Chapter 91

Alexis Walten dying. It didn’t feel real.

‘He can’t die.’

Kathleen tried to pull herself together. No matter how powerful Count Hopewell’s army was, it was not like he could win against the combined forces of the Grand Duke and the Emperor.

The will and testament may just be a way to stop her. Just as he hurt and used her, this suppression of the rebellion may be an opportunity for him. Whether it was a member of the imperial court, or Peter, or anyone else…….

“Let’s go.”

Kathleen moved her motionless lips to say so. The will and testament, which must have been a lie, was also returned to Emily.

“Can you really go, Kelly?”

But looking at Kathleen who turned towards him, Joseph asked. She had on a face that he had never seen before.

As if she felt guilty.

“I can still feel regret from you.”

“……No. I don’t regret it. Death does not mean unconditional forgiveness.”

“I wish I could believe that you mean those words.”

Joseph took a few steps closer. He handed Luci over to Emily, took a deep breath and said:

“Actually, there was something that Grand Duke Walten said when he drove me out of the Duchy.”

“……What do you mean?”

“It was about finding the winter fairies and to come back. He promised that I could stay by your side if I find them and come back.”

“…….”

“At the time, I thought that was just an excuse to kick me out. So I decided to leave Meyer without seeing your face. Like he asked, I’ll find the winter fairies and come back. Then he will have no choice but to keep his word. And even if he doesn’t keep it, the winter fairies will help. With that in mind, I left for Carmine.”

Then Joseph took the paper bag he had left at his feet and poured it upside down.

Faintly shining magic crystals spilled out. Kathleen recognized them at a glance. These were the things Alexis had installed around her to suppress her abilities.

“These are……?”

“They were sent by Grand Duke Walten. To find the winter fairies.”

“What are you talking about?”

I don’t understand. He was the one who did everything he could to keep me from leaving his side. But he said something entirely different to Joseph.

“It is said that if you have a magic stone that has been exposed to abilities for a long time, you will be able to feel the presence of the people with the same abilities. The magic stone he sent was of no use because I already met Cassiel, but at least what he said wasn’t a lie. He told me to find the Winter Fairies.”

“…….”

“He was the one who told me where I could meet Cassiel in Carmine.”

Her heart pounded unsteadily. Only doubts floated around in her mind.

His extreme dislike and unease of Joseph, and hope that she would stay locked up here.

Why did he leave the door and the way back open for me to leave?

“As expected, you have the face I thought you would have.”

Joseph smiled faintly.

“That’s why I wanted to hide it.…… I wanted to be greedy for once. But now, I think I’m glad I told you. I don’t want Kelly to regret it for the rest of her life.”

[T/N: Joseph, bb….????]

He took the will and testament back from Emily and returned it to Kathleen.

“I’m sorry. That I’m only telling you now.”

The words Alexis had said along with Joseph’s apology came to mind.

-“I trust you now, I will not try to harm him, nor will I stop him from meeting you.”

Kathleen gasped for air as she looked back at the time.

I thought he deceived me with a lie. When he said that, Alexis had already promised Joseph that he would let him stay by my side once he found the Winter Fairies and returned.

“Kelly!”

Kathleen staggered and sat down.

‘You really are going to die.’

She knew then.

The will and testament written by Alexis Walten was sincere. He decided to leave and face his painful end.

“……No.”

Unbeknownst to her, a trembling voice came out of her lips.

I can’t let him die. I can’t let him end his life so foolishly.

“Go to His Majesty.”

Joseph said, holding her by the arm.

“I will go with you.”

Knowing that her choice was not him, Joseph looked rather relieved. As Kathleen tried to clear her confused mind, she chewed on the soft flesh on the inside of her cheek.

Peter cannot change her mind. The justification for the rebellion was that the emperor was not qualified, there was no way that the recipient of the will and testament would know the author’s intentions. Still, the fact that he went to war meant that Peter had no power to stop it.

Kathleen got up from sitting and opened her mouth slowly.

“No, Joseph. I have to go to Carmine.”

“What?”

Not only Joseph but also Emily was horrified. In the meantime, Luci smiled brightly and reached out his little hand to wipe Emily’s crying cheek. Alexis Walten’s figure overlapped with that image.

The blood tasted fishy in her mouth. Thanks to that, her mind became clearer.

“If I want to get there as soon as possible, I will have to send someone to the Imperial Palace to ask for a horse. Then we’ll go to Carmine.”

By now, Alexis would have already arrived in the South and started fighting. It was already too late for the news to reach him, who was at the vanguard. If so, she could only  hope that his choice* would fail. [T/N: Dying]

“I need to see my uncle.”

Throwing his sword away in front of a beast baring its teeth, it wasn’t the imperial people who could stop Alexis, who was ready to discard himself away.

Please, don’t let it be too late.

Kathleen implored in her mind, turned and ran.

***

“Count.”

Impatiently waiting for an answer, Schenberg looked back with delight at the sound of his name being called.

“So, where is General Ulrich?”

“The general says he has no intention of meeting the count.”

“……What?”

“Go back.”

The subordinate of the Southern Alliance’s Commander, General Ulrich, stood in front of the entrance.

“Are you treating me as an uninvited guest?”

Count Schenberg, who was impatient, asked coldly, but remained motionless. He tried to contain his anger.

‘I can’t mess things up here.’

Upon entering the Imperial Palace, he entrusted Ulrich with the military command system and the design of the Schenberg revival plan. It was because he thought that it would be more suitable to be led by someone who would stay in the South. But he couldn’t believe he joined hands with someone else while he wasn’t paying attention for a while.

“Get out of the way. I will speak to General Ulrich myself.”

“No.”

“Do you want to see the Southern Alliance collapse?”

As he raised his voice, the subordinate flinched. Count Schenberg slammed the door he was blocking and stormed out.

As he ran along the road leading to the middle of the low mountain range outside the castle, he heard the shouts of the soldiers. They were the soldiers he had raised to rebuild the Schenberg dynasty, following his father’s will from an early age.

‘They’ve become the tool to satisfy the ambitions of Count Hopewell and General Ulrich.’

Count Schenberg twisted the tip of his lips and approached General Ulrich, who was standing on the podium.

“Stop him right now!”

“Who is this? What brings the Count here?”

General Ulrich turned around, pretending to be surprised, though he knew he was coming. Count Hopewell, who was standing next to him, also smiled and spoke to him.

“Long time no see, Count Schenberg. I didn’t know Your Majesty’s *deputy would come this far.”

[T/N: Sticking with Schenberg’s position as deputy.]

“General Ulrich, you must stop immediately. A rebellion like this cannot be a revival.”

Count Schenberg ignored Count Hopewell and spoke to General Ulrich.

“If you join hands with the imperial nobility, the Southern Alliance will inevitably be absorbed as part of the Empire rather than the Schenberg Dynasty. Didn’t you know that?”

“Ah, the noble royal family would be taken as well.”

General Ulrich replied with a subtle smile.

“But the Count’s will is also far from being for Schenberg. Even if I do this, it won’t make a big difference.”

“The Southern Alliance is an alliance organized to free the Schenberg people from imperial persecution! I raised an army to break the injustice of the tax imposed on the southern people and to gain the strength to establish a self-governing body. But is the general going to betray that now?”

“What is left for the people of a country that has already been destroyed? Isn’t that why the Count also entered as the emperor’s deputy?”

“General Ulrich!”

“Since you have come all the way here, please join us. In the eyes of our people, wouldn’t being the ‘Rebellion’s Counselor’ be better than the ‘Emperor’s deputy?”

When General Ulrich had finished speaking, Count Hopewell beckoned the knights to restrain Count Schenberg.

“Eup!”

They covered Count Schenberg’s mouth with a cloth and tied his wrists behind him. 

General Ulrich stood  next to him, shouted at his soldiers, and drew his sword.

“The Emperor’s deputy, Count Schenberg, has joined us. We will sortie into the rear of the sacred battle soon!”

“Wooooo!”

Loud roars that rang out shook the open space.

‘I shouldn’t be caught here…….’

I shouldn’t have come. Above all else, when the news that the emperor’s deputy has betrayed him in a battle where the justification is more important than anything else, the soldiers sent from Meyer will inevitably lose morale.

He regretted that he came down recklessly thinking that he could persuade the Southern Alliance soldiers. Count Schenberg’s head dropped heavily.

“Ugh!”

Then, suddenly, a soldier was shot by an arrow and fell with a shriek.

“A-Attack, a surprise attack!”

“Defense! Form a defensive formation!”

As the soldiers began to fall one by one at the arrows pouring down like rain from all directions, the ranks began to collapse and divide.

“What’s this all of a sudden!”

Even General Ulrich and Count Hopewell seemed perplexed by the raid in the heart of the army. It was even more so because they couldn’t even order a retreat because it was before they even went to the front line.

“Stay calm! The attack will be a small unit, so it’s not something our large army can’t stop!”

As General Ulrich raised his voice, a low-horn trumpet rang for a long time, revealing a black swarm covering the hillside.

“G-General. It’s Grand Duke Walten!”

The knight who came up on the podium hurriedly said.

“The troops have been wiped out! The report said that as soon as the troops led by Grand Duke Walten tore down the front, they turned towards this direction and advanced!”

“How did he know this place? The entrance to the fortress is top secret, even if they defeated our allies, it’s too fast……!”

Count Hopewell raised his voice and then paused. He then looked back at Count Schenberg with blazing eyes.

“You came with a tail!”

In rage, he took General Ulrich’s sword and rushed at him. There was no hesitation in the sword being swung towards Count Schenberg. But before he could even get closer to Count Schenberg, a sharp sound of swords clashing echoed, and Count Hopewell stumbled and fell to the floor.

“Ugh!”

Count Schenberg widened his eyes at the red cloak that came into view.

‘Grand Duke Walten?’

Alexis Walten looked back at him for a moment, fixed his grip on his sword then turned his gaze forward again. He got off his horse and jumped in the middle of the Southern Alliance army and faced them alone.