Chapter 47: Like A Lion
When the Lion King first learned that Adeline’s cook was Ordo’s errand boy, he became suspicious of him. As a king of a nation himself, he was well aware of how radical Ordo’s ideologies were. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
The history of the continent began with deep-rooted dynasties. Just as the sky is above and the earth below, it was only natural for a king to rule his people and for his son to inherit the throne.
However, Ordo was the first to oppose that system. Their claim was that all humans are the same, just as every person has eyes, a nose, a mouth, a body, and a mind.
The Lion King suspected that they might be trying to use Adeline to bring chaos to Marma. That was his conclusion. So, in the dead of night, he secretly entered Adeline’s palace, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him to the deep forest.
“If you intend to use and discard Adeline, leave her side at once.” That’s what he said.
It was then that Ringo, Ordo’s intelligence officer, who had been trembling and insisting that he was on their side, changed his expression. “That is not your concern. We made a contract with the princess. A promise made at the risk of our lives.”
Ringo did not reveal what that promise was. Nor did the Lion King ask.
“I don’t want her to be in danger.”
“The path she is on is full of dangers.”
“Can a weakling like you even protect her?”
“Though it’s not something I should say in front of the continent’s greatest warrior… I pride myself on being quite skilled at killing people, despite my appearances.” Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“In that case, I’ll test you.” The Lion King didn’t waste words and drew his sword. As the tension grew, Ringo also drew two daggers from inside his cloak.
The dark forest, shrouded in night, was the perfect place for the two to fight. A cold wind rustled through the dry leaves. An eerie sound echoed around them.
Ringo slowly rotated his wrists, daggers in both hands. Just from that movement, the Lion King realized that Ringo was a seasoned assassin.
“I heard Ordo is an intelligence organization.”
“Those who handle secrets must be able to escape any situation.”
It meant that dying was acceptable, but getting captured was not. The Lion King understood Ringo’s words.
No more words were needed. With a light flick of his long sword, the Lion King kicked off the ground and charged forward.
***
“The Lion of Baltica… is not human, after all.”
Ringo was defeated miserably. He had fought fiercely, giving it his all, but he couldn’t land a single blow on the Lion King.
“You’re quite skilled yourself.”
After assessing Ringo’s abilities, the Lion King’s tone softened slightly. The two sat side by side, drying their sweat in the cold wind. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“May I ask you something?”
“Speak.”
“Why do you like our princess so much?”
The Lion King was deeply displeased that Ringo referred to Adeline as “our princess.” However, he hid his irritation and answered calmly. “She is a warrior.”
“She’s a delicate woman.”
“She’s not delicate. If you truly think so, you’ve completely misjudged her.”
“Is that so.”
“A warrior is one who fights.”
Adeline is fighting. Her battlefield will be the most dangerous and treacherous place on this continent.
Ringo chuckled softly. He sheathed his daggers and massaged his swollen wrists. Then, he leaned in and whispered to the Lion King, “Do you know?”
“What is it?”
“Our princess. She’s a true warrior.”
“What? Didn’t I just say that?”
“No, I mean… how should I put this? Lion King, can you hit that target over there, on Adeline’s palace roof, with a single thin arrow from a wooden bow?” Ringo pointed to a distant decoration on the high roof of Adeline’s palace. “That sharp spire over there.”
“I can’t. It’s too far.”
“The princess can.” Ringo laughed out loud this time. “Hard to believe, right? I felt the same at first. But, when was it… Ah, when we met in the border town of Nova, she took down an assassin from even farther away than that, with a single arrow. When we retrieved the body, a thin steel-tipped arrow was lodged right between the eyes.” Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“What? With that kind of skill, why would she have sustained such injuries…?”
“She needed to appear powerless,” Ringo said bitterly. “So that no one in this country would see her as a threat. A naive and delicate princess. That’s what she wanted. I can’t be certain since I wasn’t with her on the way here… but that arrow… she might have let herself be hit on purpose.”
The Lion King recalled the day he first met Adeline; he was running toward a nearby farmhouse while holding her collapsed body in his arms. She had said it was just a minor injury, but to him, it looked like a wound that could have been fatal. If he hadn’t administered first aid, the infection would have been severe.
Even in a feverish delirium, she kept her mouth tightly shut, not even muttering in her sleep. She clenched her teeth so hard that he had to massage her jaw several times. If that arrow was something she took on purpose, her mental fortitude was truly remarkable.
“Please take good care of our princess. To be honest… sometimes she teeters on the edge. She’s like a flame ready to burn out without leaving even ashes behind.”
Even after Ringo returned to Adeline’s palace, the Lion King stood there for a long time, lost in thought. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
***
Check out my Patreon to read advanced chapters!
