Rise of the Nameless Heir-Chapter 19: A Strange Stance

Jian? Now that’s a name I remember. The oldest brother of Ralyn, and the one who started that internal cycle of self-loathing in Ralyn.

"Jian, huh," I whisper, my eyes still narrowed, my gaze piercing the ground.

"Forget about that. Today, I brought the ’equipment’ that I told you about." Dinan says, striding away from me, his hands tucked inside his pocket.

"But before, that.." I utter, and he halts, turning back to stare at me with one eyebrow raised, "I have to ask. You’re going somewhere tomorrow, right?"

He nods once, and as he does, his black eyes shimmer brightly under the sun. "Yes?"

"That place you’re going to.. Hanu province, he called it. Where is it? No, what is a province in the first place?" I ask, my tone high, dosed with an eager edge. My eyes are clear because, strangely enough, the sweat dripping from my forehead does not pour into them.

As he hears my question, his lips widen, and he shakes his head slowly. "I see," He speaks, turning to walk forward. "You’re curious." He nods again; this time, he nods thrice. Slowly. "As you should be. After all, you’ve been caged in that quarter your whole life. You know nothing of the world."

Exactly. In Ralyn’s memories, there aren’t any details on the world beyond the walls of the Steelheart estate. He might have read some books that talked about them, but those were probably just bits of information. All I have are the memories of things he has experienced. I do not have his mind.

"The Hanu province is the largest in the Northern part of this continent. The province is controlled by the Miranian county. They lord over there, and my Lord the Patriarch has business with them." He speaks in a strange pattern. Fast like he doesn’t want me to fully understand what he’s saying, but not too fast, as I can understand most of it.

A feudal system. I get it. But, if the largest province in the North is headed by the Miranian county, what about the Steelhearts? No, where do the Steelhearts rule? Where are we located? I don’t even know if this family is a county or.. those other titles that these aristocratic people always have.

"Do you understand, Ralyn? Or you want me to repeat it.. slowly this time?" As his voice rings out, intruding on my pondering, I look up and realize that he has walked away from me.

I walk, quickening my pace to catch up to him.

He then pauses and raises his right hand. His index finger is pointing somewhere, an unknown direction.

I trace the direction that his finger points, and I see that it’s that area. The open place where the fourth wall of this.. garden is supposed to be.

Then I look at his finger again, trying to see if he was really pointing in that direction.

"Ah, this is the reason why I love this garden." He hums, his voice soft, a tender warmth radiating from his tone.

Butterflies are flying around his outstretched finger. These butterflies are many, about six or seven, just circling his finger, and they’re all blue. Then I see one, a big one. But as I squint, straining my eyes to take a better look at that big butterfly, I realize that it’s a big bird.

"She’s here again." He says again, this time, his voice is low, a whisper.

I blink.

As I open my eyes, I feel a cool breeze blowing against my face, and my bangs flutter against my forehead.

Dinan stands just in front of me, all the butterflies and that big bird are gone.

Wasn’t he just standing there?

I raise my head, looking up at his face. A small smile is on his lips, but that smile looks forced, it looks fake and sad. He doesn’t even look at me; he just stares at the clouds in the distance.

What... what is wrong with him?

"She’s gone. Again." He mutters, the smile on his lips morphing and shaping into a real one. Then he looks down at me, his clear black eyes staring straight into mine. In his pupils, I see my reflection; my mouth is a bit open, but I close it immediately and clear my throat.

"What were we talking about again?" He asks.

Yeah, that’s right. We were talking about something. I wanted to ask him,

"Which province does House Steelheart rule over? And at what part of the continent? The South, west, east?" My voice is strangely clear as I speak.

It must be the south. Because, from the looks of it, the Seelhearts are a big family. If a County controls the entire Northern zone of the continent, does it mean that the Steelhearts are a county too?

Dinan’s eyes widen subtly, but they go back to normal almost immediately, and a soft chuckle escapes his lips.

"The Steelhearts rule... the entire continent, Ralyn." He pauses, lips widening as if enjoying the utterly surprised expression plastered on my face. "The entire Norelia continent is under our control as we are a Marquis family."

So, the Steelhearts are that big, huh? That means the work I have to do to bring them down is far larger than I thought it was..

But, how big is a continent in this world? I shouldn’t overreact. It might not be as big as a continent on Earth.

No, back on Earth, the seven continents all had different sizes. But that.. I’d find out more about that later. I shouldn’t let this distract me.

"You always have this intense look on your face when you’re thinking, Ralyn," Dinan says.

I let out a sigh, calming my thoughts down as I do so.

I should run again. To clear my mind.

I ignore Dinan, who’s trying to make fun of me, and I walk forward, crouching and preparing to start running.

"Wait!" He yells, and I pause, turning back to look at him, and I see his hands taking something out from his pockets.

"You’re my squire now, Ralyn. Whether you like it or not. And as my squire," He brings the things out of his pockets. "You have to work harder than any other. It doesn’t even matter if you’re participating in the tournament or not."

Metallic bracelets. Those are what he clenches in both of his palms.

What the hell are those? And what’s all this bullshit about me being his squire?

"Now," He says, walking toward me.

Boom!

The ground quivers, and the grasses around me are destroyed as web-like cracks form on the ground, dust flying around the area where Dinan dropped those metallic bracelets.

My eyes widen, and my heartbeat spikes immediately as I feel the reverberation in my spine.

What in the–

"Wear them." He speaks. A blunt tone.