Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

As the four of them ran out of the castle, they saw the ancient white structure crumble behind them like a castle made of cards falling because of a light breeze.

Watching the destruction unfold, all the muscles in Adrian's body were tense.

'Just what in the world is happening?'

His head was filled with a series of questions he had been pushing to the back of his mind until now.

Why was the castle behaving the way it was? Why did it trap them in that dimension? Why didn't it allow them to leave? And most importantly, just why did it suddenly crumble for no reason?

He turned to look at Evangeline, whose hand he was holding.

She looked a bit out of it with a lost look on her face, yet tears were flowing from the corners of her eyes.

He had no idea where she had been until now, but she had been in this state from the moment he found her again. No matter how much he tried, he wasn't able to bring her out of her current state.

Just then, Xion let out a chuckle.

"Well, so much for exploring the castle. There is no longer anything for us to explore; it's all just rubble now. So? Do we move on to exploring the city, or do you want us to dig through the rubble, Young Master Adrian?"

Adrian shook his head.

"No more exploring; we will now return to the ship and leave."

Xion and even Saria tilted their heads in confusion.

"Why? We still haven't gotten much information about this kingdom's history or the reason it was abandoned. That was the whole point of our search, wasn't it? It's still too soon to leave. Moreover, this kingdom has been abandoned and untouched for a long time, so there must be plenty of Grade One and Grade Two fragment relics here. We just need to search all the buildings thoroughly."

Xion was right. There would indeed be a lot of fragment relics in the city, and some of them might even have quite potent effects. It would be a huge loss to leave without searching for them.

But Adrian's reply was the same.

"No, we will be ending the mission here. We have already collected enough information to submit a report to the academy, so our mission's objective is complete. More than that, I think we should stop here. This island is strange."

Adrian had learned that he needed to take risks if he wanted to gain something significant. But that didn't mean that he had forgotten his priorities. He didn't understand what was going on with this island, so continuing to explore despite this could only be considered stupid.

Besides…

He pointed at Evangeline.

"Something is wrong with her. I think she has suffered from a severe mental shock, or she might even be under the effect of some mind-related attack. A teammate is injured, leaving only three people capable of responding to danger. Not only has our combat power decreased, but we now also have someone we need to look after. After considering all these points, I believe I am making the best decision as the leader."

He let out a sigh.

"Xion, I will dispatch some forces to this island. They will search the kingdom and collect all magitools. You can come to me and collect your share when that's done. For now, it is not worth the risk, so we should return."

After seemingly digesting his words with a thoughtful look on his face, the commoner boy smiled mischievously.

"Young Master Adrian, are you that worried about your fiancée? I didn't know you had such a caring side to you." He then turned to the girl who was quietly listening to the two of them. "What about you, Miss Saria? From what I have come to know about you during this mission, you would find this decision cowardly. So why aren't you saying anything?"

Saria frowned and replied irritably.

"Don't talk to me, bootlicker." She then glanced at Adrian. "Besides, I didn't object when he was being made‌ the leader, so I've got to follow whatever decision he makes. Otherwise, there would be no point in having a leader."

Adrian heaved an internal sigh of relief.

'Thankfully, I didn't need to persuade her.'

Saria had a wild and unreasonable temperament. Those were the kind of people Adrian found hardest to deal with. But it seemed she had a strangely reasonable side to her as well.

With the three of them in agreement, they walked along the familiar path and soon arrived where the ship should've been. And it was indeed in the same place.

And so, they all boarded the ship, which set sail moments later.

Evangeline had slowly regained her senses and shut herself in one of the rooms. Adrian, meanwhile, was standing on the deck, along with Xion and Saria.

As he gazed at the rising and falling waves, his mind remained elsewhere.

'There really is something. But why isn't she telling me about it, then?'

Evangeline seemed to have experienced something that had a significant emotional impact on her. At least, that was what he had concluded after observing her when she came to her senses. But since she shut herself not long after, he wasn't able to put that theory to the test.

While he was lost in thought, the other two were doing something else.

Xion smiled amicably as he walked closer to Saria.

"Miss Saria, you were really impressive during the mission. You were almost like a completely different person. You acted with such foresight and wit that even Sthenios would've praised your performance had the man been alive in this—"

But before he could finish, Saria's sharp voice cut him off.

"Just shut the hell up! I am tolerating you out of responsibility. But you are starting to get on my nerves. How dare you mention that traitor in front of me?"

Xion seemed taken aback, then furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Traitor? You are talking about Sthenios Cruor Rurikvel, right?"

But Saria ignored him, as if not interested in answering his question. After seemingly pondering for a while, the commoner boy walked up to Adrian and asked in a curious tone.

"Young Master Adrian, what is Miss Saria talking about? How is Sthenios a traitor? Isn't he one of the greatest heroes in the empire's history? Or am I missing something here?"

Adrian sighed.

'Does that girl not know that some things shouldn't be spoken out loud? Why did she have to mention that in front of him?'

Xion was a commoner and a pretty talented one at that. If things progressed normally, he would be given a noble title after he participated in the two-front war. As ancient nobles, they had to be wary of him for that reason.

'But thinking about it again, it's not much of a secret, so I guess I can tell him.'

Adrian thought for a while, choosing how much he should mention, then calmly replied.

"The animosity between the imperial faction and the ancient nobility is an open secret, so you must also be aware of that, correct?"

Xion nodded.

"I have the general idea. It's basically common knowledge in the empire."

"Good, then it would be easier to explain." Adrian continued in a calm tone. "If you had even the basic knowledge about wars and group conflict, then you would know that the War of Pandemonium should not have started in the first place due to several factors."

The people who knew how wars worked would know that it was not as simple as sending out forces to attack.

"Since all the kingdoms were sharing borders and Solthar existed in the middle, starting the war itself would've been incredibly hard for it. That was because there was a high chance that all the bordering kingdoms would retaliate and suppress Solthar before it could even do anything."

Adrian paused and asked Xion.

"Now, think about Sthenios's full name. Do you find anything strange about it?"

Xion tilted his head curiously.

"Something strange about the name? Hmm… Sthenios Cruor Rurikvel… wait, huh?" His eyes widened in realization. "His name sounds like the name of an ancient noble…"

Adrian nodded.

"Indeed, it is. Do you know? In the war of Pandemonium, the Cruor kingdom was the first to fall. And its fall was not even caused by Solthar. The only prince of Cruor, Sthenios, had killed his father and taken the throne as the new ruler. The first thing he had done after becoming the king of Cruor was to submit to Solthar's king, Valcarion, for no apparent reason."

Xion blinked, as if taken aback by the information.

"This happened so abruptly that no other kingdom was able to react in time. And with Cruor—a nation sharing borders with Solthar—now part of it, Valcarion not only gained an immediate boost in his nation's power, but it also decreased one of the immediate potential threats that could suppress his conquest. With the circumstances now in his favor, Valcarion finally decided to wage ‌war to conquer all other kingdoms. That should've given you the answer to your questions."

With his eyes widening in realization, Xion muttered.

"So if not for Sthenios, the war of Pandemonium never would've started?"

Adrian didn't reply, but his silence alone was the answer.

The ship sailed through the sea, steadily approaching its destination.

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