Turning-Chapter 820

“Father probably never imagined he would see his legacy fulfilled in such a completely unexpected way. It really feels so satisfying.”

Mayra laughed loudly. Then, with a lighter expression, she made a request.

“Please be sure to catch the uninvited guests who ruined Ashlav's funeral like this. I’d love to join in, but... it’s unfortunate that I have no power to be of help in times like this.”

“No, Your Highness. You have your own kind of power, don’t you? In the midst of this chaos, you can easily read and act on the entire situation in the South. And you also have the ability to maintain calm, even in such circumstances.”

“That’s...”

Mayra trailed off, unsure how to respond.

“This isn’t a situation where one side should make the request. Don’t forget that we need your help before we can move forward with ease.”

“Your words are right,” Yuder nodded in agreement, acknowledging Kishiar's point.

“...I see. Understood.”

A new emotion appeared on Mayra’s face, deepening as she spoke.

“Even though I know I shouldn’t be happy to hear that, I can’t help but feel relieved. Actually, until just a moment ago, I felt so ashamed and angry, showing only disgraceful sides of myself because of my father and the family.”

Yuder had anticipated this, but hearing it from her own lips was different. For the first time, Mayra was fully letting go of her pride and speaking honestly about her feelings.

“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me. The title of the ‘long-awaited daughter’ sounds nice, but it’s essentially a decorative position. And no one likes having a decoration step in front of the owner.”

“....”

“Of course, nothing this extreme has happened before, but there were times when I questioned whether I should continue to endure and stay in this family. At those times, the Empress's words helped me.”

When the Empress’s name was mentioned, Kishiar reacted.

“Really? What did she say?”

“She told me that, despite my doubts about staying in this family, it would be best for me to remain. She said that if someone like me, someone who could question staying in House Hern, remained, then this shame and anger I feel would eventually change on its own.”

“Hmm... That really sounds like something the Empress would say.”

“That’s right. She told me that if I continued to walk my own path, people would eventually recognize my efforts and offer their help. She even joked that now that she’s my ally, my circle of supporters has already grown by one.”

Both Kishiar and Mayra smiled at the same time.

“Even though I became an adopted daughter because of my father, she was always like a good older sister to me. Thanks to her advice, I decided to compete for the position of the next Duke of Hern. And today, after seeing my father's and the family’s disgrace, I met people who trust my abilities, so I do believe her words were right.”

Yuder suddenly remembered the moment Mayra had first approached the Cavalry to request cooperation from House Hern.

At that time, she had seemed bold and intelligent, but also quite anxious, and there had been many signs of immaturity when she dealt with people for negotiations.

But the Mayra before him now seemed so much more grown, to the point where he could barely recall the anxious person from before. In fact, not much time had passed since then.

It was remarkable how much someone could change and grow in such a short time. He felt this deeply through the weight in her eyes.

“People of House Hern are taught that they must honor their decisions. The first Duke of Hern decided to settle here in the South to monitor the ancient masters who had withdrawn to the southern lands and to protect the people. I’m not as strong as he was, but my desire to protect the South, where I was born and raised, is no different.”

With that, Mayra gracefully held out her disheveled clothing and bowed.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Please, take care. I hope we meet again safe and sound after fulfilling our tasks. Afterwards, I’d like to express my thanks to the Cavalry properly.”

They reached the outside. The area outside the chapel was utter chaos. Mayra’s expression darkened for a moment as she saw the screams and the fleeing people, but she quickly straightened her posture and called out to the soldiers of House Hern, who were at a loss.

“Over there! You’re from House Hern, so stop standing there in a daze and do something!”

“P-Princess!”

“Where did the others go? What? They’re all following my father? Ridiculous. Lead the way now!”

“It seems we no longer need to worry about that side.”

Kishiar said, brushing his arm lightly. As his crimson eyes carefully scanned the chaotic surroundings, Yuder noticed a slender trail of shadows extending from the chapel, where he had just exited.

At the end of the still-shaking shadow, Gakein was running up frantically.

“Yuder! Commander!”

Gakein’s clothes and hair, which had been neatly arranged when he had arrived, were now in disarray. He stood with a shadow clone nearly as tall as himself behind him, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Finally, you’ve come out. I was worried about the glass breaking, but I’m relieved to see no one’s hurt!”

“Thanks to your signals from the outside, Yuder was able to notice and prepare in time. I appreciate it.”

“Oh, no! It’s just what I had to do!”

“Of course, it’s what you had to do, but it’s not easy to do what’s needed at the right moment. I’m proud to see you’ve grown to handle it so well, Gakein.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

“...Th-thank you...”

Gakein’s face flushed with embarrassment upon hearing Kishiar’s praise. Meanwhile, his shadow clone, mimicking Gakein’s posture, scratched its head in a shy manner. Yuder hadn’t seen the synchronization between Gakein and his shadow clone in a long time, and it was almost amusing to see them both flustered.

“Gakein, the clone.”

“Ah!”

Hearing Yuder’s gentle correction, Gakein snapped back to attention, standing up straight.

“Now, I’ll report on what happened while you were inside.”

“Which appeared first, the Sage or Naham?”

“The Sage... Ah.”

Gakein was thrown off by Kishiar’s question, stammering a bit before he regained his composure. Kishiar, of course, had anticipated his response.

“You must have guessed everything from my signals already. I won’t drag this on. While Kurga and I were investigating the area, we noticed a suspicious person trying to meet with a noble. As we approached to confirm his identity, Naham and his group revealed themselves, and a fight broke out. Thanks to that, we were able to confirm that the suspicious person was the Sage.”

“The Sage must have been vastly outnumbered compared to Naham.”

“Yes. It wasn’t just outnumbered; the Sage actually appeared alone. His appearance was completely concealed, so at first, it wasn’t easy to identify him. But Naham, even in that state, immediately recognized him.”

“Hm. So, what happened next?”

Gakein gave a stern reply at Kishiar’s prompting.

“The Sage called for help loudly, and with the assistance of the Kakheop Unit, we moved to capture both sides. It was chaos—people running, the useless soldiers of House Hern, people from the temple, and even someone claiming to be royalty stepped in. It was hard to fight while ensuring the non-Awakeners remained unharmed.”

“Someone claiming to be royalty.”

Yuder immediately had a strong suspicion about who that might be. It was all Kiole’s doing.

‘As soon as I told him to run and avoid meeting anyone... looks like {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} everything’s already over.’

He glanced toward the chaotic area beyond, but the crowd was so thick it was hard to make out anyone.

“So, did this person claiming to be royalty say they were the Crown Prince?”

Kishiar squinted his eyes, and Gakein widened his.

“How do you...? Wait. Could it be... was that person really...?”

“Yes, it was the real Crown Prince. I confirmed it with the person he brought—inside the chapel.”

When Yuder added that, Gakein froze for a moment, blinking and gasping.

“What should we do? Everyone, including myself, thought it was the Sage brainwashing someone to cause confusion... As soon as that person stepped forward, I hit him from behind and kept him away...”

“You hit him from behind? ...Gakein, did you do that?”

“U-uh, yes. I thought my shadow clone could... be more useful that way...”

“......”

“No, but... I couldn’t tell who it was! His face was covered by a robe, so I just assumed he was a fake brainwashed by the Sage. What should I do? If he wakes up, will I be arrested for hitting royalty?”

“Don’t worry. Nothing like that will happen.”

Kishiar smiled kindly, answering Gakein’s concerns with a calm tone.

“Do you think that, with me here, one of my subordinates would get arrested for something like that?”