Chapter 19: Departure

A chorus of footsteps approached from beyond the ruins of the battlefield.

Among them, a familiar voice called out.

"Captain Emil!"

Jimmy, one of Emil's most trusted guards, arrived with a squad of eight men. Their armor was splattered with blood, their bodies bearing fresh wounds—a testament to the brutal skirmishes they had just survived.

Huston turned to them, surprised. "You didn't leave?"

Jimmy grinned, wiping a streak of blood from his cheek. "We're not like those cowards. We just took down a few of Behald's men. There's nowhere else for us to go, so we figured—we might as well stick with Captain Emil."

Emil didn't speak.

He simply stepped forward, embracing each of his men in turn.

After a brief silence, he murmured, "Let's bury them first."

No Time for Justice

Jimmy hesitated. "What about the looters?"

Emil exhaled. "We need to leave as soon as possible. With the Baron dead, the fate of Dull Valley is uncertain, but one thing is clear—Melissa will not inherit it."

Huston nodded grimly. "She's an obstacle to the power struggle that will follow. Staying here would be suicide."

Melissa may have been the nominal heir, but true inheritance was dictated by strength and influence. She had neither.

The lands, the mines, the wealth—all of it would be contested.

What was left for Melissa was a dangerous title and a fortune she might not live to spend.

Ironically, the Bloodborne Curse had proven what words never could.

Melissa was not Baron Buck's daughter.

But Emil… Emil was.

And yet, it didn't matter anymore.

Huston returned to the back garden, where Old Henry's carefully tended flowers swayed in the wind.

A pang of guilt struck him. "Old man… I won't be around to care for these flowers."

The castle was without a master now. Soon, nature would reclaim it.

Henry had long prepared for his death. His coffin lay tucked away in a storeroom, untouched.

With quiet reverence, Huston retrieved it.

He lifted Henry's frail body, placing him inside with a gentleness uncharacteristic of a hardened warrior.

For a moment, his gaze lingered on the old bow mounted on the wall.

The weapon that had once protected these lands.

After a pause, he took it down and placed it beside Henry.

A warrior should be buried with his weapon.

Among Henry's belongings, Huston found a small pouch of silver coins—the same ones he had given the old man long ago.

Not a single coin had been spent.

Graves Beneath the Mountain

They buried the dead beneath the hills behind the castle.

Row upon row of freshly dug earth now housed the remnants of Baron Buck's bloodline, along with Old Henry.

At the foot of one grave, Huston set a stone marker.

"Here lies Henry Brand."

A promise fulfilled.

At the foot of the mountain path, three carriages stood ready.

Melissa, despite the weight of her loss, had methodically organized their remaining possessions, ensuring every item was accounted for.

Her expression was composed, but her eyes were still red.

Much of the castle's wealth had been looted, yet Melissa, as the last bloodline heir, knew where the hidden reserves were stored.

The treasures she managed to secure were enough for a lifetime of luxury.

But wealth alone was never her goal.

As the final preparations were made, the caravan set off.

Huston and Emil rode at the front, their horses cutting through the twilight.

Inside one of the carriages, Melissa finally succumbed to exhaustion, drifting into sleep.

She had not rested since the night of the massacre.

Her body may have given in, but her mind—her soul—would never forget.

Huston glanced toward the horizon. "How long to Norsetan Academy?"

Emil's response was curt. "Three months, if the roads are kind to us."

Three months.

Huston exhaled. "A long journey."

Their destination—Norsetan Academy in the Pearl Province—was their only hope.

Melissa's mentor, Grand Scholar Claude, was not simply a teacher purchased with gold—he was the real thing.

One of the most respected scholars in the entire Norton Kingdom, a man whose wisdom could shield Melissa from the storm to come.

Baron Buck, for all his power, had been a mere noble.

Claude was something far greater.

Huston watched the sun sink beyond the horizon, casting fire across the sky.

"Once I get you to Norsetan, my road ends here."

And so, the journey began.

Emil's expression stiffened in shock. "You're leaving? Where will you go?"

Huston exhaled slowly, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. "I don't know yet. But I want to become a sorcerer. I'll start by searching for clues."

The events of the past days had solidified something within him—a burning desire for strength.

He would not let his fate be dictated by others.

Even a Grand Knight like Baron Buck had been powerless before Malcolm's sorcery. The once-mighty lord had crumbled to dust before Huston's eyes, unable to fight back, unable to resist.

And Malcolm…

That gaze.

Huston would never forget the way the sorcerer had looked at them—as if they were nothing more than insects.

Never again.

"Then you should seek out Grand Scholar Claude," Emil suggested. "He's the most learned man in all of the Norton Kingdom."

Huston had already planned on it. Norsetan Academy was his next destination.

But more than meeting Claude, he longed to enter the academy's library.

Since arriving in this world, AI chip's database remained nearly empty.

It had no records of history, geography, or the arcane mysteries of this land.

Melissa had told him that Norsetan Academy held the only true library in the kingdom.

And within its countless tomes—answers awaited.

As the convoy rolled forward, the people of the land gathered along the roadside.

One by one, they placed their fists over their hearts.

At first, it was only a few. But soon, the entire crowd mirrored the gesture, standing silent as they watched Melissa's caravan fade into the distance.

Word had already spread—Melissa was the sole survivor of her family.

Though Baron Buck had been a stern ruler, he had ensured his people never starved.

Now, with the lord dead and the land without a ruler, the future was uncertain.

Would the next lord be better? Or would they bring ruin?

Among the escort, Jimmy and the knights had steeled themselves for this journey. But as they watched their homeland vanish behind them, a pang of sorrow still settled in their chests.

They had grown up here.

And now, they would likely never return.

Melissa sat quietly in her carriage, her face calm, yet her clenched fists betrayed her heart.

She didn't care if she was Baron Buck's true daughter or not.

It didn't matter.

She would always be a Sulla.

And she would restore their name.

Two weeks later.

Under the veil of a star-strewn sky, the convoy had made camp in an open clearing.

Huston lay upon a stack of dry hay, staring up at the celestial expanse above him.

On nights like this, the sky was endless, filled with stars too numerous to count.

He never tired of it.

Even as exhaustion tugged at his body, sleep did not come.

Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulling out the pocket watch.

Flicking it open, he watched as the hands continued their slow, steady march.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

His fingers traced the engraved hexagonal tower etched into the watch's background.

"This tower…"

There was something off about it.

Something unfamiliar, yet inexplicably familiar.

And for reasons he couldn't explain—

It called to him.