“Your Majesty, are you not going to sleep?”
I turned around to look at Shusia and replied, “I’ll sit for a bit longer.”
“You should add some wood to the fire, then, or else you might get sick.”
“I won’t. I’m afraid of sleeping.”
I threw a piece of wood into the fire and watched the fire boldly envelop the piece of wood, then gradually burn the brown piece of wood into a black colour. I continued in a quiet voice, “I can’t sleep. When I sleep, I have dreams of nothing, but Luna’s smile. My heart aches so much when I wake up. I miss her so much. I miss her too much.”
Shusia sat down next to me. She looked at the fire and quietly asked, “If you do this, Her Majesty may not forgive you. Are you sure you want to do this? You handed over the map you struggled to obtain in the desert to keep your life, but you are marching to your own death this time. Is it worth it?”
“I’m not marching to my own death. I’m just going to pick up Luna to bring her home, and that’s all. The royal family’s cemetery is my family’s cemetery. Do I need to barge in?”
I then looked at her, “It’s just that I need to deal with the Valkyries. The Valkyries are my mom’s guards, not my guards. I won’t make compromises with them this time. If they stop me, your mission will be be to break their defences. If they attack us, retaliate.”
“Your Majesty…”
“If Mom can put someone who killed my personal servant to rest, then I can kill the Valkyries. It’s the same. Mommy Elizabeth’s actions this time infuriate me to no end. She only remembered her friendship with Alice and her contributions, but only felt apologetic to me. I don’t need an apology. I want vengeance. All I want is for those who deserve to die, dead, and those who deserved to be buried, buried.
“Uhm, that is true. However, you can rest assured Your Majesty. We are loyal to you, too, the same way I am a Valkyrie. I would never have known the world was so large without you and Philes. I am very happy to be able to see so much of the world.”
“That’s good, then. The one thing I am most consoled about is that I still have all of you by my side. As long as I still have you all, I still have everything. I’m able to bring Luna home, because I have all of you.”
“We will send her off together with you after we bring her back. We saw Miss Luna as our senior, and the personal servant of our master, the one who was closest to our master,” Shusia then stood up and looked toward the south. She looked at the capital that was so close to us now and suggested, “You should have a good sleep Your Majesty. We will arrive at the Royal Capital tomorrow.”
“Ah, I know.”
I looked over in the direction of the Royal Palace then threw the tree branch in my hand into the fire. I looked at the Royal Capital in the darkness as I took steady breaths. I gently touched my handgun in my arms.
‘This is my third or fourth time travelling this road now. Every time I travelled this road, I travelled it soaked in blood and surrounded by malicious schemes.’
‘This time, I’ll do it again.’
*Clack.*
I placed my loaded handgun aside. All that was left to do was wait to see if there’s a chance to fire the bullets tomorrow now.
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“Look, it’s His Majesty…”
Gerald returned to his senses when the soldier next to him bumped him. He looked at the cavalry unit ahead of him feeling slightly confused. The cavalry unit didn’t care that the street was crowded. They charged through the crowds in the direction of the Royal Palace. He wondered, “His Majesty’s unit… But why are they in such a rush…? Did something happen again…”
“Didn’t you say that you hooked up with His Majesty’s younger sister? Don’t you have any news?”
“I didn’t… It was just a coincidence… I haven’t even received the reward I was told I’d get… I wonder when I’ll receive it.”
“Gerald touched the tip of his nose, and then said, “Let’s go. Work finishes after our daytime patrol. I want to go home to nap in the afternoon. Let’s go drink at night.”
“Your Majesty???”
The guards at the entrance were surprised to see me. They quickly pulled open the doors to the Royal Palace. I ignored the stableman, who came up to take the reins, and continued charging in. The guards watched me charge into the palace with a stupefied look. It’s forbidden to ride horses in the palace, but they didn’t dare to stop us.
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Castell pushed Her Majesty’s door open in a rush. The Empress turned around and asked him, “Did something happen outside?”
After a moment of hesitation, he replied, “His Majesty has returned.”
Elizabeth swiftly stood up and in an excited tone asked, “What!?!? He’s back?! I’m going personally to welcome him! Where is he now?! Where’s my son?!”
“Erm… inside the cemetery at the mountain in the rear……”
Castell awkwardly replied, “His Majesty brought his guard unit back and stormed straight into the cemetery… He is currently fighting with the Valkyries, and His Majesty is not showing any signs of backing down. His guard unit and the Valkyries are engaged in battle. The Valkyries have suffered losses!”
“He stormed into the cemetery?!” The Empress was shocked. She then sat back down into her chair and in a shocked tone added, “Is he crazy? Bringing men and weapons into the Royal Palace… Doesn’t that mean that he’s revolting…?”
“If His Majesty wanted to revolt, he should be charging into the inner court and not the cemetery. I think that His Majesty’s goal is to bring Luna’s remains back, and if possible, I think he will destroy Alice’s grave. His Majesty is absolutely serious this time. There is no stopping him.”
“You head over first, Castell. I’ll go to the cemetery right after.”
The Empress then stood up; she looked down at her sleepwear and continued, “Since I’m facing my son this time, I’ll need to go face him fully equipped. I angered him this time. I’ll let him vent all of his anger at me regardless of how much that may be.”
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I took big strides forward, stepping over the mud and stone path. I looked at the marble wall in front of me. My guards behind me reloaded their guns and followed me. The Valkyries retreated. There were the corpses of a few Valkyries on the ground. I didn’t get soft-hearted. I fired at the Valkyries who blocked our path.
“Get lost if you don’t want to die. This is my family’s royal family cemetery. You’re just my mom’s guards. What right do you have to stop me from entering?! This is my family’s cemetery, and you’re stopping me from entering?! If you want a fight, bring it on! Let’s see what’s faster, my gun or your swords.”
“Your Majesty, the cemetery is a sacred place…”
“This is my place!”
I finally stepped into the vicinity of the cemetery. I glared at the Valkyries in front of me furiously and thundered, “This is my place! This is my family’s cemetery! I need to get your approval before I enter my own family’s cemetery now?! You’re just a group of dogs! Now piss off the lot of you!”
My guard unit and I paid no heed to the expressions and swords of the Valkyries. They fearfully looked at us as we pushed them back step by step.
‘I realise it now.’
‘In reality, the Valkyries are weakest when they’re facing me.’
‘I’ve killed for Luna before, so I don’t mind killing another. ‘
‘I won’t mind killing a few more!’
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