Chapter 3: I Guess That’s Just What Happened
Keter’s preparation to fight the queen was smoother than he expected, thanks to Dork, his subordinate.
“I know you said you’re not fighting the queen for Sefira’s sake, but let’s make it seem like you’re seeking revenge for the Sefira family. It makes sense, and it will help you gain allies.”
Keter began refining new techniques to kill the queen. The skills he had learned and mastered in Liqueur were all in their raw form; while excellent for killing people, they were unsuitable for fighting a divine being like Queen Lillian.
Keter chose archery as his technique to battle the queen. This was because Besil, the head of Sefira and his father, left a legacy: Zodiac Archery, a collection of Sefira’s secret archery skills. Though he had never learned archery before, it didn’t take him long to. He was already a master at throwing, and his talent for combat was unrivaled.
Keter didn’t train; he learned the skills through battle. The entire country was his enemy, so there were plenty of opponents to fight. Every soldier was going around as fast as they could, searching for him to kill him.
He fought his pursuers as they came, sometimes going to them before they found him. There was never a day that went by that he didn’t fight, never a day that didn’t end in bloodshed. Proving that people didn’t call him the Clear-Eyed Madman of Liqueur for nothing, Keter enjoyed risking his life in these battles.
Keter usually worked alone, but Queen Lillian could not catch him for some reason. It was strange that an entire kingdom couldn’t do anything about one, single person. This was because Keter had a just cause: to avenge Sefira. The Sefira family was exterminated overnight for treason, a charge that was never substantiated.
There were obviously nobles who were disgruntled, but there was also covert help from other factions that disliked the queen. Thanks to this, Keter was able to stay alive, eventually reaching a point where he could kill a Swordmaster with a single strike and even fight against dozens of them at once.
But he hadn’t gotten any closer to his goal of killing the queen. He had started out boldly, but Keter realized that he was just a frog in the well. The stronger he became, the more he truly realized that Prime, the strongest state a human could reach, was not the end but only the beginning.
The first time Keter felt a limit was when he encountered one of the Four Lords. The Four Lords were the queen’s trusted henchmen and the pillars of this country. To kill the queen, he had to kill these Four Lords first.
Keter sought out and challenged one of them: The Lord of the East, Deyal the Slasher of Skies. True to his nickname, Deyal wielded a swordsmanship that could cut the sky. After fighting him, Keter couldn’t help but scoff in disbelief.
“Who came up with his nickname? It’s wrong. He doesn’t just slash the sky, he splits it.”
The impact of Keter and Deyal’s battle completely altered the terrain, creating endless holes and gaping canyons everywhere. Nothing about them was human except their appearance.
In the end, Keter was defeated. Deyal was seriously wounded, but Keter suffered a fatal blow from Deyal.
Catching his breath, Deyal said, “It’s the first time a human has injured me this much. It’s a pity; if you weren’t a descendant of Sefira, you could have replaced one of the Four Lords.”
“Hey, let me ask you something. How much stronger is the queen compared to you?”
Keter was dying, but his voice was calm. He could only act this way because he had no regrets. He had done his best in the fight; therefore, he had no regrets, even though he lost. Actually, he felt a sense of relief.
Keter felt like he was up against the queen, but he knew this fight wasn’t going to end. There was a limit to what he could do alone. While there were forces helping him here and there, they were not significant.
Now a middle-aged man, Keter fought the Lord of the East, hoping to make a meaningful impact before he aged further. He was ultimately defeated, but it was a fight without regret. He was only able to think this way because he wasn’t sure he could kill the queen, even with more time. The question he was asking now before dying was a fundamental desire to satisfy his curiosity.
After a brief pause, Deyal spoke, “Keter, you should consider it a blessing that you are dying in my hands right now. Her Majesty is incomparably stronger than I am. Even if all the Four Lords combined their strength, they wouldn’t even be able to touch the tip of Her Majesty’s finger.”
“Is that because of the power of Ein?”
Deyal’s eyes widened.
“You figured that out yourself? Truly astonishing and pitiful. If you figured that out sooner, the outcome of this fight would have been different.”
“It’s nothing grand. Ein is just aura and mana combined,” Keter replied.
“You would have also realized that it is impossible with a human body and mind. You used Ein, but it was incomplete because you are human.”
“I admit, it wasn’t easy. It would have been nice if I had a little more time.”
“You shouldn’t have gone up against the queen if you wanted time. You had a chance to run away.”
“That’s not my cup of tea.”
“... If there is a next life, live it by compromising with reality.”
The queen had originally ordered the Four Lords to bring back Keter alive. However, Deyal pointed his sword at Keter’s neck. Like Keter, Deyal had also once thought that he could kill Queen Lillian. Out of respect for Keter, who grievously wounded him with archery—a skill he looked down on—Deyal was doing Keter a favor to stop him from becoming Queen Lillian’s puppet.
It’s over.
Even as Keter faced death, his beliefs remained unchanged.
There is no compromise in my life. If there is a next life, I will kill you, Deyal, and I will kill the queen.
Voosh.
Deyal’s blade sliced cleanly through Keter’s neck.
* * *
An afterlife: a world after death. Keter had never given it much thought, but now he was forced to think about it.
What is this?
His consciousness briefly faded and then returned. His vision was blurry, but he could definitely feel that he was alive. He touched his neck. He clearly remembered it being cut off by Deyal’s sword, yet it was completely attached. His blurry vision came into focus now, and he was faced with an unfamiliar sight.
This was…
“Is something wrong, my lord?”
Keter shook his head silently and looked around. He was in a carriage. The scenery outside the window rushed by quickly. Inside the carriage, it was calm. Although it lacked extravagance, there was an air of tranquility and elegance. The ceiling and walls, made of thick, sturdy oak, had soft curves. Richly colored monochromatic fabrics added subtle accents.
Hard and soft: this carriage, which embodied two opposite qualities, was painted with a drawing Keter recognized. There was a large tree reaching from the ground to the sky, and arrows hung from its branches like fruit. It was the symbol of Sefira, the Masters of Archery.
And in front of Keter was a familiar, middle-aged man who seemed concerned about him. Now, he realized what was happening. This carriage was headed to Sefira, and this middle-aged man was Jacques, his butler.
So… Keter had traveled a few decades back in time to the beginning of the most uninteresting and uninspiring year of his life—the one year of his life that was worth forgetting about. He knew how crazy this was. He was sure that he was dead, but he had reincarnated. On top of that, it didn’t seem like a coincidence that the time point he returned to was right before he entered Sefira. Who did this, why, and how?
I guess it just happened.
Keter had regressed, but he decided not to think too deeply about it.
He once thought everything happened for a reason, but living life, he realized that sometimes things just happen. Maybe that wasn’t true, but that was just what he decided to believe. It was a waste of time to overthink things when he didn’t have a clue as to what happened. The truth about these things would eventually come out, whether he wanted it to or not, so there was no point in trying to figure it out. Right now, he just had to live in the present.
As Keter reached a conclusion, Jacques spoke, “Would you look out the window, my lord? This is the estate of Sefira.”
The carriage slowed down as Jacques gave a signal. Then, the scenery that had been passing by so quickly suddenly became clear.
The wide plains and the streams that flowed through them glistened a pale silver color. Lush trees lining both sides of the well-maintained road cast shadows and swayed as if they were welcoming the carriage. The mountain trails, hills, and mansions peeking through the trees looked like a part of the natural landscape.
Seeing the intact mansion and estates gave Keter a strange feeling. Jacques, who mistook his mixed feelings for admiration, smiled in satisfaction.
“My lord, do you see that small hill over there?”
It wasn’t the first time Keter had heard this. He nodded silently and predicted Jacques’s next words in his head.
He’s going to ask if I can see the mountain range over there.
Jacques turned to Keter, his face beaming with pride.
“Do you also see the wide mountain range behind it?”
As expected, Jacques was repeating what Keter had heard in his previous life. As he nodded, just like he did before, Jacques finished off his introduction in pride.
“From here to the mountains over there, it is all Sefira’s territory. We have two hundred knights, and two thousand soldiers. Counting their families and the hired hands who worked for the house, there are eight thousand residents living here.”
In his previous life, Keter had gasped mildly as Jacques wished, but now that he had reincarnated, he could only scoff.
“It’s nothing compared to other master families,” he said.
“Yes, that’s… Pardon?”
The master families were the core of the country’s military power.
This kingdom, under the rule of Queen Lillian, had a total of seven master families, with the Sefira family having the smallest army.
The Mejai family, which had the second-lowest number of troops after Sefira, had three hundred knights and six thousand soldiers. In addition, they had more than thirty thousand residents. There was a threefold difference in population alone, so it was no wonder the Sefira family was called the weakest of the master families.
How did Keter know so well? It was because he was the one who destroyed the Mejai family. The Mejai family was the most aggressive in hunting down the Sefira bloodline.
Anyway, even if Sefira was the weakest of the prestigious families, it was as big as a small country. Unable to hide his fluster at Keter’s unexpected reaction, Jacques began making excuses.
“Y-yes, but that’s because we have different roles. The Sefiras, as you know, are trained in archery, my lord. You wouldn’t understand how challenging it is compared to swordsmanship until you try it yourself. And also…”
Jacques’s explanation went in one ear and out the other as Keter looked at Sefira’s mansions, which were getting closer. They were spacious and open, with a diverse array of buildings, but there was not even a hint of luxury. The gardens, which were symbols of wealth, and the mansions, symbols of power, were exceptionally plain. This wasn’t because the Sefira lacked wealth, but rather because they practiced modesty, which was not characteristic of aristocracy.
Click clack.
The carriage entered the garden. The garden was surrounded by four large mansions. Keter, obviously, knew the purpose of these mansions. The south mansion housed the patriarch, the east mansion housed the vassals, and the west mansion housed Sefira’s descendants.
To the north of the gardens, Keter caught a glimpse of dormitories and training grounds for the helping hands, soldiers, and knights.
The carriage seemed to head for the west mansion, where Sefira’s descendants lived, but then it abruptly turned and stopped in front of what looked like a deserted shed. This was where Keter was going to be staying.
I was shocked when I first saw it.
The family had turned a shed into living quarters for him. It felt like they were treating him like baggage.
As Keter stepped out from the carriage, he felt all eyes on him—curious gazes from patrolling soldiers and helping hands doing chores. However, none of them came forward to greet him.
It was a stark reminder that Keter had traveled back in time, as no one had come to greet him in his previous life either. Back then, he was so irritated by this that he had reciprocated and ignored them.
But now, it’s different.
If he left this family alone, the same thing would happen: the Sefira family would be destroyed again, and he would be forced to fight against Queen Lillian in a losing battle.
Keter had no intention of repeating the past; he was going to change the future through active intervention, not for the sake of his doomed family, but for the sake of his own comfort and life. Intervening didn’t mean that he was going to be the head of the family. Why bother with such a troublesome position?
All Keter wanted was a position like the Godfather of Liqueur—a position where simply displaying enough dignity allowed him to oversee loyal subordinates who worked and risked their lives for him. Of course, it would take a lot of hard work to get there, but once he got there, the rest of his life would be leisurely.
But it wasn’t enough just to save the Sefira family; Keter wanted to grow Sefira and make it the greatest family on the continent. Then, he would become the power behind such a prestigious family. He would utilize the power of the Sefira family without being tied to it.
Ultimately, Keter was going to kill Queen Lillian for trying to execute him under collective punishment and now, for actually killing him.
An eye for an eye.
Queen Lillian ruined his previous life, even killing him, so he was going to pay her back. Until that time, Keter was going to grow the family’s strength and build its power. He was just going to show the Sefira family how he survived and lived in Liqueur.
As Keter stared at the main mansion, Jacques pulled his arm.
“I will show you around the grounds later, my lord, but for now, why don’t you head back to your living quarters? It would be good to rest a little and then freshen up.”
“Wait a minute.”
“Oh, you cannot go there, as that’s the main mansion where the patriarch resides. Moreover, it’s your first day, so you should be even more cautious in your actions…”
“I know.”
“Pardon?”
“What’s wrong with a son going to see his father?”
Keter began walking to the front door before Jacques could stop him.
It should have been this way in his previous life as well. He should have given a proper greeting, something he deliberately avoided out of frustration from being ignored.
“Father! The bastard you abandoned has returned!”
Everyone’s eyes, including Jacques’, widened at Keter’s bold actions.
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