Chapter 53
53. 21 years ago
The fire was sporadic, but not large. However, due to the size of the castle, there were many small tasks to be done, as there was no telling where embers might still be smoldering.
“Well, I think we’re almost done. You can go back inside now.”
It was dawn when Fermos finally nudged Black in the back. Actually, he hadn't been able to bring himself to speak to him until then. It was good that Black was taking the lead in moving water buckets and putting out fires. It made the other guys move their bodies like crazy. But did he really have to have such a fierce look on his face, as if he wouldn't be satisfied until he beat something to a pulp? Black was largely responsible for the fire being contained to minor scorch marks on furniture and carpets.
“Are you sure? The fire must not spread.”
“Of course……”
“Stake your neck on it.”
“……Pardon?”
“She seemed to be quite afraid of fire.”
“……”
Black's last words made Fermos think a lot. Fire… Right… The Princess is afraid of fire. So, of course, I have to stake my neck on it… Right… I see…
“What about the guy who sneaked in under cover of the fire?”
“We’re searching for him, my lord.”
“If we don’t catch him, the fire won’t be contained.”
“Yes, of course. It must be the guy locked up in the dungeon. May I go down and ask him some polite questions?”
“Granted. You don’t have to be polite.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He hadn't quite adjusted to his new life in Nauk, but one thing was certain. Tormenting Kleinfelter and his gang was definitely a new pastime. Fermos was excited to go down to the dungeon.
“Will you be going to the Princess now, my lord?”
“Not yet. Once the arsonist is caught.”
He seemed reluctant to tell Liene to wait any longer.
“Understood. I’ll head down to the dungeon first.”
But Black should have returned to Liene as soon as possible. If he had, he would have quickly realized why the arsonist couldn't be found inside the castle. * * * Liene tried to calm herself.
“I don’t believe you’re an evil person like Kleinfelter.”
Klima, who had widened his eyes, hurriedly shook his head.
“No… I am a sinner. I have committed many unforgivable sins…”
“It was all Kleinfelter’s doing, wasn’t it?”
“……”
Klima could neither confirm nor deny it.
“If you want atonement, stop committing sins. Otherwise, no matter how much you whip yourself, you’ll only bleed.”
“I… I can’t help it…”
“Why do you keep saying you can’t? You know that what Kleinfelter is telling you to do is wrong. You are a person who serves God. Yet you killed two Cardinals. You silenced the voice of God.”
“I… I didn’t want to become a Sectarian…”
Klima was in pain with every word he spoke.
“Then?”
“I was told to…”
“Who? Kleinfelter? Why? Because it would be easier to kill the Cardinal?”
“……Because it would be easier to hide.”
“Hide what?”
“Me.”
“Why did you have to hide you? From whom?”
“……”
Klima closed his mouth. Then he got up and approached Liene. Even though he didn't seem like an evil person, she was afraid since he had said he was going to defile her with his mouth.
“Don’t come any closer. Answer me.”
“I’m sorry…”
Klima reached out his hand, tears streaming down his face.
“No! Don’t do it!”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
“Get a grip! How long are you going to live like this!”
She was scared to death. Liene desperately suppressed her fear. Saying no didn't work. She had to find another way. What was moving Klima now was Kleinfelter's command. She had to touch the part that had an absolute influence on Klima more than anything else.
“You said you’d spare me, right? …I swear. I will survive and I will kill Kleinfelter.”
“……”
The words had an effect. Klima flinched at the mention of Kleinfelter's death.
“K, kill Kleinfelter… Th, then…”
The stammering tone seemed incredulous. Liene had felt the same way until just now. She thought killing Kleinfelter was impossible in Nauk. The risk was too great, and the shackles of the six families bound by the Lisebery Treaty were too strong. But, no more. Kleinfelter's actions showed that the peace Liene had built by walking a tightrope with the six families was a flimsy lie. He was a man who would do anything to get Nauk. If this didn't work, he would keep trying other things. Even now, locked up in prison, he could reach Liene. Not only Liene, but also the temple and the Grand Council. She had to cut him off here. No matter how big the root was. If she didn't cut it off, the root would eventually devour all of Nauk. She couldn't have imagined it before. But now she could. Because she had Tiwakan. The most ferocious and fearsome mercenary group on the continent was now the Arsac Guardian Knight. Now was the chance.
“Do you think my fiancé will leave me if I’m defiled? No way. That’s something a dirty bastard like Kleinfelter would dream of.”
As she said that, she almost burst into tears. That man said he would forget revenge. He said he would accept even the child of his enemy. Because she was his home. If Klima carried out the order, the result was obvious. Kleinfelter would definitely die. This time, there was no reason to stop his death.
“If you follow the order, Kleinfelter will die. But even if you don’t follow the order, he will die. Because I will kill him. If the result is the same either way, what will you choose?”
“If Kleinfelter… disappears…”
Klima's eyes shook violently.
“Then… No, but I still have to live in hiding… No, then what about my mother…”
“What? Did you say mother?”
The rambling was hard to understand, but one thing was clear. Kleinfelter had a hold on Klima's weakness. It must be his mother.
“Is your mother being held by Kleinfelter?”
“Th, that’s… No, no! I, I shouldn’t have said that…!”
Klima desperately shook his head, realizing his mistake too late.
“It’s okay. You can tell me.”
She had found a way to win him over. Liene soothed Klima in a calm and gentle tone as much as possible.
“Even if you are a sinner, I know that Kleinfelter’s sins are much greater. If you’re worried about your mother’s safety, I’ll help you. I won’t hold your sins against your mother.”
“That’s… That’s not it. It’s not that simple… It can’t be.”
Klima clenched his fists and crouched down, almost prostrating himself on the floor. His trembling shoulders meant he was still crying painfully.
“It can be. I promise you. If you don’t commit any more sins, you and your mother will be safe.”
Klima lifted his tear-stained face.
“Is that… Is that really true? You really won’t kill my mother?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“If I let you go here, Princess, if I don’t do anything, then you’ll spare my mother?”
“I’ve already sworn it in the name of Arsac. I’ll spare you. Both you and your mother.”
Klima wasn't asking the same questions over and over because he didn't understand. The matter between him and the Kleinfelter Family was much more complicated and darker than Liene imagined. What Kleinfelter was doing to him wasn't blackmailing him with his mother. It was closer to the opposite. Kleinfelter was hiding Klima and Klima's mother, and taking a price for it. What Klima was desperately hiding was the family name.
“Even if my mother’s name is… Hinton?”
“……What?”
Liene felt like she had turned into a stone statue at the sound of the unexpected name. She couldn't breathe, nor could she move. Hinton... you said?
* * *
"Hinton. That was my name when I left Nauk."
Black said.
"Hinton's second son."
That was what the old man had told her. Liene had no doubt that was Black's name.
"How do you know that name...? No, then... are you... could it be?"
Liene stared at Klima with wide eyes. His face, smeared with tears, looked both young and the opposite. It was a face that was hard to guess the age of.
"Did you have a brother...? A long time ago, 21 years ago."
Klima looked terrified.
"So you didn't forget... you didn't forget. You knew... then do other people..."
She had only asked if he had a brother. Klima's reaction was beyond Liene's understanding.
"Calm down. I don't know what you didn't forget. I just know someone with that name. Answer me. Did you have a brother? How many?"
"...One."
Black said he was Hinton's second son. Then Klima must be the older brother. ...What on earth happened? Black said he saw Kleinfelter's soldiers killing his father. He ran away alone, and after that, he didn't use the name Hinton. His mother and brother remained in Nauk, hiding their names as well. Black probably didn't know that his family was alive. ...But why was Kleinfelter hiding the remaining family? This was definitely a contradiction.
"What happened to the Hinton Family? Do you remember?"
"..."
Klima squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
"Tell me."
"No... I can't. I absolutely can't... I can't tell anyone..."
"No, you have to tell me."
"I can't... then... then my mother will die..."
It didn't seem like he would open his mouth easily. Liene changed the question.
"Then talk about your father. Did Kleinfelter kill your father?"
"...Yes. Yes, he did."
Klima still couldn't open his eyes. He didn't seem to know where he was now. He was probably wandering somewhere on that day 21 years ago, when his father died and he lost his brother.
"Why?"
"Because he let him escape."
"Who?"
"P, Prince Fernand..."
"Fernand?"
It was the first time she had heard that name. Liene tilted her head.
"Who is he?"
"Prince Fernand."
"Prince?"
Klima nodded with a tired face. He looked like a person who was struggling just to recall the past, and was losing his energy.
"Which kingdom's prince is he? Prince Fernand."
"...Nauk."
"?"
The story was so unfamiliar that her mind froze for a moment. Was there another prince before Father? In Nauk? The late King was well past adulthood when he was crowned. So it wasn't entirely impossible. Liene recalled the royal family tree, which she didn't remember well. She vaguely remembered that the king before the previous one was related to Arsak, but was not of the Arsak Family.
"Why did Prince Fernand have to run away? What did he do wrong?"
"Because the King of the Gainus Family... died. Because they killed him."
Now she remembered. The king before the previous one had the surname Gainus. He died without an heir, so the eldest son of the Arsak Family, who was the closest blood relative, inherited the rule. That was the late King Leder, Liene's Father. That's what Liene knew. The same was recorded in the royal records.
"Killed the King? Did Prince Fernand?"
"No."
"Then?"
"The Seven Families of Nauk did, my father said..."
"What? ...The Seven Families?"
Her jaw dropped so wide that it hurt to say the words "Seven Families." Still, it wasn't enough to pour out all this confusion. Liene took several breaths.
"What you're saying now... is treason. Are you saying there was treason in Nauk?"
"...Yes. That's what my father said."
Hinton was a knight. He belonged to the Guardian Knights of the Gainus Family. When the Seven Families of Nauk murdered the King, he helped the King's bloodline escape. A prince named Fernand.
