Side Story Chapter 204
After a short reunion with his family, Kireua packed up his bags.
The first person to come see Kireua was Cain.
“Your Highness!”
Kireua paused.
“I heard that you’re going to the Black Monster Forest,” Cain said.
“You know, maybe it’s Iruca who wants the throne most, not me or Selim.”
“Huh?”
“If both of us die, she’s the only heir to the throne.”
Cain chuckled. It was obvious that Kireua was joking—anyone who knew anything about the lives of the emperor’s children would never even consider a civil war or a cutthroat struggle over the throne. The Queen Consorts had not taught them to be such people.
“I was actually a little worried,” Cain blurted.
“What?”
“As people grow up, they gain insight. Sometimes it changes them. They might get greedy after seeing new things or become intoxicated by the sweet allure of power.”
“...Wait, I was right? Iruca really...?” Kireua trailed off in disbelief.
Cain shrugged. “No one knows the future. Considering Princess Iruca’s personality... she might say, ‘If I can’t find a guy worth marrying, I’ll be the emperor myself!’”
Kireua giggled. “She sure would.”
It was clear that Cain brought the topic up to help Kireua loosen up before his mission.
“Sir Cain.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“How will Avalon change after this war?”
Cain thought for a moment. The Emperor of Avalon had already made it clear that he wasn’t going to return to the throne. Avalon without Joshua Sanders...
‘...Will anything actually change?’ Cain tilted his head.
The Emperor of Avalon had been away from the Palace for a long time already with his body trapped in the far northern reaches of Avalon.
‘No matter how hard I think about it, I don’t think anything will change.’
Cain nodded to himself and concluded that the key was the results of the war, not the emperor.
“The results of this war will have great effects on this country,” Cain stated.
“...Well, the fate of a defeated country is obvious. They either submit or their people are enslaved for the rest of their lives.”
“Yes, especially the Imperial Family. You and the Queen Consorts will never know another day of peace.”
Kireua’s expression darkened. He could already picture that future in vivid detail. Cain, however, felt it important to reemphasize the weight of Kireua’s task.
“Weren’t you here to help me loosen up?” Kireua stiffly asked.
“I am.”
“You’re just making me more nervous. I’m already worried because I’ve seen Bel’s power in person—”
“We’re going to win this war no matter what,” Cain interjected with a smile. “His Majesty won’t be able to retire until we win.”
Kireua’s eyes widened.
Yes—no matter how strong the Battle God was, the Martial God was with Avalon, so even the Battle God’s grandfather wasn’t that scary.
“So all I have to do is focus on my job,” Kireua said. His face relaxed; it was obvious that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Princess Iruca has a brilliant mind, so there must be a good reason why she put you in charge of breaking through the Black Monster Forest,” Cain said.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re a Sanders, and all Sanders know that the power you inherited used to be one of the Seven Evil Sins that His Majesty had.”
Kireua’s expression hardened again.
“His Majesty told me some time ago that some of the Evil Sins can dominate the unintelligent monsters. He also said that the power of Greed harbors an especially large number of secrets and that it would be fun to discover them one by one.”
“But Greed is...”
“It’s still not responding?”
Kireua nodded bitterly. He thought that Greed would have a way to repel the monsters, having seen the monsters that came all the way to Arcadia from their home in the frosty mountain in the north. At first, Kireua had thought that they’d been displaced by the giant avalanche, but the horde of monsters would have devastated the cities in the north if it were a natural phenomenon.
“Me and Princess Iruca heard later that His Majesty himself had lured those monsters using the power of Lust,” Cain explained.
“...To use all those monsters in a battle is quite a feat...”
“You can do it too, Your Highness.”
Kireua blinked at Cain and then his eyes widened as he understood what Cain was trying to say.
“Now you’re seeing it.”
“Wait...”
“Yes, Princess Iruca is hoping that you could do the same thing His Majesty did.” Cain smiled. “She believes that you’re worthy to claim the throne if you can recreate the Martial God’s accomplishments.”
Kireua was wondering why he hadn’t realized it earlier. His mission wasn’t just about ambushing the enemy; should Kireua manage to control the monsters, it would go a long way toward compensating for Avalon’s disadvantage in numbers.
“...Iruca’s definitely trying to get me killed,” Kireua complained, but his expression was bright. Knowing he had someone’s trust and that he had a guide by his side made Kireua feel light-hearted.
Cain smiled and nodded. “Shall we get going? I’ll be with you, Your Highness.”
* * *
Selim had left the Palace before Kireua and was passing through the gates.
“Your Highness.”
Selim turned and found that Duke Tremblin was watching him from the gates.
“Are you leaving on your own?”
“...No, I’m going to notify the Black Knights and ask for their help.”
Tremblin didn’t seem surprised.
“The Black Knights number just over a hundred, but you’re going up against a grand army of tens of thousands of soldiers and knights at least. It seems like a flea biting an elephant, don’t you think?”
“The others are taking a difficult path too,” Selim answered.
Tremblin silently smiled because he knew better than anyone that Selim was the more warm-hearted of the two princes despite his icy appearance. Selim was trying to leave with only the minimum necessary number of people to avoid spreading Avalon’s forces too thin. The troops were already busy guarding Arcadia as well as preparing to traverse to the Black Monster Forest.
“It’s said that there is a thin line between courage and reckless bravado. I can’t send you on such a dangerous mission only with the Black Knights.”
Selim nodded. “I don’t want to worry you when you’ve placed your trust in me.”
“Oh?” Tremblin's eyes widened at Selim’s unexpected remark.
“Iruca divided our forces into two and sent me and Kireua on separate routes on purpose.”
“What... purpose?”
“And Queen Consort Icarus has issued an imperial order to the heads of the noble families. They will be informed that our forces will be divided soon.”
“I assumed so. Why do you mention it...?”
“Iruca won’t tell the nobles to join a specific mission. That will be left to their discretion. She’s sending them to a place where they could die, so I suppose she thinks that is the least she can do as a strategist,” Selim speculated.
Tremblin nodded. A strategist should never be responsible for such a decision under ordinary circumstances because there were all sorts of unexpected variables during war. The strategist’s job was to minimize the effects of those variables and plan every detail from mealtime to bathroom time. However, it was obvious that her plans would be thrown into chaos if the family heads could choose which mission they were going to join.
“No matter what choice they make, all of them know that they could die during the mission, and not even the Imperial Family can force the nobles to give up their lives in the name of loyalty.”
“But there are no nobles without a country, so maintaining the country should supersede everything, even their own family...”
“Were we to order a specific family to march into the Black Monster Forest with all their soldiers, most family heads would consider fleeing the country.”
Tremblin could not deny that statement. Despite what he said about the mindset that a noble should have, he hadn’t considered that people’s morals wouldn’t stay strong during wartime. With that in mind, Selim had analyzed the situation better than anyone else.
“Iruca wants two things: the first is to let the family’s heads choose a mission that they have a higher chance of surviving.”
“...I understand.”
“The second is that she wants to use this war as a means to evaluate us.”
“Her Highness... wants to evaluate you two?” Tremblin repeated out of surprise.
“Yes. His Majesty has already announced that he’s going to step down from the throne and retire; he’ll probably do so after the war against Hubalt.”
“Wait...” Tremblin’s eyes widened.
Selim nodded. “This is the golden opportunity to get on the new emperor’s good side. By aiding the new emperor, the nobles will be able to establish themselves as central figures in Avalon’s politics—if the empire wins this war.”
Tremblin gulped.
“Iruca will observe the nobles to see who they want to be the next emperor. Leaving the choice to the nobles will not only increase their morale but also encourage them to consider their choice carefully. And... she will use all of these things to choose the emperor she will serve as strategist.”
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience