Chapter 75

I Will Make Them Repay It

“You’re saying the Empire intends to retrieve Helian’s corpse…?”

Suppressing the suspicion on his face, Heinkel asked carefully, and the Emperor nodded.

“Helian’s second son, Prince Zirhen, is currently in the Empire. I believe it is only proper that her remains be entrusted to him.”

‘What a joke.’

Hearing that, I scoffed inwardly.

‘A body drenched in Sacred Blood from head to toe. They’re obviously planning to take it back for research.’

Now that I knew about the existence of the Sacred Blood, it was not difficult to guess the Empire’s intentions.

‘But…’

The justification the Emperor used was Helian’s remaining children.

There was little Heinkel could say against that.

What excuse could there be to stop children from reclaiming their mother’s body?

I clicked my tongue as I looked over the Imperial Army spread throughout the castle.

‘Even if we bring up the Sacred Blood now, it’ll only make the Empire more cautious…’

The knights of Leinrant and Laia’s soldiers were already exhausted from battle.

There was no way they could overcome the overwhelming might of the Imperial Army.
And they absolutely could not afford to fight them.

‘Nothing is going the way I want.’

The scale of the Imperial Army rivaled that of an expeditionary force.

It was a scene that once more demonstrated just how immense the Empire’s authority truly was.

“We shall obey Your Majesty’s will.”
“I appreciate your understanding.”

After Heinkel answered that way, the Emperor expressed his thanks as well.

“Count Pensta’s blunder already caused the Imperial Army to intervene.”

In other words, every responsibility had been dumped onto the now-dead Pensta.

“If the Empire were to interfere in this civil war any further, it would amount to disregarding one of the Empire’s dukes.”
“…That would be unthinkable, Your Majesty.”
“Come now, enough of that.”

Laughing off Heinkel’s formal reply, the Emperor soon issued an order to both his own knights and the Imperial soldiers who had fought moments ago.

“All Imperial forces are to withdraw from the Paul Wyvern territory! Return to the fortress!”

At the imperial decree, the knights dispersed throughout the castle and began leading the Imperial soldiers out.

‘So because things went according to his wishes, he’s willing to concede this much?’

We’ll let you handle the territory as you please, so stop digging into the Sacred Blood.

Watching the Emperor’s actions, I twisted my lips in disgust.

‘Petty as ever, Merdir.’

The object in my hand was the glass vial that had once contained the Sacred Blood.

‘But don’t think this is over.’

Inside it, instead of Sacred Blood, were fragments of Helian’s body that I had secretly recovered beforehand.

“Your Majesty, this way.”
“Mm.”

While receiving guidance from one of his knights and preparing to board the carriage, the Emperor suddenly looked in my direction.

“One of the Emperor’s knights asked carefully, “Is something bothering you?”

The Emperor stared toward me for a moment before shaking his head and stepping into the carriage.

“No. It must be my imagination.”

With those final words, the carriage carrying the Emperor departed the fortress alongside the Imperial Army.

And thus, the civil war of the Paul Wyvern Ducal House came to an end with victory for the duchess faction, backed by Leinrant.

***

“Over here!”
“Good! Slowly now!”

With the battle over, Paul Wyvern Castle quickly began regaining stability.

Between Helian, who had ruled through tyranny and extravagance, and Laia, whose legitimacy and reputation were far stronger—

And with Helian even attempting to conscript civilians into the civil war—

The nobles of the ducal faction had completely lost their influence.

Rather than involving themselves in the family’s affairs going forward, they were now more concerned with whether they would lose their heads.

Tap. Tap.

Three days after Laia’s triumphant return to Paul Wyvern Castle—

I brushed away bits of stone that had fallen from the reception room ceiling onto my forehead and stood up.

“…That really was excessive, huh?”

Even the guest reception room was filled with cracks across the walls and ceiling.

It was proof of just how intense the battle between Helian and Heinkel had been.

Of course, I myself had been bedridden for nearly two full days from the backlash of the fight.

“Klein!”
“Are you feeling any better?”

The ones who visited me while I was still barely recovering were Laia and the head butler, Gordon.

“The other knights recovered and left as if nothing happened, yet Young Master, your recovery is rather slow.”
“Isn’t it a little unfair to compare me to those monsters?”

Saying that, I took a sip from the tea Gordon handed me.

“These tea leaves were brought from the Clarent region. They are exceptionally effective for restoring vitality, and furthermore—”

Gordon continued rambling on with explanations, but not a single word entered my ears.

“It seems things in the territory have calmed down somewhat?”

Trying to cut off Gordon’s lecture, I changed the subject, and Laia let out a deep sigh as if telling me to look for myself.

“We found Helian’s secret funds beneath the castle.”
“Ah.”
“There’s still plenty left even after covering the restoration costs.”

The one responsible for starting the civil war.
And on top of that, guilty of attempting to conscript ordinary civilians into it.

With crimes like those stacked against her, Helian and her bloodline could never again set foot in Paul Wyvern.

All the treasures and wealth she had hoarded within the castle, along with the land deeds—

Every bit of it had passed into Laia’s hands.

‘So that’s why Gordon looked so happy.’

The true devastation of war does not come during the fighting itself, but afterward.

Repairing the castle and buildings ruined by the civil war, and restoring the weakened military, would require an astronomical amount of money.

‘In that sense, this fortune arriving now is at least some small blessing amidst the disaster.’

I was just raising the teacup toward my lips while looking out over the now lively scenery of Paul Wyvern Castle—

“Thank you.”

The words came out with difficulty.

Turning my head, I saw Laia standing there with a serious expression unlike her usual self.

“You fought beside us against Helian. You risked your own body to help us.”

“Ah, well…”

Just as I was struggling to find the right response, Laia placed a hand over her chest and bowed her head toward me.

“If you had not been there, this victory would never have been possible, Klein Leinrant.”

Now that Helian and her faction were gone, Laia had become the undisputed ruler of Paul Wyvern Ducal House.

Yet despite someone of her status lowering her head toward me, Gordon made no attempt to stop her.

“As the head of Paul Wyvern, I offer limitless gratitude for your devotion.”

A brief silence followed.

After staring at her for a while without answering, I slowly opened my mouth.

“It wasn’t done out of pure goodwill.”

The relationship between Laia and me was that of business partners.

An alliance formed to defeat our common enemy, Helian.

“As much as you gained from taking Helian’s head, we gained something as well.”

From another perspective, the true victor of this civil war was Leinrant.

The main battlefield of the war had been Paul Wyvern Castle.
Leinrant had merely dispatched its knights and taken Helian’s head.

‘In other words, we let Laia’s side shoulder all the collateral damage while we secured the benefits.’

I tried to keep some distance between us by saying that, but Laia shook her head.

“Even so, you were the only one who chose to stand with us in that situation.”
“…”

I remembered the first time I met Laia.

Helian’s dazzling banquet.
And Laia standing in stark contrast to it.

With such a clear difference in power, the nobles’ support back then must have looked nothing like it did now.

“So…”
“Enough of that.”

I cut Laia off before she could continue.

There was no benefit in someone who would soon inherit a ducal title lowering herself this much.

‘And besides… if this keeps going, it’ll get harder to bring it up.’

Thinking that, I rapidly fired off my words toward the bewildered Laia waiting for my response.

“The operational rights to all Leinrant-region territories and businesses previously owned by Helian, as agreed beforehand.”
“Ah?”
“The full ceremonial expenses for Duke Heinkel’s personal deployment, as well as the cost of all emergency supplies.”
“W-Wait a second, what are you suddenly talking about…?”

“And forty percent of the hidden funds discovered under the castle.”
“W-What did you say?!”

The moment I delivered the final line, Laia finally exploded.

Toward her outraged expression, I simply smiled brightly and extended my hand.

“Don’t think you can settle this with a few nice words. Pay up. Money.”

***

“What kind of bastard even are you—?!”

Leaving Laia’s furious shouting behind me, I climbed into the carriage heading back toward Leinrant.

Just calculating the money I was owed had taken half a day.

By now, the sun had long set, and the night sky overflowed with stars.

— For a second I thought you were actually doing something noble, but you’re nothing more than a damn miser.

“That battle took an enormous amount of effort. I deserve at least this much.”

I answered Raven’s voice echoing inside my head.

“And honestly, this is cheap for establishing friendly relations with Leinrant.”

Land, businesses, and hidden funds.

Considering where most of them had originally come from, it was hardly a bad deal.

Laia and Gordon must have reached the same conclusion if they signed the documents so readily.

Crack—!

While reviewing the documents regarding the land transfer, I noticed a fracture spreading through one of the contracts I had formed.

“Right. There was one last thing I needed to do.”

As I muttered that, countless spell formulas appeared before my eyes.

The souls of the knights and soldiers who had contracted with me for this battle.

Now that Helian was dead and the territory had stabilized, my contracts with them had also come to an end.

— To all the souls who fought to protect this land even after death, I offer my gratitude.

Infusing my voice with demonic energy, I spoke those words.

As the contracts disappeared one by one, glowing spheres began floating upward.

— May you find rest in the land your descendants continue to protect.

With that brief funeral prayer, I returned their souls to the world.

Glittering spheres rose into the sky.

This magnificent sight, like a Milky Way flowing upward into the heavens, was likely a privilege only a necromancer could witness.

“And now, the last one.”

As I looked toward one corner, a faint soul remained bound to a contract.

“Hector.”

Helian’s son.
A foolish child burdened with his mother’s sins and used by me as the price for them.

Looking at the soul standing on the verge of destruction, I let out a sigh and released the contract binding him.

“With your mother’s death, your sins have lost their meaning as well. I’ll let you go now.”

Pshht—!

The mark of the subjugation contract binding him vanished, and his sinful soul was swallowed into the rising mass of light ascending toward the heavens.

— Are you sure it’s fine to let him go like that?

As Raven watched Hector’s soul drifting away beyond the carriage window, he asked me quietly.

“There were times I would’ve died if not for that brat.”

Even if it was a subjugation contract that erased free will, a contract was still a contract.

Abandoning a soul that had fulfilled its duty was not the way of a guide.

“Besides, he was trapped by the contract and forced to witness even his own mother’s death.”

Remembering the terrified way Hector had trembled while alive, I smiled bitterly.

“At that point, I’d already given him every punishment I could in this world.”

A foolish child burdened with his mother’s sins before he’d even found his own path.

There was nothing more to gain from dragging him along any further.

After finishing my explanation, I looked at the fading remnants of his soul and spoke softly.

“In your next life, try not to commit any sins, you foolish brat.”

As I stared at the night sky where not even traces of him remained anymore, Raven shrugged and asked—

— So, what now?

At those words, I bared my teeth in a grin while looking toward the direction of the Leinrant territory.

“What else?”

The branch nobles who had hidden behind Helian’s influence while baring their fangs at the main house.

“I’m going to hunt down every last one of those masterless dogs.”