Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

CHAPTER 5: HERE, NOW, AND YOU (IV)

Part 100

 

As the crown prince’s head hung in front of the outer palace building, a cold wind blew again in Midok, which was excited. The residents, who were terrified because they did not know what was going on, stayed indoors and did not go out, and the streets became quieter than when the war broke out. Nobles, including Duke Donovan, hurriedly returned to Midok, and the capital army led by Ban and Cale was stationed outside the outer castle as ordered by Adrian and keeping a close eye on the inside of Midok.

 

Adrian secretly went to Duke Donovan’s residence. Duke Donovan, Remina, and Van, who had returned to the mansion, greeted Adrian. Homer was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Hasn’t the leader returned?”

 

“The last time I went out to see the Duke was in the morning. I heard that Tyrellius’s throat was caught in the poison. What on earth happened?”

 

“The leader killed the crown prince. No, the leader acted on my behalf, so it is as if I killed him, not the leader.”

 

“Are you saying that the head of the inspection team assassinated the crown prince?”

 

Duke Donovan asked in surprise, but Adrian nodded his head without expression. The crown prince was dead, and Adrian showed no concern at all, saying in shame that it was as if he had killed him. Remina, who had guessed Adrian’s condition after hearing that Damian had been captured, asked something else.

 

“What did they want?”

 

“They told me to become king. I guess they plan to make me king and demand things that no one else can do for me.”

 

“What nonsense! Do you think we’ll give in to their demands like that?”

 

Duke Donovan was angry this time. He had never heard of a coup like this. It was a throne that was passed down through lineage, and it was a throne that could only be maintained with the support of the kingdom’s citizens as well as the kingdom’s nobles. If they only wanted to put Adrian on the throne, it might be acceptable, but these baseless charlatans are trying to shake up the country by installing a puppet king. Duke Donovan was indignant in a loud voice, but Adrian nodded his head with a subdued expression.

 

“I will listen.”

 

“Duke!”

 

“I will give in to whatever her bastards want. If it gets in my way of getting her back, I will cut off the head of anyone, not even her crown prince.”

 

Only then did Duke Donovan look at Adrian carefully again. He had the same expression on his face as always and his voice was without an accent, so I thought he was in a normal state. He had secretly admired the Duke of Bigor’s courage in the face of such a tragedy, but he realized that he was wrong. Even when he was talking nonsense about fighting the Taln army with less than half of his army, his eyes were extremely cold-hearted, but Duke Bigor’s eyes are not normal these days. Duke Donovan also guessed what Damian meant to Adrian. When he said he would go west in person, I knew that the reason he had covered that long distance in such an absurd amount of time was because of his feelings for his lover. Moreover, Duke Donovan also had light in his heart for Damian. The image of Damian who saved Ailene came to mind, and Duke Donovan could not say anything and kept his mouth shut. Remina, who had known Adrian’s condition for a long time, sighed inwardly. This seemingly absurd plan of these guys works out like this! The reason they fall is because they are holding Adrian’s breath and no one else’s.

 

Remina was still far from the line of succession, and the weight that Duke Bigor was carrying could quickly become his power. If Adrian was sincere, they could be anything they wanted. However, just because Adrian was crazy about Damian didn’t mean he has become a fool.

 

“So, are you here to cut off my head this time, Duke?”

 

Remina looked at Adrian a little forcefully. Two pairs of red eyes collided in the air. Adrian briefly considered whether that would make things a little easier. He was already crazy, but he looked down at Remina, thinking that it might only be a moment before he really became crazy.

 

“No. Sir, I have come to discuss the future.”

 

Duke Donovan, who had been holding his breath for a moment due to tension, took a small breath, and Remina pretended not to notice and lifted her teacup. Ban suddenly put down his hand that was pointing towards his sword. He was trembling as the calm tea water in Remina’s teacup created concentric circles. When Adrian’s gaze touched her neck, it seemed as if she was strangled, albeit briefly. Remina asked resolutely, quickly calming her mind as she sipped her tea.

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

“I’m going to go crazy like this. I’ll hold a council of nobles, so please give Donovan time. You need to rally your forces behind the scenes. Avoid their attention and recruit as many nobles as possible. In the meantime, I will look for her.”

 

“15,000 troops outside the outer castle, the returning Cologne division, the remnants of the rebels in the northwest, and the administration being paralyzed again, it is difficult to drag it on for too long. Duke.”

 

As Remina spoke seriously, Adrian’s eyes became redder for a moment.

 

“I don’t have the confidence to last long, sir.”

 

The four discussed the future for a while.

 

* * *

 

In the late afternoon, Ethan announced to Adrian, who returned to the mansion as quietly as when he left, that a guest had arrived. Although he was someone he had never met, Adrian went straight to the parlor because Damian’s name was mentioned. Two stiff young women were sitting on the sofa, and when they entered, they found Adrian and jumped up and bowed their heads.

 

“This is Dorote Chenoa. Duke Bigor. I am a prospective administrator who is in the same class as Lady Damien.”

 

“This is Tina, an administrator from the Ministry of Finance.”

 

Adrian offered a seat to Dorothea and Tina, who were trembling and lowered their heads with obvious nervous gestures. He tried to control his momentum because he didn’t want to give a bad impression to those who were close to Damian, but it was difficult to control his feelings that were spreading out in all directions. He sat down on the sofa and asked as softly as he could.

 

“This is Adrian Bigor. Why are you looking for me?”

 

Dorote and Tina managed to calm their trembling bodies in front of Adrian, who spoke with a harsh tone and radiated the energy of being cut, but treated them with respect. Dorote carefully held out a small box to Adrian.

 

“This morning, I went to a grain store outside the outer castle, and a resident of the outer castle brought it to me, saying he had picked it up on the way. He said he brought it to me because he thought it was a valuable item, and it seemed to be Lady Damien’s necklace, so he brought it with him.”

 

Adrian opened the box and jumped up from his seat. It was clearly the ruby necklace that Adrian had given to Damian. It looked like it had been forcibly torn apart at the seams.

 

“Details! Where did you say you picked this up?”

 

“There is a road leading to the docks on the banks of the River Lorraine. They said it was off to the east from the grain dealer.”

 

“Please excuse me first.”

 

Adrian, clutching the necklace, jumped out of his seat and ran out of the parlor. Dorote and Tina, who remained, finally exhaled the breath they had been holding and hugged each other.

 

“Sir, I was really scared.”

 

“That’s right. I was embarrassed too. But I guess that necklace really belonged to Lady Damien. I wish I could buy it.”

 

Tina and Dorothee held hands and prayed for Damien’s death. Meanwhile, Adrian and other Knights of Bigor followed behind Adrian, who was hurriedly leaving the Duke’s residence on horseback. Ethan was sweating as he rode the horse. The top of Milton has already been checked once. It was reported that there was definitely nothing wrong with Abu, but the only place that came to mind in the direction where the necklace was found was Milton Top. When he got to the top, he broke the unlocked door and went inside, but as expected, there was no one there. He searched the building, but there was no trace of anyone coming and going. At that time, Franz, who was looking outside the building, shouted urgently.

 

“There are footprints here!”

 

When he entered the small back compartment, he saw a thick carpet, and when he lifted it, there was a door leading down.

 

* * *

 

Homer, who cut off the crown prince’s head with his own hands, called together the few remaining members of ‘The King’s Eyes’. Everyone in the group knew that Homer had decapitated Tyrellius. Nevertheless, everyone waited for Homer’s next command with unfazed eyes. With a bitter smile in front of the members with loyal eyes, Homer spoke of the dissolution of the ‘King’s Eyes’.

 

“Please help the princess. She will be of great help to you later. Thank you for your hard work.”

 

“No. Captain, wasn’t that going to happen anyway? We don’t care!”

 

“The crown prince was executed without a trial, and many witnesses saw it. If the method of assassinating the crown prince is close to the princess, she will be misunderstood. It is right for me to disappear like this.”

 

“Well, still, Captain. Not like this. You’ve worked so hard…”

 

The member who had been by Homer’s side for a long time held him once more out of pity. Homer patted him on the shoulder and smiled faintly.

 

“It’s because I’m tired now. I left when the situation was bad, but if something difficult happens, go to Duke Bigor. I won’t treat you badly because I owe you something. Thank you so much.”

 

After encouraging the remaining members, Homer abandoned the position that had confined him for 15 years. He collected the crown prince’s head, which was hanging in front of the palace, and placed it in the royal cemetery. Homer, looking down at the small grave without a tombstone, was in a complex state of mixed emotions. How many times did he think about killing him, but he never thought he would kill him like this? He wasn’t very refreshed, but it ended anyway. It’s really over. Now you don’t have to go back to that damn palace. It wasn’t until I cut it off with my own hands that I realized how much I had longed for this freedom. Let’s leave. It no longer matters who becomes king. Remina will do just fine if she becomes king, and she’ll do just fine if she becomes Adrian. I had the confidence to turn a blind eye even if someone else was robbing the country. However, Damien cannot turn around until she saw his evil side. Homer took out the small shoe he had kept in his bosom. His subordinate had handed it to him a little while ago. It was said that someone had picked it up and sold it to a shoe store that had fallen in front of the inner tomb. This means that once they passed the west mound of the inner city, they ran somewhere to the west of the outer city. Arriving in front of the west gate, Homer looked at the map of Midoc in his head. The end of this road touches the waterway. It’s clear that Adrian will be looking for Damien with all her might, but she won’t be keeping her in her dock for long. To secretly steal goods or people, it was better to use waterways. Didn’t summer’s illegal weapons also come across the Lorraine River? Just as he had tracked down the trafficked bougie last summer, Homer decided to head back from the docks. At the end of the long port where many ships, including the Three Curves, came and went, and right next to the shabby dock where small merchant ships were tied up, there was a secret passageway leading to the top of Milton. When he lifted the bare part that was loosely covered by tree branches on the floor, a long underground passage leading to the top appeared. As he went up the dark passage, he came to the empty basement at the top beyond the left open door. It was just as it was when it closed last summer. He thought he had made a mistake and tried to come back, but he stumbled through the passage again. In a dark passageway with no light, he illuminated the mud walls with a dimly lit lantern, and as he traced them one by one, he found a small, hidden tree. It had a crude lock attached. He took out his favorite universal key from his pocket and carefully unlocked it. When he opened the door and entered, two men with blue straps tied on their shoulders were sitting there chatting. Before she could even scream, she knocked down the men in front of her and searched through the ant cave-like underground looking for Damien. His blood boiled with tension and excitement in front of the person who was wrapped in chains. Homer easily took the lock and opened the cabinet.

 

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Translator Note: