Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Fleece clouds spread widely across the blue sky. The weather was good but a somewhat chilly wind blew across the sand-covered parade ground.

Flags fluttered. On the flags, an oak tree with a black eagle sitting on it was drawn on a purple background.

And below the podium where roughly dozens of people stood, there were people kneeling with their eyes covered.

Out of 246 arrested personnel, 76 were released, 122 received fines, and 48 received death by beheading. The ones kneeling were those 48.

Marie, wearing a splendid purple robe that didn't reveal her body lines at all, exactly like what high priests would wear, was looking down below the podium sitting on a chair.

By her side sat Rickart and Crown Prince Vilter, who was hurriedly called from Kalitz Academy.

Vilter looked somewhat anxious somewhere, and Marie spoke staring straight ahead without even looking back at her son.

"Open your eyes straight and watch everything one by one, Crown Prince. That is your duty as the Crown Prince."

Compared to Rickart treating his children like friends, Marie was resolute and strict.

Marie didn't even attend the Grand Assembly, and was the person who was least angry after hearing the story, but her measures were the most resolute.

Because behaving in such a way in front of the Council of Six and Rickart was something that couldn't just be overlooked whether she was personally angry or not. As the Emperor.

"......Yes."

At the order of the Emperor rather than his mother, the Crown Prince raised his head however uncomfortably and stared straight ahead.

The people standing behind the Emperor were old friends like Bori, Ice, Bolka, and Karlrich, closest vassals led by Paolo, the Inner Circle, and the Imperial Royal Guard Knights.

Some had pitiful and anxious expressions like the Crown Prince, but most were just apathetic like Marie or Rickart.

But among them were also Lena, Ravenna, and Graf. The three were anxious for a different reason, none other than because Marie was the Emperor.

The fact that Rickart was the King of Adelorn was a shockingly surprising matter too, but the fact that Marie wasn't a Duchess but the Emperor was shocking almost to the point of paralyzing their brain functions. I thrust my sword at the Emperor?

Lena barely stole a glance at Marie's back with the tail of her eye. Then she flinched and trembled when Marie gestured with her chin towards someone.

The person who received Marie's directive nodded their head, then looked at the executioners and nodded their head again.

Then 48 executioners pressed the backs of the death row inmates, making them bend their upper bodies and place their necks on the execution blocks.

The death row inmates' breathing was unstable and they trembled shivering in fear so much it was visible even from afar.

There was no one who was resolute in the face of death. Among them, the one who called Bolka a cripple already had his tongue pulled out, so he seemed to be already half-dead.

The death row inmates were all people who had trained their swordsmanship quite a bit in their own ways too, but in front of real power there was nothing they could did.

When all their heads were fixed on the execution blocks, Marie spoke coldly.

"Execute the sentence."

Marie's voice was quieter than the sound of the flags fluttering, but perhaps imbued with the unique power of a Sword Master, it was heard clearly in the executioners' ears.

The executioners raised large axes high above their heads. Beheading done with a sword was a somewhat honorable beheading, and beheading done with an axe was a dishonorable beheading.

HWOOOOOOONG!

PEOK!

Whether they received separate training, the axe strokes of the 48 seemed to be swung by one person, and so the sound was heard very loudly, and the sound of beheading was also heard as one.

The heads separated from their bodies dropped with a thud sound into the wooden buckets placed in front of the execution blocks. With that, all 48 died.

They were alive just 1 second ago, but was it okay for human lives, and 48 of them at once, to die so vainly? Such thoughts brushed past the minds of many people. For a moment a gap was felt between reality and perception.

Where ddid power come from? It comes from force. And that force meant determining life and death. Marie had such force.

"Display the heads on the road outside the city and write their crimes. Make everyone know what happens when they mock the Imperial Family."

As Marie issued her directive coldly, the executioners carried out the buckets containing the heads. And Marie looked back at Rickart and said.

"Since I came I'll also visit Father before I go. But it was unexpected that Ricky spared them."

"I didn't spare them. I just couldn't kill them."

Marie sneaked a glance at Bolka. He had his head bowed with a miserable expression.

Still, he took comfort in his heart thinking of the fact that if Rickart had massacred indiscriminately it would have been many more deaths than this.

The 48 death row inmates were major figures or instigators of the factions that Marie had filtered and filtered in her own way.

No matter how well the Viola Clan or Beringen Academy was doing, they couldn't question the authority of the current Emperor.

"Do you know that? Ricky."

"What?"

"A King has no friends. Only enemies and allies."

"Yeah, Marie you're right. Just, I think there are people who suit that and people who don't. Protecting the monarch's authority to the point of turning one's back on close people doesn't suit me. In that regard I also respect you Marie."

"Fool. I don't do this because I like it either. Because I only need Ricky, I can be cold-hearted towards everything else. Keep it in mind. We both become angels or demons depending on what each other does."

Rickart caught a glimpse of Martelus II from his past life from Marie. Specifically the Emperor from the era when Imperial authority was the strongest. Coincidentally Marie's real name was Martelia, the feminine form of Martelus.

Martelia I, Protector of Commoners, Mother of All People, that was the current Marie.

"I didn't do anything."

"I know. Because Ricky can't lie."

Marie raised her hand slightly. Then Rickart stood up from his seat and offered his arm. Marie naturally linked arms.

And Rickart wrapped his other hand around the head of Crown Prince Vilter and placed his hand on his shoulder. That touch contained comfort and encouragement for his depressed feelings.

When Marie walked, everyone made way and bowed their heads. Her friends were no exception. That was the difference between Rickart and Marie.

The place where the Emperor temporarily stayed was the Headquarters of the Master's Federation. When she entered the building clack clack, it was as quiet as a dead mouse.

The Federation people were doing their work in their respective offices exactly like usual, but couldn't dare make a sound.

The place she headed to was the Intelligence Director's office used by Regina on the 3rd floor. For the Emperor now, the existing furniture and documents were completely cleared out, and it was entirely filled with furniture brought by her attendants and decorated exactly like a bedroom.

Her closest attendant and champion Becca, Rickart and Roy, Bori, Ice, Bolka, Karlrich, Crown Prince Vilter, and Paolo who was formerly the Chancellor and Minister of Finance of Adelorn but currently the Chancellor and Minister of Finance of the Empire, also followed into her room. It was to discuss what comes after.

But surprisingly the trio of young adventurers also followed in. Lena, Ravenna, and Graf were not at the level to join such a gathering, but they attended because the Emperor personally told them to come once. It was exactly a bed of thorns.

Regardless of their feelings Marie didn't care, unfastened her hair, sat in a chair, and entrusted it to Becca's touch.

"Since the Council of Six has now been revealed to the front, running it like before is not very good. Ricky said he would reorganize it anyway, so I want to completely turn it upside down taking this opportunity. Only when taking care of things like this periodically do the people below know their place you see."

"......"

Everyone kept quiet. In a way it was a matter that happened somewhat suddenly without time to prepare, so there wasn't anything they could offer opinions on.

Then Paolo spoke exactly as if he brought it prepared in advance.

"The reason the existing method had problems was because we tried to centralize and control it. The constituent forces were too few too. The pie has become too big for just two to divide and eat, and keeping each other in check is good but gnawing at the inside of the organization was not good. Although I didn't say it all this while, the leaking finances were significant. Of course it is correct that on the surface it should appear exactly like there is no connection to Your Majesty like before. Therefore what I intend to propose is......"

The one speaking was Paolo, but the thoughts were Marie's. And Rickart's too. So those attending the seat had no choice but to listen quietly.

"We will run the Adventurers Guild on a registration basis. And grant authority to each within each region. Among them, we will accept four especially large guilds into the Federation. To speak easily, Beringen Academy, Viola Clan, and Michela Sword Monastery will maintain their existing statuses, but four new guilds will be accepted. Thus we will select representatives of each to form the Council of 7, and select a chairman among them to entrust with general management and administration. What the Council of 7 handles is......"

"Wait a minute, I'm one thing but Ricky isn't there?"

Bori raised his hand and spoke. Then Paolo looked at Rickart, and Rickart shook his head and said.

"I said I won't do it."

"Yeah well, since it seemed you didn't want to do it since a while ago."

"Is it running on a regional basis now?"

Karlrich raised his hand and asked. Then Paolo nodded his head.

"If we set districts there won't really be occasions to clash like before."

"But what are the 4 newly added guilds?"

This time Bolka asked Paolo.

"If the Empire is divided into East, West, South, North, and Center, the previous Council of Six was excessively concentrated in the North and East. Now we will also receive representatives from the Western and Southern regions. Because Your Majesty sees a greater world, you suppressed their demands all this while but not anymore. They have shown sufficient sincerity, and taking this opportunity we intend to bestow grace upon them."

"......"

If Marie ssaid so it's so, they couldn't exactly argue pro or con.

"Adventurers will escort merchant groups, maintain civil security, and track and execute wanted persons exactly like before, but in addition to that, exploring unknown regions, discovering ancient ruins and relics, or taking actions proving loyalty to the Empire and Imperial Family, or establishing praiseworthy legacies, we will grade them and provide rewards for those. Not simply settling superiority and inferiority exactly as swordsmen swinging swords exactly like before."

Adventurers being adventurers, this was what Lena and her friends argued for. Which meant their opinion was reflected, implemented personally by Rickart.

"Do you Seniors have nothing to say?"

Vilter, who attended the meeting as the Crown Prince, asked looking at the three people standing awkwardly.

"......Yes? Me?"

"Yes, I'm also Kalitz Academy you see. I heard from Dad. That you are people pure to a degree rarely seen these days."

"......Ah......"

"So what do you have to say?"

The Crown Prince asked again. Then everyone attending the seat looked back at the three young people. Nobody looked down on them or kept them in check, but their eyes were actually saying they weren't really interested.

I heard they were kids Ricky brought, was Ricky raising them? They merely thought to that extent.

"Have you practiced the Codex a bit?"

Marie, who entrusted her hair to Becca and was looking in the mirror, asked looking back.

"......T-there has been a little progress but......"

"I saw that Codex a bit before too, and it was really quite good. Though it's a bit esoteric for beginners to see, listening to Ricky it was in a much purer form than the things Bori wrote."

"What? What Codex?"

Bori, who was mainly immersed only in research and indifferent to other things, immediately showed a reaction.

Because the place was the place, and the people were the people, Lena had no choice but to take out the Codex from her bosom and show it.

Bori immediately received the Codex and read it down quickly. He had a high level so his comprehension was fast, but it was esoteric to the point that even such Bori would find it hard to understand everything immediately.

However, surprisingly it pierced through a new perspective and essence. To the point that Bori, who aged and was apathetic to everything, opened his eyes roundly.

"Caldebert? Was this person a swordsman? Wasn't he a strategist and military commander?"

"Ricky is also a swordsman and a military commander."

Ice said.

"Not heart-centered mana operation but raising mana from perception, is it possible? Did I rather think wrong?"

"I want this to be made public so everyone can see it."

While Bori muttered to himself in fresh shock, Rickart said something more shocking. Then everyone stared at Rickart exactly as if asking what sound was that.

"As I wandered around this time, it seems there are many conflicts related to the Codex. For things that aren't dangerous, I'm wondering how about rather revealing it to the public."

"......That's a bit......"

Bolka and Karlrich expressed disapproval almost simultaneously.

They couldn't recklessly tell an individual or group to make their privately owned Codex public or not. However, Caldebert's Codex was different.

Actually regarding Caldebert's Codex, it was the Beringen Academy side who privately used the Adventurers Guild for under-the-table requests and such.

Of course it wasn't Karlrich who was involved, but someone in the Federation, and he was one of the 48 death row inmates who died earlier.

In short, Caldebert's Codex was now completely owned by Lena, Ravenna, and Graf. No, including Rickart, it was owned by the clan named Leragri.

"I'm fine. I already memorized it all anyway. And since it's a cultivation method where experience and real combat are essential, it's not like just anyone can learn it exactly just because they read it."

"That is true. It seems not very useful to people who have already reached Sword Master. Anyway isn't it the first time a Codex is revealed to the public? It's really unconventional."

"It's an amazing discovery and legacy. According to the guidelines we should raise their grade and bestow a reward right? Yeah, what clan are you guys?"

Bori spoke, and Marie received it.

The reason Marie looked favorably upon them wasn't because the trio of young adventurers was pretty, but largely to elevate Kalitz Academy's prestige. Because her son attends there.

"Le......"

"We haven't decided the name yet."

Rickart hurriedly cut off Lena's words. Because he hated that strange clan name even if he died.

"How do you register without deciding the name?"

Bori asked.

"Used a provisional name."

"Is that possible? Though I have no interest in the Federation's operation, it seems that's not it."

"Why are you so persistent?"

"No I'm just curious......"

"How about 'First Hunter' meaning achieving the first legacy?"

"It's too childish."

Rickart expressed disapproval.

"Then it's decided. With First Hunter."

"Did you even listen to what I said?"

"Um......"

Lena managed to open her mouth with difficulty. Then everyone once again stared at the adventurer who achieved the first legacy.

"Mister, ah, um, I apologize. If you were not the King we would never have reached this far. We were purely lucky. So we just want to make it Clover Clan. Since Viola Clan is a flower name too. Because I thought it was cool since the past."

Bolka chuckled snicker. Marie also laughed, and Rickart and Bori also laughed. Because it brought back old thoughts for a moment. And it was pleasant that a distant junior said it was cool too.

And for Lena it was a confession. That she didn't just simply hate the Viola Clan, which was one of the established forces, but that she envied and felt jealous because the legend they wrote down was too cool. Friendship and loyalty.

Although the Viola Clan isn't exactly like in the past, there were still people who received inspiration from them and carried it on newly. Exactly like the meaning of things like the Council of Six or the Master's Federation was conveyed to them.

Because those attending the seat faintly knew that, they all laughed exactly as if feeling shy or pleased.

Did all these messy matters have meaning. It would be nice if they did, and it seemed they did.