C511
Luna abdicated the throne, Jin's patriarchal declaration, and Joshua's fall.
Among the significant events of the current generation, this incident was undoubtedly the one that had the greatest impact on the Family.
No one expected Joshua to fall like this.
He had always been the next patriarch after Luna abdicated the throne, with strong support and favoritism from Rosa behind him.
However, it was Rosa herself who brought Joshua down.
Furthermore, she did it in a cruel manner, trampling on his dignity and tarnishing his honor, all in front of everyone.
"Ha, it's refreshing. But it feels a bit uncomfortable. He wasn't someone who would collapse so easily... Well, regardless of his intentions, he obstructed an important mission and lost two Black Knights. It's not unreasonable."
Pong, clink...
Dyfus's eyes were blank as he spoke while filling his glass.He had been waiting for the day Joshua would fall since his childhood, but seeing it end this way made him feel an unpleasant sense of futility instead of excitement.
Even after pouring himself a strong liquor that an ordinary person couldn't drink in one gulp, the bitterness in his throat didn't ease.
In reality, Dyfus harbored not only resentment but also affection for Joshua.
It wasn't a lukewarm feeling; it was a mix of regret for not being able to confront his old enemy with his own hands, and the feeling of helplessness that his mother's words weighed incomparably more than the authority and fighting spirit he still maintained as a high-ranking Flagbearer.
These things tormented Dyfus.
"By the way, younger one, you've gone too far. If you knew he was a clone, couldn't you have at least warned me? No, wait... I must have been a fool not to know until now. Since you told me with your wicked tongue and ridiculed him, suggesting killing Joshua together in the Sota Desert, I felt there might be something."
"You've been talking to yourself and answering on your own since before. It seems like you don't need a drinking companion, elder brother. If my elder sister Mary were here, you would have found out quite a few things."
"That girl would have understood me. If she sees someone snatching away the prey she's had in her sights for decades, her guts will churn, whether she admits it or not."
At those words, Jin smiled coldly.
A total of 48 years, 28 in the past life and 20 in the present.
For almost half a century, Jin's greatest enemy changed twice.
In the past life, his own family, the Runcandels, was his greatest enemy, while in the present, he faced Zipple as Runcandel through various events.
However, opponents and enemies are different concepts.
The one Jin personally held the most resentment towards hadn't changed since he discovered the details of his Curse.
'Joshua Runcandel....'
So, Jin also lost his prey, and it was impossible for him not to feel worse than Dyfus.
The reason was simple.
"I don't think it'll end like this."
"It would feel less dirty, but this time it's definitely over. There's no way Mother would forgive him, and even if she did, who would follow Joshua after seeing him quiver and tremble like that? It's unthinkable in other Knight Families, but this is Runcandel."
Jin took the drink Dyfus offered and downed five or six glasses in a row.
"Come to think of it, isn't it a bit strange?"
"What thing?"
"If Mother had officially referred Joshua to the Family's trial and ordered an investigation to uncover the truth of the mission, maybe he wouldn't have fallen so dramatically. Frankly speaking, even if she had shared the information from the beginning, it would have been impossible to save the two Black Knights as long as there was a variable like Hedo."
Hedo, the guardian of the White Night Tower.
After reporting the mission, Jin and Dyfus still knew nothing about him from Rosa and the Elder Council.
They didn't know if Rosa and the council were unaware or if there was some other reason. They only speculated that the latter was much more likely.
"If Mother had done that, it could have caused both you and me to fall instead. Joshua is the ultimate decision-maker, but we also have responsibilities as Flagbearers. Even if he's a clone, didn't he use the volcano for the good of the Family in the end?"
"If that assumption holds, Joshua could even strangely twist things to make us traitors by involving Sandra Zipple's help. Plus, his kinship with Beradin Zipple is a factor."
"It doesn't seem like Mother wouldn't have known what we might think. No, she must have known. And Mother's goal has always been to make Joshua the next patriarch, but now she has made a completely opposite decision."
"In the end, Mother must have recognized that he is not fit to be the next patriarch. I don't know why she realized it only now. Damn it, he was so scared that he even dragged the knights and ended up looking like a fool... If it were me, I would have cut his throat right there."
While Dyfus nervously kept emptying his glass, Jin wondered why Rosa had attacked Joshua instead of them.
The end.
Dyfus's words were not wrong. Those who witnessed Joshua's pathetic state yesterday would not recognize him or follow him again.
Suddenly.
A new assumption appeared in Jin's mind.
"The Prophet."
"What?"
"If Joshua's mind was manipulated by the divine power of the Prophet and dark magic..."
"How can that be? The Joshua who stuttered yesterday was the very image of him being trampled by Father and the elder sister in his childhood. It was the essence of Joshua."
"I know that too. I don't really believe the Prophet manipulated Joshua's mind. However, if Mother claims it later and forgives Joshua again... what do you think?"
Dyfus set down his glass.
The Prophet, she has provided critical help in this mission using unknown powers and has also been assisting Joshua and his Family's missions until now.
She had also created Joshua's clone.
Although the true identity of the Prophet had not been fully revealed, everyone in Runcandel now knew her actions and her existence.
Some would argue that the Prophet had deviated from the law and should be expelled, others would say she was necessary to face the enemies, and others would maintain neutrality and remain silent.
But they all had to admit one thing:
Joshua's Prophet possessed truly divine abilities.
-I understand. And what about the third? Leaving aside the method of killing the Second Flagbearer, what is your real goal? What benefits does the death of the Second Flagbearer bring to the Family?
-Second elder brother, I feel like I'm being graded for my exam. What benefit does it bring to the Family? It's an opportunity to cut the rotten chain of favoritism and purify the Family. Even if we kill Joshua, the Prophet will still be under our mother's control, so we can decide what to do with her abilities at that time.
A conversation between Jin and Dyfus in the Sota Desert.
Not only Rosa but also Dyfus believed that the Prophet's power should be used for the Family.
To find the legacy of the first patriarch, to massacre the enemies.
This thought became even more solid through the experiences of this mission.
A fleet of over a hundred battleships, Hedo, and even an unknown demon that turned Black Knight Mon into a cripple.
Although only a part of the enemies' hidden powers had been revealed, they far exceeded the Flagbearers' expectations.
"Mother will never give up the Prophet's power. The reason she brought down Joshua this time... might be a warning to the Prophet. It's very possible that the relationship between Mother and the Prophet is not as close as with Joshua."
"So what you're saying is that Mother plans to bind the Prophet, and later blame her for everything and reinstate Joshua?"
"Not just that, Mother restores her authority by bringing down Joshua. This will erase the stains caused by the exile incident. She showed strong determination by personally destroying the second flagbearer, whom she had supported so much. Regardless of the details, Family members can't help but fear Mother even more from now on."
"After elevating her power to the limit, bringing Joshua back to the surface, and transferring all authority back to him... and both blame and justification fall on the Prophet."
There was a moment of silence.
Neither of them refilled their glasses.
"... That's not entirely impossible. No, it's quite probable. If Joshua at the time of his reinstatement can show a strengthened appearance, convincing enough for someone to think that his previous flaws were due to the Prophet's mental manipulation."
If Rosa gains the power to mercilessly purge anyone who doubts Joshua at that moment, and if her own battle prowess becomes the strongest in name and reality.
The reinstatement of Joshua was very possible.
"There's one more thing."
"More?"
"Do you know how the Prophet creates Joshua's clones?"
-Do you also know how that woman creates Joshua's clones?
-I only know that it requires a lot of humans.
-What?
-It seems they use the death row inmates from Hufester. If Joshua-nim sends them to the Prophet, new bodies are created... She mainly uses those bodies to handle tasks like dealing with people like me. To strengthen potential contractors and suppress them directly when they go out of control.
After killing Joshua's clone for the first time in Bluebirds, Jin heard Yulian say that the Prophet used humans as material.
Later, he learned from Emma about the strange execution of death row inmates in "Rikalton" and tried to find out related details.
After the Black King incident, he sent Black Knight Dox there.
"Human beings are used as materials. A large number of them. It's information I obtained by capturing her direct hunting dog when I was a Provisional Flagbearer."
"Ha. If that's true, he has to face an even greater punishment..."
"But Joshua is already in the dungeon. There's no way to delve deeper. At least not officially. Who would dare to assert that Joshua, whom Mother personally brought down, must be trampled even more? I have a witness, but there is still no concrete evidence. I can't make such claims lightly."
Dyfus felt as if a cool breeze passed down his spine.
His senses dulled by alcohol suddenly sharpened, and a shiver ran down his spine.
If what the younger one is saying is true...
Then Joshua's fall is nothing more than a successful stratagem of Mother's...!
Of course, all of this was nothing more than speculation.
However, two people who knew the human called Rosa Runcandel as their mother...
They had the intuition that this speculation was very close to the truth.
"So, it's not the time to soothe our bitterness with alcohol. The fight has only just begun."
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KO-FI
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