Chapter 15: Inside The Castle

It's a new week. You can read over ten chapters on my Patre0n, /Aht666 ! It's free!

The journey of rewriting/expanding this fanfiction is going well. We're already halfway through volume 1 over on Patre0n!

As always, Giliath demands your power stones!

*

Once that was said, we all felt the ground around us suddenly start to quake. It wasn't strong, but I heard faint cranking which followed. The quaking of the ground only lasted for a brief moment.

My eyes lit up, seeing the two large doors that closed Grancel Castle off to the public begin to open. One second after another, each door was reeled in on both sides. Before long, the main lobby of Grancel Castle came into view.

How exciting!

I didn't ever get a chance to explore such a grandiose castle before. There was a castle you could explore in Japan, but only certain parts of it. That paled in comparison to this beauty!

I felt my heart thump in excitement. It would seem I wasn't the only one feeling this way either. Estelle's eyes were literal stars right now. She likely had a similar feeling to what I was feeling.

"Is it fine to enter, Mister Bright?", I asked, causing Colonel Bright to look at me.

"It is. Her Majesty permitted an audience. You and your father will be attending to it later. The castle is normally closed off most days, unless it is receiving guests. The funeral to be held is a special occasion. But you can treat this as your home, Your Highness. In a way, you are returning home.", Colonel Bright said.

"Returning home...", I uttered.

As I uttered that, we saw Her Majesty the Queen slowly depart from the open balcony from high above. It wasn't just her retreating feet I heard. I heard some shuffling nearby, so she was likely accompanied by more guards, or potentially some maids.

So that meant there were still guards inside, which made sense. This was Grancel Castle after all.

I shifted my head and looked at father again.

"Dad?", I asked.

"It's alright, son. We've received permission to enter. So enter we shall. You might be given some time to explore around later, but do not leave my sight until then."

"Okay!", I happily responded, letting him hold onto my hand again. Just like that, we walked inside. Father and I took to the left, while the Bright trio took to the right. Two guards out of the soldiers remained, as their primary duty was protecting these doors.

Just this scene alone was a sight to behold. Two future enemies standing side-by-side. It was a surprise to hear that these two are rivals. Maybe the story was twisted a bit? I don't recall that being a thing in the games. I could imagine it now. An invisible streak of lightning streaking across their eyes, waiting for a clash to happen.

It's going to happen. That's for sure. When the Hundred Days War reaches its climax. Contrary to one's expectations, Giliath doesn't partake in the war until the last ten days. It took him ninety days to learn of the true masterminds behind the incident.

My eyes landed on Estelle again. She was just oblivious to the whole thing happening before her. I'm sure these sights were new for her and her excitement was shooting through the roof. Her eyes were darting around like no tomorrow.

Upon entering, we arrived at the ground floor. There were several rooms on each side, with hallways connecting to more rooms. To the east was the room where the Royal Guard resided. Most soldiers lived here, it was their private quarters. To the left were offices and drawing boards the government uses. Many policies were conducted here. Those higher up in the military also drafted up their plans here. In this case, Colonel Bright.

The center of this room was different. There was a large red carpet that stretched further inside into what appeared a large and decorated hall, fully ornate and everything. It stretched beyond my view.

One would think this would lead into the Throne Room, but it didn't. If one had a close look, a very large dining table could be seen. This was the Dining Hall.

Two large staircases on each side stretched upward, which led to a second floor. It was here you could see more red carpet. Apart from more rooms meant for maids and such, this red carpet stretched into the open terrace, which was beyond this place.

Her Majesty the Queen's Throne Room actually resided inside the first floor of the giant tower beyond that. And this tower was the same tower where her private quarters rested, which also included the Princess's private quarters.

Would this throne be passed down to me some day? Or will it play out like the games where Princess Klaudia assumes the role of Crown Princess?

Once we were inside the main lobby of the castle, Colonel Bright turned toward father.

"General Osborne, you can head up either staircase. There are some guest rooms off to the side there. I will take a few moments to go notify the head made. Lena, you can also head there with Estelle.", Colonel Bright said.

"Of course. We will not wander far. We should let the young ones explore to their hearts content later, supervised of course. Before you depart Colonel, may I request a favor?", Giliath suddenly asked, drawing our attention.

"A favor from my rival? Now that is rare. What is it, exactly?", Colonel Bright asked.

"I shall present an opportunity. I think it will favor both of us, Colonel. Soldier to soldier, each holding different experiences and training. I propose a duel.", Giliath requested.

"A duel...?", Colonel Bright responded, taking a moment to register what father had just said to him. "I suppose you are right, General. This body of mine hasn't had a clash on your caliber in a while. How could I not be interested in another spar, rival to rival?"

A spar between Giliath and Cassius Bright a few years before the Hundred Days War taking place. I don't recall this ever happening in the games...

Is my existence alone as a lost royal prince already starting to knock things off its course? Giliath shouldn't even be all that familiar with Cassius Bright. Yet here he is, acting like he's Cassius's best friend.

Either way, that would definitely be an interesting sight to behold. Two behemoths clashing against each other without the flames of war intruding on them. Hundred Form Military Combat vs Eight Leaves One Blade...

I became excited just thinking about it. It was already exciting enough to be here inside Grancel Castle, and being here in Zemuria. And now I get a chance to witness a duel between two powerhouses this early, to which likely didn't even happen in the games?

Sign me up!

"Either way, a spar between the Hundred Form Military Combat against my Eight Leaves One Blade is definitely going to be a sight to behold. I accept your challenge. I'm afraid we won't immediately be able to do that though, General. I need to go inform the Head Maid of our arrival first. Do you have a time of preference?", Colonel Bright asked.

"Actually, I do. This duel doesn't need to happen right away. I was thinking we could create a spectacle out of it once the funeral concessions take place. A final sendoff, if you will.", Giliath answered.

"Now that's interesting, General. Very well. I shall make the necessary arrangements. You will generate a nice crowd with this. I'll bid you farewell for now. Make sure to keep Estelle in sight alright, Lena? I'll be back before you know it.", Colonel Bright asked. Lena smiled in response.

"Haha, you're such a worrywart. I'll try not to trouble General Osborne while you're away, Cassius. Leave it to me.", Lena replied with a gentle nod.

"With pleasure.", Giliath also said, responding to Colonel Bright.

We all saw Colonel Bright depart into another room, likely where the maids' quarters were. There were several maids in charge of keeping this place nice and clean. They managed just about everything here. I'm sure all their schedules were busy throughout their days spent in the castle.

After he vanished from view, I saw Estelle look at me.

"Your daddy is going to fight my daddy, Naoto?", Estelle asked with interest.

"That seems to be the case. Right dad?", I asked father.

"Haha! It was more of a spur of the moment, but I truly hadn't clashed with Colonel Bright in a good while. This body of mine needs a good warm-up. It's spent way too much time slaving away at mundane tasks in the military as of late. I could use a good distraction like this.", Giliath replied, laughing.

Of course you'd call this a distraction, you monster...

Not everyone can challenge a Divine Blade like that to a duel, you know? Unfortunately, that momentary excitement quickly died down. Estelle quickly changed topics again.

"Mama, can I take Naoto to go play around the castle?", Estelle suddenly asked, causing me to pause my current thoughts.

What?

Lena smiled hearing Estelle ask that.

"Of course you can honey.", Lena answered. She then looked at Giliath. "You don't mind, do you, General? I'll follow after them to make sure they don't wander out of sight. I know this castle is heavily secure, but I feel I should still ask first."

"Normally I'd say no, but these walls are as secure as you say, Miss Lena. You two can explore to your hearts content. Just don't cause trouble, okay?", Giliath requested.

"Yay! Let's go!", Estelle said, suddenly grabbing onto my arm, and began yanking it. Lena had already placed her down onto the ground.

"Now hold on a moment...!"

"This is your house, isn't it Naoto?", Estelle asked, pausing for a moment.

"Not exactly...?", I retorted. Hearing that only caused Giliath to smile.

"Haha. It could be one day in your future, Naoto. Be nice to Estelle alright?", Giliath retorted back, making sure to warn me at the same time. Why's he so easygoing at a moment like this!?

"Thanks mister!", Estelle happily said. "Let's go already, Naoto!", Estelle said, urging me to follow after her. I could only sigh, leaving this up to fate. I could only follow after her quickly retreating shadow. Estelle's as hyper as she initially displayed during Trail in the Sky's prologue, despite being a few years younger here.

I didn't sign up for this part!

Giliath and Lena simply chuckled seeing the two of us wander up the stairs, only to have Lena chase after them. She made sure they didn't completely vanish from sight. Giliath soon found himself alone. He did as Colonel Bright suggested, and wandered to where the nearest guest room was.

The events inside Grancel Castle had just begun!