Chapter 68 : Chapter 68

Chapter 68. The Lion Banner

In the study of the La Roche Residence in Thorne City,

Lucius sat behind a broad desk like a statue carved from marble, cold, rigid, and devoid of life.

His eyes were fixed on the letter spread open before him, reading it with care.

It had come from Baron Pendragon of Obsidian Territory.

“...A massive tide of beasts has poured out from the depths of Nightsong Forest... its scale and ferocity far exceed anything recorded...

Obsidian Territory successfully repelled it by relying on its city walls and fire-oil trenches, though only after suffering heavy casualties... Lucerne City was likewise attacked and also held by relying on its walls...”

“...The reappearance of the beast tide is likely no coincidence.

Sir, you should remain vigilant. Other regions of the Western Frontier may also suffer similar disasters...”

Lucius’s long fingers lightly rubbed across the two words “beast tide,” his fingertips cold.

“The beast tide...” he repeated softly.

Seated across from him, Marquis Marcus raised his head at the words, his thick brows drawing together.

He had been impatiently flipping through a stack of military supply manifests.

“The beast tide?

Didn’t that thing disappear ages ago? An old relic that vanished together with the elves!

That’s what the boy Eli wrote in his letter?”

he asked in a rough voice, both unfamiliar with and wary of the term.

Lucius did not answer immediately. He gently pushed the letter over to Marcus, but his gaze drifted toward the depths of that ancient and perilous forest.

“When something long vanished reappears...” he said slowly,

“it often means... that the balance has been broken.

The old order is loosening, and something new... or perhaps something even older... is trying to return.”

Marcus picked up the letter and skimmed through it quickly. A look of shock appeared on his rugged face as well.

“Hiss... that many beasts? That boy... not bad! He actually managed to hold it!”

He lowered the letter and looked at Lucius.

“Sir Lucius, does this reappearance of the beast tide really mean some great upheaval, just as you said?”

Lucius withdrew his gaze and looked at Marcus. It was as though he wanted to smile, and yet as though he wanted to sigh. In the end, all that escaped him was a long breath.

“Troubled times indeed...”

He paused, and his tone returned to its usual calm.

“Still, since both Obsidian Territory and Lucerne City managed to repel it through their own strength,

that at least proves the scale of this outbreak has not yet reached the kind described in the old legends, the kind that sweeps across a thousand miles.

For the Western Frontier as a whole, for now... it is still manageable.”

Marcus nodded in deep agreement.

“That’s true enough! As long as it isn’t the sort that blots out the sky.

With our defenses, and with fellows like Eli holding the line out front as nails in the ground, it won’t be much of a problem!”

He picked up the military supply manifests again, as though the threat of the beast tide had already been turned over and set aside in his mind.

Lucius’s gaze returned to Eli’s letter, and his fingertips brushed once more over the signature “Pendragon.” In the depths of his eyes flickered an exceedingly complicated glimmer.

He remained silent for a few seconds before adding, in a tone almost like a murmur to himself,

“Besides... from another angle, this may not be a bad thing.”

“A good thing?” Marcus looked up in surprise, his rugged face full of confusion.

“The beast tide is a good thing?”

Lucius lifted the tea at his hand, though it had long since gone cold, and took a sip.

“I fear that every territory near the forest has suffered a beast tide of one scale or another.

The pressure of the beast tide hangs above their heads like a sword.”

He set the cup down, and the bottom of the porcelain struck the tabletop with a crisp sound.

“It can effectively prevent... certain rising powers from expanding too rapidly in times of peace until, in the end... they become too large to control.”

Marcus froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha! Sir Lucius! Your heart really is cold enough!”

He pointed at Lucius, a trace of teasing in his expression.

“Didn’t you rather admire that boy Eli? Back in the Council Hall, you even said it was a wise move for him to change his surname and establish his independence!”

Lucius’s expression did not change in the slightest.

He met Marcus’s mocking gaze calmly, his voice steady.

“Admiration is a personal preference. The stability and order of the Western Frontier are my duty.

I am myself. The Western Frontier is the Western Frontier.”

He paused, then added,

“Personal feelings should not stand above the greater whole. That is the most basic... quality of a ruler.”

Marcus’s laughter gradually faded. He looked thoughtfully at Lucius’s expressionless face, and in the end merely shook his head.

“You people who play politics all have filthy hearts.”

After that, he stopped pressing the subject and lowered his head to continue wrestling with that heap of tedious manifests.

...

In the study of the lord’s keep in Obsidian Territory, the lamplight flickered, casting Eli’s bent figure against the wall as he leaned over his desk.

He had just finished dealing with the last document regarding the allocation of supplies to Lucerne City and rubbed his slightly sore eyes.

Yet the intelligence regarding Rhein of Kael City still lingered in his mind.

“Since you think it was the regular Western Frontier Army...”

Dipping his fingertips in ink, Eli quickly began writing on a fresh sheet of parchment.

“Brandon, immediately raise the roaring golden lion banner of the La Roche Family at the highest and most conspicuous point of Lucerne City’s walls.

No explanation is needed. Simply do as ordered. Be cautious in all affairs of the territory. Eli Pendragon.”

The pen paused briefly over the signature, the ink darkening there.

To hang the banner of the La Roche Family above Lucerne City was nakedly borrowing another’s prestige to cow others.

The risk was no small one. If Sir Lucius discerned the true purpose behind it, the consequences would be hard to predict.

But if he wanted time for development, and if he wanted to keep that beast called Rhein of Kael City in check, this was the most effective solution Eli could think of at present.

Hmm... perhaps it could also serve as proof that loyal Eli remained faithful and respectful to the La Roche Family day after day.

After writing the final letter, Eli carefully blew the ink dry, rolled the letter up neatly, and tied it with a silk cord.

He walked to the window and pushed it open.

Screee!

A clear cry pierced the night sky.

Coalball descended soundlessly onto the windowsill like a ghost merging with the darkness.

Tilting his tiny head, he fixed his obsidian-black eyes on the message tube in Eli’s hand.

Eli fastened the tube to the specially made copper ring on Coalball’s claw and gently stroked his smooth, cool feathers.

“Coalball, go to Lucerne City. Find Brandon,” he instructed in a low voice.

This clever raven, after making many trips to and from Lucerne City, had long since memorized the route.

At last, routine communication with Lucerne City could be freed from the speed and risk of relying on messengers and instead entrusted to this courier of the skies.

Coalball seemed to understand. He lightly rubbed his beak against Eli’s fingers.

Then he spread his broad black wings and silently glided into the deep night.

Watching Coalball disappear, Eli gently closed the window, shutting out the chill.

The study fell quiet again, with only the faint crackling of candle flames remaining.

He looked around the room. Though tidied and orderly, it still felt strangely empty. His gaze swept over the hardwood chair where Sebastian usually sat.

That mysterious old steward...

ever since returning from the depths of Nightsong Forest, seemed to have vanished completely.

Just as he always left without a sound, without warning, and without a trace.

Eli’s brow furrowed slightly.

That encounter in the depths of the forest, that bizarre scene from The Homage of Ten Thousand Beasts, that whisper that had spoken directly to the soul...

Could it be that unfathomable existence had done something to him?

Or had he discovered something even more urgent, something that had to be dealt with immediately?

Or perhaps... his very existence was connected in some way to the secrets hidden deep within that forest, in a way Eli still did not understand?

The old steward’s presence had always been faint, so faint that people often forgot him.

Wait...

Could that whisper in his mind have been spoken by the princess Gulu mentioned?

Yes, that seemed very likely.

Just as his thoughts were turning over one after another, a soft weight quietly settled onto his left shoulder.

Eli paused slightly and turned his head.

At some unknown moment, Aila had come up behind him.

She seemed terribly sleepy. She simply stood there, resting her forehead lightly against his shoulder, with most of her body weight leaning into him.

Her long lashes, like the weary wings of a butterfly, lay quietly over her eyelids, and her breathing was even and shallow.

A few smooth strands of hair slipped down and brushed against the side of Eli’s neck, bringing a faint ticklish sensation.

She had fallen asleep.

Eli’s gaze softened at once.

He carefully turned around, afraid of waking her.

Then he slipped one arm beneath the bend of her knees and the other around her slender yet supple waist and back, lifting the sleeping Aila securely into his arms.

Perhaps sensing the movement, Aila gave a soft little murmur in her sleep.

Her small head instinctively nestled against him, seeking a more comfortable position, and her breathing soon turned steady and even once more.

She entrusted herself to him completely, without the slightest guard.

Carrying her in his arms, Eli walked out of the study with steady steps, crossed the silent corridor, and headed toward the room that belonged to them.

He pushed the door open, gently laid Aila upon the broad, soft bed, and tucked the blanket in around her.

Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Eli bent down and pressed a kiss as light as a feather to her smooth forehead.

Outside the door, the night had grown deep.

He raised a hand and extinguished the flame of the last wall lamp in the corridor.

Darkness came down gently around them.

“That’s enough work for today,” he murmured softly to himself.

There were more important things ahead tonight.