The Knight of the Fairies

Ch.52: The gears are starting to move (Part 3)

<<What most men call peace is nothing more than a name, but in reality, by force of nature, there is always a war, if not declared by all states against all... It is right, therefore, that the state of the good constitution should be administered and organized in such a way as to win all the others in the war, and all public and private life should be in function of war.>>

<<Plato.>>

///

-Flashback (A few days before Yuto's invasion)-

It was evening, and the servants were leaving Castle to return to their homes after completing the last of their assignments.

That was the part of the day that Yuto preferred because he could finally take off the king's clothes to be himself.

"Neh, daddy, how do you manage to use magic?" Martha asked.

"Well... I never really understood it," Yuto admitted as he tucked Martha in. "One day I woke up and I found I could use it."

"Do you think I can use it?" Martha asked him later.

"If I did, I don't see why you shouldn't," Yuto replied with a reassuring smile. "I don't know if it's helpful, but I could use it when I figured out what to live for."

Yuto snuffed out the candle and walked to the door.

"Daddy."

Yuto stopped at the door and turned again to his daughter.

"You must come back," she said. "You and Mom must come back to me."

Yuto smiled softly and nodded. "I promise."

-Present Time-

Sitting on the cornice of the window, Yuto observed Van's night view.

Although there were no casualties or bloodshed, the air was very tense in Van.

The streets were brimming with Enforcer Knights, the army controlled by Yuto and undoubtedly the most powerful knights (excluding the Knights of the Round Table) of his kingdom from the moment they were equipped with weapons and armour forged he forged and therefore of better quality than those that any other blacksmith can produce.

There were always consequences after every war, and this was not only referring to the defeated side but also to the winning side that would be seen by everyone as a threat and something to fear.

By the time Yuto had decided to begin his conquest of Ishgar, he knew very well he would have the world against him. It didn't matter if his actions were justified by recent developments in the West.

And even internally, the people of Seven were afraid after being held hostage for a week by a sword that could easily kill them all, not that Yuto was willing to drop it in the first place.

Everyone, including the King and the soldiers, was the driving force of the country. Killing them meant damaging the system beyond repair, which Yuto couldn't afford at the time.

"What are you going to do now?" Irene asked with a little curiosity.

Irene had asked the question, but the truth was that everyone wanted to know.

"I will decide tomorrow the fate of this kingdom," Yuto answered.

His idea was to make Seven a vassal state whose control was entrusted to a person he trusted. He had thought of several names but his only options were two: his mother, the King of Knights, or Irene, the Queen of Dragons.