Chapter 41
Watching the countless people cheering for from atop the castle walls.
Seeing them so happy brought a mix of thoughts to my mind. A hopeful thought crossed my mind, ‘With the crowd liking this much, a rebellion probably won’t happen, right?’ followed by another, ‘Still, I shouldn’t let my guard down. People’s hearts can change at any ti.’
But the most certain thought of all was this.
‘To be this happy just from crushing so thugs and wicked rchants… it seems life was really hard because of those scoundrels.’
Just because I captured the thugs and wicked rchants didn’t an their lives would improve imdiately. This kingdom was still poor, with little to eat or enjoy.
The reason people were so joyous despite that… was perhaps because they saw ‘hope’.
The hope that ‘today will be better than yesterday.’
—Waaaaaaah!!
The people continued to cheer for with all their might. It was a strange feeling.
Sothing welled up in my chest, making it feel burdenso, but it wasn't entirely bad.
No, to be honest, it felt good. It was that feeling of being pumped up, so to speak.
“…”
As I was silently looking over the crowd, Jereuth began to gesture, giving so instructions to the knights and soldiers. Following his orders, the knights and soldiers roughly seized the thugs and forced them to kneel along the castle wall.
Nurous thugs and wicked rchants, battered and bruised, knelt in a single file facing . The scene cald my excited heart.
‘Is it ti for the execution now?’
Previously, when Jereuth had reported the ‘war on cri’ plan, he said that if the operation went according to plan, they would make the captured thugs and wicked rchants kneel before the royal palace walls and execute them in front of the people.
In other words, a large-scale public execution.
When Jereuth had verbally explained the ‘large-scale execution,’ I couldn't quite imagine the situation or the atmosphere. I simply thought that even if we were executing trash, the sight of many people being executed wouldn't be very pleasant.
So I had anticipated it to so extent and prepared myself ntally… but the thought of actually watching the execution scene made my heart feel restless.
It was then.
“Pri, Prince Leonardo!! Lo, long live!! Long live!! Your Highness! I was wrong! Pl, please save ! Please just spare my life!! I, I will do anything!”
One of the thugs kneeling below the wall suddenly lifted his head, looked up at , and cried out in a desperate voice. The distance was too great to see his face clearly, but I recognized the voice.
‘Is that Diego… the leader of the royal capital’s thugs.’
As Diego suddenly shouted, the soldiers next to him struck him with their spears.
Thwack—!
“Shut up! How dare a worm like you!!”
“Kuaaak…! Yo, Your Highness! Please save ! P, please just save…!”
“I told you to shut up!!”
“Yo, Your Highness!! It is because of that bigger problems did not arise in the royal capital! Without , the lowly ones would have run rampant, not knowing their place in the world… Keuk!”
“This bastard!!”
“Unjust! It is unjust…! Your Highness! I was only following the orders of a noble, I had no choice…!”
“Damn it… Hey! Gag this bastard!!”
“Mmph… Your Highness!! Mmph!!”
Diego cried out, begging for his life even as he was being beaten by the soldiers. It was a strange feeling.
‘Begging so desperately to be saved… how absurd.’
When he was backed by nobles, toying with people as he pleased, reigning like a king, and cutting off wrists for fun, and now that his own life was on the line, he begged to be saved.
He was utterly shaless.
—Yo, Your Highness! Please save !
—I! I fought in the war against the demons! You cannot execute like this, a man who returned from war!
—Prince Le, Leonardo! Long live! Long live!!
—Your Highness! I am Millipnos! A rchant who supplies wheat to the royal family, no, an ‘honest rchant’!!
anwhile, the other thugs and wicked rchants also began to cry out for their lives. It seed Diego’s shouting had given the others so useless courage.
—Your Highness! Please save !
—I’ll do anything! If you want to be a slave, I’ll be a slave!
—I, I will offer all the wealth I have gathered!
If I had a voice amplification magic tool right now, I would have said a word to them.
Sothing like, 「“You thought nothing of others’ lives, but now that it’s your turn to die, you act so cowardly and servile?”」
But I didn’t have a voice amplification magic tool right now. The distance was too great; even if I shouted with all my might, it was unlikely they would hear .
—Shut up, you bastards!
—These bastards!
—Soldiers, what are you doing! Get them under control!
The soldiers were restraining the thugs and wicked rchants who kept screaming for their lives. They swung their spears to beat them or jabbed their backs with the spearheads.
Amid the commotion, Jereuth stepped out of the line and looked up at . Our eyes t.
“…”
“…”
Jereuth didn't say a word, but I knew his intention. He seed to be asking what to do with them.
‘Since it was already decided to execute them, there’s no need to ask.’
Still, since Jereuth was seeking my permission, I had to give him an answer. But shouting 「“Execute them!”」 from down below the wall seed like it would ruin the image. My young boy’s voice didn't fit the current atmosphere either.
‘So, it would be better to give a hand signal for execution rather than speaking. The most intuitive signal is a slashing motion across the neck, but that might seem undignified…’
After a mont’s thought, I ca up with a plausible hand signal.
Swoosh—.
I extended my hand forward.
I raised my thumb up.
And then.
Flick—.
I turned my thumb down towards the ground.
It wasn't a pre-arranged signal with Jereuth, but it was my own signal to execute the thugs and wicked rchants.
Fortunately, Jereuth understood my intention and began to do what he had to do.
“Execute them!”
—Waaaaaaah!
—Kill them! Those fucking bastards!
—My daughter! Bring back my daughter!!
—Yo, Your Highness! Please save !
—Sa, save…!
At that one word, the gathered crowd burst into cheers. Parents who had brought their children covered their eyes. The knights and soldiers stood by their assigned prisoners, preparing for the execution. The trash facing death scread to be saved until the very end.
And I.
‘…Let’s go back. To my room.’
I had been resolute up to the point of ordering the execution. But I didn't have the courage to watch the scene with my own two eyes. Perhaps I was still a weak and cowardly person.
—…Aaaaaaaargh!
As I descended the castle wall stairs, a scream ca from outside the castle. The scream of so naless thug or wicked rchant.
—Ugh, uwaaaaaargh!
I heard it again.
***
Clack—.
Returning to my room, I carelessly took off the mask covering my face and placed it on the table. I also took off my cloak and draped it over a chair.
“Your Highness… are you alright?”
Elly, who had returned to the room with , imdiately tidied up the mask and cloak while cautiously observing my face. Then, she asked carefully, just as she had in the restroom earlier.
“Now that the urgent matters are all over, how about you get so rest?”
“…”
“You really look like you need a rest.”
Elly was right. I needed rest right now. To put it bluntly, my body’s condition might even be in a ‘dangerous’ state.
I knew that. I knew it better than anyone.
‘But… I feel rushed.’
Although I had dealt with the thugs and wicked rchants of the royal capital, thugs still remained in other major cities besides the capital.
Even if that weren't the case, many crises still awaited . Crises like bandits, monster attacks, natural disasters, and plagues.
Crises like bandit or monster attacks were things that would happen later, so I could afford a little ti, but eradicating the thugs and wicked rchants in other cities was sothing that needed to be done imdiately. If rumors of the ‘war on cri’ spread to other cities, the thugs and wicked rchants there would run away.
‘I’ll have to call Jereuth to discuss handling the thugs in other cities. Before that, I should check the .’
Plop—.
I barely dragged my tired body and sat on the edge of the bed. I managed to lift my head, looked at Elly, and said.
“The matter of the royal capital’s thugs and wicked rchants is finished. But they still remain in other cities. Even at this very mont, as you and I are talking, innocent citizens are being violated by that trash.”
“…”
“First, I need to talk with Commander Jereuth about that. I will rest afterward. So please call the Commander.”
At my words, Elly just stared at silently. Elly, who always responded imdiately whenever I spoke, had been showing such reactions frequently these days.
Not that I got the feeling Elly was trying to disobey . It just seed like Elly genuinely wanted to rest.
—…
As a quiet yet strange current flowed in the room, Elly nodded her head heavily and said.
“…I understand, Your Highness. Then I will bring the Commander.”
***
After Elly left the room.
I imdiately took out the from the bookshelf and opened it. Now that I had eliminated the thugs and wicked rchants of the royal capital, I intended to see what kind of future awaited.
‘First, I should check the future closest to the present. Since I got rid of the capital’s thugs, sothing new must have been written—.’
Just as I was opening the diary.
Fliiiiiip—!
The opened by itself, and the pages turned quickly. It wasn't the future closest to the present that I was trying to see, but the very last page that opened.
It ant that my ending, the changed content, was about to appear.
Continental Calendar, year 901, December 11.
A year ago, the war between the kingdom’s army and the bandits, which began with the rampant rise of bandits, was nearing its end.
My army fought with all its might. But the goddess of fate was not on my side. Unfortunately, the end of the war with the bandits was a foregone conclusion of the kingdom army's defeat.
“…”
I was standing on the walls of the royal capital. Standing there, where I could see everything around the capital, I looked outside the castle. As dawn broke, a beautiful plain and a clear river ca into view.
Truly, just looking at that, it was a beautiful sight.
But unlike that beautiful scenery, below the walls were gathered those who threatened my life.
The bandits. They insulted .
“Soldiers who seek to protect the weak king! Surrender! Surrender and you will be spared!”
“The griffin on the flag of the Plank royal family is dead!”
“Welco the new king, our King Aribal!”
“Hahahahahaha!!”
“This is the end for you, who dared to touch us by starting a ‘war on cri’! You foolish and stupid crown prince! Hahahahahaha!!”
It had been over a month since they laid siege to the royal capital. As a result, the drinking water and food inside the capital had long since run out, and every night, the people of the capital, unable to endure the thirst and hunger, joined the bandits.
I don't know if I should call it a relief, but the knights and soldiers said they would stay by my side until the end. However, I had learned all too painfully over the past year that loyalty alone cannot win a war.
‘…How did it co to this? Why were the bandits able to build up such power?’
Thinking back now, there were several reasons for the kingdom army's defeat.
The first reason was that I had failed to rule the kingdom as a whole. I should have properly managed each city of the kingdom to check the bandits from growing their power, but I couldn't because I tried to manage all the cities by myself.
To properly manage all the cities of the kingdom, I should have dispatched officials to each city. However, I was afraid that the officials—the forr nobles—would regain their fiefs and build up their power, so I did not share authority with them. It was my mistake.
But I had my reasons for not being able to trust and being suspicious of the officials. It was because one of the officials had been caught attempting a rebellion.
Whatever the reason, I was too suspicious of the forr nobles and tried to manage everything by myself. In the end, my lack of ability led to this disaster, and I failed to properly check the bandits.
The second reason was that the kingdom's military power was too weak.
Originally, the Plank Kingdom's army was divided into the ‘King’s Army’ and the ‘Nobles’ Armies.’
But when I purged the nobles, all their armies were disbanded, and in that vacuum, the bandits grew their power as they pleased. So of the nobles’ soldiers even joined the bandits.
By the ti I heard the news that the bandits were attacking provincial cities and belatedly gathered an army, it was too late. An army is not sothing that can be created overnight.
And the final, third reason.
The most fatal reason was that I was a ‘foolish investor.’
For the past few years, I had invested all of the kingdom's resources into agriculture and economic growth. The kingdom was so poor that people had nothing to eat, so I tried to solve the problem of subsistence first.
That was successful, in its own way. But the wealth and food of the kingdom gained from that success mostly fell into the hands of the bandits.
I regret it.
‘…I should have grown agriculture, comrce, and military power together. While keeping the bandits in check.’
To grow agriculture, comrce, and military power together to keep the bandits in check.
It was impossible for to do alone. So I should have shared authority with people I could trust.
But who should I have given authority to? I didn't have many people I could trust.
‘I couldn’t trust the officials… would it have been better to entrust the fiefs to the knights?’
I don't know.
All I knew was that the ending I had chosen would soon be upon .
—Open the gates!!
With Jereuth’s thunderous roar, the gates of the royal capital opened.
Through that open gate, Jereuth, along with the kingdom's knight order and soldiers, charged towards the bandits.
—Waaaaaaah!
—For the Plank Kingdom!
—For Prince Leonardo!
—To the last! Until the very end!
—Hold your swords and spears tenaciously!!
—We don't need shields! We ourselves are the kingdom's shield!!
Among them was Yoanna, who had just shed her girlhood. That girl, barely a year older than , had beco the kingdom’s first female knight and was fighting for .
All of them were only lightly ard.
They had devoted everything to attacking the bandits, without a care for their own lives.
They were loyal, strong, and brave knights and soldiers. Without them, even the royal capital would have fallen long ago.
But the number of the kingdom's army led by Jereuth was too small compared to the bandits.
Squeeze—.
I grabbed the hilt of the royal sword hanging from my waist, which I couldn't even wield properly due to my lack of strength. Perhaps because my palms were weak from the lack of any training, the skin on my palm tore as I gripped the hilt tightly.
‘I should have fought with them too… is this really how it ends?’
As I was trying to hide my complex emotions, Seria spoke to , her face devoid of any color.
“Prince Leonardo. The teleportation magic that will allow you to escape outside the kingdom is ready. It takes a little ti to activate the magic, but the knights and soldiers will buy ti, so if you go to the magic circle right now, there will be no problem with the teleportation.”
“…”
“If the elders of the Mage Tower were with us, we could have prepared it much faster… I am sorry. This was the limit with the power of myself, my daughter, and a few other mages.”
As Seria ntioned the elders of the Mage Tower, I thought of them too.
‘The elders of the Mage Tower… letting them leave was also a mistake.’
I should have sohow kept them from leaving after the ‘war on cri’ ended five years ago. If they had been here, I wouldn't have lost the country to the bandits so pathetically.
Seria continued to speak.
“Lady Elly said she will remain in the castle to continue treating the injured. His Majesty also said he would stay. Sir Heinshtangl is working on burning all the kingdom's wealth so as not to hand it over to the bandits. He said he would go out with a sword when he's finished.”
“…What about you, Lady Seria?”
“I also intend to remain in the castle.”
“Let’s escape together—.”
“I cannot go. The long-distance teleportation magic I can use can only take one person. Oh, the destination of the teleport is the ‘Foothill's Rest’ in the northeast of the kingdom. It is dangerous for ordinary humans to enter as it is the land of the elves… but since Your Highness is a half-elf, the elves will not attack you without reason.”
“…”
“And I have prepared the most powerful magic at the cost of my life. I plan to unleash that magic when the bandits enter the castle. I've never used it before, so I don't know if it will work well, but if it succeeds… the crows will feast heartily. It's a magic I've always wanted to try soday, and now I get to use it like this. Hoho…”
Seria finished speaking with a faint, forced smile. Her gaze was directed at the crows flying in the sky. They were Seria’s crows.
Caw—! Caw—! Caw—!
Those crows were certainly ‘allies,’ but being crows, they were a bit eerie.
I didn't know what kind of magic Seria had prepared. But if it was a magic she prepared with such difficulty that she was drained of all color, it must be a great magic.
‘…Seria never intended to escape from the beginning. Neither did Elly, nor Jereuth, nor Heinshtangl.’
While I was talking with Seria, the knights led by Jereuth were penetrating the center of the bandits’ main camp. I couldn't see well because of the dust clouds, but sowhere far away, where the bandits were falling like autumn leaves, Jereuth must be there.
‘…So that’s why Jereuth was called ‘a single ray of light illuminating the battlefield’.’
Truly, Jereuth was literally like the only hope seen in a hopeless battlefield.
I was seeing it clearly with my own two eyes. Jereuth’s bravery and martial prowess. As a man, I admired him.
Yet, in the midst of this, to think that I alone was prepared to escape, I felt small.
‘Escape… escape, huh.’
I didn't want to go. No, I couldn’t go.
Abandoning the people who were about to sacrifice their lives for , I, who had lived as the crown prince of this kingdom for years, could not leave this place.
I wasn't trying to act cool. I just didn't want to go alone, leaving behind the people fighting for .
So I decided.
Shing— Thud.
I drew my sword. Barely. But the sword was so heavy that I couldn't lift it properly, and its tip touched the ground.
As I laboriously lifted the sword that was pathetically dragging on the ground, I, like Seria, forced a smile and said.
“I will go out and fight too. If I die… this war will end.”
That was the newly written ending of the .
An ending where, years later, bandits cause a ruckus and the kingdom falls into ruin.
And as soon as I read it, my head throbbed again.
Ha— damn it.
‘…How am I supposed to solve this one?’
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