After exchanging a few pleasantries and confirming each other's recent situations, the two embraced happily.
When Priscilla realized that she was talking to him while still wrapped in a thin towel and not wearing any clothes, her cheeks turned as red as apples again, and she scolded Alphonse for being so focused on looking that he forgot to remind her.
She hurriedly ran back to the bathroom, while Alphonse inwardly berated himself for being too complacent.
After a brief reunion, Alphonse said goodbye to Priscilla, glanced outside, and left her bedroom unnoticed.
As he stepped outside, he thought to himself, no matter how much he tries to hide, he will eventually have to see his master.
And Master's emotions should have stabilized by now... I hope she won't get so agitated again; I was truly terrified.
After leaving the palace and exiting the capital, sure enough, in the middle of a plain where grass was dancing in the breeze, a figure in blue was waiting for Alphonse's arrival.
Seeing Zeraya's familiar, slender back, always carrying various sword-type weapons, from afar, Alphonse softly called out "Master".
Zeraya turned her head slightly and glanced at her apprentice out of the corner of her eye.
A sorrowful expression appeared on her beautiful, pale face.
At some point, the hairpin was removed, and her long hair flowed freely in the air like waves.
The boy who was rescued from the forest years ago, barely alive, has grown into a handsome young man after years of trials and tribulations.
Under the moonlight, Alphonse, whom Zereya had her back to, stood so tall and imposing.
Her long, silvery hair, tied back, fluttered in the wind; her entire body was encased in black chainmail; and the icy holy sword Danlitaire hung at her waist.
He is proficient in the swordsmanship and knowledge taught by his master, and his left hand wields the power of the mysterious emblem "Radiance of the Far North".
Just as the prophecy says, he truly is the "dawn of the far north"... But will Valentino's destined fate of national demise really be completely changed, or even overturned, by this glimmer of dawn?
"Leave Valentino with me...." The master's crescent-shaped eyes gazed into the void as he spoke to Alphonse as if in a dream.
"What... huh?"
"Come with me and leave Valentino, and return to live in the East."
After confirming that he had heard clearly, Alphonse reluctantly refused. “I’m sorry, but I can’t just leave like this. The late king has only recently passed away, and the country is in turmoil. Valentino needs me and my knights now, and I will not back down in this critical moment. Master…”
Alphonse pleaded, hoping that his master could understand his long-cherished wish and appreciate his patriotic sentiments.
Zeraya turned around, looking directly into Alphonse's eyes, and said as if correcting him of a mistake:
"With just you alone... even with the Silver Knights, it's almost impossible to save this country."
A gust of wind carrying magical energy descended from the sky and blew toward Elfons.
Surprised, Zeraya vaguely heard the low growl of the dragon.
The shadow of the white dragon Desfield coiled around the young man before him, radiating light in the night.
“Serving my country…that was also the original intention of my ‘mother’ Desfield, who raised me!” Alphonse replied, currently enveloped by the power of Desfield’s light.
-
Zeraya simply didn't want to lose Elfons; she just didn't want to witness her most beloved apprentice knowingly throwing himself into the fire of national ruin.
Regardless of whether he was the successor of his family's swordsmanship or a knight commanding silver troops, the premise that transcends all of that is that he was a "family member" with whom he had lived for seven years and whose emotional bond was as strong as blood.
For Zeraya, this young man had become an irreplaceable figure in her heart.
This is what is meant by "family affection that transcends all other emotions."
When a moth flies into a flame, it is not the moth itself that is heartbroken, but those who witness this tragic scene.
Valentino's fate was sealed. But this young man's fate was one he could freely choose.
Why must we link this young man's fate with Valentino?
To be precise, why force the two together?
The name Alphonse should be remembered as a "sword master who has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship through a lifetime of study and practice," and be celebrated for generations to come, rather than as a "heroic martyr who led the Silver Knights to his death for his country."
"Alphonse...do you really know...the undercurrents and conspiracies brewing within the kingdom?"
He remained silent.
"The kingdom you longed for no longer exists."
He remained silent.
"The Royal Knights slaughtered us barbarians in the East. Do you remember the plains where we once lived? You..."
Can you imagine that such a beautiful place was turned into a living hell because of those so-called knights?
Heavy taxes, plunder, conscription, ravages... Our eastern region was originally a free area neglected by the kingdom. Since your departure and the arrival of the royal cavalry, everything has begun to change, and the days of peace are gone forever.
At that moment, I understood: this was Valentino's iron fist! This was the iron-fisted approach the country you were supposed to serve used against its people!
“Master… I can guarantee that none of the people who did these evil deeds are our Silver Knights. And I… I will serve my country in my own way and change it.”
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