Chapter 40: Ashera part 1

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Translator: Soafp

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Two years had passed since the expedition, and I had turned 12 years old.

It was the first Shadow Day of the year after my 12th birthday.

The atmosphere within the mansion felt slightly odd from the morning.

Even when breakfast time arrived, Ashera didn’t show up.

“Mother, what happened to Ashera?”

To my question, not just Mother but Father wore bitter expressions. They exchanged looks before Mother slowly began to speak.

“Everyone, please listen. Ashera might not be able to come to the mansion anymore.”

“Eh? What do you mean, Mother?”

“Rafina-sama, why?”

With this sudden news, my mind went blank, and words wouldn’t come out instantly.

Mother glanced at me briefly before continuing.

“You know that Ashera’s mother has been ill, right?”

“Yes.”

“She’s in critical condition…”

“Critical…”

“Yes, it’s been three days…”

“Three days…”

“She left early this morning and should be heading to the neighboring Kashu Viscountcy.”

“But why can’t Ashera come back? If she goes back to the Blue Ring Territory, she should be able to return, right?”

Father and Mother glanced at me again.

“If she can come back…”

“What do you mean?”

“Ashera’s mother is said to be a servant of the Gran Baron House, serving under the Kashu Viscount’s territory…”

“The Gran Baron House…”

“The Gran Baron House seems to have borrowed a considerable amount of money from the Kashu family to take care of Ashera’s mother.”

“Money…”

“If Ashera’s mother passes away, they’ll have to repay the debt.”

“…”

“However, it seems that the third son of the Kashu family took an interest in Ashera during your 10th birthday celebration. They offered to cancel the debt if Ashera could be his.”

“What! To buy Ashera with money!”

“Halva also can’t accept such a thing… But after entrusting Ashera’s mother’s care to them for years, it seems they can’t refuse even Ashera’s engagement.”

“That’s…”

“From the perspective of commoners like Halva and the Gran Baron House, marrying even a third son into the Viscount’s family is an unexpected opportunity.”

“…”

“Originally, refusing is out of the question.”

“Did Ashera agree to this?!”

“I spoke to her directly this morning, and she’s already agreed.”

“What…”

“I’m also disappointed… But if Ashera herself is okay with it, there’s nothing we can do.”

“…”

“That’s all for the discussion… I’ll retire to my room… I need some time to collect my thoughts…”

“…”

Father, Mother, El, and Marl glanced at me, unsure of what to say.

I didn’t know what to say either…

I returned to my room, but I couldn’t recall how I got there.

From today, Ashera wouldn’t be around… It felt completely unreal.

(Calm down. Even in Japan, there were meetings and farewells… If she’s going to marry into a noble family, I shouldn’t have any reason to worry… I hope.)

My thoughts spun in circles.

How long had it been? I’m exhausted. I don’t care anymore. I’m going to Ashera! I don’t care what anyone else thinks!

I made up my mind to chase after Ashera. That decision propelled me off the bed in an instant.

To anyone else, my eyes probably held the flames of determination.

First things first—preparation. I raided the kitchen for food supplies and headed back to my room.

From my closet, I pulled out the gear from the expedition.

I put on the armor and set two spare knives. One short sword in its holder, packed food supplies in my backpack, and hung a canteen from my waist.

Minimal, but the preparations were done.

I slapped my cheek once to snap myself out of any doubts.

With my head held high, I strode out of the house. That was my resolve.

I headed to the entrance after passing through the hall. Oddly, Father was there, wearing a wry smile.

“Al, where are you going?”

“…?”

“Can’t you talk to me anymore?”

I turned around and looked directly into Father’s eyes.

“I’m going to Ashera.”

“I see. Can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“What position do you intend to take when going to Ashera? As a childhood friend? As a friend?”

“That is…”

Father sighed slightly.

“Al. This is not your father talking; it’s just one man to another. It’s cowardly not to clarify your position when asking a woman to accompany you. It might influence a woman’s entire life. I want you to face it squarely and respond sincerely.”

“That’s…”

“Let me ask again. In what capacity do you intend to go?”

“As… a suitor…”

Upon hearing my answer, Father smiled a bit.

“Just a little more I’d like to tell you.”

“Yes…”

“Before Rafina, I had an engagement.”

“This is news to me.”

“Her name was Miranda von Kashu. She’s the current third daughter of the Kashu family.”

“What? That means…”

“Yeah. It will cause a bit of trouble for both families to criticize each other’s engagements.”

“…”

“Perhaps the relationship will improve in the next generation.”

“I see…”

“This discussion will probably escalate into a matter between our houses.”

“…”

“Will you still go?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Then here’s a parting gift. If the Gran Baron House doesn’t work out, we’ll accept the whole family in the Blue Ring Territory.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s not solely your responsibility. Breaking the engagement is the more serious matter. I’d say it’s 80% mine and 20% yours.”

“Father, thank you.”

“Well, hurry. You might not catch up.”

“Yes, I’m off!”

“Taimei is outside. He’ll guide you to the border.”

“For everything… Thank you.”

I stepped out of the entrance and explained to Taimei that I wanted to pursue Ashera.

“Taimei, I want to go after Ashera. Can you do it?”

“Leave it to me. Let’s use horses. You can ride on the back, right?”

“Leave it to me.”

“Then let’s go fetch the princess.”

I nodded once firmly at Taimei’s words and followed him.

Joshua stood at the entrance, watching Aldo leave.

“Now then, there are things I need to handle as well.”

Muttering to himself, he set off towards Rafina. Honestly, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders.

“Rafi, I need you to listen calmly.”

“What is it?”

“Aldo went after Ashera.”

“…”

“…”

“Did you stop him?”

“I couldn’t stop him.”

“…”

“This situation weighs heavily on me… If not for my involvement, it could have been resolved easily with arrangements from the head of the family.”

“…”

“Rafi, are you angry with me?”

“No, if Aldo made up his mind, stopping him would’ve been impossible…”

“Miranda saying she won’t marry someone who already has two wives.”

“A follower of the Ramus faith…”

“Then, I’ll try to arrange something to assist Aldo.”

“Please…”

Without delay, Joshua started writing a letter in his study.

The recipient was Lord Balzar of the Blue Ring Territory. He detailed the recent events and requested negotiations for a resolution.

Honestly, exerting that much effort for just Ashera seemed disproportionate.

As a ruler, cutting her off might have been the right move, and Joshua understood that.

However, cutting off Ashera would undoubtedly drive Aldo to run away.

For the Blue Ring family, that was something they couldn’t condone.

Since the day he saw that ring, Aldo had become special to the Blue Ring family.

Imagining the upcoming negotiations, Joshua wrote the letter while holding his head.