<Episode 48>
Haaa, huuu.
On a dark night, only the sound of a sleeping child’s breathing could be heard in the palace’s living quarters.
The man who had been looking up at the dark window for a long time slowly turned around.
“Where are you going again?”
Since when has he been noticed?
Sion stared at the man, who tried to hide himself, with an expression of disapproval.
However, the man did not respond and only lowered his head, which was covered by a white hood.
“Why on earth are you doing that? Why do you keep trying to leave?”
Sion softly called his name with a burning feeling inside.
“Meinhardt.”
Meinhardt slowly parted his lips at the sound of his own name flowing from Sion’s mouth.
“…I can only apologize to Your Excellency.”
All I got in return was still an apology.
Sion looked at Meinhardt with complicated feelings and recalled memories from before he went to rescue Edith.
‘……It’s been a while since I saw you, His Excellency Duke Bastevan.’
The child who had not been able to see even a trace of his shadow for the past ten years appeared before my eyes in an appearance that I could not tell if it was a dream or reality.
Sion, who was speechless for a long time and just stared at him from afar, soon opened her mouth with a fierce glow in her eyes.
‘Where on earth have you been all this time? Why did you leave without saying a word? …And, why didn’t you even protect Mariette on her deathbed?’
There was not a single answer to all the questions.
So, Sion swallowed his swirling anger, betrayal, doubts, and regrets and asked one last question.
‘……Why did you inform Roberick Arne Heilian of the existence of Edith?’
At that moment, Sion did not notice Meinhard clenching his fists so hard that his hands turned white.
Contrary to that, a quiet voice came back as an answer.
‘You wouldn’t be satisfied if I just answered, ‘There was a reason why it had to be that way.”
For a moment, Sion, who could not hold back his anger, tried to protest, but immediately silenced himself as Meinhardt looked directly at him.
This was because his straight gaze proved that he had never done this out of personal feelings to betray him and benefit his enemies.
There was silence for a moment.
‘That’s not important now. Because Lady Edith has been kidnapped by the King of Nisha.’
‘……What? kidnapped?!‘
Sion, who was agitated by the incredibly shocking news, urgently shouted.
‘What are you talking about, is it really true? Or rather, how come you know that Edith has been kidnapped!’
Many questions were asked, but there was still only one answer.
‘Do you think I will tell lies to you?‘
Sion knew the answer best.
Meinhard might have kept his mouth shut and bit his tongue, but he was not one to cover up his faults with lies.
‘……good night, I still don’t believe in you! Instead, once this matter is resolved, I will ask you in detail what you have been doing all this time!’
Sion quickly asked for help from his comrades and set out to rescue Edith.
And as soon as things were finally settled, Meinhardt was about to leave again.
Sion said, staring with complex eyes at the child whom he had raised since his childhood, but whose true intentions were still difficult to guess.
“…Is it because of Mariette’s death? Was that child’s death… that shocking to you?”
At that moment, the eyes hidden under the dark shadow lose their luster and become dazed.
‘..…Hey’
Memories of the past bloomed uncontrollably, clouding Meinhardt’s reality.
‘Why are you here alone?’
A childhood where he lost everything.
In front of him, who wandered aimlessly in an unknown place and sat down in a corner of the street, waiting blankly for death.
A small-sized girl suddenly appeared and spoke to me.
‘Why aren’t you answering? I guess it’s true that you are alive.’
She continued to ask questions without getting tired even when his face was expressionless with no trace of emotion, and he couldn’t ignore her even with his mind becoming dull and lifeless.
‘…… Leave me alone.‘
He was extremely helpless.
Even the will to live and the basic desires that stimulate the body were sinful.
Thinking like that, the young Meinhard closed his eyes.
Just waiting for the eternal silence that will come soon.
‘…..It looks like he doesn’t even have the basic will to live, but that is all just a temporary thing. After you reach the end you want, you will definitely regret it.’
The soft voice muttering incomprehensible words was annoying.
Meinhard opened his eyes again, showing an expression on his face for the first time since that incident, and stared at the girl looking down at him from above.
‘If you have nowhere to go.’
Black eyes that did not let in a single ray of light and golden eyes that shined brilliantly as if embracing all the light in the world faced each other.
‘Won’t you come with me?’
The girl said that and held out her pretty hand.
‘……..’
Meinhardt looked up blankly at the small, shining white hand that came down towards him.
“If you were still going to wander like this, shouldn’t you have kept it on your deathbed?”
At that moment, Meinhard came to his senses at the words that brought him back to reality, and tried to swallow the bitter disappointment in his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
He always said the same apology.
Sion sighed deeply.
“Okay, how can I break your stubbornness? Go wherever you want to.”
Meinhard bowed his head towards Sion, who spoke as if he had given up, and responded with gratitude.
“I have not forgotten the grace you gave me. I will have to pay it back with every moment of my life.”
“That grace is now gone.”
Sion frowned and said.
“How long will you live just saying thank you? You have to live your own life now.”
Among the children he cared for, he was the last one left.
I hoped that he would stop wandering, settle down in one place, and live happily.
These words were said with sincere concern, but Meinhardt’s expression did not change at all.
He looked up again at the window of the room where Edith was sleeping and said,“I’ll just go now.”
In the blink of an eye, Meinhard climbed the wall surrounding the palace and jumped over it, fluttering the hem of his white robe.
“…Who on earth does he resemble with that stubbornness?”1Oh, grandfather literally all of your family are stubborn, are you sure you don’t know ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
Sion, who was left alone, sighed in despair and muttered softly.
***
A week has already passed since I returned to the Capital.
The first person that Ashamed and I had to deal with was Roberick, who stormed into the Arch duchy’s residence as soon as he heard the news.
“Edith!”
Roberick, who had a haggard complexion as if he hadn’t slept for several days, hugged me with all his strength, as if the grandfather and grandmother next to me were out of sight, and muttered as if he couldn’t believe this situation.
“Are you really, really back safely? Are you hurt?…Who on earth kidnapped you?”
“…I will tell you about the reason behind the kidnapping later. My grandfather saved me and His Highness the 2nd Prince.”
“What?!”
Only then, as if the surrounding scene had come into view, Roberick raised his head into the pale daylight and found his grandfather staring at him with a razor-sharp expression.
“How on earth did you know…”
“It’s all because of your incompetence.”
“Hmph,” the old man sniggered, then turned his head and went to sleep!! I looked back at the elderly people behind me.
“Because we met them while we were on our way to meet our old comrades, we attacked without hesitation and rescued Edith and the second prince. We should also take credit for this.”
“…How did he get that information… How could he?”
Suddenly, Roberick, who was blatantly gritting his teeth while thinking of someone, finally let go of me and stood up, asking in a hostile tone.
“Who was behind it? Who on earth kidnapped the only heir of the Heilian?”
The moment Roberick was unable to suppress his anger and shouted as if he were yelling, a sound of gasping was heard from behind.
When I looked back, Chastia, who was still staying in the room, was covering her mouth with a trembling hand.
“She is the only successor, then our Allea…?”
She muttered in a weak voice, but unfortunately, neither Roberick nor the people in the room paid any attention to her shock.
“…The Emperor must have received the letter by now.”
Grandfather spoke in a slow tone.
“…Emperor? Why is Oswald…?”
Roberick even forgot his anger and muttered curiously.
This was the reason why my grandfather and we did not return to Capital for 15 days even though the kidnapping case was solved.
⋯⋯⋯This was when Riat was about to return to Nisha.
“He caused a lot of damage to you through this incident. So, we need to make sure we do post-processing.”
The Great Spirit of Light of a grandfather healed the subordinates who had fallen cruelly after being attacked by the elders, and as he was about to collect them and set off on his way.
Riat stopped and suddenly spoke.
“I will send a letter to the Emperor. If you bring your biological father in front of him, he will confess on his own.”
Riat left after leaving those words.
“Let’s take Edith and enter the palace right now. Ah, it would be better for His Highness the Second Prince to go with us.”
Grandpa didn’t say anything and gave me and Ashamed a wink.
Yes, it was finally time to strike back.
Ashamed and I exchanged glances and smiled slightly.
***
“This… crazy…”
Oswald’s hands were shaking convulsively as he read the letter, his face turning red and feverish.
“…You evil Arkane henchman!”
Oswald, who roughly threw away the letter, was out of breath and could barely support his staggering body.
The person who sent the letter is Riat Ilkay Khalid.
To summarize, it was as follows.
[I am sending Grand Duchess Heilian home safely along with the 2nd prince, and I will personally organize the answer the Emperor must give when the Grand Duchess’ biological father enters the palace to inquire about who was behind the kidnapping.]
[Wanting to get rid of the thorn in his eyes, the Emperor asked Nisha’s crime guild to assassinate the second prince, but while carrying out the request, they ‘accidentally’ kidnapped the Princess of Heilian University. However, fortunately, the heroes of the old time and safely rescued the Grand Princess and the 2nd Prince, preventing a terrible accident.]
[The Emperor has nothing to say even if he bows his head over this a hundred or a thousand times. You sincerely apologize to the Grand Princess.]
[From now on, it will be up to the Emperor to appease the Archduke who runs wild. However, if you do not behave as I told you and end up mentioning my name…]
[At that time, the entire continent will know that the Emperor of Roshan attempted to assassinate his own son with the help of an enemy criminal guild.]
And enclosed with the letter was…
“Is he mocking me by sending gold bars like this?!”
These were chests filled with spirit stones worth several times the advance payment that Oswald had paid, as compensation for breaking the contract and sending the second prince alive.
It sounded like a reward, but in reality, it was ridicule and a threat that took advantage of his greatest weakness, which was that he valued honor more than anyone else.
“I won’t let you go, I will never!”
Oswald vented his anger by ruthlessly kicking and breaking the boxes that were as heavy as mountains.
“Your Majesty!”
“-What’s going on!”
A tactless servant interrupted his anger and came in to speak.
Oswald shouted, barely suppressing the feeling of wanting to tear apart everything he could get his hands on.
“His Excellency, the Grand Duke Heilian… request your Majesty to speak privately with him.”
Oh, the back of my neck was so sore that it seemed as if the world was turning completely white before my eyes.
Oswald held on to the wall and made a great effort to calm his panting breath as if he was about to lose consciousness it at any moment.
***
TL:
There are still 3 chapters…
They will be done today after I return from college, don’t worry this time they will be released in one go
