Chapter 237 - Those Who Chase the Dawn (2)

I snatched up Twilight on instinct.

"What bastard is it this time!"

Grinding my teeth, I was about to rush out of the room when I stopped short.

Something was different. The martial spirit was honed to an edge, like that of an army on the eve of battle, yet there was no killing intent or hostility anywhere within it.

If anything, it was closer to resolve.

I lowered Twilight and examined the surging martial spirit again. Within it, I caught a familiar presence.

It belonged to the king, who had taken Nectar.

"Ah."

The king's energy was soaring, just as it had when he declared independence from the Empire.

"Has His Majesty done something?"

The palace spire suddenly caught my eye. A flag bearing a roaring lion on a white field fluttered there, and another was rising beside it.

A timely gust unfurled the limp fabric. It was a flag I had never seen before, bearing a truncated sun on a dark blue field. The contrast with the golden lion banner on its white field was particularly striking.

As I stared blankly at the dark blue banner fluttering beside the kingdom's symbol, the atmosphere around the palace abruptly changed. The vague disorder that had lingered since the banquet instantly sharpened into a blade.

Faint cheers reached my ears.

"... Long live!"

"Long live...!"

At first, the cheers had been faint with distance, but they drew steadily closer until they reached the very doorstep of my palace.

"Long live the Leonberk Kingdom!"

"Long live the Dawn League!"

The unfamiliar name left me bewildered.

"The Dawn League?"

Just then, the door burst open and Karl appeared.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

His face was unusually flushed.

"His Majesty has proclaimed the founding of an anti-imperial league!" he told me, his voice brimming with excitement.

Only then did I begin to understand the name ringing throughout the palace.

"The envoys from all seven visiting kingdoms unanimously agreed to its establishment! His Majesty has united them in a single alliance and named it the Dawn League!"

Without thinking, I looked back at the spire. The flag bearing a truncated sun on a dark blue field was fluttering vigorously.

"I see you were looking at the league's banner."

"The league's banner?"

"His Majesty prepared it in advance for the league's inauguration. I am told it represents the dawn driving away the night."

I could only marvel. When had he found the time to prepare for the league's formation, and even have a flag made? The initiative the king had shown lately was nothing short of astonishing.

Karl also told me the banner's name.

The Daybreak Banner (Dammerung fahne).

The name struck a strangely deep chord with me, just as Twilight had appealed to me from the moment I first heard it, just as the words "dawn's light" had lingered so vividly among the verses the man had recited.

My heart began racing again. It had been like this ever since Marquis Bielefeld told me about the title Knight of Dawn.

At this rate, merely hearing the word dawn, or anything similar, would set my heart pounding.

"Was that really my past life..."

By now, denying that the man in the vision had been my past self felt more unnatural than accepting it.

That thought raised a question.

In the days when history and Martial Spirit Hymns had been passed down without interruption, before the world had breathed in the poison of oblivion, the name of dawn had been nowhere to be found.

Of course, my past self might have died without leaving a legacy. No, judging by that lonely figure I had seen, he surely had.

Even if that were not the case, perhaps my past self simply hadn't been a knight great enough to leave a name in martial history.

But that could not explain it. Those had been dark times for humanity. There had not been a single human who did not dream of the deep night ending and morning finally arriving.

Dawn and daybreak were words that suited those hopes remarkably well.

And yet there had been none. Not a single Martial Spirit Hymn had woven dawn or daybreak into its verses.

It was so strange.

"It's almost as if, out of all the words in the world, only dawn and daybreak were carved away."

As I frowned in thought, a familiar voice intruded.

"Your Highness, what did you just say?"

It was Karl.

"Oh, nothing. By the way, Karl, did you know about the formation of the anti-imperial league?"

Only then did I remember that we had been talking, and I changed the subject.

"Yes, Your Highness. His Majesty informed me beforehand."

"So I was the only one who didn't know. The Dawn League. Everyone knew except me."

Karl looked uncomfortable.

"Well, it was decided while you were unconscious..."

"I've been awake for ages. That's hardly an excuse."

"Marquis Bielefeld visited as soon as you awoke and stayed for quite some time, and immediately afterward there was that commotion..."

Karl's hand rose to his still-bruised eye.

"Moreover, His Majesty personally gathered the Royal Knights and strictly instructed us, 'If he hears news from outside, he'll be squirming as though he's sprouted horns on his backside, unable to sit still again. Keep him ignorant of outside affairs until he recovers.'"

I was left speechless by Karl's explanation that it was all on the king's strict orders.

"He also made certain to instruct us to stop you by any means necessary should a commotion outside tempt you to leave your palace."

Embarrassed, I made a show of looking elsewhere, but Karl stared straight at me.

"You weren't planning to leave, were you?"

I discreetly hid Twilight behind my back.

"Me? Of course not."

"What a relief. His Majesty said that if you disregarded his instructions and went out, he would assign you to the rear in the coming war against the Empire. I was concerned."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to rest."

"I see. Understood."

The corners of Karl's mouth were twitching.

"All right, then. Get out. You're disturbing my rest."

For some reason, I couldn't stand the sight of that expression, and I snapped at him to leave at once.

"Then please rest well, Your Highness."

Just as Karl was about to leave, I stopped him with a request.

"Karl, if there are any books about knights of old, bring me some."

"What sort of books do you mean?"

"Histories, heroic biographies, novels. Anything about knights."

"I will look for them."

Karl bowed and left the room.

THUD.

The door closed, leaving me alone again.

I looked out the window. The martial spirit soaring toward the sky showed no sign of subsiding, and the cheers only grew louder.

I was burning with impatience. I wanted to leave the room that instant, to go to the Great Hall where that martial spirit surged and feel the kingdom's resolve up close.

["As though he's sprouted horns on his backside."]

What the king had told Karl described my present state perfectly.

"Ugh."

But remembering the king's threat to put me in the rear if I disobeyed kept me from acting. It might have been different before, but with his newfound, almost uncanny drive, he was quite likely to follow through.

If I went out, I would have to worry about the consequences. If I stayed, my heart would keep racing.

A day passed with me unable to do either.

Then, no sooner had morning dawned than a welcome visitor arrived.

"Why does the Knight of Dawn, conqueror of a Penta Knight, look so dispirited?"

A man stood in the doorway looking at me, wrapped in dusty furs.

"Vincent!"

It was Vincent Ballorhard, my dear lord of Winter Castle.

I rushed over and threw my arms around his shoulders.

"You'll get dust on yourself."

Despite his words, Vincent did not push me away. Instead, he hugged me tightly in return. The dry scent peculiar to the men of the North filled my nose, and that familiar scent naturally brought the sights of Winter Castle to mind.

"Is everyone else doing well?"

"It hasn't even been three months since you came to Winter Castle to drag Montpellier away. How much could have happened in that time?"

Vincent leaned back and studied me.

"You, on the other hand, have had quite a lot happen. I heard you struggled against a Penta Knight and suffered considerable injuries, but you look even healthier than before."

"I did a good deed, and good fortune followed."

I glanced at my original body before turning back to Vincent.

"But what brings you to the capital? Who did you leave in charge of the castle? Shouldn't you be busy preparing for winter by now? Is it all right for the lord to be away at a time like this?"

"I came because His Majesty summoned me, and I left the castle to Sir Quern. With the mountains emptied of monsters, I don't think we'll need to worry about winter preparations for a while. I left because I could afford to."

His straightforward answers brought a broad smile to my face. I had known for some time that the Ballorhards were free of the fate that had bound them to the harsh winters, but seeing one of them come so far south stirred something special in me.

Watching me, Vincent suddenly spoke.

"I don't intend to return north for a while."

I silently waited for him to explain what he meant.

"When war breaks out again, I intend to lead the Ballorhard Rangers into battle as well."

At Vincent's words, now devoid of any humor, an inexplicable resistance rose within me. I could not understand the feeling.

Vincent had grown up in Winter Castle, which saw more frequent fighting than anywhere else in the kingdom. His joining us should have been welcome news. The castle's elite troops would also be a tremendous asset to the kingdom.

I knew that. I knew it better than anyone.

And yet, strangely, I did not like it.

Perhaps I wanted the Ballorhards, finally freed from their cruel fate, to enjoy prosperous lives from now on. Or perhaps I feared some misfortune befalling the one blood relative my uncle had left behind.

Neither was grounds to stop Vincent from going to war.

"No."

Nevertheless, I opposed his participation.

"Winter Castle's defenses are sufficient without me."

"That's not the issue."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

"I said no."

Vincent frowned.

"Fighting for the kingdom is both my duty as a noble and my rightful privilege. Even you, Your Highness, have no right to deny—"

"Still no."

"Your Highness. I am Vincent Ballorhard. Head of House Ballorhard, commander of the Third Legion, and a margrave of the kingdom. Even His Majesty could not object so arbitrarily if he were here."

"No means no."

Vincent's expression hardened at my unreasonable insistence.

"But why on earth..."

"Because I don't want you to!"

My outburst left Vincent staring at me in disbelief. Then he chuckled.

"So it isn't that I can't. You simply don't want me to."

"Don't play word games."

"I'm not. 'You can't' and 'I don't want you to' mean entirely different things. The former denies my rights as a noble. The latter..."

As his words trailed off, an infuriatingly knowing look spread across his face.

"What? What is it?"

"This is why I'm fond of you, Your Highness."

"What are you saying all of a sudden..."

"Your Highness."

Vincent abruptly grew serious.

"What?"

"I'm not going to die."

For some reason, I felt he had struck straight at the heart of the matter, and I faltered into silence.

"I'm not like my father. I have no desire to achieve something extraordinary as a knight, or to live fiercely and make a name for myself. All I wish is for Winter Castle to endure for years and years, and for me to live just as long. Then, when you take the throne, I can strut around as a meritorious retainer and enjoy some influence as your cousin."

The stiffness had already melted from his expression.

"I promise. I won't suddenly leave your side the way my father did."

Seeing that look on his face, I could no longer bring myself to be unreasonable.

"So don't worry, and allow me to join the war."

Even so, the words would not come easily.

"I'm going to join whether you give your permission or not. Wouldn't it look better if you graciously agreed?"

"Hmph. Do as you like."

I snorted, and Vincent laughed.

"Then I'll go unpack and return this evening. It would be nice to share a meal for the first time in a while."

"Do whatever you want."

"Yes, yes. I'll see you later."

Unfazed by my sulking, Vincent said his piece and left.

"Whew."

Alone again, I belatedly reflected on my disgraceful behavior and regretted it. I still did not welcome the idea of Vincent joining the war.

But there would still be quite some time before war broke out again. There was no need to waste my energy already.

Before the war began, there were things that needed doing before the war began.

For instance:

"I'll have to ask His Majesty to make me commander-in-chief."

More productive things, like securing a key post ahead of anyone else.

I was already growing curious. What expression would Vincent make when I put him in charge of the supply corps in the rear? Whatever it was, it would surely be a rare treat.

I chuckled to myself for quite some time.

But all that depended on my securing the post of commander-in-chief. The king was even more opposed to my going to war than I was to Vincent's participation.

First, I had to win him over.

I had just gained another reason to get my confinement lifted.

* * *

That evening, Vincent came to my palace with some welcome faces: Yorden and the other veteran Rangers, along with the knights of Winter Castle. Gawain and his companions were among them.

I had a place set up in my palace garden and held a small banquet.

Neither Vincent nor I brought up anything troublesome, whether joining the war or anything else. We simply whiled away the hours in boisterous conversation about nothing in particular.

Our private festivities continued at my palace the next day, and the day after that.

As I spent my time forgetting my troubles, a week flew by.

A few more days passed, and at last I regained my freedom. I immediately left my palace and sought out the king.

Just as I was about to ask him about the Dawn League, a Royal Knight came rushing into his chambers with a report.

"The Dotrin Kingdom has declared war on the Empire!"

The war had already begun.