Lost Ones - A False King

Chapter 2 - The Crimson Crusaders

"Are you alright? You look so pale," Suse remarks after Lina has exited the room and closed the door.

"I could say the same about you," Lina replies. "Your reaction seemed a bit exaggerated."

"Well, today isn't an ordinary day, is it?" Suse says, sighing. "But I admit, my reaction might have been a bit over the top. I'll apologize to her later."

"Thank you," Lina continues.

But Suse isn't wrong. Lina's hands are starting to shake, and her heartbeat is accelerating.

Accompanied by Suse, who has been waiting outside Lina's room, they head towards the breakfast room.

Lina's room is at the end of a wide corridor, which, like the other corridors in the castle, is illuminated by lamps at night or on dark days.

The corridor walls are freshly painted. The red carpet is wrinkle-free.

Floor vases in the shape of a female body adorn every corridor in the castle. These vases, filled with water and flowers, give Lina a sense of freshness, fertility, and liveliness amid the otherwise old-fashioned castle.

To Lina's surprise, even the paintings with bright frames are cleaned to the smallest detail.

The paintings on this floor depict Lina's entire family, including the colorful painting at the end of the corridor that shows her family in the magnificent garden behind the castle.

The higher up in the castle you go, the more familial the paintings become. Paintings of the castle are on the second floor, of the entire city on the first floor, and paintings from around the world on the ground floor.

In front of her room is her brother's room.

In the front part of the corridor are two additional rooms.

One of them is empty and belonged to Lina's grandparents during their lifetimes. The other room is occupied by her personal butler.

Had Lina and Suse gone to the right, they would have stood before a massive double door leading to the royal chambers and the bedroom of Lina's parents.

Instead, they head left and descend a wide staircase to the lower floors.

The stairwell is designed very intricately. This was done to protect the privacy of the royal family. While the third floor is only accessible by stairs, multiple staircases descend from the second floor to the lower levels.

On the second floor of the castle, the guest rooms are located. Additionally, Suse and the household cook each have a room in a corridor. Next to their rooms is another one—the Mask Room—and right next to this door, inconspicuously behind a curtain in the same color as the walls, is a spiral staircase leading to the lower floors.

Lina feels particularly aware of the significance of this day here.

King's advisors hurry up a narrow staircase to his office, and maidservants offer Lina their congratulations. She gratefully accepts the first compliments, but the maidservants have no time for longer conversations, especially with Suse admonishingly standing beside Lina. They rush through the corridors or into the rooms to attend to their tasks.

The maidservants' and coachman's rooms are on the first floor.

From here, Lina can see several generals gathered at the edge of the corridor, discussing matters. Their soldiers are also stationed on the ground floor, waiting for instructions.

All these soldiers are originally from Londe. They are either freshly trained, past their prime, or have volunteered to be transferred to Rilgohin.

They are inexperienced, old, and lazy.