My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 321

321. The One Who Remains, and the One Who Leaves (2)

For a long while, Cyan remained rooted to the spot.

He stood, unmoving, for a long time where Leah had vanished.

There was no trace of Leah’s passing.

Kendrick, the Death Knight, had at least left his armor behind in this world.

But Leah, a ghost and vengeful spirit, hadn’t even left a shadow.

It was as if she had never existed.

As if she had never been a part of this world.

Leah’s presence was completely gone.

Cyan stood blankly before the place where Leah had disappeared.

A strange emotion began to swell within him.

A feeling, indefinable and unspoken, churned in his chest.

It tormented Cyan’s heart relentlessly.

But Leah’s last smile, as she departed…

The fact that she smiled, rather than wept…

That soothed Cyan’s heart, if only a little.

Cyan remained there for a long time.

And after a considerable time had passed.

After so long that he lost all sense of time.

Waaaaaaaah─!!!

The sound of a victory cry jolted Cyan back to reality.

The shouts of victory echoed around him.

‘How can they not be tired?’ he wondered.

But the shouts came from millions of voices.

Even if they shouted in groups of ten thousand, they could perform a hundred rounds of call and response.

It was only natural that the cheering continued without pause.

Cyan felt that everything was finally over at the sound of the cheering.

The long war that had lasted a thousand years.

The God had finally knelt before the heroes.

And the demons would never dare to show their faces on this continent again.

Everything was over.

Waaaaaaaah─!!

The unceasing sound of cheering filled the air.

Cyan moved his feet slowly, deliberately.

A strange emotion still lingered in his heart, a dull ache in his mind.

But Cyan moved forward steadily.

As the lord of Ruben, he had to address the situation.

And there was still one matter left to resolve.

He had to tie up all the loose ends.

Cyan moved, cutting through the sounds of celebration.

The cheering was fervent, but Cyan remained silent.

Silently, he simply walked on.

The place where Cyan stopped…

It was where the barracks were located.

The command tents in the Holy Empire’s camp.

Most of the barracks were empty.

These were the commanders who were supposed to defend the battlefield to the very end, but no longer.

The war had ended in Ruben’s victory.

Those who would flee had already fled.

Those who would surrender had already surrendered.

No Holy Empire commanders remained.

Cyan walked past the deserted barracks.

He stopped before the barracks at the very end.

He paused for a moment.

Then, Cyan opened the door and stepped inside.

Inside, a woman sat waiting.

The mistress of Elan Dur.

The mastermind behind everything.

“You’ve come.”

Isabelle Elan Dur.

Isabelle’s face was drawn and weary.

Perhaps due to the immense mental strain, her eyes seemed unfocused.

But even in her haggard state, Isabelle remained composed.

Her gaze towards Cyan was still filled with dignity and a refined air.

Cyan stared at Isabelle for a moment, then spoke.

“Why didn’t you run away?”

“What other reason would I have to stay?” Isabelle replied calmly.

“I’ve come here to find a place to die.”

“Are you saying you stayed to die by my hand?”

“Did you think I would beg for mercy now?” Isabelle smiled, as if chiding Cyan.

Cyan didn’t respond.

A moment of silence hung in the air.

“I have lived my entire life for the Elan Dur family,” Isabelle began slowly.

“But in the end, Elan Dur was branded a traitor, and eventually, Elan Dur will be destroyed. I no longer have a family to protect, nor children. Nothing remains.”

Elan Dur, who had reigned for hundreds of years.

The era of Elan Dur had finally come to an end.

There was no strength left to even attempt a comeback.

“With this, my role is also finished.”

Isabelle seemed to accept her fate.

Cyan looked at Isabelle and asked cautiously, “Was there a reason to go this far?”

To be honest… there was.

All of this had been planned by Isabelle.

It was Isabelle’s actions that had led Elan Dur to ruin.

Of course, Elan Dur had lost its former glory and reputation.

It was no longer able to wield the same power as before.

“Was there a reason to start this rebellion and war?”

But it wasn’t to the point where the family would be destroyed.

Its power would simply be diminished compared to what it once was.

Elan Dur could have continued its lineage, even if weakly.

But Isabelle ultimately raised the sword of rebellion.

And in the end, she was defeated, losing everything.

If she truly cared about Elan Dur…

If she truly wanted to protect Elan Dur…

“Was there a reason to go this far?”

There was no logical reason for Isabelle to take such drastic measures.

Cyan pressed Isabelle for an answer.

Isabelle calmly lowered her gaze.

“Humans each have their own way of living,” she said softly.

“Some aspire to reach higher places, while others are content to settle in their current lives.”

Isabelle paused.

She looked vacantly into the barracks.

“And I was someone who wanted to reach a higher place.”

Isabelle continued, “There are different ways to climb. Some use kindness as a weapon to attract people, while others use jealousy and envy to bring down their competitors.”

And I…

“I simply used evil in the process.”

“Was that the right path for Elan Dur? If you truly cared about Elan Dur, shouldn’t you have begged for mercy instead of rebelling? Wouldn’t that have been the best way to protect the Elan Dur family that you claim to cherish so much?”

Isabelle could have survived.

If she had pleaded with the imperial family for mercy instead of rebelling, Isabelle likely would have been spared.

But Isabelle didn’t.

“Even if you only have your life, how can that be considered truly living? What I wanted to protect was not just the family’s survival, but the name of Elan Dur.”

The two pillars supporting the empire.

A fortress that had stood for hundreds of years.

What Isabelle wanted to protect wasn’t just the family itself.

It was the legacy of Elan Dur, passed down through generations.

“The name of Elan Dur is only meaningful when it carries power.”

Therefore, power could be seen as a product of strength.

It wasn’t that power was inherently great.

It was that it could become great because there was strength to protect it.

But Elan Dur had lost that strength.

“I wanted to regain that power.”

So Isabelle risked everything.

“I used evil as a means.”

She readily allied herself with the devil.

She used the authority of the god Kaira to try and usurp the Holy Empire.

And at the end of it all…

“I was defeated and now find myself here.”

Isabelle admitted her failure.

“The reason I’m here is simple.”

Not to beg for her life.

Nor for the survival of Elan Dur.

“Kill me.”

A clean death.

“Grant me death by your own hand, and use it as a stepping stone for the new era you will create.”

That would also mark the end of Elan Dur.

And so, the name of Elan Dur would be etched in history.

Isabelle, until the very end…

She was still thinking of Elan Dur, even in her own demise.

Isabelle and Elan Dur.

The two were inseparable.

At least for Isabelle, Elan Dur was her life’s purpose.

“Why did you have to go this far?”

So Cyan had no choice but to ask again.

“You were the eldest daughter of the Aven family. You weren’t an Elan Dur by birth. Even so, why did you dedicate everything to Elan Dur, even restricting your own freedom?”

“Because I was the type who didn’t suit freedom,” Isabelle said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Freedom is often accompanied by infinite loneliness. How can freedom be a blessing to everyone? Just as there are different paths in life for each person, some feel lost in freedom and lose their sense of purpose.”

“······”

“I needed something to dedicate my existence to. And that was Elan Dur. That was simply my life’s calling.”

With those words, Isabelle fell silent.

And Cyan didn’t press her further.

In a way… he could understand.

Just as Isabelle had gone to such lengths for Elan Dur…

Cyan had also come this far for Ruben.

Just as Isabelle couldn’t separate herself from Elan Dur…

Cyan couldn’t separate himself from Ruben.

Different ideals and beliefs.

Cyan slowly reached to his side.

Crack─! Black lightning crackled in the air.

“I’ll ask you one last thing.”

Cyan questioned Isabelle.

“Why did you kill my mother?”

Officially, Cyan had two mothers.

Isabelle, standing before him.

And Cecil, who had died long ago.

But the only one Cyan truly considered his mother…

It was Cyan’s biological mother, Cecil.

Cecil had met her untimely death when Cyan was young.

And the truth that had now come to light was that Isabelle had murdered her.

It was a truth he had vaguely suspected and kept buried.

But he didn’t know the reason.

Why did Isabelle have to kill Cecil?

In fact, from Isabelle’s perspective, Cecil was insignificant.

She didn’t have powerful relatives like Isabelle.

She didn’t hold a prominent position within the Elan Dur family.

There would have been no problem leaving her alone.

There was no need to create trouble.

At first, he had thought it was out of jealousy…

Durac and Isabelle.

Their marriage was a political arrangement, devoid of love.

Even so, they were husband and wife.

They had shared intimacy and had children together.

He had assumed that she must have felt jealousy when another woman appeared in her husband’s life.

But now, hearing Isabelle’s words, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Isabelle, as he now knew her, wasn’t that kind of person.

She wasn’t someone who would act on trivial emotions.

So Cyan asked Isabelle the question.

“It was my only mistake,” Isabelle admitted.

“I had no intention of killing Cecil. As you know, Cecil posed no real threat to the family. But you were different.”

Isabelle answered calmly.

“You were a bastard who carried the blood of the head of the family. You were an existence that would cause problems in the future. So I… intended to kill you, not Cecil. And Cecil was the first to realize my intentions.”

Isabelle lowered her gaze, as if reliving the past.

“Cecil was a wise woman. If she hadn’t interfered, I would have used her as much as I valued her. Cecil came to me and made a proposition. She offered to work like a dog for me, begging me to spare your life.”

And was she really thinking of using Cecil as much as she valued her?

“I… foolishly granted her request.”

So Isabelle treated Cecil like a dog.

She unhesitatingly made her do backbreaking work.

She also used her politically.

Cecil was an ordinary commoner, a woman who had a child with Durac.

She was a pawn with limited power, easily discarded.

“Then why did you kill her when you could have continued to use her?”

“The fate of a hunting dog after the hunt is over is predetermined.”

With those words, Isabelle fell silent again.

Cyan didn’t press her further.

What was he hoping to hear?

In the end, Isabelle was simply a human who used evil as a tool.

And in the end, she was no different from a demon tainted by evil.

And so, an oppressive silence filled the barracks.

In the heavy silence…

Cyan took a step towards Isabelle.

Isabelle gently closed her eyes.

Cyan raised the Sword of Annihilation towards her.

And then, a thud.

He stopped the Sword of Annihilation just before it reached Isabelle’s neck.

At the same time, crack─!

Cyan dispelled the Sword of Annihilation.

Isabelle’s closed eyes slowly opened, a look of surprise on her face.

Cyan spoke softly to her.

“It doesn’t mean I’m going to spare you.”

“······”

“It means I’m not going to kill you with my own hands.”

Cyan strode towards Isabelle.

“You will be transferred to the Imperial Palace as a war criminal and a traitor. You will receive a formal trial, and the outcome will be… you know better than anyone else.”

To be honest, he wanted to kill her right then and there.

He wanted to grab her neck and wring it.

Isabelle, who had used his mother, Cecil, and ultimately killed her.

Isabelle, who had colluded with the devil and sacrificed countless lives.

He wanted to kill her himself.

Evil doesn’t become good simply because it’s done with conviction.

Isabelle’s actions were all for Elan Dur, but that didn’t justify them.

The resentment of the innocent.

The pain of the powerless.

Isabelle had used countless people without hesitation.

Isabelle was undeniably evil.

And Cyan had no intention of sugarcoating that evil.

That’s why Cyan wouldn’t kill Isabelle.

He suppressed the Sword of Annihilation, which pulsed with his anger.

Cyan reached into Isabelle’s robes.

“What, what are you doing…?”

Isabelle struggled, clearly flustered.

But Cyan forcibly pushed his hand inside her clothing.

The gateway to a new era, or whatever…

All of that was supposed to be fueled by Isabelle’s death.

From the beginning, Isabelle had no intention of living.

Even if Cyan didn’t kill her, she would have committed suicide.

She had stayed here to find a place to die, literally.

By dying here, everything would be complete.

So, a small dagger was hidden in Isabelle’s robes.

“You were planning to die here all along.”

Cyan pulled out the hidden dagger and threw it aside.

“······!”

Isabelle’s eyes widened.

“Your death will not be a stepping stone for a new era.”

He wouldn’t let her die on her own terms.

She would be transferred to the Imperial Palace, put on trial, and exposed as a traitor.

He would reveal the crimes of Isabelle and Elan Dur to the entire world, to the entire continent.

So not by Cyan.

“You will be executed by the people of the entire continent.”

This continent would judge Isabelle directly.

So Isabelle’s death would be tainted.

Not a noble death for Elan Dur.

But the death of a traitor who had destroyed Elan Dur.

Isabelle, who had dedicated everything to Elan Dur…

That was the most fitting end for her.

That was the most cruel death he could inflict upon her.

“······!!”

Isabelle’s eyes widened further.

She looked at Cyan with clear astonishment.

Cyan looked back at her and said bluntly.

“The new era belongs to the heroes, not you.”

Cyan struck Isabelle’s neck.

Isabelle collapsed.

Without any resistance, she simply lost consciousness.