Chapter 74

The Red Lamp of Lacorinto

There is a lake called “Stula.”

According to legend, the lake was originally a plain. In the age of the gods, a benevolent god and an evil god fought, and a great pit was formed. Seawater flowed into it, creating the lake.

Today, no one believes this legend. Yet, when one casts a fishing line into the shallows, strange objects are sometimes caught, as if to remind people of the tale.

The lake was vast—so vast that the horizon could be seen across it. It was larger than the territory of many small nations, and thus several port cities were built along its shores. Rilmer was one of them.

“Wow… we finally made it.”

Elias let out a sigh as he guided his horse toward the city. He shook his head as if exhausted, then glanced back. The edge of the forest they had emerged from was visible in the distance.

“We won’t have to camp tonight, right? Right?”

Ulrich’s party had camped in the forest for the past few days. There had been no real danger, but insects swarmed them incessantly, which seemed to have worn down the young nobleman considerably.

“Already tired of it? Wasn’t camping what you were so excited about, young master?”

At the fairy Vermelani’s remark, the young lord cleared his throat awkwardly.

“It’s not that I’m tired of it… but still, I think I’d prefer to sleep somewhere comfortable.”

The fairy let out a quiet chuckle.

Roberta, who had been listening to their conversation, lowered her gaze. Sitting in front of her was a boy—Eshu—the younger of the two brothers who had been taken hostage by goblins a few days earlier.

“Eshu, do you remember where your home is?”

“Yes. I know it. I’ve been here often.”

***

Following the brothers’ guidance, the party entered the city.

Rilmer was quite a large port city. Through Lake Stula, countless people and goods flowed in and out.

At the docks, several merchant ships were anchored. Sailors bustled about, repeatedly unloading and loading cargo.

The goods that were unloaded were sold to merchants within the city and displayed on stalls. Visitors from various regions raised their voices, haggling over prices.

Amid the busy atmosphere, the group passed through an alley.

“Here it is,” Eshu said.

The five horses carrying the seven travelers stopped in front of a house. It was a two-story residence with a yard, and as they arrived, a servant was sweeping fallen leaves outside.

The servant approached, intending to ask their business, but upon seeing the two children sitting on the saddles, his eyes widened.

“Young masters?”

As the brothers greeted him, the servant rushed into the house. Soon, loud cries of shock rang out from inside, and an elderly couple hurried out.

“Eshu! Ollo!”

The elderly couple embraced the children as they dismounted.

“You’re alive! You’re alive!”
“We thought you had perished as well…!”

They were the children’s grandparents. Overwhelmed with emotion, they burst into tears. Only after some time had passed, when their emotions settled, did they listen to their grandchildren’s story and lift their heads.

“Ah, Lady Ganymea…” the grandfather said, making the sign of the cross as he looked at Roberta. “We have received the grace of the heavens. Priestess, and all of you, we thank you.”

The grandmother signaled to the servant behind her. The servant brought a small box—just slightly larger than a palm-sized wooden case. Inside, it was filled with precious ornaments.

“We are sorry that this is the only way we can express our gratitude. Please accept it as a token of our deepest thanks.”

Roberta exchanged glances with Ulrich and Elias. The two silently shook their heads. She then smiled at the grandparents and gently pushed the box back.

“It’s alright. We didn’t help the children expecting a reward. Their safety and happiness are more than enough compensation. So please keep it.”

The elderly couple let out a soft exclamation.

“Then… will you be leaving immediately? If not, please allow us to host you while you stay here. If we do nothing for those who have shown us such kindness, we would have no face to meet the holy ones after death.”

Roberta looked at the two men again. Since they had already planned to stay in the city for the day, she nodded this time.

***

After dinner, Roberta climbed the stairs. Holding a tray with a teapot and teacups, she stopped in front of the third door in the hallway.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

At the response, she opened the door.

Inside the spacious room were Ulrich and Fritz. One sat at the table, the other on the floor.

The one seated on the floor was Fritz. The boy had a branch of a spirit tree resting across his legs, his eyes closed. He was deep in meditation, breathing softly.

Roberta saw the air around him shimmer like a heat haze.

“His flow of mana has improved a lot.”

“Hmm. He’s doing well on his own without much need for guidance.”

Ulrich closed the book he had been reading and removed his glasses, placing them in his pocket.

“That must be disappointing for you—no chance to teach.”

“Why would you think that?”

“You enjoy teaching, don’t you?”

Roberta placed the tray on the table and picked up the teapot.

“Well, rather than that, I should be glad he has this much talent.”

Ulrich took the teacup she had poured.

“Ah, that’s not pine pollen tea. We ran out of tea powder, so I couldn’t make it. I brewed something else instead—I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”

“If we’re talking about taste, this is preferable. I didn’t drink pine pollen tea because I liked the flavor.”

Roberta looked puzzled.

She had reacted similarly before, but it was still hard to believe.

“You drink it every day, so I thought you liked it.”

“There’s a saying about ‘drinking memories,’ isn’t there? It’s something like that.”

Memories?

Roberta wore the same expression as before.

“Hilde used to brew it for me often.”

“Your wife… you mean.”

“Yes.”

Hilde dithmarschen.

The former lord before Ulrich—and his late wife.

Caught off guard by the sudden mention of his deceased wife, Roberta hesitated, unsure how to respond. Ulrich gave a faint smile at her reaction and set down his teacup.

“There’s no need to mind it. More importantly, you had something you wanted to ask—go ahead.”

After a brief pause, Roberta spoke.

“…Yes. I haven’t had the chance to ask until now. What is your relationship with that person—Verdelani?”

“Relationship, you say. Did my attitude toward that child seem strange?”

“I just felt like you were revealing too much.”

She used her conversation with him at the ruins of Lacorinto as an example.

“You’ve revealed your personal history to others before, but isn’t this the first time you’ve gone this far? I assume there was a reason—you did it intentionally, didn’t you?”

Ulrich nodded.

“It reminded me of someone from the past.”

When she stared at him silently, he continued.

“Didn’t I mention ‘Erelbur’ while speaking with Vermelani earlier?”

“You said it was the name of Lady Vermelani’s clan. And that their ancestor was a founding contributor to the Isturia Empire. That’s correct, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. But that’s not all. Erelbur was a prince of Lacorinto—the last legitimate heir of the last fairy kingdom.”

Roberta’s eyes widened.

“What? Weren’t the royal family completely wiped out after resisting to the end?”

“Isn’t it written in the scriptures? After the Emperor subjugated Lacorinto, he no longer held them accountable for their sins. If that’s the case, then naturally there must have been survivors.”

“Well, that may be true… but I didn’t expect them to still exist like this.”

“Fairies are a long-lived race. What seems like the distant past to humans is often only a few generations back for them.”

Fairies had long been known to have few children, and to have them late. Humans could have many descendants within a lifespan of less than fifty years, but fairies could not.

It was also one of the reasons they could not restore their former age. While the number of humans continued to grow, the number of fairies steadily declined. They could never gather enough strength to usher in a new era.

Thus, even if the legitimate bloodline of Lacorinto’s royal family had continued to the present day, it would pose no threat to the Empire. It was simply astonishing. Ulrich’s words implied a lineage that stretched back over five thousand years.

***

“When the Emperor subjugated Lacorinto, countless people wanted the surviving royals and nobles to be punished.”

“Well, they were the ones who caused chaos in their time and opposed the new age.”

“But those who remained were merely children of the bloodline, not the ones who committed the crimes. The ones who had truly sinned were already dead.”

Should collective punishment be applied to them?

Ulrich said that it was not.

“Then what should be done? The sins of Lacorinto ran too deep for reconciliation to suffice. After much deliberation, the Emperor decided to conceal their existence. He believed time would resolve the matter.”

Following the Emperor’s guidance, the descendants of Lacorinto hid in remote, uninhabited regions. For a long time, they disappeared from the world.

They waited for the day when those who had seen them with their own eyes would crumble into dust with time, and even those who had only heard of them would feel no real connection, dismissing it as a distant history.

“That time came only after the occupant of the throne changed. I gave the children new names and allowed them to live as people of the Empire. I worried at first, but they blended in well—too well, in fact. Even when another era came to an end, they remained as people of the Empire and stayed to see it through.”

Ulrich spoke quietly, saying that, in their own way, they believed this was how they repaid the kindness they had received.

Roberta thought for a moment before asking:

“What about Erelbur?”

“Erelbur was a hostage—a sacrifice offered as a sign that they would not resist. So that child did not hide his existence. Instead, I took him in.”

“You mean you adopted him?”

Ulrich shook his head.

“No. The child wished for that and called me father, but given the circumstances at the time, I couldn’t formally adopt him. I kept him by my side and taught him. Just as their father, Ophilus, taught Hestio, I wanted to teach Erelbur.”

Earlier, at the inn, Ulrich had said that Erelbur liked humans. Now Roberta understood why.

“However… it didn’t turn out quite as I expected. I thought that child might build a nation of his own, separate from Lacorinto, for his people—but instead, he chose the path you already know.”

Having grown up among humans, and having been taught by Ulrich, it was only natural that Erelbur would come to like humans.

Ulrich jokingly remarked that it was like a wolf raised among dogs mistaking itself for one.

“Then… Lady Vermelani…” Roberta paused before continuing. “Do you think she knows?”

“She does. I don’t know what she thinks of it, but it would be difficult not to know that the blood of the last kingdom flows within her.”

Ulrich lowered his gaze to his teacup.

“I mentioned Erelbur and Ophilus to test Vermelani. That clan has a promise with me.”

“A promise…?”

“It’s nothing significant. Just a personal matter.”

***

The conversation ended there.

The two of them watched Fritz in silence. Throughout their conversation, the boy had not moved at all. His consciousness had sunk deep within.

How ironic, Roberta thought. A descendant of the fairies who persecuted Hestio and opposed the Empire remains loyal even at the Empire’s fall—and now, in the present day, even calls themselves a slave to humans.

Of course, they were not officially slaves. The Jokuster Empire and the Holy Church had never formally classified imperial fairies as slaves. It was merely that the fairies themselves continued to wear the marks of slavery created in a previous age.

Until now, I thought they bowed their heads simply out of fear of the hunts against other races in the past… but that’s not all.

Among those called “imperial fairies,” there were likely many clans besides Erelbur’s. It was impossible to know whether all of them pretended to be slaves for the same reason.

Some probably wore the earrings out of fear, just as commonly believed.

But one thing was certain: Erelbur’s clan did not remain by humans’ side out of fear. They were bound by a connection that had continued since the very beginning.

Roberta emerged from her thoughts and lifted her head.

The silence broke.

Knock, knock—someone struck the door sharply.

When Roberta opened it, Elias stood there, flushed red with agitation.

“What is it?”

“The lord… lost.”

Unable to grasp what he meant, Roberta asked again.

“What?”

“That guy—what was his name, Kkul or something. Seems like there are a lot more of them elsewhere. So the lord personally led a subjugation force.”

The young noble trailed off incredulously.

“And he lost.”