125 Declaration of War
“I am William, the captain of the escort of the kingdom of Crete, who will be responsible for the safety of the witch from now on.”
The Witch of the West turned her black eye to William. He is also blind. He listens to the sound and looks at William’s face to guess the direction, but his eyes don’t match.
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
I was thinking of a high-handed woman, but a surprisingly normal answer came back. Maybe because the appearance was so intense, I felt a little strange.
That must have been the case. William opened his mouth involuntarily.
“Even if you ask for my name…”
The Witch of the West’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at William’s words. It was just a little bit, almost unnoticeable.
But at that moment, thousands of crows around them began to flap their wings and caw.
A few of them turned their round eyes to William and lunged at him with their mouths wide open.
“Aww!”
“What, what!”
“It’s the witch’s curse!”
The escort soldiers are startled and run in the opposite direction.
William also hesitated in horror and took a few steps back.
The crows didn’t come close to William anymore, but they were still flapping their wings.
The Witch of the West opened her mouth quietly, as if she couldn’t hear the loud cries of the crows.
“Only one person knows my name. I don’t intend to tell anyone else, so don’t ask in the future.”
It was a soft voice. It would have sounded like normal conversation if the crows hadn’t been nasty on the sidelines.
William smiled awkwardly, but opened his mouth thinking that the woman’s eyes could not be seen.
“Sorry. It was just a simple question, so there is no deep meaning. Then, witch, shall we go this way?”
William reaches out to escort her, but the Witch of the West is blind. Of course, he wouldn’t even know he held out his hand.
“I will escort you. Here, hold my hand.”
But the Witch of the West shook her head.
“It’s okay. I have these children.”
Before the Witch of the West finished her words, several crows jumped to her side.
A few spread their wings and threaten William. I feel like I’m going to run into it right now and close my eyes.
William stepped back from the Witch of the West and stood some distance away.
A raven that went to the side of the West Witch flew up and landed on the Witch’s shoulder. And I turn my head little by little and look in all directions.
The witch did not move, but only the crow looked in all directions with round eyes and croaked several times in a small voice.
The Witch of the West moved her feet quietly in accordance with the sound, as if listening to the crow’s story.
Her eyes were clumsily fixed in the air and her movements were a little awkward, but the Witch of the West headed straight ahead as if she knew where the carriage was.
It gave me goosebumps as it looked like a crow was replacing her eyes.
The soldiers standing at a distance and watching are buzzing. Fear quickly spread among the soldiers like an epidemic.
Suddenly, William remembered the rumor that the Witch of the West had white hair.
‘It’s strange.’
There was no longer any doubt that the woman in front of him was a witch. But the witch’s hair, though white, was silver. It’s a little subtle to say it’s gray hair.
‘Maybe it was something wrong.’
Maybe someone got the silver hair the wrong way. Certainly, the silvery hair that shed light on could easily be mistaken for white hair in the dark.
In any case, we must now bring this witch to the king. The king was not on the front lines, but he was waiting in the rear at a distance.
As the witch climbed into the carriage with the crow, the wheels began to move on the dry ground.
The crows flapped their wings and climbed into the air, then sat on top of the wagon.
The crow, unable to sit on the roof of the carriage, soared high into the sky.
Some jumped off the ground and followed, then stopped for a while, then flew away and landed on the nearby ground again when the distance was far.
Soldiers forcibly surrounded the wagon. heart can know You will want to run away. William doesn’t want to come close to this witch either.
No matter how beautiful and bewitching the witch was, it made me uncomfortable, like seeing a beautifully decorated corpse.
The crows perched atop the wagons stared at the soldiers with sparkling black eyes. It looked like he was being watched.
In the sky, like black clouds, crows were following the carriage.
It became dark as if my heart was sinking to the floor. oh sh*t I’m not on this mission. I thought so. Well, if you think about it that way, you can’t help it.
If you disobey the king’s order, you will die immediately. The King of Crete was known for his narrow-mindedness and roughness.
So is the top, so is the bottom. Nothing is right in the country of Credera. The outside looks fine, but the inside is rotten. All the roots were rotten down to the ground below.
***
“It’s okay. I heard that someone went over here a few days ago. We can go safely too. Don’t worry.”
The father reassures the mother and says: The boy held his younger brother’s hand tightly. The hand, like a dry twig, was very small.
I haven’t eaten anything for two days already. I dug several times in the snowy ground, but I couldn’t find a single dry tree root. In the end, I was hungry and the only thing I put in my mouth was cold eyes.
‘Will it really be okay if I go this way?’
The boy looked in the direction of Crete, which his father had spoken about many times.
It has already been several months since I left my hometown in the middle of the night as if running away.
My father had targeted Watoringu, but most of the roads there were blocked by soldiers. It is said that it is because there were so many people who went to Watoringu, which is said to be good for eating and living.
Inevitably, the boy and his family were on their way to the kingdom of Crete. I don’t know what the country is like, but my father thought it would at least be better than Dicoquaria.
Even that country cannot go through normal gateways. However, rumors were circulating that there was no one guarding the point where the mountain was cut off. It is said that several people have already gone there.
The boy and his family walked for a long time across the snowy ground until they came to a spot where sticks were scattered.
this is the border If you take just one step from the point where the stick is inserted, Dicoquaria becomes the kingdom of Crete.
There were trees and a narrow stream all around. It sloped slightly like a hill, so I couldn’t tell what was on the other side. My father says there is a small village over the hill.
“Come on, let’s hurry.”
My father’s voice was slightly bright.
If there is a village, the surroundings are rice fields. There may be some leftover straw or dropped grain left after farming, and if you are lucky, there is a possibility that you will work and receive some food.
The boy also followed his father, holding the hand of his younger brother who was about to fall.
It was about the time the family crossed the pole and entered the lands of the kingdom of Crete, approaching the hill.
Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard and dozens of soldiers rushed from across the hill.
“The enemy! The enemy has invaded!”
the soldiers shouted.
The boy was startled and looked back hurriedly. But nobody was there. There was only a boy and his family here.
While the boy and family struggled, soldiers rushed in and surrounded the family.
Soldiers keep shouting. The enemy, the enemy has invaded.
I don’t know what’s going on. The boy looked down at himself to see if he looked different, but all he could see was the old clothes and shoes he was wearing all the time.
A soldier grabbed the mother’s arm and dragged her.
“Ah! No, let me go. Please. Let me go.”
The mother screams and is dragged away by the soldiers.
As the father clung to the soldier’s leg, another soldier kicked the father in the back. As the father rolled to the ground, this time two soldiers started dragging him.
The boy and his brother were also captured by the soldiers.
They were taken to a small village just over the hills.
It was smaller than any town I had ever been to. The sparsely located houses were broken here and there, and there were few people.
The mother was taken to one of the houses, while the rest of the family stood in the square, captured by the soldiers.
My mother’s screams echoed through the house, and several soldiers entered and came out again.
My father was attacked by soldiers and stabbed in the leg.
The boy didn’t say anything and trembled and hugged his little brother. I was just looking for a better place to live, but why did it turn out like this? I don’t know what’s going on.
Soldiers grabbed the father and forced him to put on old clothes. These are the clothes worn by the soldiers of Cania. I had seen a soldier in that suit many years ago. My father said that the man was a soldier who was paid for by the country.
A few hours must have passed. Mother was dragged outside again. Her clothes were torn and her mother’s face was torn and bleeding.
In the hand of the father who was bleeding from the leg, the soldier forced a knife and stabbed the mother directly in the chest.
My mother collapsed, and my father screamed terribly.
The boy was frozen in his arms so that his brother could not see him. I couldn’t do anything for my father or mother.
The soldier shouted loudly.
“The enemy violated and killed a woman in our country!”
The soldier snatched the knife from his father’s hand. The father fell helplessly to the ground after being pushed by a soldier, and another soldier standing beside him struck a knife at him.
The boy closed his eyes tightly.
someone was shouting
“Where’s the proclamation! Get the declaration of war! Hurry up! Hey, someone take care of that bastard.”
Someone’s footsteps came closer. I’m so afraid I can’t even open my eyes. When I hugged my crying younger brother tighter in my arms, I felt a great shock on the nape of my neck. The boy fell to the floor with his brother.
Once again, a shock comes to the back. And once again.
Underneath the swaying body as soon as the impact came, the younger brother was crying loudly.
***
Several times, messengers came from Watoringu, and orders came again. Most of the news that the messenger brings was expected in advance, but sometimes it was unexpected.
Rudy pressed his tired eyes with his fingers and leaned back in his chair. It’s like sand in your eyes.
“Your Majesty, how about getting some sleep? You haven’t rested properly for several days already.”
“Well, I was thinking of going to the parade ground from now on.”
“It is the Emperor’s job to adjust his body condition and rest. Now is the time to rest, Your Majesty.”
The chamberlain turned around behind Rudy and began to massage his shoulders.
The chamberlain may have been a masseuse in a previous life. I only pressed the hard part of my shoulder a few times, but the strength of my whole body was gradually drained, and a pleasant sigh came out.
The movement of the fingers was exquisite, and the eyes closed by themselves. I feel good. I don’t know how long it was. I think it was for a while, but I think I forgot to doze off.
Rudy forced himself to stand up straight. The chief chamberlain was still rubbing his shoulders, but the movement of his hand to induce sleep seemed to have stopped.
The chief of staff spoke behind his back in a low voice.
“It is said that the Declaration of War from the Kingdom of Crete has arrived. It was delivered not through the normal diplomatic route, but through the border gate of Dicoquaria.”
“contents is?”
“It is said that Dicoquaria soldiers invaded the land of the Kingdom of Crete and ravaged its own people.
“It’s a pity.”
Rudy closed his eyes. Just by listening to the story, I could tell what had happened.
Refugees continued to appear in Dicoquaria.
If a peasant leaves the territory without permission, he becomes a fugitive. It’s hard for such people to settle anywhere, so that kind of thing doesn’t happen. However, the current situation in Dicoquaria was not good.
As a result of poor harvests, looting in Cania, and the lack of manpower enslaved, people are starving to death every day in Dicoquaria.
People who found it difficult to make a living ran away at night to other areas at the risk of danger. Refugees continued to flow into Watoringu.
When farmers fall out, there are not enough people to work, and the yield is further reduced. Eventually, the area became more difficult to live on. The vicious cycle continues.
The Kania side, which governs Dicoquaria, is trying their best to prevent the peasants from leaving the territory, but to no avail.
The misery of decoquaria was what Rudy saw with his own eyes while he was in Watoringu many years ago. I heard it’s worse now than it was back then.
Rudy brushed off the gloomy buildup in his heart and opened his mouth.
“How is Kania’s response?”
“They seem to be confused. The messenger should have departed for Cania by now, but there was a call saying that it was delayed for about half a day.”
“You’re slow. That’s why it will be too late to ask for reinforcements.”
It seems that the chief of staff gave the order. An attendant brought tea and sweets and placed them on the table. The chief of staff stopped rubbing his shoulders and came to his side to stand.
“The country is also in a state of chaos right now. Rebellions are breaking out all over the country. There’s probably no time to worry about decoquaria.”
The chamberlain grinned.
“It seems that His Majesty will do as he pleases.”
Rudy smiled bitterly and raised the teacup.
Cania is currently reaching its limit. The Empire was behind it, so it was barely surviving, and it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed or was invaded by another country.
Naturally, it was difficult to send an army to prevent the invasion of the Kingdom of Crete. Inevitably, Kania had no choice but to lean on the Empire. This war will destroy not only Dicoquaria, but also Cania.
Rudy took a few sips of tea and quietly opened his mouth.
“It’s a long way to Watoringu. If you wait for a call from Kania, you’ll be late. If you make a mistake, you’ll end up arriving to pick up our corpses instead of reinforcements. Give the entire army an order to depart.”
The chamberlain smiled and bent down.
“Everything according to Your Majesty’s will!”
