Duke Pendragon

Various events swept through the empire, and the long winter finally passed to welcome spring's arrival. The world rejoiced and cheered at the return of the hero, the founding king of the Pendragon Kingdom and Soldrake. However, their joy quickly turned into shock when it was revealed that the immediate family members of the Pendragon Kingdom were almost kidnapped, including the king's son and sister.

Moreover, their shock soon transformed into confusion when it was revealed that the mastermind behind the incidents were Mirin's Margrave and the High Lord of Roxan.

It was only thanks to the emperor's quick and bold decision that the confusion subsided relatively quickly without spreading to the entire empire.

Margrave Otto was deprived of his status and sentenced to isolation in a spire until the day he died. In addition, the High Lord of Roxan was also deprived of his status to a regular lord for threatening members of the Pendragon royal family, who were also a part of the imperial household.

Roxan couldn't even gather their soldiers to retaliate, since they possessed no justification. Jamie Roxan had been alone in his actions and had never consulted with his subordinates.

In addition, the Great Territory of Roxan was located in the middle of the empire. As such, Roxan's vassal lords had to stay as quiet as a mouse as soon as three of the imperial legions surrounded the great territory.

No families would side with Roxan after they committed such an atrocious act due to their jealousy towards Pendragon. Doing so would be akin to rushing to dig their own graves, and they would be dishonoring themselves while showcasing their disloyalty to the empire and the imperial family. Such things were even more important to nobility than even their own lives, so everyone made sure to stay silent.

Once, the great territory and its ruler shared a close relationship with the imperial family of Aragon, but now it walked an inevitable, perfect path of decline.

Just like seven years ago, the royal family of Pendragon once again made its name known to the world.

***

"Huh?"

Passersby walking along the Pendragon Kingdom's royal road became wide-eyed. A large, luxurious carriage was being led by four horses and dozens of knights in shiny armor.

"Which noble family is that?"

"Wow! L, look…"

However, it was the symbol embroidered on the procession's flag and the carriage door that truly shocked and caught the eyes of the travelers.

- An archangel with wide wings holding a sword and a shield.

The people of the Pendragon Kingdom were once citizens of the Aragon Empire. Almost everyone instantly recognized the symbol of the group.

"It's the Lindegor Duchy!"

Although the carriage had already left them behind in dust, the pedestrians stared at the dust cloud with blank gazes. Soon, one of them raised their voice.

"That's right! I heard about it! The only bride candidate that His Majesty Isla didn't get to meet! I heard it was the eldest lady of the Lindegor Duchy!"

"Wow! So they came all the way here to see him?"

"Amazing!"

It was truly quite amazing.

Even before the Pendragon family was elevated to royalty, the Lindegor family had always maintained its position as one of the most powerful families of the empire. The Lindegor shared a close-knit, blood-tied relationship with the imperial family, just as the Pendraogn family did.

Even if Isla was a renowned king of Valvas and an amazing knight, he was rather shabby and lacking compared to the Lindegor Duchy. However, the daughter of the duchy was making a trip all the way to a different kingdom just to see its knight.

"Is His Majesty Isla finally getting married?"

"Rumor has it that he's in a relationship with the mayor of York Town."

"No way! What are you talking about? They say that he's completely enamored by the younger sister of Margrave Mirin. The one that was taken prisoner to the castle!"

"Kyah! That must be blissful!"

"Phew…"

The men stared at the fading carriage with envy, while the women looked rather depressed and gloomy.

***

"Congratulations."

"…I wonder what you could be referring to?"

"I hear that she's coming here personally. Moreover, twenty knights and the family's general are accompanying her. There's no reason for her to bring so many unless she's completely determined."

"I have not even met her yet. I need some time to…"

"She's even bringing a personal letter from Ian, or rather, His Majesty. Just give it up, Elkin."

"….."

Isla closed his lips when Raven patted him on the shoulder with a grin.

Isla already knew as well – the fact that he would have to marry Joshua Lindegor, the last candidate recommended to him by the emperor and the only one he had yet to meet.

Refusing to do so would mean picking a fight with the emperor.

He was left with only one choice for the sake of Valvas and Pendragon.

"Don't be so depressed. You already have the mayor of York Town and Fiona, right? It is the natural duty of a king to have multiple concubines."

"…Then why is there only Baroness Conrad, or rather, Her Majesty the Queen?"

Raven shrugged with a relaxed expression. Lindsay was soon scheduled to be crowned as the new queen.

"I already have kids, don't I? Moreover, I have a son to succeed the throne as well as the most beautiful daughter in the world. Even if we are both kings, things just are not the same, Elkin."

"….."

Isla was left speechless.

"Dad! Dad!"

"Your Majesty!"

Raymond and Elsia came running from the other side of the castle's back garden while holding Soldrake's hand, leaving behind the guards and maids to run after them. They were now eight years old.

"Oh, my! Be careful! You might get hurt. Hahaha!"

Raven burst into a joyful laughter as he took the two children into a tight embrace. They were more precious to him than even his own life.

"I'm here, so there's no way that they can get hurt, Ray."

"Of course. Haha! Thank you, Sol."

"There is no need to thank me. I also…"

Soldrake's indifferent gaze turned toward the two children. Surprisingly, a small smile came to her lips.

"I also find these children adorable."

"Sol…"

Although she wasn't yet perfect, Soldrake was slowly adapting to human emotions. Raven felt quite touched, and a smile came to Isla's lips as well. He no longer felt the sorrowful, unapproachable energy from Raven that he did when he first came to the land of Pendragon as a free knight.

His lord was now a caring father who embraced and kissed his two children, and the strongest being on earth was a strong supporter and a guardian for all of them.

"Your Majesty! I heard someone from the Lindegor Duchy is coming!"

Over the past few months, Elsia had become quite fond of Raven, perhaps even more than her mother. She chattered excitedly with a blush.

"Well, apparently, someone is coming to marry Mister Isla."

"Hehe! I already knew that!"

"What!? You should have told me then! Ah! But…"

Raymond shrugged, and Mia complained with a slight frown. Raven raised his adorable daughter to his arms.

"What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

"No, but, but what about Aunt Mia?"

"Hmm? What about Aunt Mia?"

Raven tilted his head with confusion at the unexpected words, and Elsia's innocent eyes filled with worry.

"Auntie always talks about Mister Isla. Earlier, when I said that someone from the LIndegor Duchy was coming, she went in with a very sad face."

"El! You shouldn't say things like that!"

Raymond became flustered and gauged his father's reaction.

"What…?"

Children were pure and innocent. As such, they were more conscious and receptive of people's emotions. This meant that Elsia's story and Raymond's reaction were…

Raven was no longer inexperienced in the affairs of men and women as a married man himself. He turned towards Isla. Isla didn't appear simply flustered, but almost shocked.

'Hooh…'

It meant that Isla was also ignorant of the matter.

However, Raven could not be completely certain yet. He would need to have a conversation with Lindsay, Elena, as well as Mia.

'Anyways…'

Although he was greatly surprised, Raven pondered.

'Elkin being together with Mia?'

It wasn't something he ever thought about before. Even so, the idea wasn't all too unfamiliar or strange. Mia was quite young when Isla first became his knight, but now she was old enough to be married, while it was rather a little late for Isla.

In addition, an age difference of about 10 years would not pose a problem in noble families or royal families. There were even cases where the bride was about ten years older due to political affairs.

However, this marriage wouldn't be political at all.

Above all else…

"My lord, the princess and the prince must have misunderstood something. Princess Mia and I are…"

'Now, now…'

Raven smiled bitterly as Isla started to make excuses. He seemed embarrassed, but he didn't seem to hate it either. Isla had a very different expression compared to when Raven mentioned Iriya and Fiona to tease him.

"This… might be a little complicated."

"What? W, what could you be referring to, my lord?"

Isla started to even stutter, and Raven gave a confident smile.

"Trust me on this, brother-in-law. I will take care of things with the Lindegor Duchy."

"I will let Seiel know."

"M, my lord! Even Lord Soldrake…!"

The face of the knight king was dyed crimson red. Suddenly, a group of figures approached them while quickly crossing the back garde.

"Your Majesty!"

It was Killian, Karuta, and Vincent. The burly human knight had a black eye, and the orc was carrying a wooden stick over his shoulder. It was evident that Karuta had forced Killian to 'train' with him after having a bout with Vincent.

"What's going on?"

The three figures could be called the pillars of the kingdom along with Isla. Raven spoke with a frown while jumping up from his seat.

Perhaps another enemy was…

"There's trouble, Your Majesty."

"Hey, Pendragon scarecrow! This is bad."

Raven's eyes became even sharper after hearing their words. However, he soon took on a puzzled expression while staring at the three. Their expressions weren't corresponding to their words. Rather, Killian and Karuta were even grinning.

"What is it?"

Raven asked bluntly, feeling rather anxious and annoyed at the same time. As usual, Vincent spoke with his characteristic, sly smile.

"The lady of the Lindegor Duchy has arrived at the royal castle, my lord."

"I know. What about it? Do I need to go see her?"

Even if she was the daughter of a duchy, there was no need for the king to personally greet her. It would be natural to see her later in an official setting.

However, Vincent gave an unexpected answer.

"Yes. I think you should."

"What…?"

Raven responded with a small frown, and Vincent gave a shocking answer. His answer was shocking for some, but it also provided the chance of revenge for a certain someone.

"Well, it's not only Lady Lindegor. Princess Ingrid is accompanying her as well. Of course, the princess also carries a letter from His Majesty the Emperor as well."

"What, what…!?"

Raven's eyes filled with disbelief and shock. He remembered his last encounter with Ingrid in the imperial castle. He had let it fade from his mind after the quiet last winter, but…

Thuck.

Raven was frozen stiff like a stone statue, and someone suddenly grabbed his hand.

"The lord and his knight will always be together. Walk with me, my lord."

The knight stared at his lord with glimmering eyes. His gaze was filled with a firm, steel-like determination.

"Kuhahahahaha! That's the expression I wanted to see! Anyways, you never know how it is with scarecrows and their relationships with women!"

"That's because Karuta has an elf! I am quite jealous!"

"S, shut up, you punk!"

"An orc and an elf doing the deed and forming a family. Well, it truly is something unprecedented. I will have to report back to the tower once the marriage is completed."

"But why do you not have a woman, Sir Ron? Perhaps…"

"Heul? Come to think of it, you're always surrounded by men…"

"It's because of work. I like women as well. I hope you sirs don't come to a weird misunderstanding."

"Everyone, be quiet. Now that things have turned out like this, we need to stick together. We can't be making fun of each other now."

"Keung! That's right."

"Yes! My lord!"

The knights and warriors of Pendragon gathered around their king. The fame and skills of those gathered were enough to stand at the peak of the world.

The figures started to plan together with serious expressions. They appeared even more somber than they had ever been, even compared to when they were planning for a battle.

"Lord Soldrake."

"Yeah. Ray and all the other children are silly, right? Let's go to your mother."

Soldrake took the hands of the two children and walked between the trees, along the path laden with vibrant flowers and plants.

This was the Pendragon Kingdom, the land of the great dragon.

Duke Pendragon Side Stories 完 (Fin)

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