Just as the empire had managed to defend the Imperial Capital and other important regions, some of the prominent vassal states had also managed to protect their capitals and large cities.
Although a considerable number of vassal states had been destroyed, there were still cities and nations that had managed to defend their capitals.
The Duchy of Saint Owan was one of the few countries that had successfully defended its capital.
This meant that, with the exception of the capital, the Duchy of Saint Owan had failed to defend all other regions.
The land of magic.
Excluding the empire, it was the country most proficient in magic. The Duchy of Saint Owan, which had produced many outstanding mages, remained strong in the face of the Gate crisis, at least in its capital.
The capital of the Duchy of Saint Owan, Arnaca.
Unlike the Imperial Capital Gradium, which had expanded grotesquely due to the influx of refugees, Arnaca had not undergone such a transformation.
After teleporting to a back alley in Arnaca, Harriet and I ventured out into the streets.
We could see that the once glorious city of magic had become a fortress.
Thick walls now surrounded the city, which had once been without walls, and tall towers were erected at regular intervals along those walls.
However, at the top of these towers, there were no watchtowers for reconnaissance. Instead, large blue crystals floated in the air.
"Towers… They seem similar."
"Yeah, they do."
It seemed that these towers were similar to defense towers, intended to intercept monsters that approached the city.
Harriet and I could not help but make such a conjecture.
I had disguised myself using Sarkegaar's ring, and Harriet had changed her appearance using illusion magic and wore a robe, so the people on the streets did not recognize us.
Nations that succeeded only in defending their capitals mostly became city-states.
Arnaca was no exception.
Refugees had not flocked to this place because most of them had gathered in the Imperial Capital.
Although not expanded, the city was still strong in its capital.
While we could not determine the state of their food supplies, there was no visible sign of hunger on the faces of the people.
Nevertheless, happiness and hope did not overflow either.
While it would be great if the empire could have a defense system like Arnaca's, the area it needed to defend was hundreds of times larger than Arnaca's.
Constructing such a vast defense system would have exhausted most of Arnaca's remaining national power. There must have been a reason why the empire could not use such a system.
Harriet silently looked at the streets and people of Arnaca.
Her expression was full of hidden guilt and sadness.
She couldn't help but think about the numerous cities and people that could not be saved, even though the capital was safe.
The white palace, Arunaria, seemingly carved out of the mountain, also remained intact.
The scenery of Arnaca had not changed much, except for the walls and towers surrounding the outskirts of the city.
The only change was the depression and despair that could be read from the faces of the people in the streets.
No one seemed to engage in conversation.
Arnaca had become a city filled with eerie silence.
Occasionally, Harriet had mentioned that she used to watch children playing in the tall towers of Arunaria.
However, now, even if we looked with the utmost care, we couldn't find any children playing.
Harriet was completely unrelated to the cause of the Gate crisis.
However, as if everything was her responsibility, she walked with a guilty expression alongside me.
The hometown that Harriet had longed for had become a city of silence filled with desolation.
-Snap!
We saw a flash of light in the center of the city, from afar.
It was in the place where a Warp Gate once was, we presumed.
Now seemingly used as a Warp Spot, a group appeared with a bright flash.
Harriet's eyes widened.
"Ah... Father..."
Duke Saint Owan and his band of mages revealed themselves through the Warp Spot.
As soon as the Duke and his mages arrived, the people nearby did not bow but hurriedly cleared the area.
As if they had seen something unholy.
As if used to such reactions, the Duke led his mages towards the White Palace without hesitation.
We saw the citizens witnessing the Duke and his mages, swiftly avoiding their path and closing their windows.
No one openly cursed them.
However, it was clear that everyone perceived the Duke as a figure to be avoided.
The quiet and silence of Arnaca.
We couldn't help but understand the reason.
The princess who sided with the Demon King.
Arnaca was safe for now, but we knew that once the situation was resolved, the Empire's retribution would begin against Saint Owan Duchy.
We knew the fate of Duke Saint Owan, his duchy, and Arnaca's future.
Yet, we couldn't leave Arnaca as the outside was not safe.
And so, they shunned the Duke as if they were facing the image of death itself.
Despite knowing that shunning the Duke would not save them from the dark fate awaiting the Saint Owan Duchy, they did so as if it would grant them absolution later.
"Father..."
With her father, the king, shunned before her, Harriet clenched her eyes shut.
Tears silently streamed down her face.
—---
We didn't expect brilliance from Arnaca.
Strictly speaking, Arnaca was in a better situation than other cities.
Towers protected the city, and the influx of people hadn't exceeded the city's capacity to sustain them.
However, everyone knew that the consequences of the princess's actions would soon descend upon them.
And so, the city was engulfed in melancholy.
Harriet and I stood at a distance where we could see the White Palace of Arunaria.
The people were not consumed by hatred and anger, but their expressions were filled with despair and depression.
That was the current state of Arnaca.
"If you want to see him, go ahead."
"..."
The guards protecting Arunaria were not human.
They were all magically created golems.
Therefore, Harriet could meet the Duke if she wished.
Harriet knew all the circumstances.
That the Gate incident was not caused by my will.
But the reality was that her choice might lead to the sacrifice of everyone in Arnaca.
"Do I... deserve to?"
She couldn't help but feel guilty.
Even if the Gate incident was not caused by my will, people wouldn't believe that.
Thus, if humanity's retribution were to descend upon Arnaca, Harriet would have no choice but to consider it her responsibility.
The responsibility for betraying humanity would fall upon the nation and its citizens, not the princess.
From that standpoint, Harriet couldn't help but think she had no right to face her father.
She might hear harsh words of reproach from her father for making such a foolish choice.
She might think her father would hold her and never let her go.
She might believe she would hear hateful and angry words from her family.
"Just because I called you a blockhead, you know I don't actually think you're stupid."
"..."
"In fact, the Duke of Saint Owan that I've met should be called a doting father."
Indeed, my first impression of the Duke of Saint Owan was that of a doting father.
"Just like you're not a fool, your father, the Duke of Saint Owan, isn't really a fool either."
I gently placed my hand on Harriet's face within the robe.
"Like you're wise, the Duke of Saint Owan, your father, is certainly a wise person as well."
"..."
"He must have tried to truly understand why you had to act that way and must have found some answers."
I believe the Duke of Saint Owan is a wise person, just like Harriet.
After all, Harriet de Saint Owan wasn't born for nothing.
"Ultimately, parents can't help but trust their children as much as they can't believe them."
Just as it's universal for parents to worry about their children, in some decisive moments of life, parents have no choice but to trust their children.
They would think there must have been an inevitability behind their children's crucial choices.
The Duke of Saint Owan couldn't be a fool.
"So, go."
That's why I don't think the Duke of Saint Owan would hold Harriet back and not let her go.
Harriet quietly held my hand that I placed on her face.
"Yes... I'll go."
Did my words give her some courage?
"And, I'll definitely come back."
Having come this far, she couldn't just leave after seeing the city's despair.
She had faced the heavy responsibility she had to bear.
Shouldn't she at least take the joy and sorrow of reunion with her?
—---
The Duchess who had disappeared with the Demon King returned.
But there was no commotion.
The security system of Arunaria was under the control of the ducal family, and there were very few servants in Arunaria.
The information reported through the golem did not reach the other nobles, and only the members of the ducal family learned that the missing Duchess had visited.
The Duchess, who quietly entered the palace, was able to face her family after a very long time.
The returned Duchess could only be a sinner.
Contrary to Harriet's fear, the three brothers, including the Duchess of Saint Owan, did not blame their youngest sister, who had brought a great burden to the family.
It was just a tearful reunion.
Despite the lengthy conversation, neither Harriet nor the members of the ducal family uttered a single word about the Demon King.
They didn't even ask how she had been or where she had been.
It was as if it was already enough to know she was safe.
Her mother and three brothers.
Although it wasn't enough, after finishing the conversation, Harriet entered the Duke's study for the last time.
There was the Duke of Saint Owan, with an indelible fatigue on his face.
The Duke, who was always stern but always kind, and sometimes tried to control his daughter with force, had a very different look in his eyes as he looked at his daughter.
"Sit down."
Harriet sat down on the chair with a stiff expression, responding to the overly plain words that belied the reunion after a long time.
Important conversations always came from her father's mouth.
So did the scolding for doing something wrong.
The order to go to the temple.
The order to leave the temple.
All those words came from the Duke's mouth.
The reason none of the family members uttered a single word of reproach or blame was because they all knew it was the role of the Duke of Saint Owan.
Everyone knew that such words were part of the role of the eldest, so neither her mother nor her brothers ever mentioned it to Harriet.
To Harriet, her father was a bothersome man.
Bothersome enough to dote on her.
Bothersome enough to worry about her.
Bothersome enough to be overly fond of her.
But now, Harriet had made a choice that could lead to the downfall of her family, and she faced her father, the head of the household, as a sinner.
The overly fond daughter had made a decision that could shatter the long history of the Saint Owan family.
She had found courage in Reinhardt's words and returned to Arunaria.
Her family, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, rejoiced in her safe return.
But now, Harriet felt as though she was standing in the judgment seat.
She was expecting a detailed explanation of her sins and seemed to have to pay for them.
So now, for the first time in her life, Harriet de Saint Owan was afraid of her father's stern expression.
It's a relief that you're alive.
Welcome back.
Without uttering any such words, her father, who simply told her to sit in a chair as if she were standing in a courtroom, was frightening.
Sitting across from the duke, Harriet desperately stared into his eyes with a stern expression.
It seemed as though tears would spill out.
Her father, who had always embraced her and acted bothersome, was now not offering any comfort in this situation.
It's unfair.
Though she had made a mistake, a big mistake she knew, she just wanted him to embrace her now, since she would no longer find him bothersome.
She wanted to say that, but her mouth wouldn't open.
"Are you really back?"
At the Duke's question, Harriet quietly lowered her head.
She would have to leave soon, and even if she tried to return, it would be impossible.
The Duke seemed to understand and nodded his head.
"Do you know the choice you've made?"
"..."
The Duke silently looked at Harriet.
"If this situation doesn't end, humanity will be destroyed, and both the Saint Owan family and the Duchy will be finished."
"If this situation is resolved, the wrath of the Empire will be directed at our family, and both the Saint Owan family and the Duchy will be finished."
"My daughter."
"I'll only ask one thing."
"Was it a choice that you won't regret, even if such a thing happens?"
Countless deaths.
The destruction of the family.
Was it a choice she wouldn't regret even if such things happened?
In response to the head of the family's question, the youngest child stared silently into her father's eyes.
It wasn't a scolding or blame.
It wasn't a question about where she had been or what she had been doing.
Or why she had made such a choice.
It was a question as a member of the family, as an individual person.
Would you not regret the decision you made?
Harriet thought back to two years ago.
She had trusted Reinhardt. That's why she had made that decision and choice. She didn't know what was happening at the time when the Gate incident occurred.
But now, Harriet knew the whole truth.
Why the Gate incident happened, what Akasha was, and what people's misunderstandings were.
What kind of existence the Demon King truly was.
She knew everything now.
But, regret.
Her father asked about regret.
Would she not regret her decision if her hometown was destroyed and her entire family was killed as a result?
Harriet clenched her teeth and closed her eyes tightly.
"Regret... I think... I will..."
"..."
She couldn't help but regret it.
Tears streamed down Harriet's closed eyes.
"But... but... Dad... I... you know..."
"If... if I were to go back to that day two years ago... even if I knew... that everything would turn out like this... even if I knew..."
"I... I think... I would do the same thing..."
She would regret it.
Even if the Saint Owan Duchy were to be destroyed, and all the people of her family were to die.
She believed that she had to help Reinhardt.
She would regret it, but she would make this choice that could only lead to regret again.
It was not that she had failed to accomplish something.
Not just to help Reinhardt, but because she could have saved many people.
Now she knew that this choice didn't only lead to negative outcomes.
It wasn't that she didn't regret it, but even knowing that she couldn't help but regret it, the youngest child said she would still make the same choice.
Upon hearing those words, the Duke nodded silently, looking at his crying daughter.
"My daughter, you have the most exceptional talent in the long history of the Saint Owan family."
"..."
"Therefore, you are the wisest descendant in the history of our family."
The Duke rose from his seat, approached his weeping daughter, and gently placed a hand on her head.
"So I believe, as your father, that your decision is right."
"Uh... sob..."
"Now let's embrace, my daughter."
It was only then that Harriet could finally cry in the arms of the father she had so despised.
