Chapter 638: No Winter in the Northland

Miranda was silent for a long time, yet her gaze never left the Duke of Star Lake before her, as if she was still getting used to this version of Thales.

"You said you do not lack experts under you, even ones better than me?"

Several seconds later, Miranda said disdainfully:

"But as far as I know, that two-on-one duel..."

"Those were only the two weakest people in the Star Lake Guards."

Thales firmly interrupted her to prevent her from digging out his family's bottom, while feeling sorry for Neci and Bastia.

"Putting aside everything else, my personal guard captain, Lord Tormond Mallos, known as the Dread Blade, can suppress both of them with one hand."

("Achoo. There is more and more cat fur. This idea of raising cats to limit mice, only an idiot could think of it..." Mallos, who was currently inspecting supplies, said unhappily.)

In the study, Thales gave a small sneeze and rubbed his nose.

"Dread. Blade?" Miranda repeated the term, doubt surfacing on her face.

Thales' expression turned solemn and serious.

"That is Lord Mallos' nickname. The Northlanders all... no, the Star people all... mm, I mean, the enemies who have suffered losses at his hands, whether Eckstedt people or Star people, all call him that behind his back."

Miranda frowned.

Thales gave a cold laugh.

"One hint: do not mention it to him face to face. Mallos does not like this nickname and would never admit it even if he died."

Miranda seemed to think of something, her expression gradually growing serious.

"The Mallos Family once belonged to the Seven Jadestar Attendant Families, also known as Razor. I know this. But Dread Blade? In that case, Lord Mallos is skilled in blades and swords? Or short weapons and daggers?"

Thales had no choice but to increase the frequency of his coughing.

"Well, you may as well find him another day and spar with him. But I warn you in advance: as my most trusted personal guard captain, Lord Mallos' martial skill is hidden deeply and unfathomably. Even if the strongest and most frightening expert in the world faced him, the outcome would only be fifty-fifty."

"Why do I feel you are exaggerating?"

"Not at all. I am only emphasizing that the martial skill you are so proud of is not rare here."

Hearing this, Miranda was silent for a while, but she soon continued:

"It is not only martial skill."

"Considering the grievances and conflicts between you and Duke Zayen, Your Highness, no matter your purpose in going to Jade City, you are bound to be restrained everywhere. It will not be as smooth as in the capital or Dragon Clouds City."

Thales said nothing.

Actually, in the capital and Dragon Clouds City... things had not been very smooth either.

But she was right. His objective in going to Jade City, regardless of danger, was bound to be troublesome.

He needed more capable people.

"And we worked together in Dragon Clouds City. You understand my abilities aside from swordplay."

Miranda's gaze became shrewd.

"Some difficult problems, if handed to me, will be handled more steadily and effectively than if handed to Wya and the mute, the Doyle boy, or that big fellow with the zombie face."

Wya and Ralf.

And Glover.

Thales remembered what happened that day on Red Street, at Laya Club, and could not help frowning.

"By accepting me, you can also obtain my identity and surname."

Seeing Thales' expression shift slightly, Miranda continued adding weight.

"Your Highness Thales, though you are the heir to the supreme throne, after the accidents of the royal banquet and the prince storming the palace, you touched the interests of many people. You are in the center of the whirlpool, easily blamed for anything, and moving farther and farther from Renaissance Palace."

"Thus, until now, no lord with enough weight has dared stand forward and declare a position, clearly seeking refuge with you, supporting you, and endorsing the rights you should have."

Thales rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps you do not know. My current sword is the ancient family sword of the Duke of the Western Desert. Cohen's cousin, Earl Dele Croma of Wing Fort, escorted me all the way back to the capital. And the legal heir of Soul Fortress Earl, Paul Bozdorf of the Black Lion Family, is currently outside, standing guard for me."

The Duke of Star Lake spread his hands with utter unconcern.

"And his family even gave me an extra-large nine-pointed star banner. The workmanship is exquisite, the materials are abundant, and when it flies it glitters with silver light. It is very impressive, and I like it very much."

Miranda thought briefly and quickly found the corresponding memory.

"Paul Bozdorf? You mean the fellow who, on his first day in the capital, was beaten into a pig head with a broom?"

"It was not as serious as a pig head. Only a bit of skin was broken. Wait, how do you know that?"

Miranda laughed coldly.

"But unfortunately, Paul's father, Earl Lewis, is in the prime of life, neither imprisoned nor stripped of authority. He cannot leave behind a huge power vacuum, making his heir the hottest future earl closest to rule."

"That is simple. We will kill his father later." Thales' expression did not change, and his heart did not... not beat too violently.

Miranda ignored his terrible sense of humor and remained serious as before.

"As for a sword and one escort, only fools would think that is an unbreakable sincere alliance."

Thales curled his lips.

Miranda's gaze sharpened.

"But unlike other families, Arunde's situation is special. The Duke of the Northland is deep in prison and has no hope of returning. With the great seat suspended, my weight as his only daughter and first heir becomes especially crucial."

She stepped forward.

"With me in your camp, it is equivalent to having the future entire Northland, having the Arunde Family, first among the six great houses. This is an unprecedentedly obvious signal, and even more, an important bargaining chip for you to regather reputation and power and seek a comeback after being suspected by the king and exiled."

A comeback?

You make it sound like I ever "came" up in the first place.

Thales fell into thought.

"This one item alone makes my value to you exceed everyone in this castle, and I have not yet mentioned the reputation and qualifications I have accumulated over these years in Broken Dragon Fortress."

Thales was silent for a while.

"I admit, what you say is not without reason."

The Duke of Star Lake curled the corner of his mouth and shook his head.

"But it has no small flaw. For example, you may not necessarily inherit your father."

Miranda's expression tightened.

Thales showed a smile.

"A long time ago, a little loli... an old hag was the same. We agreed that she would help me ascend the throne, and I would help her recover her power."

As Thales spoke, he revealed a nostalgic expression.

"But the cooperation broke down. She betrayed me."

Miranda's gaze moved.

"For many years, I always hated her for betraying her promise. But only after discussing it with old Wu... with my teacher did I understand: that cooperation was doomed to fail."

Miranda sensed the coldness in Thales' words and could not help tensing.

Thales gave a cold laugh and braced both hands on the desk.

"You see, I had to first ascend the throne before I would have the strength to help her recover power, while she first had to recover power before she would have the spare strength to help me ascend the throne."

The prince's gaze chilled.

"This back and forth, isn't it just two empty checks guaranteeing each other?"

"It only depends on which side cannot hold back first and whose credit goes bankrupt first."

Miranda's entire body tightened.

In that instant, the prince's gaze seemed to carry edges, making the Pegasus Movement in her body begin to circulate.

"Martial skill, mind, or your illusory so-called identity and position. I lack none of them."

Thales breathed out and narrowed his eyes.

"If you want to persuade me to accept you, you had better have a heavier bargaining chip."

Miranda did not speak.

The back-and-forth tug of negotiation made her frown.

"And if you do not..."

Then give up.

Give up.

Thales stared fixedly at her, yet the hand braced on the desk clenched tightly.

Miranda.

Please.

"Star Lake Castle does not support idle people. Or are you willing to recommend yourself for my pillow and warm my bed?" Thales' tone was frivolous and exaggerated, full of sarcasm and disdain.

Miranda said nothing, but clenched her fists.

Please, stay away from me.

Thales silently looked at her, his face still wearing a cold smile.

Stay away from Star Lake Castle.

Stay away from this mire, this vortex, this trap.

At least, in the future storm, avoid the eye and preserve yourself.

Avoid becoming Covenant's sacrifice.

Please.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the study was dim.

Under Thales' gaze full of urging and questioning, the female swordsman's eyes moved slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

A moment later, she raised her head, seeming to have made a decision between her brows.

"The Northland."

Miranda said firmly:

"If you help me return to Cold Castle in rightful name and ascend the ducal seat, little brat, I promise that I will bring you the Northland."

The Northland?

Too late to care about the way she addressed him, Thales first froze, then laughed aloud despite himself.

"What are you talking about? The Northland is already the kingdom's territory."

But Miranda firmly shook her head.

"You do not understand."

The female eagle of the Arunde Family had a sharp gaze.

"I promise, I will bring back to you a different Northland. Not the geographical one, not the traditional one, not the present one, and even less the previous one."

"But the future one. The Northland of the kingdom that your father has plotted for many years and dreamed of."

Thales' gaze moved, and he subconsciously withdrew his arms and straightened.

What?

Miranda stepped forward and spoke decisively:

"I promise that it will no longer be a northern exception drifting outside the kingdom's system. From succession to legal principle, from land to population, from culture to system, from finance to administration, from farming and herding to defense, from conscription to tariffs, from personnel to logistics, from the Great Needle Forest to the Desolate Lands, from the Bitter Cold Cathedral to the No Winter Palace, from Birch Forest to Broken Dragon Fortress, Renaissance Palace will rule the Northland as if commanding its own arm, just as it rules the Central Territory with one word."

As if commanding its own arm...

With one word...

Thales' eyes changed completely.

The prince looked at Miranda in disbelief.

"My lady, what are you saying?"

Miranda snorted coldly, without hesitation.

"Correct. No backward traditions, no troublesome customs, no conservative families, no irritating lords, no embarrassing compromises. The Northland, the kingdom's best source of soldiers and bridgehead, will be completely and thoroughly integrated into the Kingdom of Stars' system and rule, exactly as your father hopes."

Miranda clenched her teeth.

"Under royal authority, there will be no remaining echo."

Completely...

Thoroughly integrated...

Thales could no longer sit. He jumped down from the desk, not even caring to maintain that utilitarian and cold appearance from before.

"Let me clarify. You are saying that after you become duke, what you will surrender is not only the Northland, but even the power in your hands..."

"I will sacrifice all my authority, all the land, all the authority of the lord, and all the glory of the ancient Northland. I will turn it all into the king's authority, into the kingdom's system, and into your future foundation."

Miranda looked at him.

"In exchange for you helping me sit on that seat."

Thales' breathing stopped.

In that instant, the name "Miranda Arunde" in his mind suddenly became very different.

"You know what this means?"

Thales' voice became low.

"If you truly do it, if you really push the Northland into Renaissance Palace's palm, then in the eyes of the Northland's old nobles, old knights, old officials, old soldiers, and old families, you will become..."

"A traitor," Miranda calmly finished his words.

"A traitor to the Northland."

Her expression was unchanged.

"A sinner of the Arunde Family."

Thales stared at her.

"And perhaps, in the future history books, a madwoman who destroyed the Northland."

Miranda lowered her eyes.

"Perhaps."

The room was quiet.

The silence was so heavy that even the cats outside the window did not seem to dare make a sound.

In his trance, Thales thought of another night and another agreement.

[If people know that I am the king's inside man, I will be viewed by thousands of vassals as a traitor to the noble camp, condemned by a thousand fingers, spat on by ten thousand people.]

Thales stared blankly at Miranda at this moment.

As if seeing another version of himself.

But...

Why? Why could she be so free and unrestrained, so unconcerned?

This was clearly...

But he immediately thought of something, and his expression sank.

"No. This is still an empty check. It is something you can only do after becoming duke." He forced himself to shake his head and refuse. "It relies on your unsupported promise..."

"Yet no one else dares give it, even verbally."

Miranda interrupted him without allowing doubt.

"And this is not something that can only be realized after I become duke. In fact, your father has already begun doing it."

Thales stared tightly at her and discovered that he could not understand the thoughts of the person before him.

"So, do you dare accept it?"

Miranda's eyes were like two long swords, pinning him so he could hardly move.

"Or rather, Thales Jadestar, are you qualified to accept it?"

Thales' breathing quickened. He had to mobilize the Sin of Hell's River to help himself calm down.

And as his Power of Eradication surged, the Hell's Senses let him probe the power within the other party's body more clearly: the Pegasus Movement flowed endlessly, wandering without limit, without flaw.

"But why?"

"I do not understand." Thales subconsciously spoke. "After I returned to the country, from Falkenhausen to Bozdorf, quite a few people came under my banner and showed goodwill to me."

"But I know that the reason they came is because they are unwilling to give up their former way of life, unwilling to let go of the power they have grown used to, unwilling to lower their heads under my father's iron fist. But you, you, you..."

"I am not them."

Miranda softly answered his doubts.

"The Arunde heirloom Eagle Soars was once a priceless ancient imperial sword. But it has broken many times and been reforged several times. It has long ceased to look as it once did, and has even lost its old name."

She looked at her sword.

"Just as history advances and eras develop, there will always be people who grow old."

Thales stared at the long sword that had experienced Dragon Blood with him seven years ago.

And the female swordsman stood before him, as cold as ever, and incomparably blazing.

"But there will also always be people who are young."

"Just like the reforged Eagle Soars, newer in form and sharper in blade."

There was silence between them for a while.

Thales breathed out, working hard to adjust his thoughts.

"But I still cannot believe, Lady Arunde, that you are truly so noble and selfless."

"Paying such a huge price and truly wanting nothing, only for that empty title? For that Guardian Duke of the Northland who is a lord in name but has no real power, no different from some rich man?"

"Duchess," Miranda corrected.

Thales sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Duchess."

He pressed:

"But if you succeed and become a duchess with name and no substance, one who must look at my face even to cultivate land and collect taxes on your own territory, what meaning would that have?"

She was of the Arunde Family, wasn't she?

They were descendants of the Bleak Eagle Norlannul, the family with the longest history in the Kingdom of Stars, and the most conservative.

The voice in Thales' heart was also asking: So how could it be possible?

How could she give up those powers passed down from the Empire Era, inherited generation after generation, born with her?

How could she surpass the greatest limitation and weakness of all lieges and vassals in this era?

Unless.

Unless...

Miranda was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

She slowly walked to the window and looked at the broad Star Lake beneath the dark clouds.

"Tell me, Your Highness, have you ever had such a feeling for even one moment: from that moment on, everything in your life seems to have stopped."

Thales trembled slightly.

He heard the female swordsman say faintly:

"Everything you see and feel has already been fixed. Everything you do is fate. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, you cannot break through the limit before your eyes, bring anything new, or see any new way out."

Miranda gazed absently out the window, at the sky where dark clouds blocked the sun, and at the black, bottomless Star Lake.

"As for a seemingly good life, in truth, you can see the end of it at a glance. Only day after day of unchanging self-repetition remains, waiting for the final end."

Cannot bring anything new, cannot see any new way out...

Thales did not speak.

In that instant, he seemed to return to Dragon Clouds City, with Alex and King Nuven's poisoned heads before his eyes.

But he also seemed to return to the royal banquet, looking at the gray-faced Vogel as he prepared to voluntarily sacrifice himself, or to the Secret Intelligence Department, watching one person after another pass through the interrogation room, watching the light in Anker Byrael's eyes gradually disappear.

[As for sitting on that not-at-all-comfortable throne, calculating day and night, guessing people's hearts, forcing yourself to become the coldest and most pitiful tool? That is not power, Thales. That is a chain called power.]

Quick Rope's past words made Thales unconsciously dig his nails tight.

"Seven years ago, when my father was imprisoned as a traitor, I was once utterly despairing. I could only numb myself with countless military duties and work, including the coming war, and escape the outside world."

"In the end, the war did not start, so I risked danger and rushed to Dragon Clouds City, and only then did everything afterward happen."

Miranda snorted softly.

"But from that time onward, those kindly smiling cousins of my same clan began making trouble: gossip, rumors, sarcasm, and even using blood and surname to directly interfere in Cold Castle's affairs. Between the lines, they pointed straight at the ducal seat and my inheritance rights. Ridiculous. Arunde is clearly famous for unity. When my father was there, they did not dare do this. If I were a son, they might not dare be so presumptuous either."

Thales frowned and could not help saying:

"As far as I know, since Elika the North Conqueror, the Kingdom of Stars has already had the precedent of a queen, and inheritance law is no longer limited by sex. They cannot..."

"Yes. Compared with barbaric Eckstedt, where you exhausted enormous effort to prop up a female archduchess, the Kingdom of Stars is already civilized enough, advanced enough, and considerate enough toward people like me, is that right?" Miranda interrupted him with sarcasm.

Thales said nothing, and the female swordsman snorted coldly and shook her head.

"But sex still comes before birth order. Even between elder sister and younger brother, sons inherit before daughters. Thus only an only daughter has the right to inherit her father's position, while still facing competition from male cousins and even her future husband. Of course, you need not care about these things, because you carry a dick, so what the fuck does it have to do with you?"

Miranda said resentfully:

"You only need to know that Stars is very civilized and advanced on inheritance rights. If someone questions this point, you can confidently ask, 'Then why don't you roll off to Eckstedt?'"

Thales wanted to say something, but ultimately closed his mouth.

Miranda coldly snorted and shook her head.

"So naturally you would care even less that, in the Northland, whose mainstream inheritance law is completely different from Stars, up to now, across seven hundred years, there has not even been one Arunde duchess."

Thales' expression changed.

"Really?"

Miranda gazed absently outside the window and nodded.

"The closest one was more than a hundred years ago: Rosanna Arunde, the Arithmetician. As the duke's eldest and only daughter, she nearly became the first Duchess of the Northland."

The female swordsman said faintly:

"Until her stepmother gave birth to a young son, pushing Rosanna out of the line of succession."

Thales frowned.

Rosanna Arunde.

He searched his memories for this name. Gilbert seemed to have mentioned it in class, but...

"I was my father's second child. Originally, I had an older brother, but he died young before he learned to walk."

"And my mother, when she died during the Bloody Year," Miranda's gaze was hazy, "was already pregnant."

Thales was shocked when he heard this.

The Bloody Year.

"After that calamity, even the way my father looked at me became different. It was as though he was always asking why, why did Mother have to play hide-and-seek with you at that time? Why was the one who escaped from the carriage you? Why not your mother and your unborn younger brother? Why did you not disappear together with them in the vast snow and countless refugees?"

Thales clenched his fists, but could not say a single word.

Miranda shook her head in a daze.

"Sometimes I also think, if Mother had not had that accident, if the child in her womb had been born safely, if it had been a boy, my brother, then today I..."

Miranda's words stopped. She raised her head, gaze firm.

"No. Then I would not have today."

"Probably not."

She glanced at the letter by Thales' hand and curled her lips.

"Even if I did, I would probably be sitting happily and joyfully in Cold Castle, pressing your greeting letter and portrait to my chest, intoxicated and fascinated, thinking about what kind of dress I should wear for the painter's portrait, then trembling as I wrote back to you."

Thales quietly listened to her words and looked at that laughable "want to breed" letter, only to discover that he could not laugh no matter what.

"When I realized this, when I realized that the reason I can stand here is entirely because enough people died in the Bloody Year, purely because my own luck was good... that feeling was like a cage falling from the sky, covering my surroundings, blocking my upper limit, separating me from the outside world. No matter where I went, all I saw was the cage wall, and beyond the wall, the sky and earth I could never touch."

Miranda unconsciously gritted her teeth.

[The reason I can stand here is entirely because enough people died in the Bloody Year, purely because my own luck was good...]

Thales quietly listened to these words, but his thoughts seemed to pass through time, seeing the Jadestar tomb chamber in Renaissance Palace, those stone jars and urns one after another.

The room fell silent.

"Or like a web," after a long silence, Thales took up her words. His tone carried the same deep loss. "No matter how you cut through thorns and brambles, you are still within it, unable to free yourself?"

Miranda turned and glanced at him, seeming somewhat surprised.

But she slowly nodded.

"Teacher Shatiel of the Tower of Eradication said this is probably the feeling of the Heart of the Sword encountering a bottleneck and stagnating."

"It is not that the world has stopped, or that life has become worse. In truth, the world was always like this, and life too. It is that your experiences are different, your realm has risen, your field of vision has opened, and you have seen more, broader, higher, and more complicated things."

Miranda's gaze was absent.

"It is only that some people encounter it early, some people encounter it late, and some people, very fortunately and very unfortunately, never encounter it, or after encountering it choose to feign deafness and blindness."

Thales sighed.

"Heart of the Sword. I have heard Cohen say something similar. A theory from the Tower of Eradication?"

Speaking of the friend they both knew, Miranda lightly laughed and shook her head.

"So I wanted to look, insisted on trying, to take one step forward and see whether this world truly is as she said."

Thales was confused.

"Who?"

Miranda smiled, but did not answer.

She turned around, her back to the shadow outside the window.

"I am not Cohen. He can only hold a torch tightly in wind and snow, shivering and sniffling while muddleheadedly repeating everything he himself does not know whether it has meaning."

"I am also not Raphael. He deliberately ignores the doubts in his heart, convinces and brainwashes himself, believing that set of nonsense about 'when heaven is about to confer a great responsibility, it first fucks your mother,' treating suffering and ascetic hardship as the way out."

Thales frowned when he heard this.

"Facing the harsh cold without sun, I am not stupid enough to clash head-on with wind and snow, but I am also unwilling to become a slave of frost."

Miranda narrowed her eyes, shedding the sorrow from earlier and becoming firm again.

"I will find my own way out."

"This is me. Only this is me. This is fucking Miranda Arunde."

The female swordsman firmly looked at the Duke of Star Lake, and the latter could not help growing solemn in response.

"This is the meaning of this matter."

"I am my own master. I am Broken Dragon Fortress'..."

"Winterless Sword."

In the next second, Miranda reached out, picked up the sword leaning against the window ledge, and hung it back on her belt.

"Eagle Soars over the fortress."

Miranda's voice was cold, and her eyes were bright.

"No winter in the Northland."