The sun set for a while at the west side of the horizon. The clouds for the rainy season came early and depressingly. Night seemed to invade Andrew Haila all of a sudden. The suffocating breath in the city depressed people. As we walked on the street, only the deep humming of the night bugs and the clatter of the horse’s hoofs of the knights on duty could prove the slightest hint of life within the strongest ford on the Westland.
There was a team of knights on the street. The one leading them was a Colonel who wore a golden military outfit. This Colonel completed his duty. If he could not find that Prince who walked at the heart of that unit, he believed that he had already been sent to military department.
The Colonel’s group departed on the night His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil left Andrew Haila in private. But just as the God of Light was looking for trouble with him, he was always just a bit slower than the Prince’s unit, until the night two days ago he found this young master at the site of war of the Traisen Front.
Oscar was protected in the center of the unit by the knights. Since the invasion of the Persians, the city implemented curfew and light control.
Even though Andrew Haila was very far away from the border, to the Persians who were used to travel a long distance, they were able to travel to anywhere they wanted to even at a wide land such as Narcissus County. Of course, coming here did not mean that they could go back. Just like what happened was at the Traisen area, the second young master of the Andrew still captured the Mogadishu’s Main Knight Army Units at Neliger Valley. Only after the opponent lost a third of their force did they retreat from the battle, letting the panicky Persians run back through the border.
At the mansion of Duke Andrew, the whole family was anxiously waiting for their youngest yet highest status member of the family. They all heard about little Oscar and his direct Knights Division involved in a bad fight at the mountains. According to the news, this child almost lost his life there.
Speaking of this, Mam Celia was angry and anxious. It seemed that her youngest son was still immature. Regarding battlefields, she believed that the mentally-ill third son understood it better than her youngest son. How could this kid do this to her? She had sworn not to let this child get hurt ever again, but this kid loved adventure so much.
The living room was full of people. The important members of the Andrew family and Nedgabel Family were all here. This seemed to be a ceremony. When the man of the family returned home from war for the first time, the representatives of the family had to show their kindness and blessing.
Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis still maintained her impeccable lady-like manner, but only the Princess would know what she was truly thinking about in her heart. "My little Oscar! Quickly come back! I have just experienced the most boring week in my life!"
Upon thinking about this, the Princess felt bitter. Due to her honorable identity and the invasion of the enemy, to protect her safety, Duke Andrew signed the order himself – the Princess was grounded. The secret guards of the Military did not allow her to leave the mansion for even a step.
Even though this was understandable, but... Her Royal Highness Princess looked around. The people of Andrew was the most withdrawn bunch of people. They did not like balls, did not like to discuss about fashion and arts, did not like shopping, and did not like walking at the park and all sorts of entertainment. In fact, the Andrew’s mansion was the first nobles’ mansion the Princess saw with no garden. Thus, everything here was unbearable. So, little Oscar! Let’s leave this place quickly!
**********************************************************
"Sasha!" Oscar recognized the small silhouette in front of the corridor by vestibule of the mansion in a glance.
"Brother Oscar, you are back!" The little miss fell into a warm embrace.
"Yes, I am back." The young man did not know what he should say more. He could not remember since when he became clumsier around Sasha.
"Mam and many other seniors were waiting for you."
"I know, bring me to them. They must have waited for a long time!"
Oscar took Sasha’s hand and headed towards the living room. Along the way, many relatives came to give him a hug. In the end, the little Prince took 15 minutes to walk from the corridor to the living room.
Greeting the people seemed to follow a certain pattern. As the mother of family, Madam Celia sat at the most obvious place in the living room. The seniors in the family came to hug the young man one by one and kiss his cheeks.
Lastly, Madam Celia sat her youngest son on the sofa beside her. She let little Oscar confess his wrongdoings to her one by one. After greeting the Princess, Oscar began to explain his experience: from encountering enemy during the journey to chasing them to the deeper part of the mountain, then from the assassination to the last fight that eliminated them. The women in the family would scream out loud when they heard the key parts. At the same time, the men, especially those of older ages, excitedly nodded to the extent that their faces were all red. In between, there were a few who thought they were old and experienced commented on the war strategy taken by the young lad and his brother.
"Kid! Did you bring back some war trophy?" An old man directly asked the young lad.
"Hmm?" Oscar was a little stuck. He forgot the name of this grandfather.
"This is Grandfather Vedaan. Grandfather Vedaan is responsible for chairing the Family’s Senior Group." Sasha carefully hinted her brother by his ear.
"Oh….. Yes! Grandfather Vedaan!" Oscar signaled to the military officers standing by the side of the door. After saluting to him, this military officer turned around then left. After a while, he came back to the living room with two big baggages. The Andrew Family has many weird traditions. Take for example, young men who go to war the first time must bring back war trophies. Anything would be fine as long as it belonged to the enemy. These trophies would be sent to the Hall of Heroes. That was the best offering to their ancestors. At the same time, after receiving the trophy, the family would officially recognize you as a member of the Narcissus Knights.
"Grandfather Vedaan, I brought back the blade of a Black Belt Warrior and the chained blade used by the Persian’s assassination unit." Little Oscar unwrapped the baggage and gave them to the seniors in the room one by one.
The old men and the young lads came together to take a look at them with curious faces. That machete used by the Black Belt Warrior was truly a magnificent product. This blade could be the few top trophies in the collection of the family easily; the chained blade used by the assassin was more new to them. The Persians back in those days disdained using such shameful techniques. The use of the chained blade could only prove that the Persian warriors have fallen.
Vedaan took a close look at the chained blade. After looking at it for a while, he gave it to another old man beside him.
"Then, what do you guys think about this child?"
"What’s wrong Vedaan? This child was pretty good!" An old man said. "He eliminated the assassination unit of the Persians, successfully eliminated a Black Belt Warrior and led the Red Tiger to assist that punk Figg to win a key war."
"Yes yes, I know." Vedaan kept nodding. "I understand these perfectly well! But, the Madame present today, every seniors in the family, I only wanted to remind everyone that we have never given a military title of the Narcissus Knights to a Prince of the Empire."
The living room was quiet all of a sudden. Oscar’s expression was so dark that it was terrifying.
"Sir!"
Everyone was searching for this crisp lady’s voice. They saw the most honorable Princess of the Morisette Kingdom rise gracefully from her seat.
Vedaan quickly stood up and greeted her courteously. He was not prideful enough to sit while he talked to the Princess of the Empire.
"His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil immersed in the fight just like any other Narcissus Knights, but he had to come home and receive such doubts. I do not know why Sir Vedaan could so easily express his distrust towards the royal family, but I do think this is unfair to His Royal Highness." Alanis paused for a bit here. She glanced sideways at Mam Celia who was sitting at the main seat with a hint of challenge. "I am sorry, everyone in the Andrew family. I may have said something that I should not have said. Maybe... These words should not be said by me."
The Princess sat down. She exchanged a glance with the little Prince. She knew the Prince was expressing his gratitude, but she believed the Prince would understand her intention. From the perspective of an outsider, there seemed to be some unspeakable coordination between the Prince and the Princess.
Lady Duchess Andrew Celia thought the negative emotions of the family should be less by now, but it seemed that they truly planned to bring the trust issues towards the Prince out to the open. Moreover, the one who expressed this opinion was the president of the Family’s Senior Group.
But Madame Celia was provoked and embarrassed by the Princess. This girl’s last words was obviously directed towards her.
"Uncle Vedaan!" Celia stood up. "Please talk about this at a later time. Little Oscar is about to return to Dulin. We have lots of time to discuss about this problem after that."
Vedaan smiled. He didn’t say anything more, and simply closed his eyes. From his perspective, there was no need to offend Dortmund’s First Lady for a kid who has not grown out of childhood. After all, Dortmund ruled the army and his First Lady then ruled the family in name.
"Well then. Let’s look at this. Isn’t there another baggage?" An old man hoped to break this awkward conversation, but the action of the Prince frightened him!
"Don’t touch it!" Oscar jumped. It could be said that he snatched the baggage back from that old man.
"Oh god! Child! What’s wrong?" Celia was a little troubled. Giving this attitude to the seniors in the family should be punished.
"This is the remains of a knight. According to the tradition of the Narcissus Knight, the one who received the final confession of the soldier who sacrificed himself is responsible to send his remains and weapon back to his hometown." Oscar had the baggage in his hand. He stood there as if he had just lost his soul.
Vedaan wanted to scold the child for being rude, but he also felt that he should take care of the knight who had sacrificed himself. It appeared that that knight suffered a horrible death, or else it would not cause such strong emotions in a child.
Vedaan at last snorted coldly, but Oscar could not care less.
"Brother! Brother! Wait for me!" Sasha followed Oscar right at his back closely. Since the young lad snatched the baggage, everyone was not that interested anymore. Hence, everyone simply left.
"What’s wrong? My little angel."
"You know at that situation just now, I have no right to speak. My status does not allow me to..."
"Sasha... My dear dear little sister!" Oscar held his sister’s face. He interrupted the little miss who wanted to quickly explain everything. "I know. I know it all. I won’t blame this on you. There are people in this family who are cautious around me. This is something that cannot be avoided. It can’t be help when there is a crown of top member of royal family on my head!"
"But... But this isn’t fair!" Sasha cried. She did not know and understand. Why couldn’t the seniors in the family think about how much pain and difficulties her brother had gone through? Other than having doubts, didn’t they have other things to do?
"Sasha! My little Sasha!" Oscar hugged his sister tightly. "You are crying again. You’re a crybaby! Where is your strength and calmness? This is not Andrew’s Narcissus Corolla! You must trust your brother. On top of that, I am the youngest son of that old man. If I didn’t want to go, can those old guys truly drive me away?"
"But... But..." Sasha kept sobbing. She truly did not want be separated from her brother. She could no longer stand that.
"There’s no buts!" Oscar felt this was the time to make up his mind! "If I am to leave, I will bring you with me! A few days ago when you had your birthday, I swore that we will never be separated again! Could you have forgotten about such important matter?"
"Really?" Sasha finally smiled rather than cried. "But if father and mother do not allow this..."
"Who cares!" Oscar was getting impatient. He felt that Sasha was becoming cowardly all of a sudden. "My little miss, let them go to hell! This time, no one can stop me. No one can separate us. If they dare to try, do not forget that I still have a direct Division under me!"
Sasha finally smiled happily. "Brother! Oh god! It can’t be that you plan to initiate an armed riot? Believe me, the first one to arrest you must be the knights directly under your command. They won’t listen to your orders and oppose to the family!"
Oscar pretended to be terrified. "Oh is that so? Then what should we do? Oh god! Listen to me, Sasha, quickly pack up your things. We shall move out now!"
The little miss’s crisp laughter seemed to fill the whole mansion. But to Her Royal Highness Princess who watched the whole scene at the turning corner of the corridor, the joke of the Prince and the little miss was not something enjoyable.
***********************************************
In the morning, a priest in the army arrived in the mansion of Duke Andrew. This surprised the person responsible to greet him. Could it be that another member in the family sacrificed himself again? If not, why did the priest in army came to them?
The military officers who greeted the priest finally breathed a sigh of relief. They received the answer of the priest: it seemed that he came to meet up with His Royal Highness Prince. The people in the mansion let out the sound of ‘Tsk’ at the same time. What could they say about this honorable young lad? Didn’t he know how bad luck it was to greet a priest in army in his house?
**********************************************
Oscar pushed the window of his bedroom open. The smell of morning came gushing in. The young lad carefully breathed in the smell of soil that mixed with the flower scent of Narcissus. This was the smell of hometown, the smell of his blood.
There was a huge dressing mirror standing by the window. Apparently, his father paid a huge price to have it specifically made for his mother from Italia. The dressing mirror reflected a young lad’s figure right now. The black armor on him still looked hideous. He wore a new riding boots and a cape on his shoulder that was of the same style as the Red Tiger Division. That bright red stood out from the crowd. The young lad even tied his hair into a small tail. He did not wear the helmet because the armor on the helmet made his face looked even rounder.
The knocking sound was heard. Lastly, Oscar checked the sword he had on him and the silver button used to hold the cape still at the collar. The emblem of the Andrew Family was carved on this button. Then next, the most difficult moment to bear had come. He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.
On one of the streets of Andrew Haila City, a medium-sized unit walked from the east towards the west. The one leading the team was an officer who looked extremely young. Behind him was a Major General and the priest in army. And then there were eight knights of honor with black suits. The passerby paused and the people by the road side stopped working. The whole street seemed to become quiet. The standing crowd took off their hats respectively, some even got on their knees. They knew the appearance of this team indicated another sacrifice of a brave warrior and the loss of happiness of another family.
The residents of the street went to their backyards and plucked numerous blooming narcissus flowers. They threw the fresh flowers at the right knights of honor. When these eight knights moved, they must keep a certain distance to indicate that they were holding the coffin for the brave warrior.
Even though the people respected this team to the extent of being devout, they all stood far away from the team. The ladies and the old men mumbled the words of the God of Light in a low voice. They were afraid that this team would stop in front of their house. They were afraid that the warrior who had sacrificed himself was their son or husband.
Oscar orders the team to stop. He looked at the postbox of the family in front of him. The crooked words written on the postbox were written by a child. "This is the family of Gol Freed!"
"Your highness, it is this place!" Murat reminded the young lad in a low voice. He saw the young lad was staring blankly at the house in front of him. "Your Highness, do you need me to get the door?"
"Oh... No!" Oscar finally got back to his senses. "I can do it myself."
The young lad jumped off his battle horse. He could faintly heard a low sobbing sound that came from the crowd behind the team of knights. There seemed to be people who were saying de Barry’s name. This was the place he lived in and grew up. The neighbors were all proud for being acquainted with de Barry. But now, the priest was here. This meant that everything was finished.
Oscar went to the side of the door made of oak of the house. He turned back and glanced at Murat hesitantly.
"That’s right. Just as I have taught you." Murat advised the young lad once again. He hoped that nothing wrong would go for this kid.
His Royal Highness Prince rang the copper bell by the door.
"Who is it?" Behind the door a lady’s voice came through. Oscar felt his heart was squeezed.
The door opened and the sunlight poured into the walkway. Behind the door stood a beautiful housewife. She was tall. She even wore an apron on her skirt.
"Are you Madame Gol Freed? The wife of Colonel de Barry Gol Freed?"
"Yes... I... I am!" This Madame wiped her hands on the apron uneasily, but her expression quickly turned pale. She saw the priest behind the young soldier.
"Oh no..." There was no need to say anymore. Madame Gol Freed already understood. She leaned against the door and slid down it out of strength as if all air in her body has been removed.
Oscar held Madame Freed who was on the ground, but for some reasons, the seemingly thin woman was extremely heavy. The young man could not even help her up from the ground.
The lady cried, but without any sound. She used all her strength to cover her mouth. She did not want to embarrass her husband even though her husband already left her forever.
"Madame, I... I saw the bravery and loyalty of Colonel de Barry Gol Freed. At the last key war, he…. had sacrificed himself for the great. It was because of the sacrifices of him of numerous warriors that we... we attained the final win. We hope this grand win... could slightly console the pain that you experienced when you lost your husband. The God of Light..."
The lady suddenly took hold of the arms of the young lad. "Please I beg of you. Say no more... No... Do not say more words!"
Oscar stood there, clueless of what he should do. He admitted that all his words were without much emotion, but he did not know if he should stop talking just as the lady had suggested.
"My daughter-in-law, Spruce! Look at you, quickly stand up! You are too imprudent!" An old woman appeared at the door.
Oscar felt Madame Freed struggle to stand up.
"Mother! De Barry left us! He won’t come back anymore!" Madame Freed went to the embrace of her mother-in-law.
"Yes my child! De Barry is gone!" There were tears in the eyes of the old woman. Her crinkles seemed to climb to her forehead in a blink of an eye.
Oscar did not know what he could do. He did not know how to console this whole family. He was not able to even believe the glamorous words he spoke of just now. He did not know if he should leave this place. He did not know if he could still remain calm demeanor when he faced such matter.
"Are you a General?" Along with a childish voice, two children – one older and another younger- came out of nowhere. They smiled happily. In their eyes, the one whom the whole family had to come out and greet must be a general of high status in the Knights. Just like last time, the Commander of the Front of their father especially came to their house to celebrate the birthday of their great-grandfather.
Oscar became even clueless of what he should do. He wanted to run away from this place and everything else happening around him.
"Young lad, may I ask about your military ranking?" Finally, the master of Gol Freed family appeared. This was a rather old soldier. The reason why he was called a soldier was because this old man word a neat uniform of a Lieutenant General. There were a lot of medals on the left chest of his uniform.
"I do not have a military ranking. I am the fourth son of the Andrew family, O’Neil Andrew Morisette. The Prince of the Empire!" The young lad realized that he was talking to an old hero.
"Salute to Your Highness Prince!" The old hero performed a determined military salutation to the young lad in front of him.
Oscar quickly returned the greeting. "Grandfather, I have brought bad news to your family. I am sure you have known about this."
The old man stubbornly shook his head. "No, Your Highness, I want to listen to you!"
Oscar was stunned, but he quickly understood the meaning behind the old soldier’s words. He put his legs together with force and raised his chest straight and high. Then, he spoke loudly like a true Narcissus Knight would do.
"Sir Lieutenant General, as a member of the Andrew, I had the honor to witness the bravery and loyalty of your son, the Vice Brigade Leader of the First Brigade of Infantry and Knights of the Traisen Front, Narcissus Knights!
Colonel de Barry sacrificed himself during one of the key wars. It is because of the fighting spirit of him and many warriors who had sacrificed themselves that we are able to attain the victory of this war. I hope that the news of victory will slightly console you of your pain of losing your son. The blessings of the God of Light will forever be at the side of you and your family. The dead will receive eternal piece in these blessings and the living will forever remember the beautiful memory of him!
As the person who received the final confession of the hero before his death, I am honored to bring the remains of the hero and the weapon he used when he was alive back to you. This is nothing big, but it gives me pride. I hope the spirit of Colonel de Barry will be inherited by his bloodline forever and ever."
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil said all of this in one go. He stood straight and saluted to the old general once again.
"I represent the Gol Freed family to thank Your Highness for doing this for my grandson. Then may I hear Barry’s final words?" The old man stared into the young lad’s eyes. He did not want to be disappointed.
Oscar’s throat was extremely bitter. He did not do anything for the Gol Freed family. If something was truly done, it is the excellent child in this family who lost his life for him.
"Colonel de Barry said... He said... He only stabbed once! Then... Then there was nothing more!"
"Then it must be the stab that decided the victory, right?" Out of the expectation of the young lad, the old soldier actually laughed crisply.
"Yes, you are correct! That was the blow that decided the victory. I have never seen a blow that was as accurate, quick and without hesitation."
"I knew it." The old man raised his head slightly. "It seemed that little Barry did not embarrass the name of the family. Thank you, Your Highness. Your witness allowed our whole family to stand tall and straight in the future." The old man was silent for a while. After a while, he turned sideways for a bit. "Come, you two naughty kids of Gol Freed family. Go and get your father’s weapon!"
The two children was pushed out by the old man. They took their father’s weapon from the hands of His Royal Highness Prince. The children did not know what this actually meant, but surely one day they would understand.
As he looked at the two innocent children, the old man had a lonely expression. "Mr. Priest, I am sorry to have you wait for so long. Now please come in!"
Oscar did not know how he left de Barry’s home. Murat and he rode side by side on the street of the city. The base camp just announced the victory of the war to the public. This meant the war alert was about to be lifted! All of a sudden, the city appeared to be cheerful and excited. There were narcissus, claps, oat wine and more. The people took the precious and rare collections in their house and shared it with their relatives and friends. Victory! Their people have once again beaten the Persians!
The Prince was confused. He was perplexed. What were the people celebrating for? Didn’t they know that their relative’s name would appear on the list of people who sacrificed themselves in the battle that would be announced in a few days?"
"Come! Listen to this!" A series of happy cheers attracted the attention of the young lad.
Only to see that a soldier of the Publicity Department of the Military System was reading the news of the war in a loud voice. His loud voice attracted countless people. The people’s faces were red as if they were right in the middle of the battlefield filled with the sound of killing.
"Five Divisions and two Brigades of Traisen Front led by General Figg Andrew Tibotty, twenty-five thousands soldiers in total, fought with the enemy at Shalian Hill..."
The people cared about this. Their expression kept changing as they listened to the commentary of the soldier. They would cheer when it became exciting and frowned when it became nerve-wrecking.
"Do you believe that?" The young lad asked suddenly.
"What is ‘that’?" Murat was a little confused.
"What you taught me to say. Not only de Barry and also other knights who sacrificed themselves. Some of them died of wound infection, some of arrows, some of traps. In conclusion... They died like mere ants! What you taught me was a lie. Do you disagree?"
Murat held his horse. He took a serious glance at the young lad. "That is right. That was a lie, but everyone knew it was a lie. It’s just that none of them will ask. Remember this, the most important are those who are living. Since the dead is already gone, then the only thing that we can do is to make the living feel better."
"Murat, I don’t want to go through that again." Oscar’s voice was low. He was not a sensitive guy. He still thought that he lost his last bits of conscience during his time in Damorga. The young lad knew he was changing from the bottom of his soul.
"Of course, no one will be willing to experience that, but... you’ll be fine after getting used to it!" Murat laughed as if he was mocking himself.
"Used to it?"
Murat saw the strangeness of the young lad. He took a parchment shaft from his pocket. "Your Highness, look at this."
The young lad opened the parchment. He realized it was filled with names and addresses on it. "This is..."
"That’s right! Bitter job one after another. Maybe I have a good thing with people. Those guys love to talk to me when they are about to take their last breath. I can’t remember how many times I have done this. Hehe. Some I even visited them twice." Murat’s tone also changed. This parchment was the thing he did not want to face the most.
"So... To be honest, Your Highness, I am willing to believe those words even if it was a lie. That is the reason why that old general of de Barry’s home was determined to hear about your witness. His grandson died in battle. That is the truth that cannot be changed, but at least we must let him believe that de Barry died like a hero!"
Little Oscar trembled slightly. The depressed emotion for many days finally broke out. His voice was coarse and his eyes red. Murat seemed to hear the sobbing of the young lad that came from the deepest parts of his soul. He took his horse and hugged the young lad.
"Your Highness, do you believe it? De Barry is the same as the countless knights who have sacrificed themselves. They were all heroes that stand tall and proud in this world."
"Yes... I believe!"
*******************************************************************
"Do you believe it? That Princess actually dared to challenge the prestige of Celia in front of her." Old Vedaan said as he took the large-sized cigar from Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel. He loved this secret room of the Duke mainly because he could enjoy the tasty wine and smoke as much as he wanted here. This was definitely not allowed in his home by his young wife.
"Then what did Celia do?" Dortmund lighted the cigar for Uncle Vedaan politely as if he was a bartender.
"Hahahahaha! Celia is the lady master personally appointed by the old Duke. Her performance was fascinating. Even if she felt invaded, she simply could not do anything much about it. That expression resembles the first time you took advantage of her. She was angry and anxious..."
"Oh god!" Lady Duke Andrew Celia who was sitting at the other corner of the secret room could not take it any longer! "Uncle Vedaan! You are the president of Family’s Senior Group. Look at how you describe things."
"My lady, you are blushing!" Dortmund usually would not behave this way. He was simply affected by Uncle Vedaan who was used to being free and cheeky.
"Oh please be more serious!" Celia pulled her beautiful face straight. "You are discussing about my son. Please don’t talk about other useless things."
At the lead of Vedaan, the people in the whole room laughed at Celia who was furious. In fact, the ones sitting here included all the seniors in the family. This was the true central power of Andrew family. The reason the seniors gathered at this place was obviously to discuss about the issues with the fourth son of the Duke.
"Alright alright! Lady Master, we will talk about your youngest son. I admit, he is truly an excellent child. Much stronger than his father during his younger age!" Vedaan’s words seemed to be in contrary with that of yesterday, but the seniors seated all nodded. Obviously, they have come to the same conclusion on this point.
"I don’t think so!" Duke Andrew expressed his disagreement. You must be kidding! Could he admit that he was not as good as his own son? "Even though that little guy has strong weapons and good intuition and intentions when it comes to dealing with matters and being a leader, but he was too young. Just like an apple that was premature. Moreover, he did not deal that well with his personal relationships. In the future, his marriage is a big problem that will affect the benefit of the family."
"Yes!" An old man who had a dark expression and dried up face spoke. "Dortmund is right. This child still need strict experiences. My info here shows that the nobles at Dulin were all full of contempt against him. That is his stage, but this cannot do if things continue this way."
"Berkley." Vedaan continued "It’s not like I am doubting your military investigation department, but can you give me more details? For example, which family and which people in specific are showing contempt against our child?"
"Vedaan, I have said very clearly. It’s not against us Andrew. It’s only that the people against this child are all over the place."
"So it is this way..." Vedaan thought about it. Berkley was the person-in-charge of the military intelligence unit and the head of the spies in the family. What he said must be the truth.
"We should not worry too much." Dortmund spoke. "The contempt against that child is mainly from the nobles that are from the State Council. They have always suspected that it was little Oscar who ruined the ex-Secretary of State. Also, a part of it is completely out of jealousy. We all know that there was even a rumor about our little Prince running away with Her Royal Highness Princess in Dulin recently."
"Yeah, I have heard about this too." Berkley nodded. "My investigators found the guy that spread the rumor. After repeated interrogation, the person-in-charge of the military investigation department in Dulin believed it was just a whim of that kid."
"What happened afterwards?" Dortmund was a little curious.
"He won’t ever speak nonsense!"
"Very good." Dortmund nodded. "Then let us talk about the important parts. We all know that without the support or acquiescence of the Emperor, there is no powerful family in this country that dares to invade our interest. So to my youngest son, the person he needs to deal with carefully is only that the Ultimate One, His Majesty the Emperor."
"That is correct." Vedaan reaffirmed the Duke’s words. "At first, we want to eradicate the deeply-rooted wariness of the Emperor against little Oscar in the deepest parts of his heart. Don’t focus too much on the frighteningly generous gift that Ultimate One has bestowed towards that child, but at the deepest parts of his heart, he still rejects the idea of an Andrew entering the central power of the Empire."
"It seems that we have received a bit of the result now." Celia continued the words of the president of seniors. "Her Royal Highness Princess got into our trap as expected. When Uncle Vedaan expressed his distrust towards little Oscar and the royal family, that girl reiterated immediately and urgently."
"Yes." Vedaan stroke his big beard. "When she goes back to Dulin, she will surely report back to the Emperor about her experience in Andrew. I believe that the attitude little Oscar received from the administrative level of the family will be one of the most important parts of all."
"Will Alfa III His Majesty got into this trap? Maybe... we were too obvious?" Celia was a little doubtful.
"No, Celia, you don’t understand Alfa III His Majesty." Dortmund lighted a cigar for himself. "This Emperor has always been an extremely self-centered person. Once he has acknowledged something, no one can easily change his thought. He always thought that we will reject this child that has half of the royal family’s blood, then we shall do as he thinks. This way, he will surely trust his judgement more. So our little Oscar will be valued more by him. This is beneficial to the future of this child and the family!"
"But..." The head of intelligence of the Andrew suddenly said in a low-pitched voice. "How do we know the actual thought of this child? Against the care and gift from the Emperor, can he still hold his family’s belief?"
Dortmund suddenly laughed coldly. He stared at old Berkley straight in the eyes despite this guy is his senior as well.
"Uncle Berkley, I know that you have arrange spies around my child. Of course, if you think that the family has the need to watch him, then I have no issues with that. But if you want to teach the child a lesson, then do not forget that I am his father!"
Berkley knew that he should not talk about the possibility of his son betraying the family in front of the father, but this old man had no other motives. He was simply discussing this matter objectively. Since the father of the child was not happy with this, then he had no choice but to nod. He did not say a word and showed an expression as if he did not care.
"Then, shall we talk about other things?" Vedaan came out to cheer up the mood. "How is the situation at the south? The child in our home has been bitten by dogs. As the adult, we can’t just sit here and do nothing."
"Oh right! I am about to talk about this!" Berkley’s coarse, low-pitched voice sounded again. "Italia finally took a step back when he faced the strong army force by the border arranged by our country. They opened their border for the Secret Service Department of the Empire’s Ministry of Justice. Also, they welcomed Titan’s officer to enter their land and investigate about the assassination case of the royal family. Not only that, the royal family of Italia even sent their Crown Prince and a Princess to visit Dulin."
"Hostage, huh?" Dortmund lightly touched his chin. "It seems that the royal family of Italia was truly terrified. This should show that they had not participated in the assassination case. Isn’t there any other hints?"
Berkley shook his head. "There’s nothing more. I believe the investigation of the Empire’s Secret Service Department also did not have any progress, but there is one thing worth mentioning though."
"What is that?" Dortmund asked.
"Duke, Madame, as parents, you should begin to pack up the things for your youngest son." Berkley tasted a sip of coffee slightly.
"Why?" Celia asked hurriedly.
"According to reliable sources, Alfa III His Majesty has appointed His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette as the Imperial Envoy to welcome the group of Italia’s Royal Family. I believe this order will arrive in Narcissus County in a few days."
The sun set for a while at the west side of the horizon. The clouds for the rainy season came early and depressingly. Night seemed to invade Andrew Haila all of a sudden. The suffocating breath in the city depressed people. As we walked on the street, only the deep humming of the night bugs and the clatter of the horse’s hoofs of the knights on duty could prove the slightest hint of life within the strongest ford on the Westland.
There was a team of knights on the street. The one leading them was a Colonel who wore a golden military outfit. This Colonel completed his duty. If he could not find that Prince who walked at the heart of that unit, he believed that he had already been sent to military department.
The Colonel’s group departed on the night His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil left Andrew Haila in private. But just as the God of Light was looking for trouble with him, he was always just a bit slower than the Prince’s unit, until the night two days ago he found this young master at the site of war of the Traisen Front.
Oscar was protected in the center of the unit by the knights. Since the invasion of the Persians, the city implemented curfew and light control.
Even though Andrew Haila was very far away from the border, to the Persians who were used to travel a long distance, they were able to travel to anywhere they wanted to even at a wide land such as Narcissus County. Of course, coming here did not mean that they could go back. Just like what happened was at the Traisen area, the second young master of the Andrew still captured the Mogadishu’s Main Knight Army Units at Neliger Valley. Only after the opponent lost a third of their force did they retreat from the battle, letting the panicky Persians run back through the border.
At the mansion of Duke Andrew, the whole family was anxiously waiting for their youngest yet highest status member of the family. They all heard about little Oscar and his direct Knights Division involved in a bad fight at the mountains. According to the news, this child almost lost his life there.
Speaking of this, Mam Celia was angry and anxious. It seemed that her youngest son was still immature. Regarding battlefields, she believed that the mentally-ill third son understood it better than her youngest son. How could this kid do this to her? She had sworn not to let this child get hurt ever again, but this kid loved adventure so much.
The living room was full of people. The important members of the Andrew family and Nedgabel Family were all here. This seemed to be a ceremony. When the man of the family returned home from war for the first time, the representatives of the family had to show their kindness and blessing.
Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis still maintained her impeccable lady-like manner, but only the Princess would know what she was truly thinking about in her heart. "My little Oscar! Quickly come back! I have just experienced the most boring week in my life!"
Upon thinking about this, the Princess felt bitter. Due to her honorable identity and the invasion of the enemy, to protect her safety, Duke Andrew signed the order himself – the Princess was grounded. The secret guards of the Military did not allow her to leave the mansion for even a step.
Even though this was understandable, but... Her Royal Highness Princess looked around. The people of Andrew was the most withdrawn bunch of people. They did not like balls, did not like to discuss about fashion and arts, did not like shopping, and did not like walking at the park and all sorts of entertainment. In fact, the Andrew’s mansion was the first nobles’ mansion the Princess saw with no garden. Thus, everything here was unbearable. So, little Oscar! Let’s leave this place quickly!
**********************************************************
"Sasha!" Oscar recognized the small silhouette in front of the corridor by vestibule of the mansion in a glance.
"Brother Oscar, you are back!" The little miss fell into a warm embrace.
"Yes, I am back." The young man did not know what he should say more. He could not remember since when he became clumsier around Sasha.
"Mam and many other seniors were waiting for you."
"I know, bring me to them. They must have waited for a long time!"
Oscar took Sasha’s hand and headed towards the living room. Along the way, many relatives came to give him a hug. In the end, the little Prince took 15 minutes to walk from the corridor to the living room.
Greeting the people seemed to follow a certain pattern. As the mother of family, Madam Celia sat at the most obvious place in the living room. The seniors in the family came to hug the young man one by one and kiss his cheeks.
Lastly, Madam Celia sat her youngest son on the sofa beside her. She let little Oscar confess his wrongdoings to her one by one. After greeting the Princess, Oscar began to explain his experience: from encountering enemy during the journey to chasing them to the deeper part of the mountain, then from the assassination to the last fight that eliminated them. The women in the family would scream out loud when they heard the key parts. At the same time, the men, especially those of older ages, excitedly nodded to the extent that their faces were all red. In between, there were a few who thought they were old and experienced commented on the war strategy taken by the young lad and his brother.
"Kid! Did you bring back some war trophy?" An old man directly asked the young lad.
"Hmm?" Oscar was a little stuck. He forgot the name of this grandfather.
"This is Grandfather Vedaan. Grandfather Vedaan is responsible for chairing the Family’s Senior Group." Sasha carefully hinted her brother by his ear.
"Oh….. Yes! Grandfather Vedaan!" Oscar signaled to the military officers standing by the side of the door. After saluting to him, this military officer turned around then left. After a while, he came back to the living room with two big baggages. The Andrew Family has many weird traditions. Take for example, young men who go to war the first time must bring back war trophies. Anything would be fine as long as it belonged to the enemy. These trophies would be sent to the Hall of Heroes. That was the best offering to their ancestors. At the same time, after receiving the trophy, the family would officially recognize you as a member of the Narcissus Knights.
"Grandfather Vedaan, I brought back the blade of a Black Belt Warrior and the chained blade used by the Persian’s assassination unit." Little Oscar unwrapped the baggage and gave them to the seniors in the room one by one.
The old men and the young lads came together to take a look at them with curious faces. That machete used by the Black Belt Warrior was truly a magnificent product. This blade could be the few top trophies in the collection of the family easily; the chained blade used by the assassin was more new to them. The Persians back in those days disdained using such shameful techniques. The use of the chained blade could only prove that the Persian warriors have fallen.
Vedaan took a close look at the chained blade. After looking at it for a while, he gave it to another old man beside him.
"Then, what do you guys think about this child?"
"What’s wrong Vedaan? This child was pretty good!" An old man said. "He eliminated the assassination unit of the Persians, successfully eliminated a Black Belt Warrior and led the Red Tiger to assist that punk Figg to win a key war."
"Yes yes, I know." Vedaan kept nodding. "I understand these perfectly well! But, the Madame present today, every seniors in the family, I only wanted to remind everyone that we have never given a military title of the Narcissus Knights to a Prince of the Empire."
The living room was quiet all of a sudden. Oscar’s expression was so dark that it was terrifying.
"Sir!"
Everyone was searching for this crisp lady’s voice. They saw the most honorable Princess of the Morisette Kingdom rise gracefully from her seat.
Vedaan quickly stood up and greeted her courteously. He was not prideful enough to sit while he talked to the Princess of the Empire.
"His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil immersed in the fight just like any other Narcissus Knights, but he had to come home and receive such doubts. I do not know why Sir Vedaan could so easily express his distrust towards the royal family, but I do think this is unfair to His Royal Highness." Alanis paused for a bit here. She glanced sideways at Mam Celia who was sitting at the main seat with a hint of challenge. "I am sorry, everyone in the Andrew family. I may have said something that I should not have said. Maybe... These words should not be said by me."
The Princess sat down. She exchanged a glance with the little Prince. She knew the Prince was expressing his gratitude, but she believed the Prince would understand her intention. From the perspective of an outsider, there seemed to be some unspeakable coordination between the Prince and the Princess.
Lady Duchess Andrew Celia thought the negative emotions of the family should be less by now, but it seemed that they truly planned to bring the trust issues towards the Prince out to the open. Moreover, the one who expressed this opinion was the president of the Family’s Senior Group.
But Madame Celia was provoked and embarrassed by the Princess. This girl’s last words was obviously directed towards her.
"Uncle Vedaan!" Celia stood up. "Please talk about this at a later time. Little Oscar is about to return to Dulin. We have lots of time to discuss about this problem after that."
Vedaan smiled. He didn’t say anything more, and simply closed his eyes. From his perspective, there was no need to offend Dortmund’s First Lady for a kid who has not grown out of childhood. After all, Dortmund ruled the army and his First Lady then ruled the family in name.
"Well then. Let’s look at this. Isn’t there another baggage?" An old man hoped to break this awkward conversation, but the action of the Prince frightened him!
"Don’t touch it!" Oscar jumped. It could be said that he snatched the baggage back from that old man.
"Oh god! Child! What’s wrong?" Celia was a little troubled. Giving this attitude to the seniors in the family should be punished.
"This is the remains of a knight. According to the tradition of the Narcissus Knight, the one who received the final confession of the soldier who sacrificed himself is responsible to send his remains and weapon back to his hometown." Oscar had the baggage in his hand. He stood there as if he had just lost his soul.
Vedaan wanted to scold the child for being rude, but he also felt that he should take care of the knight who had sacrificed himself. It appeared that that knight suffered a horrible death, or else it would not cause such strong emotions in a child.
Vedaan at last snorted coldly, but Oscar could not care less.
"Brother! Brother! Wait for me!" Sasha followed Oscar right at his back closely. Since the young lad snatched the baggage, everyone was not that interested anymore. Hence, everyone simply left.
"What’s wrong? My little angel."
"You know at that situation just now, I have no right to speak. My status does not allow me to..."
"Sasha... My dear dear little sister!" Oscar held his sister’s face. He interrupted the little miss who wanted to quickly explain everything. "I know. I know it all. I won’t blame this on you. There are people in this family who are cautious around me. This is something that cannot be avoided. It can’t be help when there is a crown of top member of royal family on my head!"
"But... But this isn’t fair!" Sasha cried. She did not know and understand. Why couldn’t the seniors in the family think about how much pain and difficulties her brother had gone through? Other than having doubts, didn’t they have other things to do?
"Sasha! My little Sasha!" Oscar hugged his sister tightly. "You are crying again. You’re a crybaby! Where is your strength and calmness? This is not Andrew’s Narcissus Corolla! You must trust your brother. On top of that, I am the youngest son of that old man. If I didn’t want to go, can those old guys truly drive me away?"
"But... But..." Sasha kept sobbing. She truly did not want be separated from her brother. She could no longer stand that.
"There’s no buts!" Oscar felt this was the time to make up his mind! "If I am to leave, I will bring you with me! A few days ago when you had your birthday, I swore that we will never be separated again! Could you have forgotten about such important matter?"
"Really?" Sasha finally smiled rather than cried. "But if father and mother do not allow this..."
"Who cares!" Oscar was getting impatient. He felt that Sasha was becoming cowardly all of a sudden. "My little miss, let them go to hell! This time, no one can stop me. No one can separate us. If they dare to try, do not forget that I still have a direct Division under me!"
Sasha finally smiled happily. "Brother! Oh god! It can’t be that you plan to initiate an armed riot? Believe me, the first one to arrest you must be the knights directly under your command. They won’t listen to your orders and oppose to the family!"
Oscar pretended to be terrified. "Oh is that so? Then what should we do? Oh god! Listen to me, Sasha, quickly pack up your things. We shall move out now!"
The little miss’s crisp laughter seemed to fill the whole mansion. But to Her Royal Highness Princess who watched the whole scene at the turning corner of the corridor, the joke of the Prince and the little miss was not something enjoyable.
***********************************************
In the morning, a priest in the army arrived in the mansion of Duke Andrew. This surprised the person responsible to greet him. Could it be that another member in the family sacrificed himself again? If not, why did the priest in army came to them?
The military officers who greeted the priest finally breathed a sigh of relief. They received the answer of the priest: it seemed that he came to meet up with His Royal Highness Prince. The people in the mansion let out the sound of ‘Tsk’ at the same time. What could they say about this honorable young lad? Didn’t he know how bad luck it was to greet a priest in army in his house?
**********************************************
Oscar pushed the window of his bedroom open. The smell of morning came gushing in. The young lad carefully breathed in the smell of soil that mixed with the flower scent of Narcissus. This was the smell of hometown, the smell of his blood.
There was a huge dressing mirror standing by the window. Apparently, his father paid a huge price to have it specifically made for his mother from Italia. The dressing mirror reflected a young lad’s figure right now. The black armor on him still looked hideous. He wore a new riding boots and a cape on his shoulder that was of the same style as the Red Tiger Division. That bright red stood out from the crowd. The young lad even tied his hair into a small tail. He did not wear the helmet because the armor on the helmet made his face looked even rounder.
The knocking sound was heard. Lastly, Oscar checked the sword he had on him and the silver button used to hold the cape still at the collar. The emblem of the Andrew Family was carved on this button. Then next, the most difficult moment to bear had come. He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.
On one of the streets of Andrew Haila City, a medium-sized unit walked from the east towards the west. The one leading the team was an officer who looked extremely young. Behind him was a Major General and the priest in army. And then there were eight knights of honor with black suits. The passerby paused and the people by the road side stopped working. The whole street seemed to become quiet. The standing crowd took off their hats respectively, some even got on their knees. They knew the appearance of this team indicated another sacrifice of a brave warrior and the loss of happiness of another family.
The residents of the street went to their backyards and plucked numerous blooming narcissus flowers. They threw the fresh flowers at the right knights of honor. When these eight knights moved, they must keep a certain distance to indicate that they were holding the coffin for the brave warrior.
Even though the people respected this team to the extent of being devout, they all stood far away from the team. The ladies and the old men mumbled the words of the God of Light in a low voice. They were afraid that this team would stop in front of their house. They were afraid that the warrior who had sacrificed himself was their son or husband.
Oscar orders the team to stop. He looked at the postbox of the family in front of him. The crooked words written on the postbox were written by a child. "This is the family of Gol Freed!"
"Your highness, it is this place!" Murat reminded the young lad in a low voice. He saw the young lad was staring blankly at the house in front of him. "Your Highness, do you need me to get the door?"
"Oh... No!" Oscar finally got back to his senses. "I can do it myself."
The young lad jumped off his battle horse. He could faintly heard a low sobbing sound that came from the crowd behind the team of knights. There seemed to be people who were saying de Barry’s name. This was the place he lived in and grew up. The neighbors were all proud for being acquainted with de Barry. But now, the priest was here. This meant that everything was finished.
Oscar went to the side of the door made of oak of the house. He turned back and glanced at Murat hesitantly.
"That’s right. Just as I have taught you." Murat advised the young lad once again. He hoped that nothing wrong would go for this kid.
His Royal Highness Prince rang the copper bell by the door.
"Who is it?" Behind the door a lady’s voice came through. Oscar felt his heart was squeezed.
The door opened and the sunlight poured into the walkway. Behind the door stood a beautiful housewife. She was tall. She even wore an apron on her skirt.
"Are you Madame Gol Freed? The wife of Colonel de Barry Gol Freed?"
"Yes... I... I am!" This Madame wiped her hands on the apron uneasily, but her expression quickly turned pale. She saw the priest behind the young soldier.
"Oh no..." There was no need to say anymore. Madame Gol Freed already understood. She leaned against the door and slid down it out of strength as if all air in her body has been removed.
Oscar held Madame Freed who was on the ground, but for some reasons, the seemingly thin woman was extremely heavy. The young man could not even help her up from the ground.
The lady cried, but without any sound. She used all her strength to cover her mouth. She did not want to embarrass her husband even though her husband already left her forever.
"Madame, I... I saw the bravery and loyalty of Colonel de Barry Gol Freed. At the last key war, he…. had sacrificed himself for the great. It was because of the sacrifices of him of numerous warriors that we... we attained the final win. We hope this grand win... could slightly console the pain that you experienced when you lost your husband. The God of Light..."
The lady suddenly took hold of the arms of the young lad. "Please I beg of you. Say no more... No... Do not say more words!"
Oscar stood there, clueless of what he should do. He admitted that all his words were without much emotion, but he did not know if he should stop talking just as the lady had suggested.
"My daughter-in-law, Spruce! Look at you, quickly stand up! You are too imprudent!" An old woman appeared at the door.
Oscar felt Madame Freed struggle to stand up.
"Mother! De Barry left us! He won’t come back anymore!" Madame Freed went to the embrace of her mother-in-law.
"Yes my child! De Barry is gone!" There were tears in the eyes of the old woman. Her crinkles seemed to climb to her forehead in a blink of an eye.
Oscar did not know what he could do. He did not know how to console this whole family. He was not able to even believe the glamorous words he spoke of just now. He did not know if he should leave this place. He did not know if he could still remain calm demeanor when he faced such matter.
"Are you a General?" Along with a childish voice, two children – one older and another younger- came out of nowhere. They smiled happily. In their eyes, the one whom the whole family had to come out and greet must be a general of high status in the Knights. Just like last time, the Commander of the Front of their father especially came to their house to celebrate the birthday of their great-grandfather.
Oscar became even clueless of what he should do. He wanted to run away from this place and everything else happening around him.
"Young lad, may I ask about your military ranking?" Finally, the master of Gol Freed family appeared. This was a rather old soldier. The reason why he was called a soldier was because this old man word a neat uniform of a Lieutenant General. There were a lot of medals on the left chest of his uniform.
"I do not have a military ranking. I am the fourth son of the Andrew family, O’Neil Andrew Morisette. The Prince of the Empire!" The young lad realized that he was talking to an old hero.
"Salute to Your Highness Prince!" The old hero performed a determined military salutation to the young lad in front of him.
Oscar quickly returned the greeting. "Grandfather, I have brought bad news to your family. I am sure you have known about this."
The old man stubbornly shook his head. "No, Your Highness, I want to listen to you!"
Oscar was stunned, but he quickly understood the meaning behind the old soldier’s words. He put his legs together with force and raised his chest straight and high. Then, he spoke loudly like a true Narcissus Knight would do.
"Sir Lieutenant General, as a member of the Andrew, I had the honor to witness the bravery and loyalty of your son, the Vice Brigade Leader of the First Brigade of Infantry and Knights of the Traisen Front, Narcissus Knights!
Colonel de Barry sacrificed himself during one of the key wars. It is because of the fighting spirit of him and many warriors who had sacrificed themselves that we are able to attain the victory of this war. I hope that the news of victory will slightly console you of your pain of losing your son. The blessings of the God of Light will forever be at the side of you and your family. The dead will receive eternal piece in these blessings and the living will forever remember the beautiful memory of him!
As the person who received the final confession of the hero before his death, I am honored to bring the remains of the hero and the weapon he used when he was alive back to you. This is nothing big, but it gives me pride. I hope the spirit of Colonel de Barry will be inherited by his bloodline forever and ever."
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil said all of this in one go. He stood straight and saluted to the old general once again.
"I represent the Gol Freed family to thank Your Highness for doing this for my grandson. Then may I hear Barry’s final words?" The old man stared into the young lad’s eyes. He did not want to be disappointed.
Oscar’s throat was extremely bitter. He did not do anything for the Gol Freed family. If something was truly done, it is the excellent child in this family who lost his life for him.
"Colonel de Barry said... He said... He only stabbed once! Then... Then there was nothing more!"
"Then it must be the stab that decided the victory, right?" Out of the expectation of the young lad, the old soldier actually laughed crisply.
"Yes, you are correct! That was the blow that decided the victory. I have never seen a blow that was as accurate, quick and without hesitation."
"I knew it." The old man raised his head slightly. "It seemed that little Barry did not embarrass the name of the family. Thank you, Your Highness. Your witness allowed our whole family to stand tall and straight in the future." The old man was silent for a while. After a while, he turned sideways for a bit. "Come, you two naughty kids of Gol Freed family. Go and get your father’s weapon!"
The two children was pushed out by the old man. They took their father’s weapon from the hands of His Royal Highness Prince. The children did not know what this actually meant, but surely one day they would understand.
As he looked at the two innocent children, the old man had a lonely expression. "Mr. Priest, I am sorry to have you wait for so long. Now please come in!"
Oscar did not know how he left de Barry’s home. Murat and he rode side by side on the street of the city. The base camp just announced the victory of the war to the public. This meant the war alert was about to be lifted! All of a sudden, the city appeared to be cheerful and excited. There were narcissus, claps, oat wine and more. The people took the precious and rare collections in their house and shared it with their relatives and friends. Victory! Their people have once again beaten the Persians!
The Prince was confused. He was perplexed. What were the people celebrating for? Didn’t they know that their relative’s name would appear on the list of people who sacrificed themselves in the battle that would be announced in a few days?"
"Come! Listen to this!" A series of happy cheers attracted the attention of the young lad.
Only to see that a soldier of the Publicity Department of the Military System was reading the news of the war in a loud voice. His loud voice attracted countless people. The people’s faces were red as if they were right in the middle of the battlefield filled with the sound of killing.
"Five Divisions and two Brigades of Traisen Front led by General Figg Andrew Tibotty, twenty-five thousands soldiers in total, fought with the enemy at Shalian Hill..."
The people cared about this. Their expression kept changing as they listened to the commentary of the soldier. They would cheer when it became exciting and frowned when it became nerve-wrecking.
"Do you believe that?" The young lad asked suddenly.
"What is ‘that’?" Murat was a little confused.
"What you taught me to say. Not only de Barry and also other knights who sacrificed themselves. Some of them died of wound infection, some of arrows, some of traps. In conclusion... They died like mere ants! What you taught me was a lie. Do you disagree?"
Murat held his horse. He took a serious glance at the young lad. "That is right. That was a lie, but everyone knew it was a lie. It’s just that none of them will ask. Remember this, the most important are those who are living. Since the dead is already gone, then the only thing that we can do is to make the living feel better."
"Murat, I don’t want to go through that again." Oscar’s voice was low. He was not a sensitive guy. He still thought that he lost his last bits of conscience during his time in Damorga. The young lad knew he was changing from the bottom of his soul.
"Of course, no one will be willing to experience that, but... you’ll be fine after getting used to it!" Murat laughed as if he was mocking himself.
"Used to it?"
Murat saw the strangeness of the young lad. He took a parchment shaft from his pocket. "Your Highness, look at this."
The young lad opened the parchment. He realized it was filled with names and addresses on it. "This is..."
"That’s right! Bitter job one after another. Maybe I have a good thing with people. Those guys love to talk to me when they are about to take their last breath. I can’t remember how many times I have done this. Hehe. Some I even visited them twice." Murat’s tone also changed. This parchment was the thing he did not want to face the most.
"So... To be honest, Your Highness, I am willing to believe those words even if it was a lie. That is the reason why that old general of de Barry’s home was determined to hear about your witness. His grandson died in battle. That is the truth that cannot be changed, but at least we must let him believe that de Barry died like a hero!"
Little Oscar trembled slightly. The depressed emotion for many days finally broke out. His voice was coarse and his eyes red. Murat seemed to hear the sobbing of the young lad that came from the deepest parts of his soul. He took his horse and hugged the young lad.
"Your Highness, do you believe it? De Barry is the same as the countless knights who have sacrificed themselves. They were all heroes that stand tall and proud in this world."
"Yes... I believe!"
*******************************************************************
"Do you believe it? That Princess actually dared to challenge the prestige of Celia in front of her." Old Vedaan said as he took the large-sized cigar from Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel. He loved this secret room of the Duke mainly because he could enjoy the tasty wine and smoke as much as he wanted here. This was definitely not allowed in his home by his young wife.
"Then what did Celia do?" Dortmund lighted the cigar for Uncle Vedaan politely as if he was a bartender.
"Hahahahaha! Celia is the lady master personally appointed by the old Duke. Her performance was fascinating. Even if she felt invaded, she simply could not do anything much about it. That expression resembles the first time you took advantage of her. She was angry and anxious..."
"Oh god!" Lady Duke Andrew Celia who was sitting at the other corner of the secret room could not take it any longer! "Uncle Vedaan! You are the president of Family’s Senior Group. Look at how you describe things."
"My lady, you are blushing!" Dortmund usually would not behave this way. He was simply affected by Uncle Vedaan who was used to being free and cheeky.
"Oh please be more serious!" Celia pulled her beautiful face straight. "You are discussing about my son. Please don’t talk about other useless things."
At the lead of Vedaan, the people in the whole room laughed at Celia who was furious. In fact, the ones sitting here included all the seniors in the family. This was the true central power of Andrew family. The reason the seniors gathered at this place was obviously to discuss about the issues with the fourth son of the Duke.
"Alright alright! Lady Master, we will talk about your youngest son. I admit, he is truly an excellent child. Much stronger than his father during his younger age!" Vedaan’s words seemed to be in contrary with that of yesterday, but the seniors seated all nodded. Obviously, they have come to the same conclusion on this point.
"I don’t think so!" Duke Andrew expressed his disagreement. You must be kidding! Could he admit that he was not as good as his own son? "Even though that little guy has strong weapons and good intuition and intentions when it comes to dealing with matters and being a leader, but he was too young. Just like an apple that was premature. Moreover, he did not deal that well with his personal relationships. In the future, his marriage is a big problem that will affect the benefit of the family."
"Yes!" An old man who had a dark expression and dried up face spoke. "Dortmund is right. This child still need strict experiences. My info here shows that the nobles at Dulin were all full of contempt against him. That is his stage, but this cannot do if things continue this way."
"Berkley." Vedaan continued "It’s not like I am doubting your military investigation department, but can you give me more details? For example, which family and which people in specific are showing contempt against our child?"
"Vedaan, I have said very clearly. It’s not against us Andrew. It’s only that the people against this child are all over the place."
"So it is this way..." Vedaan thought about it. Berkley was the person-in-charge of the military intelligence unit and the head of the spies in the family. What he said must be the truth.
"We should not worry too much." Dortmund spoke. "The contempt against that child is mainly from the nobles that are from the State Council. They have always suspected that it was little Oscar who ruined the ex-Secretary of State. Also, a part of it is completely out of jealousy. We all know that there was even a rumor about our little Prince running away with Her Royal Highness Princess in Dulin recently."
"Yeah, I have heard about this too." Berkley nodded. "My investigators found the guy that spread the rumor. After repeated interrogation, the person-in-charge of the military investigation department in Dulin believed it was just a whim of that kid."
"What happened afterwards?" Dortmund was a little curious.
"He won’t ever speak nonsense!"
"Very good." Dortmund nodded. "Then let us talk about the important parts. We all know that without the support or acquiescence of the Emperor, there is no powerful family in this country that dares to invade our interest. So to my youngest son, the person he needs to deal with carefully is only that the Ultimate One, His Majesty the Emperor."
"That is correct." Vedaan reaffirmed the Duke’s words. "At first, we want to eradicate the deeply-rooted wariness of the Emperor against little Oscar in the deepest parts of his heart. Don’t focus too much on the frighteningly generous gift that Ultimate One has bestowed towards that child, but at the deepest parts of his heart, he still rejects the idea of an Andrew entering the central power of the Empire."
"It seems that we have received a bit of the result now." Celia continued the words of the president of seniors. "Her Royal Highness Princess got into our trap as expected. When Uncle Vedaan expressed his distrust towards little Oscar and the royal family, that girl reiterated immediately and urgently."
"Yes." Vedaan stroke his big beard. "When she goes back to Dulin, she will surely report back to the Emperor about her experience in Andrew. I believe that the attitude little Oscar received from the administrative level of the family will be one of the most important parts of all."
"Will Alfa III His Majesty got into this trap? Maybe... we were too obvious?" Celia was a little doubtful.
"No, Celia, you don’t understand Alfa III His Majesty." Dortmund lighted a cigar for himself. "This Emperor has always been an extremely self-centered person. Once he has acknowledged something, no one can easily change his thought. He always thought that we will reject this child that has half of the royal family’s blood, then we shall do as he thinks. This way, he will surely trust his judgement more. So our little Oscar will be valued more by him. This is beneficial to the future of this child and the family!"
"But..." The head of intelligence of the Andrew suddenly said in a low-pitched voice. "How do we know the actual thought of this child? Against the care and gift from the Emperor, can he still hold his family’s belief?"
Dortmund suddenly laughed coldly. He stared at old Berkley straight in the eyes despite this guy is his senior as well.
"Uncle Berkley, I know that you have arrange spies around my child. Of course, if you think that the family has the need to watch him, then I have no issues with that. But if you want to teach the child a lesson, then do not forget that I am his father!"
Berkley knew that he should not talk about the possibility of his son betraying the family in front of the father, but this old man had no other motives. He was simply discussing this matter objectively. Since the father of the child was not happy with this, then he had no choice but to nod. He did not say a word and showed an expression as if he did not care.
"Then, shall we talk about other things?" Vedaan came out to cheer up the mood. "How is the situation at the south? The child in our home has been bitten by dogs. As the adult, we can’t just sit here and do nothing."
"Oh right! I am about to talk about this!" Berkley’s coarse, low-pitched voice sounded again. "Italia finally took a step back when he faced the strong army force by the border arranged by our country. They opened their border for the Secret Service Department of the Empire’s Ministry of Justice. Also, they welcomed Titan’s officer to enter their land and investigate about the assassination case of the royal family. Not only that, the royal family of Italia even sent their Crown Prince and a Princess to visit Dulin."
"Hostage, huh?" Dortmund lightly touched his chin. "It seems that the royal family of Italia was truly terrified. This should show that they had not participated in the assassination case. Isn’t there any other hints?"
Berkley shook his head. "There’s nothing more. I believe the investigation of the Empire’s Secret Service Department also did not have any progress, but there is one thing worth mentioning though."
"What is that?" Dortmund asked.
"Duke, Madame, as parents, you should begin to pack up the things for your youngest son." Berkley tasted a sip of coffee slightly.
"Why?" Celia asked hurriedly.
"According to reliable sources, Alfa III His Majesty has appointed His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette as the Imperial Envoy to welcome the group of Italia’s Royal Family. I believe this order will arrive in Narcissus County in a few days."
