A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Outside the room, Heymos, who had just pressed his hand on the door, stood at the door, silent, his lips pursed a little.

He stood, didn't move, neither went in nor left, just stood at the door like this, his eyes lowered and he didn't know what he was thinking.The fine black hair scattered in front of his eyes, casting shadows in his eye sockets.

In the house, the moment Garlan spoke, the entire room fell silent for a moment.

Shemuer, who was frowning and staring at Earl coldly, turned his eyes to Garlan, with a look of astonishment on his face.

He never thought about it, never noticed it.

With Prince Garlan's disposition, he would have such dark thoughts in his heart.

Earl laughed, and he laughed, one after another.

"I see."

He laughed happily.

"Sure enough, you think the same way. It should be like this. Everyone is like this."

That's right, everyone is like this, not just him, everyone actually has such thoughts.

All are the same--

"Your Highness Garlan, 'Wise Prince', is this the so-called 'Wise Prince' praised by everyone?"

He let out a long breath, as if he let out all the suffocation that had been stagnant in his heart for many years at this moment.

"What is the difference between you who have the name of 'wise' and me who is despised by others?"

He said with a laugh.

"There are some people in this world who are born with halos. No matter how we ordinary people try to catch up, we will only be left far behind, and we will never be able to catch up."

"If this kind of person is not in front of you, it's fine, out of sight, out of mind, but when this kind of person happens to be by your side, you can't get rid of it, and everyone still insists on comparing you with him... once Once again, when praising him, praising him, but belittling you mercilessly, reprimanding you... even your parents, teachers, and all elders sighed again and again 'why are you so much worse than your elder brother? 'when……"

"Yeah, I know, I know what they say is actually for my own good, to make me work harder to catch up with my brother and become better..."

As if recalling something, although Earl was laughing, there was a hint of sadness in that laugh.

He took a deep breath and stopped laughing.

"Your Highness Garlan, you can understand, right? If it were you, you should be able to know what it feels like."

He looked at Garlan and said in a low voice.

"It was like a nightmare from which I would never wake up..."

Shimmer clenched his hands tightly.

He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

The scene in Earle's words is so familiar, "You are far worse than Her Majesty Heymos", "You will never be as good as His Majesty Heymos" and so on, have all been said from his mouth Pass.

At that time, he felt that he said such words to motivate Prince Garlan, and for the prince's good.

But now, when he looked at Earl's words from the perspective of a bystander, he suddenly realized how cruel he thought he was for the good of Prince Garlan.

"'It would be great if there was no brother'... Yes, I thought so, and then I did that, and then, the brother who was praised by everyone since childhood disappeared, and I became the city of Meneste The city lord is admired by thousands of people, look, how good it is."

Earl looked at Garlan.

"But, Prince Garlan, why don't you do this?"

He asked, "Many years ago, there was such a chance, and not long ago, there was another chance, obviously like me, thinking in my heart 'I hope Heymos doesn't exist', but why do you let it go again and again' A chance to make Heymos disappear?"

Garlan, who was stared at by Earl, thought about it.

"Well... that's probably the difference between me and you."

He replied.

"Difference? No, there is no difference between you and me, we are all the same..."

"I don't deny that people have an ugly side, and so do I."

Garlan interrupted Earl.

"I don't deny that in the past, whenever I felt bad because of Heymos, I wished 'there was no Heymos'."

Without Heymos, he would have successfully completed the mission in the first life, ascended to the throne, and then returned to his own world to continue his own life.

Instead of being born again and again, struggling in this strange world.

"I thought about it, but I didn't do it."

"You think about it, you do it."

"Earl, that's the difference between me and you."

"We are humans, not gods. That ugly, malicious side is like our shadow. It will follow us since we were born, and we can't get rid of it. It will follow us until death."

Garlan stretched out his hand, tapped the direction of Earl's chest lightly with his fingers, and then withdrew it.

"Earl, you're right, we're all the same, we all have shadows."

He looked Earl straight in the eye and said,

"It's just that we made different choices - you chose to let your shadow replace you, but I chose to step on my shadow firmly under my feet."

So on that night, he didn't stab the dagger in his hand at the boy who was unconscious due to fever.

Stared at by those bright and shadowless golden eyes, Earl lost his mind for a moment.

"...I let my shadow... take my place?"

He repeated this sentence in doubt, his expression seemed a little shaken.

However, the shake was only for a moment, and the little doubt quickly disappeared from his eyes.

"No, that's my decision."

Earle said his eyes were determined.

"I defeated my brother, so I became the lord of the city. Now, I lost to Heymos, so I became a prisoner."

"Everything in this world is nothing more than winners and losers."

"How terrible Heymos is, I see it more clearly than anyone else." He looked at Garlan and said, "Prince Garlan, I think, I still can't understand why you want to help your enemy. I I only hope that one day, when Heymos forced you to end up like me, you won’t regret it.”

"...I know Heymos's horror better than you."

In this world, probably no one is more afraid of Heymos than him.

I was so afraid that I would rather give up the throne and leave.

Thinking about it this way, I was really cowardly.

Thinking of this in Garlan's heart, he couldn't help feeling amused.

"Prince, don't be provoked by him."

After Garlan said this, Shemuer next to him couldn't bear it anymore.

"No matter what, His Highness Heymos will not harm you."

The corner of Garlan's mouth twitched.

You see, 'Heymos won't hurt him', such a simple thing, so simple that everyone, even Shemuer, who doesn't know how to read people's eyes, can see it, but he did it because of those lives. Heymos was terrified, couldn't believe Heymos, and chose to run away.

"Ok, I know."

The boy said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Shemul. I know, Heymos and I are different from them."

If it is said that when he was a child, he only worked hard to protect Heymos in order to change the fate of himself and Aaron Landis...

So now, unknowingly, whether it's Earl's trap this time, or the matter of stopping Heymos in Meneste City, he has really done it to protect Heymos all that.

"I know, he will protect me."

Garland said.

"And I will also guard him until the end."

"........."

Earl didn't answer for a long while.

After a long time, he said something in a low voice.

"I used to... admire my elder brother..."

That strong yet gentle brother.

The elder brother who would teach him patiently and teach him how to practice the sword hand in hand.

When he was very young, when he didn't understand anything, he admired his elder brother more than anyone else...

The man's voice sounded like a sigh at this moment.

Deep, but finally dissipated in the air without a trace.

Like everything is coming to an end at this moment.

…………

"Your Highness, don't we go in?"

The guard standing behind Heymos watched Heymos standing still at the door, waited for a long time, and finally couldn't help asking.

"Cough, no."

Heymos said, pulling back his hand from the doorknob, and turning around.

"They're talking about something, it's inconvenient to interrupt, let's go first."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The young guard was puzzled.

His Highness Heymos rushed over in such a hurry, but why didn't he go in when he got here?

As he was thinking, he secretly glanced at Heymos.

This glance made his whole body tremble.

"Your Highness, are you laughing?"

"No."

"But……"

"You read it wrong."

"........."

Who are you kidding, the corners of your mouth are raised so obviously.

****

Time is like running water, ten or so days passed by in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, the day finally arrived.

In the early morning hours, the bright sun slowly rises over the horizon.The prosperous royal city was just as it used to be, bathed in sunlight, it became a little bit noisy.

It was the same as in the past, but it was very different from usual. On this day, almost all the people got up early, and everyone was smiling and beaming.

The whole city has been cleaned long ago, the streets are spotless, the whole city is filled with blooming flowers, and bursts of fragrance permeate the streets.

All the temples opened their doors early in the morning, and the priests placed bowls of clean water on the high platform with their own hands.On this day, no matter rich or poor, high or low, all the people of Aaronlandis can enter the temple and pray to the gods.

In the royal city, a tall pole was inserted at the gate of each house, and a golden ribbon fluttered high on it.

In front of the noble gate is a white jade pole with exquisite carvings, a golden ribbon embroidered with gold velvet thread, with fine tassels, and dotted with small gemstones, shining golden in the sun, it is really beautiful.

Before ordinary sects, most of them were wooden or bamboo poles made by themselves, carrying gold ribbons that were either dyed or embroidered.

Aaron Landis's annual festival of the gods has arrived.

And this time the gods festival, there is one more ceremony of great significance.

Just when the royal city was getting more and more lively, dew-stained flowers bloomed in the sunlight on the sky loft of the royal palace, and green trees stood on the platform.

It leans against a high mountain, half of which is a garden hanging outwards, and the other half is a gorgeous palace, surrounded by streams.

A tower towered over its edge, reaching into the sky.

At the top of the tower is a platform attic, which is almost one of the highest points of the palace. Standing there, you can overlook the entire royal city.

A teenager was sitting on a high attic platform, with his hands on his sides, his calves dangling slightly.

He sat here, overlooking the magnificent palace below, overlooking the city full of flowers.

In the prosperous royal city, roads criss-cross and houses stand everywhere.

Countless people live in this city.

When the wind blows, countless golden ribbons in the city are flying wantonly, as if the whole city is dyed golden like sunlight.

Garlan looked down at the earth, and at the limit of his line of sight was the horizon where the sun jumped out.

The earth stretches as far as the eye can see, with no end in sight.

This is the land of Aaron Landis, and countless people of Aaron Landis have lived on this land for generations.

He looked up, looked at the sky, and slowly stretched out his hand.

The bright sunlight fell on his white palm, and a few rays passed through his open fingers and continued to fall.

The boy just sat there quietly, stretching out his hands.

He looked at the sunlight jumping in his palm, watching them lost in thought.

But at this moment, a footstep suddenly sounded, breaking the silence here.

Someone came quickly from behind and stood not far behind Garlan.

Then, that slightly deep voice came from behind Garlan.

"If you continue to stay here, the people below who can't find you will make a big noise."

Garlan didn't look back.

"How did you know I was here?"

"intuition."

"Ok?"

"I just thought about it, if it were me, where would I want to be at this time."

Heymos replied.

So, he came here to find someone.

Garlan smiled lightly, and suddenly clenched his hand that was outstretched in the sunlight, as if he had grasped all the sunlight that fell on his palm in his palm.

Then, he withdrew his hand, supported his body, and stood up from the edge of the platform.

The boy was bathed in the morning sun, looking down at the ground beneath his feet.

The wind blows from high in the sky and whizzes past him.

The blond hair scattered on his shoulders flew up like a cloud of golden mist.

It seemed as if all the sunlight fell into his eyes, making his golden eyes like golden suns in a clear sky.

He looked deeply at the city under his feet, and the land that he couldn't see for a long time.

Then he turned around.

The white cloak that fell from his side shoulders flew up in the air and under the sun for a moment as he turned around.

——Those seemed to be extremely immature wings that had just been unfolded.

Garlan stepped forward.

Ahead of him, at the end of the platform under his feet, Heymos stood there.

He stood still in front of Heymos, raised his head, and met his gaze.

The wind blowing over made his forehead hair flutter, and Garlan looked at those familiar golden red eyes.

How many times had those eyes appeared in his nightmares.

"Heymos."

He called the man in front of him by name.

He used to be afraid of this man.

He once wanted to stay away from this person.

Now, he was finally able to calmly stand in front of this person and say these words.

"I'm going to be the crown prince of Aaron Landis," he said.

Heymos didn't answer, just looked at him quietly.

"And one day..."

The boy laughed, his head held high.

The sun fell on his side cheeks, making his smile at this moment brighter than anything else.

He said, "One day, I will let you serve me willingly."