Dawn and the Tomb
The morning had come to the meadow where Jeanne and the knights were staying.
Devin, who had never slept outdoors despite the lush grass underfoot, sat up and gripped his waist.
Before him, Jeanne had long since awakened and was carefully inspecting her sword.
Her face, as she wiped the blade with a dry cloth, looked devout, like a devotee performing a sacred rite.
“You rose early, Lady Jeanne.”
“I have never seen a knight sleep in later than royalty.”
“Ugh… I am not experienced at handling my body like a princess.”
“If you were not Lady Jeanne, you would have been executed long ago.”
“If you were not Lady Jeanne, I would not even have dared speak to you.”
Jeanne shook her head with a light laugh.
Devin had also risen. It was time to move for today’s tasks.
Jeanne stood first, and Devin followed suit.
Far in the distance, the royal palace of Roire stood. Black smoke still rose from it.
The once-glorious palace looked as if it foretold the kingdom’s future in its very ruin.
Jeanne shook her head to cast away such useless thoughts.
Sleeping in the open had left the knights in poor shape.
Even Fabian, who had always been immaculate, appeared disheveled.
Jeanne felt a pang of guilt toward these exhausted men.
Thanks to them, many lives had been saved.
‘Just a little longer of your labor, please.’
They were still needed for this kingdom.
Jeanne summoned all whom she must lead to one place.
Seated in a row, the knights looked to Diego, their representative, to speak.
“What must we do from now on, Lady Jeanne?”
Jeanne nodded and gave her orders.
“First, Mateo, you will lead Hues and the remaining soldiers to Ileon.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And Knight Diego, you will lead the Second Knight Order as acting commander for a time and cut off the enemy’s supply lines.”
“Cut off the supply lines?”
“We act as a raiding party. We strike and withdraw to disrupt the enemy from behind.”
“Ah! If that is the task, I accept it at once.”
“Take Devin as well. Though his stamina is poor, his mind is sharp, so he will be of great help.”
Devin smiled awkwardly at Jeanne’s words.
“Hahaha, I will run as diligently as possible so as not to disturb the mission.”
Having finished the orders, Jeanne scanned the faces of the remaining knights.
Every knight looked only at her.
Even Chastan, who had been dazed, was snapped out of it by a tap from Ethan.
Jeanne spoke in her calm but resolute voice.
“Your lives are precious. Fight with the resolve to die, but if danger comes, flee. As long as you live, you can plan for the future. Your lives can never be compared to that of a single enemy. Fight always with that thought in mind.”
“We understand.”
“Remember this: never overexert yourselves. Move only within the range of annoying the enemy.”
Devin, listening quietly, noticed something strange.
“Hmm? What about Lady Jeanne?”
If she were to join them, Diego would not have been given the role of acting commander.
Then what separate task had she taken? Devin’s sharp mind could not even guess.
“I am going to the Tomb of the Great King with Fabian.”
“The tomb of King Charlemagne? Why there…?”
“There is something I must obtain there.”
Devin shrugged with genuine confusion.
“The time is now or never.”
She had to go this time.
“After the Royal Palace of Roire burned, the Rotinzel army moved to the Tomb of the Great King not long after to obtain plunder. It will be no different this time.”
They had seized the capital but gained nothing from the fire; that was the reality for the Rotinzel forces.
Those blinded by greed had combed every inch of the capital’s surroundings, then dug up the tombs of the kings.
The artifacts buried with the kings became splendid plunder.
The Tomb of the Great King was no different.
In the not-too-distant future, it would be razed, yet its treasures remained.
***
The Tomb of the Great King in Roire looked modest from the outside, as befitted a king’s burial site.
Charlemagne, the knight par excellence who valued honor and restrained himself, had left a will not to lavish his tomb.
Hence its small size even compared to previous kings, and even more modest beside ordinary nobles.
But that was not all.
The visible structure was merely the facade; the true tomb beneath was of considerable scale, yet no royal member could enter at will.
Jeanne valued efficiency highly.
She saw no need to bring the entire knight order for one sword. She left the knights to disrupt the enemy, and she arrived here with only Fabian.
“It is beautiful.”
Seeing the intact Tomb of the Great King stirred new emotion in Jeanne.
She had only seen it after it had been looted of all its treasures and reduced to a ruin.
‘But this will be the last time.’
The enemy had occupied the capital; soon they would come here.
The tomb of a former king was the best place to obtain treasure.
With her current strength, she could not protect the tomb. Even if she mobilized the Second Knight Order, sending enemy troops would make the sacrifice meaningless.
No matter how grand the tomb of the Great King, the lives of the living were more important to her than the rest of the dead.
Jeanne had come not to guard the tomb, but for another purpose.
Like Jeanne, Fabian stood gazing at the tomb, then asked her.
“May I ask the reason for your visit here, Lady Jeanne?”
“Joyeuse.”
“The sword of the Great King… do you mean the Joyeuse?”
Among the treasures buried in the Tomb of Charlemagne, the Joyeuse, the sword he had used in life, was there.
That was exactly the sword Jeanne wished to obtain.
When she had come here before her regression seeking power, the tomb had already been completely destroyed and she could not enter.
She did not know whether the Joyeuse had fallen into enemy hands or remained buried deep underground.
This time she would be faster. She must obtain it before they arrived.
Pillars surrounding her in a circle rose high, supporting a roof that thrust skyward.
Two door handles, one for the dead and one for the living, were elaborately decorated.
Entering the building that resembled a temple, she saw the achievements of Charlemagne carved on every wall by the hand of a master artisan. It was itself a work of outstanding art.
At the center of the building lay a pure-white coffin upon an altar.
Jeanne strode forward and pushed the lid of the coffin that no one should touch.
Though heavy, the stone lid moved with a groan, but Jeanne alone lacked the strength.
“Help me.”
“How could I possibly disturb the rest of the Great King?”
“The one you serve is not the Great King, but me.”
Fabian assisted Jeanne despite his discomfort.
With a creak, the lid slid aside.
There should have been a body, but instead a descending staircase lay within. The coffin was merely the entrance to the true tomb.
“So this was here.”
“It is nothing difficult to guess. Records state that relics remained in the tomb, yet this building has no suitable space. Then it must be underground.”
The tomb had been sealed, and visits for festivals were forbidden by law because Charlemagne had prohibited anyone from entering his own tomb in life.
Fabian could not know of the secret spaces beneath, and that was only natural.
Jeanne picked up the lamp she had brought and stepped onto the stairs, then instructed Fabian.
“Stay here and guard the surroundings.”
“You will enter alone again?”
“Yes, because I need to go.”
“What if there is a trap? What will you do? It is dangerous. I should go instead.”
Rumors said the Great King’s tomb held complex and cruel traps, but Jeanne knew no such traps existed there.
She had always wondered why.
Why had Charlemagne wanted no one to approach his own tomb?
Even so, she would have to break his will not to approach and obtain his sword to continue fighting in the future.
“Fabian, if the Great King were alive, he would give me his sword if I risked my life to find him. So I must go.”
Fabian sighed deeply.
“I know that even if I protest, Lady Jeanne will not listen.”
“Nothing is obtained without risk. I understand your worry, but do not fear. Trust in the Jeanne who stands before you with this sword.”
Jeanne understood the worry in Fabian’s heart for his lord and student.
To him, she was no longer the warrior who had experienced war, but merely a girl who had celebrated her eighteenth birthday only days ago.
She knew he conflicted over failing in his duty as a guard knight.
“I have always believed in Lady Jeanne. I question only whether sending her is truly my duty.”
Jeanne placed a hand on Fabian’s shoulder and calmed him.
“Guarding this place is the same as guarding me. If someone comes and seals the entrance, it would be a disaster.”
Jeanne lightened the mood with a casual remark.
It was not entirely a joke; if the enemy arrived faster than expected and the tomb collapsed, Jeanne would be buried alive inside.
Therefore, Fabian staying to guard was truly for Jeanne’s sake.
Fabian accepted his duty.
“Understood. Take care. And I pray you obtain the sword.”
“Of course.”
Jeanne nodded.
The stairs descended deep; after a long walk, they still did not end.
Perhaps the magic once used when the tomb was built had been sealed.
After descending far, a space appeared as if it had been prepared like a house from her life.
Though treasures and precious items filled the other rooms, Jeanne paid them no attention and moved to the deepest chamber.
There lay what she wanted—the real resting place of Charlemagne’s body.
Unlike the other treasure-filled rooms, this one held only one pure-white coffin and a statue rising like a knight guarding it.
‘It is as if the statue is guarding its own body.’
Jeanne tilted her head at the strange irony.
The statue holding a sword depicted Charlemagne in life.
Unlike the stone statue, the object in its hand was a true blade. Its plain form without decoration revealed Charlemagne’s nature well.
Despite centuries of neglect, no rust marred its smooth silver blade, proof of the sword’s greatness.
Jeanne’s eyes sparkled.
Beyond necessity, she simply could not resist the sword itself.
“This must be it…”
The Joyeuse, the sword of Great King Charlemagne.
She swallowed once, then gripped the hilt.
The moment she held it, the aura of the Great King who had once ridden across vast fields to defeat enemies flowed into her body.
“Uh…?”
The surroundings spun.
A sickening feeling as though she were being sucked somewhere made Jeanne close her eyes.