Chapter 172 - Fill the Goblets with Blood (5)

Marquis Bielefeld, lying flat on his face, stammered as he opened his mouth.

"Le-Leonberk..."

His voice trembled wildly, unable to hold back his intense emotions.

"Long live the kingdom..."

Tears eventually streamed down his wrinkled eyes.

"Long live Leonberk!"

Count Kirgayen followed the Marquis, crying out a cheer in a passionate tone.

"Long live the Royal House of Leonberk!"

"Long live His Majesty the King!"

The successive shouts of the nobles quickly filled the Great Hall.

The King struggled to endure his wildly beating heart as he lowered his treasured sword. He then raised a hand to halt the nobles' cheers.

"Marquis Bielefeld, step forward."

At the King's words, the old Marquis knelt below the platform.

"I hereby appoint you as the Grand Marshal of the kingdom."

The old Marquis snapped his head up and looked at the King. Facing the intense emotion rising in those eyes, the King's face also grew heavy with feeling.

In the past, the Empire had fractured the kingdom's military, preventing the royal family from unifying and commanding it. In that process, the position of Grand Marshal vanished, and the Marshal's Office was also disbanded.

But now, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, a Grand Marshal was born anew in the kingdom.

"Marquis, you are to reorganize the Marshal's Office that was disbanded by the Empire, so that the kingdom's military, split into five, can be united as one once more."

"I-I shall dedicate my life to it!"

The old Marquis had a face that said he would have no regrets even if he died right at this moment.

The King patted the shoulder of his old, loyal subject.

"I believe you will do it well."

Whispering softly, the King then called out to Count Kirgayen.

"I appoint Count Kirgayen as the Chancellor of the kingdom."

The Chancellor, like the position of Grand Marshal, was also a role that had been abolished by the Empire.

That was just the beginning.

The King called out the nobles one after another, entrusting them with new positions and organizations.

All of them were organizations that had been disbanded or reduced to dead letters due to the coercive treaties with the Empire.

Shedding tears or overwhelmed with emotion, the nobles praised the King.

"The years of disgrace will never return, though the immediate hardships will be beyond description. However, if you pour in your utmost devotion, we will surely be able to overcome those hardships as well."

"We shall dedicate our lives!"

The nobles thumped their foreheads against the floor.

Watching their loyal display, the King sought out his eldest son.

His eldest son was leaning his back against a secluded corner of the Great Hall, watching the nobles.

The King's heart was nothing but complicated.

They were a father and son still too awkward to speak of affection, and to speak of trust, the King felt deeply ashamed of every word he offered, having shown nothing but incompetence as a father.

Nevertheless, the emotion that surfaced in the King's eyes was incredibly warm and resolute.

"Adrian Leonberk."

SLIDE.

The Prince pushed himself off the wall.

"Stand before me."

STEP, STEP.

The Prince slowly straightened his back in front of the platform.

While everyone else was kneeling and paying their respects, only the Prince was standing with his back so proudly straight.

The King inadvertently almost burst out laughing.

To approach so sluggishly even after being called by the King, and to not even show respect. And what of that scoundrel-like appearance, covered in blood with disheveled hair?

In the past, he would have disliked both that thoroughly ruined state and that arrogant attitude so much that he would have scolded him loudly, regardless of whether the nobles were watching.

But not anymore.

The King was incredibly pleased by that sheer confidence.

If he had a back that easily bowed to an incompetent father, he would surely do the same to the Emperor of the Empire; right now was a time that required someone more robust and unyielding than anyone else.

"Please speak."

His tone was uncharacteristically quite polite, but the actual meaning was a prompt to hurry up if he had something to say.

The King ultimately burst into laughter.

The bloodstains spilled by the turncoats in the Great Hall were still stark red, and it was a crucial moment where everyone was firming their resolve for the hardships to come.

But he simply could not hold back his laughter.

"You truly are consistent."

"You said that before as well."

At his eldest son's reply, the King suddenly recalled a few years ago.

["Seeing you not greet your father, it seems surviving a brush with death does not necessarily change a person."]

He had once hurled such venom at his eldest son, who had miraculously survived after plunging a sword into his own stomach.

It seemed he still kept that incident in his heart.

Thinking about it now, there had been no need to speak so harshly to a young child who had just overcome death.

"Please speak your piece first."

Just as he was about to apologize anew, the Prince hurried him to state his business again.

The King smiled brightly at that impatient behavior and spoke.

"Adrian Leonberk. I shall appoint you as the Crown Prince."

It was a matter already decided behind the scenes, but this was the first time it was being announced in an official setting.

Immediately, the nobles' eyes widened as they inhaled sharply.

"Thank you."

However, the Prince himself seemed to feel no particular inspiration, and his answer was aloof.

As if it had belonged to him from the start, as if it were meant to be from the very beginning, acting so naturally.

In some ways, he even looked somewhat annoyed.

It was truly an insolent attitude.

And so, the King handed down a fitting punishment to the Prince who found the seat of the Crown Prince bothersome.

"I bestow the title of Golden Lion upon the Crown Prince."

At those words, the nobles jerked their heads up.

"The Golden Lion, you say..."

"It is indeed the title you are thinking of."

"Heavens."

The old Marquis let out a hollow breath, and the nobles murmured among themselves.

Only the Prince, ignorant of what the title of Golden Lion meant, blinked blankly.

Unable to simply watch, the old Marquis stepped forward to explain the meaning of the Golden Lion to the Prince.

"Your Highness. The position of Golden Lion is a unique position of the kingdom that was erased by the Empire..."

"Keep it short."

"It is a position that allows one to make judgments and decisions on their own without the royal family's approval in almost all situations; so to speak, it is akin to His Majesty's plenipotentiary representative. In practice, I understand that its treatment and authority are indeed no different."

The Prince's eyes widened. Seeing the Prince like that, the old Marquis added one more thing.

"Even throughout the past, those who have received the title of Golden Lion in the kingdom's history number no more than five, and all of them were the ones the successive monarchs trusted the mo—"

"Ahem. That is enough."

The King coughed artificially, cutting off the old Marquis's explanation which did not need to be further elaborated.

He then added a word in a somewhat rushed tone.

"Since it is an unprecedented position capable of exercising authority equal to the King, the responsibilities are also immense. The heavy workload of its public duties will also be beyond description, so the Crown Prince should not resent me for being exhausted."

The Prince did not answer.

He seemed lost in thought, realizing that the Golden Lion carried a weight practically equal to that of a regent.

Of course, unlike a regent who was appointed only in times of emergency, this was a position appointed while the King was still alive and well, so there was a difference; yet its formidable authority was enough to arbitrarily decide even the life and death of high-ranking nobles, meaning it was like having two kings in one country.

In effect, it was tantamount to having two kings in one country, which was something that should not exist, but it had come to pass because the kingdom's past kings so frequently led campaigns in person.

"Are you perhaps considering leading the army in person?"

Knowing such background, Marquis Bielefeld cautiously asked the King.

And the King nodded without a single moment of hesitation.

"There is no reason I cannot if it is necessary."

At those words, the somewhat chaotic Great Hall froze coldly once again.

Only after realizing the King's resolve did they seem to understand that war was not something that might happen, but an event that absolutely would happen.

"It will not be easy to reclaim all that has been lost over the past times; you must dedicate yourselves to rebuilding the collapsed organizations anew without any delay."

The King ushered the nobles out of the Great Hall.

* * *

"You have a face with much to say."

As everyone else left the Great Hall, the King spoke while looking at Marquis Bielefeld, who remained alone.

"His Highness the brilliant Crown Prince is not of a disposition to scrutinize matters closely, so he may not have noticed, but this old man whose eyes have grown dim with age, unable to see far and clinging only to small things, knows that Your Majesty has omitted a considerable number from the kill list."

The King nodded at the Marquis's words.

"You are correct. I intentionally omitted the names of several individuals."

"Are you perhaps intending to turn a blind eye to their crimes?"

"That is not so. I know that, save for the fact that they did not receive titles, their treasonous acts and the nature of their crimes are no different from those who were beheaded."

"Then..."

Looking at the old Marquis's face full of concern, the King spoke again.

"That child said this country does not need nobles. He said that having only those who are willing to risk their lives to protect it is enough. But my thoughts are different."

For the past hundred years, when the royal family existed only in name, the ones who practically ruled this country were the nobles. The royal family's power was not yet what it used to be, and if they were to behead all of them under the pretext of cutting out the rot, it could easily escalate into an unsavory situation.

Because no matter how strong the Northern army and the Central Army were, covering the entire kingdom would be too much.

"The survivors will feel relieved at their own circumstances while looking at those who were beheaded, and rather than plotting a rebellion immediately, they will try to observe the situation. Perhaps they might even think that the possessions of the beheaded could become theirs and actively lend their strength to the royal family."

"It is a vulgar nature that will reveal itself before long, and a filthy greed that will harm the kingdom."

"You have misunderstood my intentions."

At the old Marquis's repeated concerns, the King spoke quietly.

"It is not them I am trying to embrace."

"If you are not trying to embrace them, then there is no reason to keep them alive..."

"The Commander of the Royal Knights sent me a letter. Saying that the eldest and second sons of the nobles were serving more diligently than expected at Winter Castle. That their arrogant tempers have been chipped away amidst the biting winds and blizzards, and they have now become truly noble men. And that whenever they open their mouths, they sing praises for that child."

The Marquis widened his eyes.

"If the roots are snapped, the fruits that have just begun to form will wither along with them; I want the Prince to claim those fruits."

Only then did the old Marquis understand the King's intentions and nod. Yet even as he nodded, he did not forget his words of concern.

"But they are the ones who will bring massive harm to the kingdom in the future."

"There is no need to worry. Their deaths have merely been postponed for a very brief moment."

The King's eyes glinted.

"Outwardly, they will die not as traitors, but as loyal subjects of the kingdom."

Seeing those eyes burning with an almost burdensome intensity, the old Marquis asked again.

"This old man is foolish and dares say it is difficult to guess Your Majesty's hidden plan."

"As soon as matters in the rear are settled, I will head for the borders, and they, too, shall join me."

The King did not reveal whether he would have them fight and die on the battlefield, or if he intended to use the chaos of war to execute them, or if it was something else entirely.

"Thus, I hope that the era of that child will be filled with only glory."

The King spoke as if he himself would not be present in that era, and the old Marquis's face fell with a sinking heart.

"The name of Your Majesty, who began that era of glory, will echo throughout the whole world."

Even to those earnest words, the King did not reply.

He merely sat on the throne, endlessly praying only for the time of glory that would soon arrive.

* * *

One hundred poles were erected in the square of The Capital.

And atop each pole, a head was placed.

They were the heads of the nobles who had been beheaded in the royal palace.

The citizens of The Capital were terrified by the sudden upheaval. A royal knight dispatched from the palace told those citizens not to fear, listing the crimes of the beheaded.

"Have you ever seen such beasts!"

Upon learning that they were all turncoats who had received titles from the Empire, one citizen of The Capital became enraged and spat on the severed heads.

"Gasp!"

No matter what crimes they had committed, nobles were still nobles, and the startled citizens cautiously checked the royal knight's reaction.

However, the royal knight did not reprimand the citizens.

He merely attached papers listing their crimes to each pole and vanished somewhere.

"These bastards aren't even human!"

"Of all the ones to side with, you side with the Empire!"

Their courage multiplied a hundredfold, the citizens spat and threw dirt at the heads of the turncoats.

When a day had passed, the empty lot was filled only with crushed skulls and bare poles standing tall.

It was because the citizens and merchants who had suffered under the nobles had defaced the severed heads overnight and shoved them into the mud.

Instead of tracking down and punishing the culprits who dared to ruin a royal execution display in just a single day, the knights sent from the palace gathered the miserably ruined heads into sacks like garbage and disappeared.

A few days later, the man known as the Chancellor gathered the people in the empty lot lined with poles and declared the independence of the kingdom, which had been no different from a province of the Empire.

Right on cue, the Northern army that had practically laid siege to The Capital scattered in all directions.

It was not very difficult to guess where the elite Northern soldiers, fully armed and brandishing their spears and swords, were heading.

And shortly after they left, the Leonberk Kingdom's declaration of independence spread throughout the entire continent.