episode_0189

“Does the Prince only have one daughter?”

“That is correct. There are no other children.”

“How old is she?”

“She would have just had her coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Does she know she is of royal blood?”

“From what I saw, no. The royal granddaughter was living as a very ordinary commoner.”

“Hmm…”

“For what reason do you ask?”

The ‘King’ that Robert and many other nobles had been waiting for was certainly not in this form.

A King is a solemn being who reigns over everyone.

They should not be too old or too young, possess a strong power that silences everyone, and also have sharp ruling power to command everyone.

This was true even when considering the examples of past Kings.

No matter how young, one had to be over twenty-two to be granted the right to sit on the throne, and only after turning thirty-three could one truly begin to rule.

But the ‘Prince’s daughter’ Joseph spoke of was said to have just undergone her coming-of-age ceremony.

This meant she was still too young to sit on the throne.

The age issue could, in fact, be overlooked. As there were cases where a King ascended the throne at a very young age due to unavoidable circumstances, the throne could be maintained by someone ruling as a regent.

No matter how optimistically he considered it, there was a fatal problem that bothered him.

It was none other than the Prince not having a ‘son’.

He had only left a ‘daughter’.

Robert’s lips twitched, and he mouthed ‘Queen’ silently. Immediately, his entire body began to convulse as if in refusal.

He was a supreme knight. Though he suppressed the surging discomfort with patience and didn’t visibly tremble unsightly, he himself found it truly strange.

After all, no woman had ever sat on the Deseo throne before.

Since she would be used as a puppet anyway, there was no strict need to scrutinize her qualifications as a King.

But shouldn’t a puppet at least look like a puppet?

Installing a commoner girl as King was no different from placing a crown on a piece of straw that hadn’t even been fully twisted.

“This feels a bit different from what the lords desired. More than anything, I doubt if everyone will accept this ‘successor’. From what I’ve heard, the person who will become our King seems to be nothing more than an ordinary, foolish commoner girl…”

“I thought it would certainly be difficult for you to accept easily.”

As if he had anticipated Robert’s cautious concerns, Joseph let out a deep breath.

Then he subtly began.

“Sir, do you know about the royal ‘ruby ring’?”

“A ruby ring? Are you speaking of the ring the previous King created?”

“Yes. And it is the ring he bestowed upon the Prince. The ruby. In other words, ‘red blood’. What if the royal granddaughter possesses that ruby ring, which proves the noble bloodline of the royal family?”

Robert kept silent in tension.

There was no one who didn’t know about the ruby ring.

At that time, all the Deseo nobles were present and witnessed it.

A single ring bestowed upon the true Prince, without a trace of doubt.

On a framework made of gold, with a large ruby carved into dozens of facets gently set upon it. The ‘irreplaceable ring’ crafted by Deseo’s finest artisan over five years.

If someone possesses that ring, which disappeared along with the Prince.

Who would dare say they are not the King?

“The lords of Dragonez, and the twenty-four families and high-ranking knights of Deseo. All commoners and serfs on this land did not question the King’s qualifications. For the past three hundred years, what we have simply served was…”

Joseph quietly asked.

“‘Noble blood’, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing those words, Robert realized deeply.

That Sir Kintop’s choice was truly right.

His words, that the ‘King’ Joseph would designate would ultimately be accepted by everyone, were certainly true.

The blond knight rose from his seat without hesitation.

“Sir Joseph. May we go to Brizedon right now?”

“Hahaha! Of course. I will guide you.”

***

The two men headed from Gordburg to Tayldon.

As time was short, their warhorses galloped without rest. The two men covered a distance that normally took two days in just one.

As soon as dawn broke, following Joseph’s guidance, they rode up a rough mountain path.

Everything went smoothly. The weather was good, and there were no particular problems.

If they could just bring the royal granddaughter safely to Deseo, everything would be over.

The Dragonez army, now with justification, would advance even more relentlessly, and the civil war could end that much faster.

With swelling anticipation, they arrived at the mountain village of ‘Brizedon’ as mentioned.

“…”

They fell silent upon seeing the scene before their eyes.

“…What is this?”

Brizedon was gone.

Not a single person was visible, and only ashes remained, as if some houses had burned down.

The intact houses seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, only echoing with the sound of whistling wind.

“Sir Joseph. Is this the right place?”

“…I’m not sure what happened.”

As if disbelieving, Joseph trudged through the village.

He called out someone’s name loudly and opened house doors to search inside thoroughly. But all they found were hungry field mice.

“Clearly, everything was as it was two months ago…”

Joseph, seemingly confused, went down the hill. Below it was a large house.

It was a peculiar house. Unlike the common houses that merely had large fences, it had a large wooden gate set in front of a garden, a structure anyone could tell was unique.

Click. Clack.

Joseph approached the wooden gate and began to set the password.

“Was it this?”

He tried stacking wooden blocks based on memory, but it didn’t work properly.

“Then… February 2nd?”

He stacked the wooden blocks again, but that didn’t work either.

Joseph, unable to crack the password, simply jumped over the fence.

And opened the inner door and looked inside the house.

Robert asked.

“Is this it?”

“Yes. It was the Prince’s birth home, and the house the royal granddaughter inherited. Huh—but now…”

Joseph looked at the empty house and said with a sense of futility.

“No one is here.”

“What happened in this village?”

“I don’t know either. I’ll have to go to Tayldon to find out the details.”

As he carefully examined the place, he suddenly realized something strange.

“…”

Unlike the other houses, only this house had ‘traces of recent habitation’.

In the kitchen, there were abandoned half-baked cookies, and in the fireplace, a pile of recently burned logs was stacked.

It was strange.

In such a remote mountain village, there was no reason for thieves to come, and it was a desolate village with nothing even to take.

Yet, of all places, in ‘this house’, there were traces of someone having kept a fire and spent the winter.

Thinking that someone had been there just a few days ago, he looked around the house, and it became even clearer.

On the table, two chairs faced each other.

Two cups. Two forks.

On the slightly slanted bed, two pillows lay side by side.

They weren’t alone, were they?

That was at least hopeful news, because it meant Tia was undoubtedly alive.

The fact that such traces were left must mean she was with Ritsu until recently.

Joseph, letting out a sigh of relief, closed the door and came out.

“…Let’s go back.”

The two men, having gained no results, went back down to Tayldon.

Joseph first sought out the innkeeper.

Sternly informing him that it was important official business, he asked what had happened in Brizedon while he was away.

And he heard a shocking story.

“What?! Ritsu is dead?”

“That’s what they say! They say Ritsu and Tia fought—I can’t believe those two would fight, but anyway—and so Ritsu, falling into despair, threw himself off a cliff. So they exiled Tia and held a funeral…”

“Wait a moment. Wait a moment.”

Joseph, as if frustrated, unbuttoned the buttons on his chest.

Breathing roughly, as if unable to comprehend what he had just heard, he shouted in a loud voice.

“That’s absurd nonsense! Who said that? Ritsu and Tia would never do something like that! Ritsu isn’t the type to fight with Tia, nor is he foolish enough to choose suicide!”

“So—I think so too—.”

“Damn it. Ritsu is dead? Then… whose traces were those with Tia?”

While Joseph was muttering to himself.

Robert, who had been silently listening beside him, also was doubting his ears.

“It seems the people of Brizedon were taken due to some arrears issue. They say the lord had made a contract to lend firewood and receive labor in return.”

“Ritsu made such a contract? Then where are all the Brizedon people now?”

“They departed with the expeditionary force. They aren’t here.”

“Damn it!”

Joseph, who had roared out, immediately left the inn.

Robert, who was following him, asked.

“Sir Joseph. Where are you going?”

“Ah, my apologies. The situation is very bad right now. Tia… no, the King’s whereabouts have become unclear. They say it’s already been two months since she was exiled from Brizedon. And in the meantime, our Sir Kintop personally issued a warrant and left for Deseo, so it will be difficult to find her in this vicinity.”

“No. I understand that. But, if I heard correctly…”

A complex look flickered in the knight’s eyes.

“Did you just say… ‘Tia’?”

“Yes? Ah. That’s right. Tia Anshier. That is her esteemed name.”

Joseph said it casually, but at that moment, Robert’s eyes unfocused.

He stumbled for a moment, barely managing to grasp the inn wall.

“Sir Robert? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“The Prince’s daughter… is Tia?”

In that voice, always armed with composure, a subtle tremor and crack suddenly appeared distinctly.

It was an emotion that could not be hidden.

The fervent joy at the fact that Tia was alive.

And the great shock that she was of the King’s bloodline.

These two things mingled, and Robert couldn’t even stand properly.

What a cruel trick of fate this was.

He had buried that child he thought dead in his heart, hidden his own survival for the sake of revenge, and searched for a new King.

In fact, this entire journey itself… that girl.

It was about finding Tia.

“Sir? Are you alright? Shall we rest for a moment?”

“No. I’m fine.”

Robert clenched his fist and asked.

“Sir Joseph. Our King… is somewhere, aren’t they?”

“I’m not certain, but if I may state my opinion, she is definitely alive.”

He was almost there.

Only one step remained until he could grasp Tia’s fragile shoulders again.

The girl’s shadow scattered like the wind and vanished once more.

Now, there truly was no other way.

Joseph surmised she hadn’t gone far, but a widespread search covering the entire Dragonez mountain range would still be necessary.

Mobilizing an army to scour the mountains just to find one girl was impossible. And the lords, whose every nerve was focused on Deseo, had no such leisure.

As if mocking his bound fate, a letter arrived for Robert at that very moment.

It was news that his main family had suffered great damage from the aftermath of the war.

To save his crumbling family, it was time for him to step forward personally.

“Sir, you should go to your family estate first. I will continue to track the King.”

“…Please take care of it.”

In the end, Robert parted ways with Joseph and had no choice but to turn his steps towards Deseo.

While commanding the battlefield there, when about two months had passed.

The end of the war, which had seemed so far off, was slowly approaching.

In Deseo, where dark clouds had always loomed, the clanging of metal was also dying down. The nobles’ soldiers had surrounded the palace and were waiting for the King to emerge on their own.

And Joseph, who had vowed to keep searching for Tia, appeared before him once again.

“Sir Robert. It’s been a long time.”

“Did you find her?”

“Yes. I found the last trace in Rotenban.”

“Rotenban? But isn’t this Deseo?”

“That’s right. She apparently came to Deseo via Rotenban about half a month ago. There’s no mistake. She is right here.”

Joseph was filled with certainty.

“Now it is time to meet ‘that person’.”