Chapter 61 The King's Approval
"Brother..."
"Rifine, I'm sorry for being late. Are you hurt?"
Entering the ruined church, Sigurt first walks over to Rifine.
Clinging to Sigurt, Rifine bursts into tears.
"I'm... fine... but instead, Yumie... Yumie...!!"
".I see."
Gently, Sigurt pats Rifine's trembling body.
Once that's done, he looks into Rifine's eyes and softly speaks.
"You did really well. Just leave the rest to me and get some sleep for a bit."
"What...?"
As Sigurt holds out his palm, Rifine's consciousness fades away, and she drifts off to sleep.
As her small body goes limp and starts to fall, Sigurt catches her and lays her down gently.
"From here on... it might be a bit too much for Rifine to handle."
Re-gripping his sword, Sigurt heads toward Alvine──specifically, to where Yumie lies on the ground.
"Prince, you might be misunderstanding something, but I'm here to help them. If you have doubts, there's the dead bandit behind this building──huh?"
"Shut up."
Alvine was preparing to deliver an excuse but was interrupted mid-sentence.
His arm was severed, and the sword he had been holding fell to the ground and rolled away.
"Ugh... Aaah!?"
He collapsed in pain, screaming and writhing.
Without giving Alvine a glance, Sigurt picked up Yumie.
"It's okay... no, it's not. ...I'm sorry, Yumie. It's my fault."
There was no response from Yumie to the apology, which was filled with regret and helplessness.
She was likely already unconscious.
Gently, Sigurt moved Yumie's battered body beside Rifine and laid her down next to her.
"The knight order will be here soon to follow me. Once they arrive, I'll make sure you get treated right away... just hold on a little longer..."
With a prayer-like determination, Sigurt stood up.
Since the moment the 'signal magic embedded in the brooch' he gifted to Rifine was cut off, he had been searching for her.
The instant he confirmed the location where the signal had reappeared, he immediately issued a command for the knights to mobilize, so they would soon arrive here.
That's why, before the knights came to put an end to everything, there was something he absolutely needed to do himself.
Just then, Alvine, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, spoke up.
"P-Prince...!! Why are you doing this!? I told you it was a misunderstanding...!!"
"Be quiet, Alvine Neithardt. Are you saying my judgment is wrong?"
His eyes were heavy and cold, completely different from how he had looked towards Yumie and Rifine.
Despite feeling a freezing fear that gripped her very soul, Alvine desperately shouted her innocence.
"Of course it is!? I am Neithardt... a loyal subject who has long sworn allegiance to this kingdom!! To judge me without even listening to my side is simply unacceptable...!!"
"Is that a problem?"
Huh? Both Alvine and the trembling nobles behind his took Sigurt's words in disbelief.
However, to Sigurt, it was they who lacked understanding.
"You all say this regularly. That the monarchy is absolute and this country should be united under the Royal Family. It's unthinkable to distribute power to local nobles and give more of them a voice in the council."
"Y-Yes, that is correct!! I have done this to make your throne absolute...!!"
In that moment, Sigurt, standing before Alvine, drove a blade into his foot.
As a piercing scream echoed through the ruined church, Sigurt continued to speak calmly without changing his expression."
"Then why do you doubt what I'm doing right now? This is exactly what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Huh...?"
"Giving absolute power to one king and ruling with that authority is what this is about. No matter what you plot, how many nobles you gather to your side, or how much you serve me──regardless of how much you try to erase all evidence by using my image──it doesn't matter. I declared you 'guilty.' To judge you, no more reason is needed."
With a gasp, Alvine tries to retreat in fear, but the blade embedded in his foot won't allow it.
He tries to turn around for help, but his comrades, who had just been obedient to him──no, who had succumbed to his "power"──now stand powerless before a far greater "power"
"Do you understand? This is 'royal authority,' this is 'power'!! The true nature of what you desired and wielded so easily!!"
Alvine underestimated it.
He thought that Sigurt, who was kind to everyone and rarely angry, wouldn't easily discard a subordinate like him.
He believed that since he understood the need for the Neithardt family's strength to hold together the kingdom that was splitting apart due to the king's incompetence, he would overlook some wrongdoings or crimes.
But that was wrong.
Sigurt was far more intense than Alvine imagined, harboring a raging anger behind his smile.
Today, it all came to light.
"The voice of the subordinate and the voice of the people don't matter!! The moment the king makes a judgment, right and wrong, merits and demerits, everything is decided and judged!! Do you understand the danger of this power!? The moment the king grows senile and mad, this power will engulf everything, even the nation, burning it all to ash!! And you...!!"
With a grinding of teeth, Sigurt clenches his jaw.
Alvine and the others naively believed that as long as the absolute authority of the royal power was maintained, "they would" continue to enjoy its blessings without any basis for that belief.
Sigurt couldn't forgive that foolishness.
No matter how arrogantly you act, you think you can stand forever on the side of the "powerful" and get away with anything because of it──that arrogance.
To wield such power so lightly without any sense of responsibility, that irresponsibility.
Even Sigurt's father, King Frederick Dia Ortria, couldn't bear such heavy responsibilities and ended up losing his mind.
"But, honestly, if you guys were just abusing your power, I wouldn't have gone this far."
Alvine's demeanor, actions──everything about him was displeasing to Sigurt, and he wanted to condemn him immediately, but he smiled and endured until he found proof.
The only reason he suddenly changed his stance in this moment was one.
"You hurt Yumie... my important person. You crossed a line that should never be crossed for me. The fear and pain you're about to experience is all because of that."
"W, why such a reason...!?"
To him, Yumie was just an illegitimate child.
She seemed like nothing more than a pathetic commoner (trash) calling themselves Noble.
However, he belatedly understood that this perception was his most fatal mistake.
At the moment Sigurt was told, "for such a reason," the anger he had already been showing became evident, and he looked down at Alvine with deep spite in his eyes.
"That's enough. I don't want to hear any more of your words. In place of the king, I──Sigurt Dia Ortria──temporarily hold all authority, and I hereby pass judgment."
"W, wait, Prince Sigurt!! Please... have mercy, Prince Sigurt!!"
Finally realizing that his fate was already sealed, Alvine threw away all pride and began to beg for his life in a pitiful manner.
But his plea did not reach the frozen heart of Sigurt, whose sword was raised high.
"Alvine Neithardt. I will dismantle you and all the noble houses that followed you, confiscating all property and titles completely. Don't think you can die easily, you trash."
With those final words, the sword came down straight.
The man's ear-piercing scream, who was not even allowed to beg for his life, echoed through the aged church.
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