A few days after the trial, the execution of Pope Constantine, Cardinal Rufus, Cardinal Rossini and Luca Sozzini was carried out.
There were no theatrics, no amusement at this execution. This would not turn out like the execution of the Maldenberg family. Victor ordered that they all be hanged at the same time. It was simple, and it did not take long.
Zandar had had enough of the bloodshed and violence, so much so that Victor wanted this execution to be over and done with swiftly. With losses and sympathy for both sides, dragging out the execution and making it a spectacle was not a good idea.
Fog lay thick over Roma that morning, heavy enough to dull sound and swallow distance. The city's rooftops were only faint shapes beyond the ridgeline, and the high towers that usually ruled the skyline seemed reduced to shadows, indistinct and watchful. Even the bells rang strangely through it, muted, as if the air itself refused to carry their full weight.
In the city's plaza, the scaffold had been raised before dawn.
It was plain work: timbers, rope, a narrow set of stairs. No decoration. No stagecraft. A handful of lanterns burned low along the perimeter, their light thin and wavering in the mist. Soldiers stood in disciplined lines around the square, keeping the crowd back behind rope barriers.
No chanting, no speeches from agitators, only the restless murmur of citizens gathered to witness something they had talked about for weeks but still struggled to believe would truly happen.
At the front of the formation, King Victor Luxenberg waited with a small detail of officers and legal clerks. The sentences had been confirmed days before at the Roma Trials. Final petitions for mercy had been denied.
This was not theatre. It was a conclusion.
Victor stepped forward and read out the verdicts again: war crimes, incitement, murder, coercion, arson, and attempted murder. Each charge carried the same weight in the cold morning air: guilty.
No names were mentioned. No pleas were entertained. The city had exhausted its arguments long ago.
The condemned were brought in together: Luca Sozzini, Pope Constantine, Cardinal Rufus, and Cardinal Rossini were escorted by guards in tight formation, hands bound, footsteps steady on the wet stones. They were led beneath the scaffold without pause, without delay, with the precision of a task that had been practised in silence.
Victor stepped forward as the rope was checked and rechecked. He did not shout. He did not dress the moment in grandeur.
"This execution is carried out under lawful sentence," he said, voice firm and plain. "There will be no reprisals beyond this. There will be no further bloodshed, unless it is demanded again by those who refuse peace."
A ripple passed through the crowd, uncertain whether it was relief or fear.
The hangman and his assistants moved quickly. Final arrangements were made. The condemned were positioned side by side, the ropes set, the platform cleared. For a brief moment, the only sound was the creak of wet wood and the low shift of boots in mud.
Victor raised a hand. The signal was given.
The trap released, and the scaffold completed its brutal work in a single synchronised motion, four sentences carried out at once, without spectacle beyond what the act itself demanded. The crowd did not roar. It did not cheer. Some watched in rigid stillness. Others bowed their heads. A few turned away, as if the fog might hide the memory from them.
When it was done, Victor remained where he stood, letting the square absorb the reality.
Then he gave a final order, calm and final as a closing gate."Cut them down. Confirm the deaths. Record the time."
Clerks wrote. Officers nodded. Guards held the lines. The fog did not lift.
The continent would remember that morning not for its drama, but for its simplicity: a quiet square, a lawful sentence, and the unmistakable message that the war had reached the end of its rope.
With the conclusion of the war, a whole new challenge emerged for Victor: getting the continent under control.
Zandar had been left in a state where clear governance was needed. Officials needed to be replaced, property needed to be repaired and reimbursed. It would be a hard task, but it was not something that Victor had not done before.
There needed to be a council that governed over the Zandar. As such, appointments were handed out right away, no ceremony, no gifts. The time to act was now; there was no point in dilly-dallying while work needed to be done.
Field Marshal Wellesley was appointed as the Chancellor of Zandar, the same position that Field Marshal Schwarzenberg holds in Simbar. General Valerius was appointed as Grand Duke of the North, taking over the Sozzini territories and the ruins of Forli.
Marquis Polo was given his promised reward and made Grand Duke of the West. Count Valentine did not get a rise in status, but was named Paramount of the East. Finally, Count Cerebi was named Paramount of the South.
These four would act as the governors for each region, in charge of protecting the people and administering the laws and justice of King Luxenberg. Additionally, these four men would serve on Field Marshal Wellesley's council. They would help pave the way forward for a better Zandar.
Victor oversaw the early days of this regime. His soldiers assisted with construction projects and maintained peace. There were still rebellious elements that remained loyal to the Pope. The Luxenberg soldiers worked hard to make sure that they were stamped out before they could create more chaos.
To better help Field Marshal Wellesley, Victor used 50,000 out of his total 300,000 Store Points and bought 2 10x Medium-Level Foreign Follower Summons. Thankfully for Victor, these were foreign follower summons and not normal ones.
Out of the 20 summoned followers, only 6 of them were above 3 stars. The 14 followers that had 3 stars held the following roles: 3 maids, 3 servants, 2 spies, 3 lower-level financial administrators, 2 lower-level industrial administrators and 1 lower-level civil administrator.
These additions may have been a bit underwhelming, but it was certainly better than nothing. The spies would be used to monitor any potential rebel activity on the continent. The administrators would at least help share the workload of running the continent.
The remaining 6 followers were all 4 stars. 2 of them were medium-level financial administrators, 2 of them were medium-level agriculture administrators, and the last two were medium-level civil administrators.
Victor was disappointed that there were no five-star followers in these summons, but nevertheless, they would be welcomed additions to help govern the Zandar Continent.