Chapter 33
The editorial office of the Imperial Capital Daily.
Today, as always, it vibrated with the shuddering rumble of the rotary presses and the smell of ink.
It was the information hub carrying news from the Imperial Capital across the Empire.
Knock, knock—
Senior reporter Felix knocked on the editor-in-chief's office door, bearing the weighty responsibility on his shoulders.
—Come in.
After hearing the voice, he carefully opened the door and entered.
"Oh, yes. What brings you here?"
The editor-in-chief, Morgan, was smoking a cigar with his boot propped on the desk. He slowly raised his eyes.
Felix repeatedly opened and closed his lips before asking.
"Chief, is this really true?"
The handout he held was trembling precariously.
"What is?"
"I'm talking about this notice. Even if it was requested by House Cardenos, this is a bit much……"
Whap!
Morgan snatched the paper from Felix's hand and skimmed the type at his usual speed.
[Recruiting applicants for the Ashen Forest Expedition.]
[Extreme cold, monsters, dense demonic energy, endless darkness, constant danger, survival not guaranteed.]
[No pay until the expedition ends. Wages paid upon return, amount undetermined.]
[Immense honor and glory upon success.]
Morgan casually held the paper out to Felix.
"Of course we can't publish it as is."
"Haha. That's what I thought?"
"This wouldn't even make the first edition. We need to make it more provocative—to suit our tastes."
"……Pardon? C-Chief? You really intend to publish this?"
Felix was not overreacting in the slightest.
A commotion had already erupted in the newsroom.
What kind of place was the Ashen Forest?
An uncharted deathtrap where anyone who set foot inside had little chance of returning alive.
An inhuman hellscape that even Sword Masters and high-ranking mages hesitated to enter.
And they were recruiting people for an expedition into such a deathtrap.
It was nothing more than the absurd nonsense of seeking volunteers who wanted to die.
"Never mind the danger—look at this!"
Felix pointed to one section.
[No pay until the expedition ends. Wages paid upon return, amount undetermined.]
"It says the amount is undetermined when even ten million gold coins wouldn't be enough! Does this make any sense? You're saying people should volunteer to catch bullets without receiving a single coin!"
"You're noisy."
Without even looking at him, Morgan pulled the fountain pen tucked behind his ear.
Scratch, scratch—
He scrawled a sentence across the papers strewn about haphazardly.
[However, upon success, unlimited honor and glory unparalleled in the history of the Empire.]
"Just change the last sentence to this. What's the problem? It's the Ashen Forest, isn't it? I added a little exaggeration, but it's not a lie."
"Chief!"
Bang!
Felix planted both palms on the table.
"Even if we love sensational scoops, this is a laughable piece of trash. If we publish it, we'll have to issue a correction the very next day. And you still intend to run it as is?"
"They say the expedition has already been approved at Cardenos. They told us so directly, so there's no need to worry."
They had requested that the article be published, so if they backed out, Cardenos would bear the responsibility.
Even so, the Imperial Capital Daily would not escape unscathed.
"Yes, I know that. But are they really preparing an expedition at Cardenos? Everyone knows they haven't prepared anything yet. We need to see some evidence before we can believe it!"
Cardenos was currently sealing off the Ashen Forest behind a wall.
If they defied that order by opening up the forest and tearing down the wall, Cardenos could seize all the glory of the Empire.
That was the stated justification, but most things did not run on justification alone.
People only acted after calculating and weighing their practical interests.
A noble cause was merely a veneer laid over that.
"Isn't this just propaganda? Even without looking, those bastards are obviously trying to use us."
"Let's assume you're right. What do they gain by announcing a false Ashen Forest expedition?"
"…There must be something."
"You're making a definitive claim without knowing. Do you even know who's planning and leading the expedition?"
"Isn't it obvious? It would be Grand Duke Valdemar."
"Look at you. You don't know a thing from beginning to end. It's not the family head, but Astin—the eldest son of Cardenos."
"What!?"
Felix's pupils expanded abnormally.
"That's even stranger! The person in overall charge is that little brat? It's obvious this is all empty talk!"
"Don't look at the person; look at the event. Have you forgotten what Astin was like at the Founding Festival?"
Astin von Cardenos.
The most talked-about figure currently setting high society in the Imperial Capital ablaze.
Not long ago, at the Founding Festival, Astin was the man singled out by Lady Lucia, known as the star of high society.
After that incident, Astin became the center of all kinds of rumors.
The attention of the Imperial Capital's idle gossips was still fixed on Astin.
The man at the center of a sensation was leading an expedition into the Ashen Forest.
Where in the world could there be a more perfect, more provocative scoop?
The focus wouldn't be on Cardenos or the Ashen Forest expedition.
It was obvious that the Empire's entire attention would converge on Astin alone.
"The entire capital will be thrown into an uproar, and word will spread. Whether for good or ill."
"Even so, shouldn't we verify whether it's true first?"
"I told you, it's already confirmed."
"What does he base that on? People say he's just a wastrel with a loose mouth."
"There you go again."
His throat growing dry as he spoke, Morgan downed a glass of cognac from the table. His Adam's apple trembled.
"Phew—Anyway, there's no downside for us. We won't publish it right away, and we'll have a month to wait before they ask us to break the story."
"And…"
After a brief murmur, he continued.
"We'd have to issue a correction later? We wouldn't need to pretend it never happened."
"Then how……?"
"The expedition schedule is undecided. Or we could say it's postponed indefinitely. All we have to do is coordinate with Cardenos and let the excitement die down."
He twirled the fountain pen in his hand with a graceful flourish.
"In the end, what makes people go wild is not the sword but the brush. And the brush is what puts them to sleep, too. Knowing that, the Grand Duke's illustrious eldest son came to us in the first place."
"……"
Felix fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words. Soon, he let out a sigh.
"Young Master Astin. What on earth is he doing this for?"
"I don't know. I suppose he's confident."
"Confident in what?"
"In this notice."
Click—
Morgan used a metal cutter to snip off the end of his cigar.
"Honor and glory are born from danger. Everyone knows that."
Sizzle—
Morgan slowly put the cigar to his lips and lit it.
The tip of the cigar glowed red as it burned down, exuding a pungent aroma.
"The ones crazy enough to live for that will go of their own accord. Though we couldn't understand them even if we died and rose again."
There were still people blinded by such tepid, hollow fantasies.
Morgan suspected he would not understand them even in his next life.
"Come to think of it, Cardenos has been causing quite a stir lately."
"Ha…… Indeed. The conflict with Rosenthal feels like only yesterday."
"Astin was behind both the Founding Festival and Rosenthal. He's practically a celebrity in his own right."
"Wasn't this Ashen Forest recruitment notice also Astin's doing? Can't that man live quietly?"
"Astin isn't the only one who can't live quietly."
Morgan's gaze settled on the weekly paper in the corner of his field of vision.
[The Black Lion Who Broke Through the North's Lifeline, Selena von Cardenos!]
—On the northern front, where extreme cold and death lie in wait, Selena von Cardenos of House Cardenos has continued to deliver victory after victory. Lady Selena led the knights under her command through the treacherous Frost Mountains, achieving the feat of annihilating a nest of hundreds of monsters threatening the northern border…… (abridged) A true Black Lion is not proven by bloodline. Birth may place a crown upon one's head, but only martial might can make one bear its weight. Having completed her lengthy deployment, Lady Selena returned to Cardenos……
***
At last, that day had come.
Selena von Cardenos.
It was the day my sister, who had been deployed to the north, returned.
My father, Celin standing beside me, the family's retainers and servants, and even the knights—
Everyone from Cardenos had gathered before the main gate.
Even the people of the territory had gathered in one place and murmured, while the soldiers standing watch atop the gate craned their necks to peer into the distance.
Everyone in Cardenos was waiting for Selena's imminent return.
An unmistakable fervor lingered on their faces.
Everyone knew of the martial exploits Selena had achieved in the north.
Her name had spread throughout every corner of the Empire, beyond the north and Cardenos.
Rumble, rumble—!
The firmly closed castle gates slowly began to open.
—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the same time, enormous drumbeats rang out as if shaking the foundations of the earth.
The sound of bugles joined in, and cheers erupted from the crowd that had been holding its breath.
It was a triumphant march dedicated solely to Selena.
"Waaaaaaa—!!"
"The Black Lion of Cardenos has returned!"
"Hooray! Long live Lady Selena!"
Multicolored flower petals fluttered through the sky. Applause and cheers poured out beyond the gate.
Amid the overwhelming welcome, a company of knights clad in black armor appeared.
Their footsteps as they marched in perfect unison were steady without the slightest deviation.
Even the clopping of the warhorses' hooves seemed to merge into a single note.
Their eyes shone fiercely through the slits in their helmets. The people flinched as if afraid.
They were Cardenos's famed elite knights. Their sheer fighting spirit was overwhelming.
"Gasp!"
"Th-That?"
The knights were not what monopolized the crowd's attention.
At the center of the formation, a massive wagon was being laboriously pulled by more than a dozen warhorses.
All eyes focused on the ferocious trophy mounted atop it.
It was the severed head of a monster as large as a house.
It looked too large even to pass through the gate.
Dark green blood had congealed between its brutally torn jaws.
It was no ordinary monster, but an alpha monster that had ruled the ecosystem of the Frost Mountains.
The astonishing part was that Selena had subjugated the monster all by herself.
Even recalling the memories of my previous life, Selena's martial power at this point was comparable to Father Valdemar's.
'She had opened five Mind Paths and was looking toward the sixth.'
Even after abandoning her Mind Paths, she had woven five rings in just one year.
I dared to predict that if Selena had survived to the end, she would have slain one of the Seven Kin.
Even Selena, who had been that strong, died so pointlessly at Celin's hands.
In truth, she had not truly died—she had allowed herself to be killed……
Selena was a hero who should never have met such an end.
"Lady Selena!"
"Eeeek! She looked this way!"
"You're so cool! Congratulations on returning safely, Lady Selena!"
The people of the territory raised their voices, adding to the atmosphere of the triumphant march.
They, too, felt a sense of belonging to Cardenos.
Quietly, the retainers and knights—and even the people of the territory—were all voicing that Selena ought to become the next head of the family.
'They aren't wrong.'
Selena was one of the few warriors I acknowledged.
In other words, she was an essential combat asset that the Ashen Forest expedition could not do without.
If I could win Selena over, the elite knights who followed only her would come along as well.
No matter what, I had to recruit her into my expedition.
'Though whether that will be easy is another matter.'
"Waaaaah!!"
"Lady Selena!"
Behind the enormous monster's neck, the star of the triumphant procession slowly came into view.
Silver hair cascading to her waist. Silver eyes, cold as frost.
A woman in silver plate armor faintly stained with blood, sitting ramrod straight while holding the reins of a black horse.
Selena silently advanced beneath the shower of petals.
Waaaaaaaah!!!
Thunderous cheers erupted everywhere. I thought my eardrums would burst.
People craned their necks frantically and chanted "Selena."
The drums and bugles quickened even further, and the applause continued without pause.
Selena's face, however, was colder than ice.
Completely expressionless. Utterly devoid of emotion.
It was nothing new. My sister had always been this kind of woman.
The eldest daughter who looked so much like Father Valdemar.
The Ice Princess, so tight-lipped that it was as if all her emotions had been worn away.
Clap, clap, clap.
I, too, slowly began to applaud.
"Big Sisteeeeeer—!"
Beside me, Celin beamed as she raised both arms high.
Even Father, who showed no emotion, gave her a faint smile and applauded.
Cutting through the cheers, Selena pulled on the reins and brought her horse to a stop.
The first place her cold silver eyes turned was Father.
Selena gave him a steady bow from atop her horse.
It was a plain knight's greeting, without any conspicuous emotion.
"You've worked hard, Selena."
Valdemar answered with a proud nod.
It was acknowledgment offered not as a father, but as the head of the family.
Selena's gaze naturally slid to the side, toward me, Cardenos's eldest son.
Our gazes met in midair.
I was the first to offer a faint smile.
"It's been a long time, Sister. I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you return safely."
"……"
Swish—
Selena turned her head away coldly.
She looked as though I were nothing more than a stone rolling along the roadside.
Having withdrawn her gaze, Selena urged her horse forward again.
The emotion I caught in that instant was unmistakable.
Beyond indifference, it was deep contempt.
I understood. Until now, I had acted wantonly despite being born with the bloodline of the eldest son.
Selena stood at the opposite extreme from me.
Though illegitimate, she had shed blood without hesitation to earn recognition and achieved countless martial exploits.
I was the fool for hoping for some affectionate reunion between siblings.
―Astin, you cowardly loser. I don't consider you my little brother. Get lost. Never show yourself before me again.
Somehow, I had to win her over and bring her into the Ashen Forest expedition, but there was no way it would be easy.
That hardly mattered.
In truth, there was something else I wanted to tell her now.
"Sister!"
I pressed both hands to either side of my mouth and shouted.
Selena—alive, not a mangled corpse.
Seeing my sister return alive, holding back my emotions was anything but easy.
Holding back my tears alone was agony.
"Thank you for coming back alive!"
Abruptly.
Selena pulled on the reins. The black horse halted mid-stride.
After pausing for a moment, she slowly turned her head.
Though the eyes of those around us remained fixed on me, I paid them no mind as I stared at Selena.
If I could have done as my heart wished, I would have rushed out and embraced her right then.
A small voice slipped through Selena's teeth.
It was difficult to hear over the surrounding commotion, but I could tell from her lip movements.
―Crazy bastard.
"Um……"
Creepy, though.
I counted myself lucky she hadn't drawn her sword right there.