Side Story Chapter 157
-Terbion was killed by a human?
The humans weren’t the only ones who were surprised by Terbion’s death. Even the demons obsessing over Longin turned to look.
-He’s an embarrassment to us all.
-Would someone go and take care of those humans already? They might cause a bigger problem.
-Aere, drop the act. I can see what you’re doing.
-Hehe. Was I that obvious?
-You’ve been unable to take your eyes off the spear, so it’s impossible not to see...
Even though the ten demons had become nine now, they were only mildly curious. Despite the loss of their comrade, the demons remained nonchalant.
“Your Highness...?” Valmont cautiously approached Kireua but flinched in surprise. There was nothing but darkness in Kireua’s eyes. His dark eyes—no, it was safe to say that they were demonic eyes—triggered humans’ primordial fears.
‘Am I looking at Prince Kireua...?’
Valmont blinked and Kireua’s eyes were back to their original state.
“Sir Valmont,” Kireua said.
“Huh? Uh, yes, Your Highness.”
“Our soldiers’ morale is very high right now, so let’s use this opportunity to open the gates.”
“Ah, of course, thanks to you... Excuse me? Open the gates?”
Valmont couldn’t believe his ears. Everyone knew that their fortifications were giving them an advantage. In addition, the entirety of Arcadia would turn into a battlefield if they opened the gates, putting ordinary citizens at risk.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry to tell you this, but no matter how good things are going right now, I don’t believe there’s any need to take that risk.” Valmont shook his head.
He was always honest and didn’t hesitate to give his forthright opinion to whomever he was talking to. When it was wrong, Valmont had to say no. Besides, most of the people on the street were children and people who didn’t know how to fight.
“This is the only way to make other kings take action,” Kireua said.
“Other... kings?”
Every person on the continent should know about this battle since it’s between such a large group of undead and humans, but whoever steps in first is going to shed the most blood. If other countries continue to remain spectators, Avalon will be the one who receives the most damage.”
“A-Although I understand what you’re talking about, I think that we won’t even need to consider that choice if we take care of all the undead right now. It’ll increase our nation’s prestige to new heights,” Valmont refuted, trying to calm Kireua down.
“The undead here aren’t the end.”
“...Pardon?”
“Since Evil Sins' powers have appeared in our lands, all of the undead on the continent will come swarming to Avalon, and we won’t be enough to deal with all of them.”
Valmont understood what Kireua meant but was still hesitant to carry out Kireua’s order. The possibility of a massacre taking place in the center of Arcadia was too much for him.
“Your Highness, they will have to take action now unless they’re crazy. The next target could be them, so how could they afford to remain idle?” Valmont asked, attempting to persuade Kireua again.
“You still don’t understand, do you, Sir Valmont? Humans aren’t altruistic creatures. As a matter of fact, they’re the most selfish creatures in the world.”
“Depends on people...”
“You must have seen it during the Hubalt Empire’s recent invasion.”
Valmont went silent. He had to admit it. After becoming the strongest country on the continent, Hubalt had invaded Avalon without any justification, and Avalon’s foreign guests had insisted on remaining spectators that day. The invasion hadn’t been much of a threat to their own countries at the time, and they must have concluded that helping Avalon wasn’t beneficial. The same situation was playing out now.
“Some of the delegations haven’t returned to their countries yet and remain in Arcadia. If they don’t feel the danger, then we should make them.” Kireua glanced at Arcadia.
Goosebumps ran down Valmont’s arms. Although everything that Kireua said held merit, it was still a horrifyingly cold conclusion. Valmont understood the necessity, but his heart didn’t agree. While Kireua sounded rational, it was somewhat unreasonable.
“Open the gates, Sir Valmont,” Kireua continued.
“Your Highness...”
“This is an order, not a request.”
Valmont bit his lip, wracked by indecision. He was unexpectedly saved by Selim, the other prince of Avalon.
“Stop. That’s enough,” Selim interrupted with a frown.
“Stay out of this.”
“Why did you change all of a sudden? Are you really the Kireua that I know?”
“You should also remember that a ruler must look at the forest, not a tree. Nothing comes for free in politics,” Kireua snapped.
“...It looks like I was wrong about you.” Selim stabbed his bloody spear into the ground. “I really was going to hand over the throne to you because I thought you would make a better ruler than me.” He heaved a sigh. He meant what he said; Selim was hardwired to be a martial artist and didn’t like—in fact, hated—the mind games in politics. Swinging his spear and striving to reach the next level was far more fulfilling and enjoyable for Selim.
“How funny. The Kireua Sanders that you’ve seen until now was a coward who fled to another country due to his incompetence, wasn’t he?” Kireua scoffed.
“Why... would you say such a thing...?”
“I’m telling you not to act condescending in front of me, Selim Sanders.”
Selim’s lips trembled.
“Sir Valmont, what are you doing? Are you going to defy orders?”
“I said, enough. You talk as if you were His Majesty.”
“His Majesty is currently away right now, so isn’t it only right for the Prince to stand in his place?”
“By that logic, I believe that I have the same rights. Sir Valmont, don’t open the gate. That’s an order.”
An intense staredown started between Kireua and Selim.
“U-Umm...” Valmont turned to look at Tremblin pleadingly, but Tremblin quietly shook his head. The duke was making it clear at the outset that there was nothing he could do right now. The Emperor of Avalon had declared that he was going to bequeath the throne to one of the two princes, so a third party couldn’t rashly intervene lest they weaken the power of the Imperial Family.
“I have no intention of letting Avalon suffer the damages of this alone. If no one is willing to do it, I’ll open the gates myself.” Kireua strode toward the castle gate in spite of the undead crawling around the castle gate like an army of ants.
However, Kireua was stopped shortly after because he could feel murderous energy from behind him.
“...Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Selim. You won’t be able to deal with the consequences.”
“Right back at you.”
Kireua slowly turned, his sword already drawn, and he released a tempest of his aura.
“This is for the better, really. We can use this opportunity to finish our fight. The winner is going to be the next emperor, yes?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
The two princes’ energies ferociously clashed in the center of the battlefield.
“W-We should stop this!” Valmont urged Tremblin.
“Mmm....” Tremblin grunted.
Slap! Slap!
Kireua and Selim’s heads snapped to the side. They froze, their eyes wide.
“What are you two doing?”
“Yo-Your Majesty Iceline...!” Valmont heaved a sigh of relief. He felt a thick trace of mana nearby that must have been created by Iceline’s teleportation.
“What a disgrace. If anyone saw you two right now, they would think the war is over,” Iceline scolded the two Princes, her eyes cold.
Selim lowered his head guiltily, but Kireua was still expressionless.
“Both of you shall follow Duke Tremblin’s orders during this war since experience is something that can always be relied upon,” Iceline firmly stated. “Duke Tremblin, can I ask you to take care of them?”
“All you need to do is order me, Your Majesty.” Tremblin smiled gently.
Although Iceline nodded confidently, her lips were trembling faintly. What she’d caught of the princes’ conversation left her in shock.
‘I can’t believe Kireua had such a side...’ Iceline thought. This kind of news should be shared with the other Queen Consorts. Since Icarus was proficient in politics and management, she could assess the situation more objectively than the others. Of course, Iceline could never tolerate risking Avalon’s citizens in order to involve other countries in the war, so the whole plan sounded preposterous to her.
‘I’m sure that His Majesty wouldn’t make such a decision either.’
Iceline let out a sigh and looked back and forth between the two Princes. “Why are you two not answering me? Does a Queen Consort’s order mean nothing to you?”
“N-No, Your Majesty.” Selim took his spear and quickly went over to Tremblin.
“Why haven’t I heard your answer, Prince Kireua?”
“...Yes, Your Majesty,” Kireua quietly responded, and then turned away from the gates and toward the demons. “Thanks to His Majesty’s undead legion, the tide of the battle has turned in our favor again, so I’m trying to use this opportunity to exterminate the rest of the demons. Can I ask for your permission on this?”
“Well...” Iceline trailed off. She had witnessed Kiruea’s skill from the sky, but she was still concerned. She had witnessed the entire fight, she now knew how terrifying these demons were, but she didn’t want Kireua to lose face by instantly turning him down.
“Kireua, I hope you won’t worry too much about...” Iceline suddenly stopped talking, her lips quivering with new anxiety.
“Your Majesty...?” Tremblin noticed her behavior first and tilted his head in confusion.
Iceline blankly opened her mouth.
“...Open.”
“...What?” The group looked at her, shocked.
“Tell the soldiers to open the gates right now, Sir Valmont. This is an order.”
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