Chapter 238
A Group That Follows the Dawn (2)
I reflexively took up Twilight. “Who is this guy?”
Whilst gritting my teeth, I began running from the room but suddenly stopped. Something was different. The spirit that had been erected felt like an army before battle, but there was no murderous or hostile intent contained within it. To put it another way, it was an energy closer to determination. I looked at Twilight and gave it a few shakes, and I was able to capture a familiar presence in it. It was the presence of the king who had drunk Nectar.
“Ah.”
The king’s energy was elevated endlessly, just like when he had declared independence from the Empire.
“Is his Majesty busy doing something?”
Suddenly, the spire of the royal palace caught my eye. The royal flag fluttered upon it: a roaring lion rampant on a white field. Another flag was being hoisted beside it, and it suddenly caught the wind. It was the first time I saw such a flag in my life: the sun’s emblem on a dark blue field.
The contrast between the golden lion on the white field and the sun on the dark blue field was exceptionally clear. The air surrounding the royal palace suddenly changed while I looked at the dark blue flag fluttering along with Leonberg’s symbol. I was sure the meeting was over, and the energy in the air, which had been somewhat cluttered, rose sharply like a stabbing knife in an instant.
I heard faint shouts from afar.
‘…hurray!’
‘…Hoorah!’
At first, it was too far away, but the faint shouts began getting closer. Then they finally reached my palace.
“Long live the Leonberg Kingdom!”
“Long live the Dawn Alliance!”
I was stunned by that unfamiliar name.
“Dawn Alliance?”
Just then, my door burst open, and Carls appeared.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
Unlike usual, his face looked completely ecstatic.
“His Majesty has declared the formation of the Anti-Imperial League!” Carls announced in an intense tone. It was only after hearing that that I felt like I knew the meaning of the name being shouted throughout the palace.
“All the envoys from the seven kingdoms who visited Leonberg unanimously agreed about the creation of the league, and his Majesty invited everyone into the new union and named it the Dawn Alliance!”
My eyes turned to the spire again. The sun so stark on the dark blue field, fluttering in the wind-
“Your Highness sees the alliance flag.”
“Alliance flag?”
“It is the flag his Majesty has prepared in advance for the formation of the alliance. I heard that it embodies the dawn of a new day driving away the night.”
Admiration flowed from me. When did he prepare for the formation of a league, even creating a unique flag? The momentum I had seen in the king in recent years inspired only awe within me. I had also learned the name of the league through Carls: ‘Dawn Alliance.’
It was a name that touched my heart strangely — and the name of Twilight came to my mind, and the word ‘dawn’ in the verses recited by the man who was so exceptionally memorable in my mind.
My heart started to jump again.
I had been in this state ever since I heard the Marquis of Bielefeld mention the title ‘Knight of Dawn.’ It was as if my heart began to thump every time I heard the word dawn or something like it.
“Is it really a past life?”
At this point, it would be rather unusual were I to deny that the man in my fantastical vision was not my past self. When I thought about it all, a question arose in my mind.
In the days when poetry had flowed along with history when the world had not breathed the poison of oblivion yet, the word dawn did not exist in verse. Of course, there was the possibility that I was unable to transfer the tradition in my past life, despite doing my best. So, considering the lonely man I had seen in my memory, it was probable that I left my body without leaving a tradition.
Even if it wasn’t true, I might have gifted the tradition to a knight who was not so great.
But that couldn’t be the reason… It had been an age when dark clouds hovered over mankind. All humans dreamed of a morning when the night has passed, wherein bright day finally arrived. Twilight and dawn were words that matched the hopes of such humans quite well. Nonetheless, there wasn’t even a simple dance poem that ties dawn into its verses. That is weird.
“It seems as if only the words twilight and dawn were cut out from the many poems that exist in the world.”
While I was locked in my thoughts, arcing one eyebrow into a frown, a familiar voice chipped in.
“Your Highness, what did you say now?” It was Carls.
“Oh, nothing. Carls, can you tell me anything else about the formation of the Anti-Imperial League?”
It was only then that I remembered that I was talking to Carls, so I returned to the subject at hand.
“Yes, Your Highness. His Majesty has given us word in advance about it.”
“Only, I didn’t know! Dawn Alliance — everyone knew except me.”
Hearing my words, Carls said with an embarrassed face, “It was decided while your Highness was distracted-”
“It’s been some time since I woke up. I mean it.”
“Shortly after your Highness woke up, the Marquis of Bielefeld visited and stayed here for a long time, and then there was the scuffle after-” Carls’ hand touched his eyelids, which were still bruised. “In addition, his Majesty himself gathered us palace knights and said strictly, ‘If he hears the news from outside, he won’t be able to sit still, he’ll become anxious, as if horns were growing from his hips.”
Carls said all the secrecy was under the king’s strict command, and I was left speechless.
“In addition, if it became noisy outside and your Highness wanted to head out of the palace, his Majesty gave a command saying that we have to stop you, regardless of the methods.”
I was shocked and acted all innocent, but Carls was already staring at me.
“Your Highness probably wants to go out of the palace.”
I nonchalantly hid Twilight behind my back.
“Me? Not really, no.”
“That is fortunate,” said Carls. “His Majesty said that if you violate his order and go abroad, he will leave you on the rear lines in the future war against the Empire.”
“I have no intention of going out. I must rest.”
“I see. Okay.” Carls’ lips were subtly shaking; he wanted to grin.
“Yes, so you know. Get out. You’re interfering with me resting.”
For some reason, I no longer wanted to look at Carls, so I ordered him to go out right away.
“Then please rest comfortably.”
Just as Carls was about to leave the room, I stopped him and made a request.
“Carls, if you can find any books written by ancient knights, please…”
“As an example, what does your Highness mean?”
“Even if it’s not a history book but a biography about a hero, a novel, a book about knights — everything.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
Carls looked down and left my room.
‘Dush’
The door closed, and I was alone again. I looked out the window. The flags fluttered atop the spire as if they would never come to a rest, and the shouts continued to grow in intensity. My stomach was burning; I wanted to leave my room right away. I wanted to go to the hall, where everyone was gathering, and I wanted to feel the kingdom’s martial determination up close.
‘As if horns were growing from his hips.’
What the king had said to Carls was exactly how I felt now.
“No.”
However, I quickly recalled the king’s threat of leaving me in the rear if I violated his request. I would haven’t listened to him in the past. But the king as he currently was, with his strangely improved energy — there was a strong possibility that he would carry out the threat he had made.
If I went out, I would be worried about what would happen, and while I stayed, my heart kept pounding. A day passed while I couldn’t do this or that. And on that bright day, I welcomed a visitor to my palace.
“Why does the Knight of Dawn, who broke a Penta Knight, look so dead?”
A man was standing at my door, wearing dusty fur robes, and looking at me.
“Vincent!”
Vincent Balahard, my dear winter lord. I ran across the room and hugged Vincent with both my arms.
“I’m full of dust,” Vincent said, but he didn’t push me away. Rather, he returned my hug with strength. The dry scent peculiar to the northmen penetrated my nostrils — that nostalgic scent that reminded me of the wintry lands.
“How are all the other people doing?”
“It’s been less than three months since your Highness took Montpellier from Winter Castle. It hasn’t been so long. Not much has happened,” Vincent said as he stretched his shoulders, stepping back and staring at me. “Your Highness has done far more work. I hear that you gained a lot of injuries while struggling against the Penta Knight, but you look healthier than before.”
“I did a good job and was blessed to live through it.” I glanced at my body, then turned to Vincent again. “But why are you in the capital? Who did you leave in command? Isn’t this the period where you should be busy with winter preparations? Is it okay for the count to leave his fortress at a time like this?”
“I came to the capital on his Majesty’s call. Command was left to Sir Quéon. Because the monsters in the mountains have near-dried up, it seems that we don’t have to worry about winter preparation for a while. I left my fortress because I am able to leave it.”
I laughed aloud at Vincent’s refreshing answer. I had known for a long time now that the fate of the Balahards, which had been tied to the harsh realities of winter, has been liberated. Yet, seeing a Balahard come to the south at such a time made me feel different. Vincent spoke before I could.
“I will not go back to the north for the time being.”
Hearing this, I waited for an explanation.
“If the war breaks out again, I intend to lead the Balahard Rangers into it.”
Vincent’s casual words filled my head with an unknown antipathy. It was a feeling I couldn’t understand. Vincent had grown up in Winter Castle, the place in the kingdom where battles are the most frequent. He was certainly welcome, and Winter Castle’s elite troops marching with him would be of great aid to Leonberg. I knew this better than anyone else, but strangely, I didn’t like it.
Perhaps it was due to my desire for the Balahard family, who had escaped from their harsh fate, to live in abundance and prosperity from now on. Maybe it was because of anything unfortunate that might happen to the son of my deceased uncle. None of those were valid reasons to stop Vincent’s participation in the war.
“No.” Nevertheless, I opposed Vincent’s inclusion in the war. “Winter Castle’s defenses will not be strong enough without you.”
“It’s not such a big problem.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
Vincent frowned.
“To fight for the kingdom is my duty and right as a noble of Leonberg. No matter how much you want to, you have no right to stop me-”
“No way.”
“Your Highness, here stands Vincent Balahard. The current head of the Balahard family and commander of the Third Legion. A count of the kingdom. If his Majesty was here, he would not have been so blindly opposed-”
“You can’t do it.”
Vincent’s expression hardened as he heard my forceful words.
“Now, why the hell-”
“Oh, I just hate it!” I screamed, and Vincent looked at me in an absurd manner.
“So it’s not that I can’t, but rather that your Highness hates it?” Vincent asked with a cocky grin.
“Don’t play with words.”
“I’m not. The meaning of the one is not the same as the other. The former denies my right as a nobleman, while the latter…” Vincent stopped talking and started smirking.
“Why? What?”
“This is why I like your Highness.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your Highness,” Vincent suddenly said as he looked at me.
“What?”
“I won’t die.”
For some reason, it felt like I was stabbed in the middle of my stomach; I was left speechless.
“I am different from my father. I have no intention of accomplishing something extraordinary as a knight, and I have no intention of making a name for myself by living fiercely. If I have a hope, it is that Winter Castle will stand for a long time. I also hope I will live for a long time so that, when your Highness ascends to the throne, I will have contributed to it and so enjoy my power as the king’s cousin.”
Vincent’s face, which had been stiff, suddenly relaxed.
“I promise: unlike my father, I will not suddenly leave your Highness’s side.”
After seeing Vincent’s expression, I couldn’t force myself to be stern anymore.
“So don’t worry. Please allow me to participate in the war.”
Even so, I couldn’t get my mouth to move.
“Even if your Highness doesn’t allow it, I will be in the war. Wouldn’t it feel better if you agreed with it?”
“Huh. Do whatever you feel like,” I responded with a snort, and Vincent giggled and laughed.
“Then I will unpack my things and come back in the evening. It would be nice to have a meal together after such a long time.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Yes, yes. Then I’ll see you later,” Vincent said, ignoring my attitude, and then left.
“Woo.” Once I was alone, I regretted misbehaving so with him. It was the same as saying that Vincent’s participation in the war was unwelcome.
However, there would still be quite a bit of time left for the war to begin, so there was no need for me to become disheartened this early on. Meanwhile-
“I have to talk about his Majesty about the position of commander-in-chief.”
It was a more productive job for me to determine who would take on that key position. I already started to wonder about it. Vincent might be a good pick to be in charge of the supply train and the rear lines. Even if he didn’t have experience in that position, I figured he would show a rare genius. I spent a long time on my own, and all the time, I pondered on who would be the commander-in-chief.
I knew the king didn’t want me to participate in the war, even more than I didn’t want Vincent to join it. So first, I would have to bake and boil the king.
Then, a moment came that gave me another reason to be relieved.
* * *
In the evening, Vincent and a few other folks with happy faces visited my palace.
They were Jordan and other senior rangers and Winter Knights, with Gwain and his comrades being among them. I settled everyone in the garden of my palace and held a small banquet.
Neither they nor Vincent mentioned the war, nor did they bring up any troublesome matters. We just spent the time chatting and joking. On the next day and the next, our own little banquet continued in my palace. I spent the time forgetting about such annoyances, and a week passed by.
Another few days passed, and I finally regained my freedom.
I left the palace straight away and found the king. The moment I was about to ask the king about the Dawn Alliance, a palace knight came to his residence and declared, “The Kingdom of Dotrin has declared war on the Empire!”
He said that the war had already begun.
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