I will be crowned king

On the way back to Thunder Castle, the anxious Louis Bernard kept paying careful attention to his brother Kroger's face.

He knew very well how many things he had caused: disobeying military orders, being captured, making promises to the enemy, going against his brother's plans...especially the last two, all done in front of him.

But the strange thing was that Kroger didn't scold him as harshly as he expected, or even give him a wink. He remained silent except for a few necessary times along the way - but it made Louis even more nervous.

This tension continued until the two returned to the fortress. Kroger, who took the young knight to his room, shouted away the guards outside the door and closed the door after confirming twice.

Watching the guards leave, Louis took a deep breath, stood upright and put his hands behind his back, preparing to accept his brother's stormy reprimand.

"You leave the Thunder Castle Fortress immediately, tonight."

Kroger, who had his back to the door, said coldly to Louis.

well?

Louis looked at his serious brother with a blank expression.

"Brother, but..."

"Don't worry, I have already arranged all the preparations for you."

Kroger ignored Louis who wanted to speak and said without stopping: "You will stay here from now until twelve o'clock tonight. I have arranged two cavalry to take over. Then you just need to follow. , no matter who comes up to ask, just let them deal with it."

"Once you leave Thunder Castle, immediately leave in the opposite direction of the siege position; try to avoid important cities and village strongholds along the way, and you will be safe after arriving at the border; I have already drafted a letter to the commander of the Southern Army, and no one will come to you. Trouble; when you arrive, just bring the letter to find..."

"Brother Kroger!"

Louis, who looked shocked, suddenly shouted sharply.

Kroger's expression changed slightly after being interrupted, and he stared at his brother silently.

"What happened? Why do you want me to leave suddenly?" Louis asked in confusion:

"Is it because I didn't obey your order, or was it because my behavior at that time ruined your plan? You can tell me, there is no need to... drive me back without saying a word!"

Louis' slightly aggrieved voice echoed in the spacious room.

After a moment, Kroger suddenly walked forward, held Louis' shoulders, and made him sit on the edge of the bed with a slight force; he knelt down on one knee and looked directly into those clear and innocent eyes.

"Brother..."

"No, Louis, listen to me." The interrupted Kroger sighed and patted his brother's shoulder gently: "I am definitely not doing this because you made a mistake, so I want to drive you back; I This is done for the future of the Bernard family."

"For the future of the Bernard family, no matter what happens, you can no longer have anything to do with the siege of Thunder Castle!"

Kroger's expression was extremely stern: "This is not your war, and you can't get any military exploits or honors from it; for the Bernard family, you - Louis Bernard, the inheritor of the bloodline of the 'Sea Knights' The only thing I can do at this moment is to leave here, and the further away, the better!”

"I repeat, this is not to protect you, but for the future of the Bernard family - for the future of the Bernard family, you and me, all personal dignity and honor are irrelevant, do you understand?!"

Looking at his brother who suddenly became serious, Louis did not get any explanation for his inner problems, but became even more confused.

But he knew that now was not the time to ask, so he just nodded blankly:

"Okay...I understand."

Kroger nodded slightly, with a hint of relief on his stern face.

"You know... I was jealous of you when we were little." Kroger stood up slowly, holding Louis' shoulders and sat beside him, looking down at the eyes looking up at him:

"When my father sadly told me that you were the only one in our generation who could become a genius; although I pretended to be generous, in fact I should be the most jealous of you among all people."

Looking at his brother's expression, Louis couldn't believe his ears.

The heir to the Principality of Adlan, his brother... is jealous of himself?

"Yes, you heard that right."

Kroger slowly withdrew his gaze: "It is difficult for a knight like you, Louis, who has not been tainted by this world, to understand what it means for an heir to a principality to not inherit the power of blood belonging to the family."

"It meant a lot to me at that time; the eyes of other families, the censure of my mother and relatives; I hate saying bad things to others behind their backs, but many people did tell me that you would be my future successor. The biggest obstacle to a title.”

"It's a pity that I thought the same way at the time - I was too impulsive and too easily deceived by others; the years when the power of your bloodline was awakened was almost the most difficult period for me; I did a lot It’s a decision I still regret and can’t take back.”

"There's only one of those decisions that I still don't regret, and that's that I...didn't hurt my brother."

Louis Bernard was completely stunned.

Looking at the extremely abnormal brother in front of him, who was completely different from the always serious and calm, occasionally irritable figure in his memory, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he did not dare to speak.

"The world is changing quietly, something hidden in the shadows is sprouting, and some people who are unwilling to surrender are trying to change something... But no matter how the world changes, we will always belong to the blood of the Bernard family."

"Only now do I understand what a right decision I made - Louis, we are of flesh and blood, but we are members of the Bernard family; each of us should make this honor in our own way. The thousand-year-old surname continues.”

"You have your own path, and the only thing I can do for you is to let you continue along this path unswervingly."

Kroger stood up and patted his younger brother's shoulder gently: "So don't worry, I don't think there was anything wrong with your previous behavior; on the contrary, you are fulfilling the promise of a knight with actions, There’s nothing wrong with that.”

"Because of your actions, the Clovis people will remember the promise of a Bernard knight even more, and how much weight it will have!"

After saying that, he looked at Louis solemnly, turned around and walked towards the door.

Looking at his brother's leaving back, Louis, who had remained silent all this time, stood up suddenly and stretched out his hand to try to stop him.

Kroger's words gave him a very strong premonition - if he couldn't stop his brother here, maybe he would never...

"Oh, right."

Kroger, who had his back turned to Louis, suddenly stopped reaching for the doorknob with his right hand: "As for the agreement with the Clovis people, you can rest assured; I will abide by the agreement and will not take away those scum within three days. How are they?"

"Also...if you have a chance to meet her, remember to say hello to our cutest little sister for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kroger slammed the door and left.

In the empty house, Louis was the only one left, stretching out his hands and staring blankly at the door.