CH 27

Declaration Of War.

Translated by SoundOfDestiny

Edited by Zil

“My king!!, Seize Raidorl!”

The Prime Minister, Lockwood Marcell, rushed towards the fallen king and gave a sharp order.

The knights of the Kingsguard, who had been frozen by the sudden and unusual situation in the audience room, reflexively obeyed the order.

The three knights of the Kingsguard jumped at Raidorl from left, right and behind in unison.

“Ha! It’s too late!”

“Ugh…….?”

Raidorl grabs the arm of a knight who jumps at him from the right and uses his momentum to throw the next knight. 

The two knights were blown away as they hit each other.

“oof” 

There is only one knight left. He is behind Raidorl and tries to choke him from behind, but Raidorl turns and fires a back fist at him. A sharp blow with enough rotation of the hips struck the knight in the jaw and shook his brain violently.

“gh, Aa…how dare y….”

“Go back to sleep”

“Gah!”

The knight, who had fallen forward, still managed to pull himself up to catch the ruffian who had harmed the king.

Raidorl stomped mercilessly on the head of his loyal kinsman knight, and this time he fell into a coma.

The three knights, who were defeated in less than a few seconds, were all chosen to be part of the Kingsguard, and were among the finest warriors in the Kingdom of Zain.

Looking down at the way they are falling. Raidorl covers his face with his hands in sorrow.

“Is this the knight of Kingsguard? No wonder the country is dying.” 

“Your Highness! I beg you to stop resisting!” 

Lockwood shouts a warning as he helps Granard to his feet.

Hearing the commotion in the audience chamber, soldiers rush through the doors and surround Raidorl in the distance.

“What have you done to His Majesty the King? This is an act of treason!” 

“Treason ……? I just signed a contract, didn’t I?” 

“If you are not going to answer me seriously, I shall have to detain you! Don’t expect to be treated as royalty after what you’ve done!”

No matter how strong Raidorl is, he is outnumbered in this situation. If the soldiers are all together, they will eventually be captured. And what’s waiting for them is to be treated as prisoners of war.

Despite being confronted with such a future, Raidorl does not lose his sarcastic smile. 

He licks his lips to moisten them with the tip of his tongue, and looks mockingly at Lockwood, who is standing by Granard’s side.

“If you can do it, do it. But only if you are prepared to lose your master.” 

“What…?” 

“Condition 1: King Granard shall guarantee the safety of Raidorl within the Kingdom of Zain.”

“Is that the wording of the….. oath you just gave to us?”

“Yes”

Raidorl nodded at Lockwood, who narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously.

“The contract has already been signed. Disobey and you will be punished.” 

“Impossible..” 

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing.”

Lockwood’s face paled as he realized what the rebel in front of him was trying to say. 

“Does that mean you’ve put a covenant curse on …… me?” 

“Your Majesty Granard……”

Granard pulls himself up and stares hard at Raidorl.

Granard was dressed in the opulent clothes of a king, but his bosom was bare as if it had been burned off.

On his bare skin is a red crest that looks as if it has been burned into his skin. It is an eerie pattern of a snake coiled around a sword.

“That’s the way it is, for both of us.”

Raidorl, too, tugged at his jacket, letting it fall to his chest. His chest was well-muscled and bore the same crest as Granard’s. 

“Foolish……of you to curse me, the king, do you not know the meaning of what you have done?”

Granard’s voice was full of anger, but also full of doubt and pity for his foolish brother.

The Covenant Curse is a widespread spell, used to punish criminals and subjugate slaves. The compulsion is so strong that disobedience can result in death.

However, the curse is never permanent. It can be lifted by following the appropriate procedure.

“I don’t know what curse you have cast on me, but it will be lifted as soon as the court sorcerers gather. All that’s left is the crime you committed, Raidorl!”

“Maybe you’re right. But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to trust you….Brother.” 

“That’s……”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose faith? It’s not me who betrayed you, it’s you.”

There is no longer anything to mend. Raidorl turns the blade of his words against his own brother.

Granard, who was openly accused of banishing him from the capital to the frontier, narrowed his eyes and sincerely lamented the foolishness of Raidorl.

“….If you had just done as I said, I would have let you live, no matter how annoying you were. Are you getting carried away with being the holder of the Holy Sword? Did you think you could surpass me as a king?”

“Well, I don’t know, do you? I don’t think I have to explain that to you.” 

Granard was not only angry but also disgusted by Raidorl’s mimicry of whistling as if he did not listen to him. In fact, Raidorl even felt sorry for them.

For Granard, Raidorl is an abomination, chosen by the holy sword, Dáinsleif. He was a threat to his throne, and even the fact that he was a blood brother made him angry.

But that doesn’t mean that Granard wants to kill his brother.

If he really disliked Raidorl, he could have assassinated him instead of sending him to the frontier.

“…… Fine. I’ll keep my contract. What you take from the Empire is yours to do with as you please. I’ll even give you some money to support your pioneer cities. But I will never forgive you for casting a curse on me. If you leave the Empire, you will be punished accordingly!” 

“Well, I’ll fight the Empire and I’m going to fight the empire in earnest. I’m going to save this country, and I’m going to show you that I’m on a big ship.”

Raidorl waved one hand in the air and turned to leave the audience room. The soldiers around him naturally make way for him.

“Be prepared? That’s what I’m talking about, Granard.” 

We have already declared war. There is no need to hide our hostility, our rebellion.

What has been taken, I will take back. I will crush those who have taken it.

I will not let anyone take it from me again.

This is the belief of Raidorl, who was sent to the frontier after being deprived of his place, and it is a pride that he cannot give up to anyone.

“……I was not wrong to banish you to the frontier! The previous holder of the Dáinsleif, the first king, also killed his brother to found his country!” 

“…………”

With Granard’s voice at his back, Raidorl walked away from the throne room without looking back.

It was a decisive moment for the two brothers of the royal blood of Zain.