[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
Chapter 143
‘Ah, Father?’
‘The commander known as the "Thousand-Year Witch"…?’
The knights were in shock.
lvria, the Thousand-Year Witch.
She was a woman who had suddenly appeared one day in the Geysir Empire and was granted a duchy by the imperial family. At first, people suspected she had bewitched the emperor with an otherworldly beauty that seed too unreal to exist in this world.
The dark elf woman was beautiful enough to make people believe such a thing.
But that was a misconception.
She was stronger than anyone and knew how to command dragons.
She led hundreds of drakes on her own.
She brought calamity to entire regions through the dark arts of spirit sorcery.
A transcendent being who could act as an entire army by herself, without a single subordinate.
That was Duchess lvria Darkwind.
“…Father.”
Duchess lvria seed to murmur wistfully.
Crash!
She shattered the mirror conjured by the water spirit with her fist and destroyed the pedestal summoned by the earth spirit.
A display of sheer brutality.
As the spirits trembled in agony before vanishing, the knights gave small, knowing nods.
To strike down spirits—who were like an extension of their summoners—without hesitation.
Yes. That was the Duchess lvria they knew.
“……That’s impossible.”
lvria recalled mories from a distant past.
As a half-elf, the ti she had with both of her parents was fleeting.
Her mother, Deluna, had left her behind in the imperial palace to fulfill her duty as a high elf.
—Father… Mother is…
—It’s okay, lvria. I’ll find her.
Her father had sworn to bring Deluna back, but in the end, he never did.
—I’m sorry, lvria. Deluna… she’s gone. Instead, I will take on both her role and mine.
Her father, Ernstine, kept that promise.
Though he had many wives and children, lvria was always his priority.
No matter how many consorts he visited, the emperor always spent his final monts of the night in her quarters.
That wasn’t all.
lvria’s palace rivaled that of an empress in scale.
Compared to his other children, the favoritism shown toward her was overwhelming.
—The one the emperor cherishes most is the half-elf, lvria.
This was an open secret whispered throughout the imperial palace, and lvria took pleasure in hearing it.
Her mother had abandoned her, but her father’s love had almost healed that wound.
At least, until Ernstine disappeared.
—H-His Majesty the forr emperor…
—He has gone missing after the abdication ceremony!
From that mont on, her life in the imperial palace changed completely.
—lvria! lvria!
—Where has His Majesty the forr emperor gone?
—He favored you the most. Surely, he must have confided in you?
At first, no one suspected that anything had happened to Ernstine.
He was a Grand Sword Master, the forr emperor who had even slain the Demon King—who would dare lay a hand on him?
Rather, people assud he had gone into seclusion and sought out lvria to ask about his whereabouts.
But as more ti passed and there was no sign of the emperor, the emotions that had been suppressed began to surface.
—Filthy half-elf wench.
—You only acted so arrogantly because of His Majesty’s favor, didn’t you?
—Without His Majesty, you’re nothing but a worthless girl…
The first to openly despise her were Ernstine’s wives.
Countless "mothers," yet not one of them ever considered lvria their daughter.
To them, she was nothing more than a rival who had stolen the emperor’s affection.
And it was no wonder—
The one who always spent the emperor’s last monts of the night was lvria.
—Oh my, are you the new "mother"? Then I’ll let you have tonight.
Whenever a new consort entered the palace, lvria would concede just one night.
But on every other night, she alone monopolized the emperor’s final hours.
To the concubines who desperately craved Ernstine’s favor, it was only natural for lvria to be seen as their greatest enemy.
And this resentnt extended to their children as well.
—You acted so high and mighty, relying on Father. Look at you now.
—I don’t know what keeps you clinging to the Rose Palace.
—That place rightfully belongs to the new empress. Who do you think you are, occupying the grandest palace in the imperial court?
—Heh. How arrogant… who knows what might happen to you?
—No! Why should I? This is the palace Father gave !
Her half-siblings threatened her to leave the palace.
lvria held her ground until the end.
—…I’m sorry, lvria.
—Brother Caius…
—The Rose Palace is too conspicuous, and the pressure from the imperial family is too great. I’ll prepare a quieter place for you.
The second emperor, Caius, used the words of the imperial family as an excuse to take the Rose Palace from her.
Of course, their words were nothing more than a pretext.
Considering that the new mistress of the Rose Palace was none other than Caius’s empress, it was clear he simply wanted to grant his wife the best residence in the palace.
Seeing this, lvria lost all affection for the imperial court.
—Caius. I thought you were at least a decent brother…
—lvria, I’m sorry, but I had no choice.
—Before I have to witness anything filthier, I’ll leave on my own.
—No, you can’t. If you leave the imperial palace, it will be dangerous! lvria, there are many who hold a grudge against you…
—Hahaha. I hope so. I need sothing to vent my frustration on.
Historians of later generations would rember this period as the second turning point of the ier Empire.
If the second emperor, Caius, had not taken lvria’s palace…
If she had stayed in the imperial court and continued to support him…
Then the history of the empire might have taken a different course.
lvria.
The half-elf cherished by the emperor—
A Sword Master and a top-tier Spirit Summoner.
—A-Agh…
—What kind of spirit is this…? Was spirit sorcery always this powerful?
—She wasn’t just any half-elf…!
—Who do you think my father is?
Born between a Grand Sword Master and a High Elf, lvria possessed exceptional innate talent.
Having learned mana directly under Ernstine’s guidance, it was no surprise that she wielded such power.
She wiped out the group that had tried to abduct her for their own gain and personally set out in search of her father’s whereabouts.
Eventually, she settled in an elven forest and even married, but not once did she forget about her father.
‘If I had seen that back when I was in the elven forest, I would have mistaken him for my father.’
lvria snapped out of her trance as she watched the shattered mirror reform into a water spirit.
Had this happened in the past, she would have rejoiced, convinced that she had finally found her father, and rushed to the man imdiately.
But now…
‘Did he say he was Kaylen of the ier Kingdom? Unforgivable.’
Biting her lip, she ruthlessly stomped down on the water spirit that was struggling to reassemble itself.
‘The heir of the ier lineage dares… to mimic my father, who is very much alive?’
The first forbidden wish of the Helier lineage—the resurrection of Emperor Ernstine—had already been fulfilled.
Yet this descendant had the audacity to commit such an act of blasphemy?
It was absolutely unforgivable.
"We’re marching on him imdiately."
"Uh, Lady lvria, shouldn’t we at least make so preparations?"
"Are you saying you don’t trust , Lieutenant?"
"N-No, that’s not what I ant…"
There she goes again, throwing a fit!
Thinking quickly, the lieutenant hurriedly spoke.
"But wouldn’t it be better to move with the main force? He seems sowhat skilled—if he escapes, capturing him will be difficult."
"Hmm."
"If he vanishes after sensing the true might of our empire… who knows how long it will take to track him down again?"
"For once, you make sense. Fine. I’ll wait a little."
As lvria relented, the lieutenant let out a sigh of relief.
"Then… hey, Undine. Reform yourself again."
Bloop, bloop…
The water spirit, which had been crushed under lvria’s foot, struggled to gather itself once more.
If she was just going to revive it, why did she stomp on it in the first place?
"You all can rest."
"Yes, ma’am!"
"I’ll be sleeping here tonight."
"Understood!"
Once the knights withdrew,
lvria restored the shattered mirror and its stand, then replayed Kaylen’s image over and over again.
Until the break of dawn.
—King of ier. Even if I am just the overseer of a colonial observatory, I can’t talk for long. I’m already taking a risk as it is.
Upon arriving in the ier Kingdom, Kaylen heard Ederna’s voice.
"And yet? Why are you taking such a risk just to help humans?"
—That’s not sothing you need to know.
"Is it related to the Lucifer matter you asked about earlier?"
—Think whatever you want.
Though Ederna’s voice was flat and indifferent, Kaylen was certain there was a connection.
‘Lucifer.’
The demon Lucifer—Saint Theresia seed to be aware of him as well.
Why did Kaylen have no mory of him?
Kaylen decided he would have to ask the saint in detail later but focused on the current issue.
"Do you think the Geysir Empire will invade?"
—100 percent.
"Even if we change the kingdom’s na?"
"Sir Kaylen……"
Saint Theresia looked at Kaylen in shock.
Was he really considering giving in to such an absurd and disrespectful demand from the imperial envoy?
Considering Emperor Ernstine’s dignity, such a thing was unthinkable.
"It’s just a na. If it can delay the invasion, I’ll change it however many tis it takes. The kingdom isn’t fully prepared yet."
Clinging to the na "ier" and facing the empire’s invasion unprepared was not an option.
If delaying the invasion was possible, then abandoning sothing so trivial was a small price to pay.
Practicality mattered more than appearances.
Kaylen made his judgnt with cold logic.
However, Ederna was certain.
—That’s just an excuse. Their true target is you.
Kaylen furrowed his brows.
"I’m their target…? Why?"
—I don’t know the details. But they’ve always had a habit of collecting descendants of the ier imperial lineage. It’s probably related to that.
"Hmm."
So war was inevitable after all.
"How much do we know about their military strength?"
—The Geysir Empire itself isn’t overwhelmingly powerful aside from their Order of Dragon Knights. But the real problem is the Black Dragon ‘ier’ and the Helier draconic spellcasters. They are directly under the Helier lineage.
"The Black Dragon ier… He possessed magic on the level of a Demon Duke, at the very least."
—You should consider him even stronger than that.
Ederna warned in a grim tone.
—Dragons are truly formidable beings.
Kaylen examined his own power.
The four fully developed Six Blades—
Light, Dark, Fire, and Water were completely stabilized, but…
‘The Earth Blade and Wind Blade are lagging behind.’
The overwhelming presence of the four completed blades had hindered the growth of the remaining two attributes.
Technically, they were developing at the sa rate, but the longer this went on, the harder it beca for them to catch up.
‘The Earth Blade’s completion depends on the World Tree’s fruit, but…’
The Wind Blade was the real issue.
There was no source from which to obtain a massive amount of wind mana.
He had been refining mana stones to compensate, but—
None of his research had yielded results that satisfied him.
‘If I complete only the Earth Blade now, finishing the Wind Blade later will be even harder.’
Completing both at the sa ti would be best in the long run.
"Wind mana is the problem…"
Kaylen muttered to himself in frustration.
—If it’s wind mana… You’ll find it in the Sanctuary.
Ederna’s voice carried a hint of amusent.
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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