After the social season ended, Erhart’s brief outings were somewhat impulsive.
For a year after he ascended the throne, he took care of state affairs that had fallen into disrepair and subjugated the nobles who tried to keep him under their thumb just because he was still young. He decided, on Karel’s advice, that it wouldn’t hurt to give himself a break.
And it was also because he had to go at least once, but he was busy and delayed going to Arhen.
He arrived in Arhen with Nils Canavan’s party. Since he had a three-day vacation period, the trip to Arhen was carried out in the utmost secrecy and on a minimal scale. When he said that he wanted to stay quietly while resting for a while, the Canavan siblings silently agreed.
“Leah.”
As soon as he arrived in Arhen, Erhart’s steps headed towards Leah’s tombstone.
When he had searched for and found her, she had been long gone by the time she had taken the arrow that had struck her. The people who had found her dead on the spot had recovered her body and given her a burial with the other fallen knights there. Even after setting everything right, Erhart didn’t bother moving her to Djerba.
‘I like this place. Your Highness seems to be free for the first time in a while, and I feel at ease too.’
It was because he respected her words that she was more peaceful and happy while in Arhen than in Djerba. Indeed Leah did seem more comfortable when she was in Argen.
“It’s been a while.”
He left her here and never visited her until now. Before and after his coronation, he had neither the space nor the time to do so.
Erhart touched Leah’s tombstone and reminisced about the past.
Right after he was attacked on the way to observe Olivia’s deathbed, he barely survived and by the time he regained consciousness, it had already been three months since that day.
‘Are you awake?’
Erhart, who was barely breathing, was able to get up after a month or so thanks to someone who found him and tended to him. By then, Olivia’s and his own funeral had all already taken place.
It was said that, while on their way to Olivia’s deathbed, he was attacked by bandits and all the escorts were slaughtered, and that not even the body of the prince had been recovered.
‘If anything happens, go to Fort Castle.’
When he didn’t know what to do, he remembered Olivia’s advice she had whispered before as if she had that day in mind. He headed straight to Fort Castle and retrieved the small box Olivia had left behind. There was a secret letter and a jewel that seemed to have been stashed away just in case.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
What was written in the letter was the prophecy surrounding him. He finally realized the cause and effect; why the Emperor was so impatient to kill him.
Pa kjr oeccs. Cogjlv bo remt j qgbqtfms, tf rteccfv tlr rbc jii tlr ilof, jcv vgbnf atf kbwjc tf ibnfv rb wemt ab tfg vfjat lc bgvfg ab fcagjq atflg rbc. cb. Rb, tbk mbeiv atja yf ktja ibnf lr? Pa kjr fnfc vbeyafv ktfatfg atf Swqfgbg’r ibnf kjr agef.
Erhart decided to move according to the prophecy. To fulfill the prophecy that he feared so much.
‘Choose, Duke. To be written in the margins of history, or to continue centuries of glory.’
Using the port as a base, he first recruited Winston without informing the Emperor of his survival, and then recruited other powerful nobles one after another.
Around that time, Erhart handled his mana more easily than breathing. His power to annihilate a small territory without the help of magic stones was enough to subjugate the great nobles. Even in the midst of it, the hesitant nobles eventually turned to him when the Emperor became tyrannical.
After preparing like that, it took about two full years to kill the Emperor and all his brothers and ascend to the throne. He really had a hard time breathing every day. Sometimes, he was immersed in an unknown loss and a terrible sorrow.
“I can’t say I’ve been doing too well.”
He rubbed his swollen eyes and murmured. He had the strength to protect himself, he had no escorts and came alone, so he did not hesitate to reveal his true thoughts.
“I haven’t been able to sleep for a very long time.”
Light sleep has been a daily routine since childhood, but since three years ago, he had been unable to sleep. In fact, the longest time he slept was when he lost consciousness for three months. After waking up, he would wake up quickly without feeling like he had slept. Unfathomable dreams kept him awake.
Erhart leaned against a tree with long, leafy branches.
“When I sleep lightly, I keep seeing strange things.”
He was submerged in water. It’s a strange thing. He was not a good swimmer and he didn’t like water very much. He muttered and closed his eyes.
The wind breezed past his cheek, carrying the warmth of spring mixed with an odd salty smell. For some reason, the familiar smell somewhat eased his nerves. His consciousness soon faded.
‘… ich.’
A bewitchingly beautiful voice, someone calling with a smile.
‘Erich.’
It was that dream again. When he closed his eyes and opened them, there was a barrier of water everywhere. In the blue water, someone shrouded beckoned towards him. The difference was that he heard a voice this time. It was beautiful, but it was faint as if he would forget it as soon as he turned around.
His mind raced.
It was distant, and he wanted to hold on to whatever it was. Even knowing that he couldn’t hold it, Erhart reached out his hand involuntarily. It seemed like it was something important to him, as though he should not let it go like this.
But the further he stretched, the farther away it was. No, Erhart’s body gradually receded and it began to sink into the thick darkness.
***
“… Ha.”
Erhart stretched out his hand and opened his eyes. A terrible sense of loss overcame him.
He didn’t know why he should feel so lost because of an inexplicable dream. And the object that came out in the dream too. To say it was a reflection of the unconscious, the whitish figure in the dream was indistinguishable. Aside from that, it was a person whom he had no memory of at all.
He took a shallow breath and brushed his face.
The touch was nervous.
Erhart sprang to his feet. If he stayed still, his thoughts would just wander, so he intended to walk around a little.
He hadn’t walked far before he could see the horizon far beyond the sea. There was a large lake in Djerba, and a small but beautifully decorated pond in the imperial castle, but both were incomparable to this place.
Shwaa~
The waves lapped at the shore. It was a sound he heard often when he left the balcony window open while he was in Arhen. Listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks was strangely mesmerizing.
Just like it was waving his hand, telling him to come over.
There was a time in the past when he was enchanted by that sound, or he was tired of living accepting the day he would die, so he jumped down.
“…”
But how did he come out alive? Did he get pushed by the waves? He definitely had memories of sinking deep into the water… Erhart frowned. His head pounded as he rummaged through his memory.
The headache that he was used to because he couldn’t sleep well was getting worse today. Erhart, who had been irritated by rubbing his temples, turned around with the intention of going back and resting.
“…”
A faint melody was heard from somewhere.
It’s unclear, but his first thought was that it was beautiful. Erhart turned toward the sound as if possessed. He followed the sound that was leading him and at some point the throbbing headache started to go away. Starting to feel better earlier, his nerves, which had been on edge, calmed down again, and my mind became quieted. On the one hand, it was a little rattling, but the comfort was greater.
But with his hand on his waist, he stopped only after leaving a long trail on his sandy beach.
Someone was sitting not far away. Wearing a robe like Erhart, his face was indistinguishable.
His language was vague and unintelligible. Maybe he was a foreigner. Arhen was a place where trade was active, foreigners often came in and out, so it was not strange.
Erhart watched him from a distance. He was listening to the quiet hum, and while his body was languid, he was nervous for some reason, as though he was missing something. He had a hunch that if he took even one step, he would catch the man.
At some point, the sound that had continued thinly stopped suddenly.
The robed figure glanced back at Erhart. Not realizing his presence, he flinched and took a step back. He seemed wary of the stranger.
Both of them wrapped their bodies in robes, so why so surprised? Erhart snorted. A strange unpleasantness pervaded his boundaries.
The singing had stopped, so there was no reason for him to stay any longer. Come to think of it, it was strange that he came all the way here, as if he was bewitched by something. As he turned around, the wind blew.
The hood he was wearing was pulled off.
“Ah.”
Erhart, who hadn’t bothered to change his hair color because it was too cumbersome to keep the enchantment on, hastily grabbed his robes, but his blond hair had already been gently blown about by the wind.
“… El?”
The person who he thought was a foreigner spoke the Hesseles language with clear pronunciation. The clear voice without impurities was beautiful. If his singing was seductive, this was chaste. It was as light as down and as pure as running water. Erhart was stunned for a moment.
“El…”
At least, that was until he ran frantically toward him.
Oh shieeeetttt 😬 Although I’m happy they’re reunited, I have a feeling that things are going to go south from now on…
Oh no, Erhart can’t remember Rayan. Rayan will be heartbroken if he is rude because he sees him as a stranger…🥺
Thanks for the chapter 🌹
Here they are, the shattered memories. Rayan, be prepared for a lot.
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و