Land of the Forsaken

CHAPTER 6.4

Land of the Forsaken

SINCE Lucas was unable to suggest a place to stroll, Princess Luan decided to take a walk on their rose garden—which she, according to the princess, looks after with the help of some of her chosen gardeners. Well, Lucas will not gonna lie, the roses are beautiful and the scenery where they are in appeared very cinematic.

“Anong masasabi mo, prinsipe Lucas?” masiyang tanong ng dalaga. Halos maningkit ang mga mata nito dala ng malawak na ngiting nakakurba sa mga labi nito, “natuwa ka ba sa hardin ko?”

Tipid siyang tumango. “The roses are well taken care of and the scenery’s great. You’ve got a great taste, Princess.”

“Ah! Mabuti naman nagustuhan mo! May ipinaayos pala ako na spot sa gitna ng rose garden para ro’n tayo makapagtsaa. Ayos lang ba sa ‘yo?”

“Oo, kung ‘yon ang gusto mo.”

Lucas exhaled sharply as Princess Luan pulled him to the spot she arranged to have tea with him. He faked his enthusiasm and his desire to see her—at the back of his head, he’s devising a plan to get out of the palace. He once thought of acting like he’s need to get to the bathroom as soon as possible but that’s so... dull and suspicious and lame.

As he settled on his seat, Lucas threw a quick glance on Jonas who stood several meters away from him and Princess Luan. He made sure that he didn’t appear suspicious since the maids who accompanied the Princess seemed to observe them—fuck, it feels like he’d have a hard time escaping. Should he cast a spell and create a temporary double?

Wait. He could do that. But it’d be risky since he has to sneak out of the palace before lunch—since the king and his knights may feel that the Lucas in front of them was only a product of magic. In reality, he doesn’t need to go this far since humans are incapable of discerning mana and vampire spells, they’re also unable to differentiate a double from its original but he wanted to keep his image clean as he might raise suspicion if the spell he casted loses its effect.

“I can brew the tea!” Princess Luan offered as soon as the maid arrived with the tea set she likes and the tea Lucas bought for her, “excited akong malasahan ‘yong tsaang na binili mo!”

As soon as Princess Luan announced her excitement, Lucas abruptly stood from his seat. “Just give me a moment, Princess Luan. I remembered something I left from my car.”

“Huh?”

Ah. This is hard. “I’ll be back in a minute, it’s a gift from you.”

Which was of course—a bluff. He didn’t prepare another gift for Princess Luan! But he’ll have to lie through gritting teeth if he wants to get out of this place and proceed to his actual agenda for the day.

Would it be easy? Of course not. Izquierdo kingdom isn’t a small country, it’s huge—massive even!

Moreover, he’s felt relieved when Princess Luan appeared to bite his lie. “Okay! Hihintayin kita rito, Prinsipe Lucas!”

“Thank you,” he replied as he turned his back against her and her maids and strode toward Jonas and Theo. Once he was in front of his knights, he instructed Theo to remain in the garden while he asked Jonas to come with him.

Habang patungo sila sa parking lot kung saan naiwan ang mga sasakyan nila, dama niya ang pagtataka ni Jonas mula sa likuran niya.

“Prinsipe Lucas, wala ka namang ibang regalo,” sita sa kanya ng binata na siyang ikinatawa niya.

Of course, wala. Kanina pa niya iyon iniisip. “Meron na ‘kong isa pang regalo ngayon.”

“Ano? Anong ibibigay mo kay Prinsesa Luan?”

Instead of providing a verbal response, Lucas smirked at the knight mischievously as he gestured him to shut his mouth. It would be trouble if someone else hears them. It was then when they got to the parking lot whereas he checked if there are any people around aside from his own knights and drivers.

“Everyone, I need your help,” was what he said as he slowly clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

Each of them seemed confuse until Lucas casted a quick spell so that no one would hear their conversation.

“Can one of you carve me an ice flower right now? Use your manas for this simple request of mine,” he then asked.

Jonas was taken aback. “Iyon ang iriregalo mo sa Prinsesa?”

“Oo, bakit?” Inismiran niya ang binata. “Wala namang kahit na anong negatibong epekto ‘yon sa kanya. Isa pa, sigurado akong magugustuhan niya ‘yon.”

The knight heaved a sigh and let him do whatever he wanted to do. He was even teased by the other knights that he’s got it bad for Princess Luan since he had never acted this way before but he didn’t responded to any of their comments.

As the knights gave him the ice flower, Lucas carefully took the ice flower in his hands and stared at in awe. It took the shape of a rose—one that he instructed them to do since Luan seemed to like roses a lot. Moreover, he handed the ice flower to Jonas and asked him to hold it for a bit before he turned his attention back to his knights.

“All of you, do as I say,” he firmly announced, authority and dominance flowed all over his entire being while his knights, andhis present drivers seemed to have been taken aback, “I need more people to assist me.”

*

“FINALLY, I made it out,” was Lucas’ initial reaction as soon as he got far from Izquierdo palace’s premises unscathed. His knights were left in the palace so that they could cover up his disappearance and maintain the existence of his double if ever he takes too much time.

Standing atop one of the highest skyscrapers within Izquierdo kingdom, Lucas pulled the hood of his cape up to secure his identity before he turned around to gaze at the place he left. His eyes narrowed as the gust disrupted his vision, even the cape he’s wearing sways in an unpleasant matter, as if the wind’s force drags him with it.

‘Anyway.’ Lucas exhaled sharply as he gazed out to the place where he remembers seeing the smoke he saw earlier. ‘Where is that place again?’

His eyes narrowed as soon as he discerns a faint black smoke from afar and without further ado, Lucas immediately bolted to reach the place where he’s seen the smoke.

And where does his curiosity and mission got him? In the city of Stratsburg, the biggest city within Izquierdo kingdom and the most prosperong—the infamous fallen land who recouped itself over the years once again has fallen. The skycrapers are a mess, some collapsed presumably from bombing, and some highways and paths are blocked by the repercussions from the destroyed buildings.

That’s not where it ends. Lucas would be lying if he didn’t hold his breathe when he discerned the horrendous sight that served itself below him. Ashes, blood that painted the ground, corpses, injured people, even children and women who were being tortured, they all sprawled down on the city’s ground. It didn’t even help that the knights who traipsed around the place looked delighted upon seeing their deaths!

‘What the fuck is this monstrosity?’ Lucas asked in disbelief. Whatever happened in this place, Lucas is now sure that the reason why they had to be led to Lunaris village and accompanied by the knights of Izquierdo is to hide the fact that there’s something going on within Stratsburg City.

‘Why this place again?’ It’s been destroyed during the war and it was barely reconstructed! But now it’s here once again, with the hands of destruction.

“Ito na ba ‘yong mga ‘yon? Sila na ba lahat?! Tignan niyo ang buong paligid kahit suluk-sulok, baka may buhay pa!”

Nang dumagundong ang boses ng isa sa mga kabalyero mula sa palasyo, mabilis na itinago ni Lucas ang sarili mula sa isang sulok at nakinig sa mga usapan nito. Bagamat malayo ang mga ito, natutuwa siyang naririnig rin niya ang pinag-uusapan nila.

“Chief Knight, mga bata’t babae na lang ang natira. Lahat po ng mga ‘to, itatapon ba natin sa Nethermoore?” tanong ng isa sa mga kabalyero.

Napasinghap si Lucas habang nakikinig sa mga ito. What the fuck—Izquierdo kingdom does child labor? And what’s more, when he saw the children who wept for their lost loved ones, they appeared to be between the ages of two to four years old! Some are seven but they’re seldom!

“Mga walang utang na loob na mamamayan. Alam na ngang ‘di na babalik ang mga Griego, talagang nagtangka pang magrebolusyon!”

‘There was a revolution?’ Then why would there be children dragged onto this? Lucas took a deep breathe as he tried to spy onto what’s happening below the skyscraper he’s at.

Aside from the revolution that occurred a little while ago, he was surprised to hear that the children will be sent somewhere for child labor while they will choose the women who’d they sell—which meant women trafficking and possible slavery.

Just what the hell is happening within Izquierdo kingdom?! All of these revelations threw him out!

“Dalhin niyo sila sa Nethermoore! Do’n nila hintayin ang hatol ni Haring Morfran!” utos ng Chief Knight sa mga kasama nito.

‘Nethermoore?’ Lucas asked himself as soon as he heard that one place which he’s not familiar of. He tried to think what that place could but upon connecting the dots, he was reminded of the file Duke Louwes gave him—the place where the Griego family’s faithful subordinates were forsaken.

While thinking about the place, he saw the knights move to gather the people who survived whatever happened inside the city before he arrived. With that, he waited until they moved and followed them.

At first, Lucas thought that there was nothing suspicious from the path they took to get to this Nethermoore place but as soon as they left the remaining villages, Lucas was surprised to see a desert-like location. Ghost town, that was the first adjective that crossed his mind when he saw the eerie place they went to since there was literally nothing over there aside from dried plants, destroyed establishments, houses... and more. The place was a total wreckage.

How did this place exist within Izquierdo kingdom?

Lucas looked around the place just in case he’d be familiar with the neighboring locations but the only thing that he could discern and was familiar to him was Rutchill woods—this Nethermoore place is located near the woodlands which was something ironic given how the forest was filled with greens.

As he roamed his eyes around the deserted place, Lucas almost choked on his own spit when he saw a few vampires crucified under the scorching sun and were left to die. Some of them already turned into ashes while some have already become weak and begging for mercy.

“Shit,” he cursed under his breathe as soon as the knights began to forsake the women, children, and vampires to Nethermoore—they were all weak and some of them are about to die, too. Some of these individuals were led and dragged to somewhere despite their weak attempts to resist.

“This is a horrible place,” was his next reaction as he went down from the abandoned building he stood from to check if he could speak to someone who could still hold a proper conversation with him.

However, as he snuck around the place without the knights’ attention nor knowledge, Lucas found no one as the people whom he approached have already ceased to breathe and conceded to the hands of death. Even the vampires abruptly turned into ashes as soon as he approached them and their weak calls for help as their last words.

This is absurd... he can’t believe that such place exists within the flourishing Izquierdo kingdom—one that Princess Luan and King Morfran bragged in front of the public. Here lies in front of him is the truth that his father spoke about.

“So they’re just really keeping a pretense.”

No wonder his father has been keeping his guards up against the Demelza family. They’re a bunch of horrible people.