Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 391

391. The Two Pillars

In the Swalt Empire, two pillars protected the nation: Duke Kwell de Clamore, known as the Empire’s Shield, and Duke Rupelon de Wecan, nicknamed the Guardian Spirit of the Imperial Palace. Once united in protecting the Empire and the Imperial Family, their paths diverged when the time came to decide on the Empire’s successor. Duke Clamore supported the first prince, Kyle, while Duke Wecan supported the second prince, Yucarte. Ultimately, the first prince became the Crown Prince, and Duke Wecan was sidelined, enduring numerous hardships and crises. However, he never regretted his choice, nor did he believe it was wrong.

Duke Wecan believed that the virtues of an emperor were a righteous spirit and a kind character. In his eyes, Prince Kyle did not possess these qualities. Outwardly, Prince Kyle was kind and benevolent to everyone. He knew how to care for those weaker than himself and was responsible in his duties. He was diligent and hardworking, his rewards and punishments for his subordinates were clear, and he had the power to lead people. He was truly a person who inherited the blood of the Imperial Family, an ideally born leader—but he harbored a dark rage in his heart.

He was the legitimate son born to the Empress, but the Emperor favored his concubines more than his mother. In particular, he cherished Empress Temis, the first consort and mother of Prince Yucarte, more than anyone else. The problem was that Empress Temis was an ambitious woman. She wanted to become the woman with the highest status in the Empire, and to that end, she relentlessly tormented the Empress. The Empress, who had a weak support base, became isolated, fell ill, and eventually died.

Prince Kyle had watched all of this happen from the sidelines. He hated the Emperor and Empress Temis for making his mother suffer. He did not hide his animosity towards Prince Yucarte, her son, or his other half-siblings. It was obvious that if he became Emperor, a fierce bloodbath would occur within the Imperial Family.

In comparison, Prince Yucarte was a gentle person. Although he lacked some of the ambition of a leader, he was intelligent and had a good natural character. The fact that his mother was Empress Temis was a slight flaw, but even the arrogant Empress was weak towards her son, and Prince Yucarte was not the type to be swayed by his mother, so it wasn’t a major problem. He seemed capable of leading the Imperial Family and the nation well enough.

Although Prince Kyle caused a bloodbath sooner than expected, Duke Wecan became even more determined to support Prince Yucarte because of it. How could someone consumed by hatred and who climbed to the top with the blood of his brothers on his hands be called a righteous leader! Prince Kyle was someone who should never become Emperor.

Fortunately, their god seemed to think the same way, and Prince Kyle’s reign did not last long. When he vanished into nothingness like dew before the execution ground, Duke Wecan thought that this was Yucarte’s chance to rise again. He felt sorry for the young Emperor Isana, who knew nothing, but not that sorry. It was just that the person who should have been in that position was finally finding his place. Everything was just returning to normal. Surely that thought wasn’t wrong. It should have been—

‘Where on earth did it all go wrong?’

Duke Wecan took off his monocle and rubbed his tired eyes. The room was filled with cigarette smoke. The ashtray, piled high with cigarette butts, starkly revealed his heavy smoking. His doctor had consistently advised him to quit, and he himself had acknowledged the need and had been slowly reducing his intake for several years. If his doctor found out how much he had smoked today, he would be greatly disappointed. But now, it didn’t matter anyway.

‘Yes, it doesn’t matter anyway.’

Duke Wecan lit another cigarette. He unfolded the old note on his desk as if it were a habit. The paper, creased from being folded and unfolded many times, had a short phrase written in code that only he could understand. It was a report he had received from a subordinate who had been secretly sent to the Imperial Palace to confirm the truth of the rumors that were spreading.

No matter how many times he reread it, the content did not change. The futility of the result remained the same.

“Has he been consumed by hatred and become an even greater monster than his brother?”

Duke Wecan chuckled softly and muttered with a hollow expression. He had already noticed that the Grand Duke’s actions had been strangely skewed since he began his regency. The Grand Duke had become more cruel day by day and often showed a different personality than before. After observing it for a while, he realized that the Grand Duke’s mark of the Demon God was not genuine. Around that time, he also realized that there was something fishy about Prince Kyle’s death. There were Demon God officials who had doubted its authenticity when the oracle was given, and they had all died mysteriously. Since then, many people had disappeared or been ruined. All of them were people who opposed or did not follow the Grand Duke’s will.

The situation was so obvious, but he didn’t want to admit it and had been ignoring it all along. He didn’t want to accept that he was wrong. He told himself that it couldn’t be helped since the Grand Duke had gone through terrible things, and that sometimes a ruthless side was needed to correct what was twisted. He completely erased the fact that the thought itself contradicted his usual beliefs. It was all an error that started from there. He was now facing the price of that error. It was a result of his own actions, and he could not blame anyone for it.

How could he blame anyone? Unlike Prince Kyle, who had been kept in check and given no opportunity to offer advice or even speak to him, he had spent an abundance of time with the Grand Duke. He had always been by the Grand Duke’s side as his closest aide, and he had the privilege of being able to meet with him privately at any time. If he hadn’t ignored it when he first recognized the change, he might have been able to stop it before it deepened. He was right next to him, but he couldn’t stop him from becoming a monster. The lecture he had given to Duke Caribdis in the past was actually all the words he should have been listening to. He himself was also responsible for not properly assisting the Grand Duke.

“Then I have no choice but to fulfill that responsibility until the end.”

The predicted battle was already in the final countdown. He had just rejected the final surrender recommendation sent by the Emperor. Everything would be decided before tomorrow at the latest: the outcome of this war, which had an obvious end, and his own end as well.

Duke Wecan rose from his seat and slowly approached the window. He could see the flags of the Imperial Army fluttering on the hill beyond the castle walls. The distance had narrowed even further than a few hours ago. The allied forces, facing that sight, were filled with the tension of an army preparing for battle. No one knew about the Grand Duke’s betrayal yet, but he had no intention of telling them the truth. The end had already been decided as one, and everyone was on the same boat. There was no turning back.

This castle was everyone’s tomb.

* * *

The Imperial Army had already expected that Duke Wecan would not surrender. With his refusal, the Imperial Army’s full-scale advance began. It was, in effect, the final battle that would determine everything.

Martin Castle, the site of the battle, was a fortress that had all the difficult conditions for entry, befitting its role as the capital’s last line of defense. A fortress itself is a facility built for the purpose of defense, so the structure is advantageous to those inside. Alisa, the daughter of the goddess, had also retreated from the front lines, so the miraculous abilities she offered could no longer be expected. However, the morale of the Imperial Army was reaching for the sky.

It was partly due to the confidence they had built up by winning battles, but what gave them the greatest sense of security was the sight of Emperor Isana leading the charge right in front of them. It had even been revealed that the Emperor was an excellent spirit mage. And Isana was also a commander who knew how to satisfy people’s expectations.

“Waaaaaah!”

At the time of the advance, Isana summoned সিকুয়েল [Sikuel] in front of everyone and climbed onto its back. The sight of the Emperor riding a mysterious water wolf instead of a horse was more than enough to make the soldiers go wild. Maintaining a high-level spirit was something that consumed a considerable amount of power. The very act of summoning such a spirit and riding it was nothing less than proof of the power that Isana possessed. From the perspective of the allies, it was an unparalleled and reassuring display. The person who had calculated all of that was feeling so ashamed and embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into a rat hole.

“I’m sorry for asking you to do this, সিকুয়েল [Sikuel].”

—Haha, it’s alright. It’s a way to boost the morale of our troops.

“Well, yes, but…….”

—If our power is needed, use it in any way you want. That is also the will of the King.

Isana’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer, and then she smiled softly. She felt as if she had received encouragement from এল [L], who was not here. In fact, সিকুয়েল [Sikuel] was a part of him, so it wasn’t entirely wrong. Isana looked ahead with a more relaxed feeling. She could see the Grand Duke’s army drawing their bows on the towering castle walls. Now, they were just a little further away from reaching the range of the arrows. Isana exchanged glances with Duke Kwell, who was next to her. His resolute expression was the signal to begin the operation, and she nodded.

“Let’s go, সিকুয়েল [Sikuel]!”

With Isana’s cry, সিকুয়েল [Sikuel], carrying him, shot forward at a rapid pace. Even the allied forces, who had not been informed of the situation in advance, cried out in confusion. Soon, a rain of countless arrows began to pour down from the castle walls, but সিকুয়েল [Sikuel] was even faster at climbing the castle walls. It was even faster to settle down in a suitable place.

After pushing aside a soldier who was panicking and dropping him, Isana calmly looked around. The soldiers on the castle walls were all frozen with ghostly faces. It was only natural that none of them had expected the Emperor to climb the castle walls alone (even riding a high-level spirit). Isana easily found Duke Wecan, who was standing among them with a stiff expression.

“It’s been a while, Duke Wecan. It’s a pity that I have to face you, once called the Guardian Spirit of the Imperial Family, in this way.”

“……You’ve gained some mysterious talents in the meantime.”

“I met a stroke of good luck, thanks to you. In a way, it’s something to be grateful for. I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t left the Imperial Palace.”

“…….”

Duke Wecan’s eyes deepened at the relaxed answer. When he raised his hand, the soldiers who had come to their senses all aimed their weapons at Isana. The mages stationed around them had also finished their spells and were preparing their incantations.

“I know that Your Majesty’s skills are great, but what are you going to do by coming up here alone? We have mages here too. No matter how excellent a spirit mage Your Majesty is, you can’t possibly face us all alone. And if Your Majesty dies, the purpose of those who follow you will all be over.”

“Of course, I know that.”

“Knowing that, you’ve done such a reckless thing? Even if you’re young, you’re still so foolish…….”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s reckless.”

Isana tilted her head slightly.

“I don’t think I ever said I was alone.”

At that moment, a huge vibration echoed all around with a roar. “What’s going on!” Duke Wecan asked with wide eyes, and a scream-like voice was heard.

“Something terrible has happened, Your Excellency! The east gate has been opened!”

“What?”

“Baron Schutel has betrayed us! His soldiers have broken down the east gate!”

“……!”

Duke Wecan, with his mouth open, quickly turned to look at Isana. He had an expression that understood what was going on. Isana smiled again.

“You’ve already won over Baron Schutel? You were trying to buy them time.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I didn’t expect Your Majesty to take on the role of bait yourself.”

“That’s why I did it. Isn’t it most effective to use a method that is difficult for the opponent to notice when it comes to strategy? Thanks to you, I think I’ve drawn the greatest efficiency with the least amount of power.”

Just in time, a thunderous roar echoed from below the castle walls, as if responding to those words. It was the roar of the Imperial Army that had reached close proximity. Isana did not miss the fact that Duke Wecan’s face was hardening even more.

“Look now. You’re so busy worrying about me, who just climbed the castle walls, that you’ve completely forgotten to check the army running up from behind. At this point, which side seems more reckless?”

“…….”

The silence did not last long, because a frightened soldier rushed towards Isana. It was a surprise attack, but Isana dealt with it skillfully. She quickly dodged the incoming sword, then counterattacked and stabbed. Those who had been keeping her in check tensed up again at the unexpected, skillful swordsmanship. Isana smiled lightly as she watched their stiff atmosphere.

“It would be troubling if you thought I came alone with just guts. But your skills are surprisingly at the level I expected. I guess it wasn’t a reckless decision after all.”

It was a clear provocation. The expressions of the soldiers who were provoked rapidly turned fierce, and murderous intent began to rise from all directions. Isana’s eyes, looking around, also sank coldly.

“Let’s end this tedious war now.”

With those words, the soldiers rushed towards Isana all at once. It was the beginning of a full-scale engagement.