Chapter 313
Chasing the star that shines alone on a dark night (2)
After briefly conversing with the others in the camp, the former residents of Derent realized that the group they had encountered were not refugees. Their castle and homes were all intact, and their lord and his army were alive as well.
“Then what on earth are they trying to do by gathering all these people…”
The people from Derent had kept quiet and intentionally avoided paying attention to the knights’ goals until now, but not anymore.
“S-sir. W-where might we be going…”
The old man shivered and asked the knight.
He was afraid of being punished for asking.
The knight called him insolent but did not raise his hand.
He didn’t even answer the question.
He just kept pushing them to go somewhere.
The people from Derent followed the knights with such doubts.
A few days passed and the knights who had been pushing them ceaselessly suddenly stopped.
A huge crowd of people had been gathered in the vast plains.
“This is the first time I have ever seen so many people gathered together.”
“There could be hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million.”
It was as if all the humans in the world had been gathered in one place.
In front of the huge crowd, the former residents of Derent were completely dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, the knights and soldiers disappeared.
The people from Derent were thrown into the crowd.
They didn’t even know where this place was.
“Huh? Are these guys new?”
A group of men broke away from the large crowd and approached them.
The men were scrawny, like they had nothing but skin and bones.
The Derent refugees hesitated and retreated.
The men’s gazes were unusual.
Their eyes were greedy, as if they were looking at a plump pig.
“Well, there’s no need to be so cautious. We’re people in the same situation.”
“Let’s help each other out.”
The men growled and spoke threateningly.
“W-what on earth do you want? We’re just refugees, we have nothing.”
An old man came forward and asked.
“Even if you’re refugees, wouldn’t you at least have some dried jerky or a loaf of bread?”
“I was hoping you would be able to share some with us. As you can see, we don’t even have enough for a meal.”
The old man responded to the request.
“We were also suddenly brought here and have nothing with us.”
Despite the old man’s words, the guys were reckless.
They quickly searched through the belongings of the Derent refugees.
Since the only things they had brought with them were the clothes they were wearing, the search did not take long.”
“No way. Shit. More beggars?”
“What on earth are they going to do with all these beggars?!”
“Agh! It looks like we’ll be eating grass roots again today!”
The men swore as if they were on fire.
One of the young men from Derent, who had been quietly listening to what they said, asked them.
“T-there are still the soldiers who dragged us here. I don’t know why they brought us here, but since they did, wouldn’t they at least give us food? Although it wasn’t enough, they did provide us with at least one meal.”
The men chuckled at those words.
“That’s as much as you’ll get.”
“What a shame, that was the last time you would eat something that could be called a meal.”
The men sarcastically explained what this place was like.
The reality of the situation that came pouring out of their mouths sounded like hell.
There were no rations, and they could not leave.
It was said that there were many people who had survived on bugs and roots, and there were even some who occasionally attacked others.
“T-that can’t be possible. The soldiers are still over there watching.”
“What? Them? Doesn’t matter. They don’t care even if we kill each other.”
It was indeed as he said.
There were disputes even over roots. If a snake came out, they were even willing to smash each other’s heads with stones.
Among those who had arrived earlier, many died of starvation.
Many died overnight from hunger, the cold, or the fighting.
And in the morning, the corpses of the people who had starved to death disappeared without a trace.
The people from Derent were in despair.
They thought they were being punished.
They believed that they had been brought to this camp because they did not fight together with their lord and his soldiers.
They thought that they might all starve to death in this place.
But that didn’t happen.
A week passed since the refugees from Derent had arrived.
Someone appeared in front of them.
“Everyone bow and pay your respects!”
There was no way to know who exactly had appeared.
All they knew was that he was a very high-ranking person.
So much so that even the imperial knights, whom they did not dare to make eye contact with, were showing an extremely cautious attitude.
They lay flat on their faces and shivered.
They were afraid they might unreasonably get pulled into trouble.
“……! ……!”
The unknown high-ranking person shouted, covering the plains with his resounding voice.
“……!”
There was no way that his words could be heard properly in this intimidating atmosphere.
And everything he said was so difficult and pedantic that it was not easy for the ignorant civilians to understand.
It was even harder because there were words like fairies and giants being mixed in out of nowhere.
Moreover, the people more urgently wanted to fill their empty stomachs than to listen to a lengthy speech that was like a poem or a song.
It was like that. It should have been like that.
But somehow, one phrase strangely burrowed its way deep into their minds.
“Rise up!”
That was the last thing those people remembered.
* * *
My uncle and my knights were coming from afar.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
Adelia found me and came running in a huff.
Seeing her smiling brightly, I laughed along with her.
“Adelia!”
Finally, she stopped in front of me and examined my body.
It seemed like she was checking if there were any injuries.
I looked at her quietly and then hugged her.
“Your Highness…?”
It was warm.
It felt like warmth was finally returning to my body and soul, which had gradually been freezing even after being covered in hot blood countless times.
Adelia, who had been squirming in my arms, slowly hugged me.
The warmth became even stronger.
I no longer felt cold.
Like that, I hugged her for a long time.
Until my uncle and the other knights arrived.
“You don’t even know how to feel ashamed.”
My uncle clicked his tongue and scolded.
“You can’t even see me.”
I grumbled while pouting, and my uncle replied that it was obvious even without looking.
Either way, I didn’t let Adelia go.
I wanted to fully enjoy this warmth that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Did you do well?”
“Is there anything difficult about dealing with those guys who are worse than goblins?”
My uncle had a poor opinion of the nine imperial legions who had rushed towards him in a panic while trying to defend their bases, calling them weaklings even worse than goblins.
“Yet you look exhausted.”
“Who are you to talk? Even though you only took down a few castles, you seem exhausted. Isn’t that why you’re hugging your knight and being pampered?”
So I argued with my uncle.
Lower.
Gawain and the other knights appeared from behind and bowed their heads towards me.
My eyes widened.
The auras of Gawan and some of the knights were unusual.
There was an energy that could not be compared to what I had seen before we separated.
“You’ve become masters?”
They had already reached completion.
I smiled slightly.
Gawain and the knights avoided eye contact.
They had changed after realizing that their relationship with me had been based on a misunderstanding.
The irreverence and ferocity they had held in the past was now nowhere to be seen.
That didn’t mean they treated me warmly or amicably, but if I gave an order, they would follow without a word.
It seemed like they were trying to atone in their own way.
The fact that they wore armor without any emblems and didn’t display any flags might also be for a similar reason.
Honestly, I rather liked it.
“Now that you’re a master, shouldn’t you have a crest or raise a flag?”
Even though he had put in a lot of effort, he could still end up being labeled a nameless unheard-of knight by our enemies, so I asked Gawain. He shook his head slightly.
It meant that he currently had no thoughts about it.
“I wish Eli were half as good.”
It would be perfect if he could share some of that attitude with Eli, who was anxious about not being able to display his family’s banner.
“Anyways, the emperor’s army has been busy these days.”
I turned my head at the sound of my uncle’s voice.
“The imperial army has been circling around the empire and taking the citizens somewhere.”
Adelia, who was right next to me, explained quietly the scenes she had witnessed while traversing the battlefield.
To this, I responded indifferently.
From what it looked like, they were evacuating the residents in advance because they were afraid we would destroy them like we did with their army.
I didn’t expect that the empire’s nobles would view my people so horribly.
Anyways, I didn’t think much of it.
I felt the same when I heard the rumor that the 3rd princeps had appeared in the central region.
Since the genius of destruction has stepped forward, I was rather pleased and said that the imperial army would collapse on its own without any need for further fighting.
Several days passed.
It was a day no different from any other.
“Hm.”
I felt strangely unwell.
It was uncomfortable, like my chest was clogged.
It felt as if a giant stone had been lodged in my throat.
We had destroyed the imperial army’s fortress and cut down a countless amount of their troops.
But that didn’t make me feel any better.
I didn’t understand.
The ranger who had visited the day before told me that our forces were defeating the imperial army on all fronts and were preparing to advance into the empire.
I had also heard that my dear knights and the king were all safe.
In addition, there was the good news that Hestia was leading the western kingdoms to vigorously attack the empire on their end.
It would have been normal to feel good.
But what was it? This unpleasant feeling.
I tried to shake off my anxiety.
The imperial capital was just around the corner. The fall of the empire was not far away. The end of this war was in sight.
I calmed my mind by repeating this over and over again.
“I guess it won’t work.”
Still, I couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling, so I decided to hurry up.
“Now that the kingdom has passed this crisis, I plan to go straight to the imperial capital.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait for the main unit to arrive before pushing forward?”
In response, my uncle consoled me, saying that it was an important decision that would lead to the end of a huge empire, and there was no benefit in rushing.
“I don’t have a good feeling.”
But I was stubborn.
“If you aren’t coming then I’ll go alone, don’t try to stop me.”
After hearing what followed, my uncle no longer tried to dissuade me.
“Gawain. As soon as the sun rises, head over and join up with the main force that will be arriving soon.”
The 300 knights of top-level experts that included sword masters were a considerable force, but they would not be of much help this time.
It would be much less dangerous for my uncle and I alone to sneak into the imperial capital and attack the palace.
Gawain must have been aware that they would be a burden, so he agreed to follow my orders without a word.
“Adelia. You as well.”
Adelia also did not refuse my command.
However, rather than leaving immediately the next morning, she said that she would accompany me for a few more days before heading out on her own.
I couldn’t stop her from doing that, so I said yes and went to bed.
I tossed and turned for a while.
I couldn’t sleep at all.
“I don’t know when’s the next time I’ll be able to sleep in a bed like this.”
In the end, I sighed and forcefully opened my eyes again.
It felt wrong to try to sleep.
I got up from the bed and headed to the window.
I sat on the windowsill and looked at the bright moonlit sky, shrouded in dusk.
After a while,
Thump thump thump.
Suddenly, my heart began to beat rapidly.
My hair stood on end.
An icy chill flowed down my back.
My chest tightened.
I looked up at the sky stiffly.
The moon, which had been bright just a moment ago, has disappeared.
There were no clouds, but not a single star was visible.
The darkness was thick.
I belatedly realized.
The air around me, the world, had changed.
And it was a deeply uncomfortable change for me.
Dun dun dun.
The beating of drums could be heard from afar.
From all four directions.
Along with the sound of hundreds of thousands of footsteps.
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