Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The peasants are about to attack at Kamino but the main guards of the city are facing off against The King's Sword. The King's Sword forces the peasants back, the commander saying that an extension of the king's will, they have a reputation to uphold, especially considering the disaster at the coronation ceremony. However, they're up against a group that has managed to hold the line despite the lack of morale, making him wonder what would happen if the gate was demolished. He then orders the rebels destroyed.

Meanwhile at the nunnery, Tenko mentally notes that the nuns are gone and the Hokulea are missing. The whole raid itself is kind of weird upon inspection...

Anyway, the priests figure out quickly that the crossdressing young man is in fact Belca while Linna begs for him not to get hurt on his account. However, the priests say that there is no way royalty would crossdress as a nun to save a lowly guard and order Belca seized. The priests descend on him...only to be stopped by a guard. He then bows before Belca, asking why he's dressed like that. One of the priests, calling him Crow, asks how does he believe that's Belca? As Belca and Linna heartwarmingly get ready to brawl in the background, Crow tries to talk to them too only for Black to dart out, screaming that something's coming before Hokulea break through the door...

A flashback to 2 days earlier in Kamino, Tenko turns out to be the one who talked Belca into taking a detour to save Linna. Belca tried to argue that stopping the riots was more important but says "His Highness is not my puppet.". He says he's been using Belca to help the Hokulea; now it's Belca's turn to use him. Shingetsu, overhearing, says the Hokulea will help too; always nice to have someone who can see in the dark. Belca is still reluctant until Tenko says the King's Guard are going by that place anyway.

Back to the present, the nuns are escaping in the confusion while Black is being run ragged trying to gain a hold on the situation. Then he has to go up against Tenrou...

Belca and Linna try to escape but are cut off by Crow, only for Shingetsu to hold him off with an arrow. Seeing that Belca and Linna got away, the Hokulea give themselves permission to retreat. String Boy has most of them tied up but the Elite Guard break out through the window. Belca and Linna talk outside, Belca revealing that a man in the mountains should be meeting up with the nuns along with the priest that helped Linna. The priest also got Belca his disguise! Belca takes it off when Linna calls him sweet as honey.

It's time to go but Shingetsu sees something ahead. A royal ninja has caught up, realizing they were making a diversion for a rescue...

The peasants, upon seeing the King's Sword, freeze when they realize they can't win. One kid grabs a sword and dashes off, calling them pussies and saying they're all gonna die from the Plague anyway. Seeing and hearing that, they are inspired to fight with him. Before the forces can clash, they are interrupted by Tenko on horseback who says more bodies won't solve anything. The peasants are overjoyed; Belca has come to help them! The chapter ends with Tenko correcting them; Prince Belca is not here.

Chapter 38

Prince Belca is greeted by the populace as he returns to Kamino.

And he's wearing Hokulea clothes!

Tenko welcomes him back and offers to fix his hair later. He then greets Linna and gives him and Belca horses to ride. Looking on as they ride through the city, Linna notes Belca's not just his prince anymore...

Belca gets back to headquarters and asks if there were any changes since he left. Tenko starts off by saying the herbs for the cure are being gathered and food is being passed out but Shingetsu snatches Linna away to take some of the Hokulea to a medic, saying he should come too. Linna says his wounds are almost healed but Belca orders him to get someone to check him out.

While getting his check-up, Linna tells Shingetsu about the "Dzintars". He says it means "golden stone" and Shingetsu says it's a beautiful name. She's glad he's alive but Linna is still frustrated that he can't do anything here Shingetsu then asks if Linna has been preparing the medicated soups with Belca before saying they don't need them anymore...

Meanwhile, some Hokulea named Kentyuu has a tiny bottle of medicine fall out of his pocket while he's getting looked at...it's the same bottle of poison they were going to give Linna.

Also, Lord Orbus gets a letter from Neue Favrille. He's happy about the army being deployed at first only to then find out Orcelito has fallen ill. So this would be an excellent opportunity for him to push Belca on the throne. 'Course, that just leaves the Round Table Knights to take care of...

At Neue Favrille's Regis Solaris, Orcelito is still overlooking Rovisco's documents. Kiliko calls from outside, saying he wants to come in. Orcelito says talk to him from outside but Kiliko says it's really important. Orcelito, still sick, says Kiliko is his arms and legs so he can't risk him catching The Plague only for Kiliko to reveal that he has a letter from Prince Belca. Orcelito tells him to take the amulet from his shelf to feel safer (MEDICINE!) and come in.

So Kiliko tells him what happened at the monastery and shows him Belca's hair, saying that he'll return some day. Kiliko says he can punish his men for overlooking him but Orcelito says they don't have the time for that. Orcelito then asks if Belca is coming back, is Eco coming with him? He still thinks Eco is after the throne. Kiliko points out if that was the case, Eco wouldn't have helped when the Royal Government caught The Plague. Also, he knows the tradition. If he disliked it, he would have left the Lagen family. He has his reservations but he has one person in Kamino; he'll have them spy on Eco to see if he stops Belca or not.

Outside, Ingrid the maid is dropping dishes all over the place because she's terrified of The Plague and she heard Orcelito has it. The other maid tells her to just switch to another job and, when Ingrid who would do her job, the maid answers she'll do it. In exchange, the maid asks Ingrid to take her letters to the archives where a friend of hers works. She doesn't them to worry about her, you see. Ingrid agrees happily.

Oh and Orcelito gets another message from the king's army: there was a massacre. Orcelio thinks Linna, Seamrog and the Hokulea are using Belca but he's cut off by nearly coughing himself into passing out. Looking at the hair he's holding onto, he notes Belca's hair looks like Kiliko's. It's then he explains Belca's mom came from Adin. She was invited to a party because the king was looking for a new concubine (Basically, medieval Flavor of Love). She was called upon as an Adine (dancer) for entertainment. She was hot and the king, just looking to make an heir in the first, immediately chose her. The thing though is that she also became close with the Queen. And apparently it wasn't the king's idea to send Hector to boarding school. Anyway, most of the Lagen's family members are black-haired and so is Belca. He suspects there might be a connection there but a clearly shaken Kiliko says that can't be; his father would never do something like that. Also, the Adines always have black hair. Orcelito says that if Belca has Rovisco's blood...he can't finish because he went into another coughing fit. He then says he will take all the elders with him before The Plague does him in. Kiliko accuses him of breaking his promise to leave the country to him. Orcelito tries to get Kiliko to help Belca but Kiliko says that Orcelito must lead the country, moving on him and threatening to get sick with him if he doesn't nut up, despite Orcelito's protests.

Kiliko says if that upsets him, he needs to live. Orcelito wonders why is he being so supportive considering he's the one who killed Hector. He answers that if this world is built upon hatred and resentment, he's another victim of it who kills for selfish reasons. If there is still light in the world, he wants to see it. He may be a gear for his family but this way, he can choose to be Orcelito's gear.

In Kamino, Eco is playing music.

Linna has to tell him to shut up because he's basically playing Pornocore but Eco complains he made the song for Linna. Belca comes over to gag him, telling Tenko that it's a miracle The King's Sword and the peasants didn't fight. Tenko agrees and says for now, they should focus on treating The Plague which they will need the support of the nobles to do. Tenko will persuade them because if they help and Belca gets more popular, they get more power. This will also get them medical assistance so it's two birds with one stone. Eco says if he's trying not to make enemies, he's sucking at it because Lord Orbus is not going to sit on his hands during that...but fuck it, party! Shingetsu tells Linna the attendant he saved is alive and Linna is happy about that. Rat Snitch Eco the Good Time Ruiner reveals the small bottle of poison that fell out of Kengyuu's pocket, revealing it's not poison at all but basic sleeping medicine that the Lagens use. They then talked about the guy that killed the guy in front of Belca whose name is Echo. He's none other than Kiliko's right-hand man. He's the guy who does the wet work for the Lagen family and his name isn't Crow as I've been calling him; his group is called the Crows. He's practically a super-solider due to the medicines he takes and his name used to be Irya when he was recognizably human. Seamrog says if Kiliko wants to work with Belca, all is well. However, Tenko drops a drama bomb: that Plague in Neue Favrille is probably a fake.

Belca says okay...party time! Then they can go to Neue Favrille to handle this nonsense.

The chapter ends with a messenger from Orbus arriving to Kamino to see Belca, only to hear he has left for Neue Favrille.

Chapter 45

Lord Lagen writes his son a letter if Orcelito doesn't recover, Prince Belca---

Anyway, Lord Lagen says The Plague has a cure and Belca needs to be separated from his territory in order to be used as a pawn. Also, keep using the drugs that don't kill people. Kiliko answers the Sparrow Hawk that if he opposes Belca's group now, they will not have access to the cure so he will handle the matter by himself. Sparrow Hawk politely tells him they do not have time for that and asks him to make Lord Lagen's wish a priority. Kiliko tries to protest but Sparrow Hawk puts his very sharp nails to Kiliko's throat, ominously saying that he will not trouble his father. Kiliko asks if that's a threat and Sparrow Hawk denies it, disappearing in a gust of wind (?!) while telling Kiliko not to hesitate to call. Kiliko then reflects that the allies he has are his guys in Adin, the Crows, and Lizelotte the countess/duchess. A guard comes in and says they couldn't find any clues about the scholar and Kiliko informs him that Lord Lagen is still alive. They need to hide Belca from Sparrow Hawk...

Meanwhile, Ramses the not-guard complains about Lilia fucking up while riding with his scholar buddy. He's only helping for the history, us nerds being willing to betray our entire country if we're given the possibility of having something interesting to read. So it's off to Theon's mansion...

Paige and Musca are traveling to Shize before Paige spots a familiar face outside the carriage, getting worried...as she should be, because that familiar face is "Ramses" with his scholar buddy. Musca and Paige, outside the carriage, bump into them intentionally so that Paige can confirm her suspicions. That's when Musca points out the scholar was reading a book with weird letters...

Meanwhile, Lizelotte's carriage is stopped by guards who have to search around, subtly creeping on her in the process. A few hours ago outside of Neue Favrille, Belca's group debates their next course of action. Shingetsu says they can't save Orcelito as long as they're there so they'll have to reach him through the underground tunnel in the Stone Fort. Belca is worried about them getting lost so three knights offer to accompany them. Back in the present, Belca is hit with the ol' nostalgia as he finally gets inside Neue Favrille after nearly half a year outside the walls. It's not even unstable anymore...although, he has be called Marie Belle while he's in disguise. Lizelotte is informed of the theft at the archives and is told she will be escorted by the King's Sword.

At the Hierarchy Gate, they have to show their identification papers because of the kingdom being on high alert. They manage to get through but there are six more doors ahead of them so they're not confident about their future success. Belca complains they should have used the underground cave too...and Tenko promptly takes them to another one, Belca having just reminded him of its existence. It's the "Gardener's Secret Passage" and it leads to the cathedral. They walk through and someone cuts them off from up ahead...

Meanwhile, turns out our captive maid wasn't as captive as we thought, escaping in a guard's disguise...well done, Lilia.

Orcelito comes upon two guards and asks them for the key of the stone cave that leads to the cathedral. Glad that their Prince is feeling better, they lead him away...followed closely by a disguised Lilia.

They open the door and prepare to give him his rites against evil...and he walks past them. They call for him to come back but Orcelito tells them to close the door and to tell Kiliko to finish things up with that cure. He's the prince; gotta obey him.

Back to Belca's group, the guy that cut them is the attendant for the priest who shows them a secret room...while offering them food!

They sit at a table and are greeted by the High Priest. He then implies he knows about Reitz...and what happened to Hector.

At the Neue Favrille's Land at the Theon Street Mansion, the chapter ends with the scholar revealing to the Lord inside the real secret of the Rovisco's journal. Namely, it's not what's written but who wrote it...King Reitz himself.

Chapter 32

A guard is talking with Belca, convinced that he's deluded or brainwashed into supporting the Hokulea, saying he can get him out of there lickeity-split. He reaches for Belca, Belca calls for Tenko and Tenk engages the guard in "banter".

He demands to know what he wants with Belca and the guard says "Geez...chill" and apologizes to Belca before jumping out a window to escape. Tenko says that was definitely one of Kiliko's men and that he made it deliberately easy to follow him. almost as a "come and get me", indicating his skill.

Meanwhile, at Neue Favrille, Linna is walking down a tunnel with guards. It's called the Gardener's Escape Route and it used to be connected to the Royal Palace but now it's used as an onsen (Hot Spring) for noblemen. They have a whole-ass glass ceiling in the place too. Anyway, a carriage arrives for Linna, having received permission to enter the castle gates. Somebody set it up to make meeting with Orcelito a lot easier...

Well, Orcelito gets word that Linna was kidnapped from Kiliko and it was likely the church that did it. The carriage is already gone so it'll be a lot harder to follow but then, to add to the fun, a guard runs in screaming that several of his fellow guards are infected with The Plague, indicating the disease has made it inside the castle.

So on the main road to Kuckland and the outskirts of Kamino, the guards have gathered the refugees to send them back to their own cities. Shit gets stirred up real fast with the refugees screaming for Belca to come and save them before the refugees catch onto a horrifying fact: the guards aren't just getting rid of the dead, they're taking away the sick to kill them before they infect the others, condemning them before they can even die.

At the palace, a nervous Kiliko rides in a carriage while remembering how when he last talked to Linna, he broached the topic of teaming up with Prince Belca which he can only do if Linna talks to him about it first. He then tells him to focus on resting up and healing before saying that he totally thinks that this country should be taken back from the Elder Council and given to the Royal Family again. Linna knows he's bullshitting but if there's the faintest hope of seeing Belca again...

Back at Kamino, Tenko follows Belca outside, saying he should stay because the guard is still at large. Belca snaps back that he's being an annoying puss-puss before calming down and saying they can't accomplish anything if they're on edge so they should do what they can. They have more guards on watch and the palace guards are not allowed to go out alone. The rate of victims to The Plague have decreased so a lot more Hokulea are free to join the search. Also, he's getting the Bad Thoughts being cooped all the time so he needs some air to clear his head. Bad Thoughts include: how the people of Kamino are very much still dying from starvation and sickness and how Linna was killed because of him...

Then Shingetsu drops down to tell Belca that things are going well when it comes to reconstruction efforts, which she's backed up on by Tenko. The priests are waking up so Belca wants to use the opportunity to talk to somebody. Shingetsu offers to help him but Belca says there are things he has to do alone.

Belca talks to the priests, who introduce themselves as Carrel Dio and Luis Dio, advisors to the high priest. They thank Seamrog (who is also there) for saving them from their injuries (nearly exposing Musca's spy activities in the process). It's revealed that Prince Belca and Orcelito were marked to be killed by the high priest so the advisors came to Kamino to protect him. They were planning to hide Orcelito in the neighboring city of Tida but...that guard? Freaking jerk. He's gonna save the day, no matter what.

At the castle district (the 12th district specifically) near the Stone Capital's Chapel, Kiliko is informing the High Priest on quarantine procedures. He leaves coolly, ending the chapter with a veiled threat to the church.

Chapter 26

So Eco is falling...

And Belca catches him, cursing him out for following along when he's not prepared for it. Eco's huffing is interrupted by Tenrou pointing out snow leopards are following them (in a European setting) so they need to camp for the night. In their camping cave, Tenrou calls Belca over to see about Eco...because he's worried that Shingetsu might want to marry him.

Apparently, this is the first she's spoken about bringing a man with them on their travels. Clearly, this whole thing is a test of eligibility. Tenrou accuses his sister of wanting someone who's her opposite and that while Eco is fun, he cannot have him for an older brother. So there's only one logical solution...Belca has to marry Shingetsu so that he and Tenrou will be brothers! Shingetsu hits Tenrou and apologizes for her brother's jackassery. She does drag Belca off to talk about Eco though...

Back at the royal palace, Lord Dien's carriage is ready, him wanting to get the fuck out of Dodge before The Plague hits. He would go to Orcelito for help but the latter's more concerned about Belca. But Belca should be dead anyway, right? Another lord tells them to watch their mouths since Orcelito, until they got Belca's dead body, is not the last remaining blood heir for the throne. Hell, their using poison to expedite the process is a show of them rushing to promote their own rank. Lord Lagen walks in, saying he can't believe "The Knights Of The Round Table" are talking like this. They're knights, they don't need underhanded tactics...like Kiliko's ass. Luckily, the very present Kiliko takes it as a compliment.

Outside, Lord Lagen points out to Kiliko that as soon as a cure for The Plague, he is to return to the kingdom immediately. Belca needs to come back alive because no one's sure if Orcelito wants to have heirs to the throne (assigned gay by the kingdom). Kiliko agrees but expresses his surprise that Lagen is not making a fuss about the royal bloodline. That's when Lagen figures it's time to tell him something...the Lagen's secret.

Meanwhile, Musca sneaks into the inner palace where she finds a small house. Still in denial over her maid's death, she ventures over to find her only to have to hide from a passing noble. She walks in, discovering her maid is not there...but in good news, Linna is recuperating in bed!

Musca recognizes him and hides under his bed when Kiliko comes in to drug him. Why drug a wounded man? He needs to interrogate him. Kiliko tells Linna that Belca is outside the castle gates and that they don't want him to stop Orcelito from ascending to the throne. Kiliko doesn't want to kill him so he asks Linna to get him to come back. If Belca does come back, they will ensure his needs are met in the palace. If he doesn't want to stay in the castle, they can arrange for him to live outside of the walls. Linna tries to talk back but the extent of his injuries and the drugs fucking him off causes him to writhe in agony instead, forcing the interrogation to be cut short. Kiliko tells him he'll come back later and says Linna is the only one who can save Belca. Linna becomes lucid as soon as Kiliko leaves, Musca crawling out from under his bed. He knows what they're planning him and grabs a nearby set of scissors to pierce his throat so that they can't use him against Belca. Musca stops him and he mistakes her for one of the healers. He tells her he knows they'll use the drugs to control him but Musca says who cares? She wants to be together with her maid, not get a new one. She leaves to go tell Seamrog, telling him not to try to kill himself again.

Finally back at the mountain, Belca reveals to Shingetsu that Eco saved his life and that he doesn't think he's a bad person. Shingetsu says even if that's the case, he has used underhanded methods like manipulation and poisoning in order to help him out. Is he helping him out of the goodness of his heart or for revenge or even glory in helping the prince? Belca tells her that Eco wants to write a song about him and she says she can't understand that reasoning, adding that while she tolerates trickery because she engages in it herself, if he points that weird shit towards the sacred lands or the Hokulea, she will personally kill him. Belca says that Eco would never do anything like that...then thinks "...Would he?". He's a weird dude and he knows a lot even for a scholar. Eco knows him but Belca doesn't know anything about Eco, like what he really wants. When they reach the sacred lands, can he trust him?

The next day, the group moves through a blizzard only to hit a dead end at a cliff...

Meanwhile, south of Main Street, the chapter ends with The Plague hitting the town, the mayor fretting about the roads being closed off if word reaches the castle.

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