367 Flower A late night that takes even the moonlight’s breath away.
The sound of someone’s even breathing echoed in a room that was too large and ornate to be considered a space for priests to practice.
Hwiiing.
It was so quiet that the sound of a gust of wind seeping through the open window was unusually loud. The wind that stayed next to the antique bed suddenly took on a transparent form, and then turned into a black blade and slashed straight onto the bed.
Fuuuuk.
Wow.
The pure white blanket was instantly stained dark red by the gushing blood. However, the place where the blood spurted out was not under the blanket where the black dagger was stuck.
“Huh!?”
The gray masked man who suddenly appeared in the air grabbed the shoulder where his arm had been severed and quickly took a step back. However, the silver auror that rose up from where the dagger was inserted did not allow the masked man to completely retreat.
Sigh!
The masked man, who was sitting down helplessly with a long cut on his abdomen, raised his head and looked at the other person. The Ares Empire Imperial Special Inspection Department member, commonly known as a ghost, was not allowed to talk during his duties, but he could not bear it without spitting out a single word.
It was not because of fear of death.
“Lord Jerome? Why you?!”
This was because the person who should have been a collaborator turned out to be a hindrance.
The one-eyed knight on the other end calmly responded to that absurd voice.
“Isn’t it natural for a knight to protect his lord?”
“Are you crazy!?”
How dare you defy His Majesty the Emperor’s orders?
“What are you going to do afterward?”
All he could do was barely manage to squeak out the sound of truth rising to his throat in case anyone heard it.
“Hehehe. You crazy person. You threw away the movie and went into the pit of hell yourself.”
“…Number 1. You say more than I expected.”
Cough.
“Because of you, even the Dickade family will be struck by lightning.”
Number 1, who was coughing up blood, poured out curse-like words from behind his mask.
But the knight, who had already made up his mind, just chuckled.
“That can’t be possible. My great-uncle is here.”
“Off.”
When No. 1 could no longer hold on and collapsed, a white light suddenly erupted from the pitch-black space next to the bed, and a black-haired young man walked out.
“…Good job, Sir Jerome.”
“I just did what I had to do. I’m just sorry for not telling you sooner.”
Seeing Jerome kneeling on one knee and lowering his head, Barros smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“No, no. I don’t know what sacrifice you’ve made. I have no idea how I can repay you.”
At those words, Jerome shook his head with a determined expression.
“I just followed the knight’s duty.”
Jerome, whose only eye shined with determination, recalled that day two days ago.
The day the prince realized the emperor’s order and summoned himself and Leos.
– His Majesty’s sword is not only for ghosts. What I
was trying to say with all my courage was like a difficult confession.
However, the prince interrupted his confession with an unexpected remark.
– Haha, don’t say that. If you are that sword, wouldn’t I be dead anyway?
– If you are a fool who tried so hard to make an untrustworthy person your person, it would be worth dying for.
Eyes that meet your gaze without wavering even though you know what you are saying.
Those eyes put an end to Jerome’s long worries.
However, the result now caused the prince deep concern.
“I can only thank you, Sir Jerome, for your loyalty even though I knew it was unrequited. If I survive, I will definitely compensate you somehow.”
“No, Your Majesty. Please move faster than that. As I said, Ghost No. 1 is not the only one that has followed you.”
“…Yes. I guess so.”
“So are you going to proceed as planned?”
“…I don’t think I have any other options.”
First of all, you have to live.
The place where Leos had prepared in advance and was waiting was not far away.
And…
“I will build the road, Your Highness.”
Behind him is his own knight who took the path to greatness for himself.
I couldn’t show weakness.
“Please.”
“Yes! Please leave it to me.”
The moment I left my residence, the attack began as expected.
Okay.
No matter how many times I saw the black dagger suddenly sticking out in front of my eyes on a dark night, it gave me goosebumps. But beside him was a superman with ‘absolute vision’ who could understand everything in advance.
Ugh.
The silver auror had already cut the air into pieces just before the black dagger came out, and a large amount of blood spurted out along with the severed body parts in the empty air.
“With this, we have dealt with all the ghosts directly involved in the five plans. Now, I will go to deal with the remaining ones. Your Highness, please continue down this road.”
“I understand.”
“Please be considerate.”
“You too, be careful. If you can’t stop the mouths of all the ghosts by killing them, it would be better…”
Baros was about to continue, but stopped for a moment.
Rather what? Then go and hit me again?
‘That’s stupid.’
Baros, unable to hide his miserable expression, simply bit his lip and immediately turned around.
“No, no. Let’s meet again. On a good day, in a good way.”
Will that day ever come?
The person speaking was not sure.
“Yes. Absolutely.”
The voice of the person who answered was determined.
Barros, who turned away from that sad sense of isolation, gradually became faster.
“You’re a little late, Your Highness.”
“…You’re talking a lot. I’m sure you’re not in a relaxed situation either.”
“That’s right. But Your Highness is also a ‘thing’ that I must take care of. Hoho.”
It’s a ‘thing’.
Barros did not get angry even when Tracy treated him like an object.
A bloodline that was the basis of his pride throughout his life.
The source was aiming for his head, so he had to grab everything he could to survive.
‘Even if it is the hand of the devil.’
While Baros was once again burning his will to live, they soon reached a deserted hallway.
That’s it.
Following Tracy’s hand gesture, a staircase leading to the basement appeared in the solid-looking wall. The stairs leading into the pitch-black darkness felt like a mire swallowing him up, and Baros’ complexion became even harder.
but.
“Hurry up.”
There was not the slightest hesitation in Baros’s steps heading inside.
“Now, follow me…hoho, you’re quite active. Good. Let’s go.”
Tracy didn’t expect things to turn out this way, so Tracy’s steps following him were light.
Soon, the wall that swallowed them became a smooth, pure white barrier as if there had never been a staircase, erasing the traces of the people who disappeared inside.
And that time.
Not far away, two important figures from the temple were looking down at the Pope, who was lying as if dead.
“Luckily, you’re asleep.”
“But you won’t be able to be as active as before, right?”
“Yes. It will probably take a considerable period of time…”
Harman gritted his teeth in anger at Ilya’s words.
“It just makes me sigh that we have to let go of those who committed such terrible acts.”
“There’s nothing we can do, Captain. If we catch them now, we’ll only be giving the Empire something to complain about.”
“But the Empire is the one who orchestrated all of this…”
“So we need to let them go even more. They will continue to be the Empire’s troublemakers.”
Hearing the saint’s words, Harman had no choice but to bite his lip and turn his head.
Seeing him like that, Ilya sighed and raised her head and looked at the sky. The moon peeked out from between the clouds in the pitch-black night sky, sprinkling pale moonlight that brightened up the darkest night to some extent.
In her eyes, it felt like it was expressing the current situation in the Holy Kingdom. Then, a face naturally came to mind.
‘Thanks to you, the worst was avoided, Your Majesty Logan. How can I repay this favor?…’
Ilya sighed in relief and once again prayed in gratitude as was her habit. It was a prayer to her God, but today she had one more person to thank.
Was that why?
Flashing.
It seemed like the god she encountered in the blue world of her consciousness was talking about that person.
– The will of the Lion God with red eyes…%#@…@$^%.
Still a distant voice. But the voice became a little clearer.
Although I was embarrassed to be called a saint, I still couldn’t hear the prophecy properly, but I felt proud that I was gradually improving.
And if it’s red eyes…
‘He’s probably praising His Majesty Logan.’
Ilya thought like that and answered while looking at her god.
– I will convey God’s blessings to King Logan. And as a servant of God, I will fully repay God without shame.
Her god has a slightly clearer shape than before.
The gigantic figure of Amunda, the god of the sea and change, responded to her voice by beating his chest. It seemed as if he was frustrated because he could not fully convey the divine message.
– …I will continue to work hard and someday, I will definitely hear your voice fully.
Ilya realized his shortcomings and prayed for atonement again.
* * *
“The prince has disappeared?”
“Yes. It is said that unknown people have kidnapped the prince.”
“There is a special inspection department and Jerome?”
“The dispatched ear… hmm hmm. The members of the Special Investigation Unit were wiped out and Sir Jerome is also recovering from serious injuries.”
“Huh…”
Hearing the article’s report, old Tris Hornsby looked to the side with puzzled eyes.
“What do you think, Galen?”
A platinum-blond-haired mage who, despite not being a few years older than him, maintained an obnoxiously youthful face spoke.
“It’s a bit strange. But I think it could be possible if the Kassel Magic Tower decided to do it.”
Tris frowned slightly at those words.
‘That’s not it.’
It was so strange that the people who should have killed the prince ended up dying and even Jerome collapsed. However, the emperor’s secret plans could not be revealed to the royal family.
A truth that could tarnish the emperor’s name.
It was a top secret of top secrets that even the magician of the cold wind in front of him was not allowed to know.
‘Could it be that guy…’
Tris thought about her student’s personality and had her doubts, but there was no time to waste.
“Hmm, anyway, we move forward as planned.”
“Yes? What about His Royal Highness?”
“…Report to the imperial family and wait for orders, but the original plan will proceed as is.”
“Well, if you think about this operation, it actually went better.”
“what?”
Tris’ complexion hardened at the sarcastic remark.
Galen Dekaid, the mage of the cold wind, a mage who lives with his own taste.
Although he knew his true nature well, he was careful to conduct himself at least in front of himself and the emperor. Moreover, Jerome, who was said to have been seriously injured, was not only his student, but also his nephew and grandson of the Dickade family.
‘But it went well?’
Triss looked at him with puzzled eyes, but Galen met her gaze as if wondering what was the problem.
“Isn’t that a good thing? I heard that His Highness went missing inside Noviens, but isn’t this a more solid excuse than Max being dead?”
Triss had no choice but to agree with Galen’s words. A ridiculous realization came to her too late.
“…Yes. “Hehe, I see.”
It might be a good thing.
It is much better to disappear without knowing the cause than to have the emperor’s bloodline destroyed by the hands of one’s own disciple.
The disciple’s heart will not be hurt, and how neat this is.
Of course, if that were the case…
‘ ‘We don’t want the missing 2nd prince to reappear. We need to make sure to move the ghosts.’
Although it added a bit of cumbersome work, he felt much more comfortable this way.
“Good. We march like this and enter Noviense. Tell the Holy Kingdom! I will hold you accountable for the death of Max Ileiya and the disappearance of His Royal Highness!”
Tris’s voice echoed throughout the camp. A
mixture of the Empire’s central army and the elites of the Hornsby and Dickade families. The 10,000-strong army increased its speed and began to advance toward its goal, Chengdu.
