CHAPTER 27
Kyle, I hope you returned safely to the North? I went to see the fortune-teller you asked me to look into. The owner of a shop I frequent happened to know them well, so I was able to meet them quickly.
But Kyle, do you remember that young lady we met in front of the temple earlier this year?
You won’t believe this, but that young lady turned out to be the fortune-teller. Even as I write this letter, it still feels like it can’t be real—it’s just so shocking and absurd.
As your informant said, she’s definitely talented. If you happen to meet her too…
Yankeller’s pen, which had been moving freely across the paper, came to a sudden halt.
“If Kyle finds out that the fortune-teller is Everett…”
She remembered the expression he had when he used to jokingly call her a doormat.
Yankeller tore the letter to pieces and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper, writing Kyle’s name again at the top.
Kyle, I met with the fortune-teller you asked about. Like all fortune-tellers, it seems there are a lot of exaggerated rumors about this one too. I don’t think you need to worry. They’ll probably be forgotten by the public soon enough.
Yankeller couldn’t explain her own actions.
She just… didn’t want Kyle to know that Nazz was Everett.
“Lord Kyle, a letter from Lord Yankeller has arrived.”
The Lord of Olbreno handed Kyle a letter just as he returned to the castle after slaying a monster.
Kyle looked down at his hands—coated in the dark, sticky blood and slime of the monster.
“I can’t touch a dear friend’s letter with filthy hands. Put it over on the table.”
After washing up, the first thing Kyle did was open Yankeller’s letter.
“Hm…”
His expression was ambiguous.
Though the letter was shorter than usual, he read it over and over again.
Unlike his usual enjoyment when reading Yankeller’s letters, this time something felt different, prompting Alfred to ask cautiously,
“Did Lord Yankeller send bad news?”
“No, it’s not that. It was something I asked her to check on.”
“Did it go badly?”
“Not really. I wasn’t expecting much anyway, so it’s not a problem…”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s just… the tone feels different than usual. It’s definitely written by Yankeller, but it also somehow doesn’t feel like her.”
When they last met, an owl had appeared.
Even after returning to the North, Kyle couldn’t shake the memory of that event.
If she handled it quickly, maybe nothing unusual happened…
He flipped the envelope, wondering if there was another note hidden inside like before.
At that moment, the Lord of Olbreno burst into the room.
“Lord Kyle! Lord Kyle!”
“What is it, my lord?” Alfred asked on Kyle’s behalf.
“From the capital… it’s His Majesty!”
“What? The emperor died or something? That’s the only reason he’d contact me.”
The lord flailed his hands in panic.
“No, no! His Majesty… has summoned you back to the capital. Here’s the imperial letter.”
The red envelope bore the seal of the Bartman Empire.
Kyle didn’t take it, just stared at it before clicking his tongue.
“They might as well have told me to rot away in the North forever.”
As he read the emperor’s letter, his brow furrowed deeply.
Kyle was furious.
Alfred, watching him with pity, let out a soft sigh.
When will His Majesty ever leave Lord Kyle alone? No… maybe it’ll only get worse from here.
A memory flashed through his mind—the day he first met Kyle.
“He’s not just my nephew, but the only blood of the late emperor.”
“Yes, and the sole legitimate heir of the Bartman Empire.”
Felix So Bartman, the younger brother who ascended the throne after the emperor’s sudden death.
His first order of business with the nobles was none other than deciding Kyle’s fate.
“Your Majesty, do you truly intend to throw your only nephew into a cold underground prison?”
Kyle stood amidst the shouting nobles.
No one noticed how tightly he clenched his fists to keep from trembling.
Though he had been crown prince of the empire just days before, he was still a 14-year-old boy who had lost his father.
Surrounded by a power struggle between nobles and an emperor spewing poisonous breath.
From a distance, Alfred, commander of the Red Knights, looked on with a quiet sigh.
They’re all mad and unbearably cruel.
The imperial dungeon was infamous—once inside, you either went mad or died.
Kyle’s small shoulders visibly trembled every time the word “dungeon” was mentioned.
That image burned itself into Alfred’s memory.
The emperor, too, couldn’t take his eyes off Kyle.
He hadn’t expected such fierce opposition from the nobles and began growing increasingly anxious.
Why keep Kyle alive? Don’t tell me… they want to crown Kyle later, like they did with me? Overthrow me?
The thought pushed the emperor to make a firmer decision to eliminate Kyle.
But for now, he decided to take one step back.
“I understand your concerns. Since he is both my nephew and the only heir, he must be trained all the more rigorously. What say you?”
“Your Majesty, what do you mean…?”
“A royal must be stronger than anyone. Don’t you agree?”
“…Indeed.”
“Exactly. Then have Kyle join a knight order immediately and begin his training. Once the basics are done, send him to military campaigns.”
It was the best solution the emperor could think of in that moment.
On the harsh frontier, death could come at any time.
The nobles, though aware, decided it was better not to push further.
“Your Majesty’s wisdom is beyond compare. A strong royal is exactly what Bartman needs.”
“I knew you’d agree. Kyle, listen.”
Kyle’s small hands, clenched so tightly they turned pale from lack of blood.
His body trembled, but he swore not to cry.
Biting his lip hard, he made that vow.
“Kyle, you must become a strong royal for the sake of the Bartman Empire. So you’ll need rigorous training. The knight order you’ll join is…”
As the emperor scanned the nobles and knights to assign someone to Kyle, all avoided his eyes.
Just then, Alfred, who had been standing quietly in the corner, stepped forward.
“Your Majesty.”
He knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“You are?”
“Alfred Kiyor, commander of the Red Knights.”
“Sir Kiyor. We’re in the middle of an important discussion—what is it?”
“Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty.”
He glanced at Kyle beside him.
“Please assign Lord Kyle to our Red Knights as a junior knight.”
Everyone was stunned—why would he volunteer to take Kyle?
“The Red Knights?”
“Yes. The Red Knights were founded to protect royalty. I believe it’s the perfect place for Lord Kyle. Also…”
Alfred paused.
“We are about to deploy to the western mining region.”
Alfred had read the emperor’s intent perfectly—and sealed the deal.
As expected, the emperor’s lips twisted the moment he heard “deployment.”
“Alf? Alf? Hey! Sir Alfred Kiyor!”
Kyle’s voice pierced his ears.
The image of young Kyle, on the verge of tears, vanished like smoke.
“Ah, my apologies. What did you say?”
“His Majesty said to wrap up the monster exterminations by winter and return by spring.”
“Ah, winter. Yes, that’s when monsters are most active.”
“Right. Maybe he’d prefer I die in winter and return as a corpse in spring.”
“Lord Kyle! Please stop saying such things!”
Alfred yelled, and Kyle just laughed.
“Well, I’ve been summoned, so I suppose I’ll go in the spring. It’s been a year. Sooner than expected. I thought he’d leave me alone for several more years.”
Kyle turned to the worried Lord of Olbreno.
“My lord, how far along is the thing I asked you to look into?”
“The infiltration went smoothly. We haven’t received the next update yet, but they’re well-trained. They won’t fail.”
“Good. We’ve still got time before spring. Report to me as soon as you hear anything.”
“Yes, understood.”
Kyle let out a long sigh.
“There’s no way to guess why I’m being summoned. I’ll just have to go and see for myself.”
He tossed the emperor’s letter into the fireplace, where it turned to ash in seconds.
“Alf, spring will come soon.”
“Yes. I’ll increase the patrols on the monster routes starting tomorrow.”
Kyle gave a single nod in response.
There was no trace of the trembling boy from years ago.
But in Alfred’s eyes, he still saw that boy trying his hardest not to show his weakness.
