Atlas Battle Song

Chapter 46

The teenagers lead a cautious and peaceful life.

In order to maintain this small home, Trand is very busy. There is almost nothing he does not need to worry about: war, the price of daily necessities, salary, weather, dinner for wild cats, and the "how to be A Qualified Father" series themed education.There was a steady stream of daily chores, but fortunately, Trander arranged them well, and he also liked the feeling of being the "head of the family".

Every morning, Trand prepared the young master's breakfast and lunch, and then went to work in the Knights Order.At night, it is time for lovers to be alone.

Two teenagers sat at the dining table, the fireplace was warm, and a hot dinner was placed on the table.They chatted about the latest new things: the Duke's new play, the cats they met on the road, the companions of the knight order, the mage from the south... Every time this happened, Trand felt extremely happy and satisfied.

This was his and Egg's home.That's all he wanted, enough was enough.

When the weather is fine, Trander will take Master Egg out to get some fresh air.Taking advantage of the moonlit night, step on a string of footprints in the bright snow.

At night, the boys embraced and fell asleep.

They lived together like ordinary lovers, and the wars and rebellions seemed to happen far away.

That's how winter passed.

One day, the knight commander casually said while drinking: "The days to come will be easier."

"Why?" Trand was cleaning the table.

"The war is over!" The knight commander was a little drunk, raised his cup and waved it, then lowered his arms in frustration.

"ended……?"

Trand couldn't believe his ears.In other words, the Earl must have failed... either died or escaped.This is not surprising, he had expected it.

"What about the rebel party?" The soldier next to him was also curious, "How about the leader, Earl Gorgon?"

"Caught it. Yesterday in front of the imperial court, the head of the Fourth Knights reported to His Majesty...the earl and the remnant party have been arrested, and they should be escorted to the imperial capital soon."

Trander's heart tightened: "What will happen?"

"How? What do you think will happen to the rebellion? Are you a foreigner? Oh, you were born in the western plateau..." The knight commander added: "After fighting for so long, His Majesty was so embarrassed, Do you think she can spare the rebel party? The punishment is certain, it depends on the method."

Egg's father was about to be executed.

That whole day, Trand was in a heavy mood.

Even now, he still couldn't imagine how a noble son like the earl, who couldn't even swing his sword in the right posture, would suddenly rebel against him.The execution was so heavy on Trander's mind that he didn't even touch a glass during dinner.

"Flat lion, why don't you eat?" Egg pinched Trand's nose.

"..."

"Does the big lion have a toothache?"

"Master..." Trander hesitated, wondering if he should tell Egg about the count.

"Say it, it's okay."

"I..." Trander held back, but continued, "I feel the need to tell you...the war is over."

This statement is very euphemistic.

Egg was stunned for a moment, and quickly returned to that indifferent expression: "Oh, then let's continue eating."

That night, they ate lamb stew.

After that, Egg stopped talking about his relatives, as if he had never had a mother, father and sister, as if he had always existed indifferently and alone.Egg's world became very small, only the things in this small house and Trand, who came back every evening, remained.

Beyond that, it's all vanity.

Trander would visit Ishtar secretly from time to time to see how the little sister Leopard was doing in the lady's house.The lady still loved Ishtar as her own, which made Trand feel a little relieved.

In the days that followed, Trander worked hard every day to inquire about the Earl's news, paying attention to when the Earl was escorted to the imperial capital, and roughly where he was imprisoned.

Sometimes Trander wondered if it was possible for Egg to see his father one last time?But it was too cruel and too whimsical.He also knew very well that the next time he saw the count...it might just be a corpse hanging on the city wall.This is not in accordance with the law of the punishment of Sybyl nobles, but the Queen will definitely do it.She must humiliate the loser, and warn the eyes that still watch from the shadows.

In order to know the situation inside the palace, Trand often visited the Duke.Mr. Kaloyalo's statement confirmed his conjecture: His Majesty the Emperor was furious and wanted the conspirators to pay the price.

"Apart from the count, is there any other news about the Gorgon family..." Trand continued.

"Nothing."

"Where are the count's children?"

"Oh, his little daughter was adopted by the Duchess of Melissan. His majesty acquiesced, such a cute little girl, at such a young age... I hope her father's sins will not affect her. I believe your majesty is merciful." Mr. Loialo ate a biscuit grimly.

"Then... what about the earl's eldest son?"

"Oh," Mr. Kaloyalo sighed, picking up another biscuit, "that poor boy... was burned to death, only 14 years old..."

"what?"

Burned to death?Trand had never heard of such a thing.

"Yeah, I heard that the boy was in poor health and recuperated elsewhere. As a result, the mansion was set on fire by the enemy, and the poor child was burned to death in his sleep... Who do you think can do such a vicious thing? Even the father He is a traitor, so what is wrong with the child? I heard that he is a beautiful little boy, smart and intelligent, and has excellent sword skills. Hey, I feel sad when I think about it... This world is too difficult for children."

Trander suddenly understood:

It must be the old housekeeper and the wet nurse.In order to help Master Egg escape, they created the illusion that the boy had been burned to death...

Thinking of this, Trand's nose felt a little sour.He misses those kind adults.

Mr. Kaloyalo sighed heavily: "Oh, that's fine. The poor child went away in his sleep early, so as not to suffer now."

"It's over..." Trander was in a daze.

"Yeah, it's time to end, too many people have died in this war."

The once famous family, the Gorgon family, which had been incomparably brilliant since the founding of the empire, no longer existed.

Dradite's manor was burned down, the rose garden was burned down, the boys' beloved dollhouse was also burned down, the countess, who was as beautiful as the moon, died, and the count was waiting to be executed as a sinner...

Master Egg has nothing left.

He was alone.

Seeing the young man's preoccupation, the Duke smiled and took out two tickets: "The atmosphere is too depressing recently, why don't you take your little boyfriend to watch a light-hearted play? Tomorrow night, my friend's play "How the Shy Mage Passes Love" training class"."

The name sounded wrong, and Trander frowned: "What the hell, can you say it again...?"

The Duke was also a little embarrassed, and hurriedly made an excuse:

"Oh, it's a script written by a friend of mine. It's a love comedy. I'm just helping my friend to promote it haha... And I've always liked this type of mage. It looks cold and arrogant, but in fact it's soft inside... how cute Ah, if only I had the opportunity to meet such a beauty."

"Then can I ask, what type of love object does the shy mage have? It won't be like last time, with five men pursuing at the same time..." Trander smiled wryly.

"Cough! You'll know tomorrow." The Duke was very guilty, and he could only pretend to be serious and puffed up his chest.

"It would be nice if it was a story of five beauties jealous of a knight," Trund said sincerely. "In the end, the knight happily married five wives."

The Duke frowned: "Isn't this the harem plot that West Plateau likes? No, love must be single-minded."

"Hey! Those five men fell in love with a mage at the same time, is this called 'specialization'!"

"Of course!"

"My lord, this is a love triangle."

The two friends quarreled wildly for a while, and it was time for Trand to go back.

Before leaving, the Duke brought plum tea, almond butter biscuits, cheese jelly and mints, and asked Tland to take them back to Egg.The Duke is always too enthusiastic, and he distributes any delicious snacks to the two teenagers.He stood at the door, smiling and waving goodbye to Trand:

"See you tomorrow, say hello to dear Iriol for me, and come to my house as a guest after the play tomorrow~"

"Hey, see you tomorrow."

Trander smiled and held up the snack and shook it to express his gratitude.

The Duke always tried his best to take care of them.Trand was grateful.Maybe it's just because this guy is a sincere and nice guy that the emperor likes to keep him by his side.

Life in the court is oppressive and tense, but the duke is happy every day, which is at odds with the indifferent and arrogant Sybil nobles.Mr. Kaloyalo has become a nobleman in a daze. He has fiefs and taxes, but he can't use them. He always spends the money in messy places... sponsoring artists, donating to orphanages, buying all kinds of flashy and beautiful things.

Under the majestic imperial power, other ministers were walking on thin ice, but the Duke seemed to be skating freely, and even danced to the music, and fell from time to time.I don't know whether it is because this guy has no political nerves at all, or he is trying to maintain the image of a "Jester".

Some people in the court were jealous of the Duke, saying that he had seduced His Majesty the Emperor with his beauty.

But from Trander's point of view...the "iron-blooded lady" on the throne dotes on Kaloyalo, it's more like raising a pet cat.

Perhaps watching Kaloyalo was a kind of court entertainment.

The Duke was careless in his work, not only fell down by himself, but also damaged the treasures in the palace from time to time. "I'm sorry! I will pay for it!" Every time Mr. Kaloyalo anxiously began to look through the money bag, His Majesty smiled and asked the female officer to list a long list of things that were damaged, which made the Duke even more at a loss.His Majesty enjoyed it, like watching a clumsy pet cat get into trouble.

Master Egg also liked the Duke very much and was willing to talk to him.But to be honest, Trand still couldn't fully trust this man.

He had discovered before that the Duke was blind in the right eye.

Those dark red eyes looked normal.But if he stood quietly behind the Duke's right, he couldn't see it.Trand asked once, and the Duke just explained sheepishly that he had bad eyesight and had to wear glasses.Obviously lying, because he only wears a monocle in his left eye, but not in his right eye.

Why lie?is it necessary?

Trand intuitively believed that the Duke is not as simple as it seems.This person is either ambitious or has a dark secret.

But who has no secrets?Trand smiled wryly. Under the shadow of power, who can face the sun and live frankly?

Now Trand has only one secret: his tiny home.

It was already dark when we got home, but Master Egg was still sitting on the porch with the puppet in his arms, waiting for him.Trander became happy, rushed over and hugged Egg, turned around, and said with a smile:

"Aww, the big lion is back from hunting!"

"Little furball."

"Look, this is the snack that the Duke gave us, and this is the beef I bought today! Am I very good? Am I a man who supports my family?"

"Silly lions can't catch prey in the forest, so they can only go to the market to buy."

"Call me husband!"

"Stupid tail."

They kissed, smiling and rubbing each other's foreheads.Another peaceful night.The teenagers chatted while having dinner.

"Will the young master be bored at home today?"

"No." Egg pinched the puppet lion's round ears, and said, "Today, the street is busy catching thieves. I saw patrolmen escorting the thieves away."

"I was worried that you would be bored at home alone...but it won't be so soon. When we go to the academy, we won't have to hide. I've been coming home too late recently, mainly because of the clerical work of the knight order It’s all piled up for me, and I still need to train. By the way, I just stopped by to visit the Duke.”

Upon hearing the Duke, Egg was happy:

"Did he fall in a trick today?"

"Not today, Lord Duke's balance is very good, and the competition will win the championship level."

"We'll go play with him tomorrow."

"By the way, young master, the Duke told me an important piece of information..."

Trand told Egg the rumor that "the earl's son was burned to death".The tricks of the old housekeeper and the nurse were of great help.

"Your health is much better. You should be able to take the boat. Let's wait... until spring."

Trund actually wanted to say that he would leave after the rebels were executed.When the dust settles, it will be safer for them to leave the city.Now the rebellion has just subsided, and the port inspection is still very strict.

"Sleepy."

Egg yawned.

"Okay, okay, let's go to bed early today, don't we play for a while before going to bed?" Trander put away the tableware.

"Play."

"The young master should go to bed first after brushing his teeth. I'll be back in a while."

"Come on!"

"Okay, don't pull my arm, just hold the plate, good boy!"

Trander had no choice but to kiss Master Egg, which calmed down the suddenly excited young master.

Before going to bed, the two boys read a storybook and talked about the animals of the south.Warm drowsiness gradually emerged, and Trander was too sleepy to lift his eyelids, so he looked down.Young Master Egg in his arms had already fallen asleep, holding the puppet lion with his head obediently leaning against his chest.

"Hey, I'm already an adult, why do I still sleep like a kid." Trander smiled and touched the young master's ears.

"Good night."

He blew out the candlestick.

What Trand didn't expect was that the day's chores would have disastrous consequences.Egg was standing by the window watching to catch the thief, and a pair of eyes in the crowd recognized him.

The boy had been discovered, and he didn't know it yet.