Chapter 11: Haven’t seen you for a long time

The morning sunlight was especially pleasant.

The sun emerged from behind the clouds, casting golden rays across the earth and draping the entire Holy City in a mesmerizing glow.

The welcoming party stood in neat rows outside the city gates.

In the distance, a squadron of light cavalry could be seen escorting an extravagantly luxurious carriage toward them.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

The Skaman Empire’s ministers hurried to attend the carriage.

Servants placed an ornate staircase forged from gold at its entrance, and a solemn silence descended over the Church’s gates.

Zong Mi set aside his thoughts and plucked the strings of his lyre.

A cheerful melody drifted into the air, easing the tense atmosphere.

“It has been quite some time since I last visited the Holy City.”

A lazy voice sounded from within the carriage.

A gemstone-encrusted scepter emerged first, lifting the curtain aside.

The pupils of the previously indifferent Zong Mi suddenly contracted.

Never before had he been this close to one of his quest items.

That scepter was one of the objectives of his legendary quest.

It was the symbol of royal authority preserved within the Skaman Empire—

The Scepter of the God of War.

In theory, there were many ways to complete Zong Mi’s legendary quest.

He could assist someone destined to inherit the divine artifact and negotiate an exchange.

Or he could simply steal it.

Unfortunately, his level was far too low to rob someone openly, so he had chosen the first method.

“This place remains exactly as I remember it.”

The king stepped from the carriage.

A heavy cloak rested upon his shoulders, but beneath it he wore only a lightweight leather cuirass. A sword hung at his waist.

He looked dusty and travel-worn, as though he had just stepped off a battlefield.

Before this, Zong Mi had gathered plenty of information.

The new King of the Skaman Empire was famously obsessed with warfare.

Whenever conflicts erupted between the Empire and neighboring nations, he personally led troops into battle.

And once victory was secured, his treatment of prisoners was notoriously ruthless.

As a result, very few kingdoms or races dared to challenge the Empire.

After the game’s latest expansion, battlefield faction gameplay had even been unlocked for players.

Players could join the Skaman Empire’s campaigns, fight alongside the continent’s strongest human empire, and earn military merits in exchange for battlefield equipment.

But the moment Zong Mi saw the king’s face—

He no longer thought any of that mattered.

The king’s appearance was nothing like the aged, imposing ruler he had imagined.

Instead, he looked astonishingly young.

Like a youth who had only recently left adolescence behind.

More painfully—

He was an old acquaintance.

And the last old acquaintance Zong Mi would ever have expected.

Back when he had been trying to obtain the Skaman Empire’s legendary quest, Zong Mi had actually carried his lyre into the imperial palace and secured a position as a court musician.

His responsibility had been teaching music to the empire’s princes.

Perhaps because Zong Mi himself was too charismatic, all five princes had taken a liking to him and specifically requested him as their instructor.

Eventually, he simply collected five salaries at once and taught all five princes together.

The Skaman Empire was generous with money anyway.

It was easy extra income.

He still remembered that among the five princes, the Fifth Prince, Louis, had been the most silent and gloomy.

The other four princes were either born to the former empress, the current empress, or powerful noblewomen favored by the old king.

Only the Fifth Prince possessed a truly humble origin.

His mother had been an ordinary prostitute from the Black Streets of the Skaman Empire.

As a result, he had not even been brought into the palace until the age of five.

Though embarrassing, he was still the late king’s bloodline.

The old king had shown mercy and acknowledged him.

Because of this background, Louis’s life within the palace had always been miserable.

Particularly within the Skaman royal family—a place where schemes and betrayals flourished and people devoured one another without leaving bones behind.

He existed almost like a ghost.

Ignored.

Mocked.

Looked down upon by nearly everyone.

Yet the Fifth Prince loved music.

Whenever Zong Mi sat atop the palace roofs in the mornings, playing his lyre beneath the sunrise, Louis would quietly wake early and sit below to listen.

Sometimes he carried sheet music with him.

During lessons, he was always the most obedient student.

Well-behaved to an almost unbelievable degree.

Zong Mi treated all five princes more or less equally.

After all, any one of them might inherit the throne.

He carefully played the role of a good teacher in hopes of establishing future partnerships.

Although the Fifth Prince seemed the least likely candidate to become king—more likely to end up as a splash of blood decorating his elder brother’s coronation robes—Zong Mi still treated him fairly and occasionally intended to help him out.

Louis’s reaction had completely caught him off guard.

“Who asked for your charity?! Get lost!”

The young prince’s eyes were red with fury.

He threw the cloth pouch Zong Mi had brought him onto the ground.

Gold coins spilled out and scattered everywhere.

And so Zong Mi became angry as well.

He let out a cold laugh, said nothing, and left with a flick of his sleeve.

After that, his relationship with the Fifth Prince grew noticeably colder.

Later, after hearing rumors regarding the Black Forest, Zong Mi decisively resigned from his position in the Skaman Empire.

After hurriedly bidding farewell to the other four princes, he departed.

Only now, upon seeing this face again, did those memories resurface.

He had imagined many people ascending the throne of the Skaman Empire.

Perhaps the Crown Prince, who enjoyed the greatest support.

Or the Third Prince, whose talent and strength were exceptional despite his young age.

Or even the Second Prince, with whom Zong Mi had enjoyed the closest relationship.

No matter how he thought about it—

He had never imagined the victor would be Louis.

What made things even more awkward was that they had parted on bad terms.

And now it was Zong Mi who needed something from him.

The more he thought about it, the more depressing it became.

Instinctively, Zong Mi lowered his head, hoping Louis would not recognize him.

Unfortunately, fate rarely respected his wishes.

“This musician…”

The king’s shoes stopped directly before him.

Zong Mi could even see the red gemstones embedded in them.

A minister standing nearby hurriedly explained.

“The court musician previously stationed in the Holy City has fallen ill. With no alternative, I recruited an adventurer to fill the role.”

His voice trembled slightly.

He was clearly terrified that the notoriously violent monarch might suddenly draw his sword and behead him.

Given King Louis’s reputation, such a thing was not entirely impossible.

“No.”

Louis’s voice was cold.

“He merely resembles an old acquaintance of mine.”

The king casually extended his icy scepter.

Tracing along Zong Mi’s jawline, he lifted his chin with it.

“Raise your head.”

This is bad.

Zong Mi cursed inwardly.

Judging by that tone, Louis was clearly still upset about what had happened years ago.

For a moment he genuinely didn’t know whether he should obey.

The atmosphere became tense.

“Raise your head.”

The king’s expression grew colder.

“I do not wish to repeat myself.”

Seeing no response, Louis increased the pressure of the scepter.

The metal pressed painfully against Zong Mi’s neck.

A flash of displeasure crossed the latter’s face.

Zong Mi narrowed his eyes as well.

With one hand, he seized the top of the scepter and raised his head coldly.

“I am not a subject of the Skaman Empire.”

“I am merely an adventurer wandering the continent.”

“Why should I obey your orders?”

The blond bard’s face was equally icy.

A trace of anger lingered in his expression, making his misty gray eyes appear frighteningly sharp.

This was the person who had appeared countless times within Louis’s barren dreams.

The person he had imagined countless times—

Holding tightly, never letting go—

Only to be left with nothing but a retreating back.

Now, after ten years without a single word.

After ten years of complete disappearance.

That person was standing before him alive and real.

The moment felt so surreal that it resembled a dream.

“Oh—”

Louis deliberately drew out the word, using it to conceal the overwhelming joy erupting within him.

Though honestly, anyone with eyes could see how delighted he was.

He withdrew his scepter.

Ignoring the stunned gazes of everyone around him, he suddenly revealed an excessively sweet smile.

Then he stepped forward and pulled Zong Mi directly into a hug.

“Long time no see—”

“My teacher.”

Where Zong Mi could not see, the king’s lips curved upward.

His eyes were deep and dark—

Like a bottomless, icy lake.

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