CH 85

“Claire-sama, we’ll have you wait here.”

“Alright… Thank you.”

Following one of the revolutionaries, they brought me to the old House of Lords’ second office building. It was a very old building with a lot of history and had been declared as one of the kingdom’s historic national treasures. When I entered the room I had been guided to, I saw the silhouette of someone very familiar to me.

“Claire…”

“Father!”

When my father stood from the sofa, I rushed to his side and hugged him.

“I’ve been so worried about you!”

“I’m sorry.”

As I clung to his chest, I wanted to cry, but this wasn’t the right time.

“Alright then, you two please wait here. If you need something, just ring the bell.”

With that, the revolutionary that escorted me left.

Having been an office building for the kingdom’s House of Lords, the room’s fixtures weren’t all that bad. However, as it was an abandoned building, dust had accumulated in a variety of places and the furnishings looked as though they had been hastily carried in. The mismatch of the luxurious fixtures and cheap furnishings made it hard for me to settle down.

“If you’re here, does that mean things didn’t go well with Rei?”

My father very cleverly masked his question. What he was asking was just how close I had gotten to the truth.

“Until the very end, Rei tried to achieve the plan that you and her had put into motion. The reason that I’ve come here is for my own pride and dignity.”

“… You’re so foolish.”

Having understood everything from my choice of words, my father’s face momentarily twisted in pain before once again tightening his embrace.

“As a noble, I am very proud of your decision.”

“Thank you.”

The words my father said as he hugged me were covered in bitterness.

“But father, this is the only way I know to live.”

“I’ve forced a difficult way of life on you.”

“No, father. I have accepted that I am a noble. This is the way things should be.

I felt no regrets that things had turned out this way. I couldn’t say that every moment of my life was happy, but I knew that I was very blessed. Being born as a noble in a wealthy household, having a wonderful father I loved and respected, blessed with friendships, and―

(I was able to… Meet you.)

Rei.

My love.

The fact that I must leave her side, leave her to fend for herself, was perhaps my only regret.

“Oh hoh~ You nobles are just so damn righteous, huh?”

Without even a simple knock, the door swung open and a cheerful voice that greatly contradicted the air in the room, reverberated.

“Cardinal Lily…”

“Just call me Alter. I’m rather different from Lily.”

Saying that, Cardinal Lily―or rather Alter―let out a sarcastic laugh that Cardinal Lily would never normally do. Alter was an assassin sent by the empire who had operated in secret with a black mask. Her true identity was an alternate personality that Salas had artificially created within Lily using his magic.

“Alter, there’s no need to explain. In the end, they are about to die.”

“Salas… You…!”

“Dor, I’m disappointed. To think that I’d have to watch such a talented politician such as yourself disappear from this world.”

“As if you really mean that.”

My father scoffed at him, Salas remained cool and laughed.

“No, not at all, I truly do mean it. But well, I can’t deny that the thought of someone who had always gotten in my way disappearing is… Refreshing.”

“Salas, you’re about to sell all of the people of this entire kingdom just to further your own ambitions. Do you understand that?”

Even as Salas mocked him and laughed, my father maintained his sincerity as a politician. If it were possible, he’d prefer to stop Salas’ foolishness, even now. Rei had already told me that my father was the one who put this kingdom on track for a revolution, but it seemed neither of them considered that the Naa Empire might try to take advantage of that.

“I don’t give a damn about the people. I participate in politics for my own sake. Whether for Bauer’s royalty or for the Naa Empire, I will manipulate everything as though it was on the palm of my hand.”

“… You scum. The fact that I let you roam free until now, until things got to this point, is my greatest mistake.”

“Fufufu, say whatever you’d like. I mean, there’s nothing that you can do now. Or what, will you and your daughter challenge me here and now?”

Salas looked at us with his red eyes, clearly mocking us.

“Why you―!”

“Don’t, Claire. It’s a cheap taunt. If Salas was alone it would be one thing, but his human subject there will be tough to deal with.”

“Kukuku, your praise delights me.”

In response to my father’s words, Alter bowed like actors do at the end of their show.

“So, Salas? What do you plan to do, hand us over to the Naa Empire?”

“No, your heads do not hold nearly that much value. As figureheads of the old era, I will make an example of both of you by sending you to the gallows.”

The gallows―hearing that word, it finally clicked internally. I was… Going to die.

“Oh? What’s wrong Claire?” What, after coming all this way are you scared of dying?”

Having to tolerate Salas’ sneering was insufferable, but he was exactly right. I suddenly felt scared of death. As it would be an execution, it was unlikely that they’d let us die peacefully. In the best case, they’d behead us, or in the worst case, they’d coat us in oil and light us aflame. When I imagined how painful that might be, I was unable to stop myself from shaking.

“Hah, you put on a brave face but you’re just a little girl… Alright then, I’ll give you a chance.”

“A chance?”

“Yes.”

Ever satisfied with himself, Salas gave a broad smile as he continued.

“If you become one of my little puppets, just like Alter here, I’ll allow you to live.”

“Wha…!? That’s absolutely ridiculous!”

Presented with such a dreadful choice, I could only respond with indignation. No matter what the offer was, if it meant having to do Salas’ dirty work, I would never accept.

However―

With my very life weighing on the other side of that scale, I couldn’t deny that the proposition sounded just ever so slightly tempting. That truth, very deeply hurt my pride as a noble.

“Fufufu, is that so. So you won’t. In that case, I have no choice. Both you and your righteous pride as a noble will be exterminated at the gallows.”

Salas laughed as though he enjoyed this situation from the bottom of his heart.

“… Dad, that’s pretty vulgar.”

When that short whisper escaped Alter’s lips, I understood. Salas never even had the smallest intention to spare either of us. He just wanted to toy with his nemesis, and his nemesis’ daughter and find joy in their suffering.

“Talking to you is nothing but a waste of time. Leave us.”

“Oh? Is that the attitude you should be taking? What happens to Claire is entirely up to me you know?”

“Claire is my daughter. No matter what might happen to her, she has formed her resolve.”

“Hah, you say that but it seems she’s scared to die.”

“There isn’t any human who isn’t scared to die. However, to be noble is to be able to find meaning in death.”

My father’s words suddenly reminded me.

It was true that I was scared to die. However, what if my death wasn’t meaningless? In my death, the commoners would be able to truly feel that this was the beginning of a new era. Bauer would be able to establish a new form of government, and the commoners would likely experience better living conditions than before.

And, Rei would be one of those commoners too.

Through my death, Rei would open the door to a new future. Rei was a very capable individual. In this new era, I was sure that her abilities would be in great demand. She would surely become a star.

When that thought passed my mind, my body stopped shaking.

“Oh? Little lady, don’t you know it’s disgraceful to fake your composure?”

“Say whatever you’d like. One day, I know that someone will come to pass proper judgment.”

I thought perhaps that someone might one day be Rei. If it was her, surely she’d find a way to put an end to Salas’ rampage and perhaps even save Cardinal Lily. As I considered such a future, I noticed that my feelings had completely settled.

“… Hmph, how boring. Well, I suppose it’s fine. Let’s go, Alter.”

“See the both of ya later. Don’t do anything hasty, ya hear me?”

Salas and Alter both left the room.

“Claire, are you sure you’re okay with this? If it’s just you, I’m sure you could―”

“I’m sure, father. I’ve made my resolve.”

I truly did feel okay with this. I couldn’t say that I lived a long life, but I believe that I did all that I could and lived to the standards that a noble should. Besides―

(Finally… I’ll be able to go and apologize to my mother for what happened on that day.)

Perhaps my mother would be angry that I died at such a young age. However, I had no doubts that my mother would praise me for martyring myself for the sake of my noble ideals.

“… Is that so… I’m sorry.”

My father hugged me once more.

After that, nothing happened for the next couple of days. At times, Salas would come to meddle with us, but neither my father nor I gave him any ground. I simply did my best to maintain a calm heart and mind, so that I could accept the death that would come.

However―

“She’s here! It’s Rei Taylor!”

That was, an event that lasted a mere ten minutes or so, that would rattle my resolve.