< Chapter 49 - King's Journey #2 (Revised) >
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Invitation to the National Foundation Day Ceremony.
It was clear that the National Foundation Day itself was a large event, but it was also true that it was a relatively common event that came around every year.
Because of this, there were many cases where local nobles did not participate, and the royal family did not necessarily encourage local nobles to participate.
But this time, things were different.
It was a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the nation.
Interestingly enough, people have always attached meaning to numbers that fit perfectly.
Like 10, 20, or 30.
But this time it was a whopping 300.
In fact, in a practical sense, 299 and 300 were the same, but they couldn’t help but feel different.
‘First of all, it is amazing that the country has lasted for 300 years.’
It was not a small country on the outskirts, but a great power that had endured for 300 years as one of the two great powers of the continent.
It was truly a great feat.
‘All the nobles of the country will gather.’
Invitations were even extended to minor nobles in rural areas.
It was literally absurd for Count Bayer and Count Chase, two of the twelve northern houses, to miss such an event.
“I will leave the house to Sir Victor and go to the capital with Gale and Uder.”
No one disputed Count Bayer’s declaration.
It would have been normal for either Count Bayer or Gale to remain in the territory in order to run the territory, but this foundation anniversary was different.
In the Chase Counts’ house, not only the Count of Chase and his successor Edward, but also the youngest daughter Cordelia were decided to go to the royal capital.
‘It’s quite different from the original.’
About 4.5 months after starting the Cordelia route.
In the original, Jude was still seriously ill and Cordelia was missing, so neither of the two counts could decide to go to the royal capital with such joy as they did now.
‘Only Edward, the representative of the Chase Counts, went to the royal capital.’
The Bayer Counts also headed to the Galeman Royal Capital because they had intelligence that the movements in the Wild Lands were unusual.
‘By this time, Haragen had almost taken control of the western part of the Wild Lands.’
But everything changed, and the two counts decided to go on a royal tour as if they were going on a cruise.
“Are you saying that the two of you will leave first?”
“Yes, father.”
Counts Bayer and Chase were planning to pack up and set off for the royal capital together.
However, since the journey to the capital was long and there were gifts to exchange with the nobles of the capital, the preparations themselves took quite some time.
“I have to discuss the situation with the Order of the Holy Cross and the Wild Lands. And finally… I have decided to meet with the Master.”
Iron Man Landius.
At the mention of his name, even Count Bayer had no choice but to take a step back.
It was obvious that Yuder, who had great talent, inherited the martial arts of an outsider instead of the swordsmanship of the Bayer Counts. Normally, it would have been normal for him to show anger, but even an outsider was an outsider in his own way.
Whenever the strongest player on the continent is discussed, the one who is always mentioned is Iron Man Landius. What can we do about him, since he is said to have inherited the martial arts of an ancient sage who defeated the Great Lord of Hell in the past? We should just tell him to learn well.
“I understand why you have to go first. But Miss Cordelia is with you······.”
As Count Bayer trailed off, Juder glanced at Cordelia, who was standing next to him. Cordelia made a slightly aggrieved expression, then blushed and spoke.
“I… I… love you, Prince Yu… so much….”
“Me too. I want to be with you always.”
As Cordelia struggled to continue speaking, Juder spoke coolly as if he was slamming in, and a smile spread across Count Bayer’s face.
“Hmm, well… if you say it like that, I can’t help but admit it.”
Cute guys.
As Count Bayer’s gaze turned to Cordelia, who had a pleased expression on her face, Uther also had a pleased expression, and Cordelia smiled awkwardly before looking back at Uther.
‘Hey, is this really the only way?’
‘Nothing in particular? It’s effective.’
‘Ugh······.’
Why is it that even though he says the same embarrassing things, Yuder is fine and he is the only one who feels so upset?
Do you feel like all the shame is yours?
‘Anyway, let’s wrap this up. Smile, quickly.’
Cordelia smiled reflexively at Juder’s wink, and Count Bayer continued speaking.
“If Count Chase permits, I will permit it too. But there is one condition.”
“What are the conditions?”
“Yes, report your whereabouts regularly and contact your parents. I will not allow you to travel without permission like before. Do you understand?”
“Yes, father.”
“Yes, father.”
That’s about it.
As Uther and Cordelia answered obediently, Count Bayer smiled again and sent the two away, saying that he would talk again after getting Count Chase’s permission.
And a few days later.
When Soluzia heard the news of Uder and Cordelia’s journey to the royal capital.
“It’s going smoothly.”
Inside the two-horse carriage pulled by a single coachman, Yuder looked out the window with a leisurely expression.
After Count Bayer, Count Chase also gave permission for the two to travel.
‘They also provided me with a lot of travel expenses.’
As expected from a master craftsman.
I really love you.
‘For now, everything is going smoothly.’
Although setting off first was one thing, the most important thing was actually getting permission to set off on the trip alone.
‘After all, it becomes harder to complete the quest if a companion joins.’
Since you don’t go straight to the royal road, but have to stop here and there along the way, if you have a group of people, there are bound to be some difficulties.
‘The reason why you have to get off somewhere else in the middle, or the reason why you know such a place.’
Fortunately, however, they were permitted to travel alone, and Earl Chase was a great help in this.
‘Huh, I still don’t like the fact that it’s so messy… but I guess it’s okay with you two. I’ll allow it.’
Count Chase, who spoke with his usual strict and solemn face, brought along a gift as he always did.
‘Thank you always, Father.’
Yuder, who expressed his gratitude once again, looked out the window with a smile.
Today, the world seemed so beautiful to Yuder, perhaps because the problem he had been worried about was resolved.
And the other side.
Cordelia sat curled up, her lips pursed in thought.
‘Euuuu······.’
Because the conversation I had with Delia the night before I left was still on my mind.
Cordelia narrowed her eyes and thought back to yesterday’s conversation.
“Young lady, please take note of what I say. You are not married yet, so you must never cross the line. Got it?”
“What are you talking about? You crossed the line. That never happened.”
Following my sister, even Delia, what kind of delusion is this?
When Cordelia unconsciously resisted strongly, Delia narrowed her eyes and touched her chin as she spoke.
“Okay. But I’ll let you kiss instead. Just kiss without crossing the line. Okay?”
“Oh, that’s why I said I won’t do it! Yu, Yuder is a gentleman, isn’t he?”
“I suppose so. You’re a gentleman. But you’re a man, right? You’re a wolf, right?”
“Hey, wolf?”
When Cordelia, who had been resisting, showed curiosity, Delia quickly nodded and brought her face closer to her and said.
“Miss, even to a woman like me, you are incredibly pretty, cute, and lovely.”
“Are you angry?”
“True. Anyway, how would Prince Yu De look in your eyes? He would be just like an angel.”
“Euuum······.”
First of all, he was a real angel.
Because I also went back to my ancestors.
“Prince Yude will be very patient. So please let me off easy when it comes to kissing. It’s nothing… I’m seventeen now, so I can do it.”
“Wh, what are you talking about? What are you looking at? And, if that’s true, then Yuder wants to kiss me.”
“You want to do it? And a lot?”
“Oh, that’s ridiculous.”
“No, why doesn’t that make sense? It makes sense. Prince Yude is also a man, a man. A human being. Not a statue, but a human being made of flesh and blood, a human being.”
Cordelia flinched and stepped back at Delia’s passionate speech.
But instead of protesting, she pursed her lips again and thought about it.
Because it somehow seemed to make sense.
“Is that really so? Is Yuder really with me······.”
“Unconditionally. Absolutely. Somehow.”
When Delia clenched her fists for emphasis, Cordelia unconsciously clenched her fists as well, but soon pursed her lips again.
“Anyway, it’s just a kiss. You know you can never cross the line, right?”
That’s all for last night’s conversation.
After finishing her reminiscence, Cordelia covered her face with both hands to soothe her cheeks that had turned red again, and thought.
‘That’s ridiculous.’
And I’m delusional.
Cordelia forced a smile and put her palm down before looking back at Yuder.
I was looking out the window with a blissful face wondering what was so good about it, and now that I look at it, I see that it was really handsome lips.
“Cordelia.”
‘The color is pretty. It looks soft.’
“Cordelia.”
‘Even so, since it’s lips, it’ll probably be similar to mine, right?’
“Cordelia.”
‘Why are your lips so close······.’
“Cordelia.”
“Huh?!”
Right before your eyes.
Cordelia, startled by Uther’s face that had come close enough to touch her breath, threw herself onto the edge of the chair, and Uther narrowed his brows and tilted his head.
“what’s the matter?”
“No? You didn’t think about that? You didn’t just look there?”
At Cordelia’s strong protest, Uther frowned again.
“That kind of thinking? There?”
“I don’t know! Anyway, why!”
“You don’t have a fever, do you? Should I take your temperature?”
Cordelia flailed her arms and legs in confusion as Uther came back to touch her forehead.
“Okay, it’s okay. Just use recovery.”
“really?”
“Oh, really. Oh, I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all. Recovery is the best, the best.”
“But Cordelia.”
“huh?”
“Why can’t you look me in the eye?”
“No? Are you just tired and have your eyes closed? It’s not like you can’t look at me?”
Although it seemed forced to anyone, Cordelia was quite desperate.
If we made eye contact now, I didn’t know what thoughts would come out.
Cordelia hummed with her eyes closed, and Uther squinted his eyes but soon decided to move on.
‘If you call me cute here, I’ll get mad.’
I think it would be cuter though.
But instead of harassing Cordelia further, Uther sat back down in his seat and continued speaking.
“Anyway, let’s talk about the schedule.”
“Schedule? I already told you.”
“Yes. We’re moving towards the Temple of Life as our first destination.”
The first destination that Uder and Cordelia decided on was the temple of Aeris, the goddess of life.
Unlike the Solari Order, which had managed to maintain its lineage, the Aeris Order had completely disappeared, and now no one even knew the location of its temple.
‘Except us.’
Like the sealed Solari Temple, it is a temple hidden deep in the mountains, so in the original work, its location could only be discovered after a special event.
‘But there’s the Uder Wiki.’
It was a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but Cordelia kept calling it “Uder Wiki” so much that it became a habit, so I couldn’t help it.
“I’ll go to the Temple of Life and secure the Orb of Life. To open the new gate of the Nine Heavens and Nine Gates, I need a huge amount of life energy. If I use the Orb of Life, I should be able to open the Five Gates without any problems.”
“Should I also raise my angel level there?”
“That’s right, if you absorb the remaining sacred power in the temple, you can raise your angel level. If you’re lucky, you might even get a sacred tablet.”
Just as the invasion of the northern barbarians in the original work ended in the defeat of the Kingdom of Cailun, the incident in the capital also ended in the defeat of the Kingdom of Cailun.
A great disaster occurred in which the royal family was annihilated and more than half of the palace collapsed.
“As you know, the level of the enemies is actually higher on the Wangdo side.”
“Even if everyone else falls, there is still the Patriotic Warlord······.”
Duke of Antarius.
A contemporary swordsman, one of the ten swordsmen that the Kingdom of Seilun boasts of.
Moreover, he was also a war hero who distinguished himself in the war against the Argonne Empire.
“I have to become as strong as possible.”
In the original, there was no need to fight the Guardian King.
If you fight, there’s no way to do anything, you just die.
“The Guardian King… is planning to bring Jeilgeom to our side and fight against him?”
“For now.”
A man called the First Sword because he is the first sword in the inspection.
He, also known as the Sword of Light, was not in the capital on the day of the National Foundation Day.
‘But we can change history.’
It was the same reason that the Red Storm, who was destined to die, was saved and made to lead the Eastern Army.
“Anyway, in the end, we are the ones who will be the main characters. First, we have to become stronger.”
“Yeah. Let’s just get stronger.”
As Cordelia clenched her fists and spoke, Uther smiled involuntarily and brought up the issue at hand.
“Anyway, it’s about time I came now.”
“The devil’s hand, you say?”
“Oh, you knew that?”
“Huh, who do you think is an idiot? Of course I knew.”
Cordelia shrugged and crossed her arms as she continued.
“Because Soluzia came forward herself last time. She was probably just waiting for us to return north.”
“What haven’t you touched so far?”
“Because on the way back home, my father was there. And for a while, both of us just stayed at home.”
It was also unreasonable to attack on Emma Pikus’ birthday.
In the first place, it was just a day trip.
“But now we have set out on a long journey to the royal road. And it’s just the two of us traveling together.”
“This is perfect for attacking.”
If Count Bayer and Count Chase had known how obsessed the Devil’s Hand was with Uther and Cordelia, they would never have allowed them to travel alone.
“Anyway, do you have an idea at this point?”
“thought?”
“You’re acting like a fool. You’re not the type of person to just sit still when an attack is expected.”
“That’s true. You really know me well.”
“Because I see it every day.”
“Yeah, I see it every day.”
Yuder nodded again and gestured to Cordelia.
“Come closer first.”
“Are you trying to whisper again?”
“Well, it’s important.”
“No one will listen anyway. It’s like that every day.”
Cordelia, who had moved to sit next to Uther while grumbling, pricked up her ears, and Uther brought his face close to her ear.
“Now, wait a minute.”
“why?”
“No, um. Okay.”
Cordelia took a deep breath to calm herself down, and for some reason, she even closed her eyes. Uther tilted his head, but soon brought his face closer again.
And so begins the usual conspiracy.
“What do you think? Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I totally like it.”
A bright smile spread across Cordelia’s face.
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< Chapter 49 - Journey to the King #2 (Revised) > End
