Chapter 46

“It was a damn long Succession War.”

Hermai Merhes said.

“Hurry up and hand over the treasures. Trying to set the mood will only make this already tedious fight even more tedious!”

“Haha. Such a personality. Understood.”

Ferbias let out a hearty laugh.

Hermai Merhes found that unpleasant.

Seeing him laugh, it seemed he had won in the end.

He had expected it to turn out that way, but facing it was more disagreeable than he thought, and he couldn't help but click his tongue.

“Is Prince Secundus handing over all his Treasures to Princess Leniar?”

“Hmm. That's right.”

“Very well. Let's see……”

The Third Prince, Kateka Keshulei, handed the Treasures to the old magician.

The ‘Steel Tongue Root’, the ‘Great Tree Long Spear’, the ‘Iron Lion Belt’, the ‘Crimson and Azure Flag’.

“…A total of four. Prince Ferbias, you too.”

“Amethus, hand them over.”

The jade-eyed man handed over the Treasures.

The ‘Azure Sky Brilliance’, the ‘Inverted Celestial Sphere’, the ‘Tri-Ripple Fan’, the ‘Ring of Shem’.

‘That son of a bitch, and to think he threw it away.’

‘I can hear you, Dean.’

‘I meant for you to hear!’

And the ‘Sky Crystal Helm’… the ‘Sky Crystal Helm’? This is…….

“…A total of four.”

“Hmm?”

Ferbias raised his head.

“I think you miscounted, Dean.”

“No. It's four.”

“I'd hate to think that the Chief Mage of Cordis can't even count. Even if we're not on good terms, to be this petty at a time like this!”

The First Prince quickly began to growl.

It was only natural, as it was the end of the long Succession War.

He was bound to be sensitive, as it was the moment the next emperor would be decided.

“Anyone can see it's five!”

“It really is four, First Prince. There's a fake mixed in.”

“…What!?”

A shout.

“Why? When! What on earth happened……”

“Hmm. I never thought the replica I made just in case would be so useful.”

Secundus Debius opened his mouth.

“That ‘Sky Crystal Helm’ is a fake, brother.”

“Th-then the real one……?”

He looked up at Dean Hermai.

As the administrator of the Succession War, he had a duty to be aware of the Treasures.

However, the old magician stroked his beard and said nonchalantly.

“Well? I can't see it either. Did it end up in the Sobel mountain range?”

“The Sobel mountain range……?”

Ferbias remembered.

“…Sobel, mountain range!”

The report that Nebulo and Zionis' corpses had been found in the Sobel mountain range.

And beside the corpse that seemed to be Zionis', there were many shining crystals.

That must have been the real ‘Sky Crystal Helm’.

Could it have been broken while they were fleeing?

“Th-that Zionisss-!!”

Ferbias, unable to contain his anger, shouted.

He had never thought that Zionis' name would pop up again at the very end.

He had gotten rid of him because he was a constant hindrance, but to think he would trip him up like this.

“Secundus! Did you send your dying brother off with the helmet? To use your own brother as a tool, you are cowardly……”

“Shut up.”

Secundus spat out in a low voice.

Ferbias fell silent.

It was because the muscular prince was wearing a face he had never seen before.

Secundus Debius did not hide his anger.

“Those are not words for you to say.”

“……”

The Second Prince, Secundus, was inevitably chagrined.

As Ferbias had said, it was true that he had ended up using his dead brother as part of his strategy.

This chagrin was proof that a sense of guilt remained in his heart.

“…This, then……”

Hermai Merhes stroked his beard.

A strong sense of bewilderment was on his face.

“…It's a draw, four to four.”

Again?

A murmur arose.

Every faction was already exhausted.

They had tried to minimize casualties, but how could there be no losses when they had waged a war?

Hermai, knowing this, muttered.

“Isn't this getting too much, even so. This Succession War is terribly tiresome……”

“That's right. It is tiresome.”

Leniar interjected abruptly.

She looked at Secundus, her half-brother.

The giant prince nodded as if to say, 'do as you please'.

The silver-haired princess gained strength and continued.

“The Succession War has been long. There has been much discord and the youths of the Empire have even shed unnecessary blood. We feel a great responsibility for this.”

The brainwashed Dean Cornelius, the sudden Grand Convergence, Imperial Consort Marina taking part in a duel, Yosef trying to kill a prince, and in the end, not a few had been sacrificed as the factions shed blood.

“Therefore, we refuse any further fighting.”

The silver-haired princess was confident.

She raised her silver eyes and first looked at the Haider warriors who followed her, then at Secundus and Ferbias, then at Hermai, and finally at the people who were watching their fight.

She looked them in the eye without wavering.

“I will yield the victory to my older brother.”

What.

Ferbias' eyes widened.

He had thought that of all people, Leniar would never yield.

But to be so docile?

Before he had a chance to be surprised, Secundus took up her words.

“Hmm. As we formed an alliance, I promised to follow our sister's will. I too will yield the victory.”

“No, what is this……?”

He was dumbfounded.

Ferbias Caseptus looked around, trying to grasp the situation.

He had thought that victory was far away after being hit by that last move.

But to suddenly yield the victory to him?

“Are you serious, Princess Leniar?”

“Would it be a lie, Dean? If you're still suspicious, let's do this.”

Leniar gave a faint smile.

“I, Leniar de Volmark, the First Princess of Cordis, will formally declare my withdrawal.”

“I, Secundus Debius, the Second Prince of Cordis, also agree.”

Leniar's smile as she covered her mouth was still full of grace.

There was no trace of bewilderment, and Hermai realized that she and Secundus had considered even this situation.

Ferbias was the same.

“Ah, no, this……”

“Congratulations, older brother Ferbias.”

Leniar and Secundus looked at each other and snickered.

Kateka, standing behind them, also smiled.

They looked quite like siblings.

Ferbias Caseptus looked at them with a foolish expression.

“You are the next emperor.”

“Hmm. You got what you wanted, didn't you, brother?”

***

The Succession War was over.

The Ten Treasures had been gathered.

The Grand Convergence had been held.

And finally, the ten-day war.

The victor had been decided.

The victor of the 50th Succession War.

The First Prince, Ferbias Caseptus.

***

“Aren't you disappointed, sister?”

“About what, my dear brother?”

“It was a draw, if you had fought another battle and won, you would have become the emperor.”

“It seems you are disappointed.”

“A little.”

Secundus stroked his chin and laughed heartily.

They were leaving the plain, leaving Ferbias and Hermai behind.

Even after the ten-day war, their forces had hardly diminished.

“I am not disappointed.”

Her silver hair flew in the wind.

“How could I beat Ferbias?”

The First Prince Ferbias had a side of him that was arrogant and impatient.

He enjoyed pretending to be noble and loved to appear as a magnanimous person.

Therefore, he had considered Leniar and Secundus as his younger siblings and gone easy on them, and had fought within the rules of the Succession War.

“It seemed he was starting to get really angry, and if that happened, wouldn't the Caseptus family also move?”

“Hmm. A Ferbias who has stopped pretending to be merciful is… frightening. He would throw away his pride and everything and ask even the Prime Minister for help.”

“Kerenneus would come running as if he had been waiting. He is a cruel old man.”

The three confidants of the Great Emperor Continua.

The Imperial Chief Mage, Hermai Merhes.

The Grand General, Deballo Debius.

And Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus.

Kerenneus, a member of the Eight Sages.

The Prime Minister of Cordis, the pinnacle of the imperial bureaucracy.

Also, Ferbias Caseptus' maternal grandfather.

The reason why half of the capital's nobles supported Ferbias, and the reason why he could boast the legitimacy of the First Prince, was all because of Kerenneus.

He had not come to the forefront until now because of his grandson's words that he would prove his own competence, but if he were to exert his influence in earnest, the outcome was obvious.

Wasn't the board already tilted in Ferbias' favor?

It was a matter of course, as neither Hermai nor Deballo could directly interfere in the Succession War.

“A victory that was going to be our older brother's anyway, we made it seem as if we yielded it. This is quite excellent.”

“And he was kind enough to gather an audience for us.”

“That's what I'm saying. Our older brother still can't read the long game. Though I suppose he never had the need to.”

A novice strategist is tempted by a great victory.

They want to annihilate the enemy and make a name for themselves, to seize treasures, to obtain a victory that will last for ages.

However, Secundus, who had much experience on the battlefield and Leniar, who had gone through the political strife of Volmark, knew.

That there were many times when knowing how to lose with less pain was more important than knowing how to win big.

Even a hero who has won several great victories can lose his life in a single great defeat.

It is natural, as he is human.

For the dead, there is no next chance.

It is just that the dead do not speak, so it is overlooked.

Therefore, it is better to know a small defeat than a great victory.

“Hmm. We lost without much pain.”

“It's almost pleasant.”

“Though it's not without its losses……”

In the ten-day war, Secundus had lost five young men, and Leniar had lost two warriors.

They knew their faces and names, so they couldn't help but feel sad.

But the two of them had brought five hundred and lost seven.

They had been able to preserve their forces to a surprising degree.

These would become the backbone of the forces that Leniar and Secundus would build in the future.

Leniar chuckled.

Secundus was a little surprised.

He had thought she was a sister without any human side.

“Emperor Ferbias will also have a hard time. Since he's the one after the Great Emperor Continua. It'll take him a few years to sort out the domestic affairs and establish his authority.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“4 years, no, 3 years?”

“That's shorter than I thought.”

“It's frustrating, but older brother Ferbias is a genius. It's an unpleasant but undeniable fact.”

Well-versed in both literary and martial arts.

Ferbias Caseptus lacked nothing.

He was knowledgeable in domestic affairs, skilled in handling talent, and had a deep understanding of military strategy.

Even his Ars was as if he were born to stand above others.

“I did try to shoot him down once with the faint hope that he might become a good emperor……. but it would be difficult. His stubbornness is already deep.”

Ferbias did not consider himself a genius.

That was the most dangerous point.

Perhaps because he had seen out-of-the-box humans like Kerenneus and Amethus up close, or perhaps because of his deep-rooted impatience and venom, Ferbias had grown up to be a terrible hard worker.

Though he had not become the best in anything, there was nothing he could not do.

On the other side of his effort, stubbornness was surely piled up.

He was the type to become the most troublesome when made an enemy.

Emperor Ferbias, an unpleasant-sounding title, but a fact that would soon come.

He would become the 50th emperor of Cordis and take control of the Empire.

They had to survive.

“Grow big in 3 years, Secundus. So that Ferbias won't dare to cut you down.”

“You too, sister.”

Soon, the road split.

They had no intention of returning to the capital, Lutilium, nor did they plan to show their faces at the coronation ceremony.

They had to hurry.

They had to rise to a position where Emperor Ferbias would not dare to purge them.

“We've only been together for ten days, but it's quite a shame.”

“Hmm. Indeed.”

The road split.

Leniar headed north.

There lay the Duchy of Volmark, which she considered her true home.

Secundus went northeast.

The pinnacle of the Ten Great Generals, Deballo Debius, was waiting for him.

They stopped.

If they parted, they didn't know when they would see each other again.

Perhaps something like brotherly love had bloomed, having a common enemy in Ferbias.

A few formal pleasantries were exchanged, and Leniar slowly opened her mouth.

“By the way, about Zionis… no, I'm sorry.”

“It's fine. I was the one who did something I shouldn't have.”

Leniar raised her head.

Though it was cloudy, it was rather clear.

“That kid, he might just pop up suddenly. With a strangely sly smile.”

“He'd probably say something like, 'Oh my, brother, it seems you've heard some baseless rumor that I'm dead'.”

“That's quite similar, Secundus!”

Hmm.

I practiced.

…You even practiced?

Secundus also looked at the sky.

It was rather clear.

It was still early for the sun to set, but the wind was cold.

The road was long.

But his steps did not fall easily.

There were still words he wanted to say.

“…Still, if such a thing were to happen, I would be very happy. I'll have to give him a good punch then.”

“Oh my. Then me too.”

Me too…….

Kateka interjected.

Leniar, without realizing it, stroked her younger brother's head.

Kateka did not avoid it.

Was it because they had the same father, after all?

Once they opened their hearts, they felt as if they were getting closer in a rush.

Leniar ended up saying something she would never have said normally.

“…Did you think of him as a brother?”

“There was never a time when I didn't.”

“Me too, perhaps?”

“I, this Secundus Debius, am a man who considers even Ferbias as my brother.”

Oh my!

Leniar giggled.

Secundus also laughed heartily as he rode his horse.

Kateka had also joined in at some point.

The laughter did not stop until tears came.

It seemed to be thanks to the sense of liberation that the damned Succession War was finally over.

“Farewell, my dear siblings. Survive.”

“Be on your way, our sister. Let's meet again someday.”

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