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(203)
While fire, iron, and blood were flying outside the walls, inside the walls it was peaceful and quiet.
The silence was a silence created by the sword.
No one came out of their houses while the great lords and their vassals flew around the capital with their knights flying like wings.
But the school of sharks that came from the east paid no attention to the frightened citizens or even the other lords.
They brought a large wooden barrel inside the camp, filled it with cold water, and enjoyed swimming in the sea.
Of course, even the great lord Cariosa didn't need to escape the heat in that way.
A few street trees could not block the sun, but the elaborate tents and barracks could keep out the flames.
If a nobleman of Cariosa's level were to bring in a magician and have him only manage the surrounding temperature and humidity, no one would say it was a luxury.
However, Cariosa was a warrior who survived the harsh sea winds day and night, and ate raw fish that came up from the deep sea with his subordinates.
So today, she went swimming in a wooden bucket next to her subordinates, wearing only a white shirt, revealing her scale-like, shiny skin, sharp teeth, and vertically slit black pupils.
“Each, no. Your Majesty. I didn’t think you would be this satisfied.”
One of the knights said, observing the situation.
Cariosa raised an eyebrow, and the knights around her unconsciously shrugged their shoulders or dipped their bodies into the water up to their chins.
Cariosa chuckled and leaned the back of his neck against the edge of the barrel.
Her water-dampened, aqua-colored hair and shark-scale skin sparkled in the warm sunlight.
“I’ve already bitten a piece of meat. If I open my mouth any further, I’ll miss what I’ve already bitten.”
“But Marquis Marcus’s plan wasn’t so ridiculous, was it? If Your Majesty had joined in, he would have had a good chance of success.”
Another reporter added hesitantly.
Cariosa sat up lightly and gave a serious answer to the advice of the knight she usually favored.
“Yes. Then I could have been given the title of Grand Duke or King.”
And the one who would not compromise on what he could achieve was the hunter named Cariosa.
But now she was not after the crown prince, but the scoundrel Hwang Hyung with the yellow eyes and red lips.
“The plan to get something through Valencianus wasn’t bad in itself. But he’s already a piece of meat that I’m half-biting.”
After conquering the three archipelagos, I planned to take them back by any means necessary.
Of course, to do that, you had to properly provoke the kings and pirates of the Eastern Continent.
If she made unreasonable demands when she didn't need to stabilize the Eastern Sea, Jaylilith might just cut her throat.
“I can’t accept the idea of tearing it up and sharing it. If I guard it well, it will all be mine, so why are you sharing it?”
The surrounding knights nodded one by one.
In the case of married knights, they even smiled a bit sinisterly.
“You’re at that age.”
“I knew that Your Majesty would welcome spring too!”
Cariosa accepted the provocation with a shameless smile, her eyes shining like a white shark.
“Besides, I’m curious about the taste of Marcus’s blood.”
"ah."
“I also covet the technology they have. Rather than asking them to share it with me, I’d rather tear them to pieces and share them with Valencianus.”
“Your Majesty, indeed.”
The knights bowed their heads repeatedly, and Cariosa smiled happily and looked at the eastern wall.
“Severic?”
While saying the name of the faintly visible person.
* * *
The walls were the lord's first and most important shield, and he rarely allowed nobles from non-allied houses to climb them.
This was especially true for the Northern Grand Duke, who had been the subject of prejudice, ill feelings, and all sorts of rumors for a long time, knowingly or unknowingly.
“Are you here to see how to get through when you come down south later?”
“Hey, hey. Shut up. I’m the Sword Master. You’ll hear us rolling our eyes.”
“No matter what, shouldn’t we say something so that people don’t come up here without permission?”
“Then, you may go, Lieutenant. I will die for disobeying orders, so I cannot say ‘no’ to the Sword Master.”
However, the soldiers on the eastern wall said nothing when they saw Severic, and just rolled their eyes.
It was because of his dark blue hair like a stormy sea and his gray eyes like a blizzard, it was because ice crystals appeared and disappeared under his footsteps with every step he took, and it was also because he smirked as if he heard everything I said.
The soldiers shivered, and Severic looked at the Nibelungen landing on the eastern plain, thinking that he would have to go down soon.
The grandeur of the large airship, like a flagship made of giant water, was immense, and the banners and tents gathered around it were even more impressive, but the great nobles loyal to the 64 Northern Earls were able to overcome even their burdens in the end.
"majesty."
The knight, Lucena, with her black hair neatly tied back, spoke in a voice full of emotion.
“There are also great lords among them who trade a lot of grain with our northern neighbors. It is not something to be taken lightly.”
“I know.”
“The citizens of the capital are now shouting that Archduke Valencian be fried to death.”
“He knows that too.”
“It was the Church that used and encouraged it. The Pope and the Saints needed to pressure the Imperial House to maintain their authority under the reign of Jerilis, and they used Emperor Valencianus as an example. Our North is fighting foreign entities, invaders, and all sorts of evils, and a close relationship with the Church is essential to not only our livelihood, but our survival.”
“I know that too.”
“Then why do you make this decision?”
Lucena asked one last time, hammering in a nail.
It was a question I asked even though I knew it.
Severic spoke with profound sadness.
“Friendship is shown in hardship. If I show sincerity to him, he will show sincerity to me.”
"Lucena said, half sobbing.
“He is a heartless man. The only things of value to him are my life and the life of my twin sister.”
——————
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She knew that the nature of the human being called Valencian was not very different from her own.
A person who, due to some indescribable emotion, regards another person as his or her absolute being, offers utmost loyalty to that person, and enjoys the power of trust.
A person who judges everything in this world by the yardstick of how helpful it is to the Absolute, and even measures himself by that yardstick, and who must always be number one.
“Why should Your Majesty be the first to trust me this time? Why should Your Majesty be the first to show friendship and trust?”
The North was dealing with various places other than the imperial court, and in the society of the great aristocracy, those who spoke politely were considered fools, and the imperial court spent more gold to appease lords who were mad at them for more land than loyal lords.
“Why should Your Majesty risk being betrayed and suffering losses?”
Lucena asked.
Severic smiled like a sun on his face, which was as cold as ice and had hardened eyes.
“Because we’re friends.”
“Don’t try to brush it off with just a few nice words!”
“You are right, Rsena. The North trades with many provinces. For them, trade with the North is a matter of profit, but for us, trade with them is a matter of survival.”
Severic's voice was filled with the judgment of one of the Empire's greatest nobles.
“That is why we must never allow ourselves to betray first. I will trust you, Lucena. The Archduke Valencian is not one to forget my help.”
It was a voice that was warm and majestic like snowflakes.
Severic closed his eyes tightly and opened them, looking at the Union tent.
Whioooooo-.
Lucena trembled involuntarily and clung to Severic.
"ah."
It was a cold wind that was not suitable for midsummer.
* * *
Among the tents where the flags of the famous families were flying, there was one particularly ornate tent.
It was a beautiful tent decorated with vine patterns using red thread.
Inside there was a round table, and at the round table sat an old man with his servants, their eyes covered by masks.
The men all wore loose-fitting clothes, and regardless of gender or age, they wore turbans, hats made by wrapping cloth around themselves in an onion-like shape.
Oddly enough, the men could speak fluently without moving their lips at all.
“Your Majesty, the weather is absolutely crazy.”
“It’s snowing in the middle of summer.”
“This is Northern Grand Duke Severic. Shall we deal with him?”
The last words were spoken in the language of the desert tribes, which only a few people in the capital could understand.
And the great lord who is known by many names, such as the King of the Desert, the Marquis of the Assassins, the Scourge of the Displaced Peoples, and the Shadowless Noble.
After the battle, Caesar felt like slapping the face of his subordinate who had been talking nonsense like that.
“Do you want to slowly freeze to death?”
“It would be sufficient warning to aim for his adjutant, if not for him.”
Only Severic, a living, breathing mystery, could bring this much cold in the middle of summer.
His open appearance on the ramparts was a declaration that he would not follow the will of the noble coalition led by Caesar and Marcus.
It was a declaration that Valencian would not negotiate with the emperor at the cost of his life.
“If that happens, we’ll see the Sword Master rushing into our territory and destroying all the reservoirs and underground farms. It seems that it’s true that he has a close relationship with Valencianus.”
Yeolsaamhu let out a deep sigh.
“I can’t even handle an emperor, so I can’t be hostile to my brother and my friend. And the sharks in the eastern sea are already getting their appetites.”
The assassins nodded one by one.
Outside the barracks, a loud noise continued to be heard.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Cariosa betrayed me!”
“The Golden Knights of Gremorius and Freuheit have deserted the tents!”
“Prepare to fire, all cavalry battalions!”
“The knights of the East are heading towards the Nibelungen.”
“Stop it at all costs!”
Cesar's purple eyes shone from his wrinkled face.
“There is no need for us to shed blood. In a sinking ship, the rats are the first to leave.”
The masked assassins snickered.
They were the ones who had lived in that region since the time when foreign races ruled the world, fighting against nomadic tribes who plundered and betrayed as if they were eating bread.
And after fighting countless enemies, there were those who ended up resembling their enemies.
“Cesar! The situation is-”.
Marcus' adjutant entered, kicking away the cloth draped in front of the barracks.
“!”
He looked at the round table with a bewildered expression.
There was tea and snacks there, as if people had just been there.
But there was actually no one sitting in the seats.
“Ahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“Hahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“Ararararararararara!”
Only the sound of the looters' laughter echoed endlessly within the barracks.
The adjutant gritted his teeth and came out of the barracks.
“This is your chance to advance! Follow me!”
“Never attack first. We are here only to mediate disputes between the great nobles.”
“Do you feel ticklish? Me too! But a good soldier follows orders!”
From the southeast, a blond, red-eyed royal family member was charging toward me, leading the central knights, the Imperial Brass Knights.
The Golden Knights of Gremorius and the Heavenly Knights of Freuheit were running away as if they had never been there before.
In particular, the Knights of the Heavenly Blade were following the Golden Knights around with an attitude of not wanting to shed even a little blood, which made the adjutant seethe even more.
After the Battle of Yeolsaam, Caesar was nowhere to be seen, and the southern counts were in disarray.
The Dreadbird cavalry pursued the fleeing knights, but did not dare to attack first.
And then the most stalwart knights, the sharks of the East serving the Margrave who wanted to be king, attacked Marcus's airship Nibelungen.
The adjutant saw the western knights hold off the eastern knights, and break through with a single clash.
"ah."
As he watched the flags and emblems that had been as splendid as the curtains drawn by God himself burn and the mighty Allied forces scatter, the adjutant thought it was all a nightmare.
* * *
Valencian laughed as he devoured the flames.
“My dream is coming true!”