30 – Childhood Friend Hero’s Journey (3) – Rebellion
In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a term called ‘a statue of rebels’.
It means that the skeleton is inverted, and it means a person who can betray the organization at any time according to his own interests.
It is a well-known story that everyone in the know tells us that Zhuge Liang, a soldier of the Shu Dynasty, called Wei Yan ‘a statue of rebellious bones’.
“He is the statue of half a bone.”
And Marc did just that.
I told Lise about the mark.
He is called ‘The Statue of Rebellion’.
“The Statue of Rebellion? What is it?”
Of course, Rize couldn’t understand what she was saying.
Tilting his head, he gave me an expression that he had no idea what it was.
That was the first time I had heard of it.
“Hmm…”
Ah… Come to think of it, there is no Three Kingdoms here, right?
Of course, Rize couldn’t understand.
Now this place was not a planet called Earth, and there was no continent called Asia.
So of course you wouldn’t understand.
Because the term ‘rebellious statue’ was used in the world I was originally in.
That’s why I decided to just solve it and explain it to Rize.
“Hmm… The prize of rebelliousness is, simply put, someone who is likely to betray you.”
It was just that one word without any other meaning.
Marc was a man who would never be able to have him as a colleague.
Because he was a man who was considering betrayal.
“Betrayal? Really?”
“Yes.”
I am taken aback by my words.
As if I hadn’t even imagined the word betrayal.
“Hmm… Why do you think so? Last time I saw you, you looked really nice…”
And they have been asking me additional questions.
“Hmm…”
Rise’s eyes were unbelievable.
Certainly, Lise has met a man named Marc.
A man like a good-looking uncle.
He was a humble and kind person even though he held the title of general, that was the impression of a man called Mark.
I also felt that way at first, so it’s not that I didn’t understand.
“But unfortunately, you shouldn’t judge people based only on their appearance.”
Thanks to that, I was completely fooled.
However, being nice on the outside doesn’t necessarily mean being nice on the inside.
No one knows the true face of a person.
“Hmm… Anyway… How do you know Mark is a traitor…?”
Rize, who heard me say this, said that she didn’t understand even more.
Then how do I know that? Seemed curious.
“Do you know just by looking at the face?”
Evaluate people by looking at their appearance. Rize didn’t understand that.
“Of course it’s because I saw it.”
Of course, I didn’t just look at and evaluate things.
I don’t have super amazing abilities like the Zhuge Gong Ming in some novel.
I was suspicious of him… Or rather convinced of him for very good reasons.
“Last time I saw Mark trying to assassinate the emperor.”
And that conviction was very clear.
I actually saw him attempt to assassinate the emperor.
I saw it with my own two eyes.
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The image of Mark hesitating for a moment holding a sword in the emperor’s bed.
If I hadn’t happened to pass there, he could certainly have been assassinated.
I was sure of that cheap feeling.
“What…? Is that true?”
Rize was taken aback by my words.
Of course, it was because the story was never that light.
I expected to be surprised, but I wish I could lower my voice now.
“Rize. Could you lower your voice?”
“Ah… Sorry…”
Rize finally took a look at her surroundings and calmly sat back down.
Since this is a restaurant now, there was no need to speak loudly, but Rize lowered her voice again and asked me calmly.
“Then…Why didn’t you tell me? Shouldn’t you be executed instead of put in jail for embezzlement?”
“…”
Why didn’t you tell me about this?
Wouldn’t Rize just let people know? He seemed to think so simply.
“That’s impossible.”
To be honest, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to know that.
I also didn’t want to spare the person who tried to assassinate the emperor.
However, it was just that I couldn’t.
“He’s a bit of a thorough guy… He didn’t leave evidence anywhere.”
Above all, the most important evidence was missing.
First of all, it was just my own argument to say it was evidence.
In an empire governed by the rule of law, he couldn’t be executed for that reason.
“Also… The position of general is not light.”
Also, I don’t know if it’s someone else, but the opponent was a general.
As a general with great character, Marc had a solid political position.
If I and the general’s argument contradicted each other like this, I might be in reverse danger.
It was an incident that caused quite a lot of trouble for me in many ways.
“Then…? What should I do? Isn’t it a big deal?”
Listening to my words, Rize’s expression began to grow serious.
Can’t catch the person who tried to assassinate the emperor… It was a total mess just hearing about it.
She seemed to be imagining a very dangerous situation.
“Don’t worry. We’ve already solved it. That’s why we’re talking about it now.”
I smiled and said to Rize.
Of course, there was no need to worry now.
The reason I can talk like this in the first place is because I already solved everything. It was a saying.
“But he was caught because he set a trap. He was put in jail for embezzlement. He’ll be in prison for at least 10 years.”
Fortunately, Mark had other weaknesses.
He always played nice and righteous people. Because of that, his popularity was very thick.
I deliberately induced embezzlement by taking advantage of that popularity.
And it was Mark who fell into that trap beautifully.
That’s how I was able to properly keep him in prison.
“That… That’s right. I’m glad…”
Only after hearing my words, Rize let out a sigh as if she was relieved.
Her face, which was worried that something big would happen, disappeared as if it melted.
“Hmm… But…”
However, there was still a question on Rize’s face.
Still feeling embarrassed.
“But… What if I get out of prison after 10 years?”
It was a question of whether it would be okay to be locked up for 10 years.
He asked if it would be a big deal if … Mark came out in 10 years.
It was definitely worth asking that question. It wasn’t execution, it was just imprisonment.
“Well… It doesn’t matter. He wasn’t even a general at the time, he was in prison for 10 years, and he won’t be able to return to the imperial palace again.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t think about that part either, and of course it was okay.
Because the reason why I was afraid of a man named Mark in the first place was not that his strength was particularly great or anything like that.
His strength is strong, but strong, much weaker than mine.
Still, what scared him was the position he held as a general.
He was a very politically superior person.
If I got caught wrong in that part, I might have been quite dangerous.
However, even that title of general is useless by being imprisoned for 10 years.
Of course, if he stays in prison for about 10 years, his political standing will completely disappear.
He becomes a man then he doesn’t care at all.
Of course, in the meantime, I’ll be doing other behind-the-scenes work, so I won’t have to worry about being assassinated.
If he still tries to assassinate the emperor, then he can be executed for real.
“Whew… I’m glad. But Alan…”
Listening to my words, Rize put on an expression that seemed almost relieved as if her doubts had been resolved, but…
Her question has not yet been fully resolved.
“If Mark is pardoned… Or released, won’t it be a big deal?”
It was a question of what to do if the mark comes out after 10 years.
For example, the question was whether being pardoned would result in political recovery.
If that happened, they couldn’t be locked up again, and it was certain that it would be very problematic politically.
“Um… That’s true, but the power of pardon belongs to the emperor, princess, and hero in the first place, right? I’ve already convinced the emperor and princess.”
Of course, the right to amnesty kept me in check.
I’ve been locked up at best, but if I use the power of pardon, I might really assassinate the emperor this time.
That’s why when I was a warrior, I gave a personal request to the emperor and princess not to release the mark no matter what.
And since the emperor and the princess would know that their lives were precious, there was no way to release the mark.
Then it was I, the hero, who had the right to pardon, and I thought I just had to be careful… I thought…
“But the current hero is Raina…?”
The current hero was Raina.
For this reason, Raina also has the right to pardon.
She could get into a bit of trouble if Rina gets her pardon.
“I heard that…”
At that point, it was a problem I hadn’t thought of, so my expression went bad for a while.
As expected, thinking about it again, it wasn’t something to worry about.
“That’s true, but there’s no reason for Laina to release the mark, so it’s okay.”
Raina and Mark have nothing to do with each other.
A relationship that was just for a week or so as a party member?
No more, no less, just someone I met while passing by.
I think the only reason for such a Raina to solve the mark is to gather allies of the hero’s party…
In that case, there was no reason for Rina to release Mark.
“Also, there are already a lot of great teammates around Rina? Why would you solve them?”
And more than anything else, Raina already has great colleagues.
The fighter, Andros.
Mage, Elina.
Rogue, Miner.
Until the saintess, Nera.
The wonderful colleagues I gathered with all my might, who are incomparable to anything like Mark.
Because the one who has them all is the hero, Rain.
She had such wonderful companions, but she didn’t even think of a reason to release Mark.
“Assuming you really do…”
Suppose, though, that Raina gets a whiff of something and unleashes the mark.
And let’s assume Mark rebelled.
“Won’t the three generations be annihilated?”
It’s not going to happen, but if it does, Raina will be f*cked.