MaruMA:Volume05:Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He couldn’t have cared less that he was standing in the rain.

His long hair that looked black when wet stuck to his neck uncomfortably. His scowling blue eyes looked more ominous than ever.

The two soldiers he’d sent out as spies had returned, carrying the filthy body of the king's advisor between them. His dirt-crusted cheeks were white as wax, like a person that had died of an illness.

"... Is he dead?"

"No, we suspect he put himself in a state of suspended animation so the arrow's poison wouldn’t spread."

"I see."

Lord von Voltaire gestured towards the church with his chin before entering the shelter of the building himself.

His youngest brother and a girl were sitting together on one of the benches near the altar.

"Günter has been found."

Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram nodded with his blonde hair shining amber in the light of the torch he was holding too close. Greta’s lips press together as she grasps Wolfram's arm.

Gwendal slowly bent his knees and spoke to Greta in a low voice so he wouldn't be heard by his subordinates who were watching from afar.

"What happened?"

"It's impossible for a child to explain," Wolfram said with a despondent expression as he swung the now useless torch around with pointless movements.

"Then who else should I ask?"

"But, for a child-"

"I can tell you," Greta says decisively, cutting Wolfram off.

"Then please tell us."

Without looking anyone in the eyes, Greta began to speak in a hollow voice. She continued speaking without stumbling or pausing much to take a breath.

"Günter and Conrad hadn't expected the enemy to come inside the borders. That's why they took me along. We came in a hurry to get to Yuuri. Nobody called him, but the highest priestess said it seemed like Yuuri's soul was on its way to this place. The time and location were exactly correct. They said that they didn't have time to bring him back to the castle so if I wanted to see him, now was the time. I don't know why, but they had to send Yuuri right back home again... Why was that?"

"Because this country is no longer secure."

"Because of the box?"

"Yes."

Finally Greta looked Gwendal in the eye. Her manly eyebrows and long eyelashes shook as she sought something upon which she could unleash her anger. In order to suppress her emotions, Greta let out a sigh with more air than she had breathed in.

"... And then, then we went out the back door and got on the horses and Günter's nose helped light up the dark street. Then somebody shot at Yuuri and Günter with arrows. And then Günter... fell off the horse. The three of us escaped into this church, and Conrad, well..."

She pointed at the painting, whose middle section had melted away from the fire.

"He said Yuuri could travel through that painting that looks like Wolf. If the priestesses were prepared, then Yuuri could go back to Earth. But then, those guys... Conrad defeated more than half of them, but... they had fire-spewing pipes. They used them to break down the door. He said that it was dangerous for me so I should hide. I hid, I hid under the, chair, but Yuuri kicked open that door. He might have escaped outside from there. But, maybe... no... they... with that fire... they shot... Yuuri and Conrad."

Greta rubbed at her eyes with her small palms.

"...I got an eyelash in my eye."

"Greta."

Handing off the torch, Wolfram pulled the child's shoulders close. Gwendal held one of her auburn curls in his hand.

"Are they dead now..? Both Yuuri and Conrad... Like my mother? And like Hube?"

Greta had spoken the name of her comrade who didn’t seem to want to wake from his coma.

"Gegenhuber is alive."

"But he won't open his eyes and he doesn't speak... Is it my fault? Is it all my fault?" she asked with a tearful voice as she stamped her feet against the stone floor a few times. Near the door she had mentioned, a few soldiers were waving their hands about saying they had extinguished the fire. Thanks to the rain, the fire hadn’t been able to spread very far, but the wooden parts of the church had burned down. Bodies and body parts would probably be found in gruesome condition.

Lord von Voltaire straightened his legs and stood up with a clack of his boots.

"If Yuuri were here, would he say it's your fault?"

"... Yuuri would never say that."

"Then that's how it is."

Beyond the back door was a cliff. The light rain before spring had weakened the ground substantially. The area outside the door that had stonework cutting through it was completely buried underneath the collapsed earth.

"I’ve sent out a messenger," reported a soldier. "The civilians of this area and all our soldiers are being mobilized. The search operation will begin any moment."

"I'll leave it to you."

There was no other alternative but to dig up this area.

Perhaps leaving Greta to a female soldier, his youngest brother had come to stand silently next to him. Wolfram didn't even flinch at the unpleasant stench of burned flesh.

A soldier was inspecting a charred black pile of cloth and, while keeping their face down, murmured, "This is a human... My apologies, Your Excellency. This is a human."

"Mm..."

"This one also appears to be a human. Which means that... well... the one you're searching for, no, worrying about..."

"Don't spread any unnecessary emotion."

"Yes, sir. Judging from size and ornamentation... the body of His Majesty... does not appear to be here. But if we assume that there was an explosion, albeit small, we cannot say anything with certainty."

"So there’s a possibility that he survived?"

Gwendal was surprised at the uncharacteristically deep voice that finally came out of Wolfram's mouth. It was almost like...

"That’s difficult to say... however..." the soldier said timidly as they turned over a long object that had been half burned to ashes. As a part on the underside which hadn’t been burnt came into view, the object became recognizable as an arm.

"Do you recognize this cuff link, Your Excellency? I thought it might be something the nobility would adorn themselves with."

"... It's Lord Weller's."

"Which means that’s Conrart's arm?" Again, his voice was quiet and cool. Noticing that his older brother was giving him a strange look, Wolfram raised his eyebrows and asked, "Brother?"

"Don't act like me."

"Where did that come from?"

"Forget it." Gwendal slowly shook his head, then in a louder voice he gave an order to the soldier. "Bring everything to the castle! From the fragments to the ashes, don't leave a speck of dust behind! However, do not let them get mixed with the ashes of the humans under any circumstances!"

He then grabbed his other brother's arm that had lost weight and ripped the surviving cuff link from the wrist. He then dropped the cuff link with the shell design blackened by soot into his youngest brother’s palm.

After remaining silent for a few breaths, Wolfram began to scream as if a dam had broken. He repeated the names of his most beloved king and his second-oldest brother that he was supposed to have hated, and he cursed the unknown enemy. Without being able to look anyone in the face, he kicked at the walls and candelabras with all his strength.

That’s good. At least you should remain emotional.

If not, then if in the unlikely event that we lost 'him,' then the citizens, the castle, and the country will not withstand it.

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