My entire principle of action comes down to one thing.
I will see the ending of this novel’s world and return to reality.
For that, I would spare no means or methods.
Ultimately, my actions might have appeared noble, but the fact that the principle behind them is selfish does not change.
This civil war was no different.
Let me ask my conscience.
Have I truly done the right thing?
Did I not push the rebellious Lorraine, who rose purely for the freedom of the subhumans, into the role of an oppressor and dictator leading to his downfall?
Am I not acting as if I granted freedom to subhumans who might have gained it regardless?
No matter how I look at it, this was hypocrisy.
Of course, I do not regret this choice.
I only think that I should at least bear minimal responsibility.
“Lorraine Philip.”
“······.”
As the door creaked open, Lorraine appeared behind the iron bars.
The food tray served for his meal remained untouched.
I sighed and gestured to the soldiers to clear the area.
Soon, the soldiers retreated, and I set up the Recognition Interference Barrier to ensure that it was just Lorraine and me.
“What made you surrender so early?”
“It’s almost harvesting season.”
“What?”
“The farmers are busy moving as the time for harvesting grain approaches. Therefore, what the soldiers should hold is not weapons, but sickles and threshers.”
“······.”
It would be a lie to say that Lorraine had no ulterior motives at all.
But if I were to ask whether he started the civil war wanting to become the king of the south, I could firmly answer “no” as the original author.
Lorraine clearly sympathized with the oppressed subhuman slaves and supported their rebellion.
His decision to establish a republic instead of a kingdom stood as evidence for this.
Lorraine aimed to create a nation for the people, not for himself.
Although the process may be stained somewhat with blood, he was certainly fighting for the freedom and independence of the subhumans.
“Your disposition has been decided.”
“I’ll be sent to an institution, I already know.”
“Wrong. Tomorrow morning, you will be executed in the plaza of the 4th Castle.”
“What······?”
Only then did Lorraine raise his head and look at me.
His face was filled with confusion.
“Why······ why is that······? Are you going against the Emperor’s orders?”
“Nothing has been ordered yet regarding your disposition from His Majesty the Emperor. I plan to take advantage of that and cut your neck first.”
What would happen if Lorraine were sent to the institution?
The result was as obvious as fire.
They would accuse him of all sorts of crimes, strip away his dignity as a human, and carry out tortures that would be hard to witness.
It would be better to die than endure that.
The process of slowly dying would be showcased to the entire empire, and even after death, he would not be allowed to sleep peacefully and would be humiliated.
They had to make the end of the rebel as horrific as possible for propaganda.
But if he were executed here, I would think of a way to kill him instantly and send only his head to the institution, burying his body in an unknown place.
That was the last favor I could grant to one destroyed by my hypocrisy.
“Are you out of your mind? After winning the war, you plan to undermine the Emperor’s trust?”
“Why? Do you prefer being sent to the institution?”
“That’s not it······.”
“Then be grateful to be executed.”
“······.”
Grateful to be executed?
Something felt off.
“Lorraine Philip. What was the reason you founded this nation?”
“Are you really asking that now?”
“Yes. Answer me.”
“I did it to resist the tyranny of the empire and establish an independent nation for the southern subhumans.”
“No. I mean the real reason.”
“Tch······. We’re already this far. What is there to hide? I wanted to establish a puppet state serving as a buffer for the Great Forest, to live prosperously with full support from the Great Forest—”
“No. I’m not asking for external justification. I’m asking about your inner thoughts. Answer me.”
“······For the freedom of the subhuman slaves.”
Lorraine lowered his head deeply as he answered.
So it was for the freedom of the subhumans that he had that inner motive.
His intentions and justifications were flipped compared to typical people.
“Then congratulations. You have achieved your purpose.”
“Are you saying you will uphold the emancipation decree?”
“As a direct knight of the Emperor, how could I take back what I once said?”
“Ah····.”
Lorraine’s wish was fulfilled.
Even though I had merely snatched it away halfway through.
Still, if I were to show Lorraine my proper respect, I ought to grant him at least that final wish.
That would be the way to maintain the conscience I had left.
“Is that so? Schlus Hainkel. You’ve chosen both the cohesion of the empire and the liberation of slaves. I find it hard to understand the reason. Why would you simultaneously take actions that undermine the Emperor’s trust? Why do such a thing that would turn the next southern duke into an enemy? There were easier paths available, so why?”
It was a question difficult to answer.
“Ah. Now I understand. You’re looking far ahead. Is something significant unfolding that requires not only the cohesion of the empire but also the power of the subhumans for the future?”
“······!”
I couldn’t suppress the shudder that ran through me.
Whether he took my reaction positively or not, a smile spread across Lorraine’s lips.
Damn it. I didn’t think I’d be caught off guard like this.
In a panic, I reached for the hilt of my sword, and Lorraine suddenly burst into laughter.
“Haha! I got it! I got it! At this rate, I might die before tomorrow comes. I vow to keep everything a secret until my last moment. In return, make me a promise, Schlus Hainkel.”
“What promise?”
“Before my execution, I wish for you to recite all my crimes.”
“Crimes? What on earth······.”
.
.
.
I opened my eyes at the sound of people bustling about.
I hadn’t slept a wink last night.
Thinking about today made it impossible to find rest.
“Sir Schlus. It’s time. Shall we take Lorraine up?”
Taylor approached and whispered in my ear.
I stood up from my seat and glanced around.
The wide plaza was filled with people.
Not just residents of the 4th Castle.
Residents from the 3rd, 2nd, and even the 1st Castle had gathered, crowding the plaza.
In fact, it could be said that almost all the residents of the south were assembled.
“It’s fine to take him up now. Let’s proceed slowly.”
“Yes. As you command.”
As Taylor descended, a carriage slowly entered the plaza.
The man pulled out from inside was one with a hood over his face and handcuffed.
He was taken up the stairs to the platform by two knights.
Once the hood was roughly removed, Lorraine’s face was revealed.
Whispers filled the air from all directions.
“Lorraine Philip. Are you the former southern colony duke?”
“That’s right. That’s me.”
“I will now recite your crimes.”
I took a deep breath.
As I locked eyes with Lorraine, who was staring at me with unwavering eyes, it was time to fulfill our promise.
“You are charged with ruling the southern colony tyrannically, inciting hatred toward the empire, and causing rebellion. You lured the leader of the slave revolt, Darius, into losing a battle you knew he would lose. You deceived the southern subhumans, claiming only you could bring them freedom. Furthermore, you exploited the blood of the residents. Lastly, you attempted to sell the south to the Great Forest. Do you acknowledge all these crimes?”
“······.”
As the list of charges increased, the murmurs grew louder.
Surely, among the subhumans, there was no one who truly hated Lorraine.
No matter how much I, a soldier of the suppression army and the empire, spoke, it would only be seen as slander.
After all, Lorraine was the one who had liberated them from slavery.
“I acknowledge all the crimes.”
But what would happen if Lorraine acknowledged that?
That gratitude could quickly turn into betrayal, and that betrayal into hatred.
The hero of the south, who could have died as such, decided to bear all the hatred of the subhumans himself.
To stop meaningless emotional consumption and break the unending chain of hatred, he chose sacrifice.
“Really? You acknowledged it?”
“Are you saying Lorraine was responsible for Darius’s death?”
“Then was he a spy swayed by the Great Forest?”
The effects were immediate.
There was no need to cite evidence.
Just his own acknowledgment was enough for the subhumans to accept all the charges as facts.
They paused for a moment in confusion, but soon their faces turned red as they began to show their rage.
“Did you say you would liberate us! It was all lies!”
“How dare you try to use us!”
“Kill him! Kill him!”
The foolish crowd was fooled like this.
By the two-man show of me and Lorraine.
The roar of anger echoed from all directions.
The order to execute Lorraine was shouted continuously.
“Thus, I hereby sentence Lorraine Philip to death.”
“Waahhhh!!!”
Cheers erupted.
I turned around and walked back to my seat.
I was not the one executing the death penalty.
There was someone more fitting for that role.
“Pelaine.”
“Yes.”
Pelaine, who had been sitting next to me, stood up abruptly.
The villain who deceived the subhumans would be killed by the subhumans.
It was the final touch to this farce.
“Sir Schlus Hainkel! Sir Schlus Hainkel!”
“······?”
At that moment, a man rushed through the crowd from behind the platform calling my name.
Given his attire, he was a messenger from the imperial household.
He was desperately trying to hand me a letter.
“Please take it! Quickly!”
“Umm······.”
I slowly leaned back to accept the letter.
As expected, it was a letter from the Emperor.
“Open it quickly! Please!”
“······.”
I glanced at the messenger’s face, who was urging me urgently.
The contents written inside were painfully obvious.
The Emperor must have received news by yesterday about how I concluded the negotiation with the Great Forest and achieved a great victory.
When he sent me off, I was sure he had told me that it did not matter whether I captured or killed him.
That must have been something he said because he didn’t expect me to overturn the situation so easily.
But now that victory was within reach, the Emperor had hurriedly decided on Lorraine’s fate and sent it to me.
It likely instructed me to capture him without fail and send him to the institution······.
The problem was that if I opened this and did not halt the execution, it would be considered disobedience to orders.
“Let’s open it after the execution is over.”
“You can’t! Open it now!”
“Why not?”
“Because the disposition regarding Duke Lorraine is in there—”
“How do you know that? Oh, I see. Are you secretly opening and spying on the Emperor’s letter?”
“Gasp······!”
Though he likely intended to pressure me, it was to no avail.
If he pressed me to open it based on inference, I could just accuse him of eavesdropping on the Emperor’s letter.
The messenger, left speechless, stammered.
I turned back to watch the execution platform.
By now, Lorraine was kneeling in front of the basket, head bowed, and Pelaine was raising her sword high.
“······?”
Was it just my imagination?
At that moment when the sword began to come down, I think I saw a faint smile on Lorraine’s lips.
*Scrape!*
“Waahhhh!!!”
The basket shook and rattled, stained with blood.
It was over.
Lorraine became the embodiment of great evil, collapsing under the weight of all his sins.
Now, only I knew his true nature······.
And, as I promised Lorraine, I would keep the secret until the very moment he died.
As he kept my secret and died.
“Ahh.”
Only then did I peel off the seal and unfold the letter.
As expected, the contents were just as I had anticipated.
To summarize, it roughly went like this.
How did you make the negotiation happen?
Anyway, well done.
Alone, you repelled 2000 of them, huh.
Seems hard to believe, but well done all the same.
And if you manage to bring back Lorraine’s surrender, make sure to deliver him to the institution without a single scratch—
“It’s already too late.”
I smiled bitterly as I folded the letter carefully.
I thought I heard the messenger saying something from behind, but with the cheers erupting everywhere, I couldn’t catch his voice clearly.
The people were genuinely joyful over the death of the oppressor, the spy, and the hypocrite.
