Beast Knights 5 - The Journey To Esovia Begins

CHAPTER 5 - The Journey To Esovia Begins

It didn't take Yuri and the others that long to prepare for the trip to the island where the Kingdom of Esovia was located. In fact, during the whole two days of waiting for the trip to finally come, Yuri couldn't stay in one place for long because of anxiety and excitement merged together. He would constantly go to the library or borrow some of the archives from the Shinou Temple to learn more about the Beast Knights and the Esovian Mazoku.

Murata wasn't lying when he said that the information about those people were scarce. Yuri couldn't tell if it was just out of luck that the priestesses or even the Daikenja was able to obtain records with regards to the topic.

But reality was still there. The Esovian Mazoku was definitely one hell of a guarded secret that even Murata admitted to Yuri one time. He didn't know what to say or even what to feel when he saw Murata's sadness. The founders of the Kingdom of Esovia must have had a soft spot in the Daikenja's heart that it hurt his friend when those six left Shin Makoku and let Shinou deal with his predicament on his own.

For the whole two days, as well, Yuri was always thinking of using the demon mirror once again to discover more about the Beast Knight Lyall and her relationship to Conrad. But at the end of the day, he didn't take a step inside the treasure room to use the said item. If he was regretting it because of that, he couldn't tell. But for sure, there was a part of him that told him it was just the right thing. That the truth would eventually expose itself when the time comes.

And finally, the time for them to depart came. As usual, Gunter was making a fuss about Yuri leaving. But Greta, Lady Cherie, and Anissina sent them all off with encouraging smiles.

The last one of the group to board the ship was Conrad, which was unusual in Yuri's opinion. Even the others thought of the same thing.

On the other hand, Conrad was aware that his companions who already boarded the ship was looking at him as he waited for Lady Cherie to finish reminding him of a few things for the last time, which was unusual. Really, his mother could be a worrywart at times. Yet knowing her, he could tell that she was clearly worried.

"Be careful, okay? Tell me everything that will happen as soon as you get there. And if you think you can visit her, then-"

"Mother," Conrad gently cut Lady Cherie's words. "I'll be alright. So please, you don't have to worry about me."

Lady Cherie heaved a sigh after that, a sign of giving up. Soon after, she handed Conrad a scroll. He couldn't help frowning at he reluctantly took it from his mother. "What is this?"

"You'll know when you opened it. But I want you to open it on the ship, when you feel like it," Lady Cherie answered mysteriously before quickly giving her son an understanding smile.

It only made Conrad feel confused all the more. His mother sure was acting weird. He couldn't tell if it was because she was worried about him or there could be more reason. But he just nodded as an assurance to Lady Cherie. The woman smiled and bid goodbye to her second son.

Yuri just remained watching until Conrad finally boarded the ship. The soldier was surprised to see Yuri's observing gaze but chose not to show it and just smiled. Though the young Maoh returned the gesture, something was still amiss. But in the end, Conrad chose to ignore it. Something must have been bothering Yuri for the Maoh to look at him like that.

What he didn't notice was the fact that it wasn't just Yuri who was observing him. There were Conrad's other companions, as well. Yozak and Gwendal, in particular, asked Murata if he knew the reason why Conrad was acting different ever since the topic about the Beast Knights were brought up. But just like the others, the Daikenja was also clueless about it. But from what Murata could tell, it appeared that Conrad held a greater connection to the Esovian Mazoku than what they could fathom. And Lady Cherie somehow knew that connection all this time.

The trip was an estimated four days and three nights travel by ship. Yes, the current location of the magical island was that far. Though most of Yuri's retainers were hesitating to travel that long while trying to remain alert for any possible Phantasma attacks, the Maoh remained resolute in getting the Beast Knights' help to solve the problem. They could only hope that no Phantasma would appear and attack again.

It was on the second night of the trip that Conrad finally decided to take a look at the content of the scroll that Lady Cherie had given to him. He didn't pay attention to it since they departed because they were all busy having a meeting on how they would convince the Beast Knights to help them. Since he and Murata were the only ones with close encounters to the Beast Knights, their opinions mattered. At that point, Conrad told the information that Klaus had given him for the last time, leaving everything related to Lyall and her death.

Because of that, they managed to devise a plan. Though they must admit that they had conflicting confidence as to how they would make it work, everything remained yet to be seen. Hopefully, Conrad could convince at least Klaus to give them his support.

Conrad sighed as he looked at the scroll that he was holding. But soon after, he frowned at the sight of a drawing visible on one corner of that paper. What was sketched there was a flower that he knew he had seen on his mother's flowerbed.

Seriously, Mother, I'm not sure what are you really trying to do with this one, he thought while slightly shaking his head. Lady Cherie had drawn the flower Lyall's Effervescence on that paper. Despite the dark night with only little light illuminating the area where he was at the moment, for some reason that drawing seemed to glow a bit in the dark. He couldn't tell what kind of trick his mother did to make it happen. Even still, it was enough to make him smile even a bit.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you? That girl you met at that time," a voice from behind Conrad nearly startled him but he remained firm.

Upon turning around, he was surprised to see Yuri approaching him. But his surprise immediately dissipated when the Maoh's words finally registered in his mind. "That girl? Your Majesty, how did you-"

"It's Yuri, Nazukeoya," Yuri interjected with a smile which was soon replaced with a sad one. "I'm really sorry, Conrad. Though I didn't want to pry, I guess curiosity really consumed me that time. I can't help it. I was worried because you've been acting weird since the topic about the Beast Knights was brought up."

Conrad remained silent, though, which urged Yuri to continue speaking.

"I used the demon mirror to let me see the Beast Knight you've met that time. But don't worry, I only did that once," Yuri added, nearly flustering that made Conrad smile.

The Maoh sighed in relief at the sight of that. He really thought Conrad would scold him terribly for what he did, despite knowing that the soldier wasn't the type of person who would do something like that.

"Then... what part of my past with her that you saw in the mirror?"

"Only the first time that you met Lyall. You said before that you met an Esovian Mazoku who belong to a certain family, right? Does Lyall belong to that family?"

Conrad nodded and looked at the night sky. There were no stars in sight at the time but he could tell that it wasn't something ominous. At the same time, he felt Yuri approaching him and stopped beside him.

"The Central Aristocratic Family is the other term of the family that Lyall belonged to-the House of Amrein. In Esovia, there are Five Aristocratic Families that governed the different regions of that country."

"Are they just like Shin Makoku's Ten Noble Families?" Yuri asked in which Conrad answered with a nod.

"As I told you, the House of Amrein is the Central Aristocratic Family since they governed the central region, including the capital because they were previously the ruling family of Esovia. The House of Hagelin rules the southern region of Esovia, thus they were known as the Southern Aristocratic Family. The House of Vluerona is the ruling family of Esovia's eastern region and they were known as the Eastern Aristocratic Family. As for the northern region, it was the Northern Aristocratic Family who governed it and they belonged to the House of Reinhardt. And lastly, the Western Aristocratic Family known as the House of Kaiser ruled the western region of Esovia," Conrad explained which only left Yuri in awe.

The Maoh couldn't believe that Conrad was keeping that much information in him. "But how come you didn't mention that to the others, Conrad? Was it because Klaus told you before to keep it a secret?"

"It's my choice to protect that secret with my life, if deemed necessary. The same way I devoted myself to protect you. Prince Klaus had nothing to do with it. He gave me the right to tell the truth to the others if I felt it that it was the right thing to do. I only kept quiet until now because I just don't want to ruin the trust that Lyall had given to me when she told me about Esovia and the Beast Knights' existence." Upon saying that, however, Conrad couldn't hide the sadness that always consumed him each time he remembered anything that concerned Lyall.

Yuri wasn't the only one who noticed that, though. The others, especially Gwendal and Yozak, didn't know how to react to what they had seen on Conrad's face as he talked to Yuri. They had no idea what could they be talking about at all. But it was surely something which was powerful enough to crumble Conrad's defenses and let him show those emotions.

Silence surrounded the young king and the soldier for quite some time. It was only broken when Yuri saw the scroll on Conrad's hand.

"What is that on your hand, by the way?" Yuri asked as he pointed at the item in question.

Conrad nearly forgot that he was holding the scroll. That was when he remembered that he was supposed to look at its content.

"Mother gave this to me before we left," Conrad said as he looked at the drawing of the flower once again.

"Cherie-sama did? But why would she do that? In any case, what is it?"

"I have no idea since I haven't looked at it ever since Mother handed it to me."

Before Yuri could say anything, Conrad decided to unfurl it. But he froze at what greeted his sight.

"Lyall…" Conrad uttered subconsciously as he continued to look at the portrait drawn on that scroll. He didn't know his mother was holding something like this.

As for Yuri, he was amazed at the sight of the portrait of a very beautiful woman on that scroll. She was wearing a quasi-Chinese silk robe in mint green and silver colors. Come to think of it, Lady Yunsoo in her portrait drawn on the journal was wearing a similar clothing. Could this be the traditional clothing of the Esovian Mazoku's founders?

"Woah... She grew up even more beautiful than how she was when you first met her, Conrad," Yuri could only say in amazement as he continued looking at the portrait.

Even without Conrad saying anything, Yuri could immediately tell that the beautiful woman on the portrait was indeed Lady Lyall Corliss Amrein. She maintained her silvery green hair long, it seemed. It was even styled in a way that made her truly look regal and elegant. She looked so sweet and gentle in the portrait that it was hard to believe for those who didn't know her that she was, in fact, one of the six Beast Knights of her time.

"What will happen when we finally reach the island, Conrad? Will you be able to see her after all this time?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible, Yuri..." Conrad uttered in melancholy.

The Maoh frowned at Conrad's words. "What do you mean impossible? You're not going to see her at all?"

"Even though I want to, it won't happen at all. She died 25 years ago, Yuri."

xxxxxx

For Yuri to know that Conrad was affiliated to a Beast Knight was shocking enough. But for him to learn the same Beast Knight was already dead... Honestly speaking, he didn't know what to say or feel about it. When he first heard of it from Conrad, he was seriously left speechless. Though his godfather tried to act in front of him that it was alright, Yuri could still see that it hurt Conrad to some extent.

The Maoh heaved quite a depressing sigh as he thought about that. It was more than enough to catch Wolfram and Murata's attention, though.

"It looks like Lord Weller had given you more issues to think about with the way you're sighing right now, Shibuya," Murata commented as lightly as he could.

But Yuri didn't respond to that. This time, the other three males Gwendal, Shori, and Yozak had their focus shifted to the deeply thinking young king.

"What's wrong, Yuri?" Shori couldn't help asking.

"I think it was a bad idea to bring Conrad along now that I heard the story." Though Yuri said it as softly as he could, it was still audible enough for the others to hear, which left them all confused.

"What do you mean, Yuri?"

"Conrad appeared to have an even deeper connection to the Esovian Mazoku than we ever thought. He said the Beast Knight he met before… died 25 years ago."

Surprise filled the air upon hearing that. The others exchanged glances looking for answers to their unspoken questions.

"If it was 25 years ago, then it was before the Mazoku's war against the humans. It was before Julia died," Wolfram said that soon broke the tensed silence. "I never knew… he lost another important person that time. He lost that person… and then Julia not long after."

"All of us didn't know that," Gwendal suddenly spoke in a firm tone. "So there's no reason for you to only blame yourself, Wolfram."

"But Brother-"

"Gwendal's right, Wolfram," Yuri soon cut off Wolfram's words. "We had no idea at all. Conrad kept it all to himself all this time."

But Murata, who remained silent for the long time since he last said something, suddenly spoke. "I don't think Lord Weller kept it all to himself, Shibuya."

Yuri faced his friend with a frown. "Are you saying that someone else in Shin Makoku knew about Lyall besides Conrad?"

"Lyall?"

That was when Yuri clamped his mouth. Damn it! Conrad would surely kill him. Why was he blurting out everything all of a sudden?

"Mothers know best, Shibuya. It wasn't just Lord Weller who was acting weird ever since the Beast Knight topic was brought up," Murata stated.

It didn't take long for the others to realize what the Daikenja was talking about.

"Then Your Grace, are you talking about Cherie-sama? She knew about this Beast Knight that Conrad met before?" Yozak inquired simultaneously.

"There is that possiblity. We still don't have any idea on what she knew about that topic concerning Lord Weller and the Wind Tiger Knight. But whatever it is that she knew, she made it her duty to protect it for Lord Weller's sake. Losing this Lyall person was already something painful for him to bear. As a mother, Lady von Spitzberg could only help her son this way," Murata explained.

No one was able to say anything after that. Who would be, when they knew that Murata had a point? But to think such story existed...

"By the way, Shibuya," Murata soon said, catching the Maoh's attention. "I'm betting you used the demon mirror to have an idea about that Wind Tiger Knight. Anything else you found out about that person?"

All Yuri did was to scratch the back of his head as the others stared at him. Well, he was guilty about that, anyway. But soon after, his expression turned serious. "I only used it once, Murata. For some reason, even though I had a lot of opportunity to use the demon mirror again to know more about her, I couldn't find myself doing it again. I told Conrad the same thing when we were talking a while back. I also apologized for doing such thing as looking for his past in the demon mirror."

But out of all the things that Yuri said, there was one that caught the others' attention.

"'Her'? Then you're saying that the Beast Knight Conrad met a long time ago was a girl?"

"Shibuya, you said that her name was Lyall, right? Do you know her full name?"

Yuri nodded. "I was able to know that using the demon mirror. Her full name was Lyall Corliss Amrein. Conrad said that she belonged to the Central Aristocratic Family. What about it?"

Murata was the one who became silent this time. But his silence was sonething that spelled a certain news to Shori.

"Don't tell me you know her, my younger brother's friend?"

The Daikenja shook his head. "No. But I know that the House of Amrein was founded by two of the original Beast Knights Lord Chunho of the Lee clan and Lady Hyorin of the Yin clan. They were the ones who married each other out of the six Beast Knights. Because of that, the House of Amrein became the ruling house of the Kingdom of Esovia."

"But according to Conrad, the monarchy system of that country was already abolished around the same time the war between the Mazoku and the humans broke out. And yet the House of Amrein remained as the ruling house?"

"Something must have happened between the time Lady Lyall died and the war broke out for Esovia's monarchy system to disappear just like what Conrad told us," Gwendal stated which earned him a nod from Murata.

"It's like you're saying that her death triggered something for that to happen in the end," Shori commented soon after.

"I don't know if we'll be able to discover the truth behind that. But if it has something to do with what happened ages ago around the same time as the era of Esovia's founders, then perhaps-"

"She died… because of a curse," a voice soon interrupted Murata which surprised everyone.

When they looked around to find the source, they all saw Conrad by the door looking solemnly at them.

"Conrad..." Yuri could only say.

"Klaus told me that Lyall used her body as a vessel of the curse that once caused havoc to Esovia a long time ago," Conrad continued as he finally entered the room.

"If it was the same curse that wiped out the members of the royal family during Lady Yunsoo's time, then I can understand what happened for the ruling house to finally abolish the monarchy system. Lady Amrein used her own body to save the members of the royal family."

"But why would she do that?"

"If she did that much to save the royal family, I'm now guessing the reason for her to do that was to ensure the past won't repeat itself. She sacrificed herself in order to make sure the royal family won't be wiped out again," Murata said as an answer to Wolfram's question.

The others noticed Conrad's silence which only made the said soldier sigh. Soon after, he faced the Daikenja. "Your Grace, do you think the curse has something to do with the Phantasma and the presence that you said was similar to Soushu?"

Tensed silence surrounded them once again. But it didn't last long.

"I have no idea, to be honest, Lord Weller," Murata replied. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

"Three years after Lyall died, Klaus said that the Phantasma attacked Esovia in order to retrieve her body to be used as a core to create more Phantasma."

What Conrad said, however, was enough for Murata to realize something. "Wait a minute, Lord Weller. Use her body to become the core? Are you saying that Lady Amrein wasn't just an elite member of the House of Amrein?"

With a frown, Conrad nodded and decided to tell the truth. "Lyall was the youngest child of the last queen of Esovia, Queen Roheis Imayne Amrein. She was also Klaus' younger sister."