Chapter 157 - ENTRANCE TO THE ROYAL CAPITAL (1)

Terms used in this chapter:

Pabalma?– Korean word for horse couriers. These horses were used in Korea’s late Joseon dynasty in order to convey urgent military information and official documents.

Carriages were driven by horses, a living animal.

For this reason, a carriage could not run for 24 hours a day. Second, the coachman would be exhausted from whipping horses that couldn’t run around the clock.

“In fact, the endurance of humans is better.”

Cordelia was sitting outside the carriage and taking a rest, and she widely opened her eyes at Jude’s words.

“Really? Isn’t that some ridiculous lie? Who are you trying to fool? I won’t be fooled. Last time, you lied about storks giving birth to babies and not eggs.”

“No, that’s the fault of the one being deceived… not. It’s my fault for deceiving you.”

“Hmph.”

“Anyway, that’s that, but this is real. Human beings may be different, but their endurance is amazing.”

When Jude spoke quite seriously, Cordelia furrowed her brows as she found it suspicious before she asked.

“Is that true?”

“It’s true this time.”

It might be an unbelievable story, but it was true.

Horses were naturally superior to humans when it came to reaching their top speed within an instant, but humans were much superior to horses in their ability to keep running while maintaining their speed.

Therefore, it would have been faster for a person to run than to ride on a horse if they were traveling for a long distance.

“Somehow, your story is becoming harder and harder to believe, okay?”

“But it’s true.”

“Then, why do we ride on horses? In the movies and dramas I watched, they always rode on horses when they want to deliver an urgent message. Yes, that’s right. It’s a fact. I’ve learned about Pabalma at school.”

Cordelia wasn’t guessing this time, because she recalled that fact from her memories and pointed it one by one with her fingers.

In historical dramas and even textbooks, the people who delivered urgent news were always riding on horses.

“That’s because of a simple and obvious reason.”

“What reason?”

“It’s hard for a person to run with their own feet.”

Running while on the back of a horse was hard, but running with one’s own feet was also hard.

As Jude had said, it was a simple and obvious reason.

“B-but when you’re in a hurry, it’s better to put aside the hard stuff and just deliver it quickly.”

“That’s right. So you have to ride a horse even more.”

“What? You just said that a person is faster earlier.”

“You can change horses in the middle of your trip.”

“Ah?!”

Cordelia’s eyes widened and she unknowingly clapped her hands.

“That’s right!”

Horses could be changed in the middle of one’s trip.

So if one had to any news to deliver urgently, they could maintain their speed by continuously changing horses.

One could ride a new horse before the horse they were riding on was exhausted and slowed down.

“Wait, then can’t everyone just do something similar to?pass the baton? It’s usually a letter or something that’s used to deliver the news.”

“That makes sense, but a horse’s speed is faster, right? If you approach it from the perspective of continuing to change horses before the horses get tired, it will seem like horses are faster than people, right?”

“Hmmm.”

He was right.

And Jude smiled at Cordelia’s reaction.

Cordelia had claimed at first that ‘horses are faster,’ and then her thinking changed towards ‘people are faster so why do you need to ride a horse?’

‘This is the foundation of persuasive speech.’

To naturally induce the other person’s thoughts to your side.

To make them affirm what they had denied without them realizing it.

“And there are times when the person itself is important, right? So it’s better to ride a horse in the end.”

“Hmm….I see.”

As Cordelia nodded, Jude smiled again and continued his words.

“A person needs to properly rest when they travel on horseback after all. People can get tired sooner than they thought.”

“Hmm, I think I understand what you mean.”

They had already done that several times when they traveled by carriage.

But it was at that moment.

Cordelia grinned at her sudden thought and looked at Jude as she said.

“In that sense, my Jude is the best ride of all because he can run all day, right?”

He was faster than a horse, and he didn’t get tired.

When they had gone back and forth in Mount Plex, Jude had run with Cordelia on his back without even taking a single break.

“Yes, you were awesome. I like it. My horse, Jude.”

Cordelia stroked his head as if praising him, Jude narrowed his eyes and said.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t given you the detonating cord yet.”

“My horse. No, Lord Jude. Are you tired? Would you like a lap pillow? Cordelia is always ready.”

When Cordelia spoke as she patted her lap, Jude smiled at her appearance and thought that making that detonating cord was a good idea.

“You look like you’re thinking of something bad.”

“You’re mistaken. I was just thinking of making something a bit better than the detonating cord.”

“That’s a great idea. I wish that it’s a bit lighter than now. I also wish that it bends better. To be honest, it looks like a wire now.”

When the topic changed to the detonating cord, Cordelia mischievously spoke at first, but she suddenly became very serious.

Not just because she found explosions to be good, but because she wanted to better utilize the detonating cord, which was a fairly practical and powerful weapon.

‘She looks like a real warrior at times like this.’

What if Cordelia was a warrior character and not a wizard?

‘Perhaps she’ll be stronger than she is now.’

In fact, she had a pretty good aptitude for martial arts. Her speed in learning the Bayer’s martial arts was also very fast.

“And I’m going to make something like dynamite… Like C4…”

“Wait, wait. Dynamite? C4?”

“Uh, is that a bit too much?”

“No, you can make it.”

“What? Really?”

Cordelia’s eyes instantly turned crazy- no, her eyes sparkled, and Jude hunched his shoulders as he spoke to her while trying to calm her down.

“No, no. I’m just saying that it’s theoretically possible. There’s time and other things…”

“But you’re saying that you can really make it, right?”

“Maybe…?”

He had in fact already made a detonating cord. C4 might be impossible for him, but it was possible for him to make something like dynamite.

“Wow! My Jude is the best! Truly the best!”

Cordelia got up from her seat and exclaimed as she hugged Jude, and everyone’s eyes gathered on them.

“Hey, hey. Cordelia. Hey!”

“Ah! You’re so?good! My Jude is so?good!”

But Cordelia didn’t see the gazes around her when she hugged Jude’s head and said that she?loved?him, and Jude shut his mouth in the midst of his embarrassment and joy.

(T/N: Pun. ‘Good’ and ‘love’ have the same Korean word. So Cordelia’s words could also be read as: ‘Ah! I love you so much! My Jude, I love you so much!’)

‘Everyone, I’m sorry.’

He could feel the knights glaring daggers at his back, but he couldn’t help it.

However, Jude’s happy moment didn’t last long because he felt a gaze that he couldn’t ignore.

“Cordelia! Cordelia!”

“Huh? Uh? Ah. Uh.”

Cordelia came to her senses and blushed when she heard the sound of someone coughing from around her. She awkwardly smiled and headed to the carriage while Jude rose from his seat and faced the approaching Sir Cornwell, whose gaze he couldn’t ignore.

“Jude Bayer. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course, Sir Cornwell.”

Jude promptly responded, and Sir Cornwell pointed with his eyes at a place far away.

“Let’s walk for a while.”

“Okay.”

Sir Cornwell who had always not left Princess Darianne’s side, led Jude to a place quite far away, perhaps because there were many knights around them now.

And so a few minutes later.

Sir Cornwell stopped walking at a place where their conversation would not be heard by others.

“Jude Bayer.”

“Yes, Sir Cornwell.”

“It’s sudden but…thank you.”

“Are you…thanking me?”

“I mean, thanks to you and Lady Cordelia, we were able to get the Seven-Colored Herb.”

All that Princess Darianne knew was the location of Arkeman’s Dungeon and the information that the Seven-Colored Herb were wildly growing at the dungeon’s deepest part.

“If it were not for you and Lady Cordelia… we wouldn’t have been able to get the Seven-Colored Herb. Even if we had obtained it, we would have suffered serious injuries.”

They were able proceed with ease because they accurately knew in advance the structure of the dungeon and the types of traps installed in it.

No matter how powerful Princess Darianne’s ability was, she couldn’t know what kind of trap awaits them.

And the chimera.

Sir Cornwell was basically a warrior, but he also had some knowledge of magic as the knight commander.

Several auxiliary magic circles were drawn in the last room where the chimera lived.

Like what Jude had said, they would have greatly failed if they had fought the chimera there.

“That is why I would like to thank you now.”

His tone was still stiff, but there was a friendliness in Sir Cornwell’s eyes that was unlike before.

His expression was more sincere than the harshness Jude had seen before in him.

‘Well, he couldn’t help it.’

He was escorting royalty and not just anyone else.

Moreover, Princess Darianne didn’t act much like a royal, either because she grew up outside the place since her childhood or because of her nature.

Even if she was with her maternal family’s knights, she was a young girl who went on a trip without a maid.

‘Escorting missions are typically a bit hard.’

Jude himself had several unpleasant memories related to escorting during his time as Kang Jin-ho.

So Jude understood Sir Cornwell’s burden and harshness.

“I merely did my duty as a noble of the S?len Kingdom.”

Sir Cornwell had a small smile again when Jude bowed and spoke politely.

“You’re truly an ideal knight. As expected of the son from the prestigious Bayer family.”

The son of Count Bayer, the Sword General.

Sir Cornwell didn’t show it much, but he actually had a fairly good impression of Count Bayer.

After all, Count Bayer was a famous swordsman who had protected the north for many years.

“As Her Highness said, we would like you to visit Duke Spencer. The duke will surely welcome you and Lady Cordelia.”

“Yes, we’ll definitely visit after dropping by the royal capital.”

Duke Spencer owned a mansion in the royal capital as he was one of the great nobles in the kingdom, but he usually stayed at his main home outside the royal capital because of his illness.

Because Jude and Cordelia had already told Princess Darianne and her group that they would go their separate ways once they had entered the royal capital.

‘That’s probably why he’s being honest to me now.’

They were going to part ways soon.

Since they would no longer be traveling together, he was genuinely treating Jude as one of the duke’s benefactors.

“And…I would like to tell your story to Rhun.”

“Are you talking about…the First Sword?”

Sir Cornwell slowly nodded at Jude asking him again.

“I haven’t seen you fight in person…but I have a good eye too. I can tell that your talent for martial arts is above average just by looking at you.”

It was actually one of the reasons why Cornwell continued to show a harsh attitude towards Jude.

‘Too strong.’

As he said himself, he did not know how good Jude’s martial arts talent was, but one fact was at least clear to him.

If Jude became an enemy, he was the only one in the group who could stop Jude.

The other knights wouldn’t be able to stop Jude.

But they were parting ways now.

So Sir Cornwell was able to see the strength of Jude in a pure manner.

“Rhun had said to me. He saw people with monstrous talents in the Empire.”

Children with monstrous talents.

They were sword monsters who were in their late teens and early twenties at most, and might be close or even at the level of the Ten Swordmasters in the next few years.

“Rhun was worried about the future after they grow up…and if they would really become monsters.”

The S?len Kingdom was a powerful country.

The Argon Empire was the country with the largest territory on the continent.

Naturally, a war between two such countries would likely be a huge fight, to the point that tens of thousands of people being mobilized would just be a trivial number.

Nevertheless, having strong knights were a way to show one’s might.

‘Because superhumans exist in Pleiades.’

The Ten Swordmasters were not military commanders.

They were tactical weapons on the battlefield.

Therefore, the existence of tactical weapons that could subdue other countries’ tactical weapons was important.

‘Maximilian and Leon.’

Perhaps they were the children in the empire that Rhun Froud, the Sword Saint of Light, was wary of.

Both were playable characters, and Maximilian was the main character born with cheat talents.

“Of course, we have many prospects in the S?len Kingdom. I’ve heard that Count Hr?svelgr’s successor is an outstanding young man. But…I still have a human heart. I can’t help but be anxious too after hearing Rhun’s story, but seeing you has made me feel relieved.”

If there was Maximilian in the empire, then there was Jude in the kingdom.

Even Jude slightly blushed at his strong comparison, and Sir Cornwell warmly smiled.

“Rhun will also be interested in hearing your story. Perhaps he’ll come to see you.”

His words were something Jude could not have imagined.

He would then have a point of contact with the First Sword Rhun Froud, the Sword Saint of Light.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“I can’t help but admit that you’re good.”

Because Jude was a truly upright young man who was born with an outstanding talent.

“I look forward to seeing you again at the duke’s estate.”

“Yes, I look forward to that day too.”

Sir Cornwell was pleased when Jude bowed again, and he patted Jude on the shoulder several times before he lightly turned around.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Sir Cornwell.”

Sir Cornwell quickly reverted to his harsh expression again because he returned to his escort duty, but Jude could see and feel that it was different from before.

***

“Orabeoni! Unnie! I’ll wait for you at the duke’s estate! You must come! By all means!”

“Yes, Your Highness. We’ll definitely visit you.”

“We’ll be there soon.”

She had already said goodbye several times, but Princess Darianne continued to wave her hands and stuck her face out of the carriage window as if she felt that it was still lacking.

Naturally, Sir Cornwell said that it was dangerous and struggled hard to stop Princess Darianne.

“It must be hard.”

“Huh? Sir Cornwell?”

“Yes, Sir Cornwell.”

Jude quietly laughed and Cordelia tilted her head once before she quickly hugged Jude’s arm and asked.

“Jude, Jude.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“What did the two of you talk about?”

“Something good.”

“Ohmigosh, was that it? Did you talk about the detonating cord?”

“…We talked about Rhun Froud.”

“The Sword Saint of Light?”

“Yes, the First Sword.”

When Jude briefly explained his conversation with Sir Cornwell, Cordelia clapped her hands.

“That’s great! It feels like the heavens are helping us, right?”

She didn’t expect the harsh Sir Cornwell to have thought of them that way.

Moreover, it was a plus for them to have Sir Cornwell connect them to Rhun Froud.

“Let’s sort it out now that we’re talking about it.”

“You mean, what we are going to do in the royal capital?”

Jude nodded at Cordelia’s question and took a deep breath.

The massacre of the royal family was one of the two events that destroyed the S?len Kingdom.

“The process itself is simple. The purpose of our enemies is to cut off the sacred blood that has been inherited by the S?len royal family. They will carry out their plan on the 300th?anniversary celebration of the founding of the country where all the royal family members will gather, so that they could kill off everyone.”

“The Devil’s Hand is the mastermind.”

“Their wish is to weaken the guardian of the royal capital through the severance of the royal family’s sacred blood.”

Deep inside the royal capital of the S?len Kingdom, there was a powerful guardian who suppressed the power of the demons.

Due to the presence of a powerful guardian who protected not only the royal capital but also the surrounding areas, the demon followers could not summon demons nor create demonic humans in the capital.

“But what they really want is not just the destruction of the guardian.”

“Claíomh Solais, the divine sword that is the main body of the guardian.”

A heavenly weapon used by the sun god Solari.

“In the game, the divine sword was stolen by the demon followers.”

“A long story unfolds for the player in order to retrieve the stolen divine sword.”

But if it didn’t get stolen from the beginning.

No, if they couldn’t do anything to the guardian itself in the first place.

“We have around a month or so before the founding ball is held.”

“We’ll be preparing in advance during that time, right?”

“That’s right, we have to make our side stand against them, and most of all, we have to make the royal family trust us.”

So that they would listen to the two when an emergency happens.

So that the two could approach and be close enough in order to protect the royal family.

“There’ll be a lot of big shots in this battle on the royal capital.”

“Because my father and your father will also be coming now.”

Count Chase and Count Bayer.

It wasn’t just the two counts.

It was an extravagant event where numerous names would appear, such as the Minister of Defense, the other Ten Swordmasters, the commanders of the Royal Guard Magic Corps, and so on.

So it would be a little different from their fight in the wild lands.

They needed a tactic to block the other side’s hand with their hand as if they were playing chess.

“Again, you’re making a wicked expression again.”

“No, it’s not? It’s an expression I have when I feel it’s fun, okay?”

At Jude’s counterargument, Cordelia clicked her tongue before she naturally got on Jude’s back.

“Anyway, let’s go. The royal capital is waiting for us.”

“We’re not looking for a carriage?”

“My horse is faster, right?”

“You’re right.”

Jude nodded his head and adjusted Cordelia’s position on his back before he flew towards a sparse forest. Even though she was his fiancée, it would be bad if a rumor spread that he ran with her on his back.

And an hour or so later.

Jude and Cordelia arrived at the south gate of the royal capital and met some familiar faces.

***

“You ran away again, again, and again!”

“Owww! U-unnie, it’s not like that!”