novelraw Chapter 327: "Sacrifice"
Chapter 327: "Sacrifice"
326 - "Sacrifice"
"I… I hereby declare the session open. Please remain silent, everyone."
With a trembling voice, Baron Zachary announced the start of the fifth emergency policy meeting in the council hall.
Lena, who had dutifully attended once again, found the whole situation to be a complete disaster.
Five days had passed since the incident erupted, and the nobles were in a state of disarray.
The king was absent, and Duke Ruppert Tertan, who should have been the central pillar holding everything together, had taken the stand as a suspect during the second meeting.
Despite the objections of many, the duke stood on the platform and confessed.
He admitted that all this turmoil began about fifteen years ago when his daughter, Nedostia Yeriel, vanished. He claimed that King Eric de Yeriel had sacrificed her to awaken an evil god and confessed that he, knowing of this, failed to prevent it.
The nobles were thrown into shock.
After the duke vacated his position, promising to accept any punishment, they began cautiously discussing countermeasures. However, their discussions were largely self-serving, focusing on protecting their own interests and evading responsibility. Lena, who once held a certain admiration for the nobility, was bitterly disappointed.To start, they emphasized the duke's status as a victim, declaring that he would face no punishment whatsoever.
Any blame placed on him would implicate those who had joined him thirteen years ago in the exile of Prince Lean. The primary concern for these nobles wasn't calming the turbulent public sentiment, but preventing the restoration of power for the nobles exiled to the provinces after opposing Eric's rule.
If those exiled nobles returned to power with Prince Lean de Yeriel, there could very well be a bloody purge.
So, before the provincial nobles could mobilize, they quickly declared the duke innocent, pinned all responsibility on Eric, and formally deposed him.
Eric de Yeriel.
This was now the only name left to the dethroned king, stripped of his royal succession rights—a maneuver that had consumed three full days.
Baron Zachary then spoke.
"To… Today, we gather to discuss who shall be the next king and how to proceed with this transition. P-Please, keep quiet! First, we shall determine who among those eligible for succession shall be considered. Prince Lean de Yeriel and Princess Lerialia de Yeriel are indeed next in line, but, ahem, since they are currently absent, we will first review other members of the royal family..."
"Cut the nonsense! Prince Lean is the legitimate heir—what sort of twisted scheme is this?!"
"P-Please, calm down! A fair vote will determine the matter. Additionally, it has been confirmed that Eric de Yeriel, the deposed king, sent knights to assassinate Prince Lean de Yeriel and Princess Lerialia de Yeriel. Given the urgency of the situation, searching for them to ensure their safety is currently unfeasible. This decision was approved in the previous council meeting."
"This is illegal! You all sit here calling this a council… We’ll see about this, you bastards! Baron Zachary! You too!"
One noble from the capital vicinity, his anger boiling over, stormed out. Baron Zachary, drenched in sweat, looked anxiously around at the other stiff-faced nobles in the hall.
Truth be told, this council… had long been a mere ceremonial institution.
For ages, only the capital’s nobles had taken turns presiding over the council as a formality, but with the king’s authority absent, they had hastily revived it to address the crisis. Baron Zachary, once content to enjoy the council position’s petty stipends, now found himself embroiled in disaster.
This situation could easily spark a civil war.
However, they all seemed to have one person to rely on… Cardinal Verke stood up. He spoke, his voice carrying to ensure everyone heard him.
"The throne ought to go to someone with experience and maturity. If you’ll excuse me, I have pressing matters to attend to."
After hinting at his preference for the heir, he tossed his silver hair and left the hall. Lea felt a chill.
Theocracy.
A regime led by divine authority was now brewing. As both citizens and nobles of Lutina were engulfed in chaos, Cardinal Verke, the head of the Cross Church and archbishop to all of Conrad’s followers, moved swiftly.
Almost as if he had been waiting for this moment.
He became a steadfast pillar for the central nobles—facing ruin and even the threat of execution with the downfall of Duke Tertan—and he poured his efforts into calming the disturbed public sentiment.
Many citizens had come face-to-face with Orias.
As it happened, during the evening, when most citizens were returning home, tens of thousands ended up with Orias’s mark imprinted on their foreheads. In the aftermath, these people sought aid, their pain unbearable.
Cardinal Verke sent priests from the Lutina Church to heal the citizens free of charge.
Those who had charged toward the palace bearing that cursed mark (having seen the archbishop's impressive stature) were deeply moved, praising him. They claimed that without Cardinal Verke, they might all have died. In Lutina, the winds blew in Verk's favor.
With full sails—fore, mizzen, and mainmast—Cardinal Verke rode the favorable wind, steering toward his long-held ambition.
The establishment of the Grania Sacred Kingdom, under a puppet king… was now imminent.
Observing the turn of events, Lea was certain that things would unfold precisely as the archbishop desired. She stayed to witness the nobles decide the fate of the dazed Princess Elika de Isadora before finally leaving that avaricious marketplace.
---
“Rev, I’m back. Huh? Where did Uncle Bart and the others go?”
Meanwhile, Rev had been spending a leisurely time at the Lutina ChurChapter He had only attended the council meeting once to give a statement, after which he handed over all authority to the archbishop.
It seemed he thought he’d done his part, given how he was lazing around now. Although, being Rev, he was still busy with training and going on strolls, as diligent as ever.
"They left."
"Where to?"
Rev, in the middle of a sit-up, gave a short answer. When Lea prodded him for more, he wiped his sweat-drenched face and replied again.
"Bart went to his family, and the others? I have no idea. They’ll sort themselves out."
"Really? But how come you only call Uncle Bart by his name? You use titles with the other men.”
"...Was everything calm today?"
Rev, apparently unwilling to answer, got up with a grunt and changed the subject. Lea let it go and shifted topics accordingly.
"Not much happened, really. Oh! Wait! Do you know that King Eric sent knights after the prince?"
"Eric, after Lean? Yeah, I know."
"Huh? Then isn’t that dangerous? I heard he sent Sir Hazen, or something, along with the knights. Everyone seemed worried about the prince, though… I mean, they all say Sir Hazen is loyal to King Eric."
"Haha! Interesting."
Rev laughed quietly to himself and left it at that. Normally, he wasn’t this withdrawn…
Compared to before, he was indeed more taciturn. Perhaps the recent events, including his mother’s passing, had left their mark. Lea, patient as ever, probed gently.
"What’s so interesting? Tell me."
"Hmm? Oh, it’s… like this…"
Sir Hazen, the second knight commander, was known for his taciturn and meticulous nature, which sometimes led to misunderstandings about his loyalties.
Unlike other knights who often mumbled criticisms questioning Prince Eric's legitimacy, Hazen never expressed his political stance. This reticence had once caused considerable worry when Prince Lean attempted to persuade Hazen to his side.
They feared Hazen might be a loyal follower of Prince Eric.
“That’s probably why Eric… well, back then, when Lean and I were in the kingdom facing a rebellion, he sent Sir Hazen as reinforcements. I think it’s the same this time. Eric likely didn’t trust the other knights enough.”
“Ah! Then there’s no need to worry, right?”
“Right. Both Lean and Lerialia are safe for now. Since Sir Hazen’s movements align with theirs, he’s likely with them.”
“Got it.”
As Lea nodded, Rev took her hand and pulled her along.
“You’ve been busy at the council, so you haven’t had a chance to look around here, right? Come on, I’ll show you. There’s some amazing stuff.”
“It sounds fun, but… aren’t you a bit too relaxed?”
“Why?”
The two strolled through the marble church, a rarity in the Conrad Kingdom.
With nearly no mountains, Conrad was scarce in stone resources, making the church, crafted meticulously by countless artisans, all the more valuable.
Even in Demos Village, the churches were built of stone, but as natives of the Orhen Kingdom, Lea and Rev hadn’t paid much attention to this before…
“This isn’t the end, though. They still have to capture that Astaroth or whoever.”
“Oh… but I don’t think they’re planning to do that this time around.”
“Why not?”
“How should I know?”
Rev shrugged, leaving Lea somewhat baffled.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“Lean and Minseo probably have a plan. They usually do. They’re both a lot sharper than I am… If there’s something I need to do, they’ll let me know.”
“…”
Lea sighed inwardly.
She had finally grasped what kind of role Rev played among those Leos.
What a fool. A complete fool.
A lovable fool.
Oblivious to Lea’s silent grumbling, Rev cheerfully pointed ahead.
In a white corridor, there were…
“Look at this. Isn’t it amazing? Statues of the Seven Saints.”
The statues lined up in sequence: starting with the First Saint, Azra, followed by Constrino Laono, Lazar Laono, Udean, Tigrof, Willard Bothman, and lastly, the only one to come from the ranks of the crusaders, the Seventh Saint, Gaiden.
Since not everything had been revealed in dreams, Lea couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
“Maybe one day, you’ll have a statue here too… Lea, I’ve been thinking about how we should live in the future.”
“Wow! Look here. There’s even an inscription on Saint Azra’s statue… written in gold! Let’s see…”
“Lea! I have something important to say.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve been thinking about our future. You could go to the central church, become an ordained priest, and maybe even be canonized as a saint… Or we could simply go back home…”
Rev took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he spoke.
“W-We could get married and live together.”
“Sure.”
“Huh?”
“I was already thinking the same thing. Becoming a saint sounds great, but… it even says here to ‘follow your heart’.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Then… in that case…”
“That’s not allowed.”
Lea leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Rev’s cheek, making him blush.
As if I wouldn’t want to?
Only, somehow… it felt even better than I’d imagined. Whether it was because you’re naturally good at this or if it’s always like this, I don’t know. Then suddenly, I thought of something.
“...Wait a second.”
“What?”
“...You guys said you shared memories. So… does that mean… you remember everything from that round?”
“Mm… pretty muChapter Though sometimes, if the thoughts aren’t organized, they’re hard to read. People think in different ways. Lean’s mind, in particular, tends to jump around quickly, so he’s harder to follow… Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Ahh!!”
Lea’s face turned beet-red as she slapped Rev’s cheek with a loud smack, then quickly ran off, leaving Rev standing there, completely flustered.
---
Not long after that, they finally made contact with Lean.
Returning to Orville after wrapping up his tasks, Lean declared, as he had previously hinted, that he intended to renounce the throne.
Cardinal Verke seemed pleased, and Rev asked:
/ So it’s all over now? There’s nothing left for me to do, right? I heard you’re marrying Xenia. After seeing your wedding, Lea and I plan to head back home. /
For some reason, Lea doesn’t seem too eager to see you, though… Soon, a response came back.
/ Sorry. I need to ask something of you. Could we meet in person if possible? /
/ What is it? Just tell me briefly so I can prepare myself. /
After a long delay, Lean finally replied, his words hesitating.
/ My little brother seems to want to play war games. I’d like you… to be his opponent. /
He was asking for a sacrifice.