Episode 620

Kyla carefully lifted her upper body. One eye was still closed, and walking was out of the question. The doctors had warned she might never walk again, but she didn’t care.

She twitched her fingertips lightly and soon managed to grasp a slender pen. Smiling faintly at the effort it took, she glanced over at Lady Danit.

“I can handle paperwork.”

“Haah.”

Lady Danit covered her face with a fan, clearly distressed.

When Officer Xiaoshi had burst into the banquet hall with his men, Kyla had wanted to just grab a candlestick and stab Jorge. After all, they were all doomed anyway—maybe she could have eased her daughter’s pain, even just a little.

“Mother, please don’t sigh like that. Everything’s going well. What’s there to worry about?”

“It’s not worry, it’s pain. It breaks my heart to see you, so young and full of life, hurt like this.”

Lady Danit gently held Kyla’s frail ankle beneath the blanket. What if she never walked again?

In the heavy silence, Kyla calmly picked up the pen again.

“Please don’t be so upset. Even if I can’t walk, it doesn’t matter. When I become Queen of Burgos, I’ll be the center. Everyone will follow me. I won’t need legs to lead.”

“Kyla!”

“Mother, will you write the message to Father yourself?”

Lady Danit shrieked in protest, but Kyla ignored her and turned her attention back to the letter. They had to inform the Horlin estate about the current situation in Burgos as soon as possible.

The previous night, all the royalist leaders had been killed. Now, it was up to the Horlin family to clean up the mess. The top priorities were filling the power vacuum and calming the public.

“If we can link this to the mining development, it’ll be easier to get military support from the Bariel palace. So when you send the news to each territory, make sure they’re involved. You understand, Mother?”

“Yes, I know. I was already planning to send people, but we’re short-handed.”

“I’ll ask Father for reinforcements. Now that the Horlin family can freely deploy personnel to Burgos, we can request whatever we need.”

Before, the royalists kept a close watch, so they couldn’t even properly staff their soldiers or servants. But now, with no one to check them, they could ask for anything.

“We’ll need the Bariel palace’s support until we fully control the regional territories.”

“They probably won’t want that.”

“They’ll want the Horlin family to bear the full burden of eliminating the royalists. It’s a heavy responsibility, but we have to persist.”

“If soldiers come from Bariel, I’ll personally go to the provinces to organize the territories. Kyla, you must never, ever leave the Burgos palace.”

“Of course. Then I’ll focus on relief efforts. The long civil war has worn people down. People tend to turn to whoever fills their stomachs.”

There was so much to do. Not being able to walk was frustrating, but what really bothered her was that her inability to move slowed things down. As Kyla busily scribbled, Lady Danit added quietly,

“By the way, was it Lady Chloe?”

“Lady Chloe?”

“Yes. The daughter of Davion who went on the campaign before. Something’s wrong with her. I heard she was sent to the mines.”

“What?”

Kyla froze in surprise. Even though the Emperor was clearly trying to keep the two families in check, how could they send Lady Davion to the mines?

“That’s strange. Is it true?”

“Absolutely. She’s quite a remarkable lady in many ways. Kyla, you saw her often in Bariel, right?”

“Yes, well… sometimes, even when I didn’t want to. She’s crazy.”

“Seems that way. Why would she follow the mines?”

Lady Danit muttered, still baffled, and Kyla nodded in agreement.

I wonder if the Davion side knows about this? Kyla debated whether to mention it in her letter to the Horlin Duke.

‘Hmm.’

But she decided against it. She knew her position well.

Until she secured her place in Burgos, she had no choice but to grovel before the palace and keep them pleased. Even if conflict arose between the palace and Davion, it wouldn’t be her concern.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, footsteps approached outside.

“Excuse me, my lady. Minister of Magic, Ian Hielo, wishes to see you briefly.”

“Show him in.”

Kyla tilted her head in surprise at the unexpected visitor. Lady Danit looked a little startled as well.

A moment later, Ian entered and greeted Kyla with a nod.

“How are you feeling, my lady?”

“Thanks to the Ministry of Magic’s help, I’ve improved a lot. As you can see, I’m even able to write.”

Kyla held up the pen proudly and closed the letter she’d been working on. Ian took a seat on a nearby sofa and gestured to Lady Danit.

“Please, sit down, madam.”

“Yes, but what brings you here…?”

“To check on the lady’s condition—and,” Ian added smoothly, “to discuss the next steps. The royalists have all been dealt with, and their followers expelled from the palace. The Horlin family will lead the cleanup. The palace wants to know how much time you’ll need.”

“Bariel and Burgos aren’t far apart. Is there a reason you need to return so quickly?”

It was in the Horlin family’s best interest to keep Bariel’s soldiers stationed at the Burgos palace as long as possible, ideally until the situation was fully stabilized. That way, military and political control would be easier.

Of course, some soldiers would remain until the cleanup was complete, but the difference between the Emperor’s presence and absence was huge.

“We need to go to Tolrun.”

“Tolrun?”

The secret temple holding clues to Rutherford’s reincarnation and Damon’s return, the journey to rescue Barsabe and Filia, and ultimately, the mission to defeat the underground god.

Kyla frowned, clearly confused by the situation she didn’t know about.

“…Is His Majesty coming along?”

“That’s still under discussion. It’s a long and dangerous journey. I hope he returns to Bariel, but he’s determined to lead the Tolrun expedition himself. We’re reviewing the troops here and planning the departure, so we need to coordinate with the Horlin family’s schedule.”

“How long do you expect this to take?”

Ian hesitated. Since Filia’s fate was unknown, he wanted to move as quickly as possible. But as Minister of Magic, his official answer was—

“One month.”

“One month. Understood.”

Kyla and Lady Danit exchanged glances. It was tight, but if they moved quickly, it was doable. Within a month, under the Emperor’s protection, they could fully secure Burgos and Marila.

“Take care of yourself until then.”

“Yes, Sir Ian. And thank you.”

As Ian turned to leave, Kyla added,

“I know the Ministry’s help isn’t out of kindness. But help is help. I formally thank you. I will repay this someday.”

“Repay it to Bariel in the future. That’s enough.”

Ian said this and left the room.

The hallway was chaotic. Soldiers moved palace decorations back and forth, while mages hurried about clutching thick bundles of documents.

Ian recognized the papers—they were precious records kept in the Burgos palace. Studying the chronicles of the Rankvis royal family and King Damon’s past might reveal clues before heading to Tolrun.

“Ian! The Ministry’s temporary quarters are on the third floor. I’ll move the luggage ahead.”

“And this is the record of the past 30 years. It looks like it’ll be a focus, though it’s a shame many parts are missing.”

“That’s fine. Bring everything to the office.”

“Yes, Sir Ian. Oh, and Captain Akorella—”

Boom! Thud! Thud!

Before the mage could finish, a heavy vibration shook the ceiling.

Everyone knew the source. Heads slowly turned from right to left. Sure enough, Chloe was descending, clutching Akorella’s collar.

“Oh dear, even Captain Akorella can’t handle brute strength. But it seems the lady spared her—didn’t grab her by the collar.”

“Sometimes the captain needs to be handled like that. Otherwise, she can’t manage.”

“Hey, Sir Ian!”

“Lady Chloe, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine! But what is all this about?”

Chloe shouted indignantly, while Akorella blinked rapidly. It seemed she had just been told she was being sent to the mines.

“The mines? I can’t go. How am I supposed to do work that even men struggle with?”

“Ahem, my lady. You can do it. Much better than any man—”

“Captain Akorella, please keep your mouth shut.”

“Yes, ma’am. …Sir Ian? Could you please explain this to her instead of me?”

Ian glanced around and confirmed Xiaoshi wasn’t nearby.

“Lady Chloe, I hear you have feelings for Sir Xiaoshi.”

“What?! Me?!”

Oh my! The mages pretended not to listen, turning away, but their ears twitched. The soldiers moving luggage slowed down, drawn to the amusing commotion.

“They called it a side effect, but according to Captain Akorella’s report, that’s how it was. So it’s best to avoid anything that might trigger it as much as possible.”

“B-but—”

“If you don’t want to go, you’re free to refuse. But if you do, there won’t be a Captain Akorella to oversee your treatment, and we can’t watch over you all day either. Besides, this is a foreign royal palace, with His Majesty the Emperor residing here. For your safety, the only option is to send you back to Bariel.”

She was asking whether Chloe wanted to return to Bariel or follow Akorella to the mines.

Chloe bit her lip, hesitating, and Akorella gently took her arm, smiling warmly.

“Don’t worry, my lady. It’s called the mines, but really, we’re just going to tidy up the estate for a bit. There’s no way we’d ask you to pick up a pickaxe and go down the tunnels. You’ll just help the mages with some restoration work. Didn’t you say you wanted to make a contribution? What’s more impressive than that, compared to the years-long halt on building the magic department’s annex?”

“You sure talk a good game, Captain Akorella!”

“Ah, thank you for the compliment.”

“That’s not a compliment!”

There really wasn’t much choice. And Chloe vaguely sensed it too. Every time she saw Xiaosi, her heart pounded wildly, her head spun… It was better to get away from all that for now.

“Never thought I’d end up going to the mines in my life…”

“What’s wrong with the mines? There’s no small or big when it comes to doing things for Bariel. You’ll be fine, my lady, okay?”

That settled it! Akorella comforted the sniffing Chloe with a tight hug, then winked at Ian, silently saying, “Leave the spoiling of the lady to me from here on.”

Ian let out a small sigh, and the mages quietly slipped away. Chloe, still nestled in Akorella’s arms, kept muttering to herself.

“I shouldn’t have been so greedy. Seeing Kayla make such a contribution made me anxious…”

“Nonsense! It wasn’t greed, it was your desire to improve. Thanks to that, my research has progressed too.”

“Captain Akorella! You’re really annoying. Even more than Kayla!”

“Oh? Is that so? Do you think Kayla and I are a bit alike? I’ve only seen her from afar.”

“…She’s crazy. Both of them.”

“Ha ha ha! That’s great! It’s always the crazy ones who change the world.”

With a loud flutter, messenger birds came and went through the palace windows.

Messages from the Hallin family, from Katimako in Astana, and from Bariel all mingled together, spreading their wings wide.