Flowers of Worship - Chapter 17

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Grand Duke of Irsias.

My title has such a name. Irsias is an ancient word for ‘on,’ which means ‘one who walks under the sun.’  It was the name of a famous hero, but it was also a warning that the sun literally obeyed the king and never thought harshly. I understood the warning right away, so everyone laughed bitterly as soon as they heard the name.

“How have you been?”

I had to study for a week about my rights and duties as a Grand Duke. The men sent by the king directly educated me, and the servants of Cilli who were with me hardly understood, but her servants studied with great zeal and even took notes.

We were seated in a hall set up as a conference room, and I was sitting at the center with people from the royal palace on the right, while Cilli’s servants were on the left. While the men from the royal court were educating, her servants listened, and when they began to ask questions, those from the palace answered. As soon as an argument broke out, people often asked me what to do. They asked easy questions to answer, such as ‘when is a good time to sleep’ and ‘what do you like for dessert.’ My answer was simple, but somehow the strife between the servants and the king’s messengers became more intense. While they were doing it, I lost my understanding and passed the time by looking at the tapestry or something behind them.

Istrum had a lot of books. According to Cilli, her father, Ilyde G. Sarian, was a book lover and book collector. So he bought a great book, to the point where Sophie gasped and said, ‘If I sell all those books, I’ll be able to afford three or four castles.’ Among those many books, there are many beautiful picture books, so from the second day of education, I brought many picture books from Ilyde Sarian’s library and spent time looking at them, answering questions only.

Her servants were all strict in nature, and the king’s messengers showed their dislike for them. In addition, they were very loyal to Cilli, and even a slight misunderstanding about her had the momentum to fight the king’s messengers, so the hallways had always barely escaped the sea of ​​fire. I don’t know, but the king’s messengers wanted to keep the customs, and her employees wanted to reflect my convenience or Cilli’s opinions, so it seemed that the problem mainly occurred in this gap. It was always a fight. The two groups quarreled to the point of throwing away their meals.

Half of my fortune went to the king. Because it was the property of the royal family. But half came back to me and my mother’s dowry as well. My mother left a lot for me as her only child. Gold mines, mithril mines, huge farmland, four castles, huge jewels, bonds, and real estate were my properties; I couldn’t understand half of these things. Cilli was very embarrassed that I didn’t appreciate my fortune.

“Rizal is an excellent accountant, but you better not trust people too much when it comes to money.”

“Why?”

“Money has the magic to change people. But, unfortunately, money makes people do that, not change people. It’s like putting a sleeping spell on a person.”

Cilli tried to keep me from losing trust in people, saying people who fall asleep are weak. But I’ve already seen people change. My uncle did change. To me, he was like a parent who had raised me much more than my parents. I had abandoned my faith in people when I found out that he raised me for political purposes then abandoned me.

Nevertheless, I felt sorry and grateful for her efforts. So I nodded as I was a good and trusting child.

“I’ll be careful.”

“Yes, your highness. ”

Cilli laughed habitually, and so did I. It was a few days ago before my 12th birthday.

And as soon as she went to the 7th battle of monster subjugation, we had separated for a long time.

Fourth part. Engagement

The subjugation against monsters went for two years.

In general, the monsters on the battlefield came out from the outskirts, and if they couldn’t be cleared out at once, they would take over the forest again. Accordingly, the locals will fall prey to the monsters. The monsters will eventually occupy the villages around them, so the knights always had to do their best to subdue the demons.  Particularly in the Knights of Hastred, they are the elite elites, so they would call them once they felt overwhelmed in all places; Hastred was divided into three to four, and as many as seven, fighting as the vanguard each location and won.

[Come.]

The sky roared from afar as I commanded. As I stretched out my right hand, lightning fell from the sky and struck the ground, turning it into an earthquake. When the earth cracked, lightning rushed to me, and a sword appeared in my hand. The allies screamed in cheers and admiration, and the monsters screamed in fear, creating chaos around them.

I ran without missing a moment when the atmosphere had changed. I didn’t count how many I slew. The only thing that stands out was a one-eyed giant. I took a huge jump. I leaped with the power of mana and barely reached the eyes of the one-eyed. It was a higher position than any castle tower.

[Get out of my sight!]

The monster screamed in all his words and waved his arms. With one blow, I’ll die, but there was enough room to escape. So instead, I stepped on his arm and leaped, thrusting my sword from the center of his skull and shouted.

[Expansion!]

In response to my words, the sword stuck in the top of the monster’s head grew bigger in an instant. As the sword grew bigger, it pierced the giant’s body from the head to the ground straight. Aaaaaaaah.The giant’s body exploded with a scream of death, and the demons started to flee in confusion.

“Don’t miss a single one!”

Each of the senior knights shouted at the general knights to chase after the demons with my command. Everyone started chasing. If one has missed, the monster will multiply again. It’s hard to come back once they’ve passed here. Even if they return, it will take too long, and the damage to the people will increase in the meantime. So it is imperative to strike a clear line.

The purple and green blood of the monster was sticky onto the armor, giving off a strange smell. I frowned and climbed on my horse. The horse, Sandra, soared upwards with a neighing sound. It meant it was ready to go anywhere. I patted her mane and pulled the reins.

I ran to the hill. It was necessary to check how much I was chasing and where I was heading. While running to the mountain, I killed two monsters; both hid in the ground using a stealth technique. I used to be fooled by this technique. I killed all the monsters that fled but did not find the hidden monsters who left the place using stealth methods between the monsters’ bodies, causing them to rise again. But it was a mistake when I was young and inexperienced. Now the first thing is to kill those who used stealth techniques. Not only me but also the knights and wizards who can use magic are now allocating magic to their eyes to find, inform, and kill monsters who have used stealth skills.

As soon as I climb the hill, I see a group of monsters running in four directions. Demons with different appearances were running away with all their might, and the knights were chasing them on horseback. No matter how fast the monsters are, trained horses tend to be a little quicker, and knights with magical powers obstruct their path by shooting fireworks or laying fog, while the knights who cannot use magic are hitting them with crossbows.

[Bow.]

When I gave the word, my holy sword changed shape into a bow. I grabbed the bow and pulled the bowstring. Then five arrows of light hung on the bowstring. Historically, a very noble and great holy knight swordsman used seven arrows of light, but I am limited to dealing with five.

As soon as the bowstring has released, the arrow flew away. The arrows went to the monsters I designated and got struck. They were mainly flying monsters. The flying monsters are the most difficult to chase, and the fastest way to catch them is on the hill. But, of course, even if I don’t notice them, everyone will catch them.

After pulling the bow a few more times, most of the monsters are limping or fell on the floor; they lost the ability to move, whether from my arrows, someone’s attack, or a magic spell. Finally, when I’m convinced that I could get rid of them all, I rid of the holy sword. Because the Holy Sword uses both magical and divine powers simultaneously, it requires a considerate concentration. Unsurprisingly, as soon as I rid of it, I desperately wanted to fall to the ground.

“Lord!”

Chris ran over and supported me hurriedly. As soon as he stretched out his hand, I left my body in his hand. I wanted to stand upright, but honestly, it was my limit.

“You’ve been using your power too long. Are you alright?”

“Lord!”

I can hear Sophie’s voice. Oh, I guess Sophie is more comfortable. I waited for Sophie to get closer and then moved my body to her gauntlet over Chris’. Both of them squinted when they saw me move my body.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Chrys opened the door and nagged.

“If you fall like this, you’ll have to worry about the burly men of Hastred Knights.”

Sophie’s continuous nagging decorated my ear with splendor.