TERNLF Vol. 1 Epilogue

Full title: The Exiled Reincarnated Noble Lives Freely

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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◆Epilogue◆

A great political struggle that shook the kingdom.

Though chroniclers would later record the incident in those words, the daily lives of commoners outside the noble quarter seemed unaffected.

But that was only on the surface. In truth, I knew that an extensive purge had taken place behind the scenes.

Afterward, thanks to Lakkra’s secret ledger and the evidence I had gathered, the Senate was said to have erupted into debate as impassioned as in the kingdom’s founding days.

The Senate, which governs the politics of the realm.

Within it, the two houses with the greatest influence—House Bafel and House Macduff—were originally branches of the royal family itself.

These two ducal houses had long vied for the top position within the Senate—that is, the seat effectively ranking second in the Kingdom of Preasole.

No, one could even say that with the royal family reduced to little more than a puppet, the true sovereign of this country was the Senate’s highest authority.

Broadly speaking, the Senate was divided into three factions.

Two were centered around the ducal houses, while the third was a group known as the Moderates.

These Moderates were backed by the Four Great Counts—each a powerful lord with deep foundations across the kingdom. Their numbers were small, but their influence was immense.

The Bafel faction counted nine members, the Macduff faction eight, and the Moderates four.

Thus, whenever the Senate reached a decision, the outcome depended entirely on which side the Moderates chose to support.

But that balance shifted on that fateful day.

Duke Bafel himself could not be stripped of his Senate seat, even with the evidence I had collected.

Yet half of his entourage lost their positions completely.

Though their noble titles remained, every lord—including heads of households—who had dealings with Lakkra’s enterprises was rigorously punished under noble law.

I never learned the details, but judging by the look on Glaas’ face when he spoke of it, the penalties must have been severe.

Even so, the uproar among the nobles ended entirely within the walls of the noble quarter.

For had the truth been made public, the kingdom itself might have been shaken.

Still, no lid can fully seal human tongues.

In the aftermath, rumors flew through the capital, spreading unease among the populace.

Those who knew of Lakkra’s illicit dealings, those connected to him, and those who associated with nobles all lived in dread that the fire might spread to them next.

Yet, as the saying goes, rumors last but seventy-five days.

Through backroom maneuvering by the Senate and nobility, the talk gradually faded, until now it is rarely mentioned.

In my former world, it would not have been so easily buried.

But here—in this world, or rather in this kingdom—the Senate, and the royal family even as mere figureheads, sustain the nation’s stability, for better or worse.

No great uprisings have erupted, and apart from border fortresses, there has been no war for a long time.

That very stability masked what should have been an incident capable of shaking the nation to its core.

For the people, noble feuds and crimes mean nothing, so long as the consequences never touch their own lives.

—

“So, has Lakkra been found?”

At Windfang’s base, I sipped tea and posed the question to Glaas, who dressed incongruously in fine noble attire unsuited to this place.

He had come today to give his final report on the incident and to take custody of the victims who had been healed by Nikka.

“Not yet.”

“I see.”

That day, after leaving everything to him, I had gone to the underground chamber where I had sealed Lakkra inside an earthen prison.

It wasn’t to save him. I intended to retrieve him as evidence.

With a Kashit family carriage now in my possession, it was no longer difficult to move a person in and out of the noble quarter.

But when I returned to the chamber, Lakkra was gone.

The earthen sphere I had trapped him in had been smashed from the outside; his companions must have rescued him.

Or so I thought at the time―

“But Lakkra is most likely dead. It seems Duke Bafel, perceiving Toa’s movements… no, our Macduff faction’s movements, acted first to destroy the evidence.”

That was why Bafel could not be completely cornered.

He had been constantly monitoring rival factions, even planting spies within them.

Though Glaas claims their network was nearly obliterated in this affair, it had allowed him to sense danger early and act faster than I had anticipated.

“According to the gendarmerie’s investigation, bloodstains believed to be Lakkra’s were found on the stairs leading up from that chamber, along with signs of desperate struggle.”

“And the magic vault?”

“Oh, I didn’t mention? They found it in a hidden Blackra Trading Company warehouse. Or rather, in the burned-out ruins of one.”

Apparently, Lakkra had rented several warehouses and properties under false names for illicit dealings.

Testimony from those captured after the incident revealed that some had gone up in suspicious fires just before the gendarmerie raided them.

“Are you displeased?”

Noticing my expression, Glaas asked.

“I can’t deny I’m displeased that it wasn’t a complete victory.”

“No, I’d say it was as complete a victory as one could hope for.”

His lips curled in a noble’s sneer as he continued.

“You should have seen that old man flustered in the assembly. He grovelled pathetically, making excuses and pleading his innocence. I almost wished you had been there to watch.”

“But in the end, he destroyed the evidence and escaped judgment, didn’t he?”

“If we speak only of the result, yes. But he walked into the assembly, convinced he had erased everything before us—only to be confronted with proof so irrefutable he couldn’t weasel out.”

In the end, Bafel cast the blame onto his own faction members.

He succeeded in cutting them off like a lizard’s tail, but what remained of him clung to life by the thinnest skin.

“A noble faction only survives when its leader protects those beneath him. To cast them aside in such a public forum for the sake of his own skin… what awaits House Bafel now is nothing but a slow death.”

With the same merciless look he must have worn when he once sent assassins after me, Glaas pressed on.

“If House Bafel has any path to survival left—”

“And that would be?”

“—then its heir must purge the current duke with his own hand and make him bear responsibility.”

Watching that aristocratic mask, I thought once again, ‘Nobility’s way of life really doesn’t suit me.’

Sensing the pause in our exchange, I lifted the 【Silence】.

At once, the clamor of the outside world spilled into my ears.

Even here, less crowded than the capital’s center, the midday streets resounded with their own disorderly din.

“Have you finished your discussion?”

Noticing our movement, Nikka closed the book she had been reading and sprang up from the bed.

Beside her, Grassa dozed with a face that looked moments away from blowing a snot bubble.

The stench of noble corruption was something I did not wish the two of them to hear.

That was why I had cast 【Silence】 to muffle our conversation, though no doubt they had grown bored in the meantime.

“Yes, it’s over.”

“And those people…?”

She must have meant the ones she had healed of their losses.

Glaas answered with a gentle expression—so different from the cold detachment he had shown me earlier—that I almost felt chilled by the contrast.

“I will personally deal with them.”

The ability to switch one’s demeanor in an instant, depending on the person and the matter at hand—

That, perhaps, was a noble’s most basic skill.

“Deal with…”

Yet Glaas’ words seemed only to heighten Nikka’s unease.

“Glaas, your choice of words was poor.”

“I-I see. Perhaps you’re right.”

The phrase “deal with,” so often used by nobles, had likely sounded to Nikka more like “dispose of.”

Had I spoken those same words, she would not have misunderstood. But coming from Glaas—a shifty noble—it was enough to make her anxious.

As I furrowed my brow, wondering how best to reassure her…

“Lord Glaas, preparations are complete.”

A gentle knock at the door was followed by the voice of the Kashit family butler.

“I’ll explain it to her later.”

“Please do.”

“I’m entrusting the victims to you. Should you neglect even a single one of them, I will not forgive you.”

“I understand. For the honor of House Kashit, we shall provide every possible support so that each victim may stand on their own once more.”

Looking me straight in the eye, Glaas declared this.

It was hard to believe he was the same man who had trembled at my threats not long ago.

“Well then, ladies, I shall take my leave.”

After telling this to Nikka and the slumbering Grassa, Glaas cast me one last glance and departed the room.

—

Once we had entrusted all of the healed victims to Glaas, we decided to leave the royal capital.

It was a choice we had resolved upon even before the Macduff faction began their assault on Duke Bafel’s faction.

Though the overt uproar had mostly subsided, I considered the risk that someone other than Lakkra might move against Nikka and Grassa for their powers.

Aside from Lakkra, only a handful of people—including their family—knew of Grassa’s ability. I doubted it would leak from them, yet I could not be certain Lakkra had kept her secret entirely to himself.

As for Nikka, until then only Grassa, Edra, and Redroal knew of her power. But through her healing of the victims, it became evident to more.

And Glaas as well—though he refrained from asking in detail—must have realized that someone near me possessed the power to mend lost limbs.

The freed slaves were profoundly grateful, and I doubted Glaas would recklessly divulge anything. Still, the chance of discovery could never be ruled out.

For that reason, I proposed that Nikka and Grassa leave the kingdom for a time.

Conveniently, Edra and the others were also returning to their original base of operations, the southern city of Eborea.

So we decided to depart on the same day.

We had three options for where to go after leaving the capital.

First, travel with Edra to Eborea, then continue to a southern port town and sail for another continent.

Second, head northwest through Glen—the city of the Glenord domain, rivaling the capital as one of the kingdom’s greatest cities—and cross the mountains into the Volga Empire.

And third, journey via the border fortress to a northwestern trading port, and from there to the northernmost reaches of another continent beyond the kingdom’s reach.

Personally, I thought the farther from the capital the better. Still, if the two wished to accompany Edra, I would allow it.

Nikka’s 【Resurrection】 and Grassa’s 【Duplicate】—

I had heard of such powers at the border fortress, yet they were said to appear only once in a century, if at all.

And now, two such people stood before me at the same time.

I wanted to dismiss it as coincidence.

But given that I myself was a reincarnator, I could not say so with certainty.

That was why I hoped to consult the sages I trusted at the border fortress. They would keep the secret, and give us counsel with sincerity.

I had already sent them a letter, hinting at my circumstances while concealing the details of the two girls’ powers.

Of course, letters can be intercepted by anyone, so I made certain to omit anything too revealing.

Even so, I left the decision of our route to the girls.

After all, the reputation of the “border fortress” was abysmal.

It was called the graveyard of the kingdom’s soldiers; a place from which no one returned alive; a post where men were fed to monsters.

And truth be told, about half of those rumors were accurate.

So I did worry about taking two girls, scarcely able to fight, into such danger.

Though I intended to protect them with all my strength—and had confidence that I could—I could not deny the possibility that they might suffer fear or harm.

I explained all this, and asked what they wished to do―

“The border fortress is where all those incredible people Toa always talks about live, right? I can’t wait to meet them!”

“They’re the ones who trained Toa when he was still a good-for-nothing noble, right? I’ve always wanted to see them for myself.”

I had expected at least some hesitation, but the two immediately chose the border fortress route.

“And on the way, we can visit our village too, right? I wanted to tell my father and the others that I finally became an adventurer.”

“Yes. And about Uncle Lakkra… we’ll have to tell father the truth as well.”

By coincidence, their village lay just off the route to the fortress.

That too influenced their decision.

Visiting the village would extend the journey by only two days; not much of a delay compared to the other routes.

“But do we really have to leave the capital this quickly?”

From Grassa’s perspective, perhaps my haste seemed excessive.

“Glaas told me it would be best to leave as soon as possible. We can’t afford to linger.”

Along with providing me funds, he had warned that Bafel’s faction was targeting me.

After all, I had brazenly raided their estates for evidence; there was no way they had failed to notice.

Though I doubted that harming me alone would restore the Bafel faction, the uncertainty of what they might attempt was unsettling.

So even without Nikka and Grassa’s situation, I had intended to leave the capital myself.

“Besides, Edra said they’re leaving the day after tomorrow. I figured we might as well go then too.”

Unlike Edra’s group, however, we would travel discreetly, riding in a merchant’s wagon to avoid attention.

“That’s how it is. You two should prepare for the journey by the day after tomorrow.”

I told them this, then hurried to make my own preparations.

—

Two days later.

In front of the base, we gathered with the members of Windfang to exchange our final farewells.

From here, Edra and his companions would head south, while we would set our course north.

“Take care of yourselves.”

“You too.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“That’s our line.”

“Next time, let’s share a drink together.”

Perhaps such a simple parting was natural for adventurers who lived with the constant awareness that death might strike at any moment.

I prayed that these brief, casual words would not be our last, and we each made our way toward the gates of departure.

Leaving the capital was easy.

Near the northern gate, the three of us slipped into the cargo bed of a departing wagon and cloaked ourselves with my magic.

We passed through the checkpoint unnoticed, and once the wagon had gone far beyond the city walls, we slipped out without drawing attention.

Then, as planned, we linked up outside the royal city with another merchant bound for a different town. That completed the ruse.

“Calling it lax security… might be a bit unkind.”

With so many entering and leaving the capital each day, inspections at the gates were inevitably far stricter for those coming in than those going out.

As I gazed at the shrinking silhouette of the capital’s ramparts, I recalled the whirlwind of upheaval that had unfolded within those walls these past few months.

This world is merciless.

Carving that truth once more into my heart―

“Living in another world really is no easy task.”

I let out a sigh, murmuring the words as the wagon swayed beneath us.

(TERNLF Vol. 1 END)

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