Glory (1)
Chapter 317
The sun is setting.
Amidst the dimming sky, a heavy atmosphere prevails.
Ray and Luna sat silently in their chairs, staring blankly at the wall.
After a long while of being enveloped in a gloomy silence, Ray touched his cheek.
“…”
Forcing himself to shake off the darkening consciousness, Ray turned to look at Luna.
Now that he had resolved to go to the Demonic Realm, there were certain matters that needed to be addressed without fail.
And among the issues Ray needed to resolve, there was one that he absolutely had to discuss with Luna.
Ray steadied himself and asked.
The reason Ray was so fixated on Lea’s survival was because Bella loved her most dearly.
Yet seeing how calm he was about such a crucial matter regarding Lea’s survival, it seemed like Ray truly believed in the expedition to the Demonic Realm.
“Yes… I’m confident.”
As Ray nodded again, Luna stood up and walked toward the window.
More accurately, it wasn’t a window but rather a display within the Imperial Capital that projected the outside scenery.
“Do you remember Dragon Ascension?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
Ray followed Luna’s gaze toward the eastern tower of the Imperial Palace.
When a new member of the royal family turns seven, the Dragon Ascension ceremony takes place at the eastern tower, where light ascends high into the sky to commemorate the occasion.
He had heard this explanation before, and it was also a well-known story throughout the empire.
“But why does Dragon Ascension matter…?”
“The Royal Dragonheart embedded in the heart of royalty automatically triggers the Dragon Ascension ritual.”
“…!”
Ray, who had been sitting in his chair, suddenly tensed up.
Luna had only recently managed to fully understand the specifics about the Dragon Ascension.
In ancient times, the first Emperor and the progenitor dragon of the empire made a contract and prepared arrangements for their descendants.
One of these arrangements was the transplantation of the Dragon Heart. However, embedding the Dragon Heart into the heart of royalty was less like surgery and more akin to performing a ritual based on divine power.
The person conducting the procedure merely assisted in carrying out the ritual.
The empire had tried countless times but failed to develop any “substitute” because they could not find a way to replace the divine power involved.
Since it was tied to divine power, even Luna struggled to precisely analyze the process of transplanting the Dragon Heart.
Still, she had suspected that “something” was involved, and it turned out to be the Dragon Ascension.
The Dragon Ascension reacted due to the contract between the first Emperor and the progenitor dragon.
Even if the Dragon Heart implantation took place beyond the continent, high up in the skies, it would still be detected, and the Dragon Ascension would inevitably rise.
After hearing Luna’s explanation, Ray hesitated before asking.
“Then… why didn’t we see a reaction when the Dragon Heart fragment was implanted in Lea?”
“The fragment of the Dragon Heart was too small. It barely fell below the threshold required to trigger the Dragon Ascension phenomenon.”
“…”
Realizing the chill of the situation, Ray wiped away cold sweat.
Had luck not been on their side, he might have lost his head years ago.
Ray, who had just experienced another bout of nervousness, cautiously asked Luna.
“Um… Is there a way to solve this?”
If Lea had survived in the future, then there must have been a solution.
Of course, given enough time, Luna had the ability to devise a method to avoid the Dragon Ascension phenomenon. But at the moment, there was no need for that.
“The functionality of the eastern tower is scheduled to be halted during the reconstruction of the Imperial Capital’s defense system.”
Through the Preches attack incident, the empire learned a lesson: a defense system overly reliant on divine power could be disrupted unpredictably.
Thus, they redesigned the defense system to be completely controlled by human will. Keeping the eastern tower’s function as is could lead to conflicts between systems.
Therefore, halting the eastern tower’s function became inevitable.
Besides, it wasn’t an essential feature anyway, so there was no great loss.
Dragon Ascension could always be replicated using magic if necessary.
“The discussions are complete, and the function will be stopped within a few months.”
Though information about the eastern tower belonged to the highest secrets of the empire, Luna managed to grasp its core through peripheral information obtained from Aptel.
“It should be halted within half a year at the latest.”
In other words, the problem would resolve itself simply by waiting.
The reconstruction of the defense system was almost nearing completion, so there was little chance of the plan changing.
That said, all problems would be neatly resolved if Ray managed to survive until then.
“So… don’t die in the Demonic Realm.”
“I swear.”
Ray once again forced down the rising sorrow and nodded.
*
“Hmm…”
Speira was at a loss about what expression to make toward Ray.
She, too, had access to detailed information about the expedition to the Demonic Realm.
Ray, who had actively advocated for the expedition, would naturally lead it.
Ordinarily, she would congratulate him on the glorious opportunity to achieve honor, but this time it was difficult.
It was simply too dangerous.
Seeing Speira’s conflicted expression, Ray spoke first.
“I’m proceeding with confidence, so don’t worry.”
“Oh my, you’re asking for something unreasonable.”
Despite saying this, Speira couldn’t help but smile faintly in tune with Ray’s tone.
Since Ray wasn’t leaving for the Demonic Realm immediately, Speira decided to set aside the heavy conversation he clearly didn’t want to have.
They avoided discussing the Demonic Realm and instead exchanged casual conversations.
As they chatted, Johanna and Delun’s carriage arrived.
Although they had been gone from the Imperial Capital for less than a month, it seemed that Izhise’s vacation period was short, leading to their return.
Seeing Johanna disembark and greet him warmly, Ray blurted out a question.
“Why aren’t you wearing the necklace?”
Even though Ray knew the necklace wasn’t something that could be worn casually, he deliberately asked.
Johanna, upon hearing a story she had secretly hoped to hear from Ray, smiled with a hint of emotion welling up inside her.
However, her expression soon hardened as she asked Ray.
“Ray, is the rumor about you going to the Demonic Realm true?”
“Yeah, I’m going. And you should know that I’ll be heading there too.”
With a calm answer, Ray quickly hugged Johanna and patted her back.
“This isn’t as dangerous as you might think. Why do you think His Majesty approved the operation? It’s doable. Don’t worry prematurely.”
“R-Ray…!!”
“To have things turn out this way, I’m sorry to you, but I also need to visit Phillip’s County. There are some defenses I need to discuss with Count Phillip.”
So far, demon worshippers had remained quiet and hadn’t caused trouble on the continent.
This made Ray chuckle briefly to himself.
If the fallen dragon, Preches, had opposed the expedition to the Demonic Realm, he would have stirred up trouble during the continental conference.
Some weak demons would have been sent to sabotage operations and disrupt public opinion across the continent.
But Preches had been unusually docile so far, carefully maintaining the gamble he’d initiated.
However, once the expedition began, he might start causing trouble again.
Everyone was preparing for such eventualities, and Ray was deeply considering his options as well.
After all, there had already been an instance where those close to Ray were attacked.
Preparations had to be thorough.
“Haa…”
Letting out a sigh, Ray approached Delun.
In Ray’s arms, Johanna was hitting his back while crying, murmuring, “How can I not worry about you?”
With a troubled expression, Ray told Delun,
“The Imperial Capital will likely become busy due to the expedition issues. Both of you should stay near Izhise for now and take care of yourselves.”
“…Yes, Brother. Please come back safely.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Ray patted Delun’s shoulder once and then stroked the head of Johanna, who was still patting his back.
Despite trying to hide her frustration, Johanna eventually bid farewell, wishing Ray a safe trip to Phillip’s County.
With her farewell, Ray departed for Phillip’s County with Luna.
Inside the quiet carriage, Ray combed his hair.
The pain of having his hair pulled by Lea in a vision of the future was still vivid.
Noticing Ray’s peculiar expression, Luna spoke.
“…Ray.”
“Yeah?”
“When we first went to the orphanage, I thought you were selling me to a brothel.”
“…Hahaha.”
Recalling the memory, Ray burst into laughter.
While passing through the red-light district on the way to the orphanage, Luna had been visibly sweating and tense, a memory that lingered with Ray.
“You tightened your grip and hurried our steps when we passed through.”
Ray chuckled as he looked at Luna.
From there, Ray continued sharing old stories with Luna until they reached Phillip’s County.
Thanks to Luna, Ray was able to recall fading memories and enjoyed laughing throughout their conversation.
*
At the manor of Phillip’s County.
Alesya was engaged in reading, behaving as a cultured noblewoman should.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and a cute and adorable child entered.
“Alesya-sama!”
“Lea, what brings you here?”
Instead of answering Alesya’s question, Lea stared at the book on the table and exclaimed.
“Wow! That’s an incredibly beautiful book! Can Lea take a look?”
The book Alesya was reading, bound in luxurious leather, instantly caught Lea’s attention.
As Lea moved closer to inspect the book, Alesya glanced at the title once more.
[The Noble Knight and the Villainess]
Pushing the book aside, Alesya scolded Lea.
“This book is only suitable for readers twelve years and older.”
While the content wasn’t appropriate for twelve-year-olds, according to Alesya’s standards, anyone twelve or older should already know everything.
Having completely removed the book from Lea’s view, Alesya asked again.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah! Big Brother might come soon!”
“Hmm, I’ve heard that news as well.”
“Big Brother’s gift! I want to ask about Big Brother’s gift!”
“How would I know what gifts my knight will bring?”
“Ah! I mean the gift Lea wants to give Big Brother. I came to ask about that.”
Gifts are meant to be exchanged.
Lea had recently come to fully understand this obvious truth.
Moreover, Bella had added a bit of encouragement.
If she gave Big Brother a gift, he would surely return an even better one.
Thanks to that advice, Lea had started thinking hard about what gift to give Ray.
She figured someone as smart and dignified as Alesya might offer good advice, which is why she had come here.
“Will you join me in giving Big Brother a gift, Alesya-sama?”
“Hmm, I’ve already prepared a gift for my knight.”
“Really? What kind of gift?”
“It’s right here.”
Saying this, Alesya gently rubbed her lower abdomen.
Watching this, Lea tilted her head in confusion.
“Is belly fat the gift?”
Damn… Alasya almost lost her temper but calmed herself and replied.
“Do you have any ideas for your gift?”
“Not really. But I’ve saved my allowance!”
In the pouch Lea held out, several imperial gold coins were visible.
Considering it was pocket money collected by a child, the amount was quite substantial, but even so, the range of items available locally was limited.
Alesya paused in thought before speaking.
“Hmm… Since my knight is wealthy, the cost of the gift doesn’t matter much. The sincerity behind it is more important.”
“Sincerity? How do you give sincerity as a gift?”
“Look for a gift that allows you to put effort into it. Hmm… It’s unfortunate winter is almost over.”
Having thought of a good idea, Alesya asked Lea.
“Would you like to try knitting?”
“Knitting…?”
“Let’s try making a scarf. My knight may seem tough, but he’s actually easily moved by such gestures.”
“Can you implant the Dragon Heart in Lea before going to the Demonic Realm?”
“No. I’ll do it after you return.”
“…Alright, thank you.”
Ray nodded readily.
How could Luna trust Ray’s claim that he would return alive from the Demonic Realm?
It was as if Luna was suggesting that even Lea’s survival should be used as collateral.
Smiling bitterly, Ray responded to Luna, whose bloodshot eyes still revealed feelings of self-reproach.
“Do you really feel that confident?”
Both Ray and Luna knew that Bella-related matters were Ray’s top priority.
