CH 74

He is Looking for Her

Gray was enjoying the festival when he was suddenly called out.

“Why did you ask me to come just to leave?? I was already having a fun time too..”

Gray spoke irritably as he plopped down on the bed.. Perhaps it was because he drank too much alcohol but his face was strangely red.

「I want to change our terms.」

“What terms?”

「I don’t need a carriage. I want something else instead.」

“Something else?”

「I’m going to cross the sea.」

For a moment, Gray stared blankly at Kyrie.

“Are you crazy?”

He got up as if she wasn’t worth talking to.

“I was wondering what you wanted to say……. Did you lose your head with your voice? Go to sleep.”  

Kyrie already knew that Gray would come out like that. She put the note she had written down before Gray’s eyes.

「I heard there’s a ritual that’s going to happen nearby, right? I’m going to the ocean. Order your people to make some ice sleds and prepare the ships and people in advance at the site where the ice ends.」

“Do you know how terrible the currents between the North Continent and Trevereum are?”

「Laura Fort Ducain has cleared a new route. Get that information from Fort Ducain too.」

“Ha! The nearest branch of Fort Ducain from here is…….”

「Clásico, Clásico is now the newest stronghold of Fort Ducain.」

Gray’s eyes were wide open. He had been abroad for a long time, so he was ignorant of the domestic situation. However, his eyebrows couldn’t help but raise.

“Are you trying to cheat on me now?  Clásico is part of the Lord Protector’s territory, and eve-ry-one in this country knows that he hates interacting with the outside world.”

「The Lord Protector has abolished his closure policy.」

“What?”

「Go to Fort Ducain and make a deal.」

“What profit could you give to the person who will give you the information about the route?”

Gray retorted condescendingly. He does not know that the Lord Protector’s territories will be handed over to Kyrie in five years. He also did not know that the Legendary Lord’s territories are already hers.

「For now, it’s enough that you have Buchanan’s name. You’re the heir, so whatever you do, you will know the route.」

“Even so, what profit can I get if I’m going to help you so sincerely?”

「Money.」

“…….”

For a moment, Kyrie saw Gray’s eyes flash.

“……What kind of money do you have? Didn’t you throw it all away?”

Kyrie has also predicted that he will ask this question like it was a trick question.. She recalled Lord Leschaux’s indifferent face. Maybe Leschaux will pay the money without saying a word.

「There’s a way. I’ll cut my hair and you will take it to ‘someone’. Then he will give you the money.」

“You’re telling me to believe something like that?”

「So what if you don’t believe it? Buchanan’s real power lies with your father. And with your father’s nature, he will not hand over the title to you until he dies, and you might clash against your father again. Do you want a repeat of what happened back then?」

“Is that my problem? That’s not a reason for me to trust you, Kyrie Buchanan.” 

「Then it’s your turn to think. Who am I?. You think I’m not capable of doing something like that?」

Kyrie glared at Gray. It was Gray’s turn to be caught off guard.

Kyrie has been steadily handling all of the domestic and foreign diplomatic affairs of the duchy even though she was already fed up with them. She has never given up any responsibility that she took in her life and in her family, and Gray could attest to that.

Gray pouted as he scratched his head when he saw Kyrie’s calm and cold stare.

“……No, I don’t think so.. And call me brother.”

Looking out the window at the villagers singing with bottles of wine, Gray blinked.

“So how much will you pay?”

「Maybe as much as you want.」

“But d-do you think I’ll fall for money?”

「You came back for money anyway, right?」

Gray’s face turned cold. It is characteristic of Buchanan to put on a cold, arrogant look the more flustered and embarrassed they became

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

「You couldn’t have come back just because our father called you. You ran out of money, didn’t you?」

“I-“

「As usual, you spill your pockets around pretending to be a good man. But you don’t have the wherewithal to retrieve it-」

Suddenly Gray’s hand slapped Kyrie’s cheek. He literally shoved his palm on Kyrie’s face as he tried to cover her mouth. 

Boom! Kyrie’s head hit a wall. At that moment, she recalled Nathaniel for some reason.

Nathaniel is, of course, superior to Gray in terms of strength. But when she thought it, Nathaniel had never treated Kyrie so harshly. No, it was rare for Nathaniel to make a move first. His hands always came slowly from the front. Slow enough to choose whether to avoid or accept.

“You’re just the same as you were when we were kids, aren’t you, sister? Haha.”

Gray distorted his face as if he were smiling broadly in front of Kyrie’s

“It is said that beasts hear words when beaten, but you never knew how to bend in front of father or me.  What did you eat to make your liver so swollen?” 

(TL/N: means to be extremely bold/reckless/brave)

Gray’s hand slapped her cheek, but Kyrie didn’t moan in pain. There was already too much pain and sorrow to feel fear from Gray. She just wanted all this to pass.

‘Come on, everything will come to pass, I….’

The surroundings were wrapped in silence.

Of the two pairs of purple eyes that were glaring at each other, the one that trembled first was Gray’s. He looked a little puzzled at first, but then his gaze suddenly became uneasy, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen.

“You, your face…..”

“…….”

Kyrie stared at Gray with gloomy eyes. Soon Gray took his hand away, as if he had forgotten that he was angry.

“Did you… volunteer?”

Kyrie couldn’t figure out what he was talking about.

‘Please live.’

For the time being she would continue to live.. Because that’s what they mean.

Gray wrinkled his forehead like a man who found a butterfly carcass caught in a spider web. Then he muttered something under his breath as if he figured out something, then he ran away from the room.

***

A few days later, a customer came to the Clásico branch of Fort Ducain

“Is this the branch of Clásico?”

The man who came into the room smiled brightly. Even though he was an older man, his light purple coriander hair was lovely, and his purple eyes were filled with mischievous playfulness. Branch Manager Neil’s face was colored with surprise when he saw his face.

“Wait…… don’t tell me…….”

“Well, purple is a symbol of Buchanan.”

Neil’s mouth widened, as he bowed hurriedly.

“I didn’t know! I’m Neil Baker, president of the Clásico branch of Fort Ducain Merchandise!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! You probably didn’t know because I came here without leaving a word. Oh, well, let’s make this clear.”

The man took Buchanan’s seal out of his arms and showed it to me.

“Ahem, I haven’t done this in a while. I’m Gray Buchanan.”

Gray smiled cheerfully and shrugged. Neil led him to the top and groveled.

“I never thought I’d bring such a distinguished man……. Where are you staying now? It’s been a while since the sea…….”

“Just as soon as I arrived, it froze! My accomodations aren’t here, it’s at RedRow next to this place.”

“Excuse me? That place is a little underdeveloped…….”

“It’s not a bad place to live in. People are energetic!”

“I see. What brings you to our humble business today?”

“I wanted to ask you something, are you busy? You looked like you were in a mess.”

Neil scratched his head awkwardly.

“There was a bad turn of events, my dear. It’s because the birthday feast for Viscount Clementz is just right around the corner.”

“Oh, really? I’ll have to leave a greeting later.” 

“Oh, do you happen to be looking for a gift for the Viscount……?”

“No, I have a question.  Is it true that Fort Ducain has pioneered a new route to the North Continent this time?”

Immediately, Neil snorted and proudly held out his chest.

“Yes!  It’s all thanks to Fort Ducain’s Young Miss.”

“Was it Laura? She was my sister’s friend.”

“Yes, she has such good ability. She’s Fort Ducain’s pride.”

Gray’s eyes seemed to be slightly uncomfortable when he talked about ‘ability’, but Neil just ignored the slight feeling. It was because Gray quickly put on a good-natured and cheerful smile.

“Right, well, hmm, but the sea is frozen and you can’t sail?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You don’t know why it froze?”

“There are many theories, but…there has been a lot of rumors going around the houses that ‘The End’ Has come again..”

“The End?”

“Yes. The progenitor, the Legendary Lord, the person that Lord Protector has defeated. A lot of people say that it was because The End has come that’s why the Legendary Lord was revived and that the Lord Protector has appeared.

“Oh……”

Gray’s disrespectful reaction was clearly the attitude of an unbeliever. Neil spoke a little louder so as not to be the one who spoke out.

“Did Buchanan also hear that the Legendary Lord is back?”

“Of course I heard that!”

Gray’s eyes shone with anticipation. It was a reaction like a young boy.  Neil understood what he was feeling and smiled warmly. Because the Legendary Lord was truly a legend to the people of this country.

“Some people say that the legendary lord made the sea freeze, some also believed that this was done so that the end of the continent would be stopped from going out.

“Is it real?”

“I do not know.  And, there is another piece of information, which is also very valuable……”

Neil quietly averted his gaze and picked up a cup of coffee.  Gray grinned, took some of his gold coins from his pocket and placed them on his desk.

“But I’m so curious? Is that really some valuable information?

“Haha!  As expected of a young master.

Neil took the gold coins as quickly as possible.

“I’m telling you. You know that the Legendary Lord and Patriotic Lord are here, but the progenitor is nowhere to be found. Right? It was said that the three of them are one.

“Right.”

“They said that the reincarnation of the progenitor is somewhere in this continent and the Legendary Lord is looking for them!”

“The Legendary Lord?”

“Yes!  This is really valuable information. The capital city is quite vigilant these days. This piece of information does not come out in any newspaper.”

“Is that so…?”

The playful expression gradually disappeared from Gray’s face, and the picture of a somber Buchanan came to mind. Neil involuntarily flinched and shut up. Gray thought of something for quite some time and didn’t say anything. 

“……Young Master? Did I say something wrong……?”

Gray smiled. It was a confident and charming smile like a young man in his prime. But somehow, Neil was reminded of the appearance of a lion or a jackal coming after its prey.

“No, it was very helpful.”

***

Gray returned to Redlowt’s quarters. He loved walking, but this time he used a carriage to go back to his accommodations .

‘Legendary Lord. The Legendary Lord……’

Gray properly kept his thoughts to the side, and climbed the stairs. His sister, Kyrie Buchanan, was in the room. Gray, who found Kyrie, stopped walking without realizing it.

Kyrie was sitting in bed looking out of the window, it seemed like she did not realize that Gray had come in. She wasn’t even blinking. There was no sign of breathing. It was not that strange for someone to compare her to a lifeless corpse once they saw her looking grimly at the sky with a white veil on her face.. It was like she went through all the joys and sorrows inlife at once and became ashes.

For the first time, Gray felt an eerie aura coming from his sister. He couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable for a moment, but soon pretended to be fine.

“What are you doing?”

Kyrie turned her head. There was no expression or emotion on her face, but one could see the stubborn and stern grace from her body.

Gray let out a wry smile. Indeed, she looked like the epitome of his sister who listened so well to their father. She looked so well-behaved to the point that he found it nasty.

As a matter of fact, Gray knew about it. He knew that Cesar looked at Kyrie with disappointment and regret that she was not a man. If Kyrie had been a man, he would have passed Buchanan on to Kyrie.

‘That’s right, however,I am still the heir.’

Gray broke eye contact and shifted his gaze to the paper and pen in Kyrie’s hand, pretending to be relaxed.

“Surely.”

「Work?」

“Ah-, that’s fine. That’s fine.”

「The route and the navigator?」

“I found someone. I also found a boat.”

Gray approached and sat sideways on the desk.

“Once the ritual begins, you will throw yourself into the sea, and the people that are waiting downstairs will switch you with someone else. After that, you will ride on a sled until the site where the ice ends with a guide, and you’re going to the North Continent on a boat that has been prepared. All right?”

Kyrie, who heard Gray’s words in full, smiled quietly. It was a gruesome, empty, relieved smile.

「Thank you.」

Gray shifted his eyes. It was not because of the guilt. Kyrie’s smile, which we saw for the first time in a while, was so heartless that he got goosebumps.

“Keep your promise. You don’t know how hard it was to go out today because you’re too stubborn. Well, in a few days, Viscount Clement’s birthday will be coming up.”

「The Lord of Clásico」

Kyrie lowered her eyes for a moment, then moved her pen.

「The Viscount is a gourmand. If you can afford to give a gift, it’s not bad to give something like a precious cooking ingredient.」

“Oh, I actually bought something nice. How do you know that?”

「Because it’s my responsibility to deal with such a thing.」

“Hmm.”

Gray got up and approached the window. Then, he opened the latch as he tried to ask her as if he did not have any ulterior motive.

“On his birthday, a top brass from the capital will come. Do you have any idea who it is?”

「If they are close to Viscount Clementz…」

“I heard they are looking for something. If a top brass is looking for it then…….”

The pen, which was moving smoothly in Kyrie’s hand, stopped. Gray’s purple eyes, waiting for her words, looked up at Kyrie’s face.

Kyrie had a terrible look on her face. Her eyes widened imperceptibly, as her mouth dropped open. An indescribable terror appeared on her corpse-like face. She looked like someone had pushed her soul off the edge of a cliff.

‘This is it.’

That was the reaction Gray wanted. He realized that his lies worked properly.

Sudden ascension of duke, sudden call of father, unknown source of Kyrie’s money, and escape of sister who never knew of deviation. Everything led to one conclusion.

‘The Legendary Lord is looking for Kyrie.’

He smiled greedily.

‘Then what I have to do is obvious.’

***

Today was the day of the ritual.

No matter how much they tried to go round and round with their talks, it was still essentially a human sacrifice so the ritual always started at night.

“The weather is quite bad….”

Someone murmured. From the end of the sky to the end, the messy clouds were not covered by the darkness of the night. Even in these freezing temperatures, no snow fell down from the skies. Only the endless cold and biting wind surrounded them. There was even the faint sound of thunder from the distant sea.

Gray arrived when the moon, hidden by the clouds, reached the highest point in the sky. As soon as he saw Kyrie, he said something.

“Can’t you take off that veil?”

「It’s an important thing. I’ll never take it off, so don’t force me to do so.」

“Is that so?”

Gray answered in irritation as he turned his head away.

“Tell him to come.”

The carriage started moving as soon as Kyrie quietly climbed on it.

The streets were crowded. It seemed like everyone in Redroute was outside. When the carriage started moving, people started cheering. The surroundings were dark so Gray raised his voice to grab people’s attention. The frantically waving torches blocked the view outside of the carriage.

They arrived at Cape Pirino on Redroute Beach. There was a wooden platform built on the edge of the cliff as if it was  explicitly saying, ‘You can jump from here.’  Fortunately, there was a long cloth set up between the platform and the people. Only a shadow of Kyrie’s body will be seen on their side.

The strong wind that blew on the platform blew Kyrie’s hair towards the dark sea. The sea was in front of her while the people crowded madly behind her.

‘But I can leave after this job is over.’

As Kyrie looked at the ice that stretched out to the end of the horizon, Gray walked over to her and approached her.

“I broke the ice on purpose because of the ritual..  Buchanan’s servants are waiting downstairs, so jump down and they’ll take care of it.”

After saying that, Gray went downstairs.

Then, there was nothing. Gray let out a sad sound, and the old man uttered a voice that strangely sounded like a spell.  And finally, the people shouted in unison.

“Save us from the end!”

“Save us!”

The group’s madness became a wave of sound and hit Kyrie’s back.

There was no hesitation.  Kyrie threw her body off her cliff with a lighter heart than she had thought. The hem of her colorful robe fluttered, and at that moment, the cloth that covered Kyrie’s figure fell apart.

The things that happened next all happened in a flash.

The wizard, who was waiting at the bottom, floated Kyrie’s body and hid it in the open space under the cliff. Gray’s men quickly threw something covered in cloth into the sea before fleeing.

Splash!

When the people on the cliff came up late and looked down, all they saw was a piece of cloth scattered in the sea.

‘It’s a success.’

Kyrie, who had been floating in the air by magic, landed on the boat below after a while. Now it was her turn to move to the edge of the ice that covered the sea.

However, the atmosphere was suspicious. The men exchanged glances at her as she staggered a little because of motion sickness.

“Is it her?”

“That’s right.”

“Get ready.”

‘What are they getting ready for?’

She didn’t even have time to think about anything. A hood was placed over her head.

“……!”

Her struggle came a bit later but she couldn’t do anything. The men easily overpowered her. Then she could hear the conversation between them.

“The wagon?”

“It’s behind the cape.”

“The young master ordered us to specifically move quietly..”

“But she’s struggling too much. Can I hit her?”

“This white thing…….”

“Leave it alone.”

As soon as the words were over, someone struck their hand on the back of Kyrie’s neck. Kyrie’s consciousness fell down into darkness.

***

Nathaniel~~~