CHAPTER 92………………………..
Kyle’s sudden declaration.
For Alfred and Madam Charlotte, the shock was greater than the fact that Everett was actually Naz.
Madam Charlotte, startled into hiccups, frantically gestured to the maids to bring her water.
Watching Alfred exhale through his nose with a grave expression, Kyle gave a faint smile.
“You must be quite shocked. I’ve never said anything like this before.”
He had lived his whole life carefully, making sure not to go against the Emperor’s will.
But that was Kyle from the past—Kyle without Rubert’s memories.
“You might think it’s absurd for a greenhorn who’s never even set foot near the council chamber to speak of claiming my seat….”
Alfred grabbed Kyle’s arm tightly and spoke.
“Lord Kyle, please don’t say that. No one thinks that way. It is only natural for you to return to where you belong.”
Kyle, usually unshaken, was momentarily at a loss for words at the fiery look in Alfred’s eyes—eyes that rarely showed emotion.
“Do not shrink back. If you have decided to go, then do not look back. I… I, Alfred Kiyor, will stand behind you.”
His voice began to tremble, thick with tears.
This was the moment Alfred had been waiting for all his life. He could never tell Kyle to be greedy for power first, so he had waited silently.
When Kyle was fourteen, Alfred had impulsively grabbed his hand and left the imperial palace with him, unable to bear watching his pitiful figure.
The young Kyle had stared at him with suspicion the entire time, as though asking, “Why did you bring me with you?”
As the Knight Commander, Alfred had always been busy, rarely staying in his own estate.
But whenever he trained in the capital, no matter how late he returned, he always went to Kyle’s room first.
He would pull the kicked-off blanket back over Kyle, carrying with him the old smell of iron and sweat.
When Kyle’s nose twitched as though resisting sleep, Alfred would smile faintly.
With calloused hands hardened by years of swordsmanship, he would carefully stroke Kyle’s hair.
From the moment he first held Kyle’s trembling hand, Alfred had regarded him as the most precious being in the world.
“Lord Kyle, I have waited for this day. The Empire is rotting from within, though it has yet to be revealed. Only you can set it right.”
Pride welled up in Alfred’s eyes as he looked at Kyle.
“Lord Kyle, you haven’t forgotten, have you? The reason I stepped into high society?”
Madam Charlotte, smiling warmly, looked at Everett.
“Now that Lord Naz is with us too, we truly are a perfect team.”
Alfred, unable to calm his excitement, began bustling about the drawing room.
“We must train our knights even harder. The Emperor won’t allow us to increase numbers, so we must strengthen each man individually.”
Kyle chuckled.
“Even more? Our order is already notorious for its harsh training. Will any knights stay?”
“Then… perhaps secretly… I could personally recruit knights? Nobles are already quietly raising private soldiers, after all.”
“That would just hand the Emperor another excuse to get rid of me.”
Alfred continued to propose ideas without end.
“Alf, there’s no need to rush. We just have to keep doing things as we always have.”
“But….”
He wanted to be Kyle’s strength.
He no longer wished to be the powerless knight whose only role was to spirit Kyle away from the palace.
He had done much for Kyle up until now, but compared to what lay ahead, all his preparations felt pitifully small.
Kyle, who had spent more time with Alfred than with the late Emperor, could not possibly be unaware of Alfred’s heart.
“Don’t worry. I’ve recently remembered something I had forgotten.”
“Something forgotten?”
“I haven’t confirmed it yet, so I can’t say for sure… but if I still remember correctly, it will be quite the strength for us. I plan to make contact soon.”
“Ah, contact!”
Alfred, suddenly reminded of something, became excited again.
“Lord Kyle, this morning we received word from the west.”
From his inner pocket, he pulled out an envelope, worn and stained with yellowish dirt.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed and relaxed repeatedly as he read the letter.
Everett, watching him, thought: What could be written there to make him read so gravely?
Sensing Everett’s gaze, Kyle handed him the letter.
“Everett, remember how I once said I wanted to learn coded writing because of an incident? This is the reason.”
The letter was clearly written in haste—rushed scrawls of runes mixed with the script of the Bartman Empire.
Important words had been written in runes, showing that the writer had worried about leaks despite the urgency.
“Even if they say I extorted northern lords’ money, I still worked hard hunting monsters.”
The Adport Mountains, stretching like a wall along the entire north and parts of the west, were rocky peaks covered in snow year-round.
Their countless caves were gateways for monsters to cross.
The rule of the hunt was simple: kill the monsters and seal the caves.
It would take time for monsters from beyond the range to break open a sealed cave, allowing the north to hunt them regularly.
But a few years ago, monster attacks had begun increasing abnormally.
When the northern armies could no longer hold out, desperate lords pleaded for extermination squads to be sent.
“While wandering the mountains, I noticed something strange.”
Alfred brought a notebook from the study and showed it to Everett.
“I recorded the locations of caves and their state after sealing. Look here….”
The northern region was all rocky peaks, but toward the west the forests grew denser.
“The closer to the west, the more caves there are… and some have been breached multiple times?”
“Correct. Even caves sealed firmly would collapse again unusually quickly.”
Everett tilted his head.
“But isn’t there a mana stone mine in the west?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a shop owner named Pan who runs a magic tool store in the plaza.”
“I know. Jan has been a regular there for years.”
“Recently, Master Pan has been worried. The production of magic tools has dropped drastically.”
Looking back at the letter, Everett spoke again.
“Now I understand why.”
Mana stones, formed when mana flowing through the land condensed.
Although mana ran throughout the continent, only the west’s unique soil produced it as stones.
“Master Pan thought it was due to reduced mining yields… but that was false information.”
The letter contained only three lines:
The mana stones in the western mine have been exhausted. But the explosions continue daily, digging deeper and deeper. I fear the mountain may collapse.
“It’s just as you suspected, Lord Kyle.”
“I wish this had been one of those times when my suspicion was wrong….”
Kyle’s face was bitter.
“But how did you guess the mana stones might be gone?”
“While stationed in the north for monster hunts, I once didn’t leave the mountains for a while.”
One night in the Adport Mountains…
Kyle, lying on the bare rock floor with only a thin blanket, felt a faint vibration.
The crackling firewood had already gone out, and the knights slept like the dead.
He sat up, scanning the pitch-dark surroundings, but saw nothing.
He laid his ear against the cold bedrock. His face numbed from the chill, but he didn’t move.
Then—
Thump— Thump—.
Irregular tremors pulsed through his cheek.
He quickly looked around but still saw nothing.
And yet, night after night, the vibrations returned.
“Lord Kyle, why did you think those tremors were connected to the mana stone mines?”
“I wasn’t sure. It was close to the west, so I first thought they might be blasting the mines… but….”
“And you wondered why they would blast mines in the middle of the night.”
Kyle smirked.
“Exactly. I was forced to return to the capital mid-investigation, but I continued digging.”
Alfred explained further.
“The abandoned mine belonged to a Baron named Pakot.”
“And he is currently staying in the capital.”
It was common for central nobles to have villas near the capital.
But for a western noble to live in the capital permanently was rare.
“Did he sell the mine and move completely?”
“Our investigation shows he still owns it. Yet in the capital, he spends money like water.”
Kyle let out a short laugh.
“He didn’t discover a gold vein in place of mana stones. So where does the money come from?”
Everett smiled knowingly.
“It seems he was called to the capital and allowed to squander money in exchange for blowing up the empty mine.”
“That’s what we believe as well. If we trace who is funding Baron Pakot, we’ll know everything.”
“Baron Pakot….”
Everett muttered the name several times under his breath.
“Lord Kyle, I think I can find out.”
“How?”
“Because I am Naz. For someone spending so extravagantly, there is sure to be a lady in society who knows all about it.”
At this, Madam Charlotte, who had been quietly listening, clapped her hands together.
“If it’s something happening within the capital… Lord Naz and I can uncover it faster than anyone.”
Kyle, looking at her confident tilt of the chin, answered brightly:
“Then I will entrust this matter to Lord Naz and Madam Charlotte.”
