Chapter 59 Dragon Demon Prince (6).
Chapter 59 Dragon Demon Prince (6).
Chapter 59 - Dragon Demon Prince (6)
‘Still, there might come a day when I might have to do it again.’
After consecutive battles with the Dragon Demon followers, the sense of foreboding was getting stronger. He had a premonition that the great darkness might descend on this peaceful era once again.
Boar asked a question.
“So where do you plan on going after leaving the capital, sir Azell?”
“For now I've decided to travel with the Duke. That's why I have to leave so soon. I have to match the Duke's schedule.”
“Ah, the Duke is heading back?”
“He hates the palace life more than me.”
Kairen hated making public appearances. It was a dislike that had been developed from his younger days. However, he was too important of a figure. Once people heard the news that he was in the capital, everyone made a big fuss in trying to see him. Even the royal family acted the same way, so Kairen had no choice, but to be dragged every which way. It was normal for Kairen to drop by to spar and complain to Azell.
Giles spoke.
“I envy you. I have a half a year vacation, but I have no idea what I'm going to do in the meantime.”
“The Western Border guards are quite generous. They gave you a half a year vacation.”
Boar interrupted the conversation with his words.
“Well, Sir Giles was chosen as the representative of the Western Border guards, and he was in charge of guarding the princess... Moreover, they probably wanted to give him a chance to visit his homeland. Wouldn’t his family be happy if he suddenly dropped by after being gone for awhile?”
“In theory, yes...”
Giles' expression darkened after giving that answer. Boar was taken aback and he asked Giles a question.
“Uh. Did I perhaps say something wrong?”
“No, it isn't anything like that. Have I ever told you about my household before?”
“You never did.”
“There isn't much to say… Our family of the Viscount Vince isn't in a good situation right now.”
As if Giles was embarrassed, his face became a little bit red as he explained his situation.
The Viscount Vince was a family in turmoil even though they held the position of Viscount. They were a noble family located in the countryside, so the family had been well off. However, the family started to decline in wealth during the time of Giles' grandfather. Gile's grandfather was a bit out of touch with reality and squandered away the family fortune through gambling. Then a famine had come and the monsters started to cause trouble in his territory. His grandfather couldn't deal with the problems, so in a flash, the family's fortune had nosedived.
In the end, they had to sell most of their lands in the province. Basically, their province only consisted of a small town now.
“From the time I was young… My father kept drilling into me that I would have to go out into the world to build up the family name once again.”
Before he even hit puberty, a sword was put into Giles' hand. He had swung it until several dozen blisters formed on his hands. His father had seen Giles' grandfather run the family into the ground, so he reared Giles with an extremely strict attitude. Giles had become a Quadruple Master at such a young age because he had spent such harsh childhood.
“However, my family had fallen as far as it could, so what power did we have?”
Even if his house had fallen on tough times, he was still an offspring of a noble family. This was why he had the rights to become a knight. However, that was the end of the road. He didn't have any personal connections since his irresponsible grandfather had severed all them. He had to gain experience, but he couldn't choose where he wanted to enter.
After he thought hard about it, he decided to enter the kingdom's army. Since he didn't have the background to succeed, he had no choice but to earn it with his own hands.
“It's funny, but when I entered the army... It felt as if I could breathe once again. Do you know about observing the military discipline? It felt like a vacation compared to what I got at home.”
Giles' father required Giles to be the ideal noble. From an early age, he was put through a hell-like training regiment. He was required to learn martial arts and etiquette. He even had to accumulate knowledge. He was trained so he wouldn't embarrass the family no matter where he went. The royal army felt like heaven compared to his house.
When he heard the story, Boar let out a mumble as if he was letting out a groan.
“I never knew you had such circumstances…….”
It was completely opposite of how Boar was brought up. From the time he was young, he had victory after victory thanks to the power of his family. Boar realized how advantageous his upbringing had been.
“I'm thankful to the princess. With my unremarkable background, I would have needed a very long time to build up my career in the Western Border guards. I might have rotted there my whole life.”
As the representative of the Western Border guard, he had been successful in completing his mission of accompanying Arrieta to the capital. He even received praise from the king. Basically, he had done a meritorious deed that would be acknowledged in most circles.
Boar poured alcohol into Giles' cup.
“Drink up. You've sewed the most difficult first button now. From now on, I'm sure your fortunes will improve. The Dragon Demon Princess remembers you now. I'm sure you will receive a good opportunity in the future.”
“Thank you.”
Giles laughed in an embarrassed manner. The night deepened as they drank the alcohol.
8
Boar was heading towards the palace for work, so Azell followed after him the next day. He had drank a lot of alcohol late into the night, so he was basically half dead when he awoke the next day.
“Ooh-goo-gook. I guess I have a hangover. It's been a really long time since I've felt this pain.”
Boar, who was riding in the same carriage, laughed.
“I'm actually marvelling at this situation.”
“Why?”
“I'm surprised there is something you are weaker at than me. I thought you would be strong against the alcohol.”
“I think I used to be strong against it… Well, my memory is a bit fuzzy on that topic. I'll just have to be careful from now on. Ooh ooh.”
In Azell's prime, he never suffered from the effect of the alcohol. No matter how much he drank he would only get a small buzz. He never became drunk and he never suffered from a hangover. The reason being his body had been too sturdy after going through the Dragon Slayer's ritual.
He thought about those times as he continuously guzzled down the alcohol. However, he had become much weaker against alcohol than before. This caused his tongue to be tied into a knot. His eyes started to close. He had experienced something new as he started talking nonsense. Fortunately, he hadn't blacked out…….
‘I should have used that technique early on.’
There was a Spirit Order one could apply to protect one's mind and body from the alcohol or any other drugs. When Azell realized he was quite drunk, he used the technique to avoid passing out. However, it had been too late to avoid the hangover.
“Ooh-oohk. I never realized how torturous it is to ride a carriage.”
“This road has been service not too long ago. How can you say that? If we were on a dirt road, you probably would have thrown up by now.”
Boar looked fine, since he didn't have any hangover at all. He enjoyed feeling the sense of superiority and continued to make fun of Azell.
When Azell returned to the palace, he had gone into meditation to try to escape his hangover. He wanted to use Spirit Order to expel the remnants of the alcohol out of his body. However, his head was spinning and throbbing even though he was standing still. It made him want to throw up, so it was very hard to fall in a meditative state.
‘I can do it! I've bled from being cut by swords, so why shouldn't I be able to work through this?’
Azell gritted his teeth, and he focused his mind. However, it was harder to fall into a meditative state right now. It was harder than the time he had been stabbed and blood was pouring out of him. The progress was slow.
“Ooh-ah. You smell like alcohol!”
Enora, who came to find Azell, blocked her nose as she furrowed her brows.
“Jeez. How much alcohol did you pour into yourself that the smell of alcohol is this bad?”
“Mmmm.”
Azell, who had barely been able to enter a meditative state, let out a bitter laugh as he opened his eyes.
His surrounding was most definitely thick with the smell of alcohol. It wasn't the smell of someone, who had been drinking alcohol. It smelled as if he had sprayed alcohol all over the surrounding.
“I expelled the alcohol that had accumulated within my body. I feel a little bit like a living person now.”
“You can do such a thing?”
“Yes. I'll have to wash first... Is there some urgent business I need to know about?”
“Not at all. Also, you'll be put in an awkward situation if you don't wash yourself. Hurry up and come back after you wash yourself.”
Enora pushed Azell's back and exited the alcohol smelling room as if she was running away.
After a wash, Azell came back looking somewhat tidy. However, his condition was still not too good.
‘Ah-ooh. It seems I'm going to lose today.’
Azell frowned when he thought about Kairen, who will surely look to spar Azell today.
Enora spoke.
“The Princess wants to have dinner with you tonight. Since Sir Azell is leaving soon, she would like to see you before you leave.”
“All right. I'll have to recover until dinner time, so I could be passed as being normal. Ah, also.... Ms. Enora. A question suddenly popped up in my head. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“It is about the conversation you had with the princess before we left the Western Border guards.”
Enora tilted her head in puzzlement. It seemed she had no clue what he was talking about.
Azell let out a bitter laugh as he asked the question.
“Didn't you argue with the princess that your prospect of marriage would be ruined if you couldn't follow after the princess?”
“I didn't argue with her. How can I dare...”
“Anyway, I don't know why that was relevant reason for you to travel with us. I think the princess felt the same way.”
“It's common in my homeland.”
“Huh?”
“If a member of the noble family can't even carry out a single task given to her, then she would be told she wasn't qualified to be married.”
“It was such a trivial reason?”
“Trivial? You shouldn’t speak so lightly about it, Sir Azell. It is a very important issue.”
“Mmm. Still, Ms. Enora is still very young...”
Azell was speaking when he saw Enora eyes draw down like a hatchet. He quickly changed his words mid-sentence.
“…but you are a young woman at a blooming age. You shouldn't take on such a risk for that reason alone.”
“But it's the same for the princess.”
“Huh?”
“The princess was born into the role of the Dragon Demon Princess, and it is the main reason why she has to put her life on the line to fight unlike the other royalties. I hadn’t thought that highly of the princess when I first became her maid... I think the princess is an amazing person now that I've travelled with her.”
When she had been assigned as the personal maid of the famous Dragon Demon Princess, Enora had been disappointed after seeing her. Arrieta was dumbfoundingly beautiful, yet she was a sleepyhead. Moreover, she was too relaxed within the palace.
However, when she saw Arrieta fight on the battlefield to fulfill her own duty, Enora's view of the world went into a violent upheaval.
“There is a saying that my father always repeats. The nobles are treated with respect, because they are the first ones to put their lives on the line when tribulation erupts. It’s their duty.”
The Barony of Baire was located in the countryside and her family didn't own many troops. Of course, Baron Baire and the men of the family led the charge when a threat appeared on their lands. People respected the Baire family. It was a point of pride amongst their family.
Arrieta resembled the men of Enora's family. Arrieta was young, yet she didn't complain when she was thrust into dangerous situations. She didn't resent the burden she had been born with. She didn't despair about her situation, and she used her power for others. Enora was impressed by her noble character.
“This is why I don't want to run away. Princess is fighting so hard, it would be very sad if there's no one by her side to even brush her hair. How sad would it be if everyone ran away from her side? ”
“Ha….”
Azell stared blankly at Enora for a brief moment.
“Hahahahahahaha.”
He couldn't help it as his laughter burst forward. As if she was embarrassed, Enora's face was blushing.
“I...I'm talking about a serious subject yet you are laughing at it! How rude!”
However, Azell's laughter wouldn't end. He was laughing so hard that tears started to well in his eyes.
Enora let out her anger as she looked at Azell, the latter of whom had been barely able to stop himself from laughing.
“You are so twisted, Sir Azell!”
“…ah, I'm sorry. I had no intention of laughing at you.”
“At least, say it like you mean it.”
“I'm being honest. It reminded me of a memory from the past.”
Azell had a far away look in his eyes, and he put on an empty smile.
“There was a child, who had spoken similar words to me…….”
‘…Ahjushi is bleeding to save everyone. If there's no one to wipe ahjushi's face, it would be very sad.’
At the time, everyone ran away, since they wanted to save their own lives. When the despair came to him, someone had stayed by Azell's side. She had spoke those words to him. Everyone had shunned the child for being unlucky, but the girl's word had saved Azell.
If he thought about it, the girl had been a bit younger than Enora. She didn't have parents so she had lived day to day by wandering around. However, she had a quality that made her shine brilliantly.
It had been like that during that era. The darkness that covered the world was so thick that when one found someone that shone, it amplified the brilliance.
For a brief moment, he was lost in his memories. Enora asked Azell a question.
“What happened to that child?”
“She found a place to live. I don't know what happened to her afterwards.”
The girl was being shunned by the people, so Azell found her a place to live. He had never seen her afterwards, but he wanted to believe she had lived a happy life.
Enora pouted as she spoke.
“Hoong. I'll forgive, because of your story.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
“If you don't speak, you might actually be lovable.”
Enora's lips curled.