CH 110 Oaths

The moment he stepped into the Rose Palace, Ari shivered.

Before defecting from the Holy Court, he had also seen many gorgeous palaces.

The Pope's sanctuary was full of motifs of angels and crosses, the place airy and light and brilliant. But while prostrated among the priests wearing holy robes, he only felt like an ant being observed under a magnifying glass. And in his beloved Bressi where he was born, when he was assisting the expeditionary force, he was once received by the old Bressi King. Bressi's palace was resplendent and magnificent, the nobles walked about in splendid clothes with lace lapels and everyone kept uttering "Holy Lord above", but when looking around at them all, he only felt sad.

What nobleman, what king? They were but a flock of lambs bred by luxuries and hypocrisy.

But Legrand's palace was quite different from them all.

Its lines were slender and sharp, like a knife or a sword. It was like a well-dressed knight, both noble and lonely. The Rose Palace was very quiet, so quiet that one could feel that there was always a lamenting wind passing through its corridors and domes. At the same time, it was also very cold, so cold that it seemed that the person who lived here was not the most noble person in Legrand, but a solitary night watchman.

This place was so ancient, a place where majesty and death rest upon all the magnificent reliefs.

"As expected of the heart of a dragon....."

Ari heard the old association president beside him sigh.

"The dragon's heart", Ari repeated the words in his heart, suddenly shuddering.

The Master of the Households who led them stopped in front of a door decorated with rose reliefs. After getting permission, the Master of the Households pushed the door open.

Ari once again faced Legrand's young monarch.

The King was sitting on the high-backed chair beside the desk, the hand with the rose ring on it hanging slightly on the armrest. The moment he saw the King, Ali's pupils dilated slightly. Scarlet, black, turbulent swirls…..Ari almost wanted to raise his hand to grab at his hair.

The shattered picture flashed quickly in front of his eyes, as if he had forgotten something, only to be brought up again in his memory the moment he saw the King.

What was that? What did it symbolize?

As soon as Ari's anomaly appeared, the King immediately picked up on it.

"Your complexion is worse than the last time I saw you, gentleman." The King said, he looked at the old association president beside Ari, "Could it be that Bressi and the Holy Court have really fallen to this point, and can’t even feed and clothe a mere scholar?”

"Apologies, Your Majesty."

The old association president bowed slightly, then took out a crystal pendant hanging from a silver chain from his pocket, and swung it in front of Ari twice.

Ari, who was pale as snow, took a step back, and finally broke free from those terrifying phantoms. Panting slightly, he immediately realized his impoliteness, and instantly bowed deeply to the King in apology.

"I already know the purpose of your visit." The King said lightly.

"Thank you for your mercy in taking the time out of your busy schedule." The old president was extraordinarily respectful, "Please give us a chance to make up for our past faults. Your Majesty." His posture was placed very low. The King was younger than he imagined, barely an adult. But there was a kind of coldness and scrutiny that surrounded the King, which made people unable to underestimate him for his age.

Legrand was very fortunate indeed to have a true monarch like him.

"Faults?" The King smiled. "If you are referring to the Bressi expeditionary force you assisted and the assassination dream later, I don't believe it can be counted as faults. Would I blame all the soldiers who fight for their lords?"

He was smiling and his voice was very soft and gentle as well.

Just as Ari breathed a sigh of relief, he saw the old president kneel down slowly and press his forehead to the cold ground.

"Indeed, when two countries are at war, soldiers and weapons are not the ones at fault. Our fault is betrayal." The old president raised his head, "Back then, we betrayed Eleanor, and this is our fault."

Betrayal, Eleanor…..Ari couldn't understand what his mentor was saying.

The smile on the King's face disappeared, and the chill gathered in his eyes. He said softly: "Yes, you betrayed my mother."

The killing intent condensed in an instant.

Ari looked at the King and then at the old president, and finally knelt down.

"That was the worst choice we made." The old president whispered, "We are sorry to Eleanor, we betrayed her trust."

The King was expressionless.

The dark-haired queen mother sat on the black stone tower.

She flicked the arc knife with her fingers, letting the wind blow at her long hair. She hummed an old tune under her breath, the folk song of Kriya. On the night that Duke Johan became the King's Defender, the Queen Mother Eleanor hid in the darkness, taking a distant glimpse at the Kriya bard in the crowd.

Folk songs were ancient and passed down from generation to generation.

………………

The old president would always remember the girl with black hair and green eyes.

She was his best student.

At that time, he was not the president of the "Association of Prediction and Fate". He was just an astrologer who was unwilling to be controlled by the Holy Court but was also afraid of the Holy Court. He hid anonymously in Kriya which was surrounded by mountains. Among Legrand's thirty-six states, Kriya was actually the youngest one. The Kriyans originally lived in the mountains. They adore art and peace. They were an ancient mountainous ethnic group in the south of Legrand.

But in such a chaotic world, peace could hardly last long.

William III ascended the throne amidst the flames of war.

At that time, the father of William III and the Duke of Buckingham, Charles the Lion was murdered, and Queen Isabel married Duke Bedell, the brother of Charles the Lion. Duke Bedell's father was killed in a failed attempt to compete for the throne, and this had always been a thorn in his heart. After marrying Isabel, Duke Bedell immediately extended his hand to his nephew's throne.

After the Duke of Bedell married the old queen, his power swelled. Compared with him, William III and the Duke of Buckingham were just two too young brats.

It was a civil war that swept across the land of Legrand.

The royal family concentrated all their efforts on suppressing the rebellion, and the border lords took the opportunity to conquer and occupy each other's lands. Kriya, which was originally just a free city-state, became involved in the flames of war. The peace-loving Kriya was caught between two great lords and suffered from the flames of war.

Eleanor loved her homeland deeply.

During that time, the old president watched Eleanor perform divination again and again, wanting to know what the future of Kriya was, and why Kriya had to suffer such hardships. The old president also divined, he saw the blood and fire, saw the holy war crushing everything in its path, all the insignificant people were just dust under the torrent.

Was this their fate?

At that time he thought so. As astrologers, they evaded the deadly pursuit of the Holy Court, like blind mice being carried forward by fate, they could only follow the flow.

"Fate can also be changed."

Eleanor said so. When the border lords led troops to plunder their lands again, Eleanor divined the route they would take. She picked up the spear and put on the armor. At first, she was alone, but gradually more and more people gathered behind her.

At that time, there was no woman more beautiful than her in Legrand.

When she charged out of the raging fire wearing armor, all the light of the world seemed to concentrate on her person. Her beauty was like the tip of a lance that had been burned by a raging fire. She was fiercely beautiful, but also beautifully mad. An astrologer, leading a band of desperate men to fight like wolves.

Finally, the border lord and Eleanor who led  a group of farmers and herdsmen faced each other across the burned valley.

In the firelight, she was the incarnation of the goddess of war.

The lord was frightened and withdrew with his army.

The crowd cheered and raised their swords high. The young dark-haired woman dismounted and laughed with them. At that time, people flocked to her like a flood, and braided thorny vines from the fire that was yet to be extinguished, weaving it into a simple crown. A very old Kriyan man placed the crown of thorns on her head.

From that moment on, Kriya had her own queen, and their queen's name was Eleanor.

She was the queen chosen by the Kriyans themselves.

They loved her like she was their only god.

On the night of Eleanor's coronation, the old president bid her farewell.

"My dear child, you proved to me that fate can indeed be changed." The old president handed her a note, "Compared to you, I am a coward who can only run away. Now that you have set foot on your own battlefield, then it is time for me to set foot on my own battlefield as well."

The teacher and his student parted ways on the ridge where the flames of war continued to burn, and agreed to meet again on the same battlefield in the future.

After leaving Legrand, the old president followed the other astrologers who went to the Holy Court, crossed the Abyss Strait, and came to the Holy Court Sanctuary.

It took him ten years to unite all unwilling astrologers to establish a second alliance under the names of "Prediction" and "Fate".

When the association was formed, he wrote with joy for the first time to his pupil:

".....We will wait for the day of the turning point. At that time, those who read fate will no longer be dominated by fate, we will fight against it instead. I invite you to join us."

………………

"But you have broken your oath."

The King said coldly.

"Yes."

The old president said bitterly.

"It is difficult for people to always keep their oaths."

Especially in the Holy Court, day after day, personally witnessing the power of the Holy Court which was strong enough to defeat any courage. This was enough to reduce any brave man to a slave who lived in fear, and did not think about struggling until the moment of death.

"It is difficult for people to always keep their oaths?"

The King repeated this.

He suddenly wanted to laugh.

It was difficult for people to keep their oaths? Then, the Rose family who persisted for a thousand years, the alchemists who turned themselves into skeleton warriors.....what were they?

In this world, there were people who stuck to their oaths for decades. There were also people who were generous, but in the end it was just a moment of bravery.

"You're nothing but a coward."

The old president wanted to say something, but the King interrupted him coldly.