Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 224

224.

“Um, El… are you perhaps talking about the boy who left with His Majesty?”

April, who at least knew his name, asked cautiously. Kay nodded with a delighted expression.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So, his acquaintance is someone your master trusts?”

“Absolutely.”

There was no hesitation in the repeated answers. He presented inadequate grounds as if it were the most perfect proof and didn’t seem to find it strange. April wore a peculiar expression. Come to think of it, they had been like this all along. Even though the Emperor had gone to a foreign land almost alone, they weren’t flustered or angry. They only confirmed one thing: “Did he go with El-nim?” When they nodded, they said, “Then it’s fine.” That was it.

From her perspective, it was very incomprehensible. The Emperor’s Royal Knights were the ones who risked their lives to protect him, the people who cared for him the most in the world. She had heard that they lost a considerable number during the dawn raid when they rescued the Emperor and escaped. They had protected him at great sacrifice, so he should be even more precious to them. But while they were here, they had never once worried about the Emperor’s safety. If someone asked, they would only say, ‘He’s with El-nim, so he’s fine.’ It was as if they regarded the boy named El as a charm that could solve everything.

In fact, they regarded him not just as a charm but as a god, but April couldn’t know that far. If she had known, she would have been even more dumbfounded, so it was better for her not to know. Even now, she couldn’t understand the blind faith they had in the boy named El.

‘I heard that the boy made the greatest contribution when rescuing His Majesty. Is that why?’

The Emperor’s knights only gave her fragmentary information and were reluctant to reveal more details, so April didn’t ask. Even the vassals of the Duke, who didn’t know even that much, couldn’t hide their disbelief.

The Emperor’s knights clicked their tongues inwardly. How frightening ignorance was. The moment they heard that he was an acquaintance of ‘that’ El, they judged that Lapis was not an ordinary human. Looking at his exceptionally handsome face and outstanding magical abilities, they thought he might be a magical creature, perhaps even a dragon. In fact, his aura was quite similar to that of the unidentified man who had given them magical weapons sometime ago, whom they suspected of being a dragon. Seeing people grumbling that they couldn’t trust such a being made them feel dizzy beyond sighing.

The expressions they would make when they learned the whole truth were already vivid in their minds. At first, they would be surprised by his identity, and then they would be shocked that a dragon-like being had transformed into an ordinary (though excessively conspicuous) human and was mingling in their society. Before meeting El, they too had thought that transcendent beings only existed in special places and could only be met by special people. They thought their appearances would be unique, but they never imagined they would look so perfectly human. They never even imagined that they could accidentally pass by one on the street.

‘It would be better to keep our mouths shut as much as possible.’

The knights’ gazes toward the Duke’s people were tinged with pity. When the truth was revealed, all the words they had said in this place would return to them like thorns. They too had made a big mistake when they first met El, so they knew how bad it was for the heart. They couldn’t reveal the facts that the Emperor hadn’t revealed, so they could only feel sorry that they had to remain silent.

“Anyway, we must stop the war now. If the army invades in this state, Clamor won’t be able to withstand it.”

The conversation, which had been straying for a while, returned to square one. The atmosphere, which had loosened for a moment, quickly hardened again.

“Should we send a letter to try to appease them?”

“That won’t work. Laban and Asilan have been eyeing Clamor for a long time. They’ve been looking for an opportunity, but they’ve been bowing their heads in fear of the Duke’s power. What does it mean that they’re suddenly moving at this point? I think they probably already know about the Duke’s condition.”

“Tch. Those Demon Followers…!”

The sound of gnashing teeth echoed from here and there. The air had been heavy and suffocating for a long time. Kay, who had been lost in thought for a moment, said,

“I’ll try to shake up their leadership. If the commander falls, even the greatest soldiers will wander for a while, so we’ll be able to buy some time.”

“Are you going to assassinate them?”

“If necessary.”

“But the two lords are currently in Lassen Castle. Lassen Castle is inside a fortress and has a magical barrier to defend against supernatural powers. No army has ever broken through it. Is there a way to approach it?”

“I’m also considering a last resort.”

“What do you mean by last resort?”

“Since it’s supposed to be a friendly training exercise, they probably didn’t bring their families. We’ll attack them to lure them out.”

“……”

The air instantly turned cold. The Duke’s vassals all swallowed hard and stared at Kay.

Kay understood the shock they had received. As knights, they belonged to a social class bound by moral concepts. On the battlefield, where lives were at stake, they often didn’t care about the means and methods, but there were still things they adhered to. That was not harming the unarmed, including women and children, or cowardly using those who were not related to the war. Moreover, even now, a declaration of war had not yet been exchanged. Murder without justification was not right and would only give the opponent a reason to attack. That was what they had been taught.

In peaceful times, when he was in the Imperial Palace, Kay had taken that for granted. But over the past few years, as he went through many hardships, he realized that no matter how cleanly he lived, it didn’t become strength. There were hardly any ways to legitimately fight and win against opponents who used cowardly tactics. History was a record of the victors, and if you died, nothing remained, and you simply perished. So now, he had to endure no matter what he did. If there was suspicion, he would strike even without justification, and he would use anything he could. To protect his precious lord, he could get his hands dirty with blood as much as necessary.

“Only His Majesty the Emperor needs to be in a righteous and clean position.”

However, when everything was over, he would not be able to stand proudly before people. He couldn’t even be by the Emperor’s side. If someone who had lost his honor was kept close, it would cause problems for the dignity of his master.

Karibdis [a monstrous sea creature in Greek mythology], the Duke’s hound. The reason why the central nobles shunned him was not only because he was from a commoner background but also for that reason. There were dozens of known anecdotes about how cruelly and cowardly he used methods to eliminate political rivals who stood in the way of the Grand Duke. Whether it was true or not, his existence was nothing more than a weakness for the Grand Duke to those who knew it. Even though it was just a rumor, it was obvious what kind of gaze a knight who had actually dirtied his hands would receive.

Kay also knew the meaning of the words he had uttered. Everyone in the room became solemn at the sight of him accepting the role of becoming a shadow without any aversion.

“I cannot overlook those words, Kay. I have no intention of tarnishing the honor of my knight.”

“……!”

At the sound of the voice that suddenly rang out, they reflexively reached for their weapons. They turned around in a hurry and soon widened their eyes. There was a being standing there who shouldn’t be in this place, someone they couldn’t believe even after seeing.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty!”

The horrified knights immediately stood up. The Duke’s vassals, who belatedly grasped the situation, were just flustered. A fair-haired boy with a bright smile smiled softly at them.

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

* * *

“El-nim?”

As I was walking down the hallway, I heard someone’s surprised voice. When I turned around, a familiar person was standing there. It was Ferris, dressed in an outing outfit, as if he had been somewhere.

“Wow, it’s been a while, Ferris. How have you been?”

When I greeted him happily, he took a big breath, standing there with a blank face.

“M-My goodness! Are you really El-nim? I thought I was dreaming while standing here.”

While showing his delight, his body was stiff, and he couldn’t relax. Seeing that, the faces of the knights I had seen a few minutes ago came to mind, and I laughed. When Isana opened the door and went in, they had the same expression as Ferris.

The Emperor, who had left for a distant country, had suddenly returned without any contact, so they must have been surprised. Until just a few minutes ago, I was near the border, so it was really ‘sudden.’ The distance that would have taken months to walk only took a few seconds with space- 이동 [moving] magic. When I arrived, a serious meeting was in progress, so I only let Isana in, but thanks to the timing, it was quite a dramatic appearance. The meeting was as good as over, so they would be enjoying their reunion to their hearts’ content by now.

In fact, even when returning, I didn’t expect to see them here. According to what I heard from Lapis, April had asked them in the capital to come. I was going to contact them as soon as I returned anyway, so it saved me the trouble.

“When did you come back? I hadn’t heard any news until dawn.”

“I just arrived. Where are you coming from this morning, Ferris?”

“Ah, I’m on my way back from scouting the Duke’s residence and the surrounding areas. I’ve been doing it every day since I came to Clamor.”

“I see. You’re working hard. By the way, you’ve already made a contract with Jin?”

“Ah, can you tell?”

“Of course. Even the seal of wind has changed. You’re making great progress.”

Ferris’s face, which had been shy, brightened. He looked like a child who had been inspected for a perfectly completed homework assignment. Feeling proud, I stroked his head, and his face turned as red as a carrot.

“Congratulations on becoming a high-level spiritist of wind and water, Ferris. I knew you could do it.”

“T-This is all thanks to El-nim.”

“It’s the result of Ferris’s efforts. Isana will be happy too. Ah, Isana is in the conference room with the knights now. Ferris, go in too.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you. Where are you going, El-nim?”

“I have some companions with me. It would be too cramped if we all went at once, so I left them in another room, but I’m going to check on them soon.”

“I see. Then I’ll come and see you later.”

“Yes, see you then.”

I turned away from him, who was bowing, and moved my steps again. Thanks to meeting a welcome person after a long time, my steps were light while walking. But when I reached my destination and grabbed the doorknob, a sudden, tremendous realization struck my mind.

‘……Come to think of it, why did I walk so hard? If I’m alone, I can just teleport.’

“Ugh…….”

I felt so pathetic that all the energy drained from my body. I leaned my forehead against the door with the doorknob in my hand. I had never understood the feelings of people who hurt themselves, but when I felt the touch of the hard wood, I felt the urge to bang my head wildly.

A spirit king who walks around! I don’t know what kind of stupid thing this is. If I were human, I would walk on purpose because I needed exercise, but as a spirit, I didn’t need to do that, so I just wasted perfectly good time on the road. When will I be able to live properly as a spirit king? I was so badly hurt by Kanos because of my mediocre self-consciousness, but I still haven’t come to my senses. Still, on the one hand, I was able to greet Ferris thanks to that, so I guess that’s okay. Seeing that I’m uselessly optimistic only at times like this, I still have a long way to go.

“I’m here. I’ve been waiting for a long time…….”

“El!”

“Ugh!?”

I opened the door with a gloomy feeling, but someone popped out noisily and hugged me tightly. Surprised, I stepped back and saw that it was Sibelius.

“What, what’s wrong? Why, Sibel?”

“El, I hate that guy! Can’t you cancel the contract with him?”

“Huh? What?”

“He called me a dim-witted elf! He’s a really rude bastard!”

Saying that, Sibelius stretched his finger toward the inside of the room. Lapis was standing there with a nonchalant expression. I wondered what was going on and looked at him, and he snorted and said.

“You were the one who told me that you’ve never seen a dragon that looks so flamboyant, right?”

“That’s not an insult!”

“I felt unpleasant, so it’s an insult.”

“What kind of guy is this?”

Sibelius trembled while still clinging to me. When I glanced up, I could see tears welling up in his eyes from how wronged he felt. Lapis wore an openly mocking expression, and a strong current sparked between the two glaring men. I had only left for a short time, but I didn’t know why things had turned out this way. I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

“……What are you guys doing? Especially Lapis. Aren’t you ashamed to be picking fights like that when you’re all grown up?”

“Hmph, that’s why I’m doing this because I’m all grown up. When I was a naive child, I got along with anyone, but when I become an adult, I know how to choose people to associate with.”

“This guy, really!”

As I was stopping Sibelius, who was about to rush at him, I saw Alisa and Deron standing blankly in one corner. Even though things were like this, the two didn’t seem to have any intention of getting involved in the situation here. Even Deron was openly watching their battle with great interest, holding the egg tightly in his arms.

“Why didn’t you try to stop them?”

“Are you kidding me? How can I get in between them? I’m still young and have a long way to go.”

“I just wanted to show the future lord the ruthless world of competition…….”

Ah, right. I know I’m the only one who can stop them. I didn’t even feel like complaining, so I just nodded silently. Sometimes, it’s better for your mental health to accept reality quickly.