For an eternal peace (5)

Behemoth’s loud snoring filled the room.

“Garr….hhh…”

The cat sprawled over Kleio’s bed; its belly filled with the 14-course set of the popular Esprit restaurant. Along with the luxurious Meridis ingredients that made up his meal, Behemoth took delight downing several bottles of liquor, starting with Riognan Blanc, the Grand Vintage’s Tolytum Glishni, Budigala wine, and finally, some brandy.

‘His belly is so fat… Now, it seems I’ve paid him back in full. I did promise to feed him well.’

Kleio prepared to repay the favor three times over since the investigations of the treason charges, or what was now called the Brunnen Super Assault, started. Thus, the well-fed and already fat cat had now grown to the size of a carpet.

Kleio calmly organized his thoughts as he rubbed his belly. He had drunk a lot of alcohol as well. The air of early summer and the scent of a golden sunset drifted in from the open window.

‘I haven’t seen the roses properly this year.’

It was June, and the final exams were rapidly approaching. He wanted to put off alcohol and start a writing assignment. Soon, however, he found himself and the cat checking the map to find vineyards for sale. The potential vineyards had been narrowed down to three or four, and among them, the wines from the seemed to be Behemoth’s favorite. Instead of buying a few barrels, he was considering buying an entire vineyard for him and Behemoth.

‘What else am I going to do with the money? I should enjoy it when I’m in good shape and can move freely.’

Even after weeks of returning to school, Kleio sometimes couldn’t help but feel amazed at his daily life’s tranquility. The bells of the clock tower, the wind blowing through the forest, and the afternoons spent in the shade of the lab. It seemed that he treasured these things more than he expected.

‘I’m happy I could come back.’

The day after Arthur’s release, things had been tumultuous. Fran’s photos caused tremendous ripples as the public considered the photos as real. Melchior had been unable to contain the initial flow of information, as well. Given the issue with Brunnen, Albion had claimed a more favorable position at this year’s Dernier Continental Trade Conference.

‘I wonder if there is a deputy king as competent as him.’

Melchior had used it to his economic advantage fiercely, though it had tested Tasserton’s ability and loyalty as well as overturning the sentencing of Viscount Kision.

‘Well, he was even able to find onyx buried in the border area between Viscount Kision and Brunnen, too. How the hell did he find that out?’

Hearing it from Trude, Duke Tristein had found a pocket’s worth of onyx mana stones on his excursion, which would help prevent the aftereffects of the prince’s skill for quite a while.

‘It’s also known that Viscount Kision is an honest patriot.’

The self-defense theory of Schliemann Kision, made before the royal commission, had been gradually accepted. The discipline had ended with a fine, and the unregistered soldiers, weapons, and non-partisan knights all obtained proper military authorization. While the number of casualties during the invasion had been relatively small, the property damage was enormous, so a compensation plan was also prepared.

The central military had been criticized for their lack of response when a letter from Kision was found in a discarded filing cabinet. Less than a week after the articles went out, an administrator in the logistics department committed suicide after receiving charges of embezzling resources meant to go to the northeast defenders. He was one who was standing with Count Ramsdale along with the Aslan faction.

‘Melchior didn’t want the Kision estate to be hit directly when the real Brunnen invaded.’

Melchior must have his coronation eclipse as king of Albion. The work of Viscount Kision was a smokescreen to coerce a [Covenant]. Kleio could feel his teeth grinding when he considered what had happened.

‘The twins had their aunt to protect them, but Isiel was in dire circumstances.’

Her lord had been taken to the interrogation room, her father had been detained, there had been no news of his colleagues, and the castle she grew up in had been destroyed. It was a disaster that would’ve been difficult for ordinary people to endure.

But as soon as she was released, Isiel didn’t show any sign of difficulty and immediately began to take care of Arthur and her friends as before. Kleio hadn’t been happy that she couldn’t laugh even after all her hard work.

‘And next is more hellish training.’

Arthur and Isiel had the same behavior patterns because they were like siblings. Isiel, who originally got up and trained earlier than anyone else, had now devoted herself to studying and training without leaving herself any personal time. It was fortunate that she had Cel as her housemate to comfort her.

School life had started again. They have been assigned many assignments and tasks given to compensate for their absences, but the days where he had to pay attention to such things felt like a gift. Zebedee was dedicated to ensuring the students involved with the first-class treason charges could return without any friction. Apparently, he had been running everywhere for a week. He had sent a formal protest to the home affairs bureau and even convened with the senate’s education committee. The old man desperately attempted to save his disciples.

There had also been secret contact from the twin’s aunt, who was focused on restoring Kision’s honor. After the behind-the-scenes negotiations, the absences of the 977 members were eliminated and chalked up to a conflict between nobles.

‘But we completely missed the May Ball. It hurts when I consider how disappointed Lippi and Leticia were.’

The May of 1892 came and went like a storm. The more Kleio thought about it, the more ridiculous it felt and the angrier he grew, especially when he considered Melchior’s blackmail.

‘It’s really ridiculous to see. Let’s first keep this land from that royal.’

Why should he, the son of a low noble, have to hear such threats from the royal family?

‘If you resent God, keep that to yourself. This is a separate matter!’

The sale and registration of land belonged to human laws, not God’s. But exploring God’s purpose was different. The will of God wasn’t a document like a clearly organized land ledger. Kleio’s heart began to flutter as he leaned against Behemoth. As he stretched out his arms, the giant cat squeezed in and settled on his lap. Kleio buried his face in the pile of fur.

‘I’m not sure about the previous versions, but the problem with the eighth version is certain. The author doesn’t want the ether of this world destroyed.’

Memory filled his mind with Regina’s appeal.

‘Please fulfill the author’s will □□ so that the king chosen by the author can have a future.’

Arthur, the kingdom of Albion, and the power originating from ether must have a future. The God and author of this world decided to rewrite it in order to achieve that very purpose, even at the risk of a person like Melchior making an attempt to escape.

‘If closing the Door of Mnemosyne is a way to abolish ether and cut off God’s connection, I understand why Albion is the focus.’

Only Albion had the only remaining door. Therefore, wouldn’t God have no choice but to use this place as the stage of the narrative? How could it be a coincidence that Albion became God’s last testing ground?

‘I don’t know if that’s the reason, but Albion’s ability to utilize ether is definitely excellent. Carolinger nailed the doors of their magic school shut, and the Brunnens are passionate about developing new weapons with science.’

In the previous manuscript, Brunnen, whose industrialization was behind Albion’s, tried to compensate for that with military power, the result of which was the Albion invasion. That war would eventually develop into the prince’s war, ending with Melchior closing the Door of Mnemosyne. Kleio had viewed the transition of that paradise to an age of blood and iron as the inevitable flow of history, but it was a tragedy that should never occur.

He was born in the 20th century and had lived until the start of the 21st century. In the previous world, epic poetry had given way to history, and myth was replaced by science.

Therefore, in -The Prince of the Albion Kingdom-, humanity’s escape from the cradle of God and their loss of ether can be considered as a natural ending.

In God’s eyes, however, that ending was neither good nor reasonable.