episode_0211

Seogwang was able to push the mud, but he could not completely remove the mud that covered the horizon, so he ended up just pushing it away.

However, people were able to have great hope just because of that. Yes, it’s good to have hope. Because it gives you the courage to move forward.

However, the mud still surrounds the royal capital, waiting for the dawn to set, and gnashing its teeth. Isn’t it already exciting to have hope?

“… … .”

Hermel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the rolling mud beyond where the sunlight did not shine.

‘It is certainly a good thing that the mud retreated from the light. but… … . The problem is that it is unclear how long this fluke will last.’

Dawn is light. Can the light remain even after the sun sets? Could that light be maintained even on a moonless night?

Even if it is a miracle of God that emits light regardless of day and night, and even if this place has become an impenetrable sanctuary of mud, if the mud cannot be completely eliminated, eventually, there will be no choice but to starve to death while stranded here.

The number of people gathered in the royal capital, the remaining food and water, and the despair that comes from the fact that they are completely isolated.

These are problems that are not yet very noticeable because the hopes are still greater, but as time passes, the hopes will fade, and eventually, all the problems will become too big to handle and will collapse.

‘In the end, there is no other way than to find the owner of that mud and kill him――’

Hermel, who was looking down at the mud and blinking, frowned at the sudden headache and pain that seemed to be squeezing his heart.

Why does my heart hurt so much every time I think about this?

-I will protect you. don’t worry. I will protect everything you want to protect.

Why on earth? Is the voice that has subsided heard again? Who on earth is the owner of this distorted voice? .

‘I wonder if it makes me feel this way… .’

When the writhing and screaming mud figure began to look like it was crying, Hermel felt his heart begin to shake, so he closed his eyes and turned away.

Hermel came down from the castle wall and headed straight to the center of where the sunlight fell.

Naturally, Ceria was sitting there with her eyes closed, as if concentrating on something, and at first glance, she looked like she was praying.

“Are you here, princess?”

At the sound of Jin’s voice coming from right next to Hermel, who was looking at Seria, Hermel slowly turned his head to the side.

After seeing Jin’s face like that, Hermel lightly touched Jin’s arm and laughed.

“I was wondering where he had gone, but he was here. The princess’s guard knight left her alone. It’s really too much.”

“Didn’t the princess herself give you an order to protect Seria…? … .”

“Just kidding.”

Hermel chuckled and shook his head at Jin’s sighing words.

Jin looked at Hermel with a shocked face, but Hermel paid no heed to the gaze and opened his mouth.

“Do you remember what I said on the castle wall earlier?”

“Are you saying that you will be held accountable once the situation is resolved?”

Hermel nodded slowly at Jin’s words, and Jin scratched his head at Hermel’s appearance.

If you ask me if I remember, of course I do. Who in the world can forget the words of asking for one’s own sins? That’s something I heard just a few hours ago.

However, Jin also knew that it was wrong to let the rebels into the castle without saying a word just because it was urgent, so he nodded.

“Yes. I remember.”

Hermel sighed and looked around at Jin’s answer.

“Okay… . And you know that it’s not my job to blame Jin, right?”

As Hermel said, even though she was a princess, it was okay for her to judge the wrongdoings of a leader-level person, but it was beyond her authority to say that she would be held guilty on the spot rather than holding a court-martial and making a formal ruling. It was an act of exceeding authority.

It was said to be a dangerous act that could be interpreted as a challenge to the king’s authority if done incorrectly.

“… … .”

That’s why Jin didn’t reply at all. But sometimes silence is also the answer.

Hermel smiled bitterly at Jin’s consideration for his silent affirmation, then shook his head and said,

“Hmm, if I say this, it might sound like an excuse. what… . Although the excuse is correct.”

Hearing Hermel’s words, Jin cautiously opened his mouth.

“… What happened?”

In response to Jin’s words, Hermel told him what happened in the royal castle.

About Sargela, whose heart was broken, and the king and ministers who abandoned the royal capital and ran away.

As a result, he was caught up in the idea that he had to do everything and take responsibility for everything, and was unable to properly discern between right and wrong.

“――So, I think that’s what I said.”

Hermel, who said that, chuckled and shook his head.

“So you can forget it. No, is it too selfish to say to forget? Jin thinks what he wants to think. You can think of me as a child trying to avoid responsibility by saying things like this, or you can think of me as a foolish princess.”

“Princess. It’s not just the princess’s fault. It was my fault for trying to open the castle gate without saying a word to the rebels at that time. To be honest, I couldn’t make a proper decision because of the spirit’s shouting in my head. So I ended up giving an order that was too rash.”

“I feel good when you say that. Still, in the end, Jin’s decision was right. By saving rebels who were about to die, they made them feel indebted, and using that as an excuse, they were able to recruit rebels and use them as manpower.”

“That’s the conclusion. If the princess had not stopped him, the leader of the rebel army would have entered the capital and gone on a rampage. If that had been the case, the rebels would have hit him before he got hit by the mud.”

Jin looked at Hermel as he said that, and Hermel grinned and spoke confidently.

“Well, I did a good job!”

I never said that because I genuinely thought it was a good thing.

It was simply an expression of his will to not want to drag on a story that ended well, and it was Hermel’s joke to lighten the now heavy atmosphere.

Jin laughed and nodded at the joke. Hermel and Jin, who felt that the atmosphere had relaxed, closed their mouths and looked at Seria who had her eyes closed.

“So, what do you think? No, how much do you think is left?”

It was a word that came out of nowhere, but Jin only paused for a moment to understand the intention of the question and gave an appropriate answer.

“… It’s not exact, but I don’t think this will last long. Ms. Seria must be consuming a lot of stamina.”

“Even with that effort, the mud beyond could not be completely removed.”

“… … .”

At Hermel’s words that reminded him of reality, Jin muttered, frowning at the pain that pierced his heart.

“I have to cast my luck on this young girl… . The helplessness of not being able to do anything was such a painful thing.”

“Do your best in each position. There is no need to feel frustrated because you are powerless or unable to do anything. Because this isn’t a fairy tale where everyone is the main character.”

After saying that, Hermel crossed his arms and said.

“The important thing is to decide what to do next. As Jin said, if we don’t know how long that guy will last, shouldn’t we find our own solution?”

“That’s a valid point, but I’m not sure if there’s a way to have a meaningful effect against it. Even if you dig up the ground and make a moat with the intention of exposing all of the ground, it seems like they will fill it all up and come over… .”

Hermel nodded at Jin’s words, kept his mouth shut for a moment, and then slowly opened his mouth.

“It would be best to find the culprit who caused this and make it stop.”

“Of course, that seems to be the most reliable method, but… .”

Jin, who trailed off, shook his head lightly and continued speaking.

“The problem is that right now we don’t even know where the culprit is or who the culprit is――”

At that moment, a small voice interrupted the conversation between the two people and interrupted the flow.

“The culprit… . I think I know who it is.”

But those words were enough to make the two people’s eyes widen.

Because the owner of that voice was none other than Seria.

“What, were you all listening?”

“I wasn’t able to hear everything because I was concentrating, but I heard that they were going to catch the main culprit of this incident.”

Hermel nodded at Ceria’s words, and Jin quietly came forward and asked what he was most concerned about.

“Shouldn’t you stay focused? If this light fades because of us… .”

“Oh, that’s no problem. Once I get the hang of it, I can at least have a brief conversation like this.”

“Is that so… . Well, that’s a good story to hear.”

Jin sighed in relief and sighed, and Hermel opened his mouth as soon as Jin finished his story.

“So, who is the real culprit?”

Ceria, who was looking down at the floor with half-opened eyes at Hermel’s words, carefully opened her mouth.

“Charlotte, this is Charlotte La Rochelle.”

A piece of a huge puzzle was taken out.