Episode 367 The Eve of the Torch
At the slight commotion outside the door, Ludger laughed.
‘Yena and now, the personality is the same. That shamelessly stupid behavior hasn’t changed.’
“leader. sorry.”
Arfa lowered her head with a gloomy face as she looked at Ludger who had closed the door.
Rudger shook his head.
“It is done.”
“You opened the door to the person I should be most careful of.”
“I didn’t expect the other side to come so confidently, so whose fault could it be?”
Rudger didn’t take it seriously, but Arfa still couldn’t suppress his apology.
“Still, you might have been caught out during the conversation we just had.”
“That won’t happen. Listening to the reaction, it doesn’t seem like they noticed anything suspicious.”
Arfa focused her hearing and overheard the sound beyond the door.
As Ludger had said, Queen Catherine only admired Ludger for being handsome, but did not seem to recognize Ludger’s true identity.
“Rather than that, is that person originally like that?”
Clearly, Ekaterina did not have that kind of image when she first entered the hotel lobby.
He was a person who showed no reaction to his expressionless face.
The first impression was literally like seeing a cold glacier in the north.
lofty and cold
The leader of the Kingdom of Utah and the nickname of the Frost Queen was fitting.
However, when I heard the sounds coming from outside, my real personality was the exact opposite of what I showed in the lobby.
“It used to be worse.”
“Was it worse?”
“At that time, I didn’t even pretend to be as lofty as I am now.”
“What kind of person is Queen Catherine then?”
When Arfa asked with a curious face, Rudger sighed and wiped his chin with his fingertips.
Ekaterina Volsvaya.
When I first saw her, Rudger’s first impression was simple.
this person. If he had come from the Kingdom of Durmang rather than the Kingdom of Utah, he would have been decapitated by the guillotine.
Should I say that she sounds like a typical bad young girl?
He was just such a person who was obsessed with beautiful jewels and luxuries.
Of course, after talking a few times, I found out that my real personality wasn’t like that at all.
However, even taking that into consideration, Ludger’s evaluation of Ekaterina was not very good.
“I was dumb and stupid. It didn’t suit me at all as a leader.”
“yes? How did such a person lead the civil war to victory?”
“Because there are many great people around me. she is such a person It has a strange power to gather great people. Perhaps the reason Prince Alexei gritted his teeth and went looking for her even in that advantageous situation was because he was worried about that part.”
“Any great person, including the leader?”
“No way. I haven’t done much.”
The mercenary who led the civil war to victory didn’t do much?
Arfa didn’t understand that, but decided to just do it.
Mr. Hans said it to the point of rusting in his ears.
Leaders have a habit of belittling their own achievements too much, so don’t bother arguing with him no matter what he says.
Although Arfa lacks common sense, he tends to put the teachings into practice quickly, so he did as Hans said.
“Still, something is surprising.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think a leader would have chosen someone like that.”
You are such a person.
It was a terribly merciless evaluation for a word spoken to the queen of a country.
However, I was able to say that because I looked at people with a pure gaze.
In fact, as Arfa said, Ludger had similar thoughts.
“If you chose Queen Catherine, was the prince’s side much more serious?”
“If I had to argue, on the outside, Prince Alexei was a much better person. Because he was the opposite of Ekaterina.”
Unlike Princess Ekaterina, who always had a strange laugh and behaved like an immature person, Prince Alexei was calm, intelligent, and eloquent.
He had a good reputation socially and was constantly engaged in external activities, imprinting a good image on many people.
“uh. If so, wasn’t the prince better?”
“You might think so.”
“But the leader chose the opposite option. Is there a reason for that?”
“Arfa. The evaluation of the public is not so easy to give. Everyone wears a mask.”
“A mask?”
“Prince Alexei looked like a good person on the outside, but on the inside he had a strong psychopathic side that couldn’t understand or sympathize with others.”
All the images he shows to the world are made up.
The real Prince Alexei was a cruel character.
He did not hesitate to kill good citizens if necessary, and he treated his subordinates who believed in him only as tools.
When the civil war broke out in the Kingdom of Utah, the reason why civilians suffered the most was the reckless forced labor of the prince’s faction.
And it’s because they purged those who didn’t follow it as an example.
“On the contrary, Princess Ekaterina, no, she is now a queen. She was a typical arrogant noble on the outside, but inside she had a warm heart that cared for others more than anyone else.”
At Ludger’s words, Arfa recalled the conversation Ekaterina had with her aides a moment ago.
Ekaterina’s attitude towards her aide seemed far from a hierarchical order composed of top and bottom.
Rather, it is closer to the attitude of treating close family or friends.
It certainly doesn’t suit the behavior of a country’s queen.
That’s why I felt like an ideal existence that can only be seen in fairy tales.
“That’s why I decided to raise her hand in that cold land. She was like a flame.”
“A spark? How can a person become a spark?”
“…it’s metaphorical.”
In an environment full of bitter cold, Ekaterina’s presence was like a powerful torch.
People were drawn as if possessed by the flames.
The existence of the scarlet flames was clear in the blizzard where it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.
It might be an inevitable flow that great talents gather by her side.
“But I heard that Prince Alexei had an advantage in the early days of the civil war.”
“It actually was. Before the civil war broke out, public evaluation was focused on Prince Alexei. In fact, even that situation was created by Prince Alexei through behind-the-scenes work beforehand. He was moving with the assumption of a civil war from the beginning.”
When the civil war broke out in the kingdom of Utah, the hosages used to talk in unison.
In this fight, Prince Alexei will definitely win.
So, in order to maintain good relations with the Kingdom of Utah in the future, you should line up with Prince Alexei.
Corporations, influential nobles, military generals.
Everyone thought so.
Actually, the situation was going to flow towards that ending.
“However, the victory belonged to the princess in the end. The prince’s cold ambition to devour the north melted away in the hot flame.”
Ekaterina, who fought on the frontlines while holding the flag of the kingdom of Utah at the end of the civil war, was one of the most famous anecdotes.
At that time, a black and white photo accidentally taken by a war correspondent contributed greatly to changing the perception of Yekaterina.
The photo was plastered on the front page of the newspaper, and citizens terrified of the civil war in the Kingdom of Utah gathered courage and began to support the princess.
Thus, the civil war [War of Frost and Torch] in the Kingdom of Utah ended with Catherine’s victory.
“In the end, justice triumphed.”
“okay. The right one won.”
Rudger said as if it were someone else’s business.
But Rudger recalled that day like a memory.
Although I couldn’t call those fierce battlefield days a memory.
Because the meeting that changed the fate of at least one country was definitely memorable.
-Are you that mercenary?
Ekaterina approached Ludger, who was quietly taking in the fire with a rifle in her arms.
—My name is Ekaterina Volsvaya. People say she is the princess of tyranny and luxury.
Although he is a fugitive, he does not even think about hiding his identity.
Ekaterina looked at Ludger with confident, straight eyes.
─I need your strength.
Rudger was dumbfounded by Ekaterina’s attitude.
What kind of face do you ask for help when there are almost no forces following you as a fugitive?
He wasn’t even a real mercenary in the first place.
In order to find the Relic Fragments in the Kingdom of Utah, he disguised himself as an easy-going person.
As a mercenary, he had no obligation to fight by Ekaterina’s side.
Rather, if it was a real mercenary, it would have been better to sell Ekaterina here and hand it over to Alexei.
It was not worth responding to, and of course it was right to ignore it.
But Rudger asked involuntarily.
—I am a mercenary. If you want to request a request, pay the price. If you do that, you may be able to accept the request.
─No. Now I don’t have a single penny.
Rudger’s face became dumbfounded at those words.
─That’s shameless. Still asking for help? Rather, if I handed it over to the prince here, I could get more money.
-Are you sure?
-There’s nothing I can’t do. Do you still regret it?
─Oh ho ho! Then I must have had no eyes to see!
Are you brave or stupid?
Ekaterina did not reprimand the mercenary for not showing respect even in front of the royal family.
I just laughed it off and laughed it off.
─But I have no regrets!
─Why?
─All of this is what I chose. If something goes wrong, the responsibility is entirely mine. It’s a pity to fail, but shouldn’t we do our best not to fail?
─…..
─So I just keep going on this road.
Ekaterina, who declared so, did not show the appearance of a royal family.
To put it bluntly, he is a dreamer steeped in ideals and dreams.
‘okay. It didn’t look like royalty at all.’
If at all possible a person like this wins the civil war, she will become the queen of the kingdom of Utah.
A king who has no dignity and does not lord it over anyone.
How can a country led by such a person ever succeed?
but.
If it exists, it must be a warm country that can only come out of fairy tales.
—I said Princess Ekaterina.
─Yes. that’s right.
—In order to become a king, you must first learn the theory of monarchy.
─Yes? What is that…
─It means accepting the request.
Rudger said that and slowly rose from his seat.
With the small burning bonfire at the center, Ekaterina looked into Ludger’s eyes and asked.
-Did you suddenly change your mind?
─Why? don’t like it
-I don’t hate it. If a talented person can help, I would welcome it. However, since my attitude has changed, I wondered if there was a reason, so I asked.
─I missed you. If you become the king, the country you will create.
Ekaterina responded with a smile as Ludger smiled and spoke.
─So what’s your name?
Rudger’s expression crumpled at those words.
-You asked for a mercenary request without even knowing my name?
─Is the name important? ability doesn’t matter.
─It’s not wrong…
─But now that we’re fighting together, it seems like it’s worth mentioning the name. I’m also curious about the monarchy of yesteryear.
—Machiavelli.
Rudger grabbed his rifle and headed outside the cabin in a blizzard.
—Call me Machiavelli.
meeting of the two.
It became a turning point that changed the fate of a country.
* * *
Recalling that day, Ludger couldn’t help laughing.
‘I’ve been nagging him hard to become a great monarch, but he hasn’t changed at all.’
But because she hasn’t changed, it’s like her.
If it had changed, I would have been disappointed.
I felt relieved because he seemed to be doing well even after he left.
It seems that the twin brother and sister aide still have a bad relationship.
‘Shouldn’t I have said goodbye properly?’
Of course, it was already too late to think about that.
Rudger pretended to be dead during the battle, changed his identity and fled.
If they hear the news that this side is alive, they will feel betrayed and embarrassed rather than delighted.
In that case, it was best to just live as if each other were not together.
“Let’s go to sleep. We have to move early tomorrow.”
Rudger said so and lay down on the sofa with his eyes closed.
Immediately, Rudger’s breathing changed evenly and he fell asleep in an instant.
Arfa remembered that story.
It is said that skilled people fall asleep within 5 seconds and can maintain their best condition even with just 2 hours of sound sleep.
‘But I heard that usually only those who are at the level of a knight can do that.’
Arfa was curious again, but Ludger, who was able to answer, was sleeping soundly.
Arfa lay down on the bed, leaving her regret behind.
Tomorrow was the day of 「Mysterious Night」.
