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Chapter 256: Bewitchnt (2)
Two weeks ago, at the rear camp of the front line.
“Wh-what did you just say?”
Eulken, who had received orders from Duke Vert, montarily doubted his ears.
“I said to prepare for war against the Demon Realm.”
It was closer to a one-sided notification than an order.
“May I ask what reason you have for issuing such an order?”
“……”
Despite Eulken’s question, the Duke remained silent.
Is it that he doesn’t want to explain? Or is there no need to explain?
Knights who have lived on the battlefield for decades tend to trust and rely more on their comrades and superiors with whom they’ve shed blood, rather than their own families or children.
For Eulken, Duke Vert was exactly that.
Even if he had to abandon his family, he had always followed and respected every decision and order from the Duke, willing to lay down his life for him.
But not this ti.
A war against the Demon Realm?
This was definitely not an idea that would co from the mind of a lord he would follow to the death.
“Did Young Master Aschel suggest this?”
Not wanting to dwell on it, Eulken imdiately pointed out the suspect.
“……”
“I don’t know what kind of conversation you had with the young master, but this is not right, my lord! War against the Demon Realm? This is an unforgivable act! Do you truly intend to turn this continent into a world of chaos?”
This was the first ti.
Since being appointed as a knight at the front line, it was the first ti Eulken opposed the Duke’s order.
Even if the Duke ca up with so sort of explanation, he wouldn’t back down.
Eulken resolved this within himself.
“This is the first ti. The first ti you’ve opposed my order…”
The Duke looked at Eulken with a curious expression.
“Do you think other knights feel the sa way?”
“With all due respect, I am certain they do.”
Eulken clenched his fists and expressed his conviction.
“Let ask you one thing, Eulken.”
The Duke suddenly posed a question.
“Are you a knight who follows ?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then, would you follow even if I did sothing wrong?”
Eulken could not imdiately answer that question.
“Can my previously expressed intentions serve as my answer?”
“So, you an you won’t follow .”
Eulken did not deny it.
“Then go and deliver this ssage.”
“Pardon?”
“Leave here and tell everyone that I am wrong.”
Eulken was montarily stunned, unable to comprehend the words.
“If you truly cannot follow a misguided , then you have no reason to stay here. So leave and imdiately tell everyone that I am wrong.”
“To whom should I say this?”
The Duke paused for a mont.
“To the person you believe is right…”
* * *
“Is that the last order you received from your father?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then why didn’t you leave right away and ended up getting caught?”
“I wanted to observe the situation a bit longer. Even without , there are many knights who would oppose the Duke’s order. So I stayed to see how the person who made this absurd suggestion would sway the hearts of our knights.”
“So, did you see how their minds were changed?”
Eulken couldn’t imdiately respond and bit his lip.
“Bewitchnt…”
The ntion of bewitchnt made naturally furrow my brows.
“I can only say that they were simply bewitched. Young Master Aschel, who appeared with the Duke, t with us one by one and looked into our eyes. That was the end of it. After that, the hearts of the knights changed as if by magic. Thus, preparations for the war against the Demon Realm continued.”
Their thoughts changed just by looking into his eyes?
It was the sa as what happened to the knights who were manipulated by that woman, Haniel.
“The Lea Gorge you know, Young Master Cyan, is not the sa now. Through developnt and reclamation work, all the monsters living in the gorge were driven beyond it.”
They managed to drive all the monsters out of the gorge in such a short ti?
They really go all out.
“Fearing sothing truly disastrous might happen if this continued, I finally decided to leave Velias. So I left the front line and headed for the city gate, but…”
“You got caught on the way?”
Eulken nodded.
“But now that I hear it, sothing seems strange. Didn’t you also look into his eyes? How co you’re completely fine?”
“That I don’t know either. Although I occasionally felt a pain like my head was splitting, my belief that the war against the Demon Realm was wrong did not change.”
Could it be that even the mysterious power of this bewitchnt could not break the knight’s firm conviction?
Indeed, that might be why he was locked alone in a solitary cell, so he couldn’t influence others.
For now, it seed reasonable to see it that way.
“I believe the Duke himself fell victim to Young Master Aschel’s mysterious power.”
“Why do you think so?”
“You know it yourself, don’t you? The Duke is not soone who would ever consider sothing like a conquest or war.”
I neither agreed nor disagreed with Eulken’s statent.
“Young Master Cyan, will you stop the Duke or rather, Young Master Aschel?”
Instead of answering, I simply nodded.
“In that case, please tell what I should do.”
Eulken knelt on one knee and showed his knight’s vow to .
“Didn’t you receive orders from my father?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then you should follow my father’s orders, not mine. Why are you asking what to do?”
Speechless, Eulken’s mouth hung open.
“You are not my knight. You are clearly my father’s knight. I do not have the authority to give you orders.”
After a mont of hesitation, Eulken stood up again and bowed to .
“Thank you for returning, Young Master.”
I felt a strange feeling for a mont.
Was it because he was the first person to welco upon my return here?
It didn’t feel entirely bad.
I left Eulken’s treatnt to the other knights and attendants who arrived shortly after and then left the room.
Having roughly settled everything, it was ti to head to my original destination.
My next steps led to the highest floor of the mansion.
To my father’s study.
Father rarely entered this room, maybe less than five tis a year.
Naturally so, since he spent most of his ti on the front lines.
Thus, this room, like mine, was a space untouched by human hands.
That’s why I ca here.
-Click
As I turned the dusty doorknob and entered, an air of emptiness greeted .
The interior wasn’t much different from any other noble patriarch’s room.
A desk for work, bookshelves filled to the brim behind it, various weapons, and armor decorations.
Co to think of it, it was exactly ten years ago.
After a duel with Cranz, my father called to this room where I made the bold statent that I wanted to go to the front lines.
My view of my father hasn’t changed much since then.
A stubborn man.
A man who bore the duty of protection, which no one forced upon him, and wished his children would fulfill that duty too.
Yet a man without the slightest desire for power.
A man who only desired peace for the continent.
That was my father, Willius Vert.
-Swipe
I ran my hand across my father’s desk as if flowing like water.
It wasn’t dusty.
Unlike my room, it ant this place was cleaned periodically.
My body naturally moved from the desk to the chair and then pulled it out.
Then, very naturally,
“……”
I sat in my father’s seat.
I didn’t particularly intend to do this, but the mont I stepped into this room, my body moved on its own.
How does it feel?
Heavy.
I felt as if sothing invisible was pressing down on from above as I sat in the chair.
It felt like the weight of the responsibility to protect sothing.
A fate borne by soone who had to protect not just a few, but the entire country, the entire continent.
It felt like I was only now feeling the weight of the duty that my father had borne, who wanted to protect the continent.
To think that such a steadfast man with such strong convictions could be swayed by so mysterious power into being unable to make sound judgnts.
As his son, I was at a loss on how to judge this.
[It suits you quite well.]
Kaeram, who wouldn’t just watch quietly, reappeared in a solid form.
She perched on the desk, crossing her legs seductively, looking as if she belonged there.
[Why? Do you now have a desire to sit in that seat?]
“Not a chance.”
A burden like this seat is sothing I absolutely reject.
“Ti to talk.”
[About what?]
“What is a witch?”
Kaeram smiled as if she had been waiting for that question.
[You waited until now to ask?]
“I knew you’d draw it out, so there was no need to ask earlier.”
[Oh my? Have you beco an expert in understanding a woman’s mind?]
She patted my head, as if genuinely proud of .
Unintentionally, my face twisted in reaction.
[In truth, they are not much different from you. They have the sa body structure, the sa lifespan, and the sa emotions. They are the sa humans, except for one thing…]
I held my breath, waiting for her words.
[The ability to enchant people, perhaps?]
“Are you talking about the power of bewitchnt?”
[Well, I don’t call it by such a clinging na, but it’s sothing similar. They were quite notorious even in the era I existed.]
I had a feeling it wasn’t for good reasons.
[Though it’s odd for to say this, if the wielder of the Holy Sword is really of her bloodline, as that woman said, you’re in for a rough ti, master.]
“Are you saying what I’ve been through so far hasn’t been rough?”
[It could be much worse. Most n enchanted by her end up…]
“End up?”
[Creating havoc sowhere!]
-BOOM-
As Kaeram was speaking, a loud thunderous sound suddenly ca from outside.
I stopped listening and hurried to the window.
Dark clouds had suddenly spread across the previously clear sky, and lightning was striking the ground.
It wasn’t a natural phenonon.
That lightning was clearly created by magic.
Judging the direction, it had to be…
“The Boundary Gate?”
It was the only route into the front line region and where the princess’s delegation was currently stationed.
I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but my mind was already giving clear orders on what I needed to do.
Run there imdiately.
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