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326. Childhood Episode – Sacrifice

“Ladies and gentlemen, I shall now call this meeting to order. Please maintain silence.”

Baron Zachary, the chair of the council, began the fifth emergency meeting with a trembling voice.

Leah, who had diligently attended yet again, thought this was complete chaos.

On the fifth day after the incident, the nobles were in utter disarray.

The king was absent, and Duke Rupert Tertan, who should have been their central figure, had taken the stand as a suspect in the second meeting.

Despite the pleas of many, the duke confessed from the podium.

This whole mess had begun about fifteen years ago when his daughter, ‘Nedostia de Yeriel’, went missing. King Eric de Yeriel had sacrificed her to awaken the Evil God, and he… had been unable to stop it despite knowing.

Shock swept through the nobles.

After the duke stated that he would accept any punishment, they cautiously began discussing measures only once he had left the room. However, the measures they proposed all aimed to protect their own interests and avoid responsibility, leaving Leah, who had once admired the nobility, deeply disappointed.

First and foremost, they emphasized that the duke was the victim and insisted that no punishment would be inflicted upon him.

Because if the duke were held responsible, those who had driven Prince Lean away alongside him thirteen years ago would also need to take accountability.

Their main concern was not stabilizing the public sentiment in chaos. It was preventing the nobles who had been pushed to the provinces from regaining their status by challenging Eric’s legitimacy.

If they were to bring Prince Lean de Yeriel back into the fold, it might lead to a bloody purge.

Thus, before the provincial nobles could gather with news, they’d declared the duke innocent. They shifted all blame to Eric, forcing his abdication.

Eric de Yeriel.

That was the only name left for him, stripped even of his claim to the throne, and they had taken three days to do this nonsense.

Baron Zachary announced.

“Ah, today we have gathered to discuss who and how we shall appoint the next king. Quiet down! Quiet down, please. First, let’s confirm the heir to the throne. The… order of Prince Lean de Yeriel and Princess Reriana de Yeriel is quick, but… due to their absence, ahem, let us first consider other royal candidates…”

“Cut the crap! The rightful heir, Prince Lean, is clearly here; what kind of nonsense is this?!”

“Please maintain decorum! We will decide fairly by vote. Furthermore, it has come to light that Eric de Yeriel, the former king, had sent knights to assassinate Prince Lean and Princess Reriana. Given the current emergency, confirming their survival and bringing them here is difficult. This was approved in the previous council meeting.”

“This is illegal! Here you are, just the same folks sat together pretending to hold a council! Just wait, you bastards! Baron Zachary! You too!”

A noble dwelling near the capital erupted in anger and stormed out. Baron Zachary, the chair, was covered in sweat, frantically glancing at the other nobles who sat stiffly, clearly overwhelmed.

The truth is, this council had been a virtually defunct organization for a long time.

The nobles of the capital had taken turns ceremonially filling the role of council chair, and in the absence of royal authority, they had hastily reestablished it. Baron Zachary had gone through this charade for a handful of state funds.

At this rate, civil war might break out.

But they had something to lean on… Cardinal Berg stood up. He declared as if to announce something grand.

“The throne is best suited for someone of experience. Excuse me, but I have pressing matters and must take my leave first.”

After appointing a candidate for the throne, he swished his silver hair and left the room. Leah felt a shiver run down her spine.

The Theocracy.

The theocratic politics were about to begin. Citizens of Rutina, along with the nobles, were thrown into turmoil as Cardinal Berg, the archbishop embracing all followers of the Conrad Kingdom, moved swiftly.

As if he had been waiting for this moment.

With Duke Tertan’s downfall, he became a solid support for the central nobles, who were at risk of losing their heads, and poured his efforts into calming the confused public sentiment.

Numerous citizens made eye contact with Oriax.

It just so happened that it was the evening when the citizens returned from their day’s toil, and the number who had Oriax’s footprints on their foreheads was in the thousands. Once the situation settled, they cried out in pain.

Cardinal Berg released priests from the Rutina Church to treat the citizens free of charge.

Those marked as they charged towards the royal palace (having seen the cardinal’s might) were deeply moved, praising him for saving their lives. The winds of Rutina carried Berg forward.

With all sails unfurling — fore, mizzen, and main mast — Cardinal Berg, filled with following winds, set the course for his desires.

The emergence of the ‘Holy Kingdom of Grania’, which was propped up by a puppet king, was not far off.

Watching the current situation, Leah was convinced that the cardinal would get exactly what he wanted. She observed as the nobles dazedly determined the fate of Princess Elika de Isadora, then left that greedy marketplace behind.

“Reb, I’m back. Huh? Where did Uncle Bart and the others go?”

Meanwhile, Reb was spending a leisurely time at the Rutina Church. He had only attended the government meeting once to testify, and after that, delegated all his authority to the cardinal.

He seemed to think he was done with his tasks. Seeing him loaf around made it apparent. Though, being as diligent as Reb is, he was still keeping busy with training and walks.

“He left.”

“Where to?”

Reb answered briefly while doing sit-ups. When Leah came over and prodded him for more, he wiped away the sweat and spoke again.

“Bart went to his family, and the others, I don’t know. They’ll take care of themselves.”

“Really? But why do you only call Uncle Bart by name? You use titles for the others.”

“…Was there nothing going on today?”

Not wanting to answer, Reb stood up abruptly and changed the subject. Leah went along with it.

“…Nothing major. Ah! Right! Did you hear that King Eric sent knights to Prince Lean?”

“Eric sent to Lean? Yeah, I know.”

“Huh? Isn’t that dangerous? I heard something about Sir Hazen… the commander of the Second Knights sent knights with him. Well… it didn’t seem serious, but everyone was worried about the prince. Apparently, that guy was a follower of King Eric.”

“Haha! That’s interesting.”

Reb laughed to himself and fell silent again. He wasn’t usually like this…

He had certainly become more taciturn compared to before. It was probably due to the impact of his mother’s passing. Leah patiently inquired.

“What’s so interesting? Let me in on it.”

“Hmm? Ah~ it’s just that Sir Hazen, the Second Knight Commander, is rather tight-lipped and thorough, so there may have been a misunderstanding.”

While the knights were chattering away about Eric’s legitimacy, he had made no political statements at all, leading many to worry when Lean had tried to sway Sir Hazen in the past.

They called him the loyal follower of Eric.

“Maybe that’s why Eric… you know, when Lean and I incited a rebellion in the Orun Kingdom, he sent Hazen as backup then, too. It’s probably the same this time. Eric must not have trusted the other knights.”

“Aha! Then I guess there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah. Right now, both Lean and Reriana are just fine. As for Sir Hazen… judging by the direction he’s headed, it seems they are together.”

“I see.”

As Leah nodded, Reb pulled her hand.

“You missed out on seeing everything while you were at the council, right? Let’s go; I’ll show you around. There are lots of cool things here.”

“That sounds great, but… aren’t you too idle?”

“Why?”

The two wandered through the rare marble church in the Conrad Kingdom.

In a kingdom devoid of mountains, stone was exceedingly scarce. So if they were going to build with stone, countless artisans had delicately shaped the church.

Unfortunately, as someone from the Orun Kingdom, Leah and Reb hadn’t paid much attention to even the church in the small village of Demos…

“This isn’t the end. Didn’t you say to catch that Astalot thing or whatever?”

“Ah… it doesn’t seem like they’re planning to catch that this time.”

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Reb shrugged. Leah looked at him, puzzled.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Lean and Minseo must have planned things out just fine. They usually do. They’re smarter than I am… if I have something I need to do, they’ll let me know.”

“…”

Leah sighed inwardly.

She realized the kind of position Reb held among these Leos.

What a fool. A silly fool.

Just a kind fool.

Reb, completely unaware that Leah was inwardly mocking him, pointed at something with a bright smile.

In the white corridor, there…

“Look! Isn’t it beautiful? It’s the statue of the Seven Saints.”

Leading with the First Saint Azra, there were statues lined up of Konstantin Laono, Lazar Laono, Udane, Tigoroff, Willard Bofman, and the Seventh Saint, Gaidan, known as the only Holy Knight.

Dreams don’t reveal everything, so Leah gasped in awe, “Wow…!”

“If you do well, you might get a statue here someday… Leah, I’ve thought a bit about how we should live from now on.”

“Wow! Look here! There’s an inscription on the statue of Saint Azra, and it’s even in gold! Let’s see…”

“Leah! I have something to say!”

“What is it?”

“I’ve thought about how we should live. While it would be nice if you go to the Monastery Church to become a full-fledged priest and be canonized as a saint… how about just going back to our hometown instead…”

Reb closed his eyes tight and said,

“Let’s get married and live together.”

“Sure.”

“Huh?”

“I was planning on that anyway. It might be a bit disappointing to think about becoming a saint… but it just so happens to say here: act according to your heart.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then…”

“That’s a no-go.”

Leah pecked Reb’s cheek, which had fallen glumly.

Why wouldn’t I like it?

It simply felt better than I imagined. Whether he was good at it, or just good at it by nature, she suddenly recalled.

“…Wait a minute.”

“What’s up?”

“…You guys share memories, right? So, if that’s the case… do you ‘remember everything’? Like everything that happened in that one episode?”

“Um… pretty much. But sometimes if you don’t sort your thoughts, they don’t come across clear. The way people think can differ a bit. Especially Lean, his thoughts flit about, making it hard to grasp… Huh? Why the long face?”

“AAAH!!”

Leah slapped Reb’s cheek, her face flushed red. Then she dashed off, leaving Reb bewildered about how to respond.

*

It wasn’t long after that when contact was made with Lean.

Back from work and having returned to Oberg, Lean declared, just as he had mentioned before, that he would abdicate the throne.

Cardinal Berg was satisfied, and Reb asked.

/ So this is it? There isn’t anything else I need to do? I heard you’re marrying Ksenia. After you two tie the knot, Leah and I were thinking of returning to our hometown. /

Oddly, Leah didn’t seem to want to see him… Eventually, a reply came back.

/ I’m sorry. I have a favor to ask. I’d like to talk face-to-face if possible. /

/ What’s it about? Just tell me in short. That way I can prepare. /

It took quite a while for the next reply to arrive. Lean hesitated in his wording and finally wrote to Reb.

/ Our little sister seems to want to play soldiers. I was hoping you would be that counterpart for her. /

A sacrifice was being demanded.