381. Responsibility of the Turmoil
At Fernandez’s words that there was something urgent to discuss, setting aside the aftermath and the mountain of problems, Vicente promptly headed to the Audience Hall of the palace.
Through the half-torn roof and walls, the procession of refugees was visible. Those wishing to return to their hometowns, those choosing to stay in the city, and the exhausted soldiers running around to protect them.
How many of them would survive the coming winter? This land, beyond Dane, the eastern region—would it still have the strength to protect its people?
A deep sigh escaped Vicente’s lips. He turned his gaze to Fernandez, who was bowing his head.
The vast Audience Hall of the palace. The corridor of ten thousand swords. In this place where rainwater dripped steadily, the two who had saved the city stood silently, feeling each other’s presence.
“Let’s summarize.”
Vicente’s voice, now soaked in extreme fatigue, was dry. He paused briefly before continuing.
“You intended the famine in the east.”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“The plundering across the eastern region was under your orders?”
“Yes.”
“And to resolve this, you sought the Empire’s aid, intending to make it a permanent vassal loyal to the Imperial Family?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Why?”
Vicente himself found it hard to clearly define his emotions. Betrayal? It was no laughing matter. Until recently, this young man had been nothing more than an unknown outsider.
Born in the Sernerd Territory of Dane, devoted to the Vaitas Church, and having slaughtered his own family to become the lord of the territory—these were the only things Vicente knew about him.
Except for one thing. He had saved Dane in its time of crisis…
And, if one were to add, he had exerted every effort to save every region he passed through.
That was enough. Vicente saw his attitude as the pinnacle of a knight’s morality, a righteous path.
So, was what he felt betrayal?
‘No, I don’t know.’
Vicente pressed his temples and let out a deep sigh. More than betrayal, it was disappointment… or sorrow. The sorrow of losing someone he considered a friend. To him, who had seized the throne from his father and had to leave the palace’s care to wander from a young age, the word “friend” held more meaning than most.
“When I heard the news from the east, about Phaeirn’s uprising, it was already too late to act, Your Majesty. Phaeirn’s forces were unstoppable, and Zigismund’s strategies were ready to corrupt the entire eastern region.”
“Dane could have held firm.”
“Dane… had to choose defense. Until Phaeirn officially declared war, we needed to gather our strength and stockpile food.”
“Are you… blaming me now…? Are you saying I should have condoned the massacre of the Phaeirn Royal Family and allied with them?”
Vicente shouted. The exhausted king’s anger poured down upon the hall. In the rain, Fernandez’s eyes stared back at the king more coldly than ever.
“Even if Dane had chosen defense, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. Instead, Phaeirn would have used the time to ally with the small kingdoms of the east and attempt to conquer the region.”
“…What?”
“The best course was to block Zigismund’s succession. By the time I intervened, Phaeirn was already fully under his control, making it a moot point. The worst-case scenario was Dane’s surrender and the complete corruption of the east.”
Fernandez, kneeling in the rain, continued calmly.
“The next best option was Your Majesty’s defense. Fortifying Dane’s borders and holding firm with the Knights of the Round Table until I arrived, until the Imperial Army and the northern forces arrived, and until Iron Side and the priests could contain the east’s corruption.”
“And since all that failed, you chose the lesser evil?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The lesser evil in the eastern purification operation was to create a situation where Phaeirn’s forces were concentrated on Dane, preventing the small eastern kingdoms from allying with Phaeirn.
Dane had already lost significant political standing within the eastern alliance. In such a situation, if Phaeirn began to incite the small kingdoms, Dane would have no choice but to be isolated.
Dane’s main force marching toward Phaeirn was likely aware of this future. These were men who raised their voices for honor and chivalry, but they were not fools.
Rather than shattering gloriously with the royal seal, they chose to march toward the enemy’s heart. It was not a foolish choice.
And in a position where he had no direct means to communicate with Vicente, Fernandez had few options.
‘If I can’t sever Phaeirn’s diplomatic lines, I’ll throw the small kingdoms Phaeirn sees as diplomatic targets into chaos. So that the war between Dane and Phaeirn remains their own.’
Just as Phaeirn tried to isolate Dane, Fernandez also sought to isolate Phaeirn. Or, more accurately, to isolate the entire east from each other.
The operation succeeded. All the royal families of the east were in no position to interfere with other countries, struggling even to survive the coming winter.
“And the result… is our collective downfall and the Empire’s invasion?”
“A desperate measure to stop the demons’ rise…”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“…”
Fernandez could not answer Vicente’s question. A necessary sacrifice? It was something he could usually accept calmly, but not in front of this man.
Even without knowing the full extent of the operation. Even knowing he was likely to die. Vicente had thrown himself into the fray without complaint, burning himself to face tens of thousands of enemy soldiers.
Such men must be called heroes. Men who, if sacrifice was necessary, meant only themselves. Men who could offer their lives for others.
In front of such men, Fernandez could not be any more shameless.
“Albert… no, Fernandez of Sernerd. I… trusted you.”
A cracked voice escaped Vicente’s lips. His face was hidden as he bowed his head and placed his hand on it. But his voice, and the atmosphere, conveyed a profound sense of betrayal.
Why wouldn’t it? The hero who had returned the throne to him, lifted the curse on the royal family, and saved the nation’s fate, had now devised a strategy that would reduce the land to an Imperial vassal, starving tens, even hundreds of thousands of civilians.
“Even now, I want to believe in you. So, answer me just one thing. When I and my vassals were conquering Phaeirn, you had ample time to inform me of your return. To return and save Altberth, to clean up Phaeirn’s remnants.”
At that time, Vicente did not know the exact situation in his homeland. He only vaguely knew that Phaeirn’s main force had landed in Dane’s territory, with no way to grasp the flow of the war.
So he assumed Dane’s destruction. It was natural. There were no forces within Dane’s borders to stop Phaeirn’s main force. With both Dane and Phaeirn doomed, he had provided his vassals with a way out.
What must it have felt like to enter the capital as a king of a fallen nation, ruling over a shattered land? Vicente bit his lip and spoke.
“You and I, and…”
The Northern Warriors led by Gyeong and the knights of the Vaitas Church. All these forces gathered to defeat the main force of Phaeirn. Then, my knights… When the great warriors of the Round Table return to this place, couldn’t we have achieved a more certain victory with fewer casualties?
Now, with the refugees gathered under the sovereign of Altberth, even the military forces needed to guide and settle them in a new land are insufficient. If the expeditionary force had returned safely, the situation would have been much better than it is now.
However, Vicente was looking at Fernandez with suspicion. Fernandez was carrying out the orders of the Emperor of the Empire. The Emperor had sent him to reduce the East to a vassal state, and indeed, that plan was nearing its end.
From that perspective, Vicente could only assume that Fernandez had deliberately disbanded the army. The Empire would not want Dane to rebuild independently, so it must have sought to undermine its foundation.
“Your Majesty’s choice was correct.”
“Disbanding the army was the right choice?”
“Your Majesty. Look at the bigger picture. Even if the expeditionary force returns safely and reclaims Dane’s territory, what future is there? The farmland is already devastated, and harvests are hard to expect. Not just Dane, but the entire East is in the same state. If Your Majesty had not disbanded them and ordered them to perform missions across the East, the small kingdoms of the East would have faced nothing but a cruel winter, distrust, suspicion, and endless attrition.”
The small kingdoms would turn their eyes to other countries to secure their own granaries, and the impoverished people would become bandits to survive. After the winter, life in the East would not grow. It would become a hell where only the wicked and the poor remain, destined for eternal chaos.
But, could someone who fostered such a fate have anything to say? As Vicente stared at him, Fernandez nodded and spoke.
“Yes, I opened this era. I personally ordered the plunder, fostered poverty, and sowed discord among the secular royal families, Your Majesty. It was my two hands alone that led the East into chaos.”
Rainwater dripped down his hair, and his curly locks hung long below his cheeks. Fernandez looked up at Vicente through his hair. His sharp eyes shone brightly under the ashen sky.
“But look at the bigger picture, Your Majesty. Before you are the sovereign of Dane, you will become the majesty of all nations. The scattered knights of the Round Table across the East will show the essence of Dane, and today’s victory will soon reach the ears of all people under heaven. The story of knights who stood firm against poverty, famine, despair, and the horrors of war.”
The Empire’s support will come. The refugees in Dane’s territory will spend this winter in abundance, and this rumor will quickly spread across the East.
In the gaps of security, the knights of the Round Table will perform their missions. They will punish the wicked, punish injustice, and save the people. In this era where morality has fallen to the ground, the story of knights who, unafraid of muddy paths, dirty their knees and pick it up again with their own hands, will soon sweep across the East.
After all, what can the lords and secular royal families, who cannot fill the hungry bellies of the people, do in this situation? When the people turn to Dane, they will not dare to blame Dane.
Because they were the ones who wished for the military power of the Round Table knights.
Because the Empire was watching over them from behind Dane.
And because the protagonists of the heroic epic, who defeated tens of thousands of armies with just two people, are in Dane.
“Your Majesty will become the sovereign of the Great Empire. Yes, you will receive the Empire’s support and will not be free from the influence of the Imperial Palace in the future. Of course. But the East will now end the civil war that has lasted a thousand years and truly become a unified nation. Under your name.”
A heavy, oily silence fell over the audience hall. Vicente looked down at Fernandez without a word.
If his heart wasn’t racing, it would be a lie. He too was a man, and he was still young. For a brief moment, Vicente could only imagine the flag of Dane being raised from the northernmost to the southernmost part of the Eastern Kingdom.
But soon, he shook his head.
“It is not right.”
“Your Majesty.”
“I understand your intentions. From the Empire’s perspective, it is more beneficial to have one loyal monarchy than dozens of dissatisfied warlords. I also wish for the people of this country to live in abundance and safety. But that is not right.”
Vicente slowly rose from his seat. He drew the longsword resting on the throne and walked down to the rain-soaked stone floor where Fernandez knelt.
Crossing the forbidden red line, he slowly raised the sword. Rainwater clung to the cold blade and dripped down.
“I strip you of your position. Fernandez of Sernerd. You will no longer be a member of the Round Table or the Council of Swords.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I strip you of your nationality. Dane will no longer accept you as one of its people, and you shall not expect any aid on Dane’s territory.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Dane will also sever its friendly relations with the Vaitas Church. Your operation was your own doing, but you acted as a saint of the Vaitas Church. The Church cannot be free from this responsibility.”
“Yes… Your Majesty.”
Fernandez bowed his head and awaited the king’s punishment. If he were to listen to his words, it wouldn’t mean taking his life, but at least Vicente was not a man who drew his sword to threaten.
But the blade that rested on Fernandez’s shoulder fell weakly.
“If we were to discuss rewards, I would have pondered what to give you, but it seems that won’t be possible. Your merits will be covered by your faults.”
The blade spun in the air and fell again on his left shoulder.
“If you had kept this secret to the end, I would have become a puppet of you and the Empire, continuing to play the role of king. Therefore, knowing you had no malice, I will cover your faults with merits once more.”
Finally, Vicente’s sword rose above Fernandez’s head. Vicente carefully tapped his crown—
“Now, you have neither faults nor merits left. But the people are still in hardship, injustice is rampant, and the nation’s fate is like a lamp in a storm. So, as Vicente of Dane, before being a king, I speak to you as a friend, Vicente with a sword.”
Since you are no longer a knight and I am not a king at this moment, this is not an order.
“I invite you to be Dane’s chancellor. As a friend, I ask only one thing of you. Fernandez Sernerd. Correct Dane’s fate, relieve the people, and restore stability to the East.”
Fernandez trembled and looked up. In the rain, Vicente was smiling brightly. Seeing this, Fernandez sighed without realizing it.
After all, what is a hero?
The ability to rule in chaotic times, personal martial prowess, endless will? Those are factors even the wicked possess. It is not the fragile beliefs of fools shouting for justice, nor the hypocrisy of those who comfort themselves by claiming to act for others.
It is the upright heart that does not bend even when lowering one’s eyes to the humble and holding a blood-stained sword. A hero is a vessel. A vessel that can embrace and contain all people under heaven.
Fernandez knew he would never fit that role. He was the kind of person who would poison heroes and hang the virtuous on stakes. That was his fate. No matter what achievements he piled up, even if his spirit’s deeds elevated him to embody divinity in a living body, he could never become such a person.
He bowed his head deeply and quietly said,
“Give me one year, Your Majesty. There is still something I must do.”
But, even if born with such a fate, perhaps one could live a different life.
No, hadn’t he been struggling all this time to live a different life?
Now, the end of his work is near. With the pacification of the East complete, Fernandez faced only one final hurdle. The last remaining giant of this era.
After that, after everything is done, he could return to this place with a relieved heart, having laid down all his burdens. To undo what he had done.
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