“My youngest sister, Odely…… probably believed that I was committing evil deeds. She had always been sickly and had never even left the family estate. So perhaps she did not understand the ways of the world and misunderstood my intentions.”
His voice softened for a moment, filled with affection.
It was the face of an older brother remembering his beloved but overly idealistic, immature younger sister.
“When I found out that she had been missing and was living in the North…… I cannot tell you how relieved I was. For me, that alone was enough. No matter what she thought of me, just knowing that she was alive…….”
His voice gradually faded.
And as if realizing that he had unintentionally revealed something too personal, he hurriedly fell silent.
Garwin slowly rolled up the scroll.
“If my subordinate had properly followed my orders, the tragedy in Bellader would never have happened. But even if there was no intention behind it…… the responsibility lies with me.”
After those final words, Garwin bowed his head deeply.
“The Cardel family will take full responsibility for all the damage the North has suffered from this incident. I would also like to sincerely apologize to the Empire, the imperial family, and…… my younger sister.”
Silence followed for a moment.
Then the nobles cautiously nodded, while the priests closed their eyes and whispered silent prayers.
From somewhere, a single round of applause slowly began, and soon spread through the room.
The applause was not enthusiastic. It was closer to political praise meaning, ‘The situation was handled well.’
As Garwin stepped down from the platform, he quietly turned his gaze to the side.
Belloa Cardel.
The second daughter of the Cardel family, and the mastermind behind this entire script.
Garwin briefly exchanged glances with her as she sat there with a perfectly drawn smile, then soon turned his head away.
Grand Duke Ludville Exception had been watching the entire process from beginning to end.
It was exactly the way Cardel always did things.
A dull and tiresome farce in which they shifted the blame onto someone else, diluted their guilt, and eventually wrapped everything up with a tearful apology.
Most of those gathered in the council chamber probably had an idea.
They knew that what Garwin was saying was not made up entirely of the truth.
But everyone closed their eyes and covered their ears.
Because the Cardel family possessed the ‘symbol’ that allowed them to do so, and the ‘power’ that forced others to remain silent even when they knew the truth.
That was why they nodded, recited prayers, and applauded.
Ludville quietly rose from his seat.
At the sound of the chair legs scraping against the floor, the entire hall tensed for a moment.
As always, his expression was blank, and his eyes looked indifferent and cynical.
At this very moment, no one…… dared to guess what might be passing through his mind.
The iron-blooded Grand Duke who brought about nothing but ‘victory’ through all kinds of unimaginable methods.
There were even rumors that the Goddess of Victory favored him.
He always drew out results beyond the best possible outcome, and the process was never easy.
What would he do this time?
Someone held their breath, while someone else clenched their fists tightly on their knees.
Naturally, they thought of ‘political retaliation.’
But what Ludville held inside was completely different from what they expected, something far more primitive and ferocious.
‘What if I cut off the heads of everyone here and line them up on the floor of the Grand Cathedral?’
……That was what he was thinking.
It was pure madness, with not even the slightest trace of reason.
For the only things left to him after losing his memories of his past life were an inexplicable emptiness and unexplained anger.
And right now, that anger was directed at everyone sitting in the hall.
‘Should I stick the false reports and speeches they wrote into their severed heads? So that everyone who sees them will know exactly who spouted what kind of nonsense.’
At least it would become quiet.
Peace of mind would finally come.
Ludville repeatedly clenched and slowly opened his leather-gloved hand.
But the impulse surging violently inside him—
“We’ll probably have to settle this by getting compensation from them. Take as much as you possibly can.”
A single word from Odely.
The short, firm words she had spoken before he came here extinguished the flames of madness in an instant.
“…….”
The emotions that had risen to their peak cooled down in vain.
With nothing left but emptiness where the burning heat had been, Ludville spoke in a languid voice.
“You must have thought I was so free that you could waste my time with something like this.”
The council chamber became so quiet that it seemed even breathing had stopped.
“Still, it is fortunate that you are taking responsibility.”
Instead of sharp anger, his voice was filled with cold indifference.
He continued speaking carelessly, as if simply reading out a sentence.
“I calculated it precisely. The damage suffered by the North includes lives, supplies, purification costs, as well as the medical expenses and emotional damages of my delicate fiancée…….”
At last, he turned his head and looked at Garwin.
There was no emotion in his eyes. If anything, he looked terribly bored by the whole situation.
“Seventy-five billion Fenar in total. I will send the bill to the accounting office by tomorrow.”
Without leaving any room for compromise, Ludville simply turned around and walked out of the hall as he pleased.
Only after the doors closed did those remaining inside release the breath they had been holding, their faces stiff.
Only a dazed silence settled quietly over the council chamber.
****
“You came back after being forced to hand over seventy-five billion?”
The head of the Cardel family’s office.
With the heavy door slamming shut, the Duke’s voice struck down like lightning.
The family retainers, including the minister of state, kept their heads bowed in silence.
In the chilly silence, the anger only spread hotter.
“What on earth did you do in there? You bowed your head and said you would take responsibility, then handed over seventy-five billion…… Was that the situation you planned?”
The Duke’s face had turned so red that the veins on it stood out.
Garwin could not bring himself to raise his head.
The head of the family glared at Belloa, then turned his gaze back to Garwin.
“Seventy-five billion, Garwin. Seventy-five billion! You threw several years’ worth of imperial merit pensions at that madman, and that woman even got the title of ‘Saint of Cardel’ attached to her!”
“……Father.”
“The purification agents have been revealed to the world! Do you not understand what this means?”
“Yes, I understand. It is something that should never have happened…….”
“Wasn’t it you who let that woman slip away in the first place?! You fell for a plan that was absurdly careless, and you couldn’t even respond!”
“…….”
Garwin still could not raise his head as he clenched his teeth tightly.
The tip of his jaw trembled.
Odely.
She had touched the barrier surrounding the purification agents and immediately rushed to the North, only to get the Grand Duke Exception on her side…….
Who could have predicted that?
‘Where did the information leak from?’
That woman had clearly moved after figuring out Garwin’s entire plan.
He had suspected an internal spy and searched everywhere, but not a single clue had been left behind.
What came first was not despair, but boiling anger.
‘I was supposed to be the one who stopped the plague.’
That runaway piece of trash was now going to become the Grand Duchess of the North?
And on top of that, with the name ‘Cardel’ attached to her?
The purification agents were beings that must never be revealed to the world.
The sacrifice had to remain behind the stage for the hero to be completed.
But now, the entire story was being arranged around her.
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