A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Garlan is the crown prince appointed by King Kamos himself, not to mention being impeccable in name, Sage also recognizes him in terms of ability.

He has decided that Garlan is the next king, and the Royal Knights should be loyal to Garlan.

Naturally, with his status as the head of the Royal Knights, in order to maintain the stability of the throne, Sage wanted to remove the unstable factors for Garlan as much as possible.

Because that's his job.

It's just that he doesn't know that the method of keeping Heymos away from the royal city will not only fail to maintain the stability of the throne, but will also cause Aaron Landis to fall into turmoil again.

This is also because neither he nor Ximuer discussed with Kaihos. If Kaihos knew their thoughts, he would try his best to stop them.

Keyhors could see it clearly.

Heymos was able to give up the throne for the prince—if he was forced to leave the prince, it would be the same as taking his life for Heymos.

At that point, Heymos didn't know what crazy things he would do.

……

"Please order His Royal Highness Heymos to go to Meneste City to succeed the city lord."

"Do not."

The boy's eyes met firmly with the leader of the Knights and his priests.

He said, "I need him."

"Prince, you—"

Sage frowned and took a step forward, but Xie Muer, who was standing aside, suddenly raised his hand and stopped in front of him.

Turning his head to look at the priest who blocked him, Sa Ge swallowed the remaining half of his words.

Shemul, who had been silent since just now, looked at Garlan.

The light shone from afar, through the dense canopy, and fell on Garlan's face, which was the face of an immature boy.

Although there is tenacity in the eyebrows and eyes, there is still a bit of childishness left in the appearance.

Looking at Garlan, Shemuer's eyes showed a somewhat complicated color.

He said, "Your Highness, this is your decision, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Gallan looked at Shemuer without hesitation.

"It's my decision, I'm going to keep Heymos."

Shemuer was silent for a while, then he bowed slightly and lowered his head.

"I understand."

He says,

"I will follow your decision."

Garlan was well aware of how stubborn and unreasonable his priest was, and with Sage, an upright and uncompromising guy, he was already ready to confront them hard.

He even took a deep breath, just waiting for the next second of the storm.

However, Xie Muer's sudden retreat made him a little dazed for a moment, and he opened his eyes and looked at Xie Muer in astonishment.

It wasn't just him, Sage immediately became anxious when he heard Xie Muer's words.

"Wait, Shemur, you are—"

"Ah, Your Royal Highness, you are hiding here."

Suddenly, a hearty female voice from the side interrupted Sage's words. When everyone turned their heads, they saw the tall female general Eilson walking quickly.

She was still wearing a dark tight leather armor, her long hair was tied behind her back, shaking slightly with her vigorous steps, her slightly raised eyebrows were full of heroism, and she looked heroic.

Venier strode forward, complaining jokingly.

"You are hiding in such a remote place. If I hadn't asked your maid, I don't know how long I would have been looking for it."

The female general who had come all the way to Garland realized that there were other people when she got closer.

She smiled and said, "Your Excellency Xie Muer, Lord Sage, what, are you two whispering to the crown prince here?"

Seeing an outsider approaching, even though Sage was anxious, it was inconvenient for him to continue talking. He nodded to Vinier a little stiffly, and then left with Shemuer first.

Although Sage's behavior was not very polite, Venier, who was determined to find Garlan at the moment, didn't care, and just approached Garlan with a smile.

"General Vinier, what do you need from me?"

Although Vinier's appearance somewhat relieved him from the siege, seeing the way Vinier looked at him with a smile on his face, a bad premonition suddenly rose in Garlan's heart.

"Well, there is something, very important thing."

Female General Eilson nodded, and she casually glanced around.

This place is very secluded and quiet, with no sign of other people, but the lights shining from afar can't make it difficult to see clearly.

It's a good place to discuss things privately.

"Just right, there is no one else here, so I'll just say it here."

She said bluntly, took out something from her bosom, and stretched it out in front of Garlan.

The light reflected on the thing in her hand, and it was a small ivory box with exquisite carvings.

Uh, it seems... a bit familiar.

The smile on the boy's face froze a bit, but luckily the light was dim and he couldn't see it.

The female general snapped open the ivory box, and then, the rough ring inlaid with azure gemstones and with uneven rings appeared in front of Garlan again.

"His Royal Highness, I was going to give this to you last time, but I was interrupted... Well, look, although I will stay, my subordinates will return to the country tomorrow. If you accept it, I am fine." Let them bring a message back to the little princess, right?"

Gallan: "Uh..."

"You should be able to feel the little princess's love for you from this. Wearing it, it's like the little princess is always by your side, and the sea goddess will definitely protect you."

The female general smiled, and looked at Garlan with satisfaction as if looking at her son-in-law.

"Using this as a token, when the little princess grows up, she will come to look for you and give birth to a child for you."

Garlan: "That... actually..."

Seeing Garlan's hesitation, Vinier thought about it and immediately understood.

The crown prince is embarrassed.

Hmm~~ The crown prince is still young, only in his teens, ten years younger than her. To her, she is still a child, so it is normal for her to be shy.

"You needn't be ashamed, Dauphin."

Gallan: "..."

I am not, I am not.

"Come on, I'll put it on for you."

As soon as the quick-tempered female general finished speaking, she took Garlan's hand unceremoniously, reaching out to put the rough ring on him.

When the boy was thinking about how to reject the "love" of the little princess in an embarrassing and polite manner, he was grabbed by the vigorous female general without paying attention.

Before he could react, suddenly, with a whoosh, a dark shadow descended from the sky.

The black eagle that rushed out of the night swooped down suddenly, and snatched the sapphire ring away.

Immediately afterwards, it spread its black wings and flew in another direction.

This scene seems familiar...

Not only Garlan, but female general Venier was a little confused.

When she reacted, she was furious immediately, and touched her back almost reflexively——

empty.

At the banquet tonight, a leather armor is fine, but it is impossible to carry a weapon like a war bow with you.

"That damn—"

Vinier wanted to scold the flat-haired beast, but then she thought that its owner, the Crown Prince, was right next to her, so she quickly shut up and swallowed the curse words.

"Sorry, Anu is born to like shiny things, sometimes even my headdress will be taken away."

well done.

In his heart, Garlan said hello to Anu who came to the rescue in time, but he still wanted to appease Vinier quickly.

"Don't worry, Vinier, you go back to the banquet first, and I promise to help you get the ring back."

After saying this to Vinier, Garlan quickly chased the black eagle in the direction where he flew away, without waiting for the other party's answer.

The female general who was left in place looked at the figure of the boy disappearing into the dark forest, turned around depressedly, and returned to the banquet.

…………

The black eagle spread its wings and flew in the sky. It didn't fly fast enough for Garlan to keep up.

Garlan chased it to a distance of only 30 to [-] meters, and then watched the black eagle fall in front of it, and its figure disappeared into the dense tree canopy.

While walking this way, he could vaguely hear the penetrating and beautiful singing of the bard.Taking a casual glance, he found that Schulos had shifted his position at some point, and came here to play the piano and sing again.

Shaking his head helplessly, Garlan turned his gaze away and walked along the path to the small courtyard surrounded by short trees.

As soon as he entered, he froze in place.

Ahead, Heymos stood in the darkness.

It is obviously the same black as the night, but it is different from the night, and it is unusually conspicuous in the night.

He raised one hand, and the eagle stood on his arm.

A ring held in his right hand shimmered with azure blue.

The hair scattered around the corners of the sharp eyes was dyed a darker jet black than the night, and the handsome young man stood quietly in the night and looked at Garlan, with a slightly invisible arc raised on his thin lips.

The disturbing sounds in the banquet seemed to have come to a distant place, and the night here became extremely quiet for a while.

At this moment, it seems that there is nothing else in the world except their mutual existence.

It took a while for Garlan to come back to his senses.

"...Did you let Anu do this on purpose?"

he asks.

Heymos didn't answer, but just raised his hand, and the black eagle standing on his hand fluttered away, and the black figure quickly melted into the night and disappeared.

The rough and ugly sapphire ring was still held in his hand.

Garlan walked straight up to Heymos and held out his hand.

"Come here."

He said.

Actually instigating Anu to do such a thing, this narrow-minded guy is really...

The boy looked at the person in front of him angrily, and cursed in his heart.

Heymos was so obedient, he reached out and returned the ring to Garlan.

He looked at Garlan and said, "That Eilson woman said she gave you the ring before?"

"Indeed there was once, but it didn't happen after being interrupted... How did you know?"

"Just heard it."

heard?

Oh, by the way, just now Vinier said it herself.

Speaking of...

It can be heard tens of meters away, Heymos's hearing is really abnormal...

…………

Ok?

Wait a moment.

Suddenly thought of some terrible possibility, the boy froze for a moment.

"Heymos."

"Ok?"

"Can you hear the conversation over there?"

"Ah."

"...Have you heard all the previous words?"

What he said to Ximuer and the others just now, could it be... all of them were...

Heymos raised his eyebrows, but there was no expression on his face.

"What did you say earlier?"

He asked rhetorically.

fortunately.

It seems not heard.

Garlan almost covered his chest and gasped for breath.

"It's nothing, it's just some private matters between me and Vinier."

With a deep breath in his heart, he raised his eyes and stared at Heymos.

"Speaking of which, don't you think it's bad to rely on your own hearing to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?"

He said, holding the ring tightly, he was about to turn around and leave.

"Don't do that next time."

Just as Garlan turned around and took two steps, that deep voice came from behind him.

"You mean... 'I need him'?"

"!!!"

The boy's mind exploded with a bang, and it went blank for an instant.

Because of being overly surprised, his hand involuntarily let go, and the ring he just got fell from his open hand.

The big brown hand suddenly stretched out from behind, catching the ring that was about to fall on the grass.

The black hair that seemed to melt into the night ran across her cheeks, accompanied by the warm breath passing by her ears.

Garlan, whose mind was still in a sluggish state, instinctively turned his head and looked to the side.

At some point, Heymos had already stood behind Garlan, leaned over, put one hand on his left shoulder, and stretched out his right hand from his side, catching the ring.

And the other end was naturally close to Garlan's ear.

As soon as Garlan turned his head, he saw that handsome side face, reflecting the moonlight in the dark night, giving people a wild and dangerous beauty.

Heymos, who was grabbing the ring, also turned his face sideways, and his eyes collided with him.

At this moment, the distance between the two is extremely close.

Those golden-red eyes reflected his face, and suddenly slightly curved slightly, and the thin lips that were pursed as if smiling showed a bit of seductive cold luster.

puff.

do not know why.

Perhaps it was because of the handsome face in front of him that gave people an indescribable sense of danger.

Or maybe it was because I remembered that the person in front of me heard what I said not long ago.

Garlan felt his heart beating violently out of control.

He held his breath subconsciously, turned around, faced Heymos, stretched out his hand to press the other's strong chest, and pushed him away forcefully.

That was just a subconscious move by Garlan.

Logically speaking, even with all his strength, he might not be able to push the 'Black Knight' who was standing firmly.

However, his push really pushed it forward.

However, instead of saying that he pushed, it might be better to say that Heymos followed his strength and took a step back.

Garlan's suffocating feeling of being unable to breathe finally eased a little bit.

But even with his breathing easier, his mind was still in turmoil.

Both hands were still pressed on Heymos' body to keep a certain distance from each other. His head was buried tightly, but his cheeks were so hot that he couldn't lift it up.

'I need him. '

He didn't know why he said this sentence suddenly at that time.

But it was such an unfortunate coincidence that Heymos heard it so clearly that he had no choice but to deny it.

Garlan was still embarrassed and at a loss, when suddenly a hand was stretched out under his bowed head.

Under the shallow moonlight, the sapphire ring lay quietly in the brown palm.

Heymos' voice rang in his ears.

"Go back."

Garlan tried his best to stabilize his mind, reached out and grabbed the rough ring, and then he saw the malachite ring on Heymos' finger at a glance.

No matter how you look at it, it looks familiar...

Taking another look, Garlan recognized it.

It was the malachite earrings that he asked Tal to bring to Heymos as a token of the message, but he didn't expect Heymos to make a ring and wear it on his hand.

He was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help raising his head, looking at the person standing in front of him.

Heymos looked at him, his eyes were bright, brighter than ever before, as if all the stars in the night sky fell into those golden-red eyes at this moment.

There was an indescribable look in those eyes, looking at him deeply.

………………

...Is it because of what he just said?

"Heymos."

"Ah."

"I said 'I need you', I...that...I said I don't know if I can accept you...but I want you to stay with me all the time, I..."

Garlan spoke hesitantly.

He obviously couldn't respond to Heymos' feelings, but he hoped that this person would always be by his side.

He never thought he was such a selfish guy.

After thinking for a long time, he really didn't know what to say, so he gave up organizing the language in depression.

"It's because you've always followed me too much, so it's your fault that I think this way!"

The crown prince, who was praised by the world as fair and wise, simply ignored this man who always indulged him and obeyed him.

"Well, it was my fault."

Heymos admitted without hesitation.

"I will take charge."

"what?"

Heymos' straightforward behavior of taking the blame made Garlan a little confused.

Heymos continued: "I will take responsibility and stay with you for the rest of my life."

"...No, you..."

Garlan, who always felt as if he was being entangled, hadn't reacted when Heymos held his hand and lifted it up.

He looked down at the man in front of him and kissed his fingers.

The big brown hand holding his fingers seemed to move very lightly, but the fingers were very hard, clasping his fingers tightly so that he could not break free.

After kissing the white fingers in his palm, Heymos looked up at Garlan.

"'You need me'... This is what you said, and I will do it, and you, Garlan, I will not give you a chance to go back on your word."

The fine black hair was scattered in front of his eyes, and he looked at Garlan's eyes as if there was a scorching red flame burning, which became more and more astonishingly bright.

"You have no chance of regretting it."

Garlan stared blankly at Heymos who was staring at him for a long time.

In the end, he sighed and gave up confronting the man in front of him.

"I really don't understand...what do you like about me?"

He muttered softly.

"do not know."

"........."

Heymos' answer left Garlan speechless for a moment.

"But there's at least one thing I'm sure of right now."

"what's up?"

Looking at the pair of golden pupils looking at him suspiciously, the corners of Heymos's lips twitched.

He leaned over and nodded slightly.

With his face close to Garlan's ear, his lips moved, and his deep voice penetrated deep into the other's eardrum almost instantly.

He said: "... 'You've got me swooning' . . . the thing."

Boom.

Suddenly, fireworks exploded in the boy's mind.

The exploding fireworks instantly burned his face into the same bright crimson color as the Shamash rune on his forehead.