eat delicious food and fool around with some women. Republic women are indeed the best. I really like their bronzed skin.
Wasn't I revived and granted eternal youth to enjoy these things?
"Heh heh, perhaps I'll go personally dote on Touraina after a long time."
* * *
"Execution! Behead him immediately and kick that neck over the Wall! So his esteemed beastmen friends can see it!"
While the Deputy Commander, who had served at the Wall for 38 years, raged furiously, Kiran Wolf Blade checked the basket firmly strapped to the collapsed Rain's back.
No, this…?
He instantly swallowed a deep gasp and closed the lid. He cautiously looked around, but it seemed he was the only witness.
"If it's truly a fake Ludwig, how do you intend to handle the repercussions later?"
When Kiran stealthily picked up the basket and warned him, the Deputy Commander furrowed his brow.
"This is the Wall, you know well that the law of the wolves takes precedence over the law of the Empire here, don't you? And you saw what he just did! He tried to assassinate the Supreme Commander!"
"…Surely you didn't hear it?"
"Hear what?"
So he didn't hear it after all…
Kiran had clearly heard a strange voice that seemed to scatter into the air just before the Supreme Commander collapsed.
But would these people, so agitated right now, believe him if he explained it? Everyone was already on edge due to the massive failure of the expedition.
"Regardless, many of our members saw Lady Page come here. Beheading him is too hasty a decision."
"Wolves don't care about the Imperial nobles."
"I'm not saying we should care. I'm saying we should proceed a little more calmly. Let's imprison him for now. I'll interrogate him when he regains consciousness."
* * *
At the Ludwig family's manor, Bellewyn, a funeral ceremony passed down through generations was quietly held.
Since the patriarch, Caiburn Ludwig, had stated he would not receive mourners, other prominent families, the Ten Great Clans, and the Eight Great Sixteen Middles sent formal condolences and funeral offerings via letter.
Did they not know that fact, or did they come knowing it?
Residents from the Giriten region of Ciastulica came up and followed the funeral procession, weeping sadly.
“……”
The wave of grief swirling around the manor swept emptily not only through the hearts of the family members but also through those of the butler, maids, and soldiers.
Because the boy had never been cruel to anyone, discriminated against no one, was merciful to all, and treated everyone, regardless of status, like a friend.
The funeral bier of the young master, who had died a hundred days ago, led a long procession up the summer ridge where tulips bloomed profusely.
As the body could not be recovered, the bier was empty. It could only carry a few mementos, making it heartbreakingly light.
The former and current patriarchs, Skald and Caiburn, walked on either side of the bier, dressed in ceremonial attire, followed by the boy's mother Brim, aunt Elin, sister Seri, and younger brother Bran, all in mourning clothes.
Finally, when the trumpeter walking in front blew a long note, the procession halted amidst the mournful, drawn-out sound of the trumpet.
This place, where weathered tombstones stretched to the horizon, was the land where the family members found eternal rest.
It was their final resting place, overlooking the world of tulips and Bellewyn Manor, from where greenery bloomed in spring and white snow covered in winter.
As the soldiers, who had dug the boy's grave and were waiting, respectfully received the bier and were about to lower it into the pit, Brim Ludwig finally burst into tears and clung to it.
"Madam…"
"Oh, Madam…"
The grief of a mother who had to send her son to a place she could not follow was long and heavy. Seri embraced her mother and wept with her.
Only young Bran Ludwig, unable to enter this world of sorrow, tilted his head innocently.
It took a long time before Brim and Seri could be pulled away from the bier and the bier could be pushed into the pit. The old priest presiding over the funeral opened the holy book.
"The gods have said that separation on this earth is not eternal separation… therefore there is no reason to mourn, and only to rejoice…"
It is said that Emitsa Page also said this to her descendants on the day she closed her eyes:
"Though I die now, the gods will surely care for you and guide your end, leading you to the land of eternal life."
“……”
"As Kalenden promised me, we shall meet again there. Therefore, strive in the race of life so that you may not be ashamed on the day you meet me again. Only spread light and do good… Dursiel."
"""Dursiel (May it be so).""""
As Skald nodded, the family guards began to fill the pit with shovels, but their movements, dropping tears onto the soil, were slow.
"He would have become a truly great lord."
Unable to watch the soil cover his son's bier, Guardian Knight Swan offered difficult comfort to Caiburn, who had stepped back after hearing the cries of the Giriten residents.
"Though he was young, all the guards believed in and followed the young master wholeheartedly… and so did I."
Caiburn's weak smile was sorrowful and bitter, as if it would shatter at any moment.
"Yes, thank you."
And Caiburn, who seemed to be passing Swan to return to the ridge, placed a hand on the young Guardian Knight's shoulder.
"Provide them with good food. So they don't get exhausted on their journey. These people came to mourn my son's death, so treat them with great consideration."
"Your orders will be obeyed, Your Excellency."
Elin Ludwig did not cry.
Instead, even as the soil was being covered, she forcibly made Seri, who was weeping endlessly, stand up and pulled her down from the ridge.
When Seri tried to resist, Elin gripped her shoulder tightly, as if to tell her to pull herself together.
"Don't cry, don't cry! A Ludwig successor doesn't show tears in front of others! Your grandfather and Madelia Page never cried once when they mourned their fathers' deaths, did they?!"
“……?”
"Rain Ludwig is dead now. Do you know what that means? It means you are the rightful successor of the family. Seri Ludwig, you must lead our family!"
On the ridge where flower petals rustled in the wind, Seri tried to swallow her tears, but they flowed repeatedly, and her voice broke faintly.
"I don't want to… I don't want to be the family's successor… I, I just… I miss my brother, I miss my brother…"
"Rain is gone, I tell you!"
Although she seemed to shout sharply, Elin's voice, as she knelt before her niece and met her gaze, was distant, as if scattering into the air.
"Are you going to show him only this pathetic sight when you meet again later? If you become a more wonderful person, won't even *that pathetic one* be happy…?"
As Seri, replaying those words in her mind, painfully nodded and burst into tears, Elin hugged her niece and patted her back.
"Now the person who carried the family's burden instead of you is gone… Steel your heart, because you need to become as strong as your pathetic brother…"
* * *
It was hearing and touch that pulled his consciousness, which had been submerged in deep darkness, to the surface.
The sound of someone sobbing, and something warm falling onto my face…
When I laboriously lifted my eyelids, the first thing my eyes met was a pair of pale purple irises. Those clear eyes, endlessly gathering and shedding tears like dew, had an alluring quality.
"…Lady?"
Why would Kasena Page be crying?
As I tried to lift my heavy, slumped body, a dizzying storm of memories suddenly surged like lightning through my hazy mind.
Beastmen and wolves, a splitting headache, Gryphon and Barzen, the Supreme Commander and possession magic, Alakish, and…
"Dragon egg."
The most important thing, Alakish's treasure that she entrusted to me.
I exhaled roughly and tried to quickly sit up, but *clank*, heavy iron shackles roughly pulled at both my hands.
My eyes opened in shock.
"…Handcuffs?"
Yes, they were handcuffs.
These iron restraints, molded in the shape of a clenched fist, were mage-exclusive handcuffs that prevented a mage from using magic.
Bargante types cannot use magic if they haven't formed a beast-person pact.
Jorhen types, who use mental calculation, cannot activate magic unless they break the magic circle constructed on their palm.
Remediel types, to begin with, cannot use magic without a book…
This place, where a faint lamp was the only light, was filled only with cold dust and the stench of mold, and even the lamp was beyond the iron-barred door.
"A prison, of all places…"
The situation I was in was so despair-inducing that it was unbelievable; I staggered weakly and leaned blankly against the outer wall.
I don't have time for this.
Alakish must still be fighting, and even if it was possible to shake him off, if *that guy* went to Ravenfell…
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Kasena pitifully hugged her knees and wept repeatedly with frail sobs.
"Because of me, because of me…"
"You didn't do anything wrong, Lady. This all happened because I was too impatient."
I should have approached things a little more cautiously.
To think that everything would be resolved if I just removed the possessing spirit from the Supreme Commander… I was too short-sighted.
As I painfully sighed, Kasena suddenly lifted her bloodshot eyes and shouted.
"No… I know, I know everything! Before that, I mean! Even before that!"
"What?"
"Because I, I held him back again… During the Papacy incident, and this time too, Rain couldn't help Alakish because of me…!"
“……”
"So, that's why I studied so hard, because next time, instead of holding him back, I wanted to be his strength, his strength, but, but…"
For a moment, I was speechless.
I thought she had no memory of it because she didn't speak about it, but did she remember everything? I wondered why she was learning so enthusiastically…
Was it only possible because she harbored such admirable determination within her?
"So that's what you were thinking."
If it had been Lista in this situation, she would have gone closer, patted that shoulder, and offered gentle comfort. If it had been Fride, she would have encouraged her by quoting famous scripture.
Unfortunately, I cannot act like them. It's not my personality, nor do I know how to speak that way.
But I know better than anyone what mindset to adopt in such situations, having seen, felt, and experienced it myself.
"I think a little differently."
To convey sincerity, true sincerity.
Without a trace of pretense, simply responding with sincerity if the other person has conveyed theirs.
"If it weren't for you, Lady, I wouldn't have even made it this far."
"What?"
"It was you, Lady, who fully persuaded the Durankus tribe. And even in Ravenfell, if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been able to talk to Gryphon."
It wasn't a strained fabrication made for comfort, but rather a genuine sentiment felt during this journey.
Had that sincerity been conveyed? Kasena, who had been looking at me with widened eyes, turned her head primly and bit her lip.
"…A lie."
"It's true, really. I'm more honest than I look, so if I thought you were a burden, I would have told you long ago."
"Then, what's the point… Because of me, because of me, Alakish, Alakish died…"
"No, Lady Alakish is still alive."
The person who answered was not me, but a young man who entered, his leather boots making heavy scraping sounds on the floor.
And finally, when he stopped in front of the prison cell, Kasena and I both sprang to our feet for different reasons.
I saw the dragon egg basket that the young man with dark red hair carefully carried in both hands, while Kasena's gaze was fixed on his face.
"It's been ten years, Kasena."