Chapter 82

The carriage rattled as it rolled along. To an outside observer, El seemed to be staring blankly into space, but in reality, he was sifting through the massive amount of information he had gathered, trying to divine the intentions behind Harold’s recent actions.

His primary objective was likely to ensure that Rainer and Colette were the ones to recover the Sacred Sword stolen on Harrison’s orders. Judging by Harold’s behavior, there was a very high probability that the two of them had to be a pair. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine why he would have taken such a circuitous route.

If necessary, Harold could have simply abandoned the hesitating Colette, staged a convincing performance, and sent a member of Frieri to accompany Rainer instead. However, Harold had seemingly refused to even consider that option from the start.

Did it have to be those two specifically, or was Colette the indispensable factor? While El couldn't be certain which it was, he suspected the truth lay somewhere between those two choices.

This theory was supported by the things Harold had said beforehand. He knew Rainer and Colette were in Brosche Village. Furthermore, based on the reactions of everyone involved, it was now certain that Harold and Colette were old acquaintances.

He might even be acquainted with Rainer as well.

This realization naturally led to a pressing question: Was their past connection simply a convenient reason to make them pursue him, or...

Did he establish contact with them years ago specifically so they would pursue him now?

As long as the circumstances of Rainer and Colette—and the true nature of the relationship between the three of them—remained a mystery, this was nothing more than speculation.

Speaking from his own subjective perspective, El hadn’t sensed anything particularly special about Rainer or Colette at first. They seemed like a simple, naive boy and girl from the countryside, the kind one could find anywhere. That had been his initial impression.

However, that impression had been shattered at the very end.

He didn't know what Harold had whispered to her, but the moment Colette resolved to follow Rainer, her eyes burned with a fierce will. Facing her in that moment, El had been momentarily overwhelmed by the undeniable presence she exuded.

It was precisely because El had encountered so many legends and masters that he recognized it. That was the quality of a hero—a spark possessed only by those with a special Natural Talent. A mere village girl should not have been capable of projecting such an aura.

Therefore, El was convinced: there was something about Colette. And Harold clearly understood this. He had likely known it for a very long time.

As for the mystery of Harold and Colette’s past, it had unraveled much more easily than El had expected.

The reason was simple: though they were in different territories, Brosche Village sat directly adjacent to the Stokes Territory ruled by Harold’s family. As soon as El had directed the available Frieri personnel and his own Giffelt information network to investigate, the answer had surfaced almost immediately.

The ease with which he found the information made El wonder if Harold had even bothered to hide it, but regardless, the truth of their relationship was clear: Harold was the benefactor who had saved her life.

Among the residents of the Stokes Territory, it was common knowledge that eight years ago, Harold had personally murdered his servant, Clara, and her daughter, Colette. But that was a fabrication.

The proof, quite obviously, was that the two of them were still alive.

The moment El had suggested that the thief who robbed Rainer’s house looked like the notorious Harold Stokes, Colette had vehemently denied it. She insisted he wasn't that kind of person—this, coming from the same girl who had claimed just moments prior that she "didn't know any such person."

The look of "I've said too much" that immediately crossed her face confirmed it. Colette was in a position where she had to keep the fact that Harold had saved them a secret.

Given the circumstances, Harold must have been the one to issue those strict orders. Because of that incident, he had been branded a murderer. It was likely the origin point of the countless foul rumors that trailed him.

Yet, there was no record of Harold ever denying the accusations. That man, a literal personification of pride, had willingly accepted the stigma of a groundless crime, likely to ensure their survival remained hidden at any cost. He had even gone out of his way to smuggle them out of the Stokes Territory to a place where no one would recognize them.

While several motives for this could be imagined, El focused on what happened next.

A household consisting of only a mother and daughter. At the time, Clara had been saved, but she had lost her livelihood, and Colette was only nine years old—too young to work. They should have been in dire financial straits.

And yet, while they lived modestly, they showed no signs of poverty. The clincher was the fact that they "bought" their small, sturdy, single-story house. They weren't renting; they owned it. Furthermore, they had paid for it in a single lump sum immediately upon arriving in the village.

Unless one was a high-ranking butler serving a direct master, the wages of a common servant like Clara were a pittance. It was nearly impossible for someone in her position to save enough for a lump-sum house purchase.

So, where did the money come from? Based on the behavior of those two, it was obvious that Harold was the source.

In essence, Harold had saved their lives, accepted the brand of a murderer, and then provided them with the funds to live comfortably. It was an act of salvation through self-sacrifice that was diametrically opposed to his usual arrogant persona.

Regardless of Harold's true personality, it meant that, to him, saving Clara and Colette was worth that much effort.

And if that "value" came from the fact that he had already recognized the Natural Talent El had glimpsed in Colette...

The thought sent a chill down El’s spine.

Was it possible that saving Clara and Colette was a move the ten-year-old Harold had made to set the stage for this moment eight years later? It was a ridiculous hypothesis.

Events and people shouldn't move so perfectly according to plan. Yet, when El considered Harold’s history, he couldn't dismiss it. He felt this way because this wasn't the first time Harold had taken actions that seemed impossibly far-sighted.

In retrospect, there were other anomalies. The most prominent was the battle in the Bertis Forest.

A tragedy where the Sarian Empire crossed the mountains to invade the Liber Kingdom, resulting in over a hundred casualties among the Knight Order and the local Stella Clan. During that conflict, Harold had been imprisoned on suspicion of being a spy.

The suspicion arose because Harold had been caught wearing a Sarian Imperial uniform.

However—though this information was not public—Harold had actually defeated the Imperial Army’s Major General, the mage Ritzelt, during that battle. A true spy would never have done such a thing.

But what if Harold wasn't a spy? What if he had intentionally dressed as the enemy to clarify the threat to the Knight Order? Indeed, Cody, Harold’s superior at the time, had argued that Harold's actions were the primary reason the casualties had been kept so low.

If Harold had disguised himself to sow chaos among the Imperial forces with the sole objective of assassinating Ritzelt from the start...

That would mean Harold had known about the invasion before it happened. Normally, one would simply assume he had an incredible information network. But Harold wasn't normal, and to achieve those results, he needed to meet a specific prerequisite: he had to be a member of the Knight Order.

And it was vital to remember that Harold had knocked on the doors of the Knight Order at the age of thirteen—the youngest recruit in history, joining before he had even reached the minimum age. That wasn't an accident; it was a move made with clear, deliberate intent.

If the goal of joining the Order at thirteen was specifically to participate in the battle of the Bertis Forest, just how far back did Harold’s "from the start" actually go?

Even with immense talent, it took more than a year or two to build the strength necessary to enlist at thirteen.

That meant Harold might have known the battle was coming years in advance. He knew about a surprise invasion that had lacked any discernible omens until the moment it began.

"...Just kidding. I'm definitely overthinking this."

El muttered the words to himself, almost as a reflex. If his absurd hypothesis were true, it would transcend the realm of having a good information network or being a brilliant strategist.

But even as he spoke the denial, his own voice sounded hollow.

There was still one more mystery—the greatest one of all concerning Harold.

Why had Harold been so certain that El was a Giffelt when he had provided almost no evidence? If Harold had merely been suspicious or testing him, it might make sense. But arriving at that conclusion after only a couple of days and a handful of conversations should have been impossible.

Then there was his knowledge of the Stellar Memory. The Giffelt clan had spent centuries chasing that "something"—the truth of the world, containing all of creation. Its form and location were entirely unknown.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Giffelt existed solely to find it. Yet Harold not only knew it existed, but he might very well know where it was.

Yes, Harold knew things. He knew far too much that should have been impossible to know.

He knew about the Giffelt, the Stellar Memory, and the unpredictable invasion. He knew about the secret treasures like the Sacred Sword and Harrison’s secret orders. And he likely knew what was coming next for this world.

Judging by how Colette’s unexpected hesitation had forced his hand, and his struggle to deal with Justus, his foresight clearly wasn't perfect. His power was likely limited.

But even if it was limited, Harold likely possessed it.

"The power to see the future... Future Prediction, is it?"

El finally whispered the words aloud in the privacy of the carriage.

If he said such a thing to anyone else, they would laugh at him. He had no proof; it was simply the only explanation that fit the facts.

Yet, the more he analyzed Harold’s behavior, the more impossible it became to deny.

El couldn't help but wonder: If his theory was correct, just how far into the future could Harold see? And what exactly was he trying to achieve with that power?

Author's Note: This scene covers El's deductions which didn't fit into the previous chapter. I decided to split it as it would have exceeded 10,000 characters otherwise.