ALL NOVEL Chapter 20 - A Typical Entrance
Early morning.
Even before I could tidy my disheveled hair, being dragged out in shackles and chains was quite an unpleasant sensation.
I was willing to walk on my own without struggling, yet they seemed in quite a hurry for some reason.
“A warm bowl of soup would suffice for breakfast.”
“Breakfast for a man soon to be executed!”
“Is it not strange to execute me without a proper trial?”
“What do we know about that! We just follow the orders from above!”
“…Yes, that is indeed what it means to be a soldier. Even if it is undesirable.”
With those words, I did not express any further displeasure towards them.
Since I knew their stance, I realized any further conversation would be meaningless.
“We have arrived, it seems.”
Following them, a place resembling a training ground came into view.
And the one in charge of the soldiers who had brought me there greeted me with an irritated expression.
“Well well, the wicked traitor has arrived!”
It had been quite a while since I had heard the word ‘traitor’.
The last time was when I had drenched the imperial palace in blood to kill the former emperor and the second prince.
“I have never harbored any intention to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You dared commit violence against an imperial officer – is it not only natural to condemn you for treason!”
“That is an interesting perspective. By the way, what is your name?”
“Nil Fehen…No, why am I answering your questions!!!”
If he was indeed of the Fehen family lineage, it was somewhat understandable.
“Indeed, if you are a scion of that ducal line, even an imbecile counting his age could become an officer.”
“Is this man truly insane! Do you even know how blasphemous your words are…!”
With one question answered, countless other questions rose to the surface.
“By the way, to be entrusted with command of this fort, you must have some experience or achievements under your belt. How old are you this year?”
“Twenty-one! Since you’ve heard my answer, you should answer my questions too!”
“Rather young. For one so young to be granted command, not even a seasoned junior officer yet. Even if the Army Minister is a dog, he would not favor someone like you.”
“Oh shit…Hey, bring me some cold water…I feel like I’m going insane here.”
“Yet you do not seem particularly talented either. Hmm…Even if the military is short on talent, they would not employ such a green rookie.”
“Phew…”
He began chugging down the cold water the soldiers had fetched, gulping it so hastily that half seemed to be spilling from his mouth.
“Yes, I must be the fool for initiating a conversation with this madman.”
“No matter how skilled at self-objectification…you do not seem capable enough to command this fort. Truly strange.”
At that, as if in retaliation, he kicked my face with his foot.
It did not particularly hurt, but my dry lips split slightly, causing a small amount of blood to trickle out.
“Hey, it’s madness to try talking to this bastard. Hurry up and get on with it, cut his neck first.”
Then, the one who seemed to be his aide adjusted his glasses before taking out some kind of document and beginning to read it.
“The criminal Raul Musca! Despite being an exiled criminal, you not only failed to atone, but committed the grievous sin of insulting Nil Fehen, a noble imperial officer!”
“I merely used force to protect myself. Though I may bear some responsibility for him soiling his pants.”
“Furthermore, as the village representative, instead of setting an example, you brazenly harassed the village women!”
“That is a rather unpalatable assertion. If nothing else, I can take pride in being chaste when it comes to women.”
“These crimes constitute deceiving the imperial household! Therefore, we shall condemn this as treason against the empire and sentence you to execution!”
While I was not particularly well-versed in law, I could tell this judgment was a travesty.
That supposed aide had likely not studied law either.
Yes, this was merely a listing of statements he deemed plausible by his own standards.
“…The content is somewhat lacking.”
“What?”
“My crimes are not such trifling matters.”
The crimes I had committed were not something as minor as using violence against that wretched man’s group.
If my crimes had been limited to just that, I would not have ended up like this.
“The crimes for which I should be punished are as follows.”
“Hey, what are you going on about now…?”
“The crime of betraying the Allied Forces and massacring the giant tribe that had greatly harmed the empire. The crime of assassinating their king and burning their homeland as an example. The crime of not regretting it in the slightest.”
Even if it had been by order, those too were crimes I had committed.
“The crime of carrying out a mass slaughter of the dragon tribe, the nemesis of the Allied Forces. The crime of destroying their sacred lands. The crime of still considering it a justified measure.”
Even if I had suffered unspeakable indignities, those too were crimes I had committed.
“The crime of being unable to control my lust, sparking a war, and assassinating the foolish former emperor who took after his father, and the second prince his son.”
The catalyst for that crime had been the words the second prince spoke about my sister, but it was an undeniable crime nonetheless.
“The crime of being born my mother’s son. The crime of being born my sister’s brother. The crime of becoming my fiancée’s fiancé.”
“Hey, what the hell has this madman been going on about…! Could he be…”
“The crime of personally killing with my own hands the friend who was my life’s savior and could have embraced my very soul.”
And that was the greatest crime I had committed.
Compared to those crimes, the killing of the giants and dragons or the assassination of the former emperor were mere trifles.
“Those are the crimes I have committed.”
“Hey, just how unhinged is this bastard…?”
They began backing away, their expressions like those who had witnessed a monster, their bodies trembling uncontrollably with unstable pupils and irregular breathing. This ‘familiarity’ too could no longer evoke any particular emotion or novelty within me.
Being treated as an eyesore, a traitor, garbage, a villain, a monster – none of it could stimulate me with anything new anymore.
The ‘familiarity’ that had taken deep root within my heart blocked out everything.
But those branches had grown so large, they even obscured the very sky above from my gaze.
“Hey, hurry and exe…no, hurry and execute that man!”
“How wonderful it would have been if I were like you.”
“What…?”
“If I had been so feeble as to be unable to kill anything, so foolish as to be incapable of betraying my sister, so selfish as to be able to simply shirk those deeds.”
If I could have become such a person.
“If that had been the case…I could have.”
I dislike the word ‘if’.
For I know better than anyone how futile the fantasies that word conjures are.
But that sweet fantasy was like a drug I could never quit.
“Even my lacking self could have been loved.”
Selfishly, I only gazed at that one potential outcome the ‘if’ would bring, disregarding any other possible results it could have yielded.
“If you can kill me, then go ahead. For it seems any crime for which I am executed will be equally meaningless now.”
“Hey, hurry and kill him! That bastard is completely insane!!!”
But the soldiers following him seemed to have become terrified, only trembling uncontrollably, none of them stepping forward.
“These useless fools…! Stand aside, I’ll do it myself!”
He snatched a sword from one of his subordinates and began slowly approaching me.
Though treading on solid dirt, his steps were unstable and cautious, as if crossing a stone bridge.
“Damn bastard…”
The moment he raised his sword, a bright azure light filled the sky and earth.
Unable to withstand that brilliant radiance, everyone momentarily shut their eyes – except me, as I calmly gazed at that azure glow.
And soon after, a thunderous boom shook the fort.
“Found you, you drunkard bastard.”
Descending to the ground along with that source of light and sound was a woman.
“What? You like women? With that attitude, you didn’t just put up walls, you built fortresses. Want me to make you a real woman?”
The woman standing on the scorched earth had an undeniably beautiful face.
Beyond her casually tousled azure hair were glittering blue eyes.
Her beautiful features evoked the mythical beautiful birds.
A physique sculpted like the statue of the goddess who owned those birds.
She was the owner of all those blessings, and also one of the five heroes – my friend.
“Camilla.”
The one who had impaled and slain the Cursed Fowl that even I could not kill, an unparalleled warrior and huntress.
Thus, I had expected she would easily track down my location.
“You changed your makeup. And perfume too.”
“Ugh…”
“Personally, I preferred your previous perfume.”
“…Oblivious about everything else, but unnervingly perceptive about such things.”
“It is simple for me to discern anything regarding you, if not other women.”
“Contemptible wretch…”
For a moment, she turned her head to gaze at the distant mountains.
After appreciating that view, she turned back towards me and erupted like an active volcano:
“So I’m telling you to broaden that perception a bit more. If you had from the start, we wouldn’t have to suffer like this…”
Suddenly, she fell silent and began staring at my lips.
The likely cause was the blood that had trickled out when the inside of my lip had split earlier.
“Who did that?”
Camilla’s voice began turning as cold as on the battlefield.