It was a day when the autumn rain fell coldly, heralding the approaching winter.
Soldiers who had gone to war were given their spoils of war according to their rank, and some returned home. But White Swan Castle did not become quiet. There were so many people gathered, and more were still coming.
Especially on the day the Emperor and Crown Prince of the Empire were executed, people from other lands flocked to see the spectacle, so there were no rooms left in the vicinity of Penmervick.
"The descendants of Bisto established the Empire of Vista, creating a court made up of swindlers and thieves, and claimed to be the saviors of mankind. While neighboring countries cultivated their own lands and made their own names, they had to bow their heads before the name of the Empire… "
A eloquent speaker read a long scroll of a speech in front of the gallows. The Emperor, now awakened from the curse his daughter had cast upon him, was as thin as a skeleton and lacked energy, so no one could recognize him. The Crown Prince beside him was even worse. He looked like a beggar you might see on the street yesterday.
It wasn't always the case that the victor would kill the vanquished monarch after winning a war. In fact, disputes between monarchs often ended with the loser humbling himself and paying financial compensation. Even in cases of greater conflict, the loser would usually swear allegiance to the victor.
Moreover, the executioner was the Duke, and the condemned were the two pillars of the Imperial family, the family that had granted the dukedom and the loser of this continent. This execution, which would have been met with tremendous opposition under normal circumstances,
surprisingly received the absolute support of the gathered people.
People had once admired and respected the Imperial family. They might have had preferences for individual members of the Imperial family, but they were grateful for the foundation of the Imperial family. The Imperial family was the ruler, both in terms of justification and practicality, and people loved powerful rulers.
But that absolute love had now turned into absolute hatred.
Of course, the reason for the execution was not that their ancestors from 600 years ago had lied. The people who gathered to watch the execution felt intense anger at each of the crimes listed in the speech.
They conscripted people without a just cause, raised taxes in certain areas for their own luxury…
Yes! Yes! The people who had come from the Marquis of Tipian's territory shouted.
They used the wealth entrusted to them for the well-being of the nation for their own amusement, causing great hardship to the people…
Yes, that's exactly what happened! Those who knew about the Crown Prince's gambling debts whispered to each other.
They appointed sycophants without any standards and arbitrarily dismissed honest officials, causing great difficulties in the administration of the nation…
Definitely! The officials who had come from the Imperial City of Pelena to Meindlandt nodded. They had come to discuss post-war reconstruction issues with the Duke's side.
…Finally, due to his own foolishness, he plunged the entire former Empire into the flames of war. He forced nobles to give up their sons' lives as a threat, and he arbitrarily captured ordinary people and made them shed blood. The tears of the people who were plunged into misery will reach the underworld, and their sighs will reach heaven…
Yes! That's right! Everyone who had come to watch the execution shouted. Those who had come from afar were especially sobbing. They had come all this way at great expense and time because they had lost someone dear to them. They couldn't bear to let go of their resentment and sorrow without seeing the execution itself.
The Emperor, standing on the gallows, looked down at the people below with half-closed eyes. He couldn't count how many people surrounded him. It seemed as if the whole world was filled with people who wished for his death.
In fact, the Emperor felt wronged. He only learned after he woke up that his son had started such a foolish war. How could someone as great as him die in such a pathetic place because of his stupid son's sins?
He barely managed to glare at his son, who was standing beside him, staggering. Abelus was trembling with fear. He seemed to be muttering to himself that he was wronged, that he had been tricked into this.
'Stupid fool.'
It wasn't about taking the position of Crown Prince from Camille. That's what the Emperor thought.
He was cold. He couldn't believe that this filthy northern autumn rain was soaking his noble body. And he couldn't believe that he was about to die.
Finally, the Emperor mumbled, as if he were spitting.
"I, I'm wronged. I haven't committed any crime worthy of death."
If being Abelus's parent was a crime, why wasn't the Empress here? The Empress had agreed to lose her noble status and enter the temple to serve for the rest of her life. Why was she allowed to live?
The Emperor's thin voice was drowned out by the rain and most people couldn't hear it. But some of those with sharp ears, standing at the front of the gallows, could hear it vaguely.
One of them was a native of Penmervick. Someone who had grown up seeing White Swan Castle. Someone who had felt with his own life how Meindlandt had become after the fall of the former Duke.
He shouted, mocking the Emperor.
"The country is in ruins because you're a fool! The respect you've had since birth, the expensive clothes, the delicious food, the palace built with jewels! Even with all that, you ruined the country, so of course you should die, who else should die!"
The native of Penmervick respected the Duke's family, but he couldn't respect what had happened after the fall of the former Duke. How many people had died then?
He loved the current Duke and Duchess very much. And the reason was that they were doing a great job now. How could anyone's work be perfect? But at least they were in their positions with the determination to take responsibility for their mistakes, weren't they?
Those who hadn't heard the Emperor's words heard his. Soon, voices of agreement, "Yes, yes," spread through the crowd. Those who had lost children in this war finally realized what the Emperor had said and, filled with anger, approached the gallows.
People pushed and shoved each other. The flow soon became a powerful force like a tidal wave, converging on the gallows. "Whoa, don't push!" The soldiers barely managed to control the flow, so the Emperor was spared from being torn to pieces immediately. But they couldn't stop the stones flying.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince, or rather, the man who had been Emperor and the man who had been Crown Prince, were originally scheduled to be hanged, but so many stones flew at them in an instant that it became impossible. The Meindlandt officials, who didn't want to be hit by the stones, discreetly moved away from the condemned. The two men writhed in pain and gradually died.
Cledwin, who was watching this from inside a building in front of the square, spoke to the young boy standing beside him, the Marquis of Rikeandros, Megara's younger brother.
"It must be satisfying."
The Marquis gritted his teeth and nodded.
Besides the two of them, there were several other important figures in the room where Cledwin was. The grand nobles who were not currently imprisoned, the allies who had done great things in this war… everyone who needed to see the execution of the Emperor and the Crown Prince and engrave it in their minds.
The Marquis of Rikeandros had resented Megara very much before she died. He had been teased by his classmates at school, and his sister had deeply wounded his aristocratic pride. But after his sister died, he was able to focus more on how much he had loved her.
'He wants the Crown Prince to die in pain and disgrace.' The Marquis had asked Cledwin that. And he promised that if he granted that request, he would dedicate everything of the Marquis family to the Duke, become his maternal uncle's adopted son, and live and die an ordinary life.
No matter how the boy promised, Cledwin intended to make Abelus die in pain and disgrace, and he intended to send the little boy to his maternal uncle's family as an adopted son. But there was no reason to tell him that his promise was meaningless when the child was so determined, so Cledwin said he would.
The condemned men's lives were cut short. The Marquis, paying the greatest respect he could to the man who had killed his father, was about to leave the room. Cledwin said to him casually.
"I've taken care of the former Marquis's remains. I'll send them to you if you want."
"I'm fine. I'm a member of a different family now. Please send them to Miss Shirley."
The boy said that without hesitation. And he left.
Edward Ganiello grinned and said,
"You're kind, Your Grace."
"There's no reason to be mean to a little boy who suddenly lost his entire family."
"And you're sending the Empress away peacefully."
"She can't escape the charge of neglecting her duties as Empress, but it's also true that a royal who became royal through marriage, not through Jewel Hearts, has limitations in governing. It'll be quite difficult for her, raised as she was, to live serving in the temple."
"Oh, I thought you were being kind to women and children. So, you're protecting Princess Izet as well?"
"I just didn't want her to be a nuisance in someone else's hands. Are you free?"
Edward shrugged.
"I've been sick for so long, I haven't accomplished anything, so I have nothing to be responsible for."
"You'll have plenty to do from now on. Even if you weren't born healthy like others, you can live without problems if you manage yourself consistently, so put away any thoughts of living a life of leisure."
"I suppose so. But it's important who I serve, isn't it? I was born with the noble title of Duke Jr., but the number of people whose rank I can swear allegiance to is dwindling."
Cledwin sighed at the obvious probing. He knew it too.
The Emperor and his son are dead, and Izet can't rule the Empire on any grounds. The people will never follow her. So, a heavy responsibility has suddenly fallen on him.
But it wasn't that easy to replace the Imperial family, like, "I killed the Emperor, so now I'm the Emperor." They needed a justification. A justification beyond the level of, "Our ancestors were betrayed and killed by their ancestors long ago."
"The people who need to come will come. So, stop poking around suspiciously and tell your father to come."
Duke Ganiello was still taking care of the Imperial City with Aidan. It was the perfect time for a security vacuum to occur, now that all the leadership was gone.
After all, wasn't the altar where Princess Camille was captured still in the Imperial City?
Edward grinned and said he understood. Cledwin watched the crowd in front of the gallows disperse and said to his attendant, Talprin, who was standing beside him.
"Chop Abelus's body into pieces and bury them properly in the ground."
It was time to keep the oath from long ago.
***
Valentine held her breath.
It had been a month already. Since she had escaped from Caten and wandered. She had wandered miserably through the foothills, with no money, no clothes, and no food. Whenever she found a farmhouse, she would sneak in and steal bread and run away…
She had always had the best of everything. She was used to having everything given to her before she needed it. She never imagined she would be in this situation.
But what could she do? The Imperial family had lost the war, hadn't they?
The Imperial family had all died—well, not all of them actually, but the news reaching Valentine's ears was a bit exaggerated—hadn't they?
All the grand noble families had been wiped out, except for the traitorous Ganiello family, hadn't they?
And the Elandria family, in particular, had been dragged away, every single one of them, hadn't they?
So, there was nothing she could do. She had no choice but to hide like this. It would be best to get far away from Caten, but she didn't have the ability to do that. She didn't even know where she was right now, so what could she do?
Yes, so she had no choice but to keep watching a small, rural monastery from beyond the bushes, as she had been doing for days, thinking about how she could steal food and clothes to change into from there.
"There are definitely two people living here. One deaf monk and one maid. The maid just went out to work in the fields, so she won't be back for a while."
Valentine was sad. When would this life end? She wished she could find a way to escape to a foreign country. There was a collateral branch of the Elandria family who had married into a foreign country…
But right now, she was nothing more than a miserable thief. Valentine took a deep breath and prepared to rush into the monastery.
That is, she would have done so if someone hadn't hit her on the back of the head with a hard stick. Thwack!
"You're the thief who's been hanging around this area lately! What, have you got nothing better to do?!"
Valentine recognized that rough and savage voice. It was the maid of this monastery! Valentine tried to run away, but she was caught by a strong hand and forced to look at her face.
Valentine, whose face was red with shame, didn't know what to do. The maid frowned and looked at Valentine's face. Then, after a moment, she asked suspiciously.
"Miss Valentine…?"