Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: The Pack Chasing Dawn (2)
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I instinctively grabbed Dusky.
"Which bastard is it this time!"
I ground my teeth and was about to charge out of the room when I abruptly halted.
Something was different.
It was the sharpened morale of an army on the brink of battle, yet there was no trace of killing intent or hostility anywhere within it.
If I had to describe it, it felt like sheer determination.
I lowered Dusky and examined the surging morale once more.
And within it, I sensed a familiar presence.
It was the presence of the king who had taken Nectar.
"Ah."
The king's aura soared endlessly, just as it had when he declared independence from the Empire.
"Has Your Majesty done something?"
Suddenly, the palace spire caught my eye.
A flag with a roaring lion on a white background fluttered proudly.
And beside it, another flag was rising.
The previously limp flag unfurled fully in a timely gust of wind.
It was a flag I'd never seen before: a severed sun emblazoned on a deep navy background.
The contrast between the white gold lion flag and the deep navy one stood out strikingly.
I stared blankly at the navy flag waving alongside the kingdom's symbol when the air around the palace shifted dramatically.
The somewhat chaotic atmosphere lingering after the banquet sharpened into something blade-like in an instant.
A faint cheer reached my ears.
...Long live!
Long live...!
The cheers, at first too distant to make out clearly, began drawing closer.
Until they finally reached right outside my palace.
"Long live the Leonberger Kingdom!"
"Long live the Dawn Alliance!"
The unfamiliar name left me stunned.
"Dawn Alliance?"
Right then, the door burst open, and Kals appeared.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
His face was flushed unlike his usual composure.
"His Majesty has declared the formation of the Anti-Empire Alliance!"
Kals told me in an intensely emotional tone.
Only then did I understand the name echoing through the cheers filling the palace.
"All the envoys from the seven kingdoms visiting our realm have unanimously agreed to the alliance's creation. His Majesty has united them into a single coalition and named it the Dawn Alliance!"
I absentmindedly looked back at the spire.
The deep navy flag with the severed sun whipped fiercely in the wind.
"You've noticed the alliance flag, I see."
"Alliance flag?"
"His Majesty prepared it in advance for the alliance's launch. I hear it symbolizes the dawn chasing away the night."
I couldn't help but admire it.
Preparing the alliance's formation and even a custom flag on top of everything else. The king's recent drive was nothing short of astonishing.
From Kals, I learned the flag's name as well.
Dawn Flag (Dammerung Fahne).
The name resonated with me in a strangely profound way.
Just like how Dusky had clicked perfectly from the start, or how the word "dawn light" from that poem the man recited stuck vividly in my memory.
My heart began pounding again.
This had been going on ever since Marquis Villepelle called me the Knight of Dawn.
At this point, just hearing "dawn" or anything similar made my heart race.
"Is this really a past life...?"
Denying that the man from my visions was my previous incarnation felt unnatural at this stage.
But that raised a question.
In the eras chronicled endlessly in histories and heroic epics—before the world drank the poison of oblivion—no mention of "dawn" existed anywhere.
Of course, my past self might have died without leaving any legends. Given that lonely figure I saw, he surely passed without any tales.
Even if not, my past self might not have been a knight great enough to leave a name.
But that wasn't a valid reason.
It was an age when humanity was shrouded in gloom. No human didn't dream of the morning that would finally break after the deep night.
And words like "dawn" and "daybreak" fit those hopes perfectly.
Yet, there was nothing.
Not a single heroic epic weaving dawn or daybreak into its verses.
It was too strange.
"It's as if the words 'dawn' and 'daybreak' were carved out from every text in existence."
I furrowed my brow, lost in thought, when a familiar voice cut in abruptly.
"Your Highness. What did you just say?"
It was Kals.
"Ah, nothing. But did you know about the Anti-Empire Alliance?"
Remembering I was talking to Kals, I changed the subject.
"Yes, Your Highness. His Majesty gave prior notice."
"Everyone knew but me. Dawn Alliance... I was the only one in the dark."
Kals looked troubled at my words.
"It was decided while Your Highness was unconscious..."
"That was ages ago. Come on."
"Right after you awoke, Marquis Villepelle visited and stayed for quite some time. Then there was that commotion..."
Kals's hand went to the bruise still lingering around his eye.
"Moreover, His Majesty personally gathered the Royal Knights and sternly ordered that if Your Highness heard outside news, you'd be itching to rush out like you had ants in your pants, so keep all external matters from him until he's fully recovered."
Everything was due to the king's strict command, and I was speechless.
"He also emphasized stopping you by any means if the outside clamor drew you out of the palace."
Feeling awkward, I pretended otherwise, but Kals stared straight at me.
"You weren't planning to head out, were you?"
I subtly hid Dusky behind my back.
"Me? No?"
"Good. His Majesty said that if you disobeyed and went out, he'd assign you to the rear guard in the war against the Empire. I was worried."
"No plans to go out. I'm resting."
"Understood."
Kals's lips twitched subtly.
"Got it, so get out. You're disturbing my rest."
Hating how he looked, I snapped irritably for him to leave.
"Then please rest well."
As Kals turned to go, I stopped him with one request.
"Kals, if there are any books on ancient knights, could you fetch them?"
"What kind, for instance?"
"Histories, hero biographies, novels—anything about knights."
"I'll look into it."
Kals bowed and left the room.
Thud.
The door closed, leaving me alone again.
I looked out the window.
The soaring morale showed no signs of settling, and the cheers only grew louder.
My insides burned.
I wanted to bolt out right then, head to the throne room where the morale surged, and feel the kingdom's resolve up close.
'Like you had ants in your pants.'
The king's words to Kals described my state perfectly.
"Ugh."
But defying him meant rear guard duty, so I couldn't.
Before, maybe, but with the king's unnatural drive now, he'd absolutely follow through.
Going out worried me about repercussions; staying made my heart pound.
Stuck between, a day passed.
And at dawn the next day, a welcome guest arrived.
"Why does the Knight of Dawn, who felled a Penta knight, look so down?"
A man wrapped in dust-covered furs stood at my door, eyeing me.
"Vincent!"
Vincent Ballerhard, my dear Winter Castle lord.
I rushed over and embraced him by the shoulders.
"You'll get dusty."
Vincent said so but didn't push me away. He hugged back firmly.
The dry, northern scent unique to men of the north filled my nostrils.
That nostalgic smell brought Winter Castle to mind.
"Is everyone else doing well?"
"Your Highness dragged Montpellier back less than three months ago. How much could happen in that time?"
Vincent shrugged his shoulders back and stared at me.
"I heard plenty happened to Your Highness. Struggled against a Penta knight, took heavy injuries—but you look healthier than before."
"Good deeds bring blessings."
I glanced at my body, then back to Vincent.
"But what's brought you to the capital? Who's minding the castle? Isn't it peak winter prep season? Is it okay for the lord to be away now?"
"His Majesty summoned me. Left the castle to Sir Quellan. Monsters are wiped from the mountains, so winter prep can wait. Plenty secure, so I left."
His straightforward answer made me grin broadly.
I'd long known the Ballerhards, once chained by harsh winters, were freed—but seeing them come south hit different.
Vincent eyed me and said abruptly,
"I don't plan to return north for a while."
Unsure what he meant, I waited for explanation.
"When war breaks out again, I intend to lead the Ballerhard Rangers into battle."
Unreasoning aversion rose at Vincent's humorless words.
An incomprehensible feeling.
Vincent, raised in battle-prone Winter Castle, joining was welcome. His elite forces would greatly aid the kingdom.
I knew that better than anyone.
Yet it irked me.
Perhaps because I wanted the Ballerhards, freshly escaped cruel fate, to live prosperously now—or worry for my last uncle's kin facing misfortune.
Neither justified blocking Vincent.
"No."
Still, I opposed his participation.
"Winter Castle's defenses suffice without me."
"Not the issue."
"Then why stop me?"
"Just no."
Vincent frowned.
"Fighting for the kingdom is a noble's duty and right. Even Your Highness can't deny that—"
"Still no."
"Your Highness. I am Vincent Ballerhard, head of House Ballerhard, commander of the 3rd Legion, Warden of the Marches. Even His Majesty wouldn't oppose so blindly."
"No means no."
My stubbornness hardened Vincent's expression.
"No, why—"
"Argh, just because I don't want to!"
I yelled, and Vincent looked at me in bewilderment.
"So it's not 'no,' just that Your Highness doesn't like it."
He chuckled.
"Don't play word games."
"No games. 'No' denies my noble rights; 'don't like' is..."
Vincent trailed off slyly.
"What?"
"That's why I like Your Highness."
"Out of nowhere—"
"Your Highness."
Vincent suddenly grew serious.
"What."
"I won't die."
It struck too close; I faltered, speechless.
"I'm not like Father. No ambitions as a knight, no drive to make a name through fierce living. My only wish: Winter Castle endures forever, I live long, play merit at your coronation, enjoy power as cousin."
Vincent's rigid face softened.
"I promise. I won't suddenly leave your side like Father."
Seeing that, I couldn't stubbornly refuse anymore.
"So don't worry—permit my participation."
Still, words stuck.
"Even without permission, I'll join. Better if you allow it graciously, no?"
"Hmph. Do what you want."
I snorted, and Vincent laughed heartily.
"Then I'll unpack and return for dinner. Long-overdue meal together."
"Whatever."
"Yes, yes. See you later."
Ignoring my sulk, Vincent said his piece and left.
"Whew."
Alone, I belatedly regretted my outburst.
I still didn't welcome Vincent's participation.
But war was far off; no need to strain now.
Before war, other priorities—like
"Gotta ask His Majesty for supreme commander."
Securing key posts, productive stuff.
Already curious.
Vincent's face on rear supply duty—priceless sight.
I chuckled alone for a while.
But all that assumed I snagged supreme commander.
The king opposed my participation as much as I did Vincent's.
First, convince the king.
Another reason house arrest must end.
**
Evening brought Vincent and welcome faces to my palace.
Veteran rangers like Yorden, Winter Castle knights—including Gawain and comrades.
I set up in the garden for a small banquet.
No war talk from me or Vincent. Just trivial chatter, raucous fun.
Next day, and the one after—our private banquets continued.
Forgetting headaches, a week flew by.
Days later, I finally regained freedom.
Straight out, sought the king.
About to ask on Dawn Alliance—a Royal Knight rushed to the king's chambers.
And reported,
"Dotrin Kingdom has declared war on the Empire!"
War had begun already.