To Replace a Dragon with a Phoenix [BBANGSAZ AU]

7.) Farewell

Minjae's POV:

A feeling of pride swelled in my chest today. As I got geared up piece by piece I couldn't stop myself from smiling.  

"What's gotten into you, your Majesty?" The blacksmith questioned.  "Usually you're so stoic and calculated."

" Just excited," I curtly said.

Once the pieces where snug, I mounted my steed, Noir, a strong black Fresian mixed horse. Behind me a long train of servants and soldiers as well as my advisors and officials.  I personally suggested that I wouldn't need that many servants but the officials urged me, but whatever I'll keep riding their asses until I can prove them wrong.  After all, they finally approved my idea of entering into the war myself and I was content with that. 

Noir was led to the front of the palace gates. A flag with the Kim emblem was thrust into my hands. Then the gates were thrown open. 

The light that came from the outside flooded into my eyes blinding me temporarily. Squinting I could see the rows of people lining up to see me off. 

I took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. 

With a flick of Noir's reigns, I was off. 

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"Silence your wails," I command, my voice slicing through the thick air, heavy with despair. The villagers fall quiet, their sobs catching in their throats as they gaze upon me—Minjae, the young emperor clad in the armor and weapons of my ailing father. The weight of the steel is nothing compared to the burden of their expectations.

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Despite the ravages of the famine people still lined up to see their emperor set off. Faces of young, old, sick, and weak lined up. Some smiled and waved while some cried and begged me not to leave. I understood, they were scared, and I was too. But as the last hope of the Kim Empire, I couldn't express it on my face. No tremor in my step, no quiver of my lip. My eyes as cold as ice and a face as still as stone stared ahead at the long and uncertain road. As the fear took hold of me faces seemed to blend into one mush. 

What if I die?

 What if I don't return? 

What am I doing? 

Maybe this wasn't the move after all? 

What about me? 

What will they think of me after they discover who I am? 

The fear was giving me tunnel vision. Fading in and out, the world started to wobble back and forth. I felt like I was swaying too hard. 

Focus. 

Focus Minjae. 

Focus. 

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The witch's curse at my coming-of-age ceremony echoes in my mind—a harbinger of famine, disease, and war. A prophecy self-fulfilled by the fear it instilled.

I should be afraid. Yet, as I stride toward the army camp, where the fate of my people will be decided, I am not. Fear is a luxury I cannot afford. For in the cold, calculated chambers of my heart, I know that only the ruthless survive. And survive I must—for the empire, for my father, and for the fragile thread of hope that I dare not let snap

As I lead, I will inspire. As I fight, I will instill valor. And should I fall, I will become the martyr whose name will be etched in the annals of our history. My return will be triumphant, the herald of a hero's welcome, or it will be upon the wings of death, cloaked in the glory of the fallen. Either outcome serves the empire. Either outcome cements my legacy. For in the end, it is not just about surviving; it is about ensuring that the empire—and my father's vision—endures.