Ch.238Chapter 238. Retreating to Border, Aftermath (3)

* * *

The royal palace of Alcanwood Castle.

Chel, seated in the lord’s chair, wore a satisfied expression with a broad smile on his face for the first time in a long while.

“Really? So you succeeded in repelling them?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Well done.”

The painful experience of defeat at Balhart Castle that had brought him such humiliation.

Chel hadn’t forgotten that moment for a single instant.

‘Come to think of it, Irene was there.’

Looking back, the Brans army began to crumble from the moment Irene betrayed them.

That was also when his brilliant sister began to lose her mind.

He’d heard rumors that she was no longer affiliated with that place, but… that didn’t mean he could coexist under the same sky with Aeshus forever.

In the end, it was just a matter of timing.

Eventually, they would have had to cross swords with Aeshus as well.

Of course, at this point, he didn’t harbor particularly strong personal grudges against them.

Thinking about it, wasn’t it because Lynn went mad that he was able to ascend to the position he rightfully deserved—the position of ruler?

A life dedicated solely to fighting wasn’t bad, but now that he had a taste of even meager power, he could understand why humans became obsessed with it.

“Good. How is the condition of the prisoner we captured?”

“Given his extraordinary strength, it certainly took time to subdue him… but we somehow managed to restrain him.”

Indeed, what was his name—Erinandorf Arisian?

Even Chel hadn’t imagined capturing such a prominent figure as a prisoner.

Chel had certainly known the name for a long time. One of the heroes of the Aeshus army—Epinel, Emma, Erinandorf, Anima, Yurie—a man who proudly stood as one of their pillars.

Ever since hearing about this man with tremendous strength, he had wanted to face him in battle, but he never expected to meet him in this manner.

“Bring him here immediately. We can’t just keep him as a prisoner.”

The soldier, understanding the implication behind the phrase “can’t just keep him,” swallowed hard and bowed as he replied.

“…Yes!”

* * *

“……”

A peculiar atmosphere filled the audience chamber.

Soldiers lined up on both sides, and the blue-haired handsome man with rough features, Chel Brans, sat in the lord’s seat with his chin resting on his hand.

And before him… Erinandorf knelt with his head bowed, his body covered in wounds.

“Raise your head, Erinandorf Arisian.”

“…!”

Erinandorf slowly lifted his head to meet Chel’s eyes.

No, not meet—he glared at him with unmistakable hostility, as if he would devour him.

Chel found this amusing and let out a snicker.

“You can glare at me for a hundred days, but you can’t defeat me with mere looks. Surely you’re not stupid enough to not know such a simple fact?”

“Shut up, Chel Brans.”

Upon hearing those words, Chel burst into laughter loud enough to shake the audience chamber.

In this silent hall where nothing could be heard except Chel’s laughter, the soldiers could only bow their heads slightly and exchange glances.

“You understand what it means to be brought here instead of the prison, don’t you?”

Though no particular answer came from Erinandorf, Chel continued to speak indifferently, as if he didn’t care.

“Yes, Erinandorf. It means your fate will be determined by your choice.”

“……”

“Help me rebuild the Brans army, Erinandorf. I highly value your talents. If you use your strength for me from now on, I will never hold our petty grudges against you. No, Erinandorf. I’ll even make you the commander-in-chief of our army. Including that, I promise to give you the best treatment, on the honor of the Brans family. Whether you survive and write a new legend with us, or end your life’s journey here… the choice is entirely yours.”

From an ordinary perspective, Chel’s offer was certainly tempting.

It was rare for someone to offer such exceptional treatment when recruiting a prisoner.

Even though Erinandorf was an S-class general, they had been crossing swords until recently from the Brans army’s perspective.

Even if Chel’s army had become an independent state with no connection to the original Brans army, he couldn’t control the emotions of his people.

From his position, it was an offer made with the confidence to suppress any internal opposition.

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“It is.”

“……”

Erinandorf slowly closed his eyes.

And he pondered Chel’s final words.

‘Either survive and write a legend together, or…’

—end your life’s journey here.

Erinandorf wore a bitter smile on his face.

If his soul companions saw him now, they would be shocked and horrified. Especially since he rarely showed any change in expression.

Particularly Emma, who was closest to him, would probably make a fuss for a day and a half, saying something trivial like, “So even he can make such an expression.”

Yurie. Epinel. Anima. And… Emma.

I’m sorry.

I wanted all five of us to see the flags of Aeshus flying over every castle on the continent together.

“……”

Chel didn’t respond, but instead looked at Erinandorf’s face once more.

This time, his face didn’t show particular hostility. Instead, the emotion he conveyed was—indifference.

A bored expression that seemed to ask what kind of answer he expected to hear.

“…Ha.”

Naturally, Chel could precisely understand the meaning of Erinandorf’s non-verbal expression.

He had thought it wouldn’t work, but it was as expected.

He had made a big decision to try persuading him, thinking that if Erinandorf joined his forces, he might be able to deal with Kalintz Brans… but Chel could tell.

His eyes were those of a warrior.

The eyes of a loyal hound who would never betray any lord.

Having someone like that under him would be reassuring—

But conversely, having someone like that under his enemy was not good at all from his perspective.

‘A pity, but this is as far as it goes.’

If Chel had been seriously educated in politics rather than being a warrior to the bone, he might have calculated the maximum benefit from using Erinandorf as bait, as Serpina would have done—

But he too had been a warrior who had poured his entire soul into the battlefield until recently.

On the battlefield, the victorious side claims glory. The defeated side—death.

“You there, come forward.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

A soldier who received Chel’s instruction slowly took his place beside the restrained Erinandorf.

“Behead this man, and display his head on the castle wall.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even after hearing those words, Erinandorf showed no shock and merely let out a short sigh.

The emotion he felt now was not fear or terror, but simply regret.

Regret that he couldn’t stay with them until the end.

But in a way, it was fortunate.

Because among the five, he was the least valuable.

Compared to the intelligent Anima, the versatile Emma and Epinel, and their lord Yurie, he was just a general with some strength.

He had only one wish.

Please, please… that Yurie wouldn’t make wrong decisions for the sake of revenge.

In this matter, there was nothing he could do except hope.

‘…I leave the rest to you, Yurie.’

Erinandorf walked somewhere, led by the soldier’s hand.

To a dark place where light doesn’t reach, a place of no return—

—he calmly accepted his fate.

That day, one of the five stars of the Aeshus army fell to earth.

* * *

The royal palace of Jelin Castle.

“What do you think? Would 8,000 gold be enough? Shouldn’t we offer at least 10,000 gold to get him back safely?”

“That should be fine. Unlike Serpina, gold must feel extremely precious to Chel.”

Yurie and Anima were, quite naturally, preparing for negotiations to return their prisoner.

Of course, they had never once considered the death of one of the five.

So they naturally assumed he would be imprisoned, and thought it was only right to get him back as soon as possible.

In Anima’s opinion, while Chel did have a hot-headed, reckless tendency—

There were far more ways to utilize Erinandorf than to simply kill him, so she judged he wouldn’t be killed.

Rationally speaking, Anima’s thinking might have been correct, but—

“Then I’ll send this as is. Who would be good as a messenger?”

“Schultz or Elisia, and if both are difficult, I wouldn’t mind going myself.”

As they were discussing the future situation.

“M-My lord!”

A soldier rushed into the royal palace with an urgent expression.

‘What is it? Could they be invading again so soon?’

They hadn’t thought Chel would immediately invade Jelin Castle no matter how reckless he was, but just as they were considering this—

“It’s…”

From the soldier’s appalled expression, they noticed an emotion different from usual.

Yes, this sensation. The moment they faced the soldier, both Anima and Yurie felt this sense of unease.

It wasn’t a rational judgment based on intellect, but something rooted more deeply in human nature—instinct.

“…What happened?”

The soldier, hearing Yurie’s question, hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out an answer in a trembling voice.

“General Erinandorf…”

“What about Erinandorf? What happened? …Tell me quickly.”

“……”

The soldier couldn’t say anything, just bowed his head deeply and shed tears.

And at the same time…

Yurie and Anima, realizing what his silence meant, turned pale.

“…!!!!”

…No way.

Yurie jumped up from his seat, rushed to the soldier, put his hands on his shoulders, and demanded desperately.

“What happened? Tell me properly! I, your lord, am ordering you to speak!”

“T-That… the g-general…”

Anima, barely holding back her tears, closed her eyes tightly and looked up at the sky.

…Ah.

That day. The image of Erinandorf, who fought alone against numerous soldiers of Serpina’s army to save her when she was severely beaten by Serpina due to her own misjudgment…

For Anima.

And for Yurie.

The cruel truth was approaching without any warning.

“…He has passed away.”