Chapter 119  

"What? The Great Lords are coming to the royal palace?"

The Grand Dukes represented the four regions of the kingdom and typically resided in their respective territories, except for Luisen, who often stayed in the capital. Barring significant events like the New Year or other major national events, it was rare for all four Grand Dukes to gather together.

However, without giving advance notice, these four Great Lords were galloping towards the royal palace very urgently.

"What is it? Is there something wrong?"

This was an almost unbelievable situation.

The Great Lord's hurry indicated that there was an urgent matter at hand.

The gatekeeper's mind naturally wandered to the rumored ailing, elderly king. While the gatekeepers were waffling, the Great Lords' carriages had already arrived in front of them.

"W-What seems to be the problem?" The gatekeepers asked cautiously.

"We are on our way to see His Highness. Open the gates."

"His Highness? Highness? However, without permission, no one is allowed in…"

"You dare interfere with a Great Lord's duty?!" the northern Great Lord's knight roared forcefully.

‘The king must have died!' Doubts had turned into conviction. In such a situation, where the king's death was somewhat expected in the coming days, the urgency of the Great Lords' duty could only be explained by that!

Common sense would suggest that if the king had died, the news would reach the gatekeeper–the ones responsible for protecting their king–far faster than it would reach the Great Lords. However, they were flustered over this unusual situation, and the Great Lords were crowding them all at once. The pressure the lords and their knights presented made rational thought difficult.

"I-I'll open the gate." The gatekeepers scrambled to open the door. As the tightly closed gate opened, the carriage and its accompanying party rushed straight inside the palace.

Luisen's strategy of rushing in urgently with all the Great Lords had worked well.

***

The royal palace was an impressive building with spires reached towards the sky. It was a five-story high-rise building, something quite rare in this era, and the small windows gave it a somewhat imposing feel.

There were many people gathered in front of the main palace building. Upon hearing the news that the Great Lords had passed through the gate, the Royal Knight commander, the chamberlain, the servants, and even the nobles who were staying within the palace rushed out.

"To barge into the palace like this, what on earth are the Great Lords thinking?"

"They must be feeling frustrated too. The first prince's actions have put us all in a tight spot…"

"Hush, they're coming."

The wagons arrived one after another, and the Great Lords dismounted. All four of them carried a dignified aura and were clad in colorful garments as befitting their position as the ruler and representative of their regions, but the peoples' eyes were focused on one person: Luisen.

Though it was unusual for someone to be escorted by the Paladins alone, their eyes were drawn to the young lord because of his stunning beauty.Luisen wore a knee-high cape coat. The soft cream-colored fabric had a gentle sheen, and the intricate embroidered vine-like pattern using golden thread exuded splendor. He also wore a round hat, and, with each movement of his head, the jewel ornaments hanging down the side of his face would shimmer and sway, adding to the young lord's radiance.

The outfit was so flashy that it could look ridiculous on another person, but it didn't look excessive at all when paired with Luisen's innate flashy appearance. The splendor of his outfit made Lusien's innocent features stand out even more and perfectly harmonized with his serene aura, highlighting the young lord's determination and hardened resolve.

Since he wore white clothes and was escorted by Paladins in white armor, he looked like a saint from heaven.

At that moment, all the various debates surrounding Luisen were forgotten and only his unrealistic appearance remained in their minds. This was one of the plenty of reasons why, despite the young lord's unconventional behavior in the past, he had received more love than criticism.

"Did you all come out to guide us in or to block the road?" The Western Great Lord's brusque remark diverted the attention away from Luisen.

"I will guide my lords to his Highness." The royal chamberlain stepped forward, and the Great Lords followed him. The aristocrats who had gathered because of the commotion trailed behind at a certain distance.

Luisen found Sir Boros and approached him, "We're seeing each other quite often these days, hm?"

"…I apologize." Sir Boros said; he looked as if he wanted to strangle himself.

Luisen laughed lightly, "Did I say anything wrong? Rather, is it really okay for us to follow along like this?"

"Yes. The first prince has given his permission."

"He did?" Luisen thought that their sudden entrance would disturb him, but this was an unexpected reaction. "What is the first prince thinking?"

"…We don't know as well."

"Of course."

Though Luisen was curious about the first prince's motives, he couldn't turn back now that they had come this far.

***

Before taking any substantial actions, they needed to see the king first. The chamberlain led the Great Lords to the king's bedroom. The elderly king, who looked like a parched, gnarled tree, lay asleep in bed. From time to time, a rustling, hoarse breath escaped from him, as if his life were escaping through his lips. The atmosphere inside the bedroom was dreary. Though the room itself wasn't dark, there was inevitably a sense of melancholy that had settled in its corners.

There were no excuses; the king was dying. The great Lords all reacted to the king's appearance in different ways. One was bitter, and another held the king's hand with tears in his eyes. Whatever their personal thoughts may be, the passing of a monarch–the passing of an era–was heartbreaking.

Luisen stood a little apart from the bed and stared at the king. He had expected this turn of events. If he looked back on his memory pre-regression, the king was slated to die soon. He thought that perhaps the chain of events could be different due to the changes he had made, but there was no difference nor unexpected results.

Perhaps because the young lord had already thought of the king as a dead person, he didn't react as strongly as the other Great Lords. However, Luisen did feel sorry for him; he knew what it felt like to have death slowly approach. Dying felt horrible. It was hard to stay sane from fear of death.

‘Still, I had the saint by my side.'

The one-armed pilgrim stood by Luisen until the end. He had moistened Luisen's lips with wine and held his heavily scarred right hand as the young lord accepted death. Thanks to the pilgrim's presence, Luisen was not lonely even if he was scared. In fact, Luisen had the presence of mind to speak his dying will.

‘May his Highness also have someone who will stand wholeheartedly with him until the end.' Luisen wished sincerely. With all his heart.

***

After a brief greeting, the Great Lords left the bedroom. Sorrow was sorrow, but, after grasping the king's condition, they had calculations to make. With the king's death and the ascension of the new king impending, they knew they couldn't waste any time and needed to act now.All the lords became busy as they had not entered the palace solely to meet the king. As the Great Lords began to move freely, the royal servants and knights followed their lead.

Luisen also pivoted to his original motive. ‘I've entered the royal palace. Now, I must find Carlton.'

He must move onto the second phase of his plan. He needed a little acting skill from here on out.

"Ah…" After walking quite well all this while, Luisen suddenly stumbled.

He had almost fallen, but one of the palace servants rushed over to support him. "My duke, are you alright?"

"…Thank you. I've suddenly become dizzy. Can I stay like this for a while?"

"Of…Of course."

Luisen leaned slightly against the royal servant. When the servant looked closer at the blemish-less, perfect face, his cheeks flushed faintly.

"I think I'm a little shocked. I didn't expect his Highness to be in such a grave condition…" Luisen blinked slowly. His long eyelashes fluttered–the royal servant's heart also fluttered. Luisen looked straight into the servant's eyes, "Please don't speak ill of me for being weak. With all my loved ones passing so suddenly… It's so unbearable."

Everyone knew that Luisen had lost his parents at a young age and had, instead, treated the queen and the second prince like his real family. Even though this moment of ‘weakness' was self-inflicted, Luisen had thought the tragedy that had befallen him was truly pitiful.

"I just have one favor to ask of you. Even if it's for a second…I'd like to look around my revered Aunt's room."

"Her majesty, the queen? It remains unchanged from when she had used it, but…"magic

"Please, I beg of you. She was a mother to me. Let me mourn."

"That's…Well…"

"If a problem appears, I'll make sure to tell people that I forced your hand." Luisen's blue eyes slowly filled with tears.

When the gorgeous, frail beauty revealed his vulnerability, it evoked both sorrow and profound sympathy in the servant's heart. He felt a surge of courage–he would do anything to stop those tears. "…I understand–I can give you enough time for a prayer."

The royal servant granted permission. Most people felt empathy towards Luisen's pitiful appearance, so there wasn't much opposition. Some may have thought this wasn't prudent, but they couldn't oppose it as their protest would make them seem heartless and unsympathetic.

They headed for the queen's residence. Luisen, once more, asked for his guide's understanding and took only the Paladins with him inside before closing the door.

"Wow, that worked?" Morrison, who was dressed as a Paladin, said as if he had found this all so absurd.

"Of course. I made this plan and dressed up in this manner because it works." Luisen pointed at himself with his finger. He looked too outstanding so Morrison couldn't even retort.

"…Let's just find him quickly. We need to find Carlton."

"Of course." Luisen approached an ornate cabinet in the corner of the room. Though it looked heavy, it was easily moved with a push. Afterwards, its absence revealed a hidden passage.

In the past, he had found this secret passage while playing hide-and-seek with the second prince.

When the young lord heard that Carlton had not been found–and after his astonishment had subsided–he thought of this passage. This passage was connected to many places in the castle, so, if Carlton had found it, he could spend days upon days eating, drinking, and hiding out of sight.

TL: Luisen's total confidence in his attractiveness is very attractive ngl. So I couldn't post yesterday, btw, I'm in class/office from 11 am to 7pm.