Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Destruction
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Aremy had been incredibly diligent over the past three years. The House of Marquis Hira emerged victorious in the territorial war against the House of Count Raus. They seized vast iron ore deposits. Shunkarin entrusted the weapon production to Suika.
“Easy enough.”
“Please do.”
Kishun also established food distribution branches throughout the kingdom, secretly lacing supplies with narcotics for nobles and commoners alike. People grew increasingly addicted, and various departments across the kingdom ground to a halt, unable to function.
Before the palace could respond to them, Reshinka organized rebels and launched raids on palace facilities. Their overt activities left the palace with no time to address the narcotics issue. And Kanna was backing those rebels from the shadows.
On top of that, Shunkarin took advantage of the chaos in the capital, east, and south to win over nobles in the west and north. He brought those who maintained neutrality under his command, killed those who resisted, and installed Aremy operatives in their places.
In just three years, the kingdom had fallen into even greater disarray and confusion. An entire kingdom was being played like a toy by a single organization.
[I want to dance with you tonight, Muri. Come to the ballroom at 7. I’ll be waiting.]
And three years had already passed since Carnivela began living as Muri. During that time, she had successfully positioned herself at the side of the second prince, who became the heir after the death of the first prince. However, this Prince Elrutan summoned her incessantly at all hours.
‘A ball again today. What a hassle.’
She had approached him to extract kingdom secrets, but this prince knew next to nothing. She wondered what was even in his head. There was simply no information to pull from him.
Still, with no other orders coming down, she continued sticking by the prince’s side.
“Are you nervous?”
As she stood alone before the mirror after finishing her preparations, someone appeared in front of her. She kept up the act in his presence.
“Father.”
“No one else is here right now. You don’t need to keep acting.”
“Relaxing one’s guard leads to mistakes at critical moments. I don’t want to cause trouble for the organization because of my own errors.”
With that, she stood up. The man told her that she must focus on extracting details like the size of the kingdom’s military, secret passages in the palace, and the location of the king’s seal—things he surely knew. She nodded.
The carriage rattled along. She gazed out the window. This foreign land had become familiar before she knew it. After staring outside for a long while, she stepped out as soon as the carriage stopped and entered the venue.
“The Lady Muri of the House of Marquis Hira enters!”
Everyone turned to look at her. Lately, she had been the talk of the capital as Prince Elrutan’s new lover. Whispers from nobles wondered how long this one would last. Wearing an indifferent expression, she slipped into a corner to wait for the prince.
Soon, the prince made his entrance. He glanced around. She approached, took his hand. The prince looked at her with a pleased expression. It was a smile full of foolish innocence. She flashed a bright smile in return.
At that moment, music began to play. They immediately started dancing. As they did, other nobles paired off and joined in. The ballroom soon filled with social dancing, but she led the prince to the lounge. He suspected nothing.
“What’s wrong? Your face looks off.”
“To be honest... it’s embarrassing, but I had a frightening dream.”
“What dream?”
“Everywhere I stood was engulfed in flames. It was so hot and terrifying that I was trembling even in the dream.”
“Oh dear.”
The prince felt heartbroken. The thought of his beautiful lover trembling in fear pierced his chest. So he took her hand and led her into a dim corridor. It was a secret passage in the palace.
“Where is this?”
“Didn’t I say I’d propose to you soon? This is something special I’m showing you.”
The prince explained that they would soon live here together, and if something like her fiery dream ever happened, she could escape through this secret passage just like now.
“Thank you, Your Highness. You even listen to my silly complaints...”
“No. I’ll sway Father Emperor’s heart, so just think about what dress you’ll wear for our wedding.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Highness.”
But inwardly, she sneered coldly. Her marriage to Lainen, whom she had truly loved, had ended in disaster, blooming only hatred. She no longer believed in love. The prince’s talk of marriage struck her as utterly ridiculous.
The two strolled through the gardens before entering the prince’s palace, where they continued their conversation. That was when she subtly learned that the king’s seal was in the prince’s chambers, and she secretly pocketed a few documents.
“It was so wonderful, Your Highness.”
“I feel the same. I can’t wait to be with you.”
“Me too.”
“Come here tomorrow as well. I’ll be waiting.”
With those words, the prince kissed her forehead. She smiled with her eyes and boarded her carriage to return to the House of Marquis Hira.
‘It’s about time it all blows up.’
Everything Aremy had built up was now ready to take physical form. And that day approached swiftly.
* * *
Everything in the Kingdom of Sistiara had been set in place. All that remained was to round up and eliminate the nobles and royals who might harbor resentment toward them. And Shunkarin deliberately unleashed all the schemes they had been advancing in secret up to now.
With the nobles’ narcotic addictions and the sudden shifts in loyalty from western and northern nobles exploding one after another—massive incidents piling up—the king of Sistiara panicked.
“What in the world is happening!”
He had long known about the rebels causing trouble. He had been on guard and deployed many forces to suppress them. But focusing on that had left him neglecting other matters.
It felt as though someone was manipulating them from the shadows. The king grew terrified of this enemy whose true form he could not grasp. Aremy had schemed relentlessly for three years to seize the kingdom, and now the fruits of those efforts were ripening.
To devise countermeasures, the king summoned all the nobles. Those who hadn’t fallen for Shunkarin’s persuasions, or who knew nothing at all, responded to the summons. The king was furious that so many had ignored the call, but now was not the time to reprimand them.
“A great crisis has befallen the kingdom.”
The king explained the current situation. The kingdom had suddenly plunged into chaos, seemingly orchestrated by someone lurking in the shadows. The nobles panicked or nodded gravely. Those who had been secretly approached came forward, pleading that someone had made contact with them.
The king listened intently to the nobles at their sudden outpouring. Then, fresh news arrived.
“Rebels have appeared again!”
“Damn it! Why can’t you suppress a single rebel force without letting it escalate!”
Everyone bowed their heads at the king’s roar. At that moment, Marquis Hira strode in boldly, clad in armor.
“So you’re all here.”
They were taken aback by the marquis, armed unlike his usual self. He was a civilian official, not a military one—someone who had lived far removed from swords—suddenly donning armor like this...
“No way...”
“Nothing is impossible in this world.”
With that, the man drew his sword. Aremy operatives burst in through shattered windows from all sides. As they advanced, the air filled with the stench of blood and gunpowder.
“This is...!”
Before they could fully grasp the situation, explosions rang out, and flames erupted across the palace. The operatives waiting outside the castle walls struck down those fleeing the fire.
“Argh!”
People screamed as they died in agony. Among them were children, women, and elders with no means to defend themselves. Yet the Aremy operatives swung their blades mercilessly even at the weak.
“Argh!”
“Gurk!”
As action captain, Carnivela had to lead the assassination squad. Witnessing the carnage, she wanted nothing more than to look away. It wasn’t something a person should do—she felt the urge to flee, but with people watching, she couldn’t move.
“P-Please... spare...”
Then, a small hand grasped her foot. It was a child. A cute little one, perhaps a bit older than her daughter Raiji. The terrified child begged her for life.
‘I’m sorry...’
It disgusted her. She hated her position, unable to harm such a child—it made her skin crawl. Her hands were already stained red, but she didn’t want to dirty them further. She helped the child up and pointed toward where the operatives were.
The child ran off with a grateful expression. Soon, the child’s scream echoed.
“Aaah!”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Biting her lip to ignore her own cowardice, she mechanically cut down people. She didn’t look to see who fell to her blade. She might run if she did.
She kept walking. One palace that hadn’t yet caught fire remained. It was where Elrutan resided. She hurled a torch into it.
Whoosh!
The palace ignited in an instant. She waited nearby for the prince. She avoided looking around elsewhere. She didn’t want to see more people falling to her comrades’ blades, and the other areas were likely handled by now.
“You?”
“You’ve finally come out.”
How long had she waited? The prince she awaited emerged. She drew her longsword for the first time in ages. Freshly oiled days ago, it gleamed. The prince, masked, didn’t recognize her. She considered removing it but stayed still, not wanting to see his shocked face.
“H-How!”
The prince stared blankly, stunned by the palace assault. She replied calmly.
“Nothing is impossible in this world.”
With that, she lunged at the prince. Though trained in swordsmanship, his lack of combat experience left him struggling to block her momentum. As they clashed blades, she suddenly drew a dagger with her left hand, shattering his balance.
“Ah!”
In his moment of panic, she slashed his throat with the sword in her right hand. A red line appeared on his neck, blood spurting forth. It splattered across her face.
“Gurk...!”
The prince clutched his throat in agony before collapsing to the ground. She turned away without watching, ignoring his pained expression as she headed to the conference hall where the man waited.
“It’s over.”
The moment she entered, the stench of blood hit her like a wave. It was nauseating. But pushing forward, she hurled her dagger at a noble charging toward her.
Thud.
The noble fell. Clangs of clashing swords echoed sporadically. She stood aside, watching without joining the fray.
“All done?”
“Easy work.”
The man stood beside her, wiping his sword. The blood dripping from it was pitch black. How many had that blade felled? Yet she let out a small chuckle. She was no different—a murderer just like him.
A filthy person with hands drenched in blood.
The sword’s blade reflected her image. It was the same as always, which made it all the more terrifying. Her small hand trembled. Not wanting to hold the sword any longer, she quickly sheathed it.
“It’s all over.”
All the nobles in the conference hall were dead. With the king’s summons drawing half the kingdom’s nobility here, their seats would now stand empty overnight. Those vacancies would soon be filled by operatives.
“Where is the king?”
“We caught him fleeing through a secret passage. Shall we bring him?”
“Bring him. I’ll handle it myself.”
The man then personally severed the dragged-in king’s head, bringing it to an end. Thus, the Kingdom of Sistiara fell.