The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 425

Balthazar was furious, trying to shift the blame for his choices onto Erasmaya. Even if she was just a merchant from the Merchant Guild, Balthazar’s royal anger could put her safety at risk. However, Erasmaya scoffed at Balthazar’s rage. Balthazar had already shown his teeth to King Azadin, leaving him with no other options. Now, blaming her and lashing out wouldn’t make Azadin forgive him. Balthazar, having opened the northern path of the Arangi Kingdom, would inevitably become her puppet. But then… “Your Highness, a grave matter! An envoy from King Azadin has arrived.” A messenger had come running. “What? An envoy?” “T-this…” The messenger handed Balthazar a sealed letter. Balthazar sighed, noticing Erasmaya’s meaningful gaze upon him. He really didn’t want to open the letter. The thought of Azadin’s accusations and punishments filled him with dread. But he couldn’t avoid it. Balthazar took the letter from the messenger and tore it open. “Huh?” Balthazar scrutinized the letter, wondering if he had misread it. He even held it up to the candlelight, checking for hidden messages. “What does it say?” Erasmaya asked, overstepping her bounds. “Well, Azadin is forming a council, and he’s asking me whether I want to join as an Arangian royal or as a Marcher Lord.” “What?” Erasmaya couldn’t believe her ears. In this battle, Azadin had achieved a great feat by stopping the ogre army that had pushed into the kingdom’s capital. Even if Azadin had decided to ignore the council and declare himself the king of Arangi, saying, ‘That was then, and this is now. You all can’t even take care of yourselves without me,’ neither the Arangian Guard nor the noble alliance would have had anything to say. Yet, Azadin was not only keeping his promise to form a council but also offering Balthazar a seat in it. “It’s a trap. It’s clearly a trap to lower your guard and capture you, Your Highness.” Erasmaya said, grasping at straws. Balthazar shook his head. “You’re telling a lie you can’t even believe yourself, Erasmaya. I’ll return your words to you.” Just moments ago, Balthazar had been impatient and unreasonable with Erasmaya. But now, it was Erasmaya who was being unreasonable. ‘Good heavens. He’s overlooking Balthazar’s betrayal. I didn’t expect this.’ Erasmaya felt things were going wrong and panicked. ********* “Is His Majesty just a good person? Or does he have something up his sleeve?” Sion Etar asked Azadin seriously. “Why do you ask?” “Well, people are celebrating King Azadin’s great victory, but didn’t we actually spill quite a bit of blood?” On the surface, it seemed that Azadin’s army, made up of seemingly insignificant refugees, had achieved a great victory. In the northern battle, Azadin’s army had crushed the ogre legion without much damage. However, that was just the surface. In reality, Azadin’s army was fighting the Tooth King’s forces in the Naisandokar region and north of Sandokar, suffering heavy casualties. The northern battle was a result of Azadin deploying his elite forces and leading the charge himself. In the unseen areas, sacrifices were still being made. After such sacrifices, one would expect some kind of reward, but Azadin was trying to keep his promise of council politics, which he could have easily ignored. Even if he was a good person, wasn’t this a bit too much? Sion Etar asked Azadin this question, pointing out these aspects. “I do have something up my sleeve. The truth is, just linking Sandokar, Naisandokar, and the Chadra Plateau is enough to cripple our administration.” “That’s true.” The biggest problem for Azadin’s military faction, or rather, the largest problem for the newly formed Banlung Kingdom, was the lack of administrative power. In fact, maintaining the trade route from the Chadra Plateau to the Banlung Kingdom was a miracle in itself. With the cold weather caused by Pimbulbert [a magical weather phenomenon], even messenger birds couldn’t fly properly. To maintain such a long trade route and the security within it, Azadin was using every available talent and training every possible person, pushing them to their limits. Moreover, he was working hard to crack down on corruption, so the lack of administrative power was making it difficult to expand the territory any further. “I need talent. I feel terrible for pushing all the people I’ve recruited so hard. Now that things have come to this, I need to get the nobles and intellectuals to work somehow.” The talents in Azadin’s army were busy training soldiers and fighting monsters in various places. The land they had to protect was too vast compared to the number of talented individuals. Even if he swallowed the Arangi Kingdom whole, he wouldn’t have enough talent to eliminate the opposing forces, install his own people, and govern properly. That’s why Azadin was using the system of council politics to draw the voluntary participation of intellectuals. “But giving away the rights you gained with so much bloodshed for free…” “That’s why I don’t need to try to prove my true intentions. The easiest way to prove your true intentions is to take a loss, isn’t it? Besides, from my perspective, this isn’t much of a loss. But from others’ perspectives, Sion Etar, it feels like a huge loss, as you worry.” “……” “Don’t worry. This is the easiest path. I’m not taking a loss. I’m making a bigger move. More importantly, I’m drafting the Great Code that will be the foundation of council politics. What do you think of this?” “I’ve seen it. It’s a modification of the Emperor’s Code. I was a former messenger, so how could I not know?” The Great Code of Emperor Yaeslat, the Emperor’s Code. It was a law that clearly defined the limits of the rights of nobles and royals, set tax rates for income tax, and established the concept of a centralized national army, with sections on criminal law, commercial law, administrative law, tax law, and military law. It was a brilliant written law that was recognized by scholars even during the Emperor’s era, but precisely because of that, it was attacked by the King’s Church, royals, and nobles and was eventually abolished. Azadin had modified that Emperor’s Code to suit council politics. ‘Was this Elder Kazas’s dream?’ Sion Etar smiled bitterly, remembering how Kazas had worked to supplement the Emperor’s Code, dreaming of a nation where all races, including elves, could live together. Although many of the Messenger Clan still considered Azadin a traitor to the clan, in reality, Azadin had betrayed neither the Emperor nor his teacher, Kazas. He was upholding their legacy, so Azadin was, in fact, the true messenger of the Emperor, the successor of the Messenger Clan. Even though the Emperor’s voice had disappeared, Azadin was the Emperor’s messenger. “The council will add or subtract from the insufficient parts later. I’m just laying the foundation. Even this is a good deal.” “Is it really a good deal? If you become a dictator, wouldn’t everything be as you wish, regardless of the law?” “That would be fine if I lived for a thousand years. But I can’t.” Azadin smiled bitterly. Even now, he could feel his lifespan flickering like a dim lamp. He had to plan for the future so that things could continue even without him. He didn’t just want his successor to handle things; he wanted to lay the foundation for permanent development by establishing laws and systems. “But if you truly want your laws to endure, you must live long. They follow your laws because they fear you, not because they love the law and justice.” Sion Etar pointed out a painful truth. No matter how great the laws Azadin established, if Azadin didn’t live to enforce them, the King’s Church and the royals would eventually return the world to its old ways. “I’m thinking about that much. I guess you should hope I last that long.” “You don’t deny it.” Sion Etar sighed, seeing Azadin admit that he wouldn’t live long. All of Azadin’s retainers knew it implicitly. They had seen Azadin coughing up blood in front of them. He wouldn’t be bleeding for no reason. “Don’t worry. I won’t die that quickly. I might even live longer than you.” “That would be a relief.” ********* When Azadin announced the draft of the Arangi Kingdom’s laws and declared that he would govern the Arangi Kingdom according to the law by gathering the councils, the world was shocked. The intellectuals, of course, welcomed it greatly. Until now, intellectuals such as scribes, lawyers, and professors had been unable to express their opinions, oppressed by the tyranny of the King’s Church and the authority of the royals and nobles who inherited the bloodline of King Yaegas. The appearance of Azadin, who promised to open an era of written law, was something they welcomed with open arms. Of course, the royals and nobles were displeased, and the King’s Church, in particular, vehemently opposed it. However, there was no justification for opposing Azadin within the Arangi Kingdom. “Isn’t this the Emperor’s Code?! As expected of a follower of the Emperor, a member of the Messenger Clan!” The clergy of the King’s Church were furious, but Azadin’s clergy showed a much more clerical demeanor, so the authority of the King’s Church had already been severely undermined. Moreover, this led to an unexpected result. The nobles and lords of the Butuma Kingdom, who also wanted to form a council, requested that Azadin help them and become the guardian of their kingdom. They asked Azadin to be the guardian of the kingdom, the de facto king, and the one who drafts the council laws…. Later, the same request came from the nobles of Korasar. The two southern kingdoms, where the king had died and the throne was vacant, had been in constant conflict and chaos, vying for the throne. While the people were fleeing as refugees, the nobles, soldiers, and warriors who still had power were not able to pacify the land, which was swarming with nagas [serpentine creatures]. Instead, they were divided and focused on infighting. However, when they saw that Azadin was establishing written laws and advocating for council politics even when he could have taken the Arangi Kingdom for himself, the patriots gathered and asked Azadin to pacify their kingdoms and establish councils as he had done in Arangi. When Azadin showed no particular desire for the Arangi Kingdom, the Butuma and Korasar Kingdoms, which had been in chaos, also trusted and followed Azadin. Thus, Azadin became the guardian of four kingdoms. He was now the undisputed overlord of the South. He, a soulless heretic, an untouchable outcast, had achieved the greatest feat since the Emperor.