A Farewell to Ilen and the Shadows of Peale
In three days, the knights of the Second Knight Order left Ileang in the company of Divine Dragopoly. A short while later, Prince Louis and Prince Charles came to Gaspard’s office in the royal palace.
“Now that everything seems wrapped up in Ileang, I suppose I should take command of the army myself.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Gaspard asked.
“You still can’t understand something as simple as this? You, Gaspard, who became the commander of the army but forgot how to use your head.”
Gaspard’s eyebrows furrowed. Yet Louis continued talking as if it didn’t matter.
“Jeanne is out there spreading her name all over the kingdom, isn’t she? As the first prince of Bluisol, I can’t just sit still. I’ll march with the army, helping the people. So send me some troops from Ileang.”
A groan escaped Gaspard.
He hadn’t failed to understand Louis’s words. The issue was that he simply couldn’t grant the request.
With the enemy’s main force entrenched in the capital, the most important thing to hold the line against a northern advance was to keep Ileang firmly under control. Dividing troops for Louis? That was impossible.
Even if the enemy had changed its target to Peale Castle, it could turn back at any moment.
Most of all, Louis’s claim of wanting to help the people was completely unbelievable.
In Ileang, whenever fighting broke out, he hid deep inside the palace. On days without battle, he found excuses to harass the soldiers. If there was even one beautiful woman among the citizens living inside the city, he would violate her. As days passed, nothing but bad rumors accumulated about him.
For someone like that to say he wanted to help the people? It was nothing but an excuse to laugh at.
“Father will return to Ileang, won’t he? And with the Empire’s army as well. Then there’s no need to guard this place, so it would be fine to lead a generous number of troops.”
Louis spoke proudly, as if he had come up with a brilliant plan.
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that.”
Gaspard cut him off cleanly.
Handing the army to this worthless prince would bring endless regret.
Gaspard had not even finished his studies in military strategy, let alone the essential monarch’s art that a prince should master. The very idea of leading people with such a man was cause for concern rather than hope.
It was a bitter reminder of the time when Louis had been strongly pushed as the crown prince.
Even after Gaspard’s refusal, Louis pressed his point again.
“Why can’t I? If it’s because you’re worried about me, don’t worry. Jeanne took the Second Knight Order with her. I would prefer the First, but since Father is here, that won’t work. Half the remaining knights should be enough. Since there aren’t enough knights, I’ll take a large number of soldiers.”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot.”
“The war isn’t over yet….”
“Jeanne didn’t wait for the war to end before taking her knights, did she?”
Louis cut Gaspard’s words short, speaking twice as long as the older man. Gaspard finally suppressed his rising anger. Had Louis not been a prince, he would have shouted.
The captain of the Second Knight Order was Jeanne. Taking command she had personally earned and moving ahead to the war ahead of time was a perfectly rational choice. Yet Louis clung to the idea as if it were his.
“Gaspard, don’t you want me to become king? Of course, no matter how much Jeanne builds her reputation and wins the hearts of the common people, the chance she becomes queen is none. Still, before the war ends, I need to build some merit. Even a little will help my position as successor.”
Louis’s face shone with impatience and greed. Despite lacking ability, his sole desire was to become king. Gaspard let out a dry laugh.
“May I follow my brother as well?”
At that moment, Charles, who had accompanied Louis, spoke up. Before Gaspard could respond, Louis burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha, yes. My dear little brother wants to learn from his big brother. As a brother, how could I refuse? Feel free to come along, whenever you like.”
“Thank you, brother Louis.”
Even though he had not given formal permission to lead the army, Gaspard treated the decision as if it had already been made.
Gaspard turned his attention from Louis to Charles. Beneath his innocent smile, his eyes held something strange as he watched Louis.
Gaspard could read the emotion in those eyes. Louis had not noticed it at all. He simply kept Charles beside him as a young brother, yet what Charles saw was clear ambition.
‘Perhaps Prince Charles is even smarter than Prince Louis. But his temperament is unstable.’
Although only fifteen, Charles had fought in every battle that broke out in Ileang, eagerly throwing himself into combat.
Normally he behaved politely and courteously toward everyone, winning a decent reputation. Yet.
Every now and then, flashes of cruelty revealed a ruthless side that would make anyone pause. No matter how much of a battlefield it was, if they saw a cruel soldier tear an enemy to pieces and laugh, anyone would think the same.
The signs had been there since childhood. A seven-year-old boy stabbing a kitten that disturbed a queen’s palace with a knife was not something easily forgotten.
Even if Charles were next in line for the throne after Louis, Gaspard could not bring himself to trust him because of that.
In the end, Gaspard allowed Louis to lead the troops. The prince had forgotten his dignity and made demands. It was unavoidable.
Gaspard could only pray that these soldiers would not become vengeful ghosts haunting him in the future.
---
Before Peale Castle, cheerful and lively voices echoed.
“You understood me perfectly! We truly are destined by fate.”
Divine Dragopoly clung to Jeanne with exaggerated enthusiasm. Jeanne brushed him away indifferently.
“Arriving at the same place at the same time by coincidence is not fate. Go away.”
“You’re too harsh just because I was happy to see you. Anyway, who are you over there?”
Divine Dragopoly stopped fussing and asked the tall man standing motionless nearby. The man answered in surprise.
“…I am the steward of Lord Peale.”
“Understood. Will you lead us to the lord?”
“The lord is not here at the moment.”
“Eh?”
If the lord wasn’t here, where could he be? Divine Dragopoly’s face turned bewildered.
‘It seems people’s personalities never change.’
Jeanne nodded as if she had expected it. The steward hurriedly continued.
“Please come inside and rest. When the lord returns, I will inform you at once.”
“Very well. Let’s all go in then.”
The Second Knight Order, which had traveled such a long distance from Ileang to escape the Rotinzel army’s gaze, welcomed the decision. Jeanne, Fabian, Chastan, and Samuel followed them into the castle.
While inspecting the knights of the Second Order she had not seen in a long time, Jeanne noticed Ethan. His expression was unusually poor.
Jeanne approached him quietly, moving a little apart from the others and speaking.
“Your expression is quite grim, Ethan. This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”
“Does it show that much?”
“Perhaps. I might not have noticed with anyone else. But don’t try to hide it from me, Ethan. I keep watch over all of you at all times.”
To Jeanne, the Second Knight Order was precious comrades, loyal retainers, and dear friends. She had always been attentive to them.
“Peale is my hometown.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know you would melt with emotion just because you came to your hometown.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then do you have a bad memory?”
Ines, who had grown up in Gironde, had shown nothing but displeasure the moment she set foot in this place. After learning about her past, Jeanne understood why she reacted this way.
Was it the same for Ethan?
However, Ethan shook his head.
“That is not it. As the son of a low-ranking knight under the lord, I have lived comfortably here at Peale Castle. The only thing that bothers me is a matter concerning Lord Laurent of Peale.”
“Laurent of Peale?”
“Even that may not be a big deal. I just feel a little awkward about it. It’s nothing worth telling the captain about.”
Jeanne did not press him.
The taciturn and loyal knight would tell her everything if she ordered him to speak the truth, but she could never win his heart that way.
‘Their ages are similar, aren’t they? As the lord’s son and the knight’s son, Ethan would naturally see Laurent as his master. That must be why.’
Ethan and Laurent had completely opposite personalities, so it made sense that he would feel uncomfortable serving him.
Laurent of Peale returned from hunting in the nearby forest.
Laurent appeared to be nothing like a nobleman from the outside.
His skin tanned to a brown hue, with shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing casual clothes, he looked more like a gypsy or a sailor.
Free-spirited and unpretentious. That was why his reputation among nobles was not good.
“I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly. Princess Jeanne de Loire.”
“Jeanne de Loire, captain of the Second Knight Order. Lord Laurent Hortfrey Peale.”
“Titles are all made for convenience anyway. Hahaha. Please call me Laurent. As your highness pleases.”
Jeanne raised one eyebrow.
“I have heard much about the reputation of the Second Knight Order and the princess. It is reassuring to know that the strongest force in this kingdom is defending Peale Castle.”
Laurent set down the deer he had slung over his shoulder and poured wine into a glass before speaking.
“Shall we have a welcoming banquet this evening?”
“Did you not hear the rumors that the enemy is approaching this way? What do you think war is, Lord Laurent?”
Jeanne snapped at him.
“Ah, your expression is frighteningly grim.”
“Isn’t a scary face what makes one scary?”
Divine Dragopoly inserted himself between them. Laurent’s interest piqued at the unexpected words.
“Huh? Is that so? Then who are you?”
“I am Divine Dragopoly. I am currently serving as the princess’s advisor.”
“You must be a remarkable person. I am Laurent, lord of this castle.”
Laurent extended his right hand. Divine Dragopoly tilted his head, then shook it. The grip was firm and rough.
“I didn’t expect you to reach out your hand.”
“That’s the kind of thing I like.”
Watching the unexpectedly compatible pair, Jeanne shook her head.
How had this man become a hero in the end? That was the greatest mystery of this war.
---
It was a deep night where even the stars seemed asleep.
Avoiding the soldiers on watch, someone moved stealthily like a thief.
He walked quickly yet silently, as if he knew every patrol route of the guards. The black cloak hid him even deeper in the darkness.
“It’s too late for a night stroll.”
“Ah.”
A voice suddenly blocked his path. Laurent, who had been trying to slip out of the castle, looked toward the source.
Ethan leaned against the castle wall.
“As expected. Night Knight Ethan, behaving as if he already predicted I would do this.”
“Are you running away? Or do you have some reason you can’t be seen going out?”
“If I could, I’d run. Just pretend you didn’t see me, won’t you?”
The night air was thick.
The stars in the sky were hazy, perhaps because rain was coming. The moonlight that spilled around the moon sank into the darkness.
“Closing one’s eyes to injustice is not the duty of a knight.”
“You’ve become an excellent knight, Ethan. Better than me in every way. Congratulations. You’ve achieved what you wanted.”
Ethan gazed quietly at Laurent.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No, I’m sincere. As a childhood friend.”
“Not once in my life have I thought of you as a friend, Lord Laurent.”
“That hurts. I always thought of you as my friend.”
Laurent laughed awkwardly. Ethan had known he was not well-liked, but hearing it from his own lips made the words taste bitter.
Ethan turned away.
“Do as you please.”
“Why don’t you try to catch me?”
“If someone who abandons the castle and runs away, there’s no point in catching him.”
“That’s right. Nothing torments subordinates more than a weak and cowardly commander.”
Ethan walked away, as if he had nothing more to say.
Laurent stood in the night breeze for a long time, staring at that spot.