Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 220

220―――――

You Shall Not Judge

“Please, please spare me!

Ugh, ahhh!”

“Have mercy, have mercy!”

Where is that dog barking?

Cyon sat on his chair, leisurely picking at his ear.

Meanwhile, not only the two slave traders but also their families stood before the gallows.

Their charges were simple.

Daring to commit acts explicitly forbidden by the royal family, their crime was naturally ‘treason’.

There was no issue with annihilating the entire family of these traitors.

“Uuuuuu!”

Rather, people threw stones, wore sneers, and hurled all sorts of criticisms at their neighbors, who until recently had been making quite a bit of money and living lavishly.

They had violated the laws established by the royal family, and the one judging these criminals was none other than the young noble hailed as the hero of Hispania.

His appearance was so stunning that one could believe he was a descendant of light, and the kingdom’s citizens’ favor towards Cyon was already at its peak.

Cyon ascended the platform to conclude this grim spectacle and fulfill the task requested by Edgar IV.

“Hear ye, criminals.

You dared to defy the will of the royal family and committed acts forbidden by the nation. You feigned ignorance and abetted these acts, so you shall be severely punished for treason.

Furthermore, you deceived the clergy by offering donations to disguise yourselves as followers of the Light, so you will be punished even in death.”

“Uuuu!

Filthy traitors!”

“Scum!

Die!”

Jeers poured in from all directions, and curses were hurled at those on the gallows.

In these turbulent times, both internally and externally, the end of those officially labeled as ‘criminals’ was utterly miserable.

Cyon, aiming for just that, watched this show with detached amusement for a moment.

‘You were devils to someone, so you will die by a devil as well.

So, don’t be resentful.’

Finally, Cyon began to personally examine the faces of the criminals on the gallows.

Then, Cyon approached a young boy, seemingly a member of the slave traders’ family, who was crying with a rope around his neck.

“Child.”

“Hic!

Hic!

Please save me, please save me, please…”

“Don’t cry.”

“Hic, hic!”

“If you cry, it makes me look like a bad guy.”

With those words, Cyon descended from the gallows.

Immediately, there was the sound of the supports collapsing in unison, the sound of people gasping, and the sound of life ceasing and existence ending.

“Dakpoi, Auxiliary Bishop.”

At Cyon’s call, Dakpoi, who had been blankly staring at the corpses hanging from the gallows, hurriedly turned his head to look at him.

There stood the young hero of Hispania, handling everything with such skill that he seemed far from being a mere youth.

“L, Lord Cyon Clausen.”

“The Church of Light must be quite enraged.”

“Yes?”

“Those filthy, disgusting individuals dared to deceive the followers of the Light with mere money, trying to extend their lives by hiding in the Light.”

“…”

Dakpoi stared at the corpses now hanging limply, becoming the laughingstock of the onlookers.

Cyon Clausen had executed criminals who had defied the royal order and lived recklessly, but…

It seemed the Hispanian royal family, in sending this man, wanted to convey a different message.

‘Don’t meddle.’

No matter how much money that bastard gave you, even if he was on the verge of becoming a formal follower.

The kingdom doesn’t care whether the Church of Light has forgiven him or not.

If they become a threat, and if we judge them to be a threat, we can kill them all with a smile like this.

So, don’t try to do anything absurd.

“I hope this incident doesn’t harm the Church of Light, Auxiliary Bishop.”

Cyon said with a smile.

Amidst all the commotion, rumors had already spread among the surrounding kingdom citizens that those who had been slave traders in the past, earning money through all sorts of dirty means, had donated to the Church of Light to have their sins forgiven.

Immediately, there were frequent murmurs about what kind of group the Church of Light was to accept money from such trash and forgive their sins.

If one were to ask why they were reacting so sharply even though they hadn’t been directly harmed by the slave traders, Cyon would answer that it was only natural.

‘All the kingdom’s citizens are abiding by the laws of the kingdom and living diligently, but how could they not feel a sense of deprivation when some trash accumulates wealth through unjust means and lives lavishly?’

This is why public opinion is so important.

If one’s past conduct is terrible, who would protect them?

Rather, all they would do is mock and snicker while looking at those corpses hanging there.

“…From now on, we will learn more about the followers before teaching them the doctrines of the Light.”

“Of course, you should.

The Hispanian royal family, and I, do not wish to be at odds with the clergy.”

Cyon said, making the sign of the cross once more.

Of course, he didn’t forget to give a subtle look, implying, ‘If you don’t want to be at odds, you better behave yourself.’

‘With this, the mission is simply accomplished.’

A bucket of cold water was poured on the reputation of the Church of Light, which had been on a crazy upward trajectory.

Conversely, the authority of the royal family rose sharply, and the biggest gain was, of course, the Haines Merchant Guild.

And the elven woman standing right next to him.

‘A business relationship is good, but what’s even better is a reliable ally.

I need a merchant guild and intelligence network that will act for such an entity, regardless of profit or loss.’

Power cannot reach everywhere, but money flows in.

Now, he had to turn his gaze not only to the internal affairs of the kingdom but also to the outside.

And to receive news from the outside, information was needed above all else.

As much as possible, in both quantity and quality.

Cyon thought about returning to the castle as is, but after subtly examining Helen, he deliberately slowed his pace, giving her some time to sort out her thoughts.

Just as the group was crossing the bridge, Helen suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Then, she stared blankly at the sunset sky and opened her mouth.

“…I don’t feel anything.”

“Huh?”

At Helen’s sudden words, Cyon stopped walking.

Then, he slightly turned his head and signaled to the knights to give them some space.

He was subtly concerned that her past might be revealed to others.

“When the slave traders and their families were all hanged on the gallows,

I thought that even if I watched their last moments, I would feel a little uneasy, or maybe a little sympathy.

But…”

“But, you didn’t feel anything?

Even as countless lives were extinguished before you, you silently watched their deaths without the slightest tremor?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…”

“Have I become strange?

Have I become the kind of being that humans often talk about, blinded by revenge and ultimately becoming a monster myself, like something out of an old tale?”

For a brief moment, Cyon almost blurted out, ‘So what?’ without realizing it.

From his perspective, it was incomprehensible. If the bastards who had literally given him hell lived comfortably, beyond comparison to himself, and then finally died, Cyon would have raised both hands and cheered, dancing and shouting that they deserved to die.

‘I was worried that she might complain that they died too painlessly.’

Cyon stared at Helen for a moment, then approached her as she leaned blankly against the bridge.

Then, he looked at the sky like Helen and subtly opened his mouth.

“Some say this:

The best revenge is forgiveness.

Any revenge will eventually become a poison in your heart, so it’s better to shake it off.”

“…”

“If I ever encountered someone who said that, I would probably sew their mouth shut.”

Perhaps it was because it was such an unexpected statement.

Helen was startled and reflexively looked at Cyon.

“Those who don’t know anything don’t understand how sweet revenge is.

When you succeed in taking perfect revenge on someone you hated so much, far from feeling emptiness or futility, only joy fills you.

You won’t be able to sleep peacefully? Those are the guys who couldn’t sleep because they were trapped in hell.

After taking revenge, you can escape from all those nightmares and sleep soundly, so why are they saying such things?”

“Lord Cyon…”

“It’s natural.

So, don’t worry about it.

You’re busy enough just pitying your past, which was ruined by those bastards, and you’re struggling enough just to live the rest of your life, so why would you take care of anyone?

Why would you think about anyone?

Why would you forgive anyone?

If there’s anyone who spouts such nonsense, tell me immediately, Helen.

I’ll do whatever it takes to tear out their precious tongue.”

Yes, this much was sincere.

Those who dare to say that revenge is harmful and futile without ever experiencing it themselves.

Those fools who dare to wag their tongues without ever experiencing hell.

If such guys were in front of him, Cyon would immediately smash their heads and turn them into mush.

All the past, present, and future that you talk about are just one word to some people.

‘Hell’ itself, so how dare you open your mouths?

“…Pfft.”

Suddenly, Helen covered her mouth and burst into laughter.

Cyon, surprised by the reaction, gave an unexpected look, and she hurriedly rubbed her lips, shaking her head as if it were nothing.

“Why did you laugh?

Tell me, Helen.”

Cyon deliberately asked with a straight face, and she hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening her mouth.

“That’s…”

“That’s what?”

“That, the person who was always so composed was getting so excited and angry, so it felt a little new, should I say?

I, I definitely didn’t intend to make fun of you!

Please don’t misunderstand!”

‘The way you’re so flustered is also quite new to see.’

Cyon muttered inwardly and snapped at her to hurry back to the castle instead of saying strange things.

Even if she doesn’t show it, she seemed to feel quite uncomfortable that she couldn’t maintain her poker face and revealed her emotions.

“I’m so glad.”

As Helen moved her feet, she opened her mouth again, and Cyon slightly turned his head.

In response to the unspoken question of what she meant, the elven woman smiled very comfortably and opened her mouth.

“I’m so glad I grabbed your hand when I was struggling in hell.”

“Looks like you have a good eye for people.”

“Or it could be that your charm to captivate the other person was considerable.”

“That’s the kind of thing that could be misunderstood if someone heard it.”

“I can’t help it; it’s the truth.”

Helen said, chuckling.

Was it because she had finally escaped from hell and was truly living a new life?

‘Now I can use her without worry.’

There was a mountain of work to do.

There was the matter of continuing to supply food to the North, continuing trade with Clausen, and listening to the news coming from the South.

Now, he had to turn his gaze not only to the internal affairs of the kingdom but also to the outside, and he had to know what kind of movements Nudia and the Holy Prussian Empire were showing.

From now on, it wouldn’t be enough to just clean up the inside of the kingdom.

‘They messed up the Holy War in a big way, but they’re not the kind of guys who will give up.

They’ll try to start that disgusting war again by any means, or at least try to weaken the continent’s power in other ways.’

Even though the Holy War had collapsed so futilely, the movements of the pigeons [a derogatory term for spies or conspirators] were not being detected.

Cyon was becoming even more suspicious because the guys who seemed like they would rush in at any moment, cooing, were too quiet.

It was impossible to gather information with just the Clausen March alone.

This was when the power of the merchant guild was needed.

Not only using the Haines Merchant Guild but also contacting other merchant guilds through the Haines Merchant Guild, and using the money flowing from there to reach other people, and then other information in other places.

‘The first goal is… probably Nudia for now.’

Probably by now, the king would have been completely taken over by the women and put aside all matters of state.

A neighboring country that would probably be seen as the most delicious prey by the pigeons and pointy-eared bastards [a derogatory term for elves].

At the same time, from Cyon’s perspective, it was like a breakwater that could play its role just right before being hit by unnecessary waves.

How on earth should he use those bastards?

Even after Cyon got into the carriage, he continued to worry about that thought.

“…”

Unlike when she departed from the castle, Helen was very quiet and peaceful.

With a gentle smile on her lips, she filled her eyes with the handsome young man who was pondering something and slowly closed her eyes, feeling a pleasant fatigue that she had felt in a long time.

Originally, she would never have revealed such a vulnerable side of herself to anyone.

But maybe it would be okay in front of that person who said he would be the only one on her side.

“Hey, Helen.

Do you happen to have any informants in Nudia…?”

Before he could finish, Cyon could see that the woman sitting in front of him had fallen asleep, leaning against the carriage seat in a very comfortable position.

Was this really the meticulous head of Haines, who had never shown any weakness to anyone until now?

‘This is a bit too much.’

It’s not like I’m Kim Yu-hyun or Prince Erader.

I’m a man who is both mentally and physically very healthy.

What kind of man could suppress his instincts if he saw such a defenseless sleeping figure right in front of him!

‘Of course, not me, Lilith.’

Thinking of the succubus queen, who had threatened to suck out his soul if he came back with the scent of a strange woman on him without prior agreement, Cyon shook his head.

It seemed okay to give a little rest to the woman who had been wandering in hell until recently and had barely returned to ‘life’.

Of course, he was planning to throw work at her as soon as she woke up.

―――――――Afterword―――――――

Lilith is watching with her eyes wide open…

Hmm, it seems like you left without pressing the recommendation button?