Yum. Yum.
At the feeling of soft material brushing across his face, Ruel frowned and opened his eyes.
“…what’s wrong, Leo?”
It was still dark outside.
—Cassion and Ganien are fighting!
“That’s how it was back in Setiria. Don’t worry and go to sleep.”
—I can feel the ground shaking! Look over there! The purple flame…
“…!”
Ruel immediately opened the window and looked out.
It was quite far from here, but the purple and blue lights were clearly visible.
‘You crazy people!’
It’s not like fireworks in the middle of the night. What is this about?
“Aris!”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
Aris hurried inside at the urgent voice of Ruel.
Ruel said, pointing to the lights, “Bring them right now!”
Aris soon swept his chest in relief.
“They seem to be having fun fighting, so why don’t you leave it alone?”
“What?”
“After meeting the black blooded man, both of them seemed to have been deeply troubled. Of course, I am also worried.”
Aris closed the door he had opened.
“The enemy… did not die. I felt like everything I’ve learned was falling apart. I think that’s how those two feel. Please understand.”
Ruel looked through the window and inhaled Breath.
“Go.”
Aris closed the open window and headed towards the door.
“Are you anxious?”
At Ruel’s low voice, Aris breathed deeply.
“Yes, I’m anxious now.”
The door opened and closed.
Ruel lay down again.
Leo curled up close to his face, glancing around.
—This body is unstable, too. If this body could purify…
“Okay, I won’t force you to do what you can’t do.”
—Can’t Ruel teach this body?
Leo was too desperate to just laugh it off.
Ruel patted Leo on the head.
“At that time, I don’t know if I can say it was my instinct, but it wasn’t my will anyway. I think I’ll get the hang of it if I try it again.”
—Instinct?
“Yes, instinct. I still don’t know why I can purify it.”
—Doesn’t this body have an instinct? Why doesn’t it show up?
Leo sounded kind of sad.
“Let’s go to bed now.”
After stroking Leo again, Ruel closed his eyes.
—…instinct.
Leo stared at the sky, reflecting on what Ruel had said.
***
The light filtered through the window.
Ruel awoke to the sudden downpour of sunlight.
‘…?’
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Are you up?”
Ganien said with a big smile.
“I was so excited yesterday that I forgot something. His Majesty wanted to meet you.”
Ruel looked half-asleep and just looked at Ganien, trying to comprehend what he was saying.
“I should have told you at the banquet yesterday, but I forgot because I was excited. So after competing with Cassion, I brought you out at dawn.”
How the hell?
Ruel was quite sensitive about his sleeping habits.
“Cassi…”
“Cassion is furious now, so you’d better not call him.”
“Why?”
“His Majesty is waiting for you. For your information, this is my family’s villa…”
Even before Ganien finished speaking, Ruel grabbed Ganien by the collar.
He stared at him fiercely.
It wasn’t a topic to laugh and say ‘haha’ now.
The king came to Ganien’s villa, and he himself made the king wait.
“Be honest with me. Are you trying to screw me over? Cough, cough.”
Ruel’s hand, which he used to grab the collar, because of his cough, quickly loosened.
Ruel grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked at Ganien fiercely.
Knock. Knock.
The king appeared, knocking on the open door.
“Don’t be so angry. I told him not to wake you up.”
Unlike what he saw earlier, the king gave a very different impression as he was dressed simply.
Ruel got right out of bed and bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, forgive me for my rudeness.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be so polite, this is not the royal palace afterall. Make yourself at home.”
He waved his hand with an unbothered face, like a neighborhood brother lazily dragging his slippers around.
He dragged the chair himself and placed it in front of the bed where Ruel was.
Ganien remained still even with his superior’s actions.
“Come on, come on, sit on the bed.”
Ruel pretended to hesitate a few times and then sat comfortably on the bed.
The king told me to sit down, so I can sit.
“It’s hard to meet unless it’s today, so I asked Ganien for a favor.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Your Majesty took a heavy step.”
Ruel bit Breath and asked the king for permission.
“There’s nothing to regret, since we’re in the same boat.”
Inhaling Breath, Ruel waited for the king to bring up the story.
“You know the Red Ash.”
Ruel glanced at Ganien.
He grinned and nodded.
In the novel, Huswen Cyronian, the king of Cyronian, was a strong shield and helper for Ganien.
Having confirmed through Bianne that the setting in the novel was the same, Ruel said with a smile.
“Do you also know that they’re after my life?”
“When you die, the Great First Step begins, right?”
“There’s news I haven’t told Ganien yet. The Red Ash is looking for something. It is said that my existence acts as a kind of seal that prevents the enemy from finding it.”
Huswen frowned, eyes half-closed.
Ganien, who heard this story for the first time, also had a stiff face.
Huswen sighed and asked, “Did you hear that from a guy named Nintra?”
“Yes, he brought it up while betraying the Mana’s oath.”
“What happens if he finds it?”
“I don’t know.”
Ruel paused, before speaking, “I heard that Bianne Chen found out where the enemy’s temporary hideout was. Among the nobles…”
“How dare they do such a thing. What a disgrace. I didn’t even know that rats live in my country.” Huswen interrupted for a moment and closed his lips.
“Your Majesty, please calm down. Maybe it’s not a rat. I think it’s a bigger beast than that.”
“It may be, I’m very grateful to you. What happened in the village was also done by the Red Ash. If you hadn’t risked your life to stop it, something big would have happened.”
Ruel knew this was the perfect chance to be rewarded, but he put up with it, for now, choosing to make a different request.
You’ll get a bigger one after this.
“Give the Knights a justification to move, Your Majesty.”
Huswen’s lips curled up slightly.
Who would hate doing something for their own country?
“Are you going there, too?”
“I’m not going. However, I am very curious about the village called Dotol that resides near to it.”
“Dotol, it’s a small but nice place. The beer there is amazing, and there is a large lake where you can relax. And I’ll make sure you have a comfortable trip sightseeing.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
The king himself ordered it, so Ruel was able to move the Royal Knights he brought to Dotol.
“Ganien.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Take care of your precious guests, even to Dotol. On the way, you should also subdue the monsters in Trien.”
The entire Blue Knights were given a justification to move.
“I accept your orders.”
Huswen rose from his seat.
“Does the King of Leponia know this?”
“The royal family’s internal affairs are complicated, so they probably don’t know.”
“Who do you support?”
“I support the third prince, His Highness, Banios Leponia.”
“Okay, have a good time playing, take time to recover your health.”
“I see.”
Huswen was given his departing greeting by the two of them and went outside.
Ganien rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes were left drawn to the seat where the king had just left.
“You don’t have a normal relationship with the king, I’m a little surprised…”
“What’s that?” Ganien lowered his hand and laughed questioning at Ruel’s hoarse voice.
“As expected, my eyes are certain,” he murmured softly. “Ganien.”
“… Huh?”
When his voice calling for him was unusual, Ganien became nervous for no reason.
“I heard your family has been swordsmen for generations, right?”
Ruel’s smile was so suspicious that Ganien reluctantly replied.
“That’s right… Why?”
“I heard Bianne lost something to your family. What does that mean?”
Ruel wanted to confirm one fact at this time.
“Did he say that? Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“That bastard! He still thinks he has been deprived of the honor of protecting the frontier by my family, but he’s the one who made a mistake. He can’t thank me enough for sparing his life after committing military corruption, but being taken away? Took it from him?”
Listening to Ganien, Ruel inhaled Breath.
Bianne and Ganien’s past has not changed either.
In other words, if Ruel himself did not intervene, Ganien’s story would not have changed.
Somehow, Ruel felt like an obstructionist.
‘What will change now that Bianne, who should have been dead, is alive.’
It was a pity that the original work was altered, but he didn’t regret it.
Because he had to live.
“… You lapping dog. ”
As soon as Cassion appeared with a murderous voice, he grabbed Ganien’s neck.
Ganien smiled awkwardly as if he had allowed him to catch him on purpose.
I warned him to stop Huswen’ footsteps by any means, but Ruel-nim faced His Majesty like that. Wouldn’t it be perfectly acceptable to kill him right now?
“Ganien, you must have a lot of swords left at home”
Ruel asked, stroking Leo, who was sleeping soundly.
At the moment, Cassion flinched.
“There’s a lot.”
At Ganien’s reply, Ruel opened his mouth.
“Let him go, Cassion.”
“I’m sorry. I should have cut his throat yesterday.”
“Cut my neck? Don’t make me laugh. I’m the one who let you go.”
Ganien raised his voice in disbelief.
“So, who won?”
“It’s me.”
“It’s me.”
When asked by Ruel, the two spoke at the same time and frowned at the same time.
“Let’s just eat.”
Ruel didn’t want to see the two men fight for their pride.
***
“Here it is.”
When Ganien opened the door to the arsenal, Cassion’s eyes moved quickly.
In addition, Leo’s mouth opened wide.
—Wow! There are a lot of shiny things!
Ruel opened his mouth as he stopped Leo from running right away.
“Ganien, you know you owe me a lot, right?”
“Of course, look at it comfortably and take it as much as you want.”
As soon as permission was given, Cassion moved.
“Cassion, don’t forget Aris’, too.”
It’s time to change swords.
“Of course,” Cassion replied with a bright smile.
Ruel left it to Cassion and departed after all he did not know how to appraise swords.
“Who really won?”
And knowing that Ganien had put his pride against Cassion for no reason, Ruel opened his mouth after walking for a long time down the hallway.
Ganien swallowed his saliva with a face as if the question tasted unpleasant.
Yum. Yum.
At the feeling of soft material brushing across his face, Ruel frowned and opened his eyes.
“…what’s wrong, Leo?”
It was still dark outside.
—Cassion and Ganien are fighting!
“That’s how it was back in Setiria. Don’t worry and go to sleep.”
—I can feel the ground shaking! Look over there! The purple flame…
“…!”
Ruel immediately opened the window and looked out.
It was quite far from here, but the purple and blue lights were clearly visible.
‘You crazy people!’
It’s not like fireworks in the middle of the night. What is this about?
“Aris!”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
Aris hurried inside at the urgent voice of Ruel.
Ruel said, pointing to the lights, “Bring them right now!”
Aris soon swept his chest in relief.
“They seem to be having fun fighting, so why don’t you leave it alone?”
“What?”
“After meeting the black blooded man, both of them seemed to have been deeply troubled. Of course, I am also worried.”
Aris closed the door he had opened.
“The enemy… did not die. I felt like everything I’ve learned was falling apart. I think that’s how those two feel. Please understand.”
Ruel looked through the window and inhaled Breath.
“Go.”
Aris closed the open window and headed towards the door.
“Are you anxious?”
At Ruel’s low voice, Aris breathed deeply.
“Yes, I’m anxious now.”
The door opened and closed.
Ruel lay down again.
Leo curled up close to his face, glancing around.
—This body is unstable, too. If this body could purify…
“Okay, I won’t force you to do what you can’t do.”
—Can’t Ruel teach this body?
Leo was too desperate to just laugh it off.
Ruel patted Leo on the head.
“At that time, I don’t know if I can say it was my instinct, but it wasn’t my will anyway. I think I’ll get the hang of it if I try it again.”
—Instinct?
“Yes, instinct. I still don’t know why I can purify it.”
—Doesn’t this body have an instinct? Why doesn’t it show up?
Leo sounded kind of sad.
“Let’s go to bed now.”
After stroking Leo again, Ruel closed his eyes.
—…instinct.
Leo stared at the sky, reflecting on what Ruel had said.
***
The light filtered through the window.
Ruel awoke to the sudden downpour of sunlight.
‘…?’
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Are you up?”
Ganien said with a big smile.
“I was so excited yesterday that I forgot something. His Majesty wanted to meet you.”
Ruel looked half-asleep and just looked at Ganien, trying to comprehend what he was saying.
“I should have told you at the banquet yesterday, but I forgot because I was excited. So after competing with Cassion, I brought you out at dawn.”
How the hell?
Ruel was quite sensitive about his sleeping habits.
“Cassi…”
“Cassion is furious now, so you’d better not call him.”
“Why?”
“His Majesty is waiting for you. For your information, this is my family’s villa…”
Even before Ganien finished speaking, Ruel grabbed Ganien by the collar.
He stared at him fiercely.
It wasn’t a topic to laugh and say ‘haha’ now.
The king came to Ganien’s villa, and he himself made the king wait.
“Be honest with me. Are you trying to screw me over? Cough, cough.”
Ruel’s hand, which he used to grab the collar, because of his cough, quickly loosened.
Ruel grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked at Ganien fiercely.
Knock. Knock.
The king appeared, knocking on the open door.
“Don’t be so angry. I told him not to wake you up.”
Unlike what he saw earlier, the king gave a very different impression as he was dressed simply.
Ruel got right out of bed and bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, forgive me for my rudeness.”
“Oh, you don’t have to be so polite, this is not the royal palace afterall. Make yourself at home.”
He waved his hand with an unbothered face, like a neighborhood brother lazily dragging his slippers around.
He dragged the chair himself and placed it in front of the bed where Ruel was.
Ganien remained still even with his superior’s actions.
“Come on, come on, sit on the bed.”
Ruel pretended to hesitate a few times and then sat comfortably on the bed.
The king told me to sit down, so I can sit.
“It’s hard to meet unless it’s today, so I asked Ganien for a favor.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Your Majesty took a heavy step.”
Ruel bit Breath and asked the king for permission.
“There’s nothing to regret, since we’re in the same boat.”
Inhaling Breath, Ruel waited for the king to bring up the story.
“You know the Red Ash.”
Ruel glanced at Ganien.
He grinned and nodded.
In the novel, Huswen Cyronian, the king of Cyronian, was a strong shield and helper for Ganien.
Having confirmed through Bianne that the setting in the novel was the same, Ruel said with a smile.
“Do you also know that they’re after my life?”
“When you die, the Great First Step begins, right?”
“There’s news I haven’t told Ganien yet. The Red Ash is looking for something. It is said that my existence acts as a kind of seal that prevents the enemy from finding it.”
Huswen frowned, eyes half-closed.
Ganien, who heard this story for the first time, also had a stiff face.
Huswen sighed and asked, “Did you hear that from a guy named Nintra?”
“Yes, he brought it up while betraying the Mana’s oath.”
“What happens if he finds it?”
“I don’t know.”
Ruel paused, before speaking, “I heard that Bianne Chen found out where the enemy’s temporary hideout was. Among the nobles…”
“How dare they do such a thing. What a disgrace. I didn’t even know that rats live in my country.” Huswen interrupted for a moment and closed his lips.
“Your Majesty, please calm down. Maybe it’s not a rat. I think it’s a bigger beast than that.”
“It may be, I’m very grateful to you. What happened in the village was also done by the Red Ash. If you hadn’t risked your life to stop it, something big would have happened.”
Ruel knew this was the perfect chance to be rewarded, but he put up with it, for now, choosing to make a different request.
You’ll get a bigger one after this.
“Give the Knights a justification to move, Your Majesty.”
Huswen’s lips curled up slightly.
Who would hate doing something for their own country?
“Are you going there, too?”
“I’m not going. However, I am very curious about the village called Dotol that resides near to it.”
“Dotol, it’s a small but nice place. The beer there is amazing, and there is a large lake where you can relax. And I’ll make sure you have a comfortable trip sightseeing.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
The king himself ordered it, so Ruel was able to move the Royal Knights he brought to Dotol.
“Ganien.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Take care of your precious guests, even to Dotol. On the way, you should also subdue the monsters in Trien.”
The entire Blue Knights were given a justification to move.
“I accept your orders.”
Huswen rose from his seat.
“Does the King of Leponia know this?”
“The royal family’s internal affairs are complicated, so they probably don’t know.”
“Who do you support?”
“I support the third prince, His Highness, Banios Leponia.”
“Okay, have a good time playing, take time to recover your health.”
“I see.”
Huswen was given his departing greeting by the two of them and went outside.
Ganien rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes were left drawn to the seat where the king had just left.
“You don’t have a normal relationship with the king, I’m a little surprised…”
“What’s that?” Ganien lowered his hand and laughed questioning at Ruel’s hoarse voice.
“As expected, my eyes are certain,” he murmured softly. “Ganien.”
“… Huh?”
When his voice calling for him was unusual, Ganien became nervous for no reason.
“I heard your family has been swordsmen for generations, right?”
Ruel’s smile was so suspicious that Ganien reluctantly replied.
“That’s right… Why?”
“I heard Bianne lost something to your family. What does that mean?”
Ruel wanted to confirm one fact at this time.
“Did he say that? Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“That bastard! He still thinks he has been deprived of the honor of protecting the frontier by my family, but he’s the one who made a mistake. He can’t thank me enough for sparing his life after committing military corruption, but being taken away? Took it from him?”
Listening to Ganien, Ruel inhaled Breath.
Bianne and Ganien’s past has not changed either.
In other words, if Ruel himself did not intervene, Ganien’s story would not have changed.
Somehow, Ruel felt like an obstructionist.
‘What will change now that Bianne, who should have been dead, is alive.’
It was a pity that the original work was altered, but he didn’t regret it.
Because he had to live.
“… You lapping dog. ”
As soon as Cassion appeared with a murderous voice, he grabbed Ganien’s neck.
Ganien smiled awkwardly as if he had allowed him to catch him on purpose.
I warned him to stop Huswen’ footsteps by any means, but Ruel-nim faced His Majesty like that. Wouldn’t it be perfectly acceptable to kill him right now?
“Ganien, you must have a lot of swords left at home”
Ruel asked, stroking Leo, who was sleeping soundly.
At the moment, Cassion flinched.
“There’s a lot.”
At Ganien’s reply, Ruel opened his mouth.
“Let him go, Cassion.”
“I’m sorry. I should have cut his throat yesterday.”
“Cut my neck? Don’t make me laugh. I’m the one who let you go.”
Ganien raised his voice in disbelief.
“So, who won?”
“It’s me.”
“It’s me.”
When asked by Ruel, the two spoke at the same time and frowned at the same time.
“Let’s just eat.”
Ruel didn’t want to see the two men fight for their pride.
***
“Here it is.”
When Ganien opened the door to the arsenal, Cassion’s eyes moved quickly.
In addition, Leo’s mouth opened wide.
—Wow! There are a lot of shiny things!
Ruel opened his mouth as he stopped Leo from running right away.
“Ganien, you know you owe me a lot, right?”
“Of course, look at it comfortably and take it as much as you want.”
As soon as permission was given, Cassion moved.
“Cassion, don’t forget Aris’, too.”
It’s time to change swords.
“Of course,” Cassion replied with a bright smile.
Ruel left it to Cassion and departed after all he did not know how to appraise swords.
“Who really won?”
And knowing that Ganien had put his pride against Cassion for no reason, Ruel opened his mouth after walking for a long time down the hallway.
Ganien swallowed his saliva with a face as if the question tasted unpleasant.
