Глава 11

Several hours later...

Ralph—where's Ralph gone?

Oh, heaven's sakes! Everything's a mess—how can he <i>still</i> be running about?!

Miss Molly, Ralph said grown-ups keep mentioning artillery but he's never seen it for himself...

Of all the...! He can't have gone out in the street?!

They've started firing out there already! The bolts and the shells flying all over—

I'll go and find him.

Lady Golding! It's far too dangerous!

Ralph!

I... I...

Come here, now—

*sob* Lady Golding...

Don't fear. Good boy. I'm right here.

Waah!

Let's hurry back—it'll all be better then, it'll all be alright.

Lady Golding! Ralph! You're back, oh, wonderful!

I'm sorry, Miss Molly.

Oh, you scared me to death, Ralph.

Are all the children here, then?

Yes, ma'am, I've counted.

A—About just now...

...A shell landed nearby.

What ever for? Just who exactly is warring with who?

It doesn't make sense. Everything was fine this morning. How could this have happened to Londinium so suddenly?

*sob*...

Don't cry, Molly. No tears in front of the children.

Yes, ma'am.

Hold my hand tight. At least we're all together.

We... we have the Defense Forces, and the Steam Knights!

They'll protect Londinium. They'll protect Victoria!

The Steam Knights...

I think I just saw them! Are they the really tall ones, in all black and...

It was a shadow from a streetlamp, wasn't it?

Liar! It was definitely one of the Steam Knights!

Tom the cobbler always goes on about them! He says how they're the symbol of Victoria's grandness!

'Hie over the valleys and over the rivers, rumble-ye-rumble, tell us the sound! Shalln't be thunder and shalln't be gale, the grand knights of grandest Victoria crowned!'

I knew that song when I was little too.

My singing teacher said that every year on the King's birthday, everyone'd gather in the Square to catch a glimpse of all the Steam Knights in formation.

Can a Steam Knight really fly?

Apparently, all they do is run very fast, faster than any lightning or storm. With all the steam they emit on top, they must look like they're stepping on clouds.

This is pants. We don't even have a king now. I've never seen a parade once.

Also, they told me their teacher once saw something even greater.

It was the year Victoria had just defeated Gaul, and to celebrate the then-King's birthday, dozens of Steam Knights all returned to Londinium together.

Their suits were draped in flags of Victoria, and once they'd all marched down the steps on the Palace of Westhaleg, it was like one giant flag all at once—

And then, everyone heard a howl even clearer than thunder.

A howl?

Yes, a howl. The people who were there say it was Victoria's emblem, the symbol on our flag, coming alive.

Because ever since that day, Victoria had officially surmounted Gaul, and become the grandest nation of all Terra's lands.

I'm so sorry, Lady Golding! Your father was Gaulish, I forgot...

You needn't apologize to me, Molly. You and I, Ralph, and the hundreds of thousands of children that grew up here... all grew as Londiniers.

Perhaps the same goes for the one in the suit of steam armor outside.

Do you know a Steam Knight, Miss Golding?

...Charles Lynch.

He used to live in Auchterigg. Tom the cobbler was an old friend of his, hence why he loves to tell tales of His Majesty and the Steam Knights so much.

In fact, Lynch was the last Steam Knight His Majesty ever titled in his life.

And the last Steam Knight titled up till now.

The night drags on.

For so long that the children hear every tale of the Steam Knights told in Londinium, and first light has just broken.

The sound of artillery stops sooner than they expected. Past the witching hour, the streets outside have more or less returned to silence. But no words are needed as they all continue to stay huddled indoors. No one dares rush to see the state out there.

Near to every Londinier has been awake the whole night.

The same question circles in everyone's minds—come next morning, will Londinium be different?

The next day...

Seems like everything's the same... Where have the Duke's men gone?

I knew it. I knew the situation would come under control lickety-split once the Steam Knights showed up!

I just didn't think it'd be <i>this</i> fast...

Molly... some way or another, we're going to need to buy essentials.

We don't know what might happen next.

You two! What are you doing out here?!

Mr. Adams!

Excellent. For the children, knowledge is just as indispensable.

...Especially under present circumstances.

Mr. Adams, could you bring me those sets of plays from yesterday? And I'm afraid I'll need a few more too...

Hmm. These fairytales, along with those first steps into mathematics and physics there, and a copy of the Home Medical Guide. If you could parcel all that, please...

Wait, what's that noise?

From not far away sound uniform footsteps.

They're unlike those the Londiniers have heard at parades. These are heavier, and more urgent.

The Palace of Westhaleg. The Shard. Parliament Square.

One flight after another in seamless succession, through Auchterigg's almost desolate streets, through the center of Londinium, Victoria's heart.

As the footsteps press towards this most ordinary of streets, some of those ducked to the side of the street finally catch clear sight of the advancing army—

Or better said, they see clearly the soldiers' appearances.

The horns, each shape their own, all condensed in ominous black, not even the rushing yawn of daylight casting a shine on them.

...Sarkaz.

They're Sarkaz mercenaries.

If they are mercenaries, I assume they'll leave soon.

And then Londinium will be back to the way it was, won't it?

They don't know it yet, but in the years to come, many a thing will change completely.

For one, the Sarkaz army won't ever leave Londinium.

And for another—

From that day forth, no one will ever see steam armor in her streets again.