Chapter 203:
“Cadel, are you going to leave me like this? Are you going to sell me out to that smelly stranger? No! This can’t be happening!”
“Don’t stick to Commander, fairy. Stop whining and get lost.”
Lydon clung to Cadel’s back like a turtle shell, whining incessantly. Van tugged at his wings, trying to pull him away, but to no avail.
“A smelly stranger, Sir Lydon. I know of no other man as clean and fragrant as I am. Besides, I thought we were old friends.”
“Don’t provoke him, just stay quiet.”
“Sir Lumen, take a whiff. Don’t I smell good?”
“If you get any closer, I can make you look like a real dead person.”
Cadel felt a hot weight pressing down on his body and looked back at his subordinates, who were already showing signs of discord. A deeper worry appeared on his face than anyone else here.
‘It’s not like things are getting more serious for no reason.’
After a long meeting, they came to one conclusion. To use Lydon’s illusions to get the Twilight Knight Order to see Garuel’s body, and to organize a mass burial for him.
The goal was to make it public that the person named ‘Garuel Monzasi’ was completely dead to the world.
‘As long as Garuel plays his part, we’ll be fine.’
The illusion could not perfectly recreate the feel or weight. To avoid arousing suspicion, Garuel would have to pose as the corpse himself. Even if he didn’t end up in the coffin himself, he’d still need to lend a sense of reality to Lydon’s illusion in the moments leading up to it.
Therefore, Lydon would work with Garuel for a while and take on the role of organizing his funeral until the end. Cadel was worried that this might be too much for him, as he would be fooling a lot of people, but Lydon had once claimed that he could cast a spell on the entire Empire, so Cadel decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“No! I will not be separated from Cadel!”
In fact, the person in question was fighting like he was going to die because he didn’t want to do it. Cadel sighed and stroked Lydon’s head to comfort him.
“If you just take care of this matter, this won’t happen again. Please do me a favor, Lydon. You know it’s important, right?”
“If it’s that important, why can’t Cadel go with me?”
“There is a high probability that I will be dispatched to the outer seals’ area right away. I’d like to stay for the day of the funeral, but…… I don’t know if that’s possible.”
Cadel was equally uneasy about leaving Lydon unattended. As much as he would have liked to be right beside him, directly managing his behavior, he was beholden to the Empire. When there was an emergency in seal management, it was difficult for a commander, not a simple member, to move around freely without the Emperor’s permission. Especially since he was a ‘tested’ knight, not a favored one.
He might be able to attend Garuel’s funeral if asked, but even if the Emperor granted him permission, he would have to leave immediately to help if the outer seal was breached.
“I’m sorry to ask too much of you, but I’m gonna give you this, and when you’re done, come find me. Do you understand?”
Cadel pulled away from Lydon’s embrace and slipped the ‘Ring of Fate’ onto his index finger. Lydon puckered his lips at the crisp red thread.
“Put it on my ring finger.”
“Huh?”
“On the ring finger. Quickly.”
No matter which finger, the thread just needed to be visible. Even though he had doubts, Cadel obediently put the ring on Lydon’s ring finger.
Lydon, who had finally calmed down, jerked his chin over Cadel’s head and let out an irritated sigh.
“Garuel, you suck. Just die.”
A glare of open hostility was directed at him, but Garuel merely shrugged, his expression completely unaffected. It was as if he could shrug off such slander since he was already dead.
However, since Cadel could not allow the situation to escalate to this point only to die, he gave Garuel a warning.
“This plan cannot even be implemented without Lydon. Don’t get upset and be as cooperative as possible. Unless you want to film a myth about resurrection at the funeral.”
“Man, it’s hard to get a fresh start.”
“I agree.”
Cadel didn’t realize how hard it would be to recruit Garuel into his faction. He never thought of it as a game, but the recruitment difficulty was almost as high as Lumen.
‘……Not quite that much.’
In terms of emotional distress, it seemed like Lumen had made a bigger impact. Cadel turned his head from Lumen, who raised an eyebrow as if to ask why and addressed everyone.
“I apologize for making things so difficult for you. But with Sir Garuel in our ranks, our Knight Order will be able to fight a safer battle than ever before. It’s the commander’s greed for that, so please bear with me even if it’s uncomfortable.”
If they could get through this, everyone’s survival rate would increase significantly for the rest of the story. For that alone, the plan was worth it.
* * *
“……Sir Modeleine.”
As soon as Modeleine heard the fairy’s Phantasm Speech that he had found Garuel, he stopped searching and returned to the barracks.
That’s right. There is no way Commander would have died so easily. He must have gotten lost somewhere and was resting when he ran out of energy. He must have gotten lost somewhere and was just resting, but he didn’t even bother to send a signal. He is truly a commander who is always self-indulgent.
With that thought, Modeleine returned, his steps teasingly light despite his fatigue.
“By the time we found him, he was already dead.”
Cadel’s cautious voice and the sighs of his subordinates who followed him. Modeleine couldn’t hear it at all. It seemed like Garuel and him were the only ones left in this quiet space where no sound could be heard.
Modeleine stumbled into the barracks. Lying directly on the clean cloth, Garuel’s eyes were closed, unmoving. It was the first time Mordlen had seen him without his usual eye patch in a long time.
As he approached Garuel, his legs naturally went limp. He knelt down and looked over Garuel’s body.
“There was a fatal wound near the heart. It seems that his body was not in a position to use healing techniques. So—”
“Could you please make room for me?”
Cadel bit his lip and stared at Modeleine’s crouched back. Turning into a small fairy, Lydon hid beneath Cadel’s cloak and was in the process of unleashing his illusion. As Cadel hesitated, Lydon whispered to him that he could leave now that Lydon had already cast a strong one.
It was not for that reason that he hesitated, but Cadel left the barracks quietly. Modeleine’s voice, stifled as if he were holding back tears, seemed to echo in his ears.
Modeleine, the only one left in the barracks, breathed slowly. His brow furrowed, he exhaled heavily, his eyes closing and opening slowly.
“You always told me to take the position of commander. And now you’re giving it away anyway.”
The pale, bloodless face, the chest that never rose or fell, the cold skin. It came over Modeleine like a terrible nightmare. He clasped his trembling hands over his eyes.
“I told you I didn’t want the position, that I didn’t need it, that you, Garuel Monzasi, were the only one who deserved the commander position”
He tried to hold back his tears, but his efforts were futile. A steady stream of tears fell down his bowed head. The thick teardrops made a transparent path down Garuel’s arm, which had hardened into the hardness of wood.
“How can you do this……? Commander, Commander…….”
A deep sob escaped his twisted lips. Modeleine shook his head and clamped his mouth shut. Outside, there would be his men and the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. He must not show weakness. He must not fall.
He couldn’t grieve to his heart’s content. He was just frustrated. He wasn’t good enough to be a commander. He wasn’t good enough to lead anyone. His commander would always be Garuel Monzasi, the noble holy knight who had first shown him the light of the world. There was no other.
“Please come back…….”
The watery voice broke pitifully. It was not an unreachable plea. For Garuel had heard him, all of it, from beginning to end.
Hidden within Lydon’s illusion, Garuel watched the entirety of Modeleine’s agony. His expression was impassive at first, but his eyes were melancholy, unsteady, and wistful.
He had been thinking about handing over the reins to Modeleine for a long time, but he never imagined it would be this way. No, he had imagined something similar. He just didn’t think he’d be standing next to a corpse and watching his favorite subordinate cry.
Garuel was equally distressed, but this was his punishment, and he could, and should, bear it. But not Modeleine. He was suffering something he shouldn’t have to. It was all because he had a foolish commander.
‘……Sorry.’
Modeleine had been with him the longest, and was his most trusted ally, and Garuel knew that if Modeleine could get through this and grow, he could hand over his precious Knight Order without worry.
“Commander Garuel…….”
So now he had to let them go. It was a farewell to the Twilight Knight Order, whom he loved for a long time, the ones he didn’t deserve to love.
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