Chapter 87: Nobles, Princes, Kings, and Empires (3)

Nobles, Princes, Kings, and Empires (3)

The unannounced arrival of an army threw the capital into pandemonium. Its presence threatened the citizenry, for they had always just seen the armies of the kingdom from afar as they marched along the royal road. The army that now waited so near the capital had kicked up dust and camped down in the dirt, and although the soldiers must surely be tired, it seemed as if they possessed a terrible motivation.

Such a determination naturally scared the citizens, for they were used to the city’s soldiers, who did not look so purposeful.

A good few concerned citizens asked a capital guard about the army’s identity, and he informed them that they were the northern lords and their soldiers. The tense atmosphere remained, even as this news became public.

“But why haven’t they entered the city yet?”

“This is all too much for your bad heart, is it?”

The citizens worriedly gossiped as they stared at the open city gates.

One of the merchants who lived in the capital had his own speculations on the matter.

“I’ll let you know, right now, the tale of the royal family and their abandonment of the north in this recent war, even if the royals are trying to keep it secret. So maybe this is like a protest, them coming here to the capital in force.”

“Hah, this man! He eats all his expensive meals and talks bullshit all day,” one citizen mocked as he heard the merchant’s story, and those around him laughed.

“It was only yesterday that His Highness the Second Prince arrived from the northern war. What you say makes no sense, peddler! So watch your mouth before someone stitches it shut with their fist.”

“No, it’s not like that! Just listen to me, when the Winter Castle collapsed, and the north became naught but empty fields, the royal family-Huh!?”

The merchant had been pressing his point with some frustration, and suddenly his face hardened as the capital guards appeared and started to surround him.

“You have been found guilty of treasonous talk, harming the kingdom with your lies and fabrications. Your deeds must be punished.”

“No! No, it’s not like that! Really, I was wrong, I was jus-“

The merchant pleaded and apologized ceaselessly, but the guards were relentless and gave his pleas no heed. They dragged him into a courtyard and strung him up, letting the rope take his life as they let go of him.

Scenes like these occurred all over the capital as panic and rumors spread like wildfire.

“The citizens of the capital are quite anxious. The northern army stationed outside the walls are having an unimagined effect on the social fabric. Our soldiers of the capital are apprehending and executing any dissidents, which only increases the panic.”

After hearing Suha’s report, the second prince, Maximilian, jumped from his seat.

“I have to go to His Majesty,” Maximilian said as he headed to that part of the palace. As the second prince left his palace and headed to his father’s quarters, he noted that the royal palace’s atmosphere was cluttered and a tad bit chaotic. The effect of the army’s presence on the fields outside the capital had spread into the palace as well. Maximilian quickened his stride.

After walking for quite some time, he spotted a familiar middle-aged gentleman in the distance.

“Marquis of Bielefeld!”

The marquis, who recognized the prince, bowed his head in greeting.

“Your Highness.”

“I think we both seem to have found our way to His Majesty in this tumult,” Maximilian told the marquis, who looked quite worried about unfolding events.

“I’ll inform His Majesty of the present situation and spare you some trouble, marquis.”

“Then, this old man will believe in Your Highness, and be on his way.”

Maximilian gave another glimpse at the marquis, who looked pessimistic about the entire affair, and then headed into the king’s offices.

“Tell him.”

At his words, the palace knight guarding the door carefully knocked upon it, announcing that the second prince had arrived.

“I heard you, knight,” came a gruff voice from inside

“Please enter, Your Highness.”

Maximilian saw his father as the palace knight opened the door. His face seemed wracked by worry. Such emotions lingered only for a while when he saw the second prince. His expression became bright, for the son that he loved had visited him.

“Sire…”

“Come in, son. You don’t have to be so rigid in front of your own father.”

Maximilian looked at his father, who held his hands on his knees.

“Have you eaten? I know it’s not yet time for dinner, so let’s eat together, I’m heading to the hall as well.”

As the king’s soft voice continued to speak, Maximilian’s expression hardened.

“Father.”

“Okay then, tell me.”

“Your Majesty, let’s allow my brother Adrian and the northern lords into the city.”

The king’s face had been warm and welcoming like a spring breeze. It froze in an instant.

“They came here uninvited, so why must they be allowed to enter my city?”

Maximilian sighed, and his voice was as frigid as his father’s face.

“If you hail them as a victorious army, they will enter the capital with glad hearts, and would be welcomed by the populace.”

“Unusual, unusual! We break with tradition.” The king frowned before continuing. “Did they fight alone? No! Our royal forces were there, and the central lords as well. You can’t give just them a victory ceremony.”

Maximilian sighed inwardly once more. He knew that the only option was forced, and he figured that his father probably knew so as well.

Nevertheless, the king continued to furnish reasons why he was unable to meet the first prince’s demands.

“Your Majesty, if you do not greet these men in grandeur and give them their triumph, who else will be inspired to give their lives for our kingdom?”

“Hah! Being born as a noble in my kingdom means that they are born with an obligation to protect my territory and their country. Anyone would have done as these northerners did, if they were in their situation.”

Maximilian would have ardently believed such words in the past, for then he had believed it only natural for all those of noble blood to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. He had known that there were corrupt nobles but had thought them to be a scant few. He believed that most of the kingdom’s lords were real nobles who knew of honor and devotion.

It was not so.

Only after he had left the capital had the reality of things bared itself to him. He saw the depravity of the lords who abandoned Winter Castle, letting it fall due to the encouragement of imperial agents. He had seen with his own eyes how the lords of the central region had abandoned the line of defense and fled.

There were far more piglike nobles, blinded by greed than true, honorable, and righteous nobles.

Maximilian knew that the kingdom was rotten to its core, and only his father, the king, seemed unaware of this fact.

The prince gave a bitter smile. His father had not changed at all, and Maximilian knew that if he had not seen for himself the kingdom’s state outside of the palace, he would have sympathized with his father’s sentiments.

Now though, he was faced with an unbearable, uncomfortable feeling in his heart.

“If the northern lords had supported Winter Castle without hesitation, these great hardships would never have occurred. Their wounds were self-inflicted, through all their foolish demands, ignoring reality and paying tribute to the empire. “

Maximilian watched the despondent features of the king and felt like cursing. He had to turn his head away; he could no longer bear the sight of this father. All the while, the king continued to criticize the behavior of the northerners.

“Since their ancient forefathers had no pretense, being plain men, they would never have made such demands as these lords do now. They are deceivers, these lords, wicked men, and I have known of their darkness and vanity well before now.”

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At some point in the king’s ramblings, the blame naturally fell on the first prince.

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“Because of his vanity, the citizens of my capital are trembling in fear, but these northern soldiers worry little about the hardships they inflict. And of course, because of his petty vanity, all the soldiers of the north have come here and yet are unable to sleep in warm beds. But I don’t even concern myself with such things.”

“Sire!” Maximilian shouted, no longer able to bear hearing the king’s ramblings. “Now is not the time to curse their nobles, no, it is time to realize the true state of circumstances and embrace them, to mollify the hearts of these people whose territories have been devastated by war.”

Certainly, the king’s face hardened when his second son, who had always agreed with his father’s opinions, expressed his disapproval.

“Father, they don’t ask for great boons or treasure, nor do they ask for anything else. They just want a victory ceremony. Theirs is not a difficult request, and we do no stand to lose anything great by it. It is just a triumph.”

Maximilian could not stop himself, now that he had begun pouring out his heart.

“It is only a half day’s march along the highway of the capital.”

It broke Maximilian’s heart as a son to see his father’s face like that, but someone had to step up and convince the king. Adrian had clearly stated that if his army were not received as a victorious force of the kingdom, he would leave things as they were and march back north. Maximilian knew that one could not take lightly the actions of a prince who had so brutally killed twelve lords of the north.

If things went too far, the north and the royal family might not get a chance to fix the bad blood and mistrust that had sprouted from the war.

“Your Majesty, a single command is all that’s needed. I will open the gates and greet them, just a word from you, and I will do everything after that word.”

Maximilian asked again and again.

“You are…” A strange emotion appeared on the king’s face as he looked at his son.

“Your Majesty, please, mend their bleeding hearts with just a single word.”

The king looked silently at Maximilian for a while and then turned around.

“Go there.”

“Sire?”

“I have granted your request.”

The king had finally allowed the victory ceremony. Still, it had not been the request from the northerners that the king had heeded, but rather the pleas from the second son that he so cherished.

Maximilian understood the portents of his father’s choice and motivations all too well, and he was very concerned by what had occurred.

The first prince, who had left the capital as if exiled, was no longer just a political gimmick or an immature son who could be held prisoner by his father at a word. Adrian was a war hero who had ended the threat that had ravaged the north and was publicly supported by the seventeen lords who had their holdings north of the Rhinethes River.

His existence was no longer inconsequential enough for the king to treat him carelessly and without the dignity due to being a prince.

Maximilian only hoped that his father fully realized this. His brother wouldn’t be as patient as before.

“They shall be thrilled by Your Majesty’s benevolent thoughtfulness,” Maximilian said as he gave mouth-praise, concealing the complicated nature of events from his face. Maximilian left the king’s offices and immediately tracked down an officer of the Royal Guard.

“Prepare everything for the victory ceremony.”

The faces of the palace knights and the guard captain, who had been in grim moods, visibly brightened upon the command.

* * *

It was not so difficult to turn the panic of the crowd into an atmosphere of jubilation.

The citizens were informed of the great ordeal that the north had overcome, and this news was enough to ease their spirits.

They had locked their doors and barred their windows, but now all such portals were thrown open, and the populace ran out to get a glimpse of the victorious warriors.

They stared with great anticipation at the gates of the capital, but they did not give voice to the cheer that existed in their throats. That was because the first soldiers to appear were the defenders of the capital. The cavalry of the capital dressed neatly, rode out before the northern army.

“Aaagh! Booo!”

“Aaah! Aaaghh!”

The citizens lined up along the central boulevard screamed as the soldiers of their own city passed, while the Royal Guard cursed and shouted as they struggled to control the crowd.

The northern army began to pass through the gates. Seventeen banners of the seventeen lords were held, yet one of these banners had sent the onlookers into a panic, causing them to scream in terror.

It was not a flag: Where one would expect the family’s embroidered symbol, there was piked a huge head.

It was a great dark green head, with a long tongue lolling from it.

Many of the citizens fainted as they looked into those red eyes, so wide open even after death had come to them.

The capital’s highway quickly became a mess as the guards struggled, making every effort to calm the crowds.

Maximilian watched the tumult from afar and brought his hand to his forehead.

“I was told that they would keep that thing in Winter Castle.”

The head that the Black Lancers paraded with as if it was but a banner was indeed the head of the Warlord. The head of the king of the orcs who had turned the north into a field of bones. It was natural for the citizens of the capital to panic, for they had never seen a single monster in their lives.

Maximilian could only sigh, for he had couldn’t figure out why the Northmen had not chosen a parade full of joyous cheer, with rose petals raining down on their heads. Instead, they preferred to march down a causeway filled with terrified screams.

He didn’t worry much, though, because by now, he knew how difficult it was to understand his brother’s thoughts. As always, he guessed that it would not be long before he understood what it all meant.

His belief only lasted for a while.

As his brother finally passed through all the crowds to reach the gates of the royal palace, he tilted the head of the Warlord and held it near to the nobles who had come out to greet him.

“Aahah, get it away from me!”

“Woah now, that’s dirty!”

When Adrian saw the nobles falling to their asses or running to hide behind walls, he smirked.

Upon seeing that, Maximilian pondered some more about his brother’s actions. At first, he had thought them to have some deeper symbolic meaning, but now he wondered whether Adrian simply wanted to pick on the nobles and show off his spoils of battle.

‘Hooof weeeshik, hooof weeeshik.’

The pole was continually swung around, and the Warlord’s head swiveled upon it until some of the nobles fainted.

“Brother,” Maximilian faintly said as he stepped forward, his face trembling.

Only

“Maximilian.”

“You must have had a hard journey, coming all this way.”

“I did tell you, I wouldn’t be away for long.”

Maximilian could not help but laugh as he heard his brother’s same old arrogant and confident tone.

“You are indeed back, brother.”

The first prince smiled at his brother’s hospitality and raised his head, studying the palace.

Above those great outer walls, in a high spire, there sat a king with a stern face.

Though the day was hazy, the first prince somehow saw that cold gaze and smiled.

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