Chapter : 48
I saved you too.
So please, don’t kill my family.
Calix said nothing.
He only looked down at me.
How many seconds passed?
As I kept my head lowered, unable to meet his eyes, I suddenly felt a warm sensation above my head.
He had placed one hand there.
What did that mean?
Was he comforting me in advance, before killing my family?
For some reason, I couldn’t move at all.
I simply stood still, feeling the weight of his hand upon my head.
At last, his hand left me.
And without giving me any answer, he turned and walked away.
I collapsed on the spot.
I had survived.
Calix would not kill me.
But Father and Luke…
Would they still have to die in the end?
My body trembled endlessly with the fear that surged up inside me.
Calix was riding at full speed.
The gap between him, galloping at the front, and the knights following behind kept widening.
Every knight of the Crown Prince’s order was trained to match his pace.
But they had just come out of war, their stamina depleted, while Calix remained perfectly fine.
No matter how otherworldly his swordsmanship was, Calix alone could not fight against the rebel forces.
Naturally, he had to move with his knights.
But in their exhausted state, it was impossible for them to keep up with his relentless pace.
Each time the distance grew too wide, Commander Rell had no choice but to rein Calix in.
What made Calix so impatient was the most recent report from Everen.
Even while the war in Aolium raged, his men who had stayed behind in Everen kept him updated.
The Empress, as soon as Leon ascended the throne, secured the loyalty of the Imperial Guard. Their commander was already one of her faction, so it happened seamlessly.
Since the Imperial Guard was the only military force allowed to remain in the capital, the nobles who had stayed in Everen naturally yielded to the Empress’s power.
But then an unexpected variable arose.
For some reason, the Duke of Brockburk had rebelled against her.
The only family to side with him was the Marquis of Dalton.
In short, Duke Brockburk and Count Luke Ford were in grave danger.
That the Empress’s strongest ally had suddenly turned against her after she had already secured imperial authority was something no one had foreseen.
In any case, if Calix failed to reach Everen in time, the Duke’s household would be annihilated.
As he urged his horse onward, Cailyn’s desperate plea echoed in his ears: “Please, spare my father and Luke.”
“Duke Luctein Brockburk, do not die.”
Calix repeated the words like a mantra inside his heart.
Cailyn had begged him not to kill her family, never even imagining that it was the Empress who now threatened their lives.
She still believed, not only in his victory in the Aolium war but also in his inevitable triumph in the struggle for the throne.
If she ever learned that her father and brother’s lives were hanging by a thread because of the Empress, how shocked and terrified would she be?
That was why he could never tell her.
Of course, Calix himself did not know why the Duke had suddenly opposed the Empress. The reports from his knights had given no explanation, only the bare facts of the situation.
But remembering how the Duke had once risked rebellion for his daughter’s sake, Calix could guess.
The crucial fact now was this: the Duke’s situation was perilous, and he had to be saved at any cost.
For Cailyn’s sake.
No one, not even the Empress, could have imagined Calix would not only win the war but return so swiftly.
For the Empress, who should have been consolidating her hold over the capital and the throne, the Duke’s defection must have been an unforeseen obstacle.
Of course, even if the Duke hadn’t rebelled, reclaiming the throne would not have been difficult for Calix. But if the Duke could hold out until his arrival, Calix would not only save him but also strike a devastating blow to the Empress while more easily crushing the rebellion.
The Duke needed to endure with all his might, and Calix had to arrive as fast as possible.
As Everen drew closer, Calix pushed his horse harder, every muscle taut with urgency.
He even saved his breath, conserving every ounce of energy, until at last he reached the dirt road across the fields just before the gates of Everen. Beyond that lay the city itself.
At that very moment, when the road opened wide before him and he was about to increase his speed, he saw it—
A hazy cloud of dust rising in the darkness.
Not one or two riders, but a group.
Yet in the pitch-black night, he couldn’t tell whether they were enemies or allies.
He had no choice but to slow down and pull the reins.
The group approaching from the opposite side also began to slow.
“Stop!”
Calix pulled his reins taut and commanded.
Behind him, Commander Rell and the knights followed suit, slowing their mounts.
The distance between Calix and the approaching riders was no more than a hundred rota.
In the darkness, neither side could clearly see the other, and so both remained on guard.
What was certain, however, was that the opposing group was smaller than the Crown Prince’s knights.
Calix could not afford to waste time. He had to quickly determine whether these were enemies to cut down or allies to join, and then continue.
So he began to approach slowly.
The opposing group did the same.
Rell shouted across the distance:
“Who goes there!”
At this point, it was impossible to know whether those leaving Everen were allies or enemies—the situation could have shifted in the city while they were away.
Then, a reply rang out.
“Are you Sir Rell Levi, commander of the Crown Prince’s knights?”
The stranger had guessed from Calix’s silhouette and the size of the unit that this was the Crown Prince’s force, and asked after Rell.
But quick and sharp as ever, Rell immediately recognized the voice.
It was the Marquis of Dalton.
“Marquis Dalton?”
“Yes! Is His Highness with you?”
Calix also knew his voice.
As the Marquis urged his horse forward, his silhouette became clear.
Calix answered him directly.
“Yes, I am returning to Everen with my knights. Where are you headed?”
“Your Highness! I will send my son to you.”
With that, a man dismounted and hurried toward Calix.
Calix recognized him—
The Marquis’s eldest son, the heir apparent.
At the sight of him, a foreboding chill swept through Calix.
The Dalton family had once sided with the Empress, helping enthrone Leon. But when Duke Brockburk rebelled, they had been reported to be his sole ally.
Thus, Calix had hoped that at least Dalton and Brockburk together would resist the Empress.
Yet here was the Dalton family, leaving Everen on their own.
Even without explanation, the meaning was clear:
The Empress had struck first, before Dalton could join the Duke, and under concentrated assault, the Marquis’s family had abandoned the alliance and fled.
Ignoring the son, Calix urged his horse toward the Marquis himself.
Alarmed by the Prince’s sudden movement, Rell and the knights followed closely, prepared for the worst.
But contrary to their fears, the Marquis, his sons, and even his youngest daughter, Aby Dalton, had already dismounted and were bowing respectfully to the Crown Prince.
Calix asked urgently:
“Where were you going? Were you fleeing?”
The Marquis answered quickly:
“We were heading to Your Highness. The Empress and Grand Duke Leon have fully seized Everen, and riding the wave of their momentum, they sent the Imperial Guard against Duke Brockburk’s estate. The Duke is trapped inside, surrounded, unable to escape. We could not find a chance to join him…”
Just as he had feared.
“When did the siege begin?”
“Just before sunset.”
Calix’s face contorted.
If the Duke’s residence was already surrounded…
How long could he possibly hold out?
