He's in Love with the Devil.

Chapter 9: Farewell, King

"That was awesome."

The man who greeted the king stood outside of Tru Castle and whispered.

The negotiation team was nearly three hundred people, and the king's luxurious carriage was in the middle of the team. The carriage, which needed twelve tall horses to pull it, was as wide as a small house, and the oak skeleton of the carriage, plated with metal, gleamed in the sunlight, while the scarlet Southland velvet covered the carriage and swayed gently as it traveled.

"Don't act like an unseen village boy."

The man at the front of the line let out a chuckle at that.

He was a very handsome knight, with pale blonde hair meticulously combed back and deep eye sockets, so if he was placed in the high society of the royal palace there would be countless noblewomen swooning over him. And he was draped in a hooded robe with golden harp embroidery.

"His Majesty our King is no ordinary man, I heard that while the Northlands were being forced to kill a large number of people due to the bitter winter famine, our honorable King was having his carriage built for himself out of gold."

"Why doesn't he bring his golden carriage here? To open the eyes of those Blesians so that they can open their lion's mouths a little wider."

The person who spoke first was meanly sarcastic.

The king's attendants had seen them.

The flag in the king's procession waved toward them.

"Well, now let us go and greet His Honorable Majesty."

The knight with the light blonde hair ended the conversation as he drove his horse forward, the rest of the group following him.

Aside from the scholar-judge in charge of the negotiations, there were a dozen or so scarlet-cloaked, iron-armored guards in the group, who clustered outside the ornate carriage that separated the king from the others. Those were the king's sworn knights. However, in front of those dozen or so iron-armored guards were three other people who were not dressed quite the same way.

"Sheen."

Those three recognized the blonde knight who greeted them, and they greeted him with smiles.

The greeters led by the blonde knight rolled over and dismounted, and the king's procession came to a halt. The people who had traveled a long distance got a long overdue respite. The dozen or so iron-armored guards were spread out on both sides, and the chief housekeeper went forward and respectfully lifted the curtain of the carriage, and a hand wearing a rose ring stretched out from behind the scarlet velvet.

The dark gold iron rose was inlaid with a dark red jewel in the center, which was the insignia of the royal family of Rogaland.

But this honorable and gorgeous ring became an accompaniment at this moment, and the hand wearing it was the more honorable existence, which was like a dew dotted on the rose. The hand is as white as the cold jade sent across the sea, not as small as the ladies, not as thick as the men, well-proportioned and slender, no one is not exquisite.

The blond knight dropped to one knee, took the hand that reached out from within the carriage, and kissed the ring of iron roses on it.

"Honored by your health. Your Majesty."

The king got out of the carriage.

It was the first time many of the greeters had seen their majesty.

Suffice it to say that, without thinking about his "accomplishments", many would have been happy to serve such a king, for he truly seemed to be the head of the dazzling court of honor and luxury, the brightest of all in that strange court.

The king's shoulders were draped in a scarlet cloak, lined with a dark red silk satin robe, embellished with buttons molded in gold in the shape of roses, and the neckline turned out in three layers of white lace, with crystal diamonds set in that lace, dazzling the eye. A crown set with many precious stones was worn over his silver hair, and his face was as exquisite and compelling as the diamonds he wore.

Perhaps if one looked at the whole of Rogaland, one could not find another young man as handsome as him.

--A luxurious rose that brings death by corruption.

Lead the way for the king, thought the blond knight.

The rituals of the formal meeting were over, and the negotiating mission led by the king himself passed over the lowered drawbridge and entered the city of Tru. It was evident that some work had been done to greet the king. The stores in the castle were embellished with red cloth, and those accompanying the greeting wore a bright red rosebud on their chests.

The owner of Tru Castle, the blonde knight, Baron Sheen.

Baron Sheen told the king that a dinner and opera had been prepared to receive you.

The people of the Rogaland Empire knew that their king loved fancy clothes and feasts, and was fond of all the grand rehearsals and elegant operas.

--I just don't know why all those operas glorifying the wise king didn't inculcate him with a bit of mercy.

In any case, if you want to put the irritable king in a better mood, you can't go wrong with more feasts and operas.

Surprisingly, the king coldly rejected the feast and the opera this time.

In the hall of Chateau Theroux, the king wiped his hands with a white handkerchief, and looked up at the Marquis de Chine, the owner of the chateau, carelessly: "Do you think that the operas here are of first-class artistic standard?"

He said this in a soft, casual tone, with a kind of heavenly rightfulness.

What was the reaction of the principals of Tru Castle when their carefully prepared welcoming gifts were treated with contempt and without regard? How could they react?

--They could only maintain their smiles and apologize to the king in sincere fear.

"Take me up to the tower, I want to admire the castle."

The king ordered.

............

The tower was high enough that it overlooked the entire castle from here, including the mountains and meadows outside.

Zhu Chi stood on the high tower, his hand resting on the stone window, and thanks to the warm scarlet cloak he was wearing, he was able to not freeze from the cold at the very top of this high tower. The cold wind seemed to make his pupils, which were already hard to bring warmth to, more and more icy blue.

Baron Sheen, the owner of Tru Castle, accompanied him and introduced him to the history of the castle.

Zhu Chi was not interested in those long family histories as he looked out at the overall condition of Tru Castle.

"Tru" means "beautiful castle" in the language of Rogaland, it is a strong fortress defending the city of Tru, and it is also the frontline of the military battlefield to deal with the Bolesi Expeditionary Army today. In front of Tru Castle is the deep and fast Doma River. The king observed two monolithic fortresses built on the wetlands created by the tributaries of the Doma.

A wooden bridge across the river was controlled from the castle corner tower and would be lifted if the enemy came from the front.

And with the castle as a starting point, looking forward, there was an undulating and gently rolling meadow, and on the far western side of the meadow, a dark green forest - over there was already the undulating Konoson mountain range.

After observing the entire general terrain, the king withdrew his gaze and looked down slightly.

His silver hair was ruffled by the wind from the high platform.

"...... By the time the spring solstice comes, the grassland in front of us will be decorated with beautiful Sana flowers ......"

Baron Sheen could be called a graceful nobleman, well educated in literature, he was good at using simple words to outline beautiful images.

Only, the king did not move to listen for half a day, but did not get anything he wanted to know.

But the king didn't bother to interrupt him either, and occasionally made a sound of inquiry or two.

The king held onto the window sill and looked down on the interior of the castle from this high place. The king's gaze fell to a place, and he suddenly spoke up to interrupt Baron Sheen's gushing narrative: "How are your military expenses?"

He asked as if he was rambling.

Baron Sheen's complexion, however, looked a bit gloomy for a moment, but the blonde baron quickly hid his disorientation and still smiled brightly, "Thanks to Your Majesty's favor, the soldiers have just finished enjoying this year's turkey feast, and I'm thanking Your Majesty on their behalf."

"Yes?" The king straightened up as if he didn't take the casual question to heart, "That's wonderful."

The teenage king's likes and dislikes were always unpredictable.

He was the one who said he wanted to enjoy the beauty of Tru Castle, and he was the one who quickly grew tired of having to go back to his room. Baron Sheen obeyed him and led the king downstairs to the room that was ready and burning with warm firewood.

After a while.

Baron Sheen hurried back up to the tower again, and he stood up to where the king had just stood, looking down with a few misgivings, trying to find out what the king had just seen.

Below was a field of low stone houses that looked no different from the usual.

"...... I was paranoid."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile.

"That was great."

The king was in his room, standing in front of the window, curbing the lightness and casualness of the day. He looked expressionlessly at the icy blossoms that had formed on the window, as if he were seeing things in the distance through them.

"My loyal lord."

Just now, as he stood watching down from the tower, he saw a soldier dragging a slaughtered warhorse quickly through the stone room.

Under what circumstances would a cavalryman slaughter a warhorse that was of immense importance to him?

--Without food and being approached by death.

The icy mask returned to the king's face.

...............

Negotiations began the day after the king's arrival at Tru Castle.

The king's party traveled to the meadow to the north via the wooden bridge in front of Tru Castle.

The exact location of the negotiations was in a lowland area between the Moon River Fortress and Tru Castle. A tributary of the Doma River meandered through the water and grass, creating a no-man's land.

Peace agreements were usually held in such places.

The blonde knight, Baron Sheen, stood on the citadel and waved goodbye to the negotiating mission.

"Farewell, my king's majesty."

The Baron's smile was decent and impeccable.

Evening.

Tents were set up in the grassy field halfway between Moon River Fortress and Tru Castle. The tent at one end was red, that was the Rogaland Empire ruled by the Rose family. One end was blue, that was the Bolesi Kingdom ruled by the Tulip Family.

The realms were clearly separated.

The two sides met face to face, and the tall and heroic Bolesi Expedition General shook hands symbolically with the king, who was clad in a scarlet cloak. Zhu Chi noticed that behind the general stood a pale and thin young man.

He withdrew his gaze and said succinctly, "Begin."

The negotiations began.

The purpose of the negotiations was for both sides to make every effort to fight for conditions that were favorable to them and to end this war. Experienced stripers traded blows, but King Rogaland, who was one of the most important people, rarely appeared at the negotiating table.

The king, accompanied by his knights, took a walk not far from the negotiation site.

--This made the negotiating minister who came secretly shake his head in his mind.

On the afternoon of the second day of the negotiation that lasted, the king met another person in the meadow he frequented.

The man in the black robe rose from the grass and humbly bowed to the king on his steed.

The king recognized him.

It was the young man who had stood behind General Bolesi's expedition that day.

"You have come to see me on purpose."

The king rolled off his horse and motioned for his knights to step back a little.

"Your Majesty is not worried about me assassinating you?" The young man reminded him, "The Kingdom of Bolesi and Rogaland are mortal enemies."