Chapter 3 – Story 98: Long-Cherished Wish
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Rain was coming down on the Plains of Caliraya. Romania had scored a great, indisputable victory where they had claimed not only the head of the former marshal Darius, their sworn enemy, but also that of King Warius, the supreme commander.
Fearing the losses and chaos if they were to pursue the weakened Holmean army through unfamiliar land, King Doldea had quickly called off the chase and made his soldiers set up camp in the plains. Thanks to that, the Romanian troops were spared getting wet from the rain that had started in the evening.
In addition, King Doldea distributed the meat, which they had obtained from butchering the many pigs and fowls they had plundered, to the soldiers and lifted the ban on drinking alcohol as recognition of the great achievement the soldiers had obtained.
The whole army, except for a few lookouts, praised King Doldea for this call. And just as the Romanian camp was filled with such a festive mood, Piarta was looking for Daraios.
Her intention was to obey Darius’ final words. Right before killing himself, Darius had told Piarta to visit someone called Brautus at the village Play in his territory. If Darius had spoken the truth, he had stored away something that would help Piarta in defeating the Divine Son of Destruction over there.
Piarta wanted to obtain that something at any cost, but she couldn’t afford to postpone it too much either. Many people in Romania’s army hated Darius. Furthermore, a lot more people would find pleasure in devastating Darius’s territory while using that hate as pretext. If such people managed to burn down Darius’s inheritance, it’d all come to nothing.
Piarta had to quickly travel to the village of Play. And for that reason, she had gone to Daraios’s tent in order to receive permission for leaving the army temporarily, but Daraios hadn’t been there.
According to the lower soldier he had entrusted with watching the tent, Daraios had just recently left after saying that he’d be absent for a while.
Now then, where did Marshal Daraois head off to?
Piarta went around, visiting several places he might have frequented, but she couldn’t find him at any of those. At this point she already had no clue where else to look and was at a loss how to proceed, but then a certain tent suddenly caught her attention.
For some reason, this tent alone was surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere, despite it being relatively close to the center of the Romanian camp and thus being surrounded by a merry mood.
But, it was no wonder. It was the tent where the heads of Darius and King Warius were kept. Their heads had been preserved by putting them into jars and adding salt for the sake of showing it to the people of the capital Holmenia who would be defending the city.
Why are there no guards at a tent with such important items?
Once Piarta entered the tent while betting on the odd possibility, she found Daraios sitting inside with his back turned to her.
“I thought I told you to stay away from this place for a while.”
Noticing someone entering the tent, Daraios complained in a bad mood without looking back.
“It’s me, Your Excellency.”
As soon as Piarta spoke up, Daraios turned around while looking somewhat surprised.
“Oh, Your Highness? Excuse my rude behavior.”
His face was flushed from the alcohol he had drunk. Looking closer, several big wine jars were placed in front of Daraios and he was currently holding a cup filled with wine. Daraios was known to hold his liquor quite well, but seeing how his face was already glowing so brightly red, he had to have drunk quite a bit.
While considering it rare for him to get so drunk, no matter how much he might celebrate the perfect victory, Piarta brought up the reason why she had been searching for him.
“I have a little something to do, so I’d like to act independently from the army for a short period of time. As such I want to request permission from Your Excellency.”
Daraios wrinkled his nose.
“Your Highness, please keep your own position in mind.”
Just because they had defeated the enemy main force, it didn’t change the fact of this place still being enemy territory. It’d be absurd for the princess of the invading country to travel around by herself in such a dangerous place. Even more so considering just how much affection King Doldea was showering Piarta with.
If something were to happen to her, even Daraios’s head likely wouldn’t suffice to calm the king’s anger.
After having said as much, Daraios roughly scratched his own head, “──Having said that, I’m in your debt, Your Highness.”
Daraios was referring to the matter with the Labian’s river crossing attempt. In order to warn King Doldea, who had started to cross the river with boats and thus falling for Darius’s trap, Daraios had borrowed Piarta’s help.
Now he was pulling a conflicted look while stroking his beard.
“Currently our army is preoccupied with celebrating the victory and all the soldiers are spent. If you’re okay with it, could I request you and your unit to scout the area for us?”
He didn’t particularly tell her where to go and what to scout. In other words, it was a means to allow Piarta to act independently for some time. She too grasped as much and respectfully accepted the new assignment while saying that she’d be back in a few days.
Just as she was about to leave the tent, Daraios called out to her.
“By the way, Your Highness──,” Daraios confronted her, who had turned around, with an unexpected question, “──how was Darius’s final moment?”
Piarta couldn’t answer that question on the spot. She didn’t understand why Daraios would suddenly ask about Darius’s end.
Even if he might have been a person deserving respect, it wasn’t overly laudable for her as princess of Romania to have knelt and bowed in front of an enemy general. Being naturally aware of it herself, Piarta had ordered her Hundred Flowers to form a wall around them so that others wouldn’t be able to watch it, but this measure wasn’t perfect either. Piarta was wary that some witness might have told Daraios about the princess’s indiscretion.
After pondering about it for a short time, she chose to go with a neutral response.
“He saw that he wouldn’t be able to get away as he was surrounded by my unit, so he gallantly chose to kill himself.”
However, Daraios laughed her answer off, and told her, “Please spare me the lies.”
“I always dwelt on how to take that man down. My head was full with thoughts about him, be it day or night. I was constantly asking myself what he’s thinking, and what he’s planning. Even when it came to the most trivial, mundane, daily events, I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d do in my place.”
“It almost sounds as if you’re talking about a lover,” Piarta answered teasingly.
But, far from getting angry at her, Daraios cheerfully smiled, “It’s just as you say. I must have fallen in love with Darius! Moreover, this love has been lasting for close to forty years. I have been at it for a longer time than you’re alive.”
Daraios was talking about this as if bragging about his military achievements.
“For this reason I can tell. That man would never do something as laudable as choosing suicide just because he was surrounded by enemies. No matter how small a chance, Darius would try to fight to the last moment when the light disappeared from his eyes. As long as he, who was referred to as Romania’s sworn enemy, was alive, he would keep stopping the enemies coming for his life. All so he could buy time for as many of his soldiers as possible. That’s the kind of person he was.”
Then Daraios addressed the jar with Darius’s head, “Isn’t that right, Darius?”
Having drawn her eyes to the jar because of those words, Piarta finally noticed. Daraios had placed another cup, filled with wine to the brim, in front of the jar.
And at last she realized. Daraios wasn’t celebrating the victory all by himself over here. He was mourning the death of his hated and yet beloved, formidable enemy, silently conversing with the other party through the head which couldn’t answer him anymore.
“Your Highness, I won’t be trying to fault you for anything. But, I wish to know what he thought at the very end of his life.”
Perceiving that Daraios really wanted to only hear about Darius’s end, she talked about it without hiding anything. After silently listening to her words, Daraios smiled broadly. It was an innocent smile. Almost as if he was a child.
“I’m sure Darius must have been delighted about this as well.”
“You think so?”
Piarta believed that Darius must have been quite vexed as he couldn’t achieve his wish of defending his country, nor get another chance to battle against the Divine Son of Destruction.
But, Daraios said full of confidence, “No, I’m certain he was delighted. He met a young and beautiful female pupil like you at such an age. A man couldn’t wish for anything greater than that. He must have rejoiced over this.”
And then he held up his cup towards the jar with Darius’s head.
“Right, my beloved, sworn enemy?”
Suddenly, the plop of water bouncing could be heard. Surprised by that sound, Piarta directed her eyes in the direction, just to find the surface of the wine, which filled the cup in front of the jar, being disturbed by small waves.
On a closer look, she could see the tent’s curtain right above the cup being dark and wet with water drops trickling down from there. But, Daraios laughed at that.
“He is saying so as well.”
“…I guess you’re right.”
Daraios and Piarta laughed for a bit. And then Piarta left Daraios alone in the tent, saying that she had to get everything ready for her scouting mission.
Being all alone in the tent once again, Daraios drained down the wine in his cup in one go and breathed out.
“I guess it’s alright now…”
His face was twisted in mortification.
“After all, it’s something I didn’t really want to show to our straight-laced princess.”
At the same time as being the biggest obstacle for Romania, Darius also used to be a yoke. Daraios wondered whether he’d be able to manage Romania’s army now that it had lost that yoke.
He couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
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