Chapter 56. Snake’s Grave (7)
It was raining. I guess it just stopped.
Calian, who didn’t particularly dislike the rain falling in this green winter, looked a little disappointed. Then he opened his mouth with a look of regret on his face.
“I was glad to see the first rain in quite a while, but it has stopped. Anyway, I guess rain doesn’t really suit me.”
Plantz, who had tried to eat the sour thing that had returned to its original owner’s hand instead of trying to hand it over to him, still had all the thin, hard skin peeled off from his struggling fingers, put it in his mouth and turned his head out the window again.
winter.
Plantz, who had never seen rain fall in such a cold winter, looked out the window. There was not a single dark cloud in the cloudless sky. So, did it really rain outside that window while Plants was asleep, or did it just fall in front of some guy who was sitting alone eating sour tangerines? It’s something I can’t figure out.
“Why are you here?”
“I like it here.”
“explanation.”
“I just happened to come here.”
The sky is blue when it rains. A sea of light that seemed indistinguishable from the sky could be seen in the distance, spreading endlessly beneath the sky.
So this place was not an annex of the Secretia royal palace. It was the villa of Queen Diana and now her concubine Louise.
I fell asleep in the palace and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a villa.
“Explain. Properly.”
My younger brother, who looked like it was nothing special, has now forgotten the banana that was left for the patient.
Calian shrugged his shoulders after chewing and swallowing a banana. And he spoke in the exact same voice that told him that the rain had stopped this morning.
“Around the time my brother fell asleep, Sir Hertz arbitrarily returned to his duties. Sir Castrin and Sir Hertz killed the knights of Devlan outside Marquis Lynn’s residence in a friendly manner. Thanks to this, Sir Castrin unilaterally killed the knights, and the nobles here “I couldn’t say anything, but on top of that, I ended up throwing my sword into Devlan’s heart.”
“……I threw something into someone’s heart.”
“I didn’t kill him. I just did it like this and passed it like this. I just scared him a little.”
The method of intimidation is quite unusual.
What should I really do with my little brother who is so amazing?
“under.”
I thought that if I called, he would understand on his own and come out appropriately, but I didn’t expect that he would threaten me well and come back on his own. That’s the problem. I’m saying I know why he did that. I can’t help but sigh because I feel like I know it too well, as if I’ve just seen it before my eyes.
As I was trying to brush my hair with my right hand, as was my habit, my shoulder started to hurt and the corners of my eyes furrowed without realizing it. It was only then that I realized why my enemy-like younger brother, who was busy causing trouble every time I saw him, gave me a peeled tangerine even though he showed off all sorts of unpleasant things.
“The shoulder is different from other places, so it takes a long time to heal. In this case, use your other arm.”
“…… okay.”
No matter what, he answers very well.
Calian, who smiled brightly after telling him the solution, opened his mouth again, looking at the gentle man who couldn’t find anything more to say other than a short reply to his younger brother, who had let go of the leash for a moment and barked at him, but came back after biting him very well.
“Anyway, that made it difficult for me to stay in the palace anymore. The reason I was angry was because of what happened to Hina and Brother. If we step forward, wouldn’t Brother Chase become the king who ascends to the throne on Kairis’ back? That’s why Devlan sent him. “We all came here together under the pretext of taking care of the weak Crown Prince, who suffered serious injuries at the hands of an assassin.”
For some reason, I heard a quacking sound coming from somewhere earlier. It must have been the sound of a duck brought by the crazy blue-haired deputy commander who said he was reinstated on his own.
Boiled peas, who liked drinking and had a bad personality but couldn’t even survive, eventually closed his eyes. After coming to this far away country, I thought there would be no way for me to leave, as I had already developed a personality for publicity purposes and also possessed great skills. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but I feel like it’s something I should feel unfair about.
“Brother Chase started this, and he and I helped out well, so it’s also true that from now on, it’s up to Brother Chase to finish it.”
“Why did my brother, who knows this so well, go out and get caught in the rain?”
I didn’t know it at first, but I’ve been feeling it for a while.
Between the sour and sweet smells, there was a foolish smell of rain and an even more foolish smell of blood.
“Because we are no longer the ones with nightmares.”
Calian’s hand, which was peeling the fourth banana, stopped for a moment. Instead of the hands that were moving so diligently and futilely, giving off a sour and sweet smell, words continued.
“I want you to stop dreaming now. Me and you, too.”
Planz, who had fallen asleep without a dream for the first time in a long time, nodded slowly and got up. Except for the throbbing around my right shoulder, everything else was fine, so there was no problem moving around.
“get out.”
“Are you getting ready to go out?”
Plantz nodded. Calian asked again with a disapproving look on his face.
“Do you mind if you move already? What are you going to do out there?”
“Sparring.”
“Are you talking to me?”
“or not.”
“There are many knights other than me.”
“it’s okay.”
“My weak brother, who made his betrothed without my younger brother’s knowledge, you will regret it if you spar with me now.”
“Now barking informally has become a habit.”
“You will regret it a lot.”
“you.”
“I guess so.”
“That’s enough. Stop barking.”
A crown prince from another country who raised birds well and started using them properly will be a long way ahead from now on, so let’s do something better. After barely finishing eating sour tangerines next to my current brother who was sleeping without knowing anything, I decided to take care of the guy who was now paying all my attention again because of the civil war that my old brother had started. We talked about sparring, which we haven’t been able to do for a while.
For some, it meant not to worry too much, and for others, it meant that they had a hard time alone.
“yes.”
Because I understood everything, I ended up answering like this.
Even though I knew that in the end, let alone sparring, I would be unable to do anything but stand side by side at the highest point of this villa and watch the Secreta in the distance.
* * *
– Flap!
As if it had never rained, a cold wind blew under the clear sky.
Things that were supposed to spread throughout Secreta on the wind had been disappearing for several days. There was no smell of coffee roasting or baking bread, no sounds of meat and shellfish being prepared and vegetables being chopped, and there was no busy movement of people carrying books or displaying flowers. There were no carriages passing through the streets and no people scurrying their feet toward the place where they were supposed to start their day. Even though it wasn’t a holiday where everyone needed to rest, everything that was supposed to greet the morning came to a halt.
Instead, riding on that wind, people from all over Secretia gathered in the square one after another.
– Flap!
The flag is waving.
Some had blue flowers drawn on a white background. Some had black shields and swords on a gray background, while others had white staffs on a red background. There was also a drawing of a small castle or a golden lion. There were also depictions of singing mermaids and fishing boats in armor or gold coins. Various flags with so many pictures were waving in the desolate square where no one came and went.
So, it is the nobles of many families, regardless of whether they are a military family, a merchant family, or a fishing family. Under Chase’s leadership, many nobles and their private soldiers changed their minds and gathered under Alan’s help, then gathered in front of Raijian and Arianne. All those flags were unfurled in unison under the rainy sky.
Even though so many people were gathered, no one spoke. Arianne, who was standing in front of them, side by side with the knight commander of the outer castle garrison, and everyone lined up behind them were silent.
“Sir. It’s too late.”
“Your knights are strong. Even if you combine all the people gathered here, they are not stronger than your troops currently inside the castle.”
Arianne, who was anxiously looking at the tightly closed inner door, muttered a little to herself. Then the person next to me immediately gave the answer. The first person in this capital to raise Chase’s hand. The leader of the knights of the outer castle garrison was someone Arianne had known for a very long time.
This was partly because Arianne helped Legian, the legal officer, with his work, and partly because of Arianne’s personality, where she often had casual drinks with the knights she met in the capital. A person she knew so well told Arianne something to reassure her.
“So, just wait a little while, and that shield will soon disappear.”
“I know. I know.”
It was unfamiliar.
It was unfamiliar to Arianne not to feel the feel of the armor she had worn for the first time in her life, not to hear the weapons of the soldiers standing behind her, but to stand in front of the nobles on this day, facing the tightly closed castle gate. I was scared.
Of course I know. I know better than anyone else that Arianne should not feel anxious in this position. However, there is Lei Jian within me. There is a chase. So it’s unsettling.
The gate did not open for a long time. It would be better if I could hear the sound of fighting, but I can’t hear any noise or feel anything. I was so anxious that I was going crazy. It was best to keep other nobles and soldiers standing far away from noticing Arianne’s anxiety.
“All of those nobles are gathered here now because the Lady is here. If the Lady had not taken action, they would all have returned by the time the inner door was closed and the shield was activated. They can no longer receive help from Baron Manasil. Because there isn’t one.”
Devlan closed his guard.
Devlan, led by the last knights who followed him, did not give up until the end. The inner wall was closed and an anti-magic defense wall was activated to prevent Alan from entering the inner wall directly. It was also the first and last gift that Sispanian gave to the Great King of Secretia a long time ago.
Wasn’t it Alan who had already stopped a similar magic circle in Kairis, at least temporarily? Devlan also knew about it, but he ran it. I knew Alan would never be able to break it. And Alan could not stop the huge magic circle even for a moment.
Because they couldn’t let it be known that the last line of defense to protect the Secretia royal palace could be tampered with by a wizard with an enemy in Kyris. Because I couldn’t break it with my own hands just to catch one Devlan.
So Alan won’t step forward anymore.
“I know. I know that Lord Manasil has already interfered more than the Baron of Secretia could with just the help he has provided so far. It also means that if you step forward any further, you will no longer be seen as just the Baron of Secretia. “I know very well that it will actually be poisonous to my descendants in the future.”
“That’s right, my lady.”
– Flap!
Numerous flags waved again.
‘Don’t worry Arianne. ‘I’ll come back without any problems.’
Arianne looked around in the face of an unfamiliar feeling she never wanted to experience again. Without the slightest idea of the situation of the crown prince inside the inner city, at this moment, there were those who had gathered behind them, trusting only in Marquis Lin’s protection.
There were people behind them who trusted and waited for them because they knew that before they were the family that had the crown prince’s fiancé, they were the family that stood firm against Devlan in this country.
So what Arianne had to do at this moment was to not waver. I did not lift the sword on their behalf, nor did I command them on behalf of the knight commander. We’ve gathered everyone here and are holding them together so they don’t scatter again. That was what Arianne had to do now. To do that, you had to be unwavering.
“all right. I’ll come to my senses.”
She’s done a lot so far.
Arianne has done everything from persuading Raijian, strengthening the law, and moving the soldiers. So, from now on, Arianne pursed her lips and said, “I won’t do anything that makes me anxious anymore.” He looked around, nodded as if to reassure himself, and then straightened his back.
– Waving!
The flag was waving.
The blue flag that was visible at the end of the square was replaced by a white flag.
The wind blew, and the tips of the spears in the soldiers’ hands were shaking. The red tassels waved together. The wind blew, and the flag of the family that stood in front of them fluttered. The flag of the Union that stood in front of them again fluttered. The wind blew. – Flutter! Above the inner castle. A crown holding a
round
shield
. The bitter eagle’s flag was raised. It was fluttering.
The flag of the royal family of Secretia.
It was Chase’s signal.
Arianne, who was holding the horse’s reins, gave all her strength to her fisted hand.
– Kugugugugun…!
I had been waiting for so long . A voice says,
‘I will return as king.’
The inner gate finally opens.
* * *
Chase, standing in front of the royal palace, took a step towards the royal palace.
When the inner castle was closed and the defense shield activated,
the yellow robin, Cervain, handed over leadership of all the birds, now knights, to Teilan. There was faith in Teilan’s steps as he returned them.
I saw that even the Prince of Kairis turned his back on Devlan’s reckless plan. I saw Allen stop the archmage that Devlan had summoned. Other nobles gathered in a sea outside the castle. I saw the flag.
I saw the crown prince who had captured the hearts of all the nobles gathered outside in an instant. I saw the crown prince standing in front of Devlan and discussing Devlan’s mistakes. I saw the crown prince who had first asked the child who survived Devlan’s clutches to be put to sleep. Everyone saw the crown prince holding the hands of the countless people who were sobbing towards Devlan and those who remembered that Devlan had erased them. “Make way.” Chase
walked
towards those who had seen it all.
Return . I walked to retrieve it in order to let go. I went back towards the royal palace. Leading the knights and cavalry of Chase towards the royal palace of Chase. There was
no one to stop me.
Of course.
I walked slowly without stopping for a single moment. The royal palace with no one blocking me. After passing through the main gate and passing through the garden full of red begonia flowers, I didn’t stop until I reached the entrance of the main palace.
– Fluttering!
A long pure white cloak with black lining flutters in the wind.
A person who can’t be pure white at all tries to pretend to be pure white. I walked towards the fallen person.
After passing the crowd and the knights, I finally
said, “You’ve walked a long way. “You.”
The King’s livery.
I thought you were wearing something like that.
Devlan, sitting quietly in his seat and holding a cup of tea in his hand, spoke first. He showed calmness and a smile on his pale face after not being able to sleep properly for several days.
” I know how you feel right now.”
Two brown eyes stared into violet eyes.
Chase didn’t refuse and turned to face Devlan.
“It’s miserable, it’s terrible, and yet it feels like you have the whole world. I know that.”
“Unfortunately.”
Chase opened his eyes and opened his mouth.
“I feel like I have taken the first step on a long, long road that I will have to walk. That’s all.”
A truly calm and quiet voice without any pretense of calm continued.
“Your Highness.”
Devlan put down the tea cup with a click and burst out laughing. He nodded as if he liked it and laughed for a while. That laugh was the same as before. Not only did Calian of Dawn see that his fingertips were trembling slightly, but
Chase also did not turn away
from him. He looked straight ahead. Devlan, who did not even have the courage to pour the thick poison directly into the teacup, was a demon. “Take him
to hell.”
He ordered him to send him to hell.
It was the end of a long battle.
