Shadow Guard (5)
Edited by: Kuro and Lille
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Grey was reporting to Prince Cecil what the other Shadow Guards and Scouts were able to find out. There were only two of them in the room, so he didn't have to worry about his identity being exposed.
"Master, two armies are coming in from the West and the East. The Right General is on his way, and he is coming in from the West. By the time he arrives, he should be able to confront the Western Army from behind. The Left General asked if you needed any reinforcements from her. Also, the Lightning General of the Liyas Empire is marching from the East. It seems they are trying to pincher-attack us."
"Foolish. It seems they have many soldiers at their disposal."
"Most of the soldiers and knights are not from the original Liyas territory. They have been using people from the territories they have captured on their way to our Empire. Their men are hardly organized, but they are fighting because if they rebel, the Liyas Empire would burn their country to the ground."
There was a country that suffered this miserable fate on the Liyas continent. The country was called Abera. The country was surrounded by rich and diverse forests, but because the citizens had rebelled, they slaughtered everyone and burned every inch of the country to ashes. Every country they conquered after that became obedient after hearing about a country being destroyed so brutally.
"Don't you find that they are very annoying?" Prince Cecil leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, and his head leaning on his hand. He looked like a villain whose plans had gone right and now he was excited to commence the next step.
"They are annoying, like flies," Grey agreed.
"Exactly, so let's end this battle quickly and go back home."
The poor Liyas Empire had no idea what was coming as they were slaughtered.
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That night, Grey made sure that Prince Cecil was sleeping before slipping out. He slipped into the shadows and bypassed many guards who were on duty, before going to a deserted corner of the fort. He only had to wait for a moment before someone came out from the shadows.
The person who had left the shadows was Number 1. Usually, he would be protecting the Emperor, but when he got a message from Number 18, he definitely had to run over to his cute little brother who had asked for him so passionately.
Seeing Number 18, Number 1 immediately jumped him into a hug.
"My baby brother💕. To be able to see you~! You are so cute! So adorableee."
Number 1 was only like that with Number 18. To think this man was a monster in the eyes of the Association.
Talk about gap moe.
Even though Number 1 rarely showed his face, when he did, he would make all the men and women run to him and jump on his bed. He had striking blue eyes and bright blonde hair. He looked more like a prince than a killer, but he only wanted to take care of his little brother, Number 18. Oh, he also wanted to do his job, but that came second in his heart.
They weren't real brothers, but since they were both orphans, Number 1 couldn't help but take care of Number 18 who reminded him of his dead little brother. Number 18 and 1's brother would be the same age if he was alive.
"I missed you too. Did you get the information, Big Brother?" Though his voice seemed cold, Number 1 knew this was how Number 18 was.
"Of course. At first, I was wondering what you wanted from Prince Levi, but it seems that man's scheme runs deep." He handed two letters to 18.
One of the letters contained the plans for assassinating the Third Prince. The other was murdering Hero Blaine's family. The first letter had already been sent out, but the second letter would only be sent out if Blaine rejected Prince Levi one more time. With the Crown Prince's seal on both of these confidential letters, it made it easier for him to plan everything out accordingly. He also pulled out various documents about his payment to the Association for Prince Cecil's assassinations. All of these were preparations to get Prince Cecil to become the new Crown Prince.
"Did you leave behind the replicas?"
"Of course. You know my skills in forgery are the best of the best."
This man was a master in forgery. His skills were so amazing, he was even able to mimic the Aura of the person just by seeing their handwriting. What a scary man!
Number 1 scoffed at the thought of Prince Levi. "I understand why he might want to kill Prince Cecil but to kill Prince Zachary as well? The man is too paranoid. Just like the previous Emperor."
"It may be more than that, Big Brother. What happens if Prince Levi isn't who we think he is?" Grey smirked as he put the letters into the System space to keep it safe.
"Would you like me to look into that as well?" Number 1 was willing to do anything for Number 18.
"It's okay. For now, we can leave it as is. The Emperor will probably order you to do it in the future though…" It was as though Grey knew the future. "There's something off about Prince Levi. He is too paranoid, more paranoid than the previous Emperor. It's like… if he doesn't get rid of everyone around him, someone will find out his secret. I intend to find out what it is, of course."
"This is the most I have seen you talk. You must really hate the Crown Prince."
"It's not that I hate him, but I do have big plans… I will tell you about them in the future, Big Brother. Anyway, thank you for helping me out. I have a bad feeling about Prince Levi so you should keep your guard up."
"You were always one who went with their gut." Number 1 patted his hair. "Don't do anything dangerous, and if you need help, I will always be there to help you."
Grey nodded. It was only dangerous if it resulted in death. If not, he was sure he was able to handle it on his own.
Well, that's what he thought.
*****
After their battle in the Southern territory, half the army had come back home victorious. The Right General stayed in Fort Afio to guard against the Liyas Empire while Prince Cecil and some of his men went back to the capital. The Trio-Color Captains stayed behind as well.
On the day they had all come back to the capital, Hero Blaine had gotten into an argument with Crown Prince Levi. He refused to swear his loyalty to Prince Levi once again as he was already sworn to the current Emperor. He didn't choose sides even with his admiration for Knight Commander Cecil, but Prince Levi was furious. He was going to be the Emperor when his old man died. What was the harm in swearing loyalty a bit early?!
Though he didn't realize that his seat wasn't set in stone. If someone else had become Emperor? That Emperor would've murdered everyone who had been opposing him, leaving no one a way to escape. That's how it was for the Royal Family.
Lately, nothing has been going his way. First, Number 18 didn't choose him to be his Master, and then Hero Blaine didn't want to swear his loyalty no matter how much he asked. Even his twin little sister, Princess Serah wasn't able to win Blaine's heart. However, she was half-hearted about it because she wasn't interested in some commoner.
Maybe it was because Kyle, the Rising Star and best friend of the Host, was Blaine but he also wasn't interested in a shallow Princess.
Everything was going wrong and he felt as if there was someone who was deliberately trying to ruin all of his plans! Why couldn't anything go right? Even the assassination attempts hadn't worked! If Number 18 was here, he wouldn't have to go to the Association.
As the days continued, Prince Levi destroyed more and more valuable treasures within his Palace. A few people in his palace died and Emperor Emeron also heard of it. Emperor Emeron also gave Prince Levi a long lecture about not indiscriminately killing their loyal subjects, making Prince Levi even more irritated.
"You are just a crusty old man who knows nothing of this world. When you die, I will take the throne, and when I do… I will make sure everyone who stands in my way is eliminated… Ah, send out that letter. We will show Blaine what it's like to defy me."
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When Prince Cecil had fallen asleep, Grey snuck away to finish one of the side missions. Since Prince Levi sent out the letter earlier that day, he knew he had to act as soon as possible. They only had 5 days.
He knocked three times on Blaine's window. He already checked and he knew that Blaine was the only one in that room.
Blaine, who was sensitive to sounds, woke up at the sound of the first knock. He sat up and looked over at the window to see a man in black standing at his window. It was pretty creepy, but for some reason, the man was telling him to let him inside.
He wiped his eyes thinking he was seeing things, but the man was still standing at his window. Blaine grabbed his favorite halberd he kept at his bed and slowly inched to the window. The man lifted his hands to show there was nothing in them and waited for Blaine to open the window.
Blaine was confused, but he slowly lifted the window. "Don't try to open it up any more than this!"
He quickly stepped back, weapons ready to cut someone down, and looked at the half-open window.
"I apologize for disturbing you late at night, Sir Blaine, but I have an important letter that you must read at this moment," Grey said as he pulled out the letter and kept it in his hands.
"And what could be so important that you had to disturb my sleep."
"I was doing some digging around for my Master and came across this letter in the Crown Prince's study."
Grey pulled out a letter from his pocket that Blaine couldn't even see. On the envelope was the stamp that only the Crown Prince could use. No one on the continent could copy that ink. If they put a bit of Aura to it, the stamp would glow.
"You will let me in won't you?"
"Hand me the letter first."
"Understood." Grey put the letter on the window sill.
Blaine grabbed the letter and still kept his distance. He put some Aura into it and saw that it glowed. He knew it was the real deal. He was someone who grew up around the Princes and knew what the Crown Prince's seal looked like.
"You can come in." He didn't open the letter because he found it rude to leave his guest outside.
Grey thanked him and opened the window so that he could go inside. He closed it after getting inside and made himself at home. He sat down at the only table in the room and didn't say a word until Blaine said something.
Blaine saw the man sitting up straight as he looked at him. It was strange, but his instincts told him that the man wasn't dangerous but he was incredibly strong. He sat down at his bed and held on to the letter.
"What's in this letter?" Blaine asked as he wanted to brace himself.
"Prince Levi wants to kill your family so I came here to help you relocate them."
Blaine heard the words, but when put together, his brain didn't process them, so he had to repeat them. "You are saying that you want to help my parents and little brother relocate because His Highness, Crown Prince Levi, is going to kill my family?"
Hero Blaine looked at the mysterious man in front of him. The man wore a plain black mask that covered most of his face. Even the man's hair was hidden, so he couldn't even put a name to a face.
"That's right. Why don't you read the letter and see if I am telling the truth."
He looked at the letter for a moment before opening it. He felt a little guilty reading other people's letters but it had something to do with his family. He cherished his family more than anything so if he could protect them, he didn't mind cutting down everyone in his way…
By the end of the letter, Blaine was ready to take his weapon and cut someone down. Before he could even sit up from his bed, Grey placed a hand on the man's arm. Blaine didn't even know when Grey moved in front of him.
Grey felt the familiar tingle of his best friend and it made his heart warm. His best friend, his guardian angel who followed him through many worlds, Grey hoped to protect him as well.
"Sir Blaine, instead of being rash, why don't we teach them a lesson?" Grey gently grabbed the letter from Blaine and put it back into his pocket. The other man didn't even notice the letter was gone.
"A lesson? How?"
After that, Grey whispered his plans to Blaine who, by the end, was on board.
*****
In the middle of the night, Prince Cecil had woken up from a dream. Ever since he met Number 18, he would have vague dreams of himself in other worlds, but he lived happy lives with these people who seemed like the same man. He didn't know who the man was as he watched those dreams, but for some reason, he knew they were all Number 18.
Seeing his lover smile, dance, act, and cuddle with him. Watching the man whither and blush under his embrace, or kissing the man until he could no longer catch a breath.
Prince Cecil could feel the love between them, almost smothering him. He was so happy in these dreams that when he woke up, he almost didn't want to.
Were all those people him? Were all those men really Number 18? Does 18 even know they have been entangled with one another for the past six lives? It was crazy to think about how there was someone who he would fall in love with every single time and to find out they were the same soul? The same loveable person?
For the first time, his heartfelt so warm thinking about Number 18... There was actually someone who could warm his ice-cold heart that he had long given up on.
There were also some dreams he didn't understand, like the opening up of some gates, or talking with these "systems." His mind wasn't really focused on that, but he did regain some of those memories as well. Made him wonder what he really was… He knew he had this dream in the last world, but it seemed to have more detail. They also called him a System, but he didn't feel like one.
He also knew that Number 18 knew about his identity.
He wondered what the man was doing... Where was he anyway? It was so late, where could he have gone?