Chapter 203

Chapter 203

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Manor farming generally operates on a three-field system. Dividing into land for planting spring crops, land for planting autumn crops, and land resting to recover soil fertility, and operating them rotating every year.

Weeds were allowed to grow on the fallow land and livestock were let loose to feed. While doing so supplying nutrients with excrement, and plowing the land to prepare for the next year.

After finishing a slight warm-up by planting spring crops like beans or oats, firmly preparing again perfectly the next year planting wheat whose grain ripens well only if surviving winter to harvest in summer, or early autumn. After harvesting wheat, it rests again.

The time was late summer, the wheat that endured 1 year was dyed golden showing off its fruits under the sunlight.

A man sat on the ground blankly looking at the wheat field. Old to be young, and young to be old. Saying poorly neither here nor there, saying nicely an age where ripening reached its peak.

Were the 30s the golden age of life? Or a time bending past the inflection point?

"Do you know? Baldur."

Nivellius who was looking at the wheat field suddenly asked his true friend.

"What?"

"Ignorant commoners would think farming was merely done in the exact same way since the past, but no. The first Emperor His Majesty Nivellius was the one who first introduced the three-field system. It wasn't implemented overnight, but slowly settled over hundreds of years. Seeing the fruits of our family ripen like this feels new emotionally."

The 2nd Prince Nivellius coincidentally had the same name as the first Emperor along with the 3rd Emperor. If he ascended safely and ended his life as Emperor, he would have been called Nivellius the 3rd.

"......"

"Cumbersome things yet things I couldn't dare cast off, after taking those off I finally see it. I thought I was leading people, but actually the one being swayed here and there by windbags busy filling their own greed was me. Now I know...... but is it late?"

Although Nivellius was immature he wasn't exactly stupid. His erudition was quite high too, and he knew how to treat people comfortably and recognize abilities.

If he had a flaw it was that he liked playing and couldn't judge well what was more important and what was less important, and lacked the guts to stake a victory or defeat.

To navigate troubled times, to re-establish the collapsed Imperial authority he was excessively ordinary.

"......We must go now, Vel."

Baldur standing beside Nivellius said like barely opening a mouth that dared not open.

However Nivellius ignored that word and asked.

"How about you? Baldur. Don't you have any regrets?"

"Even now I think I am doing a crippled act. How I ended up following you...... damn it, I just wanted to succeed."

"You should really form a habit of speaking nicely. And you succeeded in your own way didn't you? You were the acting commander-in-chief of the army of the 2nd Prince no less. For the son of a frontier knight it's succeeding."

Baldur whose beard was bushy at a young age scratched his beard with a frowning face exactly as if he didn't like it then said.

"That word of yours is right. I won't argue. But regretting now is a bit disgraceful so let's just go."

"My regret is not that."

"Then what? Then."

"A regret that if we had met a bit earlier? Is that right? Anyway, something like a lingering attachment."

"Meeting even now might be fortunate."

"Is that so? Indeed. It's up to how you think. But why are you following me to the end?"

"......Because you're pitiful."

At the word saying he was pitiful Nivellius smiled and stood up leaning on his knees. All those many soldiers and knights who cried out loyalty had disappeared, and only exactly one person remained by his side.

Now they didn't even have horses to ride either. Because they would stand out. The two men set off on the path westward. The golden wheat field spreading on the right was beautiful.

However as they turned the bent road, two people were seen standing far away. The cloaks on their waists sticking out thud predictably told they were wearing swords.

They were wearing the hoods attached to their cloaks as if trying to block the sunlight, one person was red and one person was black. One person was tall and the other person was a bit small.

The sound of the wind sweeping the wheat field was heard. It resembled the sound of waves.

Splash......

Nivellius's heart pounded thump thump. However his expression had no particular change, and merely held his friend's hand tightly. Baldur also squeezed his hand in return.

Looking back there were more people who had appeared from nowhere behind them. And unlike the two people in front, the emblem symbolizing the Master's Federation was drawn on their left chests.

A tree and a golden eagle. Seeing it embroidered with gold thread they seemed to be in extremely high positions within the Federation.

However they didn't throw any words. Words like we came to kill you, or it's useless even if you run away, were non-existent.

Exactly as if waiting for them.

"R, run towards the wheat field. Understand?"

Baldur said.

"You?"

"One person has to buy time."

"R, rather...... wouldn't it be better to die together?"

"Do you think I followed to die together?"

Baldur quickly checked the front and back then said again.

"The side where the two people are would be better. First both of us rush at those two bastards. But actually I will face them alone so you run to the wheat field right away. Understand?"

"Whoever looks those two seem more dangerous."

Perhaps because they pressed their hoods deeply the two friends didn't recognize Rickart.

However, reaching the end Nivellius's judgement was accurate. But at the end, he decided to trust his friend's judgement. Because he had troubled him a lot all this time......

Baldur shook off his friend's hand he firmly held and drew his sword. And shouted loudly to intentionally concentrate their attention on himself.

"Disrespectful traitors! No matter how much you violently oppress us with strength the rights of the legitimate heir do not change!"

However no one answered that word. They didn't draw their swords either, and just blankly watched. Like reapers who didn't know words.

"Seems they are careless. Now! If not now it's impossible!"

Nivellius's heart pounded thump thump, and it seemed Baldur was the same. A bit different from usual he seemed quite excited. And understandably because he knew he would die soon it was inevitable.

To Nivellius such a friend looked pitiful. Just, it was merely so.

But he couldn't throw any words. What words would he say?

Baldur grabbed Nivellius's arm and ran to the two people blocking the path. Then when reaching a close distance, pushed Nivellius towards the wheat field whoosh.

Nivellius momentarily fell and looked back at Baldur. But in that short moment, Baldur's head was gone.

Ah...... it doesn't work, this was reality, such a thought heavily pressed his chest, and a great sorrow rushed in. He was his first and final friend in life.

Falling flop into the wheat field he reflexively bolted his body up, but precisely as if teleporting a person wrapped in a red cloak was already standing on the escape route.

Due to the exceedingly fast movement his hood was off, and his hair exactly like golden sunlight was fluttering slightly. Now he could recognize who it was. The King had come directly.

Nivellius turned his back. Headless Baldur fell on the road, and the short person wrapped in a black cloak was just putting his sword back in the scabbard.

"I wish to show courtesy. Mustn't you die by someone matching your status, to fit the courtesy?"

At Rickart's calm voice Nivellius turned his head whoosh again and stared at him. His hands and jaw trembled rattle rattle. Precisely as if he would lose strength in his legs and collapse any moment, he somehow endured.

And while trembling rattle rattle barely drew his sword.

"C, courtesy? Cut the crap. I, I will not surrender. I will not sit still and die like the foolish 5th Prince. I will die as the one and only, l, legitimate, legitimate heir!"

Strictly calculating the succession rank after the Crown Prince died the 2nd Prince was the most legitimate heir. The one who shook up that board was the 5th Prince, and eventually among the various illegitimate children moreover a woman Marie ended up taking it.

"That is also good......"

Rickart said lowly. He seemed to want to respect everything however he died.

Rickart killed Kings or Princes if necessary, but because he himself had also lived in a status-based society he equipped minimal, or maximal courtesy. Seeing his self-defense in its own way when killing the King of Basque too.

Even so, feeling like what use was all that in front of death enters the mind, but anyway it was so.

The yellow ripened wheat reached the waist for a person of average height, and reached the thigh for a tall person. The two people stared at each other precisely as if dunking their bodies in the wheat field.

The sunlight and weather were so good it felt heartless.

Nivellius attacked first. Because he had never properly swung a sword after learning swordsmanship as a refinement when young it was truly unseemly. To Rickart it looked slow like eternity.

"It will sting a little."

At the same time that word was heard, Nivellius thought his wrist hurt first. And his neck stung. He saw his broken sword spinning round and round in the air receiving the sunlight.

His body felt stiff. His neck wasn't cut off. It was Rickart's consideration to leave the corpse intact as much as possible. Only, blood continuously sprouted in a burst from the cut spot.

Rickart supported his falling body forward from the back. And slowly, laid him down peacefully in the great legacy of the Nivelinger Imperial family, the wheat field.

Bori and the Federation swordsmen standing on the road blankly watched that appearance without saying any words. With this, all the sons born between the previous Emperor and Empress had died.

Rickart closed Nivellius's eyes and raised his body. And looked around the wheat field.

Bori approached the Federation swordsmen representing his friend and gave a directive.

"Put it in a coffin full of salt and send it to the Imperial Capital."

"What shall we do about the other person?"

Meaning Baldur.

"Roughly push him aside the road. Farmers will handle it or wild beasts will tear him up and eat him."

"Understood."

After giving the directive Bori approached Rickart. The sound of wheat brushing his waist was heard.

"Let's go. It's over."

Even though his friend spoke Rickart didn't turn his gaze away and looked at the wheat field. While saying.

"Where?"

"Nibelungen of course, where else. We have to perform the coronation."

"Yeah...... but what after that?"

"I like the position of Head of the Royal Library. The books are somewhat organized too, and I'm thinking of creating an academic society. Naturally I haven't thought of an appropriate name yet."

"An academic society?"

Rickart who was looking at the wheat field turned to Bori. But Bori too was looking at the wheat field wearing his hood.

"Debating about swordsmanship and things like that. Gradually developing Mana Drive and swordsmanship. The answer I gained is that. If the depths of swordsmanship and mana are endless, there is no need for me to necessarily complete it."

"What does that mean? How is swordsmanship a study? Swinging a sword is just swinging a sword. It's like shackles of sad destiny. There's no need to pretend to be elegant."

At Rickart's skeptical response exactly as if knowing it would be like that Bori smiled grin. Exactly like when young Bori's smile was exactly like sunlight. That didn't change.

"It will become like that from now on."

"Yeah, well, it's good for each to do what they want to do. But like this you all go your separate ways."

Although sharing the big fence called the Federation, Bolka or Ice, and Marie too each had their own domain and path. Now Bori too.

"Won't everyone gather again at funerals?"

"Then that's enough."

"Yeah, then that's enough."

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

The two friends walked out of the wheat field. And put their shoulders side by side and continued to walk. The rear cleanup was done by the Federation swordsmen.

Baldur was abandoned by the roadside, and Nivellius went into a coffin full of salt and was sent to the Imperial Capital.

Marie confirmed his death and only then performed the coronation ceremony.

In the Imperial Capital Nibelungen a new Emperor, and the birth of the first Empress at that was blessed. Red flower petals scattered like snow all day long.

Marie wore a splendid ceremonial dress trailing longer than a person's height and walked all along the main road of the Imperial Capital. However Rickart merely waited in the palace, intentionally not stepping out in front of people.

Even so people implicitly all knew. Who the Emperor's husband and sponsor, the hero who saved the Empire from chaos, and the master of the sword, the invincible commander, the bravest knight was.

Rickart restrained himself, but people knew the shadow of a giant covered the entire Empire.

So they attached the most honorable title next to the Emperor to Rickart. That was the title of the greatest Emperor among ancient Emperors.

In all official documents it was necessarily marked by including that title. It was a word pointing to the highest power, or strongest person of the Empire even if not Emperor.

Augustus Rickart.

And after Rickart performed the coronation ceremony, he led the knights and returned to Adelorn. Exactly like suddenly disappearing after finishing his work.

Like that the Imperial Succession War ended.

Chapter 41 - What was Gained and What was Thrown Away, and What Remains By Your Side.