Chapter 18

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Declaration of Independence
-----------------------------------------------------------------

#18

“I’ve seen many stones with gold flecks, but never one with such a beautiful pattern. I will cherish it.”

Walter tucked the stone carefully into his pocket, the corners of his mouth lifting in a barely perceptible smile. Seeing his boyish grin, Lucy returned an awkward smile.

Walter Hyverge. Twenty-eight years old. Grand General of Parnas.

Hobby… collecting stones.

A new entry was added to Walter Hyverge’s personal file. Lucy made a mental note to pick up any pretty stones she found, just in case she needed to persuade the Grand General in the future, and then composed her expression.

“It’s a bribe for how busy you’re about to become.”

Walter, who had been gazing at the stone with a bright expression, reverted to his usual stoic look and nodded.

“I am accustomed to the work at command headquarters, so do not worry. The royal palace will also be restored within a month. Rallying the lords, however, may take some time.”

“That’s not why I said you’d be busy…”

Swallowing her words, Lucy shrugged and leaned back against the sofa. *No point in worrying about it in advance.* She thought, rolling the candy around in her mouth.

Seeing her lost in thought, Walter tilted his head.

He would come to understand her words a week later.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“Grand General! We have a crisis!”

Zen burst through the door as if to break it down, panting as he slammed both hands on the desk. Walter, who had frozen with his pen in hand, glanced at the dangling door hinge and sighed.

“What is it?”

“You have to read this! A letter just brought in by that Whees fellow…!”

Zen seemed at a loss for words, huffing through his nose before grinding his teeth with a grim, grating sound.

His large, protruding nails looked as if they might shred the letter at any moment, so Walter quickly snatched it and opened the envelope.

“…”

His face was placid as he read the letter. But as his eyes moved down the page, a darkness gradually deepened within them.

Walter finished the letter and slowly stroked his lower lip.

The Grand General’s composure only made Zen more frantic. Zen stomped his feet, tapping a protruding fang with his nail.

“The Duke is declaring an independent nation, and you’re so calm!”

“I’m glad I appear calm.”

Walter pinched the bridge of his nose, pressing down on the edge of the letter with his fist.

Just then, Lucy, who had been in the study, entered the room humming, her arms full of books.

“Oh, hello, Instructor.”

“Arsinoe…! You were lazing around here the other day, and you’re still here?”

Appalled by the casual address, Walter stared at Zen with a hardened expression.

Zen had been away from Central Command on a dispatch mission for several days, so it was possible he hadn’t heard the news about the new monarch. Still, Walter had never imagined he would witness such a deplorable scene firsthand.

“Zen. Show respect to Her Majesty.”

“What? Her Majesty?”

“I overheard something about an independent nation. What’s that about?”

Lucy drew Zen’s attention as she set down her books.

Before Walter could scold him, Zen clenched his fists and roared.

“Duke Kill is declaring independence along with three other lords! I heard he caused a huge scene at the Elder Council a while back, but does this even make sense?”

“Independence?”

“Yes! He’s issued a proclamation that he’s uniting the west into an independent nation and that we are not to interfere!”

Seeing Lucy’s genuine surprise, unlike Walter’s reaction, Zen began to fuss as if he’d been waiting for this. But Lucy’s expression quickly turned indifferent, and she tilted her head.

“That can’t be right. A man so devoted to the kingdom wouldn’t change his mind that easily. It would make more sense if he were staging a rebellion.”

“I agree. Duke Kill loved the kingdom itself, not just his territory. But… that’s what makes this so shocking.”

“Something’s not right…”

Zen, who had been ready to chime in with an “I told you so” and “I knew that old man would cause trouble someday,” was baffled by their calm reactions and didn’t know how to respond.

Lucy, who had been deep in thought with her arms crossed, waved a hand at Zen, who stood frozen like a forgotten scarecrow.

“Let me see that proclamation for a moment.”

Faced with her confident demeanor, Zen didn’t even think of retorting and quickly handed her the letter from the desk. After reading the letter in silence, Lucy’s eyes narrowed and she gnawed on her lip.

“Where did you get this proclamation?”

“Whees… uh, that captain of the 1st Reconnaissance Unit, gave it to me. I hear he’s been personally distributing the proclamation to the other lords, too.”

“He didn’t announce it through a foreign affairs official, but delivered the proclamation of his new nation directly to the lords? And this quickly?”

“Uh… well. I’m not sure about that part.”

At his vague answer, Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose.

It hadn’t even been a month since she’d made an enemy of Duke Kill. She had expected some kind of reaction soon, but she hadn’t anticipated such a large-scale declaration of war.

*An independent nation.*

*A loyal subject, devoted to the royal family, now seceding to establish his own country.*

It seemed plausible at first glance, but it was nonsense.

As powerful as the dukedom was, it was still just a part of Parnas. If he had amassed enough military strength to found a nation, it would be far more logical to use that army to stage a rebellion.

However, on paper, it sounded much more plausible than plotting treason. At least outwardly, it looked as though he wasn’t trying to start a conflict.

*Kill must have known that, which is why he scattered the proclamations far and wide.*

“This is getting more complicated than I thought…”

*Should I just storm in and demand to know what this nonsense is about?*

*No, that’s not it. If Duke Kill had always been my subject, marching in to snap him out of it wouldn’t look too bad, but…*

*As things stand, I can’t touch the dukedom.*

*The justification is too weak.*

Everyone knew that Lucy’s claim to the throne was flawed. She hadn’t even held a coronation ceremony because she lacked the lords’ allegiance.

If someone like her were to lecture yesterday’s loyal subject on the duties of a king and his vassal and then bring down the hammer, the other lords would surely resent it.

She had just barely won the lords’ favor with the cure for the plague; there was no need to diminish their goodwill with a foolish move.

“An independent nation, a proclamation…”

*A warning not to interfere?*

*Does he really intend to become the king of an independent nation? Was scattering the proclamations a move to win over the other lords, or…*

Staring at the letter with burning eyes, Lucy closed hers and let her thoughts branch out further.

She already knew that Duke Kill was gathering troops. According to Walter, not only was he not downsizing his army, but he was also reaching out to external powers across the strait.

*What does he plan to do with that army?*

Duke Kill might seem merciful and cautious at first glance, but in reality, he is incredibly bold.

Whenever he is on the verge of a major decision, he always suffers a loss in a surprisingly foolish way.

Then, when his opponent, drunk on his seemingly idiotic act, lets down their guard, he attacks with a cunning that belies his previous methods.

Giving the flesh to take the bone—that was the old raccoon’s way. So, what is the flesh he is giving now, and what is the bone he means to take?

“Walter. You said I’d be moving my residence to the royal palace soon, right? When is the scheduled date for my entry?”

“The palace is ready for use at any time, but many of the servants are still gravely ill, so it will take some time to recruit new staff.”

“It’ll just be me in the inner palace anyway, so don’t hire too many attendants. So, a month?”

“Yes. That is the current estimate.”

“Then announce that I will hold my coronation ceremony on the day I enter the palace.”

“…The coronation ceremony?”

At the sudden declaration, Walter slowly shook his head, a look of surprise on his face.

“It is too soon. Weren’t you the one who said we should gauge the atmosphere at the next Elder Council before setting a date for the coronation, Your Majesty?”

“There’s no need to prepare for the ceremony. I’m telling you to distribute a proclamation, just like Duke Kill.”

A flicker of confusion passed through Walter’s eyes.

“You mean we should only announce it publicly?”

“Exactly. Well… it’s not a huge loss, is it? If nothing happens on the day of the coronation, so be it. But if we catch something, it’s a big haul. I’ll try applying the Duke’s methods myself.”

Walter, who had narrowed his brow as if asking what she meant, let out an exclamation that was somewhere between a gasp and a groan. He had caught the hidden meaning in her words.

Lucy smiled at him, but then her expression turned bitter as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and sighed.

“Anyway, it looks like I’ll have to live here for another couple of months. The bathroom here is so inconvenient. I wonder when I’ll finally be able to return to the palace…”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Their conversation finished, Walter dragged Zen out of the room to distribute the proclamation. The sound of their heavy boots echoed eerily down the deserted hallway.

The low growl of a beast mingled with the sound of their footsteps. At the same time, Walter felt the sharp sting of a glare on the back of his head.

“Grand General!”

Lost in thought, Walter belatedly rubbed the back of his head and turned around. His vision was filled with his adjutant, who looked like he was about to explode.

“What is going on? Arsinoe is Her Majesty…? And you were just whispering incomprehensible things about the dukedom’s independence. I couldn’t understand a word of your conversation. You were leaving me out the entire time…!”

Walter quickly raised a hand to stop his adjutant’s outburst.

“I will explain.”

As if hearing a magic phrase, his bristling fur settled slightly. Still, his eyes looked ready to rip out Walter’s throat, so Walter quickly explained the current situation.

As Walter systematically laid out everything that had happened—Lucy’s identity, the events of the council, the nature of the plague, and the lords’ reactions—Zen lowered his tail, his expression softening considerably.

“Well, I’ll be. Arsinoe is the monarch. Isn’t this the first queen in the kingdom’s history? And to ascend the throne at her age… damn, she’s got some talent.”

“That may be, but… Zen. You must show respect even when Her Majesty is not present.”

“I know. But it’s so absurd that the honorifics don’t come easily. My goodness, to think the little squirt who used to run laps at the academy is now the monarch.”

Walter considered scolding him again, but he understood Zen’s position and kept quiet.

Zen watched his superior’s expression, his ears twitching.

“I did think it was strange how interested you were in Arsinoe… I mean, Her Majesty. I guess it was because she’s of the royal bloodline. Have you been keeping an eye on her since the academy?”

“No. I only began to find Her Majesty impressive when we happened to cross paths in Pomnos.”

The cold winds of Pomnos swirled in his narrowed eyes.

The late king was furious with the daughter who had disappeared with his favored concubine. He immediately summoned the Grand General and ordered him to find the mother and daughter, kill the daughter, and bring the concubine back.

A year passed like that, and in the frigid northern lands, Walter found Lucy—once a criminal of Parnas, now a criminal of Pomnos.

And.

“It would be best to return.”

Walter, who had always treated the king’s command as more than a creed, had surprisingly disobeyed the order. At Lucy’s request, he pretended not to have seen the mother and daughter.

He felt no guilt for betraying his lord’s command. It had simply happened naturally.

…Why did I do it?