A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

[I have saved countless people, but only... I can't save the person I want to save the most. 】

There was a dead silence in the hall of the dead, and the flames flickered, reflecting on Garlan's face.

The lights in the main hall were brightly lit, illuminating the snow-white eyes everywhere, and the lights refracted the water on his cheeks.

On the emerald green peacock sarcophagus, the goddess of the underworld looked down at the silently crying boy with compassionate eyes.

The white wings behind her spread out and surrounded this place.

According to legend, the white lotus flower on her head was born from the tears of those who lost their loved ones and fell into the underworld, symbolizing the purest longing.

Heymos looked at Garlan, at the tears falling from those golden pupils.

He didn't say anything, and his hand tightly clenched the blood-stained fingertips of the other party.

He thought, there is nothing more painful than this.

Standing up slightly, Heymos, who was still half kneeling in front of Garlan, stretched out his hand.

Brown fingers brushed over Garlan's tear-stained cheeks, the tips of his ears, and penetrated into the depths of the cool blond hair.

He leaned over and lightly pressed Garlan's forehead.

He slowly closed his eyes, his black eyelashes fell on the eyelashes that were wet with tears.

On the foreheads of the two, jet-black hair and blond hair were intertwined.

The cyan rune of God of War and the scarlet rune of Shamash are printed together, as if they are supporting each other.

I am here.

Those are silent words.

Heymos pressed against Garlan's forehead lightly, as if he was passing his own strength to him, as if he was supporting the other party.

The boy didn't move or speak, but the tears in his eyes fell more fiercely.

His reddened eyes blinked, and another stream of tears fell.

The tears that fell from his eyes dripped down Heymos' face, wet his brown cheeks, and fell down Heymos' chin onto their clasped hands.

…………

As the night passed, the sun rose from the horizon and the sky was bright.

The white main hall reflected the rays of the morning sun, and the snow-white stone ground around the main hall was reflected into a vast expanse of whiteness.

It was blindingly white.

Taputi stood quietly in front of the gate of the white hall, looking up at the hall.

Long cascading hair fell over her slender neck and fell from her shoulders.

She raised her head, her honey-colored neck showed a graceful arc, and the milky white moonstone necklace gave a little blue halo under the rising sun.

Although her figure is slender, she is standing very firmly at this moment. She has stood here quietly for several hours, motionless, and will still stand here in the future.

She was waiting quietly.

Someone walked quickly from outside, and it was two men who came.

Taputi, who heard the movement behind her, turned her head, and she saw the blond-haired knight and the brown-haired priest walking towards her.

"Not out yet?"

Shemur asked Tap, who looked up towards the gate and frowned.

He got the news early in the morning and rushed here immediately. He planned to enter the White Palace to bring Prince Garlan out, but was stopped by the female officer guarding the door.

Taputi stubbornly refused to let him in, saying that he could only wait and let the prince come out by himself.

Xie Muer couldn't help it, and because of all kinds of things and lack of skills, no matter how worried he was, he couldn't stay here for a long time, so he could only let Taputi stay here, and left first.

After the morning's affairs barely came to an end, he immediately came here with Keyhos.

The magistrate shook her head.

The priest frowned a little more.

"I can't wait any longer. The crown prince is still ill. It's too cold in the White Palace. Staying for a long time will make him sicker."

He said decisively, he was about to go in.

"We're going in now."

"Wait……"

Seeing that Shemuer was about to go in, Taputi reached out to grab him and prevent him from going in.

It's just that she just stretched out her hand, and before she could touch Ximuer, Ximuer, who had just passed her, stopped suddenly and looked up at something.

Seeing Shemuer's appearance, Taputi subconsciously followed his gaze.

The blond knight I saw earlier had already taken a few steps forward, as if he wanted to walk up the steps in front of the main hall, but he stopped when he reached the steps.

He stood at the bottom of the steps, raised his head, and stared ahead with his only green eyes.

Under the gaze of everyone, a tall and slender figure slowly walked out from the gate of the stone pillar.

Amidst the snow-white tones, the young man who walked out of the hall wore a black suit that was incompatible with this place.

The breeze passed by, lifting the jet-black hair on his cheeks.

Heymos didn't seem to see the three people standing at the bottom of the steps. He just looked down at the person in his arms and walked down the steps slowly.

He walked very slowly, as if he didn't want to disturb the sleeping boy in his arms.

Garlan was held in Heymos' arms, and his thinly clothed body was wrapped in Heymos' dark cloak at this moment.

His head rested on the other's chest, and his long golden hair fell from the brown arm holding him.

The young man who seemed to have poured out all the tears he had held back for the past few months fell into a deep sleep again, the corners of his eyes were reddened violently, and there was tiredness between his brows and eyes.

His eyelashes still had wet traces, and his pale face was stained with tears.

A few strands of gold, wet with tears, stuck to the corners of his light-colored lips that were slightly parted.

Heymos walked past Tapti with Garlan in his arms.

Seeing the tear stains on Garlan's face, the female officer who had been insisting not to let Shemuer break into the White Palace let out a soft breath.

She was finally relieved.

That's it.

she thinks.

It's good to be able to cry.

Sadness and pain are not scary.

The most frightening thing is that the pain is so painful that I can't shed tears, and I can only endure it by myself, ruining my hard work, until I finally run out of fuel and the lamp burns out.

She has lost the most important friend she grew up with.

She could never have imagined that the child she grew up guarding with her important friends would also leave her.

Good luck.

The child who was almost overwhelmed by grief finally survived, and under the protection of another person, he survived.

…………

Heymos carried Garlan back to the palace, and he stood by Garlan's side, never mentioning that he was going to leave the palace for the city of Menester, and the only person who knew about it, Ximuer, also chose default.

For the whole day, Garlan was still lethargic, but his low-grade fever gradually subsided, and his breathing was not as heavy as it was at the beginning, and it seemed to be a little easier.

His face looked much calmer.

Heymos sat on the edge of the bed, his golden-red pupils reflected Garlan's shadow.

The young man lay quietly on the bed, looking very well-behaved, even the slight water marks at the corners of his eyes were extremely cute.

The long blond hair was scattered on the snow-white bed, and the slender body had lost a lot of weight in just a few months, which could be clearly seen with the naked eye, and the chin was a bit sharper.

It hurts just to look at it.

Heymos reached out, brushed away the soft hair on his forehead, and wiped the sweat from Garlan's forehead.

He didn't know what kind of dream he was having, even though he was deeply asleep at the moment, the boy's eyelashes trembled slightly, and suddenly a little tear slowly oozed from the corner of his eye.

Seeing the tears seeping again from the corners of Garlan's eyes, he bent down, stroked Garlan's forehead with one hand, and kissed the corners of Garlan's eyes lightly.

Tears from the corners of his eyes stained his lips and seeped into the crevice of his lips.

An indescribably bitter taste...

Footsteps came from afar, and Heymos heard someone walking towards him.

He straightened up and turned to look.

The light-colored gauze curtain was lifted, and the female officer walked in. On the disc in her hand was a bowl of black potion, which had just been boiled and was steaming hot.

"Your Highness Heymos, your subordinate is here. I'll let him wait for you in the side room."

she says,

"I'll just feed the prince medicine."

Heymos nodded, glanced at Garlan again, got up and left the bedroom, and came to the room on the side of the hall.

Suojia, who was wearing a blue priestly uniform, was waiting there, and when he saw Heymos coming in, he bowed and saluted.

Heymos kept walking, walked straight past his subordinate, walked to the bench on the side of the room, turned and sat down.

He sat there, looking at Suo Jia with sharp gazes from his eyes.

He said, "I didn't call you back to the royal city."

After closing the door, Suo Jia turned around and stood in front of his master.

He said, "The Geshurians have withdrawn from the north."

Heymos had left him there in the first place so that he could advise the Cavalry Commander Gea and defend the northern fortress.

Now that the Geshu people have withdrawn their troops, there is no need for him to stay in the northern border, and it is natural for him to return to his loyal master.

Soga stared at his master.

"I've heard what happened the day before yesterday," he said.

He stared straight at Heymos' face, not wanting to miss any expression changes on the other's face.

"Why did you do that? You should know what that means."

That kneeling meant that Prince Heymos swore allegiance to Crown Prince Garlan.

As a result, Heymos was no longer eligible for the throne.

Suo Jia hated himself for not being able to come to the royal city a few days earlier. If he were here, he would prevent His Royal Highness Heymos from making such a choice no matter what.

"I've made a decision."

Heymos saw Suo Jia's thoughts, and he said flatly, "Even if you are here, it is useless."

No one can shake the decision he made.

"Your Highness!"

Suo Jia stepped forward suddenly, staring at Heymos with scorching eyes, his eyes were extremely sharp.

"Are you really going to give up like this?"

He asked in a low voice,

"When you came to Wangcheng from Menester City, didn't you already make up your mind to stand in that supreme position?"

"For eight full years, you've been on the road to that position. You've always had it as your goal, you've seen it as your future, and you never wavered."

"And I have always believed that it belongs to you, and you are more qualified to sit in that position than anyone else."

Suo Jia's words were filled with deep pain, and he looked at Heymos with unwilling eyes.

"Your Highness Heymos, from now on, you are doomed to be inferior to others. You must kneel at that person's feet, and you can only look up to him from now on."

"You have given up what should belong to you. In the future, you may still not be able to get that—"

he asks,

"Are you really willing?"

Heymos and his subordinates looked at each other for a long time, and there seemed to be something surging in the depths of his pupils.

It was an unquenchable flame, with ambition, desire, and a certain danger.

"...not reconciled."

Withdrawing his gaze from the other party, Heymos replied.

There is a little dryness in his eyes, which contains deep unwillingness, and even now there are still traces of struggle.

He still wanted the throne after all.

After all... he was still not reconciled.

"Then, Your Highness—"

Suo Jia showed joy on his face, and he stepped forward again, trying to convince his master thoroughly.

But in the next second, Heymos' words completely broke his thoughts.

"Yes, I am not reconciled..."

Heymos said,

"But my decision will not change."

Suo Jia's words were cut off in his throat, and he looked at Heymos in astonishment.

"……why?"

He asked, his eyes were confused, and his words were full of puzzlement.

Heymos looked up at his subordinate.

He smiled.

Struggling in every way, unwilling in every way.

At this moment, all the ambitions and desires turned into the gentleness that almost melted like white clouds in the flaming pupils.

"My heart aches," he said.

Everything in the world, the supreme throne.

It can't be worth a tear that falls from the golden eyes of the young man looking at him.

He was distressed.

…………

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Outside the room, Garlan, who was standing in front of the door, paused in the air with his hand about to open the door.

He stood there.

The breeze passed by, and the strand of blond hair lifted by the wind gently brushed the corner of his eyes.