Side Story Chapter 73
Cain returned twenty minutes later. Meanwhile, the Imperial Knights left, so only four—no, five people were in the practice area, including the half-dead woman Cain carried in.
Joshua tilted his head, confused. The woman seemed familiar, for some reason.
“Is she…?”
“She’s Anna bel Grace.”
Joshua just calmly nodded, to Cain’s surprise. “I see…”
Icarus was more surprised than Joshua.
“B-Bel Grace?” she stammered, her eyes wide. “That means she’s a member of the Imperial Family of the Swallow Empire.”
“Yes, she’s Draxia bel Grace’s adopted daughter.”
“A-Are you talking about the War God?
Cain nodded. “It’s all faded glory, though.”
“…So I’m looking at the main reason behind the Agnus family’s fall and an enemy of Her Imperial Majesty Lucia.” Icarus frowned. Draxia bel Grace, once called the War God, and Anna bel Grace, the woman in front of them now, they had led a team of assassins and attacked the Agnus Duchy for one goal: to kidnap Lucia, Duke Aden von Agnus’s dirty linen and Joshua’s only weakness. She was currently the highest elder of the Avalon Imperial Family, but she was once known as Asiru ben Britten, the tragic princess.
Due to that attack, Babel von Agnus, the only heir to the duchy, had been critically injured. Since Anna bel Grace had harmed not just a noble of Avalon but also a member of the Imperial Family, she was a criminal in the eyes of Avalon’s Imperial Family.
“Leave her to me.” Icarus gestured at Cain. “It seems she’s using the Second Prince as a hostage and scheming—”
“No, she’s not.”
Cain interrupting a queen consort was problematic, to say the least, but Icarus only gave him a curious look, perhaps out of respect for their long friendship.
“I believe I have to report what happened so far first,” Cain said with a nod.
Cain went on to explain how the rebellion in the south had been quelled and Anna had become their ally as well as why Anna had gone to the west with Kireua.
“…In other words, she’s been feeling guilty for what she did to His Majesty and voluntarily trying to atone for her crimes. And she even made an oath on her elemental spirit to Kireua,” Icarus summarized.
“That is right.”
In fact, Anna had lost the fight, so she had no choice but to swear her loyalty to Kireua. However, Cain didn't bother to mention that. Although it hadn’t been long, Cain was becoming attached to Anna.
Nevertheless, there was no fooling Icarus.
“…Hmmm.” She noticed that Cain was hiding something right away. “I don’t think that is the only reason…”
“I think I know what you’re thinking, but it’s nothing like that, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, my. I didn’t say anything.”
Cain grinned. “I thought you and I didn’t need words to understand each other.”
“Don’t you think if someone heard you right now, they would misunderstand our relationship?”
“If they knew you and me well, Your Majesty, they'd never think that.”
“Come on. I’m just saying this because I’m worried about you, Sir Cain: you should get married already.”
“This doesn’t seem to be the right moment for this conversation,” Cain firmly answered, and then turned to Joshua. “Your Majesty, I believe I must head to the west right away.”
“Do you believe her?”
“The Anna bel Grace that I’ve seen until now isn’t the type who would lie about a matter like this.”
A subtle smile found its way onto Joshua’s lips. “You look like you’ve gotten quite attached to her.”
“It’s close to sympathy for now,” Cain honestly admitted; he didn’t want Joshua to worry over a matter like this. Ever since Anna had matured, she had been a fugitive—it had been decades, so Cain would be lying if he said that he didn’t pity her. However, Cain was worried that Joshua held lingering resentment against her.
“I trust you.”
Joshua only said one sentence, but Cain could feel his worries evaporate into nothing.
‘…This is why I can never leave him.’
Cain bowed. “Thank you.”
“Anyhow, this is problematic. My original plan was to throw a tantrum to make Cain participate in the tournament, but I lost my best Imperial Knight just like that.”
“Speaking of which, Your Majesty,” Icarus quietly interrupted. “This is just my personal opinion, but why don’t we let the Black Knights handle the tournament?”
“The Black Knights…?”
“Ah, you must not know about this. Selim made his own knight order.”
“Selim did?” Joshua tilted his head.
“Yes. On a side note, our Imperial Knights also admit that the Black Knight Order is one of the three strongest… So I think it’s a good idea.”
“But isn’t His Highness Selim in the east frontlines?” Cain questioned.
“Hmm? You don’t know?”
“Pardon…?” Cain blankly asked back.
Icarus’s lips slowly curled downward. “Look at this. You and him go and cause all sorts of new problems without thinking about solving the problems we already have. My children are better than their father!”
“What do you mean?”
“A report was delivered to the Palace an hour ago. Selim and his one hundred knights have successfully conquered Marquess Drenius’s castle.”
Cain's eyes widened, and even Joshua was startled.
“Are you serious?”
“The entire Palace is talking about it, but the fact that Marquess Drenius managed to run away bugs me.”
“Selim conquered the castle, but the rebels’ leader ran away? What in the world happened…?” Joshua mused.
“Anyhow, don’t worry about the east. If the report is correct, the rebellion in the east is as good as finished, and I’m going to send Iruca there too.”
Iruaca thrust her hand into the air. “Leave it to me!”
“…Are you sure about it? She’s still a child…” Joshua gave her a look.
Icarus shrugged. “She might be a child in your eyes, but I’m telling you that she’s better than me. She’s currently the best strategist in the empire.”
“Iruca is that good?” Joshua asked.
“Since I’m meeting my father for the first time in over a decade, I’m disappointed to put our dramatic reunion to an end like this, but duty calls. We’ll have another chance, won’t we?” Iruca stuck out her tongue, but she wasn’t able to hide her sadness. “Don’t leave before I come back.”
Joshua patted his daughter’s head. “I’m more worried about you.”
“Hehe, you really don’t have to worry about me. I’ll come back!”
“Let’s head back to the council chamber and wrap up this conversation,” Joshua said.
* * *
After putting Anna in medical care, Cain left for western Avalon right away, and Iruca headed to the knights’ quarters to check on the knights. When Joshua finished sending them off, he came back to the council chamber, followed by Iceline and Icarus. Now it was time for him to have an honest conversation with his family members.
Sadly, Joshua wasn’t able to.
The head butler had been waiting for him.
“Your Majesty, the guest from the Palace annex is requesting an audience with you,” the butler informed him with a bow.
Joshua could think of only one guest staying in the annex.
“Tell the guest to come in,” Joshua answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The door opened to admit a person wearing a robe—Lilith Aphrodite, the only guest who was allowed, by imperial order, to wear her robe around the Palace.
“Greetings to His Majesty of the Avalon Empire.” Lilith bowed.
“Let’s omit the formalities. What happened?”
“I felt it necessary to tell you the information I received.”
Lilith glanced at both sides of Joshua. The two queen consorts were staying close to the throne; they seemed worried that Joshua would run off.
“Information?” Joshua repeated.
“The personnel in the Hubalt Empire are preparing to send a reply that they’ll accept the Martial God’s proposal for an international tournament to promote peace.”
“So one of the Four Paladins is also going to come?”
Lilith nodded. “Yes, I heard that all four of them are going to come to the Avalon Empire.”
Joshua’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected such a result. Although he had been the one who asked for at least one of the Four Paladins to come, he never thought all four of them would come.
“Are you going to be okay?” Lilith asked.
“…Of course. We now have an ace in the hole.”
“Pardon…?”
“Anyhow, how are you getting all this information?” Joshua tilted his head.
“That’s…” After hesitating for a moment, Lilith let out a sigh. “I might have become a fugitive, but many of the Moon Gate members still trust me enough to follow me.”
“They’re dear to you.”
Lilith flinched. Just thinking about them made her heart ache.
“That’s why I want to repay them for their sacrifice, no matter what it takes,” she answered.
“It’ll happen. I’ll do my best to help you,” Joshua said.
Icarus furtively poked Joshua’s waist with her eyes narrowed into slits, but nevertheless, she said, “I’ll aid you as much as I can too.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Lilith bowed to Icarus with a faint smile on her face.
“Hubalt is currently the strongest country on the continent and accepted my proposal, so most of the other countries will participate in the tournament,” Joshua assumed.
“They have too much to lose by not participating in the tournament, so definitely.” Icarus nodded.
“Then when will the first delegation arrive, Icarus?”
“Mmmm…” Icarus pondered for a moment. “The Swallow Empire and Terra Kingdom are geographically the closest countries to the Avalon Empire; even if they start preparing now, it’ll take at least two weeks, including the time they need to select their delegations.”
“Two weeks will be enough,” Joshua said, rising from his seat.
“Wait a minute. What are you trying to do now?”
“I can’t act pathetic in front of foreign delegates, much less stay in the Palace and relax when my children are doing all the hard work.”
The three women stared at him, bewildered.
“A-Are you saying…?”
“Something’s bugging me, so I’m going to use this time to head to western Avalon.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel