Chapter 117

“…At last, it has reached. The arrow of judgment… After a long and winding journey… It has finally pierced the heart of the sinner…”

The life within the womb, no, it was more like a fertilized seed, so fragile it could hardly be called life.

Yet, the King could hear the stirring of that life.

Though he intended to take one of the Empire’s pillars with him, the sound of that life awakened his eyes.

He laughed at the foolishness of the laws, but in the end, he could not abandon them. The laws he had once upheld to protect his people were the only legacy left of his fallen kingdom.

How could he break those laws and shoot an innocent seed? That would be no different from the Empire that trampled his nation.

“Specters, no. The King of the past.”

The first to stand before the King was the Emperor.

“As the Emperor of the Empire, there is something I wish to say to you.”

“Go ahead… Free speech is the privilege of the victor. Criticize this foolish ruler as much as you wish.”

“Arvin, the 38th Emperor of the Arvin Empire.”

The Emperor looked at him and, without hesitation,

Kneeled on his left knee.

“On behalf of my foolish and unjust ancestors, I beg for forgiveness.”

“…What is this now?”

“I do not think this will erase your anger. With my life, I seek forgiveness for the Empire’s sins…”

“Do not act foolishly, Emperor. Such an attitude will only lead you down the same path as I. When the Empire’s roof touches the ground, only your people will suffer.”

The King of Specters patted the Emperor’s shoulder.

A shockwave caused a crack in the helmet, revealing part of his jaw.

He was smiling. As if his heart was content.

The King continued to walk. Now, there was no trace of the vengeful spirit’s aura in his steps. Only the dignity of a saint walking through his kingdom.

The King continued to walk until he stood before the Empress.

“Pillar of the Empire. Many trials await you. Yet, do you still intend to struggle?”

“…If I were not of such a nature, I would not have stood before a formidable enemy like you.”

“True words.”

Another part of the helmet cracked, revealing his eyebrows. The gentle curve of his eyes exuded tranquility.

“Will you convey this to the child in your womb? I am sorry for pointing my weapon at you, innocent as you are.”

“…Yes.”

“And tell them to become a saint who surpasses all those of the past. If they fall into corruption, this foolish king will come to punish them.”

“…Yes. I will tell them that the most fearsome king will come.”

“Good. May blessings be upon the child in your womb.”

The King moved forward and stood before all the nobles.

They were the descendants of those he could not stop hating.

Conversely, what the King hated were their distant ancestors.

These were not the ancestors; they were merely the branches that had grown from the past. The King finally decided to think so.

Even if one stumbles over the protruding roots of a tree, one cannot burn the branches and the nests of the birds living on them.

“Leonhardt Gardner, the last King of the Garden Kingdom.”

He closed his eyes.

It was not turning a blind eye. He decided to close his eyes to the branches of the Empire he could not stop hating and those who had grown nests upon them.

He finally knew the solution. Or perhaps he had known it all along. Because it was truly a simple matter.

It was just a matter of standing up and turning his back. He could trample the roots, but he could not burn the entire tree.

Moreover, unlike that tree, he had received a sincere apology. He had already killed enough people of the Empire. With this, he could settle all debts and leave.

“Here and now.”

He opened his eyes again. The helmet shattered completely, revealing his full appearance.

And everyone who saw his face was shocked.

His resemblance to Raul and Latri unmistakably showed that their bloodlines were connected.

It was clear that it was the bloodline left by his daughter, who had desperately fled to survive.

In a way, the strictness of Latri’s family, which did not allow weakness, might have originated from that tragic history.

Because the King’s weak heart, which sympathized with the weak, led the nation to ruin, his daughter must have disciplined her descendants to ensure they did not develop weak hearts.

“I declare the war between the Kingdom and the Empire over.”

Those words also meant that he would lay down his bow.

Finally, he could see things not as a vengeful specter but as a person who loved the weak.

But those whose hearts are pierced cannot live long.

He reached out toward the five nobles who had vowed to sacrifice their lives.

And he gently stroked Rizel and Latri’s heads.

“Was it not in vain… Yes…”

He reproached himself for being blinded by vengeance and failing to recognize his own descendants.

“How foolish. I was just a foolish king to the end.”

Realizing the calamity his foolishness had brought, he quietly composed himself and spoke.

“This foolish king now revokes all curses cast upon the Empire.”

Words are like arrows; once shot, they cannot be taken back. But today, he took back the arrow he had shot at the Empress.

Thus, today, he felt he could take back the curses he had cast long ago.

“…And.”

This time, he turned his head toward Camilla and spoke.

“Descendant of Argos. Please take care of that child, crushed by the calamity my foolishness brought. Surely, they will resemble me and be poor with words.”

“…I never thought I’d hear such unwarranted nagging.”

“This foolish king may not see one thing, but he sees two. I say this out of concern, for they seem like they will become quite a pair.”

“How do you know that…!”

“I merely thought they would make good friends, but how you misinterpreted that.”

“Should I just kill this old man now…?”

“Go ahead. I’m already a corpse about to die.”

Finally, he approached Raul.

The head of the hateful Berze family, yet also his own blood.

A man who was the epitome of irony.

“Raul Berze.”

The King pondered what to say.

“I have caused you unbearable pain. I contributed to the death of Layla Nevermore, whom you loved dearly. It is only natural that you hate me.”

He spread his arms, showing no intention to resist.

“Even if I die by your hand before my own arrow kills me, I will not resent you. You have the right to hate and seek vengeance against this foolish king.”

“I’m sick of it. I’m truly sick of all this talk of hatred and vengeance.”

The King’s daughter, consumed by hatred for losing her nation, turned her family into cold-blooded beings, and as a result, Latri lost her warm heart.

Latri, filled with hatred and vengeance toward the man who defiled her, abused Raul.

The Demon King, after losing his wife, waged war out of vengeance and hatred.

He, too, after losing Layla, killed countless lives out of vengeance and hatred.

And the ancestor King also caused today’s tragedy out of vengeance and hatred.

It was truly a nauseatingly repetitive story.

“I’m sick of it. All these stories tangled in rightful vengeance…”

Raul’s irritation surged at the reality of all these intertwined stories.

“It’s just f***ing ridiculous…!!!”

Raul, who rarely swore, left everyone in shock.

“…I see. That too is this foolish king’s lack of virtue. That lack of virtue has brought calamity upon my descendants.”

The tangled hatreds were not easily unraveled.

But there was an efficient way to untangle the complex knot.

“The Empire.”

The most efficient way to untangle a complex knot.

“I will forgive.”

Was to cut one end of the tangled knot.

Thus, the King forgave the Empire for its terrible deeds.

To unravel this terrible knot of hatred and vengeance.

He decided to take the lead in cutting the thread of vengeance.

The King gently patted the surprised Raul’s head.

“You truly resemble me.”

It was not just about appearance.

The folly of trying to bear everything alone. The foolishness of thinking that sacrificing oneself would bring happiness to all. The clumsy way of loving those around. The stiff and rigid way of speaking.

All of it resembled the King.

“Raul Berze…”

He felt death approaching.

“Watch closely with those eyes. This is… the miserable end of one who tried to bear everything alone…”

He had to show the outcome of that attitude of self-sacrifice.

“The end of one who tried to sacrifice alone… and the conclusion of the blind who could not see what was connected to me…”

May his descendants not walk the same path as he.

“May you see this foolish king’s death… and gain some insight…”

The King used his last breath to say this and closed his eyes.

The King’s body, which had endured for so long, turned into purple flowers and scattered in the wind.

Raul, holding one of those petals, made a very bitter expression.

Though he had been a hated enemy, there was no reason to hate him now. The reason he had endured for hundreds of years was not mere obsession but atonement and devotion to his lost people.

“Aipeion… Truly… a flower that suits you.”

The petals, carried by the wind, scattered, forgetting all debts.

The specter’s arrows always flew accurately toward their target.

But now, the petals he had turned into scattered aimlessly.

“Rest in peace.”