“We’ll see how many years he’ll last...” Herscherik muttered, watching the scenery roll by.
“Years?”
“He’s done so much evil. Someone like him won’t have a change of heart so easily.” This was true in any world. Once on shore... Herscherik figured. Humans were built to forget inconvenient truths. “Besides, if Count Grim completely stops what he’s doing, Barbosse would catch on. He really has to pull this off well if he doesn’t want to be eliminated by his own men.” Grim only had one path to survival; it was up to him how long he could stay on it. They’re not as forgiving as I am, Herscherik reminded himself. I have to make my next move before they catch on... We’re just getting started. Herscherik imagined that this wasn’t even the first act of his war against Barbosse but merely the prelude. He tightened his fists.
Herscherik absentmindedly watched the scenery roll by. All the thoughts racing through his head seemed to have made him forget about being carriage-sick.
Kuro shivered as he watched Herscherik, although he was neither cold nor afraid. How many steps ahead is he thinking...? I don’t even know how far he’ll go. Kuro trembled with excitement at rediscovering the worth of his new master. His belief that was never swayed by emotion, his resolve that made him consider all options, and his forethought that calmly calculated the next move... Moreover, his empathy that never disregarded those around him. Kuro considered these qualities becoming of a king or even a hero. Kuro had also started to become familiar with some of Herscherik’s speech patterns. Whenever he was alone with Kuro, and whenever he tried to remain cold and calculated, he spoke in a different tone. When the prince was kidnapped, and when he was blackmailing Grim, Herscherik spoke in this particular tone. While he might not have appeared collected on the surface, Herscherik was rapidly calculating ahead. His tone in these situations contrasted with the tone he employed with his father or other family members, when he was trying to play the innocent young prince.
“Hey, Kuro,” his master said, calling him out of his thoughts. Herscherik had looked away from the window and was now gazing at Kuro with a serious expression. “I want to protect Father. I want to protect my family. I want to protect my country. I want to protect my people. I’ll do anything to do that.”
Kuro couldn’t help but smile at those words. The core of his master’s unbound potential was the kindness and sense of duty to do right by others. If Herscherik had just wanted to survive, all he had to do was forsake his princehood. But that would never even cross his mind. He wasn’t merely kind, either. Herscherik knew that he couldn’t protect anything with only kindness.
After a beat, Herscherik continued. He held the pocket watch tight in his hand. “Schwarz, being with me is going to be a lot more difficult than the jobs you’re used to.” Herscherik wasn’t saying this out of hand, nor was it idle speculation. Changing the nature of an entire country was a feat completely beyond anything Ryoko had done in her life, and Herscherik knew that he would be dead if he made one wrong move. Kuro, once he had fully assumed his role as butler of service, would live and die with Herscherik. Right now, he still had a chance to turn back. “I can’t give you anything in return, Kuro. I might even endanger your life.” Herscherik spoke honestly only because he was speaking to Kuro. “I’m just a kid. I don’t have any muscles, or magic, or even any patrons. I will only ever be dead weight to you, Kuro. If something goes wrong, I don’t have the power to protect you or me.” Herscherik knew well that he had nothing—that he was practically powerless with only his words and Ryoko’s memories in his arsenal. That’s why he needed someone he could trust wholeheartedly. Someone he could trust with his life. “Will you still... fight with me?” Herscherik stared directly at Kuro.
Kuro saw a shadow of anxiety in his master’s eyes. He sensed that Herscherik was trying to conceal his own insecurity in order to give him a choice in his own fate. Once again, Kuro asked himself if he could remain by Herscherik’s side. Even now, leaving the prince was inconceivable. At that moment, Kuro realized that maybe Herscherik had given Grim a choice, too. Although Herscherik seemed confident that it would never happen, if Grim truly did have a change of heart, he would become one of the people of this country Herscherik vowed to protect. If that were to happen, Herscherik would protect him at any cost, even as the one who killed Ruseria. So, Kuro made his choice. Now he was confident that he had never served anyone else in this country because he had been waiting for Herscherik. Just as Herscherik could not go without helping those around him, Kuro could not go without Herscherik.
Kuro knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. Since they were inside the carriage, they were very close to each other.
“My Liege. My body is a sword that cuts through your enemies, a shield that protects you from harm, and a staff that guides your way.”
It was the same oath that Ruseria had sworn to Herscherik. Upon becoming his butler of service, Kuro had learned royal customs and etiquette from Rook. The Oath of Service was one of them. Kuro had just considered them a particular set of words at the time, but not now. The Oath of Service was a declaration of the soul, an oath that must not be broken. Breaking the Oath of Service would not only be a betrayal of his master but also to himself. “If you wish, My Liege, I will follow you past a million foes, to beyond the sky or the Darkness Below.” Kuro looked up to find his master astonished. “Allow me the honor of pledging my eternal loyalty to you.”
Herscherik closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, his jade-like eyes meeting Kuro’s dark crimson eyes.
“I’ll allow it, Schwarz. But you have to promise me one thing.” Herscherik set the silver pocket watch down on the seat and pinched Kuro’s cheeks with his hands, just as Ryoko did to her niece in his dream. It was a gesture filled with hope that Kuro would keep his promise and determination to make him keep it. “You will not die before me. When you die, I die too.” He did not want to lose anyone else like he had lost Ruseria. He never wanted to lose anyone precious to him again. Herscherik knew that this promise would only serve to make himself feel better. Still, he couldn’t help but demand it. He thought he saw a light flicker in Kuro’s deep-red eyes.
“Understood full well, My Liege.”