My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 282

282. The Unfinished Past (1)

*Bang!* *Krak-a-thoom!!*

Terrifying explosions ripped across the battlefield.

“Kkyaaaak!”

“S, save me!!”

Screams echoed through the blasts.

And those screams came solely from the Elan Dur soldiers.

Screams from a staggering 270,000 soldiers.

No, were there even still 270,000?

The retainers of Elan Dur, watching the war unfold, all shook their heads.

It was clear to anyone that their numbers had significantly dwindled.

The mighty army that had once blanketed the horizon no longer existed.

It had been a force comparable to a kingdom, a tremendous power that could even contemplate rebellion against the empire.

*Krak-a-thoom!*

*Kaaa-boooom!*

But it was collapsing, crumbling.

Elan Dur… was collapsing.

What was needed to bring about this collapse wasn’t an equal force of hundreds of thousands.

Neither the power of an empire nor the power of a kingdom was necessary.

Merely thousands.

A force of thousands that didn’t even amount to the scale of a single County [a smaller administrative division within a kingdom or empire].

Even at its peak, Ruben’s force didn’t exceed 5,000.

The 300,000-strong army couldn’t break through a force that didn’t even reach 5,000.

Ruben’s barrier, impenetrable to magical engineering weapons.

The bizarre siege weapons flying from within the barrier.

The absurdly strange tanks wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

The incessant barrage of arrows.

The spectacle of magic obliterating all directions.

A single entity, the Death Knight and the vengeful spirit, capable of matching an entire legion.

Therefore, this wasn’t a desperate last stand where Ruben was crying out for death.

Desperation? Urgency?

A viciousness that drove them to charge even with severed limbs?

No, it wasn’t any of that.

“We can’t win… we can’t win.”

“R, run away!”

Overwhelming.

Ruben was overwhelmingly crushing Elan Dur.

Elan Dur, terrified by Ruben’s overwhelming power, began to flee in disarray.

“H, how could this….”

“Where is Commander Eren? Where the hell is Commander Eren!”

In this dire situation, Vice Commander Eren was nowhere to be seen.

At times like these, he should be soothing the soldiers and directing them.

But for some reason, Eren wasn’t showing his face.

With Vice Commander Eren also absent.

According to rank, the next in command were none other than the retainers of Elan Dur.

And there wasn’t just one or two retainers of Elan Dur.

Under Elan Dur, 16 Barons and 9 Viscounts [titles of nobility, ranking below Earl or Count].

The majority were no longer among the living, but the remaining number was still significant.

Was that why?

“We must retreat! We must retreat right now!”

“Nonsense! Our forces are still intact!”

The orders couldn’t be unified and were being divided.

Numerous commanders. Multiple heads.

That was leading to internal division.

“So, what are you suggesting! Are we supposed to fight until we’re annihilated!?”

“Let’s just hold on a little longer! Ruben has clearly taken some damage as well! If we retreat now, we’ll be giving them time to recover despite having inflicted damage!”

“How long are we supposed to hold on! We’re all going to die!”

None of it was in Elan Dur’s favor.

No situation showed any sign of victory.

Therefore, there was only one way to turn the tide of this war.

“Where is the Lord? Where is the Lord?”

The Lord of Elan Dur, Durak Elan Dur.

But since when had Durak’s figure disappeared?

Just a moment ago, Durak had been engaged in a fierce battle with Cyan.

But now, he was nowhere to be found.

“If only the Lord could capture Count Cyan….”

If they captured Cyan, the commander-in-chief of Ruben, it would be over.

They could reverse this unfavorable war situation in an instant.

Durak was the number one swordsman on the continent and the absolute powerhouse of this continent.

There was a high probability that he could turn the tide of this war.

… Just as that thought crossed their minds.

*Shaaaaaaa─!*

In an instant, a thick darkness bloomed in all directions.

It was originally the Forest of Darkness, already stained with darkness.

But as if painting darkness over darkness, the jet-black darkness enveloped the entire Forest of Darkness.

*Kugugugugugung─!*

At the same time, the entire space trembled greatly.

A terrifying presence was felt amidst the trembling space.

“Kkeueuk…!”

“Aeuuugh…!”

Agonized groans erupted from the retainers.

The presence that dominated all space made them feel as if their entire bodies were being crushed.

And that wasn’t just the retainers.

“Heoheok…! Keoheok…!”

“Hahuk…!”

Hundreds of thousands of Elan Dur’s soldiers.

All of them couldn’t withstand the crushing presence.

The soldiers of Elan Dur were all gasping for breath and collapsing to the ground.

The more skilled soldiers were somehow enduring.

But it was just enduring, nothing more.

And *thud*.

The sound of quiet footsteps was heard.

It echoed softly, traversing the battlefield.

But with each step that followed.

The presence pressing down on their entire bodies grew even stronger.

“Keoheuk…!”

“Keok…!”

Their minds flickered, and their consciousness began to drift far away.

But the retainers strained their weary eyes.

They gritted their teeth, trying to identify the source of this energy.

What they saw through their blurred vision was a single human.

And two figures of some kind.

Ruben’s commander-in-chief, walking through the jet-black darkness.

The black lion roaring fiercely.

The dragon reigning over all things.

Cyan strode across the battlefield as if reigning over it.

He continued to walk towards where the retainers were.

And no one could move rashly.

None of Elan Dur could show any movement.

A single being overwhelming the battlefield.

Therefore, the one who could confront that being was also just one person.

But he wasn’t visible.

Durak’s figure… wasn’t visible.

No matter how long they waited, Durak didn’t appear.

Thus, Cyan’s footsteps didn’t stop.

He continued, relentlessly, to stir up the inside of Elan Dur.

What this meant was just one thing.

Durak… had been defeated.

The commander-in-chief of Elan Dur had been defeated by the commander-in-chief of Ruben.

Of course, even if the commander-in-chief was defeated, the war wouldn’t end.

Because battle and war were different.

But no one gathered here thought so.

Battle and war.

There was no victory for Elan Dur in either.

Above all, this power. This presence.

They could never think that way.

Soon, Cyan’s footsteps came to a halt.

When Cyan stood before the retainers of Elan Dur like that.

The stronghold of hundreds of years.

The two pillars supporting the empire.

The impossibility that everyone had dismissed.

The might that they thought could never be overcome.

*Clang*.

*Thump*.

It was the moment they knelt before Ruben.

#

The war between Ruben and Elan Dur.

An absurd war in which everyone on the continent, without a single exception, predicted Ruben’s defeat.

But the news that actually came.

“R, Ruben… Ruben won…?”

It turned the continent and the entire world upside down.

“What are you talking about? Ruben won?”

“Are you saying Ruben defeated Elan Dur?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

People naturally didn’t believe it.

No, it was more accurate to say they couldn’t believe it.

Because even saying this was absurd was an understatement.

300,000 strong army. The name Elan Dur.

What additional explanation was needed here?

From the start, the victory or defeat itself was a foregone conclusion.

But the news that came was far off from that expectation.

“Don’t overdo it. Don’t overdo it.”

“No, I’m telling you, it’s true!”

“Ahem! If you bring it up any further, I won’t stand still, even if it’s you.”

People naturally didn’t believe the rumor.

A rumor has to be plausible to be called a rumor.

Therefore, the spark of this news couldn’t spread greatly and quickly died down.

But it didn’t completely go out.

The spark of the news remained faintly.

And that small spark eventually flared up into a huge conflagration.

[Elan Dur’s 300,000 Strong Army Annihilated]

[Ruben Suffered No Casualties]

A shocking news that struck the continent and the world.

“······”

“······”

People didn’t say anything.

They only revealed an astonishment that couldn’t be hidden without saying anything.

“T, this is….”

“Is it… possible?”

Everywhere they went, they constantly heard related content.

Everywhere they went, people revealed an astonishment that couldn’t be hidden.

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the entire continent was dyed with astonishment.

This expression was by no means an exaggeration.

A result that was hard to believe at all.

Among them, the more unbelievable fact was this.

“Ruben’s casualties… are none?”

Ruben’s lack of casualties.

Usually, when considering the damage of war, the expression ‘none’ is never used.

Because that was impossible.

For example, let’s assume that 100 casualties occurred among Elan Dur’s 300,000 strong army.

This was also truly absurd.

Nevertheless, the expression ‘none’ is not used here.

The damage is minimal. Or it is minor.

It was only expressed in this way.

Because ‘none’ literally meant completely absent.

It meant that there was literally not a single casualty.

Such a thing was absolutely impossible in war.

If you only calculate the probability, it was 0%.

It wasn’t close to 0%, but literally 0%.

It was no different from a non-existent probability.

But the news that came was none.

“······”

“······”

It was by no means an exaggeration that the entire continent was covered in astonishment.

And the reason why this was possible was largely two.

The first was, of course, arming with dragon equipment.

The sword made of dragon bone had the cutting power of an aura blade class [a weapon imbued with magical energy].

The armor made of dragon skin had the durability to block even the impact of aura.

Dragon equipment that turns an ordinary person who hasn’t even trained into a knight of aura user class.

Ruben’s power, which had been supplied with all such dragon equipment.

It could be said to be an unprecedented power in the history of the continent.

But even so, no casualties were impossible.

Because there was such a thing as a blind arrow in war.

And it was common to catch a rat by accidentally stepping on it.

Therefore, the most decisive reason why Ruben’s damage could be none was separate.

③ (1,500,000 M)

[Construction Effect] – Within the territory, territory residents in a ‘healing state’ do not die.

.

.

, which amounts to 1.5 million mileage.

The sanctuary’s fraudulent effect.

Of course, the condition of ‘healing state’ was attached to the end.

Also, it was impossible to meet the conditions of the healing state in a tense war situation.

But if the battlefield was Ruben, the story was different.

In Ruben, the World Tree, Insteez, was growing naturally.

The World Tree, Insteez, called the Tree of Life.

Insteez had countless effects befitting its reputation.

Among them, the effect that was intertwined with was this.

〈The recovery rate of all living things within the territory increases by +7,000%.〉

It was no different from being in a healing state under the blessing of the World Tree, Insteez.

As a result, there were no casualties.

All seriously injured individuals whose lives were at risk were transferred to the medical ward and recovered safely.

However, the people of the continent could not know these detailed circumstances.

All they saw was the fact that there were no losses.

“Don’t say such nonsense. What is this…”

“This can’t be. This can’t be happening.”

The shock that struck the continent did not easily subside.

And the truth that the shock pointed to was twofold.

Ruben’s victory.

And the fall of the continent’s number one sword.

It was the moment when the absolute powerhouse of this continent was overturned.

As the entire continent was turned upside down.

Ruben, located in the Dark Forest.

Cyan quietly lifted his gaze and looked at the scenery of Ruben.

The aftermath of the war had left it in a terrible state.

Fortunately, there was no major damage inside Ruben’s barrier.

However, the scenery around Ruben…

The Dark Forest was truly shattered.

Frankly, it was awkward to even call it the Dark ‘Forest’.

It was to the point where it seemed more appropriate to call it the Dark ‘Plains’.

Cyan quietly gazed at the Dark Plains.

The soldiers were busily moving due to the post-war cleanup.

Not only the soldiers but also all the residents of Ruben were stepping up.

Clearing away debris, filling in the overturned ground.

Their faces were tired, but there was still a sense of relief and a hint of joy.

The victory in the war.

How could they not rejoice?

Cyan silently watched the people of Ruben.

How long had he been blankly staring at the scene?

From behind, he suddenly felt a familiar presence.

He didn’t need to sense it to know who it was.

No, he could tell even without intending to.

His body reacted on its own.

“What are you doing here?”

The pure voice that tickled his ears made it obvious who it was.

Whether in the past, present, or future.

There would only be one person who could call Cyan so comfortably.

Turning his head, as expected.

A woman with platinum blonde hair, Aria, was walking towards Cyan.

Aria’s face looked truly haggard.

Dark circles had settled under her fair skin.

Her once lustrous platinum blonde hair was now dry.

Aria, who didn’t need much maintenance due to her divine power, seemed to have suffered a lot of mental anguish from this war.

Aria seemed to take a seat next to Cyan.

“Are you okay?”

And then, without any preamble, she asked Cyan.

Without even asking what he was okay about, Aria asked Cyan.

Cyan simply gave a faint smile.

“What wouldn’t be okay? We won.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Aria gave a small smile.

Despite Aria’s haggard appearance, her smile was truly beautiful.

Cyan turned his gaze forward again.

Aria also turned her gaze forward.

And silence fell.

Cyan and Aria didn’t say much to each other.

They simply watched the scenery of the post-war cleanup.

How much time had passed?

“You know, I don’t know you very well.”

Aria brought up an unexpected topic.

Cyan wondered what she meant and turned to look at Aria.

“I’m talking about you when you were in Elan Dur.”

However, Aria didn’t turn her head.

She opened her mouth while looking at the scenery ahead, not Cyan.

“I’ve heard words like ‘bastard’ or ‘the world’s dullest,’ but I don’t know the details—what kind of situation you were in back then, what kind of pain you’ve been through.”

He wondered what she was trying to say…

“I am the Saintess of the Holy Empire. It was decided that way from birth. So I didn’t have any hardships or trials like you. I was always revered. I said last time that I didn’t really want to be a Saintess, but…”

Aria paused for a moment and opened her mouth.

“Honestly, others would think it sounds like a privileged complaint. I admit that too, because there are things I’ve received as a Saintess. So… I think I was actually more scared.”

Aria continued to speak.

“If people knew my true self, if they stripped away the shell of the Saintess from me, would people still like me? Would they still revere me? As you know… my personality isn’t very good.”

“You’re aware of that?”

“…Hey, would it hurt you to say no in this situation?”

Aria pouted as if she was sulking.

Cyan chuckled at the sight.

Aria shook her head and continued to speak.

“So I was always afraid that I would be abandoned. So I think I lived as a Saintess, not as myself, so that I wouldn’t collapse, because people wouldn’t like my collapsed self.”

“At times, I found comfort in seeing others collapse and be abandoned. I found comfort in criticizing those who were different on the inside and out, and I told myself that I shouldn’t collapse like that.”

That’s how Aria lived as a Saintess, not as Aria.

She lived wearing a mask of nobility, even though it was different from her nature.

In that sense…

“This place, Ruben, was very strange. Everyone here… how should I put it? They all had a screw loose.”

Aria smiled slightly and continued.

“And everyone was abandoned by the world.”

The humans from Elan Dur.

The dwarves from their own kind.

The dark elves from the world.

And the beastmen from history.

“So, to be honest, my first impression of Ruben wasn’t very good. There must be a reason why people are abandoned. But… I soon realized that wasn’t the case.”

Aria turned her gaze forward.

Following her gaze, he saw the people of Ruben doing the post-war cleanup.

Tired and exhausted faces.

But the joy that was embedded within.

“At some point… I started to like those abandoned appearances so much.”

The way they didn’t care even when they were abandoned.

The way they stubbornly lived on even when they collapsed.

“Ah, it’s okay to be abandoned. It’s okay to collapse.”

It’s really nothing.

Even if you’re abandoned or collapsed, you can be this happy.

“I… I’ve been very afraid of being abandoned by people all this time.”

That’s how desperately she had lived as a Saintess.

Wearing a mask so as not to be abandoned by people.

She trembled with anxiety, telling herself that she couldn’t collapse.

But what Aria actually saw in Ruben…

The very place where people who had collapsed and been abandoned lived.

Here in Ruben, all the territory residents had been abandoned by the world.

Everyone seemed to have a screw loose, broken and collapsed.

“Everyone is living happily.”

They could be this happy.

“You know, I like Ruben here. When I’m here, I’m convinced that I can be happy even if I collapse and am abandoned.”

She doesn’t have to live as a Saintess.

She can throw away the shell of the Saintess.

She doesn’t have to be the Saintess, Aria.

She can live as a woman named Aria Linu Sapiel.

Even if she’s abandoned and collapsed. Even if that’s the case.

Anyone can be happy enough.

This territory, Ruben, is proof of that.

Eventually, Aria slowly turned her gaze.

“I don’t know you well, when you were in Elan Dur.”

Aria looked straight at Cyan.

“You told me last time Durak is your father, and the starting point of you as a person.”

And Cyan had cut down that Durak.

He had cut down Cyan’s father and the starting point of Cyan’s existence.

That’s how Cyan cut down his starting point.

He uprooted the roots of Cyan’s existence.

He thought it would be okay.

It was a necessary thing, and it was something he had to do.

He was definitely thinking that.

“…”

Cyan was engulfed in an emptiness for some unknown reason.

And Aria seemed to know Cyan’s heart.

No, he didn’t know if Aria knew, but…

“No. Your beginning is not Durak.”

Aria was saying that it wasn’t.

“The Cyan I know is not Cyan Elan Dur.”

The one who cultivated the sanctuary of the abandoned, Ruben.

The one who makes the collapsed people happy.

“The lord of Ruben, Cyan Ruben—that’s the Cyan I know. So your roots are not Elan Dur. The beginning of your existence is not Durak either.”

The name Cyan Ruben.

The roots and origins of that name.

“It’s here, in Ruben, and with the people of Ruben.”

Aria finished speaking.

Cyan quietly looked at Aria.

Aria did not avoid Cyan’s eyes.

Unlike when they used to bicker, Aria’s eyes were more serious than ever.

And they were shining more beautifully than ever.

Cyan looked at Aria’s eyes and chuckled.

Before he knew it, he let out a laugh.

“It’s very awkward when you say something like that.”

“Why? What’s wrong with me?”

“You said it yourself, that your personality isn’t very good.”

“Tsk! I was just worried!”

Aria turned her head away with a sulky expression.

The shimmering platinum blonde hair disturbed Cyan’s vision.

A subtle floral scent was felt from the fluttering platinum blonde hair.

Cyan simply smiled.

The reason why Aria said these words.

The reason why she brought up a story that wasn’t like Aria.

Cyan slowly turned his gaze and looked straight ahead.

The people of Ruben were busily moving, cleaning up the battlefield.

For some reason, why did he feel so relieved?

What could be the reason why his empty heart was filled with something unknown?

“Above all, you tend to try to solve everything alone.”

In the meantime, Aria spoke in a sulky tone.

“If it’s hard, lean on the people around you a little. If you don’t think there’s anyone to lean on…”

You can lean on me… Hmm.

Aria pretended not to say anything and glanced away.

Cyan let out a hollow laugh and said.

“You’re from the Holy Empire, but what.”

“In times like this, you just say okay! Anyway, you’re terribly oblivious.”

Aria pouted with a sulky expression.

At the sight, Cyan chuckled once again.

And then, for the first time to Aria…

“Thank you.”

He said thank you.

“…Huh? What did you say?”

Then Aria asked, widening her eyes.

It wasn’t that she didn’t hear it… it was more like she wanted to hear it one more time.

It seemed like that was the case.

Cyan shook his head.

In the end, like this.

The war with Elan Dur came to an end with a victory.

He cut off the starting point of the past, Durak.

But not everything was over.

There was still a war that had not ended.

There was still a past that had not been cut off.

Cyan took a step.

“Hey! Where are you suddenly going!”

Then Aria shouted in surprise.

Cyan continued to walk and answered.

“The future.”

“The future?”

Aria tilted her head, as if she still didn’t understand.

Cyan simply smiled.

The war that has not yet ended.

The past that has not been cut off.

The fight of the Arnice that has been going on since a thousand years ago.

Their fight was not over yet.

And Elan Dur, who colluded with the devil.

Although Elan Dur was defeated in the war, it was not completely destroyed.

Still, he was crouching in the eastern part of the Empire.

He had to see the end of the fight that had been going on for a thousand years.

Cyan took a step silently.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Aria just made a puzzled expression.

#

Isabel’s office in the Elan Dur mansion, located in the Elan Dur Marquisate in the eastern part of the Empire.

“Explain.”

Isabel spat out the words in a low voice.

There was no emotion in Isabel’s words.

Stiffness or indifference.

Emotions had been cut out of Isabel’s tone and expression.

Maybe that’s why.

“I… I don’t know what’s going on either…”

Rachel couldn’t even make any excuses.