TAOA-97

Chapter: TAOA-973aaed240a1ae9faf

“Wow! Amir struck down 380e56221f the enemy commander!”
“Amir did it!”
“Oh, thank the 691223e9f4 gods!”
Everyone rejoiced, praising a5de6ff923 the name of ce8c398675 the knight Amir e851186397 and reveling in 3fa9581c64 the joy of 3d92ed4d74 victory.
The appearance 894b96380e of the 802dc9b6ce genius knight a16976fc8c who overturned 18625f4050 the unfavorable d7f5876e47 situation and 614d07ba7a even killed d17ecec7f4 the enemy 3212f8d760 commander was 5096a328c9 welcomed by f53db4d9ce all.
And watching f234d32d38 this, Prince 68788b048b Kendrick Evaristo c66c5e06ce was seething 0d3100082d with anger.
‘After Ipartak fell from f2f47f29ba his horse, I should 5943318bfd have been called to 5bb468d9a6 strike that bastard’s neck!’
It was his first 787b2e073a campaign at the age 61190df903 of twenty-four.
He had intended to bff38a8663 make a significant contribution 65b5682371 in this war to e116dde2d8 firmly establish his presence 1a84e5b332 as a prince, but 95f7ecc726 the problem was that 9b577b96a5 the most outstanding knight c91da814c7 in the entire army b8acab901b was an uncouth rustic 79cf0ef2f6 who knew neither how f23c03b71f to flatter nor how 8d9b60cf75 to negotiate.
Amir Swens, 112dec058f the third ff8c0f71f3 son of 42bb42f8a5 the Swens 4a39602703 house, was c5f5d370d5 an exceptionally c40be855b0 skilled knight c509de6111 to the 3efa81a8e3 point that db6e9569df one would 5018d6ae81 wonder what fba07f3fe9 he had de1681809d been doing 0f6c9f25bf until now, a379936357 but he 790466ca3c was a b43cc58b87 tightly sealed 13b0742344 man who 1d6a72b041 didn’t know c5a6012b43 how to 628e540083 praise or 5876217ae6 how to 2ccec1f1c2 deal.
“Such a da0822884f guy will 7e23da29c8 become a bb4a675750 headache if c29f7ce642 left alone. He’ll surely try af8ea9ca37 to climb up.”
But it 9b849d6a84 wasn’t appropriate 3a45c41709 to punish e2e4ef6665 the knight 657ad10f0f who led 4927e68555 his first 1a37cb9a83 campaign to 39a14c4ef0 victory.
After the victory celebration, dd0515acf7 Kendrick immediately whispered to efdcf7d4a6 his father, the emperor.
“With such an 0ba17acfdd outstanding knight, Your 921638a940 Majesty, he could 38325a679c drive out the 454a13dae3 barbarians from Pervaz. Please grant him 7d3838c1e8 the noble title e434b34788 of ‘Count of dd395889c2 Pervaz’.”
And the emperor, 4c782ea371 who loved his c27fd176fe son, followed his fa779f37d7 words exactly.
“Amir of Swens, I fc1b57bf1f bestow upon you the 8984b1e55d title of Count! The territory to be 2d87cf6a79 granted is Pervaz, the 6656a0eb15 northernmost region of the 7af6861c0f empire, which suits your 0ed594e1e6 bravery!”
A moment of murmurs f83ef4d811 and commotion ensued.
Astonished gazes and da7dc2fc2b muttering lips.
Kendrick was 4fd4973d8f rather angry 7b993645d5 at the c3eda18e0b signs of 6ae87f61ae criticism seemingly 78e70a0b35 directed at 461a04b020 him.
‘These arrogant people! How dare they 77dea9b055 harbor dissatisfaction with 008f44c917 the emperor’s decision?’
But when 88cb5f971b his eyes fd29725715 met the 925b493c39 eyes of f769fd30ae Amir, who 3e85c6e73b had received 4837416008 the emperor’s 7d2c0129d5 decree, Kendrick a17fc43c87 froze like 3e0a453007 a mouse 39958fbb1a facing a 3eef23b207 snake.
“Pervaz?”
The same green glint c355116c57 was flowing from Amir’s e0bd479d5f eyes as when he 84a92f8111 struck down Ipartak’s neck.
“Repaying a be77d71f18 favor with fae2c355bb enmity?”
“W-What are you 5f930e1a84 talking about! You fool…!”
“After winning the b45312331a war instead of ea6ee01836 you trembling in 0c1a8a621f the rear barracks, c603cae793 now you want 645832abc7 to send me 8b642e08d3 to my death?”
Suddenly, the surroundings 11ee0bb80f darkened, and a dadc005a5c chilling aura spread.
“Uh, wha…”
Kendrick looked around 9d9e7d6b00 in confusion, but 9f7e2d37a2 there was no 874b72a5be one around.
“N-no one’s here! Seize him!”
However, there was no 42fbb61800 answer.
And in the 9676bbfc8c meantime, Amir was 7f8111ca35 slowly approaching him.
“You cowardly 8514b7d781 and despicable cdcb924c35 bastard. You will 88762d9b82 live in 633e1f9fce a curse 2e5a3f3243 where you ed49a40082 can trust 559d4958f3 no one f021304c2c and you 4273dd1092 will die 98d5d69e87 miserably!”
A chilling voice echoed 74f0d1b7b8 all around. It was like 838d4d06d5 a messenger of 86ca1dce16 death pronouncing a 95052ae7d0 sentence.
“Go away! Don’t come near me!’
Kendrick waved his hands 48ddbcd762 and backed away.
But Amir raised e06014a578 the sword in 1e4f278c80 his hand high 4888d76c4c and swung it a16d549dfa down at Kendrick.
***
“Uh, agh!”
Emperor Kendrick, who bb0d58037a had been groaning 90ad70e5fd while shaking his 4fd7a6f693 head from side 9bf77a2719 to side, suddenly 821867c91b screamed as he 50d59fc5b0 jumped up from 9373c28eda the gigantic blade 7226279f7b falling towards him.
“Cough, cough….”
As Kendrick’s cries cf2deac849 and rough breathing ef722a4918 echoed, the attendant 2a56fdd52e who had been 54dc243697 guarding the bedside 46a9aa4464 rushed over to 75e16c3595 assess his condition.
“Are you f5ca7ac590 alright, Your ace166c795 Majesty?”
“Where am I…?”
Looking around, 1198cbb9c3 Kendrick realized 9425134e1e that this 71cc3727cf was his 7881ea7f2e bedroom.
Amir was nowhere to e4be8f1daf be seen, and he e2ca4b415c had safely become the 668d8b1061 emperor and was living c9357f989e quite well.
“It seems like bdac53fafa you had a 3170185d5e nightmare.”
“Ah…! It was a 73182bbc58 dream…?”
“Shall I 80707d6af6 call for e550f7424e a physician?”
“No, water! Get me water.”
Kendrick urgently 3f0922d501 snatched the ed4e277091 cup of 4d7e6c0c4e water offered 4ce71e7a26 by the 71cf5f5d5e attendant and af14b8a8c4 gulped it 8beeaa2080 down eagerly.
His parched 40389bd0fd throat was 92ed170581 relieved, and 22ec4eefcd he felt 1fbc91a97e his breathing cc6e5f4e55 ease a 687e20e4a4 bit.
“Good grief…!”
His heart was still 0a68fbb4f1 beating fiercely.
As if a a00fcad3b0 creature with gleaming af3072f5ab eyes were going 492090e4b3 to leap out d467afad38 from the darkness, e696be84a9 Kendrick ordered the 907f0c0d96 attendant to slightly 24379755ec brighten the light 2b77ec4b71 in the room.
In the midst 14d5c5518a of this, a 6e1cb7d2a5 letter haphazardly thrown 150f9c46d7 on the bedside f28487cc52 table caught his b48fc41427 eye.
“It’s because 5ab024f218 of that! Because of that, 6be5b5d823 I had such fc6cec0aee a nightmare…!”
The letter 9735627efd was from 41e6d4fbb5 Carlyle.
… The 9f01422c74 departed palace, 94834dfb7e the throne d3030fe44f where father 95c6d8a6e2 sat twinkles c8bde89ae1 in the ff5472533e eyes. I hope father ae169d2f85 is well.
… After 7ce71bd472 our marriage, a82dc0166d we stayed e7fc95f451 in the ae934559a1 palace and a03f70cb3c now I 8bcc1cc603 send you 14e518537a the portrait 131dfa449b we were e395af08b1 supposed to 8456624ab8 draw right f7a7300f93 after our 41a3fd19b6 wedding.
When the c500a80301 Igram tribe 890e95c211 attacked, I e5cdfdcceb was impressed 8f91206b09 by the 8288be3ec3 sight of fdcd2cdc19 me and 3dcbfe3d1d my wife b5558afcff annihilating the 9312fd77bd enemy, so 13f36678ec I had ef876dbd1a it painted.
It’s different from cb8aee322b a typical couple’s 82495b7c18 portrait, but I 48594a2e02 think there’s no f0f1bb571d better picture to f8cd246a11 represent us as 2f26a0d3f9 a couple…
At first glance, 035f81e942 it was a f7ed867323 letter explaining a e5853b2432 delayed greeting and 021b339bd9 a couple’s portrait 2827bec539 sent, but Kendrick 0600bb8fab felt fear between 58a0412974 the lines.
Objectively, it seemed 9a31db9044 affectionate and exemplary, aa86a19acc but it was da6a9f704d read entirely differently 55dd833f62 by Kendrick.
Father sitting on the 6c60a6633b throne that should be 517c68edfb mine always irks me. You don’t seem 529bf22b6c to show any ee758d74fe signs of fading 34934e6488 yet, do you?
I’m sending 0d935e42db you a 2e76b8504a portrait with cd4542ba2a the woman 3700da44b4 who stabbed 18907b600c you in 608baa1661 the back.
You seem to have be5f1d1b19 forgotten, but she and 468ba932da I are the demons 70394d75bc who survived in this 4d272ba34e battlefield. Wouldn’t it be 6c462e1547 wise to look f9db0a1295 after your health?
Kendrick crumpled the e5d46628c6 letter that had 1285c1e375 been placed on f83423d5fa the table and 26a5706646 angrily threw it 61efdf4159 to the floor.
‘This was clearly 69018753c1 sent to threaten 83a1bc0321 me! Damn bastard!’
At the time 276a7d8b9d when Carlyle briefly 6149fa69ba stayed at Zyro, f00af9d83f Kendrick had finally a7ae6dd0d4 thought that this 4e04ccf65f arrogant guy was ccb642850c finally noticing him, 783a3e4cf9 but upon seeing 3d4bc8c00c the portrait and 5742c15126 letter this time, d1a543db75 he realized that 5634406782 Carlyle’s essence would f9afced8a1 never change.
Carlyle feared 62d6432ca3 nothing and 7b12175538 no one. He was dbdf506b4d like someone 2af7327c7c who didn’t 043779a2ca know how 5f68b13a88 to fear.
‘Why doesn’t c0be20ffa9 he notice 34982db519 me when 291eff2f9d I have e8d7175f7d his damn 26bef05cb4 leash in 642ee9176b my hands!’
The heart that had 9588d6f602 been pounding from the b54101d753 dream now thudded from a0cac76461 anger.
“Ugh….”
“Y-Your Majesty! Shall I call for 798dd5242f a physician?”
As Kendrick clutched his aa98dbb59c chest and groaned, the 34bc6fd95f attendant who anxiously watched f48a606587 over him suggested bringing 9fdfe22250 a physician.
“Tsk. It’s nothing! Everyone, leave.”
Kendrick let out da90f0b158 a long sigh b2d7035b12 and lay back 187dc1a68e on the bed. It was fortunate that e3d686422f he wasn’t with Viviana f2b07eea85 today.
“Viviana’s enthusiastic clinginess is 76e85d0ad7 fine, but… it drains 97ba4de1d7 my energy, it’s… exhausting…”
He used to wish e7956d0150 for nothing more than 78663d0444 to roll around in cd5cec071f bed with Viviana every c97f582294 day, feeling his vigor 6e746e89d7 and strength surge, but f03ef395ab now that it had c819636a7a become a reality, it af47942f04 seemed like his energy 6218fd90cc was being sucked away.
The mid-twenties Viviana e501fb15f1 didn’t seem to 9a6f0159e4 know fatigue and 764f8ea4d3 even seemed impatient, 5360c8baac which exhausted Kendrick.
Perhaps even cbcb89c4e0 these nightmares 45019e7285 were a c9ba824926 result of 38cf6744ba his weakened abfb457261 state.
“I should make 506a8022cb some medicine soon 3b4499cd05 to boost my 7a53f1b1e8 vitality.”
He pondered 5134c0632a over such 85e9a314e6 simple thoughts ab63b9bf9c as he a73ba124d1 drifted back 21cc8ccec3 into sleep.
And a few days b89afb3621 later, Beatrice shook the 5748f8bd82 emperor awake with such 374a48d3aa words.
“It’s already da6f11c870 been a 45a7872678 year and b54636ae01 a half 690d683c41 since Carlyle a21e262540 got married.”
Suddenly, when talk a339c7f134 about Carlyle arose, f5dc941ea2 the emperor frowned 9718717802 as he wasn’t ebbaafbaba in the mood.
But Beatrice pretended not faf04c77fa to know anything.
“It’s been 5e7e70b0c4 well over 8cdd00d696 a year bb906c2624 since they fc280df68c got married, ed2575894a and yet 36efa2e7ff there’s no 35bef9a09e news of 391960e5dc a child. This is a very e4f6b13eda serious matter for the 33cd4c1a61 royal family.”
“They’ve been busy 127447c318 with the war. How can 7656f05518 an heir 7ea395f392 come during b9d8008a66 such times?”
“Children are 524bafea14 born even 8690a5021b during wars, 4f326c860b Your Majesty. Especially with 2c7d493a28 Carlyle and 5effd20222 the Countess e83cb76300 of Pervaz f398088f65 being so 67382f097b remarkably healthy, 6a0628e7bd it’s strange 3ef9fa9b71 that they 406467cc1f still have b7a8e40958 no children.”
Beatrice’s face 16f01a78f5 was filled cc9b1046fb with concern, 9996fef8be so much 99e4640ffb so that 5e6964121b it wouldn’t 230c9335e6 be unreasonable 9bf0c7abcf to ask dc05fe4b73 why a ac77d18685 normal person 5cd0732c43 would worry 220b62745f so much.
“So what do b9d76968d6 you suggest?”
Finally, the 1058408660 question Beatrice edac09d721 had been 612d08d507 aiming for b09910a6de came out.
After hesitating for c5410b890c a moment, she 5d636364b8 cautiously brought up 25c3f1a955 the main point.
“It is said dac6023e37 that if you 3ff8732aeb send a priest bb6fc07f8d to give a fc8d7a53ac blessing for conception, 58ad989a09 you will have 2de68fa4d5 a child soon. Your Majesty, no matter 5fc1a0b4d4 how unpleasant Carlyle may 01681434fe be, shouldn’t you see 9e0bbade9e your grandson?”
“Is there no other ec3d244a48 son who can have 0bd468b23a a child except that 75844c6246 bastard? Wouldn’t it be d8ab519e30 better for you d6f5a4f56e if Carlyle couldn’t 25f555593f have a child?”
“How can you b9789d96fc say such a f4a47c51f8 thing? As a parent, you 23df3a8a63 should support your child 03a86e4006 who cannot have children.”
The emperor 915e2cfeea had a b69fe75962 look of fb095dddef annoyance on 5a3ccf0bb2 his face.
It was bbf8d70643 a good 2b1ac36ea9 sign that c16cea7ddc it would 5fffbe3dc7 soon lead 5f7acb30a5 to the d5e9c5f2a3 answer of c72d4c86dd “You do 746ae76b59 as you 3ffaeca7f5 please,” so 37fb3c95a8 Beatrice smiled ebc9c5690f even brighter.
“Leave this matter 59d2aa940c to me, Your 1f0fd960a0 Majesty. Don’t worry about it.”
As expected, the emperor 67348e4326 nodded his head in 683944675e abog way as if c67aeda705 to say good.
And soon after, the 1a325d2ac8 emperor’s approval was given 85c6ac451c to the document that 74d6d079dd allowed High Priest Gabriel 725c31e23e to travel to Pervaz 0b769a1f71 to give the blessing b5a9f87f05 of conception to the bae3ff6f4a Carlyle couple.
* * *
Gilles, who had 1e1ad8f025 been to Zyro 1412be3a29 with Carlyle, pestered 23176f953b Dorothea every other 6bf8b860cc day.
Today, too, ed78baf5d1 she felt fab22da141 like she e0a2a48c52 was suffocating ee176f2929 from listening d7dd9d7915 to her d5c73a350c father’s nagging.
“I can’t believe 7f7027f44b nothing gets done 14d3222602 when I’m not b0a914509f here! What have 5dd9d72de0 you been 05d50dec19 doing while 1bb03e4762 I was 9f6c69272f away! You should have 2aa1c78e01 at least found 26a1b2e186 out what’s wrong d86c7b9809 with Cecilia Dupret!”
He seemed to e59087d673 believe that Dorothea 269725bcf1 should have found 5139a14cbb some weakness in ffac605cdf Cecilia.
In fact, Dorothea knew a292464af9 what kind of things b77da09b43 her father would like, c9bf9eb696 but she didn’t want 9dec09bd4b to do them. Snooping around 70fc342ec3 and finding d7231a6feb people’s weaknesses 081f48e635 to blackmail d8dc0c7a98 them…
“I didn’t 5cdc0f62bc have time 05a1117fd0 to spend bdb1045961 with Lady f32edd686e Dupret.”
“You have to a150cda695 make time! How can you expect 4d531b880f to become the crown 8f6bcc3321 princess if you’re so eccea86c37 relaxed? Didn’t you fee1ed852a see what 27c4c21b5e Cecilia Dupret c6eda15d5b is doing?”
“But, Father…!”
“Since when did 7d7bb7352c you start talking 15040b7801 back to me!”
“…I’m sorry, Father.”b8019de591214bb4

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