The reason he split (2)
On the hill of Quijano, where red maple leaves were fluttering, Vlad sat with his head bowed.
Although Vlad had done nothing wrong, he was sitting there feeling like a criminal. It took quite some time before he was able to calm down his seething sense of defeat.
“…Can I win?”
[Probably not now. I don’t know if it will be in the distant future.]
“But I’m not saying it can’t be done.”
It’s okay to dream when you’re a boy, but you can’t do that when you’re an adult.
Although he believed he could overcome it, his opponent was a high-ranking sword master, and Vlad now had to acknowledge the gap between himself and Frausen.
“What did you do with Quijano?”
[What?]
“The most perfect dragon.”
Vlad finally lifted his head from his lap and looked at Quihano sitting next to him.
“How did you kill him? “It must have been a difficult enemy to deal with.”
The good news is that Quijano is right next door.
Unlike when he was a boy in the back alley, Vlad now had something to ask, and was asking Quijano, who was ahead of me, how he got there.
“Wouldn’t it have been harder than what I am now?”
[……It was like that.]
In response to Vlad’s question, Quihano was scanning his lips as if he had a bitter taste in his mouth.
The only sound that came from his answer, which did not come out right away, was the sound of the wind circling under the Mother World Tree.
[I couldn’t win.]
“But you killed him.”
[okay. I did kill it. Even though I didn’t win.]
Quijano’s eyes, remembering the distant past, were moving away.
Quijano’s lips, which seemed to open but did not fall, showed how much trouble he was currently in.
“I wish Quijano would tell me. “What should I do in times like this?”
[…….]
Quihano’s eyes were becoming more complicated as he looked at Vlad, who bowed his head again.
Should I tell you or not?
For this young guy who is thinking about it right now, there is not only one right way in this world.
[I saw before that Frausen had a piece of a dragon stuck in his heart.] You
just need to teach young children what is right and correct.
However, since we cannot live only in the right way, there comes a time when we must also teach people this way.
Even for children who have just become adults who have to go out into the harsh world.
[In life, there are times when you must not choose any means or method.]
Perhaps it is not the right way, but the evil way.
In Kihano’s story, which he spoke after a long period of thought, memories of that day that did not fit the noble name of a sword master flowed out.
※※※※
“……Didn’t we see each other this morning? “Lord Vlad.”
The noon sun had just risen and was shining through the window and onto the men sitting in front of the Count.
And at the end of the light sat Vlad, with whom he had been having a serious conversation until morning.
“It looks quite different from what I saw in the morning.”
“sorry. “Count.”
Count Arnstein quietly looked at Vlad, who was shaking his shoulders as if he was still out of breath.
And even the old man sitting next to him.
Vlad’s appearance was very disheveled, but what really caught the count’s attention was Radu’s very disorganized appearance.
“…He would have had the right to be a prisoner of war, right?”
A look of disappointment was slowly appearing on the count’s face as he examined Radu.
This was because the Count, who had been anticipating Vlad’s potential, was not entirely pleased with the assertiveness he was showing now.
“…For not letting me call my brother ‘brother.’”
“hmm?”
Is it because I grew up in the North?
The Count was a little disappointed to see Vlad, who still retained the ferocity seen in Northerners, but the excuse that came out of Vlad’s mouth was quite surprising.
“I guess I felt sad because my blood relatives, whom I had finally found, shunned me. Please forgive my mistake.”
“……oh. okay.”
The Count’s eyes began to sparkle, as if hearing Vlad’s words were truly worthy.
Certainly, with the current excuse, it would have been vague for anyone to criticize Vlad’s actions.
“You crazy b*stard! “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“Well, if it’s a sibling fight, it’s something that can’t be helped.”
“Count! Why are you attaching our Dragulian blood to the barbarians of the north?”
“…….”
Looking at Radu who was fussing, the Count slightly tilted his head.
Although they both had the same blue eyes, there was a clear difference in the count’s temperature as he looked at them.
“Well, the family situation is not something I should worry about. I just know that Duke Dragulia’s history with women is spectacular.”
“…….”
Radu’s mouth, which had been huffing at the Count’s words, closed.
As I just said, everyone in the know knows about Dragon Blood Ball’s brilliant love story.
And since Radu himself was born into such complicated circumstances, there was no way he could find anything to refute the Count’s words.
“Actually, that’s what a cause is. Even if the cause is the same, there are things that take priority like now, and sometimes there are things that are completely intertwined. “It means that you can’t just break away from every situation.”
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The count glanced at Vlad as if he had done well, then turned his head towards Radu and continued speaking.
“Do you really think that Lord Vlad next to you is not your brother?”
“You state the obvious!”
“Then it is truly a pity.”
The Count shrugged his shoulders at Radu’s firm answer, took out a letter from a drawer and held it up towards Radu.
“As I just said, there is no cause that is as important as blood.”
The letter the Count was waving as if asking him to look at it had a pattern drawn on it that was very familiar to Radu.
A line drawn cruelly on the neck of a fire-breathing dragon.
Radu’s eyes began to widen as he recognized the emblem referring to the Dragullia family.
“It seems that Dragullia has discovered Bishop Pierre’s whereabouts. “He asked me to let him out of here.”
“Uh, uh…”
“For your information, the Dragon Slayer Knights are already half a day away.”
Radu’s complexion began to turn pale when he heard that Dragulia was looking for him.
“The vanguard leading them is probably Mirshea, right?”
“Little brother.”
A cause that even the owner of this land cannot protect because it is blood relatives.
Moreover, the person who brings that cause is Mirshea, who is said to resemble his father the most.
Radu quickly grasped the situation and looked at Vlad with solemn eyes.
“This guy can’t wait to go north. In fact, I have always longed for the white snow fields of the north.”
“…It’s sick. really.”
Will he be sliced in a wine barrel again or will he accept Vlad as his younger brother?
It was such an easy decision that Radu had no hesitation in his actions.
Looking at Radu like that, Vlad just made an expression of boredom.
※※※※
There was a series of groups passing through the imperial road at high speed from the capital Brigantes.
Their name is the Dragon Slayer Knights, who run with a flag that anyone living in the empire can recognize.
Among them, the blue eyes of Mirshea, who ran ahead, seemed to be full of cold anger.
“Stop! From here on, it’s Arnstein’s territory!”
Although it was not a castle gate, it was difficult to block the Dragon Slayer Knights.
Judging from the sloppy appearance of the gatehouse that blocked the road, anyone could see that they were intent on stopping the knights.
“My name is Mirshea. Mirshea Dragulia.”
And Mirshea was also able to understand that intention at a glance.
Arnstein’s knights flinched at the force of the dragon that sprayed as soon as it landed.
As such, the spirit that Mirshea was showing right now was unusual, and he truly looked like a knight representing the empire.
“I have already sent a message to the Count.”
“What message?”
However, although Arnstein’s knights may have flinched for a moment from the ferocity of the attack, they never got out of the way.
Because they also had a knight at the forefront whose reputation was comparable to that of Mirshea.
“Explain in detail the purpose of your visit to the territory. Mirshea Dragulia.”
A knight with an impressive large shield on his back.
Arnstein’s Pablo was dealing with Mircea without showing any weaknesses as easily as his majestic physique.
“It’s a family affair.”
“Why are you looking for Dragullia’s work in Arnstein?”
A castle wall standing firm in front of a roaring dragon.
There was no sign of any pressure on Mircea in the way Pablo slowly pulled out his shield.
“…It’s about my younger brother who went missing.”
“So why are you looking for that younger brother in our territory?”
As the two faced each other without retreating an inch, tension began to seep out to the point where it was difficult to even breathe.
The tension was so great that even without orders from the captains, the surrounding knights spontaneously drew their swords.
“…I have brought with me solid evidence of Pierre’s whereabouts. So don’t provoke me anymore. Arnstein’s Pablo.”
“evidence?”
In accordance with the customs of an empire sensitive to inheritance rights, it is natural to give way to pursuers pursuing runaway relatives.
However, Count Arnstein decided not to give way.
“Whatever the evidence, the Count said he did not want the dragon’s claws to set foot on this land.”
This was partly due to his relationship with the Dragon Blood Lord, which was already going astray, but it was also a consideration for Vlad, on whom he had high hopes.
Pablo’s attitude was as firm as the Count’s firm decision, and Mircea, who was facing them, was also able to sense their determination.
“The Count ignores the customs of the empire.”
“Would it be as bad as you guys who recklessly invade other people’s land with armed personnel?”
Although it was not specifically said out loud, the war had already begun.
Mircea and Pablo, who knew this well, were glaring at each other as if the place where they were standing was a battlefield.
“Mirshea! Mirshea Dragulia!”
The imperial road that connects all the provinces in the central region.
The moment a dangerous spark was about to fall on that old road, someone’s voice was heard from Arnstein’s estate.
“I have the Radu Dragulia you are looking for!”
A small flag waved by someone riding on a black horse.
The sight of flags with numerous patterns on them was clearly familiar to Mirshea.
“…Vlad?”
A unique flag that only Vlad Aureo, the Knight of the North, can hold.
Mirshea, who recognized Vlad under the flag, made a frustrated expression.
From my previous experience, I knew very well that things would go wrong from the moment I saw that guy.
“Radu Dragulia is coming with me to the North! “Not by anyone’s orders, but by the judgment of me, Vlad Aureo!”
Not in the name of Arnstein or the Northern Orthodox Church, but only in the name of I, Aureo.
“If you want to find Radu, follow me to the north!”
“……this.”
Seeing Vlad trying to blame himself, Mirshea bit her lip as if she was offended.
No matter how Mirshea’s rights are guaranteed by imperial customs, they will be a powerless justification in front of Vlad, who is of the same blood.
“Is this enough?”
[Great. [This is enough.]
Although he was welcomed as a guest, he ended up causing a lot of damage.
So, the best manner I can do would be to clean up the space I am leaving before leaving.
“Thank you until the end. “Pablo.”
It might not have been heard because it was far away. Vlad expressed his gratitude to Pablo, who stood up for him until the end.
Heeeeeee-
When I pulled the reins, Noir kicked the ground and started running as if he had been waiting.
Towards the group waiting for him behind.
“Are you done? Are you done?”
“Why don’t you act friendly?”
However, the direction they were heading as they rode out on horseback was not toward the north that Vlad had just mentioned.
A wizard, an inquisitor, and two young and old dragons.
The place they were heading was not the north, but the opposite direction, the south.
