Beware the Executioner (3)
Beware the executioner. Where in the world could there be a stupider thing than this? Wilhelm sighed as he surveyed the seated attendees.
The Empire’s representatives were himself and Arhen. Kasen had sent Prinz. The Holy Kingdom had Liberio, along with one representative from each of the other kingdoms. And finally, even a member of the elf race had come to represent the non-humans.
The truly surprising part was that this elf was actually a half-elf. ‘Since the Continental Academy lies within our Empire, they sent a half-elf.’
Exchanges between human nations and non-human races were not unheard of, but they were hardly common. Plenty of old thorns still pricked both sides. This was a meeting between those who had once been slaves and those who had once owned them.
The non-humans must have feared it would breed fresh hostility. That was why they had chosen someone carrying both elven and human blood.
The gesture carried an unmistakable message: We are willing to come this close to you humans. We expect you to meet us in kind.
‘Just how much attention are they paying to the academy…?’
Was there something hidden inside the Continental Academy that he didn’t know about? Did they teach invincible swordsmanship or supreme magic there? Could you even gain the ability to speak directly with the gods if you prayed hard enough?
“Greetings to you all. I stand before you as representative of the northern kin.”
The silver-haired woman offered an elegant bow. The rounded ears peeking through her hair left no doubt that she was a half-elf.
“We have decided to send our people to the Continental Academy. It is a choice made in support of the alliance’s banner of harmony. With that spirit in mind, we arranged this meeting to discuss the academy’s future in greater detail.”
As Wilhelm listened, he unconsciously turned his head. Across from him sat Liberio. Beside the saint stood Luciel. He looked at her, then at the non-human representative, then back at Luciel again. ‘…Huh?’
If he wasn’t imagining it, the two of them looked strangely alike….
“Ah, I haven’t finished the introductions. My name is Elsir. I am also the twin sister of Luciel, the Holy Kingdom’s Holy Knight Commander standing right there.”
“…??”
“What?”
Not only the Empire’s delegation—including Wilhelm—but Prinz as well. Every face openly displayed shock at the revelation.
Luciel had become Holy Knight Commander more than ten years ago. To think that in all that time no one had known about her family? Even Liberio wore an expression that said this was news to him.
The Holy Kingdom was famous for thoroughly investigating the backgrounds of its important figures. The fact that something about Luciel had slipped past even them was astonishing.
“Oh my. It seems my little sister kept her big sister a very thorough secret. None of you had any idea, did you?”
Elsir covered her mouth and giggled. The contrast was almost comical. Luciel always appeared solemn and icy, yet Elsir was the complete opposite. Whether it was the natural levity of elves or something else, she gave off the air of a free-spirited mercenary.
“Luci. Your sister is a little disappointed. I had to learn about your promotion through rumors.”
“Please be quiet. This is an official setting. Refrain from personal conversation, Representative.”
“Ugh, how mean. Is this how you treat the older sister you haven’t seen in ages?”
When Luciel narrowed her eyes and tried once more to demand silence, Elsir suddenly gave her own lips a light smack.
The odd thing was that Luciel flinched as if she had been the one struck, swallowing her words. Though Elsir had hit herself, she behaved exactly as though Luciel had taken the blow.
“Well then. Since we have many important people present, let’s save the sisterly reunion for later. There are far more pressing matters right now, yes?”
Having skillfully shut down Luciel’s protest, Elsir turned her gaze toward Wilhelm.
“…Indeed. There is something very important.”
Across the table, Liberio appeared to be saying something to Luciel. Probably scolding her for concealing the truth. Wilhelm wondered whether this might give Luciel reason to leave the Holy Kingdom.
If she came to the Empire instead, it would be advantageous in many ways. Harboring that small hope, he continued.
“The Continental Academy was attacked by demons. Thanks to the swift response of the Empire and the various nations, we minimized loss of life, but we did not escape it entirely. For that reason, I believed we should suspend academy activities. Yet it seems everyone gathered here holds a different opinion.”
The Emperor still lay bedridden, groaning in pain. The First Prince had been a reclusive enigma even before the war. As for Wilhelm, the Second Prince, he had been a notorious wastrel until just a few years ago. Originally, the person who should have been leading this meeting was Arhen, seated beside him.
“I would like to hear your thoughts. Must we truly resume the Continental Academy?”
Yet through someone’s devoted guidance, Wilhelm had changed. Once his mental reformation was complete, the wastrel vanished and a competent prince took his place. It had been an extremely quiet transformation—no one knew, not even the world at large.
“I consider Your Highness’s opinion quite reasonable. I agree that the academy makes an excellent target for demons. However, just as the Empire would not abandon its imperial palace and Kasen would not abandon its royal palace, I do not believe abandoning the Continental Academy is a wise choice.”
At Prinz’s statement, Liberio nodded in agreement. Wilhelm, however, stiffened and countered.
“Prince Prinz. The imperial and royal palaces carry over a century of history. Equating those hearts of our respective nations—far beyond mere pride—with an academy that has only just been built seems rather forced.”
“Not at all. The Continental Academy symbolizes the alliance’s harmony. Though it began as a temporary pact for mutual survival, it represents a promise to maintain this relationship even after the war. Wasn’t the academy created with precisely that meaning? Its symbolic weight is enormous, Your Highness.”
This time the Holy Kingdom, the other kingdoms, and even the non-humans voiced their agreement. Arhen, sitting beside Wilhelm, found himself nodding before he realized it.
‘It’s like they’ve all been hypnotized together.’
Frustrated, Wilhelm tried to persuade them again, but their resolve already seemed set in stone.
They would cover all reconstruction costs. Additional personnel would be selected and subjected to the Empire’s screening. Once they passed, there would be no problem deploying them.
‘Unbelievable…’
They were even willing to hand over the right to investigate their own key figures—something they would never have permitted just a few years earlier. The very procedure they had once furiously rejected as an insult was now being offered freely.
“There is no need for concern, Your Highness. The Holy Kingdom, deeply regretting the recent incident, has decided to dispatch additional Holy Knights, priests, and even one cardinal.”
“Kasen intends to change the court magician’s temporary standby to permanent standby. It might be even better to appoint them as a full professor in the magic department. I would like to hear Your Highness’s thoughts on the matter.”
“Our races are quite skilled at sensing demonic energy, you know? If the Empire’s prince gives permission, we could station some of our people as well.”
Wilhelm still couldn’t understand why they were so obsessed with that damned academy. Were they plotting something among themselves right here? Or scheming to overthrow the Empire?
‘…That can’t be it.’
If they were going to do something like that, they wouldn’t choose the academy as their stage. Wilhelm gave up on accepting the agenda through reason alone.
‘Just when the hell is that bastard Cain going to show up?’
The only person he could truly rely on. The mad dog who should be arriving any moment. Perhaps he could put a stop to this absurd charade. Wilhelm had even arranged for him to appear as the executioner to set the proper mood.
He had already received a report so horrifying it raised gooseflesh.
“One hundred and twenty-two nobles have been beheaded so far. Seven of them were hereditary nobles with titles and lands; the rest were mostly family members of noble houses. The grand general said that until just moments ago the beheading executor was holding their heads and speaking….”
“On the way to the conference hall with the grand general, additional traitors appeared, so he sent the general ahead, saying he would kill them on the way….”
Headless corpses were stacking neatly in the pit that had been dug in advance. Their heads would be displayed according to the executioner’s will. Even traitors among the nobility were granted as clean a death as possible.
Such was the power nobles still held within the Empire. The fact that the Empire was now willing to shatter that custom showed just how displeased it had become.
Wilhelm had used Cain to display that displeasure to the alliance. To be precise, Cain had gone above and beyond with a special service, but regardless….
BANG!!
A deafening crash filled the conference hall where the alliance’s key figures were gathered.
“What?!”
“What is that?!”
The escorts standing guard behind them drew their weapons in alarm. Yet the truly important figures did not move.
The Empire’s grand general. Kasen’s court magician. The Holy Kingdom’s Holy Knight Commander Luciel. And—
“Oh my.”
Even Elsir, representative of the non-humans.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
‘Why does it suddenly smell so strange?’
A thick, metallic stench rolled in from the shattered entrance. It smelled like salt, or like forged iron. The kingdom representatives rose from their seats in confusion, but Wilhelm shook his head and motioned for them to sit back down.
Heavy footsteps approached.
A man entered with a sword resting casually on his shoulder. No one but officially recognized escorts was permitted to carry weapons inside. Drawing first would be treated as an assassination attempt and met with immediate execution.
“What is the meaning of—!”
Prinz had been about to roar about this insolence, but the moment he realized the intruder was Cain, he froze. Then he noticed the blood roughly smeared across the man’s face and froze again.
‘This is the smell of blood. And it’s overwhelmingly thick…’
He instinctively understood. That was human blood. Not from one or two people. The blood of more than a hundred people. The sickeningly metallic stench stung his nose.
Meanwhile, Cain strolled forward without a care, picked an empty seat at random, and sat down. He tossed his sword onto the table with a clatter and propped both legs up. The heavy stench of blood that could make one’s head spin filled the room.
The sheer arrogance of the scene left everyone speechless. They glanced at the powerhouses from each nation, hoping one of them would say something.
“….”
“….”
But the grand general remained silent. The court magician kept his mouth shut. Luciel, on the other hand, had her eyes sparkling with open admiration.
‘Demon Slayer. God’s Right Hand. Beheading Executor. The Empire’s Mad Dog, Cain.’
‘Wilhelm, the Second Prince, must have called him. But why? Why bring that man to a meeting this important?’
Prinz, Liberio, and the other alliance figures all harbored the same question. Why summon a mad dog to a place that demanded decorum? This was no coincidence. They needed to understand the intent.
“You’re here, Cain.”
At that moment Wilhelm spoke to him as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
“Is the execution finished?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Everything has been taken care of.”
Everyone present knew exactly what “execution” Wilhelm referred to. Only now did they realize whose blood stained Cain’s body. The reason he had been summoned to the conference room without even wiping it off was simple.
They might all be fighting together to eradicate the demons. They might be joining hands beneath the name of the alliance to overcome this crisis. But do not cross the line. Or everything could be overturned.
In this way, Wilhelm made the Empire’s displeasure unmistakably clear.
“You’ve gone through a lot of trouble again for the Empire.”
“As much as necessary.”
The words “as much as necessary” sounded chilling. If one interpreted them as I can kill as many as you want, was that a misunderstanding?
“Cain.”
Wilhelm opened his mouth again, looking confident.
“The meeting just now has reached a rough conclusion. We plan to resume the Continental Academy. What is your thoughts on the matter?”
Convince these people who seem to be under group hypnosis.
At Wilhelm’s expectant question, Cain interlaced his fingers.
“If that is the conclusion they have reached, then proceeding would be correct, wouldn’t it?”
“Right? As expected, it’s too—wait. What did you just say?”
“I said, if everyone’s opinion has gathered in favor of resuming it, then it seems appropriate to do so.”
Wilhelm’s eyes widened in shock. The very person who had smashed the academy was now saying this?
“As I told you last time, I believe it is fine.”
So that was it! It wasn’t what he thought!
“Let’s continue the academy as it is.”
I’m sorry! Please don’t hit me!!