Before long, I encountered yet another set of familiar faces.
"Ermes. Good work out there."
"The commotion had reached even me. Sounds like you pulled off quite the spectacle again."
Sarah and Albert — the two of them.
These two shared a certain commonality: they had both been assigned as caretakers for members of the royal family.
Sarah was assigned to Lyra, and Albert to Helc. Each served as their dedicated caretaker, attending to their various needs.
Lyra had caused chaos within the Church, while Helc — more directly — had been instigated by the Organization into attempting a coup. Both were currently under house arrest, yet they were still royals of this kingdom.
Despite their crimes, each had made significant contributions. Moreover — and above all else — in a kingdom gripped by upheaval just as Yurugen was, it would be wasteful to let valuable talent die for nothing. The plan was for both to be released under surveillance in the near future, after which they would be asked to serve the reborn kingdom.
These two had volunteered to serve as the "supervisors" — in name, at least — who would serve as their caretakers.
Sarah, for her part, already had a history with Lyra, and they were fundamentally compatible as fellow users of Bloodline Magic. The inferiority complex Lyra had harbored toward Sarah ultimately traced back to Lyra's wish: to be seen by her mother. Now that this wish had been fulfilled, Lyra's attitude toward Sarah had reportedly softened remarkably.
As for the fact that Lyra was, in terms of Bloodline Magic, essentially an inferior version of Sarah...
"It doesn't really bother me. I've already made my peace with magic. From now on, I'll contribute to the kingdom as someone who has witnessed both the Church and the royal family more than anyone else. As for magic — well, just think of it as the Saint having gained a sub-ability that makes her fifty percent more useful."
That was her take on the matter.
A refreshingly cheerful and clear-headed acceptance. This was, most likely, Lyra's true personality.
Lyra, with her quick decisiveness, and Sarah, with her deep thoughtfulness and abundance of compassion — they were temperamentally well-matched. The two were apparently already drawing up plans to reorganize the Church in anticipation of when Lyra's house arrest would be lifted.
The Church had been founded by the Angel, one of the masterminds lurking at the bottom of this kingdom. Even so, not all of its teachings could be denied. Much of it contained things necessary for people to live well, important pillars that served as anchors for the human heart.
Going forward, they planned to carry on these aspects while running the Church as a healthier religious organization — and to leave it standing as a place for researching countermeasures against the Angel's second coming, which, while not an emergency, was an absolutely indispensable task.
Without question, that too would be a monumental undertaking. But... with Lyra, who possessed extraordinary knowledge and insight, and Sarah, who had grown through meeting Ermes and gained a firm set of values beyond mere compassion, they would surely see it through.
When I sincerely told Sarah — who had been speaking passionately about the Church — as much, she blushed and replied with a lovely, bashful "Thank you."
As for Helck, the crime of attempting rebellion was, naturally, severe, and his period of house arrest would be longer than Lyra's.
That said, everyone understood that without him, they could not have defeated Karma—that single most powerful Monster among all the chaos of this entire ordeal. Because of that, even the Royal Guard, who knew firsthand just how terrifying he was, held him in high regard.
Given his upbringing and the circumstances he had been placed in, there was also strong sentiment that execution was unnecessary. While keeping him in the Royal Capital was obviously out of the question, negotiations had instead converged on having him contribute his strength and knowledge somewhere outside the capital.
...In other words, that was about the only thing that had been decided. Unlike Lyra, he had not yet settled on any concrete plan for what he would specifically do. However...
"I'll search for it. Fortunately, I'll probably be under house arrest for a while longer, right? Then I'll take my time thinking about it—what I can do... what only I can do. I think I might be able to figure it out now."
Apparently, Helck had said this with a face like a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. ...He, too, must have managed to overcome various things by going through that battle.
And apparently, Helck and Albert got along extremely well. According to what he said:
"It might be disrespectful, but... both His Highness and I have experienced the suffering of being unable to do something precisely because we couldn't do it. I suppose we understand the hearts of people like that. We've been talking together about whether there's anything we can do going forward to help others who find themselves in the same situation."
And the expression on Albert's face as he spoke of this was full of resolve and determination.
Everyone had found what they needed to do and was setting out to pursue it. Knowing that, Ermes truly felt glad, in his own vague sort of way.
From there, he parted ways and set off walking again. Someone asked him where he was going, but...
"There's... one place I'd like to visit."
That was all he said, and he walked on as planned.
And so he traveled from the central part of the Royal Capital out to the outskirts.
What lay ahead was—the cemetery. A place where the graves of heroic spirits who had served the kingdom and past members of the royal family were kept. Not long ago, a new grave had been added there.
At the far edge of the cemetery, Ermes visited a particular spot, and...
"Hel? ...Oh, what a coincidence. You came here too?"
Once again, he encountered a familiar face.
"My Lady Katia. Master."
His own master and his teacher. The fact that both of them were here was surprising, and Ermes couldn't help but call out.
"Why are you here?"
"Hmm? Well, probably something similar to you. ...I figured I should show my face at least once."
"Yes, me too. ...It's not exactly in place of my father, though."
Before the two of them as they spoke stood three gravestones.
No names were carved into them. Partly because there were names that simply could not be engraved — but also because they felt that "they" themselves would not have wanted to be remembered by name.
And so, no names marked the stones. In their place, a single line was carved instead:
—Here rest the strong.
Yes. These three graves belonged to the three members of the "Organization" who had fought fiercely in the last battle... and ultimately lost their lives. The graves of Ortesia, Laplace, and Chrono.
They might not have wanted to be buried at all, in the first place. But this was meant as a settling of accounts for those of them who would go on living. And their pride would not allow them to treat carelessly the souls of those who had — however inadvertently — played such an important role in the history of the kingdom.
It was they themselves who had decided to bury them this way, without revealing their names.
"............"
In the face of those graves, Ermes and the other two each fell into a different kind of silence, laden with their own complex emotions, and quietly gathered their thoughts about the three who lay there. Then Ermes asked the two of them about what lay ahead.
Katia had become the head of the Trakia family. With the previous Yurugen having ended up the way he did, it was only natural that the position of head could not continue as before.
Her workload had spiked and she was likely stretched thin at the moment, but between the support of the royal family factored in on top of that, and above all the counsel of Yurugen — who had taken a position serving under Katia — things seemed to be going well enough for the time being.
As for Yurugen, he too seemed to have overcome something, showing no sign of harboring any odd ideas. Just as Liliana had told him in the Royal Palace before, he was resolved to devote the rest of his life to the kingdom and atone for his sins.
...That said. It wasn't as though everyone had accepted him without issue. In fact, the person who had accepted him the least was standing right beside Katia with her arms crossed.
"Rose. ...You still haven't forgiven Father?"
"Of course not. He broke the thing we treasured most. Honestly, they should be grateful I haven't killed him. I'm not going to speak a single word to him for the next year."
"If you're willing to settle for just a year, that's rather merciful of you, Master."
"Is it really!?"
In truth, anyone who knew Rose's personality well, like Ermes, could tell that she was already making a considerable concession. Catia let out a surprised voice before tilting her head at the strange shared understanding between master and disciple.
Rose was currently remaining in the Royal Capital as Liliana's adviser and bodyguard.
There were still plenty of nobles who looked at her with fearful eyes, and given her personality, most assumed she would simply return to her residence once she'd done what needed doing.
"After all, I'm not so heartless as to abandon my niece in a situation like this. Besides..."
After saying that, Rose continued.
"The thing I hated was the Royal Capital as it's always been. You lot are going to change that country I despise, aren't you? If that's the case, I don't mind staying in the Royal Capital for a while."
She said this with a smile full of warmth and affection.
There was one more thing. From Catia, Ermes heard about something she was planning to do.
"I want to write a record."
"A record?"
"Yes. It would be one that could never be made public, passed down only within the royal family... but a record of what happened in this country. What ideals the people of 'the organization' held, what kind of activities they carried out, and what the result was. All of it, laid out as unvarnished fact."
"!"
"I'm surely the most suited person for the task. After all, there's a living witness among our own family. I plan to hear Father's account as well and write down as close to the truth as possible. What once happened to this country, and what resulted from relying solely on the magic one was born with. So that the people of this nation will never repeat the same mistake."
"...You're right. I think that's something that needs to be done."
Well, the duchy was busy at the moment, so there was no telling when she would get around to it, Catia said with a bitter smile. But her decision to do it seemed to be a firm one.
Having watched the young girl's steady growth from the closest vantage point since returning to the Royal Capital, and now seeing it one final time, Ermes departed the graveyard with a gentle heart.
Next time, we'll cover those who showed the greatest "rebellion" of this chapter. Please be sure to read it!
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