Chapter 866: Act 44 – Two Letters IX
Brendel had mentioned this boy to Antinna, so she continued to ask, “What do you need?”
Dian looked at her suspiciously, “Madam, can you fully represent Mr. Brendel?”
“What do you think?” Antinna retorted.
Dian hesitated for a moment, examining the noble lady as if confirming whether he could trust her. Suddenly, he displayed an expression of surprise. “Ah, I remember now, you are the noble lady who lives at 52 Grave Digger Street. I saw you once.”
“You saw me?” Antinna replied, recalling that there should be no such person in her memory.
“I happened to see you from a distance when those bad seeds came looking for you, respected lady,” Dian answered.
Antinna understood that this referred to an incident a year and a half ago when her creditors came knocking. The locals in Bruglas liked to call loan sharks ‘Nottai’, suggesting they were people whose souls were ensnared by the greedy demon Nottai. By saying so, this boy evidently indicated that he was on her side. However, such flattery was not enough to move her; she was no longer the fallen noblewoman she once was. She nodded and then asked, “So what exactly happened?”
“Ma’am, it’s like this. You know Mr. Brendel asked me to go home and pack my things to be ready to leave Bruglas with my mother at any time. I soon took care of that matter and waited for Mr. Brendel to send someone to notify me. However, I suddenly remembered something, so I went back to 52 Grave Digger Street, and to my surprise, I saw a group of lawbreakers searching for something in your house.”
“What?” Antinna became alert immediately. She was unaware of what Test and Brendel had talked about but immediately recalled the signs of someone having entered her house before. “You say someone was in my house, what kind of people?”
“All sorts of people. They disguised themselves as thieves, but I could see through them. I can confirm they were all fugitives, outlaws, or mercenaries,” Dian replied.
“When was this?”
“A while ago, ma’am. I had to spend some effort to find you and Mr. Brendel,” Dian quickly answered.
Antinna furrowed her brow and asked again, “What were they looking for? Do you know?”
Dian shook his head but quickly explained, “Ma’am, Mr. Brendel kindly gave me a task, and naturally, I couldn’t be negligent. There were seven or eight of them, and I thought that if I rashly alerted them, I might not be able to deliver the message to you. They were in your house, and I did not know what they were looking for. However, after that, I kept following them and discovered something else: after leaving 52 Grave Digger Street, those guys went to another place.”
“You did well,” Antinna understood Dian’s concern, reassuring him as she continued to ask, “Where did they go?”
“That place is at 47 Juan District. I don’t know if you have heard of it, ma’am.”
“Ah!” Antinna couldn’t help but exclaim. 47 Juan District, that was the old residence of the Nisson family, where she lived during her childhood, but later, to pay for her mother’s medical treatment, she had to pawn the house, and after that, she never returned. Her face paled slightly, and she instinctively pressed the spot at her neck, “They went there?”
“Yes, they went there, ma’am,” Antinna carefully maintained her tone, as Dian had not yet noticed anything unusual, he answered truthfully.
“What were they doing there?” she cautiously inquired.
“It seems they were digging for something in the yard there,” Dian replied.
“In the yard?”
“Yes, it looks like the house is unoccupied. There is an old tree in the back yard, and they dug for quite a while under that tree—”
“But found nothing?” Antinna suddenly interrupted.
“Found nothing,” Dian looked at the noble lady with some confusion. “You are right; they returned empty-handed.”
Antinna felt relieved; the yard, the old tree behind it. A flash of insight crossed her mind—‘the appointment at the Baden Ball’—the words her father left for her mother in his will came rushing back to her. She should have thought of this earlier. Those people were after her father’s inheritance. She felt a bit more at ease but still puzzled, as she remembered her father should not have any connections with such fugitives.
But at that moment, she didn’t have time to think about that. She hurriedly told Dian, “I must tell Mr. Brendel about this immediately. Can you get back to 47 Juan District?”
“Of course.”
“If anything happens along the way, can you find someone to send us a message?” Antinna asked carefully.
“Not a problem. I have plenty of reliable friends nearby,” Dian replied.
“Then remember the code, ‘Mountains of Shubli’. If you send your friends to carry a message, tell them this code.”
“I understand. I’ll go right now, ma’am.” Dian took a silver coin from Antinna and thought that he had done well for this trip. He turned and darted into the shadows of the bushes, quickly disappearing. Antinna watched as the young man vanished into the woods; she bit her lip, feeling a peculiar sensation. A year and a half ago, her father’s will brought the lord into her life, yet today, a year and a half later, as they returned to Bruglas, she did not expect this matter to resurface.
She looked up at the pitch-black night sky, feeling somewhat dazed.
…
Brendel followed the direction from which the sound came, crossing through the chirping filled bushes, stepping on the thick pine needles on the forest floor, and bypassing a shed used for stacking logs. Behind the sawmill, a young girl’s silhouette suddenly came into view. The girl stood like a shadow on the edge of the forest in the moonlight, wearing Erluin’s cavalry uniform. Her long ponytail swayed as she practiced her sword strokes meticulously, repeating the simple motion intently, completely unaware of others nearby.
Brendel came to a sudden stop.
Freya had evidently arrived here earlier than him, while he was merely here to seek some memories that belonged to Brendel. This girl, who came from Buche, never forgot her task and mission.
This was the Valkyrie of Erluin, past, present, and future. On those thin shoulders rested the beliefs and ideals of all the players of Erluin. Yet few knew the story behind that; it was not the glory of a genius but the diligent efforts and persistence of an ordinary person. Freya entered the Royal Knight Academy as the last of her class and remained just an ordinary cadet by the time of graduation. Historically, the princess valued her, partly because she was the daughter of Everton, but this ordinary girl step by step earned her place in history, becoming one of Erluin’s most legendary generals.
The kingdom ended with her blood; she was Erluin’s last hero.
Brendel silently watched Freya swing her sword under the moonlight, and it took a while before she finally sensed something was amiss. Alertly, she stopped her movements and turned around. However, upon seeing Brendel, she displayed a startled expression, “Brendel!” Freya looked a bit flustered, as if caught stealing cookies. “What are you doing here?”
“I used to practice swordsmanship here with my grandfather. It’s a rare opportunity to return, so I wanted to come see this place,” Brendel replied.
“Um…” Freya’s cheeks turned a shade pink, unsure if it was from exercise or embarrassment. “I heard you mention… I was just a bit curious about what kind of place Lord Darus taught to raise such an outstanding… person like Brendel.”
Brendel paused for a moment, then laughed, “So, how does it feel?”
Freya gently nodded, replying with a hint of melancholy, “It’s very quiet here. I really like this place.”
“Actually, it wasn’t this quiet before. This used to be one of the main roads to Ridenburg. Ever since Buche…” Brendel abruptly stopped, glancing at Freya with some apology. Freya gave a slight smile, although it was somewhat forced, “It’s okay. One day we will get it back. Didn’t Brendel already defeat them? I believe that day isn’t far off.”
Brendel nodded but felt a bit unconvinced. Defeating the Blood Staff was indeed seen by many as a way to avenge the bad blood from the Black Rose War, but in fact, the war between Erluin and Madara had only just begun. Making that vast dark empire retreat was not going to be easy.
“Brendel, it seems like you’ve gotten stronger again.” Freya suddenly said, looking at him.
Of course, he had grown stronger. After absorbing Sue’s experience and gaining a number of extra levels, while somewhat scattered, it essentially equated to a pure class level around fifty-seven or fifty-eight. This level was already very close to Veronica’s during the time at the Loop of Trade Winds, except he lacked the special NPC leader template. In fact, his actual attributes could rival those at the peak side of Truth. However, his understanding of the laws still lacked a bit; he was at the last threshold before elemental evolution. That threshold, for him now, wasn’t a difficult challenge. In fact, the two hardest stages of elemental evolution were crossing the Elemental Wall and entering the Extreme Plain; the other phases were basically a matter of course.
However, Brendel was slightly surprised by Freya’s keen perception. She had not possessed such insight and judgment before. He assessed the Valkyrie with a glance and replied, “You’ve made great progress too, Freya. Everyone can see that.”
Freya lowered her head. She herself couldn’t believe that one day she would have the opportunity to step into the golden realm; everything felt like a dream. “Thank you, Brendel. I know you gave me all this. You made it possible for me to enter the Royal Officer Academy, and it was you who fought for me in front of the princess, resulting in today’s achievements. That stone tablet was a gift from you as well.”
She gently inhaled. “I don’t know why you’re so good to me, Brendel, but I will remember this for a lifetime. Auntie Sil said I’m just a foolish girl, but I will never forget those who are kind to me.”
“Freya?” Brendel suddenly sensed a strange emotion from her.
“It’s nothing,” Freya gently shook her head, then looked up, her bright eyes meeting Brendel’s. “Brendel, can I ask you a question?”
Brendel stared into her eyes, sensing something vaguely, “Go ahead.”
“Brendel, did you know about my background long ago?” Freya asked softly, looking at him.
Brendel stiffened for a moment, suddenly understanding. “Did the princess tell you?”
Freya nodded.
“What do you think?” Brendel immediately asked in return.
Freya remained silent, her expression filled with melancholy.
Brendel quickly understood this silly girl’s thoughts, “Do you think we value you because of your background and status?”
Freya stared at him blankly, her bright eyes filled with sadness, as if to say: Isn’t that so? When the princess first told her this matter, she had almost understood it completely in an instant. At that moment, she thought of Senior Nemeses, the princess, and the care of the royal party towards her; she naturally also thought of Brendel. Her memories of Brendel were so profound that she immediately recalled his first words upon seeing her back in Buche:
“Freya, you are Freya? Freya? Alicia, born in the year of the Blooming Flower, daughter of the great knight Everton?”
Back then, she had thought it was just some dreamy talk, but now it felt like a knife stabbing at her heart.
Brendel clearly realized this as well; he couldn’t help but scratch his hair. In fact, he also understood that historically, the princess and the royal party valued Freya because of her background. After the Frost Drama, the royal party shattered due to failure. In that era, the earth knight Everton bore all the responsibilities and ultimately died in prison, but his wife and children escaped thanks to the shelter of the royal party. Freya was adopted during that time by her uncle and aunt.
Because of this, the earth knight Everton had always been a banner for the royal party, having a very high reputation. In the era of Obergo VII, many of the new generation in the royal party, including Sir Overwell, were his students. This alone illustrated the knight’s influence.
Historically, the royal party took in and supported Freya because they valued her lineage; however, they also had their concerns. On one hand, the royal party felt guilty towards the earth knight Everton and were apprehensive about causing her to feel at odds because of her background. Hence, they always concealed her origins. Until Freya successfully achieved fame, the royal party never truly revealed her background. After Freya became the Valkyrie, it was mostly due to unavoidable circumstances.
But Brendel was puzzled about why this had preemptively happened.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly realized—this seemed to be another good deed of his! This afternoon, after a thorough conversation with the princess, he had completely dispelled Grifian’s doubts. While he was more than willing to work together with such a princess to realize his ideal Erluin, he didn’t expect that the princess would turn around and inform this country girl from Buche about Freya’s true origins. He could approximately understand the princess’s thoughts, perhaps she did not want to continue deceiving Freya about this matter and sought to be free of guilt.
Brendel couldn’t help but feel a bit frantic. He would rather the royal party continue to keep this secret because he knew Freya had always struggled with feelings of inferiority. Suddenly transitioning from a country girl to an officer cadet in the Royal Officer Academy, standing alongside young heroes from all over Erluin, there was still a considerable gap in both talent and background. Her greatest pride and perseverance were likely built on her efforts, at least ensuring she didn’t fall behind, step by step achieving today’s accomplishments.
But suddenly, she discovered that these achievements might have been established on a falsehood. Everyone around her valued her only for her lineage, not her efforts. The disparity in her heart was unimaginable. Historically, this Valkyrie had already achieved significant accomplishments when she learned the truth of her origins. At that time, she dedicated herself to the fate of Erluin, her inner world mature and stable; she wouldn’t be greatly affected. But Freya of this era was just a naive young girl; facing this deception, it was easy to foresee how melancholy she would feel. Brendel didn’t even have to think hard to guess.
Of course, some people might unexpectedly find themselves from humble beginnings to noble status and only feel joy, never disappointment or melancholy. But Brendel knew that this strong and independent girl before him would not have that nouveau riche attitude. The moment he saw Freya’s expression, he fully understood her confusion and unease. She came here to practice swordsmanship, likely in search of clarity amid her disorientation.
This was indeed self-inflicted misfortune. Brendel nearly wanted to smack his forehead. It was certainly good for the princess to think this way, but the issue is that good intentions can indeed lead to adverse outcomes.
However, at this point, there was only a way to remedy the situation. “Freya,” Brendel suddenly said seriously to Freya, “Do you believe me?”
Freya slightly startled, looked up, puzzled, “Of course I believe you, Brendel.”
Brendel let out a gentle sigh; he suddenly remembered something. “Come with me, I want to take you to a place.”
Before Freya could react, she felt a warm hand clasp her hand. “Brendel!” She was startled, but Brendel raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet, and then led her toward the direction of the Stag Forest.
