Beast Knights 4 - Tragic Tale Of The Last Royalty

BEAST KNIGHTS

SUMMARY: A presence even more sinister than that of Soushu threatens to destroy the peace that Yuri strived hard to achieve. In their quest to deal with the forthcoming danger, it's not just the 4,000-year-old secret of a mysterious kingdom that they managed to unravel but also a well-kept past belonging to its royal family and Conrad.

Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).

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CHAPTER 4 – Tragic Tale Of The Last Royalty

For sure, this was one information that they haven't heard in any versions of the Beast Knights legends at all. It was truly a surprising piece of information.

"A Beast Spirit that can only be controlled and used by the Maoh? I thought only the Esovian Mazoku chosen to become a Beast Knight could do that," Yuri said as soon as he recovered.

But Yozak just shrugged while still maintaining his serious expression. "There wasn't a clear reference for this part of the legend, though. Besides, even verbal accounts about this particular Beast Spirit were completely scarce, so it could still be just a folklore and nothing more."

"Unless we encounter an Esovian Mazoku who was knowledgeable about the Beast Spirits and its true story, we can't fully rely on that information for now. Although we couldn't also remove the possibility that it's true," Murata suggested in a serious tone. "I'm not sure if we could analyze the movement of the island with this little references we have right now—" he stopped, glancing for a few moments at the books that he, Shori, and Günter brought from Shinou Temple. "—but we have no other choice. We have to do this if we want to protect Shin Makoku from these dangerous puppets."

The rest agreed with the Daikenja's suggestion and immediately began reading those books to garner at least some important information that they needed. But Yuri's attention shifted to Conrad soon after when he noticed the said soldier looking rather melancholic on the book that he was holding.

Conrad hadn't noticed his godson's look on him as his attention was focused on the book he immediately picked as soon as he saw the title engraved on its leather cover's spine.

Tale Of The Last Esovian Royalty

But instead of starting to read it as soon as he picked it up, his mind traveled back to a certain time in his life when one person sadly told him the truth about that tale. That book could've held another story which was different from what he knew. For now, he could't tell.

And then Conrad opened it so he could read the contents, only to frown at what he had read on the first page.

This is the life I chose for the sake of my people, despite the curse that will kill us because of turning our backs on Shinou. My brother, I hope you'd be able to forgive me someday. If this would reach you or your retainers somehow, please remember these words I'm going to utter on my deathbed. The Beast Spirit that only obeys the true king chosen by the Beast Knights can the world be saved from impending destruction that all of us had feared since we obtained these powers. Choose the strongest king, my brother. Choose the rightful king who will save you and the other warriors from the dreadful curse that bound you all to ultimate darkness.

I, Yunsoo of the Min clan, will do what it takes in my remaining life to make it all happen. We can't let it all end as mere legends.

Before Conrad could even comprehend the words he had read from that book, he was soon surprised when Murata spoke beside him.

"No wonder you're caught up reading this. The way Lady Yunsoo had written these words will truly make you want to discover the truth behind this."

Conrad couldn't utter a word, however. So this book wasn't about the tale he knew. But nevertheless, Murata had a point. The words were truly enough to raise someone's curiosity as soon as the words on the first page was read.

"Yunsoo? Who's that? The name sounds Korean to me," Yuri inquired as soon as he heard it from Murata.

"People from the ancient Esovia does have names which sound Korean to us who came from Earth. But about 3,000 years ago, their diplomatic relationship with other countries, though scarcely selected, soon changed the way people in that kingdom were named. The Esovian royal and noble families never adopted Shin Makoku's way of naming themselves and their families even during Shinou's time, though."

Conrad silently handed the book he was holding to Murata as soon as the man asked his permission. "This book tells of an Esovian royalty that lived and ruled peacefully since the kingdom's foundation… until a deadly curse suddenly wiped them all out of existence. It happened more than a century after Shinou's death and that curse was said to be quite similar to how the Soushu corrupted Shinou's soul."

When Conrad heard that, it was no doubt that he was surprised. It was similar to the tale he knew about another last Esovian royalty from 25 years ago. Was it just a coincidence or was there a certain period of time that the curse (whatever that was) would take effect to wipe out an entire family?

"Then how come it was given such a title if the Esovian royalty still exists?" Günter asked as soon as the thought hit him.

"The reason this book was given such a title was probably because they thought no one among the members of the royal family survived the curse's outbreak. Lady Yunsoo, at the time, was a member of the Esovian royal court and the head scribe of the kingdom. She also served as a bodyguard to Lady Hyorin who was the queen of the Esovian Mazoku at the time. From the words she had written here, I could say that she was the one who found a survivor among the royal family after this book was published."

"If that was the case, she would've pulled the books out after finding the survivor and retracted the information she put in there," Shori said.

"Maybe she didn't do that to keep the survivor safe and protected. Besides, Lady Yunsoo was Queen Hyorin's bodyguard, which means it was also her duty to guard the people close and important to the queen. I don't know what happened after she died as soon as her duty was fulfilled to keep the royal survivor protected from various threats. But it seemed that another royal family was established after that. I don't know when it began but from what I can see, something had protected this new royal family from whatever curse that was powerful enough to wipe them out again," Murata explained as a response to Shori's words.

No words were said after that. Well, it was obvious that they had been pretty much absorbed by that extraordinary story of the Esovian royalty. It didn't take them long to recover from that. All of them soon returned to their task to read the book that could hopefully help them locate the island that became the Esovian Mazoku's home.

Or at least almost all of them returned to doing so. Conrad, however, had a different task set in his mind after hearing Murata's story basing from Lady Yunsoo's book. The word "brother" was the one thing that bothered him to some extent. Who was the brother she was talking about in this book?

"Would you mind if I take this book from you after you're done reading it? I want to show this to Shinou since I know he hadn't read anything related to the Esovian Mazoku even before he died," Murata ventured with that smile stuck on his face.

Of course, it told Conrad that something was truly interesting about this book. And the smile on Murata's face… Somehow, he had a feeling that the Daikenja knew something he couldn't quite place yet. He wanted to know what it was without looking disgraceful.

"Your Grace, was it possible that Lady Yunsoo knew His Majesty Shinou personally?" Conrad ventured in a softest tone possible.

It seemed that Murata understood his intention to do that. The Daikenja nodded. "Shinou personally knew not just Lady Yunsoo, but also the other five founders of the Kingdom of Esovia. They were his friends, after all. Lady Hyorin of the Yi clan, Lord Namgi of the Han clan, Lady Jihae of the Shim clan, Lord Chunho of the Lee clan, Lady Yunsoo of the Min clan, and Lord Taewon of the Ryo clan—these are the six founders of the Kingdom of Esovia. They were also the original Beast Knights. In fact, those six people also helped with the war against Soushu 4,000 years ago. But the reason why they weren't mentioned in any of Shin Makoku's history books was because of a selfish request on Lady Yunsoo and Lord Chunho's parts. They feared that the powers of the Beast Spirits which they had acquired before the final confrontation would only cause destruction among their fellow Mazoku. And so they left Shinou dealing with his predicament about Soushu inhabiting him all on his own." The sad look on Murata's eyes was undeniable.

Conrad, however, couldn't say anything to console the Daikenja. He knew that words weren't enough to ease the pain that he had felt and had haunted him for 4,000 years.

"Possessing the power of the Beast Spirits and combining with that of a Mazoku's maryoku was like combining both maryoku and houryoku in one single vessel, which was completely lethal if not fully controlled. It was a questionable magic arts at the time both in terms of power and safety, as well. That was what the six Knights had feared all this time, which forced them to leave Shinou and Shin Makoku. But soon after, during the later stages of the construction of Blood Pledge Castle, Shinou and I learned that the six Beast Knights were dealing with another war that nearly took their lives if it wasn't for Shinou helping them. As to how he'd helped them that time, I had no idea until now," Murata continued and looked at the book that Conrad had opened on a certain page where a portrait of the woman with long mahogany brown hair tied in a single braid and red eyes was drawn on full page. She was wearing a quasi-Chinese silk robes in pastel blue and pink colors. "Even now, Shinou admired Yunsoo's style in clothing. If she hadn't been officially adopted to his family when she became an orphan, she would've been his wife, he said."

Now that had caught Conrad's attention, which made him face the young man. "Adopted? Then, Your Grace… You're saying that Lady Yunsoo was—"

Murata cut him off with a firm nod. "Lady Yunsoo was Shinou's adopted sister."

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The information gathering only took a full day, thanks to everyone's help. But the one they really wanted to thank was the final journal book that Lady Yunsoo had written. Most of the information written there enabled them to finally track down the movement of the magical island for the past 4,000 years.

After calculating and ascertaining its current location, Yuri ordered for them to head out to the island two days from now. Thankfully, there hadn't been reports about the puppets—which they learned from Lady Yunsoo's accounts were named Phantasma—attacking the villages outside the capital. Almost all of them agreed to Yuri's suggestion. It was just that the problem lies on who would accompany Yuri to the island. Well, Murata, Wolfram, and Conrad were a given. Shori, as well. After much deliberation, Gwendal was added to the list with Günter staying to protect Shin Makoku while the others were away.

Later that night, after making sure that the Maoh was resting, Conrad decided to stay outside the castle for a while. Until now, he still couldn't believe what he had heard from Murata about His Majesty and Lady Yunsoo's relationship. That could only mean the "brother" she was talking about on the first page was possibly His Majesty Shinou. A lot of things must have happened at the time that made her turn her back on Shinou at the most crucial times. He could imagine it, but perhaps he won't be able to understand anything about it no matter what.

Just as how Conrad had never understood the curse that took the life of the special friend in his childhood life—the Wind Tiger Knight he met a long time ago who was also the last princess of the Kingdom of Esovia who died 25 years ago. Yes, he deliberately left that part out when he told the others about the Beast Knight he met before. That was because the truth about Princess Lyall must not be known to others, as per her older brother's request. It was Klaus Elirch Amrein—the last prince of the Kingdom of Esovia—who requested that when the prince told him of what happened to Esovia three years after Lyall died.

Klaus told him that Lyall's death started a war with the Phantasma that attacked the kingdom in an attempt to use the princess' body and remaining powers as a source or core to produce more Phantasma to attack and take over the other kingdoms, as well. It was Queen Roheis—Klaus and Lyall's mother and the last queen—who prevented all that at the cost of her own life and the monarchy system of the Kingdom of Esovia.

From what Klaus told him for that last time, the kingdom would then be ruled by the leaders of the Five Aristocratic Families—Klaus included—since the monarchy system was completely abolished when Queen Roheis died. He didn't know how the kingdom fared and survived after that, though. For more than two decades, he hadn't seen Klaus at all or even heard anything more about the kingdom's situation.

Conrad found himself standing in front of his mother's flowerbed. He looked rather wistfully at the flower Conrad Stands Upon The Earth for a long time before raising his head to look at the full moon. He remembered the first time he met Lyall that night she was bleeding. It was a meeting that truly changed everything between them.

And it was a meeting that truly brought him even more pain as he recalled his regrets and what if's. It was magnified even more when Lyall died. He saw her suffered in so much pain, but she was still able to smile at him when he visited her at the Roseberke Castle for one final time. He tried his best not to breakdown in front of her but failed. After all, Lyall could see through him.

When he faced the flowerbed once more, he frowned at the sight of a flower he had never seen before vibrantly blooming beside Yuri's Innocence. Come to think of it, her mother had been pretty busy here lately. Could this flower be her new creation?

"Oh? And you've finally seen another of my beautiful flowers."

He turned around as soon as he heard that voice, which inwardly startled him. He smiled as soon as he saw his mother Lady Chérie approaching.

"Shouldn't you be resting by now, Mother? You're still planning to leave tomorrow for another of your free love trip."

"And let my son remember his special friend all alone here? I don't think I'd be able to sleep peacefully knowing that."

So Lady Chérie knew about that, huh? Nothing less from his mother. Conrad's gaze landed once again on the newest flower. The one feature he immediately noted about the flower was the petals' color. It has the same color as Lyall's hair—silvery green. It was an unusual color for a flower, if one would ask him. It was exuding a bright and vibrant vibe as it proudly bloomed tall.

"Lyall's Effervescence…" Lady Chérie uttered wth a wistful smile which truly caught Conrad off guard.

Did his mother really name it after his special friend?

"This was supposed to be my birthday gift to her, you know. But the moment I heard from Klaus that she was really sick, I don't know what had gotten into me and just fell there. It felt like I was about to lose a child of my own. That girl's bright and bubbly demeanor even earned her a friend in Julia while trying to keep her identity a secret to everyone except to you and me. But even such contagious brightness was doomed to disappear in some ways. That's what I felt when I heard about Lyall's condition. So I thought that I'd create a flower that I would name after her as soon as she survived the ordeal," Lady Chérie explained before crouching down to hold the newest flower blooming on that flowerbed as gently as she could.

"In the end, it consumed her…" Conrad continued in a pained whisper. "But what made you decide to create this now?"

"Because I want to create something that will always remind me of her bright demeanor which had captured my heart the day you introduced her to me as a friend. Honestly, I don't think I'd ever find another girl like her who was completely suitable to be your wife. Oh, I even remember that day how she blushed heatedly when I told her that I want her as a daughter-in-law. It was such a beautiful and truly fascinating sight." Those words from Lady Chérie was followed by a giggle.

All Conrad did was to shake his head when he heard that from his mother. Then he recalled that there was an instance when Lyall couldn't even look at him straight in the eyes. He wondered endlessly as to what could've happened for that to occur.

After so many years, he finally knew the answer. True, it was just a memory that would remind him again of a sad tragedy. But he still couldn't help smiling at that.

"I know that heading to Esovia would only give you mixed feelings because of your connections to the last royal family," Lady Chérie continued, this time in a serious yet sad tone. "But I know Lyall wouldn't want you to keep holding on to the past. She doesn't want to see you so hurt after all this time. So try your best to be strong, okay? Don't let King Yuri see you in this pain that you've been bearing for 25 years."

Though Conrad knew where his mother's words would head to, he didn't stop her. She knew what he had been through, that was why she was telling him all this.

"I know that, Mother. But please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He couldn't tell if it was enough as an assurance for his worried mother. But he would do what he said he would. He'd try his best.