Chapter 8 — Back to the Light of Day
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
Though he had spent less than a day with this nominal great-great-great-great-…-granddaughter of his, Gao Yang was already deeply impressed by Rebecca, and more than once he had found himself wondering whether the child had had her head caught in something when she was small…
By rights that should not have been the case. Even setting aside the elite education that noble children were obliged to receive, her identity as a spellcaster was proof enough of her intelligence—after all, casually conjuring a great fireball was not something the average person could manage…
The others, however, were in no mood to take Rebecca to task for speaking before thinking. Even Heidi, who had always been strict with the girl, was now left with nothing but deep unease: "You mean… the things that have appeared in the Cecil domain are those monsters from seven hundred years ago?"
Gao Yang sighed. "Judging by how unfamiliar they are to you, I take it you haven't seen them in all these centuries."
"The wars against the monsters after the Age of Pioneering are already history," Heidi said with a slight shake of her head. "There are records in the histories, but the most recent of them are at least six hundred years old… From what I have learned, the monsters that wandered out of the wastelands of the Old Empire did indeed plague Ansou for a long time, but ever since the elves helped mankind build those Sentinel Towers, the monsters became a thing of legend…"
Gao Yang frowned slightly. "The Sentinel Towers, is it… Something the elves built wouldn't malfunction so easily."
"This must be reported to His Majesty," Rebecca said suddenly, clenching her fist hard, her face grave. "Monsters that vanished hundreds of years ago have reappeared within the Empire's borders. Someone must get word back at once. And the Cecil domain has suffered grievously from this unprovoked calamity—we… we must appeal to the royal house for aid…"
Gao Yang thought over "his own" former achievements and smiled with great confidence. "Rest easy. Given the standing of the Cecil family in Ansou, and the influence I left behind, Frostrest Citadel will surely spare no effort in helping you rebuild the domain."
Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth than Heidi's and Rebecca's faces did not fill with reassurance—instead, their expressions turned strangely grim.
Gao Yang was baffled. "Er… what's the matter?"
Surely seven hundred years later, the name of the legendary founding duke, Gao Yang Cecil, was not without recognition in this kingdom?
"Ancestor…" Heidi's face was terribly ashen. She bit her lip several times before she seemed at last to make up her mind. "Actually, back in the tomb, there was something I wanted to tell you, only… I truly could not bring myself to say it."
Gao Yang had already guessed something of it, but he nodded all the same. "Go on. I'm listening."
"The glory of the Cecil family is no longer what it was. You are still regarded throughout the kingdom as the legendary founding duke, but…" Heidi glanced at Rebecca with some difficulty. "But Rebecca, who now holds the family title, is only a viscount—and this Cecil domain… is the family's last holding."
Gao Yang was dumbstruck. "…What?! As I recall, I was already a duke when I 'died' back then, and the title was hereditary in perpetuity, was it not? The domain stretched all the way from the Cecil lands to the Plains of the Holy Spirit… What on earth did the Cecils after me get up to? Regicide? Armed rebellion?"
Heidi lowered her head in shame. "…Seven hundred years can change a great many things—the family, and the kingdom alike. Ansou today is no longer the First Dynasty but the Second. The Cecil family is no longer a great border lord upholding the royal house, but a name under a stain, exiled by the crown."