When Eugene and Carmen walked upstairs, the Third Division of the Black Lions, under Carmen’s command, was waiting for them on the first floor.
“Are you okay?” Nathan, the Vice-Captain of the Third Division, came up to Carmen with a serious face after seeing Carmen’s bloody right arm.
“It’s just a scratch,” Carmen answered nonchalantly.
As the Vice-Captain, Nathan had been assisting Carmen for dozens of years. As a result, he knew Carmen better than anyone, so he could understand the true meaning of her overly calm response.
‘She means it hurts a lot,’Nathan thought.
Her injury wasn’t fatal — there were no broken bones or torn muscles. Time would completely heal her. However, Carmen was in excruciating pain right now. It was understandable, as her right arm was bleeding so profusely that it had stained her entire sleeve.
‘Should I give her a painkiller?’
The only thing he could notice were the beads of cold sweat on her forehead. Nathan would have handed Carmen a painkiller without hesitation if Eugene hadn't been present, but he understood Carmen’s personality very well. She must want to look like a cool, strong martial artist in front of her very young junior.
The White Dragon Knights are outside,” Nathan spoke quietly.
“That’s not a surprise. Is that Alchester kid here too?” Carmen chuckled.
“Yes, he is here.”
Even Eugene knew who Alchester was.
When the question of who was the strongest knight in the continent was raised in a conversation, several names were always mentioned — the Lionheart Patriarchs; Doynes Lionheart, the Immortal White Lion; Carmen Lionheart, the Silver Lion; and the commanders of famous knightly orders.
Alchester Dragonic, the Commander of the White Dragon Knightly Order of Kiehl, was one of those commanders.
He was a duke, but he never showed up at social parties or was involved with any politics. As a matter of fact, Alchester’s title was bestowed on him out of the emperor’s utmost respect for his dear old friend and guard. His title of a duke was a symbol of ‘the best knight of Kiehl.’
When Eugene, Carmen, and the Third Division went outside, there were no spectators because the knights surrounding the building were intimidating enough that spectators wouldn’t dare to come up close.
“Long time no see.” A red-haired man with a dragon symbol on his chest plate approached Carmen. Although Eugene had never met him in person, he could tell at first glance that the man was Alchester Dragonic.
‘So, he is the best knight of the Kiehl Empire, huh?’ Eugene thought as he observed Alchester.
The current emperor of Kiehl, Straut the Second, was known to publicly claim that Duke Alchestor Dragonic was the best and strongest knight in the Empire.
However, the emperor said those things because the Lionhearts hadn’t sworn absolute loyalty to the emperor. For a long time, the emperor used various methods to have the Lionhearts under his control.
His greed was reasonable — the name Lionheart had a meaning. The Lionheart clan was extraordinarily influential to be considered an ordinary clan. The Black Lion Knights were considered equally powerful as the White Dragon Knights. The young knights who indulged in the fantasy of ‘knight’ wanted to join the White Lion Knights rather than the White Dragon Knights or Imperial Knights of Kiehl. That was also understandable. Those young knights respected Great Vermouth, who had fought against the Demon Kings and saved the world, more than the emperor who reigned the Empire.
“Is your right arm okay?” Alchester asked Carmen, looking at her bloody right arm. The emperor’s right-handed man and guard, Alchester Dragonic, was a handsome man with red hair and blue eyes that stood out.
“It’s just a scratch.”
“It seems like it needs to be treated,” Alchester spoke with a serious face.
“I’ll receive treatment in the Lionheart estate after I finish talking to you,” Carmen answered as she looked at the building. Even though an intense battle had taken place in the basement, the building’s exterior looked intact.
After checking that she could sense no presence in the building, she asked, “Were there any civilian casualties?”
“There were none.” Alchester shook his head.
“Are you aware of what happened here?”
“Your Vice-Captain gave me a rough explanation. So the Rakshasa Princess and her dark elves were occupying that mercenary guild’s office?”
“First, I want to make sure that the Lionhearts are totally blameless here,” Carmen spoke as she wiped her bloody hand on her pants.
“I have heard that one of your elven maids and one craftsman from a prosthetic shop had been kidnapped, so to find them….” Shifting his gaze to Eugene, Alchester continued, the famous Eugene Lionheart barged into the headquarters of the Rakshasa Princess and her dark elves solo.”
“To be accurate, I was guided here. I didn’t barge in,” Eugene spoke as he raised an arm.
“You are very reckless. Maybe because you are young,” Alchester mumbled, frowning. His blue eyes were partially hidden now.
Snorting at Alchester’s remark, Eugene said, “The elf under my protection had come to Ceres with me. She was kidnapped before my very eyes. I have a responsibility to protect her, and I couldn’t neglect it.”
“That’s some chivalry you got there. But son, keep this in mind — you are alive today because you got lucky,” Alchester warned Eugene.
“Have you been waiting here to talk about this kind of stuff?” Carmen asked as she put her cigar between her fingers instead of her mouth. “Kid, I thought you must be busy because you are the Alchester, Commander of the White Dragon Knightly Order.”
Stop calling me kid.”
“No matter how big you have gotten, you are always a kid to me. I still remember when you swung your wooden sword as you sniffled.”
“Stop talking about trivial stuff,” Alchester said as he shut his eyes tightly.
“Then I will start talking about serious stuff. Commander of the White Dragon Knightly Order. I am not an imperial knight of Kiehl and have no desire to receive a title. However, I am a citizen born in Ceres and love the Kiehl Empire. So I’m going to give an admonishment to you — Commander, Duke, and emperor’s right-hand man.” Carmen’s voice was cold. Unlike usual, she didn’t try to look solemn. “Why are the dark elves in Ceres?”
Alchester became quiet.
“It is none other than the Rakshasa Princess, the leader of Fury Independence Army. We have formally requested the Kiehl authorities to let us know if the Rakshasa Princess enters the Kiehl Empire. We even exchanged documents regarding the matter,” Carmen spoke as she quietly looked at Alchester.
That is because….” Alchester tried to say something but was cut off by Carmen.
“Although this is really not the time to say this, my niece-in-law has generously bribed several nobles working in the Immigration Bureau to let us know if the Rakshasa Princess arrived in the empire. We did so to prepare for Rakshasa Princess’ arrival, so you are not seriously going to take issues with bribes right now, right?”
‘Niece-in-law? Is she talking about Ancilla? Oh, yeah… Carmen is my great aunt.’ Eugene thought as he realized how old Carmen was once again.
“We, the Lionhearts, are citizens of Kiehl living in Ceres. And we have absolute faith in how Ceres is the safest city on the continent. Of course, it should be. You do know how much tax we pay and the donations we make each year, don’t you? So, why should we be the ones who have to confront criminals who kidnap our servants?” Looking at Eugene, Carmen spoke coldly, “And why in the world should we hear the word ‘reckless’ from you about this matter?”
“I apologize, so please don’t be too angry.” Alchester shook his head, heaving a long sigh. “I am aware of how the Lionhearts are totally blameless in this matter. However, about the Rakshasa Princess…. Yes, I will be honest with you. The Immigration Bureau of Kiehl didn’t know the Rakshasa Princess and her dark elves had entered the Kiehl Empire.”
“So they are not only kidnappers but are also illegal immigrants, am I correct?”
“Yes, you are right.” Alchester agreed readily.
Eugene found Alchester’s reactions a bit surprising as he heard the conversation between Alchester and Carmen. He was the Commander of the White Dragon Knightly Order, who was also called the best knight in the Empire. Due to his title, Eugene had thought Alchester would be an upstanding man, though a bit old-fashioned. However, Alchester turned out to be a timid gentleman.
“I also apologize about the Police Bureau’s ineptitude in the incident that happened in the capital. If you want, I will let you know who took responsibility in the future,” Alchester continued with his explanation.
“It seems you will need a new head patrol guard to oversee this district and a new immigration officer at Kiehl’s gate,” Carmen spoke flatly.
“I will order my people to do so.” Alchester nodded.
“Can you really just say that, kid? Wouldn’t His Majesty be displeased if you take a Lionheart’s advice to take care of this matter?”
“As the members of the Lionheart clan, if you can overlook today’s incident, we won’t have such a problem,” Alchester spoke gently as he raised his head. Every White Dragon Knight, who had been surrounding the building, took a step backward.
Thud.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the street as one — the White Dragon Knights moved in unison. That was when Eugene realized that no one else besides the White Dragon Knights was in the street.
“I see. So everything will be okay as long as we keep our mouths shut, huh?” Carmen spoke in a sarcastic tone.
“I don’t want to worry people of Ceres with this incident,” said Alchester.
“Nothing will be solved if you just cover this up.” Carmen had a hint of anger in her voice.
“We aren’t covering it up. Once we have investigated this matter enough, the Police Bureau will make a formal announcement to let the citizens know about the incident, so the populace can easily accept the situation. Then we will ask for their understanding.”
“How about the Lionhearts? Are we getting just one apology?”
“Is there something you want?”
Without answering, Carmen was now deep in thought. Eugene quietly marveled at how Carmen never let go of control in the conversation as she smoothly continued to talk. Right now, she wasn’t a crazy grandma who put an unlit cigar in her mouth and hid a weapon called Heaven Genocide in her pocket watch. She was now living up to her title of the Lionheart elder.
“The Rakshasa Princess might try to attack us again, so I want White Dragon Knights to stand guard around the main estate’s walls.”
“Until when do you want my knights to stand guard?”
“You should figure it out yourself. The Rakshasa Princess escaped from this place, but I don’t know where she escaped.”
“Hmm….” Alchester pondered for a moment, stroking his chin. After a moment, he agreed, “All right. I will personally stand guard in the main estate until we know for sure that the Rakshasa Princess has left Kiehl.”
“You will be guarding the main estate yourself?” Carmen asked in shock.
“Yes, I will.” Then, turning his head in Eugene’s direction, Alchester began to scan Eugene’s unscathed body as he continued, “I’m also doing this out of my personal interest… so you don’t have to worry about His Majesty.”
Carmen pondered without responding to Alchester. Although Alchester said he was doing it for personal reasons, Carmen could feel that wasn’t the case. Alchester was the best knight in the Empire and also the Commander of the White Dragon Knights. In other words, Alchester was the emperor’s ‘sword’ who never left the emperor’s side. So for Alchester to leave the emperor's side and ask Carmen permission to be the Lionhearts’ guard, it must mean….
‘His Majesty must be acting greedy again.’
Several days ago, Gilead, the Patriarch, had visited the palace and had an audience with the emperor to talk about the Demon King of Incarceration’s warning. Therefore, starting this year, the countries made a union to prepare for the upcoming war.
However, no country in the continent would be thinking, ‘Let’s unite and fight against Helmuth or the Demon Kings!’ Using the alliance as an excuse, the countries would show off their powers and try to gain something if they could.
The Kiehl Empire was already an empire, but Straut the Second, wanted to expand his Empire. His ambition had ended in smoke because he had to stay on guard against Helmuth. However, he had been furtively revealing his desire to conquer Nahama until last year.
‘The Lionhearts experienced rebellion. Our power has gotten weaker. The changes we made still haven’t been accepted by the people of the Lionheart clan,’ Carmen thought bitterly.
The history and the pride of being Great Vermouth’s descendants made up the current Lionheart clan. Just like the Black Lion Knights, the White Lion Knights were one of the Lionheart clan’s powers. However, they weren’t born as members of the Lionhearts.
What united the White Lion Knights was their loyalty to the Lionheart clan and their pride in serving the Lionhearts. Yet, the Lionhearts had been humiliated and weakened after the rebellion. Would they still be proud of the current Lionhearts?
They will.’
Carmen’s thoughts remained the same. The rebellion inside the Lionhearts had made the clan suffer from an unprecedented amount of humiliation. The Immortal White Lion had been killed by his grandson. The main family’s first son had started the rebellion after being blinded by the Demon King’s power, and a collateral family member, disloyal to the main family, had been the root cause of this all.
Still, the Lionhearts would not crumble. Doynes Lionheart may have died, but Carmen Lionheart was alive and well. So what if the first son had committed a sin against heaven by killing and trying to make other Lionhearts into sacrificial offerings? Carmen turned her head to Eugene.
Eugene was still young since he was 20. However, the boy would be revered by not only the Lionhearts but also all the knights on the continent in the near future. From the fight with the Rakshasa Princess, Carmen became certain of her thoughts.
I will feel easier if you come to the estate.” Carmen nodded.
“Besides, you will also continue to stay in the main estate, Lady Carmen.” Alchester shrugged.
“There are three of us — you, me, and this boy,” Carmen said as she kept her eyes on Eugene.
‘Three, huh….’ Alchester thought as he nodded with a faint smile on his face.
“Exactly what happened down there?”
“We fought with the Rakshasa Princess,” Carmen casually answered.
“With just the two of you?”
“Yes, it would have been better if we killed her. But it turns out the hundreds-of-year-old dark elf was aiming to be the next Demon King for a reason.”
As Carmen explained to Alchester what had transpired, Eugene began to think.
Iris retreated because she worried about the White Dragon Knights interfering in their fight. She didn’t want to fight against Alchester while still fighting Eugene and Carmen.
Something is not right.’ Eugene groaned.
From the start, Iris had no intention of negotiating about the elves in the Lionheart forest, so she didn’t act with common sense. She had illegally entered Kiehl, killed the mercenaries, and taken over their office. Then, she kidnapped Lavera to get Eugene involved in this matter.
‘She said something about being considerate of the Lionhearts,’ Eugene thought as he recalled what Iris said.
The Lionhearts never negotiated with dark elves. Since Iris was well aware of this fact, she had tried to make Eugene a hostage.
‘Did she have to do that?’
Iris controlled her Demoneye of Darkness far better than 300 years ago. It was so good that she had kidnapped Lavera without alerting Eugene right away. She had also disappeared with her dark elves before Eugene’s eyes.
If she had decided to go so far that she was willing to kidnap and hold hostages, she had various options. If Iris had sneaked into the main estate and tried to abduct the elves with her Demoneye of Darkness… then how could Eugene stop her?
What if she had no choice…?’
The World Tree had already rooted itself in the Lionheart forest, forming a barrier that protected the elves.
‘She can’t get in there.’ Eugene came to a realization.
He had to try very hard not to laugh.
‘Then there is really no need for the White Dragon Knights to protect the main estate…. No, they are needed. Iris may not be able to infiltrate the forest, but she is capable of pulling crazy stunts.’
When Eugene had thought that much, he couldn’t help but wonder. This place was none other than the Kiehl Empire, and Iris had acted this crazy against the Lionhearts. Helmuth would no longer recognize Iris as one of their own, no matter how much the Demon King of Incarceration respected Iris as the Demon King of Fury’s daughter.
‘She is going to leave Helmuth.’Eugene reached a conclusion.
Helmuth had never seen Iris and the dark elves in a positive light. Therefore, the demonfolks in Helmuth would never accept Iris as their Demon King, even if she had become strong enough to be respected as a Demon King.
“Uhm, it’s a bit late, but let me introduce myself,” Alchester spoke cautiously.
While Eugene was deep in thought, the conversation between Alchester and Carmen came to an end. With a faint smile, Alchester approached Eugene and extended his hand.
“I’m Alchester Dragonic.”
“I have heard a lot about you,” Eugene spoke as he received Alchester’s handshake.
‘He only resembles his hair and eye color.’ Eugene thought as he recalled the ‘Dragonic’ whom he had seen in his past life.
His title of the best knight of Kiehl was not the only reason why Eugene knew and took an interest in the name Alchester Dragonic.
300 years ago, Eugene had met Alchester’s ancestor.
‘He babbled about how he was half human and half dragon….’
There once was a crazy bastard who had abandoned his original surname and changed it to Dragonic.
