Chapter 476

Fair and Impartial King of Justice

Sion Sol Sunkland, the Penal King, had a lot of enemies. People who didn’t like him would often say bad things about him, both in public and in private. But even his harshest enemies couldn’t deny one thing about him: that he made fair judgements. He did the right thing. They did this without stopping, regardless of their own feelings or interests. Whenever he was talked about, everyone would always say the same thing.

“His Majesty the Penal King is fair and right. There is no question about it. If he thinks you are guilty, he will kill you, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. After all, he did the same thing to his own brothers, one by birth and one by nurture. His royal sibling. His most reliable attendant. Both of them were killed by him. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but he did it.”

On that day, an old nobleman went to see the king.

Sion quietly looked up as a servant told him that a guest had arrived. He had known the face of the man in front of him for most of his life.

“Count Lampron. How have you been all these years?”

The count smiled. Sion noticed that his cheeks were tense from nervousness. “All right, Your Majesty. I’m glad to see that you are healthy, too.”

Count Lampron used to be leader of the most conservative lords in Sunkland. He was Echard’s teacher for a while as well. Not too long ago, he finally stopped being in the middle of politics and went into what was basically a half-retirement. In the process, he seemed to lose his authoritative air and attitude, leaving behind an old man with a much calmer personality.

Sion looked at him with interest, wondering what business the old count might have. “All right. But why are you here right now? If you want to talk about old times, I would be happy to if there wasn’t a rebellion going on. There is still a lot of work to do to clean up the mess. I’m afraid I don’t have much time for small talk.”

In one part of Sunkland, there was a revolt ten days ago. Fed up with Sion’s strict rule, a group of lords gathered around Echard, the former second prince, and used him as a flag to try to start a large-scale uprising. They had picked a bad fight, though, because their opponent was Sion Sol Sunkland, who was a king, a genius, and a cruel defender of justice. As soon as he heard about the plot, he sent his personal army against the people who were planning it. It didn’t take long to catch everyone under his direct guidance. All of the criminals were sent to the underground prison. Echard, his own brother, was one of them.

“I want to talk to you about the uprising, Your Majesty.” Before he looked at Sion, Lampron bowed out of respect. “Please think again about killing His Highness Prince Echard. He couldn’t have agreed to do this on his own. I’m sure he did everything he could to stop the other leaders from committing crime.”

“You say... But I don’t think that’s the case. Echard has always thought of himself as inferior to me, and he has fought a lot with this idea. He could have been convinced by the others, and he could have jumped at the chance to get rid of me.”

“But...”

“In either case, what he did brought useless chaos to the kingdom. Because of this, innocent blood was spilled. He needs to be held responsible for what he has done.”CHeCk for new stories on no/v/el/bin(.)c0m

“Your Majesty, he’s your brother! You’re related to him—”

The Penal King cut him off, which took away his last chance. “Even so, no, even more so. Because he is related to me, Count Lampron, he should not get a lighter sentence. Lampron, don’t you see? You spent your whole life arguing that Sunkland’s king must rule in a fair and just way. You of all people should be able to get it. I am the king.”

Sion looked sad.

“Why? What do you see in Echard? You weren’t close. Why do this for him?”

“Because if you kill him... If you kill your own brother, Your Majesty, you’ll really become—”

“I am already the king, Keithwood. I have a responsibility to rule Sunkland in a fair and just way. “That duty says I have to kill Echard, so I have to,” said Sion. “In addition...”

Then there was a short period of quiet, which was broken by a soft, steady, and very cold voice.

“Goodbye, Keithwood. “Thanks for everything.”

So, Sion became a great example of a king. He stopped being biased in his decisions. He got rid of all emotion. He made himself into a righteous vessel that only cared about how fair its choices were. So he ruled, always fair but less of a man than an ideal one. When people saw him, they turned away from him. This could have been because people respected and feared his unwavering morality.

Sion never got married.

People needed other people. Not kings. He was always alone, as if to prove that being with other people was too expensive luxury for a King of Justice.

Tragedy comes in many ways, and its roots are just as varied. One of them was Sion’s life. As long as the seed stayed in the royal family of Sunkland, disasters would keep happening. They might change how they look and when they come, but they would always come. The assassination was a bad fruit, but it was still a fruit. The event could be stopped, but the seed would still be there...

Who could dig deep into Sunkland’s dirt and find the seed of misfortune? Who else but our princess, who doesn’t know anything, and her group of happy friends? She and her friends were right in the middle of dealing with the tangled web of trouble in the Sunkland royal family. Could they finally pull the unlucky seedling out of the ground?

“Hm... Is it just me, or does this dress feel a bit snug around my waist? Did they get the measurement wrong?”

Good question? That is, the one with the plant. Not the one about measurement.

“How very strange. I had it made too just a few days ago... Oh wait. Oh, I get it. It’s the weather here! I heard that things can get smaller when it’s cold. That must be the case here...”

It was indeed an excellent question.

This must be another timeline. In Mia’s timeline, Dion was the one who guillotined her.

And in Tiona’s timeline, Sion got married to a Sunkland noble.