Chapter 2 – Letter (2)
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Fei Yan update:2022-07-25 14:23
Amandina was pondering in silence for more solutions before her eyes landed on the pale parchment beneath her lord’s pen. It was gradually turning yellow.
The parchment came from a particular tree from the southern Grinoires. Natives called these trees Duval’s Gold, prized for the creation of thin parchment and equivalent to the value of gold. The completed papers were mostly sent to Seale Ampere, Seifer, Corvado, as well as other rich regions.
However, the transactional relationship between Aouine and other kingdoms were affected because of the brewing civil war.
“My lord,” She suddenly realized something and frowned: “You wish to…… But even if the princess‘s faction is weak, they might not be interested in what we have to offer. In addition to that, the Royal Faction is uninterested in offending Count Randner.”
“You get to the crux quickly, Amandina,” Brendel folded the paper into the shape of an airplane and sent it flying into the bin, “But what if it’s not borrowing strength, but dividing it?”
“Dividing?”
“This letter is indeed written to Gryphine Corvado Ordelis. As you have guessed, I am doing this to gain a brief respite from the unending pressure on us,” Brendel said as he got up and passed his pen to Amandina, “Here, write for me.”
“A letter to the princess?” Amandina inhaled lightly when she received the pen. She sat down and pressed it against the paper: “What are the contents?”
“I’ll leave the format to you, and the contents are these,” Brendel snapped his fingers as he went to the arched windows.
“On the seventeen day of the month of Autumn Twilight, this letter is written in the city Firburh of Trentheim, and addressed to Princess Gryphine Corvado Ordelis.
There was a battle on the previous night, and it hailed from the Madara’s undead forces, Incirsta the Black Lord.
They had passed through four southern districts unchecked and launched a secret attack on Firburh, resulting in massive loss of lives and the death of Trentheim’s Feudal Baron, Graudin Randner.
I am a Pioneer Knight of the kingdom with the rank of baron, who set forth in taking new land for the kingdom, and successfully became the lord of the Valhalla region. With my dual status as a new Baron and a region’s lord, your humble servant had the duty to undertake the defense of neighboring Trentheim, especially when I had received Lord Randner’s generosity during my journey.
I successfully repelled the undead after fighting through the entire night. However, in order to prevent the undead from invading again, I had temporarily taken up the position as Trentheim’s lord to handle the local administration and defenses—”
He paused for a moment.
“Until Your Highness appoints a new lord.” He watched Amandina write carefully, her seemingly quick scribbles forming into perfect letters.
“I’m continuing again,” he said, “In addition, I have to question Lord Randner’s motives. He had reported no news of Incirsta’s army in the southern region, and allowed Madara’s undead to pass through four regions unchecked. To validate the proof of my words, I have attached a Mana Stone which recorded the battles along with this letter.”
Amandina’s pen stopped, and she looked up. “A Mana Stone? Where did you get—”
Before she was able to finish her last word, there were a few knocks on the door.
(TL: I had to search through chapters to see the reaction on this letter for some additional information. It turns out Brendel didn’t sign his full name. Now, this kind of leaves things in an interesting fashion because I keep wondering about Brendel’s surname and whether his Pioneer Knight has some fake name registered on it. I’m going to assume that Brendel did a crazy perfect job about hiding his identity starting from Fortress Riedon, since the nobles didn’t seem to get any real information about him.)
“Come in.” Brendel said.
The door opened, and the older Wild Elf sister Felaern who came in. She glanced at Amandina before going to Brendel’s side.
“My lord.” She spoke in her usual flat voice, and placed a white sphere-like rock full of intricate sigils onto a nearby table, “This is the item you requested.”
Brendel turned around to look at her. She wore a simple leather armor and dress, with her golden hair braided perfectly behind her head, and appeared tidy and capable like a high-functioning secretary.
“Have you inspected it?” He asked after imagining a pair of glasses on her.
Falearn nodded in response.
[The Mana Stones are not rare but to use them in advance the previous night, means that my lord did not attack Graudin because he was reckless. He had planned everything in advance……]
Amandina snapped out of her thoughts as she saw him take the Mana Stone away.
Mana Stones were artifacts created by wizards a few centuries ago. They discovered records during the Era of the Silver Bloodlines, where it was mentioned a certain type of quartz was capable of recording approximately for a day or two. When the citizens of the Silver Bloodlines placed them into a Magic Formation, they were able to increase the preservation of the recordings to several decades.
“We need to wait and see what Princess Gryphine’s response is after she read the letter. Although, I’m sure she will make good use of this opportunity since she’s a smart person.” He said.
“My lord, you seem to know her very well?” She quickly found the relevant point with her sharpness.
“She left the Corvado’s palace admist all that turbulence, possibly with only her knight and a few maids to her territory, then borrowed the Royal Faction’s strength to oppose her older brother’s power. Is that level of wisdom still insufficient?” Brendel replied smoothly without batting an eyelid, “Don’t forget this, Amandina, she’s only sixteen this year…… And even if she doesn’t take to my letter’s value, the people around her aren’t blind. They have spent their entire lives in politics inside the royal court, and will understand the intentions behind this letter.”
He walked over to Amandina and took the letter from the table, smacking it a few times.
“Count Randner is a snake who wavers between the nobles, the Royal Faction and the Prince’s Faction. Everyone would be glad to see someone like us, an unpredictable variable that puts pressure on him. That is why the importance of this letter isn’t whether the contents are real or not, but how realistic it appears to be. With this letter, it’s a chance for the Royal Faction to force Randner into compromising—”
“While it is a good choice to be used as a pawn during moments of weakness,” Amandina frowned upon hearing Brendel’s words and refuted, “Once Count Randner chooses the Royal Faction’s hand, we will be discarded.”
“Things are not so simple,” Brendel shook his head, “Count Randner is a cunning old fox who is careful by nature. He will never allow any sides to control him easily. He’s quite indecisive and easily angered, but when he’s being pressured, he becomes cautious. In any case, the pressure on us will be reduced, and from a long term point of view, as long as we have time to breathe, the situation will change for us. Ultimately, it’s our strength that dictates our fate.”
She glanced at him before looking away. He had described himself as a mere Pioneer Knight, but how would one know these many secrets? He knew not only the nobles’ traditions; he even grasped their personalities well. Even prominent children of high ranking aristocrats might not know as much as he did. Even though puzzles about him kept getting unraveled, she was certain that he must have an incredible story behind him.
Surely everyone following him would think the same.
“Is Count Randner truly going to forget about the fact that we murdered his son?” Falearn asked, a little puzzled.
“A traditional noble like Count Randner woule be more interested in power and position, compared to his offspring.” Amandina answered quietly, “Also, Graudin isn’t Count Randner’s only child. However, since it concerns his family’s honor, he wouldn’t let this go unanswered. Sooner or later, we will face Randner’s armies.”
Brendel nodded to agree with her assessment.
“A pawn needs to establish his worth,” he continued: “we have to let her Highness see our pressure on Count Randner. If we are unable to fortify our position, no one will be willing to provide the Venture Capital we need.”
“Venture Capital?”
“Think of it like a gambler’s bet.” Brendel explained as he took out another parchment from the drawer, “A great gambler doesn’t rely only on luck.”
The two women nodded to show they understood.
“One more thing, Amandina, copy the contents of this draft to a new parchment,” he said to the confused girl. “This letter is for Leto and the others. I suspect we will fight against Graudin’s remaining retainers and Randner’s armies quite soon. They are the only force outside of Trentheim, and it’s a question whether I can rely on them. As you well know, I hate things that are uncertain, so I want them to give up on their original mission and meet up with me here.”
Amandina opened the folded parchment. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes as she studied the contents. She thought for a moment before she suddenly asked: “The people from the Viridien village, what do you plan to do with them?”
Brendel had thought about them for quite some time. He was certain that they were willing to pledge their loyalty to him, but their lowly status was preventing them from speaking. He did not mind this point, however.
[There are about three hundred of these Lycanthropes, and their natural strength coupled with the terrible environment of the Dark Forest…… Without any other considerations, half of them should be at Iron-ranked fighters, and is quite a force to have.]
“Aouine’s citizens might not be able to accept the Senia’s citizens,” he replied after a slow afterthought, “the best solution is for them to return to the Viridien village temporarily. Once I reach that place, it will need a large population—”
“That place?”
“A fantastical place called Valhalla, as mentioned in the letter. You will know it very soon. Ah, yes, about the druids, how did they join up with this battle?”
“The druids are a coincidence. When I spurred the Lycanthropes into action, I didn’t know of their existence. But I’m certain…… they were there to find Sifrid.”
“Sifrid?” Brendel’s eyebrow was raised slightly.
volume 3 - c256
The War Without Smoke(1)
Normally, Ampere Seale will enter its busiest period of the year during March. However, the northern glaciers began to thaw early on in February, allowing the merchants to ferry goods from the south to Covardo and Seifer that just recovered from its long winter. There were leather, amber, and tobacco from the Radner region and nuts and timber from the Grinoires region. But what about Trentheim? Trentheim did not have any specialty products, and to the merchants, who only cared about profits, would not bother to care about the poor like them.
Some even thought there were only bandits there.
But rumor has it that there were ships that delivered food supplies there previous winter. Everyone who heard about it was shocked. Where did this bunch of village losers get the money to pay for those goods?Of course, not many people knew that one of the three silver mines was in Aouine. But even if that was the case, it belonged to the Count, and the masses in Trentheim did not have any share of the money.
However, before the news was authenticated, rumors about the southern rebels and the war came to reach their ears. Besides bandits, they even have a rebel army now! Seem like Trentheim is still the unruly place it is known to be, with only aggressive citizens in there.
Albeit so, the nobles only cared about entertainment, spices, riches that came in from the trade channels. They did not bother its origins and left all the work to the merchants. However, with the raging battle going on right now, and the civil unrest within Aouine, plus the merchants’ fear, it was no doubt that the economy was disrupted and the nobles could not enjoy the luxury this time around.
However, The region from Etolin to Ampere Seale was the heart of economic activity, where the free trade there is enforced by the Holy Cathedral. That itself meant that the exchange of currency and goods were still high in activity at the time.
In Omitos, near the near outpost along the road to Ampere Seale, within the hugs of the mountain ranges and conifer trees that were just thawed off their ice The glaciers from Anlek began to melt, forming streams that flowed between the forest. A team of riders was marching in between the trees, alerting the birds and causing them to fly away, leaving only some of their feathers behind.
Maynild was leading her team to survey the area. The first batch of officially trained officers from the Royal Academy who could finally able to hold their own ground independently now. Behind Maynild was Freya, the mild girl who still had the innocent look was now donning a full armor that may have been part of the reason she started to gain the air of a militant. She still had the scar on her forehead that she got from the previous tournament, though it had mostly faded off.
The Lionheart sword was strapped firmly to her waist. The Princess had ordered her not to pull out her sword unless it was an emergency. Thus she also carried another steel sword. It was a little comical for a female knight to have two heavy, longswords hung around her, but she did not see it as a problem. To a soldier, a sword was like a treasure. And if possible, she would want to have more of them as they provided her a sense of security.
It was the same as a poor person finding every chance he could to save money. But even so, she had the common sense to realize that it was laughable to carry that many swords.
All the recruits in the academy were given a new sword each month. Maybe because the training that they receive was too tiring, there were only a few who bothered to maintain their swords. Most would use a new sword each year. On another hand, Freya would carefully polish her sword each time she got a new one. With all that effort, she managed to stock up six swords in her chest.
This act made her the joke of her academy.
Maynild immediately sought her out to scold her. But in response, Freya was shocked and honestly admitted that he wanted to hand these swords to the Bucce militia when she returned so they have a better chance of defending their homeland.
Maynild only answered with silence. In the end, she let her go without saying anything, allowing Freya to continue her seemingly ridiculous conduct. During that period of time, Freya became really infamous, and word of her actions even reached Princess Gryphine’s ears. But after she was acknowledged by the Lionheart Sword, no one dared make fun of her anymore.
Freya was really nervous that morning. At any rate, it was her first time executing a mission that far away from school ground. Despite having battled alongside Brendel, she could not help but shiver each time she thought that a weak individual like her is tasked with the big responsibility to guard the Princess. The future battle goddess was so jumpy that she suspected an enemy to be lurking in every slight movement from her surroundings.
By her side, Maynild was really focused as well. But unlike Freya, she was collected and astute, her piercing gaze seemed to traverse in the forest like an arrow and noticed something amiss.
She took a glance at Freya, and then one more time, and she finally could not hold back, “Freya, what are you doing?"
“Ah! Ah!” The young girl came back to her senses and swiftly replied, “Yes! I’m here.”
"Is there a need to be that tense?!" Maynild snapped.
“I…… I……” Her voice shuddered.
The riders snickered, and even Bennett was shaking his head in laughter. He was someone who escaped Bucce alongside Brendel and Freya. Although they may not have gone out through the same route, they had carved out a bloody path to escape that place. Initially, he had an interest in Freya, but upon the realization that she was not into him, the two became comrades from training rather than lovers.
And even his antagonistic feeling towards Brendel had lightened.
He finds himself more mature now, and his competitive behavior from the past seemed so childlike to him. His reckless self is gone too, and replaced with it a sense of duty to protect the kingdom’s fate.
Many of the youths around him had the same thought.
As they laughed, even Maynild could not suppress the smile she was holding back. Her expression softened, and she thought, Why does Freya always look so scared each time I talk to her? It’s like thinks I’ll eat her up.
She shook her head, "Freya, you’re a soldier now. You need to stay composed and collected on missions, and this is just a routine patrol. If an actual fight were to break out now, do you even have the chance to be so nervous and tense that you can’t even walk?”
A wave of laughter rang from amongst the group.
“If that were to indeed happen, I won’t be that nervous.” Freya nodded, but her guts were telling her otherwise.
Unexpectedly, Maynild seemed to see through her and announced, "Right, Bennett and you, unlike the others, have had an experience in a real battle. There’s nothing much to worry about anyway. Her highness is in safe hands. This is part of the Holy Cathedral’s land and no one would dare cause a stir here.”
“Then why do we have to come out and patrol around here every day?” A rider interrupted curiously.
“It’s to maintain the awareness of the soldiers. If the soldiers cannot detect the presence of danger, then our Kingdom will be in deep trouble.” Maynild turned towards the soldier and answered coldly.
The entire group fell silent, as if in their deep thought, they realized something.
Princess Gryphine POV
She looked back, at the forest that stretched out far beyond. There was no battle here, but another battle had just begun.
Behind the trees, in a remote valley near Viscount Landin’s manor, Magadal used his connections within the Holy Cathedral to get the people from the Royal Faction here.
They welcomed the generous hospitality that they were given by the owner of the place. This place was far away from the bustling cities and, despite being relatively close to Ampere Seale, they look as if they came from both worlds. The Nun Princess knew that this sort of environment suited the preference of her best friend, and it was the perfect place for her to rest as well.
Princess Gryphine indeed needed a break. She was on the second floor of the mansion when she was quietly stared at Duke Arreck’s carriage pass through the giant gates, slowly moving through the yard in the arms of the trees. It was the first time the two parties had held a meeting to discuss the kingdom’s fate direction in the future. But realistically put it, she did not have the power to decide it or, as it would seem, she simply did not have a choice to change it.
She bent down her head and let her pale white hair slide past her ears and down the sides of her cheeks. She was still a young kid, and she still had the fine fluffy hair any youngster would have. Yet on her shoulders, there laid a responsibility so heavy that no one could possibly imagine.
She took out an envelope from within her coat, read it once more before sticking it back into her outerwear.
I don’t know what you’re fighting against. But it is because of people like you who’re still fighting for Aouine that I am filled with strength and confidence, Sir Knight.”
Duke Arreck’s envoy is running late. Their arrogance had made her realize just how weak her influence was. But being angry would not change a thing, and wishes would not matter as well in this era. I have to sacrifice some things in order to reach my objectives.
She turned and ordered her maid, “Tell Duke Arreck I won’t be seeing anyone today.”
"But……?"
The maid began to panic. In her eyes, Princess Gryphine was never someone who acted based on impulse. She may not know much about the politics of the adult world, she must know that her current actions would at least anger some people……
She carefully warned, "Grandmaster Fleetwood, Sir Makarov, and the others……"
But Gryphine just eyed her coldly. In her irises, there was not a hint of impulsiveness or displeasure, just calm and composure.
"Is it up to Duke Arreck’s messenger to decide the time for the meeting? Can he simply decide to come late? Is he looking down on my authority? I don’t mind meeting up with him, but if he were to go on with such an attitude, this meeting will not be held! Pass on the exact same words as I just said to Sir Makarov. From this day onwards, I will not meet Duke Arreck within a week!” She paused before continuing, “We’ll meet in a week’s time. At Ampere Seale.”
As her sentence ended, the scent of adolescence seemed to have long faded away from herself. She had fully morphed into the princess that will guide Aouine onto its right path, the one princess that no player of The Amber Sword would forget to be Aouine’s sole leader.
The fate of the Kingdom seemed to be going on the right path once more.
volume 2 - 166
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