Chapter 95 – Renia Gate (5)
“Is there such audacious treachery possible! This is treason. It’s a dreadful rebellion!”
Tas, slamming down the armrest of the throne, stood up visibly enraged. This was absolutely not an act. He was truly, genuinely very angry.
While I had anticipated that the cornered enemies would pull some tricks, I never imagined they would gather information in advance and raid the mansion to carry out a massacre.
The reckless actions of Taizhu must have been due to the curse of corruption, but I remained silent as I observed the emergency meeting convened next to me. There was no reason to shield him, and ultimately, the justifications had completely reverted to us.
“I received an anonymous tip and secured witnesses who confessed to Professor Renia’s crimes. I only sought to clarify what went wrong in the previous investigation and trial through their testimony, but ultimately, those who committed heinous acts have confessed themselves. Isn’t that right, Prime Minister?”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty. This is…”
Leorne was also present in the meeting hall.
Upon receiving the fiery gaze of Tas, Leorne’s complexion turned pale. The situation had completely derailed due to Taizhu’s foolish acts.
The other officials felt the same. Excluding a small group of royalist officials, most were entangled with Leorne’s faction in this matter, leaving them with no words to say even if they had ten mouths.
“Your Majesty. This is not something that can be overlooked. We must punish the foreign minister Taizhu for treason.”
“Y-yes. We must hurry and hold him accountable and execute him along with his family…”
Simultaneously, they attempted to cut ties. With the situation having turned out this way, they intended to finish by punishing just Taizhu and escape.
However, that cannot be. What we want is to blow this incident up as much as possible and root out those scoundrels completely.
“I would like to ask the High Elf, who played a significant role in resolving this situation and capturing the traitor. Do you really think that traitor prepared all of this alone?”
“As an outsider, I may not know much, but during the battle, a distinguished warrior named Aijin acted as if they had a separate superior. Wouldn’t it make sense to investigate thoroughly?”
Tas waited for this moment and fired a question at me. I calmly provided the prepared answer while grinning at the flabbergasted Fox Tribe officials.
Where do you think you can escape to? The scavengers from the previous conflict must be thoroughly weeded out for the Fox Tribe to thrive.
“Investigate by any means necessary.”
Tas, who had taken control of public sentiment, assigned the task of revenge and handling matters to his surviving aides from last night’s chaos.
While they responded with their booming voices, Leorne, pale with fear, desperately sent me a pleading look.
I didn’t know what kind of confidence he had, but it seemed he was begging me to spare him.
“How strange. If you’re that confident, shouldn’t you be petitioning the Prince to understand your grievances? Why ask for help from an outsider like me?”
“T-the foreign minister Taizhu is indeed one of my subordinates. But I swear, High Elf! I truly had no idea that my subordinates were plotting such deeds!”
“It’s hard to believe that your words, which support the wrongful accusations against Professor Renia, are genuine, and claiming ignorance isn’t exactly a good excuse either. It only proves your incompetence in managing your subordinates.”
As Leorne left the meeting hall, away from the prying eyes of others, he dropped to his knees and begged me with tears. He pleaded for me to tell Tas that he was innocent.
However, knowing all the circumstances, I could only scoff at his typical desperate greed.
“Please save me! Have mercy and spare my life…! If you speak, even the King cannot ignore it…!”
Still, all he could do was beg for my mercy. In this situation, the only one who could move Tas, who had seized all power in an instant, was me.
‘Whether this pathetic creature lives or dies is irrelevant.’
Looking at the back of his head trembling as he pressed his forehead to the ground, an amusing thought crossed my mind for a moment.
In reality, Leorne’s life or death, who was nothing more than a pawn in dealing with Taizhu, was not particularly important to me.
“What matters more than my will is your resolve. You may not be able to shake off the accusations against Professor Renia, but to deny your involvement in treason, shouldn’t you demonstrate the necessary will to the King?”
“W-what do you mean by ‘will’…?”
“How long do you intend to hold onto everything? Life is short; if you’ve enjoyed it enough, isn’t it time to let go? From what I see, the Fox King seeking to reclaim everything will never forgive you. The only way out is to relinquish everything and disappear quietly.”
With a tsk of disapproval, I hinted that he should donate all his wealth to the Church of Light and exit this country.
If he did so, Tas would likely extend his last mercy and spare his life.
Naturally, his eyes quivered violently upon hearing this. There’s nothing more ugly and tenacious than an old man’s desire for power. He might find relinquishing power worse than death.
“…Please tell the King. An foolish minister is asking for one last mercy.”
Ultimately, however, Leorne chose to save his own life. He was determined to live, even if it meant abandoning everything he had built until now.
Hearing that response, I couldn’t help but suppress a laugh and raise the corners of my mouth hidden by my hand.
With such a strong will to live, I also thought that at least this man wouldn’t fall victim to the curse.
“To the Church of Light, you say?”
“Well, it’s not an official punishment, but rather voluntarily giving up his wealth and leaving.”
“It must be done… No, I understand. I will transfer all of Leorne’s wealth to the Church of Light.”
Now there was no need to secretly meet at night in the bedroom.
Confidently, I visited Tas’s office to inform him of Leorne’s decision, essentially compelling him to donate his wealth to the Church of Light.
Choosing the Church of Light was my own will. To use Leorne’s wealth as I pleased. Naturally, Tas wore an uneasy expression, but he had a considerable debt to repay to me.
Tas, who had had to rely on foreign power to regain authority and drive out his formidable opponents, could not dare to ignore my opinion.
“Once the punishment and cleanup are complete, let’s immediately inform the federal government to prove Renia’s innocence. And we must hold the federal government accountable. We must root out those who dared to interfere with the internal affairs of the Fox Tribe while colluding with the traitors.”
“That’s indeed correct. We will proceed as planned.”
The upheaval of the Renia Gate must not stop at the Fox Tribe. We must also cleanse the federal government, which can influence the entire Beastman Federation, and plant those who can voice our concerns in there.
In reality, at this point, I no longer needed to take the lead. I had been busy until now, so it was time for a little rest.
“Was the execution of Renia’s punishment expedited? For tomorrow?!”
The problem was that the matters unfolding did not allow me to rest. Just when I thought I might have a moment of leisure, the urgent news made me spring up from my seat.
As the incidents that occurred in the Fox Tribe had not yet been settled, Renia remained in prisoner status within the federal government. It was uncertain whether they knew or not, but they suddenly advanced the punishment that was supposed to take place days later.
“What should we do? If the punishment is executed, although she won’t die, she will be severely harmed…”
“W-well, we must go immediately!”
With Arisa’s words asking what we were going to do, I sighed deeply.
I had managed to prepare a way to save her and even succeeded, but I couldn’t allow her to be unjustly punished. I decided to intervene directly, even if it meant taking a risk.
“This could escalate quite a bit. As outsiders, we lack the justification to intervene.”
“That’s why we need Tas’s help. We’ll say we rushed over at Tas’s earnest request. There’s sufficient plausibility.”
In response to the question of why I, who had no official ties to Renia, would go to such lengths, I decided to cite Tas’s urgent pleas that forged our connection.
While there might be some objection on the grounds of ignoring their authority, the price was worth it if we could save Renia.
“Given Professor’s personality, the High Elf’s involvement will likely be opposed. She will probably think that she can handle it herself, believing it’s better to operate without being caught.”
“That’s Renia’s thinking. This is my decision.”
Neoru tried to dissuade me based on Renia’s nature, but I had already made up my mind.
I would save her as initially planned.
