Dawn of Vengeance — Chapter 56

OH...

PRESENTING THE YOUNG MARQUIS, GERONIMO RAS.

Still getting used to that..

WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE PALACE?

COME IN.

I SENT A LETTER ASKING FOR A PRIVATE AUDIENCE. DIDN’T YOU GET IT?

I GOT IT.

WHAT?

THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU SUMMON ME?

Well..

I FIGURED THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME MISTAKE.

I DIDN’T THINK YOU ACTUALLY HAD REAL BUSINESS WITH ME.

yawn

SUCH A PAIN

YOU...

YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLE...

SO, WHAT MADE YOU REQUEST A PRIVATE AUDIENCE?

I HEARD COCOCHE HAS BEEN HANGING AROUND SOME WEIRD GUY LATELY!

A WEIRD GUY?

You mean you?

AH... YOU DON'T MEAN ATHLYND, DO YOU?

YEAH! DUKE KIEL'S SECOND SON!

YOU'VE GOT IT WRONG. HE'S A TALENT WE RECRUITED TO INVESTIGATE THE RUINS.

THEY'RE ONLY MEETING BECAUSE OF THEIR RESEARCH.

RESEARCH MY FOOT. A MAN AND A WOMAN SHOULDN'T BE ALONE TOGETHER.

They looked awfully cozy to me.

WHAT? WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?

I'M SURE COCOCHE'S ONLY REAL GOAL IS HER 'RESEARCH', BUT...

SINCE HIS LOVE LIFE IS ALREADY AN UPHILL BATTLE...

ENTERTAINMENT

HE MUST BE BURNING UP INSIDE.

So what if they spend time together?

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?!

NO, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, I...

OH, BROTHER.

I'd pay to unsee this.

D-DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW NAIVE COCOCHE IS?!

How cute. I'll make you my twelfth wife.

Wow~! Really?!

* GERONIMO'S IMAGINATION

Extremely biased

WHAT IF SHE FALLS HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER FOR THAT GUY'S CHEAP TRICKS?!

YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO MISUNDERSTANDS HIM LIKE THAT...

...Seriously.

IF YOU LIKE HER THAT MUCH, YOU SHOULD'VE JUST CONFESSED ALREADY.

IF IT WERE THAT EASY, I WOULD'VE DONE IT AGES AGO-

Wait.

YOU...

HOW DID YOU...

THAT I LIKE... HOW DID YOU KNOW?

IT'S OBVIOUS. PAINFULLY SO.

(Were you actually trying to hide it?)

BOTH ATHLYND AND COCOCHE...

...ARE CURRENTLY AGONIZING OVER TRANSLATING THE ANCIENT TONGUE.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STICK TWO EXPERTS FROM THE SAME FIELD IN A ROOM TOGETHER?

OBVIOUSLY, SPARKS FLY AND THEY-!

WRONG.

THE ANSWER IS: 'THEY TEAR EACH OTHER APART ARGUING OVER WHOSE THEORY IS RIGHT.'

SO STOP JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS AND DRINK YOUR TEA, IDIOT.

IDIOT?!

YEAH.

AN IDIOT WHO CAN'T EVEN TELL A CAVE CRICKET FROM A REGULAR CRICKET.

It's a cricket!

It's a cave cricket!! It's a cricket!! I said it's a cave cricket!

STUPD

Cricket!

CADET DAYS

You're bringing that up now?!

YOU WERE THE WEIRD ONE ANYWAY! WHY THE HELL WOULD A PRINCESS KNOW ABOUT BUGS?!

I give up..

YOU THINK COCOCHE IS THE ONLY REASON I CAME HERE?

THINGS HAVE BEEN TENSE IN THE MARQUISATE LATELY, SO I CAME TO REPORT IT.

YOU TOLD ME TO LET YOU KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF ANYTHING STRANGE HAPPENED NEAR THE BORDER.

RAS MARQUISATE

PHILOIM

I ONLY ASKED BECAUSE THE RAS MARQUISATE IS NEAR THE BORDER, JUST IN CASE.

WHY? IS SOMETHING GOING ON?

I'M NOT COMPLETELY SURE, BUT...

YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CRYOSTONE MINE IN PHILOIM, RIGHT?

WELL, THERE ARE REPORTS OF SOLDIERS FROM THE EMPIRE AND DOPANE BEING SPOTTED NEARBY.

I ASSUMED THEY WERE AFTER THE CRYOSTONES, BUT THEY HAVEN'T EXTRACTED A SINGLE MINERAL.

THEY EVACUATED ALL THE MINERS. NOW, ONLY FULLY ARMED SOLDIERS ARE GOING IN AND OUT.

SOLDIERS...?

IT TAKES DOZENS OF MINERS WORKING DAY AND NIGHT JUST TO EXTRACT A PALM-SIZED CRYOSTONE...

...YET THEY'RE SENDING IN SOLDIERS INSTEAD?

ON TOP OF THAT, IT SEEMS THE SOLDIERS ARE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS.

A SWORD FIGHT BROKE OUT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MINE A LITTLE WHILE AGO, AND OUR PRIVATE GUARDS CAUGHT THEM IN THE ACT.

AH, COULD IT BE...

THE EMPIRE...

...WILL NO LONGER ALLY WITH DOPANE FOLLOWING THE '30-DAY WAR'.

DID HE ACTUALLY MEAN THAT?

DID THINGS GO SOUTH BECAUSE THEY WERE FIGHTING OVER THE CRYOSTONES?

NO. THE TRUTH IS, CRYOSTONES ARE PRACTICALLY USELESS TO ANYONE BUT THE LAFI.

AND JUST HAVING CRYOSTONES DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN COMMAND AN ARMY OF LAFIS, EITHER.

TRUE.

THEY DON'T WORK FOR HUMANS.

(Parnassus is just the exception.)

SO IS THIS ABOUT THE PROFITS FROM THE MINE...

OR A BATTLE OF PRIDE?

...I CAN’T MAKE SENSE OF IT AT ALL.

IF IT’S WEIGHING ON YOUR MIND, SHOULD I TAKE A CLOSER LOOK?

I’LL SEND A LAFI WITH YOU. KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE SITUATION.

DOPANE GRAND DUCHY CASTLE

?

! ....

IT'S THE FIRE DRAGON!

IT'S MY FIRST TIME SEEING IT IN PERSON...

Woah..

LORD HERTAMRIOLOGOS!

O INCARNATION OF FIRE.. PLEASE PROTECT US!

GRAND DUKE OF DOPANE NEJEPH RONMOGE BAEN

NOVELTY WEARS OFF AFTER A DAY OR TWO.

A COMPLETELY USELESS THING THAT DOES NOTHING BUT ADD TO THE HEAT.

IN A REALM THAT'S ALREADY SCORCHING AS IT IS...

...WHAT GOOD IS A FLAME LIKE THAT?!

YOUR GRACE, WHY ARE YOU SO UPSET?

GRAND DUCHESS OF DOPANE NARKEHATRA