The Executioners' Pact
"How long do you plan to keep acting like this?"
"Acting like what?"
The room was warm, a stark contrast to the harsh weather outside the window.
"I mean everything you're doing right now. Do you really think any of this makes sense?"
"What's so nonsensical about it? This is the Northern way."
"...How can you even call this the Northern way?"
But the atmosphere had frozen over, colder than the world outside.
The woman standing across from the Northern Grand Duke was deeply dissatisfied with the North's current state.
"You've declared a complete break from the center, yet you're still accepting aid from them."
"That doesn't matter. It's all for building a stronger North, and it's already been approved."
"Even so, is there any reason to cut ties so thoroughly? Why build the wall on the central side instead of facing outward?"
"Because the North might become the final line of defense."
"You don't plan to answer the center's summons?"
"No summons have come yet, so who knows."
The North was dreaming of full independence right now. The Grand Duke denied it outright and seemed to be preparing for any contingencies.
But anyone with even a shred of insight could see through it.
In the North's harsh environment, they could train soldiers freely without worrying about the center's watchful eyes. And now, erecting a wall to declare complete separation from the center? If that's the case, shouldn't they refuse the center's aid altogether?
Various thoughts bubbled up in the woman's mind like foam.
"The soldiers are too weak right now anyway. For the North to grow stronger, they need all kinds of experience—this is all part of that."
"...Even dispatching soldiers to Maselin?"
"Maselin is embroiled in wars big and small right now. It's the process of unifying the west, and the experience gained there will be invaluable."
"Why should Northern soldiers fight in someone else's kingdom? Is it because of that harlot Mirne?"
Bang! At the word "harlot," the Northern Grand Duke surged to his feet, unleashing his aura. The freezing tension in the room shattered, replaced by his boiling rage.
"How dare you call her a harlot."
"Do you know how many other men she's been contacting besides Your Grace?"
"She's just being kind."
"Acting kind while scooping up endless aid behind the scenes—surely you don't claim ignorance."
"...We're all moved by her kind heart, acting of our own accord. I'm no different. She's never asked anything directly."
The Grand Duke said this and sat back down.
"Why do you hate her so much?"
In his view was the woman still confronting him—the one who served as the North's staff if he was its sword. The Sorceress of Ice, Estella Nave.
The Grand Duke couldn't understand her. Why show such hostility toward Mirne? The benefits she'd brought to the North were undeniable, yet she turned a blind eye to them in every conversation.
It made no sense.
"...Ha, are you seriously asking if you don't know?"
"I've racked my brain for reasons to hate her, but nothing comes up—unless you're forcing it."
"She openly demands soldiers, and in return, we get... ha... a few toys fit only for children."
"Not to mention, she presented possibilities for our North that we hadn't considered."
"Any of our other retainers could have thought of that level."
A brief silence.
Estella seized the moment.
"Enough of this nonsense. Put a stop to it and focus on the true North. The center's movements lately are suspicious—why aren't you investigating properly?"
"Aren't you handling that?"
"You have to give me the authority first. Didn't you take it all away?"
What good was the title of Northern Staff now? Beneath the hollow name, nothing remained.
She used to lead intelligence and magic units, but now she was crippled, limbs severed.
It had all started after the Grand Duke lost his mind over that woman.
He'd centralized everything under himself, stripping her of all authority.
In truth, it had caused real issues maintaining the Northern front lines lately. Mages knew their formations best, after all.
Yet he ignored that and just bellowed the same old lines.
"...Do you truly have the North's interests at heart? What on earth are you thinking?"
So Estella urged him outright to spill his true intentions.
If she knew them, she could leave without regrets.
Along with the clueless Northerners shivering in the cold.
Won't it be better to head to the center, now undergoing massive upheaval?
Such thoughts flickered briefly.
"I am looking out for the true North. That's the truth. I'd appreciate it if you believed me."
The Grand Duke's calm reply followed.
"Do you think that weak-willed Crown Prince truly cares about the North? Even if he's changed, his nature won't."
In his sight was a woman with hair like moonlight cascading to her waist—the one ignorant of the North's true future, inexplicably opposing Mirne.
"Even I, even my nation, have no choice but to prioritize the North—and that's why I'm making these choices."
The Northern Grand Duke, Preon Vesper, straightened his black hair and concluded.
"...."
Estella laughed in disbelief at his answer and turned to leave.
No more conversation was possible.
'Then I have no choice but to contact the center directly.'
If outside eyes couldn't penetrate inward, she'd make the request from inside.
Estella resolved to head to the center.
And behind her.
Swish.
The Grand Duke's retainers followed.
+++++
"This can't be an illusion, right? What I'm seeing with my own two eyes?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Hah."
On the road to the North.
We moved swiftly again, hitting only key areas like last time.
And the first thing to greet us was...
"A wall."
"Yes, a wall, Your Highness."
A massively expansive wall.
Tall and sturdy enough that detouring would take considerable time.
Why build this not at the border, but on the path connecting the center and the North?
And the fact that the center was unaware? Laughable.
'Isn't the implication crystal clear?'
To fortify the North more solidly, they chose severance from the center.
Yet they still took the center's support on schedule.
No word shared with the center, but the moment I step out for a Northern stroll, bam—a bulwark greets me first.
There's only one way to handle a dog that bites its master, after all.
Of course, confronting them directly might yield denials.
But with the wall standing so brazenly, could they even claim otherwise?
As various thoughts swirled...
"Your Highness, do you perhaps remember the pact?"
Pavan suddenly asked out of nowhere.
'The pact?'
A pact? Was there such a setting?
Showing surprise would mark me as a noob, so I calmly regarded Pavan.
And right on cue.
Mention of the pact detected.
The pact is a promise handed down from the great prophets.
The Executioners each hold different wishes and swore loyalty to the Empire.
The Empire has a duty to fulfill those wishes.
Forget that duty, and the Empire is in peril.
The time of the pact approaches.
Empire doom probability rises.
Current Empire Doom Probability: 80%
Status Summary: The Empire has a very high chance of collapse within 5 years.
'What the hell? There's a crazy setting like this?'
But what is the pact? What promise did they make?
'No wonder the dragons obey the Empire so readily.'
Honestly, having five nukes with no strings attached never made sense.
Logically, maintenance costs were inevitable.
Failing that leads to the Empire's doom? Wild.
'Are these Executioners going to side with Mirne later too?'
The possibility that Maselin Kingdom or Mirne held the key to the pact was pretty high.
"I remember. Your wishes as well."
But I couldn't keep musing alone.
I answered based on the system messages.
"...!"
Pavan shuddered at my words.
"You remember. We couldn't voice our wishes ourselves... We are truly grateful."
Wishes they couldn't voice themselves.
So that's the breadcrumb for the Empire's doom.
'A forgotten pact no one remembers, wishes that can't be spoken directly... A riddle, basically.'
They really wanted this Empire to fall bad.
I'd need to investigate this quickly.
"Focus on the matter at hand for now."
"Yes, Your Highness. My apologies."
With those thoughts, we hurried toward 'Eiragard,' the North's so-called capital.
In the East, I'd cut down allied nobles one by one.
But in the North, reeking of rot, that approach would get us spotted fast.
Better to confront the Northern Grand Duke directly and swiftly.
"It's quite a distance."
"We'll need a mid-supply stop. Eiragard is at the North's northernmost edge."
The front lines.
How much had the severed North grown, I wondered.
No—recalling a highly probable future, we pressed on.
Nearby, villainess detected.
Guiding you to the villainess.
The Villainess Ring suddenly made its presence known.
A villainess nearby?
'Before even reaching the front lines.'
By the map, we were only midway.
Why would a villainess pop up here out of nowhere?
Doubts aside, the ring pointed directly toward her.
Like it was giving rough directions to her location.
No choice but to meet—practically an order—so I turned immediately.
"Something to check."
"Yes."
Who was the North's villainess?
This hadn't appeared in the novel's early parts I'd read.
Curiosity swelled as we headed that way.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Soon after arriving, rough breathing reached my ears.
A woman's panting—I knew whose immediately.
'That woman's the villainess?'
But why was she being chased by a string of knights?
Any onlooker would see it as a clear pursuit.
I launched myself between the villainess and the knights.
"Who are you!"
"What scum is this!"
Canned lines flew.
To sort the situation fast, I shed my robe.
Golden blond hair, red eyes.
Proof unmistakable of imperial royalty.
"C-Crown Prince... Your Highness...?"
The villainess recognized me instantly, eyes widening in shock.
But the knights' attitudes didn't shift.
I got it. Who'd believe the Crown Prince just popped up?
More logical to assume sorcery or illusion.
But.
"Estella, resorting to cheap tricks."
"She's someone we must oppose for the North's grand plan anyway."
"You think we'd fall for this illusion?"
Their words made my lips curl up.
"The North's grand plan?"
Someone we must oppose?
"Pavan."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Cut off all their limbs. Leave only their heads."
"Spare the woman?"
"Yes."
They say such interesting things.
Something I want to hear in detail.