Chapter 337: 177. The Beginning of the Destruction -3 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

**

Thirty minutes before the giants’ invasion…

Seran woke from her slumber in the early morning. She rubbed her eyes even as the drowsy expression refused to leave her face.

She quietly stared at her younger twin brothers on either side of her on the bed, still deeply asleep. They had been behaving like spoiled kids again last night.

The butler opened the door and stepped into the room, so she turned her head towards him. “Mister Klare?”

An old man in his seventies stood before the doorway. Despite his age, the butler still had an arrow-straight back. But his wrinkled countenance was still that of a kind, wise old man. “My lady, His Majesty and Lord Marcus have arrived.”

“…Really?!” Seran jumped up in surprise at what Klare the butler had said, and hurriedly got off her bed. She opened the window panes and peeked her head outside.

Indeed, she could see a single carriage passing through the citadel’s gate. The King of Frants staggered out of the carriage, while Marcus was assisting him.

Behind them was Seran’s mother, Runan.

Seeing that, Seran’s expression could only stiffen.

‘But, why are they…?’

Why did they even come here? And without any prior communication, too!

They were now in the fifth year. The Jötnar’s invasion should begin soon. Any unnecessary actions could distort the flow of fate negatively; that’s why they had to be extra cautious in everything they did, yet…

“Just what were they even thinking…!” She couldn’t help but get angry for some reason. But that state lasted only for a brief moment as it was replaced by an ominous foreboding, instead. ‘Could it be…?’

She covered her mouth as if something had shocked her beyond belief.

“My lady? Y-your clothes…!”

Despite Butler Klare’s cry, Seran still hurriedly left her room in her pyjamas.

Fifteen minutes to go until the giants’ invasion…

She urgently headed to the castle’s entrance and greeted the King of Frants.

“What’s the matter, Seran?” Zayner, the King of Frants, tilted his head in confusion after seeing Seran panting hard before him. He was supporting himself with a cane in his right hand, and Marcus helping him from the other side.

Seran quickly replied to him with a question of her own, “What brings you here, Your Majesty?”

“I came to ask you about something important.”

“Something important?”

Zayner, the King of Frants, frowned a little and began explaining his reason for being here. “Seran, please do reconsider. I understand your heart well, but it’s wrong to go against our assigned fate. We are already prepared to accept what fate has in store for us. But if you ask the Theocratic Empire’s help at this current point in time, it…”

“P-please hold on, Your Majesty. What do you mean?” Seran asked in surprise.

The King of Frants also seemed a little puzzled. “The Theocratic Empire has dispatched an army, and they have crossed the borders without my permission.”

Seran’s expression hardened.

“Their top commander is Marquis Charlotte Heraiz. She is leading one of the six main forces of the empire, the Heavenly Army, and they are headed to the Duchy of Ariana as we speak. When they were crossing the borders, they mentioned you by name. There must’ve been a reason for this, I presume?”

Seran was utterly stupefied by this. She had no knowledge about this at all!

Why was Charlotte leading the Heavenly Army to this place? Not only that, while bringing up Seran’s name, too!

Understandably, she fell deep into a bout of confusion.

The Theocratic Empire’s army that had crossed the borders, and the trio of the King of Frants, Marcus, and her mother Runan showing up here to inquire about that very matter…

Could it be…?

“K-Klare! Where is Mister Klare, our butler!”

Seran even forgot about guiding the King of Frants to the VIP chamber and hurriedly ran around the interior of the citadel. Her urgent cries startled the maids and one of them replied to her, “M-Miss Seran, Mister Klare departed for the marketplace just now. He said he wanted to shop for supplies.”

Seran’s complexion was instantly drained of all colour. That old butler, he could’ve left that job to the servants and maids, yet he still stepped up to perform something so cumbersome.

That earnestness of his would ultimately cost him his life.

“N-no, it can’t be…”

Strength abandoned her legs. She collapsed on the floor, an expression of despair etched on her face.

Everything was falling into place.

That could only mean…

“S-sister?”

“Older sister? What’s the matter?!”

The twins Marvel and Marcel hurriedly ran up to her.

“The citizens…! We must evacuate our citi…!”

Dang-! Clang-! Claaang-!

Time left until the giants’ invasion: zero minutes.

It had begun!

BOOM-!

A loud noise reverberated throughout the land, followed right after by a small earthquake.

Seran’s face hardened as she turned her head. Through a nearby window of the citadel, she could see the streets of the city below.

A large boulder had fallen in the city. Screams broke out, as well as panicked commotion.

Her mouth clamped shut.

It had really begun. The invasion of the Jötnar…

The end of the world… It had commenced for real!

It was right at that moment that she heard the echoes of hurried footsteps ringing in the citadel. Seran turned her head and discovered her family.

“Oh my gods…” The King of Frants, Zayner, stared at the events taking place outside the window with a bitter smile on his face. “…I see. So it has begun.”

“U-uncle, it’s not too late. Y-you can still escape…!”

Seran had already long forgotten about established custom or manners at this point.

Just as she reached out to King Zayner, Seran’s mother, Runan, issued an order to the escorting knights. “We shall leave Seran, Marvel, and Marcel under your care.”

The knights stepped forward and forcibly began dragging the Ariana trio away by their arms.

“Mother!”

“Your heart’s too weak, my child.” Runan quietly shook her head, then walked up to Seran to hold her tightly. “I pray that you survive this calamity.”

“No, mother! P-please…!”

Seran cried out in despair. The twins, their whole bodies trembling from anxiety, could only alternate their worried gazes between Seran and their family members now growing further away from them.

The King of Frants watched them leave, rubbed his face down, then asked Runan, “Aren’t you scared, sister?”

“In my eyes, my dear older brother, you look far more scared than I am.”

“…Marcus,” Zayner called out to his nephew.

Marcus turned his head to stare at his king.

“You will also make your escape from here.”

Marcus’s eyes grew wider. “But Your Majesty…”

“Going against fate will certainly invite the worst possible situation. However… us two should suffice here today.”

The knights on standby then also grabbed Marcus by his arms.

“But, Your Majesty!”

“Please take care of Seran and the children.”

Harman, sitting on the carriage driver’s seat, was waiting for their arrival by the citadel’s gates.

The twins called out his name, “Harman!”

Harman had been spending the past five years or so in the Duchy of Ariana. He looked at Seran and the twins before muttering grimly, “…Please get inside.”

**

Two hours before the invasion of the Jötnar, in a small village near the Duchy’s capital city…

Laurence was rubbing his neck. The first thing he did after waking up was to let out a long, drawn out yawn. He then got dressed.

He stepped outside his house and washed his face with water he had drawn from the well yesterday. His whole body felt heavy and sluggish, though. He dearly wanted to take a nice long holiday, but he knew he had to go to work today.

He was a servant of a noble house, and as such, he had to do his best.

He needed to do his job well so that his son could also get a job as a butler, or maybe even receive a letter of recommendation after he got older. If the latter happened, then his adopted son, Roy, might even become a trainee Paladin someday!

‘That’s right, Roy is a blessed child. His Majesty the Holy Emperor himself has personally blessed the child, after all!’

After he finished washing up, Laurence opened the door back to the house and spotted a familiar child waiting for him. It was a boy with black hair and black eyes, about ten or so years of age in appearance.

However, the boy’s real age, as far as Laurence knew, should have been only around five. For some strange reason, this child’s growth rate was a lot faster than other kids his age.

The boy brought his hands together and bowed his head in greeting. “Did you sleep well, father?”

“Ah, you are up as well, Roy?” Laurence smiled gently at his adopted son, Roy.

The family enjoyed their usual breakfast.

“And then, His Majesty the Holy Emperor did…!”

Roy smiled awkwardly as Laurence said that.

This part of their morning routine had been the same for as long as he could remember. His father, Laurence, would repeatedly praise His Majesty the Holy Emperor about this and that, despite the person in question having gone missing for a year now.

Whenever Roy heard those stories, though, he always came down with this… unsettled feeling.

‘I feel uneasy.’

Allen Olfolse. Just hearing that name alone made Roy’s whole body shiver like a lone leaf in the wind. Even then, he couldn’t help but be curious.

‘He must be someone incredible, right?’