The History of Emblem and Gray.
In the long history of the Lutinas Empire, the conflict between Emblem and Gray has been deeply ingrained, frequently mentioned across centuries.
It was only due to the united efforts of Melsia and Diana for reconciliation that people briefly forgot about it.
Even in times of great crises for the Empire, Emblem and Gray never cooperated, always acting separately throughout history.
“When these two knight orders are assigned a joint mission, it was bound to end up like this. Without Diana, Enoch is still too inexperienced to rein in the Gray Knights.”
Melsia shrugged indifferently and walked toward the Gray Knights.
As Melsia approached, tension spread among the Gray Knights. She was unparalleled, both in position and skill, compared to Cherrya.
The sound of someone swallowing nervously was unusually loud.
“Should I guess what happened in there?”
Her tone was subtle but confident. Since Diana Gray’s disappearance, Melsia had become the pivotal force that tipped the balance overwhelmingly toward the Emblem Knights.
Even the Gray Knights couldn’t recklessly challenge the overwhelming power Melsia possessed as the Commander of the Emblem Knights.
“The Emblem Knights must have approached, saying they couldn’t see the Gray Knights anywhere. The Gray Knights would have accused the Emblems of wandering off and ignoring orders.”
“…..….”
It was true. Without realizing it, the Gray Knights nodded, listening intently to Melsia’s words.
“Our Emblem Knights are known for their fiery temper. They must have snapped at any attempt to help, which would inevitably have provoked the Gray Knights’ rejection, implying they didn’t need help from Emblem.”
“……Wow, how did you know?”
Cherrya, who had been quietly listening, marveled and nodded in agreement.
Melsia’s words mirrored countless conversations that had repeatedly occurred within the Lowes Mountain Range.
‘Something must have happened to the Gray Knights!’
‘Do you think our Gray Knights are weak enough to fall in a place like this?’
‘I’m serious! Even when we try to help, they throw a fit!’
‘Help? Emblem helping Gray? Even passing monsters would laugh!’
‘The monster laughs? Do you even know monsters? You all disappeared halfway up the mountain!’
‘Then what about me standing right in front of you? Do I need to prove that Gray doesn’t need your help?’
‘Go ahead, go ahead! Let’s see who can catch more monsters! Wanna bet?’
‘Fine! Let’s do it! I’d rather throw myself to the monsters than accept help from Emblem!’
‘Wait, what? Hey, look in front! Look ahead!’
It always ended the same way, with an enraged Gray Knight blinded by anger at Emblem, failing to notice an approaching monster attack and getting severely injured.
At this point, it couldn’t even be called a conversation anymore.
“The Emblem Knights must’ve thought, ‘This isn’t working, so let’s just stop trying to talk.’”
“That’s right.”
“Talking didn’t work. Faced with Gray Knights who preferred being beaten by monsters rather than accepting Emblem’s help, they probably struggled to figure out how to handle this situation without dialogue.”
“Yeah, they probably stressed over it until their heads felt like they were splitting open.”
“And they must’ve concluded this.”
A vein bulged on Melsia’s forehead, much like the cross-shaped vein that had appeared on the Empress’s forehead earlier.
“In the end, since trying to talk only leads to injuries from monsters, they probably decided, ‘Let’s just attack first and drag them along.’”
“Exactly!”
As Cherrya enthusiastically agreed, Melsia burst out.
“What do you mean ‘exactly’?!”
Melsia had been holding back the whole time. The scene vividly reminded her of her own dark past, seeing Cherrya making the same mistakes she had once made. It was no wonder Melsia could predict these situations without witnessing them herself—these patterns unfailingly occurred whenever Emblem and Gray undertook joint missions.
“Cherrya, think about it from the opposite perspective! If Enoch came to you, saying that the Emblem Knights had disappeared and offering help, how would you react?”
Melsia’s question made Cherrya grimace in disgust, as though just imagining it sent chills down her spine.
“I’d say, ‘What kind of nonsense is this? Stop spouting nonsense unless you want a beating from me.’”
“You see!”
Melsia closed her eyes tightly, resisting the urge to grab and stretch her irritating daughter’s lips.
“If the roles were reversed, it would be Emblem lying injured, whining that it was all Gray’s fault.”
“Whining…”
The Gray Knights lowered their heads in shame upon realizing how Melsia viewed them from her unconscious remark.
There was no room for excuses. Ultimately, their obsession with winning and refusing to lose to Emblem had clouded their judgment.
“How long are you going to keep fighting each other and ignore what truly matters for Lutinas? And you call yourselves knights?!”
At Melsia’s scolding, the Gray Knights, including Cherrya, lowered their heads further in embarrassment.
“What are you supposed to protect? You were meant to be the sword guarding Lutinas, yet all you’ve been doing is protecting your own pride. How do you plan to show this disgraceful behavior to the citizens of the Empire?!”
Melsia’s voice carried profound disappointment.
It was disheartening to see that all the effort she and Diana had put into reconciliation had only resulted in this.
Though, admittedly, the atmosphere between Emblem and Gray under Seffield and Jade’s leadership had been far more hostile.
Back then, their rivalry was so intense that instead of recklessly throwing themselves at monsters, they would have likely drawn their swords on each other and fought until one side could no longer stand.
Even though things had improved since then, the unchanging reality remained: the conflict between the two knight orders still disrupted imperial missions, causing operations to come to a standstill.
‘If only Diana were here, things would’ve been different.’
Feeling the absence of her once-close friend, now gone, Melsia sighed deeply.
“His Highness the Crown Prince will determine the resolution for this matter. Only His Highness, as the person in charge, has the authority to address this situation.”
Melsia preemptively blocked the Empress from interfering by passing the decision to the Crown Prince.
This move ensured that both Emblem and Gray would equally bear responsibility for the halted mission. If the Empress got involved, things would become far more complicated.
The Crown Prince understood well that if he were too lenient with the two knight orders, it would open the door for the Empress to exploit the situation.
“Regardless, the extermination must proceed. We will reorganize the frontlines, prioritizing the uninjured Emblem Knights. And now that it’s clear the two knight orders cannot work together, the remaining Gray Knights will…”
The Crown Prince turned to look at his half-brother, Arthur, who was trembling behind him. Arthur, seemingly understanding what his elder brother was contemplating, shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with unease.
However, the Crown Prince could not publicly expose the fractured relationship between him and his half-brother, which was as incompatible as water and oil, in front of others.
Moreover, given the Empress’s clear political intentions in this matter, completely sidelining Arthur would provide her with ample political ammunition to exploit this incident for a long time.
It would be wiser to grant the Empress what she wanted and silence her.
“Arthur will take command.”
“………!”
Finally.
For the first time, the Empress’s true thoughts became blatantly evident on her face.
Seeing her expression light up with pleasure, Arthur cast a resentful gaze toward the Crown Prince.
