Chapter 140 – Grand Duke’s Council (1)

Erzhebet succeeded in creating iron soldiers with Goliath’s cooperation.
The first place she visited with her iron army was the royal castle of Thessalon.
The soldiers, startled by the sound of steel echoing across the gorgeous marble floor, rushed out with socks on their feet.
However, Erzsebet did not even look at them.

“No, princess! “What are you doing without any message!?”
“Rather than that, the authors…”
“Where is your father? “I need to see you right away.”
“You are currently looking at government affairs. At a regular meeting to report on this year’s wheat production trends…”

Before she finished speaking, she took a quick step and headed toward her conference room.
When he shook off the guards and opened the tightly closed door, the ministers who were sitting in groups of threes and threes stood up in surprise.

“Princess! How could this be… Now is the time when the festival begins at the Academy…”
“No matter how much you are a princess, you will be criticized for such unclassy behavior!”

Know.
Surely tomorrow’s morning newspaper in Thessalon will have the words ‘Prelude to the Succession to the Throne’ written in large letters.
But what was important to Hergé Bet now was not her outspoken voice.
Just one person sitting at the end.
The only thing that was desperately needed was the truth from Paul III’s mouth.

“… Everyone get out. “Let’s end the meeting a little early.”
“Majesty… !!”

Did you have a feeling that this moment would come from the moment you were sent to the academy?
King Baor III of Fenheim meekly beheaded his ministers.
And the conversation between the father and daughter, who had reunited for the first time in half a year, began.

“…”
“…”
“… Are you not going to ask? “If you have no business, go back to Parencia.”

A low-toned reprimand fell on Ergébet, who could not easily open her mouth.
As she was organizing her thoughts, she asked her most important question without any hesitation.

“Who is Lewis?”
“He is your godfather.”
“… !”
“I originally wanted to make him my sire, but he was stubborn and I gave up. Instead, I promised to be your strength someday when you need it.”

His relationship with Lewis.
Although an unexpected fact was revealed, what really mattered was not what kind of relationship I had with him.
Aren’t people’s identity, status, and interpersonal relationships subject to change at any time?
The only thing that didn’t change was the past.

“I’m not asking that. “I want to know what kind of person he was.”
“…”

But what came back was silence.
This was already the third time I had experienced that silence.
Lehel and Lewis himself, as well as everyone associated with him, refused to answer questions about Lewis’ identity.
Then, as if she had made a promise, she said the following.

“Erzebet, you…”
“I’m not afraid of war! So stop making those damn excuses!”

Wow!!
The swords of the iron soldiers struck the floor at once.
The large gold carved into the white marble seemed to represent the feelings of the angry princess.
The two pairs of golden eyes stared at each other endlessly.
Even if eons passed, it seemed like no one would look away first.

“… Tell. Why is he trapped in that land without receiving any compensation? What did he do during the war and how did he become so strong? “What is your relationship with the royal family and what connection does it have with the Holy Kingdom?”
“…”
“I told you to speak!! Dad–!!”
“It was something they planned first!!!”

The ministers who were eavesdropping on the conversation outside the door could be heard freaking out at the outburst of anger.
The King, who had installed a soundproofing spell, sighed heavily and muttered as if he were lamenting.

“It was all their idea… !”
“Who are they? “You mean the Archduke?”
“This is a death-defying unit. He cut off the devil’s head and brought peace to this land. “Terra Ernesten, Lord Hubblet, and Nova Lathe, the leader of Bahran.”
“They covered up Lewis’s exploits?”
“It’s not that simple. Can’t you see that they are also hiding? “They erased all traces and hid themselves.”
“I don’t understand. “For what?”

I remember the second floor of the cafeteria, where I felt dizzy just by stepping foot on it.
For what on earth.
Should I have abandoned Louis, who was having such a hard time, instead of taking care of him by his side?
Erzsebet thought that she must now give back everything she had not received.
However–

“It was for humanity.”

The King, who knew that this day would come someday, spoke the shocking truth as if to squeeze out the last of his aging strength.

“And he knew all the facts, too.”

***

The Demon King is dead.
It was a day when black rain mixed with karma poured down like crazy.

Terra was worried.
This was because Seongguk observed all the procedures, including the location, materials, magic, and prayers needed to summon a warrior from another world.
Since the Luvier Shrine was located in the capital of the Holy Kingdom, there was no choice.
Even if it takes a little while, they will eventually find a way.
And what we needed was time.

“I bought a new sofa, so sleep there. “There are blankets here, and you can take water and bread from the first floor at night.”
“…”
“If you can, don’t go outside. “It could be dangerous if you show yourself now.”

I returned to the canteen with Caroline.
Erzsebet handed over her person to me without saying anything.
I don’t know how much he heard from the king, but he seemed to already have full trust in me.
And as guardian, he asked me a favor.

“I’m going to the Baltic Mountains. “The grand public meeting is being held there, and we need to ask for their cooperation.”
“…”
“If Seongguk finds out that you are missing, he will definitely use force. “Before that, the archdukes must join our side.”

If Caroline is looking for the holy sword, that’s fine.
Even if she fails, the use of black magic in her kingdom is a capital crime and if she is executed, war will immediately break out.
Monarch was already slowly pulling the arrow containing the spark of the telephone across the protest.
The fact that the detonator was, as always, the life and death of a saint, gave me a strange feeling of déjà vu.

Caroline had not yet come to her senses and seemed anxious.
But when she heard that I was leaving, she held her arm, keeping her head down.

“Egg plant… Mind…”
“I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.”
“I…”
“Huh?”

Her body was trembling pathetically.
Caroline was so unstable right now that even the slightest noise outside her after the fireworks display startled her.

“I’m scared… “I’m so scared because I don’t know what’s going on in my head and if the Caroline Magdalena I remember before the brainwashing is the same.”
“I do that sometimes too. She has auditory hallucinations and her blood boils when she sees demons… Ah, things have gotten a little better recently.”
“Come on, don’t play around! “I’m serious now!!”

I’m serious too.
I didn’t lie.

“Louis…”

Caroline’s pale hand grabbed my wrist.
And then she brought it towards her own messy hair.

“That thing we did last time… I don’t know, but it cancels the magic, right? Please do that again here. And if I change… Just leave me here… !”
“Shut up.”

Bah!!

I hit Caroline on the head as hard as I did when Adela caught her stealing bread.
However, the saint’s skull was not as hard as a small ball of ice and snow, so she wondered if her skull bones were cracked. She rolled around on her floor, moaning.
After barely relieving the pain with holy magic, watery eyes glared in this direction.
In a way, it is a blessing to have emotions revived to this extent.
Because she’s not used to the pain yet.

“Fuck… ! “Fuck, it hurts so bad!”
“Who would say something stupid like that?”
“Ah, no matter how hard it is… ! Ouch! Even concussion…”
“Then hold her head and listen carefully.”

I sat down next to Caroline and made eye contact with her.
Perhaps because the distance between them was so close, she was startled and took a small breath.

“I’m sure you didn’t do this alone. “How do you spread all the demon statues across that wide continent?”
“That…”
“Besides, it’s highly likely that you weren’t the one who delivered the demon statue to Albert in the sewers. Because…”
“Because I was in Skandal. With you…”

I guess I’m finally getting my head around a bit now.
As I saw her calming down little by little, I, too, felt relieved.
I won’t have time to see her here while I’m attending her Grand Duke’s meeting.

“Who on earth would do something like this…”
“I’m not sure, but someone has a guess.”
“Who?”
“Antiope. Yoak, one of the four worst. “I found out he was alive recently.”

As the Queen of the Banshee, her true power is enormous, but Antiope’s talent is her trickery that tricks people.
It would be easy to understand if we said that Doppelganger was her work.
Erzsebet may believe that this is all Caroline’s delusion, but I think differently.
Clearly, at some point, she intervened.

“Hey, Louis.”

And to some extent the true Caroline did not miss the words that came out of her mouth.
Before I knew it, there was a lot of strength in her hand that was grabbing my wrist.

“How do you know that?”
“…”
“Why was it that you were able to make a deal with the princess and bring me here?”
“…”
“Answer what I ask.”

A brilliant brilliance dwells in the red eyes.
The power of God to discern the truth contained in words.

“You are a hero, right?”

***

“Now I wonder if that was just my imagination, but I definitely felt it. The sacred power of the holy sword flowed from under this stall.”

I remembered the necklace Erzsebet gave me.
I still have two more chances to lie.

“The princess called you godfather, and the iron dog she was with couldn’t even look you in the eyes.”

Caroline owes me her life, so it won’t be a problem for her to leave like this.
In any case, you can keep it locked on the second floor.
With the power of the goddess, you will be able to open the door quickly, but if you ask Darling, he will keep a close watch on you.

“And the four worst? How do you know that he is in league with the cult? Baking sugar cookies in this cramped building!”

So she has no reason to reveal my identity to her, as much as her eyelids ——

“Answer me… ! You can still clearly see in my eyes that you are the owner of the store… !!”
“I am the warrior.”

Pop.

She was breathing heavily and her movements stopped moving like the hands of a broken clock.
Even the autumn grass bugs didn’t cry as much as they do now.
The second floor of the store was always dark, so on clear days like this, moonlight would come in through the window.
From the corner of the sofa where the moonlight couldn’t reach, I looked at Caroline.

“Why why… Why…”

Why did you deceive yourself?
Why are you in a place like this?
Why did he hide himself and why can’t he enjoy the glory even after killing the Demon King?

A lot of questions were buried in each stammering word.

“Because it’s not time yet.”
“What… ?”

I looked up from the darkness and stared at the window that reflected the sky embracing the universe.
Seven unchanging celestial bodies within the Fraum Mobile were emitting a faint light.

“What time… “I’m talking.”

Yes, we needed time.

“When the stars regain their power again.”

The five Grand Dukes, who lost much of their strength during the war, are now clumsily patching up their wounds.
Yunhoegong has not yet hibernated, Ice and Snowgong has become two, and Hwansanggong has decided on his successor.

“When the last remaining dragon on the continent spreads its wings.”

Dragon is magic.
After the destruction of Carvius, people on the continent thought that all dragons in this world became extinct, but that was wrong.
Wivlett, who received a revelation from the three Moirai sisters and went to Bahran, saw not only the New Moon Shaman but also other things.

“The watchtower in the sky catches the last evil.”

We have been preparing for the unstoppable second summons for a very long time.
Three things that grant a warrior more power than the devil——oracle, divine power, and faith.

“When foolish people who go against God’s will show their teeth on the continent.”

If they still believe my oath was broken.

“I am waiting.”

The head will just explode.