novelraw Chapter 198: Shadow Peace - Yesterday, and Today.
Chapter 198: Shadow Peace - Yesterday, and Today.
Episode 198. Shadow Peace - Yesterday, and Today.
Beneath the gloomy sky, the girl in white walked weakly.
No, it was more correct to say she was being dragged.
Her ankles in heavy shackles ached as if to snap with each stumble, but the soldiers holding her arms firmly showed no mercy.
“Kill the filthy witch!”
“Death to the blue blood!”
The sharp accusations poured out from those filling the square.
Eyes full of enmity and faces full of loathing.
Eris learned for the first time then that people’s malice itself could pierce the skin more sharply than any blade.
-My dearest daughter, the reason we can live so comfortably in the palace is all thanks to the people. So you must learn how to be grateful to them.She had received her mother’s teaching.
Although her mother had died, she still tried to uphold it.
“Erisliste Lilianne De Francia. Hiding your identity as the 3rd princess of the corrupt and fallen Francia royal family, you posed as a Saintess to incite the royalists from behind and plotted a counter-revolutionary conspiracy-”
She had done no such thing.
It was true she hid her identity as a princess, but she had never even met anyone like the royalists.
In the first place, she could not even understand what they meant by a counter-revolutionary conspiracy.
“Ha, a Saintess? You wicked witch!”
“The cursed royalty deceived us all with a smiling face!
Accusations spilled from the mouths of those who had once called her a Saintess and begged her to save them.
As if she had done things she never did, actions she had never even imagined.
She did not resent them.
It was just sad that their attitudes had changed.
Her mother, who had given her warm and gentle love and teachings in the palace.
-If only I hadn't caught your father's eye. ......If you hadn't existed, would I still have been the flower of high society?
She remembered her saying so with a weary and sick face after leaving the palace, at the end of a destitute life on the run.
It was sad, so sad.
At her final chance to make a statement, Eris said nothing, endlessly shedding only tears.
Dragged amidst all sorts of accusations, she was placed before the guillotine.
Eris looked down with hazy eyes at the tool that would grant her death.
Her violet eyes, long exposed to the sun, had already half-lost their light, revealing only its rough shape.
And yet, the smell of blood, which seemed impossible to wash away, felt as if it was seeping into her soul.
Only when the dull, cold touch of the wood touched her neck did Eris think blankly, with no sense of reality.
That it was resentful.
In vain had she tried to think she wasn't resentful; only a black, murky feeling seemed to well up.
She resented the people.
She resented herself for resenting the people.
If she had known it would end like this, perhaps.
Should she have followed the Holy Theocracy, been praised as a Saintess, and acted out some elegant hypocrisy?
If she had, she might have been tired and weary from wearing suffocating, ill-fitting clothes, but would it have not ended like this?
But she hadn't wanted to be with them, who asserted that her mother would be in hell.
If she had known that being careful and conscious of her status as a princess would instead lead to accusations of witchcraft, she would have at least tried to live as she pleased.
...Freely.
Traveling where she wanted to go, singing, dancing, healing the sick when she saw them, not hiding, just following her heart, following her hands.
If she had died struggling with all her might, saving people so earnestly that she would not have been ashamed to be called a Saintess.
If so, at the very least.
When she met God after death, she could have confidently said she did her best, and asked Him to show mercy to her mother, if He had any conscience.
“Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!”
“Death to the witch!”
“Long live the revolution!”
Eris, whose eyes had already half-lost their light, considered it a relief she couldn't properly make out the people screaming for her death.
She didn't want to resent them.
But she was full of resentment.
If she could see those people’s faces clearly.
Surely, she would curse them.
And regret it.
Eris slowly closed her eyes.
And she saw a hallucination.
An army of humans fighting against demons.
The vision of a Saintess with golden eyes and blonde hair, leading the people before them.
Could it be the Saintess who protected Francia from the threat of Pandemonium 400 years ago?
Eris let out a scoff in disbelief.
A faint memory from a book her mother read to her when she was very, very young.
The story of the nation-saving Saintess, still respected and loved by the people today.
Now, at a moment like this, why?
The moment she was praised as a Saintess by the people, had she, despite feeling burdened, unknowingly longed for such a thing?
As she slowly opened her eyes, the hallucination vanished.
Only the roars of those clamoring for her death.
...And the streams of rain shining down on her from the sky could be seen.
It should have been sunlight burning her weak skin and eyes, but she felt no sting or heat.
For some reason, it felt as if that light was pathetically caressing her.
For the first time, Eris prayed as a Saintess.
Looking back, she had received an undeserved gift.
But she had resented You for taking her mother away like that.
She had been afraid of her status as a princess being discovered.
She hadn't been able to do a single thing to her heart's content.
Was it because she was a bad daughter, a bad child? Is that why she was being punished?
But what was it that You wanted?
Was this blood-soaked city, the sight of countless people dying, what You wanted?
She did not want to believe so.
She still resented You, and she still could not understand You, but.
If, at the very least, this is not what You wished for.
If she was truly a Saintess, if there was some meaning to the power You have given her.
Even if it is not me.
Please, she begged, lend Your strength to someone who would try to change this ending.
The moment she finished her prayer.
Eris felt all the remaining Divine Power in her body drain away in an instant.
It was as if that had given her an answer.
Amidst the gruesome sound of the metal blade falling and the roar of the crowd cheering in ecstasy—Eris smiled and accepted the end of her life.
*
“...”
The 25-year-old Eris slowly opened her eyes.
Then, she raised a trembling hand and felt her neck.
The cold, gruesome touch of the frame was gone.
The smell of blood that seemed to stain even her soul was also gone.
What she wore was not the rags that barely covered her body, but a white robe of her taste, easy to move in and of a simple design.
And a red sash symbolizing the king, which she had reluctantly worn after yielding to Count Anjou's pestering to at least wear this.
As she blinked slowly, her violet eyes, unexposed to the sun, clearly illuminated the room.
The Audience Chamber of the King of Francia.
The place she was sitting was the throne.
Slowly, a sense of reality returned.
Not the witch Erisliste Lilianne De Francia who was executed yesterday.
But the living Queen of Francia, Erisliste Lilianne De Francia, is here today.
Eris finally let out the breath she had been holding.
After letting out a rough breath.
“Your Majesty. His Excellency the Marquis, Pierre de Lafayette, has arrived.”
Eris replied with a smile that seemed to burst from her chest.
“Come in.”
*
“...Your Majesty, are you alright?”
“Yes? What is it? I’m completely fine?”
Eris’s condition is strange.
Very strange, at that.
Her face is pale and she even faintly smells of sweat; she looks for all the world like someone who’s had a nightmare.
Yet Eris herself is beaming, as if in a good mood.
'...What on earth is this?'
“.... It is nothing. If you are alright....”
“Marquis-nim.”
“Yes?”
Eris is grinning ever so brightly, it’s truly odd.
“Ahem, Your Majesty. Your smiling face is not that of a queen but a country child. A little dignity, please...”
Unable to watch any longer, I gave a warning, but Eris just burst out laughing with a cackle.
'Ah, what is it, really.'
'Let me in on it, too.'
Regardless of my reaction, Eris laughed to the point of tears before speaking again.
“Ahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
'Seriously, did this Saintess eat something wrong?'
Eris wiped the tears welling in her eyes with her hand, then gently tilted her head and asked.
“Now then, shall I hear what worries you’ve brought with you today?”
“...Somehow, I think I know how Your Majesty treats me.”
Eris answered with a soft chuckle.
“You reap what you sow, my supporter.”
“Haha...”
I let out a dry laugh, and when Eris wiped the playfulness from her face and became serious, I opened my mouth.
“You are aware that Abyss Corporation and the Eastern Empire are preparing for war, I presume.”
“Ah, yes. Of course I know. They’re an ally of Francia, after all, aren’t they? But, I heard they asked for berthing rights instead of sending ground troops. The National Assembly must be in an uproar. They would naturally be against it.”
I let out a soft laugh.
'Indeed, even though Eris acts a bit dazed like she lives in another world, her judgment is above average.'
'A lord like this is worth serving.'
“Yes. However, Countess Aquitaine and I have determined that Francia needs to take part in this war.”
“Hmm...”
Only then did the smile completely vanish from Eris’s face.
After a moment of silence, Eris spoke cautiously.
“Why is that?”
“I believe you have read the report from Countess Aquitaine.”
“Yes, of course. The only things I do sitting here are wait for permission for relief activities and approve documents, right?”
I almost laughed at Eris's subtly complaining tone, so I cleared my throat and continued.
“It has been only a few months since the internal restructuring at Abyss Corporation, one large enough to be called a great purge. Usually in such cases, it is normal to take a break to reorganize, yet they are trying to start a war immediately.”
“Hmm...”
“Countess Aquitaine-”
“You can call her by her first name in front of me.”
“...Christine has judged that they are driven by an impatience to subjugate the Eastern Empire quickly. They mean to end the war before the Central Continent recovers from the aftereffects of Francia's revolutionary war.”
Eris seemed to ponder for a moment, then spoke.
“That makes sense. In fact, there is no one smarter than sister Christine. At least, I’m certainly not.”
“And, there is the Drone problem. If Abyss Corporation continues to use Drone technology after Iberica, the collapse of the Eastern Empire could lead to the creation of a Drone army large enough to destroy the entire Central Continent.”
Eris fell into thought with a serious face.
'...Now comes the hard part.'
“I am well aware that Francia has not yet recovered from the aftermath of the last war, Your Majesty. Christine and I are not suggesting we go to war right away, but rather to make some preparations in advance so we can conduct the war properly when the time comes that the Eastern Empire desperately begs for salvation.”
Eris raised her eyes and is looking at me quietly.
“Of course, it won't be Francia alone. The Iberian Brotherhood will gladly join us, and Christine, along with Director Talleyrand, will prepare to bring in most of the nations of the Central Continent.”
'Hmm, our Queen isn't usually this quiet, why is there no reaction.'
I felt a bit awkward and added.
“The National Assembly can be appeased if the Eastern Empire, with its back against the wall, offers various conditions, but public opinion will be the problem. And that is where we need Your Majesty's help. Because there is no one who receives such absolute support from the entire nation as you do, Your Majesty.”
Eris remained silent for a long time, then asked a question.
“You said that demons intervened in the course of the revolution, didn't you?”
“Yes, that is correct, but...”
“And you also said they intentionally tried to make the revolution more radical.”
“...That is so, Your Majesty.”
Eris looked up at me intently with her transparent violet eyes, as if one could see right through them, then smiled softly and called to me.
“Marquis-nim.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“We have gotten better, haven't we?”
'...?'
'What is she talking about.'
'Is she talking about before the revolution, after the revolution, or...'
After thinking for a moment, I answered.
“...I believe we have become at least a little better by all cooperating. It is embarrassing to say this as someone proposing we start another war, but I am asking because I believe this is a better path than not fighting at all.”
While I was anxiously wondering how best to persuade her, Eris readily answered.
“Alright. I will help you.”
'...It’s good that she’ll help, but this easily?'
As I stared at Eris, bewildered, she smiled gently and asked another question.
“Marquis-nim, are you happy?”
'...I thought I understood Eris in my own way, but I can’t get a read on her today.'
'Still, well...'
“Problems are still piled up, but still.”
Before the regression.
I died today, on this very date.
Christine, Gaston, and Eris, who would have already died before me, are with me now.
This moment, now, being with countless others...
“I think I am happy.”
Hearing my answer, Eris gave the most radiant smile since we first met.
While I stood there, a little surprised and dazed, Eris spoke.
“Me too.”