Chapter 884: Act 60 – QiYala
The two were engaged in conversation when a servant knocked on the carriage door and reported outside, “Miss, the embassy has arrived. They entered the city through the Stone Lizard Mountain Road, but there was a slight delay due to martial law.”
“Hmph!” The young girl rapped on the table in the middle of the carriage and pouted, saying, “Seems like that guy has arrived.”
“QiYala, should we go meet them?” The Countess asked weakly, but the young girl’s attitude was firm as she quickly shook her head. “No way, let’s wait here first. I want to see if that guy is as boring as I expect.”
Although the Countess had a gentle appearance, she was not foolish and could see that her companion clearly intended to provoke the Earl, and she vaguely guessed at some reasons, unable to help but voice her concern, “QiYala, this might not be a good idea.”
“What’s wrong with that?” the young girl replied nonchalantly.
“But he is the leader of the embassy…”
“So what? If that guy dares to put on a stern face and scare me, I’ll just not go to the Empire.” The young girl’s dissatisfaction was evident.
“Not go to the Empire?” The Countess looked shocked.
“What are you afraid of, Eynid? You can come to my house for a while. I’ll complain to my brother, and your father won’t dare do anything to us,” the young girl replied.
The Countess opened her mouth to say something, but knowing she could not convince this companion, she could only sit there anxiously, as if resigned.
The carriage fell quiet, each lost in different thoughts waiting for Brendel’s arrival. The Countess hoped that the Earl would not direct his anger at her, and she felt a mix of anxiety and dread, her face clouded with worry. The young girl across from her, however, was oblivious, lightly tapping the carriage window as she gazed at the scenery outside.
After Brendel entered the city, he received a message from a servant. He had known that the Seifer family and the representative of Earl Grayson were already in the city, but he first settled the embassy at the inn in the fortress before heading alone to the agreed location. As he approached the designated spot, he saw the two carriages parked under an oak tree from a distance, with servants standing in two lines beside them. He walked over to identify himself, expecting to meet the two representatives, but unexpectedly, the servant who delivered the message returned shortly after and gave him a poker-faced message:
“Miss has heard that the Earl is well-versed in many subjects and wants to test his knowledge to verify his identity.”
Brendel was taken aback, thinking to himself that this noble lady must be out of her mind to require such verification. Was Princess Ausoor’s seal fake?
He glanced at the carriage and thought, forget it, after all, she was a member of the royal family—albeit former royalty—and a girl; it would not do to brood too much over it. He patiently replied, “Please go ahead.”
QiYala pressed her small face against the carriage window, feeling a bit smug as she said, “I’ve heard that guy prides himself on being well-read and that rumors about him are quite grand in the Southlands. I’ve seen plenty of such people before; they are just gilded on the outside. Knowledge to them is merely a costume, a fancy garment. Watch me expose his hypocritical facade, humph. Let him understand that the pursuit of truth is sacred and should not be desecrated.”
The Countess could almost envision herself being punished for creating trouble for her family due to this. The image of a confinement room wobbling before her made her heart heavy as she worriedly asked, “What questions are you going to ask him, QiYala?”
“Hehe,” the young girl smirked and adjusted her thick glasses proudly, “Nothing much, just some ancient texts.”
Eynid stared at her with suspicion, doubtful that her companion would really be so gentle-hearted.
Sure enough, the young girl added, “But these texts were found by a friend of my teacher from some stone slabs. To excavate those slabs, I spent a long time in the cold and boring Baltar Highlands with my teacher. He is an authority in ancient languages, but even he cannot fully recognize all the texts on those slabs. Just wait and see that guy embarrass himself.”
Eynid knew who QiYala’s teacher was and thought that if even that master could not recognize everything, it wouldn’t be shameful for the Earl not to know either. However, she did not dare to voice this thought, lest it cause QiYala to change her mind.
Outside the carriage, Brendel took the note from the servant and glanced at the ancient characters resembling tadpoles, unable to suppress a chuckle.
Wasn’t this just the content of the ancient slab?
The first clue of the War Slabs—
These slabs were clues he provided to Turiman, allowing them to be excavated ahead of time in this era. It was acceptable to ask about other things, but it was specifically the text on these slabs that caused a stir in forums and was ultimately translated by a level 16 master of ancient languages in their guild, using the scholarly artifact +3 Linguistics Necklace—he could recite it even with his eyes closed. He put down the note and without any need for additional thought told the servant in front of him:
“Tell your lady that the fragments of the firmament fell to the ground as the colossal columns collapsed, recording whispers of dust and wind—”
A few minutes later—
“QiYala, did the Earl guess it correctly?” Eynid looked at her companion with concern, having been staring at the contents of the note for quite a while.
“He didn’t guess,” the young girl dropped the line and leapt out of the carriage, pushing away the servant who came to assist her, rushing out. Brendel had not expected that the one emerging from the carriage would be such a small girl, who seemed to still be losing her baby teeth. In a classic villain’s tone, she seemed like nothing more than a naive little girl, and yet she wore thick glasses that contradicted her adorable face, frowning at him as she asked, “Hey, how did you recognize these texts?”
What happened to noble etiquette?
“This little lady, may I ask who you are?” Brendel initially felt annoyed, but realizing that a child was testing him, he chose not to get upset; he wasn’t so bored as to argue with a child.
QiYala seemed to finally realize her rudeness, but after a haughty snort, replied, “Earl Golan-Elsen is my father, Queen Anna is my aunt, and my brother is Duke Levon O’Ness of Seifer. Surely you should know who I am by now?”
What a confusing relationship, Brendel thought, taking a while to sort through it before finally asking, “Are you the representative of the Seifer family?”
“It’s the former royal family,” the young girl corrected, “but pretty much. However, I don’t want to go to the Empire. Can you persuade me?”
Truly a spoiled little girl, Brendel thought as he shook his head, “I can’t persuade you. How about you return for now? The eldest prince is a kind person; he surely won’t blame his sister.”
“Hey, you’re really strange. You even call my brother the eldest prince; you know that’s not proper, right? Aren’t you afraid that Princess Ausoor will cause trouble for you? Oh, I get it,” her eyes glinted with mischief, and she confidently replied, “You don’t even regard that little princess, do you? Why not support Brother Levon for the throne? The Corvado family has lost its sword’s favor, losing the throne makes perfect sense. History is a cycle anyway; the Seifer dynasty is due for a resurgence. Besides, my brother is way better than your princess. That little princess only knows how to calculate how to sell herself for a good price and marry a suitable husband to revitalize the Corvado royal family. It’s so superficial. The resurgence of a nation cannot revolve around just one family—what do you say? I guarantee that in the future, you won’t just be the Earl; people will call you Duke!”
If anyone else had spoken such words to Brendel, he would have assuredly knocked them to the ground; but hearing it from this baby-faced little girl, he could only laugh and cry. This little one hadn’t even fully changed her teeth yet, yet she spoke as if she were a little princess. It was comical how she referred to Grifian as a child despite being seventeen herself.
“Miss, if you don’t want to go to the Empire, I can help you write a letter stating you are unwell. As for everything else, I have no interest in discussing it.” Brendel was forced to reply.
However, the young girl appeared ungrateful and shook her head, “I am very well; I don’t need you to write any proof for me. Besides, you haven’t told me how you recognized those texts. I have to figure that out.”
“Fine, as you wish,” Brendel shook his head, thinking, didn’t you say you didn’t want to go to the Empire? What kind of nonsense was this?
But QiYala seemed to read his skeptical look, lightly snorting, “Not wanting to go to the Empire is not contradictory to wanting to go to the Empire.” With that, she turned and ran back to the carriage, rudely climbing up, and gestured with her hands and feet. She loudly declared to the Countess, who was lost in thought, “Eynid, I’ve changed my mind. I want to go to the Empire now. You can go back by yourself.”
“No need, QiYala. I’ll, I’ll accompany you,” the Countess said, nearly in tears. When did she ever say she wanted to return? Nevertheless, QiYala’s words eased her heart—thankfully, she wouldn’t have to go home to be confined. Though she didn’t know why this young lady would change her mind, the Countess couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable fondness for the Earl of Toniger whom she had never met.
Thank goodness for Martha; she secretly made a mark of the deity on her chest.
…
After QiYala and the Countess rejoined the group, everyone who had been traveling for days enjoyed a rare night of peaceful sleep at the inn. Although the city was in an uproar due to the incident involving the Count of the Subdistrict and the thieves, it hardly concerned them. Though the guards seemed keen to round up all wealthy merchants in the city and label them as accomplices, and confiscate their properties, they didn’t dare to provoke this formidable entourage.
The embassy stayed in Tisco Castle for half a day and a night before setting out early the next day. Reportedly, even by the end, the Count of the Subdistrict could not find the elusive thief, so tales of a ghostly nightingale circulated for a long time in the Gray Mountain region. Initially, the image of this nightingale resembled a deity from above; later, it somehow became linked with the Earl of Toniger. Some even vowed they had seen the Earl stealing from the Count, as if Brendel were standing by during the act. Over time, the image of the nightingale gradually morphed into that of a wise and clever little girl, but regardless of the form, their deeds were all about robbing the rich to help the poor, as if the thieves of history always found themselves with no more meaningful tasks to do, regardless of whether they were well-fed.
As for the treasures lost by the Count of the Subdistrict, opinions varied widely; some claimed it was a ton of gold, others a fist-sized diamond, with more embellished tales suggesting it was evidence of treason against the Kingdom. Most of those harboring such malicious thoughts likely had grievances with the Count. However, a general consensus existed—these treasures would be wonderful if one could take them for oneself. It was clear that most people lacked the noble character required to become thieves.
After leaving Tisco Castle, the embassy headed north but did not enter Corvado. Instead, they crossed the boundary between Gray Mountain and the Baltar Highlands, directly facing the biting winds of the Iron Spike Mountain Road, inching day by day closer to the border of the Kingdom. Upon exiting the Gray Mountain region, there were endless mountain ranges, with no human settlements amid the vast hills. Three days later, they passed near Winter Claw Fortress, marking the farewell to the last civilized area before reaching the Empire.
Beyond that lay the untraversed snowfields, a natural forbidden zone between the Empire and the Kingdom.
Haruz shared some horrifying legends about this area, such as whispers in the wind at night being the voices of undead on the plateau, and the limping creatures from the highlands—these dreadful wolf-like beings. He and his sister had spent a considerable period at Winter Claw Fortress, and therefore were familiar with local folklore. However, such stories scared the ladies in the embassy, and for several nights, they couldn’t sleep well, making Brendel and the young prince the least welcomed guests in every carriage, which was also an unexpected misfortune for Brendel.
In the meantime, QiYala had been pestering Brendel to understand why he knew the meanings of those ancient texts. Of course, Brendel could not reveal, “If you were all cave dwellers, at least I would be a wise man from the future,” or such nonsense. However, during a coincidental conversation, when the little girl from the Seifer family asked about his mentors, he explained that he learned from the Bud people, and he unexpectedly received an effective response. After that, QiYala seemed to vanish, remaining inside her carriage with the Countess all day, and later Brendel realized she was plotting how to steal knowledge from him regarding the Bud people, a so-called truth that left him feeling like crying with laughter.
The other members of the embassy did not share the endurance of the Seifer family’s young lady. Aside from Aike and the officer from Yanira Su, most privileged noble descendants complained endlessly since entering Baltar, and one after another fell ill—the first being Mr. Afram, a plump fellow, who became ill from eating some unclean game meat—of course, he had his servant find it for him—which resulted in a bout of vomiting and diarrhea. Thankfully, there was a priest accompanying the embassy who took a couple of days to help him recover.
Next, it was the seven or eight-year-old little girl from the Golan-Elsen family who developed a high fever, causing Brendel, the leader, to play the role of a temporary nanny. While having a little girl grabbing his hand and tearfully calling him brother sounded nice, the price was that he hadn’t slept well for days.
As the embassy crossed the last peak on the Baltar border, everything seemed to quiet down.
Because everyone understood they were approaching the Black Sword Bastion.
Since the last era, that had been the gateway into the Empire, the final checkpoint at the kingdom’s north—
The majestic peaks towered between the two nations. In the southeast of the Empire lay this extensive mountain range, part of the White Mountain system, which stretches south of Saint Ausoor. At its western end, it crosses the southernmost part of the Four Realms Wilderness, where it forms a range of rolling mountains that are snow-capped all year round. In the heart of them lurked countless dark forests, a paradise for archaeologists and adventurers—the Dilurt Mountains—named after the first generation of wind sprite kings. To its west lies the renowned region of Anzeruta, and speaking of this name might still puzzle some, but it has another famous title—it is the homeland of the Highlanders, the birthplace of the Longblade Lords. To the east of the Dilurt Mountains lies the starlit Abyss Sea, with various duchies and kingdoms dotting its shores, and Antobrut is one of them.
North of it is the infamous Four Realms Wilderness, the Clover Plains, the land of the rise of Wind Sprites and Crusian, and also the place where the sacred covenant was established.
Meanwhile, the Baltar Highlands was simply a terminal point south of this famed mountain range. The mountains gradually tapered off in the direction of the Corvado Plains and together with the eastern end of the Broken Sword Mountains formed a famous pass known as the Black Sword Bastion.
On this day, the members of the embassy finally saw the so-called inconspicuous fortress positioned between two towering peaks from afar, but everyone knew that it wasn’t until they reached that fortress’s base that they would be deeply shocked by its walls rising over twenty meters—
That was the Wall of the Empire.
