Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A New Country

“Im...possible...”

Helena stared in disbelief at how her trusted sword had been cleaved in half. The other half of the blade fell noisily to the floor, marking the end of the duel in a victory for Ryoma.

“Why didn’t you kill me?” she asked.

While Ryoma won by a split-second difference, he would have killed Helena had he lost control of Kikoku at the last second. He should not have spared her, but sheathing his sword answered her question.

“In the end, it comes down to me not wanting to kill you.”

Once she heard this, Helena cracked a bitter smile. “Should I be thanking you, then?”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” said Ryoma, shrugging. “There was another reason, and that was because I needed to ask you for something.”

“Need me for something? Are you going to ask me to work for you?”

Ryoma shook his head, though he’d have liked to ask that. Saria Steiner’s safe return was a chance they had missed. He was so fond of Helena that such a request would not have been so strange. But Ryoma answered to the contrary.

“I think we’ll have to discuss it later. We have an insensitive intruder on our hands,” said Ryoma, throwing a sharp glare at the corridor connecting to the lower floors.

Dilphina’s unit, who had watched the battle, primed their weapons upon hearing this.

“What are you doing here, Mikhail Vanash?!” bellowed Ryoma.

That shout prompted a group of knights to reveal themselves from the lower floor. Roughly a hundred of them—about four times the Black Serpents’ numbers—rushed through with dark hatred burning in their eyes.

For a brief moment, Ryoma noticed them, and his lips curved into a sneer. Then, he did away with that smile and peacefully greeted them.

“It’s been years, Sir Mikhail... I see you’re doing well for yourself.”

His choice of greeting was unconventional by Rhoadseria’s stiff standards of etiquette, even if it was a sufficient way to greet an old acquaintance. Mikhail, though, didn’t heed Ryoma’s greeting and gave him a belligerent glare.

“Traitorous cur! You dare speak to me after plunging this country into chaos?!” shouted Mikhail.

Mikhail raised a hand and signaled the knights behind him. The knights spread out, forming a half circle around Ryoma and his forces. In response to this, Dilphina and her unit quickly surrounded Ryoma to protect him.

“Surrender now, treasonous insurgents!” yelled Mikhail with a victorious smile. “There’s no need for you to stand trial. We will strike you down into hell right here and now!”

Mikhail then glared hatefully at Helena, who stood at Ryoma’s side.

“So you really were colluding with Mikoshiba, Helena Steiner! And you call yourself this country’s Goddess of War?! You’re nothing but another traitor!” It seemed Mikhail had no intention of referring to Helena with respect anymore.

But Ryoma scolded him, “Oh, come now, what basis do you have for calling Helena a traitor? You’re inching into sanctimonious judgment here, which you might regret later. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened.”

Mikhail glared at Ryoma’s sneering remark. “What regret?! Why is she by your side now if she isn’t a traitor?!”

Ryoma shrugged, then said, “Maybe it’s because you stormed in here and started throwing accusations of her being a traitor? I can’t blame her for acting in self-defense.”

“Spare me your absurdities! Why did you not kill Helena after she lost? That doesn’t match your ruthless methods. And that alone proves Helena Steiner is a conspirator and a traitor!”

Mikhail’s assertion wasn’t completely off the mark, but it was not the reason Ryoma spared Helena’s life.

“Well, that’s because Helena’s much more worth keeping alive than all the others,” said Ryoma with an icy smile. “I’d say that’s pretty fair judgment on my behalf.”

Ryoma then flashed a nasty grin at Mikhail.

“Oh, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, so let me say this. Mikhail, you don’t deserve mercy in the slightest. You’re nothing but a nuisance to me, and I’d honestly like nothing more than for me and the world to get rid of you right now. Even with all my patience, I have had enough of being kicked around by you and Queen Lupis.”

Ryoma highlighted this statement with loud laughter, knowing that this insult and provocation were his honest thoughts. Unlike Helena, the life of Queen Lupis had less value than a pebble to Ryoma. A pebble, even a small one, had a use—you could pick it up and throw it. If nothing else, a pebble wouldn’t antagonize and provoke him.

I feel like I’m not tearing into him hard enough, given everything they’ve put me through, thought Ryoma.

In the beginning, Ryoma got embroiled in this kingdom’s power struggles by coincidence and made a pact with Queen Lupis. He’d promised to install her on the Rhoadserian throne to protect himself. When that happened, Ryoma forgave Mikhail for leading a raid on him when he mistook Laura for Princess Radine. While many of Mikhail’s subordinates died at the hands of Ryoma’s plan during that attack, Mikhail had initiated the attack. Ryoma’s side was acting in self-defense.

After that, when Mikhail pursued Kael Irunia for turning his back on Queen Lupis, he went against Ryoma’s explicit orders and got captured by the enemy. Ryoma could not be held responsible for that. Mikhail neglected his orders to act as a scout, attacked Kael, and became a prisoner. Thus, he turned into the bargaining chip that enabled Duke Gelhart to negotiate for his life. Mikhail’s quick temper and recklessness alone had caused that entire sequence of events.

Regardless, Ryoma’s justified demands failed to reach Mikhail.

Mikhail then shouted with all his soul, “Impudent fool! Queen Lupis was generous enough to grant a nobody like you the title of baron and a vast domain in the Wortenia Peninsula! And you met her benevolence with betrayal! You think you can claim the fault lies with her and that justice is on your side?! Do you not see how far you’ve strayed from propriety?!”

The man was under no illusions that Queen Lupis was a perfect, faultless person, nor did he deny the countless problems she had as a ruler. In his eyes, the relationship between a vassal and their ruler was one where the master was fundamentally on higher footing. Even if the ruler acted poorly, a vassal had to obey. Vassals were free to harbor misgivings and even be displeased with their ruler, so they would try to advise or dissuade their lords.

A belief existed that a vassal using such disagreements as grounds to revolt crossed the line into unacceptable territory. Many believed it was the duty of a vassal to be patient and tolerate their lord’s policies even when they were unreasonable. This belief was one of the biggest flaws of this world’s monarchy system.

Upon hearing Mikhail’s accusation, Ryoma burst out in laughter.

Monarchs must act as monarchs, and vassals must act as vassals. Huh...

That was a quote from Confucius’s Classic of Filial Sutra, which meant that even if one’s ruler didn’t fulfill their responsibilities, a vassal had to carry them out. Such was a line of thinking Ryoma detested. He wouldn’t deny everything Confucius said. But Ryoma thought his ideas about how one should regard their parents and rulers were anachronistic and actively harmful.

Although the claim Confucius made about leaders seemed wrong, it became clear when translated into modern terms. For example, a child had to respect and fulfill their duty toward their parents even if said parents didn’t uphold their responsibilities. This manner of thinking didn’t make moral, logical sense.

One could say this was a misinterpretation of the philosopher’s words, of course. If that interpretation was correct, it painted a horrifying picture, no matter how different the preconditions were between ancient China and modern society.

Aaah, what a pain... I didn’t consider our ways of thinking were this different. Trying to understand another culture is scary.

Ryoma always felt this world’s values conflicted with his own, and he realized why that was for the first time. But he wouldn’t endanger himself and his comrades over Mikhail’s beliefs.

I do understand Mikhail and Queen Lupis’s position.

Even with that thought, he wasn’t entirely above sympathizing with them on a base level. Nevertheless, their actions were far too reckless and driven by emotion. Ryoma could not condone how he and his friends were in mortal danger because of them.

And so, Ryoma decided he would slay his enemies with his own hands.

Given her power, it only makes sense Queen Lupis would go back on her promise to me. 

All she really did was try to dispose of her fear by discarding her promise to Ryoma, as she was weaker than him. He was outraged by that on a personal level, understanding that Lupis made this decision naturally as a queen.

The strong only ever considered the weak when they stood to profit from it. From that perspective, Ryoma did understand how one could say he shouldn’t harbor anger toward her. One could say that it was his fault for being too naive and stupid for not predicting she would act that way. All he could do was learn from this betrayal and be more cautious in the future.

Hence, Ryoma scoffed at Mikhail’s words.

“Do you seriously think I care if you approve of me or not? I’m sorry, Mikhail, but this country will soon be reborn under a new ruler.”

Mikhail’s face twisted in anger, recognizing the truth of Ryoma’s words. The war’s outcome was set in stone, even if he killed Ryoma. The capital was under attack, a major blow to Rhoadseria’s honor, and the one responsible for this terrible predicament was Queen Lupis.

Nobles would not regard her with any dignity after this, nor would they obey her orders. Even commoners could refuse to live under such a weak queen. Queen Lupis lacked the wisdom and power to prevent that from happening.

And yet, Mikhail would rather die than admit to that fact because it would be too humiliating. The man parted his lips as he spoke the words that marked his last struggle.

“I won’t let everything go your way. Her Majesty has already fled the capital with Meltina, soon to return with an army in tow to retake it.”

“Holy hell,” said Ryoma as he exhaled, expressing disbelief and scorn. “Are you actually that stupid?”

“What?! You dare fling petty insults at me?!” snarled Mikhail.

At this point, Ryoma didn’t have the mental energy to waste on ridiculing Mikhail. He didn’t even want to hide his thoughts and maintain his tone of voice. His heart churned with profound hatred at Mikhail. Helena, stood beside Ryoma with an exasperated expression.

The reports said he’d gotten a bit smarter, but god... He’s so... Dammit, I’m speechless.

Mikhail had made a blunder by letting slip that Queen Lupis had fled the capital. Ryoma knew that she and Meltina had escaped, of course, and had even built his plans around the fact she wouldn’t be in the castle. So, he planned to take her into custody in the city’s vicinity.

The reasoning was that if he were to capture Queen Lupis at this point, many people would demand he spare her.

For example, Counts Bergstone and Zeleph were vassals of the Mikoshiba barony who sought to work with Queen Lupis to reform the kingdom recently. The efforts went nowhere for multiple reasons, which inspired them to turn their back on her despite being members of noble houses with centuries of history in Rhoadseria. That, and their devoted personalities, would make them appeal to Ryoma to let her live.

Ryoma could ignore them, but that would drive a wedge between them, and the same was true of Helena.

Yeah, she did promise to serve me once.

Still, Helena had made that decision based on her best interests and not due to her loyalty to her homeland. In exchange for her help, she wanted the Mikoshiba barony to restore the kingdom’s glory. Since she believed the country had become corrupted, she sought help from an external factor and offered her services.

In a sense, it was an act of noble self-sacrifice.

Ryoma didn’t fully accept her wish, only intending to do what he could. After all, Queen Lupis was so hostile to him it would be impossible to restore Rhoadseria while that woman reigned. Keeping Lupis alive was one condition he couldn’t accept.

So she was satisfied with the idea of me ruling Rhoadseria with Queen Lupis as a mere puppet.

From Ryoma’s perspective, establishing a puppet regime with Queen Lupis was a waste of time and energy, which presented more risks than he’d be willing to take. First and foremost, Queen Lupis would not accept it because she’d find the idea intolerable and would secretly attempt to regain power. If he were to act on a promise to Helena, he wouldn’t be able to stop Lupis by killing her.

Handling her would be like attempting to soothe a petulant child who could instantly trigger a civil war if not controlled. It would be a disastrous future with no advantages for anyone.

Considering that this is Helena, I can do this.

Ryoma agreed to keep Lupis as a puppet ruler solely to have Helena Steiner on his side. She would join him in turn, even if that meant having the label of a traitor.

If Ryoma had captured Queen Lupis there, Helena would have asked him to spare the monarch. Helena might have even asked him to leave Lupis in a noble family’s care for the rest of her life. Given what came next, Ryoma would have had to agree.

Besides, executing Lupis would shock the Rhoadserian people in a significant way

Although Lupis’s reign was far from successful, displeasing many citizens, there was no downplaying the weight of nearly five centuries of history. Executing Queen Lupis as a way for her to take responsibility for the war could trigger a revolt among the commoners.

So I need Queen Lupis to disappear with no one ever knowing where she went. Ryoma set things up so those plans wouldn’t change, no matter what Mikhail said. But that’s just from my position.

He didn’t need to know where Queen Lupis went because knowing it would only worsen his position. That information would force Ryoma to finish his search of the castle and send people to the capital outskirts.

Of course, Queen Lupis might have still been in the city and used this as a diversion to send him looking in the wrong direction.

But I know he’s telling the truth.

Why did Mikhail tell him the truth, then?

I can think of one reason. Queen Lupis leaving the capital throws my plan into disarray, and he wants me to know that. By knocking me down, he wants to show he has the emotional high ground.

This ploy was Mikhail’s only way to get back at Ryoma after he scorned and mocked him, but it meant nothing.

This is why these people are so dumb.

Ryoma saw them as childish and emotional. They’d see their mistakes if they thought about things for a moment. But they couldn’t manage even that. Whenever they found themselves in trouble, they shouted and complained. He honestly couldn’t be asked to deal with these people anymore.

Besides, preparations are complete on my end.

Then, he noticed the Igasaki ninjas sneak up behind Mikhail’s group. He had ordered them to scout out the castle to eliminate any enemy units they detected, and it was only a matter of time before they found Mikhail. The only reason they hadn’t attacked yet was because they awaited Ryoma’s reaction.

But Ryoma was done with this man. He gave the order.

“Do it!”

At that moment, countless shurikens came from different directions, attacking Mikhail and his knights. Meanwhile, Dilphina’s unit lunged at the knights surrounding them.

The battle had a set outcome. Dilphina’s dark elf soldiers easily overpowered and killed Mikhail’s troops, thanks to the Igasaki clan’s cover. Mikhail blocked the barrage of shurikens with his sword.

“I didn’t call you a meathead for nothing, I guess. Your sword skills are impressive,” whispered Ryoma, picking up his spear.

Ryoma wanted to waste no time on this man. Mikhail swung his sword in a desperate attempt to deflect the attacks, and Ryoma thrust his cross tube spear, driving its tip into Mikhail’s throat. The spear slashed the man’s throat open, splattering blood into the air.

“It’s almost strange how easy it was,” muttered Helena, astonished.

Ryoma smiled, his face covered in blood. “Well, I couldn’t afford to waste time on Mikhail any longer.”

Had he faced a worthy opponent, Ryoma might have ended this less unceremoniously. He’d have at least stopped the Igasaki clan and chosen to fight one-on-one. Sadly, Ryoma held no respect for Mikhail Vanash.

I do feel a bit guilty, though. Ryoma sighed and focused on Mikhail’s corpse lying on the floor, then he said, “With this, it’s over...”

All that remained was for Lione to defeat the Rhoadserian army, and the battle for Pireas would end. Without Mikhail and Meltina to command them, the Rhoadserian army could not overturn the tide of this fight. It was clear they would surrender before long.

I need to talk things out with Helena first, though.

That talk would decide Rhoadseria’s future, perhaps even more crucially than Lupis Rhoadserians’s survival. Ryoma hoped Helena would fulfill a crucial role in that future.

I doubt she’d refuse too.

If Helena were going to turn that down, she’d have given up on this country ages ago.

“Helena, I need to talk to you about something. Do you have a moment?” Ryoma called out to her.

She had just lost to Ryoma in a duel, and the capital was on the verge of collapse. Thus, she didn’t know what to do next. The queen had absconded from the capital, and the Rhoadserian regime was effectively nonexistent.

Yet she nodded and responded, “Yes... I don’t mind, of course. You were about to say something earlier?”

Ryoma told her the plan he’d made beforehand. Since it was something she never expected, her expression went from skeptical to surprised.

“I’m not doubting your words, but... Are you sure that’s true?” asked Helena with a mixture of suspicion and hope.

The situation made her feel like a person at the bottom of a well and had just seen the slightest rope dangled down to pull them up. But she also questioned why Ryoma would even propose such a thing. It was too good to be true.

Ryoma answered with a strained smile, “If I’m going to be honest, I need someone I can trust with this country. I have my hands full developing the Wortenia Peninsula. Having my next-door neighbor investigating and meddling in my affairs would be a problem for me.”

He directed a questioning gaze at her.

“But if you’re going to refuse, that’s fine by me. It might create more work for me, but I’ll take that loss if other things go as planned.”

This was his heartfelt attempt at being considerate of Helena. Regardless of whether she accepted his request, it wouldn’t influence his plans that much. And Helena seemed to know this. After she contemplated for a bit, she heaved a sigh and made her decision.

“Fine, then... I accept!”

She grinned and pecked Ryoma on the cheek—a gesture of gratitude to the hero who offered the Kingdom of Rhoadseria a future.

♱

A few days passed since the Mikoshiba barony took the capital. The citizens of Pireas were initially confused, but the Mikoshiba barony had a carrot-and-stick policy. Said policy comprised a mix of policing maintained by the implicit threat of military power and the providing of food rations. This approach allowed Ryoma’s forces to control the occupation and maintain a semblance of peace.

Amid all this, countless nobles had gathered in the audience chamber of the castle to wait for the late entrance of their new master. Seeing that their queen, Lupis Rhoadserians, had fled, they elected a new ruler at the Mikoshiba barony’s direction.

Such an act made the kingdom’s defeat obvious and presented nothing but humiliation to many of the nobles. They could remain loyal to Queen Lupis when she had abandoned the country in its time of need, or they could accept Radine Rhoadserians as the queen backed by Ryoma Mikoshiba.

The presence of these nobles in the audience chambers made it clear they had decided. Everyone in this room was also present for Radine’s coronation ceremony, which took place the day prior. They hadn’t been loyal to the royal family since the beginning or after the failure of the northern subjugation. Instead, they held significant animosity toward Queen Lupis, especially after the capital fell to enemy hands.

In such a situation, no one would swear their loyalty to Queen Lupis anymore. They focused on integrating into the new queen’s regime and profiting from it. Most of the nobles not present in the audience chamber were the ones from domains far from the capital. All of the noble families currently present in the city had a representative in this room.

Of all those nobles, a single group stood out. At the center of that group was Viscount Furio Gelhart—the leader of the largest political faction in Rhoadseria—the nobles’ faction. He was also the man most excited for the coming queen’s inauguration ceremony.

“It’s finally time, Viscount Gelhart,” said a noble.

“Yes, at long last,” replied Viscount Gelhart, nodding collectedly.

He was grinning widely, his face the expression of a man confident his ambitions would come true.

“I’ve been waiting for so long. Many unexpected events happened, but I made things turn out how we wanted,” continued Viscount Gelhart, puffing up proudly.

None of the nobles of this faction regarded him with displeasure or antipathy, acknowledging that Gelhart’s scheming had a major influence on this outcome. They felt like they were at the top of the world. Their only complaint was that the despised upstart rebel Baron Mikoshiba allowed this ceremony to occur.

Yet they knew that Baron Mikoshiba was the one who held power over this city.

He had fifty thousand of his elite troops stationed outside the castle, and he himself was powerful enough to beat Rhoadseria’s Ivory Goddess of War in one-on-one combat. Nobles who only cared for their pedigree and pleasure couldn’t hope to defeat such a martial monster.

There were rumors Queen Radine would nominate her new prime minister, leaving Baron Mikoshiba to prioritize developing the Wortenia Peninsula. From their perspective, they just needed to be patient and brave the storm before they got what they wanted. That was how Viscount Gelhart argued to keep them in check.

Eventually, the bell rang, marking that it was exactly noon. Under the order of the Royal Guard, everyone present got to one knee. Those in the room upheld their etiquette the most, especially since the newly named Queen Radine slowly walked up to the throne. Walking beside her was the winner of the war, Baron Mikoshiba.

It would usually be unthinkable for a mere baron to walk alongside the ruler of a country. One could say he was only doing it thanks to the threat of military might. The nobles lacked the means to deal with that threat. Said nobles could only lower their heads and watch it happen.

Queen Radine stopped before the throne and reached her right hand out to Ryoma. With his help, she slowly sat upon the throne.

“I will now appoint the new prime minister, per the orders of the new queen, Her Majesty Radine Rhoadserians!” As everyone present watched him tensely, Ryoma took out a piece of paper from his pocket and read the name on it. “Viscount Diggle McMaster! Step forward!”

When the name echoed through the audience chamber, everyone froze up. That was most certainly not the name they were expecting to hear.

“That’s...ridiculous. What is he saying?” muttered Viscount Gelhart in disbelief.

All the nobles looked at each other as a man stepped forward and kneeled before Princess Radine. Ignoring the confused reactions of the nobles around her, Radine gave an order to Diggle.

“Viscount Diggle McMaster. I hereby entrust you with the duties and responsibilities of Rhoadseria’s prime minister.”

Her words were a formal royal decree that placed Diggle McMaster in charge of the Kingdom of Rhoadseria’s politics.

Everyone was speechless until one man made his outrage known.

“What kind of farce is this, Mikoshiba?!” screamed Viscount Gelhart in condemnation. “This is betrayal! You promised me! I spread rumors that Helena Steiner was plotting a revolt and created a commotion in the southwestern gate as a diversion for the Mikoshiba barony army. Those were my accomplishments! Mine! Don’t you dare say you forgot that!”

Gelhart then turned his anger to the other traitor.

“And you too, McMaster! Why should you be made prime minister?!”

“Well, you see... I think it’s best if I explained that,” said Ryoma, looking at him with a composed smile. He motioned toward one knight standing by the wall, prompting them to come over. “You can take off your helmet now, Helena.”

The knight took off their helmet, revealing herself as Helena. All the nobles shuddered at how this person wore the armor of a Rhoadserian general. Upon seeing their reaction, Helena calmly parted her lips.

“Viscount Furio Gelhart! You will be imprisoned in the House of Lords’ dungeon for charges of bribery, corruption, and years of irreverence toward the royal house! All the nobles here are under arrest to ensure none of your associates escape. Know that this is a royal edict and the queen’s will!”

Just then, knights in full armor kicked open the door and rushed into the audience chamber. The event was a carefully planned overthrow of the old noble regime. Helena smiled as the nobles panicked at the sudden change in the situation.

“You!” growled Viscount Gelhart at Helena. “This is... This is a conspiracy! You have no proof! You can’t prove any of this!”

This was a bolt from the blue for Viscount Gelhart, and he was desperate to find some way to weasel his way out of this.

She disregarded his protests calmly and spoke up. “We will present evidence of your crimes in your trial at the House of Lords in the coming days. Count Zeleph spent years gathering it. You should give up hope of getting away with your misdeeds.”

“Zeleph? You mean Elnan Zeleph?!”

Hearing the name of the man he had spent years shunning and fighting a cold political war against made Viscount Gelhart go weak in the knees.

“That’s how it is. I was going to keep my end of the bargain and make you prime minister. The opposition was just too vocal...” said Ryoma, scratching his head and displaying a vicious grin. “I really am sorry, but I can’t let a convicted man lead this country. Isn’t that right, Viscount McMaster?”

With this, Viscount Gelhart finally realized who the mastermind behind this ploy was.

“You! It was you, McMaster!”

Viscount McMaster coldly paid no mind to Gelhart’s shouting, gazing at him like one would at livestock lined up for slaughter. He knew all too well about Viscount Gelhart’s corruption and bribery, perceiving him as a parasite eating away at the nation.

“Leaving this country in your hands would be condemning the people to agony and destitute poverty. Who would ever let you be prime minister?!” spat Viscount McMaster, finally venting the frustrations he had built up for years. Helena patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.

And so, the Kingdom of Rhoadseria’s future embarked on a new path under the care of a new prime minister.