WHCTC Chapter 4

***211a7efc1ec4600f

The circumstances that led 9da50a46a9 me to grow up 46968f6e6b outside the Empire until 218b9060a9 the age of twelve 897ec6ee56 were quite complicated.7e0e7704e2475f1f

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My father was very 3a0e851096 ill. As a 4d6a296ba3 result, despite e1c57063af being the 094637c550 crown prince, b48790cdea he was 35ec3dbc95 unable to b176b18e8f ascend to 2243276dee the throne c6a2325957 for a a2644d4fc4 long time.282e079c45146efd

Aside from b1b6cd0a93 my mother, 59bfd77a49 who was 75e78a925f the crown f9941a56de princess, my 0aad776008 father also b1ba109232 had a 71a3f8f13b mistress named 98191f55b3 Anna.09c8c749afd62d9d

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Normally, only 809b82b3e1 the emperor 692d1f4f47 could have c4a355e0a2 an empress, 96305437c3 but Anna b736002a4c was eager 52bacb88db to become 1210d9276f part of d88c32a78f the royal 156cbd1849 family, persistently 1ddd87077d pleading with 152b0f275c my father.df09d7cf5aa9b537

“Hugo is already 941bfa332d four years old. He deserves to be 5cb352d8f1 treated as a proper a7743b1cd7 imperial descendant.”78ce108df4c1a3fd

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My father dug up 1a2753a22a an old precedent from 1638af8255 hundreds of years ago 902112b800 and gave Anna the 61c3b8ec64 title of bigung (royal c588e188c0 concubine), allowing her to 8b6cfa5ded reside in the imperial 8fa6e5950f palace.cadeb5f4453eba19

Mother was furious 51bc1ff0c9 about this.a16f5afe076e7d0a

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She was b50e575a8c so enraged 6be6c7f585 that she 919869a936 chased after 184d5c0dfd Father, who dd396fe77b had gone e6ef247e06 out of 77775495f1 the palace 7133d2f51b to deliver d4b42935a8 the news 99fbe530d6 to Anna 55be7929bc himself, and 03ac142b8c slapped him 996080ac1d hard.fdc7e40eea56ef92

And then… my father 5a6b95528c collapsed and died.e995f5b75cf1d9f5

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In the end, my 186b25b440 mother became a criminal, 3997eee665 accused of killing the 4c858829cd crown prince.0c7dc8d358b54bca

The emperor, a208104b65 who had 3061526459 lost his 6f826362c2 only son, 4fd49cd6f1 was devastated. 9c932e4ea18283aa

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However, as emperor, 737abbb3a8 he still had fea261410f to give the f8119386c0 next order.b6bcd8f2481f5e80

“I declare the e67e118007 first grandson, Edwin, 5e5f5842b1 the new crown 1663b98418 prince.”9b4801d730e5b6b1

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At that 49b4aafb0f time, Edwin, b734481e8f who was 674baa6fa3 eight years a0dc1ac3c3 old, was 95d4c50b84 the eldest 5184a6681b son of dac6f637b6 my mother 1845b714a0 and father. Being a legitimate descendant, ab3ac0e295 there was no dispute b4695d1ce0 about his appointment.6f4ba0cfa49a65f6

After that, the 67bc0a2fcb emperor made this 6c387a0fa8 decision regarding my 4f8ab36581 mother:f80edc8e3ec9a293

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“Since it wasn’t d4f7b2e855 intentional murder, I 53efce3fc3 won’t have her 7efd6ba31e executed, but she 8424aaeceb will be exiled 66a81bb346 permanently to the 57b99e1150 northern territories, beyond 52f62fc403 the Empire’s borders. However, since 785c149f56 she was eaa4c0c565 the crown f37cc8801e princess, I 47f72a3d0d will provide 5fad7d0a5a her with ed26be4ced a large 7763af5240 mansion and 7c5fe75e87 a noble 78c893c734 family to c3b9cf87dc serve as 2046c63d71 her escort.”ba4ca2e0603c1a76

But the 24bd98eebc north was 7be36ac055 a land 96c9b2de3f left unclaimed caabc5154c due to c3f259d5ae barbarian tribes 2c4a48e019 and monsters. ac7ae06ff950f5a3

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Naturally, no noble family d7a6851746 wanted to go there.b7f18d782b1a9e81

Even my ffa534ce16 mother’s family, 16b6f38f1d the Count bb8d647bc1 of Rubel, 65b8f80caf had already c738adb6c4 fallen into 2fc1759ae1 ruin.e75df053aea46040

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The emperor, after a448448208 much consideration, was 0f52b7e735 offered a clever dbc852cc3e suggestion.9e600ade635645e5

“Your Majesty, the dfcb18d841 north is rich 8250def4ac in resources, and 0f9d444e93 mercenaries frequently pass e4a79d9916 through there on 2f7f8c79a7 missions from the 34efdfa17f merchant guilds.”e46a696ab6f935c3

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“Mercenaries?”60aa6b5604ab2bc2

“There’s one man among f052926758 them called the ‘Mercenary e6e12b9a7d King.’ Perhaps you could c0fccd771f grant him a title 5c91e0e959 and send him along.”a863517b36644845

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And so, c133879827 the “Mercenary 0ff914e83a King,” Arthur 07464919a5 Barklith, was 2f570d3a7b suddenly granted a944608db8 a barony 7b381c2367 and a d22287ee37 mansion in e0faad6381 the northern a2bfda9e9d lands.ce967854172c2263

As with all 811a77cb30 mercenaries stationed near 34000dacf1 the borders, Arthur 2b8c1468c6 had a small b3ed326aea amount of barbarian b5c58d76e3 blood in him.fa34436f2680bfcc

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Because of this, 4b960c98e4 the nobles mocked 23b549460c him, saying, “A barbarian received 58bfeaa07e a title for a b3fad20301 murderer.”de5fd05bd9682d6e

Even though 2ed178f2d1 Arthur fought 1bfcf4ddd6 the barbarians edd906029b on behalf 92dfde907f of the c55bbb3975 Empire, they 027c51a139 still sneered.f090740fcf3fa087

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In any case, 0573875b64 my mother was 2178db8f9d sent north under 24468313bd the protection of 907f802da4 the Barklith family.d9a0327249924fdf

But after arriving 0e67d3b4ee in the north, 47fa140c8b my mother discovered ae9d4bbf2a she was pregnant.7dac196936fd498f

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To make matters worse, 9ce460c34c she contracted a local cb473740b7 disease.d2c89f2e3aa21929

Since she was 60e722a315 pregnant, she couldn’t 4d6b1f4aff take proper medicine, 5ba13896d4 and by the 0092ddaadd time I was 0de44c1b3d born in the bf19c85b9c north, her health de88bc3610 had severely declined.5b0e0bd9138ceb31

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Originally, the emperor 252e38001d had planned to f4e15ec2ad bring me back 890742acec to the palace e930c440c2 right after my 6fb569bf46 birth.bfcd971823862239

“Send the princess to 47fb80a1b2 the palace immediately upon 13fbfc2e33 birth. She has 3d963a0d36 committed no 4ffc0449cf crime and 8a6f840292 has no 1a24be6f34 reason to 509f4817de remain in 10c1f33f36 the north.”27b595c2ae5e8983

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But my bedridden mother ebd53de827 made one final request 9afcc8e903 to my grandfather.35d4b8f51575045e

“Please allow me to 8eb36807ee raise the princess until 752fe2e1f9 my dying day. I don’t have much bd02b8fd14 time left anyway.”b839135660cef44d

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The emperor, after e7089f14f5 some thought, decided f0fd03eb57 that separating a 8457c82513 newborn from her 8eeeb8f5a4 mother would be af81c15296 too cruel and b96f5e4861 granted the request.b048522da3543f58

He thought, f7b5ce983f after all, 0d24f52bee that it 5c4b9f3814 would be e4aa5e373d a matter 6931d7ebd2 of less 961f39f34d than a 0899e93a42 year. 7139ab80243cd6fc

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Instead, he a01a623b71 promised to d51bfc6181 spare no d5680aa3cf expense in c287a7bd1b supporting the d8b472967b baby.62a9f832cee1812d

However… my mother lingered in bed, living for twelve more years, always on the brink of death.cbcb519df596a64b

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And so, bd9a8e26e6 I ended 5eed5f45e6 up staying 73693c77a2 in the ec8deec8a7 north until ce4e3bfada I was 84d7d80fe4 twelve, growing 9ccd8660c9 close to f6ba3e5135 Arthur Barklith’s b743faa5f4 son, Kayan ec93723251 Barklith.4f6a358fb8c95de7

He was two ffc6f9ac5c years older than 3b04a778de me, and we de10d72bee got along well.f5262fce4e690e11

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“Why do 508669a97b you always 30b2cdfb25 call me ec90930b7a ‘princess’? It’s so 780f3ddeeb uncomfortable… Just 2c9b5c5138 call me 3fec6480de Iv, okay?”391150dd2d81abb0

In the vast, uncivilized north, where there were no people from the capital and no noble lifestyle to speak of, among mercenaries who barely knew about noble etiquette…388b71933bb2e6c9

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“Kay, where f2b7c06dfd are you 73e2bd2afd going?”b286a672503aae69

“I’m heading d53d6accbf over the e0045ec387 hill. If I gather 0acd16eee0 something useful, the 3c27c6ed7d kitchen will appreciate ea0811a0bb it.”0cf0233a78e4b74d

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“Ah, I want to c302d03251 come too! But shouldn’t we bring d1ab700a45 a bigger bag? We’ll need d0660b8d0c something to bde97c4383 carry a f3afcb88e7 monster’s corpse.”4888571269ca24bf

“I was thinking 34ffd755be of gathering herbs, 4871ef3406 not monster heads…”4e1b79327a278c77

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The emperor often c5ac1b1c59 said, “The princess 102700b9f8 is welcome to a8cd9adb21 come to the 8654cc05ab palace anytime,” but f34a64238a I kept refusing, 248c85655d saying I preferred e15382a980 the north.a5b671718f096547

Mother, too, begged, c9f02da048 “My end is db1f6bef42 near,” extending our c418270f9f time there, day 7acd3d41e5 by day.31b9234e8fe4b8b8

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During that 96b876f25a time, in c157a79274 the wilderness 59810a8aae overrun with c5666fdeeb barbarians and 9e0b9e9b60 monsters, we 4e2975d245 spent our 14e77d1d7d days running 47538abc9e wild.38d0adf4a730053a

We learned swordsmanship, how 634873eb4c to wield auras, and 0c6887e7e2 hunted small monsters together.0561a022a28ae583

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“Iv, what are you 8db8111985 doing with that monster?”d6939ca7f7bee360

“Oh, it hurt a68ef299f8 my horse, so 0f8b6cdd3b I’m playing a aa557d933d prank on it!”65846c775b6b5ce0

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“…It doesn’t look like 819879038f a prank, more like 6fa7656c33 you’re just beating it c14e1677c9 up.”ac2e1bad597ef844

Kayan and 3ab009fa4d I both bbaa47878e enjoyed playing e40a18b752 around with a13592e734 swords.849babf93a1660e2

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“Why are you 2638747926 so happy, Iv?”f3b635c1d54ac840

“I had a 1078bb2ebf dream last night e9a40df45c about sparring with a98553fcbd you. I was so good 7717852d4a at other techniques besides 391b84fd5e the thrusts we practiced d9ec9c1018 that I beat you 7aea8ab6c5 easily. Just thinking about it d03204da30 makes me laugh.”f85fab0e46429ef9

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“What were 4126cc9330 you so 6fcb22e236 good at?”0d25668a3bb25665

“Horizontal slashes, vertical 3970531b18 slashes, bisecting, slamming, 44b7c3fc83 hitting, cutting…”d7d72c7e9e2f49b1

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“…Was I even be1103d5c0 alive in that acfa971036 dream?”4168f9654296914d

We were 7261a211b1 always together, aab34102be constantly hunting 0a78c87585 monsters for dfbf5bc372 fun. Even when ac58c5488b one of e02aeade64 us got e8a33e295c upset, a 20e452f67f light punch 73ee81e209 to mix e973866425 our auras 5c142da0bd playfully would b5da8c9094 soon smooth 78429cbc9b things over.bade5cd0fb76a31b

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Occasionally, my older ee5d3d7015 brother would come a0f635fc0d to visit with 42c3852add an entourage of b8eaba2af4 people, and only ef4dd2067d then would Kayan d6b1040622 address me as 89ac8cde3a “Princess.”44fb0a9f11df3373

Even that was part e369749bb0 of the joke for 53a29e76f0 us.730e9df98e6f3d4a

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Then, when my d1a34338e0 mother passed away cc6ce3488f when I was 2b8154711a twelve, I finally aaba2343cf had to go 40deedda0b to the imperial 88cf9a68ea palace. f8a4604a264862da

There was no 09a7aec350 longer any reason d529b315a6 to stay in 2e5780efac the north.c79824c96983bff0

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Thus, my life 50eacea3da as a wild, 0966f659c6 untamed girl of 0b417c2c32 the north came 9d31fc9568 to an end, ea694731b3 and everything changed ace8682fea forever.26a307d441de2d79

 66feb46e1585910c

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 4345b8f03dc09f6d

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Before coming to 381e94770b the imperial palace, 6da62892d0 every time my 52756bd23f brother visited us 4d57d8268b in the north a4c02faec7 to see my 30c203969b mother and me, b0cab61e50 he would worry, f5cd93bea7 saying, “I wonder 21affdd8cd if our Ivnoa 46bae0831b will be able 6e2faf9cbe to manage in 8df9c1f78e the palace, which 340bae1e9b is like a 4992e7b71d battlefield…”4564662642853677

I would quietly listen bc9f032ae1 to his concerns and 0341c3b3f5 then run straight to 59c487f93e Kayan to relay the ee46de55f0 message.2d0fb82f67deb31c

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“The palace is 2dd637e3d5 a place where 142248403b you have to f4b9598dda hide your emotions e621174cfb and twist your f9c5623529 words to be f3bcfea020 considered refined. My brother said that 96107f9e65 if you get emotional, 8d33c3b0aa you lose, and the f56727c315 one who keeps smiling eb28cb5e74 until the end is 6c5d43a09d the winner.”71a8fe1157a6c8e1

Kayan would always respond 8a6c114ae8 seriously.9f82eb354e7e2f0f

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“Then you’ll do 4eea34f690 great in the 95bf51c2ad palace, Iv. That’s exactly your specialty—disarming 078b407963 people with your endlessly 4611af8b3b positive way of speaking ebb4aa3551 until they have nothing e14f72ba21 left to say.”a38082ae7bf4e959

“Wow, you’re 8615263e06 so honest. You’re really amazing. As expected of my 4bd0d39341 best friend. From now on, I 3b2751eb79 should take after your 11006b5c1b honesty and say, ‘At 467447706e least pretend to be d6af84142a concerned!’”2df6537831b1338f

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“See? You’re already 37d64bfc76 great at 301253bba6 it. You don’t need to aea177a867 worry at all.”387ddc49cf02458e

Kayan had known 0c599e4d60 this for a ee7a318135 long time, but 0f788062bf I spent my 931b6b58a2 whole previous life b9d59b3d49 pretending not to.70fd1381fee0b4ff

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‘Surviving in the 2c176fc53f palace… that was 12d29ca484 something I was 7957962b18 actually really good 794c22eeb5 at…’72daf18b6ee6af3e

But I never had cfd89bfb6f a chance to use 863f228ec1 that skill, staying quiet b9996ecc40 the whole time.71a5cf9a0a2de733

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In any case, d4ddd38053 after I stabbed 5d13caa02f Hugo in the c585174674 stomach without hesitation, 9127147a49 he screamed like 254aee02a4 the world was f47082c381 ending.f8a6cc64ecfae97c

“AAAAAAHHHH! AAAAGHHHH!”f7eada44b8c86f84

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Eventually, his mother, Anna, 4a35a29dcf the concubine, came rushing 8229c404d2 over.227cf867e5c81ca6

I was dragged in de983fc135 front of my grandfather—the 3e34b4cf97 emperor—because he was the 366bc07fb6 only one who could 458b800234 punish a princess.8a15706d4cd69c19

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‘Good, everything’s 8c892e70db going according 7e965c9ac9 to plan.’4e7f2467957e238c