Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Returning to the Past (1)

 

Gasp. Gasp.

I drew in ragged breaths quickly and readjusted my stance.

The blade held in my hand had been broken in half and had long since ceased to function properly.

The stench of blood stinging the tip of my nose was already familiar, no longer providing any stimulation.

At that moment, a group of people appeared amidst the numerous corpses strewn across the Great Hall and the blood that soaked the floor.

They were knights clad from head to toe in pure white silver armor.

They were the Royal Guard, whom I had considered my reliable allies until just yesterday.

Every single one of them held their swords leveled at me, their appearance already filled with hostility.

Following behind them appeared several nobles and the culprit behind this entire situation, Duke Asus.

CLAP CLAP CLAP.

"It is truly impressive. To think you are still clinging to that pathetic life of yours."

"......Asus."

Unbeknownst to me, a raspy, boiling sound escaped my throat.

The fishy taste of blood rising up my throat from time to time seemed to represent the current state of my body.

Duke Asus brushed back his aging white hair and gave a sickening smile.

"However, it seems even the world-renowned Sword King cannot withstand numbers of this magnitude."

The Sword King.

That was the title used to refer to me, Allen Esteban, the ruler of the kingdom of knights, Esteban.

Cutting down the surging swordsmen of enemy nations, I built up my skills using their flesh and bone.

Daringly, no one on the continent could trade blows with me.

Being the Sword King of Esteban was that kind of position.

Nevertheless, one cannot stop ten hands with one hand.

This was even truer if one had been poisoned and had dealt with countless knights for several hours.

"Puhuhu. It seems you feel quite wronged."

"Why......?"

"I understand. You probably never imagined a rebellion would be staged like this."

At first, I did not believe it.

He was the most loyal of loyalists, someone who had continued to assist me from below at the recommendation of the late king. How could such a man betray me?

However, the things that emerged one after another clearly pointed to one thing.

The traces of national betrayal that had been ongoing for a long time.

-Ha.......

Even the things found in the mansion and the secret safe he had hidden were enough to make me feel hollow.......

Thus, drinking the wine my subordinate handed me to soothe my parched, angry mouth was the fatal mistake.

-What!

It was immediately after that I felt something was wrong.

Before I knew it, a dagger drawn from the embrace of the subordinate I had trusted and relied upon was aimed at me.

Countless hidden weapons flew toward my body, which had moved instinctively.

The sense of helplessness that arrived before I could even understand the rapidly changing situation made my body sluggish.

-He drank the poison! Strike him!

At the shout, close to a scream, that came from my subordinate's mouth, a tension I had never felt even while crossing numerous lines between life and death began to encroach upon my body.

I struggled to escape the traitors swarming from all directions, but even that was not easy.

In that way, the situation gradually spiraled toward catastrophe.

I do not even remember how many knights I cut down.

By the time the number passed one hundred, I had given up on counting.

Even though I knew it was becoming irreversible, I swung my sword to survive.

In the process, small sword wounds were gradually carved into my body.

It was not just sword wounds.

A pain as if being gouged out by a knife dug into my chest.

It was an emotion that had not grown dull even now, after having already cut down more than a hundred people.

SNAP.

I snapped the arrow that had pierced my shoulder.

I felt no sensation in the shoulder where blood was gushing out.

Even the palm of my hand that snapped the arrow had long since become a tattered mess.

"However, I hope you do not feel it is unfair."

"......"

"This old man made this decision for the sake of the kingdom, to carry on the will of the deceased late king."

Duke Asus, shrugging his shoulders, began to slowly approach me.

Then, he drew the sword hanging at his waist as if savoring it.

I could tell clearly even with my vision, which had turned red from flowing tears of blood.

It was the royal treasure sword that had gone missing after the late king died. Estera.

Just how did he get that.......

Duke Asus spoke to me as I panted for breath, unable to even ask.

"Ah, did you perhaps think the late king lost it?"

"......"

"That could not be. I personally took charge of this sword at the late king's request."

I was not unaware of the meaning inherent in his taunting words.

The sudden death of the late king. The missing treasure sword. And even the fact that it had appeared in his hand right now.

I gathered my body, which had reached its limit, and barely managed to open my mouth.

"You...... how dare you......"

"Hmm. Hasty guesses are not good. I was merely holding onto it for a while according to the late king's request."

"......"

"Of course, I intended to return it to you, the king, when the time was right, but I could not return the royal treasure to someone who became such a war-crazed slaughterer."

I was a war-crazed slaughterer?

You claimed it was the will of the late king who wanted to grow into a great power, saying there would be no other chance.

Was it not you who led the kingdom into war with the empire?

However, my shout never made it out of my mouth. It was because my body was sealed by the mages standing in the rear.

Asus, who had approached within close range, leaned his face in.

Then, in a small voice.

He whispered in a voice so small that the knights standing nearby could not hear.

"You stupid puppet. A son who trusted the enemy who killed his own father. Your father must be wailing in the heavens."

My vision spun due to rage and helplessness.

"Hehe, shall I tell you one last gift? That document you have been looking for since several years ago is still right there in your old office. It was quite funny to see you unable to recognize what was right under your nose."

Every time I breathed, black lumps of blood burst out as if being vomited.

Tears of blood flowed from my eyes.

COUGH.

Blood stained Asus's white uniform and fell to the ground.

However, he did not care and merely laughed.

"You put on airs and acted noble, but what is all this? Such an ugly end, it is truly pitiful."

"Kuhhh......"

"The Emperor of the Federal Empire would be truly pleased if he saw this."

I regretted it.

I should have realized it long before this happened.

No.

I had already noticed the fact that he was moving suspiciously and communicating with the empire.

Nevertheless, the reason I hesitated to execute him was solely due to the fact that he was a long-time friend of my father, the late king, and because of the sentence written in the will: "Rely on him."

"I will take the position of king. I will not say goodbye to a fool, though."

Everything is my fault.

If only I had acknowledged he was this kind of person sooner and had not acted so indecisively.

If only I had found the evidence of corruption and executed him before he noticed.

If only I had properly grasped the state of the kingdom with my own eyes and ears.

This would not have happened.

People called me a war-crazed dictator.

And this abominable Duke Asus will likely become a wise ruler who saved the people exhausted by the long war.

I could not accept the fact that the blood of my knights and myself became the foundation for the wealth and glory he would possess.

Using my last bit of strength, I twisted my body and lunged at him.

"I will...... kill...... you......"

STAB.

"Tsk. Ugly until the very end."

Estera pierced through my heart.

Only then did I feel the daggers that had been gouging my chest disappear.

To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that all sensations were fading away.

THUD.

Dust flew and my vision was obscured.

My eyes, which I could not close, were wide open.

Even until that moment, he was laughing.

I will kill you.

I will surely kill you.

If there is a hell, I will kill you a hundred, a thousand times.

I clutched the last thread of consciousness and screamed.

Please give me one last chance to take revenge.

Let me strike the neck of that treacherous bastard so I can atone to the knights who threw themselves away for me.

In that way, I will no longer repeat those foolish actions of being swayed by my surroundings back then.

I prayed desperately, thinking of the existence of a God I had never believed in during my life.

When I thought that, I felt my consciousness, which was about to scatter, return clearly.

***

"......Therefore, I have found a candidate for an attendant suitable for Your Highness."

I saw a familiar ceiling.

A chandelier that dazzled the eyes. A statue of a knight decorated with brilliant five-colored jewels.

Approximately 20 years ago.

It was the office I used during the time I was still a prince.

The statue, which I surely must have smashed with my own hands in a fit of rage at some point, was also maintaining its intact form.

Is it a dream?

Was everything that happened just now a dream?

No. That is absolutely impossible.

I definitely died.

Because the situation turned so urgently, I do not remember it well, but I am certain of that one thing.

It was engraved so clearly in my mind that it still makes my blood boil even now.

Then is this the afterlife?

I could not believe it, but that was a possibility.

Did an afterlife really exist?

If I had known it would be like this, I would have believed in a religion sooner.......

I rolled my eyes to grasp the situation.

At that moment, a voice that was not unfamiliar reached my ears from the front.

It was a voice so disgusting I could never forget it.

"First Prince?"

I turned my gaze toward the direction where the sound came from.

There, I saw Duke Asus, whom I could not even satisfy myself by tearing to death.

To be precise, it was Asus from the time he was a Count, with fewer wrinkles and still maintaining patches of blonde hair.

"Are you listening? May I continue?"

"......Uh. Yeah, keep going."

Was it because I had experienced a great ordeal? It felt as if my personality had turned cold.

Duke Asus. No, the Count tilted his head for a moment, feeling a sense of incongruity, and then continued speaking while holding a report.

"The candidate for the attendant is a top graduate of the Academy......"

Using the disgusting voice of Count Asus as background music, I looked around.

My hands, which were rough but still tender.

The interior decor that felt thick with nostalgia.

Even that bastard who seemed to have grown 20 years younger.

It is certain.

This space right now was a place that had gone back 20 years in time.

I declare that the current situation was even more absurd than when the bastard staged the rebellion.

It would be absurd even if what happened just now was a dream, and even more so if it was the afterlife.

What was certain was the fact that Count Asus, seen before my eyes, was the clue to this current situation.

I spoke while crossing my legs.

"By any chance, is that attendant's name Njord Richard?"

"......Yes? How did you know?"

"Oho."

I nodded my head and continued speaking.

"And Njord Richard would be a child who grew up in an orphanage that you...... no, that you sponsor?"

"Um. That is correct. Did I perhaps mention this to you before?"

"There is no way."

It is an interesting situation.

If this is the case, the third hypothesis gains strength.

I waved my hand dismissively and leaned back in my chair.

"Keep talking."

"Yes, I understand. Njord also served as an attendant to Viscount Herg and......"

He probably entered the imperial palace after receiving a letter of recommendation from the Viscount.

"He is currently affiliated with the royal palace administration through Viscount Herg's recommendation."

And he probably proved his ability through three years of practical work.

"Furthermore, he has proven his ability over a period of three years and......"

The words the bastard was about to say rose up in my mind.

There was no need to listen further.

Because Njord Richard was the attendant he had recommended to me 20 years ago.

And I accepted it.

Thinking about it now, Njord Richard was the eye that Count Asus had attached to monitor me.

He even reached the point of reporting every single one of my actions in detail at the very end.

Was the me of the past, who knew that and yet overlooked it, a complete idiot?

A hollow laugh came out, and a smile formed naturally.

But it did not matter.

At least not anymore.

This is interesting.

Truly absurdly, it seemed I had returned to the past.

And by a long period of 20 years at that.

Just how was such a thing possible?

Furthermore, I could not even guess the cause.

I had no intention of saying something stupid like it not feeling real at this point.

However, I was simply flustered by the sudden situation.

I stood up from my seat and muttered slowly.

"Count Asus."

"Therefore, Njord Richard is...... yes? Yes, Your Highness."

"If you could go back 20 years, what would you want to do?"

At my out-of-the-blue question, Count Asus spoke with a puzzled expression.

However, in that fleeting moment. I did not miss his eyebrows twitching.

"What is the reason you are suddenly asking such a thing?"

"Speak."

"Hmm. If that is the case, I would like to receive a knight's oath from the King."

Ah, did he say he gave up the knight's oath and inherited the family?

To think he wants to receive a knight's oath now. It seems he is saying such things to look good to me in his own way.

Quite touching.

Well, if it were the me of the past, I certainly would have been moved by those words that seemed to consider the royal family, but at least not now.

"Is that so?"

I drew an ceremonial sword that was decorating the wall.

Then, I slowly approached Count Asus and placed it on his shoulder.

"T-That, could it be?"

A royal courtesy.

By bringing it to the shoulder once and the head once, one is appointed as a Royal Honorary Knight.

A sublime ceremony that only the King, or the person who will ascend to the throne, can perform just once.

And this was more glorious than any title for a noble.

Count Asus's expression turned bright.

"Thank you!"

And I replied to the Count, who was overcome with emotion.

"Indeed. You should be thankful."

SHINK.

"KYAAAAAH!"

Asus's head flew into the air.

A fountain of blood erupted from the bastard's body, which had lost its owner, staining the office red.

At the same time, a loud scream burst from the mouth of the maid who was waiting on the side.

Inside the office filled with the familiar stench of blood.

I muttered while kicking the head of Count Asus, which was rolling around with an still-bright expression.

"Good riddance. You piece of shit."