Chapter 464
Just as how the empire managed to protect the imperial capital and its direct jurisdiction, there were cases where powerful vassals also had cities that could be defended, including capitals and megacities.
Many of the lords were destroyed, but there were still cities that survived and those that kept their capitals.
The Duchy of Saint-Ouan was also one of the few that succeeded in defending its capital.
That meant that the Principality of Saint-Ouan had failed to defend all areas except the capital.
magic country.
Except for the Empire, the country was the most proficient in sorcery, and the Principality of Saint-Ouan, which had produced many excellent wizards, was still as strong as the capital even during the Gate Crisis.
Arnaca, the capital of the Principality of Saint-Ouane.
Arnaka was not a structure in which the entire city was abnormally expanded due to refugees like the imperial capital Gradium.
Me and Harriet teleported to an alley in Arnaka and then proceeded to the street.
We could see the splendid city of magic being fortified.
I saw that the city without a wall was surrounded by thick walls, and high spiers were built at regular intervals on each of the walls.
However, there was no watchtower for reconnaissance at the top of the spire, and a huge blue crystal was floating in the air at the top.
“The turret… … . It seems similar.”
“Yes, it will.”
Isn’t it something like a turret to intercept monsters approaching the city?
Harriet and I could only infer that.
I was disguised with Sarkegar’s ring, and Heriot had also changed her appearance with camouflage magic and was wearing a robe, so the people on the street didn’t recognize me and Herriot.
Most of the countries that succeeded only in defending the capital had no choice but to become city-states.
Arnaka’s situation was no different.
Refugees did not flock to this place because most refugees flocked only to the imperial capital.
A city that has not expanded, but only the capital remains intact.
I don’t know what the food self-sufficiency situation is like, but I couldn’t read the hunger on people’s faces.
It wasn’t that she was overflowing with happiness and hope.
Just as Arnaka defends with turrets, it would be nice if the empire could have a system like this, but the range the empire needs to defend is hundreds of times greater than that of Arnaka.
Most of Arnaka’s remaining national power would have been exhausted in constructing a defense system using that giant turret. There must have been a reason why the Empire couldn’t use this defense system.
Harriet stares at the streets and people of Arnaka.
There was a hint of guilt and sadness on his face that he couldn’t hide.
The capital was safe, but I couldn’t help but think of the countless cities and people who couldn’t be safe.
The white palace Arnaria, which seemed to have been carved out of a mountain, was also in good health.
The scenery of Arnaka has not changed much except for the walls and turrets surrounding the city.
The only thing that has changed is the melancholy and despair that can be read on the faces of people on the street.
There was no one to talk to.
Arnaka had become a city of dreary silence.
Occasionally, Harriet said she would watch the children frolic from the lofty spiers of Arnaria.
But now the children running around couldn’t do that even after washing their eyes.
Harriet is completely unrelated to the cause of the Gate incident.
But as if everything was his responsibility, he walked with me with a guilty look on his face.
The hometown that Harriet longed for had become a quiet city full of silence.
– Phat!
We saw a flash of light in the distance, in the middle of the city.
A place supposedly once had a warp gate.
In a place that seems to be used as a warp spot, a group of people appeared with a flash of light.
Harriet opened her eyes.
“ah… … . dad… … .”
The Grand Duke of Saint-Ouan and his wizards appeared through a warp spot.
Let the Archduke and his wizards arrive at the warp spot. The people around him did not bow their heads as soon as they saw the Grand Duke, but hurriedly left.
As if he had seen an unclean being.
As if he was used to such a situation, the Grand Duke led the wizards and just moved in the direction of the White Palace.
We saw the citizens fleeing as soon as they saw the Archduke and his wizards, people closing their windows.
There were no people who openly poured out curse words.
However, the atmosphere of everyone recognizing the Grand Duke as a being to be avoided was read at once.
The stillness and silence of Arnaka.
I couldn’t help but know why.
A princess on the side of the demon king.
Arnaca is safe for now, but we know that once this is over, the Empire will begin to retaliate against the Principality of Saint-Ouan.
He knows the future of the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouan, the Duchy of Saint-Ouan, and Arnaca.
Even so, he cannot leave Arnaka because it is not safe outside.
That’s why, seeing the Archduke of Saint-Ouan, they turn away as if they were facing the shape of death.
Even knowing that by ignoring the Archduke, he could not escape the dark fate that befell the Principality of Saint-Ouan. As if ignoring the Grand Duke could be an indulgence in itself later on.
“dad… … .”
Harriet closed her eyes tightly as she looked at the neglected king and her own father.
Tears were quietly flowing from his closed eyes.
* * *
I didn’t expect splendor from Arnaka.
Strictly speaking, the situation in Arnaca was considerably better than in other cities.
Turrets were guarding the city, and the city’s buoyancy ability was not over the critical point because people were overcrowded.
But everyone knew that the princess would pay for her sins.
As such, melancholy overflowed throughout the city.
Harriet and I were in a place where Arnaria, the White Palace, could be seen from afar.
It’s not that people are mad with hatred and anger, but a city where only despair and depression are read on everyone’s faces.
That was Arnaka’s present.
“If you want to go see it, so be it.”
“… … .”
The guards guarding Arnaria are not human.
All of them are magically created golems.
So, if Harriet wanted to meet the Grand Duke, she could.
Harriet knows everything.
That the gate incident didn’t happen because of my will.
However, the reality is that everyone in Arnaka may be sacrificed due to his choice.
“I… … . Do I deserve it… … ?”
Harriet couldn’t help but feel guilty.
Even if the gate incident didn’t happen because of my will, people wouldn’t believe it.
So if humanity’s retaliation befalls Arnaka, Harriet can’t help but take it as her own responsibility.
It is not the princess who is responsible for the princess who betrayed humanity, but the nation and its citizens.
In that position, Harriet can’t help but think that she has no face to see her father.
You may hear from a father the reprimand of his daughter for making a foolish choice.
You may think that your father will hold on to you and not let go.
You might think you’re going to hear all sorts of hateful and angry words from your family.
“You know that just because I call you a jerk doesn’t mean I think you’re stupid.”
“… … .”
“The Archduke of Saint-Ouan I saw was someone who should be called a daughter-in-law.”
Actually, my first impression of the Archduke of Saint-Ouane was that of a daughter.
“Just like you’re not stupid, your father isn’t really stupid.”
I put my hand on Harriet’s face under the robe.
“As wise as you are, your father, the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouane, must be wise too.”
“… … .”
“You must have tried to understand why you had to do that, and you must have got some answers.”
Just as Harriot is wise, I think the Archduke Saint-Ouane is a wise man.
Harriet de Saintoine was not born for nothing.
“Originally, parents have no choice but to trust their children as much as they don’t trust them.”
Just as it is common for parents to distrust their children, parents have no choice but to trust their children at certain critical moments in life.
You would think that there would be an inevitability that a certain decisive choice of a child had no choice but to do so.
The Archduke of Saint-Ouan would not be an idiot.
“So, let’s go.”
That’s why I don’t think the Archduke of Saint-Ouane will hold on to Heriot and won’t let go.
Harriet calmly holds the hand I put on her cheek.
“huh… … . I’ll go.”
What kind of courage did my words give you?
“And, I will definitely come back.”
I’ve come this far, but I can’t just see the despair of the city.
Because I faced the heavy responsibility that I had to shoulder.
Wouldn’t it be okay to take the joy and sorrow of the reunion with you?
* * *
The Grand Duchess who disappeared along with the Demon King has returned.
But there was no fuss.
Arnaria’s security system was controlled by the grand duchess, and Arnaria’s users were very few.
What was reported through the golem was not known to the vassals, and only members of the grand duchess learned that the missing grand duchess had visited.
The Grand Duchess, who entered the palace quietly, was able to face her family after a long time.
The returned Grand Duchess could only be a sinner.
Contrary to Harriot’s fears, the three older brothers, including the Grand Duchess of Saint-Ouane, did not say anything and blame the youngest child for causing great pressure to the family.
It was just a tearful reunion.
Even after a long conversation, neither Harriet nor the members of the Grand Duke’s family said a word about the Demon King.
I didn’t ask where you were or how you were.
Just like being safe is already enough.
mother and three older brothers.
I couldn’t say it was enough, but after the story, Harriet entered the Archduke’s study for the last time.
There, there was the Archduke of Saint-Ouan, whose face was covered with indelible weariness.
The grand duke, who was always stern but always kind, but sometimes tried to control her daughter by force, looked at her daughter very differently from before.
“Sit down.”
Harriet sat down in a chair with a firm expression at the words that were too plain to be seen as a reunion that transcended a long time.
The important stories always came from my father’s mouth.
Getting scolded for doing something wrong.
Saying go to the temple.
Words to stop the template.
It all came out of the Grand Duke’s mouth.
The reason there was not a single word of rebuke or scolding from the family was because everyone knew that was the role of the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouan.
Everyone knew that such words were the role of the head of the family, so neither her mother nor her brothers said anything about them to Harriet.
To Harriet, her father was a nuisance.
Pamper yourself enough to be annoying.
worried enough to be annoying.
I hated myself to the point of being annoying.
But now, Harriet has come to face her father, the head of the household, from the position of a criminal, having made a choice that could bring about the annihilation of her family.
The untrustworthy daughter made a decision to destroy the long-history of the Saint-Ouan family.
Encouraged by Reinhardt’s words, I returned to Arnaria.
My family, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, rejoiced that I was safe.
But now, Harriet felt like standing on the judgment seat.
I felt like I had to be explained in detail what my sin was, and I had to pay for it.
So now.
Harriet de Saintoine, for the first time in his life.
I was afraid of my father’s hard expression.
I’m glad I’m alive.
well come back
I was afraid of my father, who didn’t say anything about it, and told me to sit down in a chair as if he were standing in a courtroom.
Harriet sat across from the Archduke, staring desperately into the Archduke’s eyes with a hard expression.
I felt like I was going to burst into tears.
He was a father who always hugged and bothered him.
But why don’t you hug me in this situation?
It’s sad.
It’s true that I did something wrong, but I know I made a big mistake.
I won’t bother you anymore, so why don’t you just hug me?
I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t get my mouth to come out.
“Are you really back?”
At the Archduke’s question, Harriet shook her head quietly.
I have to leave soon. And even if I wanted to come back, I couldn’t.
The Archduke nodded as if he understood.
“Do you know what choice you made?”
“… … .”
The Archduke looked at Harriet in silence.
“If this situation does not end, humanity will perish, and the Saint-Ouan family and the Duchy will end.”
“If this situation is over, the wrath of the empire will be directed at our family, so the Saint-Ouan family and the principality will be over.”
“Daughter.”
“I will ask you one thing.”
“Was it a choice that you wouldn’t regret even if something like that happened?”
the death of many people.
family demise.
Was it a choice that you wouldn’t regret even if that happened?
At the family head’s question, the youngest child quietly stares into his father’s eyes.
It wasn’t scolding or reprimanding.
Where have you been and what have you been up to?
Why did you make that choice?
It wasn’t that kind of question.
As a member of a family, as a person.
The question was whether you would not regret the decision you made.
Harriet thinks back two years.
I believed in Reinhardt. That’s why it was a decision and a choice. At the time of the Gate incident, I didn’t even know what was going on.
But now, Harriet knows the whole truth.
Why did the gate incident happen and what was Akasha? What are people’s misunderstandings?
What kind of a demon king really is.
now i know everything
However, regret.
Father asked about regrets.
If your hometown is ruined and your whole family dies because of your decisions.
Harriet clenched her teeth and closed her eyes tightly.
“regret… … . i think i will… … .”
“… … .”
I can’t help but regret it.
Tears flowed from Harriet’s closed eyes.
“still… … . still… … . dad… … . me… … . Hey… … .”
“If the… … . I went back to that day two years ago… … . Even if you know it will… … . That everything will be like this… … . I know… … . Even if you know… … .”
“me… … . same… … . i think i will… … .”
You will regret it.
Even if the Duchy of Saint-Ouan perishes and all the people in the family die.
I think I have to help Reinhardt.
I will regret it, but I will repeat this choice that I cannot help but regret.
Obviously, it wasn’t that I didn’t accomplish anything.
Not just to help Reinhardt. Because I was able to save a lot of people.
Because I now know that this choice didn’t just result in being wrong.
It’s not that I don’t regret it, the youngest said that he would make the same choice even though he knew that he had no choice but to regret it.
Hearing those words, the Grand Duke looked at his crying daughter and nodded quietly.
“Daughter, you have the greatest talent in the long history of the Saintoine family.”
“… … .”
“So, you are probably the wisest descendant in the family’s history.”
The Grand Duke got up from his seat, approached the crying daughter, and placed his hand on the girl’s head.
“So your decision is right. This father believes.”
“Ugh… … . black… … .”
“Let’s hug now, my daughter.”
Only then could Harriet sob in the arms of her father, whom she hated so much.
