Chapter 50
In the fading evening light, a flock of crows streaked the sky.
I lowered my head.
On the ground, an unfathomable tangle of knights and the bodies of the dead filled the horizon.
Even at the end of a battle, with both sides' armies spying on each other, neither side is in a hurry to pick up the pieces.
After the Duchy of Germania stationed troops on its western border, the first clash with the Holy Kingdom was met with a hardline response. It was the first battle that signaled the chaos in the world.
"...."
I watched the scene from a distant ridge.
Death filled the horizon.
An unfathomable number of people had died, sacrifices to bring about the world I wanted but as I gazed at the scene, I felt strangely guilt-free.
"Man, it's just a bloodbath."
And Silan, the man with the snake eyes, laughs like it's no big deal.
"Well, we're just getting started!"
Silan's words made Sandalfon wince.
He and the rest of the troupe, following in my footsteps, remained silent. Except for Ergo, who remained in the Duchy and carried out separate orders.
Behind their leader's back, the Black Snake men remain silent and loyal, waiting for new orders.
I suddenly realize that whatever their stories, whatever their pasts, they are now the portraits of irreversible evil.
They are the silhouettes of an unquestionably evil group.
There was nothing to change. In their presence, I no longer hesitated. Nor did I wander.
There was only one thing to do: to remove my stain on this world, to become the true Rain Gray.
It was a goal that was above the cause of the organization, and one that was filled with my own personal selfishness.
Sandalfon's words were true. This was just the beginning.
So, after standing there for a moment, leaving the battlefield scars behind, we continued on our way.
"... We have a long way to go."
"Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
Our new destination, where we would leave our work in the Duchy behind, was in sight.
The Holy Kingdom, a land blessed by the stars.
*
~The capital of the Holy Kingdom~
"I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!"
King Charles, the king of the Holy Kingdom. The man who was often referred to by the name 'King Charles the Bald' rather than his real name shouted.
"Ha, your Majesty, it is-."
The vassal continued, his voice trembling in the king's presence.
"Again, again, again, what terrible and unpleasant tidings have you brought to this king?"
The king covered his eyes and ears, not figuratively, but literally, as if he didn't want to hear it, while the brilliance of his shining bald head radiated like a real star, worthy of the name Star King.
"If you say any more nonsense I don't want to hear, my knight will slit your throat!"
"Heh, heh!"
That man was cancer. Even the word cancer was not enough; in fact, he was a human being who did not even deserve to be called a king.
The vassal who was supposed to report to the man grew impatient. After all, knights are supposed to follow orders.
So the vassal's face turns white with terror. In the end, he was unable to report anything, and then a man in a raincoat appeared in the room.
At his back was a well-dressed werewolf, and a three-eyed man with a ghastly slit like a snake.
"W-Who are you!"
The king's guards pointed their swords at him, and as soon as he pointed, he saw their faces and understood.
"─Ah."
His face turned as pale as a corpse. All the knights there, they simply froze on the spot.
""Black Snake"...."
"How dare you!"
How did you get here? What on earth were Charlemagne's 12 knights, now called 10, doing? Without even thinking about it, the royal guard guarding the king burst into laughter.
He must have walked in.
It didn't matter if they tried to stop him or not.
There was no one in this world who would dare block their path.
"Is it over, is it over?! Is he gone?! Can I open my eyes now?"
In the silence that had fallen, the bald king Charles, who had covered his eyes and ears with his own hands, raised his head. As he opened his eyes and ears, he saw the man standing before him.
"...."
It was a man in a raincoat.
"Welcome!"
Charles the Bald exclaimed upon seeing him. As if his hysterical appearance earlier had been a lie. He smiled broadly with the kindest smile anyone could have ever seen, and made a welcoming gesture with open arms, as if greeting an old friend.
Still, the man didn't answer, just stared at his face in silence with eyes devoid of any emotion.
The silence was short but at the same time, it seemed like the longest silence in the world to the king.
"Why did you give the holy maiden to the Empire?"
The man asked after the silence.
"Yes, yes...?"
King Charles' eyes narrowed and he shook his head. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
"Is that the answer?"
The man in the raincoat asks, his voice neither high nor low.
"Ah, no, not that, but... that, that."
"Why did you give the Holy Maiden to the Empire?"
The man asked again, and at that question, the bald King Charles broke out in a cold sweat and fell silent.
He was the head of one of the three greatest powers on the continent. Although it had nothing to do with Charles the Bald's resourcefulness or ability, the amount of intelligence he learned as the head of a country of that size was by no means small. For example, the holy maiden he sold to the empire was reborn as a new member of the Black Snake.
"If you're going to say that, that, that, that-"
In front of the bald king, who stammered and stalled for time, the man spoke again. As if he had no more patience.
"You'll have to think carefully about your next answer."
"!"
Charles's expression froze cold, time moving inexorably, as his frozen lips hesitantly tried to move.
"─Ahhhhh!"
From beyond the court, a voice rang out. A woman's voice, resounding with authority, that made the bald king's already pale face turn even whiter.
"Charlotte, get the hell out of here, this is no place for you!"
But Charles's warning didn't deter her, and she stormed across the hall and stood in front of the 'snake' boldly.
Charlotte, first princess of the Holy Kingdom.
The wise, intelligent, and beautiful princess of the kingdom, so wise, intelligent, and beautiful that everyone in the kingdom wondered how such a seed could have been born under such a foolish king.
A princess who is loved by all the people of the Holy Kingdom and is truly something out of a fairy tale.
"─This is the palace of His Majesty King Charles."
So said Charlotte, the First Princess of the Holy Kingdom, even in front of the man in the raincoat standing right in front of her.
She knew he was the leader of the Black Snake, and she didn't back down.
"And from what I know – the leader of the Black Snake is an intelligent and cultured man, who never neglects etiquette and tradition."
"...I apologize for my rudeness."
The man in the raincoat replied, before Charlotte's more than royal jab and bowed lightly in respect.
At the same time, it was just that.
"I have come only to hear the answer."
The man repeated, and while Charles was still rambling, Charlotte interrupted him again and answered.
"Holy Maiden Jeanne challenged the traditions and authority of this country."
"She did?"
"I know it was not her fault."
Charlotte replied.
"But it is true that, against her will or not, her very existence has already posed a serious threat to the rule of the Holy Kingdom."
"Whether she wills it or not."
"Such is the nature of politics, such is the nature of ruling a country."
Things happen whether you want them to or not.
There was no doubt or wavering in Charlotte's voice.
She sounded so calm and collected, like the real ruler of this country.
"That's why I handed her over to the Empire, for the sake of stability and peace in this country."
"...I see."
The man nodded meekly. After he nodded, he turned his head toward the nothingness and asked.
"Is that a good enough answer?"
"!"
And then, out of the nothingness, a figure appeared. Someone who had been there since the beginning, using invisibility magic that no mage in the kingdom could see.
A woman once called the Holy Maiden, now a member of the Black Snake, who had taken on a new name.