CH 119

Subjugation and Rakain (10)

“What would you like to do?”

“……”

Roelin could not answer Heinez’s question. Instead, she only clutched at the letter that she was holding.

Her head was telling her not to believe the contents of the letter, so that she didn’t have to go to Rakain.

……but—

“……I’ll go.”

But her heart had given a stupid answer. It was a very foolish answer indeed.

She said that she would be going to Rakain.

She just couldn’t turn away from her mother who wanted to see her. Moreover, how could she refuse such a request from her mother when she was now in a critical condition?

She had already turned into a mother whom Roelin forewent all her expectations from since a long time ago. She never even expected a single warm word from that mother of hers.

Nevertheless, her heart still trembled when she heard that her mother was currently in a critical condition.

Still, was it because she had been the one who gave her that flesh and blood?

Or did she think that her mother had emptied her mind, but still had some lingering feelings?

Roelin put down the tightly clutched letter on the table and continued to speak to Heinez yet again.

“However, before that, I would like to ask His Majesty for permission to act on this.”

It was nonsense to leave this place arbitrarily like that while he had been away from the Imperial Palace.

“So, can you send a messenger to inform His Majesty about the current situation?”

“Ah, of course, it’s possible to send forth a messenger. But…… I have to tell you that if things don’t work out, it may take even longer than expected just for a reply.”

Roelin nodded at Heinez’s words and proceeded with a more cautious look.

“Is that so?”

Then, Roelin looked slightly disappointed at Heinez’s words. In that case, what should she do? She went silent for a moment with a troubled face.

But her troubles didn’t last very long.

Above all, the fact that her mother was ‘in a critical condition’ had made her unable to worry for a long time.

“Then, first of all, send a messenger to His Majesty and explain the whole situation. And…… I’ll leave just as I am. As soon as possible, regardless of his reply.”

“Empress!”

Heinez instantly frowned at Roelin’s words. It never meant that he didn’t understand the fact that she had been impatient since her mother was sick. However, it was really difficult for even the Empress to leave in the absence of Kergel.

Roelin also had a good grasp of the whole situation. She then continued persuasively to Heinez.

“You have to go through the Samalta Mountains to get to Rakain anyway. His Majesty will definitely be around that area. So, I’ll meet him there in person and talk to him once more. Wouldn’t that work?”

“But still, it’s dangerous. There could be a bunch of monsters……”

“Even if we leave right now and arrive near the Samalta Mountains, I think that the situation is almost over right there.”

“……”

Heinez could no longer refute Roelin’s words and kept himself quiet. Indeed, the situation would have calmed down to some extent.

It was not like he didn’t know what Kergel had been capable of……

“Hmm… I see. Then, I obey the will of the Empress.”

The relationship between a mother and a daughter was a thousand years old. Although she had been neglected and abused without being loved by her own mother, it might still be impossible to break the relationship altogether.

No, even if it was possible to cut it off, it had entirely been something that only the parties involved would do, not something that a third party could ever interfere with.

Heinez organized his thoughts like so and soon accepted Roelin’s words. Although she didn’t deserve to be treated like that.

As a servant, how could he actually block and interfere with the Empress’s decision?

It might have been a unique case of Roelin, who was the one that devised a way or another to persuade him.

“However, I will be the one who’d take the Empress entirely to the Rakain Palace from here.”

“Of course. I don’t want to enter the Palace under the guidance of Rakain either.”

Roelin nodded willingly at Heinez’s words. Even though she decided to visit Rakain, she didn’t feel that comfortable, but it was good to hear Heinez’s words since it made her feel reassured.

Then, Heinez smirked and added.

“And if the crisis near the Samalta Mountains is over, I don’t think it would be that bad to go to Rakain with His Majesty as well. No, when he hears this news, His Majesty will surely say that he’d follow you.”

“No way.”

Roelin understood Heinez’s words as a joke and shook her head with a smile.

“No way, ha… I really want it to end with that ‘no way’ just as Your Majesty had said.”

Heinez smirked while looking at Roelin like that.

Considering Kergel’s usual attitude towards her, it was fully feasible, but he had nothing else to say since she didn’t truly believe it.

“Anyway, if His Majesty insists on following you, please then return to the Imperial Palace somehow, Your Majesty.”

Heinez asked Roelin to prevent the ‘no way’ from ever becoming a reality. Then, Roelin looked in disbelief before she inevitably nodded to Heinez’s words in response.

* * *

It would have been a peaceful village. Even if they were not abundant, they would have just lived by being grateful for everything.

Clatter.

As soon as Kergel got down his horse, he clenched his teeth at the muddy feeling that he felt under his feet.

The small fields where they had grown their daily crops were soaking up all their blood that it eventually became all muddy.

“Ugh!”

From behind, he could hear a soldier felt his stomach burning because he couldn’t stand the terrible sight. No matter how many times a soldier had experienced this, it would still be the first time to see such a scene, so that was a rather natural reaction.

Bodies got torn to shreds and utterly unrecognizable shapes were scattered throughout the village. And amongst them, there were bodies of children who would have just begun learning to walk as well as bodies of newborn babies.

Of course, there was no way to find a complete body, so all this had just been a guess and an estimation.