Chapter 480
"I haven't tried not persuading them. I've even tried to persuade them with lies. But even if I send them to Edina, they will eventually find out the truth."
"I don't know what you two think about it."
"People hate the Demon King much more than we can imagine."
"It's common to hate him enough to want to kill him."
"And even to hate him enough to want to die."
Both Harriet and Charlotte knew that people hated the Demon King enough to want to kill him.
But they could also hate him enough to want to die.
Saving someone could bring about someone else's death.
Killing someone to save another.
Killing someone to protect something.
They had to kill those they had somehow saved with their own hands.
Liana had been hiding this story for a very long time.
Since about a year ago.
As a result of sending those who were clearly going to become dissenters to Edina, there have been numerous assassination attempts on the Demon King.
In the long run, Edina could be overthrown as the extreme opposition to the Demon King grew.
From the moment she realized that information about Port Mokna and Edina was spreading.
Liana had been actually killing people who would rather die than live under the Demon King's rule.
There was an unbreakable, unwavering determination in Liana's stern expression.
No sorrow, no despair.
Knowing that if she started getting entangled in such things, she would only flounder in bottomless despair.
It only showed that she had decided not to think about such things.
"Whatever truth you wanted to know, this is it."
Liana says, looking at Charlotte.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
Charlotte looks silently at Liana.
"Why didn't you tell Reinhardt about this problem?"
In response to Charlotte's question, Liana crosses her arms.
"Do you know how Reinhardt has been for the past two years?"
"I don't."
At Charlotte's calm answer, Liana narrows her eyes and looks out the window.
"He never showed any sign of struggle, not even once."
"..."
"The one who should have struggled the most among us spent those two years without any hint of it. Just thinking about what he had to do, moving forward, and never taking a break."
Liana looks silently at Charlotte.
"He thinks it's because of him that things turned out this way. But the fact that he doesn't say anything makes it more obvious. He's struggling so much that he can't even speak."
"..."
When you save someone, you kill someone else just as much.
"If Reinhardt had known about this, he would have said that he would take care of the assassination threats and internal problems and to just send them to Edina."
"I don't want Reinhardt to suffer from such things anymore."
"I won't say that this was the best choice."
"But."
"I don't think it was the worst choice either."
"Do you think I don't know that there are only crappy choices to solve this problem in any way? That's why I made a decision as the Demon King's vice-commander and the commander in charge of the front lines. I decided that Reinhardt should never know about this problem. I have no intention of burdening him with greater concerns and agony by letting him know about this problem when he's already obviously rotting inside."
Liana didn't want to give the Demon King, who was already clearly struggling enough, another cause for concern.
Liana didn't want Reinhardt or Edina to be in danger.
So, out of those she had managed to save, she actually killed those who hated the Demon King enough to want to die.
The rumors of the massacre that took place here did not reach Edina. Liana had dealt with people secretly, so even the survivors who went to Edina did not know who had disappeared from their surroundings.
Thus.
Liana saved people, and because she saved them, she killed them.
Ironically, those who were not discovered by Liana might have lived a little longer.
Liana did not explain at all how she felt when killing them with her own hands.
Just as Reinhardt had not shown any signs of strain for two years.
Liana did not speak of the inevitability or pain of the slaughter.
She decided to do so, and so she did.
The unyielding Liana de Grantz.
The demon king's changer.
Charlotte gazes at the Thunder King.
"You're Reinhardt's friend, aren't you?"
Charlotte asks Liana, still with a calm expression.
"Yes."
"But before that, you're aware that you were in a relationship of lord and retainer?"
"…Yes."
Before being friends, they had to consider their lord and retainer relationship first.
Although they started as friends, Liana could not argue with Charlotte's words that they had to abandon that way of thinking to some extent. Charlotte gazes at Liana quietly.
"A retainer deceives the lord for the lord's sake. Is that the argument?"
Although it excessively simplifies Liana and Reinhardt's situations, it is true that their situations are not much different in the end.
"Yes. I guess that's one way to put it."
"Then, does that mean Harriet here, and me as the ruler, Olivia as the head of the church, and Airi as the Succubus Queen can also deceive the lord under the same argument?"
"…"
"To ease the lord's burden and relieve the lord's sense of responsibility and guilt, the lord must be unaware of the miserable and dirty things happening in the country. Is it okay to deceive the lord?"
Charlotte looks at Liana quietly.
"By deceiving the lord and covering the lord's eyes under the pretext of working for the lord, showing only the good, beautiful, and heartwarming things while hiding the dirty things, and if the lord remains ignorant, thinking that everything is going well, what do you call such a lord?"
"A tyrant, isn't it?"
Liana looks at Charlotte with a stern expression.
"Liana de Grantz."
"Your intention may be that of a loyal retainer, but the result is the way of a traitor."
"The moment you try to blind the lord with various considerations, you unintentionally turn Reinhardt into an incompetent being."
"Reinhardt will inevitably trust you and won't be curious about what's hidden behind your words. Why? Because you're a meritorious retainer, and a friend."
"Regardless of your intentions, you carried out a unilateral decision without discussing a major issue with the lord. For a very long time."
"Reinhardt trusted you, but you doubted whether he could fall apart."
"Ultimately, you betrayed Reinhardt's trust."
"I don't intend to argue whether your handling of this matter was wrong."
"But you should have talked to Reinhardt about this issue, absolutely."
"That's your mistake and your failure."
Regardless of the intentions, once the lord is deceived, it can happen two or three times.
Liana, who has also deceived the lord, cannot say anything to others who deceive the lord for similar reasons.
And so.
If it was assumed that each person following Reinhardt had one or two matters they were keeping hidden for Reinhardt's sake.
Reinhardt was an incompetent ruler, unknowing of the very matters he should be aware of. Charlotte looked silently at the quiet Liana.
One could be friends, but one should not approach matters from a friend's perspective.
Liana knew that Charlotte's words were not merely to confirm the hierarchy.
"A ruler needs your loyalty, not your consideration."
One could keep a friend in the dark out of consideration, but keeping a ruler in the dark for the same reason was no different from treason.
"The issues and responsibilities arising from good and evil in the nation are for the ruler to bear. You cannot and should not judge from below, then act as you please, deciding to take responsibility for yourself."
"..."
In Charlotte's words, all of this essentially turned Reinhardt into an incompetent ruler.
Intention was not important; if such events accumulated, they would only turn Reinhardt into a tyrant.
Liana could not find a response to that.
She had no choice but to admit that her choice, regardless of good or evil, was a mistake that jeopardized not only the relationship between the military and the ruler, but also Reinhardt's ability as a ruler.
"So, what do you want to say in the end? Do you want to dismiss me from my position? Or do you want to tell Reinhardt that I have committed corruption and punishment is necessary?"
Liana calmly replied to Charlotte's words, admitting her mistake, albeit begrudgingly.
"I didn't know the specifics, but I thought there would be something similar. What I want to say is that from now on, no matter the reason, there must be no more secrets of this kind."
Liana did not mention that she had been slaughtering survivors until now.
The important thing was that she had acted unilaterally without discussing matters that should be discussed with the ruler.
Charlotte was merely pointing out the problems that would arise from it.
"I will report this matter to Reinhardt. However, knowing Reinhardt's personality, I don't think he would punish you or dismiss you from your position."
"..."
"And this is my judgment as a regent."
Charlotte looked around.
"Until Reinhardt returns and issues a command, it would be best to suspend the search for survivors in Fort Mokna."
The possibility of securing survivors was not entirely gone.
However, securing survivors would inevitably lead to the slaughter of some of them.
There could be a choice to continue the search for survivors, as some can be saved.
But there could also be a choice not to save anyone, as one might have to kill an innocent person.
There was no entirely right decision.
There were only decisions.
"From now on, all activities other than base defense will be suspended."
Fort Mokna would limit its activities to base defense until Reinhardt made a new judgment.
That was the new decision of Charlotte de Gardias, the regent.
"Can you accept my decision?"
At Charlotte's question, Liana stared silently at her.
In the end, Liana had no choice but to admit her mistake.
"......Alright, let's do that."
And so, she had no choice but to accept the regent's judgment.
Having finished the conversation, Charlotte stood up from her seat, and Harriet awkwardly followed her.
"Hey."
Liana called out to Charlotte, who was about to leave.
"...Yes?"
"You know that I don't like you, right?"
"..."
Upon hearing Liana's words, spoken softly, Charlotte gazed quietly at her.
"I have no reason to like you and every reason to dislike you. That's what I've been thinking."
And yet, Charlotte simply stared at Liana as if to say, "So what?"
"Have you never considered that?"
"...What?"
Liana bit her lip, her eyes wide open.
Before she knew it, Liana's bulging eyes had turned bloodshot.
After a long silence, Liana mumbled as if spitting something out.
"That I have no right... to hate you... and the Empire... Have you never thought of that?"
"..."
Charlotte looked at Liana, whose eyes were bloodshot and red.
At Liana, whose empty gaze seemed to stretch out endlessly.
She just looked at her.
Liana knew the cause of her father's death.
The Empire had killed Liana's father, Duke Grantz. And they had blamed it on the Demon King.
The reason was that Duke Grantz was a key figure in the revolutionary forces.
The revolutionary forces could have plunged the entire continent into the whirlwind of war.
In fact, the place where Duke Grantz had been was known to be a meeting place with the demon race.
The revolutionary forces were willing to join hands with the enemies of humanity if it meant achieving their revolution.
To avoid war.
The Empire had killed Duke Grantz and disguised it as the act of the Demon King to avoid countless sacrifices.
That's why Liana hated the Empire, and hated everyone involved in her father's death.
She disliked Charlotte because she was a princess of the Empire.
But now.
For the sake of Edina.
To avoid war with the Empire.
For the sake of the Demon King.
She had killed innocent people.
Liana's confession to Charlotte was tantamount to admitting that she was tormented by the thought that she had no right to hate the Empire and the royal family.
The logic behind the Empire killing Duke Grantz.
The logic behind Liana's massacre of innocents was exactly the same.
The logic was the same because it was to avoid further sacrifices.
Liana now knew that her hatred had lost its legitimacy.
Just as Reinhardt had not appealed to his despair, Liana too had been tormented by despair while committing such horrible acts with her own hands.
"Well..."
The right to hate.
The right to despise.
"I don't know if there's a need for qualifications in hatred and resentment."
Hatred and resentment can arise even with weak grounds.
After all, isn't people's hatred and resentment towards the Demon King based on mere misunderstandings?
"So even if you continue to hate me, or hate the Empire, it can't be helped. Thinking about whether you have the right to do so..."
Charlotte gazed quietly at Liana.
"The very act of worrying about the moral purity of hatred and resentment... is, well..."
Charlotte tilted her head.
"Isn't it a bit too arrogant?"
That the previous hatred and resentment were morally pure, but now they might not be justified.
At Charlotte's suggestion that worrying about that itself might be arrogant, Liana bit her lip.
"I still don't like you."
At Liana's reaction, Charlotte let out a faint laugh.
"There's no point in getting along too well with important people like kings anyway. For my sake, for your sake, and for Reinhardt's."
So it would be better for her to be considered as an unwelcome and uncomfortable person who couldn't be ignored by them.
"However, no matter what, you people are incomparably better than me, and that won't change."
The people who had believed in Reinhardt.
And herself, who couldn't believe.
Charlotte knew all too well that she could never bridge that gap.
Leaving those words behind, Charlotte left the Port Mokna headquarters.
