Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
A great road led from the castle to the square. Down that road walked an old man of immense build.
The Blanc Knights, guarding the road to prevent any chaos from the duel, raised their swords as he passed. In unison, they shouted the same words.
“…will not!”
As the old man drew closer to the square, the knights’ shouts grew clearer.
“…will not lower!”
When the old man finally reached the square, Eshu raised his sword with a sharp, precise motion and boomed the motto of House Blanc.
“Even if this body dies, I will not lower this shield!”
As the motto echoed, the crowd in the square parted to make way.
When the old man approached Sevha, Duce, and Pashon, the entire crowd knelt on one knee in reverence.
“W-who are you, geezer…?”
Before Pashon could finish, the old man seized his head in one hand, his grip threatening to crush it.
“Geezer? Do you have any idea who you’re speaking to?”
A hand large enough to envelop a man’s head. A frame and strength to match.
As Pashon trembled before the old man’s overwhelming presence, the man roared.
“I am Marden le Blanc! Lord of Rasseu, and one of the Four Knights of the Lion King!”
At Marden’s furious bellow, the strength fled Pashon’s legs and he collapsed. But Marden held him fast by the head, keeping him from falling.
“And?”
“I-I am Pashon…”
“I don’t care who you are. What gives you the right to spout treason in my lands?”
“Th-th-the Third Prince…!”
The moment Marden heard the words ‘Third Prince,’ he roared in Pashon’s face.
Pashon recoiled in terror, trembling as if staring into the jaws of a beast, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“The Third Prince? That fool told you to cry treason in my lands?”
“W-well, that is…”
“If not, then get out of my domain.”
“The, the investigation…”
“Get out!”
As Marden bellowed, Pashon nodded frantically, a puddle forming at his feet.
When Marden released him, he scrambled through the crowd and fled.
Once Pashon had vanished, Marden surveyed the crowd and shouted, “Where is the Count? How dare my regent tolerate such a ruffian in my lands!”
Eshu immediately knelt. “The Count failed to perform his duties as regent and has been dismissed.”
“Dismissed? By whose order?”
All eyes turned to Sevha. Eshu clarified, “By order of Dan le Blanc, son of Marden le Blanc.”
Marden turned to Sevha and strode toward him.
Sevha moved to kneel.
But before he could, Marden swept him into a fierce embrace and lifted him high into the air.
“Is that so! If you did it, you must have had your reasons!”
The oppressive aura he’d projected just moments before vanished. He rocked Sevha as if soothing a small child.
“Tell me your reasons!”
Marden then plopped down right where he stood and set Sevha on his lap.
The crowd broke into unwitting laughter.
Even the stoic Sevha flushed red.
“Th-this is a bit…”
Sevha protested, but Marden silenced him by rubbing his rough beard against his cheek.
“Now, now, hurry and tell me.”
Mortified, Sevha recounted everything that had happened while Marden was not himself.
When Sevha’s explanation was finished, Marden hugged him tightly and sighed.
“I grew old and foolish.”
Marden closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and rose to his feet, still holding Sevha.
He set Sevha down and surveyed his surroundings, his expression suddenly grave.
Instantly, the smiles vanished from the crowd, replaced by a solemn atmosphere.
“Eshu. Tell me. Can you offer your sword to Dan?”
At Marden’s question, Eshu, with a resolute expression, presented his sword to Sevha.
“We and our knights have learned we were but children in your eyes! We will atone for failing you by becoming knights to Dan le Blanc!”
Immediately, all the Blanc Knights presented their swords to Sevha as Eshu had done.
Then, with one voice, they cried out, “Make Dan le Blanc the heir!”
Then Marden looked to Duce.
“It has been a long time, Prince Duce.”
“It has, my… master.”
Marden smiled with satisfaction at Duce’s concise reply.
“What are your thoughts, Prince Duce? Do you think House Blanc can be entrusted to Dan?”
Duce held out a hand to the Knight of Ornament, who placed a sword in his grasp.
Duce drove the blade forcefully into the ground and answered.
“I was a fool in my youth and failed to learn what you taught, but I have learned from Dan le Blanc. Therefore, I support him, and I swear as a knight that I will never forget the grace he has shown me!”
At once, the entire crowd cried out with one voice.
“Make Dan le Blanc the heir!”
Seeing how Eshu and Duce had changed, Marden’s expression grew distant for a fleeting moment.
“Is that so, is that so…”
Marden grasped both of Sevha’s shoulders.
“Then let us gather all the nobles and hold a banquet.”
Before the crowd could comprehend his meaning, Marden bellowed.
“To all who are gathered here! And to those who are not! I declare!”
Marden looked directly at Sevha and finished his cry.
“Dan le Blanc will become one of the new Four Knights!”
At Marden’s declaration, the crowd erupted in celebration, knowing the long, drawn-out conflict was finally over.
Amid the fervor, Sevha faced Marden and began to speak.
“Grandfather…”
“Yes. We have much to discuss. But first, you have something you must do.”
“Something I must do?”
Marden said sternly, “I will take responsibility. Go. Give a warning to the enemies of Blanc.”
***
On a night when the waning moon cast a faint light upon the earth, Sevha stood atop a hill, bow in hand.
From behind came the sound of panting, and then Duce’s voice.
“W-would it kill you to help a little?”
“Who asked you to follow?”
As soon as he reached the top, Duce collapsed. He caught his breath, wiped away his sweat, and then smiled.
“I couldn’t miss the end of a story I’m a part of.”
Sevha and Duce looked down from the hill into the distance, where a road cut across the plain.
“Duce. It might be better for you not to know what I am about to do.”
Duce faltered at Sevha’s warning, but he soon gave a relaxed smile.
“Word of my defiance will reach the king’s ears, and I will pay the price. Since that’s inevitable, shouldn’t I at least get some satisfaction out of it?”
He looked at ease, as if a weight had been lifted from his soul.
In Sevha’s eyes, Duce finally seemed like a prince—a man with whom he could strike a bargain.
And so Sevha said, “Call me Sevha.”
“Ah, so it was an alias. I thought it strange. Dan is more of a place name than a…”
“Sevha dan Anse.”
Dan Anse.
Duce instantly recognized Sevha’s identity and froze. But then he realized why Sevha had revealed his true name, and he burst into laughter.
“Good. I will help you. In return, you will help me.”
“Help with what?”
“I don’t know yet. I wish to meet and speak with you just once more before I decide.”
Sevha nodded at Duce’s vague words.
“When the time comes, tell me.”
Just as Duce nodded, committing it to memory, Sevha said, “Ah, they’re coming.”
In the distance, the shape of a carriage could be seen on the road.
Duce watched the carriage. “Hunter, what is Diaka?”
To Duce’s question, Sevha answered as he nocked an arrow and drew his bow.
“Diaka is the mother of hunters.”
Sevha released the string. The arrow pierced the head of the horse pulling the carriage.
The horse collapsed, and the carriage overturned.
As the dust settled, Pashon and his men crawled out from the wreckage.
“She walks no path she does not choose.”
Sevha shot again, killing Pashon’s men one by one.
“She is not tempted from the path she walks.”
Pashon’s men fled, but they could not escape Sevha’s arrows.
“And she does not suffer those who stray from it.”
When all his men were dead and only Pashon remained, Sevha drew his bow and spoke.
“Therefore, sinner, face your judgment.”
He released the string. The arrow cut through the darkness and pierced Pashon between the eyes.
Pashon fell backward. Duce let out a relieved breath and looked ahead.
Perhaps because they were so high up, he could see the moon without lifting his head.
“Ah! What a fine night. I wish I could show it to my wife!”
At Duce’s exclamation, Sevha asked, “What? You have a wife?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I, at my age?”
“What age is that?”
“Thirty-six. I also have a child around your age.”
Sevha stared at Duce, his expression one of utter shock.
The man was a hunchback, but obscenely handsome. And to anyone’s eyes, he looked to be in his early twenties.
“Uh…”
Duce, realizing Sevha’s mistake, said teasingly, “Would you like to try calling me your elder brother?”
Sevha gave a hollow, disbelieving laugh. “Stop talking nonsense and just try to live a long life.”
***
A dark night. Teresse sat in an office in Rasseu Castle, reviewing documents.
With this, the matter of the succession is almost resolved.
Almost. A small problem remained.
From Sevha’s appearance to the Third Prince’s recent scheming, the majority of Blanc’s vassals had switched loyalties with the changing winds.
I have no need for wild dogs.
But even wild dogs were still nobles. To dispose of them, she needed justification, and at present, she had none.
Assassination, perhaps…
Just then, the office door opened and someone entered.
“What are you doing in my office?”
It was Marden.
Teresse immediately rose from her seat, approached him, and bowed.
“I am… Tena. I work for Dan le Blanc.”
“Tena?”
Marden looked at Teresse’s face and asked abruptly, “Not the Moon Princess, Shepherd, and Goddess of Dreams, Theresia?”
As Marden uttered a name that was neither Tena nor Teresse, she tried to flee. But before she could take a single step, Marden seized her by the throat and lifted her into the air.
“I fought your father on the battlefield several times in my youth. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize the wench who shares his face?”
Marden slammed Teresse onto the office desk.
“Abomination. What brazen audacity, to stand beside my only remaining grandson?”
Marden tightened his grip on her throat.
“Answer me. Why are you with Sevha?”
Teresse’s face turned crimson as she choked, tears welling in her eyes. But she spoke with defiance.
“I have… a dream.”
Marden looked into Teresse’s burning red eyes, the eyes of one who would never abandon her dream, and released his grip.
“If what I’ve heard about you and your father is true, you may yet be an ally to Sevha. I will keep your identity a secret. But on one condition.”
Teresse gasped for air, then looked at Marden as if to say, Name it.
Marden said, “Secretly find me a medicine that will permanently cure my illness.”
The moment Teresse heard his words, she understood their implication.
And so, she answered, “Sevha will never forgive me.”