novelraw Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136. Heroes of the Kingdom
The news of Duke’s critical condition jolted the king to his feet.
With a mountain of tasks to handle after the war’s end, even the king, who cherished Duke dearly, couldn’t visit him immediately.
‘Duke!’
I felt the same.
Right after the war, I had rushed to the healing ward, checking on Duke frequently.
The medical staff had assured me his condition was slightly improving.
“Lead the way to Duke!”
At the king’s command, the steward hurriedly took the lead, and we hastened our steps toward the palace’s healing ward.
―Thud, thud, thud.
The urgent sound of footsteps echoed through the empty corridor.
I ran at full speed alongside the king.
No one had time to fuss over protocol.
“This way!”
Upon reaching the healing ward, we saw three or four physicians and healing priests surrounding a single bed.
The number of attendants alone hinted at the patient’s grave condition.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
“Your Majesty!”
As the priests cautiously stepped back, the figure revealed was Duke Valendo, his body wrapped in bandages stained red with blood.
‘Duke…’
I stared at him blankly.
The robust Duke I knew was nowhere to be seen.
The man who stood like an unyielding giant tree now lay collapsed, barely able to breathe.
A deep ache gripped my chest.
Recalling how I’d been excited about rewards moments ago, I felt ashamed.
“Huff… huff…”
Even breathing seemed agonizing for Duke.
His withered frame painfully reminded me of his advanced age.
Yet despite this, he had fought more valiantly than anyone, creating the opening for a decisive blow against the formidable Bakan.
Thus, in this ward, the king, I, the vassals, and even Instructor Nell and the Academy cadets, who were already receiving treatment, all fervently prayed for Duke’s survival.
“Do whatever it takes to save Duke! Treat him as you would me, with every effort!”
Despite the command, the healing ward was filled with stifling silence.
“Why no response?!”
The head physician, face grim, struggled to speak.
“Your Majesty… We are doing our utmost. We are sparing no effort, but…”
“You’re trying? Then why no answer?!”
The king’s voice grew more agitated, and the ward’s atmosphere sank heavily.
“It’s…”
He couldn’t bring himself to say more.
But even without words, everyone in the room knew.
Duke Valendo’s life flickered like a candle in the wind.
“Why won’t you answer?!”
The king’s cry was almost a wail, laced with desperation, anger, and rising sorrow.
At that moment, the queen quietly approached, gently placing her hands on his shoulders.
“Calm yourself. Do you think they don’t wish to save our hero?”
The king knelt before the bed with trembling hands, tightly grasping Duke’s bandaged hand.
A king kneeling before another’s bedside—
anyone would have been shocked, but in this moment, no one spoke.
The king’s grief was genuine, and everyone understood.
“Duke…”
The king tried to steady his voice, but he couldn’t hide the quaver.
“Huff…”
Perhaps his fervent prayer reached him.
The tips of Duke’s bandaged fingers twitched faintly, and he laboriously opened his eyelids.
“Gasp… Your Majesty…”
“Duke!”
The king’s eyes lit up as he called his name.
“Why… is everyone… here…”
“Duke, please hold on. You still have so much to live for. How can the mighty warrior Duke fall like this?”
The king forced a smile, but his eyes were red.
Yet, contrary to his hopes, Duke’s breaths grew shallower, his life’s flame dimming.
“Your Majesty… I’m sorry… And… I’m glad… everyone’s alive…”
Duke faintly turned his head.
His blurred gaze landed on me.
With a trembling finger, he weakly signaled toward me.
I understood.
Swallowing the heart-wrenching pain, I slowly approached his side.
“Evan…”
Duke struggled to speak.
“I wanted… to have a proper spar… someday…”
I forced a bright expression and replied.
“A spar? Your last blow still lingers vividly. Were you trying to kill me?”
At my light jest, Duke smiled.
It was brief, but it carried the warmth of life.
But soon, he grimaced in pain, and I panicked, flustered.
“Gasp… Evan…!”
Duke steadied his breath, mustering his strength.
“Please… take care of the kids…”
I gently held his hand and bowed my head.
“I understand, Dean. You don’t need to worry about the Academy cadets. As long as I’m alive, I’ll never let them face a tragedy like this again.”
“Thank you…”
As I carefully stepped back, Duke looked at the king one last time.
“Your Majesty… Please lead the kingdom to peace… As you always have…”
“I will, Duke. I swear it. So hold on. You must see that peace… with your own eyes.”
Duke gave a faint smile.
“Heh, I’m a bit too tired for that now…”
Duke slowly closed his eyes.
A quiet stillness filled the ward.
“…”
“Duke?”
The king called him with a trembling voice.
But Duke didn’t stir.
The head physician approached, cautiously checking his condition.
After a long silence, he spoke heavily.
“He has passed…”
“No!”
The king’s anguished cry filled the ward.
“Duke! Duke!!”
Duke Valendo, a hero of an era, quietly and forever bid farewell to this world.
Those who witnessed his final moments lowered their heads, silently wiping tears.
I was no exception.
‘Duke… I never imagined you’d leave this life before me.’
Duke had been so strong, a figure death seemed ill-suited to.
‘But your death will be a sacrifice more valuable than any.’
I recalled the cheerful Duke from my distant past, from my boyhood days.
Unable to bear the fading memory, I sighed deeply, suppressing the tears welling in my eyes.
‘Rest now. I still have work to do… but when it’s all over, I’ll join you someday.’
Nodding quietly, I etched Duke’s final request into my heart and turned my gaze.
At the edge of my vision, Jack and Jaina, injured, clung to each other, silently sobbing over Duke’s death.
They weren’t alone.
Though gruff, Duke had been the Academy’s pillar, a father figure, and his death struck Instructor Nell and all the cadets with immense shock.
“Dean…!”
“Waaah…!!”
I looked at them quietly, then cautiously asked Jack.
“Come to think of it, what about the other Executor cadets?”
Jack couldn’t answer.
“Why… why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jack finally spoke, struggling.
“Besides me… Lady Jaina, and Lady Meris… everyone…”
“No… they’re all dead?”
Jack nodded heavily.
‘How could this be… Duke asked me to protect them, and I’ve already failed.’
The Executor cadets I had personally trained with.
They had burned themselves out for the kingdom, for everyone.
And they had passed before Duke, before I even knew.
“Sniff, if I’d tried harder…”
“Jack, it’s not your fault. So… don’t blame yourself too much.”
My words were for Jack, but also for myself.
I recalled the countless deaths and losses I’d experienced.
I had learned at the Coast of the Dead:
no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t save everyone.
But that didn’t mean I’d ever grow accustomed to the pain of losing those close to me.
For now, for Jack, Jaina, and the others, I had to be a bit more mature.
Swallowing my urge to cry, I spoke calmly.
“It’s alright.”
A subdued voice, laden with heartfelt sincerity.
“It’ll be alright.”
The bloodstained war left deep scars on everyone.
***
In the capital of the Kaien Kingdom, where the war’s scars were slowly being mended, a solemn funeral was held.
A joint ceremony for the kingdom’s hero, Duke Valendo, countless soldiers who fell in battle,
and innocent citizens caught in the war’s crossfire.
―Dong.
The bell in the plaza rang across the capital.
With each toll, people bowed their heads, immersed in deep mourning.
―Dong.
Carefully prepared coffins formed a procession.
Soldiers, citizens, and even young cadets, each bearing their names, quietly proceeded to their final journey.
―Dong.
The survivors stood silently on either side of the streets, watching the procession.
Some clasped their hands in prayer, while others couldn’t hold back tears and sobbed.
The procession continued for a long time.
It reached the kingdom’s cemetery in the lush fields outside the capital.
As each coffin was lowered, priests recited prayers in heavy voices.
“Young hero who sacrificed yourself for the kingdom.”
The sky was overcast, sunlight faint, and a quiet breeze brushed the fields.
King Gaspar Kaien remained until the end in heavy silence, his eyes filled with deep sorrow.
I, too, watched the funeral from a distance, offering my silent tribute.
In this moment, the kingdom paid a true price alongside countless nameless heroes.
I vowed deep in my heart never to forget their sacrifice.
‘The Empire reveled only in victory, holding triumph ceremonies. Countless died then too, yet no one properly mourned them.’
But here, in the Kaien Kingdom, it was different.
Grief quietly enveloped the city.
Everyone sincerely mourned, sharing the pain.
Yet, the living had to move forward.
As time passed and night fell, all the fallen were laid to rest.
In the thick darkness, torches lit across the fields, casting a red glow.
Beneath that light, King Gaspar Kaien ascended a platform and began his speech.
“Today, we lost much.”
His voice resonated lowly.
“They were family, friends, perhaps neighbors. Their eternal farewell is indescribably sorrowful. But we still have days to live.”
At his words, countless citizens and soldiers bowed their heads, listening silently.
“Those who left us… wouldn’t want us to grieve endlessly. Thus, I declare a week of mourning across the kingdom. After that, let us resume our lives, each other’s lives.”
The king’s speech was brief but heartfelt.
“We must live our lives.”
Like earth hardening after rain, the kingdom endured its wounds, preparing to rise again.
***
With the week-long mourning period declared, people stood before the graves of those they knew, sharing grief and longing.
Gaiard was no exception.
He stood before an old grave tucked in a quiet corner of the kingdom.
Etched there was the name of a royal member from centuries ago, a woman he had loved.
“…”
Gaiard gazed at the grave silently, lips sealed, not uttering a word.
Then, Princess Anna cautiously approached from behind.
Holding a bouquet, she stood beside him.
“Do you miss the queen?”
Knowing their relationship through true history, Anna asked carefully.
“Not particularly… What are those flowers?”
“Oh, these are moonflowers, which the queen loved in life. It’s her memorial day, so I came to place them.”
At the mention of the queen’s memorial day, Gaiard’s face stiffened.
“So it is… Today…”
“Would you like to place them with me?”
Gaiard shook his head lightly.
“No need. And those aren’t the flowers she loved.”
“What? That can’t be…”
Anna held bright yellow moonflowers.
They weren’t the queen’s favorite.
They were the only flowers Gaiard himself had ever loved.
“It’s said the queen always kept these by her window when alive.”
In the past, the queen never knew Gaiard was sealed until her death.
The king at the time had a mage erase her memories of a certain period and confined her deep in the palace, like a bird in a cage.
With fabricated memories, she was told Gaiard had simply vanished.
Believing he’d return, she waited every day, her proof of waiting being the moonflowers.
Small yellow flowers placed daily by the window.
Unchanging,
through seasons, through years, always blooming toward the outside.
“One question. How did the citizens react when she died?”
“They grieved. Truly, everyone mourned sincerely. The queen was beloved by all.”
“…I see. Understood.”
Gaiard spread his wings and took flight.
―Whoosh!
Anna stood quietly, watching his retreating figure.
She didn’t know.
The small truth she shared had unraveled the knot in Gaiard’s heart.
Nor that the latent threat he posed to the kingdom had melted away like snow.
Unaware, Anna gently placed the moonflowers before the queen’s grave.
As the queen had done in life.
Like the flowers that always stood by her, unchanging.