Chapter 45: The New Castellan of Chaplin Castle (3)
“Your Majesty, what kind of person was Duke Kailers?”
Emperor Adrian, who had joined a luncheon with his family after a long time, raised a hand to his chin at the sudden question from the imperial princess.
What kind of person had he been?
Some evaluated him as a genius of the sword who would never appear again in the Tylers Empire, or as someone with an upright and steadfast core.
Power, wealth, and honor did not exist among his interests.
His goals were only to annihilate those who worship darkness, and to uphold the dying wish of the previous Emperor.
After a moment, Emperor Adrian nodded and opened his mouth while looking at the imperial princess.
“He was a cold fellow.”
“Weren’t Duke Kailers and Your Majesty close friends?”
“That was merely my own fervent wish. Did that fellow ever once think of me as a friend?”
“……I can’t understand it.”
“I couldn’t understand him either. It’s the same even now.”
Clink—
Emperor Adrian set his utensils down on the table and let out a hollow chuckle.
The imperial princess, who had been watching his expression, tilted her head.
“Brother? Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“It just reminded me of the past. That fellow never once thought of the Tylers Empire as his home. He never gave his affection to anyone. So that he could leave at any time.”
“Ah…….”
“Back then, it felt strange. Even though he held a status equal to the Emperor within the Empire, that fellow’s eyes always looked empty.”
Emperor Adrian gave a faint smile and filled his goblet with red wine.
He tried to refrain from drinking alcohol at breakfast, but today he couldn’t do that.
“I’m dying of curiosity. Whether that fellow’s eyes are still the same as before, or not.”
“……I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
When the imperial princess shut her mouth, Emperor Adrian gulped down the sloshing wine in one go.
‘The world wouldn’t know. That Ian Kailers would have left even if he’d been given the Emperor’s seat.’
After having lunch with Pramo, as soon as evening came, Kyle left the Lord’s Castle.
He glanced back at the Ragnar Knight Order standing behind him.
“Didn’t I tell you to follow after Acacia returned?”
“It is the Head of the Family’s order to attend the Grand General.”
Kyle plainly revealed his displeasure, but Akun answered without backing down.
At that sight, Kyle shook his head.
“Is the Commander to prioritize my orders, or the Head of the Family’s orders?”
“At present, the Head of the Family’s orders take priority.”
“Why?”
“Because the leader of Ragnar is the Head of the Family.”
“Is that so.”
“While we prioritize the Head of the Family’s orders, we also prioritize the Grand General’s orders.”
What Akun meant was that the precondition was Pramo standing ahead of Kyle.
Kyle looked into Akun’s eyes and nodded.
“At least the Commander, I hope you’ll maintain that mindset until the end.”
“I will.”
After that, Kyle said nothing further to the knights.
He merely walked forward calmly.
As Kyle was walking toward Chaplin Castle, he suddenly called Akun.
“Commander.”
“You called for me?”
Akun, who had been following from a distance behind, responded to the call and ran over.
“If we were to make a road from the Lord’s Castle to Chaplin Castle, what method should we use? Give me your opinion.”
It was a road always covered in snow, terrain where even riding horses made movement difficult.
In order to transport supplies in the future, a passage had to be created.
At Kyle’s question, Akun scratched his head.
“It’s terrain made up of mountains, and it’s always covered in snow. It’s the worst terrain for transporting supplies by cart.”
“So?”
“The troops can move on foot, but transporting supplies is difficult. Even the previous Head of the Family overcame that issue with a teleportation device.”
“And the problem is that teleportation device was sold to the Rark Territory.”
Kyle did not stop walking even as he folded his arms and pondered.
Akun looked up at the sky and spoke respectfully.
“We will prepare for camping.”
“Moving at night could be dangerous. And the Rapid Merchant Guild is with us.”
“Yes, Grand General. Then I’ll prepare immediately.”
“I’ll take a look around the area and return shortly.”
“I will accompany you, Grand General.”
“No need. The Commander wouldn’t be able to keep up with me anyway.”
It wasn’t disregard, but reality.
It was nonsense to say Akun’s speed could keep up with the speed of Kyle, who was a Master.
Akun calmly nodded.
“Understood.”
“Take good care of the Rapid Merchant Guild’s trading caravan, and I’ll be back before long.”
With those words, Kyle vanished from before Akun’s eyes in an instant.
Akun stared at the spot Kyle had left and fell briefly into thought.
‘Just how large is the gap between Commander Seros and the Grand General?’
He had once asked Seros about it before.
Between Kyle and Seros, who was stronger?
The words Seros had spoken then still rang vividly in his ears.
— How could you compare my lord with me? At present, my lord’s realm could be said to be the greatest among Masters.
And he had asked another question.
How would it be to compare Kyle with Ian Kailers, the strongest of the Tylers Empire and the one called the greatest on the continent?
At that question, Seros had let out a hollow laugh.
— Equal.
Akun didn’t know it, but Seros did.
That Ian Kailers and Kyle Ragnar were the same person.
Naturally, if asked who was stronger, Seros could only answer that way.
But Akun, who didn’t really know what was what, was greatly shocked upon hearing it.
To be on equal footing with the strongest on the continent—it sounded unbelievable.
While he was pondering deeply like that, Zero approached Akun.
“Commander, we’ll begin preparing the camp.”
“Good. Ask Branch Head Raina if there’s anything inconvenient, and accommodate her as much as possible.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“And tell the knights to hurry with the camping preparations.”
As the knights hurriedly prepared the camp, Kyle, who had moved separately to look around, gazed down below from atop a mountain peak.
No matter how much he thought about it, this terrain was the worst.
It wasn’t suitable for transporting heavy iron.
‘……Is there only one method?’
Installing a teleportation device required an astronomical amount of funds.
However, with the current finances of the Ragnar Territory, it was utterly unrealistic.
“We’ll have to refine the iron ore and turn it into finished goods before transporting it. In the end, that means all the infrastructure has to be built at Chaplin Castle.”
The risk was high, but it was the only way to transport goods without investing an enormous amount of capital.
Thinking that, for now, there was no other option, Kyle let out a sigh.
If the teleportation device that should have originally been at Chaplin Castle hadn’t been handed over to the Rark Territory, he wouldn’t even be worrying about this.
‘But it must have been the best option Pramo could choose.’
By giving up the teleportation device, he had secured the support of the Rark Family.
It was regrettable, but since there was just as much that had been gained, Kyle had to understand Pramo’s decision.
After surveying the terrain and returning, Kyle saw that the camp preparations were complete and approached Akun.
“You’ve returned?”
“There were no monsters in the vicinity, so don’t set a night watch and get some sleep. We have to enter Chaplin Castle by tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
He approached and sat by the campfire the knights had lit.
Although tents had been set up, there was no particular reason to sleep.
Skipping sleep for a single day wouldn’t put any strain on his body.
Seeing that, Akun spoke to Kyle in a low voice.
“We’ve prepared a separate tent for you, Grand General. Please go in and rest.”
“No need. Missing a day of sleep won’t build up any fatigue anyway.”
Unable to persuade Kyle any further, Akun entered his tent alone.
Although he had reached Exford, to endure a forced march he still needed some sleep.
Akun fell asleep immediately, then woke early the next dawn and came out of the tent.
Kyle was sitting in front of the campfire in the exact same posture as the night before.
“Did you stay like this all night?”
Despite Akun’s question, Kyle didn’t answer and kept his gaze fixed on the campfire.
Even though the firewood had already turned to ash, strangely enough, the flames were still blazing fiercely.
As Akun watched the campfire together with him, he naturally sat down beside Kyle.
“Grand General.”
“You’re up, Commander.”
“Yes. I just woke up.”
“Didn’t the Commander’s father make a living as a blacksmith? That’s how I remember it.”
“That’s correct. Thank you for remembering.”
“Is he still in the territory?”
“He’s in the territory, but he’s retired from blacksmithing.”
“Is that so.”
As Kyle stood up from his seat, the fiercely burning flames instantly died out.
Akun spread his hand and placed it over the remaining embers.
‘Cold?’
It had clearly been roaring with flames just moments ago.
But the instant Kyle stood up, not even warmth remained where the fire had been.
‘So this is the Frostfire.’
The secret art and treasure of the Ragnar Family.
An ability that could harmonize the extreme forces of fire and cold.
Not much was properly known about Frostfire, but it was known to be a power that could handle both fire and ice.
Once again feeling how astonishing Kyle’s ability was, Akun came to his senses as knights began emerging one by one and issued orders.
“Withdraw the camp and hurry with preparations to move to Chaplin Castle! We must enter the castle today!”
As soon as the order was given, the knights hastily dismantled the camp and prepared to move toward Chaplin Castle.
When preparations were finally complete, Kyle—who had been nowhere to be seen—appeared like a ghost.
“We depart.”
“Yes! Grand General!”
As dusk fell, Kyle’s group entered Chaplin Castle, where Castellan Saie and Elder Pan personally came out to greet them.
“Have you both been well?”
“Of course, Grand General. We heard you went to the Royal Capital—how are things unfolding?”
At Pan’s question, Kyle smiled.
“I’ll explain once we’re inside.”
“Understood.”
Together with Castellan Saie and Elder Pan, they entered the castellan’s mansion.
Upon entering the study, a tall young man stood before Kyle with his hands clasped.
Kyle glanced at him once, then shifted his gaze to Castellan Saie.
“Could this be Castellan Saie’s eldest son?”
“That’s right. He’s also Zero’s older brother. Taro, greet the Grand General.”
Taro, Zero’s brother and the heir of the Saie Family, bowed deeply.
Kyle gave a small nod, stepped toward him, and extended his hand.
“I am Kyle Ragnar.”
“I am Taro Saie, Grand General.”
Eyes filled with admiration—being able to see someone who had reached the Master-level Realm this closely was itself an honor to him.
That was only natural, since the Saie Family was not a family of civil officials.
They were a martial family that revered martial might and trained in swordsmanship.
Naturally, Taro had also learned the sword, and even now he had not put it down in order to increase his martial strength.
But Kyle hadn’t come to receive Taro’s admiration.
“Castellan Saie.”
“Yes, Grand General.”
“There will be a replacement of the castellan of Chaplin Castle. Even if the castellan refuses the elder position, you should consider the replacement unavoidable.”
When Kyle drove the point home, Castellan Saie nodded with a bitter expression.
Even if he didn’t want to step down from the position of castellan, he knew Kyle was the type to send him to the Lord’s Castle regardless.
He had devoted his entire life in loyalty to the Ragnar Family.
He didn’t seek compensation for that loyalty.
He was simply a little saddened by the Ragnar Family’s decision.
“Grand General, even if I wish to remain as castellan, is it impossible?”
“I cannot allow it.”
“…….”
Turning his gaze away from Castellan Saie, Kyle walked to the window.
Compared to the Lord’s Castle, Chaplin Castle had seen almost no development.
A castle filled with abandoned houses.
But now, this place had to change.
“Isn’t it time to prepare a new royal family and have the Saie Family recognized as founding contributors of the nation? So don’t hold onto regret or resentment.”
Castellan Saie, who had been hanging his head and unable to speak, jerked his head up at Kyle’s words.
A new royal family.
It sounded as though the shackles binding Ragnar had finally been released.
As Castellan Saie’s eyes widened, Pan suddenly sprang to his feet and asked.
“……Did you succeed?”
“Did Elder Pan think I would fail?”
There had never been a possibility of failure to begin with.
To annul the pact, no less than two Masters had moved.
Moreover, since there were no Masters in the Daon Kingdom, there was nothing that could obstruct Kyle from nullifying the Pact Document.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Pan stared at Kyle and raised his voice.
“At last, Ragnar can free itself from the Royal Family. You’ve worked hard, Grand General!”
“It was something that should have been done long ago. Elder, you should also return to the Lord’s Castle now.”
“Understood.”
“Ah, and when you go, take the Ragnar Knight Order with you as well.”