Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 23

Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 23

While the temple and the imperial family were rushing to prepare for their expedition, a secret meeting was taking place in the deep forest of the North.  A familiar blonde man approached the man who was leaning crookedly in the center of the cave and bowed his head.  

“Ian Alphonse sees the venerable Crown Prince.”  

“When I tried to get in touch, you threw me a bottle of medicine and treated me contemptuously, so why are you now here?”  

The black-haired man with the dark circles under his eyes bit a cigarette and scoffed at Ian.  Every time he opened his mouth, smoke emitted out with a faint smell of drugs.  It was Calix Abel, the owner of grayish gold eyes.  

“I was stupid and did not understand the deep meaning of your highness.  If you take pity on me, I will be loyal.”  

“Now that I look at you, you look completely messed up.  What did you want to come all the way here?”  

“…… When everything is done, give me the Saintess.”  

His handsome face was visibly damaged.  His blonde hair, which was like honey, was cracked at the ends, and his slender cheeks could no longer be reminiscent of the friendly Count Alphonse.  

He sharpened his teeth, remembering what made him come this far.  

After Ian received the letter of breaking the engagement, he summoned the black wizard Fenrir and created an elixir that could manipulate people's minds.  He had to drain a significant amount of his own blood in the process and cut out a portion of his thighs, but he thought of her and willingly endured it.  

He made every effort to meet Liliana, by making the excuse to talk about the broken engagement and thought that everything would go back to its intended position. However, the fierce protection of the temple and the commander of the Holy Knights did not allow him to even touch the Saint's shadow.  

As the days without seeing Liliana grew longer, his obsession became morbidly stronger.  He summoned Fenrir and told him to kidnap the saint.  

“How would I kidnap the Saintess?  How would I kidnap her by myself when it is difficult with tens of black wizards together?”

“You should have known that you had to pay the price when I looked after you guys!  If you keep acting cocky like this, I won't stand still."  

“Ah, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. There are not enough people. Everyone who uses black magic have all flocked to the prince...…!  Oops.  Forget the last part.”  

“What do you mean?  Tell me in detail.”  

“Ah, this is a secret……  I'm telling you this since we have built up trust with each other.”

Fenrir, who looked dismayed, sighed and started talking.  The story that followed was shocking.  

The prince, who was exiled to the desert, left Gortkama with the help of black magicians. Calix secretly promised to bring the black magicians together to overthrow the empire and open a new world dominated by black magic. And by going through the West, he was now gathering forces in the North. A mean smile spread across Fenrir's face as he finished talking.  

“If the experiment is successful, it is only a matter of time before the prince ascends to the throne.  Even if Saint Adelaide were to have emerged, she won't be able to handle all the mutants and monsters transplanted into bodies.  The day will soon come when we will be able to enslave the cheeky temple.”  

Ian's eyes widened when he heard that Calix's plans had progressed quite a bit and that his success was imminent.  The drug-addicted prince, who had been a great client of Alphonse, was suddenly doing something like that?  If he played his cards correctly, he would be able to get what he wanted without having to do anything. 

Calix Abel, whom Ian knew, was a narrow-minded person with thin ears and fond of flattery.  Since he was dethroned, Ian had avoided contact with him so as not to get involved, but if he coaxed again, using him would be a breeze.

Ian used his connections with the black magicians to search all over the North to find Calix.  He wasted a lot of money coaxing the black magicians, but it wasn’t in vain since he found him. Ian looked at Calix in front of him and bowed his back more deeply.  Calix laughed and scoffed at him.  

“I heard the news that a Saintess had appeared.  How beautiful is she, that you bastard want her? Now I want to meet her.”

“……  I heard that the experiment was delayed due to a disruption in the supply of life.  If you promise me that you will fully give me the Saintess, I will solve the problem.”  

“It is indeed exhausting to wander around the slums to find a decent human beings.  This will be good.  It’s easily worth a bitch.”  

Calix puffed out acrid smoke and gave a satisfied expression.  The Heaven was helping him.  

That’s right.  It was only because of the absence of the prince that the princess was able to ascend to the throne.  Evegena, that bitch should have given up her seat as soon as he was born.  

He looked at Ian with gold eyes that were drenched in drugs.  

“Yeah, good.  I will give you the glory to help destroy the empire that has forsaken me and help create a new world.”  

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com)  

The Emperor was very angry when he heard from Evegena that the prince had disappeared.  He blamed himself for having this happened due of his indecisiveness, and expressed so to his daughter.  

“I’m sorry I made you bear my sins of wrongly raising a child, Eve.  A monarch whose judgment is disheveled is not worthy to rule, and I have sat on the throne for too long.”  

“Parents who love their children all feel similarly, so how can it be said that it is your Majesty’s fault?  However, I will first punish the wrong-doers and then follow your will.”

"Okay.  I will entrust the full power to the Crown Princess Evegena.  Go and fix the broken order, so that the will of her Goddess is consolidated.”  

Soon, a subjugation party was formed with the temple and the imperial family.  To watch them depart for the North, a huge crowd of well-wishers poured into the streets.  Liliana's lips twitched as she continued to smile in response to the cheers of the Empire.  

As soon as they left the capital, she sighed and fell flat on her face in the carriage.  Her eyes met Noel’s, who peered through the window.  As he smiled sweetly at Liliana, Evegena looked at him pathetically as she was riding her horse next to him. 

“Your facial expressions.  Are you not even thinking of hiding it anymore?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“I’m saying this because you don’t seem to have any intention of hiding your love for the Saintess.  You like her that much?”

An embarrassed expression appeared on Noel's face.  In the carriage behind him, Liliana was also blushing and burying her face in her hands.  

“…… is it obvious?”  

When Noel didn’t even bother giving her an excuse, Evegena, she chuckled and teased him.  

“I want to show you a mirror of what your expression looks like when you see the Saintess.  It must be difficult for the people of the temple to pretend not to know.”  

“…….”  

The Crown Princess, who left Noel touching his mouth in an awkward way, bowed her head toward the carriage and looked at Liliana.

“Please, take care of my poor little brother.  My Lady.”  

Evegena left the blushing lady and hurried her horse to the front.  

Her cousin brother, who had excelled in all fields from childhood, always seemed to be somewhere in danger, weighed down by the expectations of the family.  Evegena, who had that always had it on her mind, supported his choice when he suddenly declared that she would become a holy knight.  She wondered if Noel would be stable someday as he walked the path of worshiping God, but as she watched him over time, it didn't seem like he would do that either.

It was because she hoped that he would find the joy of life with a variety of options that she annoyed him by talking about soulmates. Noel, who was always disgusted with her words about finding a soulmate, gave her a pleasant shock when he looked at the Saintess with his warm eyes.  Seeing him looking the happiest she had seen his in years, it seemed that there were indeed soulmates.

The smile did not leave Evgena’s lips as she rode her horse.  

~ 

She was locked in a carriage and continued to travel for several days.  

At first, she admired the scenery out of her window with a traveling spirit, but sitting in the carriage all day made her whole body ache.  

Liliana would have preferred to ride her horse, but she was rejected every time due to safety concerns.  She gave up quickly, as her horse-riding talent was not great.  

It was the third day of her journey to the north of the country after traveling all day, and when the estate came out, she stayed there. 

She was treated with luxurious hospitality at every estate she visited, but since it was her first long journey like this, Liliana gradually withered.  Noel was worried about Liliana, but there were eyes everywhere so he couldn't stay with her.  

He would be fine if a scandal only involved him. But he was worried that the Saint’s reputation would be harmed if she was involved in a scandal with a holy knight. As soon as he returned, he decided to return to the duchy as soon as possible.  

“Saintess, are you okay?”  

Velita, riding on her horse, came to the side of her carriage, chewing on a jerky.  Because Velita was raised in the Duke Evans family, a family famous for its swordsmanship, she was still lively even after a couple days of marching.  Liliana nodded her head helplessly and smiled.  

"I’m okay.  I am comfortable in the carriage while others are suffering.”  

“Staying still can make your body ache.”  

“That’s true……  .  Why is there no transfer gate in the North?” 

“Since the land is barren, there are not many people, and the development is slow.  Besides, since monsters often appear, the holy knights are always there, so there is no need for it.”  

"Ah."  

If development was slow, shouldn't it be improved?  The northerners were in the same empire!  Liliana became an Honorary Northerner for this one moment, and she muttered to herself.  As if Velita could tell Liliana was wilting, she asked in a worried voice. 

“If we go further north, we will find a big forest.  We will have to camp in the woods, will you be okay?”  

“Yes, I heard from the Crown Princess.  I will be okay."  

“After that, the Termel Territory will appear, so please hang on just a little bit longer.”  

As Velita disappeared, the corners of Liliana's struggling smile turned downwards.  She nodded that she was okay, but she was a little unsure of herself.

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