Episode 184: The King’s View

The Serodonia Royal Palace, Serodias Castle… the throne room. Seated upon that throne is the new king of this nation, Garfilia.

Standing beside him is his advisor Lazro. Having served Garfilia for many years, his efforts were finally rewarded with the new king’s ascension. Namely—he had been elevated to the position of prime minister.

And now, before the two of them, the high officials who support this nation had assembled.

“You all understand why you have been gathered here, do you not?”

Garfilia’s voice echoes from the throne.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The one who answered and stepped forward was a man clad in noble attire adorned with flashy decorations—Vidarie de Frontzomar.

A noble of Serodonia and a general who commands ten thousand troops.

“This is regarding the strategy meeting for the decisive battle with Kirchhen—is it not?”

“That is correct.”

Prime Minister Lazro responded.

“The Kingdom of Kirchhen is raising troops and steadily approaching our nation. Kirchhen’s army proclaims two justifications. The first is the recovery of Lady Sylphirosé. —They make this claim: ‘Lady Sylphirosé was forced to break her engagement with King Siegfried and is being coerced into marriage with Lord Dobrüil.’”

That was an undeniable fact.

However, Garfilia’s faction could not acknowledge this.

“Next, regarding the second justification that Kirchhen proclaims…”

Lazro’s voice trails off. A brief silence.

“Speak, Lazro.”

Garfilia prompts him to continue.

“Yes. The other justification for the Kingdom of Kirchhen’s invasion of our nation… is their condemnation that Your Majesty murdered the late King Radophilias and usurped the throne—they raise this point as their reason for subjugation. They claim that as a foreign nation, they absolutely cannot permit such actions…”

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere froze in a suffocating silence.

But it was only momentary. One after another, the voices of the high officials began to rise.

“R-ridiculous… such an utterly unreasonable accusation!”

“H-how dare they… spreading such lies that defame Lord Garfilia…!”

“T-that’s right! To boldly proclaim such fabrications… Kirchhen, have you no shame!”

Everyone present understood the truth deep in their hearts.

—Garfilia had killed his father the king to obtain the throne….

However, voicing this would mean their immediate death. All of them knew the truth yet could only avert their eyes from it.

It was both a ridiculous farce and a desperate performance for survival.

And then, the one orchestrating this scene—the lead actor who had directed this play, Garfilia himself—opened his mouth.

“—Siegfried must wish to invade our Serodonia badly enough to fabricate such lies. His ambition leaves me speechless. Not content with having seized Kirchhen’s throne, he now seeks to make this nation his own as well. …Let me speak honestly here. I have never looked favorably upon that man.”

To avoid incurring the new king’s wrath, the attending officials stare at him without blinking.

“After all, it was none other than Siegfried who struck down my brother Volfirio. Of course, Volfirio was guilty of great crimes. Even so, I… wanted to spare his life at least. But Siegfried killed Volfirio without mercy. Even then, considering friendship with Kirchhen, I sealed my resentment toward Siegfried within my heart.”

Inwardly, Garfilia couldn’t suppress his self-mockery.

His hatred toward his brother, and the murder of his father king—that was his truth.

Yet he continues to wear the mask called kingship, never revealing it.

“To think that the mercy I showed Siegfried would be returned as such vile lies…”

“Y-Your words are absolutely correct, Your Majesty!”

The high officials raise voices of agreement.

“Siegfried… what a despicable man!”

“He is no hero who defeated Lugdura! He is calamity itself, leading the eastern nations into chaos!”

If Siegfried had witnessed this scene, he surely would have smiled with irony.

Eventually, seeing that the officials’ voices had subsided, Prime Minister Lazro quietly spoke up.

“As everyone says, justice lies with us. —However, it is also an undeniable fact that Siegfried possesses fearsome power. After all, he is the man who defeated the ‘Seven Great Calamities’ Lugdura. Can we… truly defeat him?”

At those words, the attending officials exchanged glances with one another.

“O-of course, there is no possibility of our defeat!”

“T-that’s right! There is no reason for us to bow to such a man!”

Even as they raised their voices, they couldn’t hide the turmoil within.

Understandably so. To slay the ‘Seven Great Calamities’ is nothing short of monstrous, beyond the realm of ordinary humans.

But then, as if to shatter their tension, a gentle laugh rings out.

“Ho ho ho… regarding that point, please be at ease.”

The one who stepped forward with those words was a figure clad in robes of white cloth adorned with golden wings. A portly middle-aged man.

His name is Zeoriela=Elafield Tiernos.

A high-ranking cleric of the ‘Holy Church,’ holding the rank of ‘Wing Bishop.’

“I do not believe King Siegfried can casually use the power with which he defeated Lugdura.”

“What… do you mean by that, Wing Bishop Zeoriela-sama?”

Lazro quietly inquires.

“In my assessment, King Siegfried did not slay Lugdura through his power alone in that battle. He borrowed the power of the vampire Celestina to defeat that most powerful necromancer. …No, without that, there would be no way to defeat such a monster.”

Zeoriela continues with a smile on his face.

“If we of the ‘Holy Church’ were to defeat Lugdura, it would require His Holiness the Pope who once defeated the third of the ‘Seven Great Calamities,’ along with ‘Justice Ray’ and ‘Judgment Glare’… only those three could manage it. I cannot fathom that King Siegfried is in that realm.”

“I see. Because he borrowed the power of the ‘Seven Great Calamities’ Celestina, he was able to defeat the same ‘Seven Great Calamities’ Lugdura—is that it?”

“Yes. However—what would happen if King Siegfried were to use the vampire Celestina’s power again here?”

Zeoriela looks around at everyone.

“—Needless to say, there is no way we of the Holy Church would overlook this. Previously, due to insufficient evidence and considering King Siegfried’s achievement of subjugating the ‘Seven Great Calamities’ Lugdura, we removed him from our target list. However, we of the Holy Church are also keeping watch over King Siegfried’s activities. Should he use vampire power again—without doubt, the Holy Church will officially designate him as a subjugation target!”

Zeoriela’s face bore a confident smile.

The world’s largest religious organization, the ‘Holy Church’—its influence extends to numerous nations, and it is a massive force that maintains its own military.

To become a subjugation target of the Holy Church means exile from the world—equivalent to a death sentence.

“I see. In other words, King Siegfried cannot afford to make an enemy of the Holy Church… meaning he cannot use vampire power.”

Lazro nods while adding his own perspective.

“Additionally, King Siegfried has only just ascended to the throne, and Kirchhen’s domestic governance structure should still be unstable. An expedition under such circumstances would mean deploying troops while harboring domestic unrest.”

Upon hearing those words, relief visibly colored the expressions of the high officials.

Reading the atmosphere, Garfilia opens his mouth with perfect timing.

“In other words—the opportunity for victory lies with us. Furthermore, if we can repel Kirchhen’s invasion, it creates justification to demand massive reparations and territorial concessions. If they refuse, then we can attack them instead. In essence, Siegfried’s reckless actions will become the key that opens the door for our Serodonia to achieve glory and prosperity.”

“O-oh!”

“Your words are absolutely correct, Lord Garfilia!”

As if responding to Garfilia’s words, cheers erupted from among the high officials.

This was not mere agreement.

It was a cry of joy and determination as anxiety about the future transformed into hope.

“This battle will carve out Serodonia’s future. We shall build it with our own hands. Serodonia’s prosperity—the position of hegemon over the eastern nations.”

 

◇

 

The throne room after the high officials had withdrawn. Three men remain there. One of them… Lazro opens his mouth.

“That went well. Thank you for your cooperation, Wing Bishop Zeoriela-sama.”

“Ho ho ho. Prime Minister Lazro, you handled that conversation masterfully. I am impressed.”

The one wearing a full smile is the rotund Wing Bishop—Zeoriela.

Indeed, the earlier exchange had been orchestrated from the beginning.

Zeoriela is staying in Serodonia as a cleric dispatched from the Holy Church.

Ostensibly, he is a religious leader guiding the nation’s faithful. But in reality, for several years now he has been operating as Garfilia’s shadow aide, engaging in various behind-the-scenes machinations.

After all, it was none other than Zeoriela himself—who also possessed the face of a physician skilled in healing arts—who performed the autopsy on the late King Radophilias.

“As usual, we will make a substantial donation. Please continue to favor us with your support, Zeoriela-sama.”

“Ho ho ho… ho ho ho ho!”

Zeoriela’s cheeks loosen, and his face displays an openly greedy smile.

With Garfilia’s ascension to the throne, his future had become truly rosy.

He was accumulating vast wealth through donations from the royal family, and additionally, his position as a close aide to the Serodonia king was daily increasing his influence within the Holy Church.

Eventually, the position of ‘Light Wing Bishop’—and even the seat of ‘Cardinal’ beyond that—was no longer a distant dream.

While listening to Zeoriela’s laughter tainted with greed, Garfilia’s heart, seated on the throne, was elsewhere.

What floated in his mind—the fawning faces of the high officials who calmly pledged loyalty to him after he had killed his father the king.

Moving his lips slightly, he murmured.

“…Is this the view a king sees?”