novelraw Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Chapter 155
When the Valaris family drew their sword and aimed it at the Empire, the Empire did not remain idle either.
On the evening of the second day after Valaris issued its declaration, Gion Tindal—who had seized power with the backing of the Pro-Central Faction—unhesitatingly declared war on Valaris and made it unmistakably known across the entire Empire.
“Not content with joining hands with Yurion, the deposed prince who assassinated the late Emperor, they have taken advantage of the chaotic state of affairs to spread falsehoods and plot treason! The Empire will not stand idly by—we will rise and fight!”
Through magic mirrors spread across the land, Gion’s voice echoed throughout every corner of the Empire. His neat appearance, deep and sorrowful eyes, and powerfully persuasive voice blended together to display his resolute will.
“When the Empire stands firm as one again in the future, built upon the blood of heroes! Whoever achieves great military merit shall be rewarded without regard to status, just as His Majesty the First Emperor once did. However, when rewards are great, punishments are equally severe. From this moment forth, anyone who is swayed by Valaris’s honeyed words and associates with them shall be judged under Imperial Law as a traitor and face the extermination of three generations!”
Gion concluded with a voice brimming with determination.
“They shall fall before the blade of our justice. Lend us your strength. The Empire needs your help.”
News announcing the beginning of Aphahiel’s civil war spread from mouth to mouth. Wherever people gathered, the message was posted without fail on public boards. At the grievous news, all the people of the Empire let out deep sighs.
“Ah…! So it has come to this at last. What are we to do…?”
“Ah… how did our Aphahiel come to turn its blades upon itself… This is the end times. Truly the end times….”
Large and small nations across the continent raised their alert status to the highest level upon hearing of the Empire’s civil war—a crisis that could also become an opportunity.
The suddenly imminent civil war of Aphahiel froze not only the Empire but the entire continent solid. The war had already begun.
A certain southern territory that had turned against Valaris and sided with Gion. This place was now packed to the brim with lines of refugees fleeing the South, which was soon to become a battlefield.
“Hey! Damn it! Stop pushing!”
“It’s not like I want to push either! The people behind me are pressing in so hard… I’m not pushing, I’m being pushed! Honestly, what a temper….”
“What did you say about my temper? Say that again!”
With war now a foregone conclusion, children cried and families trembled in fear. Amid refugees worn down by exhaustion and extreme tension, disputes never ceased.
Just as two fathers who had fled together were about to come to blows, a shout rang out from the checkpoint.
“Hey! Quiet down over there! It’s already chaos as it is—if you start a fight, I’ll send you straight to the back of the line!”
“Ah—yes, yes! I’m sorry, sir. We’ll be quiet.”
Even after the commotion settled, the long line of refugees awaiting inspection continued.
“Is this your son?”
“Yes, yes. That’s right, sir. He’s sixteen.”
“Is that so? Hand over your identification. Both yours and your son’s.”
At the conscription officer’s order, the man hurriedly reached into his clothes and produced the small papers that proved their Imperial citizenship. After confirming there was no issue, the officer returned them and waved them through.
“Sixteen, huh… You’re lucky. All right. Pass.”
About ten minutes later, another pair of mother and son stepped up to the checkpoint.
“Hold on. Is that your son beside you?”
“Ah… yes, that’s right.”
“Hm….”
The conscription officer’s gaze sharpened as he examined the woman’s son. His attention focused squarely on the boy.
“He doesn’t look that young. How old is he?”
“Six—”
Before the son could finish, his mother hurriedly cut in.
“He… he’s seventeen.”
“Hm. Seventeen, just barely lucky, huh… Doesn’t seem like it. Hand over your identification.”
The age limit to avoid conscription was seventeen and under. At the demand for identification, the woman began trembling and told the truth.
“I’m sorry, sir… He turned eighteen this year. He’s my only son. Please… show mercy. This child can’t go.”
Faced with the crisis of losing her only son to the war, the woman nearly broke down as she begged, but the conscription officer’s reply was cold.
“Hah… Now you’re telling the truth. A big lug like him, seventeen my ass… If you’re going to lie, at least look at who you’re lying to. Tsk tsk….”
Panicking, the woman pulled out her entire life’s savings—kept close to her chest—and pressed it into the officer’s hand.
“It’s everything I saved, down to the last coin, to use when we fled… It’s not much, but can’t something be done with this…?”
If she gave this away, the two of them would have nothing to survive on once they fled, but all she could think of was stopping her son’s conscription.
“Oh dear… This won’t do….”
Though he said it wouldn’t do, the conscription officer swiftly pocketed the envelope and checked the amount, wary of onlookers. It was the meager savings of a woman who lived without a husband, barely scraping by with sewing work.
‘Damn it… fucking penniless.’
As soon as he confirmed the contents, the greed in the officer’s eyes vanished, replaced by icy indifference. Without another glance, he shoved the envelope back at the woman and turned to call the soldiers standing behind him.
“Hey, take this recruit!”
“Yes! Understood!”
The woman stared blankly at the crumpled envelope forced back into her hand, then belatedly grabbed the officer’s collar.
“P-please…! Please spare my son, sir…! He grew up without a father, never wore good clothes, never ate good food…! Just this once, please…!”
At her pitiful, desperate wail, the refugees watching couldn’t help but redden their eyes.
“Oh dear… what a tragedy….”
“Ah… raising a son alone like that….”
But the answer that came back was still cold. As if her touch were filthy, the conscription officer roughly shook her hand off.
“Hey! Let go! How dare you try to buy a conscription officer with money! I’ll overlook your attempt to bribe me out of the kindness of my heart, so if you don’t want a good beating, let go and get lost!”
A sight too painful to watch without tears. The refugees waiting behind them stomped their feet in frustration. Amid that line stood a man and a woman who seemed unusually calm despite the chaos. The woman, unable to hold back any longer, spoke up.
“…Are you really just going to watch?”
The man’s reply was as cold and firm as frost.
“This has nothing to do with us. The forged identification is certain, so don’t worry. I won’t be dragged into conscription.”
“There’s no way everything I can hear didn’t reach you too, Viscount, and you’re saying you’ll just watch?”
Dissatisfied, the woman slightly pulled back the robe she wore low over her face and glared at him with fierce eyes. The part of her face that showed seemed to shine impossibly—no, her outstanding beauty made it seem that way.
Her identity was none other than Renania Valaris, the only daughter of Valaris. She had revealed herself here, together with Hastings.
“Haa… There’s no other way. Even if I intervened right now and saved them, they’d only end up pursued by the Empire for a greater crime. Then, in the desolate southern lands with nowhere to rely on, that mother and son would either become food for wild beasts or starve to death. Is that what you want?”
Though Hastings had stepped into a somewhat dangerous place because of matters involving the Assassination Order, he had no intention of getting entangled in something like this.
“What do you mean nowhere to go? They can come with us.”
“…Pardon?”
“Before long, the war in the South will end in His Highness’s victory anyway, and then nowhere in the Empire will be safe. Unless it’s the Great Jungle.”
It wasn’t entirely wrong, but there was a flaw in Renania’s words.
“The Great Jungle is not such an easy place. Forgive my bluntness, but even you—no, ‘young lady’—would be in danger there without me. What I was ordered to do by Count Valaris and my lord is to protect you. I don’t have the luxury of dragging baggage around.”
Though he knew Renania preferred to be called Valaris’s heir or a knight rather than ‘young lady,’ Hastings deliberately used the term to counter her stubbornness. But Renania was no easy opponent.
“In times like this, I preferred you back when you were a clerk, Viscount.”
“Both the Viscount and the clerk are dead. I am merely my lord’s shadow.”
“I understand your determination to flawlessly carry out the order His Highness gave you. But if you keep looking only straight ahead like this, before long, all the things you overlook will pile up and bring harm to His Highness.”
“If there is anything that would harm my lord, I will cut it down myself. It’s not something you need to worry about.”
“…”
Realizing she couldn’t persuade him, Renania shut her mouth tightly.
Hastings’s unwavering loyalty toward Yuwon was not something a few words from Renania could shake. Perhaps if someone like Terrien had stepped in first it might have been different—but Renania, held firmly in Hastings’s palm, lacked that power.
During their brief exchange, the situation at the checkpoint escalated further.
“I won’t let you take my son! You bastards…!”
“Mother!”
Crunch—!
Even a cornered rat bites the cat. Faced with losing her son, the mother, fearless in desperation, bit into the conscription officer’s arm.
“You—! You crazy bitch!”
Smack—!
Of course, a powerless woman was no match for a soldier selected as an Imperial conscription officer. He viciously slapped her across the face, knocking her away. Struck by a blow infused with mana, she rolled far across the ground from a single hit.
“Please, leave my mother alone! I’ll go on my own!”
“Oh? Look at you raising your voice in this situation? Hey, you saw with your own eyes that your mother tried to bribe me. Do you think you’re in a position to shout? Do you even know how grave the crime your mother committed is in wartime?”
Having been bitten, the officer was furious beyond restraint. Unable to contain himself, he drew his sword and aimed it at the mother and son.
“Hey, mark it as an accidental death. You all saw I was attacked first, right?”
The situation was on the brink of explosion. Unable to watch any longer, Hastings let out a deep sigh and, in the blink of an eye, stepped between the mother and son and the conscription officer.
“Boy. I’ll help you. But there is a condition.”
“…Please say it. As long as I can save my mother, I’ll obey anything.”
“You’ve got some backbone. Very well. I’ll buy your life from here on. It won’t be a good deal for you. If you accept, you’ll abandon your name and family and become a tool used for my sake—no, for the sake of the one I serve. You may live today and die tomorrow. Even so, are you willing?”
“I’ll do it. But please promise me one more thing.”
“…What is it.”
“I don’t mind dying tomorrow. Just please take care of my mother. I don’t want gold or treasures. Just help her enough so she can live by sewing for wages. You don’t seem like an ordinary person—surely you can add that much more to the price of my life, can’t you?”
No more, no less—exactly the answer Hastings had wanted. Beneath his robe, Hastings let out a faint smile. The boy’s concern for his mother until the very end appealed to him.
The gaze of the youth standing between boy and man spoke of a resolve to abandon even his own life for his mother.
“I like it. You could become a good shadow.”
With those words, Hastings’s eyes flashed like a finely honed blade. Over a small southern territory, a raven took flight.