Chapter 46
Clatter—
Kraush opened his eyes as the carriage rattled.
It had already been a few days since he decided to return to Valheim.
Life in the carriage had become a routine for him.
But not for long; it was almost time to arrive.
In that moment, Kraush’s gaze fell upon Bianca, fast asleep, cuddling his arm tightly.
Ever since Kraush had regained his right arm, she had taken to wrapping her arms around it whenever she slept.
It seemed the memory of him losing his arm had become a trauma for her.
Kraush gently lifted his hand and stroked Bianca’s white hair.
Her small head swayed back and forth with his motion, and soon her tightly shut eyes crinkled slightly.
“Ugh.”
Despite her drowsiness, she nudged her head closer to his hand, causing Kraush to chuckle softly.
Clatter!
At that moment, the carriage came to a halt.
Kraush quickly sat up, worried that Bianca might fall from her seat.
When he looked up, a familiar scenery unfolded before him.
Green Pinegwan.
They had finally returned to this place.
“Bianca.”
As Kraush called her name, she slowly opened her eyelids, still groggy and scanning her surroundings.
“We’ve arrived. Go back to your room and sleep.”
“Y-Yes.”
Bianca wobbled as she tried to get up from her seat.
Kraush, watching her with concern, instinctively caught her as she nearly tumbled out of the carriage.
With a sigh, he lifted her up, supporting her legs and body effortlessly.
Bianca, still in her growing phase, was light as a feather.
Trusting Kraush, she naturally leaned against his chest.
As a result, Kraush found himself stepping off the carriage in that position.
“Lord Kraush, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
At that moment, Kraush spotted Aliod, who had come to greet him.
It truly had been a while.
What a mess it had been, all for a single golden dragon flower.
Winter had ended, and spring was just around the corner.
“Soon, the entrance ceremony for Raheln Academy will begin.”
Kraush was still only 14.
He hadn’t yet reached the minimum age for the academy.
He needed to train diligently until next year.
“Aliod, I’m heading to Bianca’s room, so follow me and report on what’s happened in Green Pinegwan during my absence.”
“Yes, first I’ve heard that you were seen at Hadenharts, and someone from the family went to find you.”
Normally, he could just brush it off, but this situation was different.
“So, I instructed that there had been a mid-reporting gap regarding your trip with Miss Bianca to avoid raising any issues at Green Pinegwan. Someone who usually treats Lord Kraush with disdain and does things half-heartedly was naturally investigated in the family and subsequently dismissed.”
No one knew how he managed it, but it seemed Aliod had handled it all on his own.
As expected of Aliod—what a capable individual.
“What’s next?”
“Regarding the slaughter hounds you dealt with, there’s been additional discussion at the family level.”
Just as expected.
Kraush had raised some eyebrows in Valheim with recent incidents.
And this latest one would certainly put an end to their suspicions.
“Soon, the head steward will be coming to Green Pinegwan.”
The head steward.
The highest-ranking butler of Valheim, who evaluates the direct lineage.
After assigning scores to all the direct descendants, he sends them to the head of the family through his authority.
In that process, the future treatment of the direct descendants is decided.
Kraush’s score had been the lowest among them.
So, Green Pinegwan wasn’t getting off easy.
However, since it seemed Kraush had changed, the head steward was coming to reassess.
“Ugh, this is getting annoying.”
Originally, Kraush had aimed to plant just a bit of meaningfulness in Valheim.
But due to recent events, it was impossible to evade their scrutiny.
“Well, fine. It’s not like there’s no benefit to this.”
Above all, he needed Valheim’s strength to meet with the one possessing the Moon’s Shadow.
“And next?”
“Darling Danphelion sent word. He requests the materials upon your return.”
Looks like they’re all set over there.
His journey to collect materials for the elixir had been the starting point.
Kraush nodded.
“Well done.”
“Not at all, and Lord Kraush.”
Wondering if there was more to report, Kraush turned to Aliod.
Aliod sported a slightly awkward expression.
It was rare for him to display such a look.
Kraush raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
“Lady Charlotte is currently staying at Green Pinegwan.”
But the moment he heard those words, Kraush’s body stiffened.
What on earth did he just hear?
Who’s staying at Green Pinegwan?
“…Aliod, say that again.”
“Lady Charlotte is staying at Green Pinegwan. She’s lodging in Lord Kraush’s room without permission.”
Upon hearing the follow-up, a dizzy sensation washed over Kraush.
‘Is the cooldown over?’
Charlotte often came to Green Pinegwan without any particular reason.
She would simply drop by, ramble about her own stories, and leave him feeling exhausted.
And now, she was here.
That meant anything could happen.
“Did you let her know I’ve arrived?”
“Not yet.”
Just as Kraush was about to say “Don’t tell her,” that was when his sixth sense instinctively twitched.
“…Too late.”
Footsteps echoed from around the corner of the hallway.
Upon hearing that, Kraush clicked his tongue and looked in the direction of the sound.
At that moment, hair dyed blue and black swirled together with the air.
She strode toward him, slightly taller than Kraush, with a sharp gaze reminiscent of his, topped off with the vibrant looks of Aria’s daughter.
Especially, her eyes, almost devoid of any light, sent chills down one’s spine.
“Ah.”
The Sword Star
Charlotte Valheim had arrived—the sister of Kraush.
She glanced at Kraush’s right arm briefly, her eyes devoid of mirth, a slight smirk dancing at the corners of her lips.
Charlotte’s unique smile always sent shivers down his spine.
Her eyes weren’t smiling.
It was merely her lips curling up as her voice expressed a mocking tone.
“Hey there, little brother. Did you keep your sister waiting for too long? I thought I was going to die of boredom.”
“…Sister.”
Kraush looked at her with a hint of discomfort.
She had certainly gone off to the world of dissolution exploration, but to have returned so soon?
‘It’s the first time seeing Charlotte during this season.’
Kraush couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly at the overwhelming aura radiating from her.
‘She’s surpassed her limits.’
She had broken through to master level.
At the tender age of 15.
‘Is she a monster?’
This is a rare occurrence even within Valheim.
To reach master level at just 15 years of age—if that isn’t monstrous, then what is?
Some people are still far from becoming a master, even with reincarnation.
Charlotte had reached that level without reincarnation purely through her talent.
The problem is that Kraush considered her a true monster for a different reason.
Charlotte had not contracted with any gods.
And that would remain the case in the future.
Despite receiving numerous contract offers from the deities, she had refused every single one.
The only weapon she needed to reach the peak of swordsmanship was her sword.
That was the myth that was Charlotte Valheim.
‘Unbelievable.’
Kraush swallowed hard as he felt Charlotte’s remarkable talent once again.
While others struggled with everything they could swallow, she stood at the peak on raw talent alone.
It was an insurmountable gap that didn’t require any explanation.
“Little brother, I’ve heard some interesting rumors lately.”
In the meantime, Charlotte stepped closer.
With that smug smile still plastered on her face, she pinched Bianca’s cheek, the one Kraush was holding.
“They say you’ve become quite the noble knight, throwing yourself into danger to find a fiancée.”
Kraush pivoted his body to block Charlotte’s hand from reaching Bianca.
Upon seeing Kraush’s reaction, Charlotte gazed at him, then withdrew her hand.
“Don’t worry, I won’t snatch her away. She’s your dear fiancée after all.”
Her unpredictability made Kraush feel unease.
“I wouldn’t look kindly upon someone barging into my home uninvited.”
Charlotte tilted her head.
“My home? Little brother, everywhere in Valheim is our home.”
She then tapped the wall beside her gently.
The arrogance on her face radiated as if Valheim was entirely hers.
“Wherever the name Valheim appears, is our home. And here I am, being treated as a guest despite it being my own place.”
At that moment, Kraush instinctively stepped back.
The pressure emanating from her was overwhelming.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit unreasonable, little brother?”
Charlotte had a willful personality.
Unlike her father Balrog, who bore cold eyes, her character was marked by her mother Aria’s emotional traits.
In fact, Kraush shared that trait too.
Ultimately, they were siblings.
But Charlotte exhibited a far more pronounced divergence between her exterior and her true self.
She was the epitome that proved the saying “People are the way they look” wrong.
And Kraush felt the intimidating aura from Charlotte just moments ago.
There was a flicker of anger in her demeanor.
From the very moment she laid her eyes on him.
“…Sister, are you angry at me right now?”
Kraush asked honestly.
It was better to confront her head-on than to play around with the situation.
“How do I look?”
“You look angry.”
“Correct. I’m furious. Here I thought I was the closest to my little brother, yet he hasn’t told me anything.”
‘How ridiculous.’
Kraush felt a moment of disbelief.
“Little brother, you made a contract with a god, huh.”
At that, Charlotte immediately figured it out the moment she laid eyes on him.
“Moreover, you’ve reached mid-expert level. My little brother has grown up tremendously.”
Charlotte continued to elaborate on Kraush’s level.
Kraush bit his lip.
He knew exactly what she had realized too.
‘The Eye of Insight.’
The power to see through all things.
An ability that often took a lifetime to achieve; Charlotte, however, had awakened it through mere talent.
And with that, she could ascertain Kraush’s level.
“And why do I get a vaguely unpleasant feeling from you, little brother?”
But the moment he heard her next words, Kraush froze.
She hadn’t awakened the Eye of Insight.
But rather, it was the next step.
‘The Eye of Stars?’
Was Charlotte at this level already at this time?
The Eye of Stars sees through everything—even the erosion of the world itself.
Yet, as Crimson Garden had pointed out, it wasn’t certain she could categorize it as the energy of world erosion.
She probably interpreted it as a curse.
‘No wonder she realized why the slaughter hounds fell to her.’
By the time she awakened the Eye of Stars, the illusion of the slaughter hounds became meaningless.
She must have been able to see everything through it.
The problem was that Kraush too found himself laid bare before Charlotte.
With the powers of world erosion at his disposal, there was no way he would be perceived in a positive light.
Charlotte might even take the notion of killing him.
Thus, he had to adopt a brazen attitude, pretending it was merely a curse.
“What are those things hanging on you?”
“Just testing everything out, you know.”
Charlotte gazed at Kraush with a fixed stare.
As if she wanted to say something regarding his curse, but thankfully, she kept quiet.
“Right, you’re my little brother, so.”
To her, it seemed only natural to accept that belief.
Given that he had a similar independent streak, she figured he would swallow any poison—eventually.
‘I suppose it’s not really Charlotte but my mother that’s influencing her.’
Kraush chose not to correct her.
“Thanks to that, you were able to defeat the slaughter hounds, and my little brother has grown strong.”
During the moment Kraush was tense, Charlotte’s lips curled back up slowly.
“Leave Bianca in my room and come to the training ground.”
Charlotte declared, spinning around.
“I must see my little brother’s skills.”
Just like that, a sudden duel with Charlotte had been set.
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