The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 49 – Part 1
It’s been a month since I returned to the academy after ending the war.
I headed to the Paragon Forest in northern Calliper with Yumir.
This place is similar to Rainpol because it shares a border with Crossing, but it was not inhabited except for occasional use as a road or by loggers coming to cut trees.
Here, I felt a strange sensation.
“Yes… This is the place.”
“Yes, this is where you were born, young master.”
Even Yumir’s voice, which usually doesn’t show emotion, couldn’t hide the loneliness.
“Lady Rizna… Lady Rizna Almein, who was pregnant with you, felt labor pains while passing through here. It was too far to go to a village, so after discussion, the group decided to give birth here.”
“That group you mentioned was…?”
“Yes, as I mentioned before, it was the Fensillon Restoration forces. The place where I was.”
“What exactly were they trying to do there? I understand they wanted to reestablish the Fensillon Empire, but…”
“I don’t know specifically what activities they were doing. At that time, I was just a young slave rescued from the arena, indebted to Lady Rizna’s kindness.”
“I see, please continue.”
As if tracing the footsteps of that day, Yumir led me, as if in a trance.
“Lady Rizna’s labor pains lasted long. By the time the midwife who was prepared in advance delivered young master Ars, it was already night of the next day.”
The group was in a festive mood because of this birth.
“That’s because another royal bloodline was born. Lady Rizna’s husband, Maios Almein, was the leader of the Fensillon Restoration forces and the last remaining prince of Fensillon.”
“Another one… That means there was already one?”
“Yes, it was young master Arios, the son of Lady Euphemia.”
He was the protagonist, Cassius Lloyd.
In other words, the protagonist and I were half-brothers with the same father.
“We had a small party that night. Everyone blessed your birth. Even young master Arios, who was only 3 years old, held his younger brother in his arms, looking curious.”
But that’s when the tragedy began.
“That night. Suddenly, a group attacked us. Whether they were bandits or an army, we couldn’t tell, but everyone was confused and started to flee.”
However, my mother couldn’t escape.
“Lady Rizna was weakened from childbirth. The guards who should have been by her side were nowhere to be seen, probably engaged in battle. Lady Rizna knew she would be caught quickly if she tried to escape, so she asked me, her attendant, to take you and run away.”
“I see…”
Although I wasn’t overwhelmingly sad, I couldn’t help feeling bitter.
“I didn’t run away immediately. I thought we’d be caught if we fled recklessly. So I hid in a hole that had been dug to bury food waste. For hours, hoping they would pass by, praying that you wouldn’t start crying. When I came out after the surroundings had quieted down, there was nothing in front of me.”
“Nothing?”
“They had burned all the evidence, including the bodies.”
“That’s…”
It was the method of bandits or outlaws.
This makes it difficult to determine the scale of the attack and the origins of the victims.
“So you don’t know the identity of the attackers?”
“No. Since I was hiding in the hole holding my breath, I couldn’t properly confirm who the attackers were.”
The destruction of the Fensillon Restoration forces was apparently a big issue at the time. There was much debate among kingdoms about who could have attacked the restoration forces.
“It can’t be helped. Please continue.”
“Yes… I tried to find any trace of Lady Rizna among the remains. If there was no trace in the remains, it might mean she was still alive.”
“…”
“But even that small hope was soon betrayed. …I found her hairpin among the burned remains.”
Trudge, trudge. We had reached the center of the forest. At the top of the hill here was the grave Yumir had made.
“I buried it here. Hoping that Lady Rizna would find peace.”
It wasn’t much of a grave. Just a tree standing tall as a symbol. Since the body wasn’t recovered, it seems she was satisfied with just burying something.
Yumir smiled warmly, seeming deeply moved.
Then she strokes the tree.
“Lady Rizna. This is your son, young master Ars. He has grown up splendidly, resembling you.”
“It feels odd to say this now, but when I think of mother, the first person who comes to mind is my current mother.”
“That’s natural.”
“Come to think of it, how did you end up at baron Elaine house?”
“Well…”
After leaving the Paragon Forest, Yumir had to wander within Calliper. Yumir says she moved from place to place seeking shelter, but no one would take her in.
“Beastkin are despised on the continent, you see. Moreover, I was young and in poor condition at the time, so no one wanted to take on such a troublesome burden. During this time, you started to develop a fever. It was a difficult journey for a newborn to endure.”
At that point, Yumir desperately sought help by any means necessary.
In that process, it was Barn Elaine ruling Ribel who answered that plea for help.
“It must have been heaven’s will. To let us meet such kind people.”
“I agree with that.”
“Baron Berial gave us medicine and allowed us to rest at his mansion. Since we couldn’t keep imposing, I planned to leave as soon as young master recovered. But then Miss Julia suddenly started being stubborn.”
“Sister Julia?”
“Yes, she insisted on making you her younger brother. Miss Julia, who was the youngest, had always wanted a younger sibling, they say.”
“I see.”
Sister Julia always called me the youngest and doted on me. I never knew there was this backstory.
“Whether this was the catalyst, or they simply pitied us, the madam suggested we become adopted children. Including me.”
“You too?”
“They were too kind. There’s no way a noble could adopt a beastkin as their child… So they had only you become the adopted child, and I became a servant of the Elaine baronial family.”
The hidden secret of Ars Elaine’s birth.
I showed the necklace I was wearing.
“Yumir, perhaps this necklace you gave me…”
“That’s right, it belonged to Lady Rizna. She said it was a gift from her father for her coming of age ceremony. She told me to give it to you when you came of age. She said it would protect you in the future.”
“This necklace will protects me? What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure of the meaning either.”
The sapphire, gleaming clearly in the light, gave off an inexplicable sense of comfort. As if it was saying it was always watching over me.
I thought this necklace must have great significance.
After all, the King of Parain immediately recognized my identity upon seeing this necklace.
‘Could it be a symbol of the heir to the throne?’
If this necklace indicated the first in line for imperial succession, it would make sense, but Fencillon had already fallen at that point. There was no emperor or anything.
Moreover, there was already the firstborn son, the protagonist.
‘It would be good if I could hear the truth from King of Parain.’
For some reason, he was keeping silent about that part.
“Am I of the Fencillon imperial bloodline…”
Though I heard the secret of my birth, I wasn’t particularly shocked. Since I had already heard roughly about it from King Parain, it was easy to accept.
The problem was the meaning this held.
Two children with the blood of the emperor: Cassius Lloyd and Ars Elaine.
In the game, the two met fatefully and cooperated, but later one was framed as a traitor and driven out.
‘The possibility that their conflict was the main story is too high.’
In other words, I’m likely the protagonist’s true opponent. The main villain.
That’s why I changed course and gained the loyalty of the seven vassals. Because I couldn’t know how the situation would unfold afterwards.
‘Then is the answer to not follow the story?’
If I followed the story, I, as the villain, would ultimately be defeated.
‘No, it’s not confirmed yet.’
I couldn’t rule out the possibility of Ars and the protagonist reconciling. If I decide not to antagonize the protagonist now, it could very well turn out that way.
In that case, the key point is how the protagonist thinks.
Even if I decide to cooperate with the protagonist, once the protagonist realizes my identity, he might decide I’m a threat to his position and try to eliminate me.
‘Maybe that’s what happened in the game too.’
When moves were made to eliminate me, perhaps Yumir tried to eliminate the protagonist first.
‘Damn, it’s complicated.’
The story was still murky. If anything, it had become even more tangled.
But then Yumir spoke.
“Young master.”
“Yes?”
“If you’re thinking seriously about the imperial bloodline, please don’t. That’s not what Lady Rizna wanted either.”
“Mother?”
“Yes, while she was pregnant with you, Lady Rizna used to say things like a mantra. I hope this child lives happily and freely, unbound by any shackles. You can forget about the fallen Fencillon. You’re not the imperial Ars Almein, but Ars Elaine. It’s okay to do what you want and follow your heart.”
“…!”
These words pierced through me.
Neither Ars Elaine, nor Ars Almein.
But me. Just me.
“What I want to do…?”
I had never thought about such things. I just thought that since I had entered the game in this mysterious way, I must have been given some purpose, and I intended to fulfill it.
That’s the kind of person I was. A fallen prodigy. A fake genius who became the object of ridicule.
My family had fallen apart and scattered, and I had no friends worth mentioning. I was so empty, inside and out, that I had nothing to immerse myself in except mobile games.
What had breathed life into me up to this point was Ars’s consciousness that I had merged with.
‘Then I guess I’ve done Ars a disservice.’
After all, he ended up getting the short end of the stick by fusing with a barren personality like mine.
In fact, the Als in the game had a somewhat passionate temperament. He had a warmth different from how I am now.
Thinking about it that way, I suddenly wanted to make Ars… The me who is here now, happy.
“My happiness…”
Money and honor weren’t particularly urgent for me. I knew well how futile those things were.
“If possible, I’d like to have a child.”
“…Pardon?”
Even Yumir was startled and asked back at this.
“Having a wife and children. Leisurely playing with the children. I want to live that kind of simple life.”
This was the common happiness that both I and Ars desired.
Only then did I truly realize that I had become one with Ars.
As Yumir said, I had become Ars Elaine in the truest sense, neither Ars Almein nor the empty shell I used to be.
“A goal for my own happiness… That’s good. I feel motivated.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I felt such refreshing motivation.
Of course, to achieve that goal, I need to navigate the situation right in front of me. If I can’t pacify this turbulent era, the continent will fall into such chaos that even such simple happiness will become impossible.
So I decided to look ahead and move forward for now.
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Well Ars you got a premium wife candidate with you right now.
Harem is the truth