Chapter 200: Twenty-third Episode: Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 200: Twenty-third Episode: Chapter 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The morning fog shrouded the Swan Lake in the early dawn. The sun still stayed behind the distant mountains, and the air too was dampened and cold.
Occasionally, aquatic birds skidded over the surface of the lake; their sharp beaks took away the fat fishes from the water, and then the birds flew to a nearby tree branch or back to their nests to enjoy the meal. If one were to listen carefully, the sound of the birds swallowing could even be heard.
There were bonfires near the lake, and the light from the flames passed through the fog to illuminate the Swan Hill Castle not far away. Walking from the castle to the lake required only climbing over a small hillside, and these flames were just below the slopes. Countless knights moved slowly through the scenery of the flames and the fog, as though they were exercising precautionary measures. However, they appeared more like they were scouting.
O'Neil Andrew Morisette was sitting on a folding stool, and he stretched out his two palms toward the fire. The morning in early spring was freezing cold; the skin on the back of Oscar's hands had dried because of the weather.
Thirteen the assassin was seated at the opposite of His Highness the Prince. He was wrapped in a thick coat made of camel's fur and appeared pleased by just quietly watching the burning of fire. The assassin's wounds had been taken care of perfectly, but Poison Doctor Percy still could not suppress his emotions. One after another, his old friends from Damorga was leaving forever. Hence, he felt extremely delighted to have the chance to assist his old friend again.
”And this is why you performed more than 40 stitches on me?” the assassin teased jokingly.
The Poison Doctor spread out his hands helplessly, ”Oh, I apologize, I couldn't distinguish between assholes and wounds!”
The assassin laughed along with his old friend. On the other hand, O'Neil Andrew Morisette still had a weary look on his face. He had not uttered a word since they left the city of Dulin.
”How is it going with that old man Doramy?” Thirteen the assassin suddenly recalled the cheeky old man.
The Poison Doctor scratched his head, and took a sideways glance at the young prince who trembled slightly, ”He died of illness! Isn't it unfortunate?”
Thirteen shook his head softly, ”This is already good for him! Oh yeah, and that little liar?”
”Ricky...” Percy glanced at Oscar again, ”Ricky was even more unlucky... he contracted a sexually transmitted disease.”
”Oh...” Thirteen frowned, that little swindler was indeed unlucky. ”And that... that drug dealer? What is his name again? I forgot!”
”You mean Leon!” Percy finally smiled, at last, they mentioned an old friend who was still alive.
”He is currently Titan's biggest drug lord as well as an illegal salt distributor. If Domingo isn't directly commissioned under His Highness the Prince, he would have been the new Brother 'Balance'.”
Thirteen opened his mouth to reply, but Oscar put up his hand. The young prince moved his stool closer to examine properly the thin face of his old friend.
”I almost forgot! Based on your description it seems like the drug they forced onto you is opium, and one of Leon's teammate is the best opium development expert in the entire Westland team!” Oscar thought of the success of their Great Escape that took place several years ago. ”I have to stay in touch with Leon and have him send over the Scorpion to Vielonna. Your body needs immediate treatment!”
Thirteen shook his head, ”I can still cope!”
Oscar followed suit and shook his head too, ”Listen to me on this one, my friend!”
The assassin did not reply, instead only smiling and nodded at the other party.
Oscar stood up from the small stool. The sky was bright, the fog condensing on the water, and the outline of the castle had been plated with the morning sun. This should be a positive, brand new day. However, the Prince of Titan did not want to see this scene. His heart was engulfed with haze, his thoughts scattered around in all directions.
”Percy... go get us some breakfast,” The prince turned around to order the Poison Doctor, and the latter lingered his gaze between the assassin and their little friend. Finally, he left the bonfire.
It seemed that after the doctor left, the nearby knights and Persian warriors of his Highness the Prince immediately surrounded the two, especially the top warrior who was wrapped in a blue turban and had a black belt around his waist. He was standing right behind the assassin.
”There is something I want to confirm with you!” Oscar sat down again, facing the assassin. He tried his best to not think about all the memory associated with the person in front of him.
”Is it something serious?” Thirteen felt a rather strange sensation as if the pores on his back closed up completely. He didn't want to turn back because he was not sure how fast the warrior's movement would be.
”Yes!” Oscar sighed deeply. Although he wasn't there when his father passed away, his brother's letter gave him a precise and detailed condition of his father's death. As soon as he thought of Dortmund lying in the pool of his own blood, Oscar quickly diverted his attention by starting another conversation.
”My father, it's about my father!” Oscar grabbed his old friend's hand eagerly, ”Someone tried to convince me that you were the one who killed my father, it happened during the time you were transferred from the Secret Service Department!”
Thirteen couldn't help but widen his eyes as he realized how dangerous the conspiracy was. However... he was not sure what he had done under the influence of the drugs.
”I... I don't know him! I... I'm not sure!”
Oscar shook his head vigorously; his expression turned into one with a threatening force by now. ”My friend, you must be sure, right now! You should know what this means to me! My father was cut open by a sharp dagger, and the assassin disappeared under the watchful eyes of numerous guards without a trace! The Knights of my House searched all over Andrew Haila -”
”Wait a minute!” Thirteen shouted suddenly, ”What place is this Andrew Haila?”
”It's my hometown! My -”
”No!” Thirteen shook his head intensely, ”I mean how far it is from Dulin!”
Oscar spread out his hand, ”The linear distance is about eight or nine hundred kilometers, it takes approximately one month to arrive.”
Immediately, Thirteen revealed a look of relief. ”Then I'm sure you're asking the wrong person! It wasn't me who did it! The Secret Service would never let me out for long journeys. Although I wasn't sure what I've done under the influence of the drugs, I know the road at least! They've always kept me imprisoned in Dulin, only constantly transferring me between several secret locations!”
Oscar straightened in his seat. Thirteen's argument sounded reasonable. It seemed impossible for Secret Service Department to bring the super assassin out on a long journey.
”Are you sure about this?”
Thirteen nodded in affirmation, ”I'm totally sure! I've never been far away, or you can even say that... I've never left Dulin!”
”Ola...” Oscar murmured. He looked into the eyes of the King of Assassins for a moment and finally embraced the thin old man in his arms.
Thirteen smiled awkwardly at the Western people's etiquette, but still, he tightened his thin arms around his friend who was once only a little boy and even rocked his body sideways like a tumbler toy.
***************
Early in the morning at seven, dazzling sunshine pierced through the last bits of the haze that engulfed the mountain and lake. The Swan Hill Castle displayed its dreamy colors in the morning light. The white barriers and red spires appeared even more eccentric in contrast with the blue background filled with clouds.
Little Micath was awakened by the Knights' shouting as his mother shook him gently. The little boy rubbed his eyes, and then he saw his mother, as well as his… father? The weird man with a mustache took him in his arms and twirled him around the air. Dizzy, little Cath was thrown into the arms of another person by his… well, someone who he decided to call his father for now!
The person gave him a kiss and later swung him into the arm of the next person. Cath was puzzled and he didn't like the way these adults greeted him. Only the stinky old man considered his feelings.
Thirteen took the child over from a man whom he did not know and placed the child on the ground before wiping away the saliva that stained his little cheeks. ”How do you feel?”
”Ola!” Cath replied before giving a hard nod! This little boy took out the hand cannon from within his arms and shouted ”Pang! Pang! Pang!”, indicating him firing a gun.
Thirteen's hand flew to his chest and he fell to the ground after issuing a loud cry. His pretend play made little Cath, who had just woken up from a sleep, extremely excited, and soon he ran toward to sit on the King of Assassin's stomach. He tugged at the old man's beard playfully. Oscar, who witnessed this, quickly walked over to carry his son away from his old friend, before helping Thirteen to his feet.
”Thank you! You saved my son's life!”
Thirteen waved his hand at the little boy who had grown into the appointed prince for Titan. His gaze lingered between the father and son, ”Two peas in a pod!”
Oscar smiled. He was undeniably proud of his son. ”Oh! This is Vij, the mother of little Cath!”
Thirteen bowed politely to the beautiful lady whose eyes were red and puffed, ”Pleasure to meet you!”
Vij's tears immediately gushed out of her eyes. Even though she was a strong woman, but she had her limit too. The knees of Sukhoi's Housemistress gave away and they fell to the ground facing the lean old man. Thirteen quickly went forward to help her but was stopped by Oscar.
The King of Assassin had no choice but to watch in silence as Vijdeline kissed his boots like he was a saint.
”Alright, alright, what is this for?” Thirteen lifted her up later when the woman looked up. ”My dear lady, there's no need for this, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Besides, I think that it was little Cath who saved me!”
Vij wiped her tears, ”No words can express how much I'm grateful for you…” Sukhoi's mistress measured her speech carefully, but as she had said, she could not find the right words to express her gratitude. ”Oh! Forget it!” the beautiful lady said as she held the face of King of Assassin in her hands, and then planted a full kiss on his lips.
Thirteen blushed with redness. He had seen passionate Western women before, but that was at least 20 years ago. Vijdeline would have been honored if she knew that she was the only woman that the King of Assassin had kissed in the past 20 years. Thirteen then pursed his mouth to savor the aftertaste as he spoke to his old friend beside him, ”This is worth all the wounds on my body!”
Everyone present laughed out loudly, including Paul and His Highness. This burst of hearty laughter made countless birds soar to the sky.
Just by the lake, servants of the Swan Hill Castle were busy setting up the long dining table. O'Neil Andrew Morisette's loyal subordinates who attended the feast were a group larger than twenty people. One after another, His Highness the Prince introduced them to the King of Assassin, regardless of how much the latter could remember.
However, everyone was enthusiastic about Thirteen, showing special admiration regarding his actions at the headquarters of the Secret Service Department. Torry the extrovert was naturally the one who made the most noise at the dining table. With much exaggeration, he described the look on Rudolf Hoss's face at the incident and later demonstrated how brilliantly the King of Assassin fought despite being surrounded by a siege! The soldiers gave a round of applause for the artillery general's commentary. However, they all knew that the situation was not as simple as Torry had mentioned! More than 100 secret agents were taken as hostages, breaking down the red building at the Secret Service Department into pieces, taking down more than half of the members of the Eighth Brigade whose power was no any weaker than a special warfare brigade… No one would believe this, at least people who were familiar with the Secret Service would not believe it. Yet, this old eastern man who was gobbling down the meal did all that. Not only he had done it beautifully, the whole incident was also made to look like a miracle!
Oscar still retained his breakfast tradition from the past. The hostess of Swan Hill Castle began moving about instructing the chefs since five o'clock in the morning. When His Highness the Prince and friends settled down at the dining table, exquisite dishes were served one after another. In addition to the mandatory bread and jams of all tastes for breakfast, there was also a typical Susilo feast.
The authentic Titan Empire Susilo local cuisine was known for its various kind of cooking methods of meat sauce. His Highness the Prince's main dish was a grilled eggplant with meat sauce, onions, and herbs, as well as orange sauce pepper quail, and boiled dried sea bass with onions, tomatoes, garlic, and parsley.
However, the disappointment was that the prince's stomach was unable to adapt to a feast in the early morning. Oscar only selected the appetizer for himself, which was a hard-boiled egg and vegetable beef olive soup. A brief moment later, Oscar, who saw everyone's strong appetite, helped himself to a serving of caramel egg pudding with slight embarrassment, because he knew that this thing would make his stomach hurt for a whole day.
In the eyes of Murat, Ainienne was a good wife. She kept herself occupied at the table and took care of the details. More than once, Oscar asked Lady Bedoya to talk to her but Ainienne just could not help it. Everyone thought that His Highness the Prince had helped himself to a serving of the dessert because he was not full, however Ainienne took it away from Oscar and announced that breakfast was over for His Highness, not forgetting to remind Oscar not to risk his own stomach health just because he wanted to avoid killing the mood. It was only until then that people remembered the prince's stomach had not been at its best. Therefore, Luke Citel passed over a great cigar to His Highness for Oscar to indulge.
Apart from the young prince who took an early withdrawal from the battlefield, Paul's appetite was not quite well either. He had been glancing warily back and forth between Oscar and Thirteen. Oscar finally got a little impatient, so he grabbed the shoulders of his old friend and demanded, ”Just say it boldly if you have anything to say!”
Paul coughed uncomfortably. Only after he made sure that Thirteen seated on the opposite side was affectionately taking care of little Cath that he asked the prince in caution.
”Was it him?”
Oscar immediately understood what he meant, ”Rest assured, it's definitely not our old friend!”
”Ola...” Paul exclaimed the prince's favorite phrase a low voice. He could finally feel at ease, but this rest only lasted for a few seconds. ”It makes the situation even stranger then! I've discussed this with Shaw many times, but we couldn't figure out who this world apart from Thirteen could have the ability to assassinate the Duke of Andrew at the Base Camp of the Narcissus Knight? Shaw is extremely sure that the assassins within the Morissette Imperial Family had the ability because the Black Devil is already their best!”
Oscar curled his lips rather coldly, ”We will eventually find that guy!”
Paul nodded and said nothing more.
”Vij, how was the journey on the way here? Was it smooth?” Oscar turned to the mother of his son.
The Sukhoi Housemistress laid down her cutleries as she heard the words, and threw a glance at Paul, ”It had been good thanks to Paul and Sandy. They mentioned that there were several threats on the road, but walked away after checking out the troop from afar!”
Paul nodded to Oscar, ”It's true! We have to seize the time to leave Dulin, especially Thirteen! At the moment, it seems that... no one else in Dulin supports you apart from your soldiers!”
Oscar remained silent at the comment. His utmost priority was not to leave Dulin but to demand an explanation from his wife Her Majesty the Empress. Although this matter had made itself extremely clear, Oscar still hoped that Alanis would offer him an explanation, even if it was an unusually bad excuse.
”Follow me, Vij!” Oscar said as he grabbed the woman's hand, ”I have already provided an explanation to the elders of the Steinberger House in the capital. He understands your situation. Besides, the final say to the barbette design of the Blackwood Fortress lies in the hands of those engineers anyway. Your participation is not mandatory.”
Vij stared at the man deeply, ”Are you asking me to go south with you?”
Oscar nodded, ”Yes! We can bring Cath to the South with us. Things like the recent incident will not happen over there if we're careful.”
Vijdeline shook her head in disapproval, ”I can stay with you and the kid for a while, but Titania is urging that new firearm -”
”Don't tell me this!” Oscar interrupted the woman impatiently. ”Things like this will happen again after the first time, Cath will not be as lucky to meet Thirteen every time!”
Vij bit her lips as she considered. She could understand Oscar's emotions, but to establish a regular army created of Delin-style firearm was her dream at the moment.
”Don't you think that this can be delayed?” Oscar's tone eased, ”We still have not completely figure out the Titania House yet, and it is worrisome enough to deposit a team of fire armed army in there! If you're there too when something wrong happens… what will I do?”
”Alright...” The Sukhoi Housemistress finally compromised with an immense reluctance.
”Your Highness!” a pressing call came over from the end of the table. It was the voice of Devil Sandinand.
Everyone shifted their attention to the end of the table. It showed that he had enough right to speak on the matter.
”I don't know if that event last night was considered a public declaration of war to the Secret Service Department! After all, it has received a massive amount of attention; and if we didn't explain to Her Majesty and the Ministry of Justice, I'm afraid your old friend would be sent into the prison again!”
Paul's eyes widened almost immediately at the possibility! Indeed, his old friend had killed dozens of secret agents who represented the Imperial Ministry of Justice.
Oscar held his chin for a moment to think about it, but eventually, cast a reassuring glance toward Thirteen.
”I don't think the Secret Service Department or the Ministry of Justice will conduct any excessive action!” Oscar voiced out his estimation. ”I can't imagine how my wife Her Majesty would deal with Rudolf as she must be extremely annoyed. Our Head of Secret Service will be so occupied with bearing the consequences that he will not have time to mess with the Military Intelligence Bureau.”
”What about Her Majesty?” Sandy spoke again, ”I don't know exactly what Her Majesty wants to do exactly. She vetoed all the written instructions submitted by the Southern Coalition Government last week, and now an incident like this broke out! Is it safe for me to assume that maybe it was the south… or perhaps Your Highness… that Her Majesty…”
”That's enough, Sandy!” Oscar did not sound impatient, but Sandy immediately shut his mouth and appeared concentrating on the plate in front of him. If everyone had not just heard the conversation, they would not have thought about anything had happened moments ago.
Oscar looked around at his subordinates and took a deep breath after a long silence, ”Everyone, go ahead and collect your team, we'll start moving the day after tomorrow!”
”And...me?” Torry frowned.
Oscar waved apologetically, ”You are the general of artillery soldiers defending the capital area. Visit Marshal Robin when you have the time, he will take care of you, but the key is to look after yourself!”
The son of Sukhoi sighed lowly. Now that Her Majesty had made plans to mess with her sister, she might also mess with him when she had the free time.
Oscar stood up and walked to the side of Torry. He patted his partner's shoulders and encouraged him, ”Lift up your spirits! There's nothing to worry about!”
The general of the artillery soldiers smiled helplessly. There were many things worth worrying about!
Oscar wanted to say something more, but his eyes had been drawn to the dust on the mountain trail. His Highness the Prince looked to his sides, and the captain in charge of the guards immediately beckoned the cavalry to leap to their horse.