Episode 255
He dreamt.
It was a cold, dark winter night. And the specter of that winter night was watching Dale.
A warrior from another world, pierced by the holy sword Durandal.
“Our truth is proven only by our actions.”
The warrior’s corpse spoke.
“And this is your truth.”
At the warrior’s feet lay the fallen body of Sir Bardel, the sacred sword.
“And also your shadow.”
A voice followed. It wasn’t the voice of the warrior or Sir Bardel.
Dale turned to look behind him.
There stood a shadow, one that resembled Dale greatly.
“Everyone has skeletons in their closet.”
The shadow continued.
“Even the Shadow Lord is no exception.”
“Who are you?”
“The shadow of the Shadow Lord.”
Before Dale could respond, the world beneath him crumbled. That was their final conversation.
”……!”
Awakening from the dream, he found himself in the bedroom of the Saxon ducal castle. Beside him lay his wife, Charlotte of Saxony, asleep. The queen of the Lancaster Knights’ Order and the ruler of the Saxon Grand Duchy, wife to the Duke of Darkness.
Dale gently brushed her golden hair.
“You’re awake?”
Charlotte, feeling his touch, spoke softly.
“Go back to sleep.”
“Your touch tickles too much for that.”
Dale replied, and Charlotte smiled. As he tried to withdraw his hand, she reached out and held it.
“I love you, Dale.”
”……I do too.”
Dale nodded silently.
Once a young girl who knew nothing of the world, she had grown into a woman who smiled with grace. Dale had changed as well.
The painful days were over. At least, the day when Charlotte Orhart wept for her father’s absence had ended.
He didn’t want to remind her of the cruel truth.
Even if he was merely a ‘fake’ with the warrior’s memories, he didn’t want to tell her about the memory of stabbing her father.
“I love you, Charlotte.”
With those words, Dale kissed her. Charlotte, still half-asleep, smiled and returned the kiss.
In the end, the Lord of Truth spoke a lie. That was his truth.
He didn’t want to hurt the woman beside him. Or perhaps he was justifying himself. Either way, it made no difference.
It was a curse that would follow him like a shadow for the rest of his life.
Amidst the ruins of the empire, countless nations rose and fell.
Among them, the Saxon Grand Duchy and the Lancaster Knights’ Order were the two most powerful forces on the continent.
And at the pinnacle of these two nations were Dale and Charlotte, the two grand dukes, ruling over more than just their territories.
The Shadow Lord willingly took on the role of the kings’ overseer, listening to the whispers from all corners of the continent through a web of blue.
No matter how secretive the whispers, they could not escape the birds and mice spread across the land.
Through the secret organization of the Blue Tower, the Sorceress Council, which listened to all the whispers of the continent.
The Shadow Lord, reigning at the top of both the Black Tower and the Blue Tower, was there.
Even now, gathering the consciousness of the sorceresses working for the Blue Tower, the council’s curtain rose.
“Our king of blue and shadow.”
Mistress Titania, the fifth imperial princess Kiara, and the rulers of the Blue Tower all bowed their heads.
“Thank you for making the difficult journey.”
And Dale, just as his mother and the former master of the Blue Tower had done, bowed with a sly smile.
“Let’s get straight to the point.”
At Dale’s words, one of the sorceresses spoke up.
“We have intelligence from the southern principality of Valaina, which has declared independence from the empire.”
“Go on.”
“There are whispers that the Count of Valaina is secretly engaging in the slave trade by kidnapping exiled elves entering the south.”
Slave trade. At those words, Dale’s expression darkened.
“The continent has officially banned slavery since the Third Empire, hasn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
The sorceress replied with a knowing smile.
“But the Third Empire has fallen, and the rulers of the independent nations built on its ruins have no obligation to respect its rules, do they?”
”……I once declared in the imperial council that I would become the fear of kings.”
“But it seems the Count of Valaina does not fear our lord.”
“Indeed.”
Dale replied calmly, but the sorceresses did not miss the chill in his voice.
“Why did you abandon your empire?”
Thus, they spoke the truth Dale was trying to avoid.
“The Shadow Lord destroyed the Golden Lord and has the power to truly bring an empire of shadows to this land. Why do you reject your empire and tolerate those who do not fear you?”
”…….”
Dale did not answer immediately. But the silence did not last long.
“I did not oppose the Golden Lord for the sake of a singular nation or throne.”
After a pause, Dale replied.
“It was a fight for the things I must protect and for those who wish to make the world better against the empire.”
“Then, in the eyes of the Shadow Lord, has the world improved?”
The sorceress asked, and Dale quietly shook his head.
“You are right. The new kings do not fear me as much as I had hoped, and things are not much better than the old empire.”
Quietly, but with a sense of disillusionment, Dale spoke. The sorceresses all bowed their heads.
“Please give us your command, our king.”
“May the empire of shadows descend upon this land once more.”
“Speak your will.”
A single word would suffice.
With a single word, Dale could once again establish the most powerful and unrivaled nation on this earth, as the old empire had been. And he could willingly reign at its pinnacle.
No one could refuse the Shadow Lord from establishing his empire and taking the throne.
Dale knew this as well.
“I respect your intentions and loyalty.”
Thus, the Shadow Lord spoke.
“Soon, I will set out for the principality of Valaina.”
”……!”
“There, I will witness firsthand the folly they are committing and their reckless disregard for my warning.”
Without a hint of hesitation, Dale spoke.
“As you said, I am responsible for the world that will be built upon these ruins.”
“Is that the will of the Shadow Lord?”
“It is.”
Dale nodded without hesitation.
“And as you said, if this world proves to be no better than the old empire and not worth protecting, I will gladly bring an empire of shadows to this land. Valaina will be the beginning.”
In a voice colder than anything, the sorceresses all bowed their heads.
“Please do as you will.”
“I hope it will be so.”
Leaving the sorceresses who proved their loyalty in silence, Dale turned away.
The magic binding the sorceresses’ consciousnesses in one place dissipated, and Dale finally raised his head in his chamber.
With the sunlight streaming in from behind, Dale rose to his feet.
The empire had fallen, and his enemy was defeated. Yet the world had not changed.
Not one bit.
”…….”
After a moment of silence, Dale stood up. The noon sun was pouring down from above, and it meant only one thing.
Young Lize was crying, clutching the body of a fallen rabbit at her feet.
The rabbit, bloodied and torn by a beast, lay there, and Lize desperately tried to lift it. The rabbit twitched slightly as if responding to her efforts, but that was all. It was dead from the start. And necromancy was never about bringing the dead back to life.
“Brother……!”
Watching the sobbing Lize, Dale silently patted her head.
“Lize, no one can bring the dead back to life.”
“But the necromancy of the Black Tower……!”
Before Lize could finish her sentence, Dale extended his hand.
The scattered bones and flesh of the dead rabbit reassembled, forming a grotesque creation.
“Do you think that rabbit is still alive?”
Even young Lize, who knew little of the world, could instinctively sense it. What Dale had animated was not a rabbit brought back from death, but a mere puppet dancing to his will.
“This is the magic of our Black Tower.”
Dale spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.
“We don’t revive the dead. We learn how to move what is dead.”
Lize couldn’t find the words to respond.
“When you first moved the dead rabbit, did you think it had come back to life?”
Lize couldn’t answer Dale’s question. She remembered the nights she spent crying when the rabbit she thought she had saved stopped moving after hopping around.
“No one can bring the dead back to life.”
Dale watched Lize, who was struggling to hold back her sobs, and spoke with a tone that was far from the gentle brother she knew. Instead, he delivered a harsh truth.
“Then why did Father and you learn the dark magic?” Lize asked, her voice trembling with tears. Dale paused for a moment, taking a deep breath.
“Because there were things we needed to protect.”
His hesitation was brief.
“No matter how terrible and ugly it may seem to you, we needed the power to defend ourselves from our enemies.”
“Power…?”
“Yes,” Dale replied calmly. Even though Lize was too young to fully grasp his words, he didn’t mind.
“I’m going to leave the Saxon estate for a while and go on a journey.”
At this, Lize murmured through her tears once more.
“Are you leaving on another long trip by yourself?”
“No.”
Dale shook his head gently at her question.
“Lize, would you like to come with me on this journey?”
Lize tilted her head, not fully understanding the offer, but her hesitation didn’t last long.
“Let’s go see the wider world together.”
“Yes, brother!”