The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 83

Duon asked while glaring at the Black Knight with wary eyes. The Black Knight of Kustan. A demon summoned by Kustan.

Little was known about him, but as far as Duon could remember, today was the first time the two had met face-to-face.

The Black Knight made no reply. Instead, he lowered his head slightly and moved his hand upward to remove the helmet he was wearing. Flutter. His golden hair, which seemed to be made of gold, flowed down gently.

Seeing the Black Knight’s face that was hidden under his helmet, Duon’s eyes went wide.

What was he looking at right now? What was standing in front of him now?

His jaw trembled at the unbelievable thing he was seeing. His brain felt like it had gone blank.

“…… Edwin?”

Duon called out the name he had buried in his memory.

“Edwin? Why are you, why are you here?”

Like this.

Duon looked at Edwin with shaking eyes. Edwin was the kind of person Duon would never have imagined to encounter, especially like this. As far as Duon knew, Edwin should have been living quietly somewhere in the country by now.

Several months had passed since he hadn’t heard about Edwin as he was busy with work due to the wartime situation. Duon didn’t think it was a big deal, he considered the news as good news.

Why is Edwin in the capital? Why is he in this castle that has fallen into the enemy’s hands?

Duon looked at Edwin’s appearance once again. Unlike him, who was confused and at a loss by Edwin’s sudden appearance, Edwin looked rather indifferent and calm. Despite the fact that the castle was captured by the Kustan. Despite the fact that Duon is kneeling in front of him in such a humiliating manner. Edwin didn’t look surprised or apologetic at all.

Like he already knew that things would turn out this way.

Like it was Edwin himself who planned and ordered all this.

The moment the thought came to Duion, shivers ran up on him.

“No. No. No!”

Duon shook his head in denial.

“Something is wrong! Something is wrong with this! Am I right, Edwin? There’s no way you, Edwin, you, no one else, could be the Black Knight! You who used to be Redford, the royal family! There’s no way Redford betrayed Brimdel!”

Duon’s cries that were close to howls, echoed in the silent audience hall.

“Edwin! Say something! Don’t stand still like that, say something!”

“…….”

“Are you doing this because of what happened to your family? Because His Majesty ordered the Redford family to be annihilated. That’s why you plotted such a huge thing to get revenge on us.”

Duon asked. No matter how much he squeezed his brain, there was no other reason to come to mind.

‘But why?’

Many years have already passed since that happened. And he heard that Edwin has been living a quiet life as if he was dead, obediently obeying all the royal family’s orders. Then why did Edwin come and rebel against the royal family now? Why did he side with the enemy and drive his country to the brink?

‘Maybe he’s been looking for an opportunity for revenge while lying low and sharpening his blade for revenge.’

Duon asked himself. But he soon gave up on that idea. Edwin was a Redford man, even if he is not now. Duchy Redford has been regarded as the most faithful sword of the royal family and a capable hunting dog.

Their loyalty to the royal family was blind and absolute, that it could even be said as excessive. The public joked that if the King ordered them to die, they might not hesitate to jump off the cliff.

‘No matter what, they’re human.’

Many people shook their heads and said it was nonsense, but Duon knew it wasn’t that far from the truth. As proof, most of Redford’s people did not resist the King’s arrest order and walked into the prison obediently. They did not utter a single curse against the King even until the day they were beheaded.

They could fight or they could run away. But the Redford people didn’t. Like moths that voluntarily flew into the fire, even though they could fly freely high in the sky, they disappeared instead.

Duon looked up at Edwin again. Golden hair and prominent brow bones. Blue eyes like the sea and a straight nose. And even the slightly stubborn-looking closed lips and strong jawline.

Edwin looked a little more emaciated than before, but he still had the look of a close friend Duon had known since childhood. Also, Edwin’s father and the King’s most loyal servant, the former Duke Redford, Iorn, looked exactly like Edwin.

There was no way he, Edwin, and no one else, would have truly betrayed Brimdel and rebelled against the royal family.

“Edwin. Listen to me. You are making a big mistake.”

Duon persuaded him with a desperate look.

“I don’t know what they said to lure you in, but think again. There’s nothing to benefit from this. At best, you will be abandoned after being used by the King of Kustan.”

“…….”

“You betrayed your old master, so do you think their king will accept you fully? How funny. If they made a mistake, you might even point your sword at them, so there’s no way they’d accept such a dangerous person without any countermeasures. They need your abilities right now, so they’re going to say nice things for you to hear, but that ends when the war ends too. You will be abandoned like an old shoe.”

Duon appealed sincerely. There were sharp glances coming from around him, but he didn’t care. What was urgent right now was to change the mind of the man standing in front of him.

“Edwin, at least now before it’s too late.”

“Your Highness. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Edwin quietly interrupted Duon’s words.

“Because the relationship between the King of Kustan and me was only established to thoroughly achieve my purpose.”

“Your purpose?”

“Yes. I made a deal with the King of Kustan.”

Edwin nodded his head. His eyes, looking at his old master, were infinitely cold.

“If I give him this country, he promised to give me anything I want in return.”

“Give this…… country? Anything…… you want?”

Duon’s complexion rapidly turned pale as he slowly repeated Edwin’s words. To give the country to the King of the enemy country. What more explanation does he need for that statement?

The situation was pretty bad. Duon clenched his fists.

“Don’t tell me, are you coveting the throne?”

“If I wanted something like that, I wouldn’t have to borrow Kustan’s hand.”

Edwin said with a cold smile.

“I don’t want the throne. I don’t want to become a nobleman of Kustan like Your Highness thinks.”

Edwin brushed back his hair, which flowed down his forehead, and wiped the sweat from his face. Then the blood from his hands was all over his handsome face.

“There are three conditions I have presented to him.”

The bloodstained face was frighteningly eerie yet alluring.

“The first is the destruction of this country.”

“!”

“The second is the neck of the King of this country.”

“What, what?”

Duon screamed in fright at Edwin’s tremendous words. But Edwin went on, completely ignoring Duon’s reaction.

“And the third is that this country will never be able to rebuild again…….”

Edwin glanced at the captured Brimdel royalties with cold eyes. His blue eyes were stained with cruelty.

“…… Brimdel will be dried of all the royal seed.”

“Nonsense!”

Duon roared.

“Now that I see it, you are really crazy! How dare you wish for the destruction of your country? How dare you ask for the head of the neck of your country! To make such ridiculous conditions! Do you think the King of Kustan will listen? Be real! Edwin, you are tricked! You’ve been tricked by their king!”

“It has already been done.”

Edwin said calmly. With that, Duon, who had been yelling his heart out, was startled. It’s done. His face hardened. He felt terrified, the words felt like they were full of negative feelings.

“Where do you think I stopped before I came here?”

Edwin asked quietly.

“Does Your Highness really not know why the King is not here?”

At that moment, Duon felt his body stiffen.

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