A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

When I opened my eyes, I saw the fiery red sunset on the horizon.

The red afterglow covered the earth, covering the earth with a hazy fire like flowing fire.

The setting sun reflected into the newly opened golden pupils, dyeing the edges of the irises a little red.

Garlan thought, he didn't know how long he had been asleep this time.

He slowly turned his head, and as expected, he saw Heimos sleeping lightly beside his bed.

Every time I opened my eyes in the past, all I saw were golden-red eyes staring deeply at me.

Also, there were traces of pain hidden deep in his eyes.

But this time, what was rare was that he saw Heimos sleeping.

Even if you think about it, Heimos, who possesses inhuman physical strength, cannot keep going like this.

The jet black hair was scattered on the snow-white bed quilt. Heimos was lying on the bed, his head tilted. Under the sharp eyebrows were extremely dark black and blue. He didn't know how many days and nights he had been sleepless this time.

Even though he was in deep sleep at the moment, his brows were furrowed and uneasy, and there was weariness in the corners of his brows and eyes.

His pursed lips and furrowed brows made him look like he had slept hard.

Garlan saw Heimos' right hand clasping his own hand tightly, as if he was afraid that he would disappear from his eyes.

The hand that held him tightly was still a healthy brown color. In contrast, his hand looked increasingly white.

However, it was a kind of pale white, reflecting the fiery red sunset, almost translucent.

Garlan's eyes darkened.

He knew that he probably still had a low-grade fever. After all, the low-grade fever had never stopped since the last time he woke up from a coma.

He could feel that although he had a low fever, his body had gradually become less painful recently, and there was no unnecessary feeling other than fatigue.

However...if you can't feel pain, that's the most dangerous sign.

He closed his eyes again, the shadow of his eyelashes covering his face.

he knows.

Many doctors have been unable to do anything about his illness.

His heart was beating, beat by beat, and the sound was steady, powerful, and could almost be transmitted through his chest to his eardrums.

He was still young and he had never thought...

However, the disease that came from nowhere was devouring this young body bit by bit.

Will he...?

Even if he wanted to, he didn't dare to think of that word.

Even though he has actually experienced death four times, he is no stranger to death.

But when he died several times before, he only felt pain, fear, and unwillingness.

And this time...

Garlan opened his eyes again and looked at Heimos lying next to him.

Even during the most difficult period when Aaron Landis was in danger, the Black Knight, who never showed any sign of fatigue, now showed a look of haggard on his usually cold and calm face.

His body should obviously feel no pain, but Garlan felt as if his chest had been stabbed hard by an invisible sharp blade.

The sound of very light footsteps was heard. Garlan looked up and saw the female officer walking in quickly.

The look of the female official, who was always radiant and well-groomed, looked gloomy.

When she saw Garlan looking at her with his eyes open, her eyes lit up slightly, but only for a moment. She looked at Gallan's pale face, clenched her fingers tightly, and then loosened them.

The corners of her lips raised, revealing a gentle smile as usual, and she walked to Garlan holding the medicine tray in her hand.

Although Tapti deliberately avoided the sleeping Heimos when he walked to Garlan, Heimos was already sleeping very uneasily, and the slightest movement around him would immediately wake him up.

Almost as soon as he opened his eyes, he reflexively clenched his right hand. It wasn't until he felt that Garlan's hand was still being held by him that his fingers relaxed a little.

When he felt Gallan's hand gently squeeze his hand in turn, Heimos was startled, and then raised his head sharply.

Golden eyes that had not been seen for several days looked at him, slightly curved.

Then, he saw Gallan take the medicine bowl handed over by Tapti, raise his head and drink it in one breath.

Ever since he fell ill, Garlan had almost never stopped taking the decoction three times a day. When he was in a coma, Tapti or Heimos would help him feed it one bite at a time.

But recently, after Garlan fell asleep, it was difficult to feed him the potion.

Therefore, when they saw Garlan wake up and drink the potion in one go, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

With a bang, the jade porcelain bowl fell to the ground and was instantly smashed into pieces.

The remaining potion splashed all over the floor.

Garlan leaned over the bed, coughing painfully, and vomited out all the decoction he had just drank.

The incident happened suddenly, and it was the first time such a thing happened. Heimos froze for a moment.

He stretched out his hand to hold Garlan's shoulder in panic, but he didn't know what to do and could only stare at Garlan blankly.

After finally coughing up all the decoction he had swallowed, Garlan leaned over the edge of the bed, pressed his hands on the bed, and gasped rapidly.

He looked at the sheets dyed jet black in front of him and clenched the sheets tightly with his fingers.

【Time is up. 】

There is no time...

He pushed himself up, leaned back, and leaned against Heimos.

He raised his head and looked at Heimos.

Heimos supported him and looked down at him, his eyes looking very blank.

When Garlan vomited out the decoction, Tapti hurriedly called over the old doctor who was guarding the side room.

The old doctor looked at the bedsheets and the ground that were stained by the soup. His eyes quickly sank, but he immediately calmed down and remained calm and calm.

But the flash of panic in the old doctor's eyes was still caught by the keen-eyed Heimos. He felt a chill in his heart, and the fingers holding Garlan's shoulders suddenly tightened.

"I slept for too long and didn't get out of bed much, so it was inevitably difficult to eat."

The old doctor said, his face calm and composed.

It makes people feel relieved just looking at it.

"Your Majesty, don't drink too fast. Don't be afraid of the pain. Take your time."

Even if the patient he was facing was King Garlan, the old doctor's gentle voice was like coaxing a child.

"Drink slowly and you'll be able to drink it down."

The golden pupils looked at the old doctor quietly, his eyes were too calm, as calm as if he had seen something through.

The old doctor's chest suddenly tightened.

He saw Gallan smile at him, but said nothing or refuted. He sat obediently against the head of the bed and let Tapti feed the reconstituted soup into his mouth one by one with a spoon.

This time Garlan drank slowly, but before he had a few sips, he suddenly pushed Tapti away, lowered his head, and covered his mouth with both hands.

His blond hair fell messily, covering his face.

He lowered his head and covered most of his lower face. It was impossible to see the expression on his face at this moment. All he could see was that his thin shoulders were shaking violently, as if he was suppressing something with difficulty and pain.

The black potion seeped out from the fingers of Garlan's hands, and dropped drop by drop on the quilt in front of him, staining the snow-white quilt with black stains.

Heimos almost subconsciously stretched out his hand when Garlan lowered his head.

However, his hand stopped in mid-air a second before it was about to touch the opponent.

His hands froze in front of Garlan, and his fingers seemed to be filled with weakness.

…………

The old doctor and the female official stood in the courtyard outside the palace. Their expressions were extremely solemn, contrary to his calmness when he was in front of Garlan.

"I've been worried..."

He said in a serious tone.

"The day has finally come, and it has reached its most serious stage."

He shook his head, his eyes filled with weakness.

"The king's body has become so weak that he can no longer even take decoctions."

Extremely ill.

Medicine stones are useless.

"Then what should we do? What should we do to make His Majesty—"

The old doctor closed his eyes.

"Pray for... Thorga's mercy."

[Pray for Thorga’s mercy. 】

Solga, the god of wisdom and the guardian of physicians.

Doctors will say this only when they are helpless.

Although he also believed in Solga, the old doctor never liked this sentence.

He was proud of his medical skills and disliked such resignation.

But now, he had to say these words that he had never said before.

Tapti's body suddenly stiffened.

The night wind blew up, lifting her long hair scattered on her shoulders and blowing it messily into the air.

After being at a loss for a while, she slowly clenched her hands and folded them in front of her chest.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and her hands clasped in front of her chest were shaking uncontrollably.

……Prince……My Prince…………

Aaron Landis’ Gods…

The two stood on the lawn in silence.

On the horizon, the sun sets below the horizon, and the last ray of sunlight between heaven and earth is extinguished at this moment.

"Heimos?"

In the bedroom, Garlan raised his head and shouted softly.

He was held in one arm by Heimos, and he was leaning against Heimos, who was carefully feeding him water.

Although I couldn't swallow the soup, I could still drink the water.

However, as soon as he took a few sips, Heimos' hand holding the water glass stopped and did not move for a while. As soon as he raised his head, he saw Heimos turning his head and looking blankly in the direction of the courtyard outside, as if he had lost his mind. He didn't move for a while, so he had to call him.

When Gallan shouted, Heimos came back to his senses. He lowered his head and met Gallan's eyes, and his eyes softened instantly.

"It's nothing. I stayed up a few nights before, so I was just a little distracted."

said Heimos, impassively.

Garlan said oh.

"Then just wait..."

He thought for a moment and felt that Heimos would definitely not leave him, so he changed his sentence.

"How about you sleep at my place for a while?"

"good."

Heimos said, with a slight smile on his lips.

He looked at the person in his arms.

The golden hair scattered softly on his arms, the shoulders and neck that have become more and more slender in recent days, and the traces of light cyan blood vessels can be clearly seen under the white and almost transparent skin.

His beloved was in his arms, held tightly in his hands.

But it was so unreal, as if the moon marks in the water would break if touched, like grains of sand falling from the hands.

No matter how tightly you hold on, you will eventually lose it.

[Pray for Thorga’s mercy. 】

He heard the doctor's voice outside.

Thorga's mercy...

He never believed in the gods.

Never pray to the gods.

Only the weak will ask for mercy from others, and he will use his own power to seize everything he wants.

He has always believed that he is powerful, and that the power he possesses makes him stronger than anyone else.

He once thought that with power, he could have everything.

However, not long ago, when his hand stopped in front of the painful Garlan, he realized how powerless he was.

He watched helplessly as his world cracked and shattered little by little, but he couldn't do anything.

He has the most powerful power in the world, but he can't protect anyone.

"Heimos."

Garlan nestled in his arms and looked at him.

"Are you going to sleep at my place now?"

After stroking the hair of the person in his arms, Heimos' eyes were soft.

"Wait a little while before going to sleep."

he said with a smile.

can not sleep.

Dare not sleep.

I'm afraid that the next time you open your eyes, you will be asleep again.

I'm afraid I can't see your eyes reflecting my shadow, I'm afraid I can't hear your voice calling my name.

I'm just afraid...

Heimos lowered his head, buried himself in the soft blond hair, and rubbed it lovingly.

…………

……………………

Later, he tried drinking the decoction several times. After Garlan vomited it all out, the old doctor sighed and asked Garlan to stop taking the medicine.

Garlan didn't ask anything about this.

"Kayhos and the others haven't come back yet?"

Gallan sat on the bed, took a bite of soft bread, raised his head and asked.

The female official hummed.

A few days ago, when the doctors in the royal palace and the royal city were helpless, Caihos, Tal, Novi and others all left the royal city and urgently searched for famous doctors everywhere. They never came back, but kept sending their subordinates to treat patients from various places. Famous doctors were sent to the royal city.

Shulos, the bard who has been traveling all the time, is also doing the same.

During the more than a month when Garlan fell ill, government affairs were handled jointly by Xie Muer, Suojia and Zuo Sixiang of the royal court.

Although King Gallan is seriously ill, thanks to his five years of hard work, the country has long been stabilized, so there is no trouble. It’s just that the people of Aaron Landis are very worried about the king’s condition. The atmosphere in Landis was somewhat depressing.

"Your Majesty, Princess Ailson has asked to see you more than ten times. Because of your health, I have never agreed."

Elson's envoy has been stranded in the Royal City for nearly two months. It should have set off long ago, but because the little princess refused, she is still staying in the Royal City.

The matron asked, "Do you want to see her?"

After swallowing the last mouthful of porridge, Garlan thought for a while and said, "Let her come over at night."

…………

After a month, Emma finally saw the person she had been worried about again.

It was still in that palace, on the open-air balcony hanging over a pond full of lavender lotus flowers. The person she was thinking about was still sitting on the stone railing bench just like the first time she entered the palace. .

Heimos, the man she didn't like, stood by the man's side as usual.

Garlan raised his head and talked to Heimos who was standing.

He is laughing.

The black knight, who was said to be as terrifying as the devil in hell on the battlefield, looked down at him and spoke to him in a low voice, his eyes showing indescribable tenderness.

She was startled.

Because she had never seen such a gentle look that made people feel heartbroken just by looking at it.

Sensing Emma's arrival, Garlan stopped talking and turned to look at her.

Emma's heart suddenly trembled when she saw Garlan.

Before she came, she obviously had something worried to say, but at this moment, she opened her mouth but couldn't say a word for some reason.

She saw Garlan sitting sideways on the stone railing bench, leaning against the white stone pillars. He smiled at her, and the moonlight scattered from the night sky shed light all over his body.

His skin color was originally white, and now in the dark night, it was almost transparent.

At first glance, it looks like an unreal illusion.

It seems that if you reach out and touch it, it will be annihilated in the dark night.

Even just looking at it like this made her feel flustered.

"Emma, ​​you have stayed in Aaron Landis for too long. I heard that the Queen has written several times, calling you back. It's time for you to leave."

After calming down her mind, the little princess answered in a deep voice.

"I will send the delegation back to Elson tomorrow."

She said it decisively.

"But I want to stay. I won't leave until I see you recover with my own eyes!"

After looking at Emma for a moment and looking at the little princess's stubborn eyes, Garlan shook his head knowing that he could not convince her.

He smiled and said: "Well, I can't beat you now, and I can't drive an Airson female warrior away from my territory."

"That's possible. We haven't fought yet, so we can't say who is stronger and who is weaker. When you recover, we will find out in a match. You are the king, how can you say that you can't beat me, the princess, so easily? .”

Although it was a little awkward, those were the words of encouragement for Garlan that Emma worked hard to come up with.

If it were someone else who killed her, she wouldn't be willing to say that she might not be able to defeat him.

Although the little princess's words were awkward, Garlan could hear the concern hidden in them.

He suddenly laughed, then stood up and walked towards Emma, ​​raised his hand and touched Emma's head.

"Emma, ​​didn't you ask me how to be a queen? I can answer you now. Although your own strength is important, what is more important than this is the strength of more of your people."

"Although I can't defeat you, my subordinates, Heimos, Kehos, and many powerful knights, they can all defeat you."

He said gently,

"This is why Aaron Landis is so powerful, do you understand, Emma?"

The little princess frowned.

She didn't like Garlan's tone.

It felt like he was making a final confession, speaking his last words to her.

She shook her head and stared at Garlan stubbornly.

"Don't be perfunctory with me. What can I understand with just a few words? How can it be so easy to be a good queen? I have to follow you, watch and learn slowly."

"…………"

This time, Garlan did not answer.

He just looked at her with a small smile on his face.

He just smiled and said nothing.

She always liked this person's smile, and she always liked seeing this person smile at her.

But this time, for some reason, Emma felt very uncomfortable looking at this familiar smile, as if a big stone was pressing down on her.

you are sick.

Don't you feel uncomfortable?

Why can you still laugh like this?

She couldn't help but want to ask, but the moment she opened her mouth, her heart skipped a beat.

She saw Garlan, who was smiling at her a second ago, suddenly close his eyes and his body suddenly fell backward.

She reached out her hand subconsciously.

Her fingertips subconsciously tried to grab something.

But before she could grab anything, a brown arm stretched out from the side and caught Garlan, holding him firmly in her arms.

The little princess stood blankly, watching Heimos hugging Garlan.

Garlan leaned against Heymos's chest, eyes closed, and his slender eyelashes cast deep shadows on his almost transparent white cheeks.

He seemed to be just sleeping peacefully.

She saw Heimos picking up Gallan and walking toward the room.

When walking past her, she saw Heimos lowering his head and looking at Garlan who seemed to be sleeping in his arms.

She had never seen such tender eyes.

She had never seen a look that was so gentle, but one look at it made her chest so painful that it was difficult to breathe.

【Do you have...that person who you like and who also likes you? 】

She suddenly felt sad.

She couldn't explain the reason, but suddenly, she felt very sad.

She has never felt so uncomfortable since she was a child.

She remembered.

She remembered that time, right here, under the moonlight, the man smiled happily and said, yes.

【some. 】

…………

……………………

First there was a silent darkness, in which he seemed to sink endlessly.

His body seemed to have lost all its strength, as if it no longer belonged to him.

Nothing could be heard, nothing could be seen, nothing could be felt.

He couldn't even move an inch.

I don't know how long it took, but he seemed to have finally sunk to the bottom, and the surrounding area lit up little by little.

His body finally gained consciousness and he regained control.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar gray-white earth.

That's where it starts.

A land of ruins.

If the ruins he saw for the first time were only somewhat incomplete, then the ruins he saw now had completely collapsed.

In front of him was an altar that was broken into pieces.

The obelisks that were originally erected in all directions have all burst into pieces and become rubble all over the ground.

Garlan was looking at this familiar place blankly, when suddenly, a huge figure appeared in front of him.

It was a muscular lion, with a huge body that was as tall as a person.

It walked slowly towards him, carrying the majesty of the king of beasts.

Its charcoal-like eyes stared at Garlan intently, and its thick golden mane undulated like waves as it moved.

"Nega?"

Gallan yelled and shook his head.

No, it's not.

Although they are similar, there are slight differences.

A figure suddenly flashed in his mind.

"...Shamir?"

he asks.

Shameer, Nerga's father.

The war lion who accompanied King Camos until his death.

The golden lion looked at him deeply, walked up to Garlan, and lowered his huge head.

It was lying in front of Garlan, its posture obviously saluting him.

"My king's prince..."

As soon as the familiar voice sounded, Garlan was stunned for a moment.

This voice was the voice that brought him here and was heard in this place when he was reborn many times!