Higeki no Genkyou tonaru Saikyou Gedou Rasubosu Joou wa Tami no Tame ni Tsukushimasu Vol 6
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: The
Blasphemous Princess and the Next Day
Chapter 2: Companions and
the Start of the War
Chapter 4: The Companions
and the War
Chapter 5: The End of the
War and the Companions
Chapter 6: The
Blasphemous Princess and the Unseen Moments
ORL: The King of Gold,
the King of White, and the Foolish Prince
Chapter 7: Return to the
Present
Chapter 1:
The Blasphemous Princess and the
Next Day
CLACK, clack, clack.
Heads turned as that
ominous sound rang throughout the great hall. Several people gulped as
their eyes locked onto the source.
The woman who made her
way through the great hall had wavy crimson hair and purple eyes that tapered
at the corners. That woman was me, Pride Royal Ivy, the firstborn princess of Freesia. I propped myself up with
a crutch under one arm, taking slow, careful steps.
Behind me stood Stale
Royal Ivy, the firstborn prince, silent and severe with his jet-black hair,
dark eyes, and black-rimmed glasses. Tiara, the second-born
princess with her wavy golden hair and bright eyes, was beside him.
A large group of knights
encircled us. Among them was Arthur Beresford, one of my imperial knights, his silver
hair tied up in a long ponytail. The Freesian knights had
gathered eagerly when they heard that I wanted to address them, as had the
soldiers of the United Hanazuo Kingdom. It seemed they all wished
to confirm with their own eyes that I was still alive.
I took my place on an
elevated platform, meeting their earnest gazes. “Everyone, I’d like to
thank you for what you’ve done. By the name Pride Royal
Ivy, I give you all my heartfelt gratitude.”
The assembled knights
sighed with relief once I made my pronouncement. They weren’t merely happy
to see that I had arrived; they also looked pained by the sight of my injury. Most maintained their
composure, but I knew my injury served as the ultimate proof of how much I had
risked for our victory.
Today marked the first
day after the fighting concluded. Our brutal defensive war
for the United Hanazuo Kingdom had arrived with incredible ferocity and ended
just as suddenly.
The kingdoms of Cercis
and Chinensis had joined hands to become one country: the United Hanazuo
Kingdom. It
wasn’t long before the infamously aggressive Rajah Empire and its dominions
bared their fangs and came to conquer. As Hanazuo’s ally, Freesia
sent out what reinforcements we could to protect them from the invasion. As crown princess, I had
commanded that army.
Thanks to our efforts—and
some unexpected support—the United Hanazuo Kingdom emerged victorious. They’d successfully
defended the pride and sanctity of their country. As foreign royalty, I
never should’ve been on the front lines to begin with, and I’d suffered a
grievous injury during the fight. Though I had exposed
myself to the dangers of the battlefield of my own volition, the citizens and
knights of Hanazuo agonized over the fact that I’d put my life on the line for
their country.
With every eye fixed on
me, I praised and thanked those present for their valiant efforts. I also revealed that I
would be staying in the country for a few more days.
“Finally, as I’m sure you
all have guessed, my leg injury is the reason for my prolonged stay. I could have suffered more
harm if it weren’t for the knights who put their lives on the line to save me. I’d like to use this
occasion to thank them profoundly as well.”
I had essentially
declared martial law for a section of my knights up to this point, but now I
smiled at those guarding me and ordered them to stand down. They bowed in response,
stony expressions flickering for an instant.
“I’m so very sorry to
make you worry about me,” I went on. “But as you can see, I’m
alive and well, so please get plenty of rest over the next few days. We will withdraw from
this country as soon as I’m ready.”
Our knights acknowledged
the order, their practiced response echoing through the great hall. Soldiers from the United
Hanazuo Kingdom responded just as loudly and powerfully. I gazed over the
assembly, wondering if the guard we’d saved yesterday was among these men.
“Let’s get going, Elder
Sister,” Stale said.
I nodded in reply, taking
up my crutch to make my way through the crowd once more. Orders from the commander
of the royal order echoed through the room as we exited, sending the knights
and soldiers flying off to their various tasks. The entirety of the
United Hanazuo Kingdom—not just the residents of the Cercian palace—was in an
uproar over the injury of the Freesian crown princess.
“What?!
Princess Pride was
hurt?!” I
cried, then grunted as a fresh surge of pain shot through my body. As vice captain of the
First Squadron, I was surrounded by my subordinates. They grabbed my
shoulders, asking if I was okay.
Just like everyone else
who was wounded during the defensive war for the United Hanazuo Kingdom, I was
unable to attend Pride’s public address. I’d been forced to stay
in one of the cots for the gravely injured, waiting for the other knights to
return from the great hall.
Pride’s leg injury was the
very first thing the First Squadron reported when they arrived at my bedside. I hung my head,
chestnut-colored bangs draping over eyes the same shade. When I heard how Pride
appeared before the knights with a crutch, her leg wrapped in bandages, panic
and impatience shattered my calm facade.
“But, Vice Captain Eric,
Her Highness said she’ll be fully healed after a few days’ stay here. It doesn’t sound like
she’ll suffer any permanent harm.”
Worried, I asked, “Where
are Captain Alan and Captain Callum?! I was told that no
knights perished!”
I hadn’t laid eyes on
either of the captains since the end of the war. Don’t
tell me they were hurt too!
“They’re both safe,” the
knights assured me. “We’ve been told there was no threat to Princess Pride’s life, thanks
to their efforts!”
At that, I breathed a
sigh of relief. Tension seeped out of my shoulders now that I knew the captains and the
princess were okay. The knights went on to tell me that Pride seemed to be in good spirits
in spite of her injury, and I sank back into the stiff bed.
Having regained my
composure, I scanned the room and saw that the other wounded knights were
reacting just as I had. It was hard to believe that Pride could be hurt with two captains at
her side, but that was just proof of the incredible peril they’d all faced. Moreover, it gave me some
comfort to know that the two men who got her out of there with no more than a
broken leg were her imperial knights.
Rumors about the
specifics of the event were starting to spread among the knights. I couldn’t hear them
clearly from my bed, but I could still make out cries of “Captain Alan really
is the best!” and “I can’t believe Captain Callum made it out!” For a moment, hope surged
through me. Had the captains finally returned?
Unfortunately, it was
just gossip. Stories of heroism bounced around the room, every eye twinkling with
respect and esteem as the knights recounted tales of the brave captains. There was also plenty of
anxiety; I heard questions like, “So where’s Captain Alan?!” and “He wasn’t escorting
Her Highness just now, right?” One man even rushed into
the infirmary and asked, “Has anyone seen Captain Callum?!”
I held back my desire to
contribute to the speculation filtering into the room from the hall outside. Instead, I simply patted
the back of the knight who’d come to report to me, urging him to join the
others. Any
knight would be just as eager to hear stories of Alan’s heroism.
“Yes, sir!” the knight said before eagerly running off. I watched the man
disappear from my place in bed—but he immediately returned, pale and quavering.
I tilted my
head just as an intense commotion poured in from the hallway.
No, it can’t be! Before I could confirm my
suspicions, the corners of my mouth started to twitch. As my subordinates rushed
back to my bedside, a majestic voice carried through the room.
“Apologies for the intrusion…
Ah! Vice Captain Eric!”
That wooden clicking
sound accompanied each step of our unexpected visitor. I tried to sit up at the
sound of my name, but pain lanced through me. I bit it back, but not in
time; Pride was already hobbling toward me with her crutch, looking flustered. On either side of her
were Stale, the firstborn prince and Pride’s younger adoptive brother, and
Tiara, the second-born princess and Pride’s younger sister, with the knights
guarding them close behind.
“P-Princess Pride! Wh-what are you doing here?!” Shouting only made the
ache in my side worse. My head jerked up and I clutched at my torso, which was bare save for
bandages.
“The knights told me you
were wounded,” Pride said. “How are you doing?”
“Oh! I-I’m just fine!” I said a little too
loudly, enduring the ensuing ache. I glared at the knights
behind Pride, trying to discern which one had betrayed me by telling her about
my injury. Everyone,
including Arthur, looked away in shame.
I wasn’t just the vice
captain of the First Squadron; I was also one of Pride’s imperial knights, just
like Arthur. I had a certain amount of dignity to uphold, injured or not. I sat up straighter to
greet her and winced from the pain.
“Please rest, Vice
Captain,” Pride said. “I’ll make myself comfortable too, so there’s no need to worry about
me.”
Smiling, she strode
straight for the chair at my bedside. Stale asked if she needed
a more comfortable chair, but she refused. Tiara, still wanting to
look out for her injured sister, took the chair next to Pride’s.
“I hear you were shot
while protecting the commander. It sounds like you were
incredibly brave.” Her smile turned sympathetic, and her shoulders slumped.
I, on the other hand,
felt my blood pressure skyrocket and briefly wondered if I was about to start
bleeding through all my bandages. Words escaped me; I was
too nervous to speak.
“Still,” Pride went on,
“I’m truly glad you’re all right. I look forward to having
you serve as my imperial knight again. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She reached out and
caressed a part of my torso that wasn’t bandaged. The chill of her delicate
fingers brushed against my flushed skin. I flinched from this
surprise attack.
“You feel a bit warm! Do you have a fever? Are
you dizzy? I
know the members of the Seventh Squadron have already examined you, but…”
I only
started feeling warm and dizzy right this second! I would die before
anyone wrenched those words out of my mouth, but I didn’t know what else to say
in the face of Pride’s genuine concern. Witnessing this, Arthur
and the other knights grew just as flustered as I was, and Stale politely
suggested to Pride that it was time to get going.
“Please don’t overexert
yourself,” she told me. “I would cry if anything ever happened to you, Vice Captain Eric.”
The princess gently drew
her hand up from my torso to cup my cheek. The smile she gave me was
tinged with melancholy. At first, Pride’s hand had a cooling effect on my skin—but then I felt
hot all over.
Pride squeaked when my
face turned as red as a beet. “Vice
Captain?!” she
cried, touching me everywhere—my face, neck, and bare torso—to see if I was
feverish. But
that only caused my body to burn hotter.
As much as I wanted to
insist that I was all right, Pride’s ferocious attack had left my head
completely empty. The crown princess had come just to see me. Then she leaned in close,
touched me, and said comforting words meant for me and me alone. Furthermore, she’d done
so right when I was wallowing in my disappointment after going so long without
seeing her. That made her sneak attack all the deadlier. I could tell the other
knights were starting to worry I’d get so overwhelmed that I would bleed out on
the spot.
“I didn’t know you were
here, Princess Pride.”
A husky voice interrupted
the moment, causing Pride and all the knights to turn toward the speaker. Roderick, our commander,
had joined us. He loomed behind Pride’s chair with a furrowed brow.
The mood in the room took
on an edge now that the commander was among us. We knights greeted
Roderick in almost perfect unison—and at the same time, Pride and Tiara said,
“Commander!”
Roderick studied my
flushed face. Pride’s touch on my exposed shoulder and neck had sent me into a near
panic, and Roderick clearly knew it at first glance. He pressed his fingers to
his wrinkled brow.
His calm words served as a
wake-up call to Pride. She looked nervously back at me. My accursed blush had
already spread from my face to my chest.
Pride shrieked, her own
cheeks flushing this time. “I-I-I-I’m so sorry!” She scuttled backward,
only for the cast on her left leg to catch on her chair. Stale and Arthur steadied
her before the chair could tip over.
“Every knight in this
room has been ordered to be on strict bed rest, just as you have,” the
commander continued. “Please come back to visit them some other time.”
“Erm, at least allow me
to address the knights with minor injuries…”
“No can do. They need to go without visitors so they can make a full recovery.”
Roderick shot a look at me
that clearly said, Especially if that visitor is the princess. Pride nodded, still
blushing. Stale
smiled awkwardly at his sister’s rattled state and once more encouraged her to
depart.
“Vice Captain Eric and
all other knights—please take good care of yourselves!” Pride said.
Tiara and Stale all but
dragged her out of the room. She waved as best as she
could at all of us resting in our beds, but Arthur and her knights rushed her
out before she could say more.
Roderick sighed. “I wish Her Highness would realize that bad habit of hers.”
The commander ordered me
to lie back down, then turned his attention to the other knights. Everyone had forced
themselves to sit up to catch a glimpse of Pride, with some equally flushed
after witnessing that spectacle. If she’d gone through
with her plan of visiting every last one of us, the Seventh Squadron would’ve
had their hands full healing all the injured knights all over again. The crown princess’s
powerful effect on us was no laughing matter.
As ordered, I collapsed
back into bed. “I didn’t get to ask Her Highness about her injury,” I muttered,
sulking. When
I placed the back of my hand against my brow and slumped over, a member of the
First Squadron rushed to my side, fanning me and offering me a damp cloth to
cool down.
The Chinensian maids had
already finished helping me dress, and I said hello. I was in a good mood, as
my leg could move freely again thanks to treatment from knights with special
powers. I
was certain that I would be fully recovered after two more days in this
country.
Stale, meanwhile, filled
me in on the state of things and our plans for the day, then gestured toward
the door with his eyes. “The knights are already gathered outside. What would you like to do?”
“There are just as many
here as there were yesterday,” Tiara added with a chuckle. I rubbed my temples.
Yesterday, after I
announced my leg injury and visited Vice Captain Eric, all the knights with
healing powers—even those outside of the Seventh Squadron—clustered outside of
my room. One
person with the power to heal injuries was all you needed to get the job done. They were capable of
managing the pain, preventing decay, and reducing any bleeding or swelling. From there, all the
patient had to do was wait and keep the injured part still to make a full
recovery. Of
course, the degree and speed of that recovery depended on how powerful the
healer was. But being healed by multiple people wouldn’t increase the speed of the
recovery. Though
synergizing multiple healing powers could make the effect a bit more potent,
such a technique was only necessary in the event of major, life-threatening
injuries—not a simple fracture like mine.
There were plenty of
knights and soldiers who needed treatment more desperately than I did, and if
the healers were capable of synergizing their powers, I wished they would save
it for Vice Captain Eric or the other severely wounded men instead. But Stale told me that
those men had been the ones who insisted on this in the first place. I thought the knights
simply wanted their injured princess to heal quickly, or to send me back to
Freesia as soon as possible, but it seemed more likely that it came purely from
a place of concern.
Unable to reject such
compassion, I’d ended up allowing the knights to treat me yesterday. I’d thanked them all and
apologized for scaring them, but I never expected them to show up again today.
They had all returned, and
this time they even came with Jael and Mart—two knights who had already been
examining my leg. I felt guilty about making them attend to me two days in a row, so I
glanced at Captain Alan and Captain Callum, who led all the Freesian knights. Captain Alan, with his
short, dirty-blond hair and orange eyes, led the First Squadron; Captain
Callum, whose eyes and hair were a matching reddish-brown, led the Third
Squadron. The
two of them grimaced and awkwardly rolled their shoulders at my cry for help.
“Some of the reactions
were a little unexpected,” Captain Callum said, averting his eyes. He seemed to be enduring
some uncomfortable recollection.
Captain Alan understood
whatever it was and murmured in agreement. I cocked my head, but they
both refused to explain any further.
“If it’s an inconvenience
to you, we can turn them down on your behalf,” Captain Callum offered.
While I appreciated the
sentiment, it didn’t feel right to shoo the knights away when they were so
anxious about my recovery. After mulling it over, I decided to accept their help.
I informed Stale of my
decision, and he replied, “Yes, we’d all like for you to make a full recovery
as soon as possible.” Then he smiled and added the knights’ visit to my morning plans.
Now that the knights had
the chance to examine me, they surrounded me as though I were about to undergo
surgery. “We
will now confirm the state of your injury, Your Highness.”
I shifted in place,
uncomfortable with all the attention. They took a look at my
right leg, which was almost completely healed. A doctor would’ve been
equally capable of this evaluation, but medical treatment carried out by those
with special powers was no normal doctor’s visit. People who hailed from
countries without special powers wouldn’t understand it.
Thanks to their generous
attention, my right had healed right up and would no longer require a cast or
bandages. As
for my left leg, well, it still needed another two or three days of treatment. Only yesterday, however,
the knights estimated it would take another four or five days. Their combined treatment
really did seem to be expediting the process.
“Thank you all very much. You’ve been a terrific help. Now please take good care
of the other injured people too,” I said, smiling at them.
They responded in perfect
unison, their shout making my ears ring. The strongest among them
made the room’s curtains and decorations quiver. A few of them flushed red
as they realized just how loud they’d been.
Tiara giggled, her hands
clapped over her ears. “We’ll probably have a victory banquet once we’re back in Freesia,
don’t you think?”
The knights held back
from yelling this time, but enthusiasm shone in their eyes at her suggestion. Once my leg was healed
and my return home was assured, the United Hanazuo Kingdom was going to host a
victory banquet for us. Tiara was right, though—we would probably have one in Freesia as well. It probably wouldn’t occur
till everything had settled down, maybe in a month or so. If possible, I wanted to
invite King Lance and our other allies to join us.
“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t wait,” I said.
I smiled, feeling oddly
like this conversation was raising a death flag. The knights’ eyes lit up
at the confirmation of a banquet in their future. I wished that everyone,
including the captains, could attend. Judging by the way some
of the knights glanced at them, though, that much was still uncertain.
Captain Alan and Captain
Callum had famously saved Freesia’s crown princess, but they had also allowed
me to suffer an injury. This complicated situation, which had the potential to bar them from
the banquets, must have inspired in the other knights a blend of envy, respect,
and concern.
After a moment or two of
silence, someone responded, “It’s Gilbert, Your Highness.”
Eeeeek! His deep tone made me stiffen. My smile wavered, and
when I looked at Tiara, her lips were twitching too. The knights visiting me
for treatment glanced my way, perhaps wondering if they should vacate while
Prime Minister Gilbert paid me a visit. No, please
stay here with me!
Prime Minister Gilbert’s
imposing presence on the other side of that door terrified me, and I hadn’t
even answered yet. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a memory of my past life rose to the
surface: the ominous number that played as one very famous shark drew closer
and closer to its unsuspecting victim.
“P-please, come in!” I said, correcting my
posture as Prime Minister Gilbert slowly opened the door and entered. His already narrow eyes
scrutinized me. Those eyes of his matched the light-blue hue of his hair, which was
tied at his neck and draped over one shoulder.
Prime Minister Gilbert
was smiling, but I almost wished he wasn’t, given how terrifyingly hollow it
was. Yes, I get it, I get it! I know
exactly why you’re here! That’s
why I want to flee the scene!
“Good morning, Princess
Pride,” he said. “I’m
sorry to disturb you. May I have a moment of your time?”
The prime minister
explained that he’d managed to work a break into his packed schedule to come
see me. I
knew I couldn’t send him away. He then motioned toward
the knights, asking if it was all right to speak in front of them. I nodded and gestured for
him to sit in a chair next to my bed. The knights quickly
pulled the chair out for him as he approached. Even as he took a seat,
Prime Minister Gilbert’s piercing gaze never once left me.
“My apologies for
interrupting your treatment. I believe you already know
what I’m here to ask you about.”
I knew it! I was right! Unable to contain my fear
any longer, I shouted, “I’m sorry!” The knights at the foot
of my bed startled at my scream.
“The blood oath, right?!” I continued. “I really am sorry that I never told you about it! It was so reckless of me to
do! I
simply didn’t tell you because—”
“You didn’t want to cause
me unnecessary concern. I’m
aware.”
He spoke politely, but
the ice-cold sharpness to his words sent a chill down my spine. Quivering, I pressed my lips together and stayed silent. I stared at the prime
minister, unable to move a muscle. Some of the knights,
raising their heads, sensed the unusual atmosphere of the room.
The blood oath was a
ceremony I’d performed in front of the Chinensian people on the eve of the war.
Prime
Minister Gilbert had only found out about it now that the war was over.
“Princess Pride,” he
said, “I already said everything I wanted to say to you when you were hurt. However, I am not implying that as long as
you’re free from injury, you may do as you please…”
Of course not. I swallowed the response
on the tip of my tongue.
Prime Minister Gilbert
sighed, then closed his eyes to center himself. He kept them closed when
he spoke again. “I hesitate to say all this in front of others…”
His murmur was eerily
quiet; I braced myself.
He then rattled off such a
firm lecture that it had me reeling: “Seeing as how you’ve already taken a
blood oath, I gather there’s no need for me to explain the ritual. However, consider the unthinkable outcome of King Yohan or
someone else infringing on the contract. What was your plan in
such a case? Saying that you simply trusted them isn’t a good enough excuse. If something really had gone wrong, saving
Chinensis only to lose you would bring Freesia no joy or pride whatsoever. Did you take any of that
into account? On top of that, what if the terms were broken and, as you so willingly promised them, you were
to be burned at the stake? Do you think we would simply smile and wave goodbye as they carried you
off? Perhaps
you would accept such an outcome, but the country of Freesia most certainly
would not. Did
you consider that, in a worst-case scenario, a fruitless war between the
kingdoms of Chinensis and Freesia could break out? I am not angry that you
failed to inform me about the blood oath. In fact, as the prime
minister of Freesia, I am responsible for my own failure in this matter. I was incapable of
finding out something that even the Freesian knights and Chinensian soldiers
were privy to.”
Each and every word out
of Prime Minister Gilbert’s mouth was like a knife to the heart. I had no idea what to say. I should have carried
myself with dignity in front of the knights, but throughout the speech, I just
wanted to shout, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! You’re right about
everything!” I felt even worse about keeping the secret from Prime Minister Gilbert
once I thought back to yesterday’s conversation with Commander Roderick. As a cold sweat dripped
down my neck, Prime Minister Gilbert resumed his persistent attack.
“Think about what would
have happened if our country lost the war and you were forced to go through
with the oath’s terms. I would be responsible, despite failing to find out about it until
after the fact.”
Prime Minister Gilbert’s
rant was a match held beneath my hand, the scorching sensation worsening at a
steady rate. If we’d lost the war and Prime Minister Gilbert found out afterward, he
would’ve been tortured by his own perceived failings. Just picturing the outcome
made my heart throb painfully.
“I hope you’ll reflect on
this and never act so rashly again. We could have lost the
war, suffered massive damages, and had to witness your execution on top of all
the rest.”
“We still would have
fought to the death to protect you,” he added.
This admittance emerged so
soft and quiet that it chilled the entire room. It was the most tender
tone he’d used this entire time, and it made my heart ache worse than all his
biting recriminations.
“That’s right. We would have fought, all of us. The knights, the royal
family, the citizens, and myself too. It may have become a
historic tragedy. That is simply how motivated we are to keep you in our lives. That would be the
outcome, no matter what your own wishes were, Your Highness. There can be no doubt
that everyone else feels the same.”
He glanced at the knights
clustered around us. The men flinched as Prime Minister Gilbert’s cool eyes turned on them,
but they held their composure as best they could. Most bowed their heads
when I tried to look their way. I very well could have
forced these men into yet another unnecessary war. Oh, what a fool I’d been.
Prime Minister Gilbert
closed his eyes and dipped his head. Then he leaned in close
so he could speak to me directly. “I said it once, and I’ll
say it again: you are precious to us, Princess Pride. Too precious to simply
let go of. Just
as you are willing to put yourself in harm’s way for the sake of a single soul,
we are willing to do the same for you.”
I nodded at his explanation. It hurt to hear how much
grief I’d caused others, but he was right.
“Please be sure not to
forget that,” the prime minister said gently.
Then he stood up as if
nothing had happened. He bowed to Tiara and me, thanked each knight, asked them to look after
me, and left without another word.
Despite the scolding, I
was grateful. It was just like when Commander Roderick came to the infirmary the
other day. Having
people in my life willing to scold me at my age wasn’t cruel; they were helping
me. I could
still see Prime Minister Gilbert’s pained expression in my mind’s eye.
I don’t want to hurt them
like this ever again.
I recited those words in
my head like a prayer, then let my lids flutter shut.
The otome game titled Our Ray of Light, also known as “ORL” by
its fans, was popular enough to be turned into an anime series. I, Pride Royal Ivy, was
the unbelievably wicked last boss queen from the first game. I’d regained my memories
of my past life when I turned eight years old in this world, and now that the
war was over, I’d prevented every last tragedy in the lives of the game’s love
interests.
Cedric, this country’s
prince, had been the final love interest to appear. The two of us had managed
to prevent the United Hanazuo Kingdom’s invasion and capture. Except, no, it wasn’t just
us. All of
the love interests from the game—as well as many, many others—banded together
to save this country. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to protect the United Hanazuo
Kingdom. The
enemy was just too cruel and ferocious.
The battle began long
before the eve or the dawn of the actual war.
“May I be allowed to handle
this man myself? I’m very interested in hearing what he has to say.”
It began the moment Prime
Minister Gilbert managed to pin down an informant from Rajah.
Chapter 2:
Companions and the Start of the War
IT WAS THE NIGHT before our war for the
United Hanazuo Kingdom began.
“Forgive me for failing
to introduce myself. My name is Gilbert Butler, and I serve as the prime minister of
Freesia,” I said to the old man who entered the parlor. I kept my tone cheery,
and the fellow responded with tired eyes and a curt nod.
King Lance was currently
delivering his address before the start of the war. With the clock ticking
toward a late hour, I sat in a parlor of the Chinensian palace with this old
gent as my guest. I gestured for “Lord Hanmu,” as Prince Cedric called him, to take a
seat. The
man cast a suspicious gaze my way but slowly lowered his aging body into the
chair before me.
I got right to the point. “My apologies for asking
you here out of the blue. I just happened to overhear you mention that you had some information. Would it be possible to
discuss this with you? I don’t mind if it ends up taking some time, of course. If you’d please—”
“What, you actually want
to hear about that?” he said. “No, first you tell me
what you were talking about. Something or other about
the sneak attacks in Freesia…”
“We ought to rise up not
as the United Hanazuo Kingdom, with those heretic Chinensians…”
“My kingdom recently
suffered from surprise attacks, threats made against our maids, intruders in
the castle, and all sorts of foolish deeds…”
I knew it. The exchange I’d heard in
front of the palace gates replayed in my mind. Although he had so rudely
interrupted me, I was more surprised that he shifted so readily to my topic of
choice. That
must have been why he was so eager to speak with me all of a sudden.
“What are you referring
to, exactly?” I
asked, dodging his question.
“Don’t play dumb!” he
snapped. “What
surprise attacks happened in Freesia? When was this? Why would you leave your country at a time like this just to meddle in
my homeland’s war? Do big countries like yours just love strife?!”
The old man jabbed a
quaking finger at me. His shoulders shook with each breath after his tirade as he glared at
me with bloodshot eyes. I let my face go slack, smiling and shrugging in an exaggerated manner.
Growing
impatient, the old man slammed his fists on the table.
“Why, you ask?” I said. “Because our country
didn’t suffer any damage. The criminals have already been taken into custody, after all.”
“They’ve…they’ve what?!” His eyes went wide. His balled fists shook on
top of the table.
“We still don’t know who
they are, exactly, but we can tell that they were just pawns. When it was my turn to
deal with such insignificant grunts, they were so weak that I ended up breaking
their bones. In all honesty, I have no interest in the battles of other countries so
long as Freesia is safe. I would like to get home and see my wife and child as soon as
possible.” I
sighed, staring off into the distance.
The old man held still
and silent for a few seconds. I returned my focus to
him and donned a pleasant smile once more to smooth over the situation. “Ah, my apologies. Please keep what I just
said to yourself. I will devote myself fully to helping Cercis, seeing as how you’ve
already compensated us.”
“In that case, how would
you like a little extra?” The old man’s voice suddenly deepened. Those bloodshot eyes
squinted, carefully watching for a change in my demeanor.
“What do you mean by that?” My smile faded. I looked straight at Lord
Hanmu.
The wrinkles on his face
tensed as he flashed a vulgar grin. “What if another
country—say, Copelandii, for example—were to line your pockets for your
cooperation?”
“That’s an interesting
proposal. I
suppose it depends on what’s being offered. I have devoted everything
to my homeland of Freesia and could never betray it, no matter the reward. However, perhaps a small
payment to turn on some other country could be arranged. A bribe to a high-ranking
Freesian official goes a long way, after all.”
I offered a sardonic
smirk, and the old man grinned wider, revealing crooked teeth. “In that case, how does
40 percent of Chinensis’s minerals sound?”
Chinensis was the land of
minerals. They
produced large, high-quality gems that were treated as luxury items throughout
the world. Even
now, many kingdoms sought those minerals for themselves and approached
Chinensis for a prospective alliance. Cercis, with their gold
veins, was in the same position. The old man was offering
me 40 percent of their share of gems, worth more than any ordinary person could
spend in a lifetime. It could pay the living expenses of Freesia’s entire lower classes—with
some left to spare.
“I quite like the sound of
that,” I told him. Open. Friendly.
“Of course you do,” Lord
Hanmu replied, looking satisfied.
I made a show of
swallowing hard. “What, specifically, would I need to do?”
Lord Hanmu’s eyes glinted. “It’s simple: just do as I
do. Report
everything you know about Freesia’s plans and actions to Copelandii. I can lend you one of my
birds to contact them. Since you’re the prime minister, it should be easy for you to gather
information. First thing in the morning, I want you to withdraw all Freesians from
this country before Copelandii’s invasion can begin. Do that, and all those
minerals are yours.”
He punctuated his orders
with a nasty cackle. If he was offering me such a generous reward for my betrayal, his cut
must have been even larger.
“Who shall I report to? Also, are you quite sure
it’s all right for me to take 40 percent? What will be left for
everyone else?”
“Just send your reports by
bird. It
will take the information to Copelandii without delay. Don’t worry about sharing
your portion. It’s just the two of us working on this.”
When my eyes flew wide in
a display of shock, Lord Hanmu chortled. I opted to press him
further while I still had him in a good mood.
“Now that I think of it,
what of Prince Cedric? Is he working toward the same end as us?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Prince Cedric will be the
one to rule over the entirety of Cercis once Chinensis is destroyed. I wanted his help, but it
looks like I’ve got you instead. Aren’t you lucky? Once this is all over, we’ll place him on the throne instead of that
fool of a king. He’s the reason Lord Bertrand
met his fate,” Lord Hanmu grumbled to himself, so I patted him on the back to
cheer him up.
“I’m sure it must have
been very hard on your old body to do all this alone, Lord Hanmu. But now you have me with you.
Tell me,
what have you managed to accomplish so far?”
“Damn right it was hard. Not a single soul shared
my lofty ambitions, and all my other partners grew old and kicked the bucket… I
write down this kingdom’s every move and send those letters out every single
day. I
nearly collapsed when I heard that Prince Cedric had run off in a carriage
somewhere. I
never thought he’d bring all of Freesia back with him. After everything I’ve
done, my reports don’t hold a candle to the information that comes in from
Copelandii.”
“Oh
my! Every single day? I can hardly imagine. Have you written today’s
letter yet? I’d be happy to write it for you, if necessary.”
“Sure, I’d appreciate that. It hurts my eyes to write
in the moonlight. A burden I only have to bear for a little while longer…”
“If it’s such a burden,
how about I bring it all to an end for you?”
The old man froze. For a second I thought he’d stopped breathing entirely, but eventually
he turned his head toward me, watching me with wide eyes. I gave my most heartfelt
smile, dragging my hand from his back up to his shoulder.
“You’ve had a stroke of
good luck,” I said. “Starting today, you’ll get to sit in a jail cell with no duties
whatsoever. You’ll even get to spend the rest of your life in the same castle as
your beloved Prince Cedric.”
“How dare you!” he
growled. He
shuddered beneath my touch, face flushed with anger. The old man reached shaky
hands toward my neck, but I batted them aside and twisted his arm behind his
back.
He cried out in pain. I loosened my grip, then
rose from my seat to place a knee on his spine and pin him down on his chair.
“Thank you for sharing so
much fascinating information with me, Lord Hanmu. Now I see why Prince
Cedric calls you an ‘old fossil.’”
Though the United Hanazuo
Kingdom was a single country now, it had once been two very different nations. I had heard that the
high-ranking officials of both countries held deep-seated grudges against each
other, but I never expected to see the remnants of those grievances still alive
and well today.
It was fortunate that
King Lance and King Yohan had tied the royal families together so closely. At least in their case,
I’d truly detected no animosity.
“All right then,” I said. “I’ve heard all I need to
hear, so I’ll leave the rest to the Cercian soldiers.”
They would start by
searching the old man’s home and capturing all the birds he used to communicate
with his sources. Then they would fabricate today’s report. With the attack set to
kick off first thing in the morning, the men would be working all night on this
bit of subterfuge. Yet the tightness of the timeframe also left us in a more secure
position. The
old man was probably the one who’d reported that Prince Cedric had left the
country, but he apparently hadn’t realized that the prince had gone to Freesia.
“You don’t care what
happens to your family?!” the old man roared.
I leveraged my body weight
into the knee holding him down. The old man’s body
creaked and complained. He choked out a scream.
“You’re the one who
captured our Copelandiian spies! Of course we’d take revenge! Mark my words, it’s
coming, even if we fail to put a stop to the Freesian reinforcements!”
His voice was growing
ragged from the pain, but I didn’t let up on his wrist or back. Still the old man lobbed
out threats.
“You said you have a wife
and kid, didn’t you?! Then they’re the ones who will receive retribution! The men sent to your land
are all disposable to Copelandii! They have no home to
return to if they fail!”
I see. So they’re
disposable. Indeed, there was one spy in Freesia who had yet to be captured. This meant the others
probably wouldn’t flee, as they would know that only death awaited them in
their homelands. It all
made sense.
I continued to twist the
old man’s arm, feeling every tiny crack of his bones through my grip.
“I’ll take revenge on
your family for getting in my way, I swear!” he snarled. “You may be allowed to live as a matter of safety, but that won’t last
forever! Let me go! If you swear your loyalty
to me, I’ll put in a good word for you! But if you don’t, by the
time you return, your home might not even be there anym—”
An agonized scream tore
through the parlor, loud enough to disturb the rest of the castle. I slapped a hand over his
disgusting mouth.
“Oh dear, I apologize,” I
whispered in his ear. “It looks like I finally broke it this time. But if you don’t quiet
down, I’ll have to break the other one too.”
A cold sweat coated the
old man’s skin as he desperately tried to resist.
“Heavens, you truly do
have the same mentality as those bothersome spies.”
I released his useless
arm and slowly spun the other while he was still writhing in pain.
“You really think I’ll
relent because you mentioned my family? As a prime minister who
also runs a household, I’m prepared for a little more than that.”
I pressed my knee into his
back again. Now more helpless than before, the old man cried out. He thrashed in pain,
wriggled off the chair, and fell onto his belly on the floor. I placed my foot on his back.
“Maybe
you’ve been abandoned by
everyone, but I was blessed with people in my life who will save me,” I said.
Slowly, I leaned my weight
onto him, feeling his aching bones creaking under my foot.
I yanked his wrist around. His breathing went ragged
and a fresh slick of sweat coated his body.
“You continue to bring up
my family over and over again. That’s what enrages me
most of all.”
“Don’t worry. I only dislocated the joint.”
I stroked his back as his
breathing grew fainter. Releasing his arm, I circled around to look down at his face.
“All right, then. I suppose I should call the guards. Well, that’s what I’d like to do, anyway…”
The old man could no
longer manage anything other than labored breaths. I smiled at him,
crouching to bring my face close to his. He made to squirm away,
and I had to bite back a wicked grin.
“Please leave all villains
to me.”
I had to be the one to
deal with scoundrels like this man. Following Prince Cedric
and Princess Pride had yielded an unexpected catch: the moment I cast my line,
I snagged a rather large fish. The old man had appeared
on the eve of the war, acting awfully suspicious. I’d also been a bit
curious about his demand for Prince Cedric to join him in abandoning Chinensis.
“I wouldn’t want you
raising a fuss while I take you to your cell.”
The others would be
worried if they heard him muttering threats against my family the whole way. Prince Stale may not
mind, but Princess Pride, Princess Tiara, and Sir Arthur would certainly be
upset. That
was the last thing I needed. I considered ripping out
the last of the old man’s teeth to keep his speech to a minimum, but that would
prevent us from obtaining any information from him in the future.
Instead, I struck his
neck to knock him unconscious. The blow wasn’t fatal,
though I feared I’d broken his neck at first. I called to the guards
outside my door, asked them to take the old man to a cell, and instructed them
to report this development to King Lance.
I watched them drag him
away, the old man’s words still prickling at my mind.
“You don’t care what
happens to your family?!”
“They’re the ones who will
receive retribution!”
“I’ll take revenge on your
family for getting in my way, I swear!”
There was a communication
specialist stationed at my home. The castle would receive
word if anything happened, and they had yet to contact me about anything
relating to my loved ones. For the moment, they were safe.
All the same, it was only
a temporary peace of mind. If someone attacked the communication specialist, unthinkable as it
might be, the castle would never know. The old man would be
proven right—retribution would fall on my family, and I would have no idea it
was even happening.
Communication specialists
could only use their special powers to transmit one-way. I could go to one in this
palace and ask for their help, but it would be a one-way transmission; we
couldn’t get information from Freesia in return unless a specialist there sent
something back to our coordinates. So long as I couldn’t lay
eyes on my wife through a transmission, there was no guarantee that she was
safe.
We also hadn’t been able
to inform outsiders of our location during the three-day trip to Cercis, so I’d
only ever received transmissions from the castle. Once we arrived in
Cercis, I became too busy to contact my family.
“But right now, we have
to search the old fellow’s home, take one of his messenger birds, and send it
to Copelandii with a forged report. There’s no time for
anything else.”
I still had a mountain of
tasks before me, and on top of that, the invasion would begin at dawn. There was simply no time. Everyone in the castle,
myself included, was rushing around to prepare for the troops’ deployment. I needed to focus.
It’s all right. They have guards and a communication specialist with them. I’m sure they’re safe.
The vows I’d made four
years ago, the ones I’d repeated over and over again, sprang to the fore. Those vows, those
priorities, weren’t going to change. I’d given my life and
time to the royal family and my people. I couldn’t wield my power
as the prime minister for my family’s sake unless it was absolutely necessary.
I was steadfast in my
resolve on this, prepared to stick to the path I’d pledged to follow.
“Chaaaaarge! Take
the town later! We’ll bring the castle down first!”
The invaders screamed with
rage, their eyes glinting as they brandished their weapons. Rajah’s
colonies—Copelandii, Alata, and Rafflesiana—were attempting to invade the
United Hanazuo Kingdom.
Dust clouds sprang into
the air. Hooves
thundered over the ground, joined by the clomp of heavy, armored boots. Debris and gunpowder
choked everyone’s throats in a grim reminder of the deadliness of the
battlefield. All the blood and sweat stank something foul, but not a single man had
the levity to plug his nose.
The defensive war for the
United Hanazuo Kingdom began with a vicious enemy ambush. Their troops did not only
approach by land; they also drifted over the battlefield in blimps, dropping
bombs directly on the front lines in the north. That was where Freesian
knights had gathered, but the explosions destroyed their weapons and ate away
their reserves. Everyone had assumed that Chinensis, one half of the United Hanazuo
Kingdom, would be the enemy’s target, but the ambush shattered that notion. Thus, sending the
majority of their firepower to the border of Chinensis backfired, swiftly
producing a wave of refugees fleeing Chinensis while totally unprotected from
the enemy’s aerial barrage.
The refugees ran and ran,
only to arrive at what had become yet another battlefield. They had no choice but to
take cover underground or in any building that still stood, whereupon they
could cower and pray that the shelter provided some safety from the chaos. Hopefully the invading
troops would never spot them on sweeps of the area, lest they suffer the same
fate as so many of the structures around them.
“Kill anyone who gets in
your way!”
“Push forward as a group! Take them all out!”
The enemy soldiers
screamed one after another. They displayed not even
the slightest consideration for the lives of the citizens who had taken shelter
as they broke through the gates into Cercis. The refugees had nowhere
to run.
Enemy troops swarmed
through the broken gates. Only when they reached a village farther along did the Freesian knights
and Cercian soldiers halt their advance. However, with the gates
unprotected, the defending forces were nearly overwhelmed by the never-ending
stream of enemies pouring in across the border. Reinforcements were
rushed out to the western tower of Chinensis, which Freesian knights guarded
under Pride’s command, and to the eastern tower, guarded by the Chinensian army
under King Lance. But it still wasn’t enough. Soldiers from Alata
flooded past the gates without end. No one could stop them.
A terrific roar erupted,
blasting back the enemy trying to get past the gates. Smoke rose up immediately
afterward. The
ones who’d already made it through had to slow down and reassess their
position.
I watched the soldiers
slow their pace, combing a hand through my dark-blue hair. A few dozen knights
followed me, but we were a tiny squadron at best. Really, we were
protecting the large, horse-drawn wagons behind us. Our tiny force likely
didn’t seem like much of a threat to the enemy, however. Plus, we weren’t Freesian
knights with special powers. These knights belonged to
me, Leon Adonis Coronaria of the Kingdom of Anemone.
“There’re a lot more
enemies than I expected,” I said to myself. “More injured too. I wonder if Alata’s entire
army is here to invade.”
Our enemies shook off
whatever had halted their steps and marched toward us. Some even sprinted at the
castle, assuming my few dozen knights couldn’t hold them back. Instead of panicking, I
calmly reached into my uniform and pulled out three small metal objects.
Removing the pins, I
tossed them at the enemy soldiers. Explosions bloomed on the
battlefield, followed by screams of agony. A handful of enemy troops
tried to flee, but my knights quickly took them out. One of the grenades
produced only a cloud of smoke, obscuring the area to confuse and harry the
enemy.
“You’re not going any
farther than that,” I said.
My vicious smile must
have proven a stark contrast to my rather feminine features and jade-green
eyes. As
the firstborn prince of Anemone, I had no need to be here, yet I’d arrived with
reinforcements for Pride and her Freesian knights. To enemy soldiers used to
barking out orders in the heat of battle, a calm and collected princeling was
surely an unexpected sight.
I strode elegantly toward
the enemy soldiers, stopping in the center of the broken gates. My knights stood behind
me, forming an imposing barrier. We couldn’t take up all
that space on our own; the enemy could still try to sidestep us. Yet they hesitated,
clearly worried about that unexplained explosion we’d set off earlier.
“All units, surround me,”
I said, quietly enough for only the Anemonian knights to hear.
The knights spread out,
encircling me and our wagons. They fanned out their
weapons in all directions, looking for all the world like one giant thorny
blossom.
Clank, clank. The strange metallic sound
kept the enemy soldiers wide-eyed and wondering, clearly puzzled as to our
intentions. We could try firing guns at them, but again, we were so few that it
would hardly matter. They held steady and observed us, knowing they had the advantage in
numbers. Even
so, when I held up a small metal item, they shrank back. Guns could fire a couple
of bullets, but an explosive they didn’t understand was much more frightening.
I didn’t go right for the
pin. Instead,
I paused, motioning with my free hand for the knights to spread out even more. I narrowed my eyes,
glaring resolutely at the enemy.
“Step one: take out the
enemy forces around the Cercian border. Begin.”
Bang, bang, bang, bang,
bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Gunshots cracked through
the air. Within
only a few seconds, dozens if not hundreds of bullets shot at the enemy troops,
leaving them no time to react. Men and horses fell to
the ground, pierced by the projectiles.
The next soldiers in line
cried out in disbelief at the weapons we brandished.
A gun could fire a single
bullet at a time and with a limited range. However, the guns we
possessed had just fired multiple shots at once, with more force and distance
than anyone had ever seen. And just when we seemed to run out of bullets, we rotated while
maintaining our circular formation, bringing in the next round of “machine
guns.”
I was certain they’d
never heard of these weapons, and they definitely couldn’t make sense of them. The kingdom of Anemone
was the only place on the entire continent familiar with these guns. Anemone had obtained this
state-of-the-art weaponry—the guns and grenades both—thanks to our trade
agreements with countries from all around the world.
In no time at all, we
cleared the Cercian border of enemy troops. Witnessing the massacre,
the surviving enemy soldiers gulped, making to flee for their stronghold. But the ones behind them
were still marching forward, unaware, and shouted at their brethren to continue
the assault.
A bullet came flying toward
me, and I casually leaned my head to one side, dodging it with ease. I didn’t even need to
look toward the source—and although I’d nearly missed him, the gunman’s shot
had given away his location. As the leader of my detachment, I knew I’d be targeted. I ordered my knights to
take down the culprit and everyone around him, an order they executed swiftly.
“Commencing step two:
deployment.”
At my signal, the knights
around the wagons began to unload a few dozen disc-shaped metal objects. I took one for myself
first, adjusted something on the disc, then sent it sailing over the ground, in
between the feet of the knights surrounding me. It didn’t detonate
immediately like the other smaller bombs. It simply slid toward the
enemy soldiers before toppling over. They clearly thought it
was nothing but scrap metal; one even attempted to kick it away. The moment he did, a deep
boom shook the air and tore apart the ground where the man stood.
The explosion didn’t have
as big of a radius as a hand grenade, but it packed more of a punch. Everyone in the blast
zone let out shrieks of panic.
“I wonder if any of them
know what makes it blow up,” I murmured to myself.
I signaled again. This time, the knights behind those with machine guns took out more
“land mines” and began throwing them outside the gate. The land mines slid
across the ground, eventually tumbling over in front of the soldiers or between
their feet. In a blink, dozens of explosives surrounded the enemy. Unsure of how they
detonated, if they were safe to touch, or when they might explode, the men began to retreat from the border line.
“Stand by and intercept. I’ll be back in a moment.”
With these orders, I
hefted a large weapon. I stepped outside the ring of gun-wielding knights protecting me, with
one hand on the sword at my hip and the other supporting the weapon perched on
my left shoulder. My men told me to be careful, but I merely flashed them a charming
smile and pressed on past the Cercian gates. Some of the enemy troops
had backed away from the land mines. I passed right by them,
stepping over the explosives. They didn’t know that one
had to step on the mines to detonate them, but I did, and I wove through them
without a care.
My gentle countenance and
casual stride seemed to confuse the enemy even further. I stood in my own knights’
line of fire, as well as within striking range of my enemies. If they attacked, my
knights would not be able to protect me—as I imagined they preferred their
prince not riddled with holes.
Yet none of the enemy
soldiers stopped me. My bold strides, the mysterious explosives at everyone’s feet, and the
metal item on my shoulder made them hesitate. They gulped in
anticipation, clearly racking their brains for a way to kill me. But it was no use.
A soldier raised his
sword aloft, enraged at my unbothered presence among his brethren. Just before he could sink
his blade into the exposed flesh left unprotected by my armor, I drew my sword
and absorbed the blow.
Metal collided with metal
as I blocked the enemy’s attack in a flicker. Then I twisted my blade to
free myself and plunged the tip into the enemy’s arm. His scream of pain tore
through the air.
“Good call on the blade,”
I said. “You’d
hit your comrades if you fired a gun at this distance.”
All the other soldiers
drew their blades with a loud shiiing—then ran toward me at once.
“Whoa!”
I sputtered
in surprise at this furious assault, but I neatly dodged their initial attacks.
I deflected
the follow-up hits with my sword, smacking blades away before slicing into
shoulders and arms…all from the middle of the group of soldiers.
“An ironclad rule of
royalty,” I said. “Kings or those who will become kings must never dirty their hands with
blood.”
Even as I spoke, I
avoided swords flying at me from every direction and struck out for
counterattacks. Then I pressed on, calm as could be.
“A person who takes a
life out of spite or for personal gain can never lead his people. Outside of an official
execution, such an act would defile his hands. It’s only natural.”
I moved forward, nimbly
evading attacks all the while. Sometimes I manipulated
the enemy into missing me and striking each other instead.
Just as a soldier raised
his sword up high, I ducked low. The blade whistled
through the air and pierced another soldier instead of me. I stayed crouched and,
spotting a land mine, kicked the device—in a spot I knew was safe, mind
you—toward the soldiers behind me. It detonated the instant
one of them stepped on it, sending dust particles raining down on me.
“There are times of
crisis in which we must protect our fellow royals or ourselves. But that’s not all…”
The moment I regained my
footing, a particularly large soldier swung his great sword at me, sending my
blade flying out of my hand. Right when the enemy
began to swarm me, ready to finish me off for good…I whipped out the concealed
pistol in my opposite hand, pointing it right between the big man’s brows.
“We must also put our
lives on the line in times of war to bring honor to our country. I would gladly dirty my
hands for that.”
Bang! The crack of the gunshot punctuated my cold pronouncement.
The man before me
collapsed, blood gushing from his head, and I calmly retrieved my sword. I leaned forward, then
broke out into a sprint. As I dashed, I swung my sword, aiming for the gaps in the soldiers’
armor. One
had hardly finished screaming before I yanked out my blade and plunged it into
the next. My
charge took me farther away from the knights back at the Cercian gate; that
meant the soldiers behind me were blocking my retreat.
Finding myself trapped
amid the enemy, I smiled to myself—pleasantly, silently. The enemy soldiers raised
their swords once more, but I sheathed my blade.
“I’m sorry, but I simply
can’t give you my life.”
I could see them
wondering if this was some sort of surrender, but I still had my gun. I fired off a round of
shots, striking soldiers in the head. They didn’t even have
time to react before they toppled to the ground. When I ran out of ammo, I
chucked the gun aside for everyone to see. The enemy forces grinned,
apparently believing I was truly disarmed.
“Every part of me belongs
to my beloved Anemone, you see.”
I threw my blue overcoat
open to reveal my shining armor…and a staggering array of weapons. I retrieved one of the
two massive guns I kept in my coat and flicked off the safety in one swift
motion. There
would be no retreating from me.
My small machine gun
burst to life.
Bang, bang, bang, bang,
bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
I spun in a circle,
mowing the enemy soldiers down. Those who weren’t
immediately struck screamed and whirled around to flee. Some tripped the land
mines in their desperation to escape, setting off a secondary attack from
underfoot.
Machine gun in hand, I
resumed my march. Nothing stirred around me anymore, and neither man nor blade came my
way. Once I
knew I was safe, I broke into a sprint toward the border of Cercis.
“This thing is pretty small. It doesn’t actually
pierce armor.”
I smiled mischievously. It
didn’t need to pierce armor now that
the enemy had gotten a practical demonstration. Surely they’d flee at the
mere sight of our machine guns. Never mind that my
smaller model was nowhere near as powerful as the big ones my knights were
carting around. The psychological damage was already done.
Pushing through the crowd
of soldiers, I spotted a flag outside of Cercis that likely marked Alata’s
headquarters. A long line of troops waited outside it; they must have been on standby
this whole time, sending their cohorts in to attack. They sat atop their
horses, weapons drawn, glaring at me from a distance. These troops were no fools. As soon as their invasion
slowed to a halt, the remaining soldiers had retreated back far enough to
regroup and prepare themselves. My small gun alone might
not be enough to get through such a large group, but I stayed calm and
calculated the distance between myself and their base: about 500 meters.
The soldiers from Alata
aimed their guns and drew their bowstrings, prepared to fire at their
commander’s order, but I knew I seemed an anomaly to them. Surely it would take more
than just one man to break through their advancing forces.
I smoothly returned my
weapon to the inside of my overcoat, exchanging it for a small item resembling
a hand grenade. I pulled the pin and tossed it underhand at the enemies. It fell far short of the
500-meter target, erupting between myself and the troops. But the smoke it produced
provided perfect cover for me.
Enemies flailed within
the smoke, trying to figure out if an explosion was imminent, and I grabbed for
the weapon I’d been balancing on my shoulder all this time. In half the time it
might’ve taken any normal man, I made all the necessary adjustments to get it
ready to fire. The moment the smoke began to dissipate, I took aim. Their commander noticed
what I was holding and roared for them to fire, but it was too late.
I shot my “bazooka”
straight at the enemy headquarters. A massive projectile
arced through the air, exploding right on the base behind the troops.
The enemy spun around,
watching in horror as their base crumbled; they didn’t even remember to fire
back at me. Their headquarters had been reduced to a heap of rubble and flame. By the time they turned
back toward me, I was already firing a second shot. This time, it rose up
into the air and came down directly on top of them. The ten-centimeter-thick
steel plate plunged to the ground, unleashing its full destructive force on the
lightly armored troops.
Of all the noble gents in
this world, I always felt I had a particularly wounded heart. I hadn’t hated studying
things like refinement, etiquette, fencing, and martial arts. In fact, I’d enjoyed it. I was supposed to become
the perfect prince.
But one day, that future
shattered.
Rather than give up, I
strengthened my kingdom’s commerce. I dealt with many types
of weapons through imports and exports, and I learned all kinds of complicated
aiming and handling techniques. Anyone could have learned
to wield these devices with a bit of proper training, but I invested a
substantial amount of time in machine guns especially. The few dozen knights who
traveled with me on this day were also skilled in the use of machine guns.
The weapons’ deceptively
simple appearance hid all sorts of complexities, including their nature; how to
handle them before, during, and after use; their weaknesses; their strengths;
and their practical applications. A layman would have no
idea how to maximize a machine gun’s functionality. Furthermore, foreign lands
used vastly different weapons, with new varieties always cropping up and old
ones phasing out. There was only one person who understood every last one of the hundreds
of weapons within his own country—it was me, prince of the commerce nation of
Anemone.
Functioning as a trading
hub meant that we were constantly exposed to state-of-the-art weapons. By the time we exported
them, we’d already learned a great deal about each weapon’s specific uses. This provided an
opportunity to test out new weaponry so we could identify which products
customers most desired. Normally, this process took quite some time—but I had such a knack for
it, I could master a weapon after only a handful of uses.
Though we may have been
Freesia’s mere allies to some, Anemone had achieved standout military knowledge
and power among all the nations on this continent…and now was the time to
brandish it. As the perfect crown prince, I would do so with my very own hands.
“All right, then. Looks like I’m not out of shots just yet.”
I raised the bazooka on
my shoulder, standing there in front of the decimated enemy base and ranks—all
of them wiped out by a single weapon. I tilted my head and
offered them my most alluring smile.
“Would you like to
witness the power of my beloved country one more time?”
My smile reached my eyes
as they blanched before me.
“Now’s our chance! All units, charge the castle!”
“Capture King Yohan! Report back once he’s in
custody!”
“Don’t kill him! Just
take him down!”
In the southern regions
of Chinensis and Cercis, ambushes broke out. Even Gilbert, the prime
minister of Freesia, hadn’t predicted this sudden assault. We had to turn our
attention from the front lines in the north, where the Freesian knights battled
troops from Copelandii and Rafflesiana, to the southern strongholds of Cercis
and Chinensis. Both castles were under heavy bombardment at the moment.
Due to our lack of
foresight, both countries’ strongholds fell into chaos. The enemy destroyed the
old southern tower of the Cercian castle. We’d assumed an invasion
of the castle was impossible and had left it unguarded. But the person we should
have been protecting the most currently hid within that besieged castle: Yohan
Linne Dwight, the king of Chinensis.
If the enemy reached him,
this war would be over. Chinensis would become a kingdom enslaved, losing both its people and
its culture. Worse, Pride—the crown princess of Freesia—had vowed to share whatever
fate Yohan met. If she failed to protect Yohan, she would burn at the stake, giving up
her life for Chinensis.
Keeping Yohan safe meant
keeping the castle safe. But the Copelandii forces, who’d already destroyed the border wall in
Chinensis with their bombs, were now storming the castle. Knowing they only had to
make it through the lightly guarded castle itself, the front-liners and the
rear guard surged up and over the castle walls. That left those of us
still within the palace in a difficult situation.
“Ah… Well done. You made the right choice.” I placed myself in the
hallway that led to the king’s office. “If you want to take down
the king, you’ll have to get past me first.”
A pile of corpses lay at
my feet, each a former invading enemy soldier. Another wave of enemies
had climbed the staircase and crowded the hall before me already. I cast my eyes toward the
ground, my long, black hair draping over my face. I swayed from side to
side, never raising my head to react to the clamor of screams and combat
leaking into the castle. I focused entirely on the bloodlust rolling down the hall like a wave.
I, Harrison, captain of
the deadly Eighth Squadron, was a weapon of Freesia, and I would do my duty. Nothing else mattered.
“It’s been years now. All this time, I’ve
waited to use my sword for her,” I said, lips tugging up in a half smile.
I raised my weapon, but
the enemy troops weren’t about to stop in the face of one meager sword. They raised their blades
and aimed their guns. Before they could fire a single shot, a breeze rustled past them.
Blood spurted out of the
soldiers as it passed. One by one, they crumpled to the ground. I flicked the blood off
my sword. It
had taken only a single motion to clear the hall.
A single soldier still
twitched.
“Wow,” I said, crouching
down for a better look. I peered at the man’s face through my thick, black locks. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you standing up? What is it your master
wants, and why isn’t it enough to get you to stand…? Hmph. How pathetic.”
I ended the enemy’s life
without further delay. But the moment I did, another cry of “Charge!” rang down the hall.
Muttering to myself, I
rose, waiting for the enemy to get into range before I slashed through them. This time, I moved slowly
enough for them to perceive my motions. Still, it was only a glimpse.
In an
instant, I cut through their eyes, turning their world dark for good.
I cocked my head at the
soldiers when they dropped their weapons to clutch their eyes. The way they writhed in
pain was most displeasing.
“What’s the matter? They’re just eyes. What, don’t have the guts to keep a grip on your swords and come at
me?”
A few of them regained
their composure, realizing it was kill or be killed. But their agonized,
clumsy swings made them even less
worthy of fighting. I cut them all down, unimpressed with their performances.
I took my time with the job. More enemy soldiers poured
into the hallway, but they provided little more than mild amusement. I let myself smile just a
bit, a gesture I restrained around my Eighth Squadron and the royal
order—except in very special circumstances.
“I was distraught when
Prince Stale Royal Ivy stole my freedom and ordered me to guard the castle. Her right-hand
man is very clever, though, I must admit. It was the correct move, making use of
my role.”
While I kept my head
lowered, the enemy could no doubt see my crazed smile. They froze in fear,
likely feeling nothing but a gentle breeze before blood gushed out of them and
they collapsed to the ground.
“Now what? Come on, why won’t you move? Are you satisfied already?”
My smile withered, my
face returning to its customary blankness. Not a single body moved
or twitched, even when I poked them with the tip of my sword.
“I’m not,” I murmured, bored.
“Not yet, anyway.”
I waited impatiently for
the next round of soldiers. As soon as their shouts reached my ears, my heart sped up.
“This is all for her. The woman who saved our
beloved commander.”
Earlier, I had ordered
the other four members of the Eighth Squadron in charge of guarding the
Chinensian castle to allow the enemies past them. I was prepared to take on
hundreds or even thousands of soldiers.
“For the woman to whom
our great vice commander is so indebted.”
A hoarse battle cry echoed
down the hall. Soldiers sprinted toward me, allowed to pass by the Eighth Squadron
just as I’d instructed.
“The woman I’ve always
fought for, even if it meant being drenched in blood.”
My blade flashed. The stampeding troops screamed and fell to the ground. I sighed as my special
power—speed—coursed through me yet again. Cutting down enemies this
fast was a piece of cake.
“I still haven’t been
able to give her everything I’ve got.”
However, my special power
didn’t last forever. It was only speed and nothing more. Running so quickly still
exhausted my body, so I’d often been excluded from vanguard units, being much
more suited for short-distance travel. Even six years ago, when
the royal order suffered an ambush, I was not allowed to run to the commander’s
side on my own.
I whispered the name of
the woman I adored and respected to the empty hall full of bodies.
Another battle cry rang out. Enemies poured into the
hallway, hungry for the king’s head. I greeted them with a huge
grin.
“Finally.
Finally I get to use my sword for
her!”
By this point, my smile
must have reached my purple eyes. It was a smile I never set
free unless I was fighting for one of four people—among them Commander
Roderick, Vice Commander Clark, and Princess Pride.
“Burned at the stake? Don’t make me laugh. I’ll never let that
happen to her.”
I kept talking to myself
as I cut down foe after foe. I stopped using my speed
and instead took on the enemies with the raw power of my blade, savoring every
slash, every rending of flesh on the other end of my sword.
“You really think I’d let
you lay a finger on her?!”
Troops continued to stream
in. With
roars, they readied their blades and pointed their guns, ignorant of their
impending doom.
“I
will never let that beautiful
lady’s purity be sullied with blood! I won’t let her be
corrupted like you foul beasts!”
This time, I let loose a
mad laugh. Even
Arthur and the Eighth Squadron rarely saw me in such a state of excitement. I reached inward and
unleashed a dozen knives from my breast pockets. They pierced the
soldiers’ throats, toppling the men before they could so much as cry out. I wasted no time in using
my speed and sword to slice into the remaining men, then halted to retrieve my
knives from the bodies and return them to my coat. Blood stained my uniform,
but I ignored it.
The pounding of boots and
throaty yells returned. With a grin, I prepared to indulge in my ultimate ecstasy just a bit
longer. I
was just one of the many knights who adored Pride. Thus, I brought my sword
down upon the enemy without a drop of hesitation.
“My apologies, King Yohan. The members of the Eighth
Squadron are a bit unique. None of them will ever fail to complete a mission, though. I hope you can forgive
them for the occasional lack of manners.”
I, the prime minister,
offered my best explanation to a perplexed King Yohan with the help of a
communication specialist. He couldn’t hide his shock that the tide of the war had turned thanks
to a mere five knights who’d managed to protect the castle from a full-on
invasion by the enemy.
Prince Stale had
dispatched five men from the Eighth Squadron to the Chinensian castle. Commander Roderick and I
made the selection, heeding Prince Stale’s request for enough firepower to keep
the enemy at bay. The men didn’t move in a formation, but that meant that they could
spread out and cover more ground. They were also proven
fighters, making them the perfect candidates to get the job done.
Captain Harrison had been
quite reluctant, uncertain as to whether he would have a real role in
protecting the castle. I’d even heard that they had to force him to participate in the war at
all. He
only agreed to join in at the very end. The order coming from
Prince Stale seemed to sway him, as did a direct command from Commander
Roderick, who told him, “You’ve already made trouble for Clark. I’m sure you understand
that you only have permission because I believed you would carry out any
mission assigned to you, no matter what it was.”
There weren’t enough men
left to send reinforcements to southern Chinensis. Prince Stale had to
reinforce the castle security using only five knights. He understood the
situation and acted accordingly.
I’d expect nothing less
from the next seneschal.
I kept that praise to
myself as I watched Prince Stale give his report to King Yohan. I couldn’t quite manage
to suppress a smirk, and I had to quickly look away when Prince Stale stared me
down.
“I’ve never seen Captain
Harrison fight before!” Princess
Tiara said. “He’s amazing!”
She’d covered her mouth
with her hands, and I’d feared that the bloody images being transmitted to us
of Captain Harrison’s bloodshed might be too much for her. Yet she expressed only
mild consternation. I supposed that was about right coming from the second-born
princess…no, from Princess Pride’s sister, to be precise.
“Who the hell was that
knight?! How did he
move so fast?! Is his strength part of his special power too?!” Prince Cedric asked,
jabbing a finger at the transmission.
I attempted to explain,
only for Princess Tiara to grab my shirt before I could speak. She glared in Prince
Cedric’s direction.
“His
strength, at the very least,
isn’t a special power,” she said. “Captain Harrison and all
the other knights work really hard every single day!”
She then puffed out her
cheeks. Somehow,
amid all this, Prince Cedric had managed to earn Princess Tiara’s ire. I couldn’t help but pity
him now that I knew all three siblings disliked him.
Prince Cedric’s eyes
widened, though he didn’t seem offended. He dropped his gaze to
the ground, sinking deep into thought. Whatever he was
contemplating, it was none of my concern in such dire times. Especially as yet another
battle cry rose up in the distance.
“All right,” I said. “We can’t rest on our
laurels either.”
Cercis, just like
Chinensis, was under attack from the southern border. Our knights and soldiers
were exterminating enemy forces, thanks to Anemone halting the invasion at the
border, but the inside of the castle wasn’t very well guarded. Neither Prince Stale nor
I had expected any enemy spillover in Cercis, much less a full-scale assault.
Most knights who
specialized in speed were deployed to Cercis as reinforcements. Other knights who’d
noticed the unexpected attack would likely rush to the castle any moment now. The knights and guards
inside the castle were managing to subdue the attack, but it was only a matter
of time before the enemy broke through to reach us. Our group consisted of
the Cercian seneschal and prime minister, Princess Tiara, Prince Cedric,
knights and guards to protect us, and myself. Between all of us, we
could still hold off some
amount
of enemy soldiers, but not all of them.
“There’s not much time!” came a sudden voice from
beneath me. “Even
if you defend Cercis, you’ll still have lost everything!”
Lord Hanmu. Of course. He was still here. I’d had the old man
pinned under my foot to interrogate him. He glared at me as he
spoke, and I realized I must have accidentally eased my hold on him while I was
lost in thought. I blinked down at him, wondering how he was still conscious enough to
speak.
“Release me at once! Everything I did, I did
for Cercis’s future! Gilbert! Do you really want to lose
your wife and dau—”
I bent the old man’s
pinkie finger backward, hard.
He shrieked in pain, and
I covered his mouth with my hand to stop him from saying anything else. How troublesome. I never should have
sought to resume interrogating him after the invasion began.
“All you do is cause
trouble for me…”
The words slipped out
before I could stop them. My irritation had been drumming steadily this whole time, and it
finally got the better of me. Prince Cedric cast a
suspicious look my way, and Princess Tiara turned to me with worry. I smiled back at them.
“Pardon me, but I’m going
to leave for just a moment. I don’t need any guards,
so please focus on Prince Cedric and Princess Tiara.”
I dragged the old man,
still screaming in pain, out of the room with one hand. Princess Tiara fretted
about the danger, but I simply thanked her for her concern and reassured her
that I was only going to a room just down the hall.
I closed the door behind
me, relieved when I found no enemies awaiting me in the hall. I wouldn’t be able to
rush to Princess Tiara in an emergency if I strayed too far. Thus, after greeting the
knights and guards outside the door, I tossed the old man down the hall. He tumbled to the ground,
unable to steady himself with his arms bound behind him.
“I can’t have you running
your mouth and scaring the people in there.”
I glared down at the old
man, his face contorted in agony thanks to the finger I’d broken.
Pale and trembling, he
spat, “Do you know what you’re doing?! If you act now, you could
still save your wife and daughter in time! Just let me gain control
of Cercis and—”
“An old fool like you has
no worth. And
the proof is all around us. They didn’t even tell you
that Cercis would be attacked.”
I should not have been so
shocked that this buffoon refused to learn his lesson. Perhaps he thought
mentioning my wife and daughter would be enough to shake my resolve. Either way, one finger
clearly wasn’t enough.
“The only reason you
haven’t met a worse fate is because I thought your words might have some value.
However…” I
stepped closer, cracking my knuckles loudly enough for him to hear. “This is your last chance. Tell me everything you know. After this, I doubt
you’ll be able to speak without those teeth of yours, even if you want to. Now, shall we move on to
the next finger?”
He quaked at my words. His mouth flapped as
though he wanted to speak but couldn’t manage a sound. I didn’t want him having a
fit, so I held off on breaking another finger for now.
“Don’t believe you’ll be
able to shake me by threatening my beloved wife and daughter,” I went on. “Even if what you said is
true and right now my home is under siege—”
“What’s the meaning of
this, Gilbert?”
I whipped my head up in
surprise. The
door behind me stood open, and someone had stuck their head out.
He was supposed to be
with Princess Pride, heading our way with reinforcements from the southern
tower. Yet there he was. His eyes, as chilling as
ever, bored into me as he slowly propped the door open.
“My elder sister is
heading this way on horseback with her imperial knights,” he said. “She asked me to come
here first and bring her back if there was an emergency.”
Apparently, Princess
Pride wanted to witness the state of the enemy invasion for herself by riding
through the streets of Cercis. As he explained, Prince
Stale’s keen eyes flicked between me and Lord Hanmu.
“I was a little curious
too,” he said. “I told her my concerns so she’d let me come here early.”
Lord Hanmu’s mouth hung open.
He didn’t
seem to understand how the prince we’d just seen in the broadcast could now be
in the castle. My pulse
raced. I
understood that Stale must have teleported here, but why had he felt the need
to stray from the plan, and just how much of our conversation had he overheard?
“Gilbert, are you hiding
something from Elder Sister and me again?”
He opened the door all
the way and ordered me inside. Unable to disobey Prince
Stale’s command, I dragged the old man back into the room. The prince slammed the
door shut behind us.
“I heard Lord Hanmu say
something peculiar through the transmission earlier,” he told me. “There’s no time, so tell
me what’s going on before Elder Sister gets here.”
“Gilbert! Do you really want to lose your wife and dau—”
It appeared that I’d been
too late in shutting him up. I resisted the urge to
sigh, instead pressing a hand to my forehead. Even Princess Tiara had
taken notice and was clutching her hands to her chest.
“Did something happen to
Maria and Stella?” she
asked nervously. Prince Cedric frowned as well, glancing back and forth between me and
the princess.
“No,” I said. “This old coot is simply trying to trick me.”
I smiled to ease
everyone’s worries, but Prince Stale only narrowed his eyes further. Deception never had worked on him.
He crossed his arms and
shifted his gaze to the old man, ordering him to speak. Despite his harshness,
the prince suppressed anything else he might have felt in that moment.
“I-I’m not trying to trick
you!” the old man cried.
He cowered under the
prince’s icy glare. From the bottom of my heart, I regretted not ripping his teeth out when
I had the chance.
Lord Hanmu launched into
a rambling speech. He told us that the Copelandiian survivors in Freesia were planning to
attack my home, and that my wife and daughter had either been taken as hostages
or killed at this point. I couldn’t believe he was still making these claims after all my
threats. I
quivered with the effort to not end his life right then and there.
“There you have it. What do you say, Gilbert?” Prince Stale asked me.
“What do I say? I believe the old man is either making guesses or outright lying. I have a communication
specialist stationed at my home. Anyway, right now I need
to focus my attention on this war and nothing else.” I kept my tone steady. Mixing my work and private
life was something I would never allow again.
“When did you last contact
your house through a communication specialist?”
“I couldn’t send my
coordinates to anyone on the outside while traveling to Cercis just to be safe,
so I have yet to contact them. I’ve been too busy ever
since we arrived here.”
“So you haven’t talked to
them or sent them coordinates even once?” Prince Stale asked.
He glared daggers at me
again. “Enough of this. There’s no time. Gilbert, I’m ordering you
to contact your home at once. There’s a communication
specialist available now.” His eyes slid over to the knight in question.
“No, I simply can’t,” I
replied. “We’re
in the midst of battle, with enemies pouring into the castle as we speak. I can’t attend to
personal business while—”
“I told you, it’s okay. In fact, I’m ordering you. Or would you prefer to
hear the order come from my elder sister?”
I faltered, unable to
respond. Prince
Stale had effectively cornered me. I could see just from the
look in his eyes that he would relay all this to Princess Pride in a heartbeat.
I had no
choice but to give in.
Damn it! This wasn’t the time to
be handling such a personal matter. In fact, it was the very
last thing I wanted to deal with. Would I really be able to
maintain my composure if something had happened to Maria and
Stella? Fear
hounded my thoughts: the fear that I would act shamefully and foolishly, the
fear that I would behave the way I had before Princess Pride changed my life
four years ago.
I cowered from the truth. I couldn’t bear to lose my
wife and daughter, but neither could I bear to return to my depraved ways out
of grief. Princess
Pride had been the one to return joy and color to my world, joy I thought I’d
lost forever. I swore to her that I would never waver and betray her ever again. I would do anything to
uphold that vow.
“Open a transmission to
my house,” I said reluctantly.
I gave the communication
specialist the coordinates and had him send a feed to the manor. The knight then
transmitted our coordinates to the other side. All the knight at my
house needed to do was start up a broadcast and send it to the coordinates we
provided. If
everything was as it should be, it would be a simple operation. I would greet my family
briefly, then apologize to Prince Stale and Princess Tiara for scaring them. As long as my family was
safe, that is.
The knight sent out the
transmission but got no response for a while, even though I’d instructed the
knights at the house not to leave the entire time I was gone. My heart skipped a beat;
sweat broke out across my palms. I lost track of how many
seconds, how many minutes we’d been waiting for an
answer. Part
of me wanted to cut off the transmission and tell the others my family must
have simply stepped out for a moment. But just then…
“I hear a kid’s voice! This
way!”
“Damn
it! Did
someone beat us to the punch?!”
A group of men I didn’t
recognize ran through the transmission. That couldn’t be. The transmission had to be displaying the wrong location. I held my breath, lost
for words.
The broadcast coming from
my house was in a fixed position in the reception room so I could tell at a
glance if anything was wrong. I wanted to be able to
see as much of the inside as I could so I would know if anyone had overtaken
the home.
Sure enough, someone
walked through that very reception room even as I watched. He paced from end to end,
armed with knives and guns. Stella—my darling
Stella—let out a hitching sob somewhere in the distance, and the man stormed
off in that direction.
“See?
I told you!” Lord Hanmu said with a
wild, raspy laugh. “This is all because you didn’t listen to me!” I yearned to end him
right there and then, but shock kept me from moving a muscle.
“Looks like you have some
visitors, Gilbert,” Prince Stale said calmly.
His composure instantly
brought me back to my senses. My body lurched into motion. I turned to find Prince
Stale watching the broadcast over my shoulder with his arms crossed. His face betrayed no
expression as his eyes fixed on me, gauging my reaction.
“I’d be careful about
entertaining them,” he added.
I blinked. Was that a smile sneaking across that blank face of his? What could possibly have
amused him at a time like this?
“Argh!
Wh-wh-wh-what’s
going on?!”
“Hey! Who the hell are—?! Gah!”
The men in the
transmission shouted in a panic. They glared, raising
their weapons to attack. But before they could fire a single bullet, they flew backward out of
frame.
“The guest who arrived
first is rather violent,” Prince Stale said.
“Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha!”
A horribly familiar laugh
pealed through the transmission. I knew this man, with his
piercing glare, frightening features, dark-brown hair and eyes, and tan skin. He was Val—the Freesian
deliveryman with the special power to sculpt earthen walls.
He sent a wave of sand at
the men, pinning their limbs down. A powerful jet of water
then blasted them out of frame entirely.
“Bwa ha ha! Keep comin’! I never get sick of ya! Or maybe it’d be faster to
just build a prison right here!”
My mouth hung agape. I even forgot to blink. I knew this man well, but
my family certainly didn’t. A regular deliveryman
would never come to my house like this.
“It’s way more fun when
you lure in one after another… Oh?” With a smirk, Val turned
his attention toward the transmission. “Well, well, if it isn’t
Mister Prime Minister!”
Khemet, a young boy with
messy black hair, clung to his arm. Sefekh, a girl with brown
hair, squeezed Khemet’s hand.
“Val, why are you in my
house?” I didn’t
really need to ask. I knew the answer perfectly well, but the words came out all the same.
Val cocked a brow, annoyed.
“No one told you? A certain little prince
ordered me to stay posted at your house for the past five days.” A vulgar grin spread across
his face. “Your wife invited me in this morning.”
At that, I thought, Five days? That means he started
guarding my house the day before we left the country.
“I was watchin’ you, y’know. You were very persuasive
about your wife and kid bein’ used as bargaining chips.”
Val’s smirk turned sinister. He refused to explain
further, however. Sefekh and Khemet nodded along, evidently privy to the situation. Five days prior was the
day the Copelandiian spy came to me with a deal. It sounded like the three
of them had witnessed that entire exchange. How annoying.
“I want to hear about
that later, Val. I’ll be
talking to you after the war, too,
Gilbert,” Prince Stale said from behind me. He took a step forward
with his arms still crossed. Now that he was within
the frame, he addressed Val. “So? How goes progress?”
“Huh?
Started this morning. One by one, nasty fellas
marched right in. Their boss came with ’em at first, but the rest were Freesians he hired
here. They
really put up a fight, but they didn’t know I captured their boss hours ago,” Val explained, clicking
his tongue.
He sank onto the nearby
sofa, scowling at the transmission. But then something
appeared to dawn on him, and he smiled once more.
“Oh yeah, Mister Prime
Minister… Or should I say ‘Papa’? I heard that when you come
home, you’ve got plans to go eat somethin’ nice with your little brat. But what about my brats? Do they get a reward, ‘Papa’?”
Val’s smile widened as he
followed up with a remark about being a “wonderful father,” doing his absolute
best to get under my skin. And yet, I didn’t care about that at all. In fact, I couldn’t help
a little smile of my own.
“Well…before anything
else, is my family safe? How about my employees?”
Before Val could answer,
Sefekh confirmed that everyone was okay. Khemet told me the others
were waiting in a room farther away from the skirmishes while Val handled the
intruders.
“What the hell?! Keep the brat out of here!” Val snapped his head toward
the soft voice I knew as well as my own. “She woke up as soon as
she heard the prime minister yakking!”
Val grunted in annoyance
and dragged Sefekh and Khemet out of the transmission. That was when Stella
teetered up to the frame, Maria chasing after her.
My daughter grinned, but
my wife furrowed her brow at me. Seeing them unharmed, I
took my first good, long breath since this all began. I told them I was safe
and apologized for putting them in danger.
Maria smiled kindly and shook her head. “We’re just fine, thanks
to how they’ve protected us. Sefekh and Khemet are very
nice children.”
“Papa! He’s scary!” Stella jabbed a finger
at Val.
He instantly stiffened
and growled, “The hell’d you say?” Sure enough, Stella burst
into tears and ran into Maria’s arms.
Val recoiled in disgust. “Not this shit again! Do you two spoil this
brat or somethin’? She
never stops cryin’!”
“It’s your fault for
having a scary face!” Sefekh shot back. “Stop letting her see
your face!”
She grabbed Val’s arm and
yanked him close. Val turned his head away and reluctantly sat down next to her. Khemet rushed over and
covered Val’s ears. It was all so peaceful and ordinary, I nearly forgot that we were
actively at war.
“Val,” Prince Stale said,
“I want you to ask your communication specialist to report this incident to the
royal order at once. Have them take custody of anyone you’ve captured, then have them send
more guards for Maria and Stella. You can mention my name
if it helps.” He glanced
my way. “Since
they’ve already been attacked, I’m sure you won’t complain, right?” With my permission,
Prince Stale went on. “Contact us once the royal order has gathered there.”
“Huh? The communication guy
already contacted the knights. The asshole went and did
it while I was sleepin’.” Val brushed Khemet’s hands
off his ears, scratched his head, and clambered off the couch to turn around. “They’ll probably be here
soon.”
Crass as he was, that
information lifted a weight off my shoulders.
“That was a good call,”
Prince Stale said. He sounded calm enough, but I could still see the rage blazing in his
eyes. As
soon as this broadcast ended, I was in for an unforgettable tirade. For the time being,
however, there was nothing I could do but watch.
The prince turned toward
me just before the communication specialist ended the transmission. “Gilbert, is there
anything else you want to say?”
I’d already apologized to
my wife and daughter. Everything else would best be said face-to-face. Still, everyone was
looking at me expectantly. There was one more thing I had to do.
“If alcohol and treats
from my home will suffice, then please take as much as you desire,” I said.
Val’s grin widened. Sefekh and Khemet’s eyes
sparkled.
“Smart man,” Val responded, now in a
much better mood than before.
“Don’t drink too much
today,” Prince Stale added, stepping up to my side. Then the transmission ended. His enraged glare darted
from me to Tiara to the window and back to me again. I braced for his ire.
That was when I realized
something strange.
“Why did you send Val to
my house?”
I knew perfectly well that
this question would cause Prince Stale to reach his boiling point.
“Why did you send Val
to my house?”
The moment the broadcast
ended and Gilbert voiced that soft question, the anger simmering inside me
surged to the surface. He probably already knew what to expect. Even so, I wished I could
have taken my time to lay into him after the war was over rather than doing it
here and now. I needed to wrap this up before Pride arrived.
“Because I knew what I
would have done if it were me,” I snapped.
Gilbert’s mouth fell open. He stared at me,
petrified, giving me the space to continue.
“I knew what would happen
ever since I heard you eliminated the intruders in our country,” I said. “If it were me, I would
definitely try to take out the man causing me the most problems, or at least
get him under my thumb.”
I pointed straight at that
very man as I spoke.
Ever since Uncle Vest and
I started collecting evidence about the United Hanazuo Kingdom, Gilbert had
been hinting at the fact that he was taking out intruders within Freesia. I knew the enemies would
set their sights on him if they caught him eliminating their comrades. Why is he
always so careless?! He’s
putting his own family in the most danger out of anyone!
Then Gilbert ended up
joining us in Hanazuo as Tiara’s attendant. Chances were that Maria
and Stella would be targeted while he was away, but when I asked Uncle Vest
about it, he told me all Gilbert had requested from the palace was a single
communication specialist to join his usual guards at home. I wanted to scream at him
to dispatch some knights too. Guards could handle an
attacker or two, but they couldn’t take out a group equipped with deadly
weapons or special powers. Gilbert had to understand that, but he kept feigning ignorance,
pretending not to connect the dots—all to minimize the burden he placed on the
palace, the royal family, and the Freesian people!
The more I thought about
it, the more rage bubbled up inside me like red-hot lava. Judging by how Gilbert
voiced his question, he likely noticed the tension tightening my face. I wanted to smack that
dazed look off his face.
Does he have any idea how
hard I’ve worked in secret for all this?!
I’d started by asking
Uncle Vest about the protection at Gilbert’s home and how he’d been capturing
intruders. Before
Arthur and I left to visit King Lance in his madness, I teleported to Val and
asked him to watch over Gilbert’s place until I gave him permission to leave. I went to so much trouble,
when all I wanted to do was get back to Arthur and Pride as soon as physically
possible!
Then in the carriage,
when we were working on battle strategies with Commander Roderick and his
knights, Gilbert dodged every question about his home, potential attacks, and
the protection he’d placed there. He never even contacted
his family or asked for knights to be dispatched. And last night, he just
took to his work like nothing was wrong, never once reaching out to Maria.
If it weren’t for Val and
the children, those criminals would have Maria and Stella right this very
moment. All
this time, I’d been so, so, so desperate to say something to him!
“Is your love for your
family really that shallow, Gilbert?!” I shouted.
I pointed an accusing
finger at him again, keeping my expression stern. I’d spent these past days
desperate to say this to him. “You
have us! You have
the royal family!”
Even that brief
declaration left me out of breath. Everything I’d bottled up
inside came bursting out. It was only natural. The words I’d been
desperately holding back had quietly simmered until they boiled over
completely.
“You have me! Why don’t you ever ask me for help?!” I screamed.
Gilbert’s eyes flew wide. He stared at me, frozen
and unblinking. I glared right back at him, my body heaving with every breath. Gilbert finally opened
his mouth, but I knew just what he was going to say and how I intended to
respond.
“I, a mere prime
minister, don’t deserve any more special treatment from the royal family than
what I’ve already received,” he said. “Any free soldiers and
guards should be assigned to protect the Freesian citizens.”
Ah, I knew it. How
irritating. This stupid man!
Stupid,
stupid, stupid, stupid!
“Don’t force your family
to pay for your own sins!” I said.
At long last, my emotions
had burst free. Gilbert was clearly startled, but he didn’t move after that, standing
as still as a doll. I could tell his mind had likewise ground to a halt. It was a good chance for
me to continue my attack.
“What the hell does your
past matter?! You’re our proud Freesian prime minister now! What’s wrong with having
the kingdom protect you and your family if your role puts them in danger?! If working for the good of
your country causes some kind of blowback, why the hell shouldn’t you get some
extra guards or soldiers?!”
Ever since the day he
made his vow of atonement to Pride, he’d forsaken all of the special privileges
that came with being prime minister or any other castle staff, for that matter.
In the
past, he’d abused those privileges to do unforgivable things. To atone for his sins, he
now shouldered all of his burdens entirely on his own. This much was obvious; I
witnessed it for myself once I started working as Uncle Vest’s steward. Knowing Gilbert’s past,
his actions made perfect sense. But things were different
now than when he’d committed those atrocities. He was working for
Father, Pride, and the good of the people! How could he be so
careless when it came to his own loved ones?!
“But I would be using my
privileges as the prime minister purely out of affection for my family…” He
spoke unusually quietly. His eyes skittered through the room, unsure where to land.
Once, Gilbert had
prioritized Maria over all else, spurring on his unforgivable crimes. Clearly he didn’t want to
make the same mistake twice.
That was all the more
reason for me to say this to him. “What’s wrong with a
father prioritizing his child? His
wife?”
“Let us protect your
family too.”
With that, my anger
finally began to cool. Emotion had made my voice deeper and harsher. Gilbert raised his head
to regard me, staring at me with those slender eyes. I didn’t back down,
holding his gaze.
“Never make me do
something like this again,” I said. “Elder Sister and Arthur
saved those two, so don’t ever expose them to danger again. As the prime minister, you
need to protect them with every means available to you.”
I’d been worried about
all three of them all along, Gilbert included.
“Talk to me next time,” I
went on. “If
you want to give up, then get permission from me to give up first. If you’re going to use
your special privileges selfishly, I’ll be the one to stop you, even if it
means chopping your head off.”
I hated that he didn’t
feel like he could ask me for help. I’d waited for ages for
him to come to me, yet he never once revealed his anxiety to any of us. I was the next seneschal
of Freesia, and I knew the full story of Gilbert’s dark past, but even that
wasn’t enough for him to trust me. It made me want to scream
all over again.
I had one last thing to
say to him—something I wished I didn’t have to say at all. I was in no position to
forgive Gilbert after he deceived Pride and betrayed the country, so I never
thought I would say these next words so sincerely. But right now, this was
the only way I had to reach him.
“Both you and your family
belong to our country too. We have a duty to protect you.”
Gilbert finally blinked. A change came over his
face, and at last I saw the man who would spend many years beside me supporting
our country once I became seneschal.
These next few years
would be crucial. I suddenly realized that my role was to train him to be a prime
minister who could serve Freesia for the next several hundred or even thousand
years.
Prime Minister Gilbert
was still in a daze after everything Prince Stale said to him. I myself couldn’t fully
understand the situation in Freesia, being a prince of the United Hanazuo
Kingdom, but even I saw how upset Prince Stale was that the prime minister had
withheld information from him.
Then there were those
words: “Elder Sister and Arthur saved those two, so don’t ever expose them to
danger again.”
I couldn’t believe there
were still others Pride had saved. I thought back to what
Prince Stale had told me when Pride was addressing the knights: “We
exist so that no one can ever sully that beauty.”
Just how many people had
felt her influence? There were so many already, and those were just the ones I knew about. Why was she so adored and
respected? How
did she have such influence over them? It was almost like…
“Isn’t my big brother
amazing?”
The princess didn’t seem
to mind. “He’s worked so, so hard all this time. He’s always been running
to catch up to my big sister, Arthur, and Prime Minister Gilbert.” She gazed off into the
distance for a bit, then turned back to me. “What have you been working on all this
time, Prince Cedric?”
Her words lanced my heart. She turned those
crystal-clear eyes on me, and I feared I might dissolve completely. But the moment she
noticed me freezing up, she dipped her head and apologized.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wanted to be with Big
Sister and Big Brother too, if I could…”
“Hey, Big Brother! When is our sister going to arrive?”
“She’ll be here soon,”
Prince Stale told her.
“I’m so glad!” Princess Tiara cried, grinning and grabbing hold of the prime
minister’s shirt cuff.
Chapter
3:
The Closed Country and Its
Companions—the Prince of Gold, the Prince of White, and God’s Child
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY months ago…
Two princes lived in the
kingdom of Cercis. I was
the firstborn. Even at just eight years old, I rarely interacted with my younger
brother, who was four years younger. I was far too busy with
my studies. Thus,
my brother’s birth didn’t affect my life in any way.
My parents didn’t bother
watching me grow up. The same went for my brother, who was nurtured by wet nurses, taught by
instructors, and watched over by servants.
I’m the big brother, but I
have no role, I thought back then.
As crown prince, I was
merely a statue who stood stiffly beside my brother during ceremonies. Still, I tried to be the
perfect brother—at least in front of the Cercian people. It was hard, especially
because I never truly felt like I had a real brother in this. Living in the same castle
as nothing more than two princes who were there to fulfill their duty meant
that what little I knew about him came from rumors. I could tell others
pitied me, but I didn’t care about that. No matter how wide the
gap between me and my younger brother grew, my goals would remain the same.
Two years before this, I
laid eyes on a book about the outside world that had been tucked away at the
very back of the palace library. This was the moment I
learned of the vastness of the world and the tininess of my own kingdom. I dreamed of becoming a
good king, of bringing the United Hanazuo Kingdom together as one country, of
expanding the world my people lived in. There was no room for
jealousy or resentment. I worked tirelessly on my princely duties and dedicated myself to my
studies, scraping by on raw determination alone.
As the days passed, I felt
less and less like a big brother to the boy who was nothing like me at all. We were far more distant
than siblings, existing in two entirely separate worlds.
But all that changed one day.
I’d just
finished my studies and was walking through the library, looking for a new
book.
“‘Flowers from a foreign
land stretched to the horizon and beyond, creating a paradise on earth. Ten days into trudging
through the desert, a mirage appeared. Mirages occur in desert
regions…’”
The voices came from a
storage room at the far end of the palace library. An excited adult had
praised a child doing some sort of recitation. I sighed at the mention
of the name “Cedric,” assuming this was just some basic schooling from one of
the high-ranking officials. I ignored it and grabbed
the book I was after. When I passed by the storage room, something stopped me in my tracks.
“Seneschal Bertrand, please! No more! Prince Cedric is only
four years old and needs to rest—”
“Silence, Dario! I won’t take criticism from some greenhorn prime minister! This boy is special! I’m educating him
personally, so you have no right to interfere!”
The escalating shouts had
me rooted to the spot; I knew the name Bertrand all too well. He was the old man who’d
refused to hand over the role of seneschal to a successor, earning him no
shortage of contempt.
Cedric went on
reading—which I assumed was his task—while the men argued, his voice flat and
emotionless. I’d received a royal education myself, yet I couldn’t comprehend a
single word of whatever language he spoke. My brows came together as
questions sprang to mind. Was Cedric just making this up? Had this language come
from a different country, or even a different continent? And why was Bertrand with
him?
Moreover, Prime Minister
Dario was supposed to be Cedric’s attendant. Despite his young age,
Dario was a brilliant and kind man who had looked after Cedric many times. His timidity got me
curious, so I ordered the guards to unlock the storage room door so I could see
for myself.
“‘The fair maiden had
brilliant hair of gold and skin as white as snow,’” Cedric read, switching to a
passage I could understand. “‘I found myself taken with her otherworldly beauty and gently touched
her hair. As
I pressed a kiss to the golden strands, her white cheeks glowed rosy pink,
invoking the sakura flower of a foreign land. I bent my knee before her
and described her beauty…’”
I peeked through the
crack in the door and saw Cedric sitting at a small desk, surrounded by a group
of adults. Seneschal
Bertrand was at his side, and Prime Minister Dario was desperately trying to
stop him. The
most shocking thing of all was that Cedric wasn’t reading these complex
passages from books. No, he never opened a single page.
“‘World coordinates
47.194747293736273849, –122.837265393816639. The United Hanazuo
Kingdom consists of Cercis and Chinensis, which both have rich histories. The country was founded by
Yuda Silva Lowell…’”
Bertrand would show him
the cover of a book, and Cedric would recite its contents from memory. Books littered the tiny
desk; most were in our country’s native language, but some were notably
foreign.
“Excellent work!” Bertrand
said. “Not
only can you memorize a book’s contents, but you can also translate them
yourself!”
“It’s like a power
straight from God!” said another man among them.
“‘Referred to as a
treasure trove of gold, the United Hanazuo Kingdom was targeted for its riches.
Some
nations were particularly eager to secure the minerals found throughout
Chinensis and the neighboring kingdom of Cercis. When both countries were
invaded by the kingdom of Copelandii…’”
He continued to recite
passage after passage. Despite the ease with which he spoke, I could see even from a distance
that Cedric’s face was grave. His eyes were as blank as
a doll’s, his face shining with sweat.
I threw the door open,
enraged that they would make a four-year-old go through something like this. “Stop it! All of you! What the hell are you doing to my brother?!” I shouted.
Everyone jumped at my
scream and covered their faces. I was only eight, but I
was still royalty. I possessed far more authority than Bertrand.
“P-Prince Lance!” Bertrand’s eyes darted around the room.
I stomped toward the
speechless seneschal and his guards. “What is the meaning of this?
What are
you forcing a four-year-old child to do?! Look at his face! How long has he been locked up in here?!”
“I have been here for
forty-nine hours, thirty-two minutes, and fifty-five seconds. That includes breaks to
eat, sleep, and use the lavatory,” Cedric answered. His voice was as lifeless
as when he’d been reciting those books. His cloudy eyes slid toward
me, his breathing ragged, even as Bertrand tried to hide the book he’d been
reciting.
“You kept him in here for
two whole days?!” I cried. “Do Mother and Father
know about this?”
Everyone aside from
Bertrand seemed to sense danger, so they kept their faces hidden as they made a
break for the door. Bertrand hollered for them to stay put. I shouted at them as
well, but they scattered like rats. At my order, my guards
took off in pursuit.
“Who were those men,
Bertrand?! I’m
gonna tell Father they were in here!” I said.
“N-no, I have no idea, I
swear it…”
“You’re gonna play dumb?! Of course you know who
they are! If
you won’t tell me, I’ll hunt them all down and—”
“Chuck James, Colin,
Eaton Hanmu, Gavin Firth, Felix, Florence Gregory… Chuck James, Colin, Eaton
Hanmu, Gavin Firth, Felix, Florence Gregory. Chuck James, Colin, Eaton
Hanmu, Gavin Firth, Felix, Florence Gregory…”
Cedric rattled off a list
of names before he could even catch his breath. Bertrand’s jaw dropped. He’d clearly never
intended for Cedric to memorize—or perhaps even know—those names. Cedric must’ve taken note of every single one based on how the men
addressed each other.
Dario placed his hand on
Cedric’s shoulder. Grief twisted his face, tears shining in his eyes. “Those are the names of
the men who were here, right?” he said, evidently unable
to bear the silence any longer. “All of them are former
officials who have already left their positions here at the castle.”
Bertrand glared at him
and yelled, “You bastard!”
The prime minister ignored
him, bowing to me instead. “This is my fault for failing to defy Seneschal Bertrand and protect
Prince Cedric! My deepest apologies, Your Highness!”
The prime minister fell
to his hands and knees and groveled for forgiveness. All the while, Bertrand
begged me to keep this situation quiet. I was too stunned to
respond, so instead I padded toward my brother. I eyed Cedric’s pale
face, the disturbing rumors I’d heard flooding into my mind. One nickname had been the
consistent thread through them all.
Cedric seemed dazed,
completely unaware of what had been done to him. He stared blankly at me,
looking sickly and pitiful. This was our first time meeting outside of ceremonies and official
business. I
could tell he was memorizing my every detail, every single thing about this
encounter.
“Let’s go, Cedric,” I said. “We need to see Father.”
“God’s Child.” That was what the rumors
always said. That
was what they called him.
“Once we’re done, we’ll
go to my room, okay?”
In contrast to this
toddler virtuoso, I was so incredibly average that some doubted my ability to
inherit the throne. Crown prince though I may have been, I was merely a boy who’d just had
his very first conversation with his own brother.
“What would you like me
to do, Elder Brother?”
Even at only four years
old, I was already empty inside. Six days after Bertrand’s
treatment of me came to light, I finally had something like a normal life. That didn’t mean I could
suddenly feel emotion after suppressing it for four years. I’d been used like a
tool, absorbing and spitting out information on command. I didn’t know how to live
as Cedric—as a human being.
“You can do whatever you
want,” Lance told me. “Father agreed to let me take care of you outside of your lessons.”
“Whatever I want?” I
replied. “Well,
I feel most at ease when I am with you.”
I was “God’s Child,” so
they said, and I didn’t speak out of idle flattery. Those were my honest
feelings in that moment.
Lance had started
inviting me to his room regularly after rescuing me from the library, but he
obviously wasn’t quite sure what to do with me yet. All he could do was keep an eye on me
and permit me some free time.
Seneschal Bertrand had
been forced to resign, and a man named Fargus took his place. The shake-up left the
palace somewhat in disarray. Even Dario, who was
relatively new to his post, had to take a leave of absence on the king’s
orders. I
could tell Dario’s heart and mind hadn’t yet recovered from this whole ordeal. He hadn’t been able to
protect me despite witnessing my abuse firsthand, and he had yet to come to
terms with that. Everyone who’d looked after me was gone, leaving only Lance, the one
who’d rescued me.
“Doesn’t it bug you to
just sit there and not do anything?” Lance asked me. “What
about a book? On
second thought, maybe not. Let’s see… What else is there?”
Lance hesitated to give
me another book after I’d been forced to memorize so many. Besides, I could always
recite any one of the dozens of books I knew by heart. Why bother reading
something new? But Lance had little else to offer me. After spending his life
focused on his studies so he could become a good king, he had few outside
interests to share with me.
“If you can’t decide,
then I can’t just sit here and work.”
He closed the book he was
reading, stood, and approached my chair. He loomed over me, but I
wasn’t afraid of him. I didn’t feel much of anything, really. I just stared up at this
distant brother of mine.
“Cedric,” he said, “you
need to fix how you talk before anything else. It’s really important for
royalty to sound polite, but you’re only four years old. I’m your brother, so you
can speak more naturally around me.”
“What is it you mean by
‘natural,’ Elder Brother?”
Lance hesitated, perhaps
perplexed that I would ask such a question. I knew the definition of “natural,” but I was at a loss for how it applied to me.
“I’m saying you can just
be normal. Uh,
let’s see… If you don’t get it, go ahead and just copy how I talk.”
Seeing my lingering
confusion, he set his hand on my shoulder. I held silent and still,
peering into his red eyes. Then I blinked three times and gave a rough nod. “All right, Bro. Gotcha.”
“It’d be best if you made
some friends your own age,” Lance said. “But it’s still too early
for you to be out in society.”
Although my handsome face
and tranquil gaze made me look a few years older, I was still just four. My maturity level probably
made me seem me even younger.
I cocked my head, watching
him, and Lance grimaced. It looked like the topic pained him. Perhaps he didn’t have
many friends of his own. It wasn’t all that surprising, given that he was the crown prince;
people couldn’t really be open around him. On top of that, high
society was far too preoccupied gossiping about “God’s Child” to pay him much
mind at the time of his debut.
“I guess I’d say there’s
one person I want to be friends with,” Lance said.
Though my lips didn’t so
much as twitch, I perked up in curiosity.
“He’s the crown prince of
Chinensis, Yohan Linne Dwight. I’m sure you know who he
is, right?”
I
nodded. The
two crown princes exchanged greetings during official ceremonies, though I
hadn’t seen them act very warmly with each other. Yohan always had an icy
quality to his expression—the complete opposite of Lance.
“He’s the same age as me
and another crown prince,” Lance added. “Someday, I want to have a
real one-on-one conversation with him.”
I rolled that word around
on my tongue—a term Bertrand and the others had drilled into my head. I just couldn’t fathom
why Lance would want to be friends with someone from that country, of all places.
Detecting my unspoken
question, Lance reached up and stroked my hair. “We might be from
different countries, but we’re the two wings that make up the United Hanazuo
Kingdom. I
guess that might still be a bit confusing for you. It’s fine if you don’t get
it. I’ll be
sure to teach you all about it eventually.”
At my murmur of
acceptance, Lance chuckled and mussed up my hair. I blushed, both because
of Lance’s laughter and because no one had ever been affectionate with me
before.
“Listen up, Cedric. This is important.” Lance knelt to look me
dead in the eyes. I nodded once, never breaking eye contact. “Someday, I’m sure you’ll
finally understand just how big this world is. Right now, you can forget
all that. Once
one of us becomes king, I’ll be sure to teach you all about it.”
Lance took my tiny hands
in his. He
was warm, blood pumping with the vitality of his youth.
“When you decide you’re
ready to move forward of your own free will, I promise I’ll support you. So don’t worry—I’ll
always be there for you. If something bad or scary happens, make sure you come to me.”
I blinked my wide eyes as
a shiver ran through me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
“And don’t you forget
that memorizing things isn’t good enough. You have to etch these
words into your heart and think back on them.”
Lance squeezed my hands. We were so close, I could
see my reflection in his eyes. I drew a shallow breath,
but the shaking only got worse, like my body was expelling all the fear I’d
held in for so long.
“We’re brothers,” Lance
went on, speaking slowly and clearly. “You can come to me for
anything, no matter the reason. I’ll be on your side forever.
Things have
been really hard for you, haven’t they? But you’re okay now.”
Something about this last
bit finally broke me. Tears welled in my eyes. All the emotions I’d
locked away welled up and overflowed. I was happy, but the way
Lance spoke to me put all the cruelty I’d suffered into stark relief. I couldn’t hide from what
had happened to me—or how desperately I’d longed for someone to save me.
I had never cried before;
I’d never been allowed to. So I wailed like a baby, all those feelings letting loose at once. Lance wrapped his arms
around me and held me tight.
That was the day our tale
began: “God’s Child” Cedric Silva Lowell and my “ordinary” brother Lance.
One hundred thirty-six
months ago…
“Allow me to introduce
myself once more. I am Lance Silva Lowell, the crown prince of Cercis. I’ve been looking forward
to speaking with you. I think we’ll get along well, Prince Yohan.”
“It’s very nice to meet
you, Prince Lance.”
As the prince of
Chinensis, I had never had a real conversation with Lance of Cercis until we
were both ten years old. He had come to my castle alongside the Cercian king to attend a
meeting. During
all of his previous visits, I’d carefully avoided interacting with him too
much. I
didn’t want to talk to him if it could lead to a dispute between our kingdoms.
Lance had nothing to do
while the kings met, however, so he’d asked to see me. He had been given tours
of the castle and the nearby town before, so he’d seen it all. As his peer and a fellow
crown prince, I was the one responsible for entertaining him.
“Chinensis is as
beautiful as always,” he said. “You’ve got culture and
architecture that we don’t. I never get sick of
taking it all in.”
That’s
rather brazen of him, I
thought. What
Lance really meant was that Chinensis was too different from his country. We were called the United
Hanazuo Kingdom, but we comprised two separate countries: Cercis and Chinensis.
We’d formed
this alliance to survive, but we didn’t share our culture or religion. In fact, we had few
points of relation aside from trade. The citizens mingled
freely, but the royal families of each nation seldom interacted. Lance’s insistence on
talking with me was not only strange but wholly unnecessary.
“Thank you, Prince Lance. But Cercis is also most
beautiful.” I smiled politely, just as bored with this conversation as every other
in my life.
Being prince of Chinensis
was impressive, but at the end of the day I was merely a representative of a
tiny kingdom. People praised me as the young, brilliant heir to the throne, but that
was a position I would inherit regardless of my skill or ability, since I had
no siblings. Everyone in Chinensis believed in me, yet I’d given them very little
reason to do so.
As an isolated country,
Chinensis only ever traded with Cercis—our ally and the other half of the
United Hanazuo Kingdom. Cercis was in the same situation. This was an alliance
based solely on superficial exchanges. Unlike the common folk,
government officials and the royal families still did not quite trust each
other.
Time after time, I found
myself wishing I’d been born as an average citizen rather than having to play
these games the royalty had to engage in. Nothing good came of being
born into royalty. From my earliest years, my life was controlled by adults, and not a
lick of the studying I did changed that. My life was a slow,
steady march toward a distant throne. I studied hard like the
adults wanted and tried to become the perfect crown prince they desired,
knowing that someday I would morph into a complete bore just like them. I despised the country
and the era we lived in. More than that, I detested the person I was forced to become.
In ten years’ time, I
would probably also hate Cercis and our united kingdom, but I would have to
maintain a polite, shallow relationship. I would marry, have
children, and foist the same tedious life I suffered onto them.
If we kept ourselves
closed off from the world, denying contact with other lands, we were bound to
be erased from history. Yet we continued to delude ourselves into thinking our way was best,
clinging tenaciously to that fiction even as it gradually reduced us to a relic
of a bygone time.
The small countries of
Chinensis and Cercis had quarreled frequently in the past. But the moment other
powers targeted us, we formed an alliance to ensure our mutual survival. It was a relationship of
convenience and nothing more.
Almost a century had
passed, and the royal family of Cercis still made no attempt to understand God.
We treated
them with equal contempt. Though we claimed free-flowing trade with each other, the law gave our
king ultimate power, adding that his “authority shall not be scorned in the
name of God.” That last bit was a snide reference to Chinensis, and it was why we
could never be on good terms with the Cercian royal family.
I agreed with this, of
course. After
all, I only ever felt at peace when I was praying. It wasn’t like I had
anyone else to rely on. Wet nurses had raised me; I rarely ever saw my parents. God was the only person I
could reach out to—the only person who understood me. He was the only one in
the whole world who loved me, permitted me more than just my studies, and
guided me down the right path.
God was my salvation. Unlike the corrupt royal
family and government, He protected the innocent Chinensian citizens. I prayed whenever I had
time, offering God my gratitude and asking that He continue allowing the
Chinensian people to live in peace. Strangely, the more I did
this, the better my reputation became.
It was like being caught
up in unending river rapids. Like it or not, I was
going to live the life that everyone wanted of me, grow old, and die. That was the fate I was
born with. That was my
destiny.
“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?! Cercis is really pretty!”
Back in the present,
Prince Lance echoed my empty compliment as though I’d meant it. His eyes sparkled, and he
leaned closer to me. A grin spread wide across his face. I recoiled from his open,
emotive response.
“I’m really honored to
hear you say that,” he said. “If the next king likes
his country, then I know the future’s going to be bright.” He crossed his arms and
nodded knowingly.
I didn’t understand. “‘His’
country?” I
ventured, feeling odd. “I was talking about Cercis…”
“Our country is the
United Hanazuo Kingdom. That includes both Cercis and
Chinensis, right?”
He said it like it was so
obvious, so plain. Few royals were willing to acknowledge the United Hanazuo Kingdom
aloud. They
didn’t want to surrender their nations in name as well. But Lance? He didn’t even hesitate. My mouth fell open—and
the next thing he said had me floored.
He wanted to open up the
country someday.
“Times change,” he said. “Someday, we’ll definitely
need to trade with other countries and exchange information. We can’t just rely on
each other. Who knows? Someone could be out
there developing technology that will leave the whole world awestruck.”
I agreed, but that did not
mean I was on Prince Lance’s side in this. I’d given up on that
future, thinking that it was impossible. He, on the other hand,
had already decided to pursue it.
“First, we have to turn
the United Hanazuo Kingdom into something we can show off to the world,” he
went on. “The
higher-ups are always grumbling at one another now, but once we’re in charge, I want to
change all that.”
Lance paced as he spoke,
meandering into the sunlight. A golden glow fell around
him, like God was shining His light down on this boy in particular.
“If we, as the kings,
make our intentions known, then no one should be able to criticize us. Our citizens commingle
peacefully—and hey, we’re all humans, right? Even if we don’t always
see eye to eye, there’s no reason we can’t share our way of life.”
“Does that mean you want
to ‘share’ the God we follow?” I
asked. “Or
do you intend to be rid of Him?”
It was the first time
Lance, who’d gotten carried away in his dreams, fell silent. Fear trickled into the
back of my mind. Were those glowing aspirations of his nothing more than lies and
stubbornness? Was it ego?
“That would mean putting
you under our control,” he said unabashedly. “It’s a big world out there. People who want to
believe in God can have their faith, whereas other people can devote themselves
to whatever they wish. It’s the people who should choose, not the crown. We should make a point of
accepting each other’s beliefs. That way, there won’t be
any trouble.”
His radiance was far too
bright. Part
of me wanted to shake him and tell him all of that was just a pretty fantasy,
but the strength of his convictions silenced me. How was it that two
princes so close in age and from similarly isolated countries had turned out so
different?
“I want you to teach me
about yourself too,” he said.
His burning-red eyes never
left me. The
heat of that gaze thawed the frozen world I’d lived in for so long.
“I’ll learn everything I
can about you, so learn about me too, okay?” he went on. “We’re going to live together as kings for many, many years. I’m going to need you.”
His open, honest gaze held
mine. He
reached out for me, and something inside me lurched. I’d spent my life cursing
my birth and fate, and his proffered hand felt like a sign from God.
For Lance, this was all so
easy. He
and I were both boys, both born the same year, both living in the United
Hanazuo Kingdom as crown princes. Yet we couldn’t be more
different.
“And I want you to need me
too,” he finished.
It felt like destiny. As if God Himself was
guiding me, I reached out and took the prince’s hand.
One hundred thirty-one
months ago…
“What do you mean, Father? Cercis is one wing of the
United Hanazuo Kingdom. Why can’t I go there?” I asked despite having a
rough idea of the answer.
Father glared at me from
his throne. “You don’t
understand? The Cercians think you’re visiting Lance to spread our religion. You’re embarrassing our
country, and it will strain our alliance.”
I knew it, I thought, but I
clenched my teeth to keep it locked inside. I’d always known that
Father and the government officials feared this. The people of both
Chinensis and Cercis appreciated my visits to Lance, but the same couldn’t be
said of the monarchy. My parents—who should have been my closest allies—and the government
officials were our strongest opponents.
Of course. His precious
dignity. That dignity was seeming more and more worthless as I spent time with
Prince Lance. Our people approved of our budding friendship, yet here my father was
trying to stop it for something as petty as dignity. Resentment simmered in my
gut.
“Yohan, you’re one of the
most brilliant princes in our nation’s history. Don’t be led astray now. We are Chinensis. You can never bow down to
either prince of Cercis—especially the younger one. Don’t get too comfortable
around him. He’s
nothing but trouble for us.”
I was only ten years old,
not yet brave enough to rebuke my father. Instead, I squeezed the
cross hanging around my neck and sent a prayer up to God. I nodded, bowed to
Father, and left.
The thud of the door
closing behind me echoed in my chest.
“You have to come to
Chinensis next time because we can’t look inferior to you.” I could never say that to
Lance. He wasn’t doing this to win our favor.
While I considered
telling him that my official business as the prince was keeping me too busy to
see him, I knew that wouldn’t work either. Our relationship would
crumble if he ever found out I was lying. Unable to deceive Lance,
I had no other choice but to tell the truth—even if it turned him against me.
Lance was my very first
friend. He
showed me the light when I was shrouded in darkness. He’d made my small and
lonesome world so much bigger than I ever thought it could be.
“Our country is the United
Hanazuo Kingdom. That includes both Cercis and Chinensis, right?”
I would never forget
those words. He was the only thing to bring color to my tedious life. The past six months we’d
spent together were unbelievably fun.
He had seen past the
limits of our respective nations and called us true compatriots. All that would probably
come crashing down once I confessed to him. Chinensis had closed the
door on Cercis, and I was stuck on the other side.
Once, I genuinely believed
that the two of us could create a united kingdom. Surely that dream was over
now. I’d
already given up…but as it turned out, he refused to do the same.
“I get it. In that case, I’ll just have to come to Chinensis from now on!”
Lance had come to my
country for his usual visit, and I’d confessed the truth to him while we sat in
a parlor. I’d
ensured ahead of time that the room was empty just in case he felt like yelling
at me. His
frank response was like nothing I’d imagined.
“You’re not mad?” I blurted before I could stop myself. He seemed so unaffected
that I had to ask. Had he
heard me? Did
he understand what I was saying?
“If the king ordered it,
then what else can we do?” he replied, arms crossed. “I’m sorry I got you in
trouble, Prince Yohan.” He sighed and bowed his head to me, chastened, but his eyes were as
fiery as ever. “My father’s also pretty stubborn, so he might tell me to stay away
from Chinensis too. It probably hasn’t happened yet because people aren’t all that
interested in me right now.”
How could he be so
accepting of me? If he had come to me with the same problem, I probably would have
pulled away from him, ready to end our relationship. I was relieved to have
kept my friend, but questions flew through my mind.
“I’ve got it!” Lance slapped his leg and faced me with a grin. He jumped up off the sofa
and circled around the table to stand next to me. “Prince Yohan, don’t you
have that ‘blood oath’ thing in your country?”
The blood oath was a
Chinensian religious ceremony in which two parties mixed their blood to forge
an unbreakable vow. Royals performed it in public, pledging their loyalty both to the
people of their country and God. It was often used for
things like successions, religious vows, weddings, and legal oaths.
Before I could figure out
what this had to do with us, Prince Lance bit into his own thumb. The sound of rending flesh
made me gulp.
“What are you doing?!” I asked, alarmed.
He’d drawn blood. I went for a towel, but the prince stuck his bleeding thumb at me. He didn’t explain himself
even as I leaned away.
“Let’s make a blood oath
right here, my friend!” Lance’s voice echoed through the room, his confident smile warm and
bright. “Someday,
we might not be able to see each other again the way we do now. But that’s only for ten
years or so. Once we’ve taken our thrones, we’ll destroy the walls that keep us
apart. It’ll
be a fresh start…the true beginning for this country of ours.”
No matter how tall and
thick the walls that separated us, Prince Lance just kept on smiling,
determined to scale them or tear them down. His radiance drew me
toward him.
“Promise me, Prince
Yohan,” he said. “No, just Yohan! No
matter what else happens, we’ll become kings—and together, we’ll bring
prosperity to the United Hanazuo Kingdom!”
The fire in his red eyes
burned bright. Blood trickled from his thumb down to his wrist. He grinned at me,
seemingly unaffected.
“I know we can do it! As long as I’ve got you! You and me…” He trailed off.
Despite the
blazing passion in his eyes, I found no delusion or hesitation there—only an
unshakable conviction. “We’re the only two crown princes in this world who exist as one!”
My breath caught in my
throat, and I shuddered. My whole life, I’d always seen my fate as something repulsive. I was born to a farce of
a united kingdom, crown prince of a country split in two. But in this moment, my
destiny suddenly seemed a blessing.
I urged my legs to turn me
away from the prince so I could retrieve a knife from a hidden shelf. Although it was placed
there to protect me from harm, I used the blade to nick my own thumb. Perhaps I was overexcited,
as I didn’t feel any pain at all. Fresh, red blood welled
up on the pad.
“I swear,” I said. “When it comes to this country’s future and the good of the people…”
I approached and pressed
my bloody digit to his. We pushed hard, holding our thumbs against each other until the
bleeding stopped.
Prince Lance…no, Lance’s blood was the same color as mine, even before we mixed it together. Just another bit of proof
that we were both only human.
“I’ll swear it too,
Lance,” I said. “Let’s always look out for each other. If I fail at something,
then you’ll cover for me, and if you fail at something, I’ll cover for you. We’ll always protect the
things we love.”
We separated our bloody
thumbs, taking each other’s hands and squeezing them. The warmth of his palm
pressed against mine. We had no priest, no official vows, no ceremonial dagger. This was a child’s
version of the blood oath.
Yet in that moment, to
the two of us, it was an oath that ran thicker than blood.
One hundred and two months
ago…
“Yohan!
Let me
introduce you to my little brother. This is Cedric, the
second-born prince.”
I met Prince Cedric when
I was twelve and he was eight. He looked even younger
than that, peeking at me from behind Lance. We had greeted each other
at our respective countries’ ceremonies, but this was our first time truly
interacting.
“Cedric, this is the guy I
told you about, Prince Yohan. He’s my best friend. Together, we’re gonna
make the United Hanazuo Kingdom thrive.”
Cedric took a bit more
interest in me after this explanation.
“Hello there, Prince
Cedric,” I said. “My name is Yohan Linne Dwight. I’m good friends with
your big brother.”
The young prince could
have been five instead of eight. When I offered a
handshake, he frowned before he finally accepted it.
“I’m Cedric Silva Lowell. It is an honor and a
blessing to make your acquaintance. May you and my brother,
Prince Lance, guide the United Hanazuo Kingdom to a future of eternal
prosperity.”
Despite his anxious
demeanor, he spoke eloquently. Still, his voice was
curiously flat, like he was reading off a page. It called to mind the
rumors I’d heard about this “God’s Child.” He possessed the power of
perfect recall, like a god. It was an uncanny
ability, but judging by the way Lance stroked his hair, the older prince seemed
quite used to it.
“You don’t have to be so
formal. Yohan’s
my friend, remember?” Lance said with a smile.
Cedric’s gaze fell to his
feet. A scowl
twisted his mouth. “Bro said I had to come, so I did. I never wanted to come to
this dumb country.”
Lance delivered a swift,
loud smack to Cedric’s head. The little prince yelped,
clawing at the site of impact. Lance looked so much more
like a father than a big brother in this moment, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yohan!
You should be mad
at him!”
“No, I don’t mind,” I
assured him. “Prince Cedric’s reaction is correct, actually. You’re the odd one out here.”
Royals only interacted
publicly and rarely mingled outside of events where they could be seen
together. That
was perfectly normal to all of us. Lance visited us more
than any other member of Chinensian royalty in history.
Lance balked. “What do you mean, ‘odd’?!”
I smiled in lieu of an
explanation, letting him stew in his outrage.
Lance had invited Cedric
to join us in Chinensis many times now, but he always refused. Today was the first time
he’d agreed to visit, yet the younger prince already looked like he wanted to
flee. He’d
drifted away from Lance and clambered up a nearby tree.
“He’s been like this a
lot lately,” Lance told me. “Once he learned that it’s hard to get to him when he’s in a tree, he
started climbing them more and more. His teachers don’t know
what to do with him, since he always skips out on studying. I try to tell him it’s
dangerous, but he never listens!” He stared up at Cedric,
rubbing his temples in exasperation. When he scowled like
that, his face aged well beyond its years.
He said Cedric had
recently given up on his studies altogether, instead fleeing from his teachers.
What began
as simple laziness had transformed into actual escapes. Sometimes Lance had to
catch him and drag him back. As he told it, it was
happening all too frequently.
“Can I try talking to
Prince Cedric?” I asked.
Lance frowned, eyes
flitting back and forth between me and his brother. “Are you sure you want to
do that alone?”
“I am,” I said with a smile. “Wait for us in my room. I’ll be sure to bring him
back.”
Worry lingered in Lance’s
crimson gaze, but eventually he agreed. “Don’t do anything
dangerous!” he
barked at Cedric in the tree. Then he took his guards
and headed for the castle.
I watched Lance disappear
before letting out a sigh. Only he could leave the second-born prince, his beloved little brother,
with a Chinensian prince. Anyone
else would—
“You’re not gonna brainwash
me, Prince Yohan,” Cedric said from above. When I looked up, he was
glaring at me from a high branch.
“I have no intention of
brainwashing you, Prince Cedric. Our god’s teachings only
apply to this country. Even though I want people to understand God, I would never force Him on
another person. Do you
want proof? I haven’t brainwashed Lance, have I?” I beamed at him.
Cedric gazed off in the
direction Lance had gone before turning back to me. “Of course you wouldn’t do
that to my bro or any ordinary person,” he said. “But I’m different. I don’t even feel alive in
this country.”
I knew what he was trying
to say. Cedric
was unique; thanks to his innate ability, he would never forget anything he
learned. Furthermore,
Cercian royalty and government officials didn’t care for us Chinensians. They nervously awaited
the day when we tried to forcibly convert the citizens of Cercis.
“We don’t see God as
someone who controls us,” I went on. “He forgives, protects,
and at times reaches out to us in salvation.”
My words were a bit
clumsy; I had only recently developed this way of thinking about God. Lance had changed a lot
about how I looked at the world. Prince Cedric covered his
ears and glared at me, suspicious. I wondered if he would
still hear me through his palms.
When he saw that I’d
stopped talking, he lowered his hands from his ears and grabbed the branch to
balance himself. “Is that all?”
Hoping he might be ready
to listen this time, I tried again. “I know that you’re a very
kind person, Prince Cedric.” He squinted at me,
scrutinizing. “You’re doing all this for Lance, right?”
I offered no further
explanation, but the way his eyes widened told me he understood—and that I’d
surprised him. He sat there with his mouth hanging open.
“I get it,” I went on. “I’ve heard stories about
the two of you. But I have no intention of telling Lance your motivations for these
‘misbehaviors.’” I stepped closer to Cedric’s tree and leaned against it. When I looked up, I saw
him staring down at me from his branch.
“You better not,” he
said, which meant my assumption was correct.
Cedric fell silent, lost
in thought. While I didn’t agree with his reasoning, I knew he’d been forced to
walk a path others had laid out for him for some time. If I were in his shoes,
I’d probably feel the same way.
“Bro’s never hated me
before,” he said, his voice so soft it was nearly stolen by the wind.
Had I not been directly
below him, I might not have heard him at all. I might have assumed he
was speaking only to himself, but something told me he meant those words for
me.
“I
know. That’s
just the sort of guy he is,” I responded just as quietly.
Yes, I knew just as well
as Cedric that Lance would never hate him. He simply wasn’t like that. And that open nature was
how we’d become such close friends as well.
“Bro’s the crown prince,”
Cedric said. “I’m sure he’ll be an amazing king someday, way better than Father…and
way better than I would be too.”
“He’s kind,” he said. “He’s accepting of
everyone, even me…and he doesn’t discriminate against Chinensians like you.”
Cedric’s replies emerged
tentatively, like he was expecting me to explode at him any moment. I could tell how on edge
he must have felt in coming here.
“I’ve tortured him for so
long.”
Those heavy, painful words
fell from his mouth all at once. When I raised my head, he
was still staring straight down at me, but he bit his lip to keep from crying. For the first time, he
truly looked like a little boy.
The government officials
in Cercis had been trying to bypass the traditional inheritance of the throne
to make Cedric, aka “God’s Child,” the king instead of Prince Lance. They even mocked Lance in
private, calling him “ordinary.” The rumors were pervasive
enough to reach me here. Early on in our friendship, I’d asked Lance if he hated Cedric because
of it.
“Of course I don’t hate him. He’s never done anything
to hurt me.”
He was so blunt, so
earnest, not a whiff of deception or bitterness in his tone.
“If you’ve heard rumors
about us, then you know my nickname, right?” Cedric said. “Tell
me, Prince Yohan. Do you hate
me? Do I disgust you? Do you think I’m repulsive?”
The little prince seemed
on the verge of breaking down. I had to wonder if he’d
agreed to come here just to ask me these questions. In this moment, I
appreciated that he was indeed Lance’s brother. No one but these two
dared cut right to the heart of the matter.
I reached a hand up to
Cedric. I
couldn’t quite touch him, but I smiled and offered it anyway.
“I don’t hate you,” I
assured him. “I don’t think you’re disgusting or repulsive at all.” I squeezed the cross
around my neck with my free hand and made a vow to him. “Lance told me he loves
you and that you’re an irreplaceable member of his family. He even told me that
you’re a kind person. That’s why I believe you.”
Fire came to life in
Cedric’s eyes. Then the tears spilled free at last, streaking down his cheeks. He barely even blinked as
he stared down at me, the large teardrops landing on my face. We were more alike than
I’d previously assumed. That was why I, not Lance, had uncovered Cedric’s true motivations. I knew what was inside
his heart.
I opened my hands to
catch his tears. Keeping my eyes on this boy, with his golden hair sparkling in the
dappled sunlight, I spoke firmly: “You’re Lance’s little brother, and there’s
no one more suited for the throne than he is.”
My words only made him
cry harder. The tears rained down on me as he curled up to bury his face in his
knees and wail. He looked even younger than his meager eight years then, or maybe
“innocent” was the right word. He’d been exposed to the
motives and machinations of so many adults, compelled to absorb whatever
information they foisted on him. Only Lance let this boy
be a child again.
“Come down, Cedric. I swear on God’s name
that I won’t force you to do anything.”
Cedric grabbed his shirt
to blow his nose into it, wiped the tears from his face, and slowly climbed
down the tree. He hung his head so that I wouldn’t see him crying, but his shoulders
kept on shaking. When he reached the ground, I knelt down and offered him my pinkie. He rubbed at his eyes
again, eyes dancing between my face and finger.
“Even if Lance… Even if
no one in this world sees it, just know that I do. I see that you’re kind
and valuable, and that you’ve chosen a path filled with thorns,” I said.
His life already had more
than its fair share of painful experiences. Maybe one day he’d come
to resent his determination to keep marching forward. Maybe his ego was too big
for him to see his own powerlessness. Either way, we were the same.
We both
chose Lance instead of the future that adults had tried to force on us.
“No matter what path you
take, I’ll be on your side, even if no one else is,” I said. “I’ll share whatever path
you believe is right, and I’ll believe in it too. The three of us will turn
Hanazuo into a wonderful country.”
Cedric was still rubbing
his eyes. He
nodded again and again, as though he couldn’t speak. The little prince then
raised his head, his face all red and puffy, and gently wrapped his pinkie
around mine. We squeezed our pinkies together, sealing a promise between us.
It was two months and
three days after my ninth birthday.
“Oh!
Prince Lance,
Prince Cedric. Do you have business with Chinensis?”
“Greetings, Lord Agee,”
Lance said calmly. “Yes, we planned to meet with Prince Yohan today.”
I hid behind him, peeking
out to glare at the man.
“Is that so?” Lord
Agee said. “We
just happened to have a meeting here as well.”
He sounded far too happy
about that. In fact, he sounded far too happy about the “coincidence” of bumping
into us. I
didn’t like this guy at all.
Adults had never stopped
trying to win me to their side. A few of Lord Agee’s men
tried to sneak surreptitious looks at me even as they chatted with my brother. I knew that the rumors
about “God’s Child” were playing in their minds.
It was then that Prince
Yohan arrived with his guards, wearing a gentle smile. “Hey there, Lance, Cedric. I’ve been waiting.”
Prince Yohan was the same
age as Lance, and I’d heard he was one of the smartest Chinensian royal family
members in history. He’d even figured out why I was avoiding my studies the very same day
he met me. Not
even Lance or the adults in the castle had sorted that out. And yet, I’d been
cautious around him, sure that my nickname would offend someone from such a
deeply religious country. Prince Yohan assured me that wasn’t the case.
“You’re Lance’s little
brother, and there’s no one more suited for the throne than he is.”
Prince Yohan was the
first person who saw me as Lance’s little brother and not merely as “God’s
Child.” That
made me almost too happy to bear.
“Sorry, Yohan,” Lance said. “It looks like your
visitors got here at the same time.”
“It’s fine,” Prince Yohan
replied. “I
must have mixed up the schedule.” He had his guards lead
Lord Agee inside, then invited us to his room. After Lance, Prince Yohan
was my greatest savior. He knew what made Lance so great and understood what I was trying to
accomplish on my own.
“Cedric,” he said, “I
heard you ran away from one of your teachers again. Ever the little speedster,
aren’t you?”
Lance groaned. “It’s no laughing matter, Yohan. He’s smarter than
everyone, but he’s wasting that talent if he won’t learn anything.”
I secretly wished I could
waste all my “talent” until it was gone. Lance chased me down when
I ran from my studies, and when he found me, I had to go back or risk making
him look the fool. I always went back, but it meant more mindless repetition under the
adults’ watchful eyes.
“Why not make a
distinction, at least?” Prince Yohan suggested. “There’s some information
that will be of use to you, like history, laws, etiquette, culture, and—”
“Don’t care,” I cut in,
earning me another scolding from Lance.
Although Prince Yohan
said he would support my choices, he kept trying to convince me to not abandon
my studies. Just
one month and ten days ago, he told me, “If you
don’t want adults knowing what you’ve learned, why don’t I start teaching you
in secret?”
I refused, of course. I could live just fine
without studying; I didn’t want to up my knowledge for no reason at all. Thanks to my ability, I
learned things constantly without even trying, regardless of whether I wanted
to or not. Besides,
I already had things like Cercian history and law in my brain. The histories of other
countries were in there too, since Bertrand had been making me read about them
until I was four. If I memorized even more stuff, the rumors about “God’s Child” would
spread all over again.
“Just forget it. Tell me about Chinensis,” I said.
Prince Yohan half smiled,
half scowled at my usual demand. Lance sat next to me,
resting his chin on his hands, and he smiled as well.
Ever since I got to know
Prince Yohan, I started coming to Chinensis with Lance. I’d been told all kinds
of terrible things about Chinensis back when the adults were brainwashing me. They called Chinensians
religious nuts, crazy, stubborn, and small-minded. They said Chinensians
were my enemies, that they’d look down on me with contempt because of my
nickname. Because
of my abilities to absorb information, they ordered me to never look outside
the carriage when I traveled to Chinensis for formal events.
Even after Bro rescued
me, I was scared that just by stepping foot in Chinensis I would take on their
values. After
all, that was exactly what had happened when those adults treated me like a
tool.
But once Bro introduced
me to Prince Yohan, I braved longer and longer looks out the window during my
carriage rides to Chinensis. The buildings were
different from ours, but the people were the same. I spotted plenty of
churches, which I assumed served Chinensis’s religion, but none of the disgust
or fear I anticipated rose up in me at the sight. They were actually kind
of pretty. It
was hard to believe I’d been scared of such a pleasant sight all this time. That made me feel like I
couldn’t trust anything the adults in Cercis ever told me.
The first time I asked
Prince Yohan to teach me about Chinensis, both he and Lance were shocked. They must not have
expected someone who always ran from his studies to ask for a lesson. The thing was, I trusted
the two of them way more than any adult.
Lance granted his
permission, and Prince Yohan led me to the sofa. He asked what I wanted to
learn about, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I’d already heard of his
country’s faith, customs, blood oath ceremony, and conflicts with Cercis. It was all so fascinating
that I could devour it all over again. The greater the
difference between Cercis and Chinensis, the more I craved the information.
I glanced around, trying
to think of what to ask him, when my eyes landed on Prince Yohan’s chest. “What’s that pendant?”
He lifted the cross
hanging around his neck. I’d spotted the same shape on their churches and elsewhere around the
country. Prince
Yohan had once explained that it was a symbol of their faith, but when I asked
if wearing the symbol was part of the faith, he only grinned at me.
“It’s not something you
absolutely have to wear,” he said, somewhat bashfully. “It’s just… Yes, I think
I’d call it a charm.”
He removed the pendant so
I could see it up close: a simple white cross. Chinensis was rich in
minerals, but this was a plain pendant with no added decoration.
“When you wear the
symbol, it means God is with you,” he said. “He offers us divine
protection. At least, that’s what I hope for when I wear it. It’s supported me
throughout my life.”
“God has no shape,” he
continued. “This
is just a symbol, not the real God. Our faith forbids idolatry.”
I had no idea how they
believed in something without form. Nevertheless, I was
enamored with their devotion to one thing above all else. That part, at least, I
could understand. In fact, I was jealous of Prince Yohan for having both God and Lance to
believe in. We’d caught Prince Yohan praying during plenty of our visits. He never truly fulfilled
the image of a “religious nut” that adults back in Cercis tried to sell me,
though.
“We pray to God, sing to
God, protect His teachings, and thank Him,” Prince Yohan said. “That’s what our faith
consists of, just as I explained to you before. That’s probably why we
want to be closer to Him and do whatever we can in His name.”
Prince Yohan let his cross
fall back onto his chest. The sunlight filtering through the window outlined the simple white
shape.
“It’s not something that
can be forced,” he added. “But we’d all be very happy if you and Lance accepted our way of life.”
Prince Yohan ruffled my
hair, his gaze sliding over to Lance. My brother nodded, and I
mimicked the gesture, accepting Prince Yohan’s peaceful smile.
Prince Yohan, Lance, and
I spent as much time together as we could that day, but eventually someone
summoned Prince Yohan away on business. Lance left to use the
lavatory, and for a while I was alone.
I’d grown bored of
counting each tick of the clock. Guards stood outside the
room, but I wasn’t about to call them and make them hunt down my brother and
the Chinensian prince. Besides, I didn’t like interacting with people aside from those two. I was more at home here
in Prince Yohan’s room, even if I was all by myself.
I rose from the sofa and
wandered to the window. Off in the distance, I could just make out the spot where Lance and I
had disembarked from our carriage. Beyond that lay the town
itself, a beautiful sprawl of homes and churches and shops. I never got sick of
gazing out at Chinensis and all its lovely white buildings.
“We might be from
different countries, but we’re the two wings that make up the United Hanazuo
Kingdom.”
Bro had said those words
to me four years, ten months, and twenty-eight days ago. I finally felt like I was
starting to understand them. Our towns, faiths, and
lifestyles were different, but we both belonged to wonderful countries. I didn’t understand why
the adults couldn’t grasp something so obvious.
“They’re
still taking too long.”
Annoyance tugged at me. I never used to get
impatient, not even when adults forced me to sit and study for hours on end. If I was sitting next to
Lance, I could do nothing all day and never feel bored. But lately, this new
restlessness had been a persistent itch at the back of my mind.
I left Prince Yohan’s
room, and the guards followed. I told them I was only
going to the lavatory, but I took the longest route I could to search for
Prince Yohan and Bro. The guards tried to address me, but I ignored them.
We passed a staircase
that led into the great hall, and I spotted some officials from our palace at
the bottom—Lord Agee and his men among them. They huddled in the
shadows, speaking quietly. Their creepy smiles stirred something in me, and I yearned to know what
they were whispering and sneering about. If I could just see their
mouths moving, I could read their lips and understand most of their
conversation by comparing it to my memory of how they spoke. I watched in careful
concentration.
“I can’t believe it… Why
do Prince Lance and Prince Cedric have to keep visiting a place like this?”
“As God’s Child, Prince
Cedric could harm his education by coming here. Whatever would we do if
he began to spew these zealots’ gobbledygook?”
“The rumors say that even
Prince Lance has been won over by Prince Yohan’s smooth talk. Perhaps having God’s Child
as a younger brother has caused him to seek comfort in a foreign god.”
“No, Prince Lance isn’t
such a gentle soul. I wish he’d be as guarded as Prince Cedric…”
“Just what is Prince
Yohan up to? He keeps inviting our princes here over and over again. He looks so delicate, but
he’s shameless. He may be well known for his brilliance, but the fact that he’s trying
to get close to God’s Child…”
The longer I read their
lips, the worse I felt. These kinds of people were the exact reason I’d put “God’s Child” to
death.
It all started when I
climbed a tree. Nine days before my eighth birthday, I saw a tree on my walk back to my
room. It
triggered a memory of a trip Lance and I once took into town, where we saw
children playing. I imitated the children in my memory and the way they’d climbed trees,
placing my hands and feet exactly as they had. Soon I could climb as
easily as they did.
When Lance came home and
discovered me doing something so dangerous, he launched into a lecture. What happened next was even more shocking. He asked who taught me
how to climb trees in the first place, and I reminded him we’d seen those
children in town doing it. That was when Lance came up with a theory: “Maybe
it’s not just memory and information. Maybe
you can imitate techniques you see too.”
Hearing that, all the
hair on my body stood on end. He tried to calm me down,
saying it was just a theory and I shouldn’t worry. His reassurances didn’t
loosen the knot that had formed in my gut.
“I’m gonna have to work
even harder so that I measure up to you.”
Those words were a dagger
to my heart. The more I learned, the more pressure I put on my brother. I ruined the things he’d
spent hours, days, weeks, months, years learning. He was working so hard,
but all of it was going to waste because of me. That was when I decided to
stop studying and learning things. As long as I didn’t read
or listen to my teachers, I could avoid obtaining more knowledge. I wouldn’t have to worry
about surpassing Lance and making things harder for him.
“What’s the matter, Your
Highness?!” a
soldier called out to me.
I’d been standing frozen
beside the staircase, staring at Lord Agee and his men. The group jumped as much
as I did at the soldier’s shout, finally noticing me above them.
“It’s Prince Cedric!” said
one.
“We’re about to head home
to Cercis,” said another.
Brazenly, they ascended
the staircase to get to me. I stepped away, but they
just grinned and commented on the perfect timing.
What’s wrong with that? I thought, but I could
guess the answer after eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Yes, I’m concerned about
that too. Please
be very careful around him. You see, Chinensis
is…quite different from our country. Don’t you agree?”
I hated them. All they ever did was project their ideology and ulterior motives on
me. They
tried to weigh me down with their negativity so I would see the world through
the same twisted lens they did.
With nowhere to run, I
stood there silently and let the adults jabber away. They feigned concern for
me with the same mouths that had insulted Lance and Prince Yohan.
“We’re just worried about
you, Your Highness, as God’s Child—”
“What the hell have you
ever done for me?!” My voice came out deeper than I expected, every word sharp and cutting.
Their
not-so-innocent smiles faltered, melting into grimaces.
“Prince Yohan has never
forced Bro and me to do anything! He’s a great prince who
loves his people, just like my brother! So why the hell are you
acting like I can trust you more than Prince Yohan? I don’t remember you
doing anything more than saying hello to me.”
Lord Agee had greeted me
at ceremonies and nowhere else. He’d also interacted with
Bertrand fifty-one times after I turned two, all the while keeping quiet about
my “unique” education.
Then there was Lord Butcher. He, too, had only greeted
me at ceremonies and interacted with Bertrand fifty-one times after I turned
two years old. He kept his mouth shut about my “unique” education.
Lord Nepenthes. We’d only ever greeted each other once, including at ceremonies. He had learned about my
“unique” education when I was three and said nothing about it.
Lord Hallisay. Lord
Johnson. Lord Hambrough. Every last one of them had
only ever greeted me at ceremonies. They’d all witnessed my
“unique” education and never told a soul.
“Tell me right now why
you think you get to act like we’re so close,” I snapped, anger contorting my
expression. I lashed out at them, gripping my shirt till my knuckles went white. “How can you pretend this
is normal while you frame my brother’s close friend? Tell me why you think I
should prioritize your wants over Bro and Prince Yohan!”
How dare they cozy up to
me when they never cared about me! How dare they speak ill
of someone I care about!
The men went pale, mouths
flapping as they struggled to dredge up excuses. Until now, I’d never once
talked back to an adult like this. I’d always stayed quiet
and run away, but for the first time in my life, I was determined to stand my
ground.
I’m the second-born prince. Bro chased away that
seneschal when he was only eight, and I can do that too. Right here and now! I’m a member of the royal
family, and that comes with power, even if I cast away my title as “God’s
Child” and abandon my talents. I’ll still have power
over men like this because I am royalty.
I’m a prince just like Bro. I’m a prince! I’m—
I spun around at the
sound of that voice. Prince Yohan was right behind me, watching me with concern. He asked what was wrong. I glanced back at Lord
Agee and his men, whose eyes had widened with panic. I yearned to tell Prince
Yohan everything, to expose these cowards right here, but it would only make
more trouble for Lance.
“Nothing,” I lied. “They just wanted to say hi.”
The men’s relief was
palpable, and it pissed me off. I didn’t do this to help
them. Before
they could say another word, I grabbed Prince Yohan’s hand.
“Bro never came back from
the bathroom, so let’s go search together…Big Bro,” I said, loud enough for
Lord Agee and his cronies to hear.
“‘Big Bro’…?” Prince Yohan repeated, just as shocked as they were.
“I trust Prince Yohan as
much as I trust my brother,” I declared. “So I’m gonna call him
‘Big Bro.’ It’s
a special nickname I’m using just for him.”
I was still gripping
Prince Yohan’s—or rather, just Yohan’s—hand as I spoke these words directly at
those men. They
exchanged confused glances, eyes wandering like they weren’t sure where to
look.
“I’ll never forgive
anyone who talks bad about Bro or Big
Bro,” I declared. “Sure, ‘God’s Child’ may not exist anymore…”
I pointed at each of them
slowly, announcing their names from Lord Agee to Lord Hambrough. They flinched as I
addressed them, shocked that I remembered their names.
“That doesn’t mean I
won’t remember you, though.”
In fact, I would never
forget. Just
like Lord Bertrand, their faces, words, and everything else about them were
burned into my brain. If they caused any more trouble, they would not get another chance. Which they clearly
understood, judging by their pale faces and the tremor that had come over the
whole sorry lot.
That was all I needed from
them. I
tugged on Yohan’s hand and began to run back toward his room. He stayed silent the whole
time, but once we made it there safe and sound, he finally spoke.
“I was there before they
spotted you.”
He must have caught even
more of their slander than I had. Perhaps he’d been a
little closer to them than I was, so he’d heard them instead of having to read
their lips. Yohan certainly seemed shaken by all the insults and insinuations. He said he’d wanted to run
over to me when he saw me approach, but he decided to stay hidden so as not to
make the situation worse. He also remarked on my swearing, but I ignored it. I could never admit to
something as pathetic as wanting to look cooler and stronger in front of the
adults.
“Why didn’t you say
anything to them sooner?” I
asked him. “This is your country, Big Bro. You could’ve easily
punished them or something.”
“I’m used to hearing stuff
like that,” he said, smiling awkwardly.
Those jerks must have
been speaking ill of him for years. Anger surged through me
all over again. I offered to tell Lance, who could bring the matter back to Cercis and
get them all in trouble, but Yohan shook his head.
“It’s fine. I only have to deal with it for a few more years. Right now, the time I
spend with you and Lance means a lot more to me than whatever those men might
say. I
don’t want to upset the relationship between our countries.” He squeezed my hand. “You know, I haven’t
gotten to hold your hand since Lance introduced us.”
“A few more years? What
do you mean?”
Yohan furrowed his brow. “Lance didn’t tell you? We made a promise. Once we become kings, we’re going to break down the invisible walls
that separate our countries and make the United Hanazuo Kingdom an amazing
place.” He
flashed a brilliant, earnest smile, adding, “That’s why it’s going to be okay.”
Lance and Yohan had made
a promise. I
was a little upset that Lance never told me about it, but this promise filled
me with hope that easily overwhelmed the disappointment. The two of them would one
day stand shoulder to shoulder and lead the country together, freeing the
people from their restraints and tensions. But what would that mean
for my life? What would I be to them when that happened?
“By the way, Cedric…are
you going to keep calling me that? No one’s watching us
anymore.”
I cocked my head. Prince Yohan was my “big bro” now. Why would I call him
anything else, even in private?
When I told him as much,
he pressed his fingers to his forehead. “You really are Lance’s
brother,” he remarked with a sigh.
Eventually, Bro finally
returned to the room as well.
The moment Lance saw us,
he cried out in a panic, “Cedric! Where’d you go?!”
“Just when I thought I
could finally leave you alone,” he said, exasperated. “What in the world
happened while I was gone?”
Yohan and I exchanged
glances.
“You know what, Bro?” I said, still holding
Yohan’s hand. “I can’t wait to see the country you and Big Bro lead together.”
I tugged Yohan’s hand. He smiled shyly, then
offered his other hand to Lance. My brother shook his head,
then grinned at himself and ruffled my hair.
“In that case, I’m gonna
have to keep improving!” he said with a hearty laugh. “‘Big Bro,’ huh? That means Yohan and I are basically brothers!” He patted Yohan on the back. “That soft side you’ve
got always surprises me….”
“I guess we really are brothers,” said Yohan, beaming down at me.
That day, I received a
gift that was more than I could’ve asked for. The hope my brothers
inspired in me felt like a dream. I was the luckiest little
brother in the world.
“Here, Cedric. This
is for you.”
Twenty days had passed
since I started calling Yohan “Big Bro.” He led us to his room just
like he did during all of our visits. As soon as the guards
closed the door behind us, he went to a drawer and brought out a small box.
“My birthday was two
months and—I mean, it was a while ago,” I said.
I’d been trying not to
recite pinpoint numbers out loud ever since I killed God’s Child. Yohan insisted that he
hadn’t gotten the date wrong, even though it was long past my birthday. Lance looked just as
confused as I did.
“You really shouldn’t
spoil him, Yohan,” Lance said.
“I have one for you too,
Lance.” With
a chuckle, Yohan retrieved another small box and handed it to my wide-eyed
brother.
I asked to open mine, and
he gave me permission right away. I ripped off the wrapping
paper and opened the box to find a cross pendant inside. It was identical to the
one Yohan always wore. It was enshrined in my impeccable memory, but I still couldn’t believe
it. I
glanced over at Yohan’s cross to confirm and noticed Lance doing the same.
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to convert you to our faith,” Yohan said. He waved both hands and
smiled, but I couldn’t tell if he was joking.
“I know that. But why
these?” Lance asked.
“Because Cedric started
calling me ‘Big Bro.’”
Lance and I both furrowed
our brows in confusion. I didn’t get how the two things were related at all. Yohan removed his pendant
and held it up in the air.
“Your crosses are
specially made, just like mine. There are only three of
them in the whole wide world.”
My eyes nearly popped out. I examined the three
crosses more closely. If what Yohan said was true, it meant our pendants had been custom-made
to match his.
“I wanted to give you
proof,” Yohan went on. “Cedric, as long as you continue to be a kind person, we’ll always be
brothers—no matter who you are.”
I went still. He was saying I didn’t have to be God’s Child, and that he’d be my
brother regardless as to whether I took the nickname.
Yohan gently removed my
pendant from the box, held it up, and smiled. Then he hung it around my
neck while I stood there in a daze. I rarely ever wore
jewelry or accessories outside of official ceremonies, but the cross now rested
on my chest.
“I pray that our God will
be with you and Lance when I cannot. The cross represents my
hope that He will protect you.”
He stroked my hair even
more gently than Lance usually did. A lump formed in my throat. I bit my lip, but it
didn’t staunch the swell of emotion rising inside me, so I leapt into Yohan’s
arms. He
yelped in surprise, but held me tightly after a moment.
“Cedric…shouldn’t this be
embarrassing to a nine-year-old prince? You’re still so young.”
I didn’t care, and I
didn’t loosen my hold on him. I was way too happy to
think about things like that. The luxurious riches I’d
received at my official birthday party didn’t even come close to the gift he’d
just given me. It was my first time receiving a “promise” in physical form. Even if I, clumsy as I
was, lost everything, I would still have Lance and Yohan no matter what. Suddenly, the prospect
didn’t seem so scary.
“I know that princes from
Cercis can’t exactly wear such things in public,” Yohan said. “Instead, you can set
them aside until the day that the United Hanazuo Kingdom is truly one—”
“No, I’m going to wear
mine right now.”
Yohan and I both whirled
to Lance at this bold declaration. I was about to ask if
that meant I could wear mine too, but Yohan let out a shout.
“What are you saying, Lance?! I’m glad you feel that
way, but you can’t! What if people start to spread terrible rumors about—”
“If I keep it under my
clothes, then no one will see it, y’know? No one would presume to
tear off a prince’s clothes.”
Lance put on his pendant
despite Yohan’s attempt at stopping him. He tucked the cross into
his shirt and told me to do the same if I planned on wearing it. I draped the cross around
my neck and tucked it away with the utmost care.
“But won’t your maids see
it when they change your clothes?” Yohan sounded so
uncharacteristically flustered, I couldn’t help but gawk at him.
“They’ll think I’m trying
to convert you for certain this time! You know what? I
take it all back. Return it!”
Yohan snatched at the
pendant, but Lance easily sidestepped him. I backed away as well.
“I’ve already accepted
your faith, from the United Hanazuo Kingdom’s perspective,” Lance said. “In fact, I want people to
know my intentions in this regard. I won’t show it off, but
I don’t care if some people spot it.”
Yohan slouched, his
shoulders dragged down by defeat. “What if you get banned
from Chinensis because of this?”
“That’s fine. It’s why we took our oath, right? Cedric might be lonely if
we can’t visit anymore, though.”
“It’s totally fine!” I
chimed in. “It’s
proof of my promise with Big Bro! I can be patient if I have
to!” I had
to make sure Yohan knew I was in complete agreement.
“Oh, you learned how to
be patient?” Lance asked
me.
“Don’t get so cocky,”
Yohan said.
They were joking, but I
was completely serious about this.
The two of them let the
matter drop that day, but afterward, they both continually warned me to keep
the pendant secret. If anyone asked about it, I was to tell them I had Lance’s permission
to wear it.
That cross pendant proved
Yohan and I would never be apart. It was so precious to me
that I didn’t care who might see it and ask questions.
“Hey, did you hear what
Prince Lance and Prince Cedric are wearing?”
“Yeah!
Some people
out in town said they saw the princes with it on!”
It was proof that Lance,
Yohan, and I were brothers.
“Did you hear about the
crown prince of Cercis?!”
“I saw it myself. We went to visit my wife’s family in Cercis, and he just happened to be
nearby. He
came down for an observation.”
A symbol of faith to the
people of Chinensis.
Two months and six days
had passed since the rumors started. They’d already spread all
the way to Chinensis.
“The princes of Cercis
are wearing symbols of our faith!”
“I heard a rumor that they
were a present from Prince Yohan.”
We defied the citizens’
expectations.
“Our country finally has
a royal family that accepts Chinensis.”
“At long last, there’s
royalty that accepts our Chinensian faith!”
“If they’re really
presents from Prince Yohan, then the princes being friends must be true. This could mean an end to
all the fighting.”
We received an
overwhelming response.
“This must be the work of
God’s Child, Prince Cedr—”
“No, I heard it was
Prince Lance’s decision! You never hear rumors about ‘God’s Child’ anymore, right?”
“I did hear that Prince
Lance really looks after his little brother. What a kind prince he is.”
Lance, Yohan, and I
hadn’t anticipated any of it.
“I heard that Prince Lance
is…”
“Prince Lance is trying
to change this country with his little brother.”
“The Cercian crown prince
is friends with Prince Yohan!”
“Prince Yohan and Prince
Lance are trying to help others understand our faith.”
“Did you hear what Prince
Lance did?”
“It was all the work of
Prince Lance!”
“Guess what Prince Yohan
did!”
“It’s all thanks to
Prince Yohan!”
“They’ll be the next
leaders to guide us as the United Hanazuo Kingdom!”
It was as though we truly had received God’s blessing.
Chapter 4:
The Companions and the War
“CONFIRM THE SAFETY of the inner rooms! If you find a soldier,
bring them outside the castle or to me!”
I, the firstborn prince
of Freesia, raised my voice as the Cercian castle collapsed around me.
“Please retreat at once,
Your Highness!” a knight called to me, but I ignored him. How could I possibly just
run away and let people die?
Gilbert had announced the grave news just earlier: “The ambush has resulted
in the possible collapse of the southern castle tower. Please take shelter at once…”
By the time I teleported
there, the tower had already partially caved in on itself. The knights scattered,
confused and terrified. Even I could barely move without using my teleportation.
“Check the first-floor
entrance!” I ordered. “The door may be jammed,
trapping people inside!”
The knights leapt into
action, kicking open the broken door. A few men jumped through a
hole in the floor to reach the first level.
If the castle was being
guarded as planned, then only two people should remain inside. Gilbert assured me he
hadn’t changed the evacuation plan for the castle guards in the southern tower.
I had no
choice but to believe him and rely on his knowledge of where everyone should be
in this tangled mess.
“We’ve found someone in
front of the entrance!”
Reports came from the
lower floors and the opposite end of the hallway. I teleported to the first
floor, arriving behind the trapped soldiers. With a touch to their
backs, I evacuated them before they even realized I was there. I thanked the knights and
told them to go find the last missing person.
Broken chips rained down
on us from the crumbling ceiling. I teleported to the upper
floor to check the progress of the evacuation. I gritted my teeth when a
knight told me the inner rooms were empty.
The knight and I spun
toward the scream. He reacted faster than me, taking off in a dash and flinging open a
door. I raced after him. We skidded into a library
where a soldier lay pinned between toppled bookshelves. Next to him was a window
with a branch just outside. He must have been trying
to climb out that way when the shelves fell on him.
I told the knight not to
move the bookshelves. Instead, I grabbed the soldier’s hand and teleported him away in a
blink. Once
he was gone, the shelves fell to the ground with a thud.
“That’s everyone! Now have the knights evacuate too!” I shouted.
Even as I made my
command, I touched the knight beside me and teleported him away. I dealt with one man at a
time, teleporting myself just a few steps away whenever the ground beneath me
started to give way.
Finally, the knights
comprising my guard patrol yelled that we were the last ones remaining. Before the relief could
wash over me, the floor beneath us began to tilt—along with the rest of the
building. I
reached for the knights around me, immediately teleporting all of us back to
our base in the Cercian palace before the tower could collapse.
When the familiar
headquarters materialized around us, I heaved a shuddering sigh. “We made it…”
“Big Brother! You really were at the southern tower?!” Tiara rushed up to me,
noticed I was out of breath, and offered me some water. I gulped it down as she
and the knights fretted over me.
The old, unused tower
hadn’t been heavily guarded. While that was good for
our rescue mission, it was also why it had taken us so long to respond to the
enemy attack in the south. Still, it all could have gone horribly wrong if I hadn’t memorized our
soldiers’ positions during the strategy meeting the night before. I’d even made sure to walk
from end to end of each country’s castle. As soon as Gilbert gave
us the word, I’d been able to teleport straight to the southern tower, a place
I’d personally visited and had specific coordinates for.
Once I’d arrived, I tapped
each soldier on the back to teleport them to safety, then ordered my retinue of
knights to help evacuate anyone else who was trying to flee. Gilbert had quickly
informed the central and northern towers of the attack, ensuring no other
soldiers entered the doomed southern tower. Unfortunately, that meant
I had to admit that Gilbert had been a major help.
“We successfully
completed…the evacuation,” I reported to him. “At the very least,
there’s no one left inside the castle.”
Upon my initial return to
headquarters, I’d teleported Val to Pride and come back again. I had planned to go back to Pride as soon as I had an update on the state of
the war, but when I returned to the Cercian castle, I found the situation far
more dire than I’d anticipated.
While I was busy
teleporting back and forth, Gilbert had ordered the communication specialists
to report our evacuation of the southern tower, preventing more soldiers from
entering the tower. He’d also selected the fastest, strongest knights to head there,
leaving him and the headquarters horribly vulnerable. I hadn’t even known about
this when I’d learned of the explosion at the southern tower—I’d teleported
straight there before Gilbert or Tiara could stop me.
“We evacuated…all the
soldiers and knights…to other towers,” I went on. “The central and northern
towers should have much more protection now. We…almost didn’t make it…”
The floor and walls were
already buckling when I got there. I really should have
forced Val to come to headquarters first so I could have gotten him to deal
with the emergency right away, but by the time I’d reached the tower, it was
already too late for that.
“Prince Stale, that was
far too reckless!” Gilbert
admonished me. “You may be able to teleport, but if the unthinkable had happened and
the tower had collapsed on—”
“My elder sister would’ve
done the same. I know you would too, if you had my power.” I cut Gilbert off. He was right—it was
dangerous—but we both knew I couldn’t have done anything else. I turned away from him,
done with this conversation, and made to order a status report.
“Prince Stale!” Gilbert said, grabbing my shoulder.
I whirled toward him,
startled. A
vein snaked across his forehead, pounding with every furious heartbeat.
“You, Your Highness…
You’re vital to our country, just like Princess Pride and Princess Tiara! If you put yourself in
danger, there are people—people right here in this room—whose hearts will
shatter!”
Gilbert kept one hand on
my shoulder and placed the other on his chest. This time, I was the
speechless one. I could do little but gape at him, my eyes wide and jaw tight.
“Don’t you ever forget that. If the worst had come to pass… Just as
you imitate Princess Pride, your younger sister observes and imitates you! If you want to protect
both your sisters, then please reconsider your actions!”
I didn’t know how to
respond in the face of this unusual frankness. I turned those words over
and over in my mind, searching for a response.
“He’s right, Big Brother!” Tiara had joined in to
scold me. She
approached and gripped my face in her hands. “You would be so worried
if Big Sister did what you just did, wouldn’t you?!”
Picturing Pride doing
anything like what I’d just done at the southern tower, I shivered. “I’m sorry.”
Tiara’s eyes filled with
tears. “I
was terrified that whole time!”
Gilbert hunched over, his
eyes skittering between me and Tiara. He was clearly holding
something back, but I didn’t get a chance to press him on it.
All the hairs on my body
stood on end. My blood ran cold as death and disaster flashed through my mind.
Before I could even offer
an explanation to Gilbert or Tiara, I teleported away. My vision went dark for a
blink. When
it returned, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Pride lay before me, both
of her legs wrapped in bandages.
“Damn it!” Val said with a click of his tongue. He never could hold back
when he was irritated. He used his special power to set the ground under his feet in motion, sliding
off along with Sefekh and Khemet toward the town at an absolutely blistering
speed.
I was left there with
Pride, stunned and horrified.
Once we left Pride
behind, me and the kids rushed to the town outside the castle. We searched for the
painfully familiar Freesian uniform. A lot of the knights were
helping evacuate citizens, what with the entrance to the town destroyed and
their escape cut off. I used my special power to repair the entrance, sculpt walls for
buildings, and snatch citizens out of harm’s way, dropping them off in safe
farmlands instead. But damn, I had to do it a lot.
Enemy soldiers spotted me
more than once, but I had the knights and Sefekh’s special power to protect me.
Even with
the fealty contract preventing me from tearing the enemy to shreds myself, I
was still safe as I evacuated the citizens…even if it was frustrating as hell
not to fight back.
As we raced around the
town being do-gooders, I couldn’t help but wonder how my life had ever come to
this. It
had all started with that business at Gilbert’s house…
Knights raced to the
prime minister’s home and apprehended the criminals I’d captured there. After I left, I reported
to the headquarters in Cercis by transmission just as Stale ordered. Me and the kids were on
our way into town, hoping to enjoy our sweets and booze without those nosy
knights pestering us…and that was when Stale teleported directly in our way. The moment that prince
made his request, I glared and bared my sharp teeth at him. Sefekh grabbed my shirt
to restrain me, while Khemet looked back and forth between me and Stale.
“Rescue people in both
Cercis and Chinensis?! And you want me to take injured knights off the front lines in the
north too?!”
I’d already spent the past
five days watching over Gilbert’s house and fighting off the intruders. Baby Stella’s constant
bawling meant I barely got a wink of sleep while I was there. All I wanted to do was rest. Sefekh and Khemet were
pretty tired out too; seeing the two of them rubbing their sleepy eyes only
made me more irritated. I
stomped my feet.
“I’m not forcing you,”
Stale said. “It’s just a request, and I’m the one asking.”
“You didn’t work me hard
enough at the prime minister’s house already, Mister Prince?” I snarled in reply.
I’d had to watch over the
manor and protect the people who lived there. That “request” had come
from Stale the night that the alliance was made official. He’d told me that Pride
and Tiara themselves had named Gilbert’s daughter, so if anything happened to
Stella or her mother, Pride would be distraught. Between that and the
rather generous compensation Stale offered, what could I have done but accept
the job?
“I’m no soldier or knight. I’m a criminal. Who the hell would want
me dragging kids onto their battlefield?”
I grabbed Sefekh and
Khemet’s heads and scowled. Stale knew as well as I
did that Khemet would have to accompany me to the battlefield due to her
special power of amplification. Without her, I couldn’t do
much more than make dirt walls. The wrinkle in Stale’s
brow when I explained this told me he understood just how little I wanted to
bring the kiddos into a war zone.
“Don’t get all carried
away, Mister Prince. You can give me orders since you’re royalty, but the mistress is my
only real employer.”
I made sure Stale knew I
was only taking on his jobs because of what he’d done for the kids. That answer didn’t seem to
make him too happy, though.
“I don’t care what
happens to that ally or colony or whatever they are. Besides, that’s where the
idiot prince is from,” I added.
Stale pinched the bridge
of his nose. Even he clearly understood he’d roped me into far too much hassle by
sending me and the kids to Gilbert’s house. My resistance was more
than fair. I
was just a deliveryman these days; my job was to connect countries, not fight
or protect them. Because of all this, Stale’s words came as a request rather than an
actual order.
“This isn’t an order,” he
said. “I
made it a request in the first place so you’d have the right to refuse… But
you’ve forced my hand. There’s no time to lose.” He heaved a sigh.
“Changing that request to
an order after all, eh?” My fealty contract meant that I could never refuse an order from the
royal family, regardless of my own will.
“Yes, this is an order. You can’t repeat what I’m
about to tell you to anyone.” He turned his eyes on the
little ones. “The same goes for you, Sefekh and Khemet.”
I raised an eyebrow and
frowned, surprised by the sudden command.
“Val, did you know that
my elder sister is on the battlefield right now, just like me?”
“Huh?
What about it? The mistress has got her
imperial knights. I dunno about the whole country, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with those
guys beside her.”
I waved my hand to shoo
away his comment like it was a fly buzzing around my head. For a second, I
considered fleeing before Stale could actually issue an order, but that
probably wouldn’t do me much good against someone who could teleport. As long as he didn’t
order me otherwise, I figured I’d just disengage from the conversation.
“She made a vow that if we
lose the war, she’ll be burned at the stake with their king.”
My eyes snapped back to
Stale. “What?”
I struggled to comprehend
his words. Stale’s
face was completely blank, his coal-black eyes free of deception. Pride really had made a
vow like that…and she really would go through with it.
“I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, ask my elder sister and then decide if you want to
accept my request or not.”
I clicked my tongue
loudly again. A headache pulsed behind my eyes as my irritation grew. I hated that Stale knew
he could sway me by throwing out this bit of information about Pride. Ugh. How disgusting. I’m
actually about to agree to this, aren’t I?
I clenched my fist to
hide the tremor in my fingers, then glared daggers at the guy. Despite the prince’s
expressionless face, I sensed his composure underneath. I wanted to grab him by
the shirt collar, but the fealty contract would never allow such a thing.
Just as my lips morphed
into a toothy scowl, Khemet tugged on my shirt. “I want to go to her, Val!” he cried.
I responded with a
confused grunt, but then Sefekh grabbed my arm. “We should go!” she said. “We’re worried about her too. Besides, we’ll get a
reward, right?”
“She means a lot to us,
so we want to help her if we can. I won’t even be scared
’cause you’ll be with us!”
The kids had me trapped,
and I wound up exhaling in resignation. I scratched at my hair,
still stubbornly searching for an excuse.
“Guess I’ve got no
choice,” I said. “I’ll
go to Hanazuo. But I’ll only help the citizens depending on what my mistress says. I’m definitely never gonna
save any damn knights.”
Stale nodded, apparently
expecting this reaction from me. “Very
well. But
let me ask you one thing: if you feel like you owe me, then don’t you also owe
a member of the royal order, if you think about it?”
I scowled with disgust,
clicking my tongue for the umpteenth time. The prince was just
conjuring up debts for me to repay at this point. What
the hell does he mean by that, me owing a member of the royal order?
“If you’re talkin’ about
the kids, then the knights just did what the royal family ordered,” I growled. I had to stuff down the
urge to shout at Stale to just get this over with and teleport us to the
battlefield already. “I don’t owe them a damn thing. And if you mean the thing
from six years ago, I already repaid that with my mistress.”
“Arthur’s a knight too,”
Stale said. “Elder Sister told me that he got that bruise on his neck protecting
you.”
“I won’t deny it,” I replied.
“What about it,
though? That’s
a piss-poor reason to drag a couple of kids into the line of fire. Is that what my life’s
worth, though? A bruise?”
I’d betrayed others many
times throughout my life. I didn’t believe in repaying every single favor that was done for me. However, the “debt” on my
shoulders after everyone wiped out the slave traders always ate at me. That was why I agreed to
Stale’s request and why I defended Gilbert’s family—not out of virtue, but out
of the desire to get rid of that nagging thought in the back of my head. The idea that Stale—and
even Pride and Leon—saw me as generous or kind made me sick to my stomach.
Stale looked like he was
about to argue some more, but instead he gestured for Sefekh and Khemet to
cover their ears. Sefekh cocked her head before covering Khemet’s ears for him. Knowing what Stale was
probably about to say, I covered Sefekh’s ears myself.
Stale then crossed his
arms, satisfied, and looked me dead in the eyes. “I know that you’re a
criminal and not a person of virtue. But if you still feel you
need to repay me, of all people, then the urge to repay Arthur must be eating
you up even more.”
Stale’s eyes flicked to
Sefekh and Khemet. Seeing no reaction from them, he continued, uttering the words I least
wanted to hear. I grimaced.
That was how I knew I
wasn’t getting out of this.
“Val, I want you to help
people, just like Stale instructed.”
Just thinking about it
pissed me off all over again. I picked up anyone from
Hanazuo I came across, but couldn’t stop clicking my tongue in irritation the
whole time. Why the hell did I have to go to all this trouble?
“Captain Callum! Come on, we have to save him! Now, Captain Alan! Save Captain Callum! Save Captain Ca—”
Stale had teleported me
to my mistress, who was already wailing. That damn woman always
seemed to be cryin’ to someone about something. I didn’t give a damn about
some knight, but seeing her cry made my stomach churn. Why’d she have to cry,
and why’d someone have to go and make her cry in the first place? Before I could even think
about it, I unleashed my power in the direction she was looking. It was a piece of cake. Stop the source of the
annoyance. Get
my mistress to stop crying. Feel
better.
The next problem was her
legs. Heat
billowed around my head when I saw how hurt she was. It was just like the time
I almost lost Sefekh and Khemet. My stomach turned over,
bile rising in my throat. My hackles were up, my blinders on.
“Please.
Please just
save as many people as you can.”
I doubted the princess had
ever been injured before, yet the first thing she did was beg me to save the
people of Hanazuo. It
had to be a joke. Did she have any idea what I’d been through? She was tellin’ me to
leave her and go be with other people. Did she want to just lie
there stuck? That creepy prince of hers could have teleported her away, but she
didn’t even bother asking him.
She needed to just go
home already and stop being such a hassle. Though she may have been
a terror of a princess, that girl did not belong on a battlefield. She was wounded, in pain,
bandaged, weakened, crying. None of that suited her. She belonged back in her
peaceful country, smiling like always.
“I told you!” I snarled, grinding my teeth together so hard, it made my head hurt. Sefekh and Khemet,
clinging to my sides, looked up at me. I ignored their worried
gazes. I was
just talking to myself.
She came into clearer view
once I sped up. I pretty much never used my power at maximum speed, but even when I
went that fast, I could still see well enough. It helped when I was
making deliveries. I never would’ve been able to do it without Khemet.
“Just hurry up and end it
already!”
I wanted the damn war over, now. My
mistress’s oath didn’t matter to me. They just needed to get
the war over with and force her into bed. She could rest up and
recover back at home. Then maybe I wouldn’t feel so sick and pissed off anymore.
When we neared our
destination, I slowed down. Sefekh and Khemet, noisy little brats that they were, cried out when
they spotted it. Their little voices only made me angrier. Who was going to take the
blame if they got hurt like my mistress had?
As soon as the knights
saw us charging in, they brandished their weapons. They looked slow and
heavy, the bastards. I wished I could’ve used my power to swallow ’em whole.
Though I couldn’t explain
myself without my mistress or the creepy prince around, I tried asking where
the imperial knights were once we got close. Two familiar faces emerged
from the crowd.
“Val!
Why are you here?!” said the one with
chestnut-colored hair—Eric, that was his name.
“What the hell are you
doing here?!” added
Arthur, the brat.
They glared at me. Aw, shucks. What a warm welcome.
“Prince Stale and our
mistress ordered us to help!” Khemet piped up.
The knights blinked in
surprise, and their eyes lit up with recognition. I knew they whispered about
me, the “deliveryman.” I’d probably met them while turning over thieves and slave traders I
picked up in my travels. I did not like the look in their eyes one little bit. Gross. I don’t
need any friggin’ knights judging my worth.
“We picked up a heap of
people from this country on the way here,” I said, jabbing a thumb over my
shoulder. “Gimme
whatever knights you can spare—and make sure some have healing powers!”
The knights grabbed their
weapons, distrustful. Good. I liked them better
scared and angry than appraising. Except Arthur. It’d be a cold day in
hell before I liked that brat. He and the other imperial
knight debated what to do, but I didn’t bother listening. I was too busy wondering
when and how I might make a run for it.
Their combined shout was
so loud, I itched to clamp my hands over my ears. The crowd parted to let
one knight through. He could’ve looked at me with scorn, but instead he just wrinkled his
brow and addressed me normally.
“I’ve just received word
from Princess Pride and Prince Stale,” he said. “Arthur, Eric, you know
this man, right? Show
him where to go.”
You know me too, bastard. I stuffed those words deep
into my gut, turning away from the imperial knights and their commander. Then I reversed my
special power to deposit the people I’d picked up with it. The kids and I took a
loop, led by the imperial knight and the imperial brat, and found that some of
the wounded would need to be carried out.
I scanned the area,
glaring at every knight who dared to meet my eyes. “So? Why aren’t you chargin’ in there? A buncha knights could
rip those soldiers limb from limb. What’s the holdup?” They certainly had plenty
of weapons, and their formations were as neat and tidy as ever.
“We suffered a few
explosions from massive bombs,” the brunette, Eric, told me. “Right now, our knights
and the enemy soldiers at the front lines are separated by a ravine made by a
bomb. Look
at how the ground’s collapsed. We tried to go into the
pit earlier, but they just fired at us from above. We were at a total
disadvantage.”
He pointed sadly at the
scene. A
big hole pockmarked the ground, just as he said. He explained that the
plan was to go around the hole and march on.
“Good plan. Reminds me of my job six years ago,” I said with a snort, hoping to
piss them off.
The two imperial knights
scowled, murder in their eyes, but they didn’t budge otherwise. Instead, Sefekh gave me a
swift kick in the shin. The kids were no fun at all. I’d finally been feelin’
a little less annoyed, and Sefekh had to go and ruin it.
“They’re just about
finished treating the victims, but some people have been gravely injured. Please send them back with
care,” the knight brat, Arthur, said.
He and Eric led us to a
temporary camp filled with people sitting or lying in beds, attended to by
knights with healing powers. The sight instantly
dredged up the memory of my mistress’s injury, and I clicked my tongue in
irritation.
“Carry ’em to the place
where we brought our group,” I said. “We’ll take them out to
the fields in one big trip.”
“You’re not going to carry
them yourself?” Arthur asked
me.
“You think I can hold
back and be gentle if I’m carryin’ a knight or three?” I shot back. They only had to go a few
meters. They
could do it themselves.
He didn’t argue, and
slowly, Eric began organizing the knights to transport the injured. Arthur remained still,
staring at me until I snapped and asked what was so damn fascinating.
I thought I must have
heard him wrong, but then he added, “Now all the knights can fight at ease.”
Nope. I was seriously going to
throw up. With
a grunt, I whirled away from the stupid brat. Khemet and Sefekh were
clinging to my clothes, so I dragged them along with me as I held back a retch.
“Hey, Val!” Arthur
called out. “Where are you—”
“You knights are ready to
fight now, yeah? Actually, I figure you’re ready to advance.”
“That’s right. What’s
your concern?”
I ignored his question
and pushed on. “I wish I could kill all the enemy soldiers myself, but I’ve got my
orders from the mistress.”
That damn contract
wouldn’t let me harm anyone, save for very special circumstances. I glared in the direction
of the enemies and clicked my tongue. I just couldn’t stop doing
that today with how agitated I was. Even if I got Pride’s
permission, I couldn’t wipe out that many enemies without Khemet’s power, and
there was no way I was going to ask the kid to help me with a thing like that. It was one thing for me to kill people; I’d
never let Khemet do it. Sefekh wouldn’t allow that. Yeah.
Probably.
“What’re you talking about?!” the brat shouted.
I just kept marching out
of the camp until I reached the edge of the ravine. It was pretty deep; I was
actually impressed no one had died in the explosion. Then again, no one died
in the cliff attack I was part of six years ago either.
“Hmm.
If the
brother and sister are monsters, then those knights must be monsters too.”
I snorted. Sefekh and Khemet tried to peer into the hole as well, but all that lay
down there was a pile of enemy bodies, so I grabbed ’em by the napes of their
necks before they could catch a glimpse of the carnage. When I told them there
was nothing to see, Khemet accepted it with a nod, but Sefekh scowled at me. She was being so annoying. All I was doing was
stopping her from getting hurt. Kids didn’t need to see
stuff like that.
“Hey, knight brat,” I
said to Arthur. “Go tell the knights to prepare for battle right this minute.”
“That’s not your choice to
make!” He
pouted and glared, but I just turned and held my arms out for Sefekh and
Khemet.
“My job is to help the
citizens, injured soldiers, and knights,” I said. “I’ll evacuate them if I
have to. But those are my only
orders. So
right now, I’ve just got one thing left to do.”
The kids clutched my
shirt and arms, anticipating what was to come. The knight brat stopped
barkin’ at me too. When I heard him whisper, “No way…” I swiveled to get a look at his
face.
Heh. He looks just as dumb as
I expected.
“I’ve just gotta
entertain myself.”
Just as I predicted, the
ground rumbled and shook all the way to the knights’ base camp. They screamed at the
sudden commotion, and I got to savor the sight of them running around like
headless chickens. Even the knight brat stumbled when the ground lurched beneath him.
While the knights fumbled
around, I thought back to my conversation with the creepy prince.
“If you knew about this,
you’d probably feel much worse about your debt to Arthur.”
Why’d he have to go and
say something like that? It just made me even more pissed off. First there was my
mistress’s injury, and then I had to deal with all this other bullshit. I just needed to make it
up to this weird brat as fast as possible.
“I’ll pay you back for
everything and more,” I muttered.
I wielded my power,
making the ground quake beneath me. The crater from the bomb
blast swelled toward the surface, swallowing up the dead bodies inside. The walls of the hole
closed in, dirt flowing into the gap like water from a subterranean spring. As I pulled the earth
back together, the knights’ cries turned to cheers.
Even the enemies on the
other side were whining about the ravine between us and them going away. Well, it wasn’t like they
stood any chance, goin’ up against a buncha Freesian knights. What the hell were they
so happy about?
Once the hole was filled
in, I leveled off the terrain. The ground was still a
little bumpy, but it wouldn’t collapse. The knights whooped and
hollered way too damn loud, and when I spun around, the brat was still staring
with his mouth hanging open. I glared at his bug-eyed
face and stomped past him, shoving his shoulder on the way. He stumbled, then cried
out a delayed “Hey!” which I
ignored.
“There’s nothin’ left for
us to do here,” I said. “We’ll take our stuff and hit the road. You guys better wrap this
up quick.”
All we needed to do was
carry the knights, citizens, and those with special powers for healing to a
safe location. Once we had a spot, it would just take a couple round trips and we’d be
done with this at last. Arthur said nothing in reply, and even when I strode away from him, he
didn’t move a muscle.
“Did ya hear me?” I snapped, baring my teeth at him. “Go tell your old man
already. Those
annoying injured folks and the big hole are all gone. The rest is a job for you
knights.”
The knight brat’s eyes
looked about to pop out of his skull. I strolled away from the
annoying kid, that creepy prince’s voice already in my head again.
“The man you tried to kill
for sport six years ago, the commander, is Arthur’s father.”
I never wanted to know that. What a stupid connection
we shared.
Some of the knights
called out to me, but I ignored ’em all. When one tried to grab my
arm and stop me, I used my power to bind his hand with sand.
“Take a good look at them. Arthur looks just like his
dad.”
I didn’t bother memorizing
that knight’s face back then. Now I knew that he was not
only the commander but the guy still sittin’ right over there. The brat really was a
perfect copy of the guy. If only they weren’t so identical—then I could’ve at least doubted the
prince’s story.
“Two years ago, Arthur had
plenty of opportunities to get revenge on you. He could have invented a
reason to let you die. He easily could have stopped Sefekh and Khemet from being rescued too,
but he never did.”
That bombshell had made
my jaw lock up tight. Irritation and anger surged from my gut all the way to my fingertips. What did I care if they
were father and son? Sefekh, Khemet, and I were all abandoned by our parents. The concept didn’t mean a
damn thing to me. I didn’t understand it one bit. But as for the concept of
“family,” well…
“If it were me, I wouldn’t
have just let him die. I’d have ripped him apart, limb by limb.”
My gaze drifted toward
Khemet, who was holding my hand, and then Sefekh, who was holding his. They both raised their
heads when they caught me muttering to myself. I told ’em it was nothing. Khemet smiled and
squeezed my hand tighter.
It wasn’t atonement. I was just repaying a
debt I owed so I wouldn’t feel so damn sick to my stomach. That was all this meant to
me.
“Charge in! Overwhelm them with numbers! Crush them!”
“Destroy the town! That’s where the king of Cercis is! Capture him as soon as you
find him!”
The same soldiers who’d
destroyed the border wall in the southernmost point of Chinensis now poured
relentlessly into the country. Slaves bolstered the
enemy’s numbers. They thundered across the countryside with weapons and horses, their
war cries reverberating through the air.
A hole in the defensive
wall allowed three men at once to pass into Chinensis. That was as much as their
bombs could manage, but the fact that they’d managed to penetrate the wall at
all was important. It meant they could attack Chinensis from the rear. The enemy marched through
the opening one after another, setting foot into Chinensis to attack the town
closest to the castle.
I was the death that
awaited them.
“Ah… This is wonderful,”
I said to myself.
As captain of the Eighth
Squadron, I got to put my skills to use on all this fresh meat. A soldier attempted to
step through the hole. He lost his foot before he even realized what was happening. I was a gust of wind
blowing past them, cutting them down one by one as their blood sprayed into the
air. The
injured soldier shrieked and collapsed.
I, Harrison Dirk, glanced
down at him and kicked him back outside the country’s border. “You’re in the way. How are the other enemies
supposed to come in if you lie there howling?”
I finished off the
writhing man with my firearm.
“What, you only have ten
or twenty men to send? Are none of you prepared to fight? Do you have no loyalty?”
Provoked by my sneering,
the enemies on the other side of the wall picked up their weapons again and
charged. Some
even aimed their guns to provide cover for the others. Seeing their bold attack,
something swelled in my chest.
This was all so, so wonderful.
“Captain Harrison, I’m
asking for your help because I have faith in your skills.”
“Ha… Ha ha… Ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha!”
The enemies faltered at my
wild laughter. This was just too beautiful a sight for me to control myself. Ah… I’d been waiting so
long for this moment, for this constant outpouring of enemies, for this mission
that would only conclude when I grew bored of the slaughter. I’d used my special power
to sweep through the enemy soldiers. It left me slightly out
of breath, but even that sensation was a pleasant one. It spurred me onward.
“I’m here because she ordered me!”
Before my thrill could
wane, I cut through every last one of the soldiers pouring in. I sliced their necks,
crushed their eyes, stabbed their throats, and watched them crumple to the
ground one by one. A bloody mist filled the air in my wake, staining my face and clothing.
I didn’t care. Their filthy blood was
like a blessed rainfall to me.
“Well done! There’s no time for games! Go on, line up for me. I won’t let a single one
of you escape! Ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
I couldn’t stop laughing. They cringed away from my
cackling and screaming, afraid to cross the border wall. How dull, how dull! I went to them instead,
slashing the useless puppets’ eyes with my sword. I didn’t even need my
special power for this.
They screamed and
stumbled backward, and I finished them off with another slash, kicking them
back over the border before they hit the ground. I had no use for such
weak fodder. I would mow down every last one of them without leaving a single enemy
standing. After
I pierced their eyes, cut off their ears, and severed their limbs, I paused to
respect the few soldiers brave enough to fight back. They died all the same,
then more clambered through the wall, their blood joining the communal
splatter.
How could she have been
injured with two brilliant knights at her side? The princess claimed they
weren’t at fault, but if it were me, I would have abandoned everything to
protect her. She would have been my priority over myself, the soldiers, my
compatriots, everything. I’d cast them all aside to protect her.
Even that probably
wouldn’t have been enough. Imperial knights weren’t chosen on sheer fighting skill alone. If they were, I might have
been beaten by Alan Berners, but certainly not Eric Gilchrist or Callum
Bordeaux.
They were all brilliant
knights in their own ways.
I didn’t mind that I
wasn’t chosen to be an imperial knight. After all, I swore my
loyalty to the vice commander above all else. That meant my priorities
also included Commander Roderick and the royal order. But more than that, I just
wasn’t good at protecting people. I knew that all too well
by the time I joined the main forces. The person more suited
than anyone to be her imperial knight was…
“Heh… Ha ha, ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha!”
The more I thought
about it, the more thrilling it became.
I could never forget that
she’d been hurt. Even if I turned everyone from Copelandii, Alata, and Rafflesiana into
dust, it still wouldn’t be good enough. Nevertheless, it was all
for her. I
swung my sword and cut down enemies for her. I never, ever, ever stopped. I couldn’t protect like
those imperial knights. I
could only kill. So I would be sure not to fail in the one and only duty that belonged
to me.
Blood dyed my uniform red
as I sliced through more enemies. It wasn’t unlike the
uniform Pride herself wore. What a wonderful thought
that was. A
twisted smile spread across my face, my excitement carrying me through another
round of hacking, cutting, and slashing through enemies. A nearly endless supply
of enemies waited on the other side of that border.
“What are you doing?” I taunted them. “This is the only path forward. Come and face me already.”
I waited on my side of the
wall, but the enemy squirmed. Had they actually frozen
in fear? I
approached the hole to drag them through myself when a cluster of small
explosives came sailing my way.
Bangs, flashes, and
blasts ripped through the air, roaring like thunder. The explosions widened the
hole and destroyed the ground at my feet. From the other side of the
wall, the soldiers sneered at me, shrouded by the smoke. But I…
Before the cackling men
could realize their mistake, I slit their throats with one slash, sending blood
spraying out like grisly waterfalls. The soldiers stumbled
backward in shock, gaping at my sudden appearance.
“This is all your fault,”
I muttered.
She had ordered me to
secure the southern border of Chinensis. Technically, however, I’d
just left the country, disobeying my order. And it was all due to
those bombs they’d lobbed at me. I never would’ve had to
leave Chinensis without those. Why couldn’t they just
agree to rush at my sword and crumple at my feet already?
“Oh well,” I said. “The most important part is that I don’t let any more enemies invade
Chinensis.”
I raised my head. Before me lay a beautiful sight: a huge wave of enemies and even a camp
set up at the rear. The longer I looked, the more my lips lifted in a wicked smile. Yes, this would do just fine.
I was supposed to obey the
duty bestowed on me by the vice commander, commander, and crown princess. And I was happy to do
whatever they asked of me. But oh, what a pleasant surprise.
“If I wipe you all out,
there will be no one left to come through this wall,” I reasoned.
Blood blossomed, bodies
fell, and viscera spattered the earth. All I had to do was reach
out to plunge my blade through another enemy—a terribly lovely feeling. I would not let a single
soul slip by me.
Of the four people in the
world I was willing to exhaust myself for, she was one of them.
Everything was to be as
Princess Pride Royal Ivy desired.
“Chaaaarge! Trample Cercis under your feet!”
Enemies had already
invaded Cercis from the southern border and were pouring in through the wall. Their strength had
dwindled after hitting their own forces with bombs and getting caught in the
southern tower collapse. Still, I knew being able to attack Cercis at all was a major victory
for them.
They took up their
weapons and raced toward the castle and the nearby town. We couldn’t protect either
site very well, having sent the bulk of our manpower to Chinensis. Cercis sure seemed ripe
for the taking.
A new army suddenly
materialized before the enemy soldiers. Their white uniforms
fluttered as they charged the invading forces, cutting them down in the blink
of an eye. The
enemy reeled with shock. They had no time to react before our soldiers cut them down without
mercy. I
saw a few grip their weapons and make a dash for the knights, trying to regain
momentum, but they had no chance against our knights. Soon enough, their
numbers began to dwindle, their advantage draining away before my eyes.
I watched this all calmly,
like a player observing the game state on a chessboard.
“Gilbert was right,” I mused.
“All they
did was increase their numbers. It’s a silly plan, giving
their untrained slaves weapons and armor and expecting them to be anything
other than decoys.”
I raised my right hand to
give my next order as Pride’s steward and adoptive brother.
“Be careful of your backs!” I shouted. “Enemies who already
marched north may return! Don’t forget to watch the skies at all times! If more unidentifiable
explosions occur, retreat at once! There’s no need to protect
me.”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the knights responded. They seemed unaccustomed
to my tone.
“Bring Princess Pride her
victory!” I shouted.
The knights charged in
with a roar, reinvigorated in their purpose. Each took out several
foes on his own as the group made steady progress up the battlefield. Enemy soldiers pointed
their guns and swords at me, eager to take down the leader, but knights mowed
them down with gunfire the second they were open. Though we had relatively
few knights on our side, they struck so swiftly and ferociously that the enemy
withered under their assault. Quick and precise, they
harried our adversaries without ever once letting their guard down.
When the enemy attempted
to push forward, the soldier leading the charge was shot, crushing their
spirits and bringing their advance to a halt. They could not even
retreat; the moment they made to do so, the knights swept through them, cutting
them down. They
didn’t come from just one direction—the knights, comprising only a small
fraction of the enemy’s numbers, managed to surround and trap them.
Our formations may as well
have been walls. The enemy could only retreat south, the way they’d come, but all the
while the Freesian knights picked off the men at the front of the pack.
“Don’t panic, just cut
them down,” I said. “Our true enemies aren’t these sacrificial soldiers who know little of
battle plans and leadership!”
I had this battle so well
in hand that I used myself as bait, then let my knights crush the enemy. I regarded our foes
coldly, barking orders at my men from atop my horse.
“Anyone can hold a weapon
and march! But
knowledge, competency, and leadership are what separates a knight from a mere
soldier!”
I held no animosity
toward the enslaved fighters forced to stand on the battlefield against their
will. In
fact, I found it rather cruel. The enemy was using
humans as pawns even though they had neither the resolve nor the skills to
survive this battle. It
filled me with rage. But far stronger than my sympathy was a yearning—a craving to kill
anyone who had had a hand in hurting Pride. That included me.
Pride had been treated by
knights with healing powers already, but instead of getting to bed where she
could rest, she was still out on the battlefield. It pushed me into a state
far darker and stronger than anger.
I’ll destroy everything
that poses a threat to Pride.
Anyone who got in the way
of Pride’s desires was going to be put down. I would make sure of that.
“Stale, I have something
to ask of you.”
“Prince Stale! I can see the southern wall!”
I looked up when a knight
called out to me. He had used his special power to run straight up a building’s wall and
now pointed far past the enemies back on the ground. He must’ve laid eyes on
the border wall.
I left the knights around
me in charge of planning our next steps. I also gave them
temporary leadership privileges, then turned and teleported to the knight
running up the wall.
When I teleported to him,
the knight on the wall grabbed my arm before gravity could send me hurtling
back down, lifting me up so I didn’t fall. I thanked him, got my
footing, and looked in the direction he’d pointed. It was distant, but I
could just make out the border wall and the spot where it had been destroyed. It lay just within range.
“Would you be willing to
come with me as my personal guard?” I asked him.
The knight holding onto
me agreed with a nod. I made note of his face. I was pretty sure he’d
only recently been promoted to the main forces. He had only just graduated
from being a rookie, but now he was a full-fledged knight, like Arthur. I wouldn’t have any
problems with him at my side.
I squeezed his hand and
teleported the two of us to the broken border wall. We landed on top of the
thick stone and found enemies swarming beneath us. A huge group was still
waiting to come through the wall. I saw no need to fight
anyone who hadn’t managed to make it into Cercis. We would take out the
soldiers who crossed the border and stop the rest from ever setting foot
inside.
“Let’s go past the border
first,” I said.
I ordered the knight to
stay with me, just to be safe. Then the two of us dropped
down to the side of the wall outside Cercis. With so many soldiers
beneath us, I ended up teleporting on top of their heads and trampling them
beneath me. They
shrieked with surprise and fell face-first to the ground.
“What the hell?! Where’d they come from?!”
The soldier who’d cried
out was too slow. He barely finished his yelp before I slit his throat. As blood spurted onto me,
I swung my sword back and stabbed him, then pressed on. My knight protected my
back while I handled the enemies coming at me head-on, parrying their every
blow. I
didn’t really want to kill them; I simply wanted to get as close to my goal as
possible. And
these soldiers were so very weak. None of them compared to
Arthur in the slightest.
Well, I supposed that
made sense. These were untrained troops sent here for show. Comparing them to Arthur
was probably rude. I pushed the thought aside as I continued dodging, blocking, and
swatting away attacks while I advanced through the throng.
My knight remained at my
back as I moved. All of a sudden, I heard a metal clink, and the knight cried,
“Incoming!” Someone must’ve gotten impatient. Instantly, I teleported
the two of us into the air.
Gunshots rang out,
followed by enemy screams. That much was to be expected, seeing as how the enemy gunman had fired
into his fellow soldiers. We fell back down to the ground, landing on the enemy troops.
I evaded, parried, and
deflected every attack that came my way. If someone was about to
corner me, I teleported behind him or over his head. It was one of my first
times using a sword outside duels and mock battles, and it turned out to be way
easier than I’d imagined.
“This should be enough,” I
said.
Once we reached the very
back of the enemy lines, I called out to my knight, and the two of us
teleported back to the top of the border wall. He asked me if I was
hurt, but I hadn’t suffered so much as a scratch. I was more worried about
him, but he was as hale and whole as me. Truly, no amount of mock
soldiers could ever rival a knight. I wasn’t really all that
powerful—it was the enemies who were lacking. I couldn’t get cocky.
This time, we looked out
at the Cercian side of the wall, teleported down, and trampled more enemies. There was no need to
advance this time. We planted our feet and cut them down where we stood, then zipped away
again.
Our destination was the
Anemonian ship currently anchored in Cercis’s port.
“Pardon our intrusion,” I
said when we arrived.
“Sorry to disturb you. Thank you for everything
you’ve done so far. I am Stale Royal Ivy, the firstborn prince of Freesia.” My eyes shifted to the
ship’s armory. “I believe you still have a large stockpile of supplies for us. Mind letting me have some?”
They agreed to my
request, allowing me access to the weapons and gunpowder from Anemone. We still had some in our
camp, but it was best for me to use these more distant supplies since I could
reach them more easily. Plus, I was about to use up a lot.
“All right,” I said. “I think I’ll have to
choose items that are a bit smaller. I don’t want to bring any
more harm to our army or the border wall…”
I was speaking casually
to the knight at my back, but as soon as I looked at his face, I was hit with
déjà vu. He
seemed surprised when we made eye contact, blinking over and over again. Wait, why was he suddenly
so nervous? He
couldn’t be an enemy spy, so what was the problem?
“Prince Stale, is
something wrong?”
His question snapped me
out of my peculiar state. He
was right. This
was no time to get distracted. I needed to hurry and… Ah.
An old memory flashed in
my mind; I had a hunch this was the very same knight who’d suggested dropping
bombs on the enemy and gotten an earful for it when I was young. My lips parted in
realization. The knight asked what was wrong, but I was already smiling. I told him I was all
right and began selecting the bombs I needed.
“Please don’t worry,” I
assured him. “I’ll be sure to send the bombs in properly this time.”
The knight had been
lifting the box of bombs off a top shelf for me, but as soon as I said that, he
dropped the box with a crash. I whirled around. The box was fine, thankfully, but the man’s face had gone pale. I laughed, inappropriate
as that was in a situation like this.
I pointed out more boxes
to take down from the shelves. He was clearly anxious
now, and his eyes darted all over as he worked. Soon, we had everything
we needed. I
was still stifling my laughter as I tried to think of the perfect place to send
the boxes. I
settled on the western tower for now. That way, they wouldn’t
ignite immediately. Lighting anything in an armory was suicide.
That done, I bid farewell
to the Anemonian knights and teleported to the western tower with my guard. I confirmed the contents
of the boxes and asked him for a lighter. Then I took something out
of the first box.
Copelandii, Alata,
Rafflesiana…just you wait. It’s your turn to experience the terror of these bombs.
“Chaaaaarge! Start the invasion of Cercis!” I howled at my useless
troops.
We’d done our best to
invade Cercis across the border wall, but what should have been an easy
invasion suddenly ground to a halt. Attacks flew at us from
both sides—one from those damn Freesian knights and one from a mysterious
ambush on the outer side of the wall.
My soldiers were pushed
away from the castle town and back outside the country. The Freesian knights had
forced our formation to flip, leaving the army no more than a panicked mass of
men without leadership. I shouted commands, but little by little, we lost ground and retreated.
Still, I
was merciless in commanding my soldiers. I ordered anyone turning
tail to get back to Cercis at once.
That was when something
fell from the sky. Then
another. And another.
Lumps the size of our
hands rained down outside the border wall. A whiff of gunpowder had
me instantly on alert, but my shocked soldiers could do little but scramble out
of the blast zone. A second look revealed the bombs weren’t lit. They were mere balls of
gunpowder. Though
we had no idea where they’d come from, it was easy enough throwing them back
into Cercis. I ordered my men to do so, but it was too late.
A single lit bomb
appeared out of nowhere.
This time, screams
pierced the air. My soldiers fled in every direction. Ear-splitting bangs followed.
That single
bomb had lit the surrounding explosives, resulting in a chain reaction.
From my position farther
back on the battlefield, I could tell we hadn’t suffered too many injuries. A direct hit would have
been nearly lethal, but these individual explosives weren’t nearly as deadly as
long as we kept our distance. Still, we weren’t sure
exactly what had just happened. The moment we thought the
danger might have passed, massive projectiles much larger than the last pelted
our heads from above.
More shrieks tore through
the air, although these explosives weren’t lit. Even so, we all knew what
would happen if another spark came flying our way. The soldiers at the front
were the most vulnerable, yet I kept on ordering them to push forward. It left my troops
squeezed between their own brethren and the Freesian knights cutting them down
at the front lines. They
had nowhere to run.
As expected, the lit
explosives came next. Small bombs popped up out of thin air, one after another, grim specters
come to deliver our deaths. On their own, the bombs
wouldn’t do much. But there was a mountain of explosives right on the ground, waiting for
that spark to ignite a whole inferno.
The fuses hissed as they
burned down before finally erupting. Secondary blasts
followed, and within a few seconds, the area around the border wall was filled
with smoke that billowed beyond Cercis itself.
The curtain of smoke
obscured my vision. This wasn’t a real explosion, yet it had already scattered my soldiers
and left them choking on smoke. They couldn’t see, let
alone engage in a proper retreat, though they hurried backward anyway. In the confusion, I
couldn’t order them to do otherwise. With the battlefield in
this chaotic state, I’d be killed the second the enemy realized where I was.
It wasn’t just Cercis I
had to worry about either. Most of my own soldiers were slaves dragged here to increase our
numbers. They
had zero loyalty to me. They despised me. They could switch sides
any second and turn this into a massacre.
I didn’t issue a single
command as the smoke cleared. The whole time, soldiers
continued to march through the border wall, only to be cut down or forced back
out when they met with the knights on the other side.
I had to stay calm until
I could see the battlefield properly again and try to fix this. It was only a smoke grenade. There was nothing to
fear—all I had to do was wait, and then we could stabilize the situation.
Problem was, my vision
never cleared.
I strained my ears for
some sign of how my army was doing. That was when I noticed a
strange noise.
Plop, plop, plop, plop,
plop, plop.
Objects were hitting the
ground at regular intervals, but I had no way of telling what they were. It could have been smoke
grenades, bombs, or something else entirely. I couldn’t discern their
size or whether they were lit. All I knew for sure was
that my vision wasn’t getting any clearer, and my troops were steadily
retreating. Perhaps they were using this shrouding smoke as an excuse to flee. Or…was this the moment
the slaves would take their revenge on me?
Occasional explosions
cracked through the fog. Wails and shrieks from my side of the battle lines always followed. The regular soldiers
shouted at the slaves to keep pushing, but it was bedlam on the battlefield,
and the slaves were barely following orders anymore—after all, they were
livestock led to the slaughter, not comrades or officers.
Would the next item
raining down be a bomb? Where
would it fall? When would we regain our vision? How long would this
infuriating smoke last?
I could sense the slaves’
fear and agitation growing. In that moment, I was all
too conscious of how we treated them, how we used and disposed of them. And now they had weapons
in their hands and no one to tell them who was on their side on this
incomprehensible battlefield. No one could punish or
stop them right now—no matter who they turned their weapons on. The people they hated
most weren’t in Cercis—they were in their own camps.
The longer the smoke
lingered, the more my heart raced. I could almost smell the
panic rising among the slaves, and I knew that they’d turn on us. We might have still had a
few loyal soldiers among those pushed back through the gap in the border wall,
but even those soldiers weren’t faring well, with knights from Freesia cutting
them down one by one. They had no idea of the chaos awaiting them on this side of the wall.
The slaves had been
granted the perfect stew of factors—temporary freedom and an ideal opportunity
for revenge. All of a sudden, my trained troops found themselves embroiled in a
whole new fight—one in which the distinction between friend and foe was as
murky as the smoke obscuring the world around them. The damn Freesians hadn’t
even set off an explosion or rushed at us, yet they’d dealt us maximum damage,
setting us on a path to self-destruction.
“As long as we still have
this many smoke bombs, you should be able to send them all back through the
wall. Let’s
return to the south once I’ve finished launching them,” I told my knights.
This job was getting boring. I was teleporting the
smoke bombs we borrowed from Anemone’s ship to the outer side of the border
wall, one by one. I included a few small explosives among them, here and there. That was the entirety of
my repetitive task.
Once I’d shrouded the
battlefield from the eyes of enemy commanders in the rear guard, it ground the
enemy invasion to a halt. The slaves had no reason to fight without anyone forcing them. And the moment a
commander shouted to issue such an order, the slaves would follow the sound and
attack them.
“This is why it’s a waste
to use slaves and soldiers who don’t want to fight,” I muttered.
Unlike the United Hanazuo
Kingdom and Freesia, the enemy bolstered their numbers with slaves. They had to if they
wanted to do any damage to us at all. Yet my plan only worked because they were using the
enslaved troops to increase their numbers.
“I’m sorry to make my
country’s proud knights help me with such a dull job.”
I’d explained the
strategy to the knights before we left. It was mere coincidence
that they ended up being the same knights who joined me as my guards. I apologized for the
tedium of lighting a bunch of explosives and smoke bombs for me, but they
assured me it was no problem at all. We moved at a steady
pace, lighting and teleporting. All the while, I watched
the battle from the tower’s window. Amid the chaos, I spotted
a blimp outside the Chinensian castle. It was limping toward the
town beneath it, so the knights must have already shot it down.
I glanced at the knight
who handed me the next lit smoke grenade. Noticing my eyes on him,
he looked down at his own hands to avoid my gaze. It made me want to tease
him a little.
I would use massive bombs
for Pride’s sake if I had to. I’d long since prepared
myself to go to such lengths for her and the Freesian people. I knew that Pride,
Arthur, and probably even Tiara were out there fighting right now; their hands
would be just as bloodstained as mine. But if it meant
protecting Pride, our country, and its people, that was a price worth paying.
The knight politely
dipped his head at my offhand remark.
“What do you think?” I asked him, hinting at
our encounter long ago. “Did I manage to live up to your expectations this time?”
He froze before he could
light the bomb in his hands, eyes flying wide. I couldn’t allow our
workflow to stop, so I urged him to light the next one. That brought him back to
his senses. When I requested a smoke bomb next, he lit it with shaky fingers. As soon as he passed it
to me, he squeaked out a response.
“I sincerely apologize
for my insensitivity back then!”
He bowed deeply, but I
just shook my head. To be honest, I’d forgotten about him after all this time. I was a bit surprised
that he still remembered that incident and felt bad about it. Six years ago, this
man—just a new recruit at the time—said to Commander Roderick: “Why
don’t we get Prince Stale to drop bombs on the enemy’s position?”
I patted him on the shoulder.
“I know
it’s a bit late, but congratulations on joining the main forces,” I said. He raised his head, and I
breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes lit up and his expression eased.
We continued without
hesitation. I could just as easily drop giant bombs outside the country and wipe
out all of our enemies at once, but I could harm our own forces or the citizens
by doing something like that. No, better not to give in
to my emotions and act in retribution for Pride’s injury. The image of her wounded
was still burned into my brain. If the people who hurt her
were in front of me now, I would kill them with my bare hands—even if they
numbered in the hundreds.
But I knew the danger of
my special power better than anyone. If I was going to cause
another person harm with this power, I wanted it to be for Pride, the country,
the people—not for revenge. The thought of taking
lives so impulsively and recklessly sickened me. I was the last person who
should ever let myself reach that point.
All the same, if Pride was
safe right now—if I weren’t hungry for vengeance—and she still asked me to wipe the
enemies out with my power, I would do it. I would do things
infinitely more violent and cruel. There was nothing I
wouldn’t do for her.
“All right. That should just about do it for the gates of Cercis,” I said to myself,
swinging my arms to release the tension in my shoulders.
With the loaded bazooka
still on my shoulder, I surveyed the empty enemy camp beneath me. Turning toward the Cercian
gate, I enjoyed an even more beautiful sight. The ocean of foes who’d
stood between me and this camp was gone, some so thoroughly decimated no one
would ever put the pieces together again. I, Leon, had wrought this
destruction—and I was the only one left standing amid the wreckage.
“I hope all the knights
are safe.”
I headed back toward the
gate where I’d left them, squinting to try to make out human figures standing
in the distance past all the corpses. I smiled with relief, my
heart warming when I realized my beloved Anemonian people had survived. I jogged over to them. When I got closer, the
knights noticed me and called out. I waved to the ones
running up to meet me.
“We’re so glad you’re all
right.”
I told them I was fine,
then asked for a status update. I nodded along as they
made their reports, then turned to the communication specialist we’d borrowed
from Freesia.
“Please connect me to the
headquarters in the Cercian castle.”
“Thank you for waiting,
Prince Leon. We’re so grateful for your support.”
I bowed to the prince in
the transmission. Leon
returned the gesture.
“It’s been a while since
we spoke, Prime Minister Gilbert,” Leon said. “To
summarize our results, we’ve completed our defense of the Cercian gates and
we’re freed up to provide aid to other camps. However…” He paused, smiling. “Judging by the
information we’ve received, it sounds like the areas most in need of aid are
your headquarters in the Cercian castle and the lightly guarded Chinensian
castle.”
I couldn’t suppress a
tick of surprise at Leon’s cheerful description of our situation. Still, I appreciated his
calm assessment.
“The knights and soldiers
are fighting with all they have, and the enemy has yet to breach the castle,” I
told him. “That
said, the knights have blocked off some doors, and the enemy is trying to break
through them. The other camps have reduced the number of enemies attempting to enter
the castle, but right now, we can only prevent long-range attacks. Our priority is to keep
the castle under our control.”
Leon nodded. This was a defensive
war, in the end. You could pare
down manpower at certain sites and send knights to the castle, but the most
important objective was protecting our headquarters.
“As I thought. There’s something I’d like to share with you, Prime Minister. It regards Anemone’s
firepower…”
My eyes grew wider and
wider the longer this went on. It was enough of a shock
that Leon had defended the gates with such small numbers, but clearly I’d
vastly underestimated Anemone’s might. While Leon was the only
person who could operate many of their weapons, their strongest ones had the
power to decimate wide swathes at once.
What a frightening country
they’d grown into in only a few short years, most of it occurring over the last
twelve months. I’d heard praise of Leon, future king of Anemone, but I was beginning
to suspect those rumors didn’t do the man justice.
“With that in mind, how
should Anemone proceed?”
Pleasant as the prince
was, I hesitated, schooling my expression into stillness. “And why is the crown
prince of Anemone asking me, a foreign prime minister, for orders?”
Sure, I likely had a
better grasp on the state of the war than anyone else. Even so, the crown prince
of Anemone didn’t need to take instruction from a Freesian official. While I’d offered advice to each camp, I
certainly didn’t expect the prince to come to me for orders.
“Pride, Stale, and Tiara
have all told me that you’re the very best when it comes to putting people to
use.”
He was still wearing that
winning smile of his, but I couldn’t hide my befuddlement. For Stale’s name in
particular to be on that list…it was just too surprising.
I was still floundering
for a response when Leon issued a soft gasp. “Pardon me. I’ll be right back.”
He was no longer looking
at me through the transmission, but rather at something off in the distance. With no further
explanation, he disappeared.
“Heeeey!”
I shouted into
the distance. “Hm,
I guess he can’t hear me.”
After cutting the
transmission with Gilbert short, I called out to a far-off mass moving at
incredible speed. But my cry only drove it farther away. My knights gaped in shock
at the behemoth even our fastest warhorses would never catch.
“He leaves me no choice,”
I said with a chuckle.
I aimed my bazooka at the
ground and fired.
Ka-boooooooom! With a thunderous roar,
the path in front of the racing object crumbled. The mass skidded to a
stop, and I waved both my hands in its direction. Finally, the object—which
had been trying to go around us—darted straight at me with unbelievable speed.
The ground rumbled and
shook as the massive object ripped it apart. A figure at the peak
growled with rage. As he grew closer, my knights and I could finally make out his furious
features.
“What the hell was that,
Leon?! You
almost blew us to pieces! Were you tryin’ to kill me, or do you wanna die?!” Val snarled, baring his
teeth at me.
He sat atop a big lump of
earth. Khemet
and Sefekh peered down at me, the girl looking just as enraged as Val. “You’re lucky we already
dropped people off outside of town!” she snapped. “What if we’d still had the refugees with us?! I’d never forgive you if
Val or Khemet got hurt!”
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t
know how else to stop you. But I made sure to miss!” I said, offering my most
gracious smile. This seemed only to enrage them further. I could see how badly
Sefekh wanted to send a blast of water right at my face.
“Why are you here, Leon?” Khemet asked, still
clinging to Val. The three of them probably didn’t know Anemone had joined the war as
reinforcements.
“I’m here to help Freesia
too,” I said. “This
is perfect timing. Our ship is pretty far away.”
“We’re in the middle of
executing orders from the mistress right now,” Val said. “We’re haulin’ the idiots
who didn’t evacuate in time out to farmlands, so we can’t bother with you.”
“Why don’t you listen to
what I have to say first? I think you might like what you hear.”
He wrinkled his brow. I beamed back at him.
“I’m speaking to Prime
Minister Gilbert right now. Come and join me.”
Val clicked his tongue
but released his special power. The upturned ground
beneath him sank down and returned to a mere lump of dirt. He kicked at it in
irritation.
“I’ll give you one
minute,” Val growled.
“The very best? At putting people to use?” I muttered. I had to steady myself with deep breaths after Leon abruptly left the
broadcast. Princess Pride, Princess Tiara, Prince Stale… All
three of them said that about me?
This was Tiara’s first
time on the battlefield, yet she was putting her life on the line for Pride’s
sake. Stale
had shown concern not only for me but for my family as well, saving them once
again. Then
there was Pride, who remained on the battlefield despite being unable to stand
due to her injury.
Having known them since
they were children, it was hard for me to hold back my shock at how quickly
they’d matured. And here they were the ones praising me behind closed doors?
Knowing this, I had no
choice but to live up to their expectations. If those three were saying
such things about me, I had to embody the person they believed me to be.
I closed my eyes. The state of the camps, the multiple battles, the weapons on hand…and
our larger objectives. I ran over all of it in my mind, seeking the most advantageous strategy
for our forces. Just as I believed I’d found something…
“Thank you for waiting,
Prime Minister.”
“What do you think? How would you make use of Anemone if we had this merry band along with
us?”
With a cheery expression,
Leon pulled the man closer. The new arrival cocked an
eyebrow and glared at Leon, not holding back an ounce of his irritation.
“Stop speakin’ for me! I told ya, I’m already
busy with the mistress’s orders!” The man clicked his
tongue. He shoved Leon’s arm away and turned his
glare on me. “I haven’t even gotten my
payment yet, Prime Minister.”
Val. How in the world had he
gotten here so quickly from Freesia? There could only be one
explanation.
“Very well,” I sighed. “Once the war is over,
you can take what you please.”
“Payment?
Are you paid
in money or goods?” Leon asked him.
“Not
money,” Val said curtly. “Anyway, get a move on
already. Why am I
even here, huh?”
“I see,” I mused. “With him, you should be able to travel anywhere we require at top
speed…”
This increased Leon’s
range tremendously. If Pride’s orders allowed it, Val could take Leon and the Anemonian
knights and split them between Cercis and Chinensis. But that could interfere
with the Freesian knights already at the front lines in the north. In the end, I settled on
sending them to Anemone’s ship so they could gather supplies. Thereafter, they could
head to the two main towns in Cercis and Chinensis to provide support.
I paused, for there was
also the matter of a certain weapon Leon had mentioned earlier. “I have one question for
you, Prince Leon.”
I narrowed my eyes at the
prince. Behind
him, Val seemed to be trying to slip away. Khemet and Sefekh watched
the broadcast, their lips parted in wonder.
Keeping the castle out of
enemy hands was my first priority, followed by ending the war as swiftly as
possible. Both
goals required taking out as many invaders as possible.
“The weapon you mentioned
earlier,” I said, biting back a smirk. “How accurately can it
hit its target?”
“As long as you can
provide the coordinates, I won’t miss,” Leon said, grinning ear
to ear.
“Prime Minister Gilbert
sure does make big moves,” I mused.
Clank, clank, clank. A clang of metal rang out
from the Anemonian ship anchored in the Cercian harbor. My knights worked swiftly,
just as I’d instructed. I watched over them as they made the final adjustments, then passed the
weapons on to Val, whose glare threatened to bore a hole right through me. Khemet and Sefekh
lingered at his sides, watching the knights with fascination. Their childlike innocence
and cries of “Wow!” and “So
cool!” were honestly
adorable.
As Gilbert ordered, Val
had carried all of us to the ship with his special power. I could see his annoyance
at having to work alongside me, but he couldn’t really turn it down, having
finished Pride’s mission so quickly. When I heard about those
orders, I felt it would be much more efficient for Val to work with me instead
of running around aimlessly. Most likely, Gilbert’s
plan took that into account as well.
“I didn’t expect this to
be the target. I had no idea…”
“Quit blabbin’ and work. I’m sick of waitin’ on
you,” Val cut in.
I simply smiled,
accustomed to his rough ways thanks to us becoming drinking buddies. Val crossed his arms,
clicked his tongue, and stomped to and fro. I could tell how much he
hated being forced to stand around, especially on Gilbert’s orders.
“All right. Let’s force the enemies back.”
I recalled the prime
minister’s words. I’d assured him we could hit any target as long as he provided precise
coordinates, but I’d never expected Gilbert to choose what he had.
Pride and her siblings
had always told me that their prime minister was brilliant and talented. Stale even said that
there was no one better at putting people to use, and he expressed how jealous
he was of those abilities. At long last, I was witnessing it with my own eyes.
With the final
preparations complete, my knights announced that we were ready to move. I sighed with relief. All I had to do was light
the weapons. A communication specialist called out that the Cercian castle had
finished preparing as well. With my men awaiting the signal, I confirmed the gunpowder supply,
direction, angle, and breeze one last time. Then I announced our target.
“Aim for the Cercian
castle gates.”
Bangs and reverberations
rocked the ship and the passengers on board. We covered our ears to
prevent damage as booms shuddered around us. The massive cannons on
the Anemonian ship had just roared to life.
A sound erupted at the
front of the Cercian castle as though the ground had split open, swallowing the
enemy soldiers gathered there to invade. Captain Callum had
blocked the castle gates in advance, so there were no soldiers from Hanazuo or
Freesian knights nearby. Gilbert had ordered every last one of them—including the injured—to
spread around the castle, as though he meant to abandon the gates themselves. Our forces darted off in
every direction now, fighting any enemies they came across.
Apparently, the enemy
really believed I, Pride Royal Ivy, would simply give up defending the main
entrance. They
gathered at the gates, never once considering we’d cleared out this area on
purpose.
When the cannonballs
struck, the front of the complex absorbed all the damage, leaving the castle
itself unscathed. They landed within a few dozen meters of their target, a stunning
display of accuracy. Nothing touched the castle aside from debris blown around by the wind. We did, however, lose the
fence surrounding the castle and the outer wall the enemy had already broken
through. But
when that wall collapsed into rubble, it took enemy soldiers with it.
No one had predicted that
Hanazuo would not only strike its own headquarters but take out a part of the
castle. The
enemy soldiers seemed to believe that Cercis had bombed its own castle to take
both sides out at once.
“Thank you for allowing
us to use cannons, Lord Fergus, Prime Minister Dario…and King Yohan. I appreciate your
permission in King Lance’s absence,” Gilbert said.
He smiled at the men around
us. The
cannons had succeeded in taking out most of the soldiers attempting to storm
the castle, with no casualties among Hanazuo’s soldiers or my knights. Fortunately, Lord Fergus,
Prime Minister Dario, and King Yohan had granted our prime minister permission
to fire the cannons, destroy the outer fence, and take out the castle wall. Still, it was clear they
had many questions.
“Why did we give him
permission for such a risky counterattack?”
I knew what they were thinking: What if the cannon
operators misfired? What if their aim was off slightly? What if Anemone betrayed
them? What
if any soldiers or knights were left behind at the front of the castle? A single one of those
missteps could have resulted in immense damage to our side. We might even have had to
surrender the castle itself.
Somehow, my incredible
prime minister had managed to convince them. It wasn’t just the
foreign seneschal and prime minister who believed in Gilbert; even Yohan, the
king, accepted his explanation eventually. Just like the seneschal
and prime minister, Yohan’s eyes were as big as saucers. I sat beside him and
couldn’t help but smile at this sight.
That’s our brilliant
schemer, all right, I thought to myself.
He’d convinced them all
to go along with his plan. It reminded me, terrifyingly enough, of the Gilbert I knew from the
otome game in my past life. And yet, listening to
everything from Yohan’s end of the transmission, I found myself as easily
swayed as all the rest. Or to put it more accurately, Gilbert had skillfully guided us all into
believing in his plan.
That was no easy feat. Before suggesting such a
reckless strategy, Gilbert had laid out Anemone and Cercis’s statuses. Clearly he wanted us to
have a full understanding before we reached a conclusion.
“We could use this method…
This is what we should do…”
If Stale had heard this
hypnotic display, he likewise would have thought back to nine years ago. Back then, Gilbert had
easily “persuaded” the palace officials into believing terrible things about
me. This
time around, Gilbert had calculated his odds of success and considered
defensive measures, but a plan such as this never should have received any
approval while the Cercian king and prince were both absent.
Yet Gilbert secured the
permission he required. The result was a bit of damage to the castle and the elimination of
nearly all invading enemy soldiers. Even if Lance or Cedric
later questioned this use of the cannons, Gilbert would persuade them too. Best of all, none of our
own forces suffered so much as a scratch.
My smile faltered when I
remembered how reckless he was even within the game.
“I believe we’ve wiped
out a large portion of enemy troops with this attack,” Gilbert said. “The knights and soldiers
who fled to the east and south should be able to handle anyone who remains. We must thank Prince Leon
for his help. I will speak with you all later.”
With that, our brilliant
prime minister ended the transmission.
After closing the
transmission with Pride and the others, I started a new one to Leon. Thanks to this plan of
mine, our small force of Freesian knights had wiped out plenty of enemy troops,
leaving them wounded, disorganized, and nearly destroyed.
“Thank you very much,
Prince Leon,” I said. “The cannons were a great success. Your skills have proven
most impressive.”
“No, it was nothing,” Leon said with a humble
smile. “All the praise should go
to you, Prime Minister Gilbert, for providing coordinates within our range of
fire. I hardly
contributed at all.”
We launched into our
plans for the remainder of the battle.
“By the way,” he said, derailing our
discussion, “where is Pride at the moment? I’d like to speak with
her through a transmission if possible.”
My lips twitched,
shoulders going stiff. Leon had a single communication specialist with him. I was the only one
broadcasting to him on his ship, so he and his men had no idea about Pride’s
injury.
Something illogical but
powerful begged me not to tell him that she’d been hurt. I couldn’t casually
reveal Pride’s condition to the prince while still hiding it from Arthur and
the other knights. That would only serve to rattle our troops—a change that could lead to
casualties.
Yet I could hardly lie to
Leon, who was both a crown prince and a great ally in this war. I kept a smile plastered
on my face, choosing my next words with the utmost care. However, I never got a
chance to say them.
“Damn it, Leon! How long are ya gonna chitchat for?! Hurry up, or I’m leavin’
your ass here!”
A familiar voice shouted
from behind Leon. Leon whirled, startled, and assured Val he was on his way.
“Forgive me, but I have to
get going.”
“Of course. Best
of luck to you.”
I heaved a relieved sigh,
silently thanking Val for his unexpected help.
With a charming smile,
Leon bid me farewell and ended the transmission.
“Leave it to me,” I
murmured, though those words were only meant for Pride.
I wandered aimlessly,
lost and alone. Like my fellow townsfolk, I’d left the town the night before, fleeing
to an evacuation area. The only information we’d gotten was that Chinensis, our neighbor,
should have been the sole target of the enemy invasion—but because we sent out
Cercian troops as backup, the enemy could retaliate against us as well. That was why we had to flee to an evacuation zone and get as far from
the castle as possible.
The scale of this war was
beyond anything we could’ve imagined. Skirmishes rose up
wherever we looked, and endless soldiers stormed into our country. When the enemies spotted
us fleeing, they set their sights on us. Those knights from
Freesia had come to our rescue, sure, but many of us didn’t trust them either. They were just more
outsiders in our country.
Those who didn’t flee the
Freesian knights froze in terror, so we had to drag a few of our own away. People scattered all
over, leaving many unable to find the disguised or locked-up evacuation areas. And we certainly couldn’t
get all the way from town to the farmlands on foot. With the war cries and
bombs echoing in every direction, we didn’t know where to run.
I couldn’t tell what was
going on anymore. I stumbled around, full of regret for not leaving town as ordered. I was about to give up
when a voice called out.
I spun to find knights
behind me. But
these weren’t the same knights who’d rescued us before—the two men who raced up
to me were carrying weapons unlike anything I’d ever seen. I tried to run, but my
body was too weak, and I sank to the ground. The knights patted my
back and told me I was safe now. Then they dug small metal
objects from their breast pockets, pulled out the pins, and tossed the items up
to the heavens. They exploded, producing a light as bright and brilliant as the sun.
“Ah, there’s another one. That makes seven. I think we should get going,” I called ahead. I had three knights with
me, a standard guard detail for the crown prince of Anemone. They spread out a map and
marked the next location of the flash grenade.
“Hey, Leon, looks like the
real haul’s in Cercis,” Val said to me, sounding bored. “Only the damn Chinensian
soldiers got themselves hurt. All the regular folks were
fine.”
Val had used his special
power to dredge up more earth so that he and I could ride it, along with a few
others. He
glanced back at the hunched soldiers we carried with us.
“Chinensis already knew
they were going to be invaded,” I replied. “I’m sure the king must
have ordered all civilians in the castle town to evacuate.”
I glanced back at the
soldiers as well. I deeply respected these men who’d gone on fighting for their homeland
until they couldn’t. Hurt as they were, they nodded to confirm my hypothesis.
“Oh, the only thing up
north is the front line of the battle,” I told Val. “You should turn to the
west and follow the build—”
“Shut
up! I know what I’m
doin’!”
He violently sent our
earthen mound skidding into a sharp turn. Even the soldiers, covered
with a protective dirt dome, toppled over. We had to brace ourselves
to keep from being thrown off completely.
Val sent us flying toward
Cercis even faster. As we traveled, we flashed past Freesian knights locked in fierce
battles, but Val whizzed by them all without a care.
“Damn it… I shoulda left
you on that boat if I knew you’d be so annoying!” Val snapped. He must have meant my ship
from Anemone, aboard which we’d gathered weapons.
“I’ll be quiet if I have
to,” I said. “But then you won’t know the locations of the flash grenades. You haven’t been
memorizing them, have you?”
He didn’t respond, just
snarled and sent us on even faster.
Sefekh scowled at Val,
but she shot water at me, like she could snuff out the source of his
irritation. I leaned to the side, dodging the jet, then offered the girl a smile;
it only seemed to make her angrier. All the while, Khemet
watched us nervously.
I was helping out with
Gilbert’s plan, attempting to lead my Anemonian knights across Cercis and
Chinensis as part of a rescue effort. We’d started by using
Val’s special power to drop off pairs of knights throughout the main town in
Cercis. Those
knights would search for anyone in need of aid, or for citizens who hadn’t
evacuated. Once
the townsfolk were confirmed to be safe, the knights would throw flash grenades
into the sky to reveal their locations. Until we received enough
of those signals, Val’s job was to rescue the people who needed help in
Chinensis. Meanwhile,
the knights with us marked down the locations of the flash grenades on a map. When we returned to
Cercis, those knights would direct Val to all the stranded townsfolk. With the citizens safely
in hand, we could drop them off in farmlands and return to Chinensis.
All this was only
possible thanks to Anemone’s weapons and cooperation, as well as Val’s unique
mode of transportation. Even he had to acknowledge that this process was pretty
efficient…surely.
“There’s the eighth. Val, can you go a little fast—”
“Hell yeah I can, Your Highness. Just don’t fall off, kid!”
Seething, Val picked up
speed. He
secured Sefekh’s and Khemet’s feet so they wouldn’t fall, but the knights and I
had only the dome to protect us as Val made a mad dash for the wounded
soldiers. We
were facing the nation of Cercis now, so I could scan the area for flash
grenades as we went along.
“What amazing speed,” I
remarked calmly to my knights. “That reminds me… Did
something happen to Pride?”
Val’s right shoulder jerked. “Huh? How the hell would I know?” he said, trying to sound
bored.
“You didn’t want Prime
Minister Gilbert to answer my question, did you?”
I saw right through him. Val clicked his tongue
and steered the dirt even more chaotically instead of responding. That was my cue to press
him further.
“Is that why you, a
deliveryman, were put in charge of rescuing people?”
He obviously didn’t want
to answer. Though
I wasn’t privy to the details of his contractual relationship with Pride, she
probably hadn’t forbidden him from lying. I figured he was trying to
hold back as much as he could.
“I can think of some
possibilities,” I went on. “She could be injured, or maybe she deserted the battlefield, went
missing, died… But I can’t see her ever deserting like that, and if she were
missing, you and Prince Stale would definitely be sent out as a search party. That means she’s either
injured or dea—”
“Shut your damn mouth
already!” Val
snarled at me with such ferocity that I snapped my mouth shut, but his anger
more or less confirmed my theory.
Everyone fell silent. Once we crossed the border
into Cercis, the knights told Val the locations of the flash grenades. He moved as instructed,
reluctantly slowing down to avoid the many structures in the Cercian town.
“Can you just answer me
one thing, Val?” I
asked in a near whisper.
The sounds of war
partially drowned out the question, so both Val and Khemet glanced back at me. Val glared, likely
expecting my usual teasing—but he would find no mirth in the icy stare of my
jade-green eyes. Khemet stiffened; even Val startled a little.
With my expression
utterly sincere, I kept my eyes fixed on Val. “Pride’s alive…right?
I hoped he heard my
yearning in that question. I could not bear to have him dodge it yet again. He scowled a little,
returned his gaze to the road in front of him, and spun Khemet’s head to stop
him from staring at me. He clicked his tongue, then finally answered.
“Would I be here if she
wasn’t? I’d be long gone.”
Despite his words, his
tone was even and serious.
I relaxed at last. “Yeah?” I answered softly, my
usual charming smile back on my face. “Good.
That’s all I
needed to hear. Thank you.”
With that, I sprang to my
feet. We’d
slowed down, but were still traveling plenty fast. The knights urged me to
sit, but I dismissed them with a wave and took a few stumbling steps. Val turned when he sensed
my approach. I simply smiled and waved at him. Then, before he could ask
what I was doing, I set my hand on his shoulder.
“I really want to see
Pride as soon as possible. You do too, right?” I whispered in Val’s ear.
“Says the guy who’s
always visiting Freesia just to see her,” Val grumbled, scowling.
“I actually already saw
Pride today. I
just want to see her again.”
Val sighed at me. I could feel him using
his power to secure my feet so I didn’t have to cling to his shoulder for
balance. I
reached down for the gun at my hip.
“Every second I’m apart
from Pride is far too long.”
Val whirled on me for
firing the gun so close to his ear, but he seemed even more surprised that I
knew how to fire one at all. My bullet had struck an
enemy soldier trying to sneak up on us from behind.
“I think my attack is a
little faster,” I said to Sefekh with a childish smile.
She responded by smacking me.
“Are you
gonna leave your country and marry our mistress, then?”
“Of course not. Living away from Anemone would be hell.”
Val scratched his head,
apparently embarrassed by my words. He stuck his tongue out. “Blegh.
What an
annoying way of sayin’ it.”
“I mean every word. You wouldn’t want to
leave Freesia either, would you?”
He shrugged off my question. “I don’t got a patriotic
bone in my body. Stop talkin’ like you understand me.”
I cocked my head, a bit
surprised by that response. “Hmm.”
“Then what about leaving
Pride?”
Val fell silent, and I
suspected he was suppressing the urge to shove me right off the dirt. I took his silence as
answer enough.
“Let’s finish this job
quickly,” I said. “The more people we save, the more the knights and soldiers can fight
without worry.”
I gunned down every last
enemy that approached us, as though they were target practice. Sefekh blasted water at
groups of soldiers and their horses; somehow it felt like a competition had
ignited between us. I let out a whoop of praise, but Sefekh merely harrumphed and squeezed
Khemet’s hand.
“We’re the ones who get to be
next to Val!” she shouted. She held her hand up toward
me, and this time I was far too close to dodge her spray of water.
The mound of earth raced
toward town, outpacing even the swiftest warhorse. All the while, Sefekh and
I shot at anything we could reach.
We reached a woman
cowering in the streets. We reached townsfolk who couldn’t get to safety because of broken
shelter doors. We reached soldiers too injured to move. We reached knights who’d
gotten wounded protecting children. We reached shelters the
enemy had nearly breached. At a blinding speed, we rescued every last person who needed us.
Only when the bells
tolled to signal the end of the war did we know our job was done.
“I
see. Princess Pride
is absent. How
unfortunate,” the man said, his fox-like eyes narrowing as he sneered.
This man, Adam Borneo
Nepenthes, was crown prince of the Rajah Empire. His dark-purple hair fell
past his ears, slicked back on the right side. He’d come to Freesia to
form a peace treaty that ensured Rajah’s total withdrawal from the United
Hanazuo Kingdom. He had no business left but to return home, yet he’d suddenly requested
to meet the crown princess—my daughter.
“Yes, she’s currently
participating in the defensive war in Hanazuo. It’s possible that the
war may be over even as we speak,” I told him. As queen, I had stayed
behind while my girls went to war in my stead.
“I’m sure Hanazuo will be
victorious if Freesia is involved,” he said. “I would have liked to
meet Her Highness, though.” He slouched dramatically
and ran his fingers through his hair. “In that case, may I at
least meet with Princess Tiara as a gesture of goodwill for our peace treaty?”
“I’m sorry to say that
both Pride and Tiara are away.” I spoke curtly, like I
was slamming a door in his face. His request did not
surprise me, but I narrowed my golden eyes—currently accented by makeup—and
flicked back my blonde hair in irritation.
“Is that right?” the prince replied teasingly.
“Of course. I wouldn’t lie or keep secrets from the crown prince with whom we’ve
joined hands in peace. Tiara strongly wished to travel there, whereas Pride is attending as my
proxy with full authority to act in my place. You may search the
castle, but you won’t find them.”
“How unfortunate.” He smirked, not sounding disappointed in the least. “Incidentally, have you
given thought to the letters my country has been sending you? I’m perfectly serious
about my request. If we can’t enter into an alliance, isn’t a marriage between Princess
Tiara and myself an absolute necessity for both parties?”
His creepy grin never
faltered, twitching as he addressed me, Vest, and Albert in turn.
“Indeed, the three of us
are working to select a fiancé for Tiara,” I said. “We acknowledge that
you’ve volunteered yourself, Prince Adam.”
Rajah had been sending me
letters for some time requesting peace, an alliance, and an engagement between
Adam and Tiara. They always made it clear that if our countries could not join forces,
then we should secure that peace through marriage instead. For Adam, who was turning
twenty-one this year, Tiara was probably the ideal bride.
“I cannot give you an
answer yet,” I told him. “Pride and Tiara have many people seeking their hands in marriage.”
“Oh, really? I’ll have to wait, then—although I don’t believe you’ll find anyone
more suitable than me. Princess Tiara would make an incredible queen for the Rajah Empire.”
His slender eyes widened
slightly, his smile curling at the corners and making him look utterly
reptilian. It
made me glad I’d agreed to let Tiara visit Hanazuo. If she were still in the
castle, we would have had to comply with Adam’s request. We could not lie about
her presence, as that would break the fragile trust between Freesia and Rajah. For now, we had a duty to
show some level of respect to Rajah.
That being the case, I
wasn’t ready to force my daughters to meet with anyone from the empire right
now. Or rather, I couldn’t let them meet. Rajah clearly sought a
close relationship with Freesia, hence their offers of peace and marriage. I suspected they hoped to
revive their industries as well.
The more Rajah expanded,
the closer they came to becoming the largest country in the world. But they had never been on
good terms with us. Even now, with Adam sitting directly across from me, I did not trust
the man.
Judging by their letters,
I’d assumed Rajah was after Tiara, yet the first person Adam had asked to meet
was Pride rather than his prospective fiancée. This came despite the two
heirs being unable to marry—well, as long as the two countries didn’t merge
into one, anyway.
I suppressed a sigh of
relief at Tiara’s current absence. It was the one saving
grace in all this. Meeting at a public event would be one thing, but being introduced
directly to a princess with few others around carried much deeper implications.
Pride and
Tiara could meet Adam at a formal ceremony where they were surrounded by
guests, and that would be good enough. Besides, Adam was just
one potential fiancé out of many.
“If we must, we can call
off the treaty,” Vest whispered in my ear.
I knew he didn’t think
much of Adam either. His usually gentle gaze took on an edge as he studied the prince. I tried to keep my face
neutral and shook my head at Vest’s harsh suggestion. All we had agreed to was
“peace.” Regardless
of what Adam said or how powerful the Rajah Empire was, Freesia was the only
country with the right to choose Pride and Tiara’s fiancés. And the peace treaty
meant Rajah couldn’t get what they wanted through threats.
I smiled elegantly, not
letting my guard down. “It’s an honor to hear you say that.”
“Princess Pride, in
particular, is still said to be without a fiancé,” Adam went on. “I find that such a waste. It must be the one and
only flaw of the famous Princess Pride, heir to the Freesian crown. Your Royal Majesty and
Your Royal Highness must be worried that, even at seventeen, she still has no
partner with whom to lead her country… Oh, is something the matter?”
When he squinted and
smiled, he resembled nothing so much as a snake. I held my expression
steady, though my eyes must have flashed with anger for the briefest moment. If Adam noticed, he
seemed merely amused. His sneering self-satisfaction would not cause me to lose my
composure.
“Your Imperial
Highness,” I said, pointedly emphasizing his title, “I was under the impression
that you came here to create peace with my country. We’ve already signed the
treaty, so if there’s something you’d like to say, now is your chance.”
The servants behind him
stiffened. Their
hands clenched, clearly itching for the weapons we’d confiscated when they
arrived.
“I apologize if I offended
you, Your Royal Majesty. I
said too much.”
I only just managed not to
ball my hands into fists at Adam’s insincere smile. My own smile taut, I
replied, “That’s all right.” Then I signaled for my
guards to prepare for Adam’s departure. “When can we meet next? We’ll work around your
schedule, so do tell us which days you’ll be unavailable.”
“The sooner the better,”
he replied. “I’d like to reconvene before Princess Tiara turns sixteen, if
possible. Most
dates are acceptable, but as for days that aren’t…”
Adam gestured to his
chief of staff behind him, who opened a notebook and read off the next year’s
worth of Adam’s busy schedule. At my side, Vest recorded
every date and closed his notebook at the exact same time as the chief of
staff.
“Thank you very much,” I
said. “We’ll
be sure to remember those dates. We appreciate you taking
the time to come here today.”
I
stood. Albert,
Vest, Clark, and my knights joined me, shaking hands with the emissaries from
Rajah and wrapping up the meeting.
“Of course,” Adam said as
our hands clasped. “As someone who respects good manners, I have faith that you’ll avoid
the dates we listed.”
His fake smile did
nothing to alleviate my concerns. He moved down the line
and shook the hands of Albert and Vest too. Vest kept his face stern,
but during their handshake, he offered the prince a faint smile. We Freesians also shook
hands with Adam’s servants and guards. Given that I was queen,
none of them could refuse the gesture from me, but their eyes were ice-cold the
entire time.
“I look forward to seeing
you again,” I told them. “We’ll be sure to send you an invitation next time.”
Knights ushered the group
away. I
waited until the doors shut firmly behind them before letting out the sigh I’d
been holding in throughout the entire meeting.
“Should we be relieved
that nothing happened, Vest?” I
asked.
“Our country came out of
it unscathed. We also know for certain that we’ll have to be wary of Rajah from here
on out. We
accomplished our peace treaty and avoided the princesses having to meet with
Prince Adam. We’ve also acquired a year’s worth of days to be avoided. I think that’s fairly
successful.” He paused before adding, “Oh, and you were wonderful as always.” After that, he retrieved
the notebook he’d tucked away in his breast pocket.
“We should plan a ball on
one of those days right away,” I said.
“Right away,” Vest echoed
with a bow. Clark and the other knights offered deep bows of their own. As they left the room, a
bold smile played on my lips.
As soon as our carriage
departed Freesia, I let out a screech. Crown prince though I
was, those damn Freesians had pushed me to my limit back there. I stretched my feet out to
rest them on the seat across from me. The general and chief of
staff assigned to travel with me knew to expect this, and they’d left the seat
open for just this purpose.
“Did you see that old
Freesian hag?! She was so friggin’ boring the whole time! It was like she was
wearing a mask!” I shouted, mussing up my purple hair. When I raked my fingers
through it, it stood up in all directions—the way I liked it. I’d only smoothed it down
for this stupid meeting, but now I could let it stick up all over. I rested my elbow against
the windowsill and sighed.
“They were so annoying,”
I grumbled. “Those stupid knights took our weapons and even our pens. They’re all monsters, yet
they’re scared of us?!”
“And Princess Pride and
Princess Tiara weren’t there? What an absolute joke! After coming all this
way, all I got to look at was that ugly hag!” I raged, stomping my feet
as hard as I could. “What the hell were they talking about, sending me an invitation?! Is that monster queen’s
brain rotten?! She pisses
me off!”
“She thinks she’s gonna
invite me when she doesn’t even know my plans?! That damn hag! Ask me my schedule first!”
With one last scream, as
loud as I could manage, I finally slumped back in my seat. I clicked my tongue,
annoyed at getting no reaction from the people around me. Once I got home, I’d have
to torture these “products” to feel better again.
A smile finally returned
to my face. I watched Freesia roll by outside the window. Moments later, I murmured
a calm, “Oh well,” as if nothing had happened. And my smile grew wider.
“I’m one step closer to
stocking my shelves with more products.”
Chapter 5:
The End of the War and the
Companions
“THIS IS AN URGENT REPORT. Enemy forces on the front lines have been suppressed. Our army has emerged
victorious.”
The knights’ cheers rang
through the transmission. Thanks to our victory in the north, the war had finally come to an end.
Commander
Roderick, the man who’d led all our forces, calmly delivered the news to those
in the Chinensian castle, the Cercian castle, and Freesia via transmission.
“Well done,” I told him. “You’ve proven yourself
once again, Commander. I’ll inform each camp of our victory at once.”
Once I’d finished
applauding our brave commander, I issued orders to the guards and knights. We couldn’t deliver the
news so easily to units whose whereabouts were unknown. Stale was likely in
southern Cercis, whereas Leon and Val were working to provide aid to both
countries. Harrison
was still in southern Chinensis. Tiara, Prince Cedric, and
King Lance had gone to the nearest village. Knights and soldiers were
surely still fighting at their respective camps in both countries. They were waiting for a
signal that would inform them of our triumph.
“Once we’ve brought in the
soldiers we have detained, we’ll head to Chinensis to provide aid to their
camps, Prime Minister Gilbert.”
I turned my gaze to the
other transmission. In it, Pride’s eyes were lit up like stars. She’d gasped at Commander
Roderick’s announcement of our victory and thanked him for his efforts. Gazing upon her, I felt
everything click into place at last.
I closed my eyes for a
moment to block out the hectic sounds coming from her end. Then, in place of the
princess, I ordered Roderick to report our victory to the Chinensian camps and
send knights as reinforcements. Understanding the
situation, he nodded and vanished from the transmission. I watched him depart
before turning toward the window. The war had broken out
early that morning, yet the sun was already starting to set.
So it all went as planned
in the end?
Even the timeline for the
war’s end fell within my predictions. Although the effort had
ended up being much more complicated than I’d originally anticipated, I’d never
doubted our army could settle this within a day. Both the Freesian royal
order and the United Hanazuo Kingdom had suffered little harm despite the many
clashes along the way.
“Now all that’s left is
for the others to return safely.”
I watched the Cercian
seneschal, prime minister, guards, and knights celebrate. I’d seen with my own eyes
that Pride was safe, but there were still many others out there somewhere on
the battlefield.
“Sir Arthur must be safe,
since there were no deaths on the front lines. That just leaves Stale and…”
I fell silent. Too much remained unresolved. I would not be surprised
if more complications arose; the talks between Freesia and Rajah were probably
just finishing up. I yearned to get back there, to see my wife and daughter as soon as I
could, even though I’d just spoken to them.
In that moment, I felt in
my bones that the war had truly ended.
“What in the world
happened here?”
The Chinensian soldiers
stood speechless before me—Harrison, captain of the Eighth Squadron—and the
ruin I’d caused. They’d been racing across the country on their horses, assisting
whoever needed it and informing the camps of our victory. But their elation seemed
to crumble when they came upon me amid a sea of destruction.
One soldier muttered that
the mangled bodies around me could hardly be called “corpses.” They’d lost any
resemblance to humans, reduced to puddles of blood and armor. The dirt and grass were
dyed red, and a sickly scent hovered in the air.
I stood beyond all of it,
barely visible among the heaps of casualties.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha…”
The soldiers shuddered at
my laughter. They’d come here to meet with the Freesian knights protecting the
south, but now they looked ready to turn tail and run. Still, they could not deny
that my methods had been…effective
in aiding this war.
A few soldiers looked like
they might muster up the courage to approach me, but the carnage left them
hesitating. Instead, they called out from where they stood.
“Excuse me! You there, Freesian knight!” a soldier yelled, not
knowing my name.
“Oh.
Soldiers from
this country, eh?”
The soldier blinked, and
a breeze blew past him. Suddenly, my knife perched against his throat. The other soldiers
recoiled, unable to tear their eyes from the blade…and the sight of me drenched
in their enemies’ blood.
“What a bore,” I said. “I thought there were
still more to kill.”
I hung my head and kicked
a corpse, letting my knife dance over my knuckles as I searched for more foes. I offered no apology for
what lay around me, and the soldiers seemed to know not to demand one. They swallowed and
shifted, asking what I meant. I reluctantly put my knife
back in my pocket and looked at the hole in the border wall that the enemies
had charged through. Not a single one remained standing—or alive.
“I just finished killing
everyone,” I said simply. “If you need to fill the hole, use the bodies I left on the other side.
Those ones
still have some shape to them.”
The high of the war
hadn’t quite left me yet, so I came off a bit harsh. The soldiers said nothing,
so I turned toward them.
“Well?”
I asked. Some squeaked in fear;
others gathered themselves enough to announce that our side had prevailed in
this war. The
news came as a surprise. A small smirk spread across my lips.
I didn’t let the soldier
finish. I
wasn’t pleased by these orders, having just finished slaughtering enemy
soldiers, so I meandered away—then stopped to ask where exactly I should be
going. The
soldiers offered me a horse so I could join them, which I accepted. Despite my special power,
I couldn’t maintain my unnatural speed over long distances.
I went still,
contemplating all I’d heard. The soldiers brought me a
horse and offered directions to the castle. “I wonder if the vice
commander will praise me for a job well done…”
I sighed, clinging to that
tiny thread of hope.
“There’s no need to panic! Switch places with the
rear guard if you sense trouble! Don’t get dragged outside
the wall!”
Once the explosions and
smoke grenades in the south of Cercis had ceased, I teleported there with my
knights. The
front lines were holding strong, having already pushed the enemy back outside
the Cercian border.
I shouted orders from
atop my horse, but the battle was essentially over. All we had to do now was
keep the enemy from coming back through the broken border wall in a few spots. The front-liners had
defended this place all on their own.
A bell rang in the
distance, and everyone swiveled toward the sound. There was no mistaking
the signal—this was the sound agreed upon for victory, not defeat. The war was over.
“Raise your voices!” I shouted to the men. “Make yourselves heard! Our men are victorious!”
The knights roared
triumphantly, their mighty voices shaking the very earth. On the other side of the
wall, the enemy surely heard and knew they were done for.
“I doubt you can even call
this an invasion anymore.”
My quiet words faded away
unheard, drowned out by the jubilant cheers around me.
Once the smoke beyond the
border wall dispersed, we knew Rajah had no more hope to cling to in this war. Those of us who’d
survived gaped in fear as we saw just how much we’d lost. Our vanguard and most of
our commanders had gone down—struck not by our foes but our own forces. Then there were the
troops whose remains were little more than puddles. That hadn’t been done by
any gunshot, but some kind of Freesian monster with a knife.
When I could finally see
my surroundings again, I sighed with relief. I had to rally the troops
under my command, regain our position, and make one last push against Freesia.
“Now!
Everyone, charge
inside!” I
shouted, but my throat had dried up.
“Yes, Commander!” my
men responded.
We were still just as
cornered as we were before.
Most of my direct
subordinates, who’d been leading troops, lay dead. I couldn’t even tell
who’d stabbed whom. Only slaves remained, and they turned their hate-filled glares on me. Gone was their fear and
obedience; bloodlust burned in their eyes. The message was clear: “Now is
our chance to kill him.”
The soldiers took notice
and pointed their weapons at the slaves. They knew as well as I did
that sheer numbers could overwhelm us if the slaves stopped directing their
attack at Hanazuo and turned on us. Now that the slaves had
realized we’d lost, they weren’t going to keep marching to their deaths. As they gathered, even the
rear guard seemed on the verge of revolt. They didn’t need smoke to
take us out; if they turned on us as one, there would be no survivors. They would be free.
They pressed forward, one
step at a time, like an army of little ants charging an armored beetle. The other commanders and
I had nowhere left to flee.
Our enemies in the
distance whooped and hollered with delight, celebrating our impending demise. One black-haired,
bespectacled man among them cried, “We’re almost there! Soon we can all return to
Princess Pride!”
The border wall cleanly
separated these concepts as the war drew to two very different conclusions.
Yohan Linne Dwight, that
was my name. Though I had a close relationship with God, I had suffered a cold
history as crown prince, robbed of color and light. I had a good friend in the
king of gold—a man who burned hotter than fire and shone brighter than the sun.
But without her, I would have given up. I’d intended to from the
start.
“Freesia promises to
protect you!” she’d declared. “We’ll fight alongside
King Yohan, who desires a bright future for his kingdom!”
Even as I spoke of making
a stand for the sake of my people, putting my life and the Freesian princess’s
life on the line, I had no hope for victory. I kept telling myself not
to be greedy as things progressed. May
there be as few victims as possible. May I live up to what
Lance and Cedric think of me.
I clung to a slew of
selfish and contradictory desires, wishing. I
wished Cercis would not be targeted. I wished Lance would
recover from madness. I wished Cedric would return home safely. That way, we could all
band together as the United Hanazuo Kingdom.
I wanted to protect
Chinensis. I
wanted my people to remain free. I wanted my loved ones
unharmed, damage reduced, and innocent parties unscathed. Even as I took shelter in
the castle, my many desires had my heart in a vise. Surely I was the
greediest of anyone.
“Our knights have emerged
victorious.”
I didn’t believe my ears
at first. The
announcement came so suddenly that I assumed it had to be another one of my
ridiculous delusions. Despite my fading senses, I grabbed my cross and squeezed it hard. I ordered troops to head
in as reinforcements and ring the bells of victory, but my brain wasn’t keeping
up. I
struggled to process the reality right before me; I’d been so calmly and grimly
prepared for defeat that victory was almost harder to fathom.
Had we really defended
Chinensis? It
was hard to accept such an outcome. My mind repeatedly shoved
away the notion and told me to get a hold of myself. I just couldn’t believe it.
I turned to look at the
woman beside me, as if the sight of her might tether me to reality. Pride Royal Ivy was
princess of the country Cedric had gone to for reinforcements. Despite being heir to the
Freesian throne, she showed no hesitation in going to the front lines herself,
even wounding both legs just to save a Cercian soldier. She stared back at me
calmly, not even boasting about what her knights had achieved.
“As an ally of the United
Hanazuo Kingdom, Freesia vows to protect you once tomorrow comes and this war
begins. Should
we fail, then His Majesty and I will burn to ashes together.”
Why had she offered to
sacrifice herself like that? She’d performed the blood
oath before me and my people, knowing exactly what it meant. Her fate was sealed, her
death assured if we lost this war, yet her expression betrayed no hint of fear.
I was here
in the castle now thanks to her bravery—her oath.
The princess was busy
celebrating the news of the victory as if it was no surprise to her. I knew that the knights,
with their overwhelming firepower, as well as the Anemonian weapons and
reinforcements came from her. Seeing her there proved
to me that my country had won the war. And she was the one who’d
saved us.
My kingdom would survive. Our culture, our name,
and our people would remain unsullied. We could keep living as
Chinensis—as the United Hanazuo Kingdom. Years ago, I couldn’t
have cared less about my homeland. I believed we would fade
away eventually, leaving no trace of ourselves behind in this world.
But now… But now, but
now, but now, but now…!
I reached toward the window. I hadn’t allowed myself to
look all throughout the conflict, fearing I would see nothing but empty, razed
land. I
pictured it over and over again to prepare myself. Yet there the town stood,
perfectly unchanged. It had not been destroyed—it was still right there. The
setting sun cast a soft glow over the very same place I’d gazed upon all these
years.
Two people came to mind,
and I hoarsely called their names.
Lance, Cedric. They were my friends, my
family. I
loved them more than anyone else. Those brothers had been
the ones to guide and need me, even though I was so cold. They came to save me so
many times. While we were from different countries within the United Hanazuo
Kingdom and shared no blood, they got me back up on my feet whenever I needed
them.
Their faces were vivid in
my mind, and I was desperate to see them. I knew I wouldn’t
actually be able to spot them from the castle, but I needed to.
All the
things I’d stuffed down, the things I could not admit I’d hoped and wished for,
bubbled up inside of me, and tears streamed down my face.
I’d really thought
triumph was impossible. I blamed myself over and over again, wishing I could go back in time
and undo it all. Everyone else was fighting so hard to save us, and there I was, the
only one who could do nothing at all. I knew I was useless, but
I still wanted to join my soldiers on the battlefield. I utterly despised myself
for how powerless I was.
I need to see them. I need to see them!
Lance always said the
world was a big place. I
knew that much. But Lance was the only person in that big, wide world who would stay
with me, make sure I wasn’t alone, and show me a future brimming with light.
Big Bro. That was what Cedric
called me. I
knew he hadn’t put much real thought into it, but it meant the world to me. Someone I felt close to
had granted me a nickname of my own, and one of kinship at that. I’d built a relationship
with him, and he’d given me so much more in return.
Praise meant nothing to me. Being called one of the
most brilliant knights in history meant nothing to me. I was bored, lonely. I had nothing to be proud of.
Cedric was
the only one who knew these things. So when he called me “Big
Bro,” it was the only title I actually took pride in.
My country, people,
culture, faith, happiness, freedom, friend, little brother… Every last one of
them was so precious to me. But I
can’t possibly have all of that, I’d thought. I can barely protect just one. That had pierced me like
a knife through the heart.
Yet here and now, hope
returned to me.
I thanked God, folding my
hands to pray to him. He hadn’t abandoned us after all. My entire life up to this
point consisted of praying to God, thanking Him, hoping, clinging, and praying
some more. I
never once received a response, but the act of prayer cleansed my heart,
relieved my burdens, and saved me countless times.
This time, I filled my
prayer with an abundance of gratitude. I prayed for the safety
of every last citizen of Hanazuo and Freesia. I prayed for the eternal
prosperity of the United Hanazuo Kingdom.
Forgive me for my greed,
Lord. I
don’t want to let go of anything ever again. Even after preparing for
defeat, in the end, I still don’t want to lose anything. I offer my life to you
just as I always have, so please forgive me. Let me keep being the
king alongside my lifelong friend of this “United Hanazuo Kingdom” you’ve given
me.
It felt like God had
answered me.
I shuddered, and tears
squeezed between my closed lids. The strong yet gentle
tolling of the victory bell filled me with warmth. I’d never heard a more
beautiful sound in my life.
I continued my prayer in
response to the bell, thanking God for ending this war. I thanked him for guiding
Freesia and their princess to my kingdom. I thanked him for
allowing me to live long enough to see the war come to an end. Then I chanted every name
I remembered from Hanazuo and Freesia, even adding Lance’s and Cedric’s names
to the list.
Please allow them to
return safely. Guide
them back home. If this one last wish could be granted, please let me see—
My lashes fluttered open
like I was waking to a sunrise. Yet the sun had nearly
set, casting long shadows on the town outside. Only the repeated tolling
of the bell convinced me this was not a dream.
I spun toward that rich,
powerful voice. The two of them stood there like a mirage in the desert. I couldn’t look away,
still unsure if this was all a dream.
Cedric stared at me,
looking like he might cry. “Big
Bro!”
My friends. My family. When I called their names
in a quiet, broken voice, they rushed toward me. I couldn’t speak, still
reeling in shock, but Lance wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Cedric grabbed my
shoulder, asking if I was hurt. The warmth of their touch
told me this was no mirage or dream—it was real.
They’re smiling. The people I love are here with me and they’re smiling.
I wrapped my arms around
Lance and Cedric, both of whom were taller than me. I latched on to their
shoulders and yanked them into the tightest hug I could muster. They yelped, startled,
but returned the embrace.
“Thank God… You’re both
safe!”
Relief flooded my body
when they hugged me back. I floundered for words, but emotion clogged my throat.
I laughed even as more
tears fell. What they’d just said was so typical, so familiar, so them. As
I stood there crying, their tears joined mine, striking my head and shoulders. I let go, allowing myself
to sob as loudly as I liked.
How glad I was to be born
in this land.
How glad I was to be born
as this era’s—this moment’s—king.
Chapter
6:
The Blasphemous Princess and the
Unseen Moments
“HEY, MISTRESS! Are you sure it doesn’t
hurt anymore?!”
“How much longer until
your leg is better?!”
One night had passed
since the end of the war. The minute I awoke, Sefekh and Khemet rushed to my bedside to get a
closer look at my face.
Stale had brought Arthur
to my room the night before, but Tiara, Captain Alan, Captain Callum, Val, and
the children ended up staying in my room until morning. Stale had left to act as
my proxy with Prime Minister Gilbert and the kings, while Arthur returned to
the other knights…although both of them glared at Val before they left. Val had glared right back
at them and silently pointed at the sleeping Khemet and Sefekh. It appeared he had no
intention of moving or sleeping until they woke up, so when morning came, Val
had sprawled out in a corner of my room. He was still out cold.
“Nope, it doesn’t hurt,” I
said. “It’s
fine as long as I don’t move it. The knights have been
treating me with their special powers, so I think it’ll be fully healed within
a few days.”
That was only if I stuck
to my bed rest, though. The two children sighed with relief and cried out, “Thank goodness!”
“By the way, Big Sister,
how long does the order not to speak of this last?” Tiara asked me.
I
gulped. I
was still keeping my injury a secret, with the exception of a few select
people. At
first, I didn’t want news of my injury to bring down morale on the battlefield,
but I probably needed to notify everyone now that the war was over. Honestly, what I really wanted to do was stay in
bed, say I was exhausted, and keep the injury hidden until I’d healed. I didn’t want to upset
anyone. But
most of all, if Mother found out about my legs, she might bring both Captain
Callum’s and Captain Alan’s careers to an abrupt end. I stopped myself from
turning around to glance at them.
“Good question,” I muttered. I knew all too well that
I was only covering up my own failure; I needed to discuss this with everyone. As I racked my brain for
a solution…
My eyes flicked to the door. Sefekh and Khemet whipped
around and darted back to the sleeping Val. Before Tiara could react,
the person on the other side called out to me.
“Forgive me for
interrupting your rest, Princess Pride. It’s Gilbert. I have King Yohan and King Lance with me, as they’ve requested to meet
with you.”
What?! Prime Minister Gilbert’s calm voice erased
every thought from my head. Wh-wh-what do I do?! They can’t see me like this! My hair’s all messy, and
even if they can’t see how I’m dressed under the blanket, I can’t greet two
kings like this!
“W-wait just a moment,
please!” I replied.
Though my voice nearly
cracked, Prime Minister Gilbert replied with perfect composure. Tiara combed through my
hair with her fingers, and I returned the favor for her. It was then that something
else dawned on me.
“Val!
Val! People are coming! It’s two kings!” Sefekh said.
“What should we do, Val?!” Khemet asked.
Sefekh was mercilessly
slapping the snoozing Val while Khemet shook his shoulders. Val let out a growl,
reluctantly sat up, and rubbed his eyes. “Wha…?”
“I said people are coming! Should we really be here?!” Sefekh replied.
“Huh?
How the hell do I
know? We’ve
got the prince’s permission, so what does it matter who shows up?”
“But it’s two kings!” Khemet protested. “How can we be allowed to meet—whoa!”
Val shot to his feet,
blinking his wide eyes and looking a little green. He tucked Khemet under his
arm, took Sefekh’s hand, and flew out the nearest window without another word. Sefekh shrieked, but I
knew they would be all right. No one knew how to flee a
scene like Val.
Tiara’s mouth hung open. I knew Val didn’t like
royalty, but even more than that, he probably didn’t want some stipulation
added to his fealty contract—like, say, if I asked him to kneel in front of
royals.
Captain Callum glanced
out the window before quietly shutting it. He shook his head, a sign
they hadn’t fallen to their deaths. Now that Tiara and I had
finished our hasty grooming attempts and the room was clear, we finally
welcomed the kings waiting on the other side of the door. My guards opened it for them.
“Apologies for the sudden
intrusion,” King Lance said, stepping into the room. “How are you feeling,
Princess Pride? I’m sorry for taking so long to come see you.”
Right behind him were
King Yohan and Prime Minister Gilbert—the latter of whom appeared to find this
a bit awkward. Both kings were pale, and I got the impression they hadn’t slept. Two kings had been up all night long, yet here I was, well rested and
comfortable. King Lance’s face was especially pallid. Maybe
Arthur should take another look at him.
“I’m much better now,
thank you,” I said. “And no
need—I’m sorry that I can’t be of
any help to you during this critical time.”
“No, there’s no issue,”
King Lance replied, a bit flustered.
Tiara moved to the
opposite side of my bed so the kings could approach me. Prime Minister Gilbert
ordered guards to bring them chairs, and they sat at my bedside.
“Even after the war,
Prince Stale and Prime Minister Gilbert here have been a tremendous help to us.
It’s thanks
to them that we’re able to come here and see you,” King Yohan said with a
smile.
Our prime minister dipped
his head in kind. I would expect nothing less from Stale and Prime Minister Gilbert,
covering for me so well while I was away.
At first, we exchanged
polite remarks and thanks for each other’s efforts in the war. Prime Minister Gilbert
joined to offer us reports on the current situation, and our conversation
continued smoothly. Captured enemy soldiers would be kept in the prisons of Cercis and
Chinensis, but once things had settled down, they would be returned to their
homeland. The
two kings agreed on this, not wanting to create any further grudges. Despite the damage to
buildings, they must’ve been relieved that very few of their citizens had been
harmed.
The Freesian knights and
Anemonians had suffered zero casualties. A dozen or so of our
knights were seriously injured, but the knights from Anemone never endured more
than minor wounds. The wounded from the United Hanazuo Kingdom numbered very few compared
to their country’s population, and there were almost no deaths either. My heart ached at the
thought that there had been any at all, but the kings reassured me that this
was still a tremendous victory.
“It’s a miracle that there
were so few victims,” King Lance said.
King Yohan nodded. “Our soldiers and citizens are very grateful.”
“We cannot thank Freesia
enough for its help,” King Lance said.
“It will take some time
to repair our buildings, but our people are eager to work now that the danger
has passed. I
know we’ll be able to recover,” King Yohan added.
“It’s nothing,” I
replied, my voice a bit squeaky as they paid me this undue deference. I needed to change the
subject quickly. “Where
is Prince Cedric?”
“He’s commanding the
soldiers while we’re away,” King Lance informed me. “Right now, he’s probably
using a Freesian communication specialist to receive reports from Chinensis.”
He’s commanding them?! Not to be rude, but can he really handle that?
King Lance seemed to
notice my hesitation. “He’s only taking the reports. We’ll be the ones to
issue commands as soon as we return.”
So he was something like
a messenger, in reality. That role seemed perfectly suited for Cedric.
“He volunteered himself
when he heard me ask Prince Stale if I could come visit you. However, there’s something
else I’d like to discuss…”
King Lance faltered,
clearly struggling with whatever he wanted to bring up. I sat up straighter and
faced him as he lifted his fiery eyes to meet mine.
“I happened to hear about
an action you undertook, of which I was never informed…”
Eeeeek! My smile twitched. Is this about my legs?! Or is it…?
“They said you performed
a blood oath with Yohan in order to rouse the people of Chinensis.”
My blood ran cold, but to
my surprise, Prime Minister Gilbert was the one who’d coughed. He must have expected, like
me, that they’d mostly ask me about my injury during this visit. I swiveled to look at the
prime minister, who rarely ever let his guard down. He covered his mouth and
muttered an “excuse me,” only to follow it up with a frightening glare. His eyes bore into me
like daggers, sending a chill racing down my spine. He couldn’t speak freely
in front of the kings, but I could almost hear his questions piling up behind
his tightly closed lips.
“I don’t know any of the
details,” King Lance said. “Whenever I ask, Cedric and Yohan tell me that they can’t discuss it. May I hear it from you
directly?” King
Lance’s steady gaze had me fixed in place.
“I apologize, Your Highness. One of my soldiers
mentioned it in a transmission,” King Yohan said with a guilty look.
Shoot! I never ordered the
Chinensian people not to speak of this. Ugh, guess it was only a
matter of time before I got found out.
As I struggled with where
to start, Captain Callum stepped up to explain it for me, which I accepted. He laid out the details
of my injury for the kings. Color drained from King Lance’s face the longer the captain spoke. By the latter part of the
tale, he was white as a sheet. Prime Minister Gilbert’s
eyes were practically bulging out of his head, his mouth agape. Oh, how
Stale would enjoy that sight if he were here.
King Lance’s gaze darted
back and forth between King Yohan and me as he put the pieces together. “So that’s why you bowed too, Yohan!”
Both King Yohan and
Cedric had bowed to me before the war began, just as the knights had.
Hands massaging his
temples, King Lance nodded before shooting a glare at King Yohan. “You…! How could you do
something so reckless?!”
The other king shrugged
at his friend, a faint smile on his face. “I didn’t tell you
because I knew you’d worry. See?”
“But why did you drag
Princess Pride into it too?!” King Lance leaned forward
and raised his voice, but it seemed more like urgency than anger. “Even if we’d been
defeated, there was no need for either of you to burn!”
Prime Minister Gilbert
was clearly biting his tongue in front of our guests, but judging by the look
he was giving me, he agreed with King Lance. He kept his expression
composed, but his pupils dilated, sending another shiver through my body.
“I’m sorry for acting
selfishly,” I said. “But it was the only way I could rouse everyone in that moment. Besides, I believed in
our knights.”
I offered my excuse even
amid the overwhelming pressure from King Lance. I glanced at him, then at
Prime Minister Gilbert, who seemed to know what I was about to say.
“I knew they would save
everyone. They did
a wonderful job.”
When I smiled, King Lance
sighed in exasperation. Then he turned to King Yohan again. “I’m sure you were fully
prepared to die, weren’t you?” he asked angrily.
King Yohan’s smile went
crooked, and King Lance sighed again.
“Cedric went and dragged
someone else into this, and now I’m the only one who hasn’t repaid the person
who saved the United Hanazuo Kingdom. That won’t do.”
King Lance murmured this
last bit to himself before rising from his chair. King Yohan, nodding
agreement, stood as well. They held my gaze for a moment…then got down on their knees.
My hand flew to my mouth. King Lance bowed his
head, his next words emerging in a rich and regal voice. “Princess Pride, you
risked your life for our country, and Yohan and I remain eternally in your
debt.”
“You also saved the
United Hanazuo Kingdom. I promise that we will spend as many hundreds of years as it takes to
repay Freesia for your generosity.”
“There’s no need for that! Please, rise!” I begged, but all they
did was slowly tilt their heads back up.
“Even with Freesia on our
side, we couldn’t have hoped for a victory like this without you, Your Highness. Yohan, Cedric, and I all
owe you an extraordinary debt.”
“Why are you including
yourself in that, Lance?” King
Yohan asked.
He must have been
thinking about how I brought Arthur to him when he was ill. That had mostly been the
work of Stale and Arthur, though. Besides, I felt
responsible for pressuring King Yohan, which was why I took the oath with him. As for Cedric…if he owed
me anything, it was for the three days of headaches he gave me when we’d only
just met.
“Please don’t concern
yourselves with that,” I insisted, waving both hands. “All we did was act in
the interests of our ally.”
I’d spent the second half
of the day on the sofa with King Yohan, so if anything, I felt like I actually
deserved some criticism. Yet the honorable kings asserted I’d gone above and beyond for them. I appreciated that, but
it was downright embarrassing having them praise me so. I implored them not to
exaggerate, then told them I hoped that our countries could maintain a healthy
alliance and open commerce.
“With God as my witness,
I’ll be happy to oblige.”
I knew Mother would be
delighted by this outcome, which was its own kind of relief.
“Just tell us if there’s
anything we can do. Although I doubt we can repay our debt so easily,” King Lance said
solemnly.
I thanked him, but as
long as the United Hanazuo Kingdom kept our alliance and traded with us, Mother
or Uncle Vest would be the ones to conduct business with them. I couldn’t think of
anything that I—
Wait a second. If they’d be so kind as to oblige me…
“Um, I actually do have a
request.”
They tensed when I
hesitated to elaborate. I yanked the blanket covering me up to my chest. The blanket jerked,
revealing my legs, one of which was bandaged and set in place. King Yohan, who knew of
my injury, scowled in sympathy. King Lance’s handsome
features went wide with shock.
He managed nothing else,
but it seemed he understood now why I hadn’t left my room to meet with the
others. Prime
Minister Gilbert could explain it in more detail later. Right then, I wanted to
make my case to the kings.
“As you can see, I was
careless and injured myself. What I’d like to ask of you is…”
My next visitor after the
kings was Commander Roderick. He ordered the two
captains to take a break, bringing a detail of knights to stand guard in their
place. I
explained my situation, and he nodded deeply.
“I
see. So
you’d like to stay in the United Hanazuo Kingdom until your leg is healed?” he said with a worried
glance at the limb in question. “I agree, it would be
safer for you to leave the country in full health.”
“Indeed.
I’ve
already received permission from Mother and Hanazuo. But I’m sorry to make the
knights extend their stay too.”
“No, your well-being is
our highest priority, Your Highness. Clark is finishing up his
business in Freesia, so it’s not a concern. Although…” The commander
trailed off, side-eyeing the other knights.
He wrinkled his brow,
then let out a sigh. Eyes the same color as Arthur’s settled on me, swirling with concern.
“You see, a good number
of the knights and soldiers haven’t seen you since the war ended. Some unpleasant rumors
have begun circulating because of it.”
I tilted my head. Indeed, I’d been confined to bed ever since the end of the war. Prime Minister Gilbert
and Stale worked hard in my place, telling everyone I was “resting.” But now I was worried
that everyone saw me as a slacker princess.
Nervously, I asked
Commander Roderick what he meant. A beat passed before he
was ready to speak.
“They fear that you were
a casualty of war.”
My mouth fell open. It was such an indirect
way of putting it. The commander bowed his head and apologized.
They thought I’d died. It made sense; I’d been
out in public a lot before the war began, only to suddenly disappear. I understood why they got
the wrong impression, but really all I wanted was to keep my leg injury a
secret so as not to harm morale. I supposed they weren’t
all that far off from the truth.
The knights who’d worked
to heal me had probably spread word that I was alive, but that had been days
ago, and now I was just resting in bed, hidden away. Knights no longer stayed
with me. I
couldn’t force the Seventh Squadron to remain by my side when there were other
injured fighters to treat. The knights whom Commander Roderick had brought already knew about my
injury. If
people thought that the crown princess’s death was being covered up, that was
my own fault.
I forced myself to smile,
unable to muster a real response. Commander Roderick
explained that the rumor was especially widespread among the soldiers of
Hanazuo, and that unease was starting to spread. If anyone needed to
apologize, it was me—and Commander Roderick echoed my sentiment that we needed
to deal with this situation. Everyone had fought so
hard in this war; I couldn’t bear to leave them frightened and uncertain.
“How are my legs looking
at the moment?” I asked the two knights who’d been examining me. My injury would heal
eventually if I kept still. The knights had used
their special powers to treat me again, so by tomorrow I’d be doing even
better.
“You should be able to
move the right leg already,” one said. “But the left needs more
time.”
That was a relief. I knew my left leg was probably broken, but my right leg had healed
faster because it was just a sprain. The Seventh Squadron’s
special powers were so impressive. The two healer-knights
smiled at me, seemingly as relieved as I was. These were the same men
who’d immediately treated me during the war. I’d never actually thanked
them for helping me back then, but seeing their faces, I knew I’d met them a
few times at the knights’ headquarters.
When I asked, they
introduced themselves as Jael and Mart.
“Thank you very much,
Jael and Mart. You really saved me on the battlefield.”
A flush washed into their
faces as I beamed at them. They probably weren’t expecting to hear their crown princess utter
their names. Commander Roderick cleared his throat, and they quickly regained their
composure.
“How do you feel,
Princess Pride?” the
commander asked.
I told him I should be
all right now that my right leg was doing better. Then I added, “I’d like
to address the men today. I need to be the one to explain my injury to them.”
“Then I’ll make sure
they’re ready.”
Commander Roderick looked
pleased with my suggestion. A public appearance would
dispel the rumor that I was dead.
“What is it?” he asked, turning back to me.
Working up the courage to
continue, I hung my head. “I’m sorry…about what happened six years ago.”
It was my second time
showing such deference to the commander. I stared down at my lap,
waiting, but I got no response. When I ventured a glance
at him, I found a wide-eyed Commander Roderick squeezing his lips together into
a tense line, caught off guard by my apology.
I needed to explain
myself properly. “When someone tries to save you…but they almost get themselves
killed…it’s really, really scary.”
Just thinking about that
moment brought all the fear right back to the surface. I squeezed my blanket
with trembling fingers. Captain Alan and Captain Callum had dived to catch me as I fell. I truly thought Captain
Callum had died from his efforts, and it left me terrified and heartbroken. It was the same as the
cliff collapse six years ago, when I showed up and risked my life, causing
Commander Roderick the same sort of fear and despair I’d felt about Captain
Callum.
The commander left me in
silence for a long time, then took a quiet breath. His expression softened…
Then, ever so slightly, he smiled at me.
It was my turn to be
startled. The
commander knelt down at my bedside to meet my eyes.
“I said a lot of
unnecessary things about what you did for me back then, Your Highness. But now, there’s one more
thing I think I can add.”
He paused, and I gripped
my blanket tightly. His steady gaze made emotion swell in my chest, and I had to bite the
insides of my cheeks to keep myself under control.
“Since that day, you’ve
been even more irreplaceable to us knights. When it comes to things
like your blood oath and your injuries…please don’t forget that they sometimes
break our hearts.”
His gentle delivery of
this sentiment got me. I’d lived in fear of
being scolded by the strict commander, but somehow his compassion and quiet
smile were what really made me want to break down and cry. I held my breath to stop
the tears from spilling over, but with each blink they streamed down my cheeks
anyway.
My throat tightened, my
eyes grew hot, and my limbs and chest felt heavy. I cast my eyes back down
to my lap, my lips still quivering.
How many more times would
I cause others such pain? How many times had I already hurt them? How many times had I
ignored this sort of kindness—ignored the people who cared so deeply for me?
And I treated myself
worst of all. Me, the person they loved and cherished.
I balled my fists tight,
trying to summon some sort of strength, but that was all I managed to say.
I want to take care of
myself too. For as long as everyone still cares about me, at least.
ORL:
The King of Gold, the King of White,
and the Foolish Prince
“WHY?! Why did you betray me? Why did you betray Hanazuo?!”
“Ah ha ha ha ha! What are you prattling on about? You’re the one who
invited my army into your country!”
I, Cedric Silva Lowell,
cried and wailed, but the tears of a second-born prince seemed to have no
effect on the foreign queen’s heart. Screams of rage and
anguish mingled with death cries like cracks of thunder in my ears. Explosions shuddered
through my chest. The citizens cried out for salvation as destruction rained down around
them.
Watching the Freesian
knights—our “reinforcements”—dominate the Cercian soldiers was worse than any
nightmare. Although
our soldiers tried to resist, the knights cut them down without hesitation.
“Oh, but shouldn’t you be
in a hurry to see your king? I sent a lot more knights
to Chinensis, after all.” The queen smiled, urging me to hurry up and leave. Her disgusting smirk
burned itself into my memory.
The kingdom of Freesia
had betrayed the United Hanazuo Kingdom. The wretched proof was
all around me. This awful queen had deployed the Cercian army to Chinensis for a sneak
attack on the invaders, but they were still waiting for the signal to act. That meant every soldier
remaining in Cercis was fodder for the Freesian knights, who slaughtered them
mercilessly. No one could even sneak away simply to inform Lance, who was stationed
at the location of the planned ambush, of this treachery. I was the only one who
might get away to warn him.
“Come now. Get a move
on! If you
run as fast as you can, you might still be able to tell him how Freesia
betrayed you,” the queen said with a sneer.
Her bewitching gaze
settled on me. She’d easily overpowered every soldier in the country, yet she made no
attempt to capture me. Only me. It was like she preferred
to watch me suffer.
Still, I had no choice. I rushed for my horse,
swinging up into the saddle to dash past the decimation. I had to clench my jaw
and ignore the Cercian cries for help all around me. I couldn’t stop. Not right now. I had to protect Lance,
who knew nothing of Freesia’s betrayal; Yohan, who swore to fight alongside us;
and the United Hanazuo Kingdom itself. Despite the fact that I’d
never so much as touched a sword before, I was the only one who could do this. I had to move fast.
“King Lance, please snap
out of it!”
“Someone call a doctor! His Majesty has gone mad!”
Even though I’d reached
the camp where Lance was to make my report, I could not utter a word. My mouth was agape as
chaos swirled around me. Lance was on the ground, clutching his head and screaming. I’d never seen him in
such a horrific state. It was as if his armor was too heavy for him and he couldn’t manage to
stand. Soldiers
tried to drag him back to his feet, but he fell right back down.
I stood frozen, my whole
body rejecting the sight before me.
“Oh, Prince Cedric! It’s
terrible! King Lance has…”
“Prince Cedric, Freesia
has invaded Chinensis!”
“Your orders, sir! At this rate, our army won’t be able to move!”
The soldiers shouted for
help when they spotted me. I could not so much as close my mouth, let alone respond to their
cries. I’d
neglected my princely studies my whole life; I couldn’t possibly command an
army like my brother did. All I could do was absorb the reality that I’d done this. I had backed Chinensis, Yohan, and Lance into a corner.
This must be what Hell is
like.
The armies of Copelandii,
Alata, and Rafflesiana greedily engulfed our lower ranks. The Freesian knights were
overrunning us as well. We were completely overwhelmed—and there was no hope of escape.
Our country had been
closed for nearly a hundred years. I’d never seen anything
like the Freesian royal order. They were like a swarm of
demons swooping in to consume us. I’d even seen a knight
capable of taking out dozens of soldiers in a single attack. Some knights shot fire,
others flew through the air, and still others ignored bullets as they
slaughtered the Chinensian troops. Were these knights even
human?
“Prince Cedric! Please, give us orders!”
My brother’s screams, the
agonized cries of Chinensians, the thunderous bombs raining down on us, and the
pleas of our soldiers bombarded my senses. I shuddered, my body numb
and heavy. Perhaps
I would be the next to succumb to madness amid this cacophony. My vision flickered out
and flashed white in a wild cycle, my head aching and mouth dry.
Desperate for a plan, I
racked my brain. Once, they’d called me “God’s Child.” I should have been able to
find a solution. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t led the Freesian
reinforcements straight into the country.
Yohan said he believed in
Freesia. Lance
convinced me that, with Freesian reinforcements, we could emerge from this war
victorious.
The citizens of Chinensis
were hesitant, but the queen had spoken to them.
“Would you rather have
Freesia wipe out your castle?”
“If you don’t want to
fight in Chinensis, then we’ll go ahead and invade Cercis ourselves.”
“You never should have
dragged me out here in vain.”
In the end, the
Chinensian people made up their minds to support Cercis. Thus, neither Lance nor
Yohan had criticized the queen for these threats. They said she’d only gone
that far to help protect Hanazuo. Freesia was the only
country to come to our aid, despite our lack of a formal relationship.
Once we understood what
Rajah intended to do to our country, there was no one we could turn to for
help. Muscari,
the only country Hanazuo traded with, was too small to fight in a war. They would never send
soldiers to a country they had no alliance with.
Believing we needed the
aid of a larger country, I had dug through the past fifteen years of alliance
proposals we’d received. I read through every last one, comparing them to what I knew of the
world and its geography, and found a single country that was big enough to help
us, did not depend on slavery, and could be a match for the Rajah Empire: the
kingdom of Freesia.
Freesia had stopped
proposing an alliance nine years ago, but it was the only scrap of hope I could
find. I
spent eight days searching for reinforcements, and after Chinensis suggested
disbanding our alliance, I fled the country to seek Freesia’s aid. I never once thought it
would lead my country straight to tragedy.
“Aaah!
What a lovely sight. I can watch Chinensis
come to an end from right here.”
A bloodcurdling voice
jolted me from my petrified state. When I turned, I found
the queen and her knights behind me. How was that possible? I’d escaped from her on
horseback, traveling as swiftly as possible. Her presence was enough to
send a chill down my spine.
More knights appeared
behind her, materializing out of thin air. The Freesian seneschal
appeared last. That young man, who emerged from nowhere just like the rest, pressed
his glasses up his nose. Behind them, his eyes were murky.
The queen issued a single
order, and her Freesian knights swept in to overpower Lance’s soldiers.
“Hmm… I wonder how much
longer this kingdom will hold out?” she said in gleeful singsong.
“I just
received word that my knights made it to the Chinensian castle and captured the
king!”
I gaped at her anew. The war only broke out an
hour ago, yet I didn’t doubt the queen’s boast.
She spread her arms wide,
sneering at the men around her. “Oh? What’s with him? Is that your king? Ah ha ha! What’s he yelling about? What an idiot, losing his
mind just because some country next door collapsed. Rulers of small countries
really aren’t up to the task, are they? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
The queen cackled at
Lance as though his suffering were a show for her amusement. Anger swelled within me,
leaving my body burning hot. I reached for the sword
at my hip, my desire to kill this cruel woman overwhelming all other thoughts. The monster simply went
on smiling at me, however.
Shiiing! Metal slid against metal,
and my sword slipped through thin air. While I was still in shock
over how fast she’d managed to knock my blade away, the queen struck me with
the blunt end of her own sword.
I grunted as I toppled to
the ground, the air knocked from my lungs. I clutched desperately at
my throat, fighting off the urge to vomit. The soldiers cried out,
but I could form no response through the coughing.
That single syllable from
her was all it took for the seneschal to spring into action. He teleported straight to
my side and coldly stepped on me as I writhed on the ground. I clenched my jaw, but
the weight of his foot only lasted an instant.
Suddenly, the world
blinked away, and I was in midair. Gravity took hold and
pummeled me back into the ground below. My armor creaked, which
was more than my voice could manage. I was breathless from the
impact of the fall. I stared blankly up at the sky as the queen’s cackles rang all around
me.
“Ahh… How amusing. I could watch that over and over again…”
Taking her words as a
signal, Stale stepped on my cracked armor once more. I knew he could and would
do this to me as many times as his queen wished, regardless of whether I cried,
broke bones, spit blood, lost consciousness, or died altogether. This would happen to me
again and again until the queen was satisfied. This man had been too
hardened by a life of doing her bidding and killing to care what happened to
me.
“Mm… That’s enough. I told you not to hurt
him, remember? Not yet,
anyway.”
I’d tensed in
anticipation of another fall, yet her words came as no relief. The queen stared down at
me with that same smile she always wore—like her lips had been pulled up with
strings.
Lance was still screaming. I reached out for him,
but my throat felt like it might collapse. I couldn’t call for him,
couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even reach him, in truth, as he lay too far away.
“Your screams are so
boring… Can’t you make better sounds than that?”
I heard metal glide
across leather, and my blood ran cold. The queen paced toward
Lance with her sword in hand, her intentions clear.
“N-no!
Don’t touch my
brother!” I croaked.
I thrashed and flailed as
much as possible, barely managing to graze the queen’s foot as she passed. I couldn’t grab her, not
while I was still struggling for breath, but the queen stopped anyway.
“Heh heh… Ah ha ha! Ahh, it’s just like before. You got on all fours and
begged me to save your country.” She bent down to peer
closely at me, and I shuddered from her crazed grin. I wanted to retch, but I
couldn’t tear my eyes away. At least her attention
was on me now.
Her mention of how I’d
begged twelve days ago made the incident replay in my mind. I’d arrived in Freesia
and pleaded for them to send troops at once, before it was too late. I’d gotten down in front
of the queen and bowed so low that my head hit the floor. I should have just given
up when she grinned at me. Even back then, it sent a chill racing down my spine. But it was far too late
for regrets now.
“You know something,
Prince Cedric…”
The queen’s voice
softened as she mocked me. The shock of my landing had worn off a bit, and I managed to lift my
head to meet her eyes. I infused my glare with every bit of malice I could muster, but it only
seemed to encourage her.
“I think I want to take
Cercis now too.”
Her grin pulled taut, and
her purple eyes widened. She was truly a horror. I locked up again,
incapable of responding.
“I’m going to start by
killing your king. That way, I can have all the gold I want and sell the people off as
slaves. All
of Chinensis’s treasures will be mine too. The people in Chinensis
can do what they want, as long as they give me all their jewels. That’s the plan Rajah and
I came up with in secret.”
My breath caught; my mind
reeled. I
ran her words through my head over and over again, not even blinking as they
set in. Though
I couldn’t say or do much, I summoned the strength to express my one and only
wish: “Stop…”
“Oh?
Did you say something?
Ha ha! You think you can resist me? You’re an imbecile who
brought me an invasion on a silver platter. You’re weak. You’re
stupid. You
can’t do more than wriggle on the ground like a worm.”
The queen scoffed at me
with contempt. Her sword flashed as she pointed it at Lance, mouthing the words, “I’ll kill him.”
My blood froze, and I
swallowed hard. She seemed to savor my ghostly pallor for a moment before she stood and
strolled closer to Lance. The nearby soldiers threw themselves in her path, but the woman sliced
cleanly through their armor. Still they leapt at her,
trying to protect the king, but the queen simply cut them down and shrieked
with laughter.
I yelled each man’s name
as he fell to her blade. My impeccable memory meant that their names, faces, and every word we’d
ever exchanged were fresh in my mind. All those memories were
completely useless right now.
“St-stop!
Don’t do it! Don’t hurt my soldiers or
my brother anymore!”
My screams tore my throat
raw. I
forced myself back to my feet as my voice rasped into something I barely
recognized.
The queen went still, her
sword hovering over the next soldier. Neither the knights nor
the seneschal tried to stop me as I took step after painful step toward her. I begged my limbs to
cooperate—whatever it took to get to my brother. The queen turned slowly,
like she’d been waiting for me all this time.
“Yes, Great Prince?” She grinned, her wide,
purple eyes burning brightly. I shoved down my fear to
face the queen head-on.
“Don’t touch them… Don’t
touch my brother, my soldiers, or my country!”
I hated myself for having
no weapon but my words. Not that a blade would’ve made a difference in my current state. I squeezed my fists and
took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
The queen tapped at her
lips, pretending to consider my plea. “Is that really how you
beg a superior for a favor?”
I ground my teeth
together so hard, they threatened to crack. The queen waited for a
response, her lips curling like a feral beast’s. I forced myself back down
to the ground, falling to one knee and bowing my head, but she jeered, “Is that
really all you can do?”
No, she wanted me to supplicate. Scowling, I abandoned all
shame and pressed my face into the dirt. “Please, I beg you! I’ll give you as much
gold as you want! So
please, have mercy! Spare our king and our citizens! I’ll do anything you ask of
me! Please!”
I prostrated myself
before the queen just as I had when I asked her to send reinforcements. Dirt smeared into my hair
and clothes. The queen cackled, clutching her stomach and pointing at me in my
pathetic state.
It was the ultimate
humiliation. Here I was, bowing to the woman who’d betrayed my country and
slaughtered my people. My chest ached, pulse pounding a hard and slow beat. A clammy sweat drenched
my whole body. But
I dared not lift my head.
The soldiers who defended
Cercis called my name, telling me not to do this. I couldn’t bear to
witness their painful expressions as they watched their prince debase himself
for this monster.
“Look at your pretty
face, all covered in dirt. I love
it.”
I jerked my head up at
her cheerful response. The queen wore a repulsive grin that stopped my heart and sent a shiver
through my body.
My shock seemed only to
please her even more. She cupped my cheeks like she was delicately handling a work of art. “I should have you
stuffed and mounted. You’d look so beautiful.”
Her soft tone and
enchanting eyes did little to lessen the blow of those words. I shakily turned my head
away, gulping around the lump in my throat.
My fists clenched as I
dredged up my next words. “I don’t care what you do with me! I’ll do whatever you want. As long as you listen to
my plea, you can stuff me, make me your dog, or use me as your toy. I’ll do it all!”
Bro saved me all those
years ago. He
saved me when I was nothing more than a plaything to all those adults!
No one meant as much to
me as Lance did. He’d given me common sense, direction, love—everything I had in my life now. I would do whatever it
took to save him. My own life was a small price to pay for the countries and citizens
that my two brothers loved so much.
An excited flush colored
the queen’s face. She stroked my hair before bringing her hand back down to my cheek. Her eyes were sharp and
cruel, her sadistic nature shining through. “What a lovely face,” she
murmured. I
was used to hearing that sort of compliment, but when she said it, I broke out
in goosebumps.
Once the queen had
finished drinking in my desperation, she snapped her fingers. Stale teleported to her
side and held out a piece of paper.
“Here’s your reward, Cedric. You get to sign this.”
I took the pen and scroll
held out for me. As I read the details of the contract, I realized in horror that this
had been part of the queen’s plan all along. The rights to all of our
gold would transfer to Freesia. In exchange, Freesia
would guarantee the safety of the royal family and protect the country from
Rajah and its colonies.
“I actually wanted to
kill the king before I made you sign this, but it’s not like he’s going to get
in my way now. You can sign this since you’re his successor, right?”
She sighed with
disappointment. I supposed Lance going mad had ruined her fun in some perverse way. Apparently, the crown
prince of Rajah, with whom she’d formed the secret pact, had told her he would
let the Cercian king’s convoy go free while they tried to carry out their sneak
attack. That
made me think she had been looking forward to dealing with us herself. But now that the king had
lost his mind, she was deprived of her fun.
Lance had stopped
screaming by this point, but he lay motionless on the ground. I could just see his legs
if I looked past the queen. I gripped the contract
carefully, trying not to tear it, and read it again and again.
“Why does it say ‘Cercis’
and not ‘Hanazuo’?! This means that Big Bro…that Chinensis will—”
“You have to sign it. You can’t protect them
otherwise, can you?”
“If you don’t sign it
right here and now, you’ll lose your king and your people. I decided I’d let you
protect them. Shouldn’t
you be thanking me?”
Thanking you for what?! I screamed in my mind. If Freesia had never
betrayed us, we really could have used their monstrous power to save Chinensis.
But I could
never say that out loud, no matter how much I wanted to. If she took away that
contract, we’d lose everything. I bit down on my own lip
so hard, I tasted blood. I shuddered, glaring at the queen, who was enjoying herself
tremendously.
She snapped her fingers
at her seneschal. “Bring
me citizens.”
The next second, five
people had teleported in front of us. With my perfect memory, I
knew these crying, quivering people were all Cercians—there could be no doubt. The knights had taken
them captive during the war, but they clearly had no idea why they were here.
“If you don’t sign this,
I’ll turn Cercis into a slave nation along with Chinensis. Actually, no… I’ll
enslave you all!”
The queen stepped away from
me, her sword now pointing at the Cercians. Knowing exactly what she
was planning, I sprang forward to stop her, but I’d hardly flinched before her
knights had me restrained.
“I hear it’s not very fun
to be a slave.”
She sneered, pacing in
her elegant high heels. Then she plunged her sword through one of the captives. Their scream pierced my
mind, banishing all other thoughts.
“You have no freedom. It’s far worse than being
someone’s toy or even livestock. Regardless of whether
your country is at war, your life becomes a living hell.”
One after another, she
slashed through the captives. She moved with ruthless
efficiency, cutting down person after person with a single swing apiece. I could only watch as the
Cercians met their fates—men, women, and children alike. One
hundred seventy-two seconds. That was how long it
took her to kill all five. I burned that number into my brain to be remembered for the rest of my
life.
“They’re all so
forgettable when they die like this. Slaves are exactly the same. It’s what’s going to
happen to all of them unless you sign the contract.”
Still smiling and making
her jabs, she snapped her fingers again. Stale brought her another
five Cercians in a flash, his face emotionless as he teleported them on top of
the still-warm corpses. As soon as the Cercians realized what they were standing on, they
screamed.
“If you don’t sign it,
they’ll die right here. Either way, this country will be mine. The only difference is
whether they die as slaves or as free citizens.”
She swung her sword,
stabbing the citizens like they were heaps of dirt rather than living,
breathing flesh. Her flagrant disregard for their lives was horrifying,
incomprehensible.
“No
more! I’ll do it! I’ll sign it right now! Just don’t hurt anyone else!” I cried.
Unable to bear any more,
I shouted for the queen in desperation. “Is that right?” she
teased. I
averted my eyes before scribbling my name down on the paper. Once the contract read
“Cedric Silva Lowell,” I held it up to show her. I believed that I’d just
saved my country’s people. But
then…
Slash! She brought her hand down and sent blood flying.
It wasn’t mine. She and the knights had slaughtered the remaining four captives, along
with the soldiers who’d tried to save Lance. They hadn’t even had time
to scream.
“Why?”
My voice
was hoarse, strangled by the shock tightening my throat. I couldn’t even manage to
cry. My mouth hung open. The queen snatched the
contract out of my hands, her eyes sparkling.
“The contract says that
Rajah and its colonies will preserve the country’s safety, right? It doesn’t say that
Freesia won’t cause you any harm or that it’ll preserve the life of every last
citizen. Ah ha ha ha ha!”
I was speechless. Before I could accuse her of deceiving me, my eyes trailed past the
puddle of blood.
Lance was on the other
side of the corpse pile. Fearing that the knights would turn their blades on him next, I crawled
forward, trembling. The queen let out another loud laugh at my pathetic state.
I was “God’s Child.” I remembered the names of
those soldiers. I remembered the names and faces of every Chinensian I’d ever met. And now I would likewise
remember how they looked the moment they perished, expressions frozen in death.
I pulled aside the bodies
one by one to find Lance hidden behind them. They’d been so desperate
to protect him, and the height of the heap proved it. Once I’d moved the last
body, I finally found him, prone on the ground. My heart stuttered at the
sight of my brother drenched crimson with the blood of his soldiers.
“Don’t worry. I let him live, since the contract included a guarantee of the royal
family’s safety. Aren’t
you pleased?” the queen said.
My mind was empty; I
couldn’t even react. Instead I dragged Lance out of the pile of bodies, sitting him up so he
could breathe better. He was wide-eyed and convulsing, a sight I would surely never forget.
I had no idea what to do
about any of the horrors before me. What was happening? How had I managed to
invite a more dreadful monster than Rajah into my home?
I’d been chanting those
words in my mind for some time, but they finally whispered past my lips. I’d thought the phrase
203 times so far. All the while, the queen went on laughing, draining color from the
world around me until it went dark. She held up the contract
as my soul left my body. Blood spattered her face from how she’d stomped on soldiers’ corpses,
and there was a terrifying glint in her captivating eyes.
“You beautiful, foolish
prince,” she said. “There’s still lots more fun to be had.”
Her carefree smile filled
my vision. Her
eyes, mouth, teeth, nose, and skin—all of it made me want to retch. She was no human—she was
a monster.
It wasn’t supposed to go
this way. All
I’d wanted to do was help my brothers. They’d always been there
to save me, and I wanted to save them in return. But in the end, the only
thing someone as stupid as me could do was make a mess for everyone.
Do I need to pay even
more for the sin of being so foolish?
I cradled the limp,
convulsing king in my lap. The scent of our beloved country burning around us stung my nose. The cries of the dying
and the cackling of the queen rang in my ears. I saw nothing but red.
“Your Majesty! What’s the meaning of this?! You said… Freesia said
you would come here as reinforcements!” I said.
“Really?
Did we say that,
King Yohan?”
The very knights who were
supposed to rescue me now had me surrounded. I shouted at the queen
from where I knelt, but she simply twirled her hair around her fingers and
played innocent.
“I only followed the
contract Prince Cedric signed,” she said.
Her smirk twisted as I
cried out in disbelief. She snapped her fingers and Stale, the Freesian seneschal standing a
few steps behind her, came forward with a piece of paper. It claimed that Freesia
had been granted all rights to gold ownership from Cercis. In exchange, Cercis and
the royal family would receive protection from Rajah and its colonies.
“Cedric Silva Lowell.” I could not deny that
his signature was right there at the bottom of the contract. I was still struggling to
take in the truth laid plainly before me as the queen approached.
“Prince Cedric came
crying to me,” she explained. “He thought Rajah might
come after Cercis, too, so he told me he’d agree to anything as long as I saved
them.”
She had to be lying. Cedric would never say
something like that. After all, he’d gone out there to bring back reinforcements not just
for Cercis but for Chinensis too. He’d left the very day I
told him I was dissolving the alliance.
“You ended your alliance,
right?” the queen went on.
“That must
be why he told me he didn’t care what happened to Chinensis and begged me to
save Cercis.”
I could scarcely breathe. The queen laughed as I
trembled on my knees. I’d dissolved the alliance to keep Cercis out of harm’s way, so why
would Cedric do something like this?
“That’s why I told him
he’d have to betray Chinensis if he wanted to offer everything to me,” the
queen said. “I said you had to fight and couldn’t surrender. Then I told him I’d
protect his country, and his country alone, if he gave me all their gold.”
No, it’s not possible. It can’t be! She’s
the one who pushed us to war. This wicked queen had to
be toying with my emotions. I couldn’t believe that
Cercis had been taken hostage. Except…Cedric had indeed
been the one who brought the queen here in the first place.
I tried to shake off the doubts, clenching my jaw. The queen just kept on
smirking in my periphery, but I hardly noticed. No. No, I can’t doubt Cedric’s motives and blindly trust this queen
instead. She
must have deceived that kindhearted boy and forced him to sign. But…how could she
possibly trick him into signing something like this?
The poison she’d poured
into my heart was setting in. The contract never
mentioned Chinensis or Hanazuo. All it did was guarantee
the safety of Lance and Cedric, as Cercis’s royal family.
“Bro!
Big Bro! I brought reinforcements! Freesia’s gonna help us! Now you don’t have to
surrender!”
When I reflected on that
moment and Cedric’s hopeful smile, his reassurance took on new meaning. Everything had seemed so
bright and optimistic in the moment, but now I looked back on a muted scene.
I went limp and fell to
my knees within the circle of knights. These disgraceful
thoughts wouldn’t leave me. The queen loosed a shrill laugh as her knights dragged me back to my
feet.
“As promised, Cedric
betrayed Chinensis and proved to me that he was sincere. That’s why I let him sign
this contract,” she said.
The sickening notion
knotted my stomach. I scrambled for an explanation, but I couldn’t deny her words. I found only one sliver of
hope in all of this.
“What about Lance?!” I
asked. “He’s
the king of Cercis, and he would never allow Cedric to sign such a thing! Your contract means nothing!”
“And what do you think
that king can do in his current state?”
The queen snapped her
fingers for the third time. Stale instantly appeared in the room—this time with Cedric, who cradled
a bloody Lance in his arms. My
jaw dropped. Though I still struggled to comprehend the power of teleportation, I
was far too fixated on my two friends to think about it.
I had to know they were
all right. I
reached for them, but the queen had handcuffed me. She ordered the knights
to release Cedric, and he rushed over to me, his golden hair obscuring his
lowered face the whole way.
“What happened to Lance?! Cedric, is he…?!”
It brought me no relief
to see them in such a state. Lance’s eyes were dry and wide, his face contorted into an expression
I’d never seen before. He was clearly unwell. His sweaty body shook
violently, but he didn’t manage a single word. All he could muster were
incoherent cries in this state of apparent insanity.
“Bro didn’t know about
any of this,” Cedric said. “When Freesia betrayed us, he went mad…”
Cedric still couldn’t
look me in the eyes, staring at his brother instead. The prince was limp from
despair and his own powerlessness. I grabbed his slumped
shoulders and shook him.
“You didn’t betray us,
right, Cedric?! Answer me! How could you sell
Chinensis to Freesia?!”
Cedric whipped his head
up at that. Tears
sprang to his fiery eyes. He screwed up his already tearstained face and raised his voice. “I didn’t! I didn’t betray you! I just…”
“Oh?
Go on, Prince Cedric. Is he wrong?” the queen interjected.
He shivered at the sound
of her voice. His eyes went wide, a single tear spilling over.
The queen grinned cruelly
at his obvious terror. “You promised, remember? You said you would never
lie when I asked you something.”
As her laughter grew, so
did the intensity of Cedric’s quavering. He shuddered like he was
reliving some awful memory.
With Cedric now under her
control, the queen raised her voice. “Answer me now. You read the contract and signed it knowing exactly what it said,
didn’t you?”
Cedric’s face scrunched
tighter in pain as the queen held up the contract. “I did.”
I couldn’t believe it. Was it true after all? Had Cedric really agreed
to those conditions?
“You begged me, remember?” the queen pressed. “You said you’d give me all your gold. You said you’d do
anything I wanted if I spared your king and citizens.”
“Yes, I did…” Cedric
acknowledged.
This all felt like some
sort of sick game. It had to be a trap, yet Cedric had walked right into it. She was trying to pit us
against each other, and Cedric was doing nothing to stop her. His hands shook as he
held his brother.
“You knew I would abandon
Chinensis, didn’t you? Yet you signed the contract anyway. Am I mistaken?”
“That’s right!” Cedric shouted, his face bright red. “But you still killed all
those soldiers and townsfolk right in front of me!”
I staggered, surprised he
wasn’t spitting flames at the queen. I knew him well enough to
believe this was the truth, but looking at the raging prince and sneering queen
froze me in place.
He sold out Chinensis for
Lance and for Cercis. It was the only conclusion I could reach with the facts before me. The prince had abandoned
Chinensis and signed the contract to save his own people. Once the queen had
successfully duped him, the Freesians slaughtered the Cercian knights and
townsfolk. Lance
couldn’t have known any of this if he’d already fallen to madness. Once he learned of
Freesia and his brother’s betrayals, he would utterly break.
It all came together. My only small bit of
relief was that Lance, my best friend, hadn’t been the one to betray me. I understood why Cedric
had made the choices he’d made. He had to sacrifice
something to protect his homeland. But still…
Fury surged through me. It’s unforgivable. Unforgivable! Unforgivable! My chest was boiling, and
before I realized what I was doing, I snatched the collar of Cedric’s shirt and
punched him in the face.
Cedric’s body hit the
ground with a thud. I’d never hit someone before, but my heart was aching much more than my
fist. Somehow,
even though all the rest of us were busy fighting, Cedric didn’t have a scratch
on him. Partnering
with Freesia must have allowed him to get away unscathed, unlike everyone else.
I ripped Lance out of
Cedric’s arms and set him on the ground. Cedric was still pale
from my punch. He looked dazed and confused, but before he could ask, I grabbed the
front of his shirt and slammed him onto his back on the floor.
“Why did you betray us,
Cedric?!” I screamed. “Why did you betray Lance
and me?! You’re
the only ones I believed in!”
My roar startled him, and
he just stared back at me. I blamed him far more for this betrayal than Freesia—though if that
simpleminded prince didn’t get why, I would pay it no heed.
“I trusted you!” I
shouted. “All
these years, I thought we were brothers!”
When I lifted Cedric up
by the collar, the cross pendant he wore under his shirt slipped out. It was a dagger to the heart.
I’d given
him that as a symbol of our sworn brotherhood…and Cedric still betrayed me in
the end.
“You’re wrong!” he
whimpered. “I
didn’t betray you… I just… I just…!”
He looked dazed, barely
even blinking as tears rolled down his cheeks. It was like he couldn’t
grasp what was going on, the gravity of what he’d done. But I was too immersed in
my rage and hurt to care about his feelings
here.
He was right about one
thing: This wasn’t a “betrayal,” as Cedric insisted. All he did was abandon
Chinensis after we ended our alliance. The second-born prince of
Cercis did whatever he had to do to protect his own country, regardless of what
it meant to ours, considering we weren’t even allies.
Cedric cried and reached
his shaky hands toward me. He clearly didn’t understand. He seemed to be chewing
over his words before trying to lay out his truth for me. Then he gently squeezed my
hand, which was gripping his shirt.
“Please believe me, Big Bro! I wanted to protect Hanazuo! I never wanted to betray it! I brought Freesia here
because I thought they’d help, but they turned on us all! She took Cercis and my
brother as hostages and forced me to sign that—”
“Didn’t I warn you not to
lie, Cedric?” the queen cut
in. “It was
my one condition if you wanted me to stop killing Cercians.”
He must have been lying,
if what the queen suggested was true.
“I’m not lying!” Cedric protested, but he faltered there. Perhaps his fear of the
queen prevented him from pushing any more than that, but it left me still
feeling like he’d deceived me.
“I’ll ask you again,
Cedric, so be honest,” the queen said slowly, and he went stiff. “You signed this contract
knowing you would be abandoning Chinensis if it meant saving your country and
people. You
understood that and signed out of your own free will, didn’t you?”
Cedric gritted his teeth. With an anguished look,
his hands shook around mine. The look on his face was
enough to spark a faint hope in my mind—maybe he really was threatened into signing
that contract.
Hoping the queen couldn’t
hear me, I whispered, “Cedric, this is your last chance. Tell me the truth. If you really think of me
as your brother, then I deserve to know. Answer her question
honestly.”
Silence reigned. Cedric, still shaking, couldn’t tear his eyes away from mine. A soft sigh of a breath
escaped his lips.
Tears spilled down his
cheeks. His
voice was weak and hoarse, but the queen heard every word.
“The queen’s not lying…
She’s right… All I could think about was saving Cercis…”
He seemed to have no
choice but to confirm the Freesian queen’s depiction of the facts, regardless
of the circumstances that led to them. He bawled like a child,
but I didn’t believe he was lying. I’d seen him cry like
this for years now. I had to accept this horrible reality.
“I trusted you,” I said. “I thought we were family. I thought we were brothers. I thought you were a good
person. I
never expected Lance’s brother could turn on his own.”
I released my grip on
Cedric’s collar—not out of mercy but out of total defeat. I cupped Lance’s face, my
glasses slipping off and hitting the floor as I bent over him.
My feelings of betrayal
had twisted and morphed from anger and despair into pure, white-hot hatred.
Cedric stared at me in
disbelief. “Big
Bro,” he uttered quietly.
That name he’d always
called me made me nauseous now.
“You repulse me,” I said. “You make me sick. I
hate you. I hate you so
much! I’ll
curse you and detest you for the rest of my life!”
There was no ridding my
heart of this hatred.
Tears rolled down my face. I spoke more viciously
than ever before, and it seemed to rattle Cedric to his core. He floundered,
uncomprehending, as though I were speaking in tongues.
“Cedric Silva Lowell, the
second-born prince of Cercis who betrayed Chinensis. God’s Child, cursed and
corrupted by God Himself. You’ll never forget this moment, this betrayal, or your sins so long as
you live. May
you suffer eternally under the weight of your crimes.”
The hatred burning inside
me left a scar on my heart. I spoke almost without thinking, the words coming out on their own as
my chest ached from this betrayal, from this destruction of our entire history
together.
“I can’t believe you’re
related to someone as pure as Lance.”
Those words would hurt
Cedric the most. Plus, as God’s Child, he would never forget this—none of it. The present moment would
become a lifelong wound left to fester and rot inside him.
“I’ll never forgive you,”
I went on. “Not ever. You’re the complete
opposite of Lance. God’s Child? You’re no child of God. No, they should call you
Unwanted Child. Just look at how you’ve destroyed Lance’s happiness. It’s all your fault, all
your fault, all your fault! No one will ever trust or
accept you again. Just like today, whenever you meet someone new…”
I paused, staring at the
unblinking, barely breathing Cedric as his crimson eyes filled with true
despair. His
face went pale, and tears tracked down his cheeks. He resembled nothing so
much as a weeping corpse.
“…you’ll just betray them
and lose everything again.”
Cedric had spent years
unable to believe in other people, and I callously hurled his heart into doubt
and mistrust all over again. His gaze went dull. Despite Lance’s efforts to lift the burden of shame from Cedric’s
shoulders, I placed it right back atop him, even as his tears flowed from his
lifeless eyes.
Shameless. What a
shameless question to ask. My anger flared and I
grabbed for Cedric’s neck. But just before I could squeeze my fingers tightly around it…
“I’ll swear it too, Lance. Let’s always look out for
each other. If I fail at something, then you’ll cover for me, and if you fail at
something, I’ll cover for you. We’ll always protect the
things we love.”
Those words from deep in
my past flashed through my mind. It was a promise I’d
exchanged with Lance. Despite everything, Lance would probably still protect Cedric, his
beloved younger brother. That much hadn’t changed, even though that beloved brother had sullied
his hands to protect Lance and their homeland.
No. This may be Lance’s dear brother, but to me,
he’s just a disgusting traitor. This isn’t something “we”
love. I—
“I trust Prince Yohan as
much as I trust my brother. So I’m gonna call him Big Bro. It’s a special nickname
I’m using just for him.”
I hated this repulsive,
unforgivable traitor. I
yearned to kill him. But I couldn’t shake my memories of bonding with Lance, of Cedric
earnestly calling me “Big Bro.” Even though the prince
didn’t resist, I couldn’t bring myself to tighten my grip and strangle him. As if God himself had put
a stop to this, my body refused to obey my command.
I struggled a bit longer
before finally releasing Cedric’s neck. I stared down at the prince. With Cedric reduced to
little more than dead weight, I leaned down to share one last curse.
“I pray that everyone in
this world curses and rebukes you for all time.”
Cedric flinched. He moaned quietly and began to cry anew. Perhaps his sins had
finally sunk in, but I put him out of my sight, turning toward Lance where he
lay. His
eyes were still open, so I gently closed his eyelids before praying that my
friend might soon come to.
I found my glasses and put
them back on, this time facing the queen as the Cercian king. “Now, what contract shall
I sign? Has
a representative from Copelandii arrived yet?”
My homeland could not win. More of our soldiers died
every moment. I had to sign whatever contract she required and put an end to this war
as soon as possible.
The queen still had her
rapt gaze pinned on Cedric, who was sprawled out on the floor. “Let’s see… They’ll
probably be here in half a day or so.”
I gasped. Even with the outcome decided, she wasn’t going to end the war. My people would go on
being slaughtered for hours.
As I stuttered, Stale
broke his silence and spoke as the seneschal for the first time. “Copelandii, Alata, and
Rafflesiana have no interest in stopping until they’ve invaded all of
Chinensis, from the castle town to the farmlands. They’ll keep going until
you learn your lesson for resisting the Rajah Empire.”
They weren’t going to let
me surrender. I stared out the window in a daze. Chinensis already lay in
ruin, reduced to a sea of smoke and fire. Screams echoed in the
distance.
“That can’t be!” I said. “Please, allow us to
surrender! We’ve already
lost! I
can’t let more people be hurt! Rajah can’t want to lose
out on potential slaves, can they?!”
It made me sick to talk
about my people as slaves, but right now, all that mattered was ending the war
as quickly as possible. Even if we became a country that legalized slavery, shipped out our
citizens as slaves, lost our name, and became Rajah’s colony, it was worth it
so long as I could stop the slaughter of the Chinensian people.
“I can’t speak to any of
that,” the queen said. “We’re from Freesia, not Rajah. Besides, you tend to get
more people either way if you sit around and wait, right? Or, if I need to describe
the situation in a way that’s easier for you to get through your head…”
Her boredom shifted to
something more sinister. A smile coiled on her face. I was rooted to the spot
as her gaze shifted from Cedric to me, struggling not to recoil from her
repulsive grin.
She raised her arms to
the ceiling, as though channeling words straight from the heavens. “Don’t you think God is
telling you to die already?”
I went perfectly still,
all words stolen from my lips. My throat went dry and my
mouth hung open. I couldn’t even keep hold of my hatred of Cedric or my worry for Lance.
It was blasphemy against
my faith, my God, my people’s lives, everything we had. She’d scoffed at God’s
will, suggesting he was responsible for Chinensis’s collapse, Cedric’s
betrayal, and the fact that both Freesia and Copelandii had targeted us.
“It seems like this
outcome is proof of that,” the queen added casually.
I sprang into action
before logic could stop me. I lunged for her, but
knights instantly restrained me. I let out a bloodcurdling
scream of rage, but my struggles were useless; I couldn’t get free. I could only howl like
some wild beast. I
didn’t feel like myself. Hatred had so utterly overwhelmed me that it superseded rational
thought.
The queen seemed to enjoy
the sight. Her
lips curled into an even more menacing smile. “Ah ha ha! You
look terrible. Chinensis, a nation supposedly favored by God, has this for a king?”
Jubilant, she cupped my
cheek while the knights held me back. I desperately tried to
shake her off, but Stale grabbed my head and forced me to remain still. It was easier for her to
toy with me this way. The queen dug her nails into my skin like she was sharpening a set of
talons.
“I’ve made up my mind,”
she said. “I’ll let you
live. I
want to see you fall even deeper into despair.”
She scraped her sharp
nails down my cheek, leaving hot tracks in their wake. Then she released me and
ordered her knights to throw me in jail. I thrashed in vain as
they dragged me out of the room, my wails echoing down the halls long after the
heavy door to the throne room slammed shut.
I was left in the throne
room with the Freesian knights, seneschal, and queen. Once Yohan’s voice had
faded away, the room fell silent except for the distant screams from town.
“Why?
Why, Big Bro…?” I whispered.
I was still on the floor,
staring up at nothing and muttering to myself. The queen noticed, and her
high heels clacked closer until she grinned down at me.
“Too bad,” she said. “I wanted to watch him
strangle you. Ah ha ha!” When I didn’t react and
merely kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling, the queen crouched down beside me. “You were a good boy,
telling the truth like you promised. Right? You never told a single lie. Hee hee!”
The giggle slipped out of
her. She
stroked my bangs, brushing the blond strands back to get a better look at my
face.
“You begged me to protect
Hanazuo,” she said flatly. “You didn’t plead innocent, mention Freesia’s betrayal, or say that you
were threatened, did you? You poor, poor thing.”
I stayed still as a corpse. My brother, on the other
hand, twitched and groaned—at least he was alive.
She was right; I hadn’t lied.
Until the
very end, I’d told the truth. After all, the queen had
taken Cercians hostage and ordered me to answer her questions honestly. I thought it would be
easy enough to avoid lying—especially to Yohan, my big bro. But my desperate pleas
had all been drowned out by the queen, not a single one reaching him. Now he believed her
instead of me, the man he once thought of as his little brother.
“Gilbert’s so smart,” the
queen remarked. “Aha! He really planned it all
out perfectly. I guess old fools can be useful sometimes.”
Her obvious pleasure
suggested she’d plotted this from the start: a way to ruin my relationship with
Yohan. I
knew the Freesian prime minister was cunning, an expert at influencing others’
decisions and judgments. He was the one to craft this sinister plan, and the queen had used his
assessments to orchestrate this ghastly spectacle.
“You should learn from
him,” the queen told the seneschal at her side. He silently bowed his
head, and she flicked her hand to order his departure. Then she reached out toward
me. “Hey, prince. Are you dead? You’re being boring.”
“Sad, isn’t it?” she
went on. “You
worked so hard to stop your country from going down with Hanazuo, but no one
wants to give you any praise. You’ve been so truthful,
but no one believes you…and they never will.”
Only my tears proved I
still lived. I didn’t so much as flinch, no matter what terrible things the queen
whispered to me. But every single word was stored away in my brain. Because of my innate
ability, I would remember them all with perfect, torturous clarity.
Seemingly bored of
stroking my cheek, she scratched me without warning. Her long, sharp nail cut
my delicate skin, but I did not even wince.
She sighed in resignation. Then a horrible smile
twisted her face. “Hey, would you like me to get revenge for you?”
I finally blinked,
glaring at the queen. That renewed her excitement.
“I think I’ll burn King
Yohan at the stake, but you can be the one to light the fire,” she said. “Oh, that’s right! Shall we include the
Chinensian citizens along with him? King Yohan didn’t trust
you, so he deserves to suffer. Don’t you think that sounds—”
Rage flared within me,
reigniting my body. The queen grinned with glee, thrilled to have finally struck a nerve,
and I clenched my jaw.
“Don’t hurt Big Bro and
Chinensis anymore! I’ve done everything you asked, haven’t I?!”
“Sure, but I only
promised not to hurt Cercis. Don’t you remember? It had nothing to do with
Chinensis. This
place is just going to end up as a colony of Rajah and—”
“Then it doesn’t belong to
you! You’ve
already tortured him enough!” I shouted, desperate to
protect Yohan, who’d lost his kingdom in the first place because of me.
She flipped her hair over
her shoulder, clearly enjoying this. I sat up quick, though
she was unruffled.
“How come? Why do you still want to protect him?” she asked me, cocking her
head like a fascinated child. A dangerous glint lit her
large eyes.
Her naked curiosity shook
me too much for me to bother brushing my own messy locks out of the way. “Because I care about him. Do I need a reason? I would do anything for
Bro or Big Bro—”
“Even though he called
you ‘Unwanted Child’?”
The queen was the one to
cut in this time. I saw myself reflected in her eager purple eyes. It was a simple question,
yet it left me immobilized—a statue all over again. More tears flowed from my
eyes, as if someone had turned the faucet of my despair back on. With that simple
question, she’d brought back every awful curse Yohan had flung at me. It all returned just as
vividly as the moment it first occurred, a visceral hell of my own making. I would never escape
those words, now or in the future.
“Aha!
Did you break?” the queen said,
thoroughly entertained by my fresh bout of crying. She poked my cheek,
amused, then shoved my unresponsive body back to the floor.
“Ah… How funny. You’re so funny, Cedric.”
She stroked my golden
hair, moving my bangs to peer into my eyes. Then she turned her gaze
on Lance, who quaked beside us.
“You know something? I was going to torture
your brother to the brink of death, make it so he could never live on his own
again, and then have him sign the contract.”
Her gleeful reveal of an
unthinkable nightmare made my whole body jolt. For a brief moment, I was
glad my brother had gone mad. It was better than the
alternative.
“You would have suffered
a whole lot more that way, right? King Yohan would have
hated you so much more too. I mean…”
She trailed off to lean
close to my ear, her face blushing bright with elation.
“I knew what I was going
to say and everything. ‘Cedric tore King Lance limb from limb for the sake of himself and his
people.’”
I sprang into motion,
grabbing her dress and yanking myself up to glare at her. Our foreheads nearly
touched as I let loose.
“Who would believe a joke
like that?!”
I
would die before I ever hurt Lance. I clenched my teeth
together hard enough to crack them, my eyes boring into hers, but she only
smiled, unaffected.
“‘Unwanted Child.’ ‘I’ll never forgive you.’ ‘I’ll curse you.’ ‘How
disgusting.’”
Those were the words
Yohan had just said to me earlier, now repeated by the queen. I steeled myself,
resisting the pain the memory elicited, but tears tracked down my cheeks just
the same.
I reached for her neck,
and her knights moved in. The queen stopped them, basking in my obvious hatred.
“You ask who would believe
it? Ah ha
ha ha ha ha… Who in this world would believe you?!”
Her rebuttal left me weak. She brushed my hands
aside, then wrapped her fingers around my throat.
“You can kill me if you
want, Cedric. But as soon as I die, Chinensis and Cercis will both become Rajah’s
colonies. The
truth is that Rajah wanted to destroy both halves of the United Hanazuo Kingdom
all along.”
I gulped, eyes bulging. My mouth hung open as I
stared dumbfounded at the queen. Her expression grew more
terrifying by the second.
“Really, you should be
thanking me,” she said. “I’m the one who took you into my care. All I demanded for my
help was the right to rule Cercis and Chinensis’s minerals. Cercis would be a sea of
fire right about now if it weren’t for me.”
She looked out the
window, where destruction rained down at her command. I was too shocked to
speak and simply shook my head. She
smirked.
“It’s the truth!” she said with a chuckle.
Pain twisted my pale face. My lips quivered, my whole
body rejecting her words. Even after all this, I’d underestimated just how deep this pit of
misery went.
“Why?!
Why must you
attack our country so—”
The queen grinned at my
confusion. She
swept her hair aside and leaned in so close she might have kissed me.
“I wanted to see that
pretty face of yours in complete and utter agony.”
I froze, my jaw jerking
from how hard I clenched my teeth. “That’s the reason?” I
asked. Every
moment that I shook before her, she smiled more lovingly at me, ecstasy plain
on her face.
“Ahh… I want to see your
beautiful face contort even more. You should be happy! At least you managed to
save your country thanks to those looks. Heh heh heh… Ha ha!”
Her crazed smile plunged
me deeper into despair, yet some tiny spark of hope nestled in my chest as
well. She
seemed to savor the turbulence of my shifting emotions; perhaps I could use
that.
“You know… I could still
do the things I mentioned earlier,” she said.
Her purple eyes watched
my every move. I swallowed, blinking rapidly, my breath coming in ragged sips as I
tried to hold strong. The queen absorbed every second of it, tracing her delicate finger down
my sweat-dotted throat.
“I could take your
brother, King Lance, and cut him up bad enough that he could never live on his
own again. I
could burn King Yohan and his people at the stake. It would be so easy,
wouldn’t it?”
My blood turned to ice. I ground my teeth together.
“No,” I managed to say
around my shuddering breaths. I shook my head, my
control faltering. The queen, on the other hand, looked happier than ever.
“Didn’t I tell you to
listen to everything I told you? Fine. I’ll make you listen.”
Her grin grew, an ugly
gash opening on her face. She breathed poison into my ears.
“‘You repulse me,’” she said.
“‘You make me sick. I
hate you. I hate you so
much! I’ll
curse you and detest you for the rest of my life!’ How does it feel to be
hated by someone you trusted?”
She reminded me of those
words in a delighted singsong. Sweat soaked my entire
body, my teeth chattering.
“‘God’s Child, cursed and
corrupted by God Himself.’ Was
that it? Now be honest
with me. Did that hurt? Were you sad? Do you hate him?! Tell me.”
Her attack went straight
to my heart, and I shuddered fiercely. I set my jaw to keep my
teeth steady. I would always recall how it felt to hear those words coming from a man
I loved like a brother. It would plague me forever.
“I won’t know unless you
tell me,” she went on. “If you refuse, I’ll bring the two of them here and—”
“No! Don’t…hurt them… I don’t
want them to die! No more!”
My cries echoed through
the room. I
clutched my head, unable to take this abuse any longer. Her interest rekindled,
the queen released me, stepping back to get a better look.
“It hurts! It’s
killing me!” I said, clutching at my armored chest like I was having a heart attack.
I started
at a scream but descended to a whisper as I went on, letting my emotions gush
forth. “My chest is
burning up! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts! I’m…so sad!” By the time I finished,
tears spilled from my eyes.
I would say whatever the
queen wanted to save my brothers and my country. But once I got going, I
found I couldn’t stop. I named every emotion stabbing at me, listing them out in a torturous
exercise. All
the while, I yanked at my hair, my face screwed up into a horrific expression
of pain and anguish.
“Why?
Why, Big Bro?!” I said. “Why do
you hate me? Why
didn’t you believe me?!”
My screams echoed off the
walls. I
let my tears flow without restraint. When the queen demanded to
hear more, I sobbed, hung my head, and wailed, grabbing at my own throat.
“I just wanted to protect
them! I
wanted to save Bro, Big Bro, and the people! He…he promised me! So why did he say that?! He said…he said he didn’t
feel that way!”
“I don’t hate you. I don’t think you’re disgusting or repulsive at all.”
It had all come undone. Ages ago, Yohan had
sealed a promise between us with those kind words—but what happened here today
erased all that. Once, he’d been my salvation; now, he’d broken my heart into pieces.
I cried and cried,
squeezing my throat harder, coughing up blood from how I screamed and wailed. I wanted Yohan to trust
me, but it was my own foolishness that had put us in a situation like this, a
situation we could never recover from. No matter how much Yohan
hated me, no matter how much he wanted to kill me, all I wanted was for him to
believe in me. I wanted to save them. I wanted to protect
everyone.
“Tell me,” the queen said. “What did King Yohan say
to you at the very end?”
The queen seemed
spellbound by my howling. The more I cried and shook, the more keenly she watched me, like I was
a piece of art she particularly adored.
“‘I pray that everyone in
this world…’”
My face went still and
blank as I slipped back into a daze. My eyes clouded over, my
anguished expression smoothing. The queen pouted at me,
likely sensing her fun was coming to an end. I knew she preferred my
pain to the moments when I simply stared into the distance with no discernible
emotion.
“‘…curses and rebukes you
for all time.’”
I recited those words
like I was reading from a page. My hoarse voice lacked
any inflection. Once I’d finished, I fell totally still, my eyes without light. Yet tears dripped down my
cheeks, and the queen stroked my hair.
“Aww… It’s all right,
Cedric. I won’t say
that to you.”
Her words almost sounded
like compassion or mercy, but her amused tone told a different story. Her warped smile and sharp
gaze returned.
“I mean, your reaction’s
just so boring. I want to see your face twist up even more beautifully.”
“I trusted you. I
trusted you. I trusted you. I trusted you.” I repeated it over and
over and over as she brushed my moving lips with a ruthless grin.
“Don’t worry. Just keep suffering by my hand, Cedric Silva Lowell.”
I didn’t respond. I just tonelessly went on saying those same three words before
whispering one final plea.
I couldn’t even see the
queen anymore. She’d disappeared from my field of vision. I saw and heard nothing
but the brother in my memories, the brother who loved me, the brother who now
hated and cursed me. In the end, I couldn’t even bring myself to pray that this was all just
a nightmare.
Chapter 7:
Return to the Present
STEP, STEP… The younger Freesian
princess quickened her pace when she spotted me giving orders to the knights.
She called out to me in a
clear voice, and I glanced over my shoulder. When our eyes met, I
bowed and smiled. She’d mostly been staying with her sister since the war ended, but now
she’d slipped away from the crown princess and her guards to come see me alone.
“What is it, Princess Tiara? Did something happen in
Princess Pride’s room?” I asked softly, placing a hand over my chest.
I knew Prince Cedric
would be visiting Princess Pride right about now. Princess Tiara glanced
down and up again, raising her head high to fix her gaze on mine. The knights next to me
paid us no mind, busy setting up a broadcast point for the communication
specialists.
“Yes.
I came here
to ask something very important, Prime Minister Gilbert,” she said.
I blanched at the grave
expression on her face, but I had a pretty solid idea as to what this was
about. For
the sake of privacy, I ordered the knights to exit the room.
My throat bobbed as I
swallowed, but I listened earnestly to what she had to say.
“By the way, Gilbert, how
are Maria and Stella doing?” Stale
asked me.
It was three days after
the war ended and we had just finished up organizing documents together in the
Chinensian castle. I was on my way out to make my report when he abruptly questioned me
about my wife and child. It caught me off guard, to be honest, and I stopped in my tracks.
Before I replied, I
glanced out the castle window. Life was returning to
normal in the town. The peace and normalcy were proof of Yohan’s supreme abilities as a
ruler. In
just three days, he’d restored his country to this point. The citizens of Cercis
were equally devoted to the revitalization of their country, and soldiers
stationed throughout town were helping with the efforts.
I turned back toward the
prince to see that he’d likewise averted his gaze and was watching the town
with sudden interest. “They’re doing very well,” I said. “I spoke to them a bit
last night. I believe they’re out doing some major shopping with our employees
right about now, since it’s been so long. They should be with the
guards and knights dispatched from the castle too, of course.”
“What do you mean, ‘major
shopping’?” Stale
asked, brow furrowed.
Stale instantly understood. “Don’t tell me they made
it back to Freesia in a single day…”
Val and the children had
rejected Stale’s offer to teleport them back home, instead returning to Freesia
via Val’s special power. Stale had only learned of this well after they’d left, however.
I dipped my head. “Thank you very much for all your help.”
My gentle tone prompted
him to look my way. He crossed his arms and scowled. “I didn’t do it just for
you, so don’t bow your head to me. If you want to thank me,
do it with your actions. Next time, be sure to ask me and Elder Sister for help.”
He pushed his glasses up
with a glare, but I heard the kindness behind his rebuke. My smile grew a bit wider.
“Yes, I promise.” I tilted my head to one side. “You know, I’m really
starting to see the resemblance…”
“To
whom?” Stale asked,
puzzled. “Are
you still saying we resemble each other? Or do you mean Uncle Vest
and me? I’ve
been hearing that more these days. I really respect him, so
I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I chuckled at his
sarcastic response. I’d watched him grow to resemble the seneschal more and more ever since
he’d taken on the job of steward. But
now…
“No, I mean you resemble
Princess Pride and Sir Arthur.”
This time, Stale stared
at me with wide eyes.
I couldn’t help laughing
at his startled look. “Oh, do you mean you never noticed it yourself?”
Stale flushed redder than
I’d ever seen. He covered his mouth with the back of one hand and waved his other hand
toward the door, gesturing for me to leave. “Don’t flatter me. Go report to the king
already.”
“It’s not flattery,” I
said simply. I set my hand on the door, ready to leave as he’d instructed.
Stale was now using his
entire arm to cover the pink in his cheeks. His free hand, as well as
those jet-black eyes of his, pointed right at me. He jabbed his finger at
me as though declaring war.
“I’m going to make you
into the ultimate prime minister,” he said. “So be ready.”
My eyebrows quirked
upward at that, and my fingers slipped off the door handle. In lieu of an immediate
reply, I bowed to him from the waist. Just as Stale opened his
mouth to remind me not to bow, I found the right words.
“I look forward to working
with you, future seneschal Stale Royal Ivy.”
It had nothing to do
favors, guilt, gratitude, or even pride. As the prime minister, I
allowed Stale’s show of genuine allegiance and trust to enter my heart—where I
was sure it would stay.
“At this rate, you should
be fully healed by tomorrow.”
Jael and Mart, the two
knights examining my elder sister’s injury, reached that conclusion the day
after Pride’s conversation with Cedric. The knights had spent the
past three days healing her leg, hoping to get her fully recovered as soon as
possible. Pride
grinned, evidently relieved that the process was nearing its end. The two knights smiled
back at her.
Tiara hopped up in the
air and clapped her hands. “Thank
goodness!” she said to
Pride. Then
she turned to me and Arthur.
I pressed the black
frames of my glasses up my nose and let out a deep sigh. I’d been visiting Pride
every single day to check on the progress of her recovery. Things had proceeded just
about as swiftly as I could expect and hope for, yet the news that she would be
completely healed by tomorrow released a knot of tension from my shoulders. “That’s great news,” I
said with a smile of my own.
Arthur, who was there on
guard duty, pressed his lips together. I knew he was just as
thrilled as the rest of us, but he couldn’t speak to me as freely at present. If the other knights
weren’t here, he’d be jumping and shouting like Tiara. Even Captain Callum,
standing right beside him, could no doubt see it in his eyes. Arthur took the safe
route, beaming without a word.
The captain was probably
just as thrilled to hear about Pride’s recovery. It was his duty to stay
vigilant until she was well again and we could all return to Freesia, but it
had to be a relief that she’d at least get to walk around without pain soon. Captain Callum smiled at
Pride but said nothing; he clearly believed he should remain silent and
watchful—despite the obvious joy emanating from him and all the other knights.
“Let’s hold the victory
banquet tomorrow!” Tiara said, still doing her little dance. If Pride was healed by
tomorrow, we would leave this country the day after.
“I’ll inform Gilbert,
King Lance, and King Yohan of our plans,” I replied.
“Thanks, you two,” Pride
said. “But
do you think it will work out? I’m sure the kings are
very busy right now, to say nothing of Prime Minister Gilbert and you, Stale. Are you sure you’re
getting enough sleep?”
No matter how we tried to
hide it from her, Pride knew we’d spent the past three days working around the
clock. I’d
been acting as her proxy and coming to her room each day to report to her. Each time, she scanned my
face for dark circles under my eyes or any other sign that I wasn’t quite
holding up.
“I-I’m all right,” I
said, struggling with her abrupt attack on my composure. “I’ve left Gilbert in
charge of my work while I’m here, so all I still need to do is coordinate with
the knights and report to Mother.”
In truth, I had very
little work to do today, despite being busy up until yesterday. I was actually glad to
have another task. I’d wanted to help the United Hanazuo Kingdom however possible, but the
kings said they would feel guilty giving me any more work.
“It’s okay, Big Sister!” Tiara chimed in with a
dazzling grin. “King Lance, King Yohan, and all the knights and soldiers are really
excited to celebrate with you!”
On the day of our
victory, I appeared before the citizens in place of the two kings and Pride,
which was why she still hadn’t managed to address the troops. They knew this was
because of her injury, but I could tell she yearned to see them all the same. Similarly, Pride hadn’t
faced the people of Chinensis since her blood oath. She was terrified that
she’d made a horrible impression on them after causing such a fuss and
disturbance and then suddenly disappearing after the war. Reprising her role as the
queen’s proxy and crown princess would make her unbelievably happy.
“Yes.
I’m looking
forward to it too,” she said.
Pride thanked Tiara,
stroked her hair, and carefully sank back down against the pillows. Just seeing the glow in
Pride’s face, I knew her heart was full of anticipation for tomorrow’s victory
banquet.
IT WAS DAWN when I poured water over
my head with a loud splash at the newly opened bath in the Chinensian palace. With the sun still
crawling up over the horizon, the chill of the water sent goosebumps rippling
over my skin. Becoming a knight like my father, the commander, had prepared my body
for far worse than a bit of cold water.
I’d awoken in a hurry,
running here before my duties as “Arthur Beresford, Vice Captain of the Eighth
Squadron” could begin. This pool used to be the castle’s water supply and laundry spot. Now, with so many knights
residing at the castle, the king had kindly opened it up as a means of bathing.
He also set
up a simple wall around the bath so that, immediately after the battle, the
muddy knights could wash off without worrying about being seen. The bath was outside, but
this way, we could clean our bodies without reservation. We continued to patrol
the castle in shifts throughout the day, but I was the only one visiting the
bath this early.
The shock of the cold
water hit me again, and I gasped. I repeated the process a
few more times before reaching for my towel, only to find…
Nothing.
My towel was gone. I brushed my wet, silver
bangs away from my face and squinted, searching for my towel. It should have been right
there where I left it, but instead it was somehow flying in the air on the
other side of the fence surrounding the pool. Someone behind the fence
had stolen my towel and was tossing it up and down for fun.
“Um, excuse me, but
that’s my towel. Please give it back,” I said.
I really didn’t want to
get out of the water and stomp around soaking wet. At least I still had a
fresh change of clothes next to me, but I couldn’t exactly put them on until I
was dry. Just
as I was considering reaching over the wall and grabbing the towel out of the
air, the thief threw it back to me. The moment the man’s
laughter followed, I knew exactly who’d done this.
“My bad, my bad! I just happened to spot you walking toward the bath.”
“Morning, Captain Alan,” I
said. “You’re
awake as early as ever. Are you here to wash up?”
I couldn’t be too mad at
my superior’s prank. I rubbed my wet head with the towel and asked Alan through the wall if
he was planning to bathe before our shift as Pride’s imperial knights. I hadn’t expected him to
be up as early as I was, considering there was no crack-of-dawn training to
attend.
“Uh-huh,” Alan responded
casually. “Can I come in?”
The bath was enclosed to
prevent maids and other palace employees from seeing inside, but it wasn’t
exactly a private room. It was only big enough for a few people to use at a time. Wondering if he’d been
waiting his turn, I quickly told him to hop in. When he emerged from
behind the wall, he was naked from the waist up.
“I just happened to wake
up early,” he said. “I didn’t want to waste the morning, and since we didn’t have training,
I helped patch up the castle walls.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure the
commander said His Majesty wasn’t making knights help with repairs…”
Apparently, Alan chose to
join them anyway. He explained that he knew no one would notice an extra worker slipping
in to help when it was so early in the day. He’d changed out of his
uniform and blended in as one of the workers for over two hours, ending up
covered in sweat, building materials, and paint.
“Don’t be so stuffy!” he said with a laugh,
hanging his clothes up on the wall and immediately drenching himself with a
bucket of water. The chilly splash struck me. I continued drying my
hair but opted not to bother with my body for the time being. I wasn’t surprised that
Alan, a knight known throughout the order for being obsessed with training and
stamina, needed something to do on a morning when we didn’t have our usual
exercises. Even
so, it was extraordinary that he’d go to such lengths to get around orders from
the king and commander just to squeeze in a bit of activity.
“Why’re you here, Arthur? I thought you always
bathed at night.”
Knights in the order
didn’t typically bathe every single day. However, we imperial
knights had been careful to maintain our hygiene while Pride was injured, as we
spent so much of our shifts in her room. If all went well, today
would be the day that Pride was officially healed, so I could have slacked off
on my own cleanliness if I really wanted to. But then I remembered
that there was an important event later on, so I came to sneak in a bath.
“Are you gonna dry your
hair?” he
asked, pointing at my head.
I’d doused myself one last
time with water and wrapped my towel around my waist. Unlike Alan’s short hair,
my long, silver locks would take a while to dry. The captain only needed
to rub his towel on his head for a moment, whereas I’d been wiping my hair down
for a while now without much change. That was why I usually
bathed at night.
“Why not ask Kevin to dry
it for you? His
wind could get the job done quick,” Alan said.
I dried off my body,
shaking my head at Alan’s suggestion. The gesture sent drops of
water flying from the ends of my long hair toward Alan. Muttering that it would
be faster with help, Alan quickly changed into his clothes.
“Fine, then I’ll give you
a hand,” he said.
He didn’t give me a
chance to resist. Alan swept behind me, covered my head with his towel, and started
rubbing my hair vigorously, the friction drawing away the moisture. The damage to my hair was
no matter, but the shame of having a senior knight do this for me was just
awful.
“No, I can do it myself!” I cried, grabbing Alan’s
hand only to be batted away.
“Don’t get in the way,”
Alan said with a smile. He swiftly changed topics before I could complain more. “I sure am looking
forward to tonight’s victory banquet. I want you to enjoy
yourself, you hear that? You played a big part in this war.”
Alan began to rub my hair
down again, interrupting me mid-sentence. He did it so fast, my own
hair whipped around and hit me in the face. “It’ll be fine!” he told me, and I could hear the grin in his voice.
He and I had the morning
shift guarding Pride, and then I’d tag in Captain Callum in the afternoon. Callum and I would
probably be the ones on duty during the victory banquet, which was slated to
last late into the night. But Alan insisted I deserved to enjoy the party as much as anyone else
because of what I’d done on the front lines.
“Okay!
All done! Well, even if it looks
bad, you can just tie it up and no one’ll know!”
Alan pulled the towel
back and snapped it against my back. My head was spinning from
that crazy rubdown, but when I pinched my hair, it was perfectly dry. “Thanks,” I responded,
still dizzy. I went back to drying off the rest of my body as the sun finally rose.
“You gotta dry your hair
properly. It’s
still cold in Hanazuo, and you don’t want to get sick.”
“It would take far more
than wet hair for me to fall ill…”
In fact, I had no memory
of ever catching a cold—all thanks to my special power to cure diseases. Alan, who didn’t know of
my power, argued his point as the two of us packed up. He wrapped a towel around
his waist, draping the other wrung-out towel over his shoulder. Aside from that, he had
nothing but his bar of soap.
“I’ll be careful,” I
insisted.
I squinted at the trickle
of sunlight spilling over the horizon. My heart raced at the
prospect of this new day beginning at last. After everything I’d heard
from the others, I couldn’t wait for tonight’s event. I wouldn’t be able to let
my guard down while I was on duty, so I couldn’t drink alcohol or let loose—but
that didn’t matter. There was only one thing I really wanted out of this evening.
Today’s the day I’ll get
to see her walking on her own two feet again.
Pride had fully recovered
from her injuries. No other reward could come close to that, a sentiment Alan agreed with
completely.
“There’s still some time
before breakfast,” I said. “What say we get a little sparring in? Just as long as we don’t
get dirty.”
“Really?! You don’t
mind?!” Alan said.
We’d both woken up early,
anxious to start the day. After leaving the bath together, we darted back inside to work up a
sweat all over again.
“Hey, hey! Can we go to the festival?”
“The hell’d you say?” I
grunted.
I was sprawled out on a
bed in a Freesian inn. I cast a quick glance at Sefekh. Before I could shoot down
that inane idea, Khemet joined in from the next bed over.
“The Hanazuo festival
that the townspeople told us about! Can we make it in time if
we leave now?! I’ve
been wanting to go too!”
Four days had passed
since the defensive war in Hanazuo came to an end. Me and the brats made it
back to Freesia faster than everyone else thanks to my special power. Now we were taking a
well-earned break. I needed some rest to recover from the round-the-clock surveillance the
prince “requested” of me. Pride, my direct employer, was nowhere nearby either.
With no real home of our
own, we’d decided to stay at a random inn near the castle. The bedsheets were pulled
back and the blankets lay strewn all over the floor, which was nearly covered
with our ransacked piles of sweets and booze. The chaos made it look
like we’d been here an entire month.
“It’s probably over
already,” I muttered. “What do ya need a festival for? We’ve got more booze and
sweets than we could ever get through. What a stupid idea.”
Damn the
Cercians who mentioned the festival before we left. We didn’t know exactly
when it would take place. It was possible it hadn’t even happened yet, but I figured it was way
more likely that it was long over. It would be a real
nuisance to travel all the way back to Hanazuo for something like that.
Average Cercian
citizens—not knights or guards—were the ones who’d told Sefekh and Khemet about
the celebration. I wished they would’ve spared me the grief. They caught me as I was
heading toward the border gate, bag slung over my shoulder, and insisted we
stay longer to attend the festival.
Leon and I had provided
aid throughout the country during the war, and once it was over, Stale ordered
me to patch up the walls all around Hanazuo. That was why the citizens
recognized me on sight. They wanted the people who had helped them out to enjoy the festivities
with the rest of them, but it felt to me like they were sticking their noses
where they didn’t belong.
“We got these from the
manor, though! There might have been all kinds of rare desserts at the Hanazuo
festival!” Sefekh
complained.
“Oh, but, Sefekh—all the
desserts we got were real rare too! The box these ones came
in looks so expensive…”
Khemet picked up one of
the boxes on the ground and held it up. The brats had gotten
regular old sweets from the market and fancy desserts from the
royal capital. We’d plucked them all out of Gilbert’s house. For free!
“If alcohol and treats
from my home will suffice, then please take as much as you desire.”
Thanks to our work
looking out for his family, Gilbert had given us permission to ransack his
house. We
went right for his manor as soon as we returned to Freesia and proceeded to
secure the entirety of the house’s liquor and dessert stash. Marianne was all too
happy to hand it over when I told her we had the prime minister’s permission. It was a small price to
pay, considering we’d guarded them for days on end.
The kid, Stella, wasn’t
quite so cooperative. She burst into tears at the sight of my face, then screamed when I
snatched her stupid sweets, her wails echoing through the house as I rifled
around for my rewards. Sefekh and Khemet suggested leaving some of the sweets behind, but
Marianne refused, saying she wanted to express her gratitude properly and that
she could always buy more.
Even after fighting
soldiers both in my days as a criminal and during the war, one thing was for
sure—no foe could rival Stella’s wrath. She screamed shrilly
enough to bust my eardrums. Not even the
communication specialist could withstand the racket she made; he couldn’t even
concentrate long enough to connect to Gilbert. That Stella was like a
secret weapon, disrupting all the adults around her with the noise she made. Before Sefekh proposed
they take out the aggressor—meaning me, I figured—and be done with it, it was a
worse hell than any battlefield I’d ever been on. The pain only stopped
when her mother scooped her up to comfort her.
“I don’t ever wanna set
foot in that damn house again,” I grumbled.
“What?!
I do! Stella likes me now!”
“Me
too! I want to see her
too! Stella was sooo
cute!”
Khemet and Sefekh stopped
digging into another expensive box of baked goods to whine at me again. Despite being scared of my
face, Stella had quickly taken to these two, who were closer to her in age.
“Go ask the prime
minister if that’s what you want to do, not me!” I snapped. Really
I just wanted them to stop screaming too.
Going to the prime
minister’s manor as guards was one thing; going as guests was a lot less
likely. Besides,
my fealty contract meant I couldn’t enter anyone’s house without permission or
a damn good reason. But if the brats got the prime minister’s permission, I’d be more than
happy to drink Gilbert’s fancy booze on the roof or in the garden—anywhere
Stella’s sonic weapon of a voice couldn’t reach me. Ugh. It’d be
better if Gilbert just told us to stay away and I didn’t have to run the risk
of encountering that kid ever again.
Sefekh and Khemet quieted
down now that they had my tepid approval and pawed through the fancy box for
more sweets. Inside, they found a pound cake topped with liqueur-soaked fruit. I sniffed it, but it
wasn’t anything like the pricey stuff I was drinking. Sefekh and Khemet didn’t
seem to care as they stuffed their faces.
“It’s good!” Khemet said, and they held out some cake for me. I took a huge bite.
“I hope our mistress got
to enjoy the festival with everyone,” Sefekh said.
“But she’s hurt, right? Can she go outside?!” Khemet asked.
The kids were still
worried about Pride. She was getting treated by the knights with special powers, but we’d
seen her all bandaged up and confined to her bed. Even I couldn’t really
imagine her recovering after just four days.
I let them debate it,
sitting back and listening. It was definitely hard to
believe that even Pride could recover so quickly. Knowing the princess,
though, she’d probably try to force herself onto her feet at the festival so
people wouldn’t worry about her. Stale and Gilbert
wouldn’t let her do anything too dangerous, but she should be letting that leg
heal completely before attending events.
Sefekh noticed my silence
and tugged on my shirt with a wrinkle in her brow. “See! I knew we should have stayed for the festival! Then we would have seen
how she’s doing!”
“Leave me alone,” I said. “They made me fix up the
damn walls right after the war ended. That prince would’ve
worked me to the bone if we stuck around any longer.”
Originally, I just had to
protect Gilbert’s family. Only afterward did they force me to provide aid on the battlefield and
help out with repairs. I was not about to go back and let
them give me even more work. That was the whole reason
I’d left Hanazuo in such a hurry in the first place.
“If you finish the
remaining aid and other work, I’ll let you see Elder Sister in the Chinensian
castle.”
Stale made that promise
when he asked me to go work on the border walls. I swallowed hard. Curse
that brat for exploiting me. I clicked my tongue. Even with my rewards, they
owed me way more this time around—and the princeling knew it. It wasn’t as if I
particularly cared what happened to Freesia or Hanazuo, so why not just flee to
avoid more orders? Although…
“Hey, why don’t we go on
vacation somewhere outside of Freesia? We don’t have any work
without the mistress around, so we can kinda go anywhere we want,” Sefekh said.
I grunted. My fealty contract prevented me from leaving the country for anything
but delivery work. I’d left Hanazuo without getting permission to stay in a foreign
country, so I didn’t have the luxury of finding a nice place to kick back and
relax.
“I’ll be waiting for you
in Freesia.”
Those words had come from
my own damn mouth. I’d said that to Pride before leaving the United Hanazuo Kingdom. I clicked my tongue again
at the memory. In the moment, I felt like I couldn’t go on without saying those words,
even though they were so unlike me.
Pride wouldn’t get back
faster just ’cause I was waiting for her, yet all I could do if I wanted to see
her again soon was sit around in Freesia. So yeah, sure, I had
ditched Hanazuo to avoid getting forced into more labor, but I also wavered at
the idea of being away from Pride.
“Such a pain in the ass,”
I griped, tipping the bottle to my lips. I gulped it down, then
swiped at my mouth with my thumb to wipe off the dribble.
I was chugging top-shelf
stuff, pilfered right from the prime minister’s own collection. But somehow it tasted no
more interesting than water. Growing agitated, I tossed
that bottle aside and grabbed a new one.
The last time I saw
Pride, she was stuck in bed with an injured leg. I didn’t exactly know why
she wasn’t back in the country yet. But if that festival
Sefekh was talking about had anything to do with it, I hoped it was an
experience that would finally bring a smile to her tired face—ideally, with her
leg fully healed too. If I couldn’t be around her, I needed to know she was happy.
I uncorked the next
bottle, muttering to myself the whole time. Sefekh and Khemet had
nothing to say about it. Stretching my legs out in bed beside them, I resolved to take it easy
for a while.
The sun was high in the
sky when my maids suggested I wash up. It came as such a shock
that all I could do was echo the tail end of what they’d said. I turned toward my two
other visitors: Stale, who was blinking over and over again, and Tiara, whose
eyes shimmered with delight.
Earlier that morning, the
kings learned that the knights’ treatment had fully healed my leg. I had to be careful, but
I could stand on my own two feet again. That meant I could easily
participate in tonight’s event. But the second I could
move around again, I was extremely busy.
First, Stale came as my
steward to schedule any meetings I might attend. Then Tiara stopped by to
pick out dresses with me. While Stale could have teleported to Freesia to bring them to us, the
two kings had prepared formalwear especially for us, so we took them up on
their generosity. Hanazuo produced beautiful dresses that I knew I might never have the
opportunity to wear again. Picking just one among the lovely garments was incredibly difficult,
and I spent far too much time waffling over my decision before we even got to
the fitting.
After that was my dance
lesson. Everyone
participating in tonight’s event had to attend a lesson involving traditional
dance steps from Hanazuo. Tiara and I had to memorize the dance very quickly. I was told the kings would
lead us, so I didn’t need to force myself to learn if it was too much for me so
soon after my recovery. Still, I was the crown princess of
Freesia—I wanted to show respect for our allied country by getting it right.
With Stale watching over
me, I dove into the lesson and found myself relieved that none of the steps
were particularly difficult. I managed to memorize the
entire dance, thanks in part to the training I’d already received as royalty. I stayed on tiptoe,
worried about hurting my legs, and ended up getting quite a workout. The dance didn’t bother my
legs whatsoever.
After all of that, I
struggled to adequately respond to our hosts’ generous offer to bathe as well. My maids explained that
King Lance had specially prepared the bath for me when he heard I’d recovered. Unlike Freesia, where
taking baths wasn’t part of the culture, the people of both Chinensis and
Cercis did so often. Supposedly, this castle even contained a giant bath reserved for the
royal family. Freesia had private bathrooms, but these baths were separated
between men and women and large enough to hold many people. I had yet to experience
anything like it, however—as did Tiara—so we perked up at the offer.
My maids had wiped me
down while I was confined to bed, but a bath was a different experience
entirely. Coming
from a bath-loving culture in my past life, I was particularly delighted to do
more than douse myself with warm water like usual. I also learned that King
Lance had offered the great baths to Tiara and Stale immediately after the war
ended, but the two of them hadn’t wanted to experience it before I could. They were both so
kindhearted to keep me in their thoughts like that.
The great baths boasted
supreme quality, with visitors rarely being allowed to enter them—even royal visitors. It was the ultimate show
of hospitality for King Lance to open them up and invite us in personally. The maids told me that
baths helped relieve fatigue and that I should relax and wash the sweat from my
body now that I had healed. Tiara and I agreed, while Stale consented to use the men’s bath. The maids curtsied in
response.
Right then, something
appeared to dawn on Stale. “Excuse
me. I have
a request of King Lance regarding the men’s bath…”
“How lovely… Of course
Cercis would have something like this!”
Once our maids had
undressed and washed us, Tiara and I relished the sight of the great bath. It was much larger than
any of the bathrooms in our castle. While we each had our own
personal bathrooms back home, they were rather simple. The great bath was, as the
name implied, a space large enough to fit ten rooms in one. Some luxury hotels in my
past life had bathing areas this size, but that was all I could really compare
it to.
The chamber had three
large tubs resembling pools, each filled with water of a different color. The Cercian maids
explained that the light-red and green waters provided medicinal effects. Golden tiles in the floor
and walls glimmered in the light, a display of Cercis’s famous deposits.
“Which one should we use,
Big Sister?!” Tiara asked, eyes sparkling as she held a towel to her chest.
Her cheeks were flushed
pink, and her wavy hair sat tied atop her head in a bun. This would be our first
time bathing together, which added to the excitement bubbling within me. Without the memories of a
past life like mine, Tiara was even more thrilled than I was to see this sort
of bath for the first time. She couldn’t decide which
of the three tubs she wanted to get in first.
“Let’s try the normal
one,” I suggested.
She squeaked her
agreement and held my arm. I thought she was about to take off skipping despite the slippery
floor, but she remained standing and beamed at me more brightly than the sun.
“I’ll be sure to keep you
steady! Just
grab me if you feel like you’re about to fall! Your leg only just
healed, after all!”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d just finished a dance
lesson with her, yet she was still looking after me like a mother hen. Her compassion touched my
heart.
We walked arm-in-arm to
the edge of the tub, supporting each other on the slick ground. Steam shrouded the middle
tub, but I could still see clear through to the bottom. Whew, at
least this thing isn’t so deep I could drown in it. Tiara and I stared back
at our reflections on the water’s surface.
I dipped my toes into the
water, confirmed its pleasant temperature, and slowly eased my body into the
bath. The
water had just been heated and was still pretty hot, but that was perfect for
me. I
plunged in up to my shoulders, despite the threat of overheating; it just felt
too good to resist. Tiara seemed to feel the same. Beside me, she let out a
sigh and sank down to her neck. Her rosy cheeks grew even
more flushed as the heat seeped in.
“It feels so wonderful…
Does your leg hurt at all, Big Sister?”
“It’s fine. In fact, I feel my fatigue melting away. I just need to be sure I
don’t get too hot and faint. Are you doing okay?”
This was only the first
of the three tubs, but already I felt like I could soak until I passed out. I told Tiara to sit like
me, correcting my posture so that the water came up to the top of my chest. I had my past-life
memories to thank for teaching me the optimal position for bath enjoyment.
“I wish Leon could have stayed and taken such a
lovely bath…” Although I doubt Val could’ve joined him, since he’s not royalty.
I decided not to voice
that last thought. Just like Val, who’d returned to Freesia as soon as possible, Leon had
set sail for his homeland the night the war ended. He was probably still on
his ship at this very moment. I felt a little guilty
that Tiara and I got to savor such a refreshing bath and he was still
traveling.
My body warmed as we
lounged in the bath, the steam enveloping the entire room in soft clouds. The longer I soaked, the
more I wished Freesia had an enormous bath like this too.
I briefly contemplated
going for a swim but ultimately decided against it. It would be disrespectful
to splash around in such a nice place, even if it was just the two of us. Instead, I placed my
hands on the surface of the water and interlocked my fingers.
“What are you doing?” Tiara asked with a tilt
of her head. Her eyes were a little glazed over, the water temperature possibly
leaving her a bit dizzy. This only made my little sister even cuter, and I couldn’t help teasing
her.
“Take that!” I said, squeezing my hands together. A stream of water shot
out and struck her cheek.
Tiara let out a half
shriek, half laugh, then marveled at how I’d manipulated the water. “How did you do that?!” she cried. “The water shot out of
your hands!”
She giggled and grinned,
snapping out of her heat-induced haze. “I’d like to try too!”
Tiara managed to shoot
the bathwater into a perfect stream on her very first try. Though she didn’t use as
much water as I had, she managed to shoot it just as far. She clapped her hands
excitedly over her success.
Next, I showed her how to
place her palms together. Tiara stared closely at the new arrangement, trying her best to learn
how it worked. I warned her that she would get hit with the water by doing this. She craned her whole body
away to avoid a second blow. That was when I slammed
my palms against each other. This time, the water shot
straight up in the air like a geyser.
“It’s like what whales do!” Tiara shouted.
I was glad she liked my
second trick just as much.
Then her face lit up in
realization, and she pointed at the tub of red water. “You could make a pink
fountain if you did that over there!”
“Then why don’t we switch
tubs?”
I didn’t hesitate to
oblige her. We were both getting pretty warm, and Tiara wasn’t as used to it as I
was, so it was probably a good idea to enjoy the other tubs sooner rather than
later.
I stuck my foot into the
red water less carefully this time, since I was already warmed up. A floral aroma wafted up
from the tub and tickled my nose. Perhaps the medicinal
effects of this water came from flower extracts. Whatever the case, it was
a super luxurious thing to bathe in. I inhaled the scented
steam deeply, and Tiara did likewise.
This tub was a bit cooler
than the first one, and it even came with a slope where we could sit and
stretch out our legs. Maybe this one was better suited to long baths, actually. I leaned back against the
edge of the tub, stared up at the ceiling, and extended my legs, feeling like
they were two centimeters longer now. Tiara was also… Hmm?
I’d assumed she was right
next to me, leaning against the tub, but when I looked down, she was in front
of me and staring at me head-on. My legs were close to
hitting her knees. I thought maybe she meant to splash me as vengeance for earlier, but
instead, Tiara reached into the water and gently took my left foot.
“I saw the maids massage
you when they were washing your body. I thought it might be even
more relaxing in the bath!”
She kneaded my foot with
her slender fingers, placing gentle pressure on my sole and arch. Then she took my foot in
both hands and squeezed it lightly, exactly the way my maids had done it. She may
be my sister, but I can’t believe a princess is massaging my foot!
Between the massage and
the effects of the water, I was feeling incredibly relaxed, but I couldn’t
bring myself to ask this of my sister. I tried to tell her we
should play with the jets again, but then…
“Aha… Ha ha ha ha! Tiara! Tiaraaa! Ha ha ha! It tickles!”
She really was such an
airhead. When
I’d hesitated to accept the massage, she must have believed she was hurting me
and needed to be gentler, but that had only turned her soft touch into a tickle
attack. Whether
because of the hot water or Tiara’s cute little fingers, the bottom of my foot
was extremely ticklish at the moment. I squirmed, trying not to
accidentally kick her, but my writhing twisted my foot out of Tiara’s hands. My laughter only served
to amuse her, so she just grabbed at my foot again—and this time she was out
for blood.
“Okay!
I’ll do the other
one too!”
“Wait!
Tiara—ha ha ha ha! Stop… Ha ha! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!”
Tiara chanted
“coochy-coo” the whole time, making even my ears feel ticklish. I was powerless to do
anything but laugh at full volume, as improper as that was for a princess. The more I laughed, the
more heat flooded my head. And I couldn’t even stop cackling long enough to change the subject to
the pink fountain or try to distract her some other way. She only relented once I
hollered for mercy, returning to the first lovely massage she’d given me.
It took me almost three
whole minutes to catch my breath, however, and Tiara grinned deviously at me
the whole time. I worried I might pass out before I ever got to try the third bath. If the water in this one
had been any warmer, I would have been out for good.
As Tiara continued to
massage me, I folded my palms together once more and squirted a jet of water
right at her. The red fountain, not so much pink, succeeded in exacting my revenge. Tiara shrieked and
released my foot before trying to make a fountain of her own. I probably should have
done this sooner instead of trying to force my way out of her tickle attack. My little sister was
cute, but boy, was she mischievous.
“It’s a little early, but
let’s go to the green bath now,” I said.
“That sounds good! We can enjoy one last bath before we leave!”
Tiara, who seemed a bit
more energetic than she had at the start, joined me in standing up out of the
tub. By the
time I got my feet on the tile, my legs felt even lighter than before. Tiara’s massage had an
instant positive effect. Still, I would have to take revenge on Tiara’s feet in the next bath… No, I
should be nice and return the favor. That was the thought
that crossed my mind as we linked arms and headed to the last one.
Neither of us considered
that the final tub would be full of extra-hot water.
Those words arrived with
a splash as my companion sank into the clear bathwater. I instantly put my back
to him and submerged myself to my shoulders, using my whole body to express my
distaste for his decision to sit right next to me in the spacious bath. Even after scrubbing
myself clean and getting into the water in this massive room, I hadn’t spoken a
single word.
My left side was suddenly
cramping. He
scooped up some water and poured it over his shoulder. I pursed my lips, trying
to relax but failing in the face of this interruption.
I wasn’t the only person
who’d been invited to the men’s-only baths. Gilbert, whom I’d invited
myself, was also there to relieve his fatigue. I only had to remove my
dark glasses to get into the tub, but Gilbert had to tie up his long,
light-blue hair in a bun. He had refused the maids’ offer to scrub his body, opting to take care
of the preparations himself.
When I first asked
Gilbert to join me in the bath, he’d refused, likely not thinking himself
worthy of such a luxury. I’d had to change the request into an order to get him to come here. I knew it was probably
strange, bathing beside the prince consort’s son when he’d never even done so
with the prince consort himself. Even Freesian royalty
rarely bathed together, unless they were married. I certainly hadn’t been
raised bathing with siblings or parents, so I understood that Gilbert would
find it strange for me to invite a commoner to join me.
“We’re not bathing together,” I
clarified. “I
told you, it’s just more convenient this way.”
The bath hadn’t been
prepared for Gilbert’s sake; it had been drawn for the firstborn prince, with
Gilbert having permission to attend. A bath like this would
only be drawn for members of royalty, like me, and not for anyone below that
rank—even a prime minister. But between my request
and Gilbert’s contribution to the war, King Lance had agreed to let the prime
minister in as well.
“Of course,” Gilbert replied.
He kept up
his smile and poured water over each of his shoulders to warm himself. I faced away from him the
whole time. I wanted to put some distance between us, but the temperature right
here was just too perfect. The green bath was too hot, and the red bath was too cool. The clear bath in the
middle, without any special alterations, was the exact right temperature. However, now that we were
in the same tub, I couldn’t really chase Gilbert out. Neither did I feel like
making small talk. It
wasn’t as if I really wanted Gilbert
here with me.
“If you’re unable to
relax alongside a lowborn citizen in your bath, would you
prefer I find another one, Your Highness?”
“You’re still being nasty
in a place like this?” I
muttered. “I’m
sorry to say that I used to be a commoner too. I just didn’t invite you
here to chat.”
“Yes… I understand that.” Gilbert chuckled a bit
too knowingly. His light-blue eyes softened, and I got the horrible suspicion that
he’d guessed my true intentions.
The journey to Hanazuo
leading up to the war had been a long one. Then the fighting broke
out, leaving Gilbert no time for rest. He’d helped tie up loose
ends as things wound down as well. I knew he was exhausted,
even if he never admitted it. The people of the United
Hanazuo Kingdom had watched Gilbert’s tireless work with astonishment, but at
the end of the day, he was still human. He could get by with only
a little sleep, and he was used to working without it. But the weariness would
catch up to him just like anyone else. That was why I’d decided
to drag him into this bath with me when I heard how good it was at relieving
fatigue. Though
it annoyed me, he had worked harder than anyone in settling postwar matters and
acting as Pride’s proxy. He deserved this, regardless of my personal feelings about the man.
Gilbert’s soft, simple
words echoed through the room alongside the plinking droplets. They said more than he
could have in a whole speech, but I pressed my lips together and submerged
myself up to my nose. I blew bubbles for a few seconds, then came back up to my shoulders for
fear of boiling my head. I cupped water in my hands and gave my face a splash before finally
facing Gilbert for the first time since he’d entered the bath.
His eyebrows lifted,
betraying his surprise at my shift in direction, but he smiled politely. I was still pouting, my
usual glasses gone and my hair disheveled. Water dripped from my
bangs and caught on my long lashes. I only wore my glasses for
show and could see just fine without them, but the steam and water drops
obscured my vision. I narrowed my eyes, focusing intently on Gilbert.
He maintained his smile
beneath my intense stare for five whole minutes before he finally looked away. Only two meters separated us.
It probably
seemed like my vision really was that bad if I was squinting for so long.
“Is something the matter?” Gilbert asked at last.
I went on staring but
crossed my arms. Nothing’s wrong, per se.
“You spend all day
working on papers, so how did you get all those muscles?” I asked. I tried to keep the
jealousy out of my voice, but it seemed like Gilbert caught me. He hesitated to respond,
blinking with surprise.
I scanned Gilbert’s body. We were close enough that
I could see him easily, even through the water and steam. The loose clothing he
usually wore hadn’t prepared me for how toned he was underneath. It wasn’t at all what
you’d expect from someone with a desk job. His biceps and forearms
bulged, even at rest, and his abs were clearly defined. His legs rippled with
muscle, practically equine in their elegance and strength. I had known this man
since childhood, but I’d somehow underestimated him all that time. His body type didn’t suit
a prime minister, assistant to the prince consort.
Gilbert recovered—and
promptly doubled over with laughter. He covered his mouth
with the back of his hand to stifle the giggling, water sloshing all over from
his sudden outburst.
“Don’t tell me you’ve
been using your special power to make yourself look younger,” I said.
“Aha!
Heh heh… Of course
not!”
The man went on
chuckling, but I wasn’t joking. I had witnessed Gilbert’s
strength over the past three years, but I never knew him to train or work out. Of course I would be
jealous that he had so much muscle without any effort. I trained in fencing and
hand-to-hand combat, even sparring with Arthur to get the body I had.
“Pardon me.” Gilbert regained his composure, though his lips still twitched. He was clearly fighting
the urge to tease me. Maybe he thought I’d been scrutinizing his face rather than studying
his form. “I
sincerely apologize for appearing in such a state before you, Your Highness.”
“That’s not what I’m
talking about.”
I scowled as he placed his
hand on his chest and bowed so low that his head nearly dipped underwater. It was normal for two men
to bathe together, and I didn’t feel any shyness about our bodies. I was simply confused
about how the prime minister was maintaining a physique like that.
Gilbert let out one more
exhaled laugh before slowly raising his head. “As the prime minister,
it’s crucial for me to have the skills and strength to protect His Royal
Highness. I
also keep up a fitness regimen at home so as not to lose my strength.”
“Prime ministers aren’t
guards or knights. What need is there to be so fit?”
And
where do you even find the time? I kept that to myself,
knowing all too well that the man before me could make whatever time he needed,
no matter how busy he might be.
The role of prime
minister did require some proficiency in self-defense and fighting; Gilbert was
right about that. There was a need to protect both himself and the prince consort. However, it was clear
that Gilbert surpassed almost every other prime minister in history when it
came to toughness.
“Well, at first, I wanted
whatever I could get my hands on,” he said. “It didn’t matter if it
was intelligence, fighting prowess, or power.”
He spoke quietly, each
word rolling off his lips like the water dripping around us. I got the impression he’d
never spoken of this to anyone but perhaps the prince consort—the man he’d said
he had to protect. I supposed he was ready to stop hiding it from me too.
Initially, he told me, the
only thing he wanted was a job that would carry him to his beloved. The ability to make her
happy was all he needed in life. He just so happened to
end up in the role of prime minister, which required knowledge more than
anything else, but he would have been happy with any high-ranking role in the
castle. Gilbert
had to excel in every possible area, as any sign of inadequacy or failure would
get him passed over by the Freesian officials.
“Once you’ve obtained a
weapon that surpasses everyone else’s, it’s hard to let go of it, no matter how
many years pass,” he said. “I suppose it’s the sort of thing people without any real worth cling
to.”
My gaze drifted downward. “Still being humble even now?
Or maybe I
should call it ‘snide.’”
I couldn’t fathom Gilbert
feeling unworthy. People hailed him as an excellent prime minister precisely because he
possessed so many of those “weapons” others lacked. But as I looked at the
water, I saw in our reflections the insecurities of our pasts as commoners. The water had been the
perfect temperature before, but for just a second, it was a bit too cold.
“Not at all,” Gilbert
said quietly. His gentle eyes were fixed on me, as though he’d guessed what was in my
mind. “There’s
nothing more important than having weapons. They’re just like limbs. Even if one of them is
unusable, you can usually get by with the other three.”
Gilbert doused his
shoulder in water again, then rubbed it down his arm all the way to his wrist. He had all four limbs
right now, but even if he lost everything someday, I knew he’d go on serving
the royal family and Freesian people for hundreds or thousands of years—until
his day of judgment came.
“You have more superior
weapons than I do, Prince Stale. I believe that, one day,
all of these skills in your possession will have a part to play.”
“Stop playing humble. And don’t try to flatter me.” I couldn’t help feeling
like I was still so far from besting him.
Gilbert didn’t hesitate
in his rebuttal. His words no longer emerged warm and airy, but instead snapped with the
finality of a door slamming shut. I was caught off guard by
it, yet Gilbert held my gaze even as his tone and slender eyes softened.
“You’re like a different
person than you used to be,” he went on. “There’s no doubt in my
mind that you’ll continue to grow, Prince Stale.”
He smiled gently at me,
like I was his own grandson. I looked away and pressed
my lips in a thin line, my huff of an exhale echoing through the silent room.
I had to admit, I was
happy for someone to acknowledge my growth…but did it really have to be
Gilbert? I
couldn’t even bring myself to reply with sarcasm or snark like I usually would.
I scooped up bathwater
and brought it to my face. The bath must have been getting to me; my cheeks were burning hot. It was definitely that
and not the doubt that Gilbert’s words had planted in my heart, the fear of
actually trusting and believing him.
“Still…it’s a real
shame,” Gilbert said.
I furrowed my brow as
Gilbert’s tone readopted its usual mirth, but I still refused to look at him. Of course he’d end all
this praise with some sarcastic quip. I could never best him in
this sort of verbal sparring. Surely he was about to
point out some sort of mistake I’d made during the war or something.
“That nice body of yours
you’ve been sculpting,” Gilbert said. “It’s a shame you’ll
never get the opportunity to show it off to Princess Pride and Princess Tiara.”
I snapped my eyes up and
found Gilbert grinning ear to ear. Enraged, I brought down
my whole arm to drench him in water with a great big splash.
“Elder Sister, it’s me. Are you finished preparing?” Stale called as he
knocked on my door.
“Just about,” I replied. “You can come in.” My imperial knights, who’d been waiting for me to finish, opened the
door.
Stale and Tiara entered
the room. I
lit up as I saw they’d changed into their new attire from the United Hanazuo
Kingdom, and they seemed to feel the same about mine.
Stale went still, his
glasses fogging up, until Tiara grabbed his arm and said, “You look lovely, Big
Sister!” She
pointedly yanked at him as I tried to figure out the reason behind his blazing
cheeks and cloudy spectacles.
“Are you still feeling
dizzy, Stale?” I asked. “You were really red when
you got out of your bath. Please don’t overwork yourself.”
“I’m sorry. I’m fine,” he said, adjusting his black frames with a gulp as he
steadied himself. “That outfit… It suits you. It’s almost as if it was
made for you, Pride.”
Stale didn’t appear to
appreciate the mention of his bath. On his way out, he had
tried to hide his red face from me and Tiara, but failed miserably. Just what
happened in there? I know Gilbert joined him… Did they get into yet
another argument?
He cleared his throat,
derailing my train of thought, and lifted his gaze to meet mine. I had no doubt he’d
complimented Tiara just as politely on her dress, but it was nice to hear he
liked mine too.
“Thanks, you two. I’m really glad to hear you say that.” I puffed up, giggling. I felt like a native
princess, all dressed up in Hanazuo garb.
Captains Alan and Callum
stood behind my siblings, vigorously nodding along to their praise. The flush in their cheeks
must have been because of how charming Tiara looked in her dress. She was wearing light pink
from head to toe, the star of the show compared to me. Still, I was proud of my
dress all the same. I brushed back my wavy red hair, grinning at my visitors.
“All right. Let’s
head out!” I
cried, unable to contain my excitement.
Tiara and Stale smiled
and agreed. They had to be as relieved and proud as I was that we were on our way
to a victory banquet after everything we’d been through. Tiara linked arms with
me, Stale took my hand, and Alan and Callum followed behind as we left the
room. I
took confident steps with my head held high as the Freesian princess.
It was time for the
United Hanazuo Kingdom’s victory banquet to begin.
“I WANTED TO EAT something
refreshing! What were
you thinking?!”
Sefekh shot a jet of
water at me with her special power. It struck me head-on,
soaking my face and the meat I was eating.
“I worked so hard for you! Where’s my compensation?!”
The argument started when
the three of us returned from our shopping trip and I set our food on the
ground instead of the table. Then I made a comment
about how weird it was for Sefekh to eat nothing but sweet stuff, her meal
consisting of baked goods and fruit. I didn’t see what the big
deal was, but clearly Sefekh had been harboring a grudge ever since I decided
we weren’t going to that festival in Hanazuo.
“What compensation will
shut you up?” I
snarled, mussing up my hair. “Talk about a pain in the ass.”
Sefekh rarely demanded
anything, so she must have really meant it this time. Besides, if I didn’t
comply, I’d just end up drenched again.
As she struggled to come
up with an answer, Khemet suddenly grinned and raised his hand. “Hey, Val! Can I roll over to you?!”
“Huh?
Do whatever
the hell you want.” I cocked a brow at his request for permission to move over to my bed,
but it didn’t really matter. We always just sprawled
out on the beds however we felt like.
“Yay!”
With his
dessert in one hand, Khemet jumped over to my bed. But instead of sitting
next to me, he used one of my crossed legs as a pillow. He giggled, apparently
quite pleased with himself.
That got Sefekh saying,
“Me too! I want
to go over there too!”
“Don’t you runts know
we’ve got plenty of pillows already?” I grumbled.
Before I could demand
they use something else, Sefekh jumped onto the bed, still holding her
half-eaten fruit. She rolled next to Khemet and slammed her head into my other leg in the
same position.
I couldn’t pull away now
that I’d become their living pillow. At least I could still
reach the booze. I clicked my tongue and glared at the brats. They took turns feeding
each other their fruit and sweets, Sefekh’s grudge magically disappearing
during all this.
“Val, this chocolate
tastes like booze!” Khemet said.
“Here, have an apple, Val. You need to eat some
fruit,” Sefekh said.
The children held up
their chocolate and fruit for me. Scowling, I opened wide
and took a bite of each. There really was no beating these brats when they decided they wanted
something.
HELLO, THIS IS TENICHI. Thank you very much for
purchasing the sixth volume of The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen:
From Villainess to Savior, aka Last Boss Queen 6.
This installment focuses
on the behind-the-scenes stories that weren’t told during the previous volume’s
defensive war. It also depicts the events after the war ends. Between the revisions,
the corrections, and especially the reorganizing I did to this book, I believe
that even the web novel readers will enjoy the new perspectives from the three
United Hanazuo Kingdom characters.
I consulted my editor
about how to condense the story of the defensive war to fit in a single volume,
and we arrived at the idea of splitting it into two parts. But the story ended up
coming together in a way that makes each book satisfying to read, even on its
own.
Suzunosuke-sensei, thank
you as always for another batch of illustrations that make you feel like you’re
really there! I was so moved when I saw how each picture perfectly captured the
images I saw in my head as I began writing this book. I was especially surprised
when I laid eyes on the illustration of Harrison fighting, since it was exactly
what I had in mind.
There’s one more thing I’d
like to express my gratitude for… Believe it or not, Last Boss Queen is being made into an anime! I really still can’t
believe it. Thank
you again to everyone who’s supported me to this point. I’m grateful to
Suzunosuke-sensei for bringing color to this story’s world with their wonderful
illustrations, and also to Bunko Matsuura-sensei for drawing the manga that
introduced so many new readers to my story.
Bunko Matsuura-sensei, our
time together was a brief miracle, but I want to thank you so much for
everything. You and Suzunosuke-sensei really came together to make this anime
adaptation.
I hope to see all of my kindhearted readers again in the future.
