Chapter 187. Childhood Friend – Broth
“It’s because of me.”
Leo de Yeriel sighed, exhaling as he gazed at the army of Duke Tertan beginning to set up camp far below the fortress.
“Prince Eric sent the army because I am alive.”
Lev also swallowed hard. In the dim evening twilight, his complexion grew even darker.
Their rebellion had been successful up to that point. The two border counts of the Orun Kingdom had joined forces, and Leo and Lena had rallied the nobles. With the help of the wizards, they had been victorious and the win was within reach.
But if the Conrad Kingdom intervened, it would be a war they could not win from the start. They had only been able to seize Nevis because the enemy wanted to destroy them in one fell swoop.
Sending a knight to the east… It must have been to conceal the crossing of Duke Tertan’s army over the border. There was no doubt they had attempted to hide their advance.
‘Then what… Was the rebellion only possible after clearing the Beggar Siblings scenario? Or was it a mistake to bring Leo from the beginning?’
If they were aiming for the throne through rebellion, here was the only option. The northern kingdoms with Leo Dexter had established a central system due to the civil war over a decade ago, and the kings themselves were apostles of Asin. There was no chance there.
Only the Orun Kingdom had a favorable environment to attract the nobles, and in the previous iteration as the apostle of Barbatos, he knew that the kings and princes here were not apostles.
Among the kingdoms he knew, this was the only one that Asin had not taken over.
Lev looked around.
The agitated soldiers and the shocked nobles. A message popped up, indicating that they could guess there was no chance of winning against the suddenly appeared large army.
[ Achievement: Master-Servant Relationship – ‘2107’, As long as loyalty remains unwavering, those who have pledged will believe and follow Leo. ]
It was diminishing. And it continued to decrease.
Lev gritted his teeth.
“Leo. It’s not your fault. And it’s not over yet. If we can just handle the siege…”
“Sir Hazen is here.”
Leo pointed below. Indeed, the location that should have pointed east was pointing downward.
The second commander of the Conrad Kingdom.
Customarily, when deploying knights, the lower-ranked knights are sent first. Sir Hazen being here meant both the second and third knight battalions were present.
It was clear that Prince Eric von Yeriel was determined to kill Leo. The reason for his intent to kill his half-brother to such an extent was unknown, but one thing was certain.
The absurd difficulty of the Beggar Siblings scenario had transferred over. Even the relatively free Childhood Friend scenario had ensnared Lev.
“…Let’s go back. I have something to say.”
Prince Leo turned back. Telling the clamoring nobles not to worry, he led Lev to the palace.
“Escape.”
“What?”
– Thud.
As he closed the door, Leo spoke without turning around. His shoulders heaved as he caught his breath.
“You must not die. If you die, this iteration ends. So… run. Live even one more day.”
The prince turned around. His death-resolved eyes met Lev squarely.
“I will stay here. If I also flee, the nobles will immediately surrender. Then a pursuit squad will be sent.”
“Don’t…”
“I was planning to die anyway.”
Leo approached. Speaking calmly while brushing off Rev’s clothes, his fingertips trembled. Just like when entering Orville Palace.
As if denying that trembling, Leo clenched his fist. Seizing Rev’s collar, he pulled him close.
“We haven’t seen Leah becoming a priestess yet, have we? Go. Stay beside Leah. Check what happens when she becomes a priestess. I still think Minseo is mistaken.”
An almost commanding tone. The prince’s sharp eyes pierced Rev.
Lev muttered lowly.
“…It will trigger a job ending?”
“Probably. But we can’t be certain.”
Leo released his grip on Lev’s collar, smoothing the wrinkled fabric.
“Actually, I’m asking you to take my sister and run. I’m sorry for ruining your turn. It’s my fault. But Lena…”
Has done nothing wrong.
Had they left her alone, she would have lived quietly as an actress of the Orange Theatre. Regardless of the reasons, they had taken her and put her in danger.
Silence fell.
Lev could not speak for a long time but agreed to take Lena and flee.
He wanted to fight with honor until the end, but it was not more important than his sister’s life.
And as this iteration’s protagonist, he had a duty to learn at least one more thing.
Given the high probability of the rebellion failing, it was right to plan for the future rather than stubbornly hold on.
“Thank you.”
Although he had not said a word, Leo expressed his gratitude.
The face of the one who would sacrifice was brighter, and Lev followed the prince with a heavy heart.
Lena was in the princess’s chamber.
For one as sleepy as her, it should have been time to sleep, but she was engrossed in worry without even changing her clothes.
She seemed to have heard about the situation outside.
Leo told his sister to seek refuge momentarily. Convincing her there was an emergency passage in the palace, he urged her to leave first,
“No!”
She refused outright.
“Why do you keep trying to push me away? You did it before, and you’re doing it again now.”
Lev, who had followed behind, gazed at his long-lost sister with a strange look. This level of growth he had seen in the last round as well. However, unlike before when she seemed like a greenhouse flower sheltered by her brother, Lena had become an adult this time. Her neatly joined hands and straight shoulders visibly claimed her own space.
Lena spoke with a hurt face, biting her fine lips and expressing her thoughts word by word.
“I am not a child. Where I will be is my decision.”
“Then don’t act like a child!!”
But when Leo shouted, Lena’s expression wavered. She held her breath with a surprised look, as if seeing her brother yell for the first time in her life.
Leo regretted it. He felt wronged that his sister did not understand his heart, but he didn’t want to part ways like this.
He grabbed his sister’s hand, and Lena stood still. With her head bowed, she quietly began to sob.
“I’m sorry for yelling. But I can’t fight because I worry about you when you’re around. Could you please go into hiding just for a little while?”
“For a little while? Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You’re sending me away and then…”
Lena closed her mouth. She repressed herself from saying anything ominous, but tears welled up.
She did not run into her brother’s arms like a child. She tried to hold back her tears by lifting her head, but it was too much, so she took out a handkerchief.
“Lena.”
“…”
“Lena.”
“…Why. Why do you keep calling me?”
Her brother approached and spoke, stroking her head repeatedly like in the old days.
“Don’t worry. Just hide with Brother Lev for a little while, okay? If things go wrong, I’ll also escape. I promise.”
Lena remained silent. After looking at the finger Leo held out for a long time, she finally opened her mouth.
“…Okay. But only for a little while. You better not be late.”
Leo’s expression twisted. It reminded him of the past when he often broke his promises, and this was what his sister had said the last time he kept a promise.
Once again, Lena was urging her brother to keep his promise.
Leo responded with a smile.
“Okay. I won’t be late.”
* * *
Lev and Lena escaped from Nevis. They fled through a secret passage in the Nevis royal castle, known from the last round of their childhood friendship, without any enemies or allies noticing, arriving at an abandoned ranch on the outskirts of Nevis.
-“Neigh!”
Kuss brayed. Exiting the narrow passage seemed to delight him, shaking his head, but Lev promptly covered Kuss’s muzzle.
Fortunately, there were no guards at the secret passage. The Lognum royal family seemed to be so certain of the passage’s secrecy that they posted no soldiers.
It was only natural.
They didn’t want the existence of the royal family’s last lifeline to be known to the world, and sending a guard to guard an unfavorable exit location was not an option.
Lev commanded everyone to stay silent, trying to gauge the location of Duke Tertan’s army.
“Captain, where do we go now?”
Only after traveling a considerable distance from Nevis in the darkness did Cessar speak up.
It wasn’t just Lev and Lena who had escaped. Leo wanted to attach all the four knight guards from the Conrad Kingdom (excluding Lord Bart) to Lena, but he was wary of her feelings.
Giving away all the guards who were supposed to protect the prince would have saddened Lena, so he attached just one.
One knight guard.
Having Lev as well meant they were sufficiently strong, but they were short of hands to serve a princess and a general.
Lev called Cessar.
Since he was with Sinis, they could contact the trapped Leo in Nevis, bringing relief to Lena.
“We will escort the princess out of Nevis. Select five reliable soldiers. Tell no one else about our escape.”
Noticing Cessar kept his mouth shut tightly. While the soldiers were agitated, he made excuses to bring only five soldiers while the princess prepared.
Leo mounted Lena on Kuss’s back, gesturing to cover her cloak properly and said,
“First… let’s get out of here.”
Where to go?
This was a question Lev himself wanted to ask.
It was shocking to realize that the war, which they had prepared for more than six months, had no chance from the start, and he did not know what to do next.
Leo suggested going to the capital church, but honestly, that was just an excuse to send his sister away; he didn’t expect to gain anything in Rutetia.
However, Lev held back his words. As a general, he couldn’t show any lack of confidence, so he led the soldiers with an air of confidence.
After two days,
Lev, feeling sufficiently distanced from Nevis, finally let out a sigh of relief.
“We will camp here today. While setting up the tents, I’ll go hunting. Cessar, prepare for cooking.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Hatu said.
Among the soldiers brought by Cessar was Hatu. Since all soldiers Cessar knew were warriors following Leo, all the soldiers here were barbarian warriors.
Lev nodded.
He left the princess with the knight guard and climbed the mountain with Hatu.
“Um… General. Pardon my overstepping, but please don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
On the way back from the hunt, Hattu offered some comfort. Lev wondered if his expression was that bad and touched his face.
“Yes. Everything will be fine… Hatu, I’m sorry. I’ve put you through so much… You said you wanted to return to your family soon, right? You can go back now if you want. I’ll give you some travel expenses, though it’s not much.”
Hatu shook his head.
“No, sir. And it’s not over yet. I believe in you, General.”
Lev felt a lump in his throat.
The count of master-slave relationship achievements had been rapidly dropping.
For the past couple of days, messages had been constantly disappearing from his view, and each time, Levs self-esteem took a hit.
During such a time, when the young barbarian comforted him sincerely, his heart warmed up.
That’s right. It’s not over.
“Yes… there were the wizards.”
Lev muttered.
The wizards who had set out to stop the knights rampaging through their territory. They were leading a total of seven thousand soldiers.
Sending them to Nevis was the priority. Although the war had been severely tilted when Duke Tertan’s army joined, sieges don’t end so quickly. If they hurried, there was definitely a way to help Leo.
With hope rekindled, Levs expression brightened. He urged Hattu and hurried down the mountain.
The soldiers had set up tents and lit a bonfire in the center, preparing to cook. As soon as Lev arrived, he called for Cesar.
“Cesar. Can you contact the wizards? The ones who took the soldiers to the rear.”
Cesar looked puzzled. Perhaps it was Levs drastically changed attitude or blinking eyes rapidly, he shook his head.
“No. In order to do that, we should have met the wizard beforehand. Sinis only remembers one person at a time. Now, we can only reach Prince Leo de Yeriel.”
“I see… Understood. I’ll have to go find him myself.”
Though slightly disappointed, hope was not extinguished. Lev began contemplating how to quickly bring the wizards and the army.
“Captain, please have a meal first. Hattu, take this and that to the General and the knights.”
Basic food was quickly prepared.
No matter how much meat they put in without proper bloodletting, it would still taste bloody and bad, but since they had been chewing on dry food like jerky for the past couple of days, any warm soup was welcome.
Cesar filled Lev and the knight’s bowls generously with solid ingredients, and Hattu carefully carried them, wary of any spills.
“Is there none for me?”
“It’s coming out now.”
The food was prepared before Lena, Lev, and the knight. Lev, who wasn’t good with hot food, blew to cool the soup, then said.
“Sir Iron. Could you ride ahead of us? Your horsemanship is better than mine, and take my token to call the wizards.”
Sir Iron was one of the knights who followed Prince Leo. He was a fisherman’s son, and the warehouse where the knights hid in the port of Noyar belonged to him.
“You intend to hit the rear of the enemy currently besieging us? Understood…”
– Cough!
At that moment, Sir Iron, who had just gulped down a hot soup, started coughing.
Lev and Lena were startled, and Sir Iron himself was shocked and wiped his mouth, but what came out was not just a cough.
Red blood.
Sir Iron, having coughed up blood, stood up abruptly. Though he drew his sword, he collapsed forward, and Lev also coughed.
‘What, what is this…?’
“Urk!”
When he raised his head, his subordinate, Cesar, was stabbing Hattu in the chest with a sword. Smiling wickedly.
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