At the very least, this was the first time Edwin had encountered a case where the danger level could not be assessed since he had taken over the duty. In this world, the only rifts whose danger level was unmeasurable were the four “great rifts” situated at each cardinal point.
The moment a rift of unmeasurable danger opened in the west, Edwin had gathered the majority of the domain soldiers he could muster and set out. If the unidentified rift was on par with a great rift, then even keeping their lives — let alone suppressing it — would be something he could not guarantee for himself or his soldiers.
So before the campaign, Edwin had informed the retainers at the ducal manor of this. As a precaution for the worst, he had entrusted the family ring to the former head, Katon Winter, with a word requesting that it be passed on to Million before long.
After that, Edwin and the domain soldiers set out bearing a heavy charge and arrived at the rift. In the bitter terrain, every person who laid eyes on the rift steadied themselves and prepared for a grueling battle.
But before they could even enter, they ran into an unexpected problem.
The entrance to the rift had already closed.
Because someone had gone in.
A rift is an irregular entity. When an outsider is swept into a rift, or when the first intrusion occurs, the entrance seals shut after roughly two intervals. To enter again, either the one who intruded must die, or the magical energy inside the rift must reach saturation and overflow.
Edwin surveyed the location of the great rift in the west for a moment. The rift, swollen until it stained half the sky a bloodshot red, filled his field of vision.
The great rift that had appeared a hundred years ago. Beginning as a small rift, it had grown so bloated it could now swallow an entire region whole.
Scholars who study rifts say an overflow is not far off.
That the great rift must be extinguished before then.
As if that’s even possible.
All four of the great noble houses that manage the great rifts clicked their tongues at the scholars’ words. Even marshaling every head of household and every domain soldier offered no guarantee of suppression. Several attempted suppressions had already ended in nothing but total annihilation.
A great rift was, in and of itself, all but a harbinger of ruin.
And now he was being told that this same great rift was the one Yuan had returned alive from?
Edwin brought his gaze back to the front and answered.
“That assessment itself was the error. Didn’t the rift close after Yuan returned alive? Yuan only has enough power to handle a class-3 rift. No one knows that better than I do.”
That unremarkable power was precisely why he had suffered no end of contempt and scorn from his siblings in the Brendy family. Had it not been for the family head’s fondness for him, he would not have been able to set foot in the Winter family at all. And had it not been for the debt left by Edwin’s great-great-grandfather, Edwin would not have entertained the Brendy family’s unreasonable demands — even as fellow members of the four great noble houses.
For Edwin, who guarded the west, the power of the family’s household members — and especially that of the consort — mattered. As he had no intention of producing an heir himself, it made no difference that his spouse was another man, but it was a problem that the power and experience of the person who would educate Million, the future heir, were so low.
Because frequent campaigns meant Edwin was often absent from the manor, the family’s internal affairs had to be left to the consort. He had privately hoped for someone capable of leading the retainers and educating his child, Million, in the role.
Yuan Brendy carried himself with the charisma and refinement befitting a ducal family’s heir, but his power was, as ill luck would have it, weak. This was something Edwin had confirmed firsthand through sparring with him.
The fact that someone like that had returned alive meant the danger level of the rift in question was nothing more than class-3. What a relief. And as Hakin had said, it was, at least among everything Yuan had done, something worth some consideration.
That said, it did not mean Yuan’s acting unilaterally was forgiven.
“Hakin, I know you never hold back on personal commendations and praise for the knights who’ve produced results under your instruction. But this is a separate matter. The west could have been placed in serious danger. Obstructing a suppression goes against an imperial order, and approaching a class-1 or higher rift without the lord’s authorization is also a violation of the law. Try to look at the reality of this a little more coldly.”
As if to say he already knew all of that, Hakin gave a small, dry cough and replied.
“……I may have let my instinct to reward good results get the better of me. If we add to it the fact that it has caused trouble for His Majesty, as you said, it doesn’t seem like something to pass over lightly. Even accounting for the error in the assessment, we only found that out a short while ago. Even so — for a rift that was only class-3 in the end.”
“The thought that every domain soldier waited an entire week in front of a rift like that — I can’t help but feel it was all for nothing. Let’s end this conversation here. There’s much to be done.”
The rift had dissolved, so the encampment had to be broken and the march back prepared. Having mobilized every domain soldier, even a full day wouldn’t be enough time.
On top of that, Edwin had to draft the report documents for the imperial palace. And that report would need to be fair and transparent.
Once this matter was reported to the imperial palace, Yuan would face the consequences of his conduct. It had been the late Emperor who had charged the Winter family with suppressing the west. That imperial order had been documented and carried forward to the present day, a hundred years on.
Yuan, as someone who had defied that imperial order, would have to face judgment fitting his offense. Since he had already sent a report to His Majesty a few days prior, once the documents were submitted, an investigation would be launched on that end as well.
“Either way, you’ve finally gotten the foothold you needed.”
At Hakin’s words, Edwin pulled his collar up a little higher against the cold wind and replied.
“Yes.”
The moment Yuan’s honor was forfeit, Edwin intended to dissolve the longstanding arrangement with the Brendy family that his great-great-grandfather had left behind. This had been the condition Edwin had personally set with the Brendy family’s head at the time of the engagement.
“The day you part ways with Yuan must not be far off now.”
“Are you pleased?”
“Not particularly. It was always meant to be this way.”
“Still, you must feel some relief.”
Relief.
Edwin briefly imagined a life without Yuan, then smiled faintly. Perhaps relief was the word. But if there was an emotion that would arrive before relief, it was surely something closer to regret.
He, too, would have to reflect — on having failed to properly guide Yuan as a spouse.
“On another note, Edwin. May I wear this?”
Hakin, who had been carrying Edwin’s coat the entire time, shrank against a sudden gust of cold wind as he asked. Edwin shot a glare at him — already wearing a coat thicker than his own on top of it — and snapped back.
“You dare?”
“Yes. It’s a bit cold, probably because we’re close to the north. You’re not going to wear it anyway.”
“I see you’ve gone blind to the sight of a shivering master.”
“Since when have you ever cared about things like that?”
Without waiting for permission, Hakin draped Edwin’s coat over himself. Edwin let out a sigh at his subordinate’s brazen audacity, as he always did.
Ugh. Yihyeon regained consciousness at an unfamiliar pain.
Only after waking did he realize he had lost consciousness without knowing it. Given that he had already been in a near-death state to begin with, blacking out was hardly unusual.
Where is this? Yihyeon pressed down against the splitting sensation in his head and tried to push himself upright to assess the situation. At that moment, someone fussed and stopped him in a flurry.
“You mustn’t! Your body isn’t in any condition to be moving yet!”
Yihyeon froze and looked at the person who had stopped him with a startled expression. It was a young man with short brown hair and a young, guileless-looking face. Unlike his utterly unremarkable appearance, what caught Yihyeon’s eye was what the man was wearing.
A white uniform bearing a special red insignia. The same attire as the people who had supported him right after he had crossed over through the Gate.
A medic?
The young man quickly drew his hands back from Yihyeon’s gaze and added,
“I apologize. Your injuries turned out to be more severe than expected, so it will take a little longer until you’ve fully recovered. I know it’s an inconvenience, but please try to refrain from overexerting yourself for the time being.”
Clumsy as he was, he watched anxiously once more to see if Yihyeon might try to move again, as though he was genuinely worried about Yuan’s wellbeing. Yihyeon deliberated whether to speak to him.
Is he acquainted with Yuan? If so, there was a great deal to consider — what to say first, and whether the man would notice that he wasn’t Yuan, among other things. And if he did notice — what then?
He was mulling it over through a brief silence when the man suddenly looked as though something had just struck him, and quickly bowed his head.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Yuan. I am Laurent, a 5th-rank healer. I have been assigned to attend to — that is, to look after Yuan for the time being.”
The deliberating became moot in an instant — the man was a stranger to Yuan as well. As a bonus, his position was easy enough to read from what he had just let slip.
“In other words, you’ve been tasked with looking after me.”
“Th, that’s not quite — pardon? Yuan, why are you speaking formally to me…….”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Yihyeon had no need to play the part of Yuan the way they assumed he would. Landing suddenly in an unfamiliar place far from anything he knew was something that had happened entirely without any will of his own.
He had not expected to return alive — and yet what had been thrust before him was an even harsher reality. The reality of having survived alone was already heavy enough to feel hopeless, and on top of that, he was standing in the very place Yuan should have returned to.
Would they believe him if he explained himself? Yihyeon recalled the attitude and eyes of Edwin Winter the last time he had seen him, and his expression tightened.
