By Zephyria “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“……?”
Leonardo, recoiling from the burden, stared at him with a look that asked what he was talking about. Andreas, who had been curving his eyes, added in a disappointed tone at Leonardo’s wary reaction.
“I even got dragged out for defending you in the courtroom, don’t you have anything to say—”
“Ah.”
It was a sigh as if he had belatedly realized. Gold Eyes glanced sideways as if recalling the time.
Come to think of it, this was the guy who had excused his fractured arm as his own mistake for him. His first impression had been poor, but as a result, he was one of the people who had contributed to his release.
When he raised his voice and clashed with the superiors, he thought he was quite reliable, perhaps because Agrigento was not in the room. He was also reminded of his colleagues who had protested in the past, which made his heart complicated.
Leonardo rolled his eyes and looked at Andreas.
Then, with an unwilling expression, he lowered his eyes and replied.
“…Thank you.”
At that moment, Andreas received a strong blow to the heart. The golden eyes hidden by his eyelashes felt as if he was shy, which was refreshing and gave a strange impression at the same time.
He could understand the heart of a wealthy man who risked his life to tame a beast? It was a ticklish reaction that was hard to believe was from the same person who had broken his clone’s neck in the Zodiac.
Leonardo glanced at the left arm of the opponent he had smashed.
“Are you… is your arm okay?”
His tone was still devoid of manners, but it was okay. He could even take a slap on the cheek if it was from a beauty.
“Of course.”
Andreas smiled and lightly shook his left arm. Along with that, the signpost of his heart quietly tilted forward.
As if his lonely soul, which had been wandering for a long time, would finally find its destination….
“Frederick, look ahead. It’s the Valley of Peace.”
Loren, who had been following behind, gave him a hint. It was partly to prevent his colleague’s advances, but also because the scene in front of him was a scene he didn’t want to miss.
“Huh?”
Andreas, hiding his embarrassment, turned his head and looked forward. Then, he shielded his eyes with his hand and let out a short exclamation.
“Wow—”
At the two people’s conversation, Leonardo and Flynn also leaned their heads out of the window. The gray-white bedrock located not far away first caught their eyes. Following it upwards, they saw two stone statues standing firmly on either side. Clouds like carpets made by stringing light together were draped over their shoulders.
The two stone statues facing each other were old and faded, and the detailed parts were worn away, making them unrecognizable. Nevertheless, perhaps because of their overwhelming size, they could immediately recognize that their shapes were human. The statues carved into the cliff seemed to be dozens, no, hundreds of meters high.
“To see them so clearly, you’re lucky today.”
Andreas muttered as if he was feeling new emotions. Even Leonardo, who had been unusually quiet, opened his lips and let out a small sigh.
The Valley of Peace was said to be a place where the different climates of Old Laina and Old Rogia collided, so it was usually foggy. But for some reason, today there were few clouds and the light was transmitted as it was, so the entire view of the valley was clear enough to be seen at a glance.
The scattering of the sunset flowing thickly along the cliff gorgeously and brilliantly decorated a moment of quiet and poignant history.
Feeling the pleasant breeze brushing against his cheeks, Leonardo quietly looked up at the huge statues that stimulated his elation.
Those two figures must be the Kings of the two countries who made the agreement. One was the great Emperor and Sun of myth that he had seen in the secret fortress of the Peninsula. The other was… he didn’t know well, but he must be the King of Rogia who had a significant influence on the founding of Laina Rogia.
“……”
Leonardo swept back the bangs that tickled his eyes. He couldn’t take his eyes off the poignant figures of his ancestors as he engraved them in his mind.
That person said it was the road he took to and from work every day, but he didn’t know why he felt like it would have been nice if he had seen it together. He hoped that the person who would follow behind would feel the same way.
Meanwhile, the escort leisurely entered the valley where the twilight was flowing.
The West Gate of the Agrigento Territory began to reveal its shape like a dot in the distance.
The West Gate, with its sophisticated gray-white pillars lined up on either side, was not originally used as a passageway for ordinary people. Since Old Rogia was demoted from a Grand Duchy to a Duchy, it was one of the military strongholds that was kept empty so that support troops could be dispatched at any time in preparation for external forces invading the Zodiac.
Therefore, unlike other Gates, there were no Portals or checkpoints to check passes inside. Only the magnificent stone gate, which seemed to have been firmly closed for a long time, and the guards greeted the escort.
The stone gate with engraved patterns was preserved in appearance by the power of magic, so it looked sturdy even though time had passed. No enemy had ever passed through this road, but Leonardo felt as if he knew those patterns. It was a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Have I seen it in an ancient document?’
It was a pattern he had not seen at the other Gate leading to the Agrigento Territory. No, in the first place, the guards were stationed there, so he didn’t have many chances to see the closed Gate.
As he was thinking about this and that, the carriage stopped in front of the stone gate, and Flynn first opened the carriage door and got off. The guards seemed to know Flynn and saluted in a loud voice.
When Leonardo tried to get off as well, Flynn reached out his hand as if to catch him. Embarrassingly.
“Do that to your lover. Not this kind of thing.”
He threw a light joke and stepped down on his own. Flynn’s hand was withdrawn with an awkward smile.
As soon as Leonardo got off, he tilted his head back and stared blankly at the stone gate.
“…It’s really big.”
From afar, it was quite large, but it was even more overwhelming up close. Moreover, the intricate Magic Circles engraved on the pillars and surface on both sides seemed to have outstanding historical value that any pseudo-scholar I knew would go crazy for.
Upon closer inspection, something was written in Ancient Language in the middle. Leonardo Blaine’s eyes narrowed.
‘A gate… that sees the sun?’
He turned around for a moment to gauge the direction. Wasn’t this supposed to be the west Gate?
It wasn’t an appropriate location to see the sun. When he thought that far, Leonardo Blaine recalled the other sun he had just passed. Then this Gate must also be a relic made at least a thousand years ago.
“Cool, right?”
Flynn, who had been talking to the guards for a moment, spoke casually. Leonardo Blaine glanced at him and then looked up again.
“You’re lucky. You get to see this every day.”
“Huh? Ah, I don’t come here often either.”
“Why?”
“Usually, I enter the Agrigento Territory through a temporary Portal before passing through the Peace Canyon. This place is only used when there are major events or distinguished guests coming from the Zodiac.”
“Hmm―.”
‘I see,’ Leonardo Blaine nodded nonchalantly. That meant he was being treated like a distinguished guest here.
Originally, the scheduled order immediately after the release verdict was to leave the Council on his own and go outside the Zodiac. But for some reason, Flynn said that the final release location was not the Zodiac, but the Gate of Agrigento Territory. He didn’t explain the details, but said it was the Legion Commander’s order. Leonardo Blaine didn’t ask any further there either.
But the Commander who had ordered him to be escorted to his own territory hadn’t shown up yet.
Just as Leonardo Blaine was about to grumble while looking into the distance.
“Blaine.”
Loren, the 2nd Battalion Commander, who had dismounted from his horse, approached first and offered a handshake.
“I wanted to say hello before the Commander arrives. You’ve been through a lot. I hope you’ll forgive the previous discourtesy.”
By discourtesy, he probably meant the moment when he was arrested in the Zodiac and subdued by having a sword stuck near his neck. It was a very unpleasant memory. But from their point of view, it was also an action faithful to their work, and they spoke up for him in the end, so he decided to bury it appropriately.
“Yeah. I appreciate it in court.”
Leonardo Blaine took Loren’s hand and shook it lightly. Just as he was thinking he was being mature, a gentle smile spread across her lips. Then, as if waiting, Andreas stepped between the two and grabbed Leonardo Blaine’s hand.
“Am I forgiven too? I’ve already forgiven you.”
He brought his smiling face closer, along with his broken arm. Leonardo Blaine took a step back with an uncomfortable expression.
Loren, noticing the sign, grabbed Andreas’s arm and pulled him away.
“Enough. Unless you want to be confined again.”
It was a word from someone who had discovered and rescued him when he was exhausted, trapped in Ice Bars on a rainy day. Andreas also seemed to remember that time and gave an awkward smile. But not giving up, he emitted the most attractive gaze he could muster.
Soon, he leaned over and whispered in Leonardo Blaine’s ear.
“But we might not see each other again.”
Leonardo Blaine grabbed Andreas’s hand tightly and raised the temperature as if to burn it, at the impure hand movement that dared to try to scratch his palm.
The unsightly man’s screams echoed in front of the Gate. It was such a satisfying sight that Loren, who didn’t laugh often, laughed out loud.
Then, after exchanging eye contact with the escort members appropriately, Leonardo Blaine, who had paused, stared silently at the path he had come from.
Loren, who was watching with a puzzled look, also turned her head. After a while, she made a shade with her hand and muttered in a low voice.
“He’s here.”
The sound of horses’ hooves kicking the ground and neighing grew closer and closer. Andreas, who was shaking his burning hand, clicked his tongue.
“He must have been very urgent. To even ride that famous horse.”
On a pure white horse running at full speed, kicking up dust, a man wearing a similar white uniform, flapping his cloak, was approaching quickly. The scattering of dust and the intensity of the sunset helplessly, his blue eyes were fiercely fixed on only one person.
Leonardo Blaine reflexively pushed through the crowd and took about two steps forward. Before long, a well-built white horse stopped near the escort. The knight on the white horse nimbly threw his cloak back and landed lightly on the ground.
Then, without even receiving greetings from his subordinates, he went straight to Leonardo Blaine.
He covered his soft cheeks and bowed his head, touching his forehead lightly.
“Did you wait long?”
It was an extremely affectionate question that made even small complaints disappear.