The Story They Wanted to Hide
Yu Jinhyuk swallowed hard and fidgeted with his fingers. He couldn't help it. Sitting across from him, personally steeping tea in an exquisite cup for his sake, was Elysia—the Queen of England herself. Even if it had been his own grandmother doing this, he would have felt uneasy. How was he supposed to sit still?
"You are Yu Jinhyuk, yes?"
Perhaps sensing his unease, Elysia spoke up.
"Yes."
A gentle smile on her face, Elysia studied him.
"The Prime Minister would be terribly envious if he knew. I've heard he's searching quite diligently—mobilizing MI6 and every ability user skilled in tracking that he can get his hands on."
It probably wasn't just Britain. Plenty of people had their eyes peeled looking for the Runner.
"Don't worry. I won't go around bragging about it. A secret only gains value when you keep it to yourself. And you needn't worry about those who know your identity, either. They're all people I've worked with for a long time—tight-lipped, every one of them."
"Haha... Thank you."
Elysia handed him the teacup. The tea was rich with a refined, fragrant aroma. His 3,271-year-old friend Elia had often said that tea should be savored with the nose before it ever touched the mouth. Back then he'd wondered if that was just the wisdom of age talking. Now he was starting to understand what she meant.
Hmm.
He took a sip. The fragrance of the tea bloomed through his mouth. Jinhyuk closed his eyes and savored it for a long while, then nodded.
Vanilla latte still tastes better, though.
Tea, it seemed, really did require a certain amount of life experience.
"Thank you for taking the time to savor it so leisurely."
Elysia took a sip of her own and continued.
"This tea has been supplied exclusively to the British royal family since ancient times. The cultivar has gone extinct, so it's no longer produced. What you and I just drank was the last of it."
Come again?
His hand froze. It was that precious? There was no force on heaven or earth that could make him admit he'd thought a vanilla latte tasted better.
"Keep this a secret from Sophia. I'd originally planned to drink it with my granddaughter after the succession ceremony."
"I'll take this secret to my grave."
With a solemn expression, he took another sip. Knowing how precious it was, it somehow tasted a little better than before.
"It's truly astonishing, though. To think the famous Runner would be such a young, delicate-looking gentleman. You look so far removed from any kind of fighting."
"I hear that a lot. People say I look like a block of tofu who'd never leave his room except to mash a keyboard."
A smile spread across Elysia's face. Truly a queen. Even her laughter carried an air of dignity. She let out a quiet breath and leaned back in her chair.
"You never can tell how the world will turn. I never thought I'd meet the Runner in my lifetime, and yet he saved me—and the British royal family."
Having said that, Elysia put on a playful expression.
"The entire royal family and I have been quite troubled. We simply cannot fathom how to repay this debt of gratitude. Please don't tell me it's fine. The House of Windsor never turns a blind eye to a favor received."
"If Your Majesty puts it that way, I can hardly refuse."
Jinhyuk put on the most innocent smile in the world. In truth, he hadn't the slightest intention of declining. This was the British royal family. When someone far wealthier than him wanted to give him something, why on earth would he refuse?
I hope they give me a luxury private jet.
He thought it, but didn't say it out loud. It would make him look too greedy.
"I'll have to start looking in earnest from today. Something that will be of great help without putting your name out in the open."
"Thank you."
"It is we—the royal family and I—who have received a debt we can never repay. Even now, the thought makes me dizzy. Had it not been for you, Widrik would almost certainly have taken the throne."
The worst tyrant the dynasty had ever produced would have been born. The nation of Britain itself would have been thrown into considerable turmoil.
"Many people call the British royal family a pack of figureheads. A place with no real power, surviving on history and appearances alone."
But that was far from the truth. They were only separated from power on the surface. The royal family still possessed enormous influence—the kind even the British Prime Minister couldn't touch. That this power had not fallen into Widrik's hands was, nationally speaking, something close to a miracle.
"There's something I've been curious about regarding the royal family."
Jinhyuk, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I happened to learn that Britain's first king, Aman, bore the surname Windsor. But according to recorded history, the British royal family only started using the Windsor name relatively recently. The kings before that used different surnames depending on the era."
Surprise settled over Elysia's face. What Jinhyuk had just said was a hidden shame of the British dynasty—a record passed down with the throne to the next king alone. Currently, even within the royal family, Elysia was the only one who knew of it.
Jinhyuk, who had paused for a moment, drew a peculiar smile.
"So you did know."
Elysia set down her teacup and nodded.
"I'll be honest—I'm quite astonished. I thought I was the only person in this world who knew that story."
"I have no intention of going around telling anyone. I'm simply curious about what happened."
"As a royal family, it is a truly shameful affair."
Elysia let out a small sigh and began her tale.
"It happened several generations after the first king, Aman. A king who read the records Aman left behind found himself questioning them. Why should our great royal house follow the surname of a knight whose origins weren't even known? And so they began to erase. Every memory and record related to the unidentified knight Berid Windsor. After that, as everyone knows, they changed the family name—so that the very existence of Windsor would be completely forgotten."
"So not every record disappeared."
"That's right. In every era, there are those who safeguard records. Those records were passed down in the utmost secrecy, for a very long time. And when a king appeared who was ready to accept the truth, they were revealed. That was about a hundred years ago."
"Around the time the Windsor name began to be used in official history."
"It was an effort to set a distorted truth right, even if belatedly. But even George V, who was king at the time, couldn't reveal the whole truth. This royal family is a terribly image-conscious lot, you see. No matter how long ago a dynasty, they don't want its disgrace brought to light. The arrows of criticism would inevitably fly at the current royal house that inherited that bloodline. And yet they couldn't simply repeat the mistakes of the past. So they began to put it off. The duty of something that would have to be done someday was passed from the present generation to the next, and from that next generation to the one after."
Elysia drew a playful smile.
"And so it became custom. To hold the truth heard from the previous king close to one's chest, then pass it on to the next. I probably would have dumped the responsibility and duty onto Sophia without a second thought. Just as my grandfather and father did."
Perhaps both of them had fallen into thought. A brief silence settled. Then, having finally emptied her teacup, Elysia spoke.
"Might I ask something this time? For some reason, I have a feeling you might know."
"Of course."
"In Aman Windsor's records, there is a passage that reads: 'One day, my teacher and father, Berid Windsor, said he had a request. If ever I should meet the one who was the very reason for his existence—the one more precious to him than anyone in the world—I was to do everything that person needed. He wanted nothing else.' At the end of the passage, the name of the person Berid Windsor spoke of was left behind. Countless generations of the dynasty tried to find the owner of that name. Not so much to fulfill Berid Windsor's request as out of simple curiosity. Who was this person that the knight who made the British dynasty possible held so dear? From which house, and of what standing?"
Having said this much, Elysia drew in a breath. And the moment she opened her mouth to speak that name—
The name had been spoken in someone else's voice.
Surprise settled over Elysia's face once more. A moment later, a gentle smile formed at the corners of her lips.
"So you did know, after all. What kind of person is she? This Seira Kinkaiten."
There was no need to hesitate or stall. It was far too easy a question.
"The greatest knight who ever led the finest of knights. An outstanding teacher, a commander, and a cherished comrade-in-arms."
An answer without the slightest waver.
"Yu Jinhyuk... just what are you..."
Elysia, about to ask something, shook her head. She decided not to ask that question. Even if Jinhyuk answered, it was clear she wouldn't be able to comprehend it with the common sense she possessed.
"In other words, she is someone precious to you as well—our benefactor."
"Yes. Very much so."
"I see. Then, could you pass along a message to this Seira Kinkaiten? The royal family is prepared to fulfill its promise, so she may come whenever she wishes."
"I'll make sure she hears it."
"Thank you. It seems I've incurred yet another debt to you."
Elysia smiled with her eyes closed.
"It seems I have one more thing to do before the succession ceremony. I can't very well be the wretched grandmother who dumps her duties onto her granddaughter."
Just as Jinhyuk was about to reply—
Knock, knock.
"The helicopter is ready."
Charles's voice came from beyond the door. Elysia nodded lightly and looked at Jinhyuk.
"You're heading straight to Snowdonia Park, I take it."
"Yes. There's something I need to find."
"Surely you won't just find it and leave immediately? You must come back and visit us."
"Of course."
Elysia slowly rose from her seat and brought her forehead to Jinhyuk's.
"I hope you find what you're looking for. May God's grace be with the benefactor who saved the royal family."
Jinhyuk closed his eyes as well. He didn't know what it was, but he felt as if the whole world had become sacred.
"Then let us meet again when you return, Jinhyuk."
"Yes. I'll see you then."
Jinhyuk stood and offered a bow, just as he'd seen on television. As he stepped out of the room, Charles, who had been waiting, guided the way.
"Though it is but a short distance of ten minutes, I shall escort you until we arrive."
"Thank you!"
Jinhyuk rubbed his palms together. He couldn't put this off any longer. The place where Khan Rendio, Vice Commander of the Black Knights, had led his knights. He had to find it.
The domain of Seira Kinkaiten, Commander of the Black Knights.
Seira had just received Elysia's story through Jinhyuk. Sitting quietly in her chair, she placed a hand over her heart. And with her eyes closed, she smiled.
Thank you.
The one who had let her know a story she had never known—a story that might have been forgotten forever. The one who had allowed what Berid Windsor accomplished to be known to the world once more.
Recalling that person's face, Seira Kinkaiten, Commander of the Black Knights, swore once more.