The Sun Will Rise as Usual

Upon hearing this, Karl's face showed a hint of guilt, and he quickly said, "Konrad, I'm sorry... it was me..."

"I'm not blaming you," Konrad interrupted, shaking his head. "It was their own choice. As mages, they have to bear the consequences of their choices on the battlefield. I'm trying to say something else."

His gaze was fixed on Karl, his voice lowered, carrying an unprecedented seriousness, "As their mentor, I must be responsible for my students and ensure their safety, so, Karl, listen carefully."

Konrad paused, making sure his brother was fully focused, "If... I mean, if tomorrow, Carnford really can't hold out, when the walls finally break and chaos becomes inevitable... I will use some... unconventional methods, methods outside the realm of ordinary warfare, to get them out of here."

"I have my own methods to ensure their safe escape, away from this battlefield."

He paused, seemingly carefully choosing his next words, his voice even softer, yet each word struck Karl's heart like a hammer blow. "Of course... Karl, I can... take you with me."

After saying this, Konrad fell silent, simply gazing at Karl with his deep, complex eyes.

Karl remained silent, looking back at his brother.

The hope of life, like a blinding ray of light, suddenly pierced through the hall shrouded in despair, and was laid bare before him.

Following his brother, this powerful mage, he has a good chance of surviving this inevitable calamity; he can live.

He had promised his mother in a letter that he would give her a peaceful old age, and he had also promised Charlotte that he would come back to see her alive.

He remembered Charlotte, who had held his arm tightly on that tender night, her tears glistening in the moonlight, looking at him almost pleadingly.

"Karl, promise me... if... if Carnford really can't be held, don't fight to the bitter end. Find a way to break out, escape, run back to Fran City. No one will look down on you, and Father won't blame you... Living is more important than anything else."

She wouldn't look down on him because of this. In that moment, she shed all her pride and strength, and was simply a woman terrified of losing him.

Her tears were scalding hot, her plea humble, yet they weighed on his heart more heavily than any knightly oath.

He had made a solemn promise to her.

Now, the opportunity to fulfill this promise seems to be right in front of us.

If he simply nodded and followed Konrad down that mysterious escape route, he could fulfill his promise to Charlotte, embrace her warm body again, and allow his mother to live out her old age in peace.

The idea was so tempting that it almost dragged him toward that path to survival.

However, the thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

His gaze slowly swept across the dilapidated hall, as if he could see the soldiers and civilians outside, standing guard in the cold wind, saying their final goodbyes to their families.

He could see the faces of Brendan, Richter, Roland, Edgar, Morr... those who entrusted their lives and loyalty to him.

You can feel the weight of his hard work and commitment over the past year on this land beneath your feet.

He took a deep breath of the air, which was thick with dust and the smell of gunpowder, and shook his head.

"Brother..." His voice was choked with emotion, but his eyes were clear. "Thank you for your kindness, really... thank you for thinking of taking me with you at this time, but... I can't leave."

He paused, as if gathering his strength, and then said, word by word, "I am the Lord of Carnford. This is my home, the land I swore to protect."

"My soldiers are still fighting for me and this land, and my people are still desperately waiting for their Lord. If I go with you and escape alone, even if I survive, I will live the rest of my life tormented by shame and guilt. That will be a torment more painful than death, a living hell."

He looked at Konrad and gave a bitter yet resigned smile, "Brother, take Lina and Morian with you. They are the hope of the future and should not perish here. As for me... my fate is already intertwined with Carnford's."

He paused, a strange calm suddenly appearing in his voice, as if stating a perfectly natural truth. "Besides, when the curtain finally falls on the story, shouldn't the protagonist stand in the very center of the stage? Carnford is my stage, and tomorrow is the final curtain call."

Karl's lips curled into an almost proud smile, and his eyes, bloodshot from days of bloody battles, now burned with a clear and unwavering flame.

"I may not be able to choose the ending of the story, but I can at least choose... how to stand here, to meet it, like a true Lord, like a leader worthy of all sacrifices."

"Tell Lina and Morian," he added softly, his tone softening, "That I am grateful for everything they have done for this land, and that I tell...tell everyone who remembers Carnford that their Lord stood ready for the end."

Konrad listened quietly, his face showing no surprise, neither anger nor sadness, as if every word Karl spoke was perfectly within his expectations.

He simply looked at his younger brother deeply, his gaze incredibly complex, filled with helpless regret, the heartache of blood ties, but above all, a profound understanding and a touch of admiration for his courage and responsibility.

He made no further attempts to persuade him, nor did he preach any more about life and death.

He knew that Karl had made his choice, a choice befitting a leader.

He slowly stood up, his movements still elegant and composed, and straightened out non-existent wrinkles on his mage robe.

"I understand." Konrad's voice remained calm, but carried a subtle heaviness that was more pronounced than before. "Take care, Karl."

Having said that, he didn't linger. He turned around and walked out of the dark Lord's Hall with steady, silent steps.

His figure paused slightly at the doorway before disappearing into the thick darkness outside, as if he had never been there.

In the empty hall, only Karl remained, sitting alone on the cold Lord's chair.

The candlelight cast his shadow long, very long.

Outside the window, the night was deathly still, and below the mountain, the lights of the Sauron camp stretched out like the eyes of a bloodthirsty beast.

The sun will rise as usual tomorrow.

And at that moment, Carnford's fate would face its final judgment.