Chapter 162: 161

Chapter 161

Bad Destiny or Destiny (3)

It wasn’t just the court knights, for the soldiers of the Second Central Army had also knelt.

“Well. Oh…” Vincent took in the scene, flabbergasted. His own face showed his internal conflict of whether he should kneel or not. It was so funny that I wanted to leave things as they were, but I decided to clear up the situation before the atmosphere became too heavy.

‘Shhk~’

When I glanced at Nogisa, he stood up once more.

‘Shrrk!’ his knights and the troops of the central army followed suit as they stood.

More than 2,000 people have knelt and stood up at once, so I felt rather dizzied by the sight of it. All this attention was directed at me, so why did Vincent and the soldiers of Winter Castle look so awkward?

As expected, they could still not snap awake.

Laughter burst from my lips, for we were warring against tens of thousands of enemies, and yet a bunch of steel-faced warriors were surprised, their faces silly, because another group of soldiers had knelt before me.

Stupid- they should have figured this out before the soldiers had even knelt. What does it symbolize when the king’s first escort knight and his palace knights depart the palace as a group?

Vincent threw a questioning glance my way, but instead of answering him, I arrogantly raised my chin and took off my gloves. I reached out my hand and showed it to him. It was the royal family ring, the crown prince’s seal – allowed only to the heir.

“Uh?” But there was no ring. I was sure it had been there a while ago.

‘Shhp,’ someone stepped in beside me. It was Adelia, and she placed the ring in my hand.

The ring had a large ruby embedded into it, and it was the crown prince’s seal I had been seeking.

Why was this with Adelia?

“Your Highness gave it to me a few days ago, saying that it was too difficult to grasp a sword with it on,” said Adelia, as if seeing the question in my eyes. Only then did I remember that I had given the oversized ring to her due to it not being suited for battle.

“Hmmgm,” I coughed and stretched my hand out again.

Everyone was looking at my hand. Nogisa only had reproachment in his eyes.

“What kind of devil treats the position and possessions of the crown prince so carelessly?” came the old knight’s rebuke.

“Then make the thing easier fitting,” came my excuse.

The large, glamorous ring was useless except to prove my identity, and it was rather uncomfortable to wear. If I wore something like that, I would barely be able to win a fight. It would be a miracle if it didn’t break my fingers. The old man snapped his lips at my words, but I got in the first word in edgewise.

“The prince who wears such a ring is not one who fights at the fore, but one that leads from the rear while saying quaint things. I don’t need it.”

The old man opened his mouth, but I quickly spoke up once more.

“I’m here to fight. I’m not here to stand around and mouth off.”

Nogisa had opened and closed his mouth several times, yet he now shook his head and sighed.

Vincent approached Nogisa and said, “You have to be prepared. To protect his Highness means that you and your palace knights will be at the center of the battle.”

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I didn’t know whether Vincent was being jocular or comforting, and as I studied his face, I guessed it to be half-half. Up until now, Vincent has treated Nogisa so humbly, yet suddenly, he was wearing the face of a count, not the face of the son of an old man’s departed friend.

And the Count of Winter Castle, or northerners in general, did not like the knights of the southern regions. They believed that they merely played at being knights, swinging their swords from the safety of the rear. They believed that one couldn’t be a man until one truly understood what it meant to wield a sword.

Such thoughts swam over Vincent’s face. He wanted them on the battlefield at once, wanted them to show him whether they were truly worthy. I could see it.

“I’ll provide you with accommodation for now. So, please relax.”

Vincent’s expression and attitude remained polite. Whatever the northerners’ feelings toward the southerners, they could not pretend that they did not appreciate the goodwill and toil of those who had come rushing to their aid.

“If you don’t rest now, I don’t know when you will be able to rest again.”

Of course, Vincent spoke politely, but he couldn’t help but add a slight barb in the end.

* * *

Winter Castle was a large fortress, but it was still a tight squeeze to accommodate nearly 10,000 troops. Once the reinforcements sent by the royal family arrived, all facilities of the fortress were filled to the limit. The barracks were stuffed with troops. And in such a cramped state, the lords of the north were still sending supplies. Among these supplies were those that came from the central region, sent by Count Brandenburg – who kept the Iron Hawk Archers – as well as other central nobles who had fought upon the Rhinethes.

The damage inflicted upon their forces in the last war was so great that they could not send troops in support, but they did send letters that they held the north and their struggles deep within their hearts.

Perhaps because of such unexpected goodwill and friendship, the rangers expelled from their barracks did not complain.

“Northerners never ill-treat their guests.”

They were willing to give their beds to their guests, for doing so played into the pride of the northerners. However, there was a limit to how much cold the northerners would suffer due to their pride.

“Ah, why are you in here!?” I exclaimed, and Ranger Company Commander Jordan gaped at me.

“Your accommodation is so spacious, so what says I to myself and the lads? People have to make concessions, innit?”

I tried to wrap my head around Jordan’s response. Even if it weren’t for this, the presence of the Overlord and concerns about the future would still hurt my head. Now that Jordan and other senior rangers were in my rooms… the pain became a torment.

“You guys, go the count!” I commanded.

“The lads who went to him first have already gotten settled in. And with the count… his nagging is getting worse these days, so it’s better to sleep in a tent than to stay with the count.”

I unintentionally expressed sympathy with Jordan’s words.

“There are other commanders too!” I then exclaimed.

“It’s all the same. They’re all full. So just give up already.”

I was annoyed by Jordan’s disrespectful response, but of course, that didn’t mean that I really wanted them out of my rooms. I still held affection for them. Then I saw Jordan’s face, and I realized something.

“But you are a company commander! You’re no longer a platoon leader. You have your own, separate accommodation, so why are you here?”

Jordan flinched and began trembling.

“My… My room was handed over to the new southern lads right away.”

And yet, somehow, he was still making excuses. I knew Jordan had his reasons.

Eventually, I could no longer endure the bustle, so I left my room.

“Where are you going!” exclaimed Jordan.

“It’s cramped in here. I’m going to get some air.”

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“Please go carefully!”

I could only shake my head at the rangers who saw me off from my own room. As I left my room, a chill ran through my body. Adelia, who appeared like a ghost, handed me a fur coat. I wasn’t that surprised, for I had sensed her existence from the moment she neared me. What surprised me was that she, a Sword Master, still served me like a maid.

“You don’t have to do this anymore.”

She shook her head at me, which meant: “It’s because I like it, so don’t stop me.”

I suddenly became curious.

“Adelia, what do you usually do?”

I couldn’t guess what she did while I was away. Arwen practiced her swordsmanship, and Bernardo Eli followed Arwen. Vincent conducted his duties as count, and everyone else lived their own lives.

Adelia – Adelia was alone.

“I don’t do anything. That way, I can come right away if your Highness calls.”

As expected… her answer was as expected.

I was glad that she was willing to spend the entire day awaiting my call. But at the same time, she must’ve felt cramped, to be vaguely waiting for me to call her, each and every day.

Even I, who had once been a sword, wanted to do something with my time, and I wanted to enjoy it. I could not imagine spending all my time waiting for the moment to serve someone else.

“Rather, during that time…” I was trying to suggest something, but when I saw Adelia staring at me, I paused because I realized that my words to her would be taken as orders, not a suggestion.

“Is there anything you want?” was all I managed to ask Adelia.

“I want to have your Highness to live in comfort, and I want to prevent your Highness from getting hurt, and your Highness must…”

As she kept on talking, her words blurred in my mind. I stared at Adelia long and hard, and then, the answer I had sought finally left her mouth.

“..I want to see my family.”

Her entire family lived in the capital. Her younger brother was brimming with intelligence, so Niccolo had taken him on as a pupil. Adelia could see them any time she wanted.

“If you want to, even now, you can go see your family,” I suggested once more.

“Now, isn’t it more important that I be at your Highness’s side?” Adelia said with a somewhat remorseful face as she bowed her head. In the end, I was the cause of it. Adelia never left me, and I couldn’t leave Winter Castle.

When I asked her if there was anything else, she said that that was all.

I was deep in thought, then said after a while, “Let’s make some time for you.”

I encouraged Adelia to spend her time wisely and live for herself, and I wished that my needs would not be a fetter to her. She replied that she would do so, her face vague.

“I bet you will forget what I told you the moment I turn around, and then you’ll be waiting for me all day.”

She glared at me with a cramped face, and I felt sorry. Adelia was a sore sight.

Eli grunted, saying that I favored her too much, but I had to: While others reached their goals through me, only Adelia was living a life contrary to her own wishes. I still so clearly remember what she had said when she was drunk. She asked me why I was harassing her, why I wouldn’t let her go, because she just wanted to live happily with her family. What importance did the title of Sword Master hold to Adelia? It would be enough for her to live with her aunt and younger brother.

“Adelia, let’s invite your family to the palace when this war is over, and we return to the capital.”

I had to return to the palace regardless, after this war. Such were the conditions the king had set to me, for he was in a hurry to schedule the ceremony. If the king got a bad feeling, he was like that.

I had to return right after my work was done here.

One of the reasons the Nogisa and the palace knights followed me here was to force me to return to the capital if I tried to disappear or sat too long in Winter Castle.

“So let’s eat together and be properly introduced,” I told Adelia.

“Together?”

“Huh. Together.”

“…Yes, your Highness,” came Adelia’s usual mode of answering me. However, she couldn’t hide her excitement.

I sighed and headed outside.

The fortress was preparing for an impending battle. Infantrymen were groaning as they carried heavy cannon shells, and the knights were going around the castle to see if there were any breaches or weak spots in the defenses. The rangers on duty stuck to walls as the wind blew, and they only stared out at the distant mountains.

Suddenly, one of them raised his hand.

“It’s a monster!”

Just as he said this, horns rang out from all across the walls, and the urgent sound of a ringing bell was heard from a spire.

‘Dang~! Dang~! Dang~!’

Troops poured out from inside the fortress, and among them were Jordan and the senior rangers who had been crashing in my room.

I climbed the wall with them, and one after the other, the commanders of Winter Castle appeared on the wall as well.

“Are you here already?” asked Vincent.

“I was just taking a walk,” came my rough reply as I looked out across the snowfield.

Monsters were pouring out endlessly from the mountains.

10,000; 20,000…

“Well.”

And then they reached 30,000.

“They keep coming out!”

The number of monsters pouring from the mountains showed no sign of decreasing. Vincent and his knights all wore hard faces, harder than normal. The entire snowfield was filled with monsters.

And it wasn’t a bunch of beasts mixed in a random jumble – Goblin troops were gathered beneath the green banners, orcs under red banners, and the trolls and ogres under blue and yellow banners, respectively.

They had all gathered under banners, not as a horde of monsters, but as an army. Orcs broke through the massed ranks of monsters and made their way to the front. Among them was an extraordinarily huge orc who raised a huge banner. The red flag spread itself out in the rough wind, and the symbol upon it was revealed: Black flames roaring upon a red background. It was the banner of the Enraged Flame Legion.

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In ancient times, before the end of the war, this was the nightmare that had trampled over countless castles as they roved across the world. And the master of that nightmare legion appeared.

Half of its body was somewhat melted, as if under some great fire, and an eerie red light flowed from its eyes: Urdu, a fierce monster who has survived hellish flames.

The Overlord, mounted atop an abnormally gigantic griffon, looked down upon Winter Castle.

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