Castor was captured by the kingdom of Lebla, but with the help of a summoned hero from another world, he escaped from the castle.
The news was also brought to the King of Revra – Zardis Revra.
“So you’re saying you let him escape, Castor.”
“Yes…..”
“………..”
Hearing the report from his men, Zardis fell silent with a somber expression.
Currently, he was in a room in the castle of Styria, which was occupied by his forces. This room was once used by the king.
The room where the King of Styria used to sleep not so long ago is now occupied by the invader Zardis Revra.
In the middle of the night, Zardis was awakened from his sleep by the sound of a whistle and was told by the soldier who had come to report the incident.
“It seems that someone has helped him to escape. A strangely dressed warrior and a man in black rescued Prince Castor and escaped through a hidden passage in the palace. The passage has been destroyed and it is impossible to see where it leads!”
A Revra soldier, his forehead covered with sweat, reports the situation.
A prisoner of war, who should never have been allowed to escape, has managed to escape. The soldier who has to report this, is shaking his shoulders, looking like a prisoner awaiting his death sentence.
“………”
Zardis, meanwhile, sits back in his chair with a pained expression on his face.
He can’t let Castres go. If he lets him go, he will surely return to them with vengeance.
Zardis has subdued the Knights, the main force in the Kingdom of Styria, by taking Castor, as a hostage. The main figures of the knights have already been captured and some have been murdered.
However this execution hasn’t yet been able to eliminate the hostile forces within the kingdom of Styria.
With the king killed and the prince captured, half of the nobles belonging to Styria have accepted submission to the kingdom of Revra.
But some knights and nobles are still refusing to be ruled by him, and have become the rebel resistance. The resistance is planning to rescue Castor and is still looking for an opportunity to rescue him.
In this situation, Castor’s presence is no longer a hindrance.
The Knights have already been subdued, so they are of little value as hostages. It is better to execute Castor to break the banner of the rebels than to let him live and wait for the enemy to take him.
It was with this in mind that Zardis planned to carry out the execution tomorrow, but Castor escaped.
It is only a matter of time before Castor comes into contact with the rebels.
Zardis has to find him as soon as possible and make sure he is killed this time.
“Why, …… why won’t you die quietly? Castor.”
Zardis gritted his teeth and twisted his face in anguish.
Although Zardis killed the King Styria and wanted to execute Castor, he did not have any hatred for Castor himself.
The reason why Zardis wanted to betray and destroy his allies was because it was a condition from the empire.
For years, the Kingdom of Revra has been at war with its northern neighbour, the Empire of Leohart.
With the support of the Kingdom of Styria and the Republic of Parthenos, the kingdom has been able to keep the invasion at bay but in recent years, however, this has reached its limits.
In the last few years, the Leohart Empire has been growing rapidly, and it has reached the point where it is no longer possible to keep up with their attacks.
If this continues, the kingdom of Revra will be conquered in the not too distant future.
Revra would become a colony of the Empire and its people would be conscripted as slaves.
Zardis’ decision was swift. He came to the negotiating table and made peace with the Empire before it had been decisively defeated and lost its power.
With enemies on all sides, the Empire had no shortage of soldiers. There is no reason to refuse if Revra can submit to the Empire and acquire troops intact.
“Castor…..I feel bad for you. But…..I am the king of Revra. I have a duty to do everything I can for the kingdom of Lebra.”
It was to protect the Kingdom of Revra that Zardis brought the Kingdom of Styria to ruin. He wanted to show his loyalty to the Empire by sacrificing an ally.
He never disliked Castro. As the husband of his sister, he was supposed to be his brother-in-law.
“……If I could, I would have wanted you to die without a struggle. I didn’t want you to suffer for nothing.”
“Have you sent out a chaser? Where did Castor run off to?”
It was with a bitter, navel-gouging heart that Zardis questioned the soldier.
“We don’t know where they ran off to, because the hidden passage was destroyed by the enemy. From the direction in which the passage stretches, I think it is to the east…….”
“Then send your men to the east. Don’t let Castro escape!”
“Aha!”
“And do you know the identity of the man who rescued Castor?”
“No. The men who were working with Prince Castor wore strange clothes and we do not know their affiliation. One of them was a fearsome spearman, so skilled that Captain Rondos was driven out of action…….”
After being defeated by Yukimura Sanada, Zeke Rondos was seriously injured and was being treated. He is still in bed in the infirmary, muttering “I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you” to someone who is not here.
“He’s a warrior, enough to beat Rondos. He is not a nobody. It could be a remnant of the knights or a private army from the nobles. There may be someone on the inside who has helped them. The sooner you investigate, the better!”
“Ha, yes, sir!”
Having received his sovereign’s orders, the soldier immediately left the scene.
Zardis looked sternly at the soldier as he walked out of the door at a running pace.
“…………”
Zardis, who was left in the room, opened the curtains and looked out of the window.
It was pitch black. There was no moonlight or twinkling stars in the cloudy sky. The sky was ominously dark, as if it was hinting at their future.
“O Kastor! No matter how much you resist, the kingdom of Styria will fall. It is inevitable. It has been decided……”
Zardis spits a few words in his mind to a man who is probably fleeing under a dark sky – his would-be brother-in-law Castor.
“Stop your futile resistance. Please……die for our country”