The Master of the Brave - Chapter 150
The Master of the Brave
Chapter 150. Epilogue
In the northwestern district of the imperial city Simurgh. The streets were paved with cobblestones, flowerbeds had been built on the sides of the roads, and trees had been planted along the streets. And on the corner where the residences of the nobles who stayed in the imperial capital were lined up, was the residence of Duke Mavis. It was a grand mansion compared to those in the surrounding area, befitting the title of duke.
The flowerbeds were full of seasonal flowers, the trees and plants had been trimmed by first-rate gardeners, and the birds chirped with a fresh sound that soothed the hearts of those who visited the duke’s residence. So it should have been, but in one corner of the magnificent garden, the calm and serene atmosphere of the four corners of the garden was filled with a tremendous tension that was not befitting the place. The source of the tension came from Wynn. He was even more tense than before Noale, the God of Destruction. And no wonder. The person sitting across from Wynn. The man who raised a cup of tea to his mouth with an elegant gesture was named Lektor von Mavis. He was the head of the Mavis Ducal House. In other words, Leticia’s father.
“I’m sorry to have called you at such short notice, as you are busy with your new mission. I really wanted to meet you in person.”
“Yes, no, I’m the one who regrets not trying to say hello sooner.”
“That can’t be helped. After all, my daughter hates this house. That child… even if she’s in the Imperial Capital, she never comes home.”
“Oh, no, that’s…”
When Lektor clicked his tongue in annoyance, Wynn didn’t know what to reply.
“She’s grown up to be an incredibly stubborn girl, despite being called a noble lady. Isn’t she giving you a lot of trouble too?”
“No, not at all. Letty… she’s always been a great help to me. And it’s probably my fault she grew up with the attitude she has now.”
After meeting Wynn as a child, Leticia had always been away from home. Which resulted in her having neglected her studies of noble manners, etiquette and culture. It was hard to say that Wynn, who had caused Leticia to be more willing to leave the house, had nothing to do with her current character. And Lektor did not deny such words of Wynn.
“Certainly.” He laughed as he said it, “But it seems that, having met you, Leticia has acquired something more important than culture and manners. I’m not just talking about the power and prestige of being the Brave. I’m talking about what is important to a woman. If Leticia had not met you and I had raised her as expected, she would never have been known as the Brave.”
Then Lektor muttered under his breath.
And as a woman, she could not have grown up to be so beautiful and delicate.
“I think the girl has grown so much because you became her master and guided her.”
“I… I didn’t do anything. I think Letty originally had a great latent talent, but no one knew how to develop it, and then she met me and found a way to exploit it.”
“That may be so. But, even so, I still believe that the Leticia of today is here because she met you. Thank you very much.” Lektor said, and bowed to Wynn. He believed it was because she had met him that Leticia was who she was today.
“Please raise your head, your excellency. The eyes of the servants are upon you.”
“His majesty told you that you are a Hero on a par with the kings and priests of the world, did he not? There is nothing strange in a duke bowing down. Besides, the people left in the mansion are all trustworthy people who did not take sides with either Stacia or Rails. There are no undesirables leaking what they see or hear here to the outside world.”
“Father.” Then Leticia came in. She was wearing a light blue dress that revealed her white shoulders brazenly. “What are you doing with my master…?”
“No, no! Don’t hurry, Letty!”
Seeing Wynn’s anxiety, Leticia must have thought her father had said something sarcastic or something. Wynn hurriedly stopped her when he saw the hostile intent in Leticia’s eyes as she looked at Lektor.
“Huh?” When Wynn rushed to restrain her, Leticia gave him a puzzled look.
“It so happens that your father said something to me that surprised me. It’s not what you think is going on.”
“I see. That’s good…” Despite Wynn’s interjection, Leticia was still looking at Lektor with a suspicious face.
Lektor watched them amusedly interacting with each other.
“Hmm. I never thought to hear Leticia calming down so easily… What the rumors say must be true, that having you in control is the same as having control of the Brave.”
However, now Wynn was also called “The one who has reached the realm of the gods”, and had been officially granted the title of Sword Crafter by the joint recommendation of Leticia, the Sword Saint Raul Orto Lyon, and the Emperor of the Lemmrousell Empire, Alexei Lau Root Lemmrousell. Wynn himself had become a high-risk and dangerous gamble for any other country trying to get Wynn for his power over the Brave. Now, thanks to Raul, who actively promoted Wynn’s activities not only within the empire, Wynn had begun to be called a known Hero even in other countries. But the result. Wynn was forced to make a decision. The Brave Leticia von Mavis and the Sword Crafter Wynn Bird. The power of the Brave and her master were enough to make other countries feel threatened. Wynn had to give up his knighthood. But, even though he had to give up being the knight he had always dreamed of being, he didn’t feel too bad about it. It was because he realized that what he really wanted to protect as a knight… was what was always by his side.
“I would have liked to invite you to dinner if possible.”
“If it’s an invitation from His Excellency the Duke, I would definitely say yes…”
“Hahaha, don’t worry about it. That’s a formal attire, isn’t it? If you have an appointment with the Emperor, it’s only natural to prioritize that.”
In fact, Wynn and Leticia were supposed to go to the Imperial Palace after this. After leaving the Squire Corps, Wynn was to be at the disposal of the Empire as a bureaucrat. Alexei wanted to make the appointment himself, so Wynn put on his ceremonial attire and headed for the Imperial Palace. When Lektor heard about this, he asked Leticia to bring Wynn here before going to the Imperial Palace. It was not always easy for Leticia to obey what Lektor told her, but she obeyed his order and brought Wynn to Duke Mavis’ residence before the meeting time. It was possible that Leticia had noticed Lektor’s change of heart. In the past, her father had been negative toward the relationship between Wynn and Leticia. The difference in status between the daughter of a duke and a commoner was as great as heaven and earth. He thought he and Leticia would never be happy. But Wynn, then no more than a knight candidate, rose through the ranks at a speed that surprised even Lektor. He began serving the empire’s first princess, became well-liked by the crown prince and had an audience with the emperor. He also maintained a close relationship with the royal families of other countries. Not many people, even among the great aristocrats, had such a wide network of contacts. Wynn, by his own account, had earned the right to be at Leticia’s side.
“By the way, Wynn-kun. I heard that your knight sword was shattered in the battle with the God of Destruction, what will you do now that you don’t have it?”
“I’m currently using the dagger Letty gave me earlier. I’ll be retiring from the squire corps soon, so I thought it wouldn’t be so easy for me to get a knight sword anymore… And now that I think about it, this dagger proves that Letty has a right to the throne. Do you mind if I use it?”
“No, it’s all right.”
“Yes, it’s mine, so you can use it.”
“Oh, and in fact, I have a gift for you, a thank-you gift.
“A gift?”
“Just a minute. Could you excuse me for a minute?”
“No problem. There’s still plenty of time for me to meet with His Highness.”
He was supposed to meet Cornelia at the Imperial Palace. After receiving Alexei’s letter of appointment, the three of them were to have tea together.
“I see that… the princess will also go with you today. Then that means I must deliver it to you today…” Lektor muttered under his breath, and hurried back to the main residence. In his hand he brought a sword.
“Father… isn’t that sword…!?”
Leticia’s eyes widened when she saw the sword in Lektor’s hand. Then she looked at her father’s face, but Lektor ignored her and held out the sword to Wynn.
“This is the sword. I’d like you to have it.”
“This is… Can I try to unsheathe it?”
Seeing Lektor nod, Wynn drew the sword. It was as polished as a mirror, and there was not a single sign of damage to the blade. Even the untrained eye could tell it was a masterpiece. And the intricate patterns on the scabbard, hilt and edge looked familiar to Wynn.
“Have you noticed it yet? It’s the other part of the dagger Leticia gave you. The longsword and the dagger are two swords given to me by the Emperor. If you’re going to use the dagger, you can keep this one too.”
“Are you sure about this, father? Are you really going to give that sword to my master…?”
“Yes, he’s the man you chose, isn’t he? I’m sure of what I’m doing. This sword is a precious treasure for my family, the Mavis family, but I’m giving it to you. Take good care of it.”
“Thank you, Father!”
“Thank you very much. I will take good care of it.”
“Uh-hum.”
Wynn happily held the blade up to the sunlight and looked at it. Leticia looked at him happily, her cheeks tinged with red.
“By the way, Wynn-kun, I heard today was the naming ceremony, what position will you have?”
“I will be the acting lord of a newly created village that is to be taken over by Her Highness Cornelia.”
The new village was the former site of the village where Liesbert and the other elves lived. In that village there was a World Tree Sapling, the most important tree for the elves. However, the village was destroyed by the demons, and the sapling withered under their power. So Liesbert, who had gone to Elnasa, the capital of the World Tree, returned with Seri when they got a World Tree sapling seed in order to restore the village. Originally, it was the elves who cared for the sapling, but they did not have enough manpower to build a new village to care for it. So, the elves negotiated with the Lemmrousell Empire to take care of the future sapling. The Empire recruited immigrants to build a village there. And since the World Tree Saplings had the power to act as catalysts for powerful magic, it was decided that the new village would be under the direct control of the imperial family. As a result, Cornelia became the mistress of the village and Wynn was appointed her deputy. Alfred’s idea was that, although he could no longer hold the military rank of knight, as the lord’s deputy he could be excused to other countries as a civil servant.
“I’m the acting lord of a pioneer village, and I know someone who runs a farm, so I thought I’d learn a few things for us to farm the fields.”
“I see. If you are to serve as acting lord, does that mean you will be granted the rank of nobleman?”
“No, I haven’t heard anything about that from Alfred-sama. However, if you are the acting lord of a territory under the direct control of the imperial family, you need to go through an appointment ceremony from His Majesty the Emperor, so it has been decided that I will visit the imperial palace today.”
“I see. But the white ceremonial uniform you are wearing now, is it an appropriation of the ceremonial uniform of the squire corps?”
“Yes, I heard that the color of the squires’ uniform was going to be changed, so His Highness Alfred laughed and said I could wear it with a little modification.” Wynn looked at his attire and nodded.
“The new squire uniform will be purple, right?”
“Yes, yes. When I told the captain I was going to wear the squadron uniforms, he laughed, saying that His Highness was a stingy person in strange ways. He doesn’t hesitate to express his thoughts even when it comes to the royal family.”
“Yeah…”
Wynn laughed in amazement as he said this. On the other hand, Leticia had a subtle expression on her face.
Wynn doesn’t seem to notice it, but Leticia seems to. Indeed, Leticia is a woman.
White ceremonial attire was originally a color allowed only for the royal family. For a time, as an exception, the imperial squires were allowed to wear white uniforms, but when those squires also changed the color of their uniforms, the imperial family and Wynn were the only ones in the empire allowed to wear white. In other words, Emperor Alexei and Crown Prince Alfred had made it known both at home and abroad that they would welcome Wynn into the royal family as Cornelia’s consort.
“Oh, Onii-chan. We should go to the imperial palace soon…”
“You’re right. I’m sure Cornelia-san will be waiting. I’ll be going now.”
“Oh, please feel free to come visit me again. If you do, my daughter, who never comes home, will show her face again.”
“Father!”
“Yes, I will come again.”
The two bowed slightly to the guard at the gate, who bowed reverently, and departed, leaving Lektor to watch them go. He was surprised to see his eyes burn a little when he saw that Wynn was carrying the jeweled sword he had presented to him. He then spun on his heels and headed for the main residence, his shoulders shaking as he couldn’t suppress the laughter that bubbled up in him. At the sight of him, one of the servants looked at Lektor with a shocked expression on his face, but Lektor paid no attention to him and headed for his room.
Normally, when one visited the imperial palace, one left one’s weapons with the guards. But Wynn and Leticia would be allowed to carry swords. And at the investiture ceremony, the emperor and crown prince would notice Wynn’s new sword. This was because the sword belonged to a pair that granted the right of succession to the throne that the emperor gave Leticia when she was born, that is, it was a sword that was to be given to the person who would be Leticia’s mate. And now that Rails and Stacia, who sided with Prince Neumann, had forfeited the right to inherit the throne and the duchy, and were awaiting their punishment, they would know that Lektor had recognized Wynn as heir to the Duchy Mavis as Leticia’s consort.
He wondered what kind of expression would appear on the faces of those two when they realized this. And when Wynn also realized the significance of the sword and the ceremonial attire, how would he react and what would he choose? He couldn’t help but long to know.
There is always the option of keeping both of them, keep that in mind.
An imperial princess and a duke’s daughter. The two highest ranking noblewomen in the empire, Wynn was qualified to love those two flowers. That’s what Lektor now believed. And perhaps the Emperor and the Crown Prince would think the same.
Well, it is he who will make the choice. As long as he makes the right choice, that’s all that matters. Lektor returned to his room with these thoughts, confident that Wynn would take the means to make everyone happy.
—Fin.
Author’s Note: This is the end! Thank you so much for reading this far!
Translator’s note: We finished the novel. 5 years and a bit since I started reading, even more the ones of who started reading before I pick it up the english translation, and at some point I thought I would never see the end of it. It’s not the perfect novel, it has a few plot holes, and it was even frustrating at times, but I, as I hope you would, enjoyed it from beginning to end. Without further ado, I’ll say goodbye for now. –Frizcop.
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