#017

Time wears everything away.

It rusts clothes that once shone brightly, and it dulls the pain of loss that seemed eternal.

Cullen could not escape time either. The cabin where his family had lived contentedly crumbled into dust with the years, and by the time his father’s soft scent was replaced by the musty smell of dust on his clothes, Cullen’s pain inevitably subsided.

For what lives inevitably craves life, Cullen’s wounds eventually began to heal. It would have been impossible if Gale, his father’s close friend, had not been by his side. Cullen grew up, taking the surviving Wolfdog and Gale as his family. He had to forget many things to survive.

He shouldn’t have said he wanted to go to the village.

His mother and father must have had a reason for staying in the mountains.

He shouldn’t have left that place.

The guilt that assailed him from time to time gradually faded as he forgot the faces of his family.

Gale led Cullen as far away as possible from the place where the tragedy occurred. The mercenary group he belonged to was famous, and instead of escorting people or participating in wars, they mainly dealt with Demonic Beasts. Cullen spent his childhood under the care of men like his father and uncle.

The scar still hurt, but it was bearable. He sometimes laughed and shared jokes. He didn’t dislike being among people.

When he occasionally felt the sharp emptiness of his lost family, he would embrace his Wolfdog. He recalled midsummer scenes of his young sister riding on Roach’s back and pulling his fur, or his mother baking bread with his father.

If the guilt still didn’t subside, he would track the traces of those who attacked the village with Gale. Gale, the only survivor from the village at the time, knew the appearance of the attackers. As he had told Kiyen, they were on horseback and all wore black cloaks.

They weren’t that tall. The barbarians beyond Mount Tesnia mostly wore fur and were over 6ft tall, so that meant they were from somewhere else.

Gale and the mercenaries willingly helped with the tedious and endless task. Whenever they had a break after completing a commission, they searched the entire northern region.

But there was no success. They were like beings that had sprung from the earth. Cullen naturally dreamed of revenge, but he didn’t obsess over it. He didn’t want Gale to be harmed by his own greed. He was just waiting for the right time.

And everything changed starting five years ago. From here on, it’s what Cullen didn’t tell Kiyen. He hadn’t told anyone.

As the years went by, Gale’s mercenary group had more and more work. Demonic Beasts of unprecedented size began to appear in the east and west, and they spent a year escorting merchant caravans without rest.

It was then that Gale heard news of knights in black cloaks from a merchant. The appearance of ogres and venomous dragon-tailed lizards of unprecedented size in the south coincided with the time knights clad in black boarded ships heading for the eastern sea.

The merchant told them that Count Hillash’s territory, built on the former site of the Duchy of Jenix, had been attacked by Demonic Beasts and completely destroyed. He heard that the fleeing Count’s family had been crushed to death by an ogre.

After finishing the commission, Gale decided to follow the trail of the knights. Gale’s entire mercenary group remained to help Cullen. Despite being given time to rest, these people who had cared for Cullen for so long readily volunteered.

Kirk, who had married four years ago and had just had twin daughters; Julian, who had a fiancée; Cecil, who was the same age as Cullen…

The mercenaries followed the knights in black cloaks to the easternmost edge. They passed through the area of a once-great duchy, ruled by the most powerful and benevolent duke.

To punish Duke Jenix, who had plotted treason, Emperor Belarus had a Dragon burn the land for seven days and nights. As a result, many places, except for where Count Hillash’s territory was located, remained unrepaired.

Tragedy struck as their journey was nearing its end. Cullen’s misfortune always came in this manner.

In the middle of the night, they were ambushed. They were not the knights in black cloaks Cullen had been searching for, but assassins who had covered their entire bodies in black robes appeared.

Julian, who was on watch, had his throat slit the moment he shouted “Ambush.” The enemy had Demonic Beasts they had never seen before.

It had a bizarre appearance, like a combination of a person and a scorpion, and was over 8ft long. The sharp tail that sprouted from its back scattered blade-like thorns. Cecil died from the pressure of that long tail.

Their numbers were too few. While Gale and Kirk held off six people, Cecil and Julian died. Cullen faced the Demonic Beast alone. When Gale beheaded two knights with his greatsword, the situation changed. They began a hasty retreat.

Gale also decided to retreat. However, Kirk, who had treated Cecil like his own daughter, lost his reason. Kirk moved to catch the assassins.

It was then that the Demonic Beast showed strange movements. When one of them made a whistling sound, red tattoos lit up on its body. It was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Yes, on the verge of eruption.

The end came in an instant. The creature’s head, with bulging veins, began to swell. Roach, who was attacking the Demonic Beast with Cullen, barked loudly.

Cullen made the wrong judgment then. Instead of swinging his sword to cut off its head, he should have grabbed his dog and run. He should have stopped Gale from rushing towards him.

But Cullen couldn’t do any of it. He foolishly thought he could kill the Demonic Beast.

Boom.

A sound too great to be the explosion of a creature’s body echoed. The ground shook, and trees near the campsite were blown away. Flames erupted. Cullen survived amidst the crimson fire. He felt thick forearms and a torso tightly embracing him.

Cullen opened his eyes, his face drenched in cold sweat. The first thing he saw was Gale’s scorched head. His stylish gray hair was nowhere to be found. Only his torso, melted by the flames, enveloped him.

Gale blocked the flames that rushed directly towards Cullen with his body. Just like his father who had taken the sword for his younger brother and mother.

The flames did not die down for a long time. Until Gale’s festering back was burned black. Until Roach, with its pure white fur, was burned beyond recognition. Until everything Cullen loved was gone from the world forever.

Until Cullen was alone again, the fire burned everything on the ground.

The Imperial Palace was bustling from the morning. The usually quiet palace became even more crowded than on the day of the Elder Council.

Despite the fact that many still disliked the existence of the new Crown Prince, the banquet was a banquet. The palace, which had rarely held banquets since the Emperor’s illness, was filled with vitality.

During banquets, festival food was also provided to the servants. They were even given a short time to hold small dances among themselves. Though they couldn’t join the nobles.

The Imperial Guards wore armor that shone brighter than usual to greet the nobles. Flowers were hung on every windowsill in the corridor leading to the banquet hall, and a red carpet was laid on the stairs. Tables for the banquet were set up in the grand southern hall, which was only opened for major events. Crystals that shone with Magic were embedded in the ceiling like stars, offering breathtaking beauty.

Cullen was bothered by people from the morning. The nightmares that had visited him last night had lowered his mood considerably, but he had to move.

Since entering the palace, he had already had nightmares of the past twice.

This hadn’t happened since he started going out alone. It was partly because he had pushed himself to his limits, but Cullen had consciously blocked out many things.

His stomach churned, and a slight headache crept in. He blamed Kiyen for the reason.

It was because he got entangled with him.

It was a necessary process, but he had told Kiyen too much about himself. He was getting too close to him. At least, that’s how it seemed to Cullen.

He had to hold himself together. He couldn’t show him any more weakness.

The events of the past two days flashed through Cullen’s mind. He remembered the hands that had tightly gripped his waist. It was the first time in his life he had been touched like that by another person. He didn’t like it, as it felt like being hugged. To be precise, it felt strange. It didn’t suit him.

“Your Highness, the Princess has arrived.”

A message came to Cullen, who was being attended to in his banquet attire.

“Let her in. You are dismissed.”

“Are you alright, Your Highness?”

“This is sufficient.”

Cullen had finished changing long ago. The four servants who had been clinging to him silently withdrew. Cullen looked at his reflection in the mirror and left the room. Heading to the reception room, Kihelene was already there.

“Kihelene.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

Kihelene bowed. She slightly adjusted and released her elegantly draped emerald dress as she lowered her head.

“That’s enough.”

Cullen hadn’t even received such courtesy when she was the Crown Prince. At his monotonous voice, Kihelene raised her head. She had met him after the Elder Council, but she had grown a little thinner in the meantime. She seemed to have gone through some hardship, whatever the reason.

“Have you been well, Your Highness?”

“You don’t need to say it like that.”

“Cullen, you will soon be Emperor, so you shouldn’t. You must treat me the same.”

She advised him calmly. Cullen rubbed his brow for a moment and gestured for Kihelene to sit. As he also sat down, a servant quickly brought tea.

Kihelene quietly picked up her teacup and began to drink. She didn’t seem to suspect it was poisoned. Though her body was like that.

Cullen didn’t touch the tea. He only drank tea that was brewed directly in front of him.

“How can I help you, Kihelene?”

“Rather, I came to see if there was anything I could do to help you. I heard you haven’t chosen a partner.”

The Duke didn’t seem to believe Cullen had chosen a partner. Judging by the fact that the news hadn’t leaked out.

“I know you are from a different world than I am, Your Highness. However, if the highest person only does as they please, someone below will suffer. Often, powerless servants get caught in the crossfire.”

Cullen crossed his legs and observed Kihelene. He had felt it then too; Kihelene was a person of good character. Just excessively naive.

At the same time, she was a trained Crown Prince, as she had declared herself, and a natural ruler. Cullen suddenly wondered if Kihelene truly understood the state of the Empire.

How her close associates protected the people who lived far more unfortunate lives than servants.

But it wasn’t Cullen’s concern. That was Kihelene’s responsibility to figure out. It wasn’t something to discuss right now.

“I have chosen a partner.”

Kihelene’s eyes widened.

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

“Yes. I decided to bring Kiyen.”

“Who is this Kiyen?”

“Someone you know.”

Kihelene looked at him quizzically.

“Yes?”

“A Dragon.”

“…Did you just say Guardian Dragon?”

“Yes, a Dragon.”

Kihelene put down her teacup. She leaned closer to Cullen with a look of great surprise.

“My word, Cullen! Why would you do that? I clearly warned you. You shouldn’t get close to Dragons.”

Although he had thought the same thing earlier, the closeness Kihelene spoke of was entirely different. Cullen said calmly,

“He hasn’t caused me any harm so far.”

“Listen carefully, Your Highness. I don’t know about you, but I respect you as a Larkan. Dragons truly dislike Larkans. There are no exceptions. Think about it. Will they look favorably upon us, who have been confined to the palace for our entire lives?”

This was unexpected. He hadn’t known Kihelene would consider such things.

“Have you ever considered releasing him?”

Cullen asked with a sharpened voice. The contents he had seen in the library came to mind. Separate from her apprehension about him getting close to Kiyen, the way the royal family had treated Kiyen for generations was utterly selfish. He had only seen a portion of the records.

1500 years.

He had been confined here for 1500 years.

“It’s precisely because of thoughts like that that I told you to stay away. Have you considered what a Dragon who has found freedom might do without the Emperor’s restraint? If a being with such immense power were to kill people without anyone’s control?”

“Kiyen is…”

He couldn’t say he wasn’t that kind of person. He didn’t know much about Dragons. The image of him burying a bird briefly flashed, but that was only a part of Kiyen. In reality, didn’t he dislike humans? But…

“I agree with some of what you say, Your Highness. But Your Highness, he is a being who can do anything. He is too powerful to roam freely. My father always feared that. Even now, he is so ill, and if you….”

Kihelene’s words trailed off. Cullen couldn’t refute her either. It was because a grand bell sound, filling the windows, no, filling all directions, spread out.

Kihelene turned her head. The teacup fell from her hand. Thump. Red liquid spilled from the teacup that fell onto the carpet. The bell rang once more.

“Oh, no…!”

She sprang to her feet and ran to the window. Cullen squinted and followed her. Kihelene collapsed the moment she saw the light outside.

White flames were shot into the sky. Even Cullen, who knew nothing about the Imperial Palace, understood the meaning of that.

That light, visible throughout the entire Empire, was a signal announcing that the Emperor had returned to the goddess’s embrace.