landbeastnovel Chapter 304
Chapter 304
Chapter 304
"Your Majesty the Queen. The 3rd Prince is moving to Asgard. A report has come in from the Mage Tower."
"I know."
"Oh. You already knew? I'm suspicious about what happened in Asgard that made him return so secretly to the country. Could he perhaps be stealing national treasures or secrets? We should take this opportunity to uproot the nobles supporting the 3rd Prince completely..."
"That's enough."
"Pardon?"
"Did I not say that's enough?"
"But now is precisely the opportunity to bring down the 3rd Prince! Didn't the mercenaries hired by the 3rd Prince uniquely survive from the place where the ominous star disaster occurred? Wasn't the 3rd Prince staying alone in Asgard, albeit unofficially? Surely the 3rd Prince is using terrible sorcery to bring about Aquilonia's destruction!"
"Count Gottfried. Do you not understand the meaning of my words when I said enough?"
"Your Majesty the Queen!""Having to say it multiple times makes my mouth hurt. I said enough. It won't be too late to think about it when the 3rd Prince officially returns to the country."
"Shouldn't we act quickly first? Before the 3rd Prince pulls any shallow tricks."
"If he were going to pull such tricks, he would have done so long ago. He told me he doesn't avoid fights. ...Seeing that he doesn't even need allies, he seems to have made sufficient preparations."
"Then all the more reason for our side to strike first-"
"If we strike first, we'll only be giving him weaknesses. Count, I value your initiative highly, but from now on, try doing something called thinking a bit more."
"Your Majesty the Queen."
"I need to find out first. What exactly that child trusts to reject me."
* * *
"I feel like throwing up."
As soon as he descended from the teleportation magic formation, his steps became tangled.
Yurik, who had now perfectly learned how to attend to him, automatically covered his mouth and nose with a white handkerchief.
Hmm. This handkerchief with a bitter fragrance had quite a good effect.
"What about that guy?"
"Aphoom-Zhah? He said he'd come on his own when the time comes. We should probably go to the royal castle first... But about the Mage Tower incident. How did that turn out?"
"It's being delayed repeatedly. Since all the mages in the Mage Tower disappeared, they're calling in mages scattered throughout Asgard."
It was still the same.
After Yurik looked around, he swept his face once.
Then his impression changed mysteriously...
"D-Dardin? Where did Yurik go?"
"It's me, Yesung. I'm just changing my appearance. It wouldn't be good if it came out that I, who was confined in Asgard, had emerged."
"Is that magic too?"
"It's magic I picked up from the snake-people. Let's go now."
The pleasant sound of stepping on snow came through clearly.
After walking for a while, when his feet started getting cold, he became curious and asked Dardin-Yurik.
"You said earlier that they're gathering mages. But since there's teleportation magic, can't they do that quickly?"
"They need to come and explain the situation too, and it would take longer to interpret the complex entangled power and factions within the Mage Tower."
"Can't I return to Aquilonia until then either?"
"We just need to throw that guy in front of the King, get permission, stop by where Acheron's capital used to be, and then return."
He felt somehow sorry for Aphoom-Zhah.
Asgard during the time Aphoom-Zhah had temporarily withdrawn his anger and left was beautiful, unlike during his first visit.
The gloomy country with stinging north winds and snow as background had disappeared,
And under the clear blue sky, only white snow sparkled and shone, feeling exactly like a scene from a movie.
He walked out from the teleportation magic formation installation site that had become familiar and walked across the snowfield for quite a while.
When he had ridden the wolf sled, it seemed like he had reached the royal castle quickly, but walking like this, he newly learned that the distance wasn't that close.
Finally, with Yurik's help in moving, they could see the castle in the distance, majestically backed by snow-covered mountains.
"Seeing it like this, it's really magnificent."
"This region was famous even during Acheron times."
"Seeing it like this, it somehow reminds me of that thing, that... what was it called."
The name seemed about to come to mind but didn't. Ah, damn. He had probably sold this memory to Aphoom-Zhah too.
Then someone beside him spoke matter-of-factly.
[Are you talking about Frozen Kingdom El*a? Hmm, it is similar, but it's a bit disappointing that the castle isn't blue. Plus it's not located on a mountain ridge either.]
"What? Since when have you been here?"
[Long, long ago, Eibon personally mined gems from about the middle of that mountain range. Some went to the imperial court. I remember the administrators had their eyes blazing, asking for samples because they wondered what effects gems mined by the Grand Mage might have.]
"Is that true, Yurik?"
"It's too long ago so I don't remember well. It seems like it wasn't under my jurisdiction then."
Yurik spoke gently while pushing him aside and standing between him and Aphoom-Zhah.
Seeing this, Aphoom-Zhah chuckled and walked ahead with big strides.
Watching the person as white as snow moving away, he poked Yurik's side.
"Why are you like this? Don't act so childishly."
"I didn't attack that guy, so why."
Huh. He thought he might have spoiled Yurik too much while raising him.
He had thought that after becoming both emperor and prince on his own, there wouldn't be much need to discipline him, but that wasn't the case.
"Listen carefully, Yurik."
"What?"
"In our family, being rude to others is not an option. Manners and etiquette make a person."
"You want me to be friendly to that guy too? Yesung, I don't know about other things, but I don't like that."
"Tsk. Don't embarrass your hyung. You're also a child of the Yu family."
Yurik opened his mouth blankly. Even if he couldn't understand what he was saying, he seemed quite shocked.
The dumbfounded look was funny, but he held back and grabbed Yurik's black-gloved hand, shook it a couple of times, and let go.
"If I accommodated your whims, shouldn't you at least listen to hyung's request?"
"That's... true."
"Got it? We'll part ways in less than an hour anyway. Treat him well."
"Yesung."
"What?"
"That thing you said about not embarrassing hyung, could you say it just one more time?"
"Why are you really like this?"
Saying that with Dardin's face felt... No. He decided not to say anything.
When he turned around, leaving Yurik behind, Yurik hurriedly followed.
Unintentionally walking in a line one after another, neat footprints appeared on the snow.
The royal castle still had relatively few people, probably due to the aftermath of when Aphoom-Zhah had been angry.
Still, somehow passing through the intimidated gatekeepers and empty inner courtyard, when they arrived in front of the royal castle gate.
"Oh, you've finally come, successor of the great Grand Mage Eibon!"
King Oderus literally 'came running out in his socks.'
He grabbed Aphoom-Zhah's hand with obvious joy that he couldn't express further, looking ready to dance.
At first, he thought it might be a bit excessive, but thinking about it, he could understand somewhat.
With most of the Mage Tower mages dead and having to bring in mages from other regions,
It would be good that Aphoom-Zhah said he would stay for a while.
When he glanced at Yurik, Yurik shrugged and stepped forward to speak politely.
"Your Majesty Oderus, I have arrived from Aquilonia with the mage. Please allow me to take His Highness the 3rd Prince of Aquilonia and return now."
"I am a man who keeps at least the oaths I've made."
Yurik's speech pattern was strangely similar to Dardin's, which gave him slight chills.
King Oderus nodded arrogantly, then ordered the retinue behind him to escort them to the palace where the 3rd Prince of Aquilonia was staying.
There wasn't even a courtesy mention of dinner, lunch, or even tea.
He must have been incredibly happy to meet Aphoom-Zhah.
But he didn't bother saying such things here, and after expressing gratitude for the King's swift command, they hurriedly returned to the guest room where Yurik had been staying.
There, a person who looked exactly like Yurik was lying on the bed, fast asleep.
When he pointed at him and then at Dardin-Yurik, Dardin-Yurik nodded.
"This one is the real Dardin."
"Dardin came all the way here? Why? Come to think of it, where are Cellinne, Eva, Valter... where are the other people now?"
"I'll tell you slowly."
Dardin-Yurik approached the bedside. His black-gloved hand lightly slapped the fake Yurik's cheek.
"Wake up, Dardin. How long are you planning to lie there?"
"......"
"Dardin."
Despite Dardin-Yurik's warning, the fake Yurik didn't wake up easily.
Not only that. Even though the sound of slapping his cheek was quite sharp, the fake Yurik didn't budge at all.
"Is he really sleeping?"
"I didn't do anything else. Maybe he's in shock."
"What shock?"
"Yesung, you exploded in front of them."
"Ah."
That had happened. He hadn't done it himself, but he had shown it.
Realizing this fact, he felt embarrassed for no reason and just rubbed around his neck.
"...When he wakes up, I'll have to lie and say that was an illusion."
"Do that. If Dardin can wake up before then, that is."
The sight of Yurik in Dardin's form glaring at Dardin in Yurik's form was quite refreshing.
It really looked like they were plotting some kind of rebellion.
He pondered for a moment, then approached the bedside where the fake Yurik was lying.
If he couldn't wake up easily because he was in shock, what would happen if he gave him a corresponding shock?
He quietly whispered in Dardin's ear.
"Dardin."
"......"
"The Queen came to the Leng Plateau. We're all doomed."
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!"
"That was startling."
The moment the fake Dardin screamed and got up, Yurik lightly slapped Dardin's face with his palm.
At that moment, Dardin, who had regained his original appearance, was gasping for breath while fumbling at his face dripping with cold sweat, not knowing what was happening.
The moment Dardin, who had been looking around frantically while trapped in fear, made eye contact with him, he screamed.
Even someone who saw a chainsaw-wielding murderer probably wouldn't have been this startled.
"Y-you, how are you here! S-surely, you were, there, there!"
"Hey. Don't do that. I'm perfectly alive, so what are you talking about? What Dardin saw then."
Hmm. What should he say? There wasn't really any excuse. So he decided to blame everything on Dardin.
"Wasn't it something like a hallucination?"
"H-hallucination?"
"Yeah. You all suddenly collapsed there together, so I was surprised too. I'm sorry for hiding from you afterward while taking care of the cleanup for a while."
"Is that really true? That can't be. That can't be, you definitely saved Eva and in front of us."
"I'm telling you it's not true. What are you talking about?"
He grabbed Dardin's arm and placed it on his shoulder.
Dardin, who had been startled, felt the volume and solid bones of the body under the thick cloak and looked up at him blankly.
"See. It's real. Do you believe I'm alive?"
"...Really?"
"No one's lying to you."
"Really?"
"I'm telling you so. Or do I seem like a ghost to you? For reference, I almost threw up twice on the way here because of teleportation magic aftereffects. Do ghosts suffer from teleportation magic aftereffects?"
Dardin still seemed unable to believe it and kept touching his shoulder, then stroked his face with trembling hands.
He must have suffered mentally while he was dead, as tears flowed down from his sunken eyes.
"I, I was. I was there."
"Were you scared?"
"I couldn't do anything. I felt like I had caused your death."
"It's okay."
It was all in the past. It really was okay. That was his choice. Dardin had done well enough. He had held on until he went.
Hearing those words, Dardin's face contorted and he soon began crying while making sobbing sounds.
When he hugged his head, Dardin, who needed something to cling to, cried for a long time while wetting his cloak.
Though he always pretended to be calm and rational on the outside, in the end, he too needed time to cry.
Yurik only raised one eyebrow and turned his head to the other side, tacitly showing consideration for them.
Even when he pretended not to be, Yurik was soft toward his people.
Only Dardin's voice crying like a child filled the spacious bedroom for quite a while.