Her heart pounded. She was afraid that Shan would cut Blahar's head off. The black blade Shan was holding was a blunt practice longsword. But no one thought he was holding a blunt sword. The practice longsword was so sharp that it even had a bluish aura.
“...”
Shan looked down at Blahar, then slowly got off his body. Blahar lay down for a while and then followed Shan and got up. Then he looked around.
The practice longsword was embedded in the marble floor more than halfway up the blade. The longsword was embedded straight and straight, without any tilt. The exact vertical angle was almost artistic.
It was fortunate that there were no weapons in the banquet hall. If there had been weapons, the knights of Heglatan would have drawn their swords and rushed at them. Shan smiled in front of the silent Blahar. And then he spoke with an arrogant smile.
“The apology has been well received, Your Majesty.”
Blahar's face crumpled. But he couldn't resist Shan's insulting words. It didn't look good for a loser to swear at a winner. This time, it was Blahar who had to hold back his anger.
Blahar forced a smile. He tried to hide his trembling expression and tried to say something leisurely. Something that would admit defeat but still preserve his last bit of pride. But he couldn't.
“...”
In the end, Blahar remained silent. He glared at Shan, then turned around. He quickly left the banquet hall. Heglatan’s delegation quickly followed Blahar.
As Heglatan's delegation left the hall, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became chaotic. Amid the commotion, some of Heglatan's supporters quietly left the banquet hall.
It was an ambiguous atmosphere that neither celebrated victory nor consoled defeat. It was rather gloomy for a pleasant banquet. It was Astin who organized the chaotic atmosphere.
“Duke Cirxus.”
Astin chided Shan for his rudeness in a polite voice.
“Even if it was a duel, it was not right to act toward the state guest. Wouldn’t it be better to visit him separately later and apologize?”
In a proper duel, it would have ended when Blahar was defeated. It was common for people to die in duels. However, when he chose a practice longsword as his weapon, he implicitly promised not to harm his opponent.
But Shan drove Blahar to the brink of death. And not only that, he treated him in a way that bordered on mockery. He was a state guest who had come a long way to celebrate Targayel's coronation.
The delegations from each country were watching. Astin couldn't just pass by without saying anything. He had to at least point it out as a courtesy. Shan also knew why Astin was saying this. That's why he readily agreed with what he said.
“I will do so, Your Majesty.”
Of course, he only pretended to agree and had no intention of putting it into practice. As soon as Shan accepted, Astin quickly brushed aside the mention of Blahar. He added a few words as a pretense and then went straight to Shan’s victory.
“However, I congratulate you on your victory in the duel. It was truly an amazing feat.”
Astin motioned to his attendant and handed Shan a glass of champagne. The quick-witted attendants passed the glasses around among the guests. Astin raised his glass and shouted.
“Everyone, cheers to the winner!”
Only then did belated cheers and applause erupt. In that place where Shan's victory was celebrated, there was no place for the loser, Blahar. The banquet became noisy again and ended happily.
***
Targayel made a show of force and humbled the Emperor of Heglatan by defeating him twice.
In addition, Elze's skills were shown to the world. Before that, some argued about whether a woman could become the commander of the knights.
But now even those who were skeptical have completely acknowledged it. No one dares to challenge Elze's skills anymore.
For various reasons, the duels and sparring that took place in the banquet hall were beneficial to Targayel in many ways. However, Elze, who was the main character in all of this, was so depressed that she felt like digging the ground.
"Ha..."
Elze sighed as if the ground was falling apart. She picked up a quill pen in front of her desk and scratched at a blank piece of paper. Black ink marks spread out on the white paper.
With the delegations from each country gathered, Shan and Blahar engaged in a war of nerves over Elze. These three were key figures who had recently shaken up the continent. They were already in the spotlight, and now they have caused such a major incident.
The scene at the banquet hall was obviously a love triangle and a love fight. There was no one who would leave such an interesting subject alone.
Rumors about the relationship between the three people were already spreading through the social circles and even among the delegation. Of course, rumors could not just spread, so they were gaining ground. Elze was frustrated when she heard the news that they were creating a secret child, starting with the secret of birth.
Aside from the scandal, there was something else that was troubling Elze. Love letters were pouring into the Targayel mansion. They were all directed at Elze, not Shan.
Most of them came from noblemen and ladies, and several letters arrived at the mansion every day. Some of them were simply curious about the scandal, but there were also letters filled with purely fan sentiment.
All of these letters had similar content. They were impressed by Elze's swordsmanship and wanted to have a chance to talk with her, so they asked her to come to the tea party.
Marle, who was in charge of the correspondence of the Cirxus family, was having a hard time with the dozens of tea party invitations. Elze was also surprised by the pile of invitations Marle had piled up on her letter tray.
“Oh my god, these are all invitations?”
Elze picked one out of the bunch and opened it. Then she was surprised again by the shape of the letter.
From the high-quality letter paper with a faint scent of perfume, to the letterhead with a pretty picture and family crest, to the neatly organized handwriting, it was a letter that anyone could tell was written with great care.
"Ah..."
Elze put the letter down without reading the contents due to the pressure that was pressing on her. Then she picked up the next letter. But the next letter was similar. This one even had a thicker envelope, and inside was an embroidered lace handkerchief.
"Hmm..."
Elze put down the second letter as well. Then she asked Marle with a serious face.
“What should I do in this situation?”
Elze was grateful for the invitation. However, she couldn't accept the invitation rashly. No matter how well-intentioned the invitation was, there was no way to know whether all those who attended the tea party had pure hearts. There was a high possibility that at least one person would ask about Shan and Blahar.
She didn't know how much the story would be exaggerated if they accidentally brought up the affair scandal at the tea party. Marle cautiously asked questions while watching Elze's expression.
“What would you like to do, Madam?”
Elze answered Marle's question simply.
“I want to refuse. The risk is too great.”
Marle, who had been worried about what to do if Elze wanted to go, brightened up. He spoke happily to Elze.
“Yes, ma’am. I agree with you. I think it would be best to reject them all.”
Elze smiled back at Marle and answered.
“Yes. I’ll send the reply myself.”
Instead of not being able to grant their request, she wanted to at least make a nice refusal. Elze took out a piece of stationery and began writing a reply to each letter. However, there were so many letters that replying to them was no easy task.
Elze, who had been sitting motionless for about thirty minutes, shook her head and put down her quill.
“Ugh... That’s a lot. It’ll probably take some time to do it all. Go do something else.”
Marle smiled faintly at Elze's words. She couldn't help but smile because she liked the way his master took care of her busy self.
“It’s okay, ma’am. Why are you doing something like this?”
Marle was worried that Madam might feel burdened. Working under Lady Cirxus meant working 24 hours a day without any time to rest. However, Elze insisted on kicking Marle out.
“But you should at least take a break. Just go out.”
"Lady..."
“This is an order!”
Who wouldn't laugh along with the words she added with a bright smile? Marle's face softened and he went out of the room.
Their madam, who took such good care of even her subordinates, was the best. He found himself humming a tune. As Marle walked down the hallway in a good mood, someone waved at him from the other side.
“Marle!”
“Ah, Liv.”
“What is Madam doing? Lord Cirxus is curious.”
Lord Cirxus often sent Liv like this to find out what his wife was doing. He sent Liv as a scout because he was afraid that if he came himself, it might disturb Elze.
So, Liv had been diligently investigating Madame and reporting to Shan. Marle told Liv about Madame's situation.
“Madam, she is writing a reply.”
“Reply?”
Marle told Liv about the letter bomb. Liv's eyes widened and she muttered.
“It’s hard being popular...”
“That's right.”
Marle sighed inwardly at the suffering of the madam who enjoyed explosive popularity. It was not uncommon for one person in the social world to become popular like a trend. In the social world where trends quickly spread, many became popular like stars and then disappeared.
But this was the first time that someone had been popular with the same sex. At least, as far as Marle knew, there had been none. Liv let out a hmm and blurted out to Marle.
“If you look closely, isn’t Madam also quite a helpless person?”
Marle couldn't help but nod at those words. She was an attractive person, so she was always popular, but most men were too intimidated by Cirxus to approach her.
Those who managed to break through Cirxus's iron wall defenses were all mentally unstable, so he didn’t want to treat them as competitors. And this time, they even enjoyed explosive popularity among the same sex... Marle shrugged and said.
“Madam, there is only Cirxus by her side.”
“That’s right. Maybe it was Cirxus who made it that way.”
As soon as he heard Liv's words, Marle immediately snapped.
“They say all sorts of strange things.”
“Is that so?”
Liv pouted. Marle tapped Liv on the shoulder and said.
“I’m going to see Lord Cirxus, let’s go together.”
“Yeah, I have to go and report it anyway. But why you?”
“What Lord Cirxus mentioned last time. I need to report on the progress.”
“Oh, that. I just have to wait, right?”
"Yes."
Liv and Marle chatted for a bit, then headed off to Cirxus's office side by side.
***
The coronation ceremony of the Targayel Empire has ended, and the celebratory banquet has come to a close. The envoys who have gathered from all over the continent are now beginning to prepare to return to their homeland.
Among the delegations, the first to prepare for their return was the Kingdom of Ryeo. They had been in the Targayel Empire for quite sometime before the coronation, so their stay was long. Since they had already been away from the kingdom for quite some time, Hyeon left a few days after the banquet ended.
Hyeon met Elze one last time before leaving Targayel. And Elze received an unexpected gift from her. As always when they were alone, Hyeon and Elze spoke in Korean. Hyeon handed something to Elze.
"This is a gift. Keep it."
What she gave me was the diary of the founding Queen.
“But this is...”
Elze looked at Hyeon in surprise, holding the diary in her hand. It was something left behind by the first Queen of the Kingdom of Ryeo, so it was a relic of inestimable value. Hyeon had even personally called it a national treasure.
“I know that too. It is something that should not be thrown out.”
She grumbled that she could tell how much Ra-sun would nag her. But when Elze tried to return the diary, she firmly refused. Elze, unable to do anything, awkwardly picked up the diary. And she spoke earnestly to Hyeon.
“Why are you doing that? This is too much to be called a gift.”
"No, you can't. You have to have it."
Hyeon chewed the tobacco pipe and spoke slowly.
“I don’t know why, but I feel like I have to do it.”
And after a little pause, she added a word.
“It’s just like finding the owner...”
Elze held the diary tightly at Hyeon's words. For some reason, she felt warmth in her hands. She couldn't explain it, but just like she said, Elze felt a strange feeling from the first time she saw the diary. When she read the diary, she read each word as if it were something she had experienced herself. It was a strange experience.
"..."
And Hyeon was lost in thought as she looked at Elze holding the diary in her hand. She always had a good sense. The choices Hyeon made based on his strong intuition had never failed.
Even when searching for the previous savior, Ilwooz told her to use his divine power to find out if she was the savior. However, Hyeon followed his intuition, used his divine power on Elze, and found out that she was the savior.
This time, too, she felt a strong intuition similar to that time. In fact, bringing the diary from the Kingdom of Ryeo was also an impulsive act. And when he came to Targayel and placed the diary in Elze’s hands, Hyeon felt it. His intuition was moving once again.
“I also thought a lot about this decision. So let’s not argue anymore.”
Hyeon pretended to have a stern expression on his face. Seeing her like that, Elze had no choice but to accept the diary.
"Then I'll think about taking care of it for a while. If you need it again, please let me know at any time."
Hyeon smiled faintly at Elze's words. This was the maximum compromise that Hyeon and Elze could reach. Hyeon and Elze stopped talking about the diary and moved on to another topic. It was Blahar.
“Erzenes, as you know... he is a hundred-year-old fox.”
Hyeon put down the pipe she was holding. Then she straightened his back. A deep light was shining in her black eyes.
"The war between Targayel and Heglatan is inevitable."
At Hyeon's words, Elze quietly lowered her eyes. Then she answered in a low voice.
“...I know. I wanted to stop it, but in the end.”
It was an undeniable fact that Elze was one of the causes of the war. However, Hyeon shook his head.
"It wasn't something you could stop. It was like a predetermined fate."
Elze was just one of many reasons. Hyeon quietly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Prepare well. As an ally of Targayel, Ryeo will also prepare for war."
Hywon's voice was firm, but her eyes were slightly shaking.
“We must win. For you...”
She held Elze's shoulder tightly and whispered.
"Also for the continent."
***
“Lord Cirxus, everything is ready.”
Shan, who was sitting at the desk looking at documents, put down his quill pen. Then he immediately stood up from his seat. Marle, who was assisting with the documents beside him, also stopped working and stood up.
In front of Shan stood Liv and Epen. Both of them were wearing black clothes and masks like assassins. Shan smiled faintly and spoke to Epen.
“I’m sorry, Epen. I made you act on your own without letting Elze know.”
“No, Lord Cirxus.”
Epen straightened his posture and answered.
“Isn’t this also for her sake? The Kallias are always ready to lay down their lives for her.”
Shan nodded in satisfaction at Epen's answer. Then he looked at Liv and nodded. Liv stood at attention and said.
“Yes, Lord Cirxus. The delegation is currently on the move. If we ride fast from now on, we can catch up.”
“The guide?”
“He is a nobleman of the opposition party.”
“Perfect.”
Shan praised with a satisfied expression. Liv looked embarrassed at Shan's rare compliment.
Marle handed Liv and Epen a thin envelope each. Liv and Epen took out the papers inside and checked the contents. It was a brief summary of the mission.
After reading the contents from beginning to end, he returned it to Marle. Marle accepted the envelope and said.
“Even though it is a border, you must be careful because it is happening in an area adjacent to Targayel.”
Shan Marle followed suit and urged him again.
“You must not kill.”
Liv and Epen responded to Shan's words one after another.
“Don’t worry, Cirxus.”
“I will keep that in mind, Cirxus.”
Now everything was ready. Shan leaned back against the desk and smiled.
"Good..."
And finally, he said one last thing.
“Go and give me just a taste.”
***
Heglatan's journey home was quiet. The grandeur they had shown when they first entered Targayel was nowhere to be seen, and it was a very quiet journey home.
Their footsteps were heavy, like a defeated army. And Blahar, the center of the delegation, had also lost his usual cheerfulness and his face was stiff. Serev, who was next to him, studied his face for a while and then cautiously called Blahar.
"...Your Majesty."
Blahar looked back at Serev. His expression, which had been stiff until just now, relaxed and he smiled as he answered.
“Serev.”
Serev didn't mention anything about what happened at the banquet hall. Instead, he told a different story.
“I see the border over there. It’s Heglatan soon.”
“I see.”
Blahar looked into the distance, then smiled faintly. Serev was often criticized for being blunt. He smiled when he realized that he was deliberately talking to him out of concern.
“Am I worrying you?”
"No."
Blahar laughed out loud. It was the first laugh he had had in a long time. After laughing for a while, Blahar felt the cold air touch his cheek and spoke.
“As expected, the closer we get to Heglatan, the colder it gets.”
He exhaled, whooshing. White breath spread out.
“Targayel was warm, you know...”
Serev continued, taking Blahar's words into account.
“It was truly a place I wanted to visit.”
While the Heglatan delegation stayed in Targayel, they were able to experience an unfamiliar climate. May in Targayel was warm. Unlike Heglatan, where the ground was frozen and never thawed, spring was in full bloom wherever they went.
It might be hot enough to sweat in August. Heglatan was only experiencing a slight warming up. It was a land that Heglatan could not help but desire.
“I will prepare in earnest when I return home.”
Serev's words lacked an object. But both Blahar and Serev knew what the unspoken word was. Blahar smiled leisurely and answered him.
“Yes, let’s get ready.”
As the two men were riding their horses, chatting about this and that, the knight in front shouted.
“It’s the border!!”
They could see the dry land spread out in the distance. It was a dreary place, like a land of death.
After the Hundred Years' War, the border between Targayel and Heglatan was not properly guarded. No people were living near the border, which had become barren after many battles.
After sending back the guides given to them by Targayel, Heglatan's envoys returned to their own country, just as they had crossed the border.
“...!”
Blahar gave a signal and pulled the reins. Soon, all of Heglatan's knights stopped their horses.
"Your Majesty?"
Serev called out in surprise, and Blahar frowned. Then he spoke in a low, hushed voice.
“...Something is coming.”
“!!”
Blahar quickly assessed the situation.
“First, let’s get out of here. Let’s shake off the pursuers as much as possible and meet up with the knights who will come out to meet us.”
But before Blahar could give another order, a cloud of dust was seen rising in the distance. The mounted hordes were all wearing black and masks. There was little to guess what their purpose was as they quickly approached.
"Shit!"
Blahar shouted loudly, cursing.
“Run!!”
There was no time to conjure up a grand command. With a crack of the whip, the horses began to run. However, the delegation procession was unable to move quickly due to the various luggage and carriages attached. In the end, they were quickly chased.
Blahar's eyes flashed as they drew near. He checked the flemberge on his waist. It would be better to fight properly if they got closer. And Blahar was confident that he could capture at least one of them.
The black-masked men all raised their bows on horseback. The arrowheads flashed sharply. With a whizzing sound, the arrows flew fiercely.
Blahar was prepared to take a hit or two. But something completely unexpected happened. The arrows did not even touch the fingertips of the Heglatan knights. Instead, they pierced the horses they were riding.
“Aaah!!”
The horses were screaming and galloping, and many people were falling off their horses. Blahar's horse was no exception, so Blahar abandoned his horse and jumped down to the ground.
During the chaos, Blahar drew his sword, as he naturally expected the battle to continue. But that was the end of it.
“What, what is this...!”
The masked men finished firing a hail of arrows, then turned their horses around and rode away.
Blahar stared blankly at their backs, which disappeared just as quickly as they had come. Then he flinched and belatedly looked around to see what was happening.
There were a few casualties, but no deaths. This was natural since the arrows had not been aimed at people from the beginning. Instead, the horses they were riding were lying on the ground. Every single one of them was missing. Serev could be heard muttering in confusion.
“All the words are...”
Now there was no choice but to walk the remaining path. Blahar froze still, then muttered with his eyes sparkling.
“This son of a bitch...”
He trembled in anger, unable to control his temper. Then he shouted so loudly that the plains shook.
“Shan Cirxus!!!”
***
A black wave came rushing in.
Elze was submerged in deep water from head to toe. When she opened her mouth, small bubbles rose up. However, she did not feel suffocated. Rather, she felt comfortable, as if she was held in a warm embrace. The rippling waves brushed against her skin and swirled around her body.
When she raised her head, she saw a rippling light. The light broke into pure white pieces on the surface of the water. A scene was reflected in the sparkling light.
A woman with black hair stood before a large crowd. She shouted something in a loud voice. But her words were not heard clearly as if they were floating in water. Only a distorted and unclear voice could be heard.
The moment Elze focused on her voice, the mumbling words became condensed and clear.
"...I will establish a new country and call it ‘Ryeo’!"
She raised her hand. Along with the fluttering hem of her dress, the crowd's cheers could be heard. Without realizing it, Elze reached out her hand toward the water. However, her body sank deeper and deeper, and soon she was far from the water.
The surroundings were completely dark. It was deep and dark water but Elze wasn't anxious at all. Instead, she let herself be leaned against it.
A warm sense of stability supported Elze. As the languid feeling washed over her, a very small voice was heard from somewhere.
"..."
At first, it was a whisper so small that she couldn't hear it properly. But the voice gradually grew louder.
"Please do this..."
As the voice echoed, waves spread through the calm water. Elze looked around in confusion as the waves began to shake. A voice that had become even louder was heard.
"May your wishes come true..."
The waves began to swell violently and form whirlpools. Bubbles rose up everywhere as if boiling. In the madness, a loud shout rang in her ears.
"Please fulfill your will in this life!"
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