“It’s starting to feel like a bummer because it’s so easy. Is this all you’ve got?”
“Something like this was going to happen sometime. It’s just that the victor is you, and not me.” Duke Bariatta pulled something out of his pocket and placed a small, silver dagger on the table. He went on to say, “His Majesty wanted to go down a very dangerous path. Because of that, I stepped up to stop His Majesty and protected this kingdom.”
“Protected…”
“A kingdom with broken rules is destined for destruction someday. His Majesty tried to tear down the necessary wall between the nobility and commoners.”
Davey had heard of how King Krianes had implemented a policy allowing highly skilled commoners to become nobility in the past.
“Prince, you don’t know this world. You don’t know why commoners are born as commoners and nobility are born as nobility,” Duke Bariatta said.
“What?”
“You don’t know the real reason why a hierarchy was created and maintained even when God exists.”
Davey smiled coldly at Duke Bariatta’s unbelievably ridiculous logic. Then, all emotions left his expression. He called out, “Monmider.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Bring those three with you. Lock them up in the basement and watch them carefully. We will hand them over to the second party and transport them to the royal palace when the sun rises.”
Davey didn’t even have to think about their punishment. With a disinterested look on his face, he stared at Carlus, who was crawling on the floor, Benedict, who was standing over by the wall trembling in fear, and Duke Bariatta, who was calmly sitting down.
“The start of a monarchy may be elitism in a way, but you’re just crazy if it goes too far, you Hitler.” After saying that, Davey turned away.
Of course, Duke Bariatta would have no idea who that disgusting tyrant was. The Bariatta family’s fall was quiet, fast, and extremely frigid.
* * *
This rebellion could seemingly shake the kingdom for years. If the armies of the nobility and royalty were similar in the absence of foreign power, the rebellion would inevitably be neck and neck, leading to tremendous tolls on lives and infrastructure. However, the reality was different; there was one unexpected individual. That one individual had purposely started the war and was even controlling the flow of events.
Perhaps this was why the remaining rebel army was stuck, surrounded with their blocked supply routes. All they had left was barely enough food and weapons for the remaining army and their recently conquered fortress.
“What are we going to do?!”
“It’s over… It’s all over!! Surrender… Let’s surrender! That’s the only answer!”
“Baron Hanvog! Watch your mouth! I will have your head if you demoralize the army!”
“Watch my mouth! Count Ossult! Are you kidding?! Do you not understand the situation?! What are we going to do right now?! Do you think an army this big will be able to maintain itself without supplies from the main army?! All the army will turn around and walk out if they hear that the duke has been captured!”
“Then, do you think that Prince Davey, that monster, won’t kill us if we surrender?!”
The atmosphere was tense, like a sword fight was going to break out at any minute. Most of the high-ranking nobility who had taken part in the rebellion were here; Duke Bariatta and the two princes, the center of the rebellion, remained with the main army, but the ones here had started their journey with the only goal of quickly capturing the royal palace and taking all the honor for themselves. However, this was their final outcome.
“S… Sir! Something has happened!!”
“What is it?!” Count Ossult shouted urgently with eyes wide open.
The knight shouted, huffing and puffing, “Pr… Prince Davey… Prince Davey has already arrived! With the monstrously strong army of five hundred!!”
Count Ossult still had a big army, but no one could predict or guarantee their victory; even if the main army wasn’t here, it was near impossible for someone to directly attack them and win with sustaining just injuries and no casualties.
‘What kind of monster can do that?!’ Count Ossult thought.
“Damn it… Apparently, the spears and swords barely have any effect on those monsters!”
“Not only that?! The new dwarf-made weapons that can slice even steel can’t cut through their weapons!”
As they were panicking, not knowing what to do, they heard a clear voice ringing out.
-Ah. One, two… Is this working? Mic test, one, two. One, two.
How could they ever forget this voice? The nobility gulped, listening to the relaxed voice that seemingly blasted right next to their ears. Then, they could hear Davey, the person who worsened their situation.
-You are surrounded. You guys won’t last even a day here. Since your parents are waiting, don’t do anything stupid and let’s find enlightenment.
Davey spoke as if he was a soldier speaking to a kidnapper with hostages. He had surrounded ten thousand men with just five hundred, and he sounded so calm.
* * *
The royal palace was quiet after the rebellion. A lot of nobility and guards had been left behind at the palace before Davey’s sudden advancement, but now there was only a guard, one of the kingdom’s three Swordmasters, and minimal defense left.
Shing… With the faint sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath, a man silently stepped into the room wearing white and flowy nightwear.
“Have you finally come?”
The room was in no condition to house royalty. The walls were all cracked, paint was peeling off the pillars, and it was filled with broken bottles and run-down furniture. This was the outer palace’s tower where they locked up royalty. The person sitting on the bed and looking outside the window was none other than Queen Lynesse Bariatta, the First Lady, the most elegant person in the kingdom, and the symbol of absolute authority who had the support of the kingdom’s most powerful person.
“Queen.”
“How considerate you are,” Queen Lynesse calmly mumbled and stared at the man with the moonlight reflecting off her eyes.
“I…”
“Stop. I don’t want to hear any more.”
“Queen.”
“I don’t want to hear it, at least not from you.” Speaking calmly, Queen Lynesse went on, “If it was going to end like this, I would not have loved you.”
“I’m sorry…” King Krianes said quietly, then put his longsword on her neck with a tired face. “Davey will drag you down to the ends of hell, and I have no right to stop it… So, let’s go together. Let’s go and repent to Alisha.”
“Repent? Ha!” Queen Lynesse scoffed and glared at King Krianes in fury. “You still don’t get it? I feel nothing for both you and Alisha but hatred.”
“Queen…”
“Did you think my anger would simmer if Alisha drank poison in front of my eyes? Then, let me ask you this, Your Majesty, who should I take out my anger and hatred? To Alisha, who betrayed me and just died? Or Your Majesty, the absolute being of this kingdom? Or!!!”
“…”
“My father who helped to make me like this?” Queen Lynesse slowly rose from the bed, laughing at King Krianes who could not say anything. It was like she had lost it. Without tidying her messy hair, she approached King Krianes and grabbed his blade with her bare hands and put it to her neck. She snapped, “I hate everyone. You and Alisha, who betrayed me, and my father, who murdered my mother in front of my eyes in cold blood. We have come too far.”
‘The only things I have left are my sons.’
The only things that Queen Lynesse had left were her sons. As such, her unbelievable obsession for her sons was incredible. The hatred she had for Lennie Alishad, the former queen, became directed at Davey, Lennie Alishad’s son.
“Maybe if Alisha hadn’t drank the poison, and if my hatred was directed somewhere without being lost…”
‘Maybe…our lives would have been different, even a little bit.’
Drip… The blade cut into Queen Lynesse’s hand. As the bleeding worsened, she scoffed coldly and declared, “An apology… Ha! I refuse! This world was already hell for me, and I will now lose my only hope. Everything is your sin, your karma, and I will fall to hell by myself and wait for you.
‘You don’t even have the right to come to hell yet.’
Splatter!! With those last words, Queen Lynesse fell to the ground as she slashed her own neck. Letting go of the sword reflexively, King Krianes grit his teeth. He stared at Lynesse Bariatta limply lying on the ground. Then, he slowly kneeled and held her body in his arms.
“Ah… Ah…” At the top of the outer palace’s empty, quiet tower, King Krianes couldn’t say one word and just let out bitter cries without a single tear.
* * *
All the rebels had been suppressed. It seemed like the announcement Davey put out using wind magic to really shake them up was very effective as the soldiers who were dragged here realized the situation, dropped their weapons, and ran away. Perhaps there were too many of them to capture or perhaps even the knights who were supposed to control them lost their will at the unbelievable and ridiculous reality.
In the end, the battle between the main army of the rebels didn’t happen. All that happened was most of the nobility were captured by the people and beaten before being tied up and transported to the royal palace.
“You made quite a lot. How many people have you exploited for this?” That’s all Davey could say as he looked through the documents.
“Your Highness.”
“Marquis Peiltris.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“See, I thought I would be happy if my revenge was successful.”
“Your Highness…”
At Davey’s dejected voice, Marquis Peiltris muttered bitterly, “I am happy.”
However, the rest of what Davey had to say was enough to confuse Marquis Peiltris.
“What, did you think that I would think that revenge was all useless?”
‘Not a chance.’
This was the reason Davey endured the training of Hercules, the survival expert, when he had first gone to the Hall of Heroes. He had unfinished business, and he thought he could endure this training if he could really gain power and go back to life with those powers intact. Of course, the amount of training and time was far more absurd than he expected, but that was how he felt in the beginning.
‘They say revenge filled with hatred can’t be forgotten, even after death.’
To be honest, Davey was a little doubtful of that; since he had lived for over a thousand years, other things started becoming important to him as well.
‘This time is too long for any human to experience.’
-That’s probably why you’re relatively the same even after your revenge.
The royal court was silent. It took about a week for Marquis Peiltris to attend the meeting on the punishment of the rebels as he was extremely busy dealing with issues after the war.
“Your Highness…”
“I know, I know. I know that this isn’t very right either.”
“However, Your Highness’ judgment was correct. In the end, they had crossed a line and their evil acts had shaken this kingdom for decades. No one will be able to criticize Your Highness’ actions.”
As this was something that Davey had given up trying to remain logical about, he also knew that he had done something stupid.
“Make way for His Majesty, the King!!”
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