Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 223

223.

“E, Endil?”

“Hwaaa, I, I’m sorry! I didn’t know you’d say that… C, can I really dare to consider El as family? Someone as hopeless as me?”

His tears kept falling no matter how much he wiped them away. Feeling helpless, I hugged him and patted him on the back.

“Why are you hopeless? You’re Cecil’s proud older brother, and Cecil cherishes you more than anyone else. Kai likes you too.”

“E, even El-nim?”

“Of course.”

“……! Thank you! I’m so happy. I really like El-nim too. I’ll really live a good life. I won’t tarnish El-nim’s name.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Endil. You’re doing well enough as you are.”

I suddenly remembered when I first met Endil. Back then, I never imagined I’d be saying these words to him. In just a few months, my perception of him had completely changed.

Getting to know and understand someone is truly amazing. Forming a connection is like giving each other life. When you give nothing, they’re just another face in the crowd, but the moment you give life, that existence breaks free from being just a face and becomes special. As the shared life grows, their presence becomes clearer and clearer, adding value to each other, and eventually becomes a completely alive and breathing ‘another me.’ That’s why it becomes so precious, perhaps.

“Why does saying goodbye take all day? I’m leaving first.”

It was Lapis who cooled down the heartwarming atmosphere once again. The next moment, as he stood up, his eyes met Endil’s. Unlike Lapis, who was just passing by without a word, Endil bowed as if he had been waiting.

“I’d like to thank you again, Dragon-nim! Thank you so much! I won’t forget this kindness!”

“Whatever.”

The reply was indifferent compared to the enthusiastic greeting. Regardless of whether the others were embarrassed or not, Lapis opened the door and left. I frowned at his insincere attitude, but Endil burst into laughter as if he expected it. At first, he trembled just by making eye contact, but now, perhaps because he considered him a benefactor, he wasn’t afraid of whatever attitude he took.

In any case, because Lapis had left, the atmosphere naturally shifted towards a farewell. Following the group who started to get up one by one, I also rose from my chair. The last person to get up was Isana. As soon as he stood up straight, he stared at Endil with a serious expression.

“Endil, may I offer you a handshake?”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

Endil took his hand with a flustered expression as Isana reached out. It was a novel experience, and he looked awkward even while shaking hands. Isana, who was watching the scene with a gentle gaze, said.

“Endil, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Of me? What favor?”

“It may be difficult right now, but someday I will make this empire a country where you two can live freely. Won’t you come back then?”

Endil’s eyes widened at those words. The surprised expression disappeared and a bright smile appeared.

“I will.”

“Really?”

“Yes! I promise. Whenever that may be. Definitely.”

A smile appeared on Isana’s face, which had been tense. The reason he had been so serious by himself earlier must have been because of this.

I was glad that the person in this position, who could consider even the smallest details, was the Emperor. From time to time, I would imagine the world Isana would create after the reinstatement. A strong and kind ruler, a world where the poor and powerless would not suffer unfairness. One more part has been added to that world. Perhaps it will increase more and more in the future. I was already excited and my heart was pounding. After this journey is over, the Swart Empire seemed like it would become a very beautiful country.

* * *

“The lords of Ruban and Asilan have moved.”

The faces of the people sitting around the round table in the underground chamber were serious. They were vassals of Lord Claymore, who had called an emergency meeting early in the morning. April, the Duchess of Claymore, and the Emperor’s Imperial Knights were also present.

Ruban and Asilan were regions neighboring Claymore, and they had been cautiously watching each other while only outwardly maintaining friendly relations. The two lords who ruled those regions had recently exchanged alliance letters. They merged their troops under the pretext of friendly training, and the number exceeded 100,000. Of course, no one here believed the friendly training that they put forward on the surface. It was already a predetermined course that their blades would soon be directed towards Claymore.

“Isn’t it earlier than expected?”

“They’re planning to strike first before we move.”

Groans rippled from the mouths of the people who were reading the report. However, since the de facto ruler, the Duke, was not present, everyone hesitated to come to a conclusion.

“We must also move our troops.”

“The Duke has the operational control. You know we can’t do as we please.”

“The Duchess is here. The Duchess is also a member of the Claymore family. Also, she is the only bloodline of the Duke to date, so she also has the right to order the movement of troops.”

The youngest knight among the Duke’s vassals pointed to April and spoke spiritedly. However, an elderly man, another vassal, shook his head.

“Have you forgotten that the Duke doesn’t recognize the Duchess? Do you think he’ll just let the Duchess use the troops? We might end up fighting each other.”

“Then what are we supposed to do? We can’t just wait for the enemies to invade! The situation is like this, but the Duke doesn’t know anything! He won’t even meet us!”

“Don’t blame him. The responsibility for this situation lies more with us for not properly assisting the Duke.”

“……I know. Damn it, to cast a mind control [a magical spell that controls a person’s actions]. I didn’t think that was possible…….”

The clenched fist trembled as if reflecting the anger in his heart. The faces of the other vassals were also stiff. Most of them had served the heads of Claymore for generations, and their loyalty to the head of the family was extraordinary. A beautiful and prosperous duchy, a strong and benevolent master who ruled it. They were proud to assist him, and they were confident that there was not an inch of weakness. That pride had been completely shattered over the past few months.

How could this happen? When Duke Caelwell said he would be secluding himself for a while, they chose to retreat to their homes without any doubt. The Duke wanted them to do so, and they wanted to share the same path as the head of the family.

They knew that the priest of the Evil God visited the Duke’s mansion regularly, but they didn’t find it strange because the Duke was a devout believer. Rather, it was a frequent occurrence in the Holy Empire, which worshiped the Evil God as the highest god, and since he was in seclusion, he could not visit the temple directly, so he must have asked the priest of the Evil God to come.

They also blindly believed the words that the priest of the Evil God conveyed, and they knew that the Duchess was dead. So when she appeared in perfect condition, they thought their hearts would stop. She was said to be under the protection of the Emperor. As if to prove those words, the Emperor’s Imperial Knights were protecting her. How surprised and bewildered they were after hearing all the truth from them.

Of course, they didn’t believe all the words from the beginning. No, most of them dismissed it as absurd and thought it was ridiculous. Some even suspected the Duchess was fake. But they couldn’t just ignore this huge issue, so they visited the Duke after a long time. They just wanted to confirm the truth.

However, the reality was not so light. Duke Caelwell was strict in his work but had a gentle personality as a person. When he brought up the story of his sister and the Emperor, he became enraged and changed completely like a different person. After being forced out of the seat, surveillance followed from somewhere from that day on. Some people barely shook off the Holy Knights of the Evil God who suddenly broke in and tried to drag them away and escaped.

Only then did the vassals realize that something was wrong. Some of them succeeded in breaking through the strict surveillance and informing the Duchess about this. But the Duke himself consistently denied everything. Some of the vassals couldn’t even recognize him at all. By that point, they couldn’t help but admit the situation. Duke Caelwell was now the enemy’s hostage and their greatest enemy.

“It’ll be okay once the curse is lifted.”

April, who had calmly composed herself, said with an effort to be resilient. But the expressions of the vassals were still dark. They had confirmed the serious condition of the head of the family with their own eyes. It was not a situation to be optimistic about with just one word.

“Don’t worry too much. His Majesty will definitely find a way to lift the curse.”

“Are you talking about the Demon Sword?”

“Yes, that’s right. He said that’s all we need is the Demon Sword.”

“But the place His Majesty went to is the infamous Barren Desert? No one who has entered that place has ever returned alive. To go to such a dangerous place without any proper escort. Just thinking about it makes me worry and I can’t sleep.”

The words meant to boost morale further dampened the atmosphere. The concern for the Duke was simply transferred to the concern for the Emperor. April’s face, who was also worried, although she didn’t show it, turned pale.

“He, he’ll be okay. I think he contacted us a while ago. I saw my teacher communicating.”

“If the Duchess is talking about her teacher, is that the flamboyantly handsome red-haired wizard?”

“Yes, that’s right. His name is Lapis.”

“Hmm, it’s fortunate that he was in contact with His Majesty. I want to know more details, but where is he now?”

“Yes? Ah…….”

April made a troubled expression with a forced smile. The vassals sensitively noticed the change in the Duchess’s expression.

“Don’t tell me he’s left his post again?”

“Well, that’s…….”

The vassals’ faces frowned all at once at the expected answer. In fact, this was not the first time for them. The red-haired man who was in charge of escorting the Duchess while the Emperor was away to find the Demon Sword was very arrogant, and he was like an untamable beast that was indescribably fierce. His personality was like that, and he was not sincere, so he often left his post and disappeared and reappeared. Everyone didn’t say anything, but their dissatisfaction with him was high.

“He’s really irresponsible. How many times is this? Does he even have the awareness that he’s an escort?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Actually, since the topic came up, I’ll say this, but I don’t like that guy very much. He has achieved great things for his age, but isn’t he someone whose identity is unknown? I can’t trust him at all.”

“That’s right. And what about his arrogant attitude? And why is his appearance so unnecessarily flamboyant? It’s strange that such a conspicuous person has not been known until now.”

April’s expression became even darker at the whispering voices. This time, it wasn’t just about leaving his post, but she wasn’t oblivious enough to reveal that fact in this situation. Her heart grew heavy at the criticism towards her teacher, but she couldn’t scold the vassals. She had once thought so too.

In fact, she hadn’t completely shaken off those thoughts even now. She had only acknowledged his outstanding magical abilities, but apart from his skills, her teacher was still a very suspicious being. His status, his origin, even his school. Everything that could explain him was thoroughly hidden. In a situation that was no different from a war, it was reckless to trust someone whose identity was unknown indefinitely. Moreover, his autocratic attitude made enemies all too easily. No one would like someone who ignored them even when they spoke to him, and sneered at them even when they just made eye contact. Among the Duke’s vassals here, there was no one who had not been ridiculed by him. It was natural for them to feel dislike towards Lapis.

Since there were many things that had piled up, the time to complain also became longer. Before they knew it, the meeting place was becoming a place to slander the rude wizard. It was only the Emperor’s knights who were not joining in the conversation that was heading towards the mountains and kept silent. One of the vassals slyly asked them.

“What do you think of him?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the knights all at once. Unlike them, who openly disliked him, the Emperor’s knights had always treated Lapis with a polite attitude. They used honorifics, and they didn’t care at all even if he acted rudely. The Emperor’s direct Imperial Guards were high in rank in themselves, but they were also not low in birth. Many people found it strange that they treated a wizard they didn’t even know. They thought they knew him from before, but that wasn’t the case. Lapis was a strange wizard they met for the first time here.

“He certainly has a flamboyant appearance.”

Imperial Guard Captain Kei answered lightly. The faces of those who had been slandering him were distorted with embarrassment.

“N, no, I mean……we’re discussing his suspicious behavior.”

“What’s there to discuss? He’s helping us, even though he’s rather insincere.”

“But isn’t he someone who doesn’t reveal anything other than his name? No matter how much His Majesty has decided, I don’t know how far we can trust someone whose origin is unknown.”

“I know what you’re worried about. But you can rest assured about his identity.”

The vassals’ eyes widened at his blunt answer.

“Didn’t you say that you didn’t know him either?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But how are you so sure…….”

“I asked him when I first met him. He said he was an acquaintance of El-nim.”

“Yes? El……?”

“So it’s okay.”

What kind of strange logic is this? The Duke’s vassals were all puzzled. Kei looked at them as if asking what was wrong. Not only him, but the other knights were also making the same expression. Because their attitude was so confident, the vassals had nothing to say. In this atmosphere, if they asked who El was, it seemed like they would be rebuked for not knowing.