cornered outskirts.
An old and ugly three-story building catches my eye.
It was a secluded, suspicious place that certainly deserved to be vigilant.
Ferzen quietly opened the creaking door and stepped inside.
The cobwebs hanging near the window along with the thick dust give you an idea of how long the building has been left unattended.
again.
Again… …
I climbed the stairs, where the sound of my own footsteps echoed softly, and went up to the 3rd floor that was written on the paper.
Waiting for him there was the second prince of the Lobelium Kingdom sitting in an ugly chair—Inas Den Prussia Lobelium.
“Have you come?”
“… … It’s been a long time since that day.”
Ferzen, who was facing Prince Inas sitting on a shabby chair opposite him, remained silent.
“count.”
“Yes.”
“People call life a series of choices.”
“… … Yes.”
“Then, after all, when I had to choose something. The more options he has, the more capable he will be.”
“It wouldn’t be wrong.”
“… … Then, on the other hand, the person who has narrow options must be incompetent.”
“… … ”
“Is it because the aspirations were good, but the aspirations did not fit the theme? As time goes by, my own incompetence fills me with bitterness.”
“Because self-blame only lowers self-esteem… … ”
“Not to blame.”
With a haggard face, Prince Inas put on a self-helpful smile.
“There is no servant by my side who can comfortably show even these inner feelings… … Aren’t I talking to you, a nobleman from another country?”
“… … ”
“It’s really funny.”
Yeah, if it’s funny, it’s definitely funny.
Because the Ernes Empire has been a vassal of the Lobelium Kingdom for a long time.
The option that was forced upon him this time… …
Will it be the spark of war?
Otherwise, will you quietly live as a vassal of the Ernes Empire?
“yesterday… … I talked with you for a long time.”
“… … ”
“I decided to listen to your opinions.”
“… … ”
“Just to say thank you… … Wouldn’t it be okay to listen… … ?”
“Thank you for making a great choice… … Thank you.”
“hahaha… … You know it’s not a great choice, but you’re doing it too much.”
Prince Inas drinking wine from a luxurious glass placed on a shabby table.
He drank quite a bit even before he came, so a faint drunkenness hangs over his complexion.
“The brightest star is… … It is said to be a star that has not yet been discovered.”
“… … ”
“Definitely the best day of my life… … I believe that these days are not yet lived.”
“… … ”
“What can be built on a country that has been torn down? So even though I knew it wasn’t the best, I did something incompetent to avoid the worst and choose the next best thing.”
A king who cannot share his burden.
Prince Inas was clearly showing himself how lonely and painful it was.
… … Perhaps, if Brutein did not exist.
Perhaps the current imperial family had a similar appearance.
“count… … ”
“Yes.”
“After a long time… … After a really long time… … ”
“… … ”
“Our kingdom will prosper.”
“… … ”
“You will be freed from the rule of your empire. Rather, I was anxious to build a friendly relationship… … It will be such a country.”
“… … ”
“Maybe another empire will be born!”
The corners of his eyes were smiling, not matching his crying voice.
That’s why Prince Inas looked even more miserable.
The sound that Princess Elizabeth had told her that she buried her face in her skirt and cried like a child does not appear to be false.
To that extent, his appearance seemed precarious, and if he pushed it just a little, it seemed that he would fall helplessly to the edge of the cliff.
“How… … Do I feel like I’m dreaming too much… … ?”
“It’s not like that.”
Ferzen shook his head.
“Dreaming is… … You are leaving your footprints in a destination where there is no immediate way.”
Their footsteps, even if one day you become a lost child.
It will be a milestone for you to move forward in the right direction.
Therefore, the dream was the original driving force that enabled the ship to leave the safe harbor and be faithful to its role.
“hahaha… … Out of all the words I’ve heard lately, you’re the most deeply entrenched in my mind… … ”
As if expressing his own tragedy as a comedy.
Prince Inas, smiling a little louder, turns his head out the window.
“count… … No, Fersen von Schweig Brutein.”
“Yes.”
“if I… … Really if… … ”
“… … ”
“Even if I was the emperor of your royal family, would you have sent me the same loyalty as in history? … ?”
Ferzen, who read the sorrow immersed in his trembling voice, remained silent for a while, then slowly got up from his seat.
“Yes. I am Brutein. Even if you were the emperor of the Ernes Empire, you would have shown unchanging loyalty.”
“… … ”
“Inas den Prussian Lobelium. You are the prince of a powerless vassal state called a fool by the world.”
“… … ”
“I may be able to comfort you with my brief remarks, but you are by no means incompetent.”
“… … ”
“You obviously… … He is a capable prince.”
This was not an empty word.
Not a ship just before wreck.
If only there had been a sturdy ship that did not shake even on the reef, and sailors who would not give in to storms and sail together.
He must have made the present kingdom more splendid.
And seeing him answering his words with tears, Ferzen turned his back.
I leave the shabby and shabby building and step into the street.
It seemed like he didn’t need to be by his side anymore.
Of course, I could have said a few more words.
Because life is, by nature, a winner has nothing to say to a loser.
Ferzen moved while watching the sunlight shining down on the sky.
… … And behind it, the cry of a grieving prince adorns.
* * * * *
When we got back to the base, we had lunch after finishing our morning meeting.
Ferzen sat down at the table where Prince Raymond was sitting.
“Have you come?”
“Yes.”
“count.”
“… … ”
“He said he likes the dawn when the sun rises, or else he likes the twilight when the sun goes down.”
The prince’s words were quite metaphorical, but Ferzen wasn’t foolish enough to not notice what he was asking him.
“The sunset sky… … He said he really liked it.”
“is it.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, the prince smiled bitterly and tilted his head back.
It is often said that nothing can be built on ashes.
If there is anything that can be built on ashes, it must be peace.
Unless you use someone’s misfortune as a bridge, you will never reach peace.
okay.
Even if there is peace without a price.
Peace without cost was a law that did not exist in this world.
Human beings know this better than anyone.
Naturally, the happiness that humans pursue is ironically followed by human misery.
The main point is whether the subject of that misfortune is you or someone else.
“… … The food will be cold. Let me hear it.”
“All right.”
In a quiet silence, the meal continues.
* * * * *
Early morning with a bluish atmosphere.
The clock on the table by the bed indicates it’s 3 am.
Today, two days after the meeting with Prince Inas.
It is the day on which the First Prince gives a speech to the people at the royal palace as per their request.
… … And as long as Prince Inas agrees to this speech as planned.
The work within the Lobelium Kingdom will come to an end.
But Ferzen was uneasy when things seldom worked out so well.
Because the blessings given down by the God of Wisdom to Princess Elizabeth, who holds the fortunes of the future, were the scars.
Of course, the shape of the scar may not necessarily mean that the Lobelium Kingdom will become a vassal of the Elmark Empire.
If the shape of the occupied scar had been more specific, it would not have been possible to wake up in the morning with tension.
‘Even if I borrowed my luck and fell asleep again… … ‘
An unfamiliar view.
In the end, what Ferzen chose was to get up and sit by the window carefully so as not to wake up the sleeping Yuriel.
The street scene in the kingdom, where the lights are turned off, is so serene and somber that it gives off strange goosebumps.
On the contrary, the stillness and silence gradually calmed Ferzen’s troubled mind.
“I can’t sleep… … no… … ?”
“… … Did you wake up?”
“… … No, I wasn’t in a deep sleep either.”
After hesitating, Yuriel got up from the bed and came to her side and gently embraced her.
“You… … You’re doing what’s called tension.”
“It’s what I spilled. It would be rather strange not to be nervous.”
“this… … ”
“Is it about Loer?”
Shake!
“know… … there was… … ?”
“At first, all the people attached to him were the Alfred family members. If their report is not destined for the faraway Alfred House, it will be passed on to you.”
“First… … There was nothing wrong with it.”
“know. If there were any suspicious signs when observing, you would have told me sooner.”
“… … ”
“I’m just wondering, because he’s so quiet.”
“There is nothing he can do in this situation.”
“Just because you put shackles on your ankles and remove the keys doesn’t mean you can’t take them off and throw them away.”
“… … ”
“If you go through the pain of having your bones slashed and your flesh being torn into chunks… … It is not impossible.”
And Loer had enough hatred to do just that.
“Too… … ”
read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Maybe he was too conscious of Loer.No, in the first place, if you’re going to care so much about the past.
Why did Ferzen break Lizzy’s foot so mercilessly?
Doubts arose, but if he digs deeper into this point, he has an intuition that he will undoubtedly touch his wrath, so Yuriel could hardly continue his words.
But honestly, I wanted to know.
The other side that Ferzen is hiding.
Everywhere, as much as giving everything to him.
Yuriel also wants to know everything about Ferzen without hiding it.
But, contrary to that heart, Yuriel couldn’t wish for something Ferzen didn’t like.
It was just that small aspiration that was buried deep.
“Uriel.”
“Yes… … ”
“Are you curious?”
“yes?”
“Why did you break Lizzy’s foot so badly because of the subject that you care so much about?”
“… … ”
As he stroked his hair in his arms, he stopped his hand and spoke in a low voice.
At that, Yuriel kept her lips shut.
The silence that revolves around the room, combined with the stillness outside, provides a stillness as if time has stopped.
Perhaps because of this, Yuriel could hear Ferzen’s heartbeat very clearly.
… … His beating is fast and irregular.
This is undoubtedly proof that he is tense.
‘Damn it, do it… … ‘
Because it was Ferzen who rarely showed weakness.
Yuriel had no choice but to suppress her greed and slowly shake her head.
“me too… … We need time to prepare.”
“… … ”
“When you’re ready, let me tell you.”
Fersen didn’t say ‘to you’ on purpose, but ‘to you’.
If I had chosen the former, it could have been said that Euphemia knew her secret.
There was no need to cause her jealousy unnecessarily, so Ferzen gently stroked Yuriel’s hair in her arms again.
And although Yuriel didn’t have an exact promise, when Ferzen gave him the assurance that he would reveal something he was hiding with his mouth… …
It was hard to hide the happy dark blue, and a faint happiness filled with it.
A secret is a corporation that bears the risk that it will no longer be a secret from the point of sharing it with anyone other than yourself.
Ferzen believes in himself and promises to tell him.
This is yourself as a wife, as a companion for the rest of your life.
read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲
Maybe it’s a sign that he’s definitely admitted it.… … I don’t think it was very worthwhile to give his all to him.
Yuriel smiled bashfully and rubbed her cheek against Ferzen’s chest.
Against the backdrop of such a quiet street, the two shared each other’s warmth.
Before long, I was able to watch the beautiful dawn, which was rising brilliantly, driving away the darkness.