NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 70: Toward the North, the uncrowned King of the Mystic Side
[Archbishop Chartres' words remind you of the rumors circulating through France, comparing you and Jeanne to the ancient saintly king, Clovis I.]
[Some say you two are destined to be kings.]
[But until now, neither you nor Jeanne gave it any thought. You never believed yourselves to be kings. Though you possess knowledge of the future, you've never cared for bloodlines—yet you still understand the reality shaped by this era's world and its systems.]
[In mid-15th century Europe, monarchs and high nobles were often related by blood. A commoner might rise to become a low-ranking lord and establish a family line through merit, but it was nearly impossible to become a high noble with vast lands—unless by marriage.]
[And neither of you ever intended to marry into nobility.]
[Thus, winning the support of the people—let alone the backing of the nobility—seemed all but impossible.]
[In this era, commoners have no political power.]
[They are merely chips on the chessboard of noble conflict.]
[Yet now, those words, spoken by Archbishop Chartres, carry a very different meaning.]
[Because it means that even without noble blood, you now possess the name of legitimacy.]
[It means that even without political foundations like those of a royal heir,]
[You still possess bargaining power equal to, if not greater than, theirs.]
[You now have legitimacy granted by the divine.]
[And in this era, when the Church still holds tremendous power and a monarch's ascension must be endorsed by it,]
[Such legitimacy is beyond contestation.]
[You understand this may be an opportunity—or a crisis.]
[But in truth, you feel no fear.]
[If it's an opportunity, seize it. If it's a threat, destroy it.]
[The choice is simple.]
...
[Jeanne, walking beside you, remains equally composed. In your time spent together—living, eating, and fighting side by side—she has grown under your subtle influence. Jeanne is still Jeanne, the Holy Maiden who fights to save France, but she is now also your eternal comrade and shield.]
[She has come to value the opinions of even the lowest commoners. She truly believes you—more than the princess pretending to be a prince—deserve to be king.]
[That princess's ascension gives her an unspoken sense of crisis.]
[Though she hasn't voiced it, you've seen it clearly.]
[Of course, you also know—if France were still in dire peril, Jeanne would place national salvation first, and let the princess take the throne to rally the people.]
[Thankfully, that time has passed.]
[Thankfully, she no longer needs to sacrifice her heart for duty.]
[She is grateful—and you're a bit exasperated.]
[Thus, when facing the archbishop's words, you both remain calm.]
[You bid him farewell, and quietly left the ancient city.]
[Archbishop Chartres was surprised by your composed response, but reassured—he knew he had not chosen the wrong people.]
[In April of that year, spring faded and summer arrived.]
[You resumed your campaign.]
[Next stop: Paris. Then Normandy Fortress. Then the five major ports of northern France.]
[You would reclaim all of France.]
[And drive every English soldier back into the English Channel.]
...
The war's end had been decided from the beginning.
By then, England had lost momentum. Troops were spread thin at home and abroad. Morale plummeted. At home, the capture of Regent Duke Bedford plunged the court into chaos. Factions scrambled for power, and young Henry VI was too weak to stabilize the realm.
Only ten thousand English soldiers remained scattered through northern France. Their commander, the once-famous general Thomas Montagu, was old and already crushed at Orléans. All he could do now was retreat in good order.
May 1432.
Under Jeanne's cannon fire, Paris returned to French control.
June 1432.
The French army split into six forces, targeting Calais, Écly, Le Havre, and two other long-held ports.
The sixth force—led personally by Jeanne and her 300 Templar Knights—marched on Normandy Fortress, where England's final fighting force was stationed.
Though the war was not over yet, from the eastern reaches of France to distant Poland, everyone across Europe understood: a war that had lasted over eighty years—since 1350—was about to end.
And it would end with France's victory.
With Jeanne and Vic's victory.
Their names were sung across sea and land.
They rose from nothing.
And forged a legend of glory.
—The Hundred Years' War Between England and France
...
"The war is finally ending."
Outside Paris, where Charles V's grand walls loomed, and the Seine flowed freely, a woman stood on a low hill, gazing down.
She looked thirty at most. Her pale skin was nearly translucent. Black hair fell loosely about a face like snow-carved porcelain. Dressed in a flowing black court gown and a noble outer cloak, she exuded mystery and elegance.
Looking toward the slowly recovering capital, she murmured, "Back then, Nicolas LeMay once said his future was limitless—that he would surpass even himself. I believed he was special, even as a boy. But I never imagined he would grow so fast."
"He is remarkable," said a tall, slender man behind her. His silver armor gleamed, and his face—sharp, pale, almost sickly—was hauntingly beautiful.
"Whether it was Orléans, or the rise of the Templar Knights, his every action laid the foundation for this victory."
"I'm not talking about that, Gilles..." The woman turned slightly, then shook her head. "Forget it. You haven't seen the Mystic Side for yourself, so you wouldn't understand."
"To personally defeat a Clock Tower Magus Monarch—acknowledged as Grand-class by the Mage's Association—is an accomplishment even Nicolas never achieved."
"But that no longer matters."
"He's now summoning the magi of France to Paris. His prestige far surpasses Nicolas's in his prime. I imagine many will answer the call."
"As France's crownless king of magecraft... I'd like to see just what he plans to do."
So spoke Isabelle de Rais—sister to Gilles de Rais, and a woman of the de Rais family who once walked the path of the Mystic with a young Lucan, a young Victoire.
Clearly, Lucan's fame now reached beyond the surface world.
He was revered in the Mystic Side as well.
France's undisputed, crownless king of magecraft.