Chapter 126
Chapter 126
Translation: godsn
"Sister, what's wrong?"
Saya, who had been standing beside Neril and looking down below, turned at the sound of her voice.
"There's a loose thread."
"Ah."
Saya turned back around. Her entire focus was fixed on the rebel army below the castle walls.
Everyone was in shock at the sudden appearance of the boy who had beheaded their leader.
The rebel camp was in utter chaos.
"He killed the leader! Theo, you traitor! You were the royal castle's lapdog all along!"
The mercenaries Horols had brought charged at Theo to kill him, but the civilians blocked their path.
"Theo has worked tirelessly for us! He wouldn't kill the leader without reason or shout about a fake rebellion!"
"Didn't you hear what Theo just said? The lapdog is the leader, who took money from the Regent! We need to verify that first!"
The rebel army split sharply in two, the tension between them palpable.
The chaos atop the castle walls was no different.
"Regent, what did that bastard mean by what he just said?"
"Did you plan this? A fake rebellion?"
The military officers turned to the Regent, pressing him for answers.
A rebel killing his own leader while invoking the Regent's name—the circumstances were undeniably suspicious.
"Th-that's preposterous! How d-dare you—!"
The Regent, his face drained of color, barely managed to stammer out a response when—
Thud thud thud thud.
A clamor rose in the distance. The frantic pounding of hooves shook the ground.
"Aaaah!"
"Wh-what is that?!"
From a village not far from the rebel forces, soldiers suddenly came pouring out.
It was Iason's secret unit, forced into the open by the sudden ambush.
Then, Marquess Gilifos' booming voice rang out.
"Seize them! Don't let a single one escape!"
He and Dianzel's Agema warriors herded Iason's troops toward the rebels like a pack of rats, making it seem as though Iason's forces were allied with the rebellion.
"They had reinforcements hidden there too?! And they look like elites at that!"
The people in the castle were stunned to see the rebels had prepared such layered, multi-tiered defenses.
But in reality, the rebels had never seen the soldiers fleeing toward them before.
"Who are they? I've never seen them!"
They exchanged bewildered glances.
"Aren't they hidden troops the royal family sent to suppress us?!"
"They're royal soldiers! The enemy!"
Someone's question quickly spiraled into wild speculation.
Gilifos swung his mace threateningly and roared again.
"Even their corpses will do! Slaughter every last one of these vile wretches who dared set foot on Valdina's soil!"
"We're dead! Run!"
Though his words were directed at Iason's troops, the rebels thought he meant them and began fleeing in terror.
Already reeling from their leader's death, they had neither the composure nor the clarity of mind to discern the truth of the situation.
"What are you doing?! Fight! We have to fight! Are you just going to die like dogs without even putting up a fight?!"
The mercenaries bellowed desperately as they watched the rebel forces crumble in disarray.
Their voices were so thunderous that even Virna, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake.
"Ugh... nngh...."
Virna came to and opened her eyes. Her nape burned, and her vision swam with hazy dust.
Her last memory was slipping safely through the royal palace's secret passage and seeing a blinding white light—
"Aaaah! What the hell is this?!"
Soon, she realized with horror that she was in the heart of enemy territory.
Surrounded by soldiers brandishing deadly weapons, her arms bound, and worst of all—streaks of crimson blood staining the ground before her.
"Aaaah!"
Virna shrieked when she spotted the severed head of the leader. Her piercing scream echoed across the plains.
"Where is everyone?! Mom! Dad! Help me! This place is insane!"
Tears streamed down her delicate face as she thrashed about in desperation.
She couldn't believe she'd been left alone amidst these rebels.
Only now did she understand why her father had revealed the secret passage exclusively to Medeia.
It was to hand Medeia over to the rebels.
Medeia should be standing here right now. Not her!
"I'll kill you, Medeiaaaaaa!"
A vicious curse spilled from her lips, but unfortunately, she had neither the means nor the opportunity to act on it.
Because at this moment, Virna was utterly alone. In this chaos, there was no one to rescue her and escort her back to the royal castle.
She frantically whipped her head around.
'That knight! Where is our family's knight?!'
But she couldn't find him anywhere.
The realization that she'd been thrown into this place completely defenseless plunged her into despair.
Yet it seemed the gods hadn't abandoned her yet.
"Your Grace! Grand Duke Castulo, Your Grace!"
Because there, in the distance, she spotted Iason running toward her as if fleeing something.
Though he wore a helmet, Virna instantly recognized his distinctive horse and armor.
"Your Grace! Save me!"
Virna waved her bound wrists wildly.
Whether it was her desperate urgency to escape this place and reach the Grand Duke at all costs, or perhaps because Theo had already made a slight cut in the rope earlier—
The rope binding her wrists snapped, and Virna was suddenly free.
She flung the rope aside and dashed straight into the heart of the ongoing battle.
Moments earlier, from Iason's perspective.
The royal soldiers and rebels had been locked in a tense standoff, exchanging heated words.
"We've captured the false princess!"
When Horols' shout shook the earth and sky, Iason quietly revealed himself.
'It's time.'
Though Marquess Gilifos's sudden appearance had momentarily halted the rebel advance, Iason knew reality rarely followed plans perfectly.
The hooded princess was dragged onto the platform by the rebel leader.
Iason scowled at the brutish way the rebels handled her.
'How dare they treat her so disrespectfully.'
As expected of rotten pirates—they had no sense of decorum or shame.
"Are you ready? We'll charge in shortly to rescue the princess. You lot will wipe out those vulgar scum."
"Yes, Your Grace."
His Shadows stood ready beside him.
But when the hood was finally removed, Iason couldn't hide his shock.
His eyes flew wide, his mouth falling open.
"Why—how is—why is the noblewoman there instead of the princess?!"
Before he could even process this confusion, something even more shocking occurred.
"The rebel leader has been executed! Regent Claudio! Your scheme has been exposed! This fake rebellion ends here!"
Iason's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
'What's happening? Who the hell is that now?!'
Weren't all the rebels supposed to be firmly under the Regent's control?
What happens when the leader dies?
Just then, a subordinate rushed over in panic.
"Your Grace, disaster! Our position has been exposed."
"What? What do you—"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Iason whirled around.
A massive, heavily armed cavalry unit was storming into the village where they'd been hiding, destroying everything in their path.
As they tore through with weapons, his hidden troops had no choice but to counterattack.
'How did they know we were here?!'
They ambushed Iason's forces as if they'd been waiting for this moment.
"Retreat immediately. Their strength is abnormal."
Nord, one of Iason's elite secret guards who always protected him, whispered urgently. He'd been the first to recognize the extraordinary nature of their attackers.
Iason frantically scanned his surroundings.
His soldiers were being silently slaughtered by the blades and spears of Valdina's knights.
This was an entirely different league from the Marquess Gilifos' troops, who had been barely holding their own against the rebels just moments ago.
Thud. Thump. Crunch.
The sounds of his men tumbling from their horses, struck down by Valdina's swords, struck Iason's ears louder and heavier than ever before.
"Your Grace, this is dire. We must secure a retreat—please, withdraw at once!"
"No! At this rate, we'll be annihilated! Everyone, fall back! Scatter and escape from here!"
Iason's eyes burned crimson as he snarled.
The name of this shadow unit was the Varangians—those left behind by his father, the Late Emperor, before his death.
They had been raised in secret, evading his uncle's notice, making them his ultimate weapon, the only force capable of standing against him. These were not men to be lost so meaninglessly here.
Then—whoosh!
An arrow flew.
"Your Grace! Beware!"
At the guard's cry, Iason reflexively swung his sword—but the arrow wasn't aimed at him.
"Ghk—!"
Nord clutched his pierced throat and fell from his horse. Drops of blood splattered across the laurel-adorned crest of his helmet.
"Nord!"
By the time Iason rushed to him, the man's eyes were wide and lifeless.
"Who's there?! Where did that come from?!"
Iason desperately searched his surroundings, but the direction of the arrow's flight was impossible to discern.
Before he could even gather his wits, another chilling sound of splitting air struck his ears in rapid succession.
"Ugh—!"
"Hah—"
Sud and West, standing at Iason's flanks, collapsed.
Their throats and chests had been pierced by arrows—fatal wounds.
"W-what in the...?"
More arrows came flying.
In the blink of an eye, the rapid-fire volley struck true, as if determined to ensure the guards' deaths, piercing through them mercilessly.
In an instant, three of Iason's four secret guards had fallen—reduced to mere pincushions.
Iason froze. A shiver crawled up his spine.
"Aaaaaah!"
A bestial roar, like the screech of metal, echoed through the air.
Iason could no longer maintain his composure.
His face twisted like a demon's, so far removed from the gentle Grand Duke Castulo that no one would recognize him now.
"Who is it?! Who?! Who dares target me?!"
Nord. Sud. West. And Ost.
These four guards had been the secret protectors of the Kazen imperial bloodline.
Shadows who dwelled in obscurity, existing yet not existing.
Through centuries of history, even as the guards themselves changed, their names remained the same.
They had safeguarded the imperial lineage with blind loyalty, preserving its purity above all else.
They never interfered in politics—their sole duty was the preservation of blood.
"Iason, they will not bring you honor or greatness, but they will keep you alive."
Before his death, Iason's father, the Late Emperor, had entrusted him with the Varangian unit and revealed the existence of these four men.
Even when his uncle, Perdiccas II, had sought to eliminate his troublesome nephew, it was thanks to these men that Iason had survived unscathed.
Perdiccas II, not of the direct bloodline, had not even known of their existence.
And now, on this journey to Valdina, they had followed in silence, like shadows.
Though they had lent no strength to the Regent's rebellion, they had still guarded Iason's side, disguised as mere soldiers.
Yet someone had known of their existence—had deliberately hunted down these recluses.
'A trap. This isn't the Regent's doing—this is a trap meant for me!'
Only now did Iason realize.
The mastermind behind this catastrophe knew him—knew the Kazen imperial family intimately.
His face turned deathly pale.
But the realization came too late. The brutal reality was already unfolding before his eyes.
"Ost! We must leave this place—now!"
With no time to mourn his fallen guards, Iason tried to flee in a desperate rush, if only to protect the one who remained—
"Grand Duke Castulo! Save me, please!"
A girl's piercing scream tore through the air.