A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

The altar in front of me was shattered.

The ground is shaking.

Everything around was shaking.

The huge obelisks surrounding it in all directions continued to burst apart, and collapsed to the ground one after another.

The huge ruins are crumbling and destroyed bit by bit...

【...it's time...】

The world fell into darkness.

………………

The eyelashes twitched slightly, then slowly lifted.

Because the sunlight shining down was too bright, I closed it again, blinked several times, and then opened it again after I got used to it.

Garlan looked at the familiar roof and was in a daze for a while.

He only vaguely remembered that he stayed in the royal tomb all night, and when he came out, he saw Heimos waiting for him outside.

When he saw Heimos reaching out his hand, he subconsciously wanted to put his hand on it...

The memory suddenly disconnected at this moment.

He seemed to be suddenly plunged into darkness.

But……

In the darkness, he seemed to...see something...

Just as Garlan was trying to remember, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and touched his cheek.

A figure loomed over him, blocking his sight.

When Garlan came to his senses, the man leaning over him pressed his other hand on his side, completely covering him in his shadow.

"...Garlan?"

The voice that called him was very soft and cautious, as if it were fragile glass, for fear that if it was a little louder, he would get hurt.

Garlan raised his eyes and met the golden-red eyes looking down at him.

In the backlight, he couldn't clearly see the expression on Heimos' face at the moment, but he could hear the nervousness and uneasiness in the man's voice.

He raised his right hand and held the hand caressing his cheek. He slightly curved his eyes and smiled at the person on his body.

"I am fine."

Garlan said, and then moved, trying to sit up.

As soon as he was halfway up, a pair of hands supported him and helped him sit up.

"Don't get out of bed yet, you still have a fever."

Garlan was startled for a moment, then raised his hand and touched his forehead.

It does feel a little hot, but just a little bit.

However, he didn't feel much. Apart from being a little tired, he didn't feel uncomfortable physically. It was probably just a low fever caused by being too tired.

After all, during this period, there were flower festivals, the selection of a concubine, the visit of Little Princess Elson, and the preparations for the gods' festivals at the same time. One after another, he was torn apart. Confused.

After finally finishing everything, as soon as I relaxed and stayed up all night again, all the fatigue in my body was immediately released.

Ah, it seems that Shermuer and the others were all there at that time.

Too bad, I will definitely be taught a lesson by him again.

"prince!"

As soon as Garlan turned his head, he saw Tapti running hurriedly from the door.

The panic and nervous look on the female official's face at this moment was really rare to see, and he was stunned for a moment.

The female officer who hurried over put the medicine tray she was holding on the low table beside the bed, then reached out and took Gallan's hand.

She knelt beside the bed, holding his hand on the bed tightly with both hands, looking at him unblinkingly, showing an excited expression.

"Prince, you finally woke up."

Seeing Tapti's abnormal expression and behavior, Garlan glanced at the sky outside the window.

The bright sun hung high in the sky, it was still morning, not long before he lost his memory.

"I'm fine. I'm probably too tired. I just fell asleep for an hour or two. You don't have to worry too much."

The female official's expression froze.

"king……"

She paused, and after waking up from her excitement, she finally realized that she had called the wrong person out of desperation.

"No, Your Majesty, you have been asleep for a whole day."

"one day?"

How long has it been?

Why did he think it was just for a moment?

Before he could think about it carefully, Heimos on the side had already spoken.

"Taputi, give me the soup."

The female officer nodded, picked up the medicine bowl that she had put down, and handed it to Heimos.

"I'll call the doctor."

After saying that, she walked out quickly.

Gallan, who didn't think he had been unconscious for so long, was still confused. Heimos had already taken a sip of the decoction.

It's warm and won't burn your mouth.

He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to Garlan's mouth.

He said, "Open your mouth."

His voice was low, but very light and gentle, as if he was coaxing.

Gallan wanted to say no, I'll do it myself, but when Heimos' eyes met, he swallowed his words for some reason.

He obediently opened his mouth and let Huymos feed him spoonful after spoonful.

so bitter.

It’s so painful.

He thought gloomily with a grimace on his face.

After a few attempts, Gallan finally couldn't bear the inconvenience, so he reached out and snatched the decoction from Heimos's hand, then raised his head and took a sip.

After drinking it down in one gulp, the bitter taste left in his mouth made Garlan grin.

He was just about to ask Heimos if he had any candied preserves or sweet cakes, etc. Suddenly, his vision went dark, and Heimos lowered his head and kissed him.

Heimos didn't kiss hard, as if he was afraid of breaking him, but it was very lingering. He licked his lips gently, and even the little black drug stain on the corner of his lips was licked. go.

After a kiss, she carefully held him in her arms with both hands, not daring to use any force but refusing to let go.

It was like treating a newborn baby with caution, which made Garlan both angry and funny.

He couldn't help but smile and asked: "Don't you think the medicine is bitter?"

Didn't you feel the bitter taste of the medicine when you kissed him?

Heymos held Garlan in his arms with both hands, watched Garlan pat his arm, and listened to the familiar voice. At this moment, he felt as if his whole body had come alive.

He lowered his head and rubbed the hair of the person in his arms with his chin.

"At that time...you fell down in front of me..."

At this point, Heimos suddenly stopped.

He said nothing more and just hugged the person in his arms tighter.

He closed his eyes, driving away the horrific image that had been lingering in his mind, and buried his face in the soft blond hair.

The warmth from the place where his body touched Garlan gradually melted the chill seeping from deep within his body.

At that time, he watched Garlan suddenly collapse before his eyes.

Although his body subconsciously caught Garlan, his mind was blank.

Everything that happened after that, he just did instinctively.

Before Garlan woke up, before those golden eyes opened and stared at him, Heimos had an unreal feeling as if he was isolated from the world.

It felt like being abandoned by the whole world.

The chill seemed to come from the deepest part of the body and penetrate into the bone marrow.

He never wanted to experience it a second time.

Although Heimos did not continue speaking, Garlan also felt a strong and almost substantial sense of uneasiness emanating from the man holding him.

He thought for a moment, raised his head, raised his hand and touched Heimos' cheek.

The man whose cheek he stroked soothingly looked down at him, his eyes filled with indescribable tenderness.

Gallan was hugged by Heimos, and his head rested on Heimos' chest. In a blink of an eye, he looked at the brown side of his neck exposed from the skirt of his clothes, and then he leaned over and kissed it.

With this kiss, he felt Heimos' shoulders tremble slightly.

Originally I just wanted to kiss the big black wolf to comfort him, but I was too lazy to raise my head to kiss him, so I kissed the side of his neck. Unexpectedly, I got such an interesting reaction.

Suddenly, Garlan became more playful, and he gently blew on the place he had just kissed.

As expected, Heimos' shoulder stiffened again.

One hand raised up and hugged his head, coaxing him in a low voice: "Don't make trouble."

Garlan nestled in Heimos's arms, raising his head and smiling at Heimos.

Heimos seemed helpless, looking at Garlan with connivance in his eyes.

He lowered his head, pressed the forehead of the person in his arms, and rubbed the tips of each other's noses.

He looked at Garlan with extremely soft eyes.

Just when Heymos was teased by Garlan and the tight breath around him finally relaxed and slowed down, a cough came from next to him.

High Priest Shamash, who encountered that scene as soon as he entered the door, looked gloomy and coughed loudly several times.

Seeing that Heimos did not let go of his arms holding Garlan even when he turned around to see him. His expression became even worse and he stared directly at Heimos.

Gallan patted Heimos' arm around him. Heimos looked down at him and then reluctantly let go of his hand.

At this moment, the female officer also walked in with the doctor, followed closely by the one-eyed knight, whose eyes turned closely around Garlan on the bed.

After confirming that Garlan looked good, Caihos's tense face relaxed a little.

The bedroom was very quiet, no one spoke, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the doctor who was examining Garlan's body.

The old doctor, who had been serving the royal family since the generation of King Camos's father, had obviously experienced countless big scenes. He was not nervous at all under the gaze of everyone. He was chatting with Garlan with a smile and calmly gave him a message. Garlan checks his body.

The slow movements made everyone anxious who wanted to know the result as soon as possible, but they did not dare to rush. A group of people could only watch helplessly.

After a while, the old doctor chuckled.

"It's nothing serious. It's just that I was too tired during this period and didn't get enough sleep, so I suddenly fell asleep."

He looked at Garlan and said earnestly,

"Your Majesty, although you are still young, you cannot ignore your health just because you are young."

As the royal physician, the old doctor had watched Garlan grow up since he was a child, so even if Garlan became king, he would still habitually speak to Garlan in a lecturing tone.

"But he still has a fever."

Heimos said with a frown.

"It has dropped a lot. It will be good to rest for a while."

The old doctor looked directly at Shemuel and criticized the high priest who always strictly urged Garlan to be diligent in political affairs.

"Political affairs are never finished. Occasionally, we need to let His Majesty take a few days' rest. Don't be too harsh on Your Majesty, Your Majesty the High Priest."

Xie Muer's face froze and he nodded stiffly.

"I see."

He originally wanted to scold Garlan for not paying attention to his body, but looking at Garlan, he didn't say anything after all.

Keep this account in mind until His Majesty gets well.

The high priest said this to himself in his heart.

In fact, he also felt a little guilty. If he and a group of ministers hadn't forced Garlan to choose a concubine and held the Flower Festival before the Gods' Ceremony, Garlan wouldn't have been so tired.

At that time, seeing Garlan falling down without a sound, his mind was buzzing and he was completely confused.

It was only after the old doctor said it was okay that I recovered.

The old doctor's words made everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The depressing atmosphere in the bedroom that had lasted all day and night finally eased.

Thanks to this fainting, Garlan took a rest for a week under the strict orders of the old doctor.

Fortunately, the Festival of the Gods has passed, and the enemy troops on the border have retreated. Aaron Landis is in peace and harmony, and there are no urgent matters. He simply lets Shermer and Suojia handle the trivial matters.

In the first two or three days, Heimos almost stayed by Garlan's side.

Even though Gallan's low-grade fever subsided the next day and he regained his energy, he still doted on Gallan like a man of glass.

The stickiness made Shermer, who came over to take a look from time to time and bump into him, really couldn't stand it. He coldly took Heimos away forcibly on the grounds that Heimos needed help with military matters.

Garlan watched with a smile as Heimos was being escorted away by Shermer, but did not stop him.

If it were any other king, he would definitely worry about whether these two powerful people would collude.

But here in Garlan...

Heimos and Chemmel colluded?

impossible.

Look at the way the high priest looked down on Heimos and looked coldly at him. Heimos also didn’t have a good look on Chemuel. In addition, Suojia was fanning the flames and colluding with this kind of thing. It's impossible in this life.

In this way, Garlan hid comfortably for a week.

Every day he would eat or sleep comfortably, or play with Nega, or let the guards accompany him to practice martial arts.

Those days were more leisurely than ever before.

But the holidays always passed quickly, and soon he was back at his job.

Although Xie Muer and others helped him deal with most of the trivial matters, some important matters still had to be handled by Garlan himself.

After staying in the palace for a week and seeing that Garlan was indeed fine, Heimos finally felt relieved. As Garlan returned to immersing himself in political affairs, he also left the city and went to the military camp outside the city to handle the same pile of military affairs.

A few days passed peacefully like this.

In the afternoon, the scorching sun scorched the earth, and a lot more ice cubes were placed in the government room than usual to keep it cool.

It took a few days to finally resolve the important political matters that had accumulated last week. At this moment, Garlan was sitting on the malachite chair, gently spinning the quill in his hand.

The edge of the quill's feathers was coated with gold powder, and when he turned it, it shone in the light.

Although Garlan's eyes fell on the parchment spread out on the table, he was a little absent-minded at the moment.

He thought that since he missed the last court meeting, it seemed that the matter between him and Heimos could only wait until next week's court meeting to announce it.

He was walking around in a daze here, spinning the quill in his hand, which Shermer standing below could naturally see.

The high priest had a straight face and coughed lightly.

Garlan came back to his senses and smiled sideways at the high priest who was staring at him.

Then, he withdrew his attention and read the document in front of him of sending a team of Shamash priests to Monar City to inspect the newly completed water conservancy project. He felt that there was no big problem. As soon as he stopped spinning, Plan to write down instructions on paper.

After writing a few words, he raised his hand, dipped it in ink, and continued writing.

Suddenly, he fell into a trance.

Garlan looked at his hands.

The quill was very light, no more than the weight of a feather, but his hand holding the quill was shaking slightly.

He couldn't control the trembling of his hands.

"king."

Someone was calling him.

"King Garlan——"

But he could no longer hear clearly.

"Gall..."

The document in front of him, the golden quill pen, and the hand holding the pen appeared double.

The double image kept shaking in front of his eyes, making it impossible for him to see clearly.

Even Shermer, who walked up quickly and stood opposite the table, became countless in his eyes.

The whole world seemed to be turned upside down in an instant.

【Time is up……】

[Fate...cannot be changed...]

The hand holding the quill fell heavily, and the pen tip hit the ink cartridge on the table, knocking the entire cartridge out.

Garlan fell on the table.

The jet-black ink splashed from the ink cartridge splashed all over the high priest who was standing in front of his desk.

Amidst the panicked shouts of many ministers and attendants in the government room, the high priest's face turned slightly pale.

The heart was beating violently.

Something seemed to be announcing to him an unknown future.

…………

In the training ground of the military camp outside the city, on top of a huge high platform, the sun was like fire, as if it was about to ignite the earth.

Under the scorching sun, Heimos stood on a high platform, his heavy sword pointed at the ground, his eyes sharp, and his whole person exuded powerful power.

More than a dozen knight captains surrounded him, either holding long swords or holding silver spears, and everyone looked quite embarrassed. Sweat continued to drip from their chins, they were panting violently, their bodies were covered in sweat, and there were scars on their bodies.

They all wear a two-finger-wide brass lion badge on their chests, which is the symbol of a thousand knights who command thousands of knights and are second only to the cavalry commander.

However, these knight captains, who were extremely powerful in the eyes of others, were able to besiege Heimos for a whole hour, but they were not able to hurt the opponent even a hair.

During the violent breathing, a young knight commander rushed forward unwillingly again, stabbing Heimos with the silver spear in his hand like lightning.

Heimos was about to dodge sideways, and raised the heavy sword in his hand, intending to knock the silver spear out of the opponent's hand with one strike.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly lost consciousness for a second.

The silver gun was picked up, and the sharp tip of the gun grazed his shoulder.

The sleeves were torn, and the bloody opening on his left arm spattered a trail of blood in the air.

The knight commander who stabbed the spear was startled and looked at Heimos in surprise.

Heimos stood, a trace of blood slowly flowing down his left arm, but he seemed unaware and just turned his head sharply, looking at the golden palace standing in the distance with a dazed look.

………………

Without warning, King Garlan fell into a fever and coma again.

The old doctor came.

This time, his brows were furrowed and his expression was solemn.

The next day, King Garlan woke up.

Three days later, the low-grade fever subsided.

But the old doctor's face showed no sign of relaxing, and he stayed by King Garlan's side day and night.

Within five days, King Garlan once again developed a low-grade fever while sleeping and fell into a coma.

This time, it lasted three full days.

After waking up, the low-grade fever never went away, and it lasted for more than ten days before it finally came down.

Then less than two days later, it relapsed again.

At the same time, he once again fell into a long sleep.

Over and over again, the condition became more and more serious, and King Garlan became increasingly weak and bedridden.

All the doctors in the palace consulted together, but they were unable to find out the cause.

Subsequently, the high priest urgently summoned famous doctors in the royal city to come to the palace for consultation, but they still could not find out the illness that King Garlan was suffering from.

Everyone was at their wits' end.

Soon, the news that King Garlan was suffering from an unknown strange disease and was dying spread throughout Aaron Landis.

For a time, Aaron Landis was in panic, and the people were worried and hesitant.