How could this happen to him?
This wasn't supposed to be how it ends. It was supposed to be his victory!
He was supposed to be free!
Damn her! Damn her! Damn her to the afterlife!
This wasn't over.
He needed to bide his time. Her victory wasn't assured.
...
Not yet.
----------------------------------------
'What?'
That was a different one.
First at the village and now here?
Why was he even having these strange dreams?
What the hell was going on?
Again, he was covered in sweat. He felt like someone choked him to death. His vision got blurry with the pain.
He needed to calm down. Get his head clear, otherwise he wouldn't be able to think straight and that would get him killed fast.
He grabbed his sword and went downstairs. The mess hall was unsurprisingly empty, with only the owner's head against the counter while he slept as went out.
Allendis looked up and saw the moon in full view, big as the Eastern Citadel he heard from bards. Two weeks ago, the moon wasn't even full, and yet now it somewhat captivated him.
He heard from Kriemhild that there was a nearby pond just behind the Berry Inn, a secret one that the owner only offers for those who can caugh up a little extra coin. Maybe the calm waters would soothe his nerves.
The lake wasn't that far off. In fact, it had a decent distance from the Inn. He took noticed the magical barrier that separated him and the lake and took out a crystallized magic shard to overwhelm the barrier.
Once it was done, he was greeted by the luminous pond that seemed to be quite magical in nature but he doubted that was the case as he doesn't feel anything from it.
He stripped down his jacket that hung over his shoulders and his armor and set them aside.
'Ahhh... The water feels so warm.'
His muscled body loosened, the cord of his shoulders began to relaxed. It's been months since he felt this relief. Life as a wandering mercenary wasn't easy, for every step, for every drawn blade, it never stopped. The blood never stopped...
He sat back at the edge of the lake, arms rested at the edge. To be honest, he could stay forever in the pond. His head shifted to the left, as his eyes began to drift into relaxed slumber... he thought he saw a woman.
'Wait...' His eyes shot slightly upward at the processed information. And surely enough, he indeed saw a woman. Adelaide.
He definitely wasn't dreaming. She was there, naked. Her platinum blonde hair was dripping wet on her back. Her porcelain skin was also shining, making her look vulnerable in front of him, like a priceless doll. Her decently sized breast was covered by the warm water.
While her appearance was definitely jaw dropping, given the circumstance, her face was that of embarrassed shock. He could've sworn her entire face was completely like a tomato.
"So you were taking a bath too..." Said Allendis quietly. At this point in his twenty-two years of life, he wasn't fazed with having a woman in the same waters as him.
She avoided his gaze. "I–I'm sorry, It was my fault for not making myself known."
It took him a while before realising that he was staring at her.
"I'll just leave you to your bath, princess." Said Allendis, he slowly stood up to get out.
She felt him grabbed his wrist. Her arm covering herself with a stoic look, yet he could definitely see the red on her ears.
"You looked like you were enjoying yourself..." Adelaide said. "You could stay, I too want a bath, but no peeking! Understood?" Her face was confirmed to be really red.
Following what she said, he placed his gaze elsewhere, though the sight of her being naked probably wouldn't disappear in his mind for some time, if at all.
"Don't worry about me. I won't look." Said Allendis. His dark gray eyes looked impassive as usual, "Although I'd rather be alone..." He muttered
"O-okay?" Adelaide said. Fortunately for him, she didn't heard his quiet mutter.
Both of them turned around. Back to back, yet not touching. There was an awkward silence between the two, or at least that was what Adelaide felt.
"So..." She began. "How did you get those scars?"
She felt him stiffened a bit, but as soon as it appeared, he instantly relaxed. "So you saw huh?" He said quietly, "From my battles."
He felt her touch his back. Tracing a huge scar over his left shoulder. He flinched a bit from the gentle touch. She then looked over to another one, this time across his lower right side, both quite gnarly. Just on his muscled back alone, there were plentiful scars, it was unnatural for someone as young as him to have this many, some of it were so deep that the skin was just a huge patch of brown skin.
She retracted her hand from him, "Does it hurt?" She asked sympathetically.
He didn't answer immediately, there was a long silence before she heard his deep voice. "Not anymore..."
"There's nothing I could do about it. That's just how life goes. No one would stop for you even if you're in pain. Not even the Goddesses would do so." He said. "All we can do is move forward, keep going and keep pushing even if don't want to."
He couldn't see it, but the look on Adelaide's face was that of cold steel, her eyes were just as sharp as the tougest Damascus blades.
This world was too unfair for them all, she thought.
"What you said just now remined me of a story my father always told me, about the Flower Saga." Adelaide said absentmindedly as she eyed at the scar tissue his arm, it looked liked it was pierced by something strong.
Allendis tilted his head slightly that it was barely recognisable. "What's it about?"
"A great man's struggle to achieve his goals."
Their silence was what came next, the long silence of contemplating one's words.
Allendis wasn't looking at her but he could sense her staring at his more prominent scars. "I got that from my battle at Arsk." He said curtly.
"The kingdom from the far west of Eddan?" Adelaide asked curiously. She hadn't been to other parts of the world, so to learn that someone knows about how other kingdoms work was an exciting topic.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"It wasn't a country but a fortress town like Audoin in Lombard." Allendis said quietly.
"What happened? For them to go to war would require a ruler with reason."
'Or ambition.'
Allendis went back to the edge of the pond and leaned back, "What have you heard about it?"
Adelaide placed her fingers on her chin, "A kingdom with defenses as high as Olgear Mountains but it seems like my knowledge of it is limited."
Allendis nodded curtly. "Three weeks of grueling siege. We went in there with a full army of men and came out without even a half of them."
"What happened?" Adelaide asked, to hear such a feat reminded her of stories of events like The Defense of Croatia.
"It was supposed to be the end of a long campaign." Allendis mused. "My employers already took out the town's supply courses but they needed the extra hands to capture it, because some noble was holding out than they should have under the misguided loyalty to their king. It seemed like a simple job. Capture a town, hold a vital ground and everyone gets paid and go home. We didn't account for the citizens to be gutsy enough to hold out."
"They fought well considering their circumstances."
"Fought well? That's an understatement." Allendis had a small scowl on his face. "The division I was in almost got bombarded by arrows and cannons when we first tried to attack it but the division leader got shot in the ass instead when he wasn't looking."
Adelaide winced at that, "That... must've put him out of commission."
"He sure was. Nine weeks of constant assaults on the fort and we managed to break their defenses, weakened their walls and take down their gates. And that's when we discovered the ugly truth. It turns out, the supposedly loyal noble made a deal with our employers way before the attack. Snuck out with his family while the townspeople fought tooth and nail for him. All so that he could preserve his pride and image as a faithful noble." Allendis had an impassive look yet it was clear to her that he was hiding his disgust.
"It wasn't your fault. Your employers seemed to thought of the best way to convince you all to fight." She said in a logical yet somewhat comforting manner.
"And they succeeded. Before the siege, the town had almost tens and thousands of citizens. After it? It might as well be a desolate place."
Adelaide looked at him with her eyes filled with curiosity, "So what happened?"
"We were forced to eliminate proof to indict that son of a bitch: the survivors. At first nobody wanted to be apart of it, they had too much honor they said. But they kept rasing the bounty. One gold coin per head. Still, non came. It raised again, to three, then five, then eight. By the time the tenth gold was issued. Mercenaries with 'honor' started killing them one by one. It was just a too tempting of an offer to have at least a comfortable life." Allendis said staring at the moon.
"I never cared about who I have to kill. It never has been my business but I never thought that a man's life was worth any coin."
Adelaide remained silent. She felt disgusted by the nobility ever since she was young despite ironically, being a noble herself. But to hear such stories even on foreign land, the nobility were truly rotten to the core.
"Do you think that this world can change? That the nobility would change for the better." Adelaide asked, she had to. She had to know if it she can do it not just for her but for those who suffered under thei hands.
There was an inordinate amount of silence. Adelaide mimicked Allendis and leaned over the edge, her embarrassment all but forgotten as the warm and luminous waters touched their skin under the cold Bolsung night.
"...Yes. If anybody could do it, it's you."
Adelaide stared at him with saucer-like eyes. Her life wasn't an easy one, growing up to be the heir instead of her siblings, suffice to say, she never trusted anybody that wasn't her family or her half-sibings. She had enough of the lies and betrayal of the Helregin family. If there was a way for her to change the current status of the world, then this would be her chance.
Even still, her eyes stung for a moment. She felt a lone tear dripped from her face, she was glad that Allendis didn't noticed the tear but he did noticed the somber air around her.
"...It's fine to feel sad for them. Empathy makes us human." Allendis said, "Not like me..." He said in such a low voice that she couldn't hear it.
Despite his look of indifference, she could feel a bond with him. It wasn't clear to what that bond was, but she could feel it all the same.
"Thank you, I hope to gain your support on this path of mine." She said. Fortunately for her, she was also skilled at hiding her emotions, but that doesn't mean she can't express her gratitude for trusting her.
After all, she felt like she didn't deserve it.
His eyes layed almost lazily onto hers, "...It's my job, so no need for thanks."
Adelaide looked at him with her steely gaze but he could the gratitude from her that he didn't wanted to say anything he might regret.
"I'll go on ahead. You enjoy your bath now." She said, she slowly got up from her position, "...Thank you, Allendis. For all of this." She said quietly before leaving him to his peace.
While he didn't mean to, his eyes caught a glimpse of her back side. And her slim waste. And her nice—
He sighed and stopped his thoughts on it's tracks.
He came here to relax, not to peek on the princess.
She was special. To have such confidence that borderlines with arrogance and resolve to make such claims, it reminded him a little of himself. He had no doubt that she will accomplish great things.
"... Don't thank me princess..."
----------------------------------------
It's been a week since Kriemhild left to take care of her business. The young warrior was now in the presence of her uncle in his dark throne room.
"What?" King Gunther asked her in a low voice. The middle aged man was still wearing a heavy black and gold armor, a signature color of the Bolsung forces. With his size, she wondered how in the name of the Goddesses could he move so swiftly in that.
"I would not be able to participate on the campaign, Your Majesty." She bowed her head, a humbling gesture.
"Why is that?! Answer me!" He shouted at her,
She bit her tongue. He can't possibly find out that she plans to betray him.
"I have to take care of Mia while my sister joins." Kriemhild said.
"With the Valhalla Empire being in a weakened state especially after the lost of their heir, this is the perfect chance to strike them." A filtered voice was heard.
She looked up and saw her uncle's adviser, Hel, wearing his dark gray and red cloak. His expressionless mask was seemingly made from black glass with red accents on his lips and eyes. She could clearly see his golden unmoving eyes as if it was a part of his mask. For some reason, she would sometimes find him wearing a white mask with similar patterns.
"How can you be sure, Hel?" She asked. Pretending to be curious. Of course, she knew the truth. That lady Adelaide was indeed alive, not like the rumors said.
"I don't. But it is important for the public to think that she is. It would catch Valhalla off guard if they hear that their princess is dead. Making our invasion that much easier, right Your Majesty?" Hel said.
She was shocked. She thought that the rumors were true at first. It didn't matter whether she was alive or not, Hel just needed to use the rumors to throw off the empire.
"Uncle?! Is this true?!" She asked him.
She heard her uncle laughed almost maniacally. "Emperor Sturluson is a weak man, it's repulsive. No doubt he would try to search for his daughter across the land. It will weaken his forces significantly, allowing us to launch a surprise attack." He said.
"I will rid this world of the weak! I will create a world where the weak can become the strong! And I will start with Valhalla!"
"But uncle! To go to war?! We might be warriors but that doesn't mea—"
"It is because we are warriors that waging war is our only way to show these weak creatures my vision!" He bellowed at her.
Kriemhild stayed silent. She knew it would come to this. That she couldn't convince her stubborn uncle to find another way. But she knew, she had to try or else betraying him would be a lot harder than she would like.
"Hel, status report. Now." The king said.
"Lord Etzel and Lord Hagen already conquered the border of Valhalla and are now conquering the rest. Lady Brunhilda is now preparing her troops to capture Utgard Fort with the help of Thanatos after Lord Etzel and Lord Hagen have finish up."
Kriemhild was horrified. "What is the meaning of this Hel?! You are sending my sister to capture an impregnable fortress?!" She bellowed at him, her violet eyes staring daggers at him.
"Why not? We need a foothold to the imperial capital, Ymir. She is one of the Four Horsemen. This should be nothing to her. Not only that, another Horsemen is accompanying her." Hel said to her impassively.
Thanatos. She never trusted that guy since he was recommended by Hel himself. However, she could not deny that out of all the Horsemen, he was definitely the strongest of them all.
She needed to alert them as soon as possible.
"Excuse me uncle. I have other businesses to attend to." She said to her king and left.
Kriemhild went out of the throne room and hurriedly walked towards the stables.
"My, my, what do we have here?" She heard a cheeky yet old voice. She could smell the smoke of his pipe, she turned to the voice and saw him sitting on the balcony with his skin fight red and green outfit, his brown elongated boots hanging crossed legged while his long hat covered his crooked nose.
"Who are you?" Kriemhild asked carefully, she saw him back on the village performing for the people.
"Oh deary, I am the wondrous Fern Belly. It is a pleasure to meet you beautiful." He stood up with incredible balance and bowed.
Kriemhild didn't want to do anything with the man as she was in a hurry, she excused herself from him but he seemed like wasn't done with ger yet.
"What do you want?" Kriemhild asked, annoyed at the minstrel.
"Might I ask you about something? Do you know about the progenitor dragon?" Fern asked cheekily.
Kriemhild was confused, why would he ask about the progenitor dragon? "I only heard stories about it. The Goddesses power would soon find the means to watch the world."
"The Root of the World shall bring forth a dragon with the Goddesses powers to defeat the Dark God Isfet once more. It's not much of a prophecy but rather a fairy tale. One that everyone took seriously darling but I wonder, There may be some truth to it..." The minstrel hopped of the balcony only to look back at her with an unreadable look. "Pray to the Goddesses that the tale won't happen." Before waving his hand as a blue ball came flying through his hand.
Kriemhild felt a sense of dread to his words despite not making any sense.
She didn't noticed a pair of gold eyes glued to her back.