Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

CHAPTER 4: EACH TRUTH AND EACH HAPPINESS (XXX)

Part 096

 

Homer, who barely managed to escape the pursuit and steal away the princess, could not bear to go to Duke Bigor’s residence, and after much deliberation, he took Remina to Duke Nonovan’s residence. It was because it bothered her that she had ignored Damian and saved only the princess. Duchess Nonovan was very embarrassed when she heard about the situation in the royal palace as reported by Homer, but she willingly gave her outbuildings to her princess. Homer tried to figure out the situation by releasing the few remaining members. I was puzzled because they had taken over the palace and were not making any significant movements, but a subordinate who had gone to Duke Bigor’s residence brought news like a lightning bolt, sending not only Homer but also Lemina.

 

“There were two of the Bigor Knights, and they watched as the young lady was kidnapped.”

 

“That knight named Hegel kidnapped Lady Ethart. Her maid is now on the brink of death, and Sir Franz is completely out of his mind.”

 

Homer bit his teeth, swallowing his saliva, and Remina asked with a hard face.

 

“Is the instigator the knight named Hegel? Or was he instigated by another force?”

 

“The people who occupied the royal palace are known to be a militia group organized in the outer castle area. It is said that they recently worked with Lord Hegel on various projects under the orders of Lady Ethart. I wonder if Lord Hegel betrayed them or if they were originally part of the same gang. I haven’t figured it out yet.”

 

“Militia? Are you talking about the militia from the outer castle that were active during the Midok defense battle?”

 

Homer asked in a puzzled voice. During the war, there was no time to check the administrative situation within Midok, and in the few days after his return, he was busy discussing what to do with the nobles in the northwest region who had joined the rebels after the war ended. Although they were aware of the existence of the militia, they did not pay much attention to it. Remina was also surprised to see that the militia’s leader was the leading force of this Sadal, as she had only thought of giving an appropriate reward in the future. She was the one who had ordered Damien to take care of them, and she was heartbroken that she, who had already done so much for her, had to be caught up in something like this.

 

“Yes. But I found out that the militia was not organized by residents of the outer province.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“They appeared in the outer castle area at some point and helped the residents. Even the residents didn’t know where they came from. And the name of the militia leader was Hennessy. If he was Hennessy, maybe…”

 

The member who was looking at Homer’s face swallowed back his words.

 

Hennessy Hennessy Thanon. The name he had forgotten struck Homer in the back of the head. Where did he start playing in the palm of their hands? I felt like I was finally getting a sense of what they were planning behind the incidents that had been happening all fall. Whatever the reason for their attack on the palace, if Bigor, the former knight commander, was the culprit behind this, he would have been the first to steal away Damian without hesitation. Homer’s heart sank, as he vaguely thought she would be okay.

 

“Former Knight Commander Bigor… From the beginning, Lady Damian was the target.”

 

Hearing Homer’s muttering, Remina immediately understood the whole story. If the former leader of the Knights of Bigor, a renowned loyalist to her uncle Andalov, was responsible for this, it becomes clear why they targeted the royal palace and why they kidnapped Damian. Remina asked her member, who sighed and had an embarrassed look on her face.

 

“What are you doing in the palace?”

 

“The crown prince is locked up, and the other courtiers are safe, Your Majesty. Lock the door without making any other moves and wait for someone. It seemed like it was going on.”

 

Everyone knew, without even saying it, that Adrian was what they were waiting for. Remina ordered Homer, whose grim face was frozen.

 

“Tell this to Duke Bigor. Only when the Duke comes will we be able to prepare for the next situation.”

 

Homer, barely able to come to his senses, said hello to the princess and went out of the annex. The people on the street passing by Homer all had bright faces. Early in the morning, the administration received news of the end of the war in the Jezero Plain from the royal family and immediately issued an official notice to the residents to announce the good news. Regardless of whether they were inside or outside, residents ran out into the streets, hugged each other, and were happy. The war was over. The soldiers who were called up to protect Laurentyne will return. Midok was excited as he returned victorious and prepared to welcome his family. And among them, Homer felt like crying. On the day when the Royal Guard assassinated the king, Homer ignored Damien as he ran to save the crown prince. Protecting the crown prince was a duty that had bound him for 15 long years. Even though he shook his head repeatedly to say that this was not the case, when something happened, Homer ran to his master like a dog on a leash. And he swore through gritted teeth that next time he would not ignore the person he was supposed to protect because he was worried about things like the crown prince. And this morning, although he ignored the crown prince this time, he left Damian behind and came out carrying the princess. He thought he had made a rational decision. If something goes wrong with the princess, future work will become more difficult. If they plan to demand something from Adrian, they definitely need a force to keep them in check. So the judgment was right. That was right, but Damian was kidnapped. What was he living for? Homer lowered his head and could not move for a while. His weary sigh fell upon the street. 

 

In the afternoon, news that the royal palace had been attacked reached the major noble families, but most of them were unable to come up with any countermeasures because their heads were away at war. Now that Damian, who served as the focal point of the current administration, has disappeared, the administration has again entered a standby state. After hearing the news, Dorote and Tina clasped their hands and stamped their feet, but there was nothing they could do. Homer sent a messenger to Adrian to inform him of the situation. Now everything is in Adrian’s hands.

 

* * *

 

After traveling for a day and night, Homer’s messenger encountered Adrian’s capital army in the Vito Basin. The situation in Midok was relayed to Adrian, who was slowly returning, barely holding on to his desire to fly to Midok out of consideration for his soldiers who were exhausted from the long battle. He didn’t even hear the full story of the long incident that involved the former commander of the knights occupying the royal palace, the princess taking refuge but the crown prince being captured, and the palace being quietly closed without any demands.

 

Damian disappeared. Damian has been kidnapped.

 

He was so angry that he wanted to rush into the palace on horseback at any moment, but he managed to hold it in. He couldn’t do anything in a situation where he didn’t know what impact a hasty action would have on Damian’s life. Trying hard to suppress his anger and keep a cool head, Adrian called an emergency meeting, and Ethan, Cale, and Ban, who heard about the situation, gathered at Adrian’s barracks with similar feelings. Ethan was about to open the tent in front of Adrian’s barracks and step in, but he stopped in his tracks. Cale and Ban, who were following behind, stopped behind Ethan with puzzled faces. Ethan, who made eye contact with Adrian’s bright red eyes, lowered his head to avoid eye contact and entered the barracks. Cale and Ban, who followed, soon found out why Ethan hesitated. They had seen Adrian’s angry red eyes several times, but Adrian’s current state was incomparable. The air was so heavy that he found it difficult to breathe. Ethan barely opened his mouth as he watched Adrian.

 

“Franz has sent a servant.”

 

“What did you say?”

 

When Adrian urged him in an accent-free tone, Ethan almost got choked up. The palace was occupied, and Damian disappeared. I was already at that point with just this, but I couldn’t bear to say the amazing news that Franz had delivered. Ethan barely opened his mouth in a quiet voice.

 

“Hey, Hegel stabbed her maid, Jenny, and kidnapped the girl.”

 

A silence followed where everyone had to hold their breath. After a while without making a sound, Adrian spoke with dry lips.

 

“Cale, Ban, and the entire army will camp outside the castle outside Midok and wait. Noble family commands other than the military have returned to Midok, and the Bigor Knights are moving now.”

 

The three people bowed their heads at the same time as if they had guessed. After Cale and Ban left the barracks, Adrian asked Ethan, who was constantly watching.

 

“Was Hegel related to the former Duke?”

 

“I understand that he is a commoner from the South. He volunteered for the National Guard around the same time as you, and I heard that he had no family, but my investigation was insufficient. My lord. I only focused on the newly recruited personnel, so they ended up together at the border. I didn’t think a traitor would be hiding among all the kids… I’m sorry.”

 

Ethan bent his back and bowed his head deeply. Investigating the Knights Templar was clearly Ethan’s job. However, it was Hegel, not anyone else, that drove Ethan crazy. He couldn’t believe that Hegel, who had faced death countless times during the four years he spent on the border, could do something like this. In fact, I was almost suspicious that Franz was the traitor. Adrian said to Ethan, who was sweating.

 

“Get ready. We’re leaving in 10 minutes.”

 

Ethan bowed his head once more and left the barracks. Bigor’s knights, already on horseback, were waiting. The knight commanders, Thierry and George, had serious faces upon hearing Hegel’s story, while the other knights were filled with despair after hearing that Damien had disappeared and the royal palace had been taken over. Adrian, sitting alone in the barracks, was looking down at his shaking fists. He had never been so angry in his life. He had never been so afraid. The sadistic anger of wanting to tear anyone to pieces was pounding hard on his head, and the worry about Demian, whose whereabouts he couldn’t even tell, made his whole body tremble. She left Hegel by her side, he is no one else but she is herself. Her most dangerous person was assigned to protect her. He felt like his heart was being ripped out when he thought of Damian, who had been taken by the bastard without any preparation. He should have found Hennessy and Doyev a long time ago. Where did the smuggled weapons go? He should have dug until he found them. He was so preoccupied with what Luther and Dozern were doing that I neglected the more dangerous people. All of this was the result of his own insensitivity and foolishness. The fact that Damien was captured by them made all other circumstances and reasons meaningless.

 

Adrian relaxed his stiff hands and cupped his face. He tried to calm his pounding chest as he breathed out between his palms as if spitting out blood. The fact that he left the crown prince in the palace but took only Damien somewhere means that he has something to demand from him. Getting her safe is her top priority. First of all, you need to come to your senses. Adrian rushed out of the barracks and mounted a horse. And he rode his horse straight toward Midock. In the evening, when the sun was about to set over Seosan, the capital army, which was in the midst of preparing dinner, was preparing to move again. Commanders from other noble families, including Duke Donovan, headed toward Midok overnight, and the capital army also began a solemn march toward Midok.

 

The 70th day of fall, Friday. It was the last day until the dock with a day’s distance left.

 

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Translator Note: