Immortal's Ascending Path-29
Episode- 29. The Meyer Clan
Roberta reined in her horse atop the hill. Ulrich and Fritz stood to her right. The three of them rode along the tail of the mountain, which arced like a crescent moon from north to east.
Looking down from the mountain, the city came into view. The city had a wide, long stream flowing to its south and farmland stretching beyond the horizon to its west.
"That's Witten!"
Fritz pointed at the central city of the Meyer County and raised his voice.
"See! It's a nice place, isn't it?"
"I heard it's the most prosperous place in this region, and it seems so."
She saw a small boat riding the river. It had an awning with elaborate patterns embroidered on the stern, and beneath it, men and women in brightly colored clothes exchanged whispers.
They seemed to be enjoying the summer scenery, a leisure she hadn't witnessed since arriving in Osnover.
"It's better than anywhere in Osnover, not just this region!"
Fritz said proudly. As the fourth son of Count Meyer, born and raised in Witten, the boy seemed emotionally uplifted to see his hometown after many years.
"Isn't that right, Ulrich-nim?"
"Hmm."
Ulrich calmly looked at the scenery. Perhaps he was comparing the image in his memory with the one before his eyes. On the way to Witten, Fritz had asked:
'Ulrich-nim, when was the last time you came to Witten?' To this, Ulrich replied that the closest date was more than a hundred years ago.
Like the village of old Luman, the connection was deep, yet it was a connection from even further in the past than Luman's. This journey must also be a journey of retracing memories for him; what must he be thinking?
"How is it? Does the old 모습 remain?"
Ulrich stroked his chin and began to speak.
"I don't know. As I said before, I don't pay attention to scenery."
"Well... you said it was over a hundred years ago."
He pointed to the river below the city with his right hand.
"The only thing that comes to mind is that there was no village below that river. There was a bridge, but I don't remember it having a walled residence like that."
Fritz responded in agreement from the side.
"That's right. It's a recently expanded area."
"Quite some time has passed. To think it would change like this."
The three of them spurred their horses and began to descend the hill.
"When a child born in Ditmarsken with the Meyer surname inherited this land, Witten was just a slightly larger village. It was land barely inherited by a country bumpkin from the north."
At the word 'village,' Roberta looked at the city again. It was a story from about two or three centuries ago. A village that was about the same size as Luman's village at that time now looked like nothing but a prosperous city to her eyes.
"As Fritz said, this place has now become the most prosperous in Osnover. Even the capital, Eisburg, or Solna, where the Great Temple is located, might not be as good as here."
"Is that so?"
"Successive wise rulers have risen, and there has been little damage from civil wars. If that child hadn't refused, it would have been Count Meyer who wore the crown."
That child? The crown?
Roberta widened her eyes and looked at Ulrich.
"What... what are you talking about?"
The current King Rihard of Osnover was Ulrich's adopted son. This was because Ulrich ended the 32-year civil war and, instead of ascending to the throne himself, placed his adopted son on it.
But was Ulrich's original candidate someone else, and does that mean he was Count Meyer?
"Don't you know? The secular lords of Osnover gathered and had the dwarves make a new crown, and they stubbornly offered it to me."
It was a story she had heard so much that her ears ached.
"And you refused, I heard."
"Yes, I did. I sent that crown to Meyer first."
But the crown came back, he said.
"Count Willem Meyer, who would become Fritz's father, refused the throne. It was the best choice, but if there's no will, there's nothing you can do."
It was a story she was hearing for the first time. While delving into Ulrich's past, she had only heard that he had refused the throne and that his adopted son Rihard had ascended to the throne. She had no idea there was such a hidden story.
"That's why my adopted son, Rihard, held the coronation. That child said he would replace Meyer. So, a child without even a speck of Yeongji opened a dynasty."
Ulrich said that and headed for the outer castle gate.
#
Not long after passing through the outer castle gate, the three were greeted. Someone recognized Fritz. The news was immediately conveyed to the lord's residence, and vassals came out to greet them.
Their attitude was similar to that of Lord Matthias of Kir Castle. They showed more concern than joy in front of the young master they had met after a long time.
"I didn't hear that the young master was coming..."
Fritz answered the butler's question as if he expected it.
"I'm just stopping by on the way to Eisburg."
"Ah... you were on your way to the royal wedding."
The butler let out a sigh of relief. He must have been worried that the young master had been kicked out of Ditmarsken. Fritz gave a bitter smile.
"And these peopleâ€""
Following that, Fritz introduced Roberta. There was no need to hide her identity, so she was wearing her Priest robes, clearly identifying herself as a Priest of Ganymede.
"Armin Ditmarsken."
However, Ulrich was different. He introduced himself with a pseudonym. Since they hadn't been informed beforehand, confusion briefly flickered across Roberta and Fritz's faces. Was there a reason to use a pseudonym when the purpose of the visit was simply as a guest?
No, more than that, who wouldn't know him? With that thought in mind, Roberta watched the butler's reaction.
"Could you be related to Duke Ditmarsken...?"
He didn't know. He didn't even think that the lord he served would be in front of him. Rather, he was simply tilting his head, trying to recall the name Armin from his memory.
"Armin-nim is Ulrich-nim's adopted son."
Fritz quickly supplemented.
"Ah, I see."
And even that disappeared like snow melting at Fritz's words.
Roberta narrowed her eyes as she watched the reaction.
In this country, Osnover, there is no one who doesn't know Duke Ditmarsken. However, the number of people who actually know his appearance is strangely small. Not only Matthias, Count Meyer's vassal, but even the butler who acts as the lord's representative regarded him as a complete stranger.
Originally, nobles should have multiple encounters even if they are distant. If it is the relationship between a lord and a vassal, it is even more so. Even if Duke Ditmarsken does not leave Yeongji, vassals should come to visit him. Also, there should be quite a few people accompanying the vassals, but so far, the only person who has recognized him is the village chief of Luman, a rural village.
"Armin-nim, welcome to Witten."
He didn't even doubt the pseudonym. It was only after Ulrich used a pseudonym at Kir Castle that she learned the fact, but Ulrich had many adopted sons. In addition to King Rihard of Osnover, there were several of his adopted sons among the lords. Rather, it seemed that they didn't doubt it even more because of this.
"Is Father inside?"
The butler shook his head.
"He's gone hunting... he'll probably be late."
"If so, please tell him right away. If you tell him that I have come with the elder's adopted son, he will understand what it means."
After answering that he would, the butler tried to lead the group into the lord's residence. However, Ulrich stopped him and said, "I would like to visit the underground cemetery first."
The butler wondered if he had misheard and asked again, but soon looked at Fritz with a bewildered expression. Who wouldn't be dumbfounded when a guest they were seeing for the first time suddenly said they would visit the cemetery first?
However, Fritz was not surprised. He followed Ulrich's words as if he had heard something obvious. The three dismounted and went down to the cemetery below the inner castle.
#
The underground cemetery was the family cemetery located below the inner castle.
The three went down the stairs. Fritz took the lead, holding a lamp. As they went down into the chilly underground, Roberta thought.
'Why is he looking for the grave first?'
She had never seen Ulrich look for a grave before.
Only once, she had heard the story through the butler Bernhardt. And that was just before they left on this journey, and he visited Hilde's grave.
"······."
The underground cemetery was not a cemetery.
She had assumed it was a cemetery, so she thought the space would be very large and there would be many graves, but it was a rectangular space about the size of a bedroom, and there was only one grave.
And there was a statue in front of the grave.
'Hohenlohe Ditmarsken.'
The name written on the sculpture was so.
The eldest of Hilde Ditmarsken's adopted sons, the founder of Meyer, Hohenlohe was sculpted as a young man. It was as elaborate as if it had been made by a master craftsman.
"It's well maintained."
"Father is managing it himself. When Father is absent, we do it, and we don't allow the servants to come."
Ulrich stood in front of the statue. The statue had a smile and looked up slightly, so when he stood in front of it, their gazes met exactly. It was intentional. He had requested this because he knew who would come.
"Hohenlohe was the only one among Hilde's children who left Yeongji."
He stroked the statue's cheek.
"As death approached, he came here, made a grave, and was buried."
She carefully asked why.
"He must have done it because he knew I would look for him."
He added that he wanted to see his descendants while looking for him.
"He was a bright child. It's a pity that the environment was bad compared to his talent, and that the object of his talent was me and Hilde. The reason Hilde cherished this child was not because he was the eldest."
Ulrich revealed that the people who kept him tied to Ditmarsken were Hilde and Hohenlohe. Hilde asked him, and Hohenlohe left children behind.
"Hohenlohe found a fallen branch of Ditmarsken and had them pair up with my child. And among the children born between them, he showed me the child who most resembled Hilde."
That was the beginning of Meyer, he said.
That day was the day Ulrich visited Hilde's grave. Fifty-three years after her death, he visited the grave with Hohenlohe, returned to the mansion, and met the children.
"I scolded them. Those children, Hohenlohe's descendants, were not the purpose but the means. Wasn't the child created solely as a means to catch me?"
But Ulrich forgave Hohenlohe. The lineage of the Meyer family continues to this day. If he hadn't forgiven him, if he had rejected Hohenlohe's children, would this family exist?
"What can I do? The time I spent with Hohenlohe, that child, was long, and he was the only person who remembered Hilde. I was going to stay by his side at least until that child left. And as always, even after sending that child away, the connection continued."
Repeating that connection over and over again, today has come.
"A bloodline created solely to support me. They inherited that disposition and were raised that way. The will to continue the lineage, even for just a few hundred years, is truly strong."
At that time, hurried footsteps were heard. It was the sound of someone coming down the underground stairs. Roberta and Fritz looked at the door. A lamp dimly spread from beyond the dark stairs, and soon a man stood before them.
Roberta thought he resembled Fritz. It was inevitable. He was Count Willem Meyer, and he was the boy's father. He was breathing heavily with a flushed face.
Ulrich was still looking down at Hohenlohe's statue. He opened his mouth with his back turned to the boy's father and Hohenlohe's direct line.
"It's been a while, Willem."