The double life of a count’s bastard

Episode 34

A gigantic tree, colourful and mysterious in equal measure.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The Elven Queen asked, and Rousseau and the others nodded, mesmerised.

The Casuarina Tree.

A mysterious tree was found nowhere else on the continent, only in the elven realm, with fewer than ten of them.

“The fruit of the Cassarian Tree is especially delicious, and I’d love to give you a taste, but unfortunately, it bore fruit last year, so it won’t be available for a while.”

The Elven Queen bragged, not boasted, that the fruit of the Cassarian Tree, which bears fruit every five years, is said to taste heavenly even among the elves.

Rousseau looked at the grave beneath the tree with disinterest, for he had not come to taste the fruit anyway.

Bern, the forest’s eternal companion.

It was the grave of Bern, a sword castle from four hundred years ago.

His identity was shrouded in mystery, with many speculating that he was a dragon, but he was a human and had died in the arms of the elves hundreds of years ago.

“A swordsman’s death, indeed.”

Lord Couch said as he gazed upon Bern’s grave, then stepped forward and bowed his head in a gesture of reverence.

It was the kind of respect one might show to a giant of his time who was not a contemporary but was at the height of his humanity.

After Sir Coach, Hans also bowed with a solemn expression, as did Jason.

Finally, Rousseau bowed deeply.

“I will take care of the artefacts you leave behind.

It was an honest sentiment and as heartfelt a gesture of gratitude as Russo could muster.

Rousseau lifted his bowed head and looked at the Elven Queen.

Now that the grave had been checked, it was time for Bern’s artefacts to be returned.

Fortunately, the Elf Queen realised what Russo’s gaze was asking for and smiled sweetly.

“Do you want what he left behind?”

The words she’d been waiting for came out, and Rousseau nodded immediately.

“Honestly, yes. Bern is a historical figure to us as well, a legendary figure who should be remembered for a long time to come, and I don’t think the Queen would want what he left behind to go unnoticed and forgotten by the people, would she?”

At Rousseau’s honest answer, the Elven Queen stared into his eyes before finally nodding.

“That’s true; I’ve carried him in my heart for the rest of my life, but that’s my greed, I suppose. He’s human, and if that’s the case, then it’s in my best interest to be forever in human society.”

Fortunately, he makes sense.

Russo breathed a sigh of relief, for he had been worried that the Elven Queen might not want to give him up.

“But.”

“……?”

“I can’t have unqualified humans desecrating what she left behind.”

Prove your worth.

Russo couldn’t help but frown at the elf queen’s condition.

“There’s nothing to worry about already,” he said. “I just need to prove my credentials.”

Simple qualifications?

Is it really that simple?

The Elf Queen was smiling broadly, and Rousseau was looking at him with a worried face.

* * *

The Elf Queen’s qualifications.

The first of which was.

“Enlighten the forest?”

Rousseau looked at the elf queen with an expression of disbelief.

The tilt of her head was enough to show that she was quite annoyed at the moment.

“He loved the forest; of course, you have to be a forest lover to get what he left behind, right?”

At the Elf Queen’s words, Rousseau wondered if she was asking Bern to realise the forest just because he loved it and if she was asking him to fall in love with an elf.

“Then why don’t you give me a hint?”

How could it be so easy to realise the forest?

Moreover, Rousseau was not a nature-oriented human, so he could not recognise the Elf Queen’s meaning in the slightest.

“There is no such thing.”

The elf queen smirked and turned away, as if to say, “Leave it to me.

Rousseau clenched his fists as he watched the elf queen’s back as she stomped away.

“I want to punch her in the face!

Of course, he couldn’t.

Sir Coach said:.

‘The Elf Queen is more powerful than I can even begin to fathom. They say that there are born warriors among the elves, and I wonder if the Elf Queen is one of them.’

Even Lord Coach, a sixth-ranked warrior, couldn’t even guess.

Naturally, Rousseau would not dare to touch a single hair on her head.

“The world is wide, and there are many strong beings.”

Rousseau lay down on the ground and grumbled.

The forest must be realised.

But how?

“The forest. The forest. The forest. The forest… shit.”

At a loss for words, Rousseau frowned and closed his eyes.

* * *

One day, two days… and it was already the seventh day.

The days flew by.

Rousseau had spent the entire day in the forest, and he still hadn’t gotten a clue, let alone a clue to what the Elf Queen had said.

I let out a long sigh and watched Rousseau tug at my hair, and Jason did the same, shaking his head from side to side.

“The more I think about it, the more I realise that’s a pretty profound statement.”

“You don’t know that, do you?”

Rousseau narrowed her eyes at him, and Jason’s attitude made him blurt out something.

“Do you think I’m asking you to develop a general knowledge of the forest?

“……Shut up.”

Shutting Jason’s mouth as he blurted out whatever came to mind, Rousseau lay down on the ground, as he had for the past six days.

A gentle breeze blew in from out of nowhere, cool enough to refresh Rousseau’s stuffy mind.

The sunlight streaming through the dense foliage was warm and not too glaring, reducing the strain on his eyes.

The scent of the forest in my nostrils reminded me how lucky I was to be alive and breathing.

The leaves swaying in the breeze, the small animals moving about, and the sounds of birds searching for a mate or chirping to their parents and children all made my ears sing.

The feel of the ground, which seemed to embrace him, and the moderate humidity that permeated the entire forest brought a pleasant smile to Rousseau’s lips.

“Heaven on earth.”

He couldn’t have felt more relaxed and free; his mind was calm and serene, and his body was free of any worries.

“It is a wonderful place. To be honest, I never understood why elves, who live so much longer than humans, don’t come out of the woods and waste their time, but now that I’m here, I can see why. A life of leisurely living in a place like this sounds pretty good.”

Jason, too, seems to have fallen in love with the space and comfort the forest provides.

Rousseau, who thought life in the woods would be boring and pointless, agreed with Jason.

“I’d rather live like this…”

It wouldn’t be so bad.

At this moment, she could almost forget the impatience and worry of protecting the family that was about to lose everything.

The forest.

This space, which I thought was so insignificant, had more to offer Russo than I could have ever imagined.

Rousseau smirked and closed his eyes as Jason yawned, his eyes stinging with tears.

“Yes, let’s get some sleep.”

Rousseau and Jason are fast asleep.

The soft smiles on their faces showed how relaxed they were.

Sabbak, Sabbak, Sabbak.

The Elf Queen appeared, treading on leaves.

At the same time.

Hmph!

Gurgle.

Poof!

Whirring.

The four spirits that sustain the forest appeared.

The Elf Queen was surprised to see so many spirits appearing at once, as they rarely did.

“You can’t be… choosing this child?”

The Fire Elemental was a playful, flame-like child, with flames rising from her hair.

The Earth Elemental, a child with a plump body and a stubborn face, tore at the ground with one leg in excitement.

A shy child with clear skin was the water spirit, whose clasped hands splashed with water droplets whenever she moved them.

The Wind Elemental, a child with flowing blue hair, expressed her will by spinning her body in circles.

The Elf Queen’s face was filled with a motherly smile as she watched the four spirits, each with their own unique personalities.

Then she glanced at Rousseau, who was still in a deep sleep, completely oblivious to the situation.

“Even he wasn’t chosen by the spirits, so… you’re lucky.”

Why the Four Great Spirits made this choice, not even the Elf Queen knew.

It was not uncommon for even the most forest-loving elves to not be chosen by the spirits.

Why would a human be chosen by the spirits?

As far as the Elf Queen knew, it was a rarity, one of the few in human history.

“Is it because this child saved Elle?”

Elle is a special being.

Simply put, as the child of the Elven Queen, she had a very noble lineage, and more complexly, she was blessed and loved by more spirits than anyone in Elven history.

Perhaps that was why the spirits had chosen Rousseau, a human, to reward him for saving Elle.

“But that’s not enough; is… also a natural born?”

It is a natural phenomenon that cannot be understood, nor does it need to be understood.

A talent, or perhaps a quality, that explains everything.

Whatever the reason, the mere fact that the Four Spirits had chosen Rousseau was enough for the Elf Queen to recognise him as something special.

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

Having made up her mind, the Elf Queen smiled a wistful, bittersweet smile and then sang a beautiful song in a low, celestial voice.

As the Elf Queen sang, the Four Spirits began to dance merrily, as if they had been waiting for it, and light of different colours emanated from them and permeated Rousseau’s body.

And then.

Rousseau had a dream.

He dreamed that a man came out.

* * *

“Master??”

Jason looked worriedly at Rousseau, who was sitting there in a daze.

He nodded off, feeling just as good.

It was such a sweet nap, as it had been for the past six days, that when Jason opened his eyes, he felt as if all his fatigue had been wiped away.

Naturally, he believed Russo would too.

“He’s completely out of it?

Rousseau was holding his temper now that they were in elven territory.

He’s a bastard from his own family, but he’s been very polite and obedient to the elves, even though he knows they’re scary.

My worries about not being able to control my temper were diluting.

“You’re not going to explode, are you?

Jason’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if Rousseau’s patience was wearing thin at the mere mention of realising the forest.

“Sure. Seven days is a long time to wait, and elves aren’t exactly the most patient of creatures, either, and if you try to run away from here, you’re going to get a real rat or bird. No way!

Gulp!

Deciding that it would be difficult to calm Rousseau down by himself, Jason got up to look for reinforcements.

“Master, I’ll be right back! Don’t do anything; don’t do anything; just stay where you are!”

Jason ran off as if his feet were on fire, and Rousseau sat still.

No, he was deep in thought.

A dream.

A very vivid dream.

A dream that was the opposite of the precognitive dreams he’d had ten years earlier.

In this dream, Rousseau saw the past, hundreds of years in the past.

He saw the life of a man who was forced to live a life of struggle—a life of intense struggle.

Fighting, fighting, fighting.

Until his body was broken and he had to fight over and over again, he entered the forest for one last struggle.

And in the forest, the man found…

“……peace.”

He found stability, rest, and love.

Sword of Bern.

The life and death of Berne, the man Rousseau saw in a dream.

Also.

“It was his legacy.”

Through a dream, Rousseau gained everything Berne had.

It was as if Rousseau himself had become Berne, and all that he had accomplished was transmitted to him vividly, and he inherited it.

HuaAhhhhh!!!!!

A storm of chi began to swirl through Rousseau’s body, and the forest vibrated.