Side story episode 15
* * *
Revolution or Emperor? Gold or Shadow? The order that ruled the continent collapsed overnight. But not everyone in the world accepted that fact.
“Revolution or Emperor?”
Just because the Golden Lord, Ray Yuris, is leading the revolutionary army, does not mean that they are all loyal to the Golden Lord. Just like the old empire, the revolutionary army is also just an organization that has gathered to carry out its own goals.
So the Iron Guard of the Revolutionary Army, armed with magic armor, asked.
Towards the unidentified knights wearing black armor and bearing the mark of a night crow.
“We serve only one thing, His Majesty the Emperor.”
The knights answered. The revolutionaries did not hesitate at those words.
We will investigate the mysterious incident that occurred in the northern part of the continent. The gentry are talking about the revival of the old empire, but such an absurd thing could not have happened in the world.
There must have been some truth behind it, and they were no exception. That was why the Iron Guard drew their weapons against the knights in black armor.
Yet no battle broke out.
The black aura surrounding the knights’ swords simply slaughtered the Iron Troops’ armor.
There was a time when one strong man slaughtered a hundred strong men. It was during that time of war that the Night Raven Knights pledged their loyalty to their lord.
“For the House of Saxony.”
Neither the revolution nor the emperor could be their real answer.
For they once served a man called the Black Duke, and his son, the ‘Black Prince’, and it was the House of Saxony that they truly owed their loyalty.
* * *
On the empty land, an empire rose against the years.
And the one who ruled that empire, the Black Gold Monarch who should have been nothing more than a legend, was there.
All of this was too absurd for a country girl like Yupi to handle.
“Miss Yuffie.”
“D, Uncle Dale… … ”
So when Dale called her name again, Yuffie swallowed her breath before answering.
“Do you like your life on this earth?”
“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty… … .”
Dale smiled wryly at the title.
“Don’t worry about it, you can call me like you normally do.”
“Even so! How dare I… … “
“I am no longer the emperor. Furthermore, the things of this land are no longer my empire.”
Dale said.
Even after Dale and his empire reappeared in the world, he tried to turn his head away from the fact.
There were still knights loyal to the House of Saxony, and there were still black towers and magicians. However, there were no longer any people or territories left to rule in this land. Therefore, no matter how great the power, nothing would change.
“Even if you say so… … ”
“You don’t have to be so intimidated in front of me.”
Yuffie closed her mouth as she was about to continue speaking. At that, Dale smiled bitterly and said.
“Because this is the only place that can guarantee Miss Yupi’s safety, and I will keep that promise.”
“Uncle Dale… … ”
Upi smiled, her words trailing off.
“Still, that’s a relief.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was the first time I saw you smiling so happily.”
“I remember the shadow that was cast beneath his robes when I first set out on a journey with the Revolutionary Army,” said Yuffie.
It was a shadow, lonely and filled with despair, like someone left alone in the world.
But when he finally reached this land, the shadow of the man was finally taken away. This fact, Yupi thought, was truly fortunate.
“I am glad that Miss Uffie is smiling.”
Dale also laughed as he said that. For a moment, a shadow fell over Yuffie’s face, but it was only for a moment. Yuffie had also experienced countless things while traveling with the man. The question that day had taken away Yuffie’s life, and she believed that it had taken away her life.
“I could have come this far because Miss Yuffie was with me.”
Nevertheless, the hand the man extended brought her here.
That’s why Upi answered with a smile.
“yes!”
* * *
“The Emperor and the Revolution.”
The man opened his mouth. He was a man who had dreamed of the winter empire his daughter had built, and who had woken up to find himself in an unfamiliar world.
“The new Golden Lord is leading the revolutionary army against the Ninth Empire. He is a member of the Yuris family who has overwritten the Bloody Duke’s grimoire, the Book of Blood.”
“Nine empires have risen and fallen, yet nothing has changed.”
The man, Alan of Saxony, answered bitterly. And indeed it is true.
“What are you going to do, Dale?”
“… … .”
“If you set your mind to it, you and this castle have the power to create an empire that will reign over them, just as you did in the past.”
At his father’s question, Dale held his breath for a moment. But soon he shook his head and said,
“I don’t intend to do that.”
“… … .”
“I gave so much to change the world. I believed that even the fear of those I loved was a sacrifice worth making.”
“Was it a sacrifice worth making?”
“Didn’t Lize teach me that answer?”
Dale said with a wry smile.
“When Lize made the sacrifice for me and for those I loved… … I finally understood the pain that sacrifice brings, and at the same time, the pain that those I loved must have felt in the face of my sacrifice.”
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Dale’s idea of sacrifice was ultimately a one-sided display of narcissism. It was only when Lize tried to sacrifice herself unilaterally without understanding Dale that he finally understood.
Even if it had been a plan based on lies and schemes from the beginning, as the Blue Tower Lord, nothing would have changed.
“Lize is a wise child, just like her mother.”
“You are so wise, it’s ridiculous.”
Dale smiled and nodded.
“Thank you, Lize. And… … .”
After a pause, Dale turned his head towards his aging father.
“The same goes for my father.”
“I’m lucky too.”
Alan laughed as he said that.
* * *
The sword swung. It was the Saxon greatsword, heavy and chunky like a bear.
Sir Helmut Blackbear’s sword swung, and Dale dodged his sword and counterattacked.
The match was decided with a single sword.
“I remember when Your Majesty was a child.”
“It’s a nostalgic story.”
Dale smiled wryly, and Sir Helmut continued.
“When I crossed swords with Prince Dale back then, I thought that there would come a day when my sword would not even be able to reach the prince’s toes.”
“That’s too much praise.”
Dale laughed and turned his head away.
There were still Night Raven knights loyal to Dale and Saxony. They dreamed of the winter empire built by Lize, and after eons of time, they awoke from their dreams.
They too were not without their confusion. But the mission they had to carry out had not changed.
There was a Saxon family to whom he owed allegiance, and a lord to whom he served, and this was also the case when his journey ended.
It was just then.
A night crow knight approached Dale and whispered something.
“Your Majesty, there was a clash between those calling themselves ‘revolutionaries’ and knights in the Hwangnyeong area.”
“… … Didn’t you politely tell them to leave?”
“Despite the warnings, they attacked the knights and engaged in battle with their troops.”
“Was there a sacrifice by the knights?”
“That is… … ”
For a moment, the knight trailed off.
“They said that they were so weak and exhausted that it couldn’t even be called a fight.”
Dale held his breath in disbelief when he heard that.
“Some of the knights are returning to the imperial city with them as prisoners, while the rest are following Your Majesty’s orders to leave the northern imperial territory and continue to inspect the situation.”
“is it so.”
Dale nodded.
“I repeat, do not flaunt your power or make the people of this land afraid.”
“I will follow your orders.”
At Dale’s command, the knight bowed his head. There was a brief silence, and then Sir Helmut approached and asked.
“What are you thinking about?”
“……well.”
Sir Helmut was asking the same question as his father had once asked him.
So no matter how much you try to turn your head away, the world won’t let you.
If the revolutionary army has reached the northern lands, the same will happen to the Ninth Empire.
There are no towns or fiefdoms to rule in this land. There are only the powerful men of the House of Saxony, who symbolize the power of the empire itself.
I still didn’t know what to do.
Yet, strangely, my shoulders felt light.
“Sir Helmut, and what do you and all the others here want to do?”
“… … !”
So Dale asked back.
Sir Helmut held his breath at the unexpected question, and so did the knights.
“I understand the sacrifices and hard work you have put into your loyalty to the House of Saxony.”
Dale continued calmly.
“Countless empires have been born and fallen, yet you still stand here loyal to me. I have no intention of forcing your loyalty any longer.”
“… … !”
“Therefore, as the head of the House of Saxony, I will act solely to repay your loyalty and sacrifice.”
Because now Dale had no more burdens to bear or sacrifices to make for the world.
* * *
“What do you mean!”
The Emperor of the Ninth Empire, the Shadow Lord, raised his voice in shock.
“The Great Magic Empire, the Fourth Empire?! Is it really true that the Magic Empire and the Magic Emperor have been revived in their entirety in this era?”
“According to spies planted in the revolutionary army, this is a well-known fact beyond doubt.”
“No way, could something so absurd really happen!”
William of Brandenburg raised his voice, and his vassals bowed their heads.
“What is this that is happening in my empire, truly in my empire!”
He called himself the Shadow Lord, but he had no power to see the truth.
Furthermore, it made no difference that his ancestor was Count Philip of Brandenburg, and that Philip of Brandenburg was in fact a descendant of Arthur the Great and the Imperial House of the Third Empire, who had golden blood.
The conflict between gold and shadow was now nothing more than a facade, and even if it were, there was no room for truth to intervene in his bloodline, which was filled with gold and lies.
