Chapter 249: The Civil War in the Principality (14)

The tent was filled with smoke.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness Fran,” said Terix, the commander of the 1st Wyvern Squadron.

He exhaled a cloud of smoke from his cigar, rolled with thick leaves. Sitting in his chair, Terix was almost at eye level with Fran, and with every breath his muscles rippled beneath his massive frame.

Facing him was like facing a brick wall. In terms of physique, Terix could stand toe-to-toe with Gordon Fabian, the leader of the Guidance Mercenary Gang.

“It seems you’ve had a rough time. I suppose land battles don’t suit a naval expert like Your Highness,” Terix remarked, puffing on his cigar.

“...”

Despite the acrid smoke wafting directly into his face, Fran did not turn away.

“How dare you. What makes you think you can be so insolent...?!”

Crash!!

At that moment, as if to silence Anthem’s outburst, Terix slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair with such force that it shattered.

“Insolent? You should be the one to watch your mouth. Know your place before you speak,” Terix growled.

“...”

Anthem, staring at the splintered armrest, fell silent. Low chuckles echoed around the tent.

Around the tent were members of the 1st Wyvern Squadron, their cold gazes fixed on the two men. They looked nothing like ordinary knights. Their armor was mismatched, and their weapons varied. The only thing that marked their allegiance was the red dragon emblem on their cloaks.

The 1st Wyvern Squadron was closer to mercenaries than knights, given that they dealt with the most violent of wyverns.

“Anthem, enough,” Fran intervened. “Sir Terix is more than capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the great noble houses.” He then turned to Terix. “I still remember learning the sword from you as a child.”

At that, Terix chuckled, but with his thick, scruffy beard, he looked like he was chewing on cud.

“I remember it well, Your Highness. You were such an adorable child back then. And now, you’ve grown to raise your sword against your own sister... Time does fly,” Terix remarked, as though bemused.

Suddenly, his presence flooded the tent with a suffocating pressure. Anthem, who was more frail than Fran and the other knights, instinctively clutched his chest.

“It’s not just you, Your Highness. All members of the Ducal House are dear to me. In truth, this entire civil war saddens me deeply,” Terix said casually, as though discussing something trivial like the weather.

“I was worried I might have to kill you with my own hands,” he added, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Terix spoke as though, with his arrival, victory on the Binfredo front was already assured.

“That’s precisely why I’ve come, Sir Terix. I believe it’s time I told you the real meaning behind this civil war,” Fran said.

“The real meaning?”

“...Could you ask your men to leave us?”

Fran glanced around the tent at the members of the 1st Wyvern Squadron.

“Well, alright.”

Terix nodded and waved his hand, signaling the knights to leave them. However, even after they left the tent, Fran could sense they were still watching closely, ready to act at a moment’s notice. Even outside, he could still feel their bloodlust.

Indeed, they’re one of the principality’s strongest knightly orders. As rude as they are, their skill is undeniable.

Perhaps they saw Fran as an enemy before a duke. Yet, despite the sharp killing intent aimed at him, Fran felt not displeasure but satisfaction.

They’re strong enough. I can... I can take that bastard’s head!

With a fiery gaze, Fran looked at Terix and spoke up, “I want to make a pact with Tuli. No, to be precise, I want to reaffirm the pact we’ve already agreed upon. I have no desire to continue this meaningless civil war.”

“Are you saying you intend to surrender to Lady Tuli?”

Fran nodded.

“That’s right.”

At that, Anthem’s face darkened. However, Terix remained skeptical despite the reactions of the two, his eyes still filled with doubt.

“Let’s be honest. When you say the result of this civil war has already been agreed upon, you're also implying that Tuli’s victory was predetermined. But a sudden intervention from an unexpected figure has thrown everything into chaos.”

“Intervention...?”

“Karyl, the king of Tatur beyond the strait.”

Terix narrowed his eyes slightly.

“What business does he have interfering in the principality’s civil war?”

“I don’t know his motive. I have no idea what he’s trying to achieve with this pointless meddling, but... he’s trying to advance on the White Bunker through Moon Aether, leading the northern tribes no less!”

Fran couldn’t bring himself to admit that Moon Aether had already fallen. This was his way of covering up his failure. He figured that by the time Terix’s forces reached Moon Aether, he would just lie and blame the defeat on Karyl.

“Your Highness,” Terix said in a low voice. “No one helps others for free. If Karyl crossed the strait to support you, he must want something in return. Frankly, I have no certainty that your request to meet with Lady Tuli isn’t actually a trap.”

“W-What...?! Are you saying I'm lying to kill Tuli?!” Fran bellowed.

“Haha... Why, isn’t war about killing your adversary?” Terix merely chuckled.

“T-That's...!”

Fran was left speechless.

Why can’t anyone understand what I’m trying to do?! Everything I did was for the principality! I shouldn’t even have to convince them... If things had gone according to plan, the civil war would have ended by now!

Fran felt like the boy who cried wolf, desperately telling the truth and no one believing him. Terix’s suspicious gaze and Anthem Howard’s disappointed look made it clear to Fran that all his efforts were in vain.

It’s all because of that damned Karyl!

Thud... thud-thud...!!

His thoughts spiraled, and his heart started to race.

“Argh!”

Fran’s hands trembled as he pulled the pill bottle from his pocket. Once full, it now held only a single pill. He shook it desperately, and the pill fell to the floor.

“Damn it...!”

Fran threw the bottle away and clumsily bent down to retrieve the pill.

“...”

Terix watched him in silence, then picked up the pill at his feet.

“Hmph, I didn’t know this is how you have fun, Your Highness,” Terix remarked coldly.

What kind of pill is that?

Anthem wondered as he observed the pill Terix had picked up.

“Don’t you know what this is?” Terix asked, reading the question in Anthem's eyes.

“I’ve been around enough to know a little...” he went on. “I heard it’s a drug that’s been very popular with the nobles of the principality lately. It’s a kind of game, you see. Everyone’s getting into it... but it’s probably nothing serious,” Terix said with a shrug.

“But to think that Your Highness would carry something like this even to the battlefield. And you, who are supposed to be his close aide, didn't even know about it? Tsk tsk...” Terix shook his head in disapproval.

Then, Fran quickly snatched the pill from his hand and swallowed it.

Since when...?

Anthem frowned slightly. He had served Fran for many years, yet he had never seen him take any kind of drugs before. It seemed that Fran had kept this secret even from him.

At that moment, Karyl’s words from their meeting at the Binfredo estuary surfaced in Anthem’s mind.

The Wooden Cloud...

When he first heard about Fran being tied down in Cove, Anthem questioned it right away, not understanding the connection between this civil war and the Wooden Cloud. But after Fran had confided in him at Cove, Anthem learned that the Wooden Cloud was indeed the mastermind behind this war.

And just like that drug, Fran had kept this civil war a secret from him

Could it be...? No, no way...

Anthem picked up the pill bottle from the ground and stared at it.

“...”

This drug that was spreading like wildfire among the nobility within the principality was supposedly just some harmless fun. However, Anthem couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of unease that was building inside him.

If this drug were truly dangerous, Lady Tuli wouldn’t have allowed it to spread. They say many nobles have already used it...

Anthem shook his head, trying to dismiss his fears.

“Phew...”

But contrary to Anthem's growing unease, Fran seemed to calm down after taking the pill, exhaling deeply before saying, “I merely wish to meet with Lady Tuli. I seek nothing else.”

“Hmm...”

His eyes, brimming with desperation, were a testament to his sincerity.

Could he be telling the truth?

Terix stroked his chin thoughtfully as he scrutinized Fran.

KABOOM―!!!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rocked the tent violently.

A guard burst through the flap and shouted, “Commander, we’re under attack!!”

“...Under attack? By whom?!”

The enemy leader was here, in this very tent, negotiating for a truce. He couldn’t have ordered an attack himself.

“By... by our own forces, sir.”

“...Our own forces?”

“Th-The soldiers of Moon Aether!"

“What?!”

Terix stared at Fran in disbelief, but Fran seemed equally shocked. His trembling hands, ashen complexion, and utterly confused expression only confirmed Terix’s suspicions, igniting his rage.

“Your Highness!! Why are the soldiers of Moon Aether here?! That place is the backdoor to the White Bunker. If those soldiers have made it to the front lines, it must mean you’ve left the backdoor to White Bunker wide open! Don’t tell me... You’ve brought them here to capture us?!”

“...What?”

Fran’s face was a mask of bewilderment.

Terix’s voice quivered with fury as he shouted, “Fran Lurein...!! Tell me the truth right now! Have you joined forces with the soldiers of Moon Aether to backstab us? Is this your idea of a truce?!”

“Wh-What?! W-Wait!!”

A shadow fell over Fran’s face as he looked up at the towering figure before him. He tried desperately to think of an explanation, but seeing Terix’s face contorted with rage, his mind went blank.

For Lord Fran!

In that moment, a voice imbued with mana echoed from afar.

May the wave be eternal!

And then the battle cry of the Iron Fleet rang out, leaving Fran no time to defend himself. Suspicion turned to certainty as Terix glared at him with murderous intent.

WAAA...!!!

YEAAA...!!!

The soldiers’ shouts could be heard all around.

“You wanted the truth? Very well. I’ll report this situation to Lady Tuli exactly as it is. Fran Lurein, this is where your treatment as a duke ends. The next time we meet on the battlefield, we will be enemies!!”

Terix forcefully grabbed the hammer standing beside him, as though pulling it out of the ground.

KABOOM―!!

BAM―!!

“Ugh?!”

All of a sudden, the massive Terix staggered. He blocked the sword strike that came slicing through the tent’s fabric, but the force of the blow sent him skidding backward.

“

The next time

... You’ve grown complacent, living comfortably in the White Bunker. To think you have the luxury to speak of next time in a battle where your life hangs by a thread.”

“Who’s there...?!”

A knight brushed past Fran, and the grin visible through his helmet was clear in Fran’s eyes. It was a sneer, a mocking smile directed at him.

Only one person could have looked at him like that.

“You... you... you! This...!”

Fran, overwhelmed by the realization that he had been completely manipulated, was consumed by an unbearable sense of humiliation and rage. He couldn’t even form the words.

Thud-thud-thud...!!

His heart pounded wildly, and Fran opened and closed his mouth several times.

“Do not worry, Your Highness. I am here to bring you victory.”

The knight of Moon Aether, Karyl MacGovern himself, knelt on one knee before Fran.

“Y-You...!”

Karyl played his role perfectly, acting like a loyal knight pledging his allegiance to Fran.

“Y-You... You son of a—!” Fran finally managed to scream, stuttering with rage.

However, Karyl slowly rose to his feet, and Fran instinctively took a step back.

Clink―

Karyl lifted his visor slightly, revealing his cold, piercing eyes that stared unblinkingly at Fran.

“Hmm? You don’t look like you want to win,” he whispered, barely audible, as though speaking just to Fran. “But what can you do? You’re going to win again, whether you like it or not.”

“Ugh... AAAARGHHH!!!” Fran screamed at him, his voice filled with madness.