WHCTC Chapter 4

***8776ff2933c94492

The circumstances that 7be32083c4 led me to fe072fcead grow up outside f4bc6735bc the Empire until 962ee2fd5b the age of fed612c7bd twelve were quite ea8e85f99a complicated.739dce8c0c3535ff

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My father 876327d9ec was very 8b9b40fd51 ill. As a 874aa3064f result, despite 57a8a613b7 being the a9a2ee4b71 crown prince, e99794bce0 he was 01fefff16b unable to cc9a540f73 ascend to 3f4d0474a8 the throne deb701b4df for a 46fa81fe39 long time.d25729ac5639f0d7

Aside from f150381e63 my mother, f76a0c38a9 who was 105c9b1ae9 the crown f489d34263 princess, my 14a9977922 father also 61bb4a011f had a 0893d5756f mistress named f1d11ca730 Anna.f1dca74555b984f1

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Normally, only the emperor 7fb8a63c49 could have an empress, d8d3df14ee but Anna was eager 7c7aee624e to become part of 250c32b258 the royal family, persistently 982b91349f pleading with my father.cbe4be43090cdcd0

“Hugo is already e3ac824813 four years old. He deserves to bf9a3ceb55 be treated as 4815307e92 a proper imperial b6ba9bca40 descendant.”d159bc5bacdb6ff4

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My father dug 1430b0656b up an old 2c1d20ac2a precedent from hundreds d7e78669d6 of years ago e2c9473c84 and gave Anna 033bccca3e the title of 8b062d75d7 bigung (royal concubine), 71af1f1455 allowing her to d9f8e2fb5e reside in the d7e0a3de03 imperial palace.5c36e232d28bc004

Mother was furious about d8555f09ba this.b465c285c29b0079

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She was dc6bdfb761 so enraged de22a252f1 that she 49c10b909b chased after b130085bf8 Father, who 1e589ca77e had gone b990797b45 out of a8f0c6f98b the palace 5221fac24c to deliver ef4d2bd15e the news eeb343a233 to Anna fe9efa9d0a himself, and ae48d63f77 slapped him e605e826de hard.0460b2215c50e915

And then… bfcd867aef my father 8be7f9160a collapsed and 1c651a47cc died.346b0805a8b70e31

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In the 597d45c84d end, my 6841ed5453 mother became 2a0f00e29f a criminal, 56056d82fe accused of 9e84869fc6 killing the 82ef4c11ce crown prince.cded7b8646278104

The emperor, who had 5a984d2d4b lost his only son, 9e31735cf5 was devastated. d09a6db7aa0986b2

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However, as emperor, he 6ee0d11967 still had to give 4831fb04e9 the next order.87c4125ed8b0f2a5

“I declare the first 7223a858c4 grandson, Edwin, the new 49c9f257fa crown prince.”4df5b62437151648

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At that time, Edwin, 983a437615 who was eight years ffe2d63eea old, was the eldest 8d8cb9e6c3 son of my mother 367b8a2091 and father. Being a 899d1dc1d2 legitimate descendant, 8eb845c831 there was ac478b67d9 no dispute 6cd930e45d about his 71788e515e appointment.f22fb15931fd8f76

After that, the 0452d8be78 emperor made this 2204d1d88f decision regarding my 3fdcc44236 mother:0ebeef27ceb22430

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“Since it 446cea4f6b wasn’t intentional db02279632 murder, I 304ecb87e7 won’t have 20371d74f6 her executed, 600cd76af3 but she 680b352958 will be d47aa39334 exiled permanently 3a645cfe5a to the 660b71a2ba northern territories, b07b30c9e1 beyond the e9ec508ae0 Empire’s borders. However, since she was 2502c23b8b the crown princess, I 0f2196c398 will provide her with 05e1f5a2b7 a large mansion and 2fd72a910b a noble family to 49bae50fa6 serve as her escort.”28a3bda455f50724

But the north 73fa3fe923 was a land 30515ed5bb left unclaimed due e6c710baf6 to barbarian tribes 7ab4e98cc1 and monsters. f7650d966317594b

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Naturally, no noble e34e121710 family wanted to 5957b429dd go there.ed27c90275e5e270

Even my mother’s 20c0cf3ec1 family, the Count 8f8738ccc7 of Rubel, had 2a7f06fdb5 already fallen into b0206d45d5 ruin.c55f5b8f7d4112c5

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The emperor, after 0122e602a7 much consideration, was ede5f698ab offered a clever 78a32ba8a8 suggestion.f6292cf0fd331e43

“Your Majesty, the 84ae76b24e north is rich c4c763a680 in resources, and fce19c3da5 mercenaries frequently pass 761cc33d09 through there on 085dad7917 missions from the ee36a5c253 merchant guilds.”4ddfddb8304e3e31

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“Mercenaries?”c6a4b1dff10390ed

“There’s one man among a12289f7d1 them called the ‘Mercenary 9f93a94e9f King.’ Perhaps you could c48b20eecf grant him a title 981bb8e770 and send him along.”83e3eefd9cdd3b82

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And so, 2262a397a2 the “Mercenary 9f080bb15f King,” Arthur 179aedf48c Barklith, was 7debc7430d suddenly granted 66ab40e9d7 a barony 34f229d0a3 and a cb95062247 mansion in f1aa8e2823 the northern 14fa3ecdb9 lands.1653c1b0c560813b

As with a2199f7875 all mercenaries 43f7f7ede6 stationed near 50bdf812d6 the borders, 670b43cb75 Arthur had f97bf4ef35 a small 2b00e2ec9d amount of 7a380749c6 barbarian blood 0f2c57316f in him.62af75501496d661

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Because of 984c0ce5ba this, the 7967758e7f nobles mocked ef70bbaf02 him, saying, “A barbarian 90c7497a88 received a title 88f3c8b6d3 for a murderer.”dd7c99f5f05017b1

Even though 83f424891f Arthur fought d139ce2bb4 the barbarians 47102f440f on behalf 1ff418e9df of the 684310fa40 Empire, they e1b3d0b894 still sneered.e24f09175f0b1a22

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In any 58b40dfee4 case, my 070f5e705e mother was 62a8287ecc sent north 383e475fcd under the a7334b6aa6 protection of 9af787aca9 the Barklith 79754aaea6 family.1399758880a45be7

But after arriving 2cee9a5b97 in the north, 183932ed3e my mother discovered 1214afe4d7 she was pregnant.8ae990a527cda15c

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To make matters 7cff35b7c5 worse, she contracted 09de90663f a local disease.be1c2d59bb9d65c0

Since she was e342a28696 pregnant, she couldn’t d3b2f8ebe6 take proper medicine, 7652d391c7 and by the cd9d713557 time I was 3235ebde4d born in the 4fbe3b9ad6 north, her health a236510525 had severely declined.4dbf3f361a0c6425

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Originally, the emperor had 97ffded561 planned to bring me 3726038209 back to the palace 9376cba89d right after my birth.a318f98bac8d1609

“Send the 3c20267eb2 princess to c566d29fb0 the palace 01996834f6 immediately upon 8bf13e6716 birth. She has committed no 7b4fab14ab crime and has no aaa5663590 reason to remain in 2e6c351787 the north.”9791361a83e49bba

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But my bedridden mother 06c6e0ebfe made one final request 2edb356f47 to my grandfather.f0709e6930c5004a

“Please allow me to 9bcdc93b5e raise the princess until f2c9c52303 my dying day. I don’t have 0328bf0d29 much time left 299c3db0b5 anyway.”b356eab9e9d38da3

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The emperor, after ff965b943a some thought, decided 6a78c2861c that separating a 61b8635755 newborn from her 8472311c3c mother would be 3caf640ab9 too cruel and bb65a477c4 granted the request.faeef73bd7bb0b1a

He thought, after all, 0af598942d that it would be 4413e0a209 a matter of less b17a30172b than a year. db62626aeab6284b

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Instead, he promised to b2307613e2 spare no expense in 4d15288e76 supporting the baby.8e348fb38bce2138

However… my mother lingered in bed, living for twelve more years, always on the brink of death.217d4f3f12775046

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And so, I ended 47fa874cac up staying in the cb9f687900 north until I was 6f7c32edc2 twelve, growing close to ee1427cf06 Arthur Barklith’s son, Kayan 21861b5401 Barklith.b8c6c17f7aa3d9a9

He was 48aa5e51b5 two years c2ba581137 older than 0ba9f795a8 me, and c676f1ad7e we got ff3c0843d5 along well.06e9773efd3dcc75

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“Why do you 363f8e5583 always call me a8dd0d990a ‘princess’? It’s so uncomfortable… Just 185635dc0c call me Iv, okay?”8264f938b3315cba

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…1e65839e7559fec7

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“Kay, where c7d71cfd74 are you d60b8cbe51 going?”cfbaee7c36e6dc19

“I’m heading over the 1cc00253e6 hill. If I 11bc3cc82e gather something 256e3c3140 useful, the 7361b64881 kitchen will b3d0994793 appreciate it.”6e2f1a2b18f6a2d6

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“Ah, I 63c8a6a94b want to 62c4b3a2a1 come too! But shouldn’t we bring b6bb5f0ccf a bigger bag? We’ll need 5c27fa658e something to befb9a45e8 carry a aa00519378 monster’s corpse.”4ce64806be24d959

“I was c227fc81ff thinking of 48525d6fcc gathering herbs, 74211b1d47 not monster e440b4703b heads…”47fdb8c5e0666c16

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The emperor often said, 809209bb20 “The princess is welcome 3edef4d1c4 to come to the 70e0a910ea palace anytime,” but I 711f6faf64 kept refusing, saying I 0878bde90a preferred the north.ec927a4457231a82

Mother, too, begged, a9e8d4af20 “My end is fef5207597 near,” extending our 349827ea07 time there, day baadc38df3 by day.6d455db4e1f4d2a6

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During that time, 93ac53de3f in the wilderness ec009ddc11 overrun with barbarians a09c1681a9 and monsters, we 6d27b745ce spent our days d3cedaac09 running wild.3075d1cbd322d7ff

We learned swordsmanship, edb5a373a1 how to wield 165e1d6eb9 auras, and hunted 1eb4481037 small monsters together.905261fa241ad973

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“Iv, what are you befffffb19 doing with that monster?”46f6b4045a10d2a6

“Oh, it 88a306de17 hurt my ab5cb96474 horse, so 7f9e985395 I’m playing 8855daf560 a prank 220e42c244 on it!”4c4de7ad7d20e447

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“…It doesn’t 19d64e251d look like f56bee0c4a a prank, d4b6a764f3 more like d01d32367f you’re just d4bb94913d beating it 766a303819 up.”6dfd35fba1b6d5c0

Kayan and I febf13c9c3 both enjoyed playing 7f2d5371fe around with swords.df3e7bc8e9410067

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“Why are you 9502518f69 so happy, Iv?”64b7da5d78836d5a

“I had a dream 5fd847d20c last night about sparring aa634791ce with you. I was b628f4a606 so good aafbf8dd57 at other aacf1924ce techniques besides 14cf912d24 the thrusts 90df2b99a5 we practiced 21bfd27c91 that I 8e548aa9a5 beat you f6eb50a63f easily. Just thinking about f381dec185 it makes me 3de28c2f75 laugh.”79a3165234e76f6c

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“What were 73691b26ab you so 3db86e1b2c good at?”5ac03aaed40bcd7b

“Horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, e8e805ff85 bisecting, slamming, hitting, cutting…”92181d2118825b6e

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“…Was I even alive eb2ee6f9d1 in that dream?”e0ca9ff444190b66

We were 1d67677636 always together, e42f8b47d4 constantly hunting 98aa22da17 monsters for 4ffaa20199 fun. Even when one f79cfd0de7 of us got 1da52095c9 upset, a light de6e35d8ee punch to mix 96b1dc8f83 our auras playfully fcfe728727 would soon smooth cc6de3cb12 things over.b3dcc59e635427d3

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Occasionally, my 882596d0de older brother 18d3362d36 would come c4ae645482 to visit f8758049f1 with an 650c3e35d5 entourage of 6a8169c044 people, and c6a05a41b0 only then 466c88784d would Kayan 681903197a address me 2f6b020743 as “Princess.”e18315ae904bc4cf

Even that was ba83ad2d99 part of the 62d31f6b6d joke for us.dfc2b6b8e4bd4b14

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Then, when my 5ecffbc416 mother passed away 5674a8f72c when I was 79f7bb791a twelve, I finally 983a41f49f had to go a4c0f0d3fc to the imperial 7fd568b338 palace. 41f447d48d9e92e5

There was a1f79cb658 no longer eb40abd375 any reason 8a79d19148 to stay 9d6fbbe4de in the 0367c28b82 north.b2265c0afeb8c128

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Thus, my life bd40c6f66c as a wild, 1f0cad92e5 untamed girl of 276f75503a the north came 657e5c0e07 to an end, 7f07ffb397 and everything changed 4d997d6f09 forever.779bc375da1f8533

 416cbade2869b903

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Before coming 36f39e76bc to the 275dddbd7a imperial palace, 002adbf6a1 every time 3d3f158201 my brother 2baa796ec2 visited us 253ce33595 in the be9af4f5fb north to 2bbd2f6c97 see my 3535e7ff70 mother and 63d177886b me, he 43beb9c2bf would worry, c2f630a067 saying, “I 5d7bb423c3 wonder if e20dee2cca our Ivnoa afcfd0d8b0 will be fcecb25415 able to 1cdfcd90d0 manage in ad153a49c9 the palace, 2cea86cc94 which is f5a364dd5a like a c4a5466ffb battlefield…”b150e2f5b810b00d

I would 555a7c4b8b quietly listen f1e2373dcc to his 8e9f061e0a concerns and 16c29132e8 then run 9f82a67c3d straight to 9957e7a748 Kayan to 2a4dfd8265 relay the 85d5eb4c8a message.ec36b7388a2022e7

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“The palace is a 6d8864ea54 place where you have 4279aee21b to hide your emotions 472729f4d4 and twist your words 217d4028d8 to be considered refined. My brother 9f0c3116f2 said that 38e8020ff7 if you 5bf4c41fac get emotional, 0a3601689b you lose, 904ab19686 and the a697f355c6 one who 4975e31bab keeps smiling 32a7c0d5af until the a9c3e84d63 end is 2673037ec4 the winner.”fda0923ecd7a0f65

Kayan would 45dc70af94 always respond b166b79eca seriously.f06f9bc36fd438c4

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“Then you’ll 8a913f8f8c do great 3e7efe529c in the a48982beb8 palace, Iv. That’s exactly your specialty—disarming 9e8e835a10 people with your endlessly 522d66dabd positive way of speaking 5665c329ed until they have nothing e4f01a8421 left to say.”74ec07661dc9bca4

“Wow, you’re so da5c28b1ed honest. You’re really amazing. As expected of c05ab86590 my best friend. From now d8ded3ecc3 on, I 63ec194ae7 should take f65838e540 after your d8971380f7 honesty and 1996611d78 say, ‘At 8100e45cbf least pretend b1779e21ea to be 42fbb67989 concerned!’”417e6bf25f57f050

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“See? You’re already great at 1168b41b12 it. You don’t 3891bd50ed need to 6370afc61e worry at 80376b5329 all.”843e94379cb732d8

Kayan had 5e305e7efb known this 94d15c748f for a 4aa16fe33d long time, 65c5ec0a8d but I 559d150fe9 spent my dca6916f07 whole previous a1fed4d53c life pretending 679bc02be1 not to.20665dd1ac68771c

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‘Surviving in the palace… 1fff54507a that was something I df2329f69a was actually really good dbd9984dd2 at…’6d6f88ae576c1b42

But I 4953987a0c never had 013c021e3d a chance 20ca79b098 to use d96461e1c0 that skill, c3971708e4 staying quiet 612fc53bbd the whole 874e644df8 time.156237c03a972a3c

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In any case, after 85de2ba23a I stabbed Hugo in 60498a509c the stomach without hesitation, 5a9b043ef4 he screamed like the 7ba488c5a0 world was ending.e793cee3932a4c48

“AAAAAAHHHH! AAAAGHHHH!”8fa00a295d455d60

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Eventually, his mother, Anna, 535b4096cb the concubine, came rushing bfa3a3d16c over.b0786eeac00618a0

I was dragged in a8d524b092 front of my grandfather—the 766210a574 emperor—because he was the 0405d779a2 only one who could e5407ffc97 punish a princess.7250f58f0e937bb8

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‘Good, everything’s 67c81fd6bc going according 289df83e37 to plan.’a6bfa901e6fa4e0f