The Duke's Passion



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880 Meet Orly

"The phenomena that are now occurring in this land aren't something abrupt. Years before tonight, there were already signs of the undead and the king's plans. It all started in the town called Garu a few years ago. Back then, there is a rumor that a plague had infested the Town of Garu that took the lives of many citizens."

Lilou and Law kept their eyes on the middle-aged man who introduced himself by the name Orly, Orly had led them to an underground passage, holding a lamp to bring light to their path. The rest, including the child they rescued, were walking behind Lilou and Law, not saying a word.

"Normally, a plague would concern many citizens of the country. However, for some reason, the palace and the nobility acted swiftly. Therefore, everyone felt assured that the plague wouldn't become a national crisis," Orly continued quietly. "Until one good merchant went to visit the Town of Garu to offer relief and help. What he discovered there would incite concern in His Majesty's subjects. People of the Spade Kingdom rallied; they would gather in front of the royal palace to seek answers or reassurance from the king"

"That time, the king, together with the nobility, came forth before everyone. They reassured everyone what happened in the town of Garu was an isolated case. The discases that took the lives of many citizens wouldn't spread across the kingdom. But alas, he was lying all along" Orly took a deliberate pause, listening to the sound of their quiet footsteps. "Town after town... the disease spread like poison. Every day, the royal knights would town and claimed their actions were the only way for this disease to not spread."

"People could only stay quiet for some time. But when the people couldn't take it anymore, noticing how the situation was an occurring event, a rebellion rose," he added.

"A rebellion?" Lilou furrowed her brows. She never heard of such a thing happening. Orly halted and looked back at her. "You are an outsider, so you wouldn't know about it." "The king controls the information in the Spade Kingdom. Everything that happens in this kingdom stays in the kingdom," he continued, treading carefully ahead. "So, it wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't hear about that bloody rebellion that ended overnight!

Lilou stayed quiet, listening to everything Orly had said. Even though they stayed in the land of Spade for months, it was almost amazing how they didn't hear a single word about this rebellion.

"It all happened in the town of Bermont - a small land in the north where the rebellion started." Orly's eyelids drooped as if a painful and unforgettable memory resurfaced in his head. "I can still remember that night that mad king appeared."

"When the monarch had to deal with a rebellion, he would normally send his royal knights to deal with them. Reinforcement would follow. But that night, the king appeared with only a few people with him. He didn't have any guards with him. Just him and then two noblemen. A bitter smile turned up on Orly's face. "We thought it was because the king was arrogant and he didn't want to waste his soldiers' time to deal with the barbarians of the north. But we were wrong. He didn't bring his soldiers, for there was no need for that."

Lilou pressed her lips into a thin line, cycs on Orly's back. "The rebels ended themselves, did they?"

"His Majesty unleashed this dark mist until the snow turned black. And everyone who touched that black snow acted differently, convulsing while their mouths bubbled. We thought it was poison until the first affected rebel stood up once again. This time, however, he was grunting and drooling like an animal."

"Even until now, I still couldn't get my head wrapped around it. The reality didn't sink into me until more and more rebels fell, only to rise as mindless monsters who would attack their comrades." Orly sighed deeply, snapping his eyes ever so tenderly as he faced ahead. "You are correct, young madam. The rebels ended up fighting each other and dying in each other'sNôv(el)B\\jnn

hands."

"How did you survive?" Lilou asked, clear that Orly was part of that rebellion.

"Mercy" Orly laughed bitterly while the other men couldn't hide the dismay in their eyes. "After he was satisfied, he left a few rebels alive. He claimed to have the intention of exercising mercy

if we only repent."

"Did you?" she remarked solemnly. "May I know if you repented?"

"No. We believed we fought for what was right, and we do not mind dying fighting for it."

"Then how are you still alive?"

"You don't know His Majesty." His chuckle had a tinge of ridicule. "He was a pretentious man whose ambition was limitless. Mercy? What he had given us wasn't mercy, but a gesture to mock us. Even though the rebellion failed, we didn't stop spreading the word of His Majesty's evil plans. But alas, no one believed us."

"He knew that all along and used us as his mere entertainment." Orly sighed once again. The wrinkles on his face displayed how exhausted he was since his battle against Zero had started, and the dim gleam in his eyes showed helplessness.

"Although we ended up realizing how pathetic we are, we wanted to help out our fellow people. Our initial plan was to create a massive bunker. Thus, we started digging. Much to our surprise, the capital had its underground passage that no one used." Orly stopped as he looked back at Lilou and Law. "We only created paths that connected to some establishments and houses in the capital."

"Do you believe he didn't know your movements?"

"Maybe he knew and is just planning to give us a little hope before taking it away. Perhaps, he doesn't" Orly didn't hesitate to answer, keeping it honest and sincere. "But that doesn't matter. For as long as we did our best to survive, that's what is more important."

He turned his back on her as he reached for the wide door before him. "If we all survived, then

that would be great.'

The door creaked loudly as it opened. The lights from the inside instantly shone down on Lilou and Law, surprising the two, as what was beyond the wide door was a small underground town!

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