Chapter 85 — Beneath the Same Moon

Narrator

Night had settled over the outskirts of the Kingdom of Spades.

The great capital glittered in the distance.

Tall towers rose beyond the walls, their windows glowing like scattered stars upon the dark horizon.

The streets that had been alive throughout the day had slowly grown quieter.

Only the distant sound of guards changing positions...

the occasional footsteps of soldiers...

and the soft movement of the night breeze...

remained.

Beyond the city...

an open field had become the temporary resting place of the Kingdom of Heart's travelling force.

Rows of tents stood beneath the open sky.

Some belonged to the soldiers.

Some belonged to the Queen's personal guards.

And near the center...

stood Brald's tent.

A small fire burned nearby.

Its flames danced whenever the wind passed.

Inside...

V was already asleep.

The day's exhaustion had finally defeated him.

He had spent the morning travelling.

Then exploring the capital.

Then talking to people.

Playing with children near the river.

Visiting places he had never seen before.

And after returning...

he had still trained.

Because for V...

training was not something that depended on whether he was tired.

It was simply something he did.

Now...

the sword rested beside his sleeping place.

His breathing was slow.

Peaceful.

Completely different from the boy who had spent the entire day moving from one place to another.

Brald sat nearby.

He had been watching over him for a while.

The fire outside cast a faint orange glow through the entrance of the tent.

Brald looked toward his sleeping son.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?"

V didn't answer.

Of course.

He was asleep.

Brald shook his head.

"Stubborn child."

Outside...

footsteps approached.

Several guards immediately straightened.

The Queen of Heart had come to inspect the camp.

Beside her walked the Princess.

The Queen quietly checked the soldiers.

She asked about injuries.

Food.

Supplies.

Security.

Everything appeared to be in order.

Eventually...

she and the Princess reached Brald's tent.

The Queen looked toward the entrance.

"May I?"

Brald immediately stood.

"Your Majesty."

The Queen gave a small nod.

"How are things?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly."

Brald glanced toward the sleeping V.

"No major problems."

The Queen looked around the camp.

"Good."

Then she asked,

"How much longer do you think the preparations will take?"

"Two more days, perhaps."

The Queen nodded.

"Then we should be able to complete the ceremony within the expected time."

Brald remained silent for a moment.

Then his expression became slightly more serious.

"You mentioned an important meeting tomorrow."

"Yes."

Brald looked directly at her.

What you see here was copied from the NovelPhoenix site without permission; the author's publication there supports them.

"Forgive me for asking..."

"Would it not be inappropriate to tell a stranger about something important like that?"

The Queen's expression softened.

"If there were any concern..."

"I would never have brought you here."

Brald looked at her for a moment.

Then nodded.

"I understand."

Their conversation remained calm.

There was no arrogance in the Queen's voice.

Nor submission in Brald's.

Only mutual respect between two people who understood the weight carried by their positions.

Then...

the Queen's eyes moved toward the tent.

"By the way..."

"Where is that mischievous little boy?"

The Princess's eyes immediately brightened.

She looked toward the tent entrance.

Brald smiled.

"Inside."

The Princess almost stepped forward immediately.

The Queen noticed.

A small smile appeared on her face.

They entered quietly.

And then...

the Princess stopped.

Her eyes widened.

V was sleeping peacefully.

His hair was slightly messy.

His blanket had slipped halfway down his body.

And from the corner of his mouth...

a tiny line of drool had escaped.

The serious, sword-wielding boy from earlier...

was gone.

In his place...

was simply a sleepy child.

V suddenly moved slightly.

His lips parted.

"Mmm..."

Everyone remained quiet.

Then V murmured in his sleep—

"I liked this food..."

The Princess stared.

For one second...

she tried to hold herself back.

She failed.

"Pfft..."

Her shoulders began shaking.

Then—

"Hahahaha!"

Brald looked toward her.

The Queen covered a small smile.

The Princess laughed harder.

"He..."

"He actually talks in his sleep!"

V moved again.

His brow furrowed.

Then he suddenly muttered—

"Cheeky princess..."

The Princess froze.

Brald's eyebrows rose.

The Queen looked at her daughter.

The Princess slowly covered her mouth.

Then V continued sleeping.

"She's laughing..."

"She wants to steal my food..."

The Princess's face changed.

"Wait..."

"He can hear me even while sleeping?"

Brald laughed quietly.

"Apparently."

The Princess tried to stop laughing.

She failed again.

"Hahaha!"

Then V suddenly shouted in his sleep—

"Cheeky Princess! You're laughing just to steal my food!"

The Princess immediately burst into another fit of laughter.

"He's accusing me while he's asleep!"

Brald couldn't hold himself back anymore.

He laughed as well.

Even the Queen's lips curved upward.

The tent filled with quiet laughter.

Outside...

the night breeze moved through the grass.

As if even the darkness had decided to smile.

After a moment, the Princess wiped the corner of her eye.

"Does he always mumble like this in his sleep?"

Brald shook his head.

"Not usually."

"Then why today?"

Brald glanced at V.

"When his emotions become especially strong..."

"He sometimes speaks in his sleep."

The Princess looked at him.

Brald continued.

"V doesn't always show what he's feeling when he's awake."

"He keeps many things inside."

"But when he's asleep..."

"His emotions sometimes speak for him."

The Queen quietly watched V.

"So..."

"Today must have been a very enjoyable day for him."

Brald smiled.

"Probably."

"He arrived here and immediately went exploring."

"He disappeared into the capital until evening."

"Then he came back..."

"And somehow still found enough energy to train."

The Queen looked amused.

"He trained after spending the entire day exploring?"

Brald nodded.

"That's V."

"No matter how tired he becomes..."

"If he decides that today is a day for training..."

"He trains."

The Princess looked at the sleeping boy again.

Her expression had changed.

There was something almost fond in her eyes now.

Brald suddenly remembered something.

"And today..."

"He surprised even me."

The Queen looked toward him.

"What happened?"

Brald smiled faintly.

"He prayed."

The Princess tilted her head.

"Prayed?"

"Yes."

"How many times?"

Brald looked toward V.

"Ten thousand and two."

The Princess's eyes widened.

"Ten thousand... and two?"

Brald nodded.

"I asked him why."

"What did he say?"

Brald's smile became quieter.

"He said..."

"Those prayers were for the people who gave their lives for their kingdoms."

The tent became still.

The fire outside crackled softly.

The Queen's expression changed.

The Princess looked at V again.

This time...

she didn't laugh.

A small breeze entered through the opening of the tent.

It moved V's hair gently across his forehead.

The same boy who had spent the afternoon laughing beside the river...

had remembered people he had never met.

People whose names he didn't know.

People whose faces he had never seen.

Yet he had prayed for them.

The Queen lowered her eyes.

"What kind of child..."

She stopped.

She didn't finish the sentence.

Brald simply smiled.

"My son."

The Princess remained quiet.

Then something caught her attention.

She looked toward the other side of V.

A tiny dragon was curled against his chest.

Tiami.

She was sleeping peacefully.

Her small body rose and fell with V's breathing.

The Princess stared.

The dragon's scales reflected the faint light of the fire.

She looked almost harmless.

Almost like an ordinary little creature.

But Brald knew better.

"The two of them..."

He paused.

"Their relationship is complicated."

The Princess looked at him.

"Complicated?"

Brald nodded.

"Very."

He looked toward Tiami.

"Before Tiami..."

"There was Liza."

The Princess's eyes widened.

"Liza?"

Brald nodded.

"Lady Liza."

The name itself seemed to carry weight.

The Princess whispered,

"Lady Liza..."

"Are you talking about the Legendary Dragon Queen from the books?"

"Yes."

"The same one?"

"Yes."

The Princess looked at V again.

"V knew her?"

Brald smiled.

"He didn't just know her."

"She raised him."

"She taught him how to fight."

"She taught him about the world."

"And perhaps most importantly..."

"She taught him how to live."

The Princess's expression slowly softened.

"Liza gave V his name."

"She was like a mother to him."

"And a teacher."

Brald's eyes moved toward V.

"V rarely disobeyed her."

"He listened to every word she said."

"Even now..."

"Although Lady Liza is gone..."

"you can still see her inside V."

The Princess stared at the sleeping boy.

She suddenly understood something.

There were parts of V that didn't come from Brald.

Parts that didn't come from the village.

There was something older inside him.

Something shaped by someone who had already left the world.

"Lady Liza..."

The Princess looked toward Tiami.

"And Tiami?"

Brald smiled.

"Now V is teaching Tiami."

The Princess blinked.

"Wait."

"V is teaching her?"

"Yes."

The Princess looked at the tiny dragon again.

Then back at V.

"That's..."

She searched for the right word.

"Strange."

Brald chuckled.

"Perhaps."

"But I think that's their way of carrying something forward."

The Princess remained silent.

The fire outside flickered.

A spark rose into the darkness...

then disappeared.

Brald continued quietly.

"Lady Liza taught V."

"Now V teaches Tiami."

"Perhaps that's how certain lessons survive."

"Not through books."

"Not through monuments."

"But through people."

The Princess didn't answer.

She simply watched the two sleeping figures.

A boy...

and a little dragon.

One had once learned everything from someone he loved.

The other was now learning from him.

And above them...

the moon continued its slow journey across the night sky.

The Queen finally looked toward her daughter.

"It's getting late."

The Princess didn't move.

"Come."

The Queen extended her hand.

The Princess looked at V one last time.

Then she took her mother's hand.

"Good night..."

she whispered.

V didn't hear her.

He remained asleep.

The Queen and Princess began walking away.

At the entrance...

the Princess glanced back.

Brald was already sitting beside V.

He picked up a cloth.

Then gently wiped the corner of V's mouth.

The Princess smiled.

A small laugh escaped her.

Brald looked up.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She shook her head.

Then quietly said—

"He really is a child."

Brald smiled.

"Sometimes."

The Princess looked at V once more.

"Good night, V."

She turned away.

The Queen and Princess disappeared into the darkness.

Their footsteps slowly faded.

Brald remained beside his son.

He adjusted V's blanket.

Then leaned back.

The night grew quieter.

Beyond the camp...

the Kingdom of Spades glittered beneath the stars.

Its towers stood proudly against the heavens.

Its rivers reflected the moonlight.

Its walls carried centuries of history.

And far above those walls...

the moon remained unchanged.

Watching kings.

Watching soldiers.

Watching children.

Watching people arrive...

and people leave.

Tonight...

it watched a father sitting beside his sleeping son.

Brald slowly closed his eyes.

The fire continued burning.

Tiami remained curled against V's chest.

V breathed peacefully.

And the moon...

looked almost the same as it always did.

Perhaps that was the strange comfort of the night.

No matter how much the world changed...

some things remained.

A father's hand protecting his child.

A dragon sleeping beside the boy she had chosen.

A mother guiding her daughter home.

And a moon silently watching over them all.

Tomorrow would bring another day.

Another journey.

Another meeting.

Another piece of the world waiting to reveal itself.

But tonight...

there was nothing left to solve.

Nothing left to fight.

Nothing left to fear.

Only silence.

Only warmth.

Only the quiet breathing of a child...

beneath the same moon that had watched over him since the beginning.

Narrator

The world remembers heroes by the battles they win.

But sometimes...

the most important moments are the ones where nobody is fighting.

Because before a child becomes strong enough to protect the world...

someone must first teach him what is worth protecting.