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At the entrance of the collapsed duke’s castle, the imperial knights stood in place of the gate, looking down at those who were coming up toward them. The air was heavy with a tense atmosphere.
However, it wasn’t long before Prince Raymond’s expression changed strangely. As with the other knights, more and more people double-checked those who were approaching, with their eyes blinking.
“What? No matter how much I look at them, they don’t look like soldiers or knights.”
It wasn’t that they didn’t look strong, but they weren’t equipped with proper clothes or weapons… They were like ordinary citizens of the Empire.
“Why are they-?”
A familiar face caught someone’s eye for a moment among those in the lead.
“Isn’t that Decal?”
“There’s also Pamille, Decal’s right-hand man. They were waiting for the 2nd Consort to come downstairs a while ago…” One of the imperial knights, who had been tasked with waiting in the central city, said. Among the group of people who were approaching from the other side, Pamille also sent greetings as if he had noticed a familiar face.
“They don’t seem like enemies.”
“We also have eyes, so we know by seeing. There’s no way ordinary people who haven’t learned swordsmanship would come running like that with kitchen knives and pots in their hands.”
In other words, those people came not for them but for the duke’s castle behind them. It meant that there was an opponent they could regard as such. No one in this duke’s castle would’ve made life easy for them, even for the maids and servants. Did being ignored and going through unfair things lead ordinary people to take such drastic actions?
But they didn’t have to think deeply. The answer was so clear, so close.
“Where is the 2nd Consort?” Decal’s voice came first. Several voices then erupted from the crowd.
“Why did the castle collapse?”
“It’s clear that someone else tried to harm the 2nd Consort by doing something evil!”
“Did the 2nd Consort not get out of the castle?”
It was a sight to hear. Raymond snorted in amazement. Of course, Duke Verdin was the mastermind of the rebellion and they were on the side of justice! And the 2nd Consort coming out of their mouths sounded so noble and always in the victim’s position. It was so good sounding.
The 2nd Consort alone could rip off the trickery before her at once, so why were they stamping their feet with concern for her? It was the 2nd Empress who destroyed the castle and massacred the people inside it, not anyone else.
“It’s because they haven’t seen her in person. If they had seen her, they would have been busy trembling with their heads on the ground in fear, let alone holding her up like that.” Count Dyke, who had heard Raymond talking to himself from the side, shook his head slightly because he thought the same.
Maybe when that situation came, they’d tremble with their heads on the ground… and continue to praise the consort in that position. It wasn’t like the 2nd Consort would lie and kindly coax them with a smile.
She was the cold and scary 2nd Consort, but all of her actions were right for them. So, to them, it didn’t matter whether the color of the veil worn by the 2nd Consort was water or blood. They wouldn’t stop until the sincerity she showed them disappeared.
As the black waves surged right in front of their noses, the imperial knights looked back at Count Dyke, asking if they should stop them.
Originally and even now, this place was not a place for commoners like them to come and go. So some of them tried to make a big deal of it and played a big role in drawing the line.
Count Dyke narrowed his brows. If it were another time, he would have ignored their intentions. No matter how useful their tools were, they were mostly shovels and pickaxes, not swords. Only now, the pickaxes and shovels were pointed right in front of their eyes. They were so excited that their heads were shaking… like if anyone said something wrong, they would attack with those trivial and rough things.
“Decal, you’re here too. Welcome. There are still many things to clean up and check the remnants of the castle. You guys will come and help.”
Count Dyke spoke first in an indifferent tone before he was pushed under their pressure.
“Count! What are you talking about? Are you trying to let them in?”
“Prince, don’t you have to deal with the important stuff right now? There’s no time to worry about anything else. If there’s something you don’t like, you’ll have to figure it out later. We’d better move on this time.”
“But-”
Count Dyke covered Raymond and pointed to the imperial knights standing in front of the half-ruined entrance with his chin.
The black waves poured into the collapsed castle as the imperial knights split left and right to open the entrance. The turbulent waves filled the castle and splashed around.
Those who had instigated the residents of the central city, including Decal and Pamille, did not ask the imperial knights about the 2nd Consort anymore. They found the duke’s servants and maids struggling to remove the stone fragments inside.
“She should be down here! There was a loud noise near the concourse!” shouted someone who was hiding nearby in case something was needed for them despite the orders of the 2nd Consort to stay away. She had thought it was dangerous, and when she wanted to rush to take the 2nd Consort out, it was already too late.
When the duke’s knights and soldiers who survived the uproar saw the servants and maids, they didn’t think that they, who they usually regarded as worms, would have betrayed them. Otherwise, most of them would have been killed before the imperial knights came running to deal with the remnants.
Annie, covered in tears and a runny nose, called for Decal, who mobilized people to move the large stone piece aside. The dust rose, and the mangled corpses were revealed under a sky that began to shed light.
The castle was like a large tomb. Starting with a few people, more and more people took up positions near the central hall and removed the stones, and since there was no place to put the debris, they made a long line and dragged the pieces of stones out of the entrance.
“You guys will look for Duke Verdin! Scour around the area where his room was. You can only say it’s done once you’ve removed all the debris and checked the floor!” once he said that, Count Dyke sent most of the imperial knights across the central hall to the other side. However, he kept his eyes on those looking for the 2nd Consort.
It had only taken an instant for the duke’s castle, which seemed like it’d stand tall forever, to collapse, and it took an entire day to remove at least a part of it from its place.
“It’s the duke! We found the body of Duke Verdin!”
The imperial knights had almost given up because there had yet to be visible results from their gradually slowing down hands.
“Hang the body of Duke Verdin on the outer wall, and let everyone in the empire know about the brutal death of the leader of the rebels!”
Only half of his face was left, but when the body of Duke Verdin was confirmed, the disturbance in the duchy was definitely reduced. It was also significant that the Western troops, who had turned to the imperial faction, entered the interior of the duke’s castle by dividing their number to clear the area around the castle.
Unlike the faces of the imperial knights who had cleared up most of the Western rebellion, the eyes of those who still couldn’t find what they wanted went dark.
“Phew, I think we almost got it. Isn’t this the concourse floor?”
“Did she get out of here…?”
“In that case, she would have already returned here.”
Those whose fingers were shaking also lost their strength.
“For those who want to quit, don’t hesitate and go down quickly.”
“Who said we wanted to stop? It just upsets me.”
They wanted somehow to return the 2nd Consort to the 3rd Prince no matter what state she was in. In the past, they couldn’t do it even if they wanted to, but this time they could do it, so they would never give up. However…
Among the hard-working people, Annie glanced at Count Dyke.
“Isn’t that strange too?”
“I think we should be more careful.” Decal agreed. In the meantime, Count Dyke did not leave the vicinity of the central hall for a moment. If he was the 2nd Consort’s person, he would have said he was extremely loyal, but as far as Decal knew, he wasn’t like that, so he was very reluctant.
Because.
“Please look over there.” When Thompson approached and pulled on Decal’s clothes, he glanced around and put his index finger to his mouth as he looked at him. Then, as if nothing had happened, everyone looked away and continued to move their hands.
As Decal followed Thompson, he noticed someone lying in the hollow at the bottom of the broken stairway leading upstairs from the fully exposed concourse.
Perhaps it was safe there, but there were considerable traces of sharp-split wood chips, and the frame of the broken railing stuck like a spear.
Fortunately, however, there appeared to be no injuries. If it had been, somewhere among those slender arms and legs or beautiful face would have been completely mangled and unrecognizable.
Swoosh!
“It’s the spirit!” someone said unconsciously, but they quickly shut their mouth. They had shouted because the watery aura surrounding the 2nd Consort shimmered, and the palm-sized girl standing near her heart looked back at them.
The girl was so pale and faint that it wouldn’t be strange if she disappeared at any moment. Looking down at Elisha with her pupilless watery eyes, the girl looked sad. The girl covered Elisha’s heart with her palm. Her tiny hand, no bigger than one of her fingers, tapped near her heart, and suddenly the girl turned her face away and stared at one spot over Thompson’s and Decal’s shoulders in the direction they walked. Decal turned around and pressed down on his hand, which was about to reach his sword. At the same time, everyone around them, including Annie, gathered. They surrounded the lying 2nd Consort with several layers of bands.
The scene of thousands of people gathering around the floor of the central hall, which was almost the only one in the collapsed ruins to reveal itself fully, was somehow majestic and full of determination.
Perhaps because of this, Count Dyke, who was approaching, flinched and slowed down. He winked at the Eastern knights who followed his left and right. The knights who had been given the order in advance shook their heads.
They wanted to cause an accident or force a problem, but with those people staring at them with their eyes wide open, it didn’t seem easy to use their hands on the 2nd Consort, let alone approach her. Count Dyke, who had bitten his molars, quickly stepped out.
“Get out of the way. Isn’t it natural for us, who have been ordered by His Majesty the Emperor, to confirm and protect her safety?!” He tried even though he knew it was impossible from the beginning. Standing in front was Prince Raymond, who pretended nothing was wrong and tried to control his excitement. But he was no different than Count Dyke.
He, too, became more and more afraid of the 2nd Consort.