Arslan Senki (TV): Fuujin Ranbu

Shagad's plot ended in failure...

...and the port city of Gilan, which had been overrun with corruption,

was freed.

However, the peace was short-lived.

A girl who had escaped from Ecbatana had made her way to Arslan.

Étoile!

What on earth happened in Ecbatana?

King Innocentis is being held prisoner.

I tried to find some way to help him...

...but I was accused of things I did not do and branded a traitor.

I am in no position to ask such a thing of you...

...but I beg of you, could you not march on Ecbatana and rescue our king?

Enough with the matter of my lord brother surviving the attempt.

If anything, we were saved from being parted with him in death,

so nothing could be more wonderful.

See to it that he is cared for with all vigilance.

Yes.

More important is Silver Mask's whereabouts.

We are completely at odds with him now.

Kill him!

No matter what it takes!

Curse that Guiscard.

It seems he is hell-bent on killing us.

Go to Prince Hilmes's aid!

Damn it!

F-Fall back!

Retreat!

Oh! Lord Sām!

Zandeh, I trust you have been well?

And what of you? What of Zabul Fortress?

We set fire to it upon our departure.

My goodness!

It was a longstanding order from His Highness.

It seems a waste, but better than to let Lusitania take it.

Zandeh,

a small outlying castle such as Zabul Fortress is of no consequence.

That was well done, Sām.

Sir.

Did you find the Rukhnabad?

In what was once Maryam.

We go.

First, we take back the proof of kingship.

Right now, the one in real power is Guiscard, the royal brother.

He is His Majesty's younger brother, and yet, he conspires against him.

Though, Guiscard was practically the one holding most of the real power to begin with.

Do you understand the meaning of what you are saying?

We are Parsians.

I know!

No, I even know that it is an unreasonable request.

However, I no longer have anyone I can turn to except you.

Étoile...

Hm, to think something of that nature had come to pass in my absence...

I must say, His Highness is far more adept than he appears.

Your cynical suspicions are not welcome, Gieve.

I see it now.

These are certainly some uncommon visitors, as Mistress Farangis said.

The Djinn do not lie.

By the bye, who is this here?

I am Merlane of the Zot Clan.

The Zot Clan...

I heard this from her, but as it happens, it seems my—

I heard that Étoile's here?!

Alfarīd!

B-Brother!

"Brother"?

Where have you been and what have you been doing until now?!

That's none of your business!

Hey, don't you run from me!

I need to have a good long talk with you!

I have nothing to talk to you about!

You can't say that you have forgotten our old man's instructions!

I have no interest in becoming the chief!

The chief?

You can do it, Brother!

You're older anyway, and you're a man!

You were the one who was chosen!

I can't act as though our old man's wishes didn't exist!

You didn't get along with him, so you could just ignore his dumb wishes!

You were in line to become the next chief?

No! I am Narsus's wife!

Would it not be appropriate for you to say something here?

It is not as though this matter does not concern you.

It does not concern me.

We can hear the particulars later.

If you are Alfarīd's elder brother, we could not possibly not welcome you.

I am grateful to you for bringing Étoile all this way.

And I as well.

You have done the favor of looking after my younger sister until today

and I am grateful.

Will you not tell us everything you know of Ecbatana?

Certainly, Your Highness.

Right now, Guiscard is clashing with a masked man named Hilmes...

...and he seems to be having difficulties.

Did you say Hilmes?!

Brother, that bastard killed our old man!

He's the one who has to pay for his death!

That man killed...

Damn it all!

If I'd known, I wouldn't have let him live!

Then, that means he has parted ways with Lusitania.

We should probably assume that that was his intention all along.

And his objective is also...

Yes, to take back the Royal Capital.

Hilmes...

July.

Peshawar Fortress was in a state of heightened tension.

At long last, the time was approaching for them to launch an all-out attack against the Lusitanian army.

As a knight of Pars...

...my position dictates that I serve His Majesty, the King.

However!

Seeing the king's conduct towards His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince,

I simply cannot be reconciled to it!

Do not let your temper get the better of you.

In the first place, the reason we are fighting

is to free the people and land of Pars

from the hands of the villainous invaders.

But!

For now, forget matters that concern the royal family or the court!

Lord Kubard...

Kishward, you're even younger than me and you are such a worrier.

The world won't always go the way you want it to.

Better not to take it too seriously.

I would put a question to you.

Why did you remain here?

After all, in the battle at Atropatene...

...were you not the one who left the line of battle before anyone else?

"How can one swear loyalty to a liege who fled?"

No question there.

It's true.

If anything, I'm more interested in what the future holds for Prince Arslan.

That begs the question even more. Why?

There are now only a few of us famed Marzbāns of Pars remaining.

How wretched would it be for you were I to leave you here all alone.

What the future holds for Prince Arslan...

This is...

The secret message from Elder Vahriz?

So, Lord Bahman had kept it hidden...

An elaborate way to do it...

No wonder it could not be found until today.

What did Lord Bahman wish for me to...

Lord Kishward.

Why, my lady queen!

For you to have troubled yourself to come all this way to such a place...

Give over to me what you have in your hand.

A servant of the crown has no need of it.

I see that Lord Kishward is not merely a valiant general.

He knows well his place as a servant of the crown...

...and for my part, I am pleased by this.

It should be said that it is most excellent

that no rift has formed between lord and vassal.

Sir.

With all due respect...

Mm?

There was a certain point in time...

...that something changed with Lord Bahman.

Could it have been due to that secret message?

Perhaps...

However...

It is nothing that can be helped now.

Clouds always gather before it rains.

There is not a royal family in this world that is beyond reproach.

Though they may be outwardly adorned in gold and jewels...

...look past those and they are sullied by bloodshed and intrigue.

Do you understand?

Yes, sir.

If Prince Arslan does not have

the blood of the royal family of Pars running in his veins...

...that means he has nothing to do with the spell that binds the royal family.

Is it perhaps possible...

...that that could be a wonderful thing?

I see.

So, matters in Ecbatana are that terribly disorderly?

There certainly may be an opportunity there that we can take advantage of.

Yes, if you people help my king, we will leave quietly.

We would, of course, return the riches we plundered as well.

And we will also offer apology to the dead.

I promise.

The one making the promise is the problem.

Unfortunately, you are neither the king of Lusitania, nor her regent.

I will persuade my lord king!

If I talk to him, he will understand.

He is a very good man!

And it is because of that good man that a million Parsians died!

No matter how fine his disposition, it is irrelevant.

The crux of the matter is the right and wrong of his actions.

The one who holds power has no self-awareness of his responsibilities...

...and the one aware of the responsibilities has no power at all.

And she is bearing the burden of the senselessness of it all alone.

Your Highness!

Lord Narsus!

What is it, Elam?