They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 59

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I exhaled slowly.
If I hadn’t, I feared I might have pulled him into my arms.
“Elhart.”
“Yes.”
I let the surge of emotion settle gradually before meeting his gaze.
“Why make such a promise?”
I added more words for him, who seemed not to fully grasp the meaning of my question.
“This is something I must do. The phantoms of the old era must not linger any longer.”
The debts of the past must be settled by those of the past.
Elhart had far too many other responsibilities awaiting him.
“I see. You could certainly view it that way. But you see…”
He covered my hand—which cradled his cheek—with his own and spoke.
“Every time I recalled the history of Bardia’s founding, I burned with anger. Because Bardia’s miserable present cannot be separated from that past.”
…Yes.
Of course it couldn’t.
Mikhail’s disappearance and Kailyb’s tyranny had plunged Bardia into chaos from its very inception.
“But now the opportunity to set things right has come. At last, I can repay it many times over.”
He spoke with utmost seriousness.
“Such a chance is not granted to future generations. Not without a miracle.”
“….”
“This is also my revenge—one I have longed for in this very moment.”
His unwavering gaze radiated absolute resolve.
“Of course, it might sound like the scheming of a man trying to win favor…”
“I never thought such a thing.”
I furrowed my brow slightly.
No one could evaluate Elhart as accurately as I could.
His manarang spoke to me every moment—of his unwavering goodness and iron will.
“Is that so? How troublesome.”
He tilted his head and continued.
“I cannot claim to be entirely without ulterior motives. After all, I cannot help but wish to appear favorable in the eyes of someone I’ve fallen for.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
“So, Iserna. Please, let me fight alongside you.”
I thought it remarkable how he could say such things while holding my gaze—but now I noticed the tips of his ears had turned crimson.
‘Ugh…’
The urge to close my eyes warred with the desire to stare at him even more intently.
What saved me in that moment was Kei’s awkward cough.
“Your Highness, you’re not proposing right now, are you?”
When I turned my head, I saw Kei standing with an expression I couldn’t tell was a smile or a grimace.
“Hmm, indeed.”
Carterus, who had walked into the reception room, collapsed into a chair.
“These young people these days are quite bold. I rather like that spirit.”
I let out a hollow laugh, bewildered.
“What are you talking about? Who proposed anything like that?”
I gestured to Elhart to sit beside me.
Kneeling like this would only invite strange misunderstandings.
“Is that so? That’s rather unfortunate.”
I shot Kei a glare.
“Be quiet.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Kei nodded with a face struggling to suppress laughter.
Even in a situation like this, romance talk—the expedition members were all equally unhinged.
“Let’s move to another room. We haven’t had breakfast yet, so let’s talk while we eat.”
I had no desire to linger even a moment longer in the place where Kailyb had spewed his vile lies.
Everyone seemed to share my sentiment, quickly rising and brushing themselves off.
Leading Kei and Carterus ahead toward the dining hall, Elhart gently took my hand.
Warmth seeped from his touch, kindling heat in my chest.
My fingertips no longer trembled.
The sorrow and regret of losing a friend so meaninglessly, I buried deep within my heart.
Mourning could wait until after everything was finished.
This anger would become the whetstone for my revenge.
‘Wait a little longer, Mikhail. I’ll build your grave with my own hands.’
But first, I needed to reclaim the body Kailyb had stolen from me.
While I satisfied my hunger with steaming stew and soft bread, Kei and Bella brought out heaps of food.
“The more melancholy you feel, the better you should eat.”
“Melancholy, is it.”
My mood had merely dampened somewhat.
I wasn’t the only one feeling this heaviness of heart.
Carterus and Kei, exchanging jokes, surely didn’t feel well either.
Mikhail must have held special meaning for them as well.
After finishing even dessert, the first thing Carterus brought up was also about Mikhail.
“To think that fellow fell for Kailyb’s deception. What a shame.”
“Indeed it is.”
“If only he’d confessed earlier and been rejected earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“…?”
Carterus believed that baseless rumor too?
Elhart, who gave a small cough, looked at me and asked.
“I heard Kailyb is a Grand Mage who founded the Mage Tower. Do we have any way to confront him?”
“It depends on what that bastard has been doing for the past 300 years.”
Time could become either the greatest enemy or the strongest ally.
If he spent those 300 years as fiercely as we have, I dare not even imagine it.
For us, it had been roughly five years, but the time granted to him amounted to tens of times what we had experienced.
I could only hope that the continent remained peaceful throughout, and that he spent his days locked away somewhere conducting research.
“Binding his feet is a good method, but it won’t hold for long.”
I agreed with Carterus’s assessment.
How long could that clever, suspicious man remain swayed by my words?
“It’s fine. Buying us some time is enough.”
“I’d like to hear your plan, whatever you’re thinking.”
I nodded.
“First, I have no intention of directly confronting Kailyb.”
Kei raised his eyebrows slightly.
“That’s unexpected.”
“Raern said it—you shouldn’t face a mage on their home ground. We’re in a difficult position to assess how prepared he is.”
“That’s true enough.”
Kei nodded in agreement.
Carterus stroked his beard as he spoke.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
I slowly tapped my fingers against the table.
“To bring down Kailyb, I must first shake the foundation beneath him.”
Elhart asked.
“The foundation—you mean Crown Prince Auriel’s?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Right now, Kailyb possesses two weapons.”
I folded down my fingers one by one.
“The authority of the Crown Prince, extracted from the Emperor of Cradia.”
And the second.
“The power of a mage cultivated over three hundred years.”
Of these two, what I had attempted to bind him with—by feigning deception—was the second: the mage’s power.
“Kailyb obtained the position of Crown Prince and his authority through a contract with the Emperor.”
Carterus’s eyes narrowed.
“A contract….”
“I suspect he acquired the Crown Prince’s status in exchange for aiding in the conquest war.”
“Then, Commander, you intend to break that contract.”
Kei asked, his eyes gleaming with understanding.
“Exactly.”
While the exact terms remained uncertain, the existence of the contract itself was undeniable.
“For now, I’ll stay close to Kailyb. Just as I once did with Mikhail. That way, he’ll believe I’ve truly fallen for his deception.”
I wasn’t certain why Kailyb had chosen Mikhail’s body in the first place.
Perhaps he had selected the person who appeared closest to me.
If that were the case, Kailyb would expect me to treat him with intimacy.
“If the Crown Prince grows close to a woman from Bardia, the Emperor won’t take kindly to it.”
Creating minor fractures in their contractual relationship. And then.
“What if I guide Kailyb to gradually withdraw the forces currently pressuring Bardia?”
Widening the gap between them bit by bit.
“He would begin to suspect betrayal.”
“Exactly.”
I could only hope the Emperor was arrogant.
Even better if he was stubborn to boot.
If he truly believed that swallowing more than half the continent was his own achievement, my plan would succeed.
“At the same time, there’s one more thing. I’m thinking of inciting the Crown Princess as well.”
“The Crown Princess? Why?”
“She seems to have feelings for the Crown Prince.”
Everyone looked startled at my words.
“Hm….”
“How did you obtain such information?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“It just happened that way? There was an incident.”
“So what exactly was this incident?”
Kei narrowed his eyes and pressed me for details.
“….”
He didn’t seem like he’d let this go easily.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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