CH 584

Heinrich wore a determined expression, while Louise seemed to have lost her soul.

It was only natural. The cause of all this chaos and the one who deserved the hatred of everyone in the world—the Demon King—had secretly visited his son.

And the son had not told anyone about it, not even herself.

Heinrich explained everything from the beginning.

Before he learned that he was a bastard, he received an anonymous letter when he was struggling with the hatred of his brothers and the ignorance of the truth.

"The letter said... my brothers were planning to kill me."

"!"

"They seemed to know... that I was a bastard. I don't know how they knew..."

Of course, Heinrich thought the letter was a prank and didn't believe it. However, he later confirmed the truth about being a bastard through the mouths of his brothers, who were, in fact, his uncles.

"The Demon King appeared that day. It seemed as if he had been watching me from somewhere all along."

"The Demon King... came in person...?"

"Yes, he revealed himself without a doubt."

The Demon King made a proposal to Heinrich.

If he wanted to survive, he should follow him.

If he stayed there, he would either be killed or would have no choice but to want to kill his brothers.

"And... he said he would tell me everything if I followed him. What had happened until now. What I could do in the future. What my role would be in all of this..."

The more Louise heard, the more she felt the hairs on her body stand on end.

The Demon King had been extracting information from the allied forces without her knowing, and her son was even being monitored by him.

Was this what it felt like to have the blood drained from your body?

But she was fortunate.

Her son had not followed the Demon King but was here, right in front of her.

"The Demon King tried to deceive you."

"..."

"I'm so relieved, truly relieved. You didn't follow the Demon King. You made a wise choice."

Three people had been deceived by the Demon King's cunning tongue and followed him.

Harriet de Saint Owan.

Liana de Grantz.

Olivia Lanze.

Though there were only three of them, they were all either children of prominent nobles or individuals highly regarded as the future of the empire.

No one knew what they were doing or where they were, but it was already a shocking event.

The Demon King had tried to take advantage of Heinrich's fear and confusion.

He made an irresistible offer in a situation where it would be strange if Heinrich did not accept it.

Louise felt incredibly proud and touched that her son had rejected the Demon King's offer.

He had rejected the Demon King's proposal in a situation where refusal or resistance was impossible.

How cunning and terrifying must the Demon King be?

"Sister, I didn't follow the Demon King because I don't trust him."

Heinrich looked at Louise with a stern expression.

"What... did you say?"

He didn't follow the Demon King.

But as she saw her son trying to utter the dreadful words that he believed in the Demon King, Louise began to tremble more and more.

"I know what you're thinking, sister. You might think the Demon King lied to deceive me, or that I'm saying this because I was fooled by his lies."

Heinrich swallowed and continued speaking.

"I have no intention of following the Demon King, even if he returns, nor do I intend to cooperate. You can rest assured on this matter. However, no matter how much I think about it… no matter how much I doubt… I cannot believe that the Demon King… Reinhardt is an evil being."

"My youngest, the Demon King deceived everyone. Did he not fool everyone with his gentle and mild disguise? Did you not see those who followed and aided the Demon King up close, deceived by his mask?"

Heinrich couldn't help but lose his composure at these words, even in this situation.

Gentle and mild.

These are words that anyone who had seen the Demon King during the Temple days could not utter.

"…Sister. The Demon King was far from gentle and mild. If we were to be precise, he was a madman."

"Is… is that so?"

"Yes, he was a madman who caused all kinds of trouble. He did everything he shouldn't have done while infiltrating."

The Demon King had done far too many things that shouldn't be done if infiltration and capture were his goals.

However, Reinhardt had become friends with many people and built relationships. But, it seemed like a series of coincidences rather than a calculated plan by the Demon King.

If his true goal was capture, there would be no reason for the Demon King to act in such a manner.

It's too outcome-oriented to say that the purpose of the process was the same just because the outcome turned out that way.

The Demon King lived his Temple life like a madman. In fact, Heinrich could even be considered a victim of his antics.

But, all Louise could feel was fear looking at her son speaking about the Demon King like this.

She couldn't help but be afraid that he had already fallen for the Demon King's tricks or ploys.

"Sister, don't you think that our coalition forces have been advancing too easily at some point?"

However, Heinrich knew what to say to his sister.

"…You can't mean."

"Despite being winter, the weather has been too good, and the warp gates of small cities have been seized without any strategy. Moreover, didn't you see the scene in the recent Serandia battle, as if someone had already swept through it once?"

Definitely strange circumstances.

However, no one questioned these things.

"You don't mean that… that…"

"It is certain that the Demon King's forces are helping our advance and fighting ahead of us."

Secrets or strategies hidden by the Empire.

That's what she had vaguely thought.

But the idea that all this help was coming from the Demon King was something she didn't want to believe, regardless of its possibility.

"Why would the Demon King do that? After causing the Gate incident. Why on earth would he help us?"

"I don't know. Why the Demon King is helping us. Why the Empire is keeping this a secret. I don't know what the Demon King truly wants, but… there's one thing for certain."

The Demon King had caused the Gate incident to bring about the destruction of humanity.

"From the beginning of the Gate incident, there's something we're unaware of."

Heinrich no longer believed in that placeholder.

------

Ludwig was heading to the Church of Tu'an.

The fact that he could do something gave Ludwig a small consolation, but in the falling snow, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

And Ludwig had heard from Rowan that, in her eyes, a collapsing building was a bigger problem than the cold caused by the snow.

Ludwig could see people clearing the snow from the roofs, as well as those on the streets.

The guards and the royal family were all focused on the snow removal, and the citizens were also working hard to clear it.

As a result, for the first time in a long while since the Gate incident, the streets of the Imperial Capital were filled with people.

However, there were many in the refugee camp who didn't have the strength for such work.

Purification was important, but was it meaningful in these circumstances? Even though the makeshift huts could not adequately protect against the cold wind, without them, people would freeze to death.

Everywhere in this land was now filled with such anguish.

Both Rowan and Ludwig knew that the purification of disease was only a temporary solution.

What Rowan was doing now had nothing to do with hope. It was merely a temporary measure against despair, unrelated to saving the world or bringing peace.

However, it was something that had to be done because they couldn't not do it.

In an era when even speaking of a small hope had become a luxury, the only thing they could do was to struggle to plug the hole in the dam of despair.

Moreover, Rowan was not just an ordinary priestess, but an archbishop, and Ludwig, though he had lost an arm, was a superhuman.

Even these people could do nothing more than small tasks in the present reality. There was no place for those even smaller.

Great deeds were for great beings.

Beings like Ellen, Heinrich, and Louise von Schwarz, who had shared breakfast with Ludwig that morning.

Individuals with immense power or the ability to command vast armies would be the ones to end this Gate incident.

Finding hope was the role assigned to them.

Once all this was over, and a time came when even a small degree of peace could be spoken of, these small tasks would find meaning.

The moment the survivors, by whatever means, faced the tasks of peace and reconstruction, what Ludwig and Rowan were doing now would have meaning in saving countless lives and giving them a future.

That's why Ludwig kept walking.

Embracing the expectation that someday everything would be alright.

Rather than despairing and giving up, he kept going because there was still something he could do.

Ludwig would not give up.

As he walked, he neared the Church where Rowan was staying.

“Where can we sell this?”

“There must be some nobles who'd be interested, right?”

Ludwig could see people running through the streets with shovels.

There were more than just one or two.

Groups that seemed to be together, yet not, were moving around as if fleeing in twos and threes.

“Damn, it would have been great if it were something to eat.”

“That was all taken a long time ago. We're lucky to have gotten this.”

“But what kind of Church doesn't have even a glimpse of gold or silver?”

“They must have sold it already. We're lucky to have gotten this much from such a poor Church.”

“Phew, it's a relief that only a bit of hair got burnt.”

“We're better off than those going in now. They're all going to die.”

Ludwig could see the smoke rising from beyond the alley.

“There's a fire!”

“…!”

Before he could even fully understand the words, Ludwig was already running.

------

In the pouring snow, Ludwig could see the plume of white smoke, like a Church turned upside down, defying the sky and spewing fiery red flames.

-Koo-roo-roo-roo

Countless people had gathered around, staring blankly at the enormous shape of the flames.

The Church where Rowan had been staying was engulfed in fire.

-Crack!

The sound of something breaking and collapsing could be heard.

“It's about to crumble…”

“Where are the guards?”

“Can they even put it out?”

“It's divine punishment. Punishment for those who conspired with the Demon King.”

“What nonsense! Those refugee scoundrels from the slums did this, not divine punishment!”

Ludwig finally realized what those who had just passed by were up to.

Looting.

‘Sometimes there are people who want to set fires.’

And arson.

Someone had set the Church on fire, and others were taking advantage of the chaos to loot its treasures.

"Rowan!"

Ludwig rushed into the Church as if possessed.

The onlookers, who had been casually watching the Church burn, clicked their tongues as they saw Ludwig charge into the flames.

However, Ludwig paid no attention to their thoughts or their sarcastic comments about the Tu'an Order.

"Ugh!"

-Hiss

The inside of the smoke-filled Church was a mess. Everything that could burn was ablaze, and it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.

-Creak

And with the sounds of wood breaking and walls cracking, the Church seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

Who could have done this? Why?

Was it really necessary to go this far, even if one despised the Tu'an Order?

In the midst of the acrid smoke, Ludwig soon saw it.

'Could it be...?'

There were people dressed as priests whom Ludwig did not recognize, lying in various places throughout the worship hall.

Although he did not have the luxury of examining them closely, Ludwig could not help but sense that they were all dead.

-Boom! Crack!

Lifting burning, collapsed pillars and raising fallen stone columns, he searched for something.

Knowing that inhaling smoke was dangerous even for a superhuman, he held his breath while searching.

He searched for the person who should be here.

How long did he wander through the smoke-filled, burning worship hall?

Soon, Ludwig saw someone sitting in front of the Tu'an Order's stone statue.

"!!!"

Archbishop Rowan.

There she was, not in her usual gray, faded robe, but in a white holy garment.

However, the originally white garment was now dyed a bright red.

"Rowan...!"

There were no words to describe Rowan's state other than 'tattered.'

Her body had been stabbed multiple times, and the holy garment that should have been white looked better suited to be called a red shroud.

Trembling, with wide-open eyes, Ludwig knelt in front of Rowan's lifeless body.

"Priestess! Priestess! Wake up!"

But even as he spoke, Ludwig knew that his call could not bring Rowan back.

Rowan's eyes, forever unseeing even in death, had been robbed of something she could never regain.

Gripping Rowan's shoulder, Ludwig poured out tears that could not become a sob, his eyes wide open in the searing heat of the fire.

"Why... why did this happen? Why... why?"

-Crack

The Church continued to burn.

-Drip!

And with the sound of something breaking that should not have been broken.

-Rumble!

The Church collapsed.