Shadowless Night

Chapter 1:

Translated by Wook
Edited by Iris Sakura

Read carefully before you start.

The naming system in this novel is a bit unique.
I believe the author has adopted the Chinese naming system.
For those of you who read Chinese novels, you know that Chinese names are weird if translated literally, the easiest example would be; Xiao Bai, lit.
Little White.

At first I thought they’re just titles, but they’re not.

Our main character’s first name in this novel is Rosaline/Roselyn/Roselin or the variations of those but I settle with Rosaline, while her last name is ‘of Red Wheel’.

For convenient purposes for me and especially the readers, I’ve decided to ‘rename’ the surnames a bit.
I will insert a footnote of their literal names so as to not make you curious or to make it easier for you if you want to try reading using their literal names.

Before coming to this decision, I’ve translated Chapter 1 and consulted with a few other translators (we made fun of the names, actually :kek:), I hope to receive your feedback on whether we should continue or just go back to using their literal names.

Now, enjoy the story.

Rosaline Radwiell.
She was the only one whose body they never found.

[Rosaline Radwiell: Rosaline of Red Wheel]

As the days passed, the sharp increase in the numbers of various wild animals and beasts had been a problem for many people.
Subjugation squads were dispatched to Vista several times a year by Count Drythorne, but even so, their numbers persisted.
Even well-trained knights could not last more than a few days because of the uneven mountain landscape.
However, the biggest problem was that the monsters had lots of places to hide.
Whenever they were close to dealing with them, the beasts would just creep out and run amok again.

[Count Drythorne: Count of Withered/Dried Thorn]

One day, after the hunters and subjugators returned to Count Drythorne, a beast in the shape of a wild boar with an enormous horn devastated the village below the mountain.
Apparently, it had come down to the village because of the lack of prey caused by the subjugation mission.
Before a knight under Count Drythorne killed it, the demonic beast had already eaten a skinny boy.

And so was the reason that the Imperial family organized a hunting competition in Vista.
Many nobles, members of the Imperial family, and members of the Imperial knights took part in the hunting competition, which was held to calm the panicked public and to ensure the well-being of the Imperial family. 

There were the Knights of the ‘White Night’ that belonged to the 2nd Prince; the 2nd Imperial Order ‘Foret’ Knights, who were escorting the 5th Prince; and the 4th Imperial Order ‘Spindrift’ Knights, ‘Drythorne’ Knights, and ‘Ironhoff’ Knights.
Most of the Imperial armed forces were moved to such an extent that one would’ve thought a war was waging.
The hunting competition went smoothly for a short period.
There had been no casualties except for a few servants whose ankles were almost bent by the steep mountain pass.

[Foret Knights: Deep Forest Knights]

[Spindrift Knights: Water Spring/Spray Knights]

[Ironhoff Knights: Steel Hooves Knights]

Until the incident that happened on day 5 of the hunting competition.
An assassination unit from Balta, a large kingdom bordering their Empire of Illavenia, invaded the mountain where the power of Illavenia was currently concentrated.
Torches were lit one by one during the dark night, and the battle began.
Although everyone had been disoriented for a while due to the surprise attack, as their vision cleared, the situation was turned around in an instant.
Aside from the large difference in numbers, the Imperial force obviously could not be compared with a mere assassination unit.

The commotion gradually subsided as dawn approached.
They had wiped out all the assailants, and the princes survived without a single scratch.
However, the damage done to the allies was too high for them to be drunk of the joy of victory.
Blood was splattered indiscriminately on the ground lit up by the morning sun.
The dozens of assassins used poison and stealth to do as much damage as they could.

They could no longer continue the hunting competition, and the princes hurriedly returned to the palace.
All the knights headed to the Empire’s capital, Tigard, to escort them, but a few remained to collect the wounded and dead. 

The deputy commander of the Knights of the White Night was deceased.
His lieutenant had to draw line after line over a list of knights.
Fifteen people were injured, and seven people died.
No, there were fourteen injured and eight dead.
The doctor had just declared that one of the knights who had just been treated had died.
The lieutenant could not hide his misery as he tried to find the name of the dead member so he could cross it out. 

After about half a day, he’d divided the list to some extent.
There were those who had left as escorts, those who were wounded, and those who had died.
The lieutenant became aware that there was someone whose name was not included in any of those categories.

Rosaline Radwiell: the eldest daughter of Count Radwiell. She was a woman who had enough skill to join the Knights of the White Night.
Although her strength was weak compared to the male knights, she was a person whom the late deputy commander cherished because of her sincere work ethic.

[Count Radwiell: Count of Red Wheel]

The lieutenant looked everywhere to check if her body had been misplaced by some other knights, but Rosaline’s dark hair was nowhere to be seen.

It was not until six days after the battle when a search party dispatched by Count Radwiell found her severely injured at the bottom of a cliff deep in the forest.

***

The mansion, lined with white cloth, was finally released from its long days of silence.
The eldest daughter of Count Radwiell, who was supposed to have died in the battle that took place during the hunting competition, had returned alive.
The white cloth, a sign of someone’s death, wa