***
The man’s voice trembled severely.
The confusion revealed on the outside was so clear that anyone would acknowledge the fact that Ulrih had hit the mark.
Roberta did not know who Banares was, but she was certain that that man was hiding his identity and using Count Ballido as a deputy.
Therefore, the man opened his mouth to make some excuse, but soon realized it was futile and let out a deep sigh.
“I did not know I would be found out at the end, even though no one has recognized me until now. That is right. I am Bailen, the Duke of Tollemanca and a descendant of the Great King Banares.”
Duke Bailen asked in a tone of not being able to understand.
“How on earth did you know?”
“You resemble him, Banares.”
“Do I resemble him?”
Ulrih placed his arm on the armrest of the chair again and looked at Bailen while resting his chin. That appearance, Roberta thought, was like contrasting him with an existence in his memory.
“No, perhaps you are quite different.”
As he muttered to himself, Bailen frowned. The Lord’s unchanging attitude even after he revealed he was a member of the royal family must have gotten on his nerves.
“What do you mean by ‘resemble’?”
He asked again, raising his voice.
“How do you know the appearance of Banares?”
“I saw him in Cabonihar.”
“You saw him?”
Bailen let out a hollow laugh, saying it made no sense.
“I heard your age was a little over 300. For you to have seen him, you would have had to be born several hundred years earlier than that; how did you see him?”
“I stayed there for a bit.”
Ulrih removed his chin from his fist and continued speaking.
“At that time, I was not Ulrih of Dithmarschen, but used another name. Furthermore, I did not stay as long as I have here. I only stayed very briefly, several times. I met Banares then.”
“You met him? You mean you faced him directly?”
“Yes, directly.”
Roberta heard the voice of one of the guests muttering involuntarily that it made no sense. They wore unpleasant expressions like people who had heard nonsense.
However, Bailen was different. Roberta saw his expression change. The person who should have frowned the most instead erased his expression, lowered his voice, and asked.
“Was your name at that time the same as it is now?”
“No, it was another name.”
“Then what name? When you met him.”
Roberta also sharpened her ears.
The Lord’s other name? She thought that perhaps it could be a clue, whether she knew it or not. The Lord she saw did not seem like someone who would have lived an ordinary life under another name.
“My memory is vague. As you know, it is too long ago. Moreover, I had to change my name often then. I used several names even in front of Banares.”
At the word ‘several,’ Bailen asked quickly.
“It doesn't matter. Tell me anything you remember.”
Ulrih narrowed his eyes and tapped his temple with his right index and middle fingers, and after doing that for a long time, he announced the names one by one.
Garian, Ranir, Stain, Lyse, and so on. Roberta tried to find a point of contact by contrasting them with her memory, but there was not a hint of déjà vu.
However, Bailen was different. As the names began to be listed, he gasped. His pupils grew larger as if something were rising from within and striking him.
Bailen’s face, which had drawn confusion when starting the conversation with the Lord, covered it with doubt, and now overpainted it with astonishment.
“...Afterward, I also used the name Rosenstain by combining Rosen of Rosenburg and Stain of BrauStain. I thought it was a fairly good name, but those two regions had quite bad relations. Thanks to that, I had to change it quickly. And the next one should be the last.”
“……”
“In my memory, the name I used when I met that child, Banares, is the last one in chronological order. This name was used while briefly being under a certain local noble—”
And as the name of Ulrih reached the end:
“Laurant.”
He called that name before anyone else.
Ulrih stopped speaking for a moment and looked at him.
“Yes, I attached a title before the surname like an elf. So the full name was Laurant de Villeneuve. It was a name I used while briefly being under a noble in the Villeneuve region.”
A face turned pale white was looking at Ulrih.
“It was you... Laurant.”
His voice also trembled.
“I thought it was a coincidence just because a few names matched......” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Too many matched for a coincidence. Is that not so.”
“That is right... no.”
Bailen spoke again.
“It is so.”
“Did Banares tell you?”
“Yes. He was my grandfather.”
“Grandfather?”
Duke Bailen’s tone changed.
“I see. Now everything is understood.”
Ulrih spoke as if muttering and gestured for him to continue the story.
“He said your names were very many. That is why when he taught me about you, he taught me many names first. The names you just listed.”
Ulrih said that it couldn't be helped at that time.
“Because it was a situation where I couldn't stay in one place for long and had to keep moving. I had no choice but to change my name every time. Rather, I should say it was good luck that I met that child, Banares, several times.”
“At that time, I thought it was a bit of a far-fetched story... but eventually his words were right. He said that a person with a long time would definitely meet another person with a long time.”
“It seems you heard a lot about me.”
“Yes. I heard a lot.”
Really a lot, Bailen muttered.
“Are there any words Banares left?”
“He left an item. Saying that words change.”
“I see.”
Bailen looked at Laurant—no, Ulrih—who was picking up his teacup.
“What was your relationship with him?”
“Relationship? I took him in and raised him for a bit. Very briefly.”
Ulrih was about to continue speaking but gave a bitter smile when Bailen’s expression became quite serious. Strength entered his eyes like a person hearing some secret history.
“It is not the kind of relationship you are thinking of. I am not a person who wanders around without a backbone like that. If it were, Banares would have revealed it.”
He added that they would have both been embarrassed.
“...I see.”
“Did you think I was your great-grandfather?”
“I cannot say I didn't.”
Ulrih gave a smile.
“In that case, how should I call you?”
“Currently, I am Ulrih of Dithmarschen.”
Bailen nodded.
The six guests sat back in their seats. An awkward atmosphere continued for a moment and the conversation was cut off. However, Bailen soon exhaled a short breath and brought up the reason they had come, the topic that became the start of the conversation.
“There would be nothing more to reveal about me, right?”
“Didn't you reveal that you have Banares as your grandfather?”
Roberta narrowed her brows while listening to the conversation.
Bailen—he revealed it himself. That Banares was a human from several hundred years before Ulrih became the Lord of Dithmarschen. How old would he be to have such a person as his grandfather?
She had seen only one human who could live that long—no, who claimed to be living that long—until now. But now there were two?
“A human with dragon blood flowing in them; it has been a very long time indeed.”
However, the other one was not human.
She only realized that after hearing Ulrih’s mutter.
“What do you intend to do after meeting Narbakayani?”
“Well. First, I want to have a conversation.”
A conversation? Roberta tilted her head. She thought the purpose was modest considering they were enduring the danger of entering the Ice Peninsula. Bailen looked at her surreptitiously and spoke.
“It is natural not to understand.”
And he asked Ulrih, “Is that not so?”
“It seems you didn't have a separate family.”
“I had several wives but... you know.”
Ulrih said, “I suppose so,” and picked up his teacup again. And while gently stirring the teacup, he explained it to Roberta, who did not understand the conversation between the two.
“Roberta. Mixed-bloods of elves are Galua, mixed-bloods of dwarves are Mannium, and there are several other words to refer to mixed-bloods. In that case, do you know what the word for referring to the descendants of humans and dragons is?”
Roberta shook her head, saying she didn't know.
“Was there such a word?”
It didn't even exist?
“What do you mean?”
“A word for referring to a group can only be made if there is a group. However, dragons do not form groups, and the descendants of dragons cannot form groups.”
Just as she was about to ask the reason, Bailen answered first.
“Because we are mules.”
He gave a smile. It was a bitter smile.
“Priest, a mule cannot produce offspring. We—no, I—remain only as an individual even if I want to form a group. As if it were a punishment for the arrogant race choosing self-destruction, the same fate was given to their descendants.”
He continued speaking. That humans are truly strange animals.
“They want to stand above everyone and enjoy everything alone, yet on the other hand, they are animals that are bound to everyone. And they are strangely bound to bloodlines. Even if the rules bind others and define them as family, the heart questions whether they are of my blood.”
Bailen tilted his teacup.
His face crumpled sharply, but Roberta thought it was not because of the scent of the Songhwacha. Because he was smiling subtly even while frowning.
“However, I am a mule, and my mother became soil several hundred years ago. Not to mention my mother’s siblings, even the clan that was somewhat close has now become a lineage more distant than strangers.”
He asked Ulrih.
“You would know, wouldn't you? What I am saying.”
Ulrih did not answer and tilted his teacup.
“Someone would envy the blood flowing in my body. While Galua and Mannium have difficulty passing 300 years, I am scheduled for a life long enough to rival an elf’s. But what use is that? There is nothing I can leave behind in this world.”
“What you can leave behind is not only bloodlines.”
“Perhaps so.”
He smiled at Ulrih.
“Because you are such a person, we are remaining.”
“Bailen.”
“But I am different. I am not as strong as you.”
“If you meet that child? Do you think your heart will be resolved by doing so? You are wrong. You are human. Dragons are a race that does not form groups; furthermore, how do you think they would treat a human who isn't even of their kin?”
The two remained in silence while meeting each other’s gaze.
The one who broke the continuing silence was Ulrih.
“I see.”
Roberta looked at the Lord with a surprised expression.
“Do you intend to become a half-wit?”
He was furrowing his brows. He wasn't furrowing them sharply, and to someone who didn't know, it was a small wrinkle they wouldn't pay much attention to.
However, she had never seen even such an appearance until now.
“I thought you would know after all.”
Bailen leaned forward from his seat, folded both hands politely, and spoke to Ulrih.
“That is the reason I am looking for Narbakayani, my father. Even though he is a father I have never seen even once, he remembers my mother, and his blood flows within me.”
“……”
“Ulrih—no, Laurant. Will you not help me? Just as you helped my grandfather... please show me mercy. If you are the person I heard of, what would be impossible?”
Ulrih leaned against the backrest of the chair and closed his eyes.
“Roberta, have you become accustomed to the cold?”
“Yes. To some extent.”
“In that case, it won't be easy.”
What he was asking was clear. The Lord was telling her. That he would become the guide, and asking if she would accompany them.
“……”
She turned her gaze toward the window of the reception room.
It was not yet noon. Looking far beyond the window, she could see a giant mountain gloomily covered with clouds. That place, visible even from such a distance, was a branch of Caldorekai, the mountain range that crossed the Ice Peninsula.
If she went with him, she would have to cross that place.
Could she cross it? What about after crossing it?
The magical beasts the Lord had shown would be waiting. Honestly, she was not inclined to go. It was not a task she had to do as a priest, and it was also fraught with danger.
However, she answered Ulrih that she would go.
Why did she do so? She could not pinpoint the reason either. When she was by that strange Lord’s side, she occasionally acted unlike herself. Unfortunately, that time was now.
“Go to Bernhard and tell him to prepare. You will have to dress thickly. Because it is a truly cold place.”
Ulrih rose from his seat and immediately called a servant, ordering him to pack the luggage. And Roberta followed him, turned her body, and left the reception room.