Episode 34. Prepare for Revenge
“What?”
Gerard turned around, suddenly hearing a commotion outside.
Soon after, a group of people appeared.
Among them was Leone, whom he had been waiting for.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
Leone approached him as lightly as a butterfly and fell into Gerard’s arms.
“Haa.”
Gerard held Leone in his arms and let out a deep breath.
All the frustration he had felt seemed to fly away.
“Where the hell have you been and why are you coming back now?”
Leone gently stroked the Emperor’s back.
“We must avenge Princess Kelita, Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
“Revenge, yes. That’s what I must do.”
“How arrogant is Lacrahan right now that he has Bercheria in his hands?”
“That Lacrahan bastard.”
“That’s right. We must take this opportunity to properly crush Lacrahan so that no one will doubt Your Majesty the Emperor’s abilities any longer.”
Leone’s downcast eyes landed on Kelita.
“Now, go and prepare to avenge poor Kelita. Your Majesty, my Emperor.”
“We will marry.”
Lacrahan, lying on the library desk, covered his face with the book he was holding.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the face of Bercheria he had seen in the square came to mind.
Hair fluttering in the air, skin that shone as if dusted with light.
“I don’t want to think about what happened to me, what responsibilities I have in the future. Until I marry you and regain all my power and divine essence.”
“What?”
Gerard turned around, suddenly hearing a commotion outside.
Soon after, a group of people appeared.
Among them was Leone, whom he had been waiting for.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
Leone approached him as lightly as a butterfly and fell into Gerard’s arms.
“Haa.”
Gerard held Leone in his arms and let out a deep breath.
All the frustration he had felt seemed to fly away.
“Where the hell have you been and why are you coming back now?”
Leone gently stroked the Emperor’s back.
“We must avenge Princess Kelita, Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
“Revenge, yes. That’s what I must do.”
“How arrogant is Lacrahan right now that he has Bercheria in his hands?”
“That Lacrahan bastard.”
“That’s right. We must take this opportunity to properly crush Lacrahan so that no one will doubt Your Majesty the Emperor’s abilities any longer.”
Leone’s downcast eyes landed on Kelita.
“Now, go and prepare to avenge poor Kelita. Your Majesty, my Emperor.”
***
“We will marry.”
Lacrahan, lying on the library desk, covered his face with the book he was holding.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the face of Bercheria he had seen in the square came to mind.
Hair fluttering in the air, skin that shone as if dusted with light.
“I don’t want to think about what happened to me, what responsibilities I have in the future. Until I marry you and regain all my power and divine essence.”
He had talked to Bercheria and Wyatt as if he had specific plans and thoughts for this marriage, but in reality, all that occupied Lacrahan’s mind at the time was her safety.
“I intend to use you.”
Lacrahan quickly pushed the book aside and sat up.
It was actually a good thing for him that she had decided to use him.
If she awakened in that way, he could protect his people through this deal. He wanted to prevent any more people from dying in the volatile north.
That was all that mattered.
It should have been only the people.
“Ha.”
But his thoughts kept drifting away from the people to Bercheria.
“Laurent...”
If it weren’t for Prince Der'Ansis, he probably wouldn’t have known what he was feeling right now.
The Prince’s sudden intrusion was bothering him, and Bercheria’s gaze was even more jarring.
“Ha.”
Lacrahan lay back down and looked up at the ceiling light.
As he gazed into the soft orange light, her face came to mind again.
“What’s really going on?”
Lacrahan covered his eyes with his arm.
He vividly remembered the feeling of that moment when he found Bercheria, swept away by the wind during the hailstorm.
He thought she might die right then.
Lacrahan could accurately describe what he felt at that moment in one word: fear.
It was a definite fear.
His heart was ripping out of his toes, as if the world were crumbling.
He had felt this exact same feeling many times in the past.
When he lost his father, when he lost his brother. And when he saw his mother, who had been waiting for him in her corpse, Lacrahan felt a terrible fear at that moment.
And so he knew it right away.
He's afraid of what will become of her.
He's afraid.
"..."
He had sworn he'd never feel such emotions again.
Fearful of being responsible for someone and entangled in the name of family, he had lived for nearly a decade without even looking at women. He'd assumed women should tremble, pretending nothing happened, and living only for the knights and the people. He'd also thought Bercheria was trying to distance herself, claiming their relationship was a matter of necessity.
"I was the one who lost my mind,"
He whispered, his lips curled into a bitter smile.
Lacrahan placed his hand on the lips that had touched Bercheria's.
The kiss he'd given without knowing it, lying in bed that day, and the next day, resurfaced unexpectedly, leaving him bewildered.
The sensation, the sound of his breath, even the warmth of the air he'd sucked in and then exhaled.
At first, it was because it was his first kiss.
He was a man, after all.
He tried to dismiss it as an instinctual urge and move on.
But as time passed, instead of subsiding, the symptoms worsened whenever Bercheria appeared before his eyes.
He couldn't tell anyone about this.
The Grand Duke of the North, a man past marriageable age, a man who ruled his people with countless knights.
And how could he spend all day dwelling on a kiss not out of pleasure, but to transmit the ice element?
"Mad."
Lacrahan covered his face with his book again and concentrated all his attention on clearing his mind.
"Marriage."
She was using him to retrieve the sacred essence, and he was a means to save his people from a natural disaster.
So right now, he couldn't give it any meaning. The more he did, the more he suffered.
He prayed for the wedding ceremony to be held soon so Bercheria could regain her powers.
So that these feelings would pass without growing any further.
He hoped for a happy ending where her terrible mother would kneel and apologize.
Right now, Lacrahan was dreaming of only the simplest of wishes.
***
“Lacrahan!”
A small, white hand shook Lacrahan awake from his deep sleep.
“Lacrahan, you should get up quickly.”
“Hmm. Just a little more.”
“Father and Raphael are already ready and have eaten breakfast?”
His round eyes, buried in his bed, suddenly opened.
“Really?”
Lacrahan, who had just turned 15, threw off the covers and ran outside.
Grand Duchess Adkins, who was watching him, burst into laughter.
Lacrahan hastily put on his clothes and ran outside, where his father and older brother were waiting.
“Lacrahan! Run slowly. What if you fall?”
Raphael, who was on his horse, burst into laughter at his father’s voice.
“Father, when you run slowly, are you running or walking?”
Raphael, who had just turned 19, seemed to exude a warm energy like a gentle breeze at first glance.
Broad shoulders, long legs, flawless white skin, and features seemed to have been transported straight from Lacrahan a few years later.
Lacrahan, galloping in, received the reins from his attendant. Raphael kicked the horse's rump and said,
"Lacrahan! It's a bet to see who gets there first!"
With that, he galloped across the snow-covered plains that connected to the forest.
"Brother!"
Lacrahan, determined to be outdone, mounted his horse and struck the horse's rump.
"Here!"
The two horses galloped into the forest, where white, snow-covered trees stretched out like a painting.
Grand Duke Edkins, who had been watching, suddenly turned his head and looked back.
Grand Duchess Edkins, watching from the window, waved, and a bright smile spread across his lips.
"Let's go!"
As his horse disappeared into the forest for the last time, Grand Duchess Edkins, with a happy smile, disappeared through the door leading to the terrace.
"Brother! Slow down!"
Lacrahan, who had been unable to keep up with Raphael, was furious.
“Ah, brother!”
The hunting grounds where the Edkins men always went were densely packed with pine trees, a favorite spot for wild boars and deer.
It was sparsely populated and full of wonders.
Lacrahan’s favorite among them was the Tower of Bercheria.
Chasing his brother, Lacrahan once again found himself looking away from the tower.
“Lacrahan.”
Grand Duke Edkins, who had followed behind, spotted Lacrahan and burst out laughing.
“Your brother knows you spend so much time here and takes advantage of it.”
Lacrahan grinned at his father.
“I always win the hunt.”
Grand Duke Edkins rode slowly, standing right next to Lacrahan.
The two of them gazed up at the Tower of Bercheria.
The profiles of father and son were a perfect match.
“In a few days, my brother and I will be leaving for battle. You know that, right?”
Lacrahan nodded slowly.
Not long ago, soldiers from the Kingdom of Contana invaded the outskirts of the capital.
It was a far cry from the north, but Grand Duke Adkins had recently moved closer to the capital by order of the Emperor. He'd been missing the north, occasionally visiting for a vacation, but then, of all days, war broke out.
"Lacrahan."
"Yes, Father."
“Don’t follow me to the capital. Stay north. It’ll be safer here during the war.”
“Yes.”
“And you have to protect my mother.”
“Of course.”
“It won’t take long.”
“I know.”
Lacrahan looked back at the tower.
“Father, do you know why I always stop here?”
“I don’t know.”
Grand Duke Adkins waited quietly for Lacrahan’s answer.
His eldest son was obedient and without any particular difficulties, so he was raised without any particular hardships, but his second son had a peculiar side.
Especially since he turned fifteen this year, he had been completely lost in his thoughts.
“I just want to see.”
“Want to see?”
“Yes. How lonely it would be if Bercheria were there. That’s why, as one of the Adkins who protect this land, I watch over him. My people.”
Grand Duke Adkins looked surprised, then laughed heartily.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. I think our Lacrahan will make a good husband and father in the future.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course. Knowing how to comfort the lonely is a very special talent.”
“Then what if I get lonely?”
These occasional, sharp questions made him feel awkward.
Fifteen years old.
“Haha. Then someone will come for you, Lacrahan. Your heart will probably know it before you do.”
Grand Duke Adkins looked surprised, then laughed heartily.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. I think our Lacrahan will make a good husband and father in the future.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course. Knowing how to comfort the lonely is a very special talent.”
“Then what if I get lonely?”
These occasional, sharp questions made him feel awkward.
Fifteen years old.
“Haha. Then someone will come for you, Lacrahan. Your heart will probably know it before you do.”
“...Is that really so?”
“Of course. When that time comes, you must carefully examine your heart so as not to ignore it and let it slip away. Do you understand?”
“...”
“Falling in love with someone is a very special experience. So you must never ignore or miss that feeling.”
Adkins laughed and ruffled Lacrahan’s hair.
“Then you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Do you understand?”
He didn’t necessarily say that Bercheria was not a northerner, but a goddess who ruled the North, so this was unnecessary.
Time would tell anyway.
“Lacrahan, let’s go. If we keep going like this, Raphael will nag us again. Come on!”
As the Grand Duke of Edkins disappeared into the forest, Lacrahan also turned his horse's head and prepared to leave.
But at that moment, the sound of a carriage approaching was heard from somewhere.
Lacrahan slowly rode his horse to the other side of the tower, densely packed with trees.
There, a magnificent carriage had parked, as if he had arrived at some point.
"Who is it?"
The coachman opened the carriage door, and a woman holding a fan stood inside.
She slowly dismounted and looked up at the tower.
With each sway of the fan, the woman's face appeared, but then suddenly, she folded the fan.
“Of course. When that time comes, you must carefully examine your heart so as not to ignore it and let it slip away. Do you understand?”
“...”
“Falling in love with someone is a very special experience. So you must never ignore or miss that feeling.”
Adkins laughed and ruffled Lacrahan’s hair.
“Then you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Do you understand?”
He didn’t necessarily say that Bercheria was not a northerner, but a goddess who ruled the North, so this was unnecessary.
Time would tell anyway.
“Lacrahan, let’s go. If we keep going like this, Raphael will nag us again. Come on!”
As the Grand Duke of Edkins disappeared into the forest, Lacrahan also turned his horse's head and prepared to leave.
But at that moment, the sound of a carriage approaching was heard from somewhere.
Lacrahan slowly rode his horse to the other side of the tower, densely packed with trees.
There, a magnificent carriage had parked, as if he had arrived at some point.
"Who is it?"
The coachman opened the carriage door, and a woman holding a fan stood inside.
She slowly dismounted and looked up at the tower.
With each sway of the fan, the woman's face appeared, but then suddenly, she folded the fan.
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