Chapter 499

Chapter 499

Sion’s Decision 1: Judgement for Echard

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“Echard, your sentence is as follows,” declared Sion. Sion’s brother, Echard, lowered his gaze, and they locked eyes for a moment.

“What you did, this terrible act of poisoning the king... It is unforgivable. Nevertheless, Miss Citrina has raised the possibility that your actions were not meant to be a murder. You might not have even been aware that the substance you possessed was poison. Is her suggestion true? I need answers from you, Echard, and I need to hear them directly from you.”

His pointed question was met with a mere shake of Echard’s head.

“I... have nothing to say.”

The younger prince chose silence, possibly an attempt to protect what remained of his integrity, fueled by youthful pride. Speaking the truth, he believed, would be seen as begging for his life. He had made a mistake, but he would not grovel. Echard was prepared to face the consequences of his actions with dignity.

Echard welcomed his punishment, driven by the noble principles of Sunkland, a kingdom founded on justice. He felt that only through this sentence would he be validated as a prince of Sunkland. He couldn’t compromise the kingdom’s legacy of justice to save himself. In his death, he saw honor, even if it was a youthful and naive notion that Sion couldn’t grant him.

Sion’s words to his brother mirrored his own internal struggle. After his failure in Remno, he had also embraced the idea of righteous penance, thinking it shameful to avoid punishment. He had longed for his own punishment, just as Echard did now. Staring down Abel’s sword, he had welcomed the thought of its cold steel piercing his flesh. He had upheld justice his whole life, and he believed it was the only fitting way to take responsibility for his mistake.

The Great Wisdom of the Empire had disagreed with him, delivering a much-needed wake-up call that had freed him from his self-absorption. She had urged him not to seek death but to carry the shame of his failure, redeeming himself with his actions. Even now, he still felt deep shame and considered himself unworthy to speak of justice and fairness. However, he needed to do so, for Echard’s sake and to uphold justice.

Sion turned his attention back to his brother, recalling the meaning of being a king.

“Sion...” Echard whispered his name.

Sion briefly caught a glimpse of his younger brother’s face, almost on the verge of tears, before it turned downward. Slowly, Echard began to speak.

“It’s... true. I know it might sound like an excuse, but a man I didn’t know approached me at the open market. He gave me the poison. He told me it would cause mild abdominal pain.”

Echard’s voice wavered and at times faltered, revealing the frightened and vulnerable boy beneath the princely facade.

“It was reckless of me... I understand that now. Without testing its effects, I attempted to have you drink it,” he said, avoiding eye contact with his brother. “I... don’t know what led me to do that.”

There was genuine perplexity in his tone as he continued.

“I think... it was bitterness. I’ve always felt inadequate compared to you. That feeling grew and grew until I couldn’t contain it anymore. That’s when I saw the poison. It whispered to me, told me to put just a little in. It assured me that no real harm would come, and that I would feel better after taking you down a notch. And I... listened. I succumbed to its temptation.” Echard bowed his head. “I leave my fate to your judgment and accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate. Please don’t let my mistake tarnish Sunkland’s legacy of justice.”

“My, Prince Sion,” she said with a smug smile, “have you forgotten that I’m Prince Echard’s fiancée? I believe I have every right to welcome him into my household.”

The first to respond was the event organizer, Count Lampron. “Given the circumstances, Miss Esmeralda,” he said, flustered, “I do believe this marriage proposal is—”

“Excuse me?” Esmeralda cut him off, then shook her head with a knowing smile. “Do you mean to embarrass me, Count Lampron? After such a ceremonious announcement of our marriage to so many people, we cannot possibly renege on the arrangement.”

Her rebuke left no room for argument, as it was Sunkland’s fault that her honor was at stake.

“Fortunately, we Greenmoons have many connections within other nations, just as we do with Sunkland nobles like yourself, Count Lampron,” she said, turning toward the queen. Her smile softened. “If he stays with us, not only will we help him expand his horizons, but it will also be easy for him to visit home.”

“Lady Esmeralda... How thoughtful of you...” The queen was moved by her words.

Mia, on the other hand, was more cynical, muttering, “Not bad, Esmeralda.”

Sion, recalling the time he spent with the Greenmoons, felt that the experiences were invaluable. Echard’s chance to see more of the world would likely do him more good than harm. So, he looked at his father, then his mother, and finally at Esmeralda.

“In that case... I’ll leave my brother in your care.”

Seeing Sion lower his head, Mia released a breath she had been holding for a long time.

Phew, I think this case is finally closed. Things worked out pretty well for everybody, I’d say. Esmeralda has a cute future husband, and she even gets to take him home. She must be happy. Granted, we’ll have to make up some official excuse to bring him to Tearmoon, and Duke Greenmoon probably has to be filled in about what’s actually going on. That’ll probably make it hard to have an actual ceremony... That wasn’t all. She glanced at Echard.

We didn’t do anything about Prince Echard’s hang-ups. If anything, all this thoughtfulness is probably making his inferiority complex worse.

Some problems still existed, yes. But most of them were solved! And that was enough for Mia, because it meant that at long last, her job was done. Surely, she could exit stage left now.

Then, unexpectedly, Sion spoke up. “Oh, there’s one more thing I’d like to do. Could someone summon Prince Abel?”

Mia wondered why he wanted Abel’s presence.

Mia gave Sion a quizzical look, and he laughed.

“Echard, I’d like to show you something.”

Author’s Note:

As you may have guessed, the Sunkland arc will be over soon (?), but the fourth part will continue a little longer...well, it’s still quite a bit. The Sunkland and Peruvian arcs have been extended longer than expected... It was planned that there would be about 80 episodes between the two... strange.

So, it looks like Part 4 will be longer than the previous chapters.

I would appreciate it if you could stay with me for a long time.