Chapter 196
‘…Are the Kans groups stronger than I expected?’
No matter how large their scale, the Imperial Knights or the Royal Guard should be able to suppress them sufficiently. Finding the Kans hideouts might be somewhat troublesome, but once discovered, rooting them out wouldn’t be difficult. There’s no reason for things to be this serious.
“What’s going on?”
My sister closed her mouth for a moment and looked at me. Seeing her expression as if she was contemplating whether to speak or not, I added:
“I might be able to help, you know. Explain it to me.”
“…Let’s move first. I’ll explain as we go.”
Following my hurried sister, Luwen and I also began moving urgently.
Inside the carriage returning to the imperial capital, after hearing my sister’s explanation, my face naturally hardened as well.
“So you’re saying their purpose seems to be killing rather than plundering?”
And they charged forward as if their own lives were worthless. People who seemed to have never properly held a sword – everything about them was clumsy, but they gripped the blade that pierced their belly and swung their weapons in desperation. They didn’t hesitate to use their comrades as shields, and those who became shields tried to hold on until their last breath.
“Yes. And there’s another really strange point.”
“What is it?”
“First, they had no Kans insignia, and the last word spoken by one who was dying was ‘revenge.'”
I reflexively swallowed dry saliva. It was a familiar explanation. I remembered reading it in the original work. It was exactly what the Second Prince had told my sister.
‘The Crown Prince of Tuaso is trying to… start a war.’
Though the timing was early, in the original story, the First Prince and that man had annihilated villages near each other’s borders to start a war. This caused the two countries to develop extreme hostility toward each other, and war broke out at the right moment.
However, since the First Prince was gone now, it had to be seen as the Crown Prince of Tuaso acting alone. In other words, he was massacring his own people within Tuaso, disguising it as the work of Imperial citizens.
‘He gathered those who lost their families and sent them to the Empire.’
The attacked location was said to be near the seaside. Even though it was nearby, it would take at least a week on foot.
How long would it take for those filled with such desperation that even knights found them burdensome to attack and massacre a small village? And how long would it take for that outcry to reach the Imperial Palace and spread throughout the entire Empire?
“War… is going to break out.”
I could see my sister stiffen with surprise. My sister, who had been looking at me with an expression asking what nonsense I was talking about, soon grimaced with a sigh.
“Don’t tell me you’re saying the Crown Prince of Tuaso orchestrated this?”
“…Probably.”
I shared my thoughts with my sister. Right now was the process of mutual resentment becoming entangled and complicated. If this situation progressed further, war would surely break out.
‘This was the thing I wanted to avoid most. I thought it was resolved, but it wasn’t.’
Perhaps… the Tuaso side might be resolved if they revealed that the massacrers weren’t Imperial citizens. No, rather, that resentment would pour onto their own Crown Prince.
But not the Empire. They were unilaterally harmed by those who came from Tuaso.
‘Above all, the Emperor is the biggest problem.’
After driving out his first son with his own hands, the Emperor’s condition seemed to have become somewhat strange. He was generally lacking in energy but more emotional than before. Because of this, I was banned from entering the Imperial Palace. The reason was that it would be better not to encounter him since the Emperor’s misplaced anger could be directed at me.
So the regular tea time I used to have with the Fifth Prince was also canceled. Even he, whom I thought would be disappointed, agreed with a worried expression that it would be better. I could tell how serious the Emperor’s condition was.
‘It’s fortunate that Luwen manifested his aura.’
If he hadn’t, we might have truly fled from the Empire.
No matter how mentally unstable the Emperor was, he couldn’t kill Luwen, who was an Aura Master. It was a power that brought distinct benefits to the Empire. Without clear justification, the ministers’ opposition would be severe.
“I need to meet His Highness quickly.”
“This news must not reach His Majesty’s ears.”
If it did, the Empire might become the one to start the war.
However, the Emperor’s intelligence network wasn’t weak. No matter how much we tried to hide it, unless we uprooted it completely, it would eventually reach his ears. I didn’t want to think about what would happen then.
I looked out the window with an anxious heart. The sky seemed overcast, and snow began to fall.
‘Is there anything I can do?’
I had no idea about anything. This time, it seemed like there was nothing I could do with my own power. Things were proceeding according to the original story’s flow. Come to think of it, even though the timing and circumstances changed, the major episodes from the original work were ultimately realized as they were. Then it would be the same this time too.
‘War will break out after all.’
All I could do was change the events that would occur within the main storyline.
Still, there was something positive. Since things diverged from the original at the point where the First Prince disappeared, the moment I least wanted to face might not come.
‘I’ve prepared too.’
Kans live in the village with the abandoned mine that provides the main cause for the troops to become isolated. If Tuaso’s forces approach that area, we’ll be able to know through them.
‘It’s time to send Taran back.’
Before that, I had to write a letter to the boss.
* * *
After returning to the Duke’s residence and seeing off my sister who was going to the Imperial Palace, I hurried to the office. I immediately wrote a letter, tucked it into my chest, and was getting up when Luwen spoke to me.
“Young Master, if war really breaks out, what will you do?”
His expression was serious enough to stop me in my tracks. He seemed somewhat frightened too. Was Luwen also afraid of war?
“What could I possibly do?”
“I’m asking if you’ll follow me.”
I couldn’t readily answer and pondered. Even if I said no, he probably wouldn’t believe me. But if I spoke honestly, he would naturally oppose it…
“What would you like me to do?”
“I’d like you to stay at the mansion, in a safe place.”
As expected. It was the answer I had anticipated. I was about to smile and agree to reassure Luwen, but he was one step ahead.
“However, if it’s you, Young Master, you’ll probably follow me by any means necessary.”
“I won’t do anything to worry you.”
“You will. Because you’re worried about me. To protect me.”
It was a voice full of conviction. As if he knew the future like I did. Luwen’s breathing had become rough as he stared at me intently.
“Luwen?”
“…Then you’ll die. Because of the war, I’ve seen you die so many times—!”
Luwen, who had been shouting as if something had burst, suddenly closed his mouth.
However, I had stiffened as well. Unable to properly process what I had just heard, I thought it over many times before I could finally speak.
“What are you talking about? Did you see me die? Or did you experience it? How do you know that?”
“……”
At his continued silence, I shouted at him as if pressing him.
“Luwen! What do you know?”
“I had nightmares… terrible nightmares. In front of me, you died, and died, and died again. To save me. For Miss and for me.”
Was it really just a nightmare? Luwen wouldn’t react this intensely, unable to distinguish between dreams and reality. But if it wasn’t a dream, how could it be explained? Speaking of a future I didn’t even know as if he had experienced it repeatedly.
But why did I think of Luwen, who had lost one ear during the war? That dark space with countless corpses of Luwen. I don’t know why that memory, which I had dismissed as just an unpleasant dream, came back so vividly.
“Every time, you were cruel. Saying you were satisfied, that it was fine because you saved us, with a gentle smile… you drew your last breath.”
Luwen caressed my cheek. It was a careful touch as if trying to confirm that I was there before him.
Actually, confirmation was important, but right now, calming him down felt more important. I overlapped my hand with Luwen’s and tilted my head.
“I won’t die.”
“…You always said that.”
“Then would you like to explain in detail? If I know how I die, couldn’t I avoid it?”
Luwen’s eyes wavered. His jaw trembled as if he was clenching his teeth tightly.
“Do you believe me?”
“It’s your words. I believe you.”
It might just be a nightmare. However, if Luwen was afraid it would happen in reality, there must be a reason for it. Those dreams I had that were terribly realistic. There were times when I too couldn’t think properly because I was influenced by dreams.
“It was when we were buried in the collapsed clinic. When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark space. No matter how much I ran and ran again…”
I listened to his words without even thinking to compose my shocked mind. About seeing countless deaths of mine, hearing that I had conversations with other versions of myself, and even about another ‘self’ who had approached him afterward.
“…I left that person behind. I was afraid that if I acknowledged and accepted them, I would become a different person. But now that I think war might really break out, those memories are eating away at me. It’s scary and terrible.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
