Chapter 208
The Embers in the Furnace Remain the Same (6)
Arwen was a very special person to me.
Firstly, she was the first talent in this world I had recognized. She was also the first knight who swore allegiance to me, even though things had started in a gritty and forced manner with us. Anyway, she was the type of person who brought strength to my heart when I thought of her.
The most trusted knight: This was Arwen Kirgayen. of course, it doesn’t mean I didn’t trust the other knights. I trusted Vincent and the warriors of Winter Castle and trusted Adelia as much as Arwen. They would never betray me; they would walk behind me at all times, even if the fires of hell awaited us at my road’s end.
And that was the decisive difference between Arwen and the other knights.
When I walk toward the fires of hell, when everyone follows me without hesitation, Arwen will protect me from the front. Maybe she would tell me that my judgment was wrong, that it’s the wrong way to talk of her, desperately try to persuade me.
But I am an immature entity who had lived a long life as a sword. I had already suffered due to many misjudgments, and there was no law that stated it would not happen again in the future. And when such a moment came, only Arwen would dare disagree with my judgment and put the brakes on. That’s why I trust her the most. Her talents didn’t even need mentioning. Already, her state was close to that of my departed uncle. It was only a few years ago when Arwen had only a single ring, and she is still in her mid-twenties.
It was an amazing growth rate, and I bet she would grow even greater than she was now. And she would reach ever higher, to the level that people call penta-chain.
I had been through a lot throughout my centuries of being a sword, yet I had never faced this emotion. Just imagining how Arwen would fight with the sword when she became penta was enough to get my heart jumping. The blood flowing all over my body became hot, and I grabbed my flushed face. I forced myself to contain the laughter that threatened to leak from me.
“It looks like your Highness didn’t like it.”
While I was laughing within my pleasant imaginings, I suddenly heard Siorin’s voice.
“Well?”
After awaking from my thoughts, I realized why my imagination has dwelt on such sweet things. Siorin had asked me a question.
“I cannot glimpse into your Highness’s heart – this not answer enough,” Siorin cried out as he looked at me. What was he talking about? Peeking inside of me?
“I hope your Highness will give me a verbal answer.”
I frowned, and Siorin once more stressed the point.
“What do you think of Arwen?”
Having already cleared up my thoughts, I answered without hesitation.
“She is wiser and stronger than anyone I know. She’s a woman whose future I greatly look forward to.”
Siorin shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not the answer I want. I dare to ask again: Is your Highness willing to welcome her in marriage?”
His straightforward question again reminded me of Arwen. If she was a sword, she would be one of the best, with the straightest edge.
I thought about it for a while and then answered.
“I-”
‘Dok Dok Dok~’
Someone urgently knocked on the door.
“Your Highness! This is Arwen! Please excuse me for a moment.”
‘Dwak!’
Arwen would normally have waited quietly for permission to enter; she now appeared as he roughly opened the door.
“Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness.”
“There are so many rude people today.”
Arwen again apologized to me with a smile and turned to her father.
“We go out and talk.”
“I act as the head of the Kirgayen family. We are discussing critical affairs concerning his Highness and our family.”
It was on rare occasions that Siorin used his authority as head of the family in front of his daughter. His resistance didn’t last long.
“Do you really want me to abandon Kirgayen castle?”
Siorin’s expression collapsed as he heard his daughter’s single question.
“Today can end like that,” Arwen added. Arwen was in a position where she had to disobey her father and had taken the proper steps to intervene.
Arwen gave me a small nod of the head and then grabbed Siorin.
Siorin, a man with a strong appearance, was dragged out by his daughter. Even while he was being pulled from the room, Siorin formed words by shaping his mouth, seeming to say that he would hear my answer the next time, asking for a response by letter if I wasn’t sure yet.
He didn’t even realize that Arwen was watching his actions with a cold face.
Siorin was eventually forced out, and Arwen shot a glance at me, looked down, and left the room.
The voice of a woman could be heard through the door.
‘Haven’t I said it before? If you speak of these things again, I won’t stay still.’
‘No- I’m thinking about you all the time-’
‘I hate to hear that. Why do you act like this in front of his Highness?’
‘Arwen, my daughter… Please give me a chance to explain.’
‘Please! I already know your explanation.’
‘So? I …’
And after a while, their voices faded away.
“Hopefully, the entire matter will be dismissed.”
Arwen’s voice hadn’t been that cold when I had heard it, but I still worried about Siorin’s well-being.
“So it turns out that I have another discussion awaiting me tomorrow.”
Such words did I mumble before lying in my bed, thinking about Siorin, who had been dragged away without being able to complete his mission. Anyway, my discussion with him about the alliance with Teuton didn’t happen. If he had more to say, he would come back after his in-depth conversation with his daughter was over. With this in mind, I didn’t wait a moment longer and closed my eyes.
* * *
Siorin did not come to see me the next day. That was for one of two reasons: Either the business wasn’t that important, or Arwen’s anger was greater than expected.
I prepared my schedule for the day, hoping for the good health of the count who had faced his terrifying daughter.
‘Cheolkup~ Chulk~’
While I felt Adelia’s gentle touch as she helped me put on my armor, I looked at the man kneeling in front of me.
“Your Highness,” Montpellier greeted me while lying flat on his face.
His appearance was quite different from before. His body, which had once been rotund, had grown thin. I knew it was because Montpellier had been utterly convinced that he might die under the swords of those Leonberg nobles who resented him while I was away.
To Montpellier, I was both his shackle and his protector. In fact, when he met me again, he was overjoyed, as if reuniting with family. Of course, I didn’t have the heart to care for Montpellier as if he was family. If you behave like a dog, you’ll be treated like one.
“Montpellier, I will temporarily give you the title of honorary count. The title will be valid until the end of the negotiations with Teuton. The suspension of the title may be postponed or permanently withheld depending on the progress of today. If you achieve satisfactory results, you will also get a manor.”
Montpellier’s current position, with his title being meaningless, was as a lord without lands. Not so long ago, a marquis and ambassador of the Empire would have felt miserable when offered the title of count.
Montpellier’s face changed at once when he heard my suggestion. Greed flashed in his excessively shiny eyes. His ass shook as if he would run to Teuton’s envoys at once. Montpellier looked like a dog wagging its tail while looking at a bone with lots of fleshy bits still on it.
“I allow you to behave freely today.”
I ordered him to harass Teuton this time, just as he had tormented Leonberg as imperial ambassador.
“Go and do as much as you can, and tear away as much from them as possible.”
“I, Montpellier, Count of the Glorious Leonberg Kingdom, will enact your Highness’s command with all my heart!”
After changing his title, the guy jumped up and headed to the conference hall.
“Well then. Let’s leave the negotiations to the penpushers, and let us, the blades, do the job of blades.”
I headed straight to the palace’s plaza. My knights were awaiting me there, Arwen included. Fully armed, she was as neat as always. I felt playful and almost asked Arwen to send Siorin my regards, but I kept my mouth shut because Arwen’s presence felt different than usual. She always looked me straight in the eyes but kept avoiding my gaze today for some reason. Her expression and actions were also awkward.
Arwen suddenly locked eyes with me, and I looked at her casually. I didn’t know what my face looked like.
“Hmmm.”
Bernardo Eli narrowed his eyes as he looked at Arwen and me.
“Perhaps,” he asked me, “Sir Arwen did something wrong?”
Of course, I had no intention of answering Eli’s useless questions, so I turned away from him.
“Strange. Sir Arwen is not one to do anything wrong.”
“Another useless word from you…” threatened Arwen as she stepped out, shutting the now-languishing Eli up. Quéon and the other knights giggled or laughed as they saw it. Carls became affronted and scolded the knights. However, no one listened to Carls.
Adelia constantly looked at my face, even if she said nothing. I was not offended at all, seeing the knights having a fun time in front of their Crown Prince. I got used to it at Winter Castle, so it was no longer a strange sight to see the knights talk so loudly before heading out. Rather, I was endeared by the noise they made, and I chuckled contentedly.
But I quickly straightened my face and told them, “Today, those who lose to the Teutons will be sent back to Winter Castle and will be stationed there for ten years. Take note of this.”
The knights didn’t even budge as they heard my statement. It looked like they didn’t consider defeat. So I turned around, grinning a grin of satisfaction.
“Go.”
Adelia and Eli walked right behind me, while Carls was at my side. Arwen followed me from a distance. I paused and looked back at her.
“Arwen, your place is right next to me.”
She was amazed when she heard this and hurried to come to stand by my side.
“Keep your mind straight,” I said, thinking about her unusual appearance, and she looked at me. Her eyes looked a bit strange. I frowned, and she looked down.
“I was lax. Sorry, your Highness,” Arwen said as she took a small breath. I felt her energy gradually stabilize. It was only then that we began to move again to the royal palace’s training center, where the best knight in the west was waiting for me.
With every step I took, my energy was naturally released, and I felt that my dear knights were doing the same as if responding to me. It was as if we were heading into a great battle.
I looked back, and the knights laughed. I laughed with them, showing my teeth. I knew I wasn’t the only one whose mind was made sharp by the sudden fire within me that could not be resolved.
As I kept walking, I contained the heat that seemed as if it would burst from my body at any moment. And we finally arrived at the dojo of the royal palace, where the west’s number one knight awaited me.
‘Hwaaak!’
Duncan and the knights of Teuton welcomed us with a release of energy. I was so glad to feel that hostile atmosphere; it felt as if blood would be spilled right away.
I stopped and gave a wide grin.
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