DYBAR - Chapter 158 < Where Each Other Heads >
Do Your Best And Regret
Olivia's question took Jade to Katanta in the blink of an eye.
That was the day when the knights of Vikander who were with her disappeared in an instant as if by magic, they disappeared without even leaving a trace.
Even after they were gone, Jade had to remain in Katanta. In a mind filled with anxiety, he was only focused on Olivia's safety.
Will Olivia be okay, should he go to Vikander territory now?
At least it was a courtesy shown by Jade not to head to Vikander right away. Just as many thoughts were going around, a person came from Vikander Territory. Dean Szelin, Olivia's escort, he said calmly.
“The Lady has safely returned to the Grand Duchy.”
Safe return.
Only then did Jade sigh deeply. It was only for a moment that his tense eyes softened.
The ‘return’ that the knight obviously talks about.
A deep tingling feeling was placed on top of the relief that swept through his heart. As for Olivia's return, he once said he was headed to Madeleine... Now, it was a story about the territory of Vikander, where that knight belongs.
My lips trembled and my breath took a new breath. Meanwhile, Dean spoke without hesitation.
“So, as promised, please return to Island.”
“... If you had made a promise to the Duke, you would have seen with your own eyes that the child was safe.."
Jade hesitated at the words of drawing a line. He was fine with it, even if it was just an excuse. He just thought that seeing her face would make him feel really relieved, that he would be able to go back to the drawing board.
At that time, Jade didn't know what his face looked like. However, judging from the way Dean was laughing as if it was ridiculous, it seemed like it was pretty ugly. He shrugged his shoulders and spat it out.
“... To do you a final favor, Sir, you won't have time to laze around here. Anyway, aren’t you the vice-captain of the Imperial Palace Knights?”
His tone was very subtle. Normally, Jade would have known right away that his keen insight meant Vikander's surprise attack, but Jade was different now.
“If you are a knight, shouldn’t you try your best for the person you have devoted your loyalty to? Even if it means being on the side of Vikander and the system that aims swords at each other.”
“Olivia’s safety is more important than loyalty....”
“Uh, you mean loyalty?”
Ha ha ha-.
Dean burst out laughing as if he had heard something funny. It was a time when Jade felt bad because the eyes were looking at him through the laughter.
Words sounded like they were hitting Jade in the back of the head.
“Lord Madeleine, what exactly made you become a knight?”
Looking at Dean who asked sincerely, Jade only pursed his lips. Even the feeling of clenched fists and fingernails digging into his palms was far away.
A worry that he had never experienced before stopped Jade speechless.
To him, a knight is... It was something that had to be taken for granted.
Just like his father did when he was overcome with anger after hearing the story of Olivia's birth, and the knights in charge of the imperial palace did the same. Jade was a born knight.
He had no hesitation about cutting, hitting, or attacking someone. A place of liberation where he can vent his overflowing anger. A job where it's okay to work hard and run around the gym like crazy.
So Jade chose it.
Still, his anger could not cool down. He hoped that his distracting thoughts would disappear as he walked around the battlefield, but in the end, there were many children who looked like Olivia in the place he was running away to...
For a moment, Jade held his breath. His anger towards Olivia, his older brother, and his father disappeared in an instant.
Why did he always think of Olivia when he looked at the idiots who cried out for hope that they would secure a share, whether it was a source of money or the approval of his family?
Knowing that those children were the ones who were pushed to the battlefield as if by someone, why did he never think of that to Olivia?
Once Jade realized the reality, he felt a tingling sensation on his skin.
In the end, she was the one who criticized him one day. It was a ‘terrible family’.
His whole face felt sore, so much so that he couldn't tell if it was inside his throat or his nose.
Amethyst-colored eyes shook sharply.
The goal rang.
His chivalry, which he had never thought deeply about.
No matter how he tries to make it look pretty, his chivalry cannot hide his ugly features. It was something that could never be offered to the imperial palace that sent those poor children to the battlefield.
It was natural for Jade Madeleine to step down from her position as vice-captain.
And...
“...It has been a wrong practice for a very long time.”
His older brother also resigned from his position.
“...We need to start by overturning the incorrect statement that it is a raw baby.”
His father ultimately made the decision. All of it.
That was the way it had to go. It would have been better if it had been done that way.
So Jade couldn't say anything in front of Olivia, who was looking at him. He was biting the inside of his cheek hard, remembering things he had missed a long time ago.
The Emperor's Garden, where darkness gradually subsides. Olivia coughed a bit. Jade stretched out his hand to Olivia with a surprised look on his face. She is a child who has never been sick...
“I have a cold,”
Snap.
Words sounded like they were hitting Jade in the back of the head.
“Lord Madeleine, what exactly made you become a knight?”
Looking at Dean who asked sincerely, Jade only pursed his lips. Even the feeling of clenched fists and fingernails digging into his palms was far away.
A worry that he had never experienced before stopped Jade speechless.
To him, a knight is... It was something that had to be taken for granted.
Just like his father did when he was overcome with anger after hearing the story of Olivia's birth, and the knights in charge of the imperial palace did the same. Jade was a born knight.
He had no hesitation about cutting, hitting, or attacking someone. A place of liberation where he can vent his overflowing anger. A job where it's okay to work hard and run around the gym like crazy.
So Jade chose it.
Still, his anger could not cool down. He hoped that his distracting thoughts would disappear as he walked around the battlefield, but in the end, there were many children who looked like Olivia in the place he was running away to...
For a moment, Jade held his breath. His anger towards Olivia, his older brother, and his father disappeared in an instant.
Why did he always think of Olivia when he looked at the idiots who cried out for hope that they would secure a share, whether it was a source of money or the approval of his family?
Knowing that those children were the ones who were pushed to the battlefield as if by someone, why did he never think of that to Olivia?
Once Jade realized the reality, he felt a tingling sensation on his skin.
In the end, she was the one who criticized him one day. It was a ‘terrible family’.
His whole face felt sore, so much so that he couldn't tell if it was inside his throat or his nose.
Amethyst-colored eyes shook sharply.
The goal rang.
His chivalry, which he had never thought deeply about.
No matter how he tries to make it look pretty, his chivalry cannot hide his ugly features. It was something that could never be offered to the imperial palace that sent those poor children to the battlefield.
It was natural for Jade Madeleine to step down from her position as vice-captain.
And...
“...It has been a wrong practice for a very long time.”
His older brother also resigned from his position.
“...We need to start by overturning the incorrect statement that it is a raw baby.”
His father ultimately made the decision. All of it.
That was the way it had to go. It would have been better if it had been done that way.
***
So Jade couldn't say anything in front of Olivia, who was looking at him. He was biting the inside of his cheek hard, remembering things he had missed a long time ago.
The Emperor's Garden, where darkness gradually subsides. Olivia coughed a bit. Jade stretched out his hand to Olivia with a surprised look on his face. She is a child who has never been sick...
“I have a cold,”
Snap.
The careless worry was over in an instant. Jade looked at the back of his hand, then at Olivia.
It was hard to believe that her face had an angry expression on it for a moment, but Olivia was calm.
“Do you understand that this kind of favor that you are sending me is enough to make me feel like I am the same?”
“I guess so...”
At one time, his words would have been much sharper than Olivia's words now.
The gaze that was staring at him soon disappeared. The trembling lips looked like they wanted to ask something, but that was probably Jade's fantasy. Olivia turned around and left as if further conversation was meaningless.
Instead, Jade remembered countless things he had said and many things Conrad had said.
Among his memories, a young Olivia with a red tip of her nose came to mind.
It was one winter more than ten years ago when Olivia, who had never been sick no matter how much she was tormented, developed a slight cough. So Jade was the part of his ten-year-old self who hated Olivia the most.
That unusually cold night, the room he entered to leave the window open all night was already cold and devoid of any warmth. In a room without any firewood, Olivia was coughing even under the blanket.
"It's okay. It's okay."
It's okay. Even though she was coughing stupidly, she was shaking without taking any medicine. Well, who would pity her? Rather, Jade hoped that the child would be in more pain.
But in the end, Jade didn't go as planned that day. With just one whim, he closed the window that was not closed and adjusted the blanket to cover her.
Because her face with her eyes closed resembles Ethella's. Onetime... Because she looks like his sister who used to join him in playing Emerald Princess.
It was the last favor he did that night, for which he didn't bother to come up with an excuse. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought some medicine with him. If that were the case, even one word would have been an excuse.
The memory flashed back to him, making Jade as helpless as it was heartbreaking.
Jade let out a sigh as his regrets about the past, which he could not do anything about, piled up. He then rubbed his chest with his palms. A glimpse of his father's voice appeared in his ears.
“... It can barely, just barely, show the appearance of a small castle.”
Today’s negotiations are unconditional...
“...Do you really think this will work?”
Jade reflexively lowered his body. His voice came from beyond the wall of the the garden. Judging by the clanking sound of the armor, he was a knight.
“Is there anything else? I have to peel it as it says above. All his power was lost. Wouldn’t the leader just do it in moderation and then stop?”
The person who asked the question at his uncertain answer seemed to be in pain.
“Still, there are private soldiers under Duke Elkin’s command, and now in Vikander Territory...”
"Quiet."
His sharp voice cut off his words. Soon, the voices of the knights as they hurriedly turned their horses became distant. Jade, who was looking at their backs as if exploring with his instinct, urgently looked around when he saw the energy heading towards him.
The moment he looked at the place where he felt the stabbing force, Jade got goosebumps.
His red eyes, hidden under the shadow of the moonlight, sparkled. The one with narrowed eyes grinned at him. Then, in a graceful gesture, he placed his index finger on his lips.
Shh.
Don't be funny either.
I quickened my pace. The eyes following me disappeared, but I couldn't maintain my usual mood.
I definitely thought when morning came that today would be the perfect day.
If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have met him. My breath became heavier due to my resentment. But I knew that my assumptions were in vain.
“This is an area scheduled for restoration that has been ambitiously prepared. Since the Vikander territory is to the north, it seemed best to divide it into north and south, so we drew up our picture with the archipelago as a border and all the way to Katanta.”
Around morning, the knights, who were talking about an ambitious negotiation plan to split the Empire in half, started talking to me about the troops surrounding Vikander as if they were bragging.
“The Imperial Palace Knights currently confronting us on the streets of Lheirn are the 5th Knights. In the case of the 3rd Knights...”
It was me who nodded my head softly when I saw the knights who were momentarily surprised by Winster bringing up the story of Jade, the deputy commander of the 3rd Knights in front of me. Thanks to that, Winster continued speaking.
“...It seems like there is confusion within the Knights due to the departure of the Deputy Knight Commander.”
What Winster said included rumors floating around the imperial capital. Rumors had been steadily sweeping the system for the past few days, and among them, there were rumors that made me doubt my ears.
“Isn’t it really fun? The Madeleine Duchy has joined Vikander.”
Dean, who was excitedly speaking, belatedly saw the surprised me and closed his mouth.
“You didn’t hear this. Haha. Just listen, Miss.”
Dean added clumsily, but his words had already passed through my ears.
Madeleine is attached to Vikander.
It was an absurd rumor. I immediately burst into laughter.
I was just a little curious about what Madeleine's face would look like if they heard this rumor.
Then I wondered for a moment. Madeleine will never stick with Vikander. No, they shouldn't stick.
I wanted to find out the source of this rumor and get Madeleine away from Vikander. A long time ago, that foolish wish that Madeleine would support me had long since faded and disappeared.
So after the negotiations were over, I completely revised my plan to see the Madeleine Duchy. I meet Jade and immediately ask him if he knows the source of the rumor and why he acted like that. Otherwise, I tried to criticize him, asking how the rumor spread that Madeleine was attached to Vikander when he did not do so.
But actually.
“What, what? Young lady.”
I really hated Jade Madeleine calling me Lady.
“I have nothing to be angry about anymore.”
I hated Jade Madeleine even more because he was acting so vaguely.
I could clearly hear the sound of the grass being crushed in the garden. After a while, I slowly raised my head at the sight of Edwin suddenly coming to my side.
“I was here, Live?"
It took less than a second for my green eyes to twinkle in confusion.
I chuckled as I saw Edwin approaching me. In an instant, my mind cleared as if the fog had cleared.
“Did you finish your business well?”
“It can’t be. I haven’t even stepped in there yet.”
I said as if I was intentionally erasing my encounter with Jade. Then, for a moment, I widened my eyes when I saw the procession entering the Emperor's palace.
"Her Majesty the Empress?”
At first glance, her face was so haggard that it was hard to believe that she was the Empress. If it weren't for the Duke of Elkin's unique red hair, I would have doubted my eyes. The Princess who followed her also did not have a good complexion.
Those two can't possibly be in negotiations...?
As if he understood the question in my gaze, Edwin smiled naturally.
“It is a position where the fate of the Empire depends. We must all do this together. Me and Olivia, just like our father.”
“...Yes."
I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the Princess. Edwin was right that we should all work together.
Thanks to him, I realized one of my keys that I almost forgot.
“...There were many fiefdoms that needed the help of not only barons but also ‘Saints.’”
South, Tristan and Retail, Miner and Javier. In addition, there were large and small estates where the Princess was the Lord.
“Tell all estate agents. Just as the Baron had heard. If we do that, we will be able to obtain grain and bread to solve the immediate food shortage.”
Vikander deserved to take over half of the Empire, no, more than that.
It was hard to believe that her face had an angry expression on it for a moment, but Olivia was calm.
“Do you understand that this kind of favor that you are sending me is enough to make me feel like I am the same?”
“I guess so...”
At one time, his words would have been much sharper than Olivia's words now.
The gaze that was staring at him soon disappeared. The trembling lips looked like they wanted to ask something, but that was probably Jade's fantasy. Olivia turned around and left as if further conversation was meaningless.
Instead, Jade remembered countless things he had said and many things Conrad had said.
Among his memories, a young Olivia with a red tip of her nose came to mind.
It was one winter more than ten years ago when Olivia, who had never been sick no matter how much she was tormented, developed a slight cough. So Jade was the part of his ten-year-old self who hated Olivia the most.
That unusually cold night, the room he entered to leave the window open all night was already cold and devoid of any warmth. In a room without any firewood, Olivia was coughing even under the blanket.
"It's okay. It's okay."
It's okay. Even though she was coughing stupidly, she was shaking without taking any medicine. Well, who would pity her? Rather, Jade hoped that the child would be in more pain.
But in the end, Jade didn't go as planned that day. With just one whim, he closed the window that was not closed and adjusted the blanket to cover her.
Because her face with her eyes closed resembles Ethella's. Onetime... Because she looks like his sister who used to join him in playing Emerald Princess.
It was the last favor he did that night, for which he didn't bother to come up with an excuse. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought some medicine with him. If that were the case, even one word would have been an excuse.
The memory flashed back to him, making Jade as helpless as it was heartbreaking.
Jade let out a sigh as his regrets about the past, which he could not do anything about, piled up. He then rubbed his chest with his palms. A glimpse of his father's voice appeared in his ears.
“... It can barely, just barely, show the appearance of a small castle.”
Today’s negotiations are unconditional...
“...Do you really think this will work?”
Jade reflexively lowered his body. His voice came from beyond the wall of the the garden. Judging by the clanking sound of the armor, he was a knight.
“Is there anything else? I have to peel it as it says above. All his power was lost. Wouldn’t the leader just do it in moderation and then stop?”
The person who asked the question at his uncertain answer seemed to be in pain.
“Still, there are private soldiers under Duke Elkin’s command, and now in Vikander Territory...”
"Quiet."
His sharp voice cut off his words. Soon, the voices of the knights as they hurriedly turned their horses became distant. Jade, who was looking at their backs as if exploring with his instinct, urgently looked around when he saw the energy heading towards him.
The moment he looked at the place where he felt the stabbing force, Jade got goosebumps.
His red eyes, hidden under the shadow of the moonlight, sparkled. The one with narrowed eyes grinned at him. Then, in a graceful gesture, he placed his index finger on his lips.
Shh.
***
Don't be funny either.
I quickened my pace. The eyes following me disappeared, but I couldn't maintain my usual mood.
I definitely thought when morning came that today would be the perfect day.
If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have met him. My breath became heavier due to my resentment. But I knew that my assumptions were in vain.
“This is an area scheduled for restoration that has been ambitiously prepared. Since the Vikander territory is to the north, it seemed best to divide it into north and south, so we drew up our picture with the archipelago as a border and all the way to Katanta.”
Around morning, the knights, who were talking about an ambitious negotiation plan to split the Empire in half, started talking to me about the troops surrounding Vikander as if they were bragging.
“The Imperial Palace Knights currently confronting us on the streets of Lheirn are the 5th Knights. In the case of the 3rd Knights...”
It was me who nodded my head softly when I saw the knights who were momentarily surprised by Winster bringing up the story of Jade, the deputy commander of the 3rd Knights in front of me. Thanks to that, Winster continued speaking.
“...It seems like there is confusion within the Knights due to the departure of the Deputy Knight Commander.”
What Winster said included rumors floating around the imperial capital. Rumors had been steadily sweeping the system for the past few days, and among them, there were rumors that made me doubt my ears.
“Isn’t it really fun? The Madeleine Duchy has joined Vikander.”
Dean, who was excitedly speaking, belatedly saw the surprised me and closed his mouth.
“You didn’t hear this. Haha. Just listen, Miss.”
Dean added clumsily, but his words had already passed through my ears.
Madeleine is attached to Vikander.
It was an absurd rumor. I immediately burst into laughter.
I was just a little curious about what Madeleine's face would look like if they heard this rumor.
Then I wondered for a moment. Madeleine will never stick with Vikander. No, they shouldn't stick.
I wanted to find out the source of this rumor and get Madeleine away from Vikander. A long time ago, that foolish wish that Madeleine would support me had long since faded and disappeared.
So after the negotiations were over, I completely revised my plan to see the Madeleine Duchy. I meet Jade and immediately ask him if he knows the source of the rumor and why he acted like that. Otherwise, I tried to criticize him, asking how the rumor spread that Madeleine was attached to Vikander when he did not do so.
But actually.
“What, what? Young lady.”
I really hated Jade Madeleine calling me Lady.
“I have nothing to be angry about anymore.”
I hated Jade Madeleine even more because he was acting so vaguely.
I could clearly hear the sound of the grass being crushed in the garden. After a while, I slowly raised my head at the sight of Edwin suddenly coming to my side.
“I was here, Live?"
It took less than a second for my green eyes to twinkle in confusion.
I chuckled as I saw Edwin approaching me. In an instant, my mind cleared as if the fog had cleared.
“Did you finish your business well?”
“It can’t be. I haven’t even stepped in there yet.”
I said as if I was intentionally erasing my encounter with Jade. Then, for a moment, I widened my eyes when I saw the procession entering the Emperor's palace.
"Her Majesty the Empress?”
At first glance, her face was so haggard that it was hard to believe that she was the Empress. If it weren't for the Duke of Elkin's unique red hair, I would have doubted my eyes. The Princess who followed her also did not have a good complexion.
Those two can't possibly be in negotiations...?
As if he understood the question in my gaze, Edwin smiled naturally.
“It is a position where the fate of the Empire depends. We must all do this together. Me and Olivia, just like our father.”
“...Yes."
I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the Princess. Edwin was right that we should all work together.
Thanks to him, I realized one of my keys that I almost forgot.
“...There were many fiefdoms that needed the help of not only barons but also ‘Saints.’”
South, Tristan and Retail, Miner and Javier. In addition, there were large and small estates where the Princess was the Lord.
“Tell all estate agents. Just as the Baron had heard. If we do that, we will be able to obtain grain and bread to solve the immediate food shortage.”
Vikander deserved to take over half of the Empire, no, more than that.
I looked at Edwin, his eyes sparkling.
Soon, the bell started ringing on time.
Soon, the bell started ringing on time.
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