The mercenaries finished their meal and began discussing the road ahead. Kasim looked at Gerald as if apologetic.
“Gerald. I’m sorry it’s come to this. Originally, we intended to go to Tezeros and resolve your problem, but after our schedule was delayed in Arne, there’s simply no time to stop by Tezeros.”
Gerald shook his head as if it did not matter.
“It’s all right. Revenge is something I have to settle with my own hands anyway.”
“No. Your matter is the matter of the entire Kasim Mercenary Corps. Let us think about your revenge once the mission is complete.”
Having said that, Kasim looked at Damon.
“There are only a few days left until the selection ceremony. We will have to hurry our schedule if we are to arrive in time.”
“I leave everything to the captain.”
Hearing Damon’s reply, Kasim looked at Juliana.
“We intend to run without rest until Raytona. So even if it is difficult, I hope you will endure it for a while.”
“I understand.”
Upon hearing Juliana’s answer, Kasim rose as if there was nothing more to consider.
“Let’s hurry. Lord Damon said that driving the body hard is also one method of training, so it will benefit everyone.”
“Understood.”
The mercenaries rose without another word. Seeing this, Katroy hurriedly called out to Kasim. His face was full of worry.
“Do I have to run too?”
Kasim smiled gently.
“It’s all right. Lord Katroy, you may come with Damon. If you use magic, you should be able to travel comfortably.”
“That is truly a relief.”
Katroy finally stroked his chest in relief. There was no way a lazy dragon would welcome running. But the heartless Damon once again threw cold water on him.
“No matter how I look at you, you seem lacking in exercise. So stop grumbling and run with us! I’ll be running with you as well.”
Katroy’s face twisted at once.
“This fellow never lets anything slide, no matter what the situation……”
Damon put on a deliberately stern expression at the grumbling Katroy and tied up the hem of his robe so it would be easier to run. Seeing this, Kasim wore a worried look. He was concerned about Damon’s old body.
“It will be difficult. Will you be all right?”
“I have confidence in my stamina, so don’t worry. If it gets too hard while running, I’ll use magic……”
“Ah, understood.”
Kasim nodded and gave the order to depart. But he did not even dream that Damon’s body was in truth that of a vigorous young man in his twenties.
“We depart.”
As soon as the command fell, the party began to dash forward all at once. The horse carrying Juliana galloped off with vigor, and the mercenaries threw themselves forward so as not to fall behind. Damon, too, ran hard as if he would not lag behind in the slightest. At the rear of the party, Katroy was running while grumbling nonstop.
“They really are fellows who go looking for hardship. If we used spatial movement, it would be exceedingly simple……”
Behind the party as they ran with all their might, a thick cloud of dust settled over the road.
Pelzentin, the capital of the Krosen Empire. This enormous city was in an uproar from end to end because of the festival that would take place in a few days. It was the day when the crown prince, who would inherit the Krosen Empire, would receive young ladies gathered from all over Arcadia and choose the crown princess from among them, so it could never be an ordinary day.
Since the candidates for bride were not limited to royalty, the noble young ladies of Pelzentin who were of marriageable age were all beautifully adorned, trying to calm their pounding hearts.
“If only I could receive His Highness the Crown Prince’s gaze just once, I would have no regrets……”
But the majority of the noble young ladies had other schemes in mind.
Throughout the period of the selection ceremony, a grand ball would be held in the imperial palace. In addition to the crown prince, royal and noble youths from various kingdoms would also attend the ball. They were participating in the selection ceremony under the pretext of escorting the princesses.
They were the true targets of the noble young ladies. Though their kingdoms were smaller than the Krosen Empire, if they could form a bond with a royal youth who would inherit the throne of a nation, there would be nothing more they could wish for.
The same was true of the princesses attending the selection ceremony. Even if they were not chosen as crown princess, if they could forge ties with the children of the powerful Krosen Empire’s renowned nobles, it would be of considerable help to their national interests.
For that reason, many kingdoms had sent their princesses to the Krosen Empire’s crown princess selection ceremony. With the preparations to receive them, it was only natural that all of Pelzentin would be in an uproar.
However, the main figure of the event, the crown prince, did not appear to be in a very good mood at the moment.
“So in the end, you are saying the choice I can make has already been decided.”
The one who continued speaking with a frown was a young man. With pitch-black hair and jet-black eyes that left a strong impression, the young man possessed exceedingly handsome features. Such deep black hair and eyes were not easy to find in Arcadia. They proved that the young man had inherited the bloodline of the Great Emperor Krosen in its purest form.
He was Crown Prince De Beers, the sole imperial descendant of the Krosen Empire. A fortunate man who would inherit the throne of the mighty Krosen Empire after Valensius III, who still clung to a thread of breath but was as good as already dead. He looked barely past twenty, but the wisdom shining in his eyes suggested that he was an extremely intelligent young man.
Before him sat two people with rigid expressions. The one seated on the left was an old warrior with hair white as snow. The various scars carved into his harsh face plainly showed the hardships he had endured until now. Despite being an old man, the strength emanating from his body had not been diluted in the slightest.
He was Marquis Williams. As the commander of the Krosen Knights, said to be the greatest on the continent, he was without question the foremost expert in Arcadia. One of the fewer than five Grand Masters in the entire continent, he was the only absolute master of martial prowess to have emerged into the human world. Despite his advanced age of seventy-one, he was a great figure who led the Krosen Knights, composed of more than a hundred Sword Masters, without the slightest discord. That very man was seated before the crown prince. Marquis Williams nodded and offered his opinion.
“That is correct, Your Highness. At present, that is the only method by which Your Highness’s safety can be preserved.”
“Even so, it does not sit well with me. When I think of what that man, Pershtein, has done to our family……”
“However, there is no other way, Your Highness. At present, there is no method whatsoever to restrain him. For Your Highness’s safety, only that method……”
The one who let his words trail off in a sorrowful tone was Theodore. As the adopted son of the Nersis family and the holder of the weighty office of regent, he was present alongside Marquis Williams, commander of the imperial guard knights. However, the crown prince himself could not easily make a decision.
“What if I choose a princess from another kingdom instead? If it is a great power on the level of Penslot or Terbia, would they not be able to check Duke Pershtein to some extent?”
At those words, Marquis Williams’s expression darkened.
“Your Highness. Forgive me, but it will likely be difficult. Though Penslot, Terbia, and Tezeros are the three great powers after our Krosen Empire, restraining Duke Pershtein’s formidable strength is, in a word, impossible. Only if at least two kingdoms join forces could we consider even the slightest possibility.”
At the marquis’s response, Crown Prince De Beers wore a disappointed expression.
“To think that man’s power is so great……”
“Only the method I have proposed is the sole way to safely preserve the imperial bloodline. No matter how consumed by ambition Duke Pershtein may be, once he is bound by a marriage relationship, he will no longer threaten Your Highness.”
As soon as those words ended, Crown Prince De Beers’s brows shot up in an inverted V. It was because he could not even imagine that such words would have been uttered by the commander of the continent’s most powerful military force.
“How can the commander of the Krosen Knights, who is responsible for the safety of the imperial family, say something so dispiriting?”
But Marquis Williams did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
“I apologize. However, all of this comes from loyalty to the imperial family. Therefore, please forgive me.”
Hearing those words, Crown Prince De Beers lost his strength. Of course, he knew very well that doubting Marquis Williams’s loyalty was utterly pointless. But because of his youthful blood, he could not control himself.
“You, more than anyone, know the woman I truly wish to choose, do you not? And yet must you hurt my heart so?”
At Crown Prince De Beers’s words, a lonely shadow passed across Marquis Williams’s face. But that expression vanished without a trace as soon as it appeared.
“You speak of Mina, Your Highness. However, in every respect, that child is not suited to Your Highness. That Your Highness has given your heart to my humble granddaughter leaves this servant with no place to put himself. Yet the position of crown princess of the great Krosen Empire is one that child could never bear.”
“Mm.”
A sorrowful look appeared on Crown Prince De Beers’s face. He had not expected even the grandfather of the woman he loved to try to stop him, and he had no idea what he should do. Silently, he thought of the woman he loved.
“Mina…… In the end, must I let you go?”
It was at the knight faculty that Crown Prince De Beers met Mina. Because the Krosen Empire traditionally valued martial prowess, the imperial descendant who would inherit the throne was required to complete the knight faculty. For that reason, De Beers officially entered the knight faculty on the day he turned fifteen. After his elder brother Alkaris disappeared in a mysterious incident, he had become the sole imperial descendant. After enrolling, the words the crown prince heard from the instructor were these.
“There are no privileges whatsoever in the knight faculty. Whether a student is royalty, nobility, or even the son of a commoner, all are treated exactly the same, without any distinction.”
The full five years of faculty life that followed were, in a word, days of suffering for De Beers. For De Beers, who had loved books and poetry since childhood and had dreamed of becoming a scholar, each day in the knight faculty could only be unbearably difficult.
The one who gave him strength at that time was Mina. One year older than Crown Prince De Beers, Mina was the granddaughter of Marquis Williams, commander of the imperial guard knights. Mina, who had enrolled together with the crown prince as a classmate, took careful care of him like an attentive older sister. It would not be an exaggeration to say that thanks to her, the crown prince was able to finish his five years of knight faculty life without great difficulty.
Having inherited her grandfather’s bloodline, Mina displayed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. Nor was she lacking in effort, and she always monopolized the top place in the faculty’s evaluations. But Crown Prince De Beers was different. Because he had neither talent nor desire for swordsmanship, the crown prince’s grades always hovered near the bottom. What he wanted was not arduous sword training, but reading books and reciting poetry, and because of that, the crown prince faced the danger of failing several times during his faculty life. The one who helped the crown prince then was Mina.
As if she had received her grandfather’s request, she earnestly helped the crown prince with his faculty life. Explaining difficult sword paths in an easy-to-understand way was only the beginning; at night, she would slip out of the dormitory and loosen the crown prince’s muscles, knotted from hard training. She did so even while taking the risk that, if discovered, she would be expelled immediately.
The help Crown Prince De Beers received from her could not be counted. Although she belonged to the group of top students, Mina always chose to be in the same group as the crown prince. By taking the lead in completing their assigned tasks, she allowed Crown Prince De Beers to safely make it through his five years of faculty life.
It would make no sense if love had not bloomed in that process. The crown prince, who had come to feel affection for Mina as she cared for him tenderly like an older sister, longed to continue meeting her even after graduation. But Mina, who had been endlessly kind during their faculty life, changed her expression completely whenever that topic was raised.
“Your Highness and I walk entirely different paths. Your Highness must walk the path of the absolute ruler, and this girl must walk the path of a knight. Therefore, I can never receive Your Highness’s love.”
“Why must that be? Right now, I am facing you with the heart of a man who loves one woman.”
As if she had already been firmly warned by her grandfather, Mina coldly rejected the crown prince’s plea.
“Your Highness and I are a bond that can never be fulfilled. I have already resolved to walk the path of a knight. Somewhere, there will surely be a woman suited to Your Highness, other than me.”
That was not the only thing standing between the two of them.