151. The Last End

The cold wind at the end of winter swirled around the tower.

Elkius, with a faint smile, brushed back his tousled hair. A lavish crown, incongruous with his disheveled attire from days of fleeing, rested upon his head. The setting sun tinged his face with a red hue. Time, place, and his appearance all seemed to lack a sense of reality.

Callion stared intently at Elkius.

“You’ve won, Callion.”

“……”

“But you can’t deny that you’re just as much a traitor as I am.”

Elkius spoke with a hint of amusement, as if pleased that the once noble and righteous Callion had become a traitor like himself.

Callion quietly opened his mouth.

“Do you have the right to say that to me after assassinating the previous emperor and killing your own father?”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Elkius said, twisting his lips. “But I ascended to the throne by my own strength. I didn’t drag the kingdom into it like a coward, as you did.”

“……”

“That’s the fundamental difference between you and me, Callion.”

A hint of ecstasy appeared on his haggard face. He had been defeated, but he found satisfaction in the fact that Callion had not achieved a perfect victory either.

Callion neither denied nor affirmed his words. He saw no need to shatter what might be the last solace for a defeated man.

Elkius, interpreting the silence as agreement, spoke again.

“I will die as an emperor, and you will remain a criminal who involved a foreign power to gain the throne.”

“Others will judge my actions and yours in due time.”

At Callion’s blunt reply, Elkius smirked.

Callion stepped forward, watching the nearly set sun. Elkius, his expression hardening, asked,

“What do you intend to do with me?”

“I will take you to the capital.”

“Take me?”

“We will expose every crime you committed before everyone and discuss the appropriate punishment.”

“You dare to punish an emperor?”

“You will be stripped of the throne. It was never yours to begin with.”

“Strip me of the throne?”

A chilling smile spread across Elkius’s distorted face.

Callion instinctively grasped his sword hilt. But Elkius moved not forward but backward, stepping toward the edge of the tower.

“Do you think you can?”

“Stop, uncle.”

The low parapet barely reached their thighs. Realizing the danger, Callion stepped forward.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Elkius, shouting sharply, removed the crown from his head and glared at Callion.

“This is mine. I will never let you take it.”

“……!”

“Watch closely, Callion. Watch the emperor’s death.”

Without hesitation, Elkius threw himself off the tower. Callion reached out desperately, but it was too late.

He ran to where Elkius had fallen and looked down from the tower.

Below, the mutilated body of Elkius lay, blood spreading darkly around him.

It was the final end for a traitor.

.

.

.

Callion descended the tower in a daze. Knights waiting on the stairs rushed to him.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?”

“What happened to the emperor?”

“Are you hurt…?”

Callion, grimacing, spoke heavily.

“No, go to the base of the tower and retrieve the body.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The knights’ faces lit up as they confirmed the death of the deposed emperor. Callion alone could not smile.

He entrusted the aftermath to Julian and left the palace. Despite solving a long-standing issue, his heart felt heavy.

‘What was the throne worth that demanded such bloodshed among kin?’

The torment he thought would disappear upon reclaiming the throne still weighed heavily on him.

Callion, sighing, lifted his gaze from his feet.

A familiar woman stood where his eyes fell.

“…Adele?”

“Congratulations, Callion.”

Adelaide smiled brightly.

His halted steps quickened. Callion ran to her and hugged her tightly.

Finally, he felt the end was real.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Callion returned to the capital with Elkius’s body. Nobles who had anxiously awaited news cheered at the tyrant’s end, but Callion, showing no elation, immediately convened a meeting to clearly reveal Elkius’s crimes and decide his punishment.

For crimes including the cultivation and distribution of Velido, human trafficking and slave auctions, human hunting, abduction, and murder incitement, four death sentences and hundreds of years of imprisonment were decreed.

Of course, the sentences could not be carried out on the dead.

Duke Howard and other hardliners argued for displaying the body as a lesson for posterity, but Callion did not go that far.

“Elkius Isulandt is stripped of the throne, his name erased from the records, and his body interred in an unmarked grave in the common cemetery.”

However, the titles of the deceased Marquis of Berner, the Marquis of Flanders, and other nobles who were involved in Elkius’s misdeeds were confiscated, their children were demoted to commoners, and their properties were absorbed into the national treasury.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Tulonel, who had been hiding in a secluded inn, was discovered and brought to the capital. Among his numerous crimes, his attacks on the border guards, framing them as actions of the kingdom, and the murder of the kingdom’s envoys to plunge the empire into chaos were most notably recognized, leading to his execution.

Many other nobles’ crimes were revealed, but to avoid significant turmoil, only major offenders were punished.

Rosaline Harper’s existence was kept under wraps. Adelaide advised that since hardly anyone had seen or remembered her, there was no need to publicize her existence.

Despite frantically handling these urgent matters, the most significant issue remained unresolved.

“The throne cannot remain vacant for even a single day. Let’s declare Duke Tiflis’s accession today.”

To avoid future complications, Earl Changeling strongly insisted that even if the coronation was held later, the throne should be filled immediately.

However, there was opposition.

“While it is urgent to proceed with the accession, isn’t there a matter that needs to be resolved first?”

“What matter needs resolving?”

“The kingdom’s soldiers are entering the royal palace, of course.”

“……”

As Callion feared, Harold Lowden was a contentious issue. Some conservative nobles could not accept that Callion had relied on the kingdom’s assistance to oust Elkius and reclaim the palace.

“Technically, isn’t it an interference in domestic affairs?”

“It was an unavoidable situation…”

“We can’t take this lightly. The kingdom might use this as a pretext to make unreasonable demands on us.”

Concerns arose that Callion, having overthrown Elkius with the kingdom’s help, might be subservient to the kingdom once he became emperor.

“If we let this slide, it will tarnish the Duke’s legitimacy.”

“I also think that regardless of the merit, there needs to be a punishment for bringing foreign soldiers into the imperial palace.”

“Which country’s logic repays kindness with enmity?”

“We need to think about the empire’s future.”

The debate continued without reaching a conclusion.

Everyone acknowledged that it was an unavoidable act, given Callion’s life was in danger and no one else could assist him as the nobles were all tied up. However, the argument that the kingdom could exploit this for leverage had validity too.

According to the law, bringing soldiers into the palace could warrant execution, but no one suggested this as Harold Lowden was the first ally of the future emperor.

Nevertheless, some form of punishment was deemed necessary by the Imperial Council.

“Since we cannot apply imperial law to someone from the kingdom, how about resolving this by permanently expelling him from the empire?”

“That seems like a reasonable solution.”

“……”

Callion listened to all the opinions without speaking.

This issue was his first test since he had overthrown the deposed emperor, based on legitimacy and fairness.

Everyone assumed it would be difficult for him to avoid criticism, regardless of his decision.

Callion remained silent, looking at Harold Lowden.

Pulled into the meeting room like a defendant on trial, Harold Lowden uncrossed his arms.

“So, the problem is that I brought soldiers into the palace?”

“Yes, not because you are from the kingdom, but according to imperial law, anyone other than the emperor or heir who brings soldiers into the palace is considered a traitor.”

“As far as I know, soldiers can be brought in to protect the palace if there is an emergency with the emperor or heir.”

The noble who raised the issue frowned at Harold Lowden’s response.

“While there are exceptions, even in those cases, only someone with imperial blood can bring in soldiers. But you, as someone from the kingdom…”

“I am an imperial citizen. I was born in the empire and raised in the kingdom, but my parents are from the empire.”

The room buzzed at Harold Lowden’s declaration of being an imperial citizen.

“Even so, without the proper qualifications, the conclusion remains the same. We understand the significant aid you provided to the Duke, but allowing this would set a precedent that could destabilize the empire, thus the punishment is inevitable…”

“Pardon my interruption, but there will be no destabilization of the empire because of me.”

Harold Lowden’s gaze turned to the man sitting at the end of the conference table.

“Isn’t that right, Father?”

‘Father?’

Callion looked back and forth between Duke Howard and Harold Lowden in shock.

Harold Lowden stood up and bowed courteously.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Roland Howard, the son of Duke Howard, who went missing 14 years ago.”