episode_0069
by fnovelpia
The sound of the sword stopped.
The sound of swords clashing against swords, or the swoosh of wind created by quick movements, is not heard.
silence.
Instead, silence fills the space.
But the silence was just as sharp as a sword. It was a cold silence that seemed to suffocate. None of the three dared to break the silence.
My head is pounding from the sound of my heartbeat accelerating.
The question that has been awaited for 10 years. The driving force and sole purpose of life that has led the Duke and Louis to this point. It was a moment that was as tense as it was earnestly desired. They anxiously wait to see if the guards they have encountered will be able to resolve their doubts.
“……”
Blair remained silent.
Anguish, anxiety, and inner conflict were overwhelming her.
The Duke had already pressed for an answer. He didn’t intend to ask three times. A little waiting is fine. I’ve been waiting for a long time. I can wait this much.
If the retinue in front of him could resolve the duke’s doubts, then it would be fine. If he wanted, he could bring a chair and stay up all night waiting. It was an answer he desperately wanted to hear.
“Isabel Green.”
Breaking the silence, Blair said:
A voice that was not hers but a magically transformed voice flowed out from the mask. However, her voice was full of tremors. So much so that the Duke and Louis, who were listening, could clearly tell.
“Yeah, you’ve heard of that name, right?”
“…How dare you mention that name when you’re a traitor.”
“Please. I just want to know. Guardian Knight.”
The complicated feelings expressed in the trembling voice eventually gave the answer.
“I have nothing to tell you.”
anger.
Blair answered with a murderous rage, an answer that betrayed the Duke’s expectations of a heartbreaking sincerity.
“…Is that so.”
The duke quietly closed his eyes. He could feel his eyes trembling violently behind his closed eyelids. Expectations turned to disappointment, and disappointment turned to resentment every moment.
“Then I have no choice but to ask the princess I am serving now.”
“!”
The determined Duke spoke firmly. It was a dry announcement. It was also a declaration of war to threaten the four-year master.
“Do you remember the mother who raised you with love, even though you were an ugly child?”
“…How dare you!”
“Your mother who wanted to protect you, the unholy four-year-old, and the empress who believed in you.”
“No-!!!!”
Blair jumped up from her seat with an ear-piercing scream, unable to contain herself as each word of the Duke set off a rage in her.
visor-
However, Blair’s black Louis, who was aiming for the Duke, could not ignore him and passed by. He was by the Duke’s side and blocked Blair’s attack, who had lost his reason due to anger.
“Chris, stimulate me a little. The lady is angry.”
“Tsk… Get out of the way!”
“How can I avoid that?”
The sly Louis further provoked Blair.
A cold-blooded guardian and a member of the royal family known as the killer. It is not common for Tress to be so unable to control her anger.
If I had to pick one, it would be when she lost the prince. Or when she was tormented by guilt for not being able to protect the prince… It also meant that the duke’s words just now had shaken her to the point where they could be compared to those situations.
Goooowoong-
I have no intention of crossing swords with Louis again.
For her, this situation is no longer a simple mission given to her by the princess. It is the moment when a mission turns into a calling.
All that is needed is extermination.
They must be eliminated even at the cost of her own life. They cannot be allowed to face the princess. They must never be allowed to speak to the princess. Before the instincts of the inherited Tress, the retinue within Blair, could scream… Blair made her own decision.
This is Blair’s will. It is her duty as a knight and mother who has protected the prince and princess for ten years.
“You will die here.”
“…!?”
Blair, who had quickly gained some distance, put his sword into the scabbard at his waist. He then grabbed the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other, and lowered his stance.
The gentle humming sound that had been heard also stopped.
Louis couldn’t easily close the distance. A hasty move could endanger the duke. He just stared at the opponent in front of him with eyes that clearly showed surprise.
Saaak-
An eerie, heavy silence fell again. As Blair lowered her posture, the sound that had stopped. The identity of the rumbling sound was revealed.
“!?”
A dark aura was gathering around Blair’s scabbard. Louis knew at a glance what it was.
“Fuck.”
The power granted by the royal family to their subordinates.
It combines with Blair’s swordsmanship to destroy the enemy. Even though he was just quietly preparing to draw his sword, it was impossible to guess how powerful it would be.
Louis swallowed thickly.
He could somehow dodge or counter it. He could do it alone. He could do it alone… But he had the duke by his side. Could he take it while protecting the duke? Such doubts tormented Louis.
“You’re so flustered, which is unusual for you.”
“……”
“And you’re still the strongest in the empire? Louis.”
The Duke scolded the nervous Louis. It wasn’t a reprimand or a sarcasm. It was his sincerity and faith in Louis. The faith that ‘you can do it.’
Ps …
Louis, who had a serious expression on his face, smiled and said.
“Ah, I just wanted to tease you. If I get flustered, you’ll get scared too, right?”
“That would be so true.”
“It’s useless… Okay, I’ll show you. The strongest power.”
Louis, determined, took a step forward. He ran his other hand over the blade. Then, a surprising amount of mana was gathered.
Phew-!
When confronted with an unidentifiable technology, especially when dealing with an unknown power such as a sword mixed with the power of the royal family, the first thing to do is to use the sword. There is nothing better than the sword. The principle that makes up the world… the power of mana. Louis prepared the sword with all his might.
“Madam. I don’t think one of the two will be safe.”
“……”
Blair didn’t answer. Instead, she stared at them both calmly, in a posture that was almost ready to strike. What she exuded was a cold murderous intent. A murderous gaze.
Boom-!
But before the two could clash, just before the might of the knights who were among the strongest in the empire was revealed, an explosion that shook the earth was heard.
The two people were unable to strike each other in the end and turned their gaze to where the sound came from. This was because the place where the sound came from was the place they were concerned about.
The boundary of the garden.
The sound coming from the dark curtain surrounding the barrier forced Louis and Blair to avoid any further conflict.
Because Louis has subordinates and Blair has masters.
The two looked out the large window, conscious of each other.
“That, that!”
The duke, who had been observing the situation outside the window before the two of them, said in surprise.
-Swear to me, Chris, Louis.
Memories overlap in his vision.
The sight of her once dazzling blue-green eyes losing their vitality. The sight of her once white skin turning pale. Red… I remember the red blood that soaked everything. It was the blood of a beautiful woman.
-If my daughter ───,───if… . Kill her. Free her from ───. ───because… please have pity on my child… . This is my last… request. Oh… I’m sorry. For putting this burden on you. I, I only have you to rely on… . Th, so-
Isabel, the senior in my memories, passed away before she could even finish her last words. She slowly lost her warmth next to the two men who had been watching over her until the end.
The Duke wept and swore beside Isabelle, who had already died and could not even feel her breathing. Louis suffered for several days, reproaching himself for not being able to give her an answer that he would swear.
More than ten years have passed since then.
The moment when the two could keep their oath was approaching, and what was visible outside the window was none other than Unknown. It was the royal family wearing the Green Emperor’s helmet. The eerie bright light shining from the helmet proved it.
After a long, if long, or a short time, the rightful successor to the empire finally appeared.
“…Finally, finally, the time has come. Senior.”
There was tension on the Duke’s face as he stared at the unknown. However, what was certain was that it was not anxiety or fear, but rather a tension closer to anticipation and excitement.
Following the Duke, Louis also took in the Unknown.
What he saw was a magician floating in the air. It was a magician wearing armor and a cloak. He waved his hand and the darkness forming the barrier gathered around the magician.
As if he were the master of darkness, as if darkness were a part of him.
The darkness that swirled and created a great wind was gathered. Smaller, smaller… The darkness gathered on the palm of the wizard’s outstretched hand. Compressed. Into a small form like a magic ball.
“…?!”
Finally, the darkness that had enveloped the garden completely disappeared.
No, it didn’t disappear. The darkness was in the hands of the wizard… the Unknown. He gathered all the curtains that had covered the garden and gathered them in his palm. From the darkness that had turned into a small form like a magic ball, an unfathomable power was felt.
“Listen, you traitors.”
A voice that seemed to whisper right in front of me, even though it was floating in the air, was heard from afar. It was the voice of the Unknown. A distorted voice whose gender I couldn’t even tell.
“The master of the empire has returned, and all that remains for you is death… .”
Everyone, including those trying to escape the palace, those guarding the palace, and those passing by the palace, heard the voice. They stared blankly at the magician floating in the air as if they had lost their minds.
There was no name, no specific identity, no face visible inside the helmet.
“Yes, there is only death.”
But everyone watching could see.
The truth that leaves no room for doubt.
He is the royal family.
… .
That he is a descendant of the Green Emperor.
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