Chapter 204
The Embers in the Furnace Remain the Same (2)
Citizens shouted from the depth of their throats as they called out the queen’s name. Soldiers and knights also paid homage to the queen and the royal family as they angled their spears skyward.
The Crown Prince walked silently down while those knights and soldiers bearing the queen’s coffin followed him.
The triumphant appearance of a victorious general who defeated the forces of the great Empire was nowhere in evidence. It was certainly not the scene Maximilian had imagined.
He had thought the triumph would have been a lively festival full of cheers for the war heroes and warriors who defeated the overwhelming might of the imperial army.
Still, he wasn’t disappointed. Rather, he wept several times while walking along the Maximilian couldn’t stop admiring the procession.
He kept thinking about the thoughtfulness of his brother, who gave the glory that was his by right to the dead. While Maximilian reflected on the state of his heart, his brother said shyly, “This is how they do it in Balahard.”
He stated that he was merely following the customs of the deceased’s homeland.
After they walked along the capital’s boulevard for a while, they finally arrived at the royal palace.
“You are back hale, brother. Congratulations on the victory.”
Maximilian finally congratulated his brother on his safe return and handed over stewardship of the royal palace to him, a position Maximilian had held for a while.
“Thank you.”
The brothers nodded shyly at each other.
* * *
Once the Leonbergers who had left returned, the palace regained its former hustle and bustle.
Of course, it couldn’t be completely the same – there were too many empty seats for that.
Many would never be seen again after the recent war: The queen and the maids who had followed her; so many palace knights; the palace’s soldiers.
No one could fill Their absence. Nevertheless, it was true that the palace was revived to some extent, and at its center were those through which the blood of the Leonberger royal family coursed.
“Brother! Brother!”
Maximilian found his brother without having to put up much of a search.
“Did you eat? This guy is so thin that he’s going to fall into a crack in the floor,” the Crown Prince greeted his brother casually. The surviving palace knights and maids happily watched the two brothers: The Crown Prince, praised as the Young Lion of the North, and the second prince, hallowed as a saint. They were the two most outstanding brothers in Leonberg’s history, their actions legendary, so everyone was glad that they looked healthy.
The Great Marshal also couldn’t hide his feelings of joy when he met the two brothers.
“It’s really funny.” Prince Adrian hated it.
“Has your Highness heard the news?” Bielefeld asked.
“What news?”
“It is said that an envoy of the Teuton Kingdom has landed at the eastern port.”
“From the Teuton Kingdom?”
“At one time, it was a country that exerted tremendous influence and played a leading role in the politics of the continent’s western nations. Of course, their prestige now lies broken by the Empire. Their influence and majesty are not the same as in the past. Still, they are great enough not to be ignored.”
The Crown Prince had begun to show interest.
“In fact, the Kingdom of Teuton is also a country with which his Majesty tried to form an alliance for a long time. However, it was not possible to achieve great results at that time, due to Leonberg having no choice but to follow the Empire’s diktats.”
The Marquis of Bielefeld smiled a bitter smile, saying that, to be precise, Teuton had summarily ignored Leonberg’s envoys.
“It was not an alliance they wanted to form, saying that they dared not risk giving the Empire any pretexts. But things swiftly changed,” Bielefeld said, his eyes twinkling. “By the way, the Teuton Kingdom, which had remained silent after we had sent countless envoys to them, has now sent their first delegation to us. They express their intention of forming an alliance with Leonberg.”
Leonberg’s victory in the war must have changed their thinking.
“The king is planning to give away his beloved princess.”
The prince had been listening to the story with an anticipation-filled face. As Bielefeld said this, that face hardened.
“Princess?”
“The purpose of their delegation’s visit is to cement a marriage between the two royal families,” the Marquis of Bielefeld went on to say. “Because there is no greater alliance than one formed through blood ties.”
The Crown Prince looked at the marquis, shakily nodding in agreement.
“What they want is a young lion from the north,” Bielefeld told the Crown Prince and laughed perniciously. “They want it to happen right away.”
Prince Adrian’s face became distorted.
* * *
By the time that Teuton’s delegation neared the capital, the city was in an uproar.
“What? My brother disappeared?” Maximilian asked with a shocked face as he heard the palace knight’s report. “Where does he mean to go during this most important of times?”
Arwen Kirgayen had stood to the back with a sad face. She now stepped forward.
“He only left this letter.”
It was so very short that the piece of paper could scarcely be called a letter.
“I have something to do, so I’m going to the north for a while.”
Maximilian laughed as he read that single line, as it was all that had been written.
“But why, at this important juncture?”
Maximilian knew how spontaneous his older brother was, but this time his timing wasn’t good. It was the exact period when important guests would arrive at the capital. These guests were the Teuton Kingdom’s delegation, and it was an alliance that the royal family had spent a long time seeking.
And this was no delegation which one could stroll barefoot toward and meet; no, its leader was a great giant of a man: Duncan Seymour Tudor.
So much of a celebrity was Duncan that even the second prince of an isolated kingdom knew of his deeds. Duncan was the only duke of the Teuton kingdom, the only brother to the current king of that realm, and his most trusted adviser. He was the Lord of the Rosethorn Knights, who are said to be the strongest knights in existence.
Duncan Seymour Tudor was called ‘The West’s Number One Knight.’
He was a true legend who had achieved a high status and fame in his life, and not in an easy manner. He was a person whose name was well known to the second prince, and not merely because he was a member of a royal family. Moreover, it wasn’t just Duncan Seymour Tudor in the delegation.
There was also Hestia Neumann Tudor, the eldest daughter of the family and the most cherished princess of the King of Teuton. Hestia was a celebrity whose name was known across the continent, though not as much as Duncan’s. Hestia was described as ‘The most beautiful rose in the Tudor royal garden.’
Of course, her reputation didn’t merely revolve around her beauty; she was also a big shot when it came to the political scene. The Teuton King’s most cherished princess was not a being who could be ignored. All the important persons of the realm that were meant to welcome them were away, however.
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The king’s situation was such that it would take some time for him to return from his expedition, and the Crown Prince in charge of the capital was clearly not inclined to be present.
The situation was crazy for Maximilian, and he was jumping to rectify it.
He ordered that the crystal ball connected to the north be brought to him.
((You mean his Highness the Crown Prince has disappeared?))
Count Balahard was unaware of the prince’s vanishment.
((He has only been in the capital for a while, so why is he gone?))
Maximilian briefly explained the situation to Vincent, who asked what the second prince wanted to know. Maximilian told him that the prince had received the message that the Teuton delegation had arrived at the eastern port, seeking to arrange a marriage with him. He went on to say that his elder brother had disappeared just as the delegation was about to reach the capital.
((Nothing has been decided, and he fled? No, he doesn’t like to attend unwanted events, so he might be hiding for a while))
Maximilian sympathized with Vincent’s summary of things.
“What the hell is he thinking? He is the Crown Prince of the country, the firstborn. Even if he doesn’t like it, he must know how important it is to meet potential allies.”
((Why do you even question his behavior? The only thing on his mind is war, war, and war))
Maximilian could not dispute the count’s statement, so his mood grew even darker.
The Empire was locked in a civil war, making it hard for them to look outside their borders, but many countries were still under the Empire’s attentive gaze.
It was no light matter for Teuton to dispatch a delegation in such a situation.
And domestically, this was the first official visit of a foreign diplomatic mission to Leonberg, which had been cut off from the world by the Empire.
Moreover, the purpose wasn’t just an alliance, but a marriage between the two royal families.
If the marriage ended smoothly, Leonberg would cement another alliance alongside that of Dotrin. Even if Maximilian greeted the distinguished guests and devoted himself to the matter with all his heart, it would never be enough. It was the Crown Prince who had to greet these important visitors, and he had gone into hiding at the last moment.
And now Maximilian would have to dance naked in front of the Teutons. Even though Maximilian had expressed his undying support for his brother, he could not help but resent him this time.
((But since he said he’s going north, he couldn’t have gone anywhere else. I’ll unleash the rangers right now and ask them to determine his Highness’s whereabouts))
“Would you, please? If you find him, please persuade him to return to the capital as soon as possible,” Maximilian requested and ended his communication with Count Balahard.
“I should not have spoken. It looks like this old man is to blame.”
When Marshal Bielefeld heard the news later and visited Maximilian, he laid the blame on himself.
“It is commonsense that the person in charge of a delegation cannot meet with them without knowing the purpose of their visit,” said Maximilian. “You did nothing wrong, Great Marshal. Don’t blame yourself.”
“That’s right, though. Huh. What do we do about this?”
“In the worst case, I think I’ll have to go ahead and greet them.”
“They will think us rude from the beginning if they are not properly greeted,” Bielefeld spat out as he gave a wry chuckle, a strong expression of embarrassment coming to his face. Maximilian’s face was no different from that of the marquis.
“I just want my brother to come back in time.”
There was no sign that Maximilian’s elder brother would return after his reckless disappearance, however. All Maximilian learned was that Count Balahard had not achieved much after being asked to help.
That was the day the delegation arrived.
“He really doesn’t seem to be coming.”
Maximilian sighed and left the palace to greet the delegation.
After he had stood by the capital’s gate and waited for a while, a group of horsemen rode from afar over the plain, and as they halted, informed Maximilian that the delegation’s arrival was imminent.
“Let it not be told that the army and knights of Leonberg are terrible!” Maximilian ordered sternly, and the capital guards and palace knights once more checked their gear and corrected their postures.
“I see the delegation over there!”
Maximilian enhanced his eyesight as he looked across the plain, and sure enough, there was Teuton’s diplomatic mission. There rode a hundred Teutonic knights who still remained alert even after being under strong escort for four weeks by Leonberg’s knights and cavalry who had met them at the port. They were fully-armed knights in bright red armor, clearly being the Rosethorn Knights who had such a glorious reputation across the continent.
“Are you sure?” Maximilian asked as others discussed the Rosethorns. It was too early for admiration, however. The real deal wasn’t the hundred mounted Rosethorn Knights. The red-armored knights surrounded a horse-drawn carriage, atop which sat an elderly gentleman.
“Ah…”
The moment Maximilian saw him, he knew that he was Duncan Seymour Tudor, the number one knight in the west. And it was easy to know this – the man was like a giant. From the moment that Duncan appeared, Leonberg’s knights couldn’t even breathe properly. Even from among the palace knights, who knew no fear, there came a few suppressed groans.
Some figures stood before the knights that were being crushed by Duncan’s energy. They were the kingdom’s champions, the Crown Prince’s knights.
Arwen Kirgayen modestly maintained her energy, while Bernardo Eli offered an open challenge as he revealed his presence. Leonberg’s knights were able to catch their breaths and correct their disturbed postures, but that had been all.
Even after the champions who had made great strides in the war against the Empire had let their energy flow, the kingdom’s knights were still barely breathing. The presence of Duncan Seymour Tudor still dominated the area. The presence of the champions was akin to a firefly in front of the moon. Maximilian sighed.
He knew that the Teuton Kingdom had not considered Leonberg as a candidate for an equal alliance up until recently. So, he had decided to greet them confidently, but from the first, the meeting had become a broken, lopsided affair.
Maximilian couldn’t help it; Duncan Seymour Tudor was a real monster.
The second prince stepped forward, trying to correct his expression.
And at that moment- ‘Ooh~ Ooh~’
A great presence suddenly arose from behind the gate. Simultaneously, Duncan’s energy, which had pressed upon the knights, was dissipated, as if it was never there.
“Ah…”
Maximilian’s head started throbbing. He was very familiar with the tremendous energy being unleashed behind his back. Maximilian turned his head.
“Brother!”
And there he was, the very prince whose return Maximilian had been awaiting all this time.
“You’re late.”
The Crown Prince passed through the city gate and went to stand next to Maximilian.
He clucked his tongue, saying, “That’s funny.”
At that moment, Maximilian thought that it was unreasonable for a customer who had come with friendly intentions to be threatened by the establishment’s owner.
And the Teutonic delegation came to a halt before them.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Leonberg,” Adrian Leonberger said with a fierce smile.