Глава 7

Unknown time

You're not going to draw the curtains?

The glass has already been broken. Doing that would just be lying to myself.

The glass doesn't matter. Whether Ch'en is safe... does matter.

She's skilled. Not like her father, or her mother.

Yes, nothing like her.

Beneath my feet is already another river of lights. Lungmen has already returned to normal, but they still don't know what will happen next.

Alone, Ch'en Hui-chieh cannot stop this disaster.

Rhodes Island is with her. They will find her.

*Sigh*...

Witte can no longer hold back the conservatives. For so many years, he has tried to suppress the great lords, but he has not been able to completely defeat them. Only weaken them.

After the Great Rebellion, a harsh blow was dealt to the generals of the various armies and the old nobles behind them. Their status and wealth will be absorbed by the State Council, one by one.

But I'm afraid that...

Afraid of what?

What if Witte is lying? What if this whole situation was plotted by Witte and the Emperor? What if the young emperor planned all of this?

Our enemies have always lurked in the shadows. But we've always had to stand before the brightest spotlight.

You are already deeper into the shadows than most others.

...It's not enough. Just like back then. If Kashchey... if he was in this situation, he'd burrow deeper.

But you are not Kashchey. Kashchey would not have been able to make Lungmen what it is today.

It's just that... if Tal... If Tal really was taught by Kashchey...

That doctor from Rhodes Island, do you think she's lying?

I'm not sure. There aren't many people like that who don't lie. Rhodes Island is good at hiding itself. They feign weakness before us and will not reveal any secrets.

But, I would rather believe that Kashchey shaped the current Talulah. We can't afford the terrible consequences of underestimating the enemy.

...Tal...

Because of that, I can't let Ch'en Hui-chieh do this alone.

Kashchey... has all the cards in his hand. Even if he is dead, his vision may yet come to pass through his heir.

None of this could be what he wanted.

The scout team reported that some of the Infected who left Lungmen were moving in the direction of the core city.

The core city must stop for a period of time, during which they receive these Infected refugees.

Even if Talulah bared her vicious fangs at Ursus, she would not betray Reunion in front of everyone. This is the best opportunity.

I will bring the Shadow Guard.

You?!

They've already done too much for me.

I promised that I'd never ask them to dirty their hands, only to break that promise again and again.

And now, I would ask them to die for Lungmen?

...If so, I will be with them.

I won't allow it.

You doing that would play right into Kashchey's hands. That would not be a win at all.

...Is it not a stretch to say that everything we've done since regaining Lungmen has played into Kashchey's hands?

We've won before.

It was our victory at first. Even though it was painful, you and I, Edward, and Kojui... Without us, he would've wiped out this city.

I never once regarded this incident as an unfortunate beginning.

...I won't treat Edward's death as if it was by Kashchey's hands.

Would you rather treat it as a nightmare?

No.

The nightmare should have finally ended when Kashchey died.

Is he really dead?

Maybe he lives on in Talulah. A qualified successor will allow him to continue his life of chaos.

Talulah is too much like him. For someone who had no children, Kashchey truly received the most suitable seed.

...Even if I can treat Kal'tsit's words as fabrications, I cannot deny the facts. There is a conspiracy against Lungmen, and it reads too much like Kashchey's handwriting.

I don't believe it. Tal has never been that kind of person. Why is she doing this?

We have no choice but to believe it. Talulah planned all of this.

But if she thinks Lungmen will roll over and die, she will find she is sadly mistaken.

Lungmen will not fall. I won't let any harm come to Lungmen.

But, you also cannot stop this war.

...Do you want me to die with you?

Fumizuki?!

...Are you threatening me?

Ah, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that...

No! You can't!

...Only cowards would elevate themselves on the corpses of others.

And, without you... I wouldn't be able to...!

Maybe I was a coward before, but not anymore, Fumizuki.

I won't let anyone lay a finger on you.

I'll find a place for you to hide. Be it Leithanien, or Sargon, or Sami...

You can't go back to Higashi. I'll send you to a distant country, to a small, quiet town that nobody knows about.

I'll hide you where nobody can follow you. My brother... no matter how much he hates me, he won't chase you to the ends of the earth... I know he won't.

But, I can't live like that.

Do you want me to spend my life alone, Yenwu?

Do you want to torture me with your death for the rest of my life? Don't you remember why your sister died?

No, no... Fumizuki, I want you to live. I...

Wei Yenwu, I told you... I'm fine with it.

To die with you would already be the best terrible outcome I can imagine. Or rather, no matter how terrible it is, it'll be a fine ending for me.

Don't say that, Fumizuki...

I won't be that kind of person. I won't let you do that either.

But you know, you can't stop me. You've never been able to stop me from doing what I want to do.

Fumizuki...!

Yenwu, you've always been frank with me. Sometimes, you won't tell me anything, when you finally come out with it, I'll always know that you're telling me the truth.

I don't want you to die. But I also don't want Tal to die. I don't want any of us to die.

I miss Tal. I'm always reminded of how much she looks like your sister. But, she has Edward's eyes, and that temper she had when she was little... I have no idea who she got that from. It's been so, so many years since I've seen her.

We owe all of this to her.

...and Hui-chieh.

Yes, and Little Ch'en as well.

Little Ch'en is gone, and I won't be able to see her ever again... I'll never be able to buy her beautiful clothes and comb her hair into a work of art.

She... She didn't like traditional attire that much.

But, I liked it. How beautiful, how beautiful she will be.

...But even if that's the case, even if we've said our final farewell, I hope that Little Ch'en can find someplace else to settle down comfortably. That's what I hope.

I know you don't want to rely on Rhodes Island, and I know that you won't hedge all your bets on them.

But I want you to wait for a while.

And let them do this, Yenwu.

If they fail, then we shall go together. You don't want to have the blood of your loved ones on your hands ever again, right?

If that happens, I will help you take Tal's life. Then, we will die together.

Fumizuki...!

You want her to live as well, don't you? Is this Lungmen a place that wants all of us to die?

I would rather never see them again. I would rather never see Little Ch'en and Tal again and forget about them... but I also want them to live on.

Just like you. Just like you wanted me to make this decision.

Fumizuki. If things pass the tipping point, you must listen to my arrangements. Our lives... are not indivisible.

Of course not, Yenwu. I do not solely exist for you.

...Everything I've done, from beginning to end, has not only been for your sake.

You must see what I am fighting for.