Chapter 164.2

Chapter 164.2

Edelred sighed deeply and muttered,

“So, he decided to smear the name of the Georg family.”

Suddenly, Edelred turned his head towards the west where the moon was setting. There was a forest there, notorious for witch-hunting during the day, but he was looking far beyond it, at an island touched by the sea breeze.

“There’s an island called Saltain. It’s heavily populated by followers of the Salt Council. When they were expelled from the desert, many travelled long distances to settle there. Apparently, there were even people who lived there before Elil. The former king thought this made a good excuse.”

“...”

“The Count of Saltain, although hosting many followers of the Salt Council, was a loyal devotee of Elil. He was appalled when the order for a ‘heretic purge’ came, and he desperately defended them.”

These were tax-paying citizens who supported most of the island’s economy. Even Elil’s mainland benefitted from the seafood and goods they provided. It was foolish to expel them. Moreover, persecuting such minorities under the guise of heresy was sinful...

“Of course, the former king wouldn’t listen. He viewed the Count’s defense as ‘treason’ and ordered Vio Georg to carry out the purge. Things might not have reached such a dire state had Vio ignored the order. But Vio was a knight. And the head of the Aldeon family was a knight-king.”

Edelred gritted his teeth as he continued,

“And Vio Georg executed his duties exceedingly well. Saltain burned, over 500 ships were destroyed, and hundreds of its citizens were slaughtered, even those who were not followers but merely tried to protect or hide them. But the hell didn’t end there.”

“What do you mean it didn’t end?”

“The Count of Saltain surrendered too late. The former king then banned boat building and imposed a blockade on Saltain, which Vio Georg enforced. Saltain might have vast territories, but most of its land is rocky and barren due to the saline winds. And now, fishing was also banned.”

Edelred murmured ominously,

“Your Majesty.”

“You are finally the hope I found. The knights might respect you more than me, but it doesn’t matter if you are the one to bring change to this country. But if you leave me, I don’t know what I’ll do with this torn country.”

Edelred wanted to change the system that had been meticulously crafted by followers of Elil over centuries, a daunting task, especially amidst the aggressive blades surrounding him.

Being simply the king would be easy if it meant becoming the strongest in the country.

But Edelred wanted to destroy the system itself.

A much harder path.

Isaac sensed the irony in this. It was like seeing a kindred spirit.

Edelred was essentially a one-eyed man thrown into a world of the blind. The dissonance Isaac felt as a modern person dropped into another world was not much different from what Edelred experienced.

However, Isaac could only offer him a sorrowful response.

“Become the king of the knights, Your Majesty.”

To destroy what you hate, you must become what you hate.

That was what Isaac had learned while contending with this irrational world.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read up to advance 20 chapters or support me, you can do it at /Akaza156