225─Inflection Point
After the meeting, other nobles left the barracks.
Prince Fersen and Raymond remained in place without moving.
Soon, Prince Raymond bowed his head as there was still silence in the place where they were alone.
“Your Highness…… “Lift your head up.”
“The imperial family has no right to raise its head in front of you.”
“That’s not true.”
“What’s not to say——!”
Cow!
Prince Raymond puts his head down on the table and shakes his hands as if he is spewing out his anger.
“It’s been a long time. A lot has changed. But aren’t we who depend on you still the same?”
“…… “
“We have always been cowards. I was afraid that if I did not show favoritism to you, I would withdraw my loyalty, so I did not want to embrace others. “There would be nothing more foolish than a child doubting his parents’ love, but we ended up doing something similar to that without realizing it.”
“…… “
“No matter how capable you are, no matter how loyal you are. They shouldn’t be treated as well as Bruteins, and they shouldn’t be trusted as much as Bruteins…… That line was set. Actually, you wouldn’t even care. “We decided and acted like that as we pleased.”
And what is the result?
In the end, at the most dangerous moment.
I have to rely on it.
What must be sacrificed.
It was Brutein.
The second Brutein appears.
The third Brutein appears.
If such a picture had been drawn, it would not have been Fersen who had to bear the greatest burden in this war.
“If you become slow like a slug…… Isn’t it too late to realize this? hahahaha…… “
Ferzen quietly took a breath when he saw Prince Raymond with his head on the table, smiling and making no attempt to move.
“Your Highness. You know that, right? “This war is no different from the one I brought upon myself, even indirectly.”
“…… “
“Even if you don’t know the details, you probably know that there is a bad relationship between Claudia’s family and me.”
“…… “
“This is something that started with me, so it is natural for me to handle it. There is no need for you to feel burdened or blame yourself for that.”
“Even though it was clearly your fault, the imperial family at the time, who did not try to correct it, cannot be said to be innocent as well.”
“If you change your perspective that way, it won’t be wrong. But isn’t it meaningless to talk about it now?”
“Count…… “
“Your Highness. I wonder if telling you this will put your heart at ease…… “I’m not sure about that.”
“…… “
“Nevertheless, I think I need to tell your majesty.”
“…… “I will listen.”
“The reason I am willing to take on this risk is because of my Brutein blood, rather than the pride and loyalty of being a magistrate…” … “This is the result of my personal greed taking priority.”
“…… “
“At least, the person like me, who will be leaving in a separate unit, is nothing more than a mere human being driven by personal greed, so His Highness, the Prince, should not feel excessive self-reproach or burden. “Isn’t it funny that the prince of the imperial family is worried because an ordinary man full of greed poses a risk?”
Prince Raymond, who raised his head at Fersen’s words, smiled and sighed.
“If you belittle yourself like that, what will become of me and the others here who relied on you?”
“Your Highness…… In fact, I am not a person with enough integrity and uprightness that the imperial family and people can rely on.”
“…… ”
“But it wasn’t that I didn’t like the expectations and gazes that were placed on me. As I said before, the reason I am willing to take on this risk is…… “I said my personal desires took priority.”
“That’s right.”
“That greed means nothing.”
“…… “
“I want to be a good husband to my wives, a proud younger brother to Jeremiah, and a proud pillar of the imperial family. Do I want to become the kind of person who satisfies the expectations that my loved ones have for me? … “For that to happen, there are things that must be completed.”
“Count…… “
For Fersen to reveal her true feelings like this.
Prince Raymond also had a vague idea of what Ferzen was planning to do as she formed her separate team and headed out.
If he was simply tying the knot as a means of atonement, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, but that’s definitely not what he was trying to do.
Because, to Lizzie, the only survivor of the Claudia family, there was no way for Fersen to pay an appropriate price in the form of atonement.
‘Then I…… ‘
What should I do?
8 Years ago, even though I did not know the details, I knew who had committed the mistake.
But the imperial family did not dare to point it out and correct it.
The opponent is Brutein.
A family that has sacrificed for themselves and been loyal to them for a long time.
Isn’t it just a one-time deviation for such a family that we should turn a blind eye to?
The imperial family thought so, so like a treacherous person who only spits out sugarcoated words, they told Brutein something nice to hear.
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He was a monarch who cared about his subjects.
He was a monarch who could not take care of the disobedience of his loyal subjects.
Now that time has passed and he is in the same situation, what choice must he make?
Lizzy Paul Liana Claudia.
A woman who lost her family and her family, and is left alone in the world.
However, the motivation to kill such a woman must have existed in Ferzen now.
Why, here and now.
I guess the fact that they are trying to accommodate their personal greed is proof of that.
If he wanted to kill her from the beginning, if he absolutely had to do it.
‘…… ‘You could have done anything that day, at that execution site.’
Even if words are spoken internally or externally.
Because Brutein could have done as much as he wanted.
In other words, the current Fersen has reached the point where he has to resign from his choice at the time……
No, more accurately, her woman, Lizzy Pauly or Claudia, is threatening her enough to make that choice go away.
‘What a painful choice…… ‘
Prince Raymond quietly closed his eyes as heavy silence fell once again.
Past and present.
If there is one clear element in common, it is that the imperial family believes that Fersen must have a reason to do so.
A man named Fersen, born of Brutein blood.
Because I trusted that he would not be a villain who simply enjoys doing evil deeds.
In fact, Lizzie, who had lost her clan and her entire family in a bad relationship with him just now, was assuming that Fersen was threatening her enough to make her feel alarmed.
In fact, there is an inference that he may be an evil person who cleverly uses this advantage in the past and present to satisfy his distorted desires.
But at least, the man named Fersen whom I had seen with my own eyes was not that kind of person.
‘If he was really a villain in the first place…… ’
His younger sister, Elizabeth, who could read other people’s minds, would not have fallen in love with him.
In the end, the only remaining option is whether to correct the subject who is trying to commit a crime.
If not, does he repeat the past once again even though he knows everything?
…… That’s it.
And of course, the only one Prince Raymond could choose from those options was the latter.
Choosing the former means guaranteeing the safety of Lizzie.
If she actually had the means to threaten Fersen, then Fersen might end up losing her life because of that choice.
‘The death of the Count…… It causes enormous damage to this front.’
Privately.
Publicly.
No matter which side he weighed, Prince Raymond laughed bitterly when he came to the conclusion that it was lighter to ruin a woman’s life.
Of course, the same choices made in the past led to the current war.
Because there can be no perfect choice for the choices made by mere mortals, it is possible that misfortunes of this magnitude may befall us in the future as well.
‘Rather…… ‘Maybe it’s not that bad.’
No matter how powerful a country is, it will eventually collapse over time.
And if it were a country stained with sin that would not harbor resentment over its collapse…… Wouldn’t the destruction that comes at the end of decline be sobering?
“…… “
Prince Raymond soon opened his closed eyes and stood up, looking at Fersen.
Make the same choice as in the past once again, but make sure that you are not a “Bystander” Like you were then.
He drew his sword and held it out to Fersen.
“Take it.”
“Your Highness.”
“This choice is not based on what you think. However, at the moment when it is necessary to correct the mistake of a subject…… Since I chose not to do that, I can also be said to be an accomplice.”
“Never…… It’s not like that.”
“Don’t deny it. I found out about that day in the past after it had already happened. But at this moment, I knew it before it happened, right?”
“…… “
“Count. “He said that he was not as clean as he thought and that he was an ugly person.”
“…… “
“In fact, what human being doesn’t do that? Rather, during these long years…… “You have maintained untainted and pure loyalty for a long time.”
Turning his sword and holding out the handle to him, Prince Raymond signed his final sentence with all his sincerity.
“If the crown to be worn is the crown of sin…… “I will not reject it, and I will also become a suitable royal descendant and be dyed with it.”
So.
Family tree.
Family too.
Life too.
The end of the woman who will become her everything is Prince Raymond’s will to finish her off with her own sword.
“There is no doubt about this. “It was a choice I saw with my own two eyes and heard with my own two ears.”
“…… “
“Fersen von Schweig Ruerg.”
“Yes. Majesty…… “
“Will you obey my orders?”
How do you think you can refuse this command?
Ferzen came down from the chair, biting his lip, and held his sword with trembling hands in front of Prince Raymond with utmost courtesy.
And when Prince Raymond saw that, he tried to say a few more words to Fersen, but……
“…… “
Seeing Fersen shaking her shoulders and tears streaming down the sword she was holding, he quietly passed by her and left the barracks.
‘The Count’s tears…… Is this the first time I’ve seen this in my life?’
No, leave all that behind.
Prince Raymond looked up at the sky, thinking that it was unusual for the Brutein family to show such weakness in front of them.
On the other hand, Fersen, who was holding Prince Raymond’s sword in the lone barracks, tilted his head back and fell into thought.
‘Lizzy…… There is nothing wrong with what you say.’
These people are too much for someone like me.
And those people are enjoying happiness beyond measure.
But even if it’s too much for you and doesn’t fit your budget……
‘How could it be human to willingly let go of that?’
Sureuk.
With that, Ferzen raises his body, kicking Prince Raymond’s sword to his side.
What remains is the last page to be recorded as a villain in this world.
At the same time, the final act was always the final Maginot line allowed to the villain.
‘So…… ‘
Be yourself for the first time.
Fersen was determined to see the epilogue as a villain.