Standing in a medical ward, Sol was facing a transparent wall.
On the other side, two young girls could be seen laying down on the beds.
Their bodies were entirely wrapped in bandages, but their breathing was calm and steady.
"Your highness, it has been a long while since you rested properly. Please take more care of yourself. It wouldn't do if you collapsed because of overworking.
"As for Princess Lilin and Setsuna, you shouldn't worry too much. Miss Persephone clearly said that healing them now would waste all the pain they have gone through."
Sol nodded absent-mindedly.
Even though he was quite stressed because of all the sudden responsibilities thrown at him, regularly watching them like this helped him calm down a little.
‘Though I would have been happier if they were awake.’
From what Persephone was saying, after their fight, both Lilin and Setsuna were currently realizing deeper concepts and once they woke up, they would become much stronger.
If she healed them though, that process would immediately halt and they would have lost a precious opportunity.
That’s why she could only give rudimentary care and assure that they at least wouldn't die until they woke up.
Pinching his brows, he said wearily, "I know they will be alright. But I can't help but worry and I admit that having to deal with all the aftermath isn't helping."
Theory was nice and all, but having to deal with all the problems of the kingdom suddenly wasn’t easy.
Milia gave a wry smile and stepped aside.
Moving his stiff shoulders, Sol looked at his right side, where Nuwa was standing while munching on a cake.
"I have heard that your wounds were far more dangerous than Lilin's. How come you are still standing?"
Nuwa looked at him blankly before answering as a matter of fact, "I have a stronger body."
Sol could only stare at her speechlessly. Since this logic was absolute, he could only pinch his brow tighter at the unexpected source of stress.
Waving his head, he decided to spare himself a greater headache. "Forget it. Anyway, I must go to work–again. Guard them and don't let anyone aside from me, or the others come close."
He couldn't understand why he could train non-stop for weeks, but just a few days of dealing with all those documents left his brain in mush.
As for having Nuwa guard those two, since knew that Drei was able to steal bodies and use them, there was no way he would let anyone come close to his girls while they were unable to defend themselves.
"Roger."
Ignoring the girl who was stuffing herself like a squirrel, Sol began to walk away.
Just as he was about to leave, he stopped to ask one question to Milia without turning to face her.
"How is my aunt?"
Milia grimaced,
"She...she hadn't left her room since we discovered what was stolen. Thankfully she hadn't shown any signs of self-harm."
"...I see."
Sol could never forget the expression Lilith showed when she learned about it.
It was as if she had lost her soul and was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.
If Persephone hadn't stopped her, she would have most likely rushed to find the Wings of Freedom even though she didn't know where they were.
He had recently come to understand that she wasn't as tough as she looked and in fact was very weak and unstable.
Still, he had to admit that he had been left incredibly shaken by how fast it happened.
"Your highness…"
Even though Milia couldn't see his face, she could feel how worried and sad he currently was.
She wished for nothing more than to cuddle him and tell him that he shouldn't worry.
That everything would be alright.
That he could just stay as the kind and carefree prince he had always been.
But she knew she couldn't do so.
She understood that this wasn't what Sol wished for.
Out of everyone, she was perhaps the only one who wasn't particularly surprised by Lilith's current actions.
After all, she perfectly understood that if she ever lost Sol, she would be much worse.
Using logic in such situations was nothing more than a waste of time.
What's more, she knew that she herself wasn't in the right state of mind currently.
Learning that Berthold had most likely died long ago and that the one they had to deal with was an enemy left her incredibly shaken.
Not only did she have to mourn her friend, but she also had to rework the entire security system of Lustburg from the ground up to avoid a leak.
If it wasn't enough, the Queen was currently having a mental breakdown and refused to get out of her room, while the relationship between Sol and Camelia seemed to be a little tense.
It was as if bad news were coming one after another.
"Do not worry. I need far more than that to get down,” Sol grinned as he said, “I just have to face her properly once I am done. Since Persephone is with her, I do not have to worry about my aunt harming herself."
'No matter what, I have to face her today.'
[Tower of Babel, Round table room.]
It has been six days since the night where so many events happened at the same time.
Even now, the kingdom was still dealing with the aftermath of that day.
Even though the civilian lives lost were minimal, this wasn't the case for the soldiers as well as the nobles.
Because of this, a shortage in the administration and the army could be observed.
Thankfully, only the soldiers in the capital and the personal soldiers of the noble were affected.
The soldiers guarding the front were spared since they hadn't been called back.
Currently, in the room, four people sat in silence.
Duchess Milaris — Arachne Milaris.
Duke Travers — Hermes Travers.
Duke Highland — Tyr Highland.
The Supreme daughter — Camelia Castitas.
The mood in the room could be said to be quite oppressive despite the silence.
The main reason behind this situation was the glare full of malice the Duke Highland was throwing at Camelia.
If looks alone could kill, then she would have already been shredded to pieces long ago.
The only reason he didn't speak was that he understood that he might lose control and act in an uncouth way in front of his peers.
Even though the other two were also silent, the look of wariness Hermes threw at Camelia from time to time spoke of his feelings.
Arachne on the other hand showed no expression. She already knew what kind of woman Camelia was since long ago and how scary she could be.
Despite all this, Camelia showed no changes in her expression.
She would only look at the door from time to time, and only then would a flicker of worry flash in her eyes.
This changed into joy the moment the door opened and Sol entered with Milia behind him as she stood up with the other Dukes.
But that joy was soon extinguished when Sol did not even throw a look toward her.
Striding in the room with measured steps, Sol reached the main chair and finally sat down.
Resting his head on the palm of his hand, he spoke calmly,
"You can sit down."
Once everyone did as told, Sol continued with a wry smile;
"I already said that there was no need for such formality. I am still not the king yet."
It has only been a few days, but he was already tired of this.
Tyr Highland, who until now had been the epitome of wrath, smiled a little as he said.
"I beg your forgiveness, your highness, but I cannot comply. Rules and regulations are what make a kingdom strong. A lax attitude will give birth to lax results."
Even though he was speaking like that, Tyr had to admit that the prince really won his respect those few days. Talk was easy but actions always spoke louder than words.
"Yeah~yeah~yeah. I understand. Enough with your nagging. My headache is getting worse."
The previously tense atmosphere became smoothed thanks to this banter.
Even though six days seemed such a small amount, many things could happen in this period.
Since Lilith was unable to, or rather, refused to participate, Sol was handed the responsibility he had to deal with ahead of time.
Saying that he was ready would have been a lie, but thankfully he had been raised for this role for as long as he could remember and the Dukes had been more than helpful.
"Now, I know everyone is really busy, so how about we begin?"
The warm atmosphere immediately cooled down.
Standing behind Sol, Milia handed him a stack of papers then made the turn of the table and shared the document with everyone.
Once this was done, everyone read the information on it for a while before Sol finally began.
"As you can see. It took a while to clear the rubble of the Gorfard's mansion but we now understand that there was an unidentified portal there linked to the Tower of Babel. This portal was used by one of the wings of freedom."
Even though Lilith had ordered the emergency measures, she could have never imagined that there was one unknown portal.
"It seems like the Gorfard family was ready for betrayal for a long time."
"Indeed."
Even though Medea could observe the whole tower, she wasn't an omniscient god. What's more, she only really began to care about the tower in his father's generation.
This means that this portal was created during the time of the Puppet King or even before.
"We do not know how the Wings of Freedom knew of the existence of this portal, but from the information we obtained after torturing the butler, the blue wolf who served as slave for Leonard is most likely the one under the moniker of Neun."
This was another surprising news.
Leonard Gorfard was dead.
Though all Sol could remember about that guy was how he slapped him silly.
Hermes muttered,
"Now that the main line is dead. The Gorfard Family might as well be finished. Though there are some children from the concubines."
With the Duke as a traitor, the harshest punishment would normally be the extermination of the entire family.
"What's more… The Gorfard Family isn't the only problem."
At this sentence, Tyr gritted his teeth but didn't comment.
Then his, and all the eyes settled on Sol.
Even though they understood that he was still new at this, life didn't leave you the time to go slowly. They really wondered what choices he would make.
Sol, of course, knew why everyone fell silent.
The feeling of knowing that his words could decide the life and death of so many people was both exhilarating and frightening.
He could understand why so many rulers lost themselves in this power.
"If I have to be honest. I feel reticent about simply exterminating the entire family and even more about punishing the Highland family."
Sol could only chuckle bitterly. He was still too soft.
"But, be as it may. I understand that letting this situation fester without giving the appropriate punishment would set a bad precedent."
His eyes flashed with a cold gaze and his aura immediately filled the room.
This was the simple truth.
Even though they had repelled the intruder and the deaths were kept to a minimum, death was still death and a life could only be paid with another life.
That’s why,
“First thing first, henceforth, the Gorfard’s family will be stripped of its Duke rank and demoted to Baron in the border. The children with enough talents will be conscripted to the army to help during the war.”
The baron rank was basically the lowest inheritable noble title.
The fall from Duke's house to baron's house was so great that he wouldn’t be surprised if some of them simply decided to kill themselves.
Sadly, this was the greatest mercy he could bestow them.
"The bodies of Loki and Leonard Gorfard are to be hanged in front of everyone and left to rot. After some time, they will be destroyed."
Sol knew that for nobles, the way they were treated after death was a very important matter.
Such a humiliating way to treat their bodies would send a message to the other nobles.
But this wasn't enough.
"All the ringleaders still alive will be publicly executed after their crimes are read."
This was the most important matter in this situation.
The execution couldn't be avoided and Sol didn't wish to avoid it either.
If their betrayal succeeded, they would have no pity for him.
Even though they couldn't kill him, there were many destinies worse than death.
What happened with his grandfather was just the lightest example.
"As for Gerald Highland… He should have normally been executed for high treason towards the crown. But…"
There Sol gritted his teeth and looked at Camelia with mixed feelings,
"Because of his deal with the supreme daughter and the help he brought by reuniting all the traitors in one place, he will only be stripped of his noble titles and his rank as General."
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "He will then be exiled to the front line on the border of Wratharis and will be forbidden to ever take a step in the Capital."
Tyr closed his eyes at this.
"But, after his death, his body can be buried in the Highland's, and his name will be written on the hero monument."
Hearing this, Tyr was shocked for a while, then stood up and bowed, his eyes filled with emotions.
"I thank your highness for your infinite grace."
Sol simply shook his head, "Please raise your head."
His own feelings about Gerald were quite mixed. He knew that Gerald did betray them initially, though Camelia managed to convince him otherwise by promising to help heal his granddaughter.
After learning all that, Sol had been lost in a daze for a few moments.
Not only the betrayal of Gerald but also the fact that Camelia hid the truth from him both really hurt his feelings.
Because of this, his current relationship with Camelia was quite awkward.
Once Tyr sat once again, still shaken with emotions, Sol knocked on the table.
"Now that this is decided. We must speak about the most important matter."
Sweeping the room with his eyes, he finally stopped at Camelia.
"The final objective of the Wings of Freedom was nothing else than the Holy Sword of Luxuria."
Keeping his eyes on Camelia, he continued, "Like how only the supreme daughter can use the Holy Territory, only the king can use the sword. In the hands of anyone else, it's just some useless junk."
"Then here is the question. Why would the Wings create such an operation only to steal a sword that should be useless to them?"
(AN: This chapter is an important milestone. Not only for the story in general but for Sol in particular. Through this chapter. I tried to show his emotional growth. He made difficult decisions but at the same time, he still had a soft side. I know some would have liked a total massacre and frankly, I wanted to do so. But, it simply wouldn't suit Sol's personality as he is now. Growth should never be instantaneous, otherwise it feels cheap. Finally, we will delve soon deeper into Lilith's psyche.)
