Chapter 849 - The Traitor's Son
It began during the city wall repairs. Heavy rains flooded the slums.
People were on the verge of drowning in the rainwater.
Worse still, on days like this, the monsters known as drowned souls often prowled the city's outskirts.
There was much to do.
The lord sought to rescue those in immediate peril, be they poor or not, but did everything proceed as smoothly as he wished?
Suppose they rescued those who had fallen into the water.
Where would they stay?
How would they be fed?
A strange atmosphere hung over the city, mingled with the swollen rainwater. Anxiety surged. If death was inevitable anyway, wouldn't it be better to become a thief? Such talk circulated among the poor, and some citizens took up arms.
"Give me ten soldiers and the authority to oversee the city wall repairs for just one day."
Edin Molsan arrived then.
He was a man with wet blond hair and a wound on his cheek that hadn't fully healed, still showing a faint trace of blood.
"What makes you think I should do that?"
The lord was a compassionate and anxious man, but he wasn't a fool. He couldn't blindly trust the words of someone who appeared out of nowhere.
"Losing those ten soldiers won't cause any immediate catastrophe, will it? All I need is twenty hands and twenty feet to follow my orders, and just one day of deception." Edin showed no emotion. He calmly stated his case.
"If I deceive the lord, cut off my head later. I have a child here I cherish more than myself. I will not leave that child behind. You can keep her here until the job is done."
He had left a beautiful girl inside the castle, claiming she was his sister.
The lord didn't know it then, but Edin had placed his sister in the safest spot in a city where a riot might erupt.
He had truly used his head well.
"Very well."
The lord had few options. Crossguard was closer to the Border Guard than to Aspen, a city relying more on Border Guard aid than its homeland's.
Beyond that, political reasons made it difficult to receive assistance from the homeland. 'If I leave it like this...'
Cross Guard itself would be destroyed.
They needed city architects and manpower. A lot of it.
Would delaying work for a day stop the riots? That was unlikely. But he saw no other viable option. So he nodded.
"Do as you wish."
Edin immediately selected ten soldiers.
All men with wives and children within the city.
He knew how to pick his people.
As the lord later heard, Edin plunged straight into the storm, as if it were the very eve of the uprising.
He went through the process of asking and answering questions with those who could communicate.
Meanwhile, the rainwater rose higher, threatening to reach their calves.
He led his ten soldiers, using force to kill five people.
All the poor witnessed it.
They were members of criminal guilds or the instigators of the uprising.
Yet the heat once ignited did not subside.
The torrential rain poured down; those left behind would surely die.
Among them, Edin persuaded several to collapse a section of the castle wall, which was under repair.
"Damn it, we're all going to die at the lord's hands."
The man who represented the poor spoke. He was the one who ultimately stopped the riot. The one who helped break down the castle walls.
"If I die, I'll die. Because I'm in charge of the repairs today."
Edin deliberately collapsed part of the castle wall, then gathered people to dig a water channel.
It took a full day for the water to drain.
Unsurprisingly, drowned bodies surfaced among the collapsed walls.
A breach had opened in the walls meant to hold back the monsters. Though he'd worked nonstop all day, Edin gripped his sword.
"All who can fight, step forward. Will you request aid from Lord, Del?" "I will."
It was a day spent risking their lives. Soldier Del moved, trusting Edin.
Some prove themselves by gripping a sword, protecting all.
Others prove themselves through eloquent speech and action.
Edin proved himself by risking his life, sweating alongside the soldiers. He earned their trust.
Looking only at the result, it wasn't anything spectacular.
The drowned were easier to handle than rainwater. Crossguard had no city architects, but they had ample troops.
Breaching part of the wall to drain the water was simple, and the army blocked the drowned entering through the breach.
Of course, it was easier said than done—moving this far in such a short time and persuading people was difficult. Edin accomplished that.
Edin, who fought on the front lines, returned before the castle lord.
"The breach in the walls is my responsibility. If a head is what you need, take mine."
The lord did not take the head of Edin, who entered with feet swollen and bursting from the water.
He continued to aid the lord thereafter. He advised that purging the criminal guilds should come only after clearing the slums, and urged bringing in the Temple of abundance.
Everything—the Border Guard's aid, trade agreements with the Rockfreed Caravan and trading cities—was his doing.
If walking a tightrope on a cliff was necessary, so be it. Edin did things the lord never imagined.
"Just because our homeland won't help doesn't mean we'll starve the people within these walls to death." He was right.
Even if all this later became his political weakness and ultimately cost him his life, the lord did not cast Edin aside. He had no choice.
Instead, he gained the tomorrows of those living in the city. He had no regrets.
* * *
Enkrid asked and waited for an answer.
Given the context, he knew.
It wasn't the Lord's doing.
Considering the favor he showed Edin, the conclusion was easy to draw.
The Lord closed his eyes briefly, then opened them. He had always known this day would come. Still, he had no regrets. Without Edyn's help, the number of those who died in the city would have been several times greater than it was.
"I made the request. Edyn Molsen acted according to my orders as Lord."
Loyalty—no, repaying a debt. The Lord considered everyone within the city walls his family. Whether poor or noble, every person was precious. He was a faithful believer, true to the temple's teachings.
While Encreed silently stared at the castle lord, the two guards stood tense, not even blinking. Had they brought in the son of a traitor? In truth, aside from the castle lord and a few others, no one knew Edin's true identity.
Knock knock.
The knock broke the brief silence. Someone was tapping on the reception room door.
Immediately, the door creaked open.
"Excuse me for a moment."
It was Edin Molsan. The traitor's son.
He entered looking freshly dressed, as if he had washed in the meantime. He already anticipated what would happen inside.
The lord was too soft-hearted to be a ruler. He lacked the ruthlessness to kill others and climb the ladder. He didn't even know how to betray someone's trust.
Well, that was precisely why the two mercenaries standing behind him didn't flee, even when called traitors, but gritted their teeth and held their ground. Those two were keeping their loyalty to the lord.
"Mercy."
Edin said. He was about to explain what the word, "mercy," truly meant. Spare only his sister, and know that the Lord's heart was genuine.
If this was the Enkrid he knew, he would grant that much.
What Edin overlooked here was that Enkrid's madness was of a level that would make even an ordinary lunatic recoil in horror.
"Accepted."
Enkrid declared.
Caught off guard by the abrupt statement, Edin stopped mid-explanation and fell silent.
What exactly was approved?
Krais had said that when it came to grasping the true meaning behind someone's words and reading their intentions, Enkrid was better than him.
It was true.
In certain moments, Enkrid truly surpassed Krais.
He had just read part of Edin's inner thoughts. He didn't even need the dragonkin's help.
"What have you been up to?" Enkrid asked.
Edin frowned and replied.
"I've been mining iron ore in the Demp Mountains and wandering around here and there.
Hanging around near the eastern region too." Enkrid nodded.
Edin was a schemer. An exceptionally capable administrator with decisive action to boot.
Could such a man not find a place to survive anywhere?
Then why was this man here?
Why was the son of a traitor here?
"Come to the Border Guard. I'll prepare a place for you."
"...What do you mean?"
Edin Molsan is a man of misfortune.
He acted desperately under his father to protect his sister and himself, only finding the dream he truly desired after finally escaping his father.
He wanted to unleash his abilities and instinctively sought places where they were needed.
Crossguard is small.
He solved most of the city's problems.
Yet he still felt a thirst.
He ran every morning and evening.
It was partly to relieve his restlessness, but also so that when the moment came when his abilities were needed, when such an opportunity found him, even if it lasted only a fleeting instant, he wouldn't miss it.
"Work there." Enkrid spoke.
It was plain to see there was nothing left for him to do at Crossguard. The city was stable, and he had nothing to do but run.
This isn't the stage where you can unleash your full potential. That was the implication in Enkrid's words.
Edin's eyebrow twitched incessantly. Shinar showed uncharacteristic interest.
Enkrid's actions always held meaning, but this one felt different.
She was a fairy, yet she understood humans. That man was the son of a traitor. The kingdom wouldn't look kindly upon him.
Luagarne also puffed out her cheeks slightly.
She too grasped the political intrigue to some extent. She had seen it while protecting the queen. Still, neither stepped forward. If Enkrid wished it, they would simply watch. As always, his resolve was firm and his determination unwavering.
"Very well."
The Dragonkin murmured.
Enkrid's words now held a purity of will unlike anything before.
"Grant us just one day." Edin said.
"We shall stay but one night."
Enkrid spoke, his gaze fixed on Edin.
The lord of the castle didn't fully grasp the unfolding situation, but he understood the gist. He replied. "Very well."
Enkrid was given the castle lord's finest room. He also borrowed the lord's training grounds. Edin sought to prove and display his abilities. In a way, his temperament resembled that of the late Count Molsan.
'But he knows the right direction.'
Enkrid sank into thought without even drawing his sword. How amusing—everything ultimately boils down to swordsmanship.
'Condensation.'
It's about waiting. What if you add condensation to the point explosion technique? Press and then release.
Waiting for the opportunity that will come someday.
'What if I create that opportunity myself?'
Edin did just that. While tending to the crossguard. 'Waiting with a calculating sword.'
Strike with a condensed, swift sword.
A simple motion. This is my sword technique; I just need to incorporate it into my flash.
It was right after he'd been deeply immersed in swordplay and returned. Two women were waiting for him at Enkrid's door.
One was the owner of the golden blonde hair and green eyes; the other was a woman with faded golden hair. "I caught her trying to enter a stranger's room without permission." Shinar said.
"You were already inside the said room." The woman stated flatly.
Shinar must have been waiting in the room already. It was no big deal.
"I don't know your name, but I know who you are."
Enkrid said as he approached. Her eyes barely reached Enkrid's chest. He wasn't tall. She lifted her head to meet his gaze.
It wasn't just the son who resembled his father.
"Please take Edin."
She is the daughter of Count Molsan.
The sister Edin was protecting.
Had they met once before, when she was disguised as a man?
Standing, she recounted the time that had passed. Stories of working as a miner in the Demp Mountains, being hunted, nearly dying while helping someone.
Edin hadn't just drifted. He had seen the world.
Naurillia and Aspen, the continent, two city-states touting divinity and trade; the small nation beyond the barely surviving West, guarded by a single knight; and the Empire in the East and the southern fringes.
Enkrid listened standing.
It was an interesting story.
It also confirmed his guess. Edin was a man desperate to unleash what he possessed.
"Talent is always in short supply. I'm dying for it myself right now." That was what Krais always said.
He used to joke that if he had just two more men under him as sharp as himself, he could conquer the continent.
So, if I bring Edin, does that mean He'll conquer half the continent? Enkred decided what he would say to Krais when he returned.
"Edin doesn't need to be bound because of me. If necessary, I'll take responsibility for my father's crimes and die."
This woman's sharp too.
What she meant was she'd return as the traitor's daughter and face the royal family's judgment.
Leaving Edin completely out of it.
An interesting pair of siblings. It also made clear that what Edin had done wasn't solely his own doing.
Enkrid revised what he would say to Krais.
'You weren't planning to conquer the continent by opening a salon, were you?' Yes, let's put it this way.
Not half, but conquer the whole thing.
The next morning, Edin came to see him.
"Have you forgotten who my father is?"
He asked abruptly.
"No."
Enkrid replied.
Today, too, the three members of different races were observing the two with interest.
"It will be a problem."
His eyes were dark-ringed, skin parched—as if he'd stayed up all night.
Enkrid nodded.
Any ordinary person would think so. Enkrid offered his solution.
"Krais will handle it." He did as he pleased.
Cleanup could be passed off to others.
He'd learned that when he visited the Gilpin Guild long ago, and he'd done the same when facing the Salamander, back when Shinar's condition was unknown.
It was the same now.
Enkrid liked this man.
That was all.
No, he liked both siblings.
"It's time to meet the man whose dream is to conquer the continent."
Enkrid spoke, and Edin stared intently into Enkrid's blue eyes for a moment.
He heard some strange talk about conquering the continent or something, but ignored it and replied.
"I am the son of a traitor." "At least it's a better nickname than 'heartbreaker'." Enkrid tossed out a joke.
And so, the Molsen siblings joined the party.
* * *
"Well, isn't he coming?"
The messenger asked after waiting a full day. He'd eaten well and slept well, but Sir Enkrid hadn't arrived.
"...I suppose so. He'll come. He's not Ragna, after all. Did he get lost?" Krais didn't have much to say either.
He'd only told him to spend half a day at most inspecting the city. What on earth had he gotten himself into?
***
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