Ch.123Chimera (1)

Looking out from the city walls at the open plains below, I could see armies carrying various flags.

Vassal houses and allied families had brought their soldiers.

Since this wasn’t a clash between major houses but rather a punitive war we were waging, the scale wasn’t particularly large.

Still, it was sufficient. This army should have no problem crushing the Payne Family.

“Lord Caden.”

Lawrence climbed the wall, his metal armor clanking. He stood behind me, gazing at the gathered soldiers alongside me.

“Lawrence.”

My mentor and Praester’s representative knight, Lawrence, pulled out a small note from his chest.

“…Our messenger has arrived at Payne’s territory. By now, we would have officially declared war.”

I nodded.

Of course, the declaration was merely a formality since Payne must have known about our movements… but war had finally broken out.

“…Yes. It begins now.”

Tomorrow we would depart for Payne’s territory. Though it might seem rushed, we couldn’t keep this large army stationed in Praester territory.

“Lord Caden.”

Helen followed Lawrence and addressed me.

“The heads of House Trant, House Merin, House Gribel, and House Lins are waiting.”

“…The family heads? All of them?”

“Yes. All of them.”

This was quite unexpected. Though some houses hadn’t arrived yet, all those present had sent their heads directly. Despite telling them they could send knights with delegated authority since this wasn’t a major war, they all showed up in person.

What was their reason? Fear of Asena? Loyalty to the Praester Family? Or perhaps to assess me?

“…Let’s go see them.”

I needed to meet them to find out.

*****

The dinner with the family heads proceeded smoothly. No minor issues arose.

Since I was acting as the family head, there were some questions about Asena’s condition, but I managed to deflect them with prepared lies.

Though there was a strange atmosphere as they seemed to be assessing me… I didn’t try to stand out unnecessarily.

I simply performed the duties assigned to me.

Not a Praester, but acting like one.

Not the family head, but acting like one.

I exchanged formal greetings with them, discussing only what was necessary.

Surprisingly, they seemed to view me positively.

Though I couldn’t be certain of that either.

After finishing dinner with the family heads,

making final inspections of the army,

and meeting with Judy, Daisy, and Grandmother,

I could have returned to my room to rest before departing the next morning, but my feet didn’t lead me to my chamber.

Instead, I headed to a place equally familiar, though not my bedroom.

It was both natural and unnatural for me to go there.

After my walk with Kirsy, something seemed to have changed in my heart.

-Knock knock.

When I gently knocked on the door, a soft response came as if she had been expecting me.

‘…Come in.’

It was as if she knew I would come.

Opening the door, I found Asena resting after finishing her recent paperwork.

She was sitting in light clothing, gazing out the window. In the strange atmosphere, she didn’t even look at me.

“…Are the preparations complete?”

The true head of the Praester Family, temporarily hiding her political presence, asked.

“…Yes.”

“…Did you meet with the family heads?”

“Yes.”

“………”

Asena paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

I asked about the meaning of that sigh.

“Why?”

“…I hate it so much.”

“…What?”

“That you have to go to war. My heart pounds painfully at the thought that something might happen to you.”

Her clear display of emotion was familiar to me. Even though she never showed it to others.

“…If I die, we lose the war. Does that make sense?”

The difference in scale was too great. In fact, they might surrender as soon as we arrived at Payne’s territory.

“…I know. It doesn’t make sense. But I still hate it.”

“……”

Only after saying this did Asena turn to look at me.

“…Sorry. I promised not to say such things.”

“…You did.”

Sometimes, I wonder how twins can be so different. Kirsy is fragile and pure… but Asena is the opposite.

“…….”

“…Asena. I’ll return victorious—”

“—Wait, brother. Just a moment.”

Asena quickly interrupted me. She took a deep breath. Her eyes rolled to check if the door behind me was properly closed, then she spoke.

“…I don’t want to make the same mistake as last time. Last time I cursed and… swore at you… but this time…”

She closed her mouth tightly, then patted the bed beside her a couple of times.

It was a signal to sit next to her.

Following her suggestion, I sat beside her. Though I didn’t think there would be any problems, this kind of farewell seemed better.

As I took my place, she spoke.

“…I’m happy to have you, brother.”

“……..”

“Having you… helped me overcome the despair I felt when we lost our parents as children. Looking back, losing parents wasn’t that uncommon… you grew up in the Hexter Orphanage too. But at that time, I didn’t know that. I was so afraid. Without parents… I didn’t know what to do.”

She placed her hand on the spot next to her, slowly closing the distance between us.

“I thought I had to take responsibility for the family… I was afraid I couldn’t do it properly… afraid of being scolded by Grandmother. But then you came. You, who smiled and took care of us despite having no parents just like us.”

Asena continued to express her feelings as she had promised herself. Though I wasn’t unaware of her feelings, hearing them like this made it increasingly difficult to push her away.

No, perhaps I was giving up. I couldn’t understand anymore why I had to painfully ignore her.

“…That’s why, without you, I still go back to that time. No matter how much I pretend and try… I can’t function without you.”

“…Asena—”

As I opened my mouth, Asena’s finger touched my lips. It was a gesture asking me to be quiet.

“…Brother. I just want to ask a few things.”

“……..”

“…Don’t answer. I’ll just ask.”

Her body gradually moved closer to me. Yet I didn’t move away. Just as I had with Kirsy the day before, I allowed Asena to approach me as I used to.

Asena sat on my lap. She knelt with her legs spread wide, pressing her navel against me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she gazed into my eyes without wavering.

“…I know you grew up in the Hexter Orphanage… and that you were drawn to Daisy from the beginning of the Academy term. Judy had so many similarities with you, and I understand how your friendship developed into something more.”

“…….”

Asena then asked me with a desperate expression.

“…If you could develop love for them… couldn’t you love me too?”

Whatever her question was, I had intended to answer if I could… but this made my mouth freeze shut.

As I suspected, her claim of giving up on me a few days ago had been a lie. Given the opportunity, she once again revealed that sticky love for me.

“…There was no lie in your love for me. Just as you came to like Daisy… just as you came to like Judy… couldn’t you do the same for me?”

Her all-seeing eyes continued to stare at me. It was as if she was extracting answers through my eyes.

Even though I didn’t open my mouth, it felt like we were having a conversation.

“…It’s my last wish, brother… just once…”

“……….”

Asena’s hands moved gradually, tenderly holding my face.

“…Am I that disgusting to you…?”

She suddenly asked. My eyes wavered.

I couldn’t tell what she saw in my eyes. But her words were becoming increasingly intense.

“…If I’m not disgusting… brother… if you don’t feel sick to death looking at me… then…”

She took a deep breath. Then she said firmly.

“Then, just stay still. This might be… our last time together.”

Immediately after, her face began to move closer to mine. In two breaths, the distance between us narrowed.

At the same time, her body trembled. The woman who had shown such strength during days of paperwork was now shaking.

Seeing her fragile state, I briefly asked myself her question.

Was she disgusting to me?

…In the end, my body couldn’t push her away. I no longer had the strength for that.

Her lips overlapped with mine.

Both keeping our lips closed, only our skin touched.

As if I might break, her touch was extremely careful.

Asena stayed like that for a long time.

In the quiet night, just the two of us.

In the room where candles flickered, Asena sat on my knees and continued to kiss me.

****

The next evening.

Our army was looking at Payne’s territory from a distance.

They didn’t have many options.

With plenty of siege weapons at our disposal, Payne Family’s low walls would easily crumble.

The outcome was already determined.

The Payne Family would be annihilated.

It was just a matter of how.

“Surrender?”

I asked Lawrence.

“It doesn’t seem like they will. They appear to be trying to hold out.”

I could have predicted that Payne wouldn’t surrender. Whether they surrendered or not, they would die anyway.

“Defensive weapons?”

“None visible from any direction.”

The Payne Family didn’t seem to have prepared defensive weapons either. Perhaps that was to be expected.

At that moment, Judy appeared on Goldie and came to my side.

“Then we can just use our siege weapons from outside their range.”

I nodded.

“Yes. That’s right.”

Suddenly, the murmuring among the soldiers grew louder. Our attention, which had been focused on the quiet battlefield, was drawn to the sound.

“…Huh?”

Soon I too found the reason for the commotion and expressed confusion.

Payne Family’s walls were opening, and numerous soldiers were pouring out.

“…Are they trying to decide the battle before our siege weapons can hit them…? Or perhaps they’re trying to destroy our siege weapons.”

Lawrence said beside me.

I could understand their choice, but it was foolish.

They shouldn’t have faced us on the open plain.

“Order them to protect the siege weapons.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go, Lawrence.”

“Yes.”

I shook Rush’s reins and lowered my visor.

“W-wait!”

But Judy grabbed my reins midway.

“Where are you going, Caden?”

Confusion swirled in her eyes.

“You can command from the rear, why are you moving just because they came out?”

“…….”

“…….”

Lawrence and I briefly made eye contact.

Lawrence said to me.

“…I’ll go ahead.”

“Alright, wait for me a bit.”

Two attendants raised flags with the Praester snake emblem and rode alongside Lawrence.

I looked at Judy who remained behind.

Raising my visor again, I faced her.

“Judy. I need to ride at the front.”

“What are you saying, Caden..!”

“This war is happening because of me. With soldiers risking their lives, I can’t hide in the back.”

I smiled and stroked Judy’s cheek.

“And for our vassal and allied houses not to look down on me… I must do this. If I ride at the front, they’ll respect me and follow my orders more readily. I’m not charging ahead without thinking, Judy. This is a decision I made after much consideration, so please understand.”

The longer our conversation went on, the more Payne Family soldiers emerged from the castle.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

Payne’s drums could be heard. At the same time, the enemy began charging toward us.

“I have to go, Judy. See you later.”

As I tried to turn away again, Judy stopped me once more.

“Ju-“

“-I’ll ride with you.”

The words “you can’t” rose to my throat but went back down.

Time was of the essence… but Judy’s expression was too determined. I didn’t have enough time to persuade her.

Besides, I could trust Judy… Judy would be fine.

“…You need to be careful.”

I said.

“The same goes for you.”

She replied.

I nodded and rode off.

The soldiers parted to make way for us. As I cut through the Praester soldiers and charged forward, they cheered, raising their morale.

Soon, Lawrence, who had been waiting ahead, turned to look at me. The Praester snake banner still fluttered in the wind beside him.

My heart began to pound as if it would burst. Seeing the approaching enemy from the front line made my blood boil and my limbs tingle.

Despite this, I drew my sword more firmly and resolutely.

-Shing!

My newly crafted sword reflected the light.

“Lawrence! Sound the horn!”

With my command, the Praester horn shook the battlefield. Payne’s drumbeats were drowned out.

-Buuuuuuuu…..Buuuuuuuu…..

“Let’s run, Rush.”

And with that, the army I led charged forward as the vanguard.