Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Andrew, Narcissus, and the knights! Did these three elements become a perfect combination because of history? Or was it just a natural occurrence? No historian or philosopher could answer this question. When His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette first stepped foot onto his homeland after a duration of ten years, the still-ignorant young man found out the answers to all his doubts in an ordinary woman who was doing her laundry by the river.
River Marne - the mother river of Andrew, which irrigated the land of Andrew. She prolonged the flowering season of narcissus, relieved thirst for countless battle horses, and washed off the knight's blood-stained armor and uniform with her pure innocence. Narcissus County was divided into two by the great river; the half of it, nearer the Empire, was the rear of Andrew’s land, while the other half nearer to the border was Andrew’s battlefield.
The young man still had some vague memory of the Marne River, though only a small fragment of it. He remembered himself catching shrimp by the river. However, at this moment, it was not the young man’s childhood memories that had him mesmerized. Instead, it was a woman who was doing her laundry by the river and under the sun.
This was a typical Narcissus woman - she wore an embroidered shirt on the top with a long sarong covering the lower half of her body. She also had a thin colorful scarf wrapped around her head. The woman had a wide back and a broad waist as she stood up tall. She rolled her long sarong up to the knees, which revealed a little of the short pants she wore underneath.
The woman stood in the water like a pelican and beside her sat a bucket of dirty laundry. The bubble of saponins drifted down the river, forming a shallow layer between her legs. The woman recognized the Raytheon at first glance when Oscar came closer and leaped across the pontoon bridge. This huge, almost-magical stallion horse had always been the theme of Narcissus's murals, and its image had been deeply implanted into the hearts of people since four centuries ago.
The woman stood upright and saluted the unknown hero. It was only until then did Oscar managed to see that the woman had been cleaning a shield. Underneath the black shield, several blooming narcissus were engraved from top to bottom. The shield was washed so thoroughly to the point that the scabbard marks was as visually clear as narcissus. Even examining it from a few distance away, Oscar noticed that this shield had a different style from the ones his men were currently using. The layer of wrought iron skin on it could already explain the doubt.
It intrigued the man’s interest, "Does it belong to your son? Or your husband?"
The woman laughed naturally. She guessed this peculiar young man knew a thing or two about the Narcissus Knights, "My Lord, the shield belongs to my husband, and it also belongs to my son and the son of my son."
Oscar nodded with understanding. The Narcissus Knights had an unsaid tradition to pass their weapons onto the future generations. He looked at the kind-hearted woman for one last time and realized her wide palms were scarred with years and years of labor, and countless knife-marks.
She gently wiped her shield with her sarong. As the sun illuminated her eyes and shone brightly on the shining shield, she proudly carried it behind her back, before moving on to wash another piece of stained clothing.
A sudden thought appeared in Oscar’s mind - this woman symbolized Narcissus! She was industrious, optimistic, beautiful, had a sense of perseverance towards honor and tradition, unyielding praise for sacrifices - this represented Narcissus! The young man was delighted at his serendipitous encounter.
Suddenly, the woman put down the damped clothes in her hand and looked somewhat confused towards the other side of the river. A massive cavalry was crossing the pontoon bridge with their vanguard leading the way. In the forefront of the formation, a commanding officer held aloft the emblem and battle flag of the Andrew family. Oscar noticed that the woman wiped her hands on the sarong in panic, waded through the river and climbed up onto the pontoon bridge. When the cavalry troop was by her side, she respectfully bent down from her waist. Only after the last rider of the troop passed, the woman straightened her chest again; along the way, the young man had witnessed for countless times, the courtesy of the Narcissus people had toward the troops.
This was the spirit of Andrew! The warriors who were handpicked by God! The people’s respect and admiration for the family did not stop at the deep bow. Instead, those feelings ran deeply through their blood, like the Narcissus shield engraved with the temperament and memory of loyal souls.
"Your Highness!" Major General Murat Bedoya of Narcissus Knights' Hosley Front Army under the Red Tiger Division charged angrily towards the young prince. The words of the major general gushed out of his mouth like a rapid waterfall!
"Your Royal Highness! Although we have arrived at the territory of Narcissus, could you please be more considerate of us soldiers! Your safety does not only concern you but it matters to all of us, officers and soldiers of the Red Tiger division! Also, how long do you intend to keep our division's battle flag? Hey! Don’t you go away..."
Oscar smiled happily. This was the knight of Narcissus!
Perhaps it was the God of Light's arrangement; while O’Neil Andrew Morisette inspected the troops, he snatched the Red Army division's battle flag from Murat which was positioned nearest to him. From that moment onwards, the fate of the Red Tiger and Murat Bedoya had intertwined with the young man.
***************
Morning in Titan, on Church’s year 791, the 19th day of 7th month.
Less than 40 kilometers away from Andrew Haila, there was a small town called Canbury. Outside the small town, and on the side of the road stood a huge monument. Engraved on it was the writings that informed visitors that they had entered the garrison area of Andrew Haila.
It had been a long time since the base camp of the direct legion and the Narcissus Knights of Andrew Haila's Front Army had a full assembly. Their supreme commander issued an order with one sole task - to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess who was visiting from the distant Empire capital with their highest spirits. Moreover, not to forget the little hero of the Andrew family, His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil who had sacrificed ten years of his youth in exchange for honor and dignity.
Standing at the forefront of the crowded cavalry, Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel restlessly rode on his warhorse. He had no idea how many laps he had taken, and it seemed that his actions were absolutely incomprehensible to the officers who stood by his side. The marshal that they were familiar with had never been this fidgety. However, it was still understandable. After all, the marshal was no different from any ordinary father.
A long, dull sound of bugle horn came from afar. Dortmund had finally calmed himself down, as he put on a bright smile on his face to receive his dear son, in which he had not met in a long time. The officers were all taken aback by his unusual gentle expression - this was definitely a side of the marshal which they had never seen before.
The Duke spent a lot of time and effort in trying to organize a grand welcoming ceremony for his honorable guests. The location he chose was a meadow outside the town of Canbury, focused on the traditional etiquette of the members of the Titan royal family. He was not worried about his youngest son, as their reunion should only be a casual one that was between family. However, he had a severe headache in preparing his welcome for the princess. According to his news source, the young princess had lost all her servant girls and luggage on the way to Narcissus. He thought that the current convoy of the royal family was undoubtedly useless! But at the same time, the Duke doubted if the attendants and the various services he had prepared for Her Royal Highness would be satisfactory.
Finally, both parties met after the long wait. There were no touching scenes, nor a long-lasting cheer. The princess came down from the carriage casually while the prince jumped off the horse. The Duke stepped forward and hugged his son. It was as if the both of them wanted to say something during this process, though however, they chose to remain silent. Oscar detected a vague tobacco smell on his father, but before he even had time to look clearly at the unfamiliar man that was supposed to be his father, he was pulled into his strong embrace.
The young man did not know what was going on, but his eyes never left his father. He saw him kissed Mam Celia, and then Sasha E, and finally, he saw his father performed the impeccable royal courtesy, following every step, to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis.
"Oh ... I'm sorry!" The young man opened his eyes and he discerned for a moment until he regained his consciousness fully to realize that the middle-aged man standing beside him was his father. "Sorry! Father! I do not know why I feel so drowsy!"
"No, it does not matter! There is no not need to apologize. I do smell the scent of medicine and I know your injuries have not fully recovered yet. You need more rest," Dortmund said to his younger son. While his son had been asleep for a short while just now, he had examined the features of his little guy carefully. He realized how much he had grown, and felt that this little fatty’s appearance was much pleasing to the eye than his older brothers.
Puberty had done a good job towards this young man. His slightly curled hair hung on his shoulders, with his eyes shining brightly - the same color as his mother's. Even the nose, he had his mother’s nose, just like Princess Mica. The Duke laughed lightly at the thought of his beautiful late wife and no doubt, the young fatty in front of him was indeed his youngest son. He was overwhelmed by emotions and did not know whether it was appropriate to say those caring words because he knew that to the child, he was an extremely irresponsible father.
"Thank you for what you did for me," More than ever, Oscar was awkward; he had never imagined what he would say when he finally met his father. Even though he had been looking forward to it these days, but when the people he had visioned so many times in his memory was finally sitting next to him, he could not think of a single word to say. From his father's expression, he realized that this person was also discreet with his words.
"Oh! Yes!" The Duke nodded. He felt fortunate that his son did not hate him. The commander had never felt so relieved in his whole life.
"Oh yes, my arrangement was to have Celia and Sasha accompany the princess in the carriage in front. Shall we visit Andrew Haila? The people all know that the members of the royal family are here to visit. It is mandatory for you and the princess to show presence to the citizens. "
The duke unconsciously used a questioning tone when he spoke out of habit. "One afternoon should be enough if that is the only itinerary, and then we can go home. Do you remember the old house we have in the suburbs? You can then take a rest there, no one will blame you. Your Mam Celia, Mam Pauline, Mam Freya will visit you! Oh! I almost forgot, and your Brother Racheff, Brother Figg, Brother Cody, and all the other elders in the family, and the younger generations… Anyway, every one of the family members will visit you!"
The prince was pleased. This was the first time his family members would all gather together. "There is no way you could escape from tonight’s family gathering. You are actually a prince now! The single ladies of Narcissus aristocrats are all getting ready to put on their best dresses now! Hahahaha! They have put in great efforts for the ball tonight!"
"What's going on?" The elated father immediately stopped the conversation when he noticed his son was in a low mood.
"Oh no! Nothing, I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, father. Your arrangement is impeccable." Indeed, Oscar could not find any fault to critique at and he was genuinely looking forward to reuniting with his family later.
"You little guy has never allowed me to relax even for once!" Dortmund lovingly patted his youngest boy's head. This was his first time to perform such act of intimacy to his youngest son, and he was secretly proud of himself for doing it rather naturally. "When I heard that you were attacked again, I could not wait to rush to the site of the incident to check on you."
"Haha, thanks for father's concern. And yes, I was attacked again." The young man did not want to be polite with his father. To be honest, he did not know how to communicate with this man, even though he was his father.
"Do you know who did it?" Oscar thought the assassination would be the perfect topic to converse with his father.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no idea who was behind the assassination. The whole incident was like a riddle - no motivation, nor any trace. Maybe, you still might not know that the Kingdom of Italia had chosen to give up the moment they saw the war of flames being burned at the Titan border. They have already opened the border and welcomed the Titan royal investigators to conduct any form of investigation. However, we all know that it was only a diplomatic gesture. The investigation will not produce any result. Even if there were any signs, I suspect those would be the traps deliberately arranged by the assassins anyway."
Oscar looked surprised, "It seems that you have highly estimated the ability of the murderer?"
Dortmund smiled, "Yes, my child. He must be quite clever to have chosen you, but I believe that one day he would regret his decision. Is it right, my child?"
"Do you really know me?" Oscar asked back.
Dortmund thought for a moment. He actually considered the question carefully as it was not something he could give a definite answer on. For a long time, he had known that the child's future was not something he could have a say at. But as a father, it might seem a little silly to admit that he indeed did not understand his own child well.
"Yes, I must admit. I do not know you at all. Forgive me, that I never tried to understand you. This is entirely my fault. After all, we have been separated for ten years, and that mistake between your mother and I…"
"No! Father!" Oscar suddenly interrupted his father. He did not want to talk about his mother but he had to face it, "No, you are just like me. We both do not know much about mother. Although you loved her very much, do you know why mother refused everything from you like the way she did?"
Dortmund shook his head and immediately regretted talking about Mica. The young Oscar's mother was like a thorn in the mind of the marshal - the only guilty conscience he had in his life.
"It was because she did not want to betray her feelings. It was because she did not intend to fall in love with you," Oscar did not plan to share that information with his father, but he still did anyway.
"Oh, I know." Dortmund laughed self-deprecatingly. His smile was very bitter. After many years, the special feelings he had with Mica was completely replaced by regret and guilt. The angelic princess greatly loved by many should not have died so early.
"You do not know!" Oscar once again negated his father, "Do you not understand the underlying message of what I just said?"
Dortmund's eyes lit up.
"Mother's first love was unforgettable. What she really despised was no one else other than herself. What is wrong with that phrase is that if she did not fell in love with you, then she would not have done what she intended, she simply would not even have thought of you. It was because she realized that she had completely fallen in love with you. So, she betrayed her own feelings and repented it all on her own. She warned herself to not love you again! She could not face her change of heart as she thought it was dirty and unacceptable."
"This is not true! Why would she think like that?" Dortmund's face became extremely pale.
"Mother only had herself to blame. She was too self-centered, and she had no courage to face her true self. Eventually, she decided to lock herself up within the small confined space of the imperial family's betrayal; her ostrich-like character was what determined her fate. Father, I believe my mother loved you. Her tender love for me proved her hopes and delights, but the deeper the joy, the stronger her senses of guilt. This was because she had always thought her heart would not have space to contain another man. Yet, your love made her betrayed herself. "
"I would rather believe this is not true!" Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel nervously wriggled his body. Memories with Mica came flooding into his mind, "No! This is absolutely not true!"
Oscar was bold enough to cast a contemptuous glance at his father. "Yes, this is true. Do you not recognize it? You must have felt that at some point. If you really loved my mother, then you would have surely felt the subtle changes in her reactions and demeanor. But you have given up, is that right? Your ignorance and her attitude of letting things perish on their own were what led her to destruction. If only you would…"
"That’s enough!" The duke's loud roar immediately shut Oscar’s mouth. The attendant outside the carriage wanted to ask about the situation but was abruptly rejected by the duke. Time passed in deafening silence. Not long after, they heard the cheers of the citizens of Andrew Haila, but they were so immersed in their dark thoughts that they could not extricate themselves. It appeared that the world outside the window had nothing to do with them.
"Sorry!" Oscar was the first to apologize. Actually, the young man did not feel that he was at fault. He just did not want to make their relationship so tense on their first meeting.
"No! I should be the one to apologize," Dortmund also compromised. He did not think that he would shout at his son. However, now as he recalled his actions, he figured he was not really a good father.
"I should not shout at you, especially not when you have not said anything wrong."
"Do you believe it?" Oscar turned his head to the side. The image of his strict father had firmly sealed in his mind.
"Believe what?"
"That my mother was in love with you."
"Yes! I believe that, but the affirmation came a decade late, isn’t it?" Dortmund said sadly. Indeed, they were in love with each other, but so what? The marshal suddenly thought of another matter, he had never surrendered to the other party’s drilling question in any other conversation. Was this a deliberate move by his youngest son? "How do you know all this? Did you study psychoanalysis?"
Oscar smiled, and he was daring enough to meet his father's gaze. "No, I just mimic mother's psychology."
"Simulation?" Dortmund laughed, relieved. He did not want to continue this conversation anymore. Although the simulation of his youngest son made him die a little inside, he did not really care. He was the leader of the Narcissus Knights and the leader of the Andrew Family. The term "leader" did not allow him to think too much about matters that were not relevant to his responsibilities. Pain and regrets like these, he could slowly torture himself with them after retirement.
"Alright then! Do you want to take a look at it?" The duke pointed towards the world outside the window. "Look at the people of Andrew, which in the future might even be your people."
Oscar chuckled before he turned towards the direction his father was pointing at. The young man did not ignore the hidden meaning behind the words of his father, but he could not be bothered at the moment. Andrew, Narcissus, Knight! The young man kept repeating these few words in his heart as if they were a meditation mantra. Although his immediate situation and status were much envious by the others, he knew that right now, only one thing mattered to him the most – his mother, and this place was where her mother was buried.
***************
Noon, Church's year 791, the 19th day of 7th month.
The highest-ranking-escort team of the Andrew family escorted the two members of the royal family of Morisette Dynasty into Andrew Haila. At 12 o'clock on this special day, the moment the commanding officer, who stood by the side of the city gate, caught a glimpse of the knights in the front row of the welcoming cavalry, two rows of 100 knights sounded the bugle horn simultaneously at his command. Almost immediately, on both sides of the street, the people of Andrew Haila greeted the royal family with an earth-shattering cheer. The whole city fell into a passionate atmosphere that almost resembled a carnival ambiance.
After the painstaking efforts of the Narcissus people over the last four centuries, Andrew Haila had become not only a fortress that was impossible to be seized but also a sacred place in the hearts of Narcissus Knights.
The city walls of Andrew Haila was 32 meters high. One might be wonder how tall that really was? That meant that once the gates were closed, only birds could enter the city. The city was 12 kilometers long from east to west, and 10 kilometers wide from north to south. When the city's tallest wall was completely established, Andrew Haila began a strict planning of its urban construction. Unlike the open cities in other parts of Westland, although the economy and population of Andrew Haila had made great strides during its recovery period, the various buildings in the city were strictly forbidden to go beyond the compound of the city walls.
The population and economic condition of the Westland did not begin to develop vigorously until the mid-sixth century. During this period, many emerging cities were born and attracted a large number of immigrants. As a result, the influx of immigrants led to a never-ending urban construction. The walls of many cities were fundamentally neglected and the new areas constructed had long been extended beyond the city walls. In consideration of defense purposes, all countries spontaneously began to build forts near any strategic places or by the perimeters of major cities, in order to defend against possible enemies.
The Andrew family did not apply this strategy. The Persian’s reserve force was still as forceful as they were four centuries ago, and they seemed to be naturally born as knights. To be as unprotected as those in the western part of the Westland was a terrible idea. In the name of the God of Light, hopefully, those cities would never be encountered by the Persians.
In respect to this, the Andrew family strictly obeyed the ancient Acropolis construction model. Its urban construction resembled a steel barrow, as the rule of defense was prioritized in the construction of drainage systems, underground roads, water sources and grain reserves. Take Andrew Haila as an example, within the territory of its largest city, three city walls still retained their original state.
City walls were also called defensive walls. Almost all the cities in the Westland had demolished the construction of city walls, as they basically separated the urban areas into different parts which seriously hindered the traffic, and in turn, limited the development of the city to a great extent. It could be said that this was indeed a very backward construction method. However, Andrew Haila was situated in a location different from any other place. It was the front line of resistance, and every city must always be prepared to face the attack of enemies. Andrew Haila was the spirit and soul of the Andrew territory; it has never fallen into the hands of the enemy from the day it was established. Although this was strongly related to the determined resistance of the Narcissus soldiers and its people, the main reason that had it crowned as "Undefeated Fortress" was mostly due to the grace of the indestructible high city walls. Not to mention, the hoarding forts and the trebuchet that was constantly upgraded into bigger and stronger.
Among the three defensive walls in Andrew Haila, one of them had been encountered by the Persians back around 300 years ago. However, never again since then. All the city walls were generally high, and they divided the city into four regular rectangles. Instead of saying Andrew Haila had four defensive walls, perhaps one could also say that Andrew Haila was the generic name of four separated cities.
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette felt the change of atmosphere as he entered the clan territory. There were not many pedestrians on the road, and the city was completely hidden behind the high walls. In places where essential crops were grown, stood fortresses of all sizes, no matter large and small. Andrew had always imposed a stern control over its grown crops using the metric system unit of gram, and this regulation of supply had never changed a single bit over the years.
Upon entering Andrew Haila, the young man began to wonder if he had been brought abroad? Although the people here were absolutely speaking the language of his hometown, their clothing and facial expressions resembled the characters of a drama. The people danced and laughed exaggeratedly, as well as shared other people’s joy and happiness in a carefree manner, which mattered little to their own wellbeing.
This was the people of Andrew, the father told his youngest son. However, he still had not fully understood everything that he was seeing. Everyone filled their winnowing pans with their own products of fruits. Could it be a tribute? It seemed that sincerity and honesty should have its limitation too. The world outside of the window was like a fantasy kingdom, where people exhilarated for the appearance of knights returning from heaven and broom-riding witches. It seemed like they have had nothing else in this world but happiness.
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette had been deeply mesmerized by the sight in front of him. He had learned about the misery of the Narcissus people as seen in countless biographies and epic works. He was told that after the dreadful battle, nine out of ten houses were destroyed, farmlands were abandoned, and people waited in long queues for the relief provided by the Andrew family. An epidemic disease spread uncontrollably, narcissus flowers withered and fell, a million bodies of sacrificed knights were buried underneath the ground. Young boys of fourteen to fifteen years old were forced to put on armor the size larger than their own body, rode on tall warhorses and headed into the brutal battlefield accompanied by their fathers and brothers. Girls were also put into the war chariots of Andrew, as they busied themselves with sewing military uniform in factories by day and polishing weapons by the afternoon. Even at night, they were not granted rest because they were demanded to bring home the unfinished jobs from the factory. Every person engaged in the production sector would be assigned rations, but the ration given was merely enough for only one day. The people suffered a food shortage during the worst situation; bread became a rarity, and it was common to survive only on a bowl of diluted water-based soup in each family!
Had the literature reported a false account? What appeared in front of the young man was one of the world’s most optimistic and toughest group of people. They lived life happily even when they were trapped in a city made of steel and fortified trapped bars. This was totally unreasonable! The young man did not even spot the slightest hint of misery. All he witnessed was an insanely crazy picture of life entangled in honor and dedication.
"The people of Andrew are indeed the happiest people in the world!" Finally, Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel told his youngest son proudly.
"No! If they really become my people in the future, then I do not want them to live this way," Oscar replied to his father in a serious tone.
"Oh? Then what do you want for them?"
"I do not know for now. However, I just know that this is not real happiness, at least behind this kind of happiness was exchanged by great sacrifices."
"So, what can you do for them?"
"I do not know. I just know that if there is something I can do for them, then I must do my best!"
The duke smiled at the answer. He did not continue inquiring his youngest son, but he already knew that the child's heart was filled with grand hopes.
The streets in Andrew Haila were extremely narrow. The Narcissus Knight formation had chosen one of the widest one to stop the cavalry for a short while. Excluding the crowd on both sides of the street, it could still accommodate five horses lined up in parallel.
The design was made entirely out of defense considerations. The strategy was obvious in the design of the architectures around as well. Apart from the Church of Light, all the other buildings were flat-roofed, and they almost all of them maintained at a uniform height. From the distance, square blocks of inequivalent sizes could be seen arranged neatly on the roadside. Each building was a pillbox, but the residences of the aristocratic were extremely extravagant. These grand buildings were comparable to a fortress, set up with roofs that were built for archery battlement purposes and a staircase connected to it. As a result, the city's sky was connected with the top of all these buildings, and the enemies that entered this territory would be attacked from up above the sky and from down beneath the earth. Over here, there was lesser of Dulin's uproar and chaos, and missing Vielonna's romantic atmosphere. However, one thing was for sure - there would never be a shortage of barricades, hiding places for the soldiers, and huge stones that could block the road and defeat the enemy.
Finally, the Narcissus Knights opened the gate to the city walls. Above the walls were flooded with excited and enthusiastic people. They prepared innumerable narcissus, and when the troops of the princess and prince passed by the wide corridor of the city gates, people showered them with countless petals of narcissus flowers that fluttered in the air like snow.
After they passed through the last city wall, the cavalry retreated to both sides, and the troop came to a halt in the middle of the road.
Oscar had a vague impression about this place, he remembered it as the only square of the entire Andrew Haila. The square was a special place of the city. When His Grand Eminence Pope Paul I first arrived in the city, the person closest to the God of Light realized that there was no place in the entire city that he could congregate the public to preach the religious teachings. Hence, the church donated golds to build this square, which was later named after the pope as "Miracle".
Miracle Square covered an area of a mere 10,000 square meters. When the escort team finally dispersed themselves, the people of Andrew Haila could only gather in the far corner of the city walls, sandwiched among each other to get the perfect view.
After the long wait, the honorable guests of Andrew family eventually descended from the carriage. The Duke, Lady Duchess Celia, and the Young Lady were among the familiar faces known by the public, hence their appearance produced a loud but warm cheer among the crowd. The chaotic waves of cheer seemed to have set the scattered petals around the air to a new height.
Alanis was no stranger to this kind of loud welcoming scene. She wore an over-elaborated palace dress, and on her royal blue cape was embroidered the totem of Morisette Royal Family – a Golden Lion. In her hand, she held a cane symbolizing the power of the emperor, which was the only treasure her father had ever given to her. But of course, she would have to return it to the Royal Secretariat when she returned to Dulin.
The prudent Royal Highness Princess followed closely behind the Duke of Andrew. She noticed that the Andrew family was indeed a highly combatant armed force. For instance, the guards that were consisted of only paladins; no one would doubt the ability and strength of the paladins trained by Andrew family.
The Duke boarded the high podium at the north end of the square under the escort of multiple knights. The setting of the high podium was rather confusing - a wide stone wall was inlaid around the circular walkway, and the side of the stone walls and the exterior city walls were connected at 90-degree angle. Following the duke’s footsteps, the princess also boarded the podium. The young prince went after her. The bright girl figured out an intriguing phenomenon after she stood on the podium. The stone walls beside the high podium seemed to have blocked out the chaos of the outside world. In here, the loud cheer that came from the crowd sounded dull and anomalous.
As the call of bugle horn sounded briefly and forcefully, the crowd immediately quiet down like a trained army. The princess and the prince almost thought they had hallucinated the instantaneous peace and calm.
The Duke performed a precise military salute, and all the knights in the square which held different army banners uniformly by hand moved them down to an equivalent angle.
Petals of narcissus quietly fluttered around in the air. At this moment, the entire Andrew Haila seemed to have lost its life.
"Andrew!" The Duke had finally spoken. The princess eventually found out why the square was named "Miracles" when she heard the duke's voice echoed effortlessly in all directions at the same time. The young girl suddenly remembered the passage she had read before in the ancient books which talked about the whispering gallery.
"In all honor, Andrew would like to welcome our most distinguished guest, Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis Alfa Morisette, the third daughter of His Great Majesty the Emperor of Titan Alpha III! The people of Andrew and the army of Andrew, I hope with your most sincere heart and warmest cheers, we could express our greatest admiration to the princess!"
The moment the duke’s voice faded, the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause and loud cheers.
Alanis presented herself at the duke’s motion, and the crowd was quiet once again. The princess was somewhat amazed at the discipline of the Narcissus people, it could not be compared to those ordinary citizens of Dulin!
"Ah ... I ..." the princess stuttered. She suddenly became a little stunned as she had never done a speech like this before, especially not in front of such a large crowd.
"I ... I sincerely thank His Excellency the Duke of the Andrew family, the Narcissus Knights of the Andrew family, and the person of Narcissus for your... uh ... affectionate to me! On behalf of my father Alfa III the Majestic Emperor of Titan, I would like to convey his regards to his people. All of you have not failed to live up to the glory of God. You have proved yourself to be... the loving sons of God! You are all Titan’s most noble, and most loyal warrior!"
Even though the crowd cheered empathetically for her successful speech, the cheeks of Her Royal Highness Princess were already reddened with embarrassment. She felt that her stuttering speech had embarrassed the face of the royal family. Duke Andrew was all to blame for this! Why had no one told her that she would be asked to give a speech!
Dortmund smiled encouragingly at the princess. In fact, this was just an official form of the ceremony, the people of Andrew did not like meaningless speeches anyway.
"I believe we all have been waiting and discussing this moment for a long time. The young man, the one who was sent to prison for the sake of preserving the dignity of Andrew and the purity of Narcissus has finally returned!"
The princess was a little jealous of the young prince. The crowd below him were crazy over him. Was he really that popular among the people?
Oscar stood up to the podium and waited for a long time to begin speaking, but the people of Narcissus did not seem like they intended to stop cheering for him. These people tossed flowers toward the podium, and some even raised aloft banners that were written with a variety of affectionate words. The scene had made the young man grin from ear to ear.
Without a choice, the bugler sounded the horn once again, and the crowd eventually quieted down after three calls.
The young prince took two steps forward until he came to the edge of the high platform. From where he stood, it seemed like the whole world was looking at him. He suddenly accustomed himself to admire this feeling of adoration by millions of people.
"Tell me! Who am I?" The prince spoke softly, but the Narcissus crowd responded loudly by calling the boy's name.
"Louder!" shouted the prince!
"O’Neil Andrew Morisette!"
"And louder!" cried the young man with his deep hoarse voice!
"O’Neil Andrew Morisette!" Finally, countless voices gathered into one, and the entire Andrew Haila was filled with this name!
"Thank you!" The prince retreated back. What a strange way to end a speech!
People looked at each other and wondered what this meant? But some people had come to understand it. He was O’Neil Andrew Morisette! As someone from Narcissus who was surnamed Andrew, even though he was greatly hurt by his tormented past, but as long as the people of Narcissus still remembered his name in their minds, all of the sacrifices were worth it. Just like any other children of Andrew, he lived up his name to dignity and glory!
He could hear some clapping for him, but there was only one! However, soon that one sound became louder and louder. Later, whistles and cheers poured in like a thunderstorm. The people of Narcissus had gone crazy for him! They used all their strength to shout out the name of the young man!
"Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!"
Kamille Rayen signaled a few knights next to him, and they rushed to the high podium. Together, they raised the fat young man high up in the air, and walked into the crowd!
The knight's move shocked the young fat man! But he soon adapted to it! The people of Narcissus flocked forward and eagerly raised their arms. Everyone chanted his name as if it was a mantra, and they all wanted to touch this little Narcissus hero!
The knights moved forward in the crowd with great difficulty, as numerous hands extended toward the elated boy, obstructing the knights' vision. Yes! Oscar had never been happier! Smiles bloomed across his delighted face like beautiful narcissus flowers.
"Welcome back! Your Royal Highness Prince!"
"Long live the prince!"
"You are a hero, my royal highness!"
"Thank you!" "Thank you!" "Thank you all!" The teenager responded to everybody who blessed him and tried his best to tightly clench each pair of hands that attempted to touch his.
It was nice to be back home! In the sea of people, O’Neil Andrew Morisette thought to himself.
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Andrew, Narcissus, and the knights! Did these three elements become a perfect combination because of history? Or was it just a natural occurrence? No historian or philosopher could answer this question. When His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette first stepped foot onto his homeland after a duration of ten years, the still-ignorant young man found out the answers to all his doubts in an ordinary woman who was doing her laundry by the river.
River Marne - the mother river of Andrew, which irrigated the land of Andrew. She prolonged the flowering season of narcissus, relieved thirst for countless battle horses, and washed off the knight's blood-stained armor and uniform with her pure innocence. Narcissus County was divided into two by the great river; the half of it, nearer the Empire, was the rear of Andrew’s land, while the other half nearer to the border was Andrew’s battlefield.
The young man still had some vague memory of the Marne River, though only a small fragment of it. He remembered himself catching shrimp by the river. However, at this moment, it was not the young man’s childhood memories that had him mesmerized. Instead, it was a woman who was doing her laundry by the river and under the sun.
This was a typical Narcissus woman - she wore an embroidered shirt on the top with a long sarong covering the lower half of her body. She also had a thin colorful scarf wrapped around her head. The woman had a wide back and a broad waist as she stood up tall. She rolled her long sarong up to the knees, which revealed a little of the short pants she wore underneath.
The woman stood in the water like a pelican and beside her sat a bucket of dirty laundry. The bubble of saponins drifted down the river, forming a shallow layer between her legs. The woman recognized the Raytheon at first glance when Oscar came closer and leaped across the pontoon bridge. This huge, almost-magical stallion horse had always been the theme of Narcissus's murals, and its image had been deeply implanted into the hearts of people since four centuries ago.
The woman stood upright and saluted the unknown hero. It was only until then did Oscar managed to see that the woman had been cleaning a shield. Underneath the black shield, several blooming narcissus were engraved from top to bottom. The shield was washed so thoroughly to the point that the scabbard marks was as visually clear as narcissus. Even examining it from a few distance away, Oscar noticed that this shield had a different style from the ones his men were currently using. The layer of wrought iron skin on it could already explain the doubt.
It intrigued the man’s interest, "Does it belong to your son? Or your husband?"
The woman laughed naturally. She guessed this peculiar young man knew a thing or two about the Narcissus Knights, "My Lord, the shield belongs to my husband, and it also belongs to my son and the son of my son."
Oscar nodded with understanding. The Narcissus Knights had an unsaid tradition to pass their weapons onto the future generations. He looked at the kind-hearted woman for one last time and realized her wide palms were scarred with years and years of labor, and countless knife-marks.
She gently wiped her shield with her sarong. As the sun illuminated her eyes and shone brightly on the shining shield, she proudly carried it behind her back, before moving on to wash another piece of stained clothing.
A sudden thought appeared in Oscar’s mind - this woman symbolized Narcissus! She was industrious, optimistic, beautiful, had a sense of perseverance towards honor and tradition, unyielding praise for sacrifices - this represented Narcissus! The young man was delighted at his serendipitous encounter.
Suddenly, the woman put down the damped clothes in her hand and looked somewhat confused towards the other side of the river. A massive cavalry was crossing the pontoon bridge with their vanguard leading the way. In the forefront of the formation, a commanding officer held aloft the emblem and battle flag of the Andrew family. Oscar noticed that the woman wiped her hands on the sarong in panic, waded through the river and climbed up onto the pontoon bridge. When the cavalry troop was by her side, she respectfully bent down from her waist. Only after the last rider of the troop passed, the woman straightened her chest again; along the way, the young man had witnessed for countless times, the courtesy of the Narcissus people had toward the troops.
This was the spirit of Andrew! The warriors who were handpicked by God! The people’s respect and admiration for the family did not stop at the deep bow. Instead, those feelings ran deeply through their blood, like the Narcissus shield engraved with the temperament and memory of loyal souls.
"Your Highness!" Major General Murat Bedoya of Narcissus Knights' Hosley Front Army under the Red Tiger Division charged angrily towards the young prince. The words of the major general gushed out of his mouth like a rapid waterfall!
"Your Royal Highness! Although we have arrived at the territory of Narcissus, could you please be more considerate of us soldiers! Your safety does not only concern you but it matters to all of us, officers and soldiers of the Red Tiger division! Also, how long do you intend to keep our division's battle flag? Hey! Don’t you go away..."
Oscar smiled happily. This was the knight of Narcissus!
Perhaps it was the God of Light's arrangement; while O’Neil Andrew Morisette inspected the troops, he snatched the Red Army division's battle flag from Murat which was positioned nearest to him. From that moment onwards, the fate of the Red Tiger and Murat Bedoya had intertwined with the young man.
***************
Morning in Titan, on Church’s year 791, the 19th day of 7th month.
Less than 40 kilometers away from Andrew Haila, there was a small town called Canbury. Outside the small town, and on the side of the road stood a huge monument. Engraved on it was the writings that informed visitors that they had entered the garrison area of Andrew Haila.
It had been a long time since the base camp of the direct legion and the Narcissus Knights of Andrew Haila's Front Army had a full assembly. Their supreme commander issued an order with one sole task - to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess who was visiting from the distant Empire capital with their highest spirits. Moreover, not to forget the little hero of the Andrew family, His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil who had sacrificed ten years of his youth in exchange for honor and dignity.
Standing at the forefront of the crowded cavalry, Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel restlessly rode on his warhorse. He had no idea how many laps he had taken, and it seemed that his actions were absolutely incomprehensible to the officers who stood by his side. The marshal that they were familiar with had never been this fidgety. However, it was still understandable. After all, the marshal was no different from any ordinary father.
A long, dull sound of bugle horn came from afar. Dortmund had finally calmed himself down, as he put on a bright smile on his face to receive his dear son, in which he had not met in a long time. The officers were all taken aback by his unusual gentle expression - this was definitely a side of the marshal which they had never seen before.
The Duke spent a lot of time and effort in trying to organize a grand welcoming ceremony for his honorable guests. The location he chose was a meadow outside the town of Canbury, focused on the traditional etiquette of the members of the Titan royal family. He was not worried about his youngest son, as their reunion should only be a casual one that was between family. However, he had a severe headache in preparing his welcome for the princess. According to his news source, the young princess had lost all her servant girls and luggage on the way to Narcissus. He thought that the current convoy of the royal family was undoubtedly useless! But at the same time, the Duke doubted if the attendants and the various services he had prepared for Her Royal Highness would be satisfactory.
Finally, both parties met after the long wait. There were no touching scenes, nor a long-lasting cheer. The princess came down from the carriage casually while the prince jumped off the horse. The Duke stepped forward and hugged his son. It was as if the both of them wanted to say something during this process, though however, they chose to remain silent. Oscar detected a vague tobacco smell on his father, but before he even had time to look clearly at the unfamiliar man that was supposed to be his father, he was pulled into his strong embrace.
The young man did not know what was going on, but his eyes never left his father. He saw him kissed Mam Celia, and then Sasha E, and finally, he saw his father performed the impeccable royal courtesy, following every step, to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis.
"Oh ... I'm sorry!" The young man opened his eyes and he discerned for a moment until he regained his consciousness fully to realize that the middle-aged man standing beside him was his father. "Sorry! Father! I do not know why I feel so drowsy!"
"No, it does not matter! There is no not need to apologize. I do smell the scent of medicine and I know your injuries have not fully recovered yet. You need more rest," Dortmund said to his younger son. While his son had been asleep for a short while just now, he had examined the features of his little guy carefully. He realized how much he had grown, and felt that this little fatty’s appearance was much pleasing to the eye than his older brothers.
Puberty had done a good job towards this young man. His slightly curled hair hung on his shoulders, with his eyes shining brightly - the same color as his mother's. Even the nose, he had his mother’s nose, just like Princess Mica. The Duke laughed lightly at the thought of his beautiful late wife and no doubt, the young fatty in front of him was indeed his youngest son. He was overwhelmed by emotions and did not know whether it was appropriate to say those caring words because he knew that to the child, he was an extremely irresponsible father.
"Thank you for what you did for me," More than ever, Oscar was awkward; he had never imagined what he would say when he finally met his father. Even though he had been looking forward to it these days, but when the people he had visioned so many times in his memory was finally sitting next to him, he could not think of a single word to say. From his father's expression, he realized that this person was also discreet with his words.
"Oh! Yes!" The Duke nodded. He felt fortunate that his son did not hate him. The commander had never felt so relieved in his whole life.
"Oh yes, my arrangement was to have Celia and Sasha accompany the princess in the carriage in front. Shall we visit Andrew Haila? The people all know that the members of the royal family are here to visit. It is mandatory for you and the princess to show presence to the citizens. "
The duke unconsciously used a questioning tone when he spoke out of habit. "One afternoon should be enough if that is the only itinerary, and then we can go home. Do you remember the old house we have in the suburbs? You can then take a rest there, no one will blame you. Your Mam Celia, Mam Pauline, Mam Freya will visit you! Oh! I almost forgot, and your Brother Racheff, Brother Figg, Brother Cody, and all the other elders in the family, and the younger generations… Anyway, every one of the family members will visit you!"
The prince was pleased. This was the first time his family members would all gather together. "There is no way you could escape from tonight’s family gathering. You are actually a prince now! The single ladies of Narcissus aristocrats are all getting ready to put on their best dresses now! Hahahaha! They have put in great efforts for the ball tonight!"
"What's going on?" The elated father immediately stopped the conversation when he noticed his son was in a low mood.
"Oh no! Nothing, I'm looking forward to it. Thank you, father. Your arrangement is impeccable." Indeed, Oscar could not find any fault to critique at and he was genuinely looking forward to reuniting with his family later.
"You little guy has never allowed me to relax even for once!" Dortmund lovingly patted his youngest boy's head. This was his first time to perform such act of intimacy to his youngest son, and he was secretly proud of himself for doing it rather naturally. "When I heard that you were attacked again, I could not wait to rush to the site of the incident to check on you."
"Haha, thanks for father's concern. And yes, I was attacked again." The young man did not want to be polite with his father. To be honest, he did not know how to communicate with this man, even though he was his father.
"Do you know who did it?" Oscar thought the assassination would be the perfect topic to converse with his father.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no idea who was behind the assassination. The whole incident was like a riddle - no motivation, nor any trace. Maybe, you still might not know that the Kingdom of Italia had chosen to give up the moment they saw the war of flames being burned at the Titan border. They have already opened the border and welcomed the Titan royal investigators to conduct any form of investigation. However, we all know that it was only a diplomatic gesture. The investigation will not produce any result. Even if there were any signs, I suspect those would be the traps deliberately arranged by the assassins anyway."
Oscar looked surprised, "It seems that you have highly estimated the ability of the murderer?"
Dortmund smiled, "Yes, my child. He must be quite clever to have chosen you, but I believe that one day he would regret his decision. Is it right, my child?"
"Do you really know me?" Oscar asked back.
Dortmund thought for a moment. He actually considered the question carefully as it was not something he could give a definite answer on. For a long time, he had known that the child's future was not something he could have a say at. But as a father, it might seem a little silly to admit that he indeed did not understand his own child well.
"Yes, I must admit. I do not know you at all. Forgive me, that I never tried to understand you. This is entirely my fault. After all, we have been separated for ten years, and that mistake between your mother and I…"
"No! Father!" Oscar suddenly interrupted his father. He did not want to talk about his mother but he had to face it, "No, you are just like me. We both do not know much about mother. Although you loved her very much, do you know why mother refused everything from you like the way she did?"
Dortmund shook his head and immediately regretted talking about Mica. The young Oscar's mother was like a thorn in the mind of the marshal - the only guilty conscience he had in his life.
"It was because she did not want to betray her feelings. It was because she did not intend to fall in love with you," Oscar did not plan to share that information with his father, but he still did anyway.
"Oh, I know." Dortmund laughed self-deprecatingly. His smile was very bitter. After many years, the special feelings he had with Mica was completely replaced by regret and guilt. The angelic princess greatly loved by many should not have died so early.
"You do not know!" Oscar once again negated his father, "Do you not understand the underlying message of what I just said?"
Dortmund's eyes lit up.
"Mother's first love was unforgettable. What she really despised was no one else other than herself. What is wrong with that phrase is that if she did not fell in love with you, then she would not have done what she intended, she simply would not even have thought of you. It was because she realized that she had completely fallen in love with you. So, she betrayed her own feelings and repented it all on her own. She warned herself to not love you again! She could not face her change of heart as she thought it was dirty and unacceptable."
"This is not true! Why would she think like that?" Dortmund's face became extremely pale.
"Mother only had herself to blame. She was too self-centered, and she had no courage to face her true self. Eventually, she decided to lock herself up within the small confined space of the imperial family's betrayal; her ostrich-like character was what determined her fate. Father, I believe my mother loved you. Her tender love for me proved her hopes and delights, but the deeper the joy, the stronger her senses of guilt. This was because she had always thought her heart would not have space to contain another man. Yet, your love made her betrayed herself. "
"I would rather believe this is not true!" Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel nervously wriggled his body. Memories with Mica came flooding into his mind, "No! This is absolutely not true!"
Oscar was bold enough to cast a contemptuous glance at his father. "Yes, this is true. Do you not recognize it? You must have felt that at some point. If you really loved my mother, then you would have surely felt the subtle changes in her reactions and demeanor. But you have given up, is that right? Your ignorance and her attitude of letting things perish on their own were what led her to destruction. If only you would…"
"That’s enough!" The duke's loud roar immediately shut Oscar’s mouth. The attendant outside the carriage wanted to ask about the situation but was abruptly rejected by the duke. Time passed in deafening silence. Not long after, they heard the cheers of the citizens of Andrew Haila, but they were so immersed in their dark thoughts that they could not extricate themselves. It appeared that the world outside the window had nothing to do with them.
"Sorry!" Oscar was the first to apologize. Actually, the young man did not feel that he was at fault. He just did not want to make their relationship so tense on their first meeting.
"No! I should be the one to apologize," Dortmund also compromised. He did not think that he would shout at his son. However, now as he recalled his actions, he figured he was not really a good father.
"I should not shout at you, especially not when you have not said anything wrong."
"Do you believe it?" Oscar turned his head to the side. The image of his strict father had firmly sealed in his mind.
"Believe what?"
"That my mother was in love with you."
"Yes! I believe that, but the affirmation came a decade late, isn’t it?" Dortmund said sadly. Indeed, they were in love with each other, but so what? The marshal suddenly thought of another matter, he had never surrendered to the other party’s drilling question in any other conversation. Was this a deliberate move by his youngest son? "How do you know all this? Did you study psychoanalysis?"
Oscar smiled, and he was daring enough to meet his father's gaze. "No, I just mimic mother's psychology."
"Simulation?" Dortmund laughed, relieved. He did not want to continue this conversation anymore. Although the simulation of his youngest son made him die a little inside, he did not really care. He was the leader of the Narcissus Knights and the leader of the Andrew Family. The term "leader" did not allow him to think too much about matters that were not relevant to his responsibilities. Pain and regrets like these, he could slowly torture himself with them after retirement.
"Alright then! Do you want to take a look at it?" The duke pointed towards the world outside the window. "Look at the people of Andrew, which in the future might even be your people."
Oscar chuckled before he turned towards the direction his father was pointing at. The young man did not ignore the hidden meaning behind the words of his father, but he could not be bothered at the moment. Andrew, Narcissus, Knight! The young man kept repeating these few words in his heart as if they were a meditation mantra. Although his immediate situation and status were much envious by the others, he knew that right now, only one thing mattered to him the most – his mother, and this place was where her mother was buried.
***************
Noon, Church's year 791, the 19th day of 7th month.
The highest-ranking-escort team of the Andrew family escorted the two members of the royal family of Morisette Dynasty into Andrew Haila. At 12 o'clock on this special day, the moment the commanding officer, who stood by the side of the city gate, caught a glimpse of the knights in the front row of the welcoming cavalry, two rows of 100 knights sounded the bugle horn simultaneously at his command. Almost immediately, on both sides of the street, the people of Andrew Haila greeted the royal family with an earth-shattering cheer. The whole city fell into a passionate atmosphere that almost resembled a carnival ambiance.
After the painstaking efforts of the Narcissus people over the last four centuries, Andrew Haila had become not only a fortress that was impossible to be seized but also a sacred place in the hearts of Narcissus Knights.
The city walls of Andrew Haila was 32 meters high. One might be wonder how tall that really was? That meant that once the gates were closed, only birds could enter the city. The city was 12 kilometers long from east to west, and 10 kilometers wide from north to south. When the city's tallest wall was completely established, Andrew Haila began a strict planning of its urban construction. Unlike the open cities in other parts of Westland, although the economy and population of Andrew Haila had made great strides during its recovery period, the various buildings in the city were strictly forbidden to go beyond the compound of the city walls.
The population and economic condition of the Westland did not begin to develop vigorously until the mid-sixth century. During this period, many emerging cities were born and attracted a large number of immigrants. As a result, the influx of immigrants led to a never-ending urban construction. The walls of many cities were fundamentally neglected and the new areas constructed had long been extended beyond the city walls. In consideration of defense purposes, all countries spontaneously began to build forts near any strategic places or by the perimeters of major cities, in order to defend against possible enemies.
The Andrew family did not apply this strategy. The Persian’s reserve force was still as forceful as they were four centuries ago, and they seemed to be naturally born as knights. To be as unprotected as those in the western part of the Westland was a terrible idea. In the name of the God of Light, hopefully, those cities would never be encountered by the Persians.
In respect to this, the Andrew family strictly obeyed the ancient Acropolis construction model. Its urban construction resembled a steel barrow, as the rule of defense was prioritized in the construction of drainage systems, underground roads, water sources and grain reserves. Take Andrew Haila as an example, within the territory of its largest city, three city walls still retained their original state.
City walls were also called defensive walls. Almost all the cities in the Westland had demolished the construction of city walls, as they basically separated the urban areas into different parts which seriously hindered the traffic, and in turn, limited the development of the city to a great extent. It could be said that this was indeed a very backward construction method. However, Andrew Haila was situated in a location different from any other place. It was the front line of resistance, and every city must always be prepared to face the attack of enemies. Andrew Haila was the spirit and soul of the Andrew territory; it has never fallen into the hands of the enemy from the day it was established. Although this was strongly related to the determined resistance of the Narcissus soldiers and its people, the main reason that had it crowned as "Undefeated Fortress" was mostly due to the grace of the indestructible high city walls. Not to mention, the hoarding forts and the trebuchet that was constantly upgraded into bigger and stronger.
Among the three defensive walls in Andrew Haila, one of them had been encountered by the Persians back around 300 years ago. However, never again since then. All the city walls were generally high, and they divided the city into four regular rectangles. Instead of saying Andrew Haila had four defensive walls, perhaps one could also say that Andrew Haila was the generic name of four separated cities.
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette felt the change of atmosphere as he entered the clan territory. There were not many pedestrians on the road, and the city was completely hidden behind the high walls. In places where essential crops were grown, stood fortresses of all sizes, no matter large and small. Andrew had always imposed a stern control over its grown crops using the metric system unit of gram, and this regulation of supply had never changed a single bit over the years.
Upon entering Andrew Haila, the young man began to wonder if he had been brought abroad? Although the people here were absolutely speaking the language of his hometown, their clothing and facial expressions resembled the characters of a drama. The people danced and laughed exaggeratedly, as well as shared other people’s joy and happiness in a carefree manner, which mattered little to their own wellbeing.
This was the people of Andrew, the father told his youngest son. However, he still had not fully understood everything that he was seeing. Everyone filled their winnowing pans with their own products of fruits. Could it be a tribute? It seemed that sincerity and honesty should have its limitation too. The world outside of the window was like a fantasy kingdom, where people exhilarated for the appearance of knights returning from heaven and broom-riding witches. It seemed like they have had nothing else in this world but happiness.
His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette had been deeply mesmerized by the sight in front of him. He had learned about the misery of the Narcissus people as seen in countless biographies and epic works. He was told that after the dreadful battle, nine out of ten houses were destroyed, farmlands were abandoned, and people waited in long queues for the relief provided by the Andrew family. An epidemic disease spread uncontrollably, narcissus flowers withered and fell, a million bodies of sacrificed knights were buried underneath the ground. Young boys of fourteen to fifteen years old were forced to put on armor the size larger than their own body, rode on tall warhorses and headed into the brutal battlefield accompanied by their fathers and brothers. Girls were also put into the war chariots of Andrew, as they busied themselves with sewing military uniform in factories by day and polishing weapons by the afternoon. Even at night, they were not granted rest because they were demanded to bring home the unfinished jobs from the factory. Every person engaged in the production sector would be assigned rations, but the ration given was merely enough for only one day. The people suffered a food shortage during the worst situation; bread became a rarity, and it was common to survive only on a bowl of diluted water-based soup in each family!
Had the literature reported a false account? What appeared in front of the young man was one of the world’s most optimistic and toughest group of people. They lived life happily even when they were trapped in a city made of steel and fortified trapped bars. This was totally unreasonable! The young man did not even spot the slightest hint of misery. All he witnessed was an insanely crazy picture of life entangled in honor and dedication.
"The people of Andrew are indeed the happiest people in the world!" Finally, Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel told his youngest son proudly.
"No! If they really become my people in the future, then I do not want them to live this way," Oscar replied to his father in a serious tone.
"Oh? Then what do you want for them?"
"I do not know for now. However, I just know that this is not real happiness, at least behind this kind of happiness was exchanged by great sacrifices."
"So, what can you do for them?"
"I do not know. I just know that if there is something I can do for them, then I must do my best!"
The duke smiled at the answer. He did not continue inquiring his youngest son, but he already knew that the child's heart was filled with grand hopes.
The streets in Andrew Haila were extremely narrow. The Narcissus Knight formation had chosen one of the widest one to stop the cavalry for a short while. Excluding the crowd on both sides of the street, it could still accommodate five horses lined up in parallel.
The design was made entirely out of defense considerations. The strategy was obvious in the design of the architectures around as well. Apart from the Church of Light, all the other buildings were flat-roofed, and they almost all of them maintained at a uniform height. From the distance, square blocks of inequivalent sizes could be seen arranged neatly on the roadside. Each building was a pillbox, but the residences of the aristocratic were extremely extravagant. These grand buildings were comparable to a fortress, set up with roofs that were built for archery battlement purposes and a staircase connected to it. As a result, the city's sky was connected with the top of all these buildings, and the enemies that entered this territory would be attacked from up above the sky and from down beneath the earth. Over here, there was lesser of Dulin's uproar and chaos, and missing Vielonna's romantic atmosphere. However, one thing was for sure - there would never be a shortage of barricades, hiding places for the soldiers, and huge stones that could block the road and defeat the enemy.
Finally, the Narcissus Knights opened the gate to the city walls. Above the walls were flooded with excited and enthusiastic people. They prepared innumerable narcissus, and when the troops of the princess and prince passed by the wide corridor of the city gates, people showered them with countless petals of narcissus flowers that fluttered in the air like snow.
After they passed through the last city wall, the cavalry retreated to both sides, and the troop came to a halt in the middle of the road.
Oscar had a vague impression about this place, he remembered it as the only square of the entire Andrew Haila. The square was a special place of the city. When His Grand Eminence Pope Paul I first arrived in the city, the person closest to the God of Light realized that there was no place in the entire city that he could congregate the public to preach the religious teachings. Hence, the church donated golds to build this square, which was later named after the pope as "Miracle".
Miracle Square covered an area of a mere 10,000 square meters. When the escort team finally dispersed themselves, the people of Andrew Haila could only gather in the far corner of the city walls, sandwiched among each other to get the perfect view.
After the long wait, the honorable guests of Andrew family eventually descended from the carriage. The Duke, Lady Duchess Celia, and the Young Lady were among the familiar faces known by the public, hence their appearance produced a loud but warm cheer among the crowd. The chaotic waves of cheer seemed to have set the scattered petals around the air to a new height.
Alanis was no stranger to this kind of loud welcoming scene. She wore an over-elaborated palace dress, and on her royal blue cape was embroidered the totem of Morisette Royal Family – a Golden Lion. In her hand, she held a cane symbolizing the power of the emperor, which was the only treasure her father had ever given to her. But of course, she would have to return it to the Royal Secretariat when she returned to Dulin.
The prudent Royal Highness Princess followed closely behind the Duke of Andrew. She noticed that the Andrew family was indeed a highly combatant armed force. For instance, the guards that were consisted of only paladins; no one would doubt the ability and strength of the paladins trained by Andrew family.
The Duke boarded the high podium at the north end of the square under the escort of multiple knights. The setting of the high podium was rather confusing - a wide stone wall was inlaid around the circular walkway, and the side of the stone walls and the exterior city walls were connected at 90-degree angle. Following the duke’s footsteps, the princess also boarded the podium. The young prince went after her. The bright girl figured out an intriguing phenomenon after she stood on the podium. The stone walls beside the high podium seemed to have blocked out the chaos of the outside world. In here, the loud cheer that came from the crowd sounded dull and anomalous.
As the call of bugle horn sounded briefly and forcefully, the crowd immediately quiet down like a trained army. The princess and the prince almost thought they had hallucinated the instantaneous peace and calm.
The Duke performed a precise military salute, and all the knights in the square which held different army banners uniformly by hand moved them down to an equivalent angle.
Petals of narcissus quietly fluttered around in the air. At this moment, the entire Andrew Haila seemed to have lost its life.
"Andrew!" The Duke had finally spoken. The princess eventually found out why the square was named "Miracles" when she heard the duke's voice echoed effortlessly in all directions at the same time. The young girl suddenly remembered the passage she had read before in the ancient books which talked about the whispering gallery.
"In all honor, Andrew would like to welcome our most distinguished guest, Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis Alfa Morisette, the third daughter of His Great Majesty the Emperor of Titan Alpha III! The people of Andrew and the army of Andrew, I hope with your most sincere heart and warmest cheers, we could express our greatest admiration to the princess!"
The moment the duke’s voice faded, the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause and loud cheers.
Alanis presented herself at the duke’s motion, and the crowd was quiet once again. The princess was somewhat amazed at the discipline of the Narcissus people, it could not be compared to those ordinary citizens of Dulin!
"Ah ... I ..." the princess stuttered. She suddenly became a little stunned as she had never done a speech like this before, especially not in front of such a large crowd.
"I ... I sincerely thank His Excellency the Duke of the Andrew family, the Narcissus Knights of the Andrew family, and the person of Narcissus for your... uh ... affectionate to me! On behalf of my father Alfa III the Majestic Emperor of Titan, I would like to convey his regards to his people. All of you have not failed to live up to the glory of God. You have proved yourself to be... the loving sons of God! You are all Titan’s most noble, and most loyal warrior!"
Even though the crowd cheered empathetically for her successful speech, the cheeks of Her Royal Highness Princess were already reddened with embarrassment. She felt that her stuttering speech had embarrassed the face of the royal family. Duke Andrew was all to blame for this! Why had no one told her that she would be asked to give a speech!
Dortmund smiled encouragingly at the princess. In fact, this was just an official form of the ceremony, the people of Andrew did not like meaningless speeches anyway.
"I believe we all have been waiting and discussing this moment for a long time. The young man, the one who was sent to prison for the sake of preserving the dignity of Andrew and the purity of Narcissus has finally returned!"
The princess was a little jealous of the young prince. The crowd below him were crazy over him. Was he really that popular among the people?
Oscar stood up to the podium and waited for a long time to begin speaking, but the people of Narcissus did not seem like they intended to stop cheering for him. These people tossed flowers toward the podium, and some even raised aloft banners that were written with a variety of affectionate words. The scene had made the young man grin from ear to ear.
Without a choice, the bugler sounded the horn once again, and the crowd eventually quieted down after three calls.
The young prince took two steps forward until he came to the edge of the high platform. From where he stood, it seemed like the whole world was looking at him. He suddenly accustomed himself to admire this feeling of adoration by millions of people.
"Tell me! Who am I?" The prince spoke softly, but the Narcissus crowd responded loudly by calling the boy's name.
"Louder!" shouted the prince!
"O’Neil Andrew Morisette!"
"And louder!" cried the young man with his deep hoarse voice!
"O’Neil Andrew Morisette!" Finally, countless voices gathered into one, and the entire Andrew Haila was filled with this name!
"Thank you!" The prince retreated back. What a strange way to end a speech!
People looked at each other and wondered what this meant? But some people had come to understand it. He was O’Neil Andrew Morisette! As someone from Narcissus who was surnamed Andrew, even though he was greatly hurt by his tormented past, but as long as the people of Narcissus still remembered his name in their minds, all of the sacrifices were worth it. Just like any other children of Andrew, he lived up his name to dignity and glory!
He could hear some clapping for him, but there was only one! However, soon that one sound became louder and louder. Later, whistles and cheers poured in like a thunderstorm. The people of Narcissus had gone crazy for him! They used all their strength to shout out the name of the young man!
"Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!" "Oscar!"
Kamille Rayen signaled a few knights next to him, and they rushed to the high podium. Together, they raised the fat young man high up in the air, and walked into the crowd!
The knight's move shocked the young fat man! But he soon adapted to it! The people of Narcissus flocked forward and eagerly raised their arms. Everyone chanted his name as if it was a mantra, and they all wanted to touch this little Narcissus hero!
The knights moved forward in the crowd with great difficulty, as numerous hands extended toward the elated boy, obstructing the knights' vision. Yes! Oscar had never been happier! Smiles bloomed across his delighted face like beautiful narcissus flowers.
"Welcome back! Your Royal Highness Prince!"
"Long live the prince!"
"You are a hero, my royal highness!"
"Thank you!" "Thank you!" "Thank you all!" The teenager responded to everybody who blessed him and tried his best to tightly clench each pair of hands that attempted to touch his.
It was nice to be back home! In the sea of people, O’Neil Andrew Morisette thought to himself.
