Chapter 319 – DEVELOPMENT
A week after Jude and Cordelia left.
Scarlet was walking down the hallway and looked out the window with complicated thoughts.
‘Are we really in a war?’
Yesterday afternoon, the emperor declared the start of a civil war.
To be exact, it was a proclamation that they would punish the rebels, the Chancellor’s group, but this fight was not a one-sided suppression.
After losing the emperor in the imperial capital, the Chancellor did not sit by idly. Whether through a.s.sa.s.sination or coaxing, he absorbed the rest of the empire and effectively took control of the entire eastern side.
‘It won’t be easy.’
Whether it was the power of the demons or the influence of the Chancellor who had been running the empire for a longer time than the young emperor, the number of n.o.bles who sided with the Chancellor was not small.
A civil war.
A war.
No one knew how long it would last.
Moreover, since the war took place within their own territory and not in a foreign land, it was terrifying to think on how much damage it would cause.
Scarlet closed her eyes and recalled her hometown.
A small village in the eastern part of the empire.
She did not think that the outskirts would become a battlefield.
But it was clear that they would suffer harshly from the things attached to the war, such as conscription and plunder.
“Haa…”
Scarlet wondered what she was doing here.
She was definitely on the emperor’s side, which seemed to be a very important place historically.
‘Ah, I don’t know. I’ll think about it later.’
Scarlet drove away her bad thoughts by shaking her head. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture.
Because of the dark night sky, she saw herself being well reflected by the gla.s.s window.
“Hmm… good.”
I’m still pretty.
My body is in great shape too.
With slightly flushed cheeks, Scarlet pulled out a small comb from her waist pocket and tried to comb her hair.
And after a while.
Scarlet returned her comb and took a long breath.
There was a reason why she was standing in the hallway at night.
It was not to rob some place as a Rogue Master.
No, this could also be a kind of robbing.
‘Please come to my room tonight. I have something important to tell.’
At the end of dinner, Lucas suddenly approached her and said that.
He was always a sincere and handsome guy, but when he said that, he seemed to be a bit cooler.
‘He was serious.’
It seems to be something very important.
Something that he wants to tell me.
What is it?
We’re in a situation where there is war.
No, perhaps it’s become more important now because of that.
All kind of thoughts began to fill her mind.
‘Well, lightly, lightly.’
It was normal for a Rogue Master to enter someone else’s room.
‘But it’s his room, right?’
What do you want to talk about that you have to call me there?
“Huu…”
Scarlet caught her breath again.
She was no different from Pink Bomb because of her face that had turned red from embarra.s.sment.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Scarlet calmed her excitement and lightly walked along the hallway like a cat before arriving at Lucas’ door.
She took a deep breath again.
And gently knocked.
“Lord Lucas?”
She gulped.
It was when she unconsciously swallowed hard. Lucas’ door that had been closed was opened, and Lucas appeared, somehow looking more handsome than he did at dinner.
“Miss Scarlet. You’re here.”
“Because you called me.”
She spoke with a slightly haughty smile, and Lucas firmly said with a nervous face.
“Please come inside.”
Lucas’ room.
It was not his real room at his family’s house, as it was just a guest room given to them by Marquis Buckingham, but her heart was still pounding strangely.
Until she took a step and entered the room.
“h.e.l.lo.”
A woman was sitting on Lucas’ bed.
“You were also called, huh?”
When Kajsa smiled and spoke, Scarlet briefly glanced at Lucas.
Her eyes were asking him to explain what was going on, but he still spoke firmly instead of trying to explain, perhaps because he was dense in that direction or he did not really understand what she was doing.
“It’s really important.”
‘What the heck is important?’
Why did you invite me and Kajsa together?
Scarlet frowned but soon nodded her head.
At this point, she thought that she knew on what was going on.
“Girl, I know what you were thinking.”
Kajsa annoyingly giggled when she sat on the bed.
“Hey, aren’t you the same? And didn’t I tell you to call me unnie?”
“Yes, unnie.”
Kajsa said with a smile again and Scarlet sighed.
‘Yeah, this is my fault for expecting something.’
There was no way for him to gather them together in the middle of the night and say ‘Let’s all get along well!’, so there was only one reason left.
“Pink Bomb.”
When Scarlet stared at one side of the room and spoke, a reaction immediately returned.
As if there was a haze, one side of the room became blurry, and the three people who had been hiding appeared.
“Oooh, as expected of Scarlet. Aren’t you good?”
Cordelia winked and praised her, but Scarlet responded by raising her middle finger before turning to Jude and Kirara.
“I see that you’ve sneaked in. Are we going to leave the emperor’s camp like this?”
As soon as she got to the point, the response was as expected again this time.
“What? Really?”
Kajsa’s eyes widened in surprise.
“As expected of Miss Scarlet.”
Lucas innocently admired her.
“Hehe.”
Kirara hugged Cordelia’s waist as if she was not interested.
And Jude and Cordelia also reacted as expected.
“Our Scarlet is smart.”
“Yes, it is as you have said. We don’t need to sneak in at night unless we’re going to leave quietly.”
At Jude’s words, Scarlet stroked her chin with one hand and continued.
“Certainly… it would be ambiguous for you who are foreigners to be in a real war here.”
The emperor and empress dowager trusted Jude and Cordelia because the two had saved their lives twice.
But that did not change the fact that Jude and Cordelia were foreign n.o.bles from the Sälen Kingdom.
Would Marquis Buckingham entrust his troops to Jude and Cordelia?
That would be impossible.
Unless their situation became seriously hard, he would not even send them to the front lines at all.
‘And… we have no reason to risk our lives to fight in someone else’s civil war.’
Their situation was different from the fights they had so far.
Even if the demon followers took control of the Chancellor and his forces as the two had claimed, the opponents they would fight from now on would most likely be ordinary people from the empire.
Just as the Guardians of the Holy Cross had no reason in joining the fight, the two including Lucas and Kajsa had no reason to stay here.
“Because you’re not from the empire. I understand.”
“Then we’re only leaving Scarlet, an imperial citizen? I agree to that.”
As Kajsa raised her hand and spoke, Scarlet’s frown deepened.
She knew that it was a joke and not something serious, but she was still angry.
“Hey, you know that I’m joking, right, unnie?”
It was only at times like this that she got called that.
Scarlet pushed aside Kajsa who was hugging her and giggling, and she looked at Jude again and spoke.
“I’ll listen to your destination and decide whether to follow you or not. And your purpose.”
Her words were valid.
So Jude also answered seriously.
“We plan to return to the northwestern side of the empire, at Asain Pa.s.s. It will be easy for us to join forces with the kingdom to support the empire by secretly meeting in the wild lands. Also, I think that my master who is active in the east will join us… After all, our purpose is the same as what we said in the beginning. We are here to drive out the demon followers in the empire.”
There was no need to add to the group’s anxiety by talking about the Great Summons.
Scarlet furrowed her brows at Jude’s words, and soon nodded her head.
“Okay, I’ll go with you.”
“Tsk.”
Kajsa immediately clicked her tongue and sounded disappointed, but Scarlet was pleased. Because Lucas sighed in relief as though he liked her answer.
And there was one more person who sighed in relief.
“Oh, that’s good. I also did not forget Scarlet’s share.”
“My share?”
“Yes, Scarlet’s share.”
With a giggle, Cordelia explained the events of Zainan Gorge one by one.
Lucas and Kajsa’s eyes slightly lit up when they heard that the small white snake that was wrapped around Kirara’s waist was actually Serpent King Nagaros, but the reactions they showed to the rest of the story were exactly as expected.
“I see. So you’ve figured out the location of the fifth and last slate?”
“Yes, there’s a saying that if you collect all five slates, the path to Solari’s treasure will open.”
Collecting four slates would reveal the location of the tomb of champion Gallus, and adding the fifth slate would reveal the location of Solari’s treasure.
It was a treasure hunt that made someone go from one place to another, but it was an understandable story from Scarlet’s perspective.
The treasures of the Rogue Master were hidden in a similar way, so it was understandable if the treasure of the sun G.o.ddess Solari was hidden that way.
‘I’m curious though.’
What in the world is in there that they hid it that way?
“Where is the location?”
“It’s close to the Shadow Forest. That’s why after moving to Asain Pa.s.s, me and Jude will be quickly going there together.”
At Cordelia’s words, Lucas nodded without giving it much thought, but not for Kajsa and Scarlet.
“Wait a minute. Only you two?”
“Hoh, only you two.”
The gazes of the two women had a look of suspicion. But Cordelia spoke with a brazen face, as if proving the old sayings of ‘he who touches pitch shall be defiled therewith’ and ‘the student surpa.s.ses the master.’
“Well, it’s efficient this way. Right, Jude?”
“It is efficient.”
Jude also responded shamelessly.
“Hmmm… I see. It’s efficient, huh?”
Cordelia flinched at Kajsa’s attack with her eyes, but still managed to keep her expression.
Her idea was a bit different, but it was true that it was efficient.
But it was at that time.
Scarlet narrowed her eyes and said with a grin.
“Pink Bomb, isn’t it more efficient if only one of you go?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, one is a Grand Sword Master and the other is a Grand Wizard, so you both possess tremendous combat power. Why do you need to stick together then? Isn’t it more efficient to go to different places especially when the situation is chaotic now?”
“She’s right?”
Kajsa had somewhat agreed too.
Lucas nodded as if it made sense to him.
Jude and Cordelia.
Together, they were Judelia.
A Grand Sword Master and a Grand Wizard.
They were only going to look for a slate and not going for a fight, so they did not really need two powerhouses to move together.
Cordelia stammered at their sharp remarks.
It was because she could not come up with an excuse.
“That… uh…”
What do we do?
Should I act like we used to?
That I love him so much that I can’t bear to part with him?
‘I-I don’t think that’s acting though…’
Because she could not imagine being apart from Jude now.
And it was the same for Jude.
“Uh, no. Cordelia and I must go together.”
Jude declared as he held Cordelia’s waist with one arm.
Cordelia’s love filter made her admire his confident appearance that allowed no objections, and the rest of the party looked suspiciously at them, but soon nodded their heads.
“Well, actually, I can’t imagine you two being apart each other.”
“So do I.”
As Kajsa and Lucas spoke one at a time, Scarlet pouted her lips.
“I knew it would be like this.”
Given the situation, it seemed like she could not forcefully have Kirara go with them again this time.
“Okay, so are we leaving right now?”
After all, they had to eventually leave the emperor’s camp, or to be exact, the mansion of Marquis Buckingham.
Jude nodded at Scarlet’s words and said.
“We’ve already planned a route to get out of here, so just pack your luggage. Will 10 minutes be enough?”
“It’s enough. Because I don’t have much luggage.”
Scarlet shrugged and grabbed Kajsa’s arm, dragging the latter out of the room.
And three days later in the evening.
After leaving the mansion of Marquis Buckingham and moving to a place where they could see the Shadow Forest, the party once again parted ways.
“Train with the dungeon books every day, okay?”
“I will, Master. This Kirara will work hard.”
“Yes, I believe in Kirara.”
“Hehehe.”
Kirara wagged her tail and looked at Cordelia with antic.i.p.ation, so Cordelia spread her arms out. After hugging the small cat beastkin girl tightly, she talked to Scarlet and Kajsa too.
“You two, don’t forget it. I’ll check you two when we come back.”
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“Hey, are we kids? Aren’t we older than you?”
The words of the two were reasonable, but this was Pleiades where Confucianism beliefs did not exist.
Cordelia simply snorted at the elders’ remarks before walking to Jude.
“Then Lord Lucas, we’ll be going.”
“Yes, take care.”
“You, too. Please take care of Scarlet, Kajsa, and Kirara.”
When Cordelia kindly spoke, Lucas nodded again.
“Yes, I will risk my life to protect the three.”
Cordelia smiled at the sight of him beautifully swearing while even pulling out his sword.
After all, this Lucas looked the best when he was like this.
A pure and innocent boy.
A vengeful and fallen demonic human did not suit him.
“Then shall we get going?”
“Let’s go.”
They had two Phantom Steeds, but they only summoned one this time.
“Then take care. We’ll be back soon.”
“We’ll meet you at Asain Pa.s.s.”
Cordelia and Jude greeted the group, and the rest waved their hands as they saw them off.
It was a moonlit night.
The Phantom Steed lightly flew and the two tightly hugged each other.
Scarlet watched Jude and Cordelia moving away under the white moonlight, and unintentionally turned to Kajsa who smiled and said.
“Are they going to have an accident this time?”
“Accident? What accident?”
“Are they finally going to do it?”
“Well…”
In fact, it was more surprising that the two had not done it before.
Scarlet shrugged and let out a long breath.
Demon followers were running wildly and a war was brewing, yet those two were going to do everything in order to do ‘that.’
‘Well, perhaps this time around, they’ll do it… They’ll have an accident.’
The civil war had yet to begin in earnest.
But it was only a matter of time.
In a few days at the latest, a real war will begin in which countless people will kill each other and die.
‘That’s why I’m feeling sentimental.’
How much time would those two have to be together like that?
Scarlet shook her head. She rid herself of her anxious thoughts and waved once more to Jude and Cordelia who now looked as small as dots.
‘Have a safe trip. I’ll listen to your bragging later, so have an accident, okay?’
Scarlet finished her thoughts with a snicker and turned around.
She smiled helplessly at Kajsa, Kirara, and Lucas who was oblivious in many ways.