Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Bang—!

Just then, the doors of the courtroom, which had been firmly closed, opened as the Emperor walked out of the court.

Seeing that, Seth ran straight to him and cried out in a desperate voice.

“Your Majesty!”

“…Ah, it’s you.”

The Emperor, surrounded by the Pope, the inquisitor, High Priest Resitia and knights, turned his head at his call and looked at him. At that moment, Seth could feel his heart sink with an ominous feeling at the Emperor’s uncharacteristically calm gaze.

‘…No way.’

He managed to pay his respects to the emperor before asking cautiously.

“Your Majesty, where is she?”

“….”

“As Your Majesty knows, that person would never do anything to hurt anyone, so please…”

“If it’s the ‘witch’ you seek, the one who wears the mask of the ‘Duchess of Persen,’ then she’s now in the dungeon.”

“Your Majesty! What…?!”

“The verdict on the witch will be rendered tomorrow at noon. Until then, you’re to return to Persen Castle and get your bearings together.”

How come his forebodings have never been wrong? Seth glared at him with a cold gaze as he followed after the Emperor, who turned around, and shouted desperately.

“Your Majesty, what are you talking about?! That person isn’t guilty of anything, so why have you put her in prison?!”

“That’s enough, Duke Persen. She’s been found to be a witch from another world! She deserves to be burned at the stake, and you should be grateful that I’ve spared her a day in prison!”

“I know her innocence best! I can prove his innocence, so please, give her another trial, Your Majesty!”

“Shut up! Don’t you know that even daring to say such a thing would be considered blasphemy considering the hardships that Grand Duchess Blaine and her two sons are going through now because of that wicked woman?!”

At that moment, High Priest Resitia, who stood at the Emperor’s side, stopped Seth and threatened. It was clear that he intended to prevent the Emperor and Seth from speaking further, lest the indecisive Emperor be swayed by his pleas.

Seth glared at High Priestess Leticia with furious eyes but didn’t stop trying to get closer to the Emperor’s side. However, the Emperor quickened his pace, not wanting to even make eye contact with him.

‘…No.’

…He couldn’t let it all end like this. Desperate, he shouted more earnestly.

“Your Majesty…!”

“I’m sure I’ve told you to go back to your castle and get your bearings together!”

“Please. Just listen to me.”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Go back.”

“….”

“Should I put your knights and younger brother in the dungeon as well?”

“….!”

However, the Emperor seemed even more enraged by his pleas, and he refuted loudly, which was rare for him. Seth stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the Emperor giving him a stern expression.

Seeing that, the Emperor deliberately pushed him back roughly and left the courtroom with his followers.

“…D*mn it.”

Glaring at the receding backs of the Emperor and his entourage, he slammed his palm against the wall.

Thud!

As his skin was torn and red blood flowed, Seth couldn’t stop himself from doing it. He felt like he was going to go mad with rage at those who had done this to her and helplessness toward himself.

‘…Was I such a weak person?’

Even though he said he would protect her no matter what, he couldn’t properly keep that promise.

He hated himself for saying that he would have given anything for her but hesitated when the lives of his knights and his brother were at stake.

“…Ugh.”

Standing in front of the courtroom where everyone else had left, Seth kept cursing his helplessness over and over again.

“Your Excellency!”

He didn’t know in what spirit he walked out of the courtroom.

By the time he finally pulled himself together, it was a couple of hours after the trial was over. After some time had passed and he had come to some sort of conclusion about the current situation, Seth walked out of the courtroom and into the outer sanctum, where his knights were, with a sullen face.

The next moment, the Persen knights, who had been waiting for him, approached him and asked.

“…Your Excellency. Are you alright?”

“….”

“You’ve hurt your hand pretty badly. You need to get it treated.”

Seth smiled bitterly as he watched the faces of the knights greeting him as usual.

It had been some time since the trial ended, so they must have known the outcome, yet their expressions were calm enough to seem cold. He could well guess how the knights felt, who were deliberately acting as if nothing had happened.

Because of that, he couldn’t help but feel both grateful and guilty for their concern for him as he realized that they must have felt like they were walking through hell because of their comrades’ suffering.

Even if it was to keep her secret, he ended up deceiving the knights and putting them all in danger.

Seth opened his mouth, turning to Lancelot, who had come to his side and was silently bandaging his injured hand.

“…Don’t you wish to leave me and serve another lord, Lancelot?”

“….!”

“If you all feel that way, feel free to tell me. You should leave while I still have the pretentious title of duke so I could still at least be able to write you a letter of recommendation.”

“….”

“The people in the public eye may probably put me on a witch trial for this, and by then, it will be too late so I want you all to make a decision before then.”

As he muttered the self-deprecating words with a bitter laugh, Lancelot’s bandaged hand came to a halt and Seth pushed his hand away from his own and turned to look at the other knights surrounding him.

It was not easy to let go of their hands because they were knights who had been together with him for more than half of his life, even before he took his current position, but he had to do it.

Like himself, the knights also finally found their lives stable after going through numerous battlefields. However, because of his choice, he may drive them back to the edge of death again, so Seth wanted to keep them away from him.

That was why he avoided the eyes of the knights, whose faces were shocked by his words.

“…D*mn it!”

It was then…

At his next words, Gawin scowled and leaped at him, clutching his fists. Seeing that, the other knights hastily seized his arm and cried out.

“Sir Gawin, calm down!”

“D*mn it, let go! Do you think I’m going to be calm right now?!”

“Gawin!”

“I was wondering what kind of words you’re putting so much weight into, but that’s all you came up with?!”

“…Then what did you want me to say, Sir Gawin?”

Seth asked back as he scoffed weakly at Gawin, who was grabbing him by the collar with indignant eyes, and pushed him.

Meanwhile, even more aroused by the attitude, Gawin replied harshly.

“D*mn it! Shouldn’t you have apologized for keeping us in the dark before that?!”

“….!”

The answer he heard was way off the mark of Seth’s expectations. At his stunned stare, Gawin began to unravel his pent-up frustrations in a harsher tone.

“We know why the Captain kept the Duchess’s secret from us and why you didn’t tell us! Until now, every single person who’s ever used half-soul magic to change their souls and every single person who’s ever helped them has been taken to the Vatican, treated as witches and their helpers, and had terrible things done to them. That’s why you didn’t tell us on purpose so that the word wouldn’t get out or so that we could get away with it if we were found out! We know…!”

“…Gawin.”

“…Still, I’m disappointed! Are we just common acquaintances? Those of us here have at least ten years, no longer than that! We’ve been on the battlefield together since the Captain was around Noah’s age! Don’t you know what that means? We have already staked our whole life on you!”

“….!”

“Especially since we, Lancelot and I, have dragged our brothers and cousins into following you! Can’t you see that we believe in you, even to the point of risking our flesh and blood? Then, as our lord, shouldn’t you be responsible for this faith?!”

“….”

“That feeling must be the same for Gareth and Bediviel! Of course, the same goes for ‘her’ who’s imprisoned together with them! By now, they must be waiting for us to rescue them, but are you really going to let go and just watch them being dragged to the stake side by side? Are you willing to sacrifice three people’s lives just to protect this paltry position?!”

Seth replied, still smiling weakly at how uncharacteristically genuinely upset Gawin was, who was always playful and smirking in any emergency situation.

“…No, I’m not. I’m going to save your life and theirs.”

“Ha! Don’t try to fool me! No matter how I look at it, the Captain’s life won’t be what you’re trying to save!”

At Gawin’s words, who had once again read his thoughts accurately this time as well, he put on a blank expression.

“…Gawin.”

“D*mn it,! Is it really so hard for you just to order us all to commit treason? Is it really that hard to ask Grand Duchess Blaine, who’s unjustly holding a person’s life under false accusations, with a sword?!”

At those words, Seth, who had been listening to Gawin’s snarl as his collar was still being grabbed, looked at him in slight bewilderment.

…Did he realize what he was just saying? Was he saying this knowing who he was talking about turning into an enemy?

All of a sudden, he could feel his heart leap into his throat before Seth burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

“Haha.”

“…Is what I’m saying funny now, Captain?”

“Gawin, do you realize what you just said?”

“I’m sure I must’ve told you before. I’ve never sworn allegiance to the Emperor.”

“….”

“My lord is the Captain, so I only follow your orders. If you tell me to cut someone down, I’ll cut them down, and if you tell me to protect you, I’ll protect you with my life.”

“…Is that what you think so, too?”

Upon hearing Gawin’s answer, Seth turned and asked the other Persen knights surrounding him.

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