42 - The Crown I Will Take From You
42
As if he didn't hear the question, the old man muttered to himself, unintelligibly.
“I know you once led the Shadeia clan. If you help me, I will reinstate your extinct clan.”
The old man snorted derisively.
“Is there a way? Of course, the Primordial Darkness is nasty once it takes hold, but it's not like there's no way to deal with it at all.”
Cesare patiently waited until the answer he was looking for came out of the old man's mouth.
“To erase the Primordial Darkness, there is nothing more perfect than the Morning Dewdrop, heh.”
Gallo felt like his heart was about to burst.
There is! There really was a way to save his master!
All the hard work he had put in over the years, searching the continent in the hopes of a single word from a passing priest, seemed to be for this very moment.
In a surprisingly contrasting manner to before, Gallo knelt carefully and respectfully before the old man.
“Morning Dewdrop… What is that, Elder?”
He had searched through thousands of ancient books, but it was the first time he had ever heard the name.
“When the Goddess first descended, this continent was filled with chaos and darkness. The benevolent Goddess was saddened by the lives oppressed by the darkness and shed tears, which washed away all the darkness and created the continent as it is now.”
Cesare also asked again.
“Where can I find it?”
The old man turned his head.
“Ahahaha. Unfortunately, Black Star. This Dewdrop does not exist in your orbit.”
“What do you mean, Elder!”
Terrence shouted with a frustrated face.
“You… You will never find it. Fate, to you, heh, did not allow it.”
At that moment, the old man spat out blood.
“Oh dear, time, ha, already…”
Cesare grabbed the shoulder of the collapsing old man.
“Terrence.”
Terrence hurriedly examined the old man.
However, he could not push away the shadow of death that had already deeply fallen over the old man.
“But, there is hope. The Venus of Baldina, heh. Will save… you.”
Each time the old man opened his mouth, blood gushed out, soaking Cesare's front.
“Black Star, do not forget, the Venus of, heok, Baldina…”
“Stop, save your strength.”
The light was gradually fading from his faded eyes.
With his last strength, the old man raised his arm and pointed to the sky.
“Ah… The stars have barely… gathered again… This time… Heok, which path will I take…”
With a final gasp, the old man's body stiffened.
The hand pointing to the sky fell limply.
“E, Elder? What? No? Huh?”
Gallo stammered.
“No, it can’t be, you’re not dead, are you!”
He rushed over and shook the old man in Cesare's arms, but the body, which had turned cold, no longer moved.
“Gallo, stop it. He’s already passed away.”
Terrence's dissuasion did not reach his bewildered ears.
“No, no, this can’t be happening. How did I find you, you can’t just leave like this!”
The cheerful young man who was always sneering could not be found in his distraught cry.
Terrence had always been annoyed by the noisy and bustling Gallo, but this time he couldn't say anything to him.
Cesare was not just their master.
He was their one and only lord to serve, a friend to lean on, and a brother who would die on the same day even if they were born on different days.
So he could understand Gallo's despair.
If Gallo was like that, how would Cesare, the person involved, be?
Terrence placed his hand on Cesare's shoulder with a heavy heart.
“Cesare.”
However, contrary to his expectations, Terrence discovered gleaming Golden eyes.
“What is the Venus of Baldina?”
Instead of collapsing like Gallo, Cesare recalled the last words the priestess had left behind.
At least the priestess did not say it was impossible. She just set a condition.
So it was too early to give up or fall into despair.
“The Venus of Baldina, heh. Will save… you.”
The prophecy-like last words that the Shadeia priestess conveyed even while violating the taboos of the heavens.
“Contact the home country. Tell them I need to stay in Baldina longer.”
“You really are…”
Terrence took a step back from Cesare with a look of horror.
“So be careful, Terrence. Those kinds of guys, when they encounter obstacles, they don't avoid them, they destroy them.”
A long time ago, his teacher's voice seemed to echo in his ears again.
\ \ *
Medeia, Neril, and Saya, who had finished preparing to leave, boarded the carriage.
The streets of Asylym at sunset. It was when the carriage was passing through the rather dark forest.
“Where are you going?”
Armed robbers blocked the carriage.
“I don’t have any business with you. But you can’t just take people like that.”
Saya, who looked out the window, was shocked.
She identified the faces of the robbers harassing the coachman and shouted.
“They’re the Asylym trafficking ring!”
The robbers also saw Saya and chuckled among themselves.
“Wow, she’s skinnier than I heard.”
“But they’ll give us two more silver coins for her. It’ll pay off.”
In her past life, Saya seemed to have been sold to the trafficking ring and lost her life today.
Wasn't the reason Teo was so angry about his sister's death because he couldn't even find her body properly?
Neril leaned out and looked at the robbers surrounding the carriage. They seemed to have been following them from Asylym.
“Your Highness, what should we do?”
Medeia silently handed over a bag of gold coins.
“It seems like they’re after the child, I’ll buy her.”
Neril got out of the carriage and threw the bag in front of them.
“Wow, ten gold coins. The owner here is very generous.”
However, even after receiving the gold coins, they did not back down easily.
They completely surrounded the carriage and demanded more money.
“Why don’t you stop here since it’s getting late?”
As the confrontation dragged on, Medeia finally revealed herself. Their eyes gleamed.
“Oh, look at this? Anyone can tell she’s a noble lady, right?”
The leader scanned Medeia with greedy eyes, then smiled slyly, shaking the bag of gold coins.
“I think we can get five times more than this for the lady, why would we settle for just this?”
‘They’re the kind of people who won’t listen even if I try to let them go nicely.’
Medeia sighed briefly.
She soothed Saya, who was grabbing her skirt, and stood in front of Neril.
“Neril.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Neril had already drawn his sword and was ready to fight.
“It’s like a gourd vine rolling in, today is our lucky day?”
The excited men grinned and took out blades from their pockets.
A pale noble girl who doesn't seem like she can even hold a tree branch. There is only one escort knight with her.
They looked quite familiar with the way they swaggered around, claiming to have eaten their share of swords.
Neril jumped in like the wind, and the fight began.
But they were no match for Neril.
“W, what…!”
“Argh! My arm!”
“My leg, damn it!”
Four of them fell in the blink of an eye. The robbers screamed, clutching their arms and legs.
Even so, they were quite well-known in this field. Moreover, there were twelve of them, and only one opponent.
However, despite being numerically superior, the situation quickly reversed.
The leader stepped back. This won't do.
He quickly looked around.
The young lady, the knight's master, caught his eye.
‘If I take that girl hostage, even that flying knight won’t be able to use his strength.’
The leader smiled slyly and turned towards Medeia.
