Chapter 224: Sword Dance (1)

Chapter 224: Sword Dance (1)

My apologies for not posting yesterday. An admin of an FB group tried to post in the group my Trash of the Count’s Family summaries without giving me any credit, so I’ve been in a bad mood for a few days. Fortunately, that issue has been resolved, and that admin is gone from the group now.

Oh yeah, there’s a reference of Loki from Marvel’s Avengers in this episode.

When Princess Leica gave a withdrawal order, Jude and Cordelia came to a conclusion.

“I think there’s some outside intervention.”

“But we don’t have any evidence, right?”

“Yes, but… I can guess who it is.”

Even though Jude and Cordelia were rotten waters, it was impossible for them to know the parts that were not properly portrayed in the game’s storyline, just like the Forest of Eternity where they were now, but it was possible to figure out the full story by piecing together different parts.

“The soul is the staple food of Myriad Shapeshifter Jabberwock. To be exact, it grows by eating souls.”

“Jabberwock was strengthened by eating the souls of the elves in the Forest of Eternity, and it merged with the demonic human Jabberwock who was the incarnation of Behemoth, becoming one of the Seven Major Calamities, right?”

“It’s possible.”

In Legend of Heroes 2, it was only possible to enter the Forest of Eternity after the destruction of the S?len Kingdom, which was at least two years from now.

“At that time, the elf kingdom of the Forest of Eternity had already been destroyed. Most of its people, including its king, had become undead.”

“Most of the undead had their souls eaten. I think I understand now. Even Death Knight Kelthur couldn’t hold a proper conversation. The souls of everyone had been eaten and only their bodies moved… and even if the soul was left, only a part of it remained.”

There weren’t just one or two ways to create an undead in Pleiades.

There were many kinds of zombies in this world.

“Anyway, considering that Jabberwock was the cause of the incident, and that Jabberwock became a calamity by eating souls… doesn’t that mean that someone fed Jabberwock souls to strengthen it?”

If Jude and Cordelia were not here, Jabberwock, who had become much stronger than before, would even become stronger by eating the souls of Princess Leica and her companions.

“So you think someone outside intervened? Jabberwock wouldn’t be as strong as it was now if it was only fed one or two souls.”

“That’s right. It wouldn’t be as strong as it was now from just eating a few souls by chance. In the first place, the elves didn’t go anywhere near here where Jabberwock was reviving. I can only think that someone with obvious intentions had injected a huge amount of souls into Jabberwock.”

Having said that, Jude stood up and continued as he looked at Cordelia.

“Who do you think will benefit the most if the elves in the Forest of Eternity are annihilated?”

“Either the demon followers or Malekith.”

Both were eager to destroy the S?len Kingdom.

In particular, Malekith wanted to occupy the entire S?len Kingdom and not just the southern region.

Because he had a long-standing grudge against Dragon Slayer Carlos, who was the founder of the 7 southern families, and Lion D. S?len, the founder king of the S?len Kingdom.

“If we consider a person who could give such a huge amount of souls…”

“If we’re going to name someone from the south, it’s highly likely that it’s that person on Malekith’s side.”

Malekith had a powerful necromancer who held a grudge against the elves.

“Sicilia.”

A dark elf who hated the elves of the Forest of Eternity, and was Black Dragon Malekith’s lover.

The pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit, but Jude and Cordelia had bitter smiles in the end.

“We still have no evidence.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to say that we got this information from the Guardians of the Holy Cross.”

“But it’s better to tell them, right?”

“I think it would be better if we can drop them some hints.”

The dark elf Sicilia was different from Jude and Cordelia who were humans.

The fact that she could secretly enter the cursed land despite the Forest of Eternity rejecting her existence could only suggest two possibilities.

‘One possibility is that Sicilia hid herself with some powerful magic.’

This was the most common and acceptable possibility.

Sicilia was originally a member of the Prime royal family.

‘The other is the possibility that an insider helped her.’

Someone had invited Sicilia into the Forest of Eternity. And helped her hide her appearance.

‘But that’s unlikely.’

Because the elves in the Forest of Eternity had lived a life disconnected from the outside world and were unlikely to communicate with Sicilia out of the blue. Another reason was that it was not beneficial for them to strengthen Jabberwock.

‘Of course, there may be a possibility if we begin to add political reasons.’

For example, the hypothesis that Jabberwock was used to eliminate Princess Leica and the punitive force.

‘But we’ll only know this if we go the elven kingdom.’

Things like what the relationship between Kelthur, the elven king in the game, and Princess Leica, the current first in line to the throne, and the political relationships surrounding the royal family, and so on.

“Hmm.”

While Jude was calculating one thing or another in his head, Cordelia was standing with her arms crossed as she stared at Jude in silence.

‘It would be nice if he acted like that all the time.’

The Jude when he’s thinking about something.

I’m not sure how to express it, but is this what they call the charm of an adult?

A serious but cool person, and someone you can rely and trust.

But the chances of seeing this face of Jude are rare.

He’s always smirking and has this sly look on his face.

‘Well…it’s not that I don’t like that either.’

It’s strangely cute too.

Especially when I kiss him on the cheek, you could say that he likes it because the corners of his mouth would twitch. And when he looks really happy, I want to do it more.

‘But I have to refrain from doing that.’

Yes, yes, I have to refrain from doing that.

If I keep doing that, it’ll become a habit.

‘Hold on…’

If I think about it, is there any reason why it shouldn’t be a habit?

We’re engaged anyway.

Yes, yes, we’re engaged.

‘Hmm.’

It was when Cordelia began to think over again the validity of the skinship ban.

“Lord Jude! Lady Cordelia!”

At the call of an elven knight, Jude and Cordelia both stopped thinking and raised their heads.

“We’ll be going back now!”

“Okay! We’ll be going!”

Jude shouted back and stretched out his hand to Cordelia, who very naturally held his hand.

***

“I don’t like this position.”

On the road leading to the palace of the Prime royal family located in the center of the Forest of Eternity.

The two were riding on an Elven Steed.

Cordelia murmured in a small voice, and Jude replied with a sly look that Cordelia had thought of as cute earlier.

“I like it though? I can support my chin like this.”

Jude usually rode in the front and Cordelia in the back, but this time, it was the opposite as Cordelia was in the front and Jude was in the back.

Cordelia shook her head as Jude put his chin on top of her head.

“Woah, woah, you’re going to fall.”

Jude tightly hugged Cordelia’s waist, and having fallen into Jude’s arms, Cordelia’s lips twitched before she slightly changed her position.

“Just lean on your back.”

“How much should I lean?”

Cordelia leaned back her body as much as she could, and only then did she feel the firm chest of Jude.

Jude didn’t just stop there, as he even slightly leaned back so that Cordelia could lean more comfortably.

“Eh?”

Having leaned back naturally, Cordelia was surprised and blinked her eyes.

“How is this possible?”

Wouldn’t you fall from this?

“My thighs and waist are pretty good.”

The elves didn’t use saddles when they rode on the Elven Steeds.

Therefore, Jude tightly fixed himself to the horse’s waist with his thighs while maintaining a half-lying posture with only the strength of his waist.

“You’re like a beast.”

“Wait, why are suddenly calling me a beast?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, you’re a beast.”

Cordelia giggled and leaned a little more against Jude’s chest, and Jude whispered in a small voice in Cordelia’s ear.

“But Cordelia, do you remember?”

“Remember?”

“I haven’t made a wish yet, right?”

A wish she would grant if he got 50 kills in the fighting competition.

Cordelia unconsciously flinched and stiffened at that moment, and Jude whispered again.

“What should I wish for? What do you think is a good wish?”

Jude smiled softly, putting his chin over Cordelia’s head, and the red-faced Cordelia began to wiggle her fingers instead of shaking her head like before.

Princess Leica watched these two with cold eyes, and called Vanessa who was beside her in a small voice.

“Vanessa.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Why do I feel angry when I watch those two?”

“So do I. It’s normal.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed like the other elves were also shooting cold looks at the two.

“Anyway, let’s ignore them and hurry up.”

“Okay.”

They wouldn’t be able to do that once they arrive at their destination.

“Lloyd, please go a little faster.”

“Neeeigh.”

Perhaps Lloyd had the same cold eyes as them as the unicorn began to completely gallop.

Half a day passed like that.

The group then arrived at Elendia, the capital of the elven kingdom located in the center of the Forest of Eternity.

***

A white city.

These were the words that Jude and Cordelia came up with the moment they stepped inside Elendia.

Unlike the Elendia in the game, the present Elendia remained intact and was a very beautiful city.

“Pretty.”

Jude nodded at Cordelia’s simple but accurate impression.

The white city and green nature were in natural harmony with each other.

Even the sunshine and the wind blowing in between felt like a part of the city.

White houses were one with the big trees.

And there was a white palace in the center of Elendia.

The palace’s appearance that was designed to make the flow of air easier had an overall circular feeling, and its magnificence was befitting that of elven architecture.

However, it also did not directly use multiple colors like the palaces of humans.

The sunlight reflected from the glass windows installed everywhere colored the palace walls that were like a white canvas, giving it a distinct beauty at different times of the day.

And in the front.

A welcoming party led by flag bearers raising colorful flags was waiting for them.

“Sister!”

A young boy dressed in colorful clothes came running from the welcoming party.

He was a young boy who seemed to be around in his early to mid-teens, and just like Princess Leica, he had platinum blonde hair.

“Sister!”

“My Kelthur!”

When the boy shouted again, Princess Leica immediately jumped down from Lloyd and lowered her posture to hug the boy.

“Sister, I’m glad that you’re all right!”

“Without congratulating me on our victory first?”

“I prefer you being safe.”

At the words of the boy – Kelthur, her younger brother and the second in line to the throne, Princess Leica smiled happily.

“This is why I like you, my younger brother.”

“I like sister too.”

Kelthur tightly hugged Princess Leica, and she kissed his forehead and cheeks several times.

And Jude who was watching them was a bit confused.

‘They have a really good relationship?’

Wait, why does Kelthur look so young?

Did he become a king in his youth in the game?

‘Did his height suddenly shoot up in a year or two?’

Generally speaking, that was impossible, but there were cases of that happening like Jude himself.

In the last 8-9 months, he had grown nearly 30 centimeters and had become 160-180 centimeters tall, so it did not seem impossible for a boy to suddenly become a young man.

‘No, that’s impossible.’

Is there some other reason though? Or maybe there’s another person here who has the same name as Kelthur.

Anyway, it was at the time when Jude was in the middle of thinking.

Princess Leica briefly introduced Jude and Cordelia to the elves who came out to welcome the punitive force, and then climbed onto Lloyd while carrying Kelthur.

“Let’s go to the royal palace first. We’ll talk more about it at the celebration.”

Jude and Cordelia were their first human guests in 500 years, but the elves only glanced at them and did not speak to them directly.

It was the orders of their crown princess after all.

[Jude, Jude.]

[What is it, Cordelia?]

[Kelthur is looking at us. Ah, he smiled.]

[Don’t smile at him.]

[Huh?]

Jude glared at the brightly smiling Kelthur who was looking at them, and he hugged Cordelia’s waist tighter, while Cordelia blinked her eyes and giggled.

And at sunset.

Upon their arrival at the palace, Jude and Cordelia were guided to the bathhouse and given new clothes to wear after washing themselves.

It was clothes that elves wore in banquets.

“Oh, isn’t this nice? It’s a bit like Loki.”

It was a mostly green tailcoat with some black and yellow here and there.

But it had a rather different look than when a slender elf wore it.

Because Jude was tall enough to stand out even among the tall elves, and he had a statue-like body too.

“My princess is as beautiful as ever.”

Cordelia was wearing a white dress. Her cleavage and back were a bit exposed to the point that it worried Jude, but Cordelia really liked it as she twirled back and forth while holding the hems of her skirt.

“It’s so light. It feels like the Fairy Dress.”

“Hmm… How about adding a scarf?”

“Huh?”

Instead of explaining why, Jude put a white scarf around Cordelia’s neck to cover her chest.

“Hmm, that’s good. This is much better.”

As Jude clapped his hands and smiled in satisfaction, Cordelia blinked her eyes before grinning.

“You’re jealous.”

“Yes, I’m very jealous.”

“You’re not even hiding it now?”

Cordelia said that as if she was dumbfounded, but the corners of her mouth were raised upwards.

Jude snorted like Cordelia before extending his arm to her.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

“Yes, Mister ‘black-hearted, jealous, and scammer’ Black Cloak.”

Cordelia giggled and slightly hugged Jude’s arm.

And a few minutes later.

Jude and Cordelia were guided to the banquet hall by an elf who looked at them with cold eyes, and the two exclaimed once again.

“Wow. It’s pretty.”

“Beautiful.”

The white banquet hall had a size and beauty that was not inferior to the grand banquet hall of the S?len Kingdom’s royal palace.

In particular, the light passing through the glass ceiling made the entire banquet hall look very impressive.

“The two of you are here.”

“Your Highness.”

Princess Leica was wearing a white dress and gold accessories, and she looked up and down at Jude and Cordelia before smiling.

“You’re both good-looking. You must indeed be the most beautiful among the humans.”

“T-that was just Jude joking around.”

Cordelia spoke in a small voice, but her words did not work.

Princess Leica cheerfully smiled and led Jude and Cordelia to the seats next to her.

‘Now that I see it, it’s a banquet… but it looks like it’s just audience seats facing a stage.’

Chairs were placed around the banquet hall with the center left empty.

Fortunately, Princess Leica explained to them as soon as they sat down.

“Whenever we celebrate, us elves do a group dance to remember our communication with the spirits.”

“Uh…are you going to be watching and not dancing?”

“Yes, not everyone can dance it.”

Having immediately answered Cordelia’s question, Princess Leica explained it a bit more.

“The dance… or the sword dance to be exact, is taught and handed down to each dancer individually. It’s a very beautiful sword dance, so I’m sure it will amuse you.”

“Wow…”

Cordelia looked around as her eyes sparkled in anticipation.

On the opposite side of Princess Leica sat Kelthur and a woman in a very fancy dress, who seemed to be Kelthur’s mother.

‘The king’s not here? Princess Leica’s mother too.’

Vanessa and Midas were behind Princess Leica.

Cordelia looked around again before she fixed her gaze to the front at some point.

Because the sound of the drums signaled the start of the sword dance.

“Begin.”

As if the small voice of Princess Leica was a signal, six dancers appeared in the center of the white hall and began to dance.

Elves in colorful clothes danced with big movements, but despite their different movements, their individual dances felt like they were harmoniously connected with each other.

“Wow.”

It was colorful, beautiful, and magnificent.

When Cordelia showed her admiration, Princess Leica was pleased, but only for a moment.

Because unlike Cordelia, Jude was frowning.

‘What is it? Is there anything that he doesn’t like?’

No, it’s just unbelievable that he frowns like that even if he doesn’t like it. It’s not like he doesn’t know basic manners.

Princess Leica unconsciously became a little angry, and just like her energetic and impulsive personality, she immediately took action.

“Jude, is there something strange?”

At Princess Leica’s question, Cordelia also looked at Jude in surprise.

‘Jude?’

Even Cordelia found Jude’s expression to be a little strange.

Why?

If it was Cordelia’s first time seeing the sword dance, then it should be Jude’s first time too.

It was also a magnificent, nice, and beautiful dance.

When Cordelia and Princess Leica looked at him in askance, Jude narrowed his brows again before saying with a determined expression.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes, Jude.”

“This may be presumptuous of me, but… there’s something wrong with that sword dance.”

“What do you mean by it’s wrong?”

What are you talking about all of a sudden?

You’re a stranger. You’re also a human.

Are you saying that you know about the sword dance of the elves-

That was it.

Princess Leica recalled one fact and stifled her anger before she looked at Jude with serious eyes.

The Jude in front of her was a man who inherited the sword of Valencia, the Elf Sword.

“Do you know anything?”

It sounded much calmer than before, but her voice still had a stabbing feel.

Because of that, Cordelia touched her chest with her hand as her heart pounded loudly, and she looked back at Jude with a nervous expression.

‘I-is there a problem? Is there something you know?’

Jude had yet to tell Cordelia about Valencia in detail.

But when the elves had stepped forward.

At the moment Jude had seen the sword dance of the elves, he instinctively felt that something was wrong, and he was able to know that through Valencia’s experiences and memories that had naturally become one with him.

He could tell on what was wrong with the sword dance in front of him.

He could exactly tell on what was lacking.

“It’s lacking one person.”

At that instant, surprise spread across Princess Leica’s face. So Jude spoke again with confidence.

“That sword dance… it’s a sword dance for seven people to dance, not six.”