Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Last Chains
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Nikolai didn't let his guard down even after entering the palace.
He chose a room from which he could check the entrance through the window and hid there, constantly watching the outside through it.
The other nobles were sprawled on the floor, insisting the palace was safe, but Nikolai trusted his instincts.
And as he expected,
"Soldiers are approaching!"
The soldiers had surrounded the palace and were slowly closing in.
Nikolai kept his eyes fixed on them.
"What? How dare they!"
"What about the Royal Guard? What's happened to the Royal Guard!"
A large force had gathered especially at the palace's main gate. The man and woman in officer uniforms at the forefront were people Nikolai knew well.
"...Victor. It looks like Victor and Anna have come themselves!"
"N-No, that can't be!"
"Out of my way! I need to see for myself!"
The nobles rushed to the windows,
"We need to hide! ...But where?"
"Let's escape through the secret passages...!"
"Victor was Supreme Commander too! You think he doesn't know the secret routes we do?!"
"Then what do we do?!"
After confirming that the pair who appeared to be Victor and Anna were entering the palace without even being stopped by the Royal Guard, they fell into panic.
"I-I'm leaving!"
"Wait!"
A few bolted despite hearing the secret passages were pointless, and morale plummeted among those left in the room.
"We're done for..."
"We shouldn't have come to the palace. We should've gotten out of Zabrinsk somehow..."
"We're all dead. Dead!"
After exchanging worthless suggestions, they lost all hope and slumped down.
Just as everyone sat waiting for approaching death,
"...There is one last option."
Nikolai, who hadn't let go of that thread of hope, stood up.
He wanted to survive, no matter what.
"There's a way?"
"Yes. But..."
"Spit it out!"
He hesitated several times but finally spoke under the nobles' urging.
"...If we take the King hostage, we might live."
"What?!"
"Have you lost your mind? That's treason!"
"Treason?"
That method was blatant treason with no room for excuses, so the nobles recoiled in shock,
"If they catch us, we're dead anyway! If we're going to die, who cares about treason?!"
"..."
Seeing Nikolai's wild-eyed frenzy, the other nobles began seriously considering the idea.
"Come to think of it, Victor's always been loyal to the King."
"Right. He might still have some attachment!"
It wasn't even certain the hostage ploy would work.
There was no plan for how to take the hostage or what to do afterward—no basis, no future.
It was a reckless proposal they'd never glance at with time to think rationally, but with death breathing down their necks, the nobles were tempted.
Sitting still and waiting to die was too terrifying against the 1st Legion and Victor.
Clinging to their desire to live, they rationalized it, convincing themselves and steeling their resolve.
"...Let's do it."
With Nikolai—who had calmed his excitement—at the lead, the nobles left the room.
As they walked the corridors, they grabbed ceremonial weapons from the walls and questioned anyone they encountered about the King's location.
"Hey."
"Eek...!"
"Where's His Majesty?"
"Uh, uh..."
"Where is he?!"
"Eek! H-He's gone to the audience chamber! Please don't kill me...!"
"Audience chamber?"
Following the info from a servant cowering in a corner, they headed to the audience chamber.
-Creak.
"...Count Savinkov?"
The lit audience chamber held only the King on the throne and Vladimir.
The King looked exhausted, as if he'd just woken up, but his eyes clearly showed fear—he knew what was happening.
"You've come."
Vladimir stood calmly beside the King, greeting them as usual.
"...What now?"
"Don't hesitate. Go."
The nobles hesitated briefly at the unexpected situation but gripped their weapons and approached the throne anyway.
Ignoring Vladimir—who had no weapon and was old and harmless—they aimed at the King.
"Your Majesty, forgive us, but..."
"Uh, ugh..."
Nikolai kept watching Vladimir's demeanor, but he just silently observed the nobles with an unreadable expression.
"What now?"
"...We wait for now."
The nobles surrounded the throne area, waiting for the soldiers to arrive.
Most coups are decided in a single night.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Legions were surely racing to the palace right now, so we needed to secure the King as quickly as possible to claim legitimacy.
If the King joined the other legions first and branded us traitors, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th wouldn't even be the problem—the 1st Legion itself could collapse.
They were moving confidently now only because they saw the nobles as rebels; my or Anna's reputation was secondary.
Even if only half deserted in the best case, we'd face over 20,000 high-morale troops with just 4,000 demoralized men.
Conversely, if we used the King to label the nobles traitors, combined with the army's support for me, the situation would resolve cleanly without issue.
There'd be no reason for the other legions not to cooperate once the tide turned.
"We've captured nobles including Mikhail Kapayev who were hiding in the Royal Guard barracks!"
"Good. Keep searching."
"Yes!"
So far, things were going smoothly.
I followed Anna as she issued orders while advancing through the palace corridors, struggling to maintain a stern expression.
With Andrei captured, the Royal Guard offered no resistance.
Whether out of fear of the treason charge or not, they were surprisingly cooperative.
That eliminated the last variable of time lost to Royal Guard resistance.
Once the 1st Legion's main force entered the palace, control was just a matter of time.
With troops stationed at the palace's secret exits, the odds of the King escaping were near zero.
"His Majesty is in the audience chamber."
Following the report, Anna, I, and the soldiers hurried there.
Upon reaching the audience chamber doors,
"There's light coming from inside."
"Hm."
Light leaked through the door crack, so I checked the minimap first for safety.
No ambush waiting.
But the arrangement of those dots was suspicious.
A few gray dots scattered near the audience chamber walls, and several clustered tightly around the throne.
Something felt off.
"We're entering."
The soldiers opened the door ahead.
"Vi-Victor!"
"Ha..."
As the door opened and we entered, a familiar grating voice greeted me.
"Don't come any closer!"
Nikolai and a few nobles shouted at us, weapons aimed at the King.
Behind the trembling King stood Vladimir Savinkov, unmoving.
A hostage situation.
Within expectations, but one I'd hoped wouldn't happen.
"Take them down now...!"
"No."
I calmed Anna, who looked ready to charge on my order.
"Back off!"
Emboldened as we halted, Nikolai bellowed.
For me, the King dying would actually be preferable.
Having widely proclaimed him the object of my loyalty, keeping him alive would make switching lords difficult.
But showing that was another matter.
The King had abandoned me first, but killing him myself—or even seeming to—carried too much risk.
Most might overlook it, but no emperor hiring me could ignore that stigma.
Even indirect involvement in his death would be the same.
If rumors spread later, it'd leave a lingering doubt in my evaluation.
I could overcome minor suspicions, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
"Now!"
"Fall back."
"General..."
"Anna."
"...Understood."
For now, I complied with Nikolai's demand, feigning lingering attachment to the King.
With the 1st Legion sealing the palace airtight, we had time to spare.
Besides, one glance at those nobles' weapons told me where they'd gotten them.
Ornate decorations too flashy for combat, blades of gold.
Ceremonial arms from the palace corridors.
If taking a hostage had been their goal from the start, they wouldn't lack weapons—so they'd grabbed what they saw on the way, moving in haste.
Their sweat-soaked clothes and dirt-caked pants and shoes supported that.
These must be the nobles who hid in the palace.
Thus, this hostage drama was improvised; as long as we didn't err first, they'd slip up inevitably.
I just needed to wait for the opportunity.
What mattered was my full show of effort—any mishap from my troops or the nobles was irrelevant.
A touch of tears with a 'I tried to stop it, but...' would absolve me sufficiently.
As we held distance in stalemate,
"Victor."
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, Vladimir behind the King called my name.
I'd thought he'd fled with the other nobles, but he just looked tired—no dishevelment like them.
"Why pull back your soldiers? You know there's no need."
"What are you saying."
"Rush in now, kill us all, brand us traitors, and Ruth Kingdom falls into your hands. Why hesitate?"
"C-Count Savinkov?"
He spoke ominously.
His face was neutral, but his eyes held an unusual depth.
"With so few witnesses, this is the perfect chance."
"Your Excellency! What are you saying?!"
Vladimir ignored Nikolai beside him, eyes locked on me.
I couldn't pinpoint his intent, but the right response came quickly.
Closing my eyes in thought, then opening them to glare fiercely,
"A traitor's thinking. Ruth Kingdom is His Majesty's realm. If I kill you all and seize the throne, I'd be no better than a traitor."
I answered as 'Victor' would.
The 'Victor' loyal enough to surrender as a prisoner on the King's order without resistance.
No reason to squander the image I'd built for this half-ruined kingdom.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If you still care for His Majesty and the kingdom, convince them to drop their swords now. I'll let you go cleanly."
"...Haha."
Whatever he made of my words,
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Vladimir suddenly burst into mad laughter.
Perplexed, I checked the minimap—he was now marked green.
I laughed from sheer patheticness at myself.
"Hahahaha!"
Victor's response confirmed it.
This kingdom needed him, not the nobles.
His moment of deliberation sealed it.
Hesitating meant he knew he could do as I said.
In this chamber: a few servants, nobles, and Victor's group.
Bringing troops here already proved rebellion.
Kill everyone, stage the scene slightly, blame it on us—he could easily convince the rest.
With the King and top nobles captured, no force in the kingdom could resist Victor.
Yet he chose the King to the end.
Blocking his own path to the throne to save a lord who'd already abandoned him.
Even if feigned, it didn't matter.
His answer showed he truly didn't crave the Ruth Kingdom's crown.
As long as Victor shunned the throne, he was indispensable to Ruth Kingdom.
"Ha, hahahahaha!"
"...Count Savinkov?"
I'd done my utmost for the kingdom, lamenting how others' failures ruined it.
My fault.
I should've stopped Victor from leaving at all costs.
I was the traitor.
"What's wrong, Your Excellency?!"
"Hahaha..."
After laughing long, my mind cleared.
"You called me a traitor."
I realized the best for 'Ruth Kingdom'—who should lead it.
We nobles lacked the qualification.
"You're right. The nobles supported me, not the King."
Decision made, action was simple.
Approaching the trembling King on the throne, I drew the sword hidden in my robes.
"What now—?!"
Before Victor or the others could react,
"I've always..."
-Stab.
"Guhk..."
"...wanted to be king."
I thrust the sword into the heart—the final chain binding Victor.
"Ugh..."
"Sorry."
Embracing the convulsing King, I whispered a quiet apology inaudible to others.
Then removed the crown from his head and dragged his body under the throne.
"What in the world..."
With Nikolai and the nobles frozen,
I placed the crown on my head and sat on the bloodied throne.
Now, Ruth Kingdom would fall to Victor.
The nobles tied to me would be purged as traitors.
With the army's backing and no obstructing nobles, Victor would lead this country best.
...Far better than me, at least.
"So this is what the throne feels like."
Only regret I wouldn't see the end.
After confirming Victor raging at his subordinates, soldiers arresting the nobles,
"...Good."
Feeling my back grow damp with blood, I quietly closed my eyes.