Turning Chapter 834

Chapter 834

"Yes, but it's not just a distant relation through a branch family, as I initially thought. It's much deeper. Nahan is... the illegitimate child of the current Duke of Herne."

At last, Yuder understood why Kanna deemed it crucial to convey this information, even in such an urgent moment.

"Is this information confirmed by the Duke of Herne's side?"

"Not yet. However, the information from First Princess Myra alone seemed sufficient for proof."

Yuder's eyebrows twitched slightly.

This meant that Myra had made a choice that an ordinary noble would not, even at the risk of death.

Before Myra, both Revlin and Pruelle had made similar choices, but the situations then and now were similar yet different.

The previous two had a new path as awakened members of the Cavalry after overthrowing their corrupt families. For them, who wanted to leave their families, it was a better path than before.

But not for Myra. Her goal was always to remain in her family and become the next Duchess. The Cavalry couldn't protect her, with her being a non-Awakener, as surely as the previous two.

Considering Myra's future, it was more beneficial not to honestly hand over the information to the Cavalry. Or, if she did, it was typical to negotiate several conditions for secrecy before indirectly giving a hint. Even that would have been a fair deal since it wouldn't have taken long to uncover the truth.

Yet, she chose to honestly disclose the information without any compensation...

‘She must be refusing to shirk responsibility.’

It was rare for someone to choose that path, knowing it could be disadvantageous for their future. Therefore, Yuder was genuinely amazed by this honest choice.

As Yuder pondered, Kanna continued speaking.

"Regarding another illegitimate sibling mentioned in Hosanna's story, it seems First Princess Myra doesn't know. From the information I've read, the Herne family had so many illegitimate children that it was common, making Nahan's case peculiar, being raised in captivity despite being a Southern descent bastard."

Kanna added that this might be because Nahan's mother was presumed to be of high status in the South.

"An illegitimate child between Duke Herne and the Southern countries aristocracy, certainly someone they'd want to eliminate or prevent from escaping the family."

Nahan's mere existence could be a scandal capable of dragging Herne's prestige through the mud.

"It seems Hosanna knows Nahan is from the Herne family, but Nahan probably doesn't. Before coming here, I asked First Princess Myra to look into people related to Nahan's past."

"Understood. Is that all you have to report?"

"Just that Hossana looked really bad when First Princess Myra briefly encountered him."

"That would be..."

"Yes. Probably because he used too much power during his escape. I heard he exerted enough strength to break a suppression device."

After saying this, Kanna bit her lip and murmured almost in a sigh.

"I should have made sure he couldn't go outside at all when I wasn't there... I was too complacent."

As much as Kanna, the reader of information, knew that despair and regret wouldn't help immediately, and although she appeared similar to usual on the outside, it couldn't be the same on the inside. Realizing she hadn't properly detected her charge's intention to escape and the warning signs must have been a severe shock.

Originally, Yuder had planned to leave immediately upon hearing the information, but upon seeing Kanna's slightly trembling, firm lips, Yuder found himself unable to simply walk away. He exhaled softly and began to speak.

"If that's the case, then... I should do more."

"Why you, Yuder? You just managed to hold off the sage, and now, with the Commander handling Nahan on the other side, everything should end well, right?"

"..."

"No?"

Of course, Kanna thought this way because she didn't know that Yuder was aware of the future.

"Well..."

Yuder was a man who possessed more information than anyone else. He had predicted the internal strife among the Star of Nagran and knew how it would unfold and what end they would meet.

Yet, he had not foreseen that the sage and Nahan would confront each other like this today. The same was true for the danger posed by Hosanna.

Despite being the most knowledgeable about the abilities of the Awakeners present, he had judged it highly unlikely for Hosanna's powers to recover any further. Kanna's complacency was, in effect, his own for entrusting her with Hosanna and leaving.

'But saying that would only make Kanna feel worse.'

He had felt the future he knew diverging from reality since the West, but the deviation had intensified since the day of the unusual crack in the South. And today was the pinnacle of that.

The confrontation between the sage and Nahan had gone not too badly. The Crown Prince, who could have been a significant obstacle, was dealt with early by Gakane, a stroke of unexpected luck. Ever had contributed new techniques to the Cavalry, and so far, no one had been seriously hurt.

But all these were far from the events Yuder had anticipated and prepared for.

Good or bad, everything was full of variables.

Known and unknown elements were mixing together. The future seemed as uncertain as sleet that was neither rain nor snow, growing worse rather than better.

Could he really be sure that his actions and choices today were the best possible paths he could have taken?

Yuder swallowed all these thoughts and spoke plainly.

"Anyway, the Commander would have likely given a positive assessment just for the fact that neither you nor the other members were hurt during Hosanna's escape. That's certain."

"Is that so?"

"If he had escaped, we would just capture him. That's why we are here."

"That's true."

Finally, Kanna smiled genuinely.

"Yes, so..."

It was at that moment.

Thoom...

Before Yuder could finish his sentence, an immense pressure, as if the entire space was being compressed, was felt from somewhere.

A sensation as if an invisible force was beating both the sky and the earth swept through, followed by a fierce wind and screams.

"What, what is...?!"

"Ugh!"

"OH******!"

Instinctively exerting his strength, Yuder protected his colleagues within his line of sight and supported Kanna, who nearly fell while staggering.

'...Just now, that was.'

Was it the aftermath of the power emanating from where Kishiar was?

Without a second thought, Yuder looked around and shouted loudly.

"I will go to where the Commander is. Be prepared for any sudden changes!"

As he finished speaking, a golden light burst from his left eye. Responding to his intention to find the connected party, multiple threads of fate extended in all directions.

Yuder propelled himself off the ground, sprinting towards the destination indicated by the golden threads.

'Kishiar is not alone. Gakane and Kurga are there too, and above all, the enemy is not in a good state. It won't be an easy opponent, but our side is much more advantageous.'

He knew all too well how strong they were, having seen their might firsthand.

Yuder Aile, even from his previous life, considered them beings difficult to defeat, regardless of his actions. Even if Kishiar couldn't fully utilize his power, he was already formidable, and now, his vessel had recovered incomparably more than before.

Losing would have been the real surprise.

He knew this, but still, he couldn't be at ease without seeing it with his own eyes.

As he ran, unhesitatingly following the guidance of the golden thread, the wind and sleet striking his body intensified. Nonetheless, the intangible thread didn't lose its light, allowing him to advance without difficulty and finally reach his destination.

"..."

'What is this?'

Yuder stopped in his tracks, staring at the massive black curtain unfolding before him.

It was essentially a black wall, obscuring everything inside it.

However, as he calmed his surprise and looked closely, he realized that the guiding golden thread led into it.

'And... this curtain itself feels somehow familiar.’

He reached out, touching it lightly, and then it dawned on him.

'This is... Gakane's shadow.'

He had never seen it displayed like this before, so it was hard to be certain just by sight.

But it was unmistakable. It was indeed Gakane's shadow that he had seen so often during their long training sessions.

‘He could use it in this way...?’