Chapter 881: A Hundred Times Yes
The sun was going down behind the mountains and forests, gilding everything it touched on its way out. The sky shifted from blue to white to red, and the last of the light laid a crimson skin across the thick grassland below.
At the edge of the Gilen Family’s domain stood a low, rounded hill. From its crest Nightingale could see the whole of what had once been hers — the farmhouses, the furrowed fields, the forests that pressed up against the mountains. When she was small she had liked to ride on her father’s shoulders all the way up, to see the full picture of their property spread out below. When her parents’ bodies had been brought back — bruised and broken — and the servants had come to her, asking where she wished them buried, she had chosen the hill without hesitation.
She had still half-believed they might open their eyes.
That if they did, they would see her and her brother no matter where in the mansion the two of them stood.
Now she was back at their tombstones, and her reasons were entirely different.
There was little dust on the stones. Someone had been tending them. She knelt, and placed a neatly folded sheaf of white paper before the two markers.
Viscount Somi’s judgment.
Faced with evidence he could not refute, he had collapsed quickly. After Roland promised his minor children would not be punished for the crimes he had committed, Dott Somi had confessed to the Dreamland Water smuggling and told the whole story of how he had seized the Gilen Family’s properties.
It turned out there really was something buried in the valley between the two families’ domains — not a gem mine, but a likely gold deposit.
A farmer working for the Somi Family had found it.
Because of the geography, what the Gilens called the valley was actually at the lower edge of Somi’s land. The Somi farmers had drawn water and bathed there for years. One day a fortunate man found gold dust in the spring. He brought others to search, and word eventually reached Dott Somi.
He silenced them at once and sent his own men to trace the dust upstream.
The result had disappointed him. They found more gold, and they guessed the coarse flakes in the river were being washed out of rock by years of water erosion — but the ore itself seemed to lie closest to the Gilen side of the valley. There was no clean way to reach it.
Silver City’s special status meant that local nobles were limited in how many knights and armed retainers they could keep. Dott could not simply take the land by force. Staring at a treasure he could not touch, he had turned his eyes on the Gilens.
His instrument had been old Gilen — a distant relative of the family, untitled and landless.
The plan was ruthlessly simple. Old Gilen had no manor and no rank; Dott offered him the real thing — mastery of the Gilen Family — in exchange for a strip of land once everything was settled. Old Gilen could not resist the dream of becoming a genuine noble, and so he agreed.
Dott bribed the Rats to murder Nightingale’s parents in the refugee riots. Old Gilen then stepped forward, all generosity, and took in Hyde and Nightingale to manage the domain in their minority. The plan had been to wait until Hyde came of age and then pressure him into surrendering his manor and title. An heir without parents was a bird in a cage; any noble who objected could only blame old Gilen for his personal greed.
But Nightingale’s awakening had ruined it. On the day she came of age, she killed old Gilen and vanished into the air. He died without ever holding the title he had spent years positioning himself to steal.
Dott Somi had to rework everything. Old Gilen had been easy to buy — but a single bargaining chip, the title, could not carry the weight of the whole Gilen household. He had to play it more carefully.
He turned, in the end, to Hyde.
When Nightingale first heard this, she had almost laughed. The thing that had always been Hyde’s was now dangled before him as a prize he had to earn — and Hyde, naive enough to trust the man who had had their parents killed, had not hesitated for a moment before agreeing. With Somi’s backing, Hyde had weathered the scramble among his relatives and secured the title of heir. According to their arrangement, the two families would eventually merge. Hyde went through with it not out of loyalty to the agreement but because he had no other choice — after years of internal strife, the Gilen estate was nearly broken and his people had mostly gone.
Ten years of scheming, and at the end of it Dott Somi had gotten what he wanted. He had even managed to start accumulating capital from the Dreamland Water trade, intending to begin extracting the mine in careful stages once its vein was fully located. A century of wealth, waiting in the rock.
Roland destroyed all of it.
For a gold mine that might never have existed as he imagined it, Dott had murdered fellow nobles and shattered several families. A scheme that killed nearly twenty people ended with a noose. He never laid eyes on the mine.
Nightingale drew her flint and set the judgment paper alight.
Roland had told her of an old custom — shaping paper into whatever one wished to give, burning it at dusk, and trusting the smoke to carry it through. At the hour when day and night pressed closest together, fire with intention in it had a chance of passing between worlds.
That was the belief, anyway. Roland himself didn’t really accept the idea of two worlds standing that near each other. She didn’t particularly care.
She wasn’t trying to comfort her parents.
She was trying to comfort herself.
By the time she walked back down the hill the sky had gone fully dark.
Roland was waiting below. The moment she made out his familiar silhouette the tightness in her chest eased.
“Is this really all right?” He twitched his mouth. “Letting him walk away untouched. I’ve been wanting to teach him a lesson.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “As who, exactly?”
“Ahem.” He coughed twice. “As a king, of course.”
Nightingale shook her head. “It’s over. I’m done with him. If you want to teach him a lesson so badly, you can always send men to bring him back and beat him properly.”
“Since you’ve let it go,” Roland said, spreading his hands, “so will I.”
“Mm.” Nightingale stopped walking.
She turned to face him, knelt, and brought her fist to her chest the way she had on the day she first swore herself to his service. “Your Majesty — will you allow me to remain by your side? To serve you for as long as you’ll have me?”
“Why do you bring this up now?” Roland looked startled. “Haven’t I already agreed?”
“Because I want to hear it again.”
He let out a long-suffering sigh, stepped forward, and rested his hand on her head. “Then listen carefully. Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes — a hundred times yes. Are you satisfied?”
The magic string did not stir. It lay still and soft, like the earth holding quiet under a night sky.
I was lucky to find him.
Nightingale let herself smile, and rose. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Chapter 881: A Hundred Times Yes
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The sun gradually sank behind the mountains and forests, gilding the surrounding clouds. The color of the sky was shifting slowly from blue to white then to red. In the end, the last drop of sun cast a crimson shadow on the thick grassland.
At the end of the Gilen Family’s domain, there was a bulging slope. Standing on top of it, Nightingale could see her family’s houses, farmlands, and forests adjacent to the mountains. When she had been little, she had liked to sit on his father’s shoulders and ascended the slope to see the complete picture of their property. When her parents’ bodies covered with bruises and wounds had been sent back and her servants had asked where she had wanted her parents to be buried, she had chosen the slope without hesitation.
At the time, she had been extremely upset at her parents’ death and had had a hard time believing they were actually gone. She had wished at some point her parents could open their eyes. In that way, they could see her and her brother, no matter where she and her brother were in the mansion.
Now she once again visited her parents’ tombstones, but with a totally different attitude.
There was not much dust on the tombstones. Obviously, somebody had been constantly dusting them. Bending over, she put a pile of neatly folded white paper in front of the two tombstones.
It was Viscount Somi’s judgment.
Faced with the indisputable evidence, the viscount soon collapsed. After Roland promised his underaged children would not be punished for the crime
he had committed, he had admitted his crime of smuggling Dreamland Water and had also confessed the entire process of taking the Gilen Family’s properties.
It turned out, beneath the valley that between the two families’ domains, there really are buried treasures, although it was not a gem mine but possibly a gold mine.
The one who had discovered it was a farmer working for the Somi Family.
Due to the different geographical positions, what the Gilen Family referred to as “valleys” was actually at the ground floor of Somi’s domain. Farmers of the Somi Family had often fetched water and bathed downstream. One day, a lucky guy had found gold dust in the spring water coming down. He had then asked others to help further search for more gold, which had thus attracted Dott Somi’s attention.
Instantly, he had prohibited them from spreading the news and sent his men to search for the origin of the gold dust.
Yet the result of the search had greatly disappointed him.
His men had indeed found more gold upstream and they had speculated that the coarse golds in the river had been a result of the sag of rocks caused by constant water erosion and seepage. However, an increasing amount of evidence had shown that the gold ore might be close to the Gilen Family. As such, they had had no choice but to suspend the exploration.
Due to the special status of Silver City, the numbers of knights and supporters local nobles were allowed to own were more or less limited, so Dott could not just take the gold mine. Seeing that he really wanted this huge treasure, he had laid his eyes upon Viscount Gilen.
He had started his plan with old Gilen, a distant relative of the Gilen Family.
He had a simple yet ruthless plan. Considering old Gilen had no title nor manor, he had tempted old Gilen to cooperate him and promised he could make old Gilen the master of the Gilen Family under the condition that old
Gilen would give him a piece of land. Old Gilen could not resist the temptation of becoming a real noble, so he had agreed to help Dott.
Dott bribed the Rats to kill Nightingale’s parents during the refugee riot then old Gilen took the chance to take in Hyde and Nightingale and helped to manage their domain. Old Gilen planned that when Hyde entered his adulthood, he would force Hyde to waive his manor and title, which was as easy as pie—after all, an heir without parents was just as helpless as a bird in a cage. If any other nobles had a problem with it, they could only blame old Gilen for being too greedy.
His plan would have been completed, but Nightingale’s awakening had sabotaged his plan—on the day of her adulthood, she had killed old Gilen and disappeared into thin air. Old Gilen had never got the title he had dreamed of even in his last moments.
Dott Somi had to alter his plan—he could win old Gilen over, but he could not get everyone’s support from the Gilen Family. After all, he had only had one bargaining chip—the title. He had to make the best use out of it.
Ironically, he had turned to Hyde in the end.
When Nightingale had first heard about it, she had found it ridiculous—the thing that was meant to be Hyde’s was used as a bargaining chip for Hyde to earn; yet Hyde was naive enough to believe Dott would help him. So he did not hesitate before agreeing to Dott’s proposal, the man who had murdered his parents.
With the Viscount’s support, Hyde stood out from all his relatives, who were contending for power and wealth, and successfully kept his title of nobility and became the official heir of the Gilen Family. According to their agreement, he would merge with the Somi Family. He had done so not because he had wanted to keep his promise, but because he had had no other choice—after going through internal strife, his family’s industry was on the verge of collapse and most of his subjects had left.
After plotting for 10 years, the Viscount had finally gotten what he had wanted. He had even saved enough capital to exploit the mine little by little
by smuggling Dreamland Water. Once the mineral vein was located, the wealth that the Somi Family could gain would last for centuries.
But Roland destroyed his ambitious dream.
For a likely gold mine, Dott had murdered fellow nobles, making several families fall apart… A vicious scheme, which led to the death of nearly 20 people, ended with a noose around his neck.
From beginning to the end, he had not been able to take a glance at the gold mine.
Taking out the flint, Nightingale burnt the judgment paper.
She had heard, from Roland, of an ancient way of mourning, which was to shape paper into the appearance of the item one wished to deliver, burn it, and then the deceased would be able to receive the present. Since a fire could connect spirits, smoke and fire with special wills had a chance to pass through the gate connecting the worlds of life and death, especially at dusk when the two worlds were the closest.
Through this ritual, Nightingale wished to deliver the message that the murderer had been executed to the spirits of her parents. Although Roland also said that he actually did not agree with the idea of the worlds of life and death, she did not care that much.
She was not so much comforting her parents as she was comforting herself.
By the time she walked off the slope, the sky had turned completely dark.
Roland was waiting for her not far away. The moment she saw the familiar figure, she felt relieved and safe.
“Is this really okay? Letting him go unscathed?” Roland twitched his mouth. “I’ve been longing to teach him a lesson.”
“Oh? As who?” Nightingale asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Ahem…” Roland coughed twice. “Of course as a king.”
Nightingale shook her head, smiling. “It’s over. I’m done with him. If you really want to teach him a lesson, you can send men to take him back and beat him up again.”
“Since you’ve dropped the matter, I’ll let him go,” Roland said, spreading out his hands.
“Em, right…” Nightingale suddenly stopped walking, knelt down, saluted with her hand across her chest as she did when she had pledged her fealty for the first time. She said, “Your Majesty, could you allow me to always stay by your side and serve you?”
“Why do you suddenly mention this?” Roland was startled. “Haven’t I agreed?”
“Because I want to hear it again.” Nightingale insisted.
Roland shrugged helplessly, walked to her side, stroke her head, and said, “Listen carefully—em, Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes… 100 times Yes. Are you satisfied?”
The magic string did not vibrate. Instead, it was as peaceful and soft as the earth under the curtain of night.
I’m so lucky to have met him.
Nightingale curled her lips into a smile and said, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”