"I remember now, Luosang, Luosang—there's a story behind that name."
On a secluded path, Tales gazed at the fireworks rising in the distance and spoke in sudden realization.
"What?"
Shilai hurried over from behind him, her steps unsteady and her expression dejected.
"It isn't an ordinary name. It belongs to a literary character—or perhaps there really was such a person in history," Tales said thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "A century or two ago, 'Bad Blood' Luosang was a notorious bandit and thief along the Golden Corridor. He committed countless evils and was burdened with crimes."
"How do you know that?" Shilai asked in surprise.
"Ballads, knightly novels, and plays." Tales shrugged.
Especially the ones preserved in Nekaroo's library. Ever since the Archduchess had ascended the throne, the sealed collections had begun to grow again—works unavailable anywhere in Starfall.
"Oh, Your Highness truly is well-read..."
Srimani, who was walking third, first wore an admiring expression, then asked in confusion:
"But Bad Blood Luosang? Bad Blood? Why was he called that?"
Behind the Defense Lawyer, Gollor kept glancing from side to side. Rolf was clutching a section of prosthetic limb and leaning against one of his shoulders as he trudged along, while Catherine covered her severed arm and leaned against his other shoulder, trembling.
Both wore exhausted expressions and occasionally let out muffled groans.
Caught between them, Gollor—reduced to a human walking stick—could only sigh at the futility of life.
He would rather have stayed beneath the bridge pier and fought Luosang the Second to the death.
"Because Luosang—I mean, Luosang 'the First'—was, at least in the literary works, a despicable knight who betrayed his lord and his creed," Tales recalled. "Not only that, he personally murdered his own father and teacher, deserted his family, and committed unforgivable crimes against the world,