Chapter 544: Civil War and Escape
Ig stood by the window. In the soft moonlight, the evening breeze blew gently and smoothly, as if carrying the scent of the ocean.
However, Ig knew this was an illusion. Although they were in a town in the eastern part of the kingdom, the nearest coast was at least a hundred kilometers away. How could the sound of the ocean’s wind travel so easily into the inland?
Three months had passed since the war in Lichen City. During this time, Ig had not considered taking the girl across the western border to escape to the Empire, or returning to Mies Territory to hide for a while. However, the situation that erupted in the kingdom had exceeded their expectations.
The next day, news from Lichen City was that the Sacred Sword King Lancaster had fallen during the invasion from the Abyss. It was only after dawn that the Church Knights, led by Queen Filir, with the assistance of the city guards, managed to repel the invading Abyss followers.
However, another piece of news, which had spread from an unknown source, claimed that Queen Filir had colluded with the Abyss and betrayed the King, causing the entire kingdom to become unstable and uneasy.
At that time, Ig did not pay much attention to such news, focusing instead on the girl’s injuries and their predicament.
Lancaster’s death was indeed unexpected. Moreover, the King’s death was bound to cause instability in the kingdom. In Ig’s imagination, those ambitious individuals who sought to usurp power would naturally need a suitable pretext to challenge the Royal City.
In the following days, in the Royal City, Filir did not hold a grand funeral for the King according to tradition. Merely one day later, she held a coronation ceremony for the new king and, under the auspices of Cardinal Richelieu, became the new King of Peka.
However, to the surprise of most, the newly enthroned king was neither Lancaster’s eldest son, who served as governor in the west, nor the Little Princess Misaela in the Royal City. The Queen crowned herself as the new Queen and raised the Fleur-de-lis flag of the Pegarlana Dynasty once more.
“If Filir became queen, at least Misaela would be fine, still the beloved little princess, right?”
Ig suddenly thought.
He had seen the princess of the Pegarlana Dynasty in the royal palace back then. At that time, Ig vaguely felt that the Queen, who was rumored to be deeply in love with the Sacred Sword King, seemed to hide a shadow in her eyes… but she truly loved her youngest daughter, Misaela.
However, Ig knew this was merely his own comforting excuse…
He felt an indelible guilt towards Misaela, but Ig knew even better what he should do now.
Ig turned his gaze and saw the girl sleeping peacefully, her soft snowy cheeks revealed at the edge of the white bandage, bathed in the faint moonlight. He suddenly shook his head vigorously.
Filir’s claim to be the Queen of Peka and the reassertion of the Pegarlana Dynasty’s rule caused an uproar throughout the kingdom, further convincing the King’s loyalists that she had played a dishonorable role in the King’s death.
Only the next day, the Royalist faction, led by Duke Dawn of the Western Territories and Marquis Solon, revolted. The “Golden Lion” personally led a cavalry force towards the Royal City, but they were ambushed by the Western Allied Forces led by Marquis Mays, narrowly escaping with their lives.
Duke Dawn and Marquis Solon, who fled back to the Western Territories, accused the Queen in the Royal City of colluding with the Abyss and fiends and of harming the former King, and proclaimed Lancaster’s eldest son as the new King, calling upon all subjects loyal to the King to rise up in rebellion.
In Lichen City, the Queen’s decree also accused Duke Dawn and others of betraying the former King and attempting to usurp the throne, denouncing them as rebels and also ordering all knights in the kingdom to suppress the rebels.
In less than a month, the Kingdom of Peka, which had dominated an era, was completely split in half by this war. The Royalist faction, led by Duke Dawn, and the coalition of ambitious individuals, clashed with the armies loyal to the Queen in brutal battles across the vast land.
“A civil war for the succession of the crown…”
Ig muttered.
Of course, for him and Verafia, the succession of the throne was not important in their eyes. However, the outbreak of war and the vigilant military outposts clearly blocked their escape route to the Empire.
Even in the southern territory where his family’s domain, Mies, was located, these public welfare alliances composed of ancient nobles, under the leadership of Marquis Mays, were the first to swear allegiance to the Queen in Lichen and became the main force against the rebels at the beginning of the war.
More importantly, whether in the Pegarlana Dynasty under the Queen or in the territories controlled by the rebels, he, who had fallen into the Demon Race and betrayed Lancaster in plain sight, and Verafia in his arms, were undoubtedly wanted at the highest level.
Therefore, Ig did not even dare to return to the southern territory. Even though he had his family’s domain… his father, Marquis Mays, was a lord loyal to the Queen, and Ig would never dare to entrust the girl’s complete safety to chance.
“To the east of Peka, there are prosperous harbor trades. We can take merchant ships from the western territories through the Ralamon Strait to the Langeryat Republic.”
This was what Ig had told Verafia before. The girl did not object and nodded slightly in agreement.
The eastern region of Peka was not like the western territories with the new nobles greatly promoted by Lancaster, nor the old nobles of the southern territories loyal to the royal family. Instead, it consisted mostly of trade city-states.
Although the various city-states nominally swore allegiance to the Queen’s court, they had not yet truly become involved in the civil war. Both the atmosphere and the intensity of scrutiny were undoubtedly much more lenient than in other parts of the kingdom.
However, along the way, Ig and his companions remained vigilant. To avoid being discovered, they spent most of their time traveling in the wilderness and forests, rarely approaching concentrated cities… arriving at a town here was the first time in three months.
Ig carefully placed the items from his spatial storage on the table, the dim moonlight shimmering slightly on their surfaces.
More than a dozen Peka gold coins, the remains of Disax’s star core, fragments of the Light Realm Stone, the damaged and collapsed End… plus the remaining magic crystals, medicines, and healing scrolls.
Three months ago, Verafia had fought Lancaster with her sword, and Ig had only managed to flee Lichen City with her in a hurry. The reserves they had brought were not much to begin with, and without effective replenishment, they were already dwindling.
If it were just Ig and Ophi, with their physiques, they could have survived in the wilderness without much problem… however, they had Verafia with them.
Although the girl was a noble Goddess Princess, under the erosion of another will within her body, her body and spirit were even more fragile than those of ordinary girls.
These days, even though the girl didn’t say anything, Ig could clearly sense her spirit weakening due to the difficult journey over the past few months, the lack of food and medicine.
This was also why Ig risked coming to this town.
However, Ig’s original intention was not to let Verafia risk accompanying him, and he wanted Ophi to take care of the girl for a night.
Knowing his intentions, Verafia gently bit her lip, her small hand clutching his sleeve, clearly indicating her will.
“Veer, you don’t want to be separated from me…?”
During the journey of these three months, Verafia had never been far from his side, and when she slept, she often needed his company. After arriving at this small town, even though there were other rooms at the inn, she stubbornly insisted that Ig only book one room.
It seemed to be the girl’s fear… which made Ig both amused and pained, but what Ig felt more was his own responsibility.
Ig put away the damaged End and put the gold coins back into his spatial storage, then he got up and returned to the girl’s side.
He looked at the girl’s slightly revealed, sweet and exquisite little face under the hazy moonlight. Suddenly, her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she were having a nightmare, a trace of panic and fear breaking the serenity of her beautiful face.
“Young Lady, don’t worry, I’m always here…”
Ig gently held the girl’s slender little hand, a cold sensation transferring to his palm. Beneath the tender skin, he could vaguely feel her delicate bones.
As if sensing the familiar young man, the girl’s rapid breathing gradually calmed down. She turned over slightly, her small hand tightly embracing Ig’s arm.
A smile flickered across Ig’s lips. He did not pull away but leaned gently against the head of the bed, his other hand softly stroking the girl’s silky hair.
Ig’s azure eyes gazed at the girl’s porcelain-like, jade-like little face, which seemed even more dreamlike under the moonlight.
The vow to the Young Lady did not need to be repeated…
…
A ray of dawn shone through the glass, falling on the girl’s delicate and slender body, outlining a light golden and soft curve at the edge of the white thin quilt. Scattered streaks of light dotted her soft, golden hair.
Ig sat by the girl’s bed all night. It was only when the dawn light shone into his eyes that Ig raised his face again.
“It’s already the second day?”
Ig did not forget the purpose of his reckless journey with the girl to this town, which was to procure necessary supplies.
He carefully picked up his right hand, which was held tightly by the girl. It was sore and numb from maintaining the same position for a long time, but for him now, it was not a big problem.
After all, Ig was already Platinum rank. Through the transformation of the Demon King’s blood, his physical strength was even comparable to that of a Dragon of the same rank. Resting for one day and one night only caused slight mental fatigue.
Ig put on his outer coat. Turning back, he saw the girl’s still peacefully sleeping, beautiful face. He hesitated for a moment, then decided not to disturb her rare rest.
During these three months of escape, Verafia rarely had a chance to sleep peacefully on a soft bed like this.
Therefore, Ig took up a pen to leave her a note and then constructed a magic barrier outside the room that was not easily detectable but was real—for this small town, a Platinum rank magic barrier was enough to deal with almost any invasion.
After doing all this, Ig still felt something was lacking, so he set up mental imprints around the surroundings. Then, he glanced back at the girl before getting up and leaving.
