Chapter 156: Ruined Garden


    The marching soldiers stopped in front of the gate of Dionde City. King Gaum ordered the messenger to deliver their intention to the guards in the main gate.


    The guards were shocked with the sudden appearance of a fully geared army marching to Dionde City. Today was Sunday winter, thus, not many were active. And there was no notice from the Lantern Pce about the uing attack. Thus, the fortification around the main gate was almost nonexistent.


    The messenger delivered the message from King Gaum, which summed up, "Our majestic king, King Gaum Cresthold will conquer the Lantern Pce to support his lover. Young Lord of Grand Duchy Stormhill is going to take back what he originally owns."


    Like a thunder on a clear sky, the guards panicked, because the amount of the soldiers were astonishing. Grand Duchy Stormhill and its regions were mostly peaceful economic regions and they did not have many guards, most of them were only trained to defend. Because of thete Emperor''s testament that forbade Grand Duchy Stormhill to have any highlypetent troops.


    The guards immediately sent a messenger to inform Lantern Pce about the attack, because both Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were currently residing in the Lantern Pce.


    The guards in the main gate grouped together and pointed their weapon to the army. They were like a group of ants fighting a giant, but they feared nothing. It just gave them pain because they had to die in the hand of the Young Lord they admired the most.


    Aster was sitting with Gaum and saw those guards pointing their weapon at him. His heart felt stuffy, because he remembered exactly who these guards were. Before they were appointed as official guards, they were just a serf in grand duchy. They were very devoted and generally good people.


    "Ddon''t kill them" Aster said to Gaum.


    "That would depend whether they will struggle or not," Gaum replied.


    Aster remembered that most of them already had wife and children, he opened the carriage door unhesitatingly and walked in front of the guards, their spear was only an inch far from Aster''s face.


    "Stop this! You guys should surrender now and you will be safe with your wife and children! I willpensate you for this!" Aster said.


    The guards looked at each other, but they didn''t lower their guards, "This guard is begging for Young Lord''s forgiveness, but Her Highness Grand Duchess is our leader, we cannot disobey."


    Aster clenched his fist, he looked at their face one by one and kept all of them in his memory, <em>''I willpensate your family. I''m sorry.''</em>


    Aster returned to the carriage, greeted with Gaum''s grin, "How is it?"


    Aster inhaled deeply and said, "Carry on."


    <strong>***</strong>


    The soldiers marched forward and the frontline immediately massacred the guards. Aster closed his eyes because he didn''t want to see their demise. Ramuja who was with Irion in the carriage behind was constantly concerned about his Young Lord wellbeing, because he knew how delicate Young Lord was.


    However, Irion seemed to be unconcerned and said, "There is no other way, I know Young Lord hated violence, but sometimes, it became the unavoidablest resort."


    The soldier entered the gate and marched towards the Lantern Pce. Aster looked around and noticed that the city was very quiet today. No one was outside and there was no scream of panic or whatsoever.


    <em>''It''s like the city has been emptied.''</em>


    "What is in your mind, Aster?" Gaum asked.


    "The city is very quiet today, I''m afraid it might be a trap," Aster was suspicious. His mother seemed to always understand what happened around her. It was almost impossible for her to not know about this attack, and it was even stranger when she crippled the main gate fortification.


    It felt like she didn''t even want to fight.


    The soldiers passed through empty roads until they arrived in front of the Lantern Pce. Many guards were protecting the main gate of Lantern Pce. Again, they did not give any room for negotiation and the soldiers from Rhea just ughtered all of them. They destroyed the gate and were greeted with the sight of many soldiers ready to ambush them.


    "Attack!" the grand duchymander ordered.


    The war inside the Lantern Pce was inevitable, the grand duchy''s guards attacked the soldiers ruthlessly, they didn''t even have any strategy. They were just using their brute force to attack.


    Meanwhile, Aster could feel the carriage with him and Gaum inside shook a little bit, and the roof was being stepped on.


    Ramuja immediately jumped on the top of the carriage and immediately killed two shadow guards by strangling them easily. While Irion was defending the carriage door.


    Aster saw Irion''s sword swinging swiftly as the shadow guards attacked him. Blood sttered everywhere and bodies fell to the ground, some of them had this expression of fear before they got killed.


    Aster saw it all, the first time in his life.


    And all of them were his servants, his guards, his families.


    As his carriage marched to the main pce, he saw the north garden, west garden, south garden and the east garden. All the beautiful flowerbeds he nted and maintained, all the winter flowers he ordered months before to make the pce beautiful even in winter.


    <em>''Pansies, snowdrops, winter cherry, daphne''</em>


    It''s all destroyed now. The soldiers fight, killing each in his garden. They stomped on the flowers mercilessly and swung their swords left and right. The garden he loved so much, it all got destroyed. Only leaving a ruined field full of blood.


    And it was his family''s blood.


    He killed them.


    <em>''Ron, have a wife and a child. Sigre, divorced with three kids. Auter, a youngster, but have elderly parents he needs to take care of''</em>


    Aster remembered every single of guards that died as he thought about the way he couldpensate them. Of course, he couldn''tpensate for the emotional loss, but he didn''t want these guards'' families to suffer after their breadwinner''s death.


    Aster held his pained heart, it was so painful that tears started rolling. Gaum was watching coldly, as he was used to seeing this kind of war happened between Rhea and the neighboring kingdom, although they were already under the rule of Golden Camellia.


    When he saw Aster, he just realized that Aster was crying for every soldier that was killed, "Aster? Why are you crying? We are going to enter the pce soon."


    "Ruined, my garden is ruined. And I am the one who ruined them all."


    Gaum wanted tofort Aster, because the sight must be heartbreaking for Aster. But then, he realized that Aster seemed to observe the fallen soldiers and count them rapidly.


    "You are going to remember all of them andpensate their family?" Gaum asked, and Aster just nodded silently and still counted.


    "You are ridiculous! Aster, this is war!" Gaum tried to shake some logic in Aster''s head. This was a war, there would be casualties and you couldn''t do anything about it.


    "Shut up, you are going to ruin my concentration," Aster said, then he mumbled again, remembering the names of the guards.


    They finally arrived in front of the main pce hall. After the Rhea soldiers ughtered every guard inside the main hall, Aster and Gaum stepped down from the carriage.


    Ramuja and Irion kneeled in front of him, they were breathing heavily, and their bodies were soaked in blood.


    Aster rubbed both Irion and Ramuja''s head gently and said, "I''m sorry."


    "Young Lord are you really okay?" Ramuja opened his mouth first. He had been constantly worrying about his master, because this battle must have been painful for him to watch. Knowing how caring he was to grand duchy and all his people, this battle basically meant he was killing his own family.


    There was a trace of deep sadness in Aster''s eyes, but he nodded and caressed Ramuja''s cheek. He fished out his handkerchief and wiped Ramuja''s bloodied cheek, "I''m okay," Aster smiled.


    "Mymander said there was nothing but guards in this pce, no servants. And only one ce couldn''t be attacked right now, the Grand Duchess chamber," Gaum informed.


    "Is it heavily guarded?"


    "Yes."


    "Then, let''s go there, my mother has been waiting," Aster said.


    They walked slowly across the pce, because Grand Duchess'' chamber was the farthest, Aster walked from one corridor to another and witnessed so many dead bodies on the ground. Aster still focused on remembering all of them to give their familypensationter on.


    When they finally reached the purple door of Grand Duchess'' chamber, there were two guards who still stood straight. They saw that Young Lord finally came, they bowed in front of him, "Young Lord, Grand Duchess has been waiting inside."


    "Let me in."


    The guards opened the door, Aster''s first sight was his mother finally finished knitting a new tacky sweater. After she finished it, she kissed the sweater. Aster could see the pattern, it was still as tacky, but somehow, Grand Duchess looked very satisfied.


    Grand Duchess turned her head to Aster and smiled, "My son has arrived, wee home."