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Translator: M.S
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Diary of Knight Balseon
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#1 The Diary of Knight Balseon
[Continental Calendar 1337. March 11] The sky is burning.
It has fallen.
Vanroah, the Knight Kingdom with 500 years of history.
I failed to protect it.
The capital is burning,
His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen, and His Highness the Crown Prince have all passed.
Unable to even die, I barely escaped, holding only His Highness the Second Prince.
When we reached the prearranged escape route, the last remaining young lords and ladies of the ducal, marquis, and county houses were gathered there. About twenty knights from their respective houses, soaked in blood, stood guard around them.
They were all so young.
Mostly between three and eight years old. The oldest among them were twelve, thirteen.
Including His Highness the Prince, the sixteen boys and girls were pale and couldn't even cry, likely from the horrors they had witnessed.
Of all days, today was His Highness the Second Prince's thirteenth birthday.
His Highness, who had witnessed the deaths of his parents and brother with his own eyes, said nothing, only gazing up at the burning sky.
[Continental Calendar 1337. April 1] A storm is raging.
We succeeded in crossing the Roxium border and smuggling ourselves out.
We are now leaving Gloryland, bound for Roverland.
A lawless land where criminals and fugitives from all over the world gather.
A continent ruled by robber barons who know no honor.
Such a place will, ironically, be safer for us.
A storm rages outside, and the ship's hold creaks.
Beneath a dim lantern, small shoulders huddle together.
Second Prince Lansen, now the sole legitimate heir.
And the last heirs of two ducal houses, three marquis houses, and five county houses.
We must protect them.
Even if nothing but dishonor and misery awaits us.
(Ink heavily smudged)
…My stomach is unsettled from the internal injuries I sustained while escaping the palace.
[Continental Calendar 1337. August 23] It is raining.
Two months have already passed since we arrived in Kushan City, ruled by Count Ksias.
Many knights died on the way here, and now only twelve of us, including myself, survive.
We are living in hiding within abandoned ruins.
To avoid any potential pursuit by the Empire, we chose this den of beggars.
It was an environment utterly unfit for our noble charges, but perhaps because they are still young, the young lords and ladies adapted quickly.
The city's vagrants and young orphans who originally lived in these ruins.
They even got along well with the orphans, running and playing together.
The knights took up manual labor to earn a living, but four or five always remained behind to stand guard.
"Knight Balseon... is this truly all right? For our noble charges to be in a place like this..."
I shared the same sentiment as the knights who asked, but I reassured them. We must lie low until we feel safe.
His Highness the Second Prince.
And the young lords and ladies of similar age trained constantly in swordsmanship.
The knights of each house served as their instructors.
Unless the younger lords and ladies were pestering them to play, they were always swinging their wooden swords.
When night falls, our noble charges embrace and comfort one another as they fall asleep.
Watching them, a wave of emotion rushes over me.
I have never wanted to protect someone so desperately.
However,
The internal injuries I sustained are not healing.
I am growing weaker.
That fact frightens me.
[Continental Calendar 1337. December 1] Snow is falling.
His Highness the Second Prince has sorted out our titles.
Until now, we had secretly whispered "Your Highness" and "Young Count," but the prince's reasoning was that we couldn't live like that forever.
"Uncle Balseon. I'll call you that from now on. You should call me by my name, too. Lansen. Just like that. And drop the formalities."
"How could I..."
"Come now. Try it."
The knights, including myself, struggled to utter the two syllables: Lansen.
"Good. You all, too. From now on, call me your older brother. I'll think of you as my younger siblings."
The young lords and ladies found it difficult at first, but they soon began calling out, "Brother Lansen!"
His Highness... no, Lansen, insisted that we stick to these new titles, so from now on, I suppose I must write 'Lansen' in my diary as well.
To be honest, I was deeply moved.
So wise, despite his youth.
His swordsmanship is also improving by leaps and bounds.
Fortunately, as the former captain of the Royal Guard, I have mastered all the secret sword arts of the royal family... The sword of Vanroah will not be lost; it will be passed on.
Though my internal injuries have set, reducing me from the peak of an Expert to wielding only the Aura of a low-level Expert... I will do whatever I can.
[Continental Calendar 1339. May 27] Clear and pleasant.
Nearly two years have passed since we began living here.
We who were once knights have now grown more accustomed to being called "uncles."
Lansen and the other children got along so well that anyone would think they were true siblings.
Lansen also took in the orphan children he'd befriended, making them part of our family.
We "uncles" followed his lead.
Yes. We can raise these orphans to be knights, to protect our noble charges.
Lansen swung his sword, come rain or snow.
His sword is already imbued with Aura.
At fifteen, to be on the cusp of a mid-level Expert...
He was a prodigy, the likes of which were rare even in Vanroah, renowned as the Knight Kingdom.
Lansen is our hope, our pride, and our honor.
[Continental Calendar 1341. August 1] The cicadas are deafening.
Lansen said.
"By now, we can assume the Empire can no longer find us."
He had a plan.
He said we should put an end to our life of manual labor.
He declared with conviction that it was time to build our power.
To become vassals of this city's ruler, Count Ksias.
"As for personnel, myself, Roy, Aihas, Ilia, and Jerona. And about ten of you uncles should be enough."
To write their proper titles for the first time in a while,
That would be Young Duke Roy, who is seventeen like His Highness Prince Lansen. And Young Marquis Aihas, Young Count Ilia, and Young Count Jerona, who are sixteen.
"Uncle Balseon and Uncle Ipsen will stay behind and protect the children."
Lansen led a group of fourteen to the count's manor.
When he returned, his face was bright.
"The Ilneon Family is now an organization under Count Ksias. Let's try to live a little more comfortably from now on."
The ruins we live in were called the Ilneon Dungeon. That's why we are the Ilneon Family.
It felt like things were finally falling into place.
Lansen's swordsmanship has already surpassed mid-level Expert and is approaching high-level Expert.
Sword Aura.
His sword was fully imbued with a blue-black Aura.
Blue-black,
The signature color of Iron Heart, the secret art of the Vanroah royal family.
Seeing that beautiful light bloom once more, I find myself choking up for no reason.
[Continental Calendar 1341. November 28] It grew cold overnight.
The missions from Count Ksias mainly involved subjugating demonic beasts or killing people.
It seemed he sometimes ordered dishonorable tasks, but Lansen paid it no mind.
He always emphasized that our family was what mattered most.
Thanks to him, our circumstances improved day by day.
Each time Lansen successfully completed a job, the count would hand over a profitable business or grant us the right to collect taxes in a prime location.
We decided to build a new manor next to the ruins.
Perhaps due to the constant real-world combat, Lansen's swordsmanship is developing at a dazzling pace.
He is seventeen years old.
Already a high-level Expert.
[Continental Calendar 1344. March 11] The wind carries the scent of spring.
Lansen is a genius.
Perhaps the greatest genius in the history of the Vanroah Kingdom?
Lansen's twentieth birthday.
Aura Threads rose from his sword.
The Aura emanating from his sword stretched out like long, shimmering threads.
Proof that he had reached the peak of a Sword Expert.
To think that at the tender age of twenty, he has reached a level that I, once called a prodigy myself, did not achieve until I was nearly thirty...
I don't know how to describe this overwhelming feeling.
[Continental Calendar 1348. May 12] The scent of flowers is in the air.
Today, I saw it.
The Aura Blade that erupted from Lansen's sword.
A storm arose in the wake of its powerful presence.
There is no doubt.
He has become a Sword Master.
At only twenty-four years of age.
This is on a completely different level from reaching the peak of an Expert.
A monumental leap that should be called an 'evolution' rather than an achievement.
Take me, for instance. I reached the peak of an Expert at twenty-nine, but even now at forty-five, I have not surpassed the wall of the Sword Master.
Is it not the curse of the peak Expert that so many knights called geniuses never escape it before they die?
And yet, he is a Sword Master.
Even in the Vanroah Kingdom, which teemed with brilliant knights, there were only four Sword Masters.
A realm that only a handful of chosen, true geniuses among the star-bright talents can reach.
The mark of a great knight.
The martial might to become the hegemon of a region single-handedly.
This was the last ember of the Vanroah Kingdom, finally kindled after years of disgrace and perseverance.
Lansen said.
"We can start over. Uncle Balseon. No... Knight Balseon."
It was the first genuine, relieved smile I had seen from him since the day the kingdom burned.
Yes.
He will reach it.
Beyond Sword Master, to the supreme realm of Grand Master.
When that day comes, I will be able to proudly call Lansen... His Highness the Prince again, no, His Majesty the King.
[Continental Calendar 1348. June 1] Overcast.
Something is wrong.
It was just after Lansen left on Count Ksias's orders to subjugate demonic beasts.
Ksias's men stormed the manor and took all the children.
Weakened as I was, there was nothing I could do.
This is ominous.
They called it 'an invitation from the count,' but it felt endlessly ominous.
Damn it. We were just about to liquidate our assets and leave Kushan City. Did he figure it out?
Even so, we served him loyally for over a decade. Surely not...
It is my fault.
It is my fault.
Should I have resisted, even if it meant shattering my Aura Core?
[Continental Calendar 1348. June 5] It is raining.
The children who were supposedly invited to the count's manor have yet to return.
Upon returning from the subjugation, Lansen heard what had happened and immediately headed for the count's manor.
When he returned, his face was dark.
I asked him what had happened, but Lansen did not answer.
Roy, who had gone with Lansen, told me.
That Lansen had received a mission from Count Ksias.
A mission to kill the Blood Count, Delkashu...
Ksias, that son of a bitch.
The children were hostages.
To ensure he couldn't refuse this suicide mission.
[Continental Calendar 1348. June 6, Dawn] The rain is still falling.
Kashu City, ruled by the Blood Count Delkashu, lies to the east of our own Kushan City.
Because their various interests overlapped and clashed, Ksias and Delkashu were always bitter rivals.
The problem is Count Delkashu's military might.
Count Ksias was a Sword Master renowned throughout Roverland, but Count Delkashu was no less formidable.
He was a powerful vampire of pure blood, with a host of vampire kin, all high-level Sword Experts or greater, under his command.
This must have been the reason.
Why Lansen tried to leave secretly at dawn, without telling anyone.
He intended to risk his life alone.
Fortunately, we were not so oblivious.
We were all awake and caught Lansen at the manor's entrance.
I argued passionately, trying to stop him.
"It is too dangerous. You must not go. Your Highness's life is more important than all of ours combined."
But Lansen shook his head.
"Without my siblings, I have no reason to live. And right now, they are in Count Ksias's hands."
There was an argument, but in the end, it was decided that fourteen people would go with Lansen.
Only two of the knights were left behind.
Useless me. And Knight Ipsen, who was relatively young.
"If we don't return, Uncle Balseon... no, Knight Balseon. You have to take care of the others. But don't worry. All we have to do is win and come back. Then everything will return to its rightful place."
His Highness gave his usual confident smile.
I wanted to believe in that smile.
Oh, heavens.
Please protect His Highness Prince Lansen, Young Duke Roy, Young Marquis Aihas, Young Count Ilia, and Young Count Jerona.
And if you have any mercy to spare, please watch over my longtime comrades as well...
[Continental Calendar 1348. June 8] Cruelly, the stars twinkle in the sky.
I could not bear it any longer.
I decided to disobey my orders.
I rode through the night and arrived at Kashu City.
I drew my sword and cut down the enemy soldiers who blocked my path.
My already deeply injured Aura Core began to shatter, but I only squeezed it harder.
When I finally reached Count Delkashu's office, it was a hellscape.
Blood. Everywhere I looked, there was red blood.
Familiar people lay in pieces on the red floor.
The Young Duke, the Young Marquis, the Young Counts... Not a single one of them had closed their eyes, submerged in pools of blood.
The same was true for my fellow knights, who had served with such loyalty until this very day.
Count Delkashu was also dead, his eyes wide open, but I barely registered it.
I saw His Highness Prince Lansen, leaning against a wall, breathing raggedly.
His right wrist was gone,
And his left leg was crushed from the shin down.
His Aura Core must have been fractured as well. The Aura that had always flowed so robustly was now terrifyingly faint.
His Highness's eyes, as they looked at me, seemed utterly empty.
"It's over, Balseon..."
At the sound of his voice, my spirit shattered.
What was over?
The dream of continuing the lineage of the Vanroah Kingdom?
The promise to live happily, no matter what?
Our pride and our hope... was all of it... really over, just like this?
I lifted the unconscious prince onto my back and escaped Kashu City.
It reminded me of that day eleven years ago, when we fled the kingdom, and tears of blood streamed down my face again.
By the time I reached Kushan City, my precarious Aura Core had completely shattered and dispersed.
I am now completely useless.
[Continental Calendar 1351. February 25] It is still cold.
Knight Ipsen is dead.
And so, I am the only knight left—a useless one.
The ruffians of Kushan City constantly stir up trouble, trying to steal what few businesses we have left.
Count Ksias merely watches from the sidelines, or perhaps even encourages it.
Lansen has been the same ever since that day.
He has given up, and given up again.
He told me not to even dream of avenging Knight Ipsen.
Just protecting our family.
That is the only thing he lives for.
When I look into his eyes, they seem completely empty.
Every day is a repetition of loss.
[Continental Calendar 1351. April 6] The flowers are blooming again.
What on earth happened today?
A miracle?
Yes.
A miracle has come to His Highness Prince Lansen.
A miracle that has traveled back in time.
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