Chapter 9.6

“…Hugo, please, come here. You’re only going away for a little while.”

“W-Where are we going?”

“It’ll only be a moment. Just a moment. When it’s over, I’ll come get you… I promise.”

“Liar…!”

There was no joy left on Hugo’s tearful face.

“You come back after years and this is what you do! How could you, brother…!”

At that moment.

Thud.

The knight standing in front of Hugo swung the hilt of his sword in the air.

“H-Hugo…!”

Hugo collapsed, blood streaming from his head. Winor’s eyes wavered as he looked at his sibling.

As Winor tried to lift Hugo with trembling hands, the knight blocked him.

“Don’t do anything foolish.”

“T-This can’t be. Didn’t you say you’d take them safely?”

“Safely?”

The knight clicked his tongue and looked Winor up and down.

“If you sold your siblings to save yourself, you should have expected this.”

“I-I never sold them…!”

Ignoring Winor’s words, the knight slung the fallen Hugo over his shoulder. The other knight picked up the youngest like luggage and left, and Winor was left alone in the house where he’d lived with his siblings.

The knight loading the siblings into the carriage looked back at him.

“When the plan’s over, His Grace the Duke will release your siblings. So do what you’re supposed to.”

“…”

Tears welled up in Winor’s eyes as he staggered and sank to the floor.

It was the thought that he couldn’t give up yet that made Winor stand up as the carriage disappeared from sight.

Winor bit his lip hard, his bloodshot eyes rising as he left the house.

Under the dark sky, he saw the place where the Academy was.

Looking at the wagon and its contents left behind by the knights, Winor wiped away his tears.

“…I will succeed, no matter what.”

He would carry out the Duke’s command and get his siblings back.

Repeating the words over and over, a deep shadow fell in Winor’s eyes.

* * *

Having climbed over the high wall, Garzen and Brienne passed through the grass and headed toward the nearby tower.

It turned out the reason they stopped at the wall instead of the gate was because Garzen’s destination was closest to the wall.

“Careful coming in.”

Garzen took out the key he had and opened the door to the stairs leading up the tower.

The door creaked open, revealing a pitch-dark staircase with not a hint of light.

The musty smell of moss stung their noses. Looking around the timeworn tower, Brienne’s eyes narrowed.

“Is it really okay to go in here?”

“What are you suspicious about? Did you think I’d bring you somewhere dangerous?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Brienne looked at Garzen with a face still full of doubt. But he simply stepped inside and picked up an oil lamp placed by the door.

Garzen expertly filled the lamp with oil and struck a match to light it.

“If we use magic in the temple, we might get caught. So let’s use this instead tonight. Come on in.”

Garzen stepped onto the stairs and flashed a grin at Brienne.

“Welcome to my hideout, Miss.”

“You welcomed me to your country earlier, and now it’s your hideout.”

“What matters is that I’m welcoming you, Miss. Besides, this really is my secret hideout.”

As Garzen shrugged, Brienne couldn’t just stand there anymore. She sighed lightly, hiding her discomfort, and entered through the door.

“All right. Let’s try it.”

The sound of their footsteps echoed up the circular stairs. Brienne, focusing only on climbing and ignoring the mossy, moldy walls, happened to look up when she spotted light coming in through a window halfway up.

Soft moonlight mixed with the faint glow of Garzen’s oil lamp.

And there,

On the ceiling above the tower, birds soaring freely through the sky were painted.

Brienne stopped, lips parted in awe at the beautiful mural.

“What’s wrong?”

Garzen, noticing Brienne had stopped, looked up as well.

“Ah.”

A satisfied smile spread across Garzen’s lips as he realized what Brienne was looking at.

“Do you like that painting? If I’d known you liked old paintings, I would’ve told you sooner.”

Garzen stepped down a stair and pointed at the birds.

“This painting goes all the way up to the top of the tower. If you want to see the end, let’s hurry up.”

“Zen.”

“Yeah?”

“In Roeta, what does a white bird mean?”

Brienne’s pale green eyes sparkled as she turned to Garzen. He flinched and instinctively hid the oil lamp behind his back.

“…Ahem, you remember in the Riela myth how Arthur turned into a white bird, right? White birds are symbols of the soul. In Roeta myth, every human who dies returns as a soul in the form of a bird.”

“A soul?”

“Right.”

Garzen pointed out the window toward the sky.

“The bird that flies up like that rises to the sky and is reborn. That’s called reincarnation. Past lives and reincarnation. You’ve heard of them?”

“Yes, I have.”

It might be a little different, but the concept of past lives and reincarnation existed in Rontiano, too.

People said that when you die, you’re born again and live another life. But if you did wrong in this life, you wouldn’t get another chance to be reborn. Or, if you were born again, you would inevitably live a miserable life.

Judgment begins at birth.

And atonement after death.

That’s why people in Rontiano consider death ominous.

But Brienne didn’t believe the stories. In the end, they were just unprovable legends.

“In Roeta, is reincarnation a good thing?”

“For the most part, yes. The god Demekia is said to be fair to everyone. There are no souls he especially loves or especially hates.”

“What does that mean?”

Brienne tilted her head, and Garzen placed a hand over his chest, smiling brightly.

“Well, roughly… It means that as a prince in this life, I might be born as a commoner in the next.”

“Huh?”

How could anyone guarantee that?

Garzen grinned at Brienne’s incredulous reply and continued.

“So whether you’re born royal or noble, it’s a reminder to serve those below you as hard as you can—because one day you might be them.”

Garzen shrugged and nodded toward the top.

“Let’s go up first. I can answer your questions in the fresh air.”

“Ah, okay.”

Brienne nodded and hurried her steps. With each step up the tower stairs, it felt as if the birds above were flying along with her.

But…

That dreamy feeling didn’t last long. There were simply too many stairs to climb. At some point, Brienne wondered if this staircase was the fastest path to atonement for her mistakes.

Garzen, meanwhile, didn’t seem tired at all and hummed a tune as he led the way. He opened the shabby door just as Brienne, exhausted, was gasping for breath.

“We’re here.”

Brienne, too tired to answer, just nodded and dragged her heavy body outside. If she’d known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have climbed the wall. Even just climbing the ladder had been exhausting, so Brienne felt unfairly burdened.

But what greeted her outside was the open sky and the majestic view of the temple below, with lights shining here and there.

“Wow…”

Brienne stopped breathing at the sight that looked like the night sky brought down to earth, approaching the railing in a daze. Garzen, following her, smiled in satisfaction and asked,

“How is it? Worth the effort to get up here?”

“Yes, it’s… beautiful.”

“See, I knew you’d love it.”

Garzen sat on the railing and turned his body outward. As Brienne admired the view of the temple, she grabbed his arm in surprise.

“W-What are you doing? What if you fall…!”

“Fall? You don’t know, but my nickname is Little Monkey. Since I was five, I’ve liked sitting in high places—trees, windows, whatever.”

“But… Even monkeys fall from trees sometimes.”

Brienne looked at Garzen with concern, and he chuckled and pointed below the temple.

“Miss, do you see that?”

He pointed to a massive dome-shaped building.

“Yes, what’s that?”

“That’s Miragium. Inside, you can actually feel the divine power of Demekia. Some say they’ve seen visions created by the god, some say they’ve met the god in person.”

“Really?”

Brienne looked down at it, not quite believing, and Garzen said,

“Miss, Roeta is my birthplace, but it’s full of wonders. Everywhere you go, it’s all so beautiful, it makes your head spin.”

Garzen turned to Brienne and grinned.

“That’s why I love my country. No matter what happens, I’ll protect this land. Especially from Hamartia.”

With words that sounded like a vow, Garzen’s face had become that of a dependable prince. Brienne looked at him in surprise, then nodded with a smile.

“…All right, I’ll cheer for you too, Zen. So you can protect the beautiful Roeta, Monkey Prince.”

“What? Monkey Prince?”

“Yes, the Monkey Prince who hates complicated things and only likes using his strength.”

Brienne’s playful voice made Garzen laugh in disbelief. A breeze from afar tickled Brienne’s hair and cooled the sweat on her forehead.

The lights of Miragium, shining in the temple like stars, blinked at her as if in greeting.