End and Beginning (3)
There were two men facing each other as the sunset came through the window.
It was a spacious and luxurious room, but there was only silence between them, and the only sound that could be heard was the clinking of teacups.
The first to break the heavy silence was an old man who seemed to be older than the setting sunset.
“…A 5-year-old emperor, and a collateral child whose whereabouts he didn’t even know.”
His old fingers holding the teacup were trembling, unable to withstand the weight of time.
However, the look in his eyes is still sharp and harsh.
“This succession can never be acknowledged. Duke of Sarnus.”
The old man’s face was wrinkled and hideously distorted with deep wrinkles.
There was anger contained within it that could not be erased simply by the traces of time.
“What can we do when that child is the closest to Frausen among the remaining blood relatives?”
“It must have been done so that the child could become closest to him.”
The passage of time took many things from the old man, but it also left behind sharp insight.
Prince Armand.
He gave up his great surname in exchange for the title of duke, and he realized that the old dragon in front of him was the starting point of all this tragedy.
“Well, it must have been very frustrating to have endured it for 400 years. Duke of Sarnus.”
“…….”
The owner of the Dragon Slayer Knights who protected the empire from the remaining dragons for 400 years.
The blue eyes, finally revealing their true feelings after such a long time, were rounded.
The setting sun was gradually setting, creating dark shadows on Sarnus’ face.
“I am still busy protecting the empire according to the oath I made with the founding king, Fraussen. “The reason we support this child is to maintain the empire.”
“That child is not worthy of becoming an emperor.”
“What can I do even if I’m not qualified? Are you going to at least cut off Frausen’s line?”
“…….”
Armand didn’t dare answer to Sarnus’ words.
If we were to break off Frausen’s line, it would be Sarnus that we would rather like.
His loyalty, which lasted for 400 years, was maintained through an oath with the founding king, Frausen.
In addition to the oath with the old dragon, only the successor to the emperor’s position could support all of his wishes.
“You can’t do that.”
The old duke’s eyebrows twitched as he sensed the end.
In fact, the blood line was cut off.
Then all that’s left is will.
“…The empire started from the tip of a single sword.”
There was a man who rose brightly like a star even under the giant dragon’s claws.
Quijano Frausen.
People called him the Sword Master, the master of swords, as he wielded the fortune of all races.
“If it is the Sword Master’s will. And as for the choice of sword he wielded.”
The surname Frausen was inherited from the imperial family, but the name inherited from Quijano would be a sword.
Because the sword that man held cut through the most perfect dragon and marked the end of an era.
“If that’s the case, it would be better than the poor blood you show off.”
“……Arman. “Don’t do this.”
Sarnus looked pitiful as he looked at the old man chasing the faded legend.
The story of the founding king, which became a legend because the end was not announced, has now become like a fairy tale believed only by children.
“It’s a sword I haven’t been able to find even though I’ve been looking for it for hundreds of years…”
“No matter how old it is, it definitely exists somewhere.”
Armand’s voice as he spoke of the Sword Master’s sword was clearly filled with a strange confidence.
“It’s as if there’s a dragon sitting in front of me right now.”
“…….”
There was a telegram sent by a driver whose news had now been cut off.
It was clearly written in that short telegram written in secret codes.
Aushurin. Sword Master’s sword.
be selected
That was the last telegram sent by former military police captain Auguste.
※※※※
The boy born at the end of the dark alley loved the setting sun.
For those who lived on the main road beyond the alley, it was the end of the day, but for people like themselves, it was the beginning of the year.
Vlad’s longing for the stars in the night sky may have been from the moment he was born.
“Do you like the singing voice?”
“……Yes.”
Vlad, who was looking out the window, quietly closed his eyes as Andrea spoke.
The sound of Cade’s breathing as he lay on the bed.
And the sound of lapping water washing away blood and pus.
The sound of the young deacon’s song mixed among the sounds was approaching Vlad’s ears as the twilight was setting.
“Indeed, just as Joseph predicted, if we had been even a little late, there would have been repercussions. “Did you say this guy handles a bow?”
“yes.”
Andrea said that if she had been a little late, Cade might not have been able to function as a knight.
The war with Gaidar left many scars not only on Deermar but also on Josef’s knights, and the sight of Cade lying down now was proof of that.
“thank you. “Bishop.”
“There is nothing to be thankful for since this is what I have been doing from the beginning. Originally, it was the custom not to get involved in worldly affairs, but…”
Andrea’s mixed eyes were looking at the black flags hanging outside the window.
Flags announcing the emperor’s death.
The faithful priest could no longer turn away because he sensed the countless deaths that those flags would bring.
“This is why I didn’t want to take on something like a bishop.”
Andrea, who now had to worry about the realm of politics, let out a small sigh and flopped down on the chair next to the bed.
When the two people stopped talking, there was a faint singing sound.
A sound that soothed a woman shedding black tears. It was a hymn.
“…Originally, even if there wasn’t a conflict with the Holy See, I was planning to send that guy to the Tramash Choir. “I wanted to make you feel the traces of the woman who was said to be the voice of God, but it ended up being very unfortunate.”
“is that so.”
Although he didn’t say it out loud, Vlad truly sympathized with Andrea’s sorrow.
Young beings who could expand their world in any field were precious.
However, the current young deacon did not have a proper teacher to help him expand his world.
Andrew was certainly a good priest, but he did not have the personality of the young deacon.
“Still, it’s great. “I have never heard of people being healed through song.”
“haha. “Now my only comfort is you and that guy who’s singing right now.”
The manifestation of ability may be a matter of individuality, but the healing properties contained in the song must be thanks to Andrea’s guidance.
The song may be resounding today because there was someone who guided the child.
“Does my existence also provide comfort to the bishop?”
“…Then, of course.”
Andrea turned her head while listening to Vlad’s voice, which seemed depressed without knowing why.
Before we knew it, the setting twilight was deeply covering Vlad’s face.
“Vlad of Shoara is definitely my comfort and pride. “I’m sure all the knights who taught you think that way.”
“is that so?”
Vlad’s face, lingering in the sunset shadow, was smiling.
Even if you stop for a moment and look back, you may not be sure of the path you took, but if those ahead of you nod their heads, you won’t be afraid of walking in the dark at night.
“of course.”
The night sky fills with darkness as the young deacon sings a hymn.
Vlad’s smile, colored in the night sky, shined brightly as he heard that his name had now become someone’s pride.
I thought it would be nice if people thought of the voice in the same way.
※※※※
Somewhere under a dark night where not a single ray of light shines.
On a night when not even the starlight in the sky could penetrate the clouds, there was a group of people running along a forest path that no one knew about.
It was clearly a procession of horses and carriages, but strangely, no sounds were heard around them.
“Here it is.”
“…….”
Because there was no light, all that was visible was pitch black darkness, but the woman who got off the carriage was wearing an even darker veil.
As if he wanted to hide his face from everything in the world.
“As you commanded, I found it while searching for the spirits’ core.”
The knight in armor placed a shining orb on her hand and pointed his finger at the tree in front of her.
As the clouds passed for a moment, the moonlight that came through them illuminated the knight.
He was clearly speaking, but there was nothing hanging from his neck that should have been there.
“Please guide me.”
“yes.”
Unlike the bizarre appearance of the flock, the woman’s voice was like that of a single bird.
A voice so bright that you want to take off the veil right away and check his face.
The knights who followed the command given by that voice and entered the forest were soon able to discover a wide-spreading grass forest, unlike the dense forest of trees that had hitherto been there.
“…….”
And what was waiting for them there was a rotten tree.
The sight of the large fuselage lying down looked like a corpse left behind by something huge.
“It’s inside.”
As I followed the headless knight’s lead toward the base of the tree, what I saw was the empty inside of the tree.
It was so huge that it looked like a huge empty space. Inside, there was a ray of starlight shining through the thick clouds.
“…He’s dead.”
Although the clouds were dark, the body of an unknown man was lying there under the starlight that seemed to have been pierced by a needle.
A man’s body leaning next to a small rock as if he was exhausted.
The woman who identified the corpse took off the black veil she was wearing as if she was intrigued and slowly approached.
slowly. Thumping.
Without even setting foot on the ground.
“He’s been dead for a long time…”
When I looked closely, I saw that the roots of the already dead tree were supporting the man’s body as if supporting it.
The woman was able to recognize that the corpse currently lying there had an unusual history, as it looked as if it had been made into a coffin.
“The body did not rot.”
The body was not rotten, but the accumulated dust was thick, showing that a long time had passed, and the clothes he was wearing were turning into dust and flying away when touched.
What can be seen from the clothes gradually falling apart from the cold woman’s fingertips is a very old imperial emblem that is no longer used.
“And the sword he was holding…”
It was a corpse with a mysterious appearance, but the sword it was holding was nothing more than ordinary.
However, the woman pursed her mouth when she saw the more intense traces on his fingertips than the sword the corpse was holding.
“Dragon’s blood…?”
The woman who checked the man’s history through the corpse’s fingertips looked very surprised, despite her heart not beating.
It was as if he had grabbed the heart of a dragon and burst it open. On his fingertips, there were strong traces of a dragon that could not be ignored.
“This person… no, who on earth are you…”
In a dense forest at the end of the empire where no one is looking.
There was a corpse carefully preserved by the giant tree where the spirit resided.
The corpse, which collapsed as if from exhaustion, clearly had traces of a strong dragon that I had never felt before on its fingertips.
It was a dark trace that you wouldn’t have even if you killed all the dragons in the world.
