Chapter 57: The Daughter

After the princess had left, Ivar dismissed the servants and stood on the balcony gazing at the moon... If there is one good thing about the Central Plains, it is the night sky; in the lands of Korvekar, clear nights are rare, so even for him, this view is something he will never tire of.

Nevertheless, he tilted his head slightly when he sensed someone behind him, and as the figure took a single step onto the balcony, he drew his sword and turned, the blade grazing the intruder’s throat directly. He did not follow through with the attack, as the recipient did not appear hostile!

The intruder bowed respectfully to him after taking a single step back so as not to be cut by the sword.

"Greetings to the Heir to the Princely Throne."

"Who are you?"

"No enemy. I have come bearing a message."

"What is it?"

"We have been granted permission by His Grace the Grand Prince Serafim to cooperate and discuss matters concerning the witch with His Highness the Heir to the Princely Throne "

He tilted his head as he looked at the intruder, taking in his fair hair, silvery eyes, sturdily built frame, and facial features that bore a distinctly northern air. He nodded, but did not lower his sword nor let his guard down

"I am listening."

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I found myself standing on top of a hill, riding a strange white beast

I raised my head and looked down into the valley where two armies were clashing; one was wielding a power known throughout the world, whilst the other army, in its entirety, appeared as strange as people suffering from starvation in their physical build, yet their fighting was a far cry from that of someone lacking energy.

I instinctively knew they were not using the powers of the Realm... Or rather, it seemed as though something had corrupted their natural energy

Corruption

The word crossed my mind, and I instinctively knew its meaning: just as natural energy is imbued with elements—like Roman, whose natural energy was imbued with the element of ice after spending a long time training in his domain related to that element

All these people’s natural energy and innate auras were tainted by corruption for some reason

And strangely, I knew the name of the battle

The Battle of the Last Valley... and I knew the outcome.

It wasn’t long before a vast quagmire opened up in the valley and began to swallow up both armies. I looked out over the battlefield with sadness and indignation, and for some reason I felt a deep sorrow, as if this were a final farewell...

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" ’I’m sorry, my child...’ The words slipped from my lips, and strangely, my gaze fixed on a beautiful woman with white hair who was looking at me with the same eyes full of sorrow; yet I saw no blame in them, only a sadness like the black winter that had turned our beautiful land into a cold wasteland

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Our... Land ?.... What does this even mean?

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I opened my eyes gently and felt as though I were waking from a dream so deep, yet so real, that I felt a sharp pain in my chest from a sadness I couldn’t understand

I found myself in the forest, where I’d fainted after an aerial battle with those damned lizards.

I sighed as I sat there quietly; my gaze fell upon that damned man, leaning back against one of his tamed beasts and using it as a sofa.

Honestly, if there’s one thing I’d envy about that wretch Rolan, it’s his damned talent. This man has every comfort at his fingertips; even if he ended up in a desolate place, he wouldn’t worry about food, clothes, a bed, or even a home—let alone guards or servants. He has everything at his disposal; he has thousands of tamed monsters of all kinds below the Epic rank! Where is the justice in this world?

I truly felt like an abandoned child, rejected not only by my family but by the world itself...

"Are you awake?"

He asked me an obvious question, so I glared at him indignantly and didn’t reply.

"You look even paler than you did when you fainted. Are you all right? Do you have a fever?"

I opened my mouth to reply with a few curses. Was he seriously asking if I was all right after his damned lizards had nearly bitten my head off twice and turned me into grilled meat or frozen meat just a moment ago?

But when I opened my mouth to speak, I couldn’t find the words.

I don’t know why I feel as though I’ve lost my beloved daughter when I’m not even married, for God’s sake???

So I shut my mouth and stood up angrily; although my injuries made me feel pain, I ignored it completely as I walked through the forest whilst that idiot followed me.

"Hey, where are you going?"

I took a potion from the storage ring and drank it.

Although potions are merely a cheap imitation of healing abilities and do nothing but numb the pain and speed up natural healing, they’re very effective in my case—enough to get me back to camp and teach those traitors a lesson before I receive proper treatment.

"Hey, are you angry again? Do you know now how I felt when you tried to kill me three times, mate?"

He seemed to be offering empty excuses and, for some reason, looked terrified, but I ignored him completely; I wasn’t even in the mood to argue with him

Finally, after about fifteen minutes’ walk, I reached the camp, which seemed as quiet as a deserted place, even though I could see soldiers and knights sitting there—not even asleep.

I ignored them completely as I made my way back to my tent, where I found the two traitors guarding the empty tent.

I stood before them without a word, staring at them with utter coldness as they bowed to me.

But I silently ordered Nikandr, who had followed me as soon as I entered the camp:

"Flog each of them a thousand lashes, and I don’t want to see their faces tomorrow."

"As you command, young master," he replied cautiously, but I ignored him too as I gave him my final order.

"Send That red head puppy to serve me temporarily, and send some healers to me."

Then I entered the tent and flung myself onto the bed, but for some reason I felt an overwhelming sadness; in fact, the dream had affected me so much that I found myself unable even to muster any anger towards that bastard Roland

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Let’s just forget about him... I sighed quietly, staring blankly at the tent ceiling, when an illogical thought occurred to me

Do I have a daughter somewhere in the world?...

But I don’t remember ever having been in a relationship with any woman at all! And I’m not even sixteen yet. So what’s with all these strange apologies to a daughter who doesn’t exist?

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Let’s just forget about it... I tried my hardest to forget about it and keep myself busy with my current affairs, and somehow I managed to divert my attention to some extent, although I couldn’t sleep all night, even after receiving treatment and having all my injuries fully and thoroughly healed.

For some reason, Rolan didn’t bother me either, even after I’d killed all his flying lizards!. I hope to kill the big lizard he has as well; only then will I feel satisfied...

Hmph...

The next morning, we continued our journey, and it took us three full days to reach Černograd Fortress.

This fortress is run by the Grand Duke’s cousin, Count Vadimir, who welcomed me at the gate, but I wasn’t in the mood to stay, even after all this time. Rolan intervened for the first time, but strangely, he did so with respect towards me.

"Stay here tonight and set off for Starigrad Castle tomorrow morning."

"Why?" I looked at him sharply.

"Starigrad Castle lies in the far north-east of the fallen province of Severin. It’s already late, with sunset approaching. You don’t know what lies there; that entire region is beyond the control of our army. It’s merely a word of advice so that you don’t throw yourself and your army into danger unprepared... "

I sighed and nodded to him after a moment’s hesitation, then turned to the Grand Duke’s cousin, Lord Vadimir, and gave him the order

"We shall spend the night at the fortress. We shall set off tomorrow at eight o’clock, just before sunrise."

"Excuse me, Commander Alexander, but sunrise in Severin is after half past nine, especially at the farthest reaches of the border. We can estimate that sunrise will be in the last five of nine."

Why does everything have to be so annoyingly complicated?

I sighed, trying to keep my cool so as not to snap at him; the man was merely doing his duty in warning me.

"Then we’ll set off at half past nine." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Yes, Commander. I shall make the arrangements accordingly. We have already prepared a suite for the Commander inside the fort. If the Commander has no objection to our arrangements, we have prepared a separate quarters for him, away from his army, but if..."

I ignored him completely and gestured to the red-haired puppy to take charge of coordinating with the fortress staff, whilst I went inside without letting him finish his sentence

It wasn’t that I wanted to ignore him; I was just in a bad mood for some reason, thinking about my precious unexist daughter... and who seems to be dying because of me for some reason.

What a mess...