The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 192

151. A Petty Man’s Sword

“Ugh…”

“It’s medicine to calm your stomach. The Four-Nine River becomes most violent in November. It seems you had a rough time crossing it.”

After receiving Dooshala’s report, Carryl greeted Mart McGovern not in Tatur City but in the Port of Lawlessness.

“The currents of the Four-Nine River are quite famous. I taught a few skilled individuals how to steer, but it seems they’re still rough around the edges.”

“…I’m fine.”

Ironically, he had collapsed from seasickness after crossing the river and couldn’t move.

Mart tossed the medicine Carryl handed him into his mouth and slightly frowned.

“Princess Viola of the Fenria Kingdom came to visit a little while ago.”

“Fenria? One of the Istria Three Kingdoms?”

“Yes.”

Contrary to his words, Mart’s face was pale, and he looked at Carryl with a puzzled expression, wondering why he was being told this.

“She arrived in Tatur without any trouble. And without vomiting.”

“…”

Mart, understanding immediately that he was being told he was a worse knight than a princess, rose from his seat with a stiff expression.

Stagger-

Lacking strength in his legs, he lost his balance and almost fell forward.

But he barely managed to grab the edge of the bed and stood up.

“You should rest more.”

“This isn’t a situation where I can afford to rest. Let’s go outside.”

At Mart’s words, Carryl smiled faintly and followed him.

* * *

“You can imagine how difficult my father’s position became after that uproar in the Imperial Palace, without me needing to tell you.”

“Surely they wouldn’t dismiss the commander of the Azure Knights, the greatest swordsman on the continent and the guardian of the north.”

Mart glared, seemingly displeased with Carryl’s nonchalant attitude.

“You think a city of thugs and slaves like this can become a country? Fine. Even if I concede that it could, what good will come of its independence? It would only unleash more dissidents upon the world.”

Mart, who had been walking along the riverbank, turned abruptly and spoke.

“The story that Prince Luon killed Prince Kroman because of you has disappeared, and all the arrows are now aimed at Father.”

“Hmm…”

Unlike him, who put strength into his voice, Carryl simply listened to his words.

“Brother.”

Carryl called him calmly.

“Did you come here because of the former or the latter?”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m asking why you came to see me. Is it because of the story that Prince Luon killed Prince Kroman, or because the nobles are pressuring Father? I’d like you to clarify your position.”

“…”

At that moment, Mart didn’t say anything, but Carryl could tell that his eyes were wavering.

“The trash you speak of won’t disappear just because we leave the Free City alone. Rather, managing them within the confines of a nation would be more beneficial for the continent.”

Carryl put his hands behind his back and stepped ahead of Mart.

“You braved the danger of coming all the way to Tatur to see me… It can’t be because of the lower classes, which nobles like you wouldn’t care about.”

He turned and looked at Mart.

“So, shouldn’t we proceed with the conversation more quickly if you honestly state your position?”

“You…”

Mart gritted his teeth at Carryl’s words.

“Why did you ask that? Did you know that Prince Luon didn’t kill Prince Kroman?”

At his question, Carryl gave a strange smile.

“I only reported the facts: that goods from other races were being traded in Piasta, including materials for Twilight [a potentially dangerous substance or technology]. And that Reiji, the manager of Piasta, was a member of the First Prince’s faction.”

Carryl shrugged.

“You’re the one who seems to be saying that Prince Luon is innocent of the Third Prince’s murder. Are you questioning His Majesty’s judgment?”

“N, no way…”

“Or do you know something else?”

“…No.”

Mart said firmly.

But he didn’t seem to realize that his appearance made it seem even stranger.

There was no way he would have gone to the trouble of crossing the Four-Nine River to meet him if he had no suspicions.

“Well, I understand. I understand your responsibility as the eldest son… But if you came to me to whine about Father’s problems, then go back.”

Carryl waved his hand as if he didn’t need to hear any more.

“…You!”

Crack…!!

At that moment, Mart took a step back, overwhelmed by a pressure that seemed to crush him.

“…!!!”

“I am the heir of the McGovern family, but I am also the owner of the Tatur Free State.”

Carryl’s low voice pierced Mart’s ears.

‘What, what is this power…’

A feeling of suffocation.

It was a presence he had never seen even from his father, Kwell.

Carryl, no longer restricting his power as he had in the Imperial Palace, unleashed his magic to its fullest extent, causing Mart to bend over involuntarily.

“I came here as a courtesy to you, Brother. But this is my territory, and I am its lord. As I said a little while ago, the question of clarifying your position also involves the relationship between you and me.”

Carryl stared at the slumped Mart and walked past him as if he had no further interest.

“…If.”

It was then.

Carryl’s steps, which had turned away, stopped at Mart’s voice.

“If the reason I came to see you is the former, not the latter… Could you spare me a little more time?”

Mart said with difficulty under Carryl’s pressure.

“…King of Tatur.”

He couldn’t see it, but Carryl, who had turned away, raised the corners of his lips as if he had been waiting for this, closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a low breath.

“What does that mean? Are you saying there’s something suspicious about Prince Kroman’s death?”

“…That’s right.”

“Brother, I’ll ask you not as a king, but as a member of the McGovern family. Could it be… that the reason you came to see me is because Father is involved in Kroman’s death?”

Carryl lowered himself from his overbearing position and spoke to Mart. Having shown that he was no longer the same as he used to be, he now wanted to create an atmosphere in which Mart could easily reveal his secrets.

He already knew the reason for and the whole story behind the Third Prince’s death better than anyone else.

Of course, the same was true of the reason why Mart had come to see him.

‘It would have been easier if Father had been involved. The reason he couldn’t make a decision is simple. It’s because Ollivon, whom Father serves, is involved.’

Mart McGovern’s suspicion.

Who could he tell that he thought Ollivon, not Luon, had killed Prince Kroman?

With just that one word, the McGovern family could be punished for insulting the Imperial Family, and even if Ollivon was revealed to be the culprit, Kwell, his supporter, could suffer.

It was truly a dilemma.

Ironically, this situation allowed him to speak to the person with whom he had the least connection.

“No. No, that might be the case, but… at least Father isn’t involved.”

“What kind of ambiguous statement is that?”

Carryl smirked as he spoke to Mart, who was shaking his head.

In fact,

Carryl’s purpose in this trial was not to reveal Kroman’s killer. What was more important than that was how Mart McGovern would act.

‘But in the end, he couldn’t move.’

Were his expectations too high?

He knew from the start that he wasn’t a man of great caliber. But just as Tyren and Randal’s lives had changed, this incident could have given Mart a chance to change.

‘Growing up isn’t like spoon-feeding someone. It’s not about solving hunger right away, but about finding a way to live on your own.’

He could create opportunities.

But whether they seized them or turned away from them was ultimately up to each individual.

“What’s involved is…”

Mart said in a trembling voice.

“It’s Prince Ollivon.”

At his words, Carryl’s eyebrows twitched.

“I think that’s quite a dangerous statement.”

“I’m telling you my thoughts. As you said, I’m speaking to a member of the McGovern family, not the King of Tatur.”

“Are you saying that Prince Ollivon, not Prince Luon, is the culprit in Kroman’s death?”

“I don’t know. I have no proof. However… I still can’t shake my suspicion.”

“You think you saw it? Isn’t that uncertain?”

“Yes. It’s just my hunch. But… I still can’t get rid of my misgivings.”

Carryl replied with a stiff expression to Mart’s words.

“Forget it. The Emperor makes all the decisions. Even if the result is unfair.”

“But…!”

“If you thought the trial was wrong, why didn’t you say so then? If you had, you wouldn’t have had to go to the trouble of coming to see me now.”

At his scathing words, Mart could only bite his lip without saying anything.

“I… wanted to talk. I went to see you then, but there were too many eyes watching in the Imperial Palace. I was reprimanded by the ministers just for visiting you.”

Was that why he had just looked at him with a fearful expression without doing anything during the final trial?

It was understandable enough.

It was during the trial.

The attention of all the nobles would have been focused on what the two members of the McGovern family were talking about.

“You’re saying you were afraid to tell the truth. I expected it, but you’re just a petty man.”

“…What?”

“Aren’t you saying you couldn’t say it in front of everyone? Or are you saying that so I can comfort you that you couldn’t help it? I clearly said it earlier. If you’re going to whine, just don’t say anything and go back.”

Unlike expected, Carryl spoke coldly.

Mart’s face crumpled with a tearful expression at his words.

“Then what…!! What am I supposed to do in this situation?”

Finally, he spat out a word.

Carryl stared at him blankly.

Mart McGovern is a man with considerable skill, enough to receive a knight’s oath.

The problem is his caliber.

Thanks to that, everyone, including his brothers in the mansion, had supported him until now.

‘It’s not that being petty is bad. When more people look up to you than you’re capable of, you’re afraid that their expectations will be shattered, but conversely, you work hard to keep them from being shattered.’

Of course, the problem is that it’s not always an effort in the right direction.

That’s probably why Mart tried to suppress him on purpose at their first meeting.

And he didn’t even realize that he was being provoked by using that.

“Tell your father.”

Carryl said to him in a calm voice.

Mart’s face crumpled at his words that the answer he had expected was to tell Kwell.

“Seriously… Are you telling me to run to Father and tattle? Yes, I may be a petty man as you say. But I don’t want to be a useless one!”

“If you can’t even do that, then that’s what you’d be.”

“…What?”

“Who told you to commit treason, or to petition the Emperor to reopen the trial? What I want from you isn’t a great achievement. If you think you’re a petty man, then act accordingly.”

Carryl put strength into his voice.

“A petty man should wield a petty man’s sword.”

He took the steps he had stopped.

Then he said in a low voice.

“Even if you’re a petty man, aren’t you a knight? The length of the sword doesn’t matter. First, draw your sword. Because that’s the beginning of the oath.”

Mart didn’t say anything, but just stared at Carryl’s retreating figure.

“…”

Even after Carryl disappeared, he stared in the direction he had gone for a long time.

Clench-

How long had passed?

Mart, who had been standing blankly on the riverbank, clenched his fist as if he had made a decision.

* * *

“Will Mart move?”

“I don’t know. It won’t be easy. It depends on what he decides.”

After returning to Tatur, Carryl received a report that Mart had left the Port of Lawlessness and stared blankly out the window.

‘Having gone back in time for countless years… Having swung my sword countless times… I never imagined that I would use Mart like this.’

Carryl smiled bitterly as he looked out the window.

‘In fact, he was someone who wasn’t on my list of necessities.’

But now, Mart was in a position to determine the future of the Empire, becoming the biggest cog of all.

‘Mart, I don’t think human nature changes easily. The reason I was sure you would notice that Ollivon was using poison is because of that nature.’

But….

Carryl slowly closed his eyes.

‘Conversely, the reason I put you to the test is also because of that.’

The adopted sons of the McGovern family that Kwell had gathered were all talented, but in the end, none of them survived in the previous life.

“The fact that Ollivon may be the culprit who killed Kroman. It won’t be easy for the eldest son to undermine his father’s trust.”

“That’s right.”

Carryl nodded at Dooshala’s words.

‘Mart, it may sound disappointing, but I didn’t go back in time just to protect one family.’

Soon, an era of upheaval will come beyond the war.

Protecting the family’s safety in that vortex was the responsibility of the head of the family, not the king.

‘Mart. I’m thinking of entrusting the McGovern family to you.’

Leading the family on the right path as the future head of the family is what the eldest son should do.

So….

Carryl murmured in a low voice as if he were spitting out the words he couldn’t say in the meeting a little while ago.

“You’re the one who will make the turning point for the McGovern family.”