Straightening slightly, he cast a contemptuous glance at the Duke of the North. "The First Emperor did not save my family so that, one day, we could watch a handful of gamblers bargain over the survival of the throne. Therefore, I will not waste my time debating your so-called rights. The South stands with the Emperor, and whoever among you wishes to remain outside may bear the bitterness of that choice."
A heavy silence settled over the hall. While everyone expected another outburst of anger, the Duke of the West released a long, cold sigh. He was not looking at the Emperor; instead, his eyes remained fixed on the Duke of the North with a chill that made the latter feel as though he were under a magnifying glass. He adjusted his glasses slowly within that hall Ray had stripped of every display of luxury.
Then, with measured deliberation, he shifted his gaze toward Ray seated upon the throne. It was not the look of submission, but of a man weighing an entire future as he posed his question in a frighteningly calm tone.
"Your Majesty... the sovereignty you ask us to return today is a trust we took upon ourselves when we believed the throne had become nothing more than an empty seat. My question is not about laws or ministries, but about something beyond them. Do you ask us for this sovereignty in order to protect 'Aster,' or to make 'Aster' a shield that protects you?"
He paused briefly before continuing in an aristocratic tone of coldness. "The answer will determine whether I return to you the keys to our history, or continue burying them in the West."
Ray looked at the Duke of the West calmly. Had he not intervened now, the Duke of the North would have completely collapsed under the words of the Dukes of the East and South. Yet Ray was certain he was not trying to help him. He sighed and decided to answer.
"It seems you are not looking for a definitive answer." Ray smiled and asked, "Duke of the West, in your opinion, why is the symbol of the royal family the phoenix rather than the dragon Aster, who later became part of the Empire's emblem?"
"Let me tell you." Ray smiled and answered his own question. "Because the First Emperor never believed there could be an empire as eternal as a phoenix, but he was certain it could be as mighty as a dragon. In honor of his friend Aster, he made him the symbol and emblem of the Empire. Hoping that his friend would protect his descendants after his passing, he chose the phoenix as the symbol of the royal family, wishing that this family would never perish."
"We all know that, Your Majesty." The Duke of the West sighed and looked at Ray, indicating that he wanted a direct answer. "Your Majesty, Aster left this Empire three hundred years ago for an unknown reason. Are you trying to say that even if Aster, who protected the royal family, departed, the Empire still exists for the sake of protecting it?"
Ray did not answer immediately. Instead, he let the silence consume the tension of those present before asking coldly, "Duke, do you truly believe that the man sitting before you now is the last thread tying this bloodline to life?"
Ray looked at the faces of the nobles, one after another, and continued in a tone devoid of emotion. "Everyone has forgotten how many princes left this Empire throughout the centuries and grew up in other parts of the world. The truth you fear confronting is that the Clint family does not need this Empire to survive, nor does it need me personally as an individual."
He struck the wooden armrest with his hand and pointed at it. "This throne is not a lifeline to me. It is merely a home that gathers our heritage, and I am trying to save it from collapse. The one who threatened my neck before was the Duke of the North, but look at him now—standing alone in the center of the hall, trying to say something I do not understand. But now, I am free to do as I wish."
Then he fixed his gaze on the Duke of the West, deliberately ignoring the Duke of the North, and repeated the question.
"Then tell me, Keeper of Knowledge... does the royal family exist to protect the Empire, or was the Empire created to be a fortress for the royal family?"
"I have received my answer, Your Majesty. I regret that I was among those who fell victim to the Duke of the North's scheme. Years ago, this man convinced me that the throne was finished, and that my duty toward 'Aster' required me to separate in order to preserve whatever remained of our history and heritage. And today I stand before you only to discover that I was not a 'guardian of identity' as I believed, but merely a tool used to weaken the throne and brand me a traitor."
The Duke of the West sighed. Everyone already knew this through the documents Rei had presented. After thinking for a moment, he stood and bowed respectfully.
"Very well, Your Majesty. Rather than be a king over a library in a shattered Empire, I choose to be a duke beneath the banner of a sun that has regained its light. The West stands with you, Your Majesty—not because we are idealists, but because we discovered too late who the true enemy of our stability was. I hope you can forgive what has passed."
Ray smiled and gestured calmly.
"Please, have a seat, Duke. There is no need to apologize. Because of people like you, we can read the memory of this world. And do not concern yourself too much with the Duke of the North. Even I acknowledge his talent for exploiting others."
"Unfortunately, he did not use that talent for something more useful than standing here and shouting." The Duke of the West frowned and looked directly at the Duke of the North as he said it.
Before the Duke could respond, Morgana spoke.
"As His Majesty said, the throne exists only to protect the Empire. But a throne has no dignity if its word carries no weight. Therefore, those who agree with His Majesty's decision, please stand."
Morgana paused before adding sarcastically,
"Duke of the North, I do not know which side you stand on, considering you are already standing. Do you have anything to say?"
Morgana felt refreshed as she said those words. She looked at the Duke of the North, waiting to see what he would do. If he spoke, he would look foolish. If he remained silent, he would appear defeated. He was cornered and had to do something.
At that moment, the Duke of the North sighed and realized what was happening. Ray was trying to make him into a scapegoat, knowing he would never submit. It was over. He no longer had a place in this hall.
He let out a faint, cold laugh and slowly began to clap, ignoring every insult directed at him. Then he looked only at Ray.
"My congratulations, Your Majesty. You have managed to turn wolves into sheep in a single night. But remember this: thrones built upon fear and regret collapse in the first storm. I will neither sit nor stand in support. I shall leave this hall exactly as I entered it—my own master. And I do not believe you will break your earlier promise."
"What a pitiful sight, Duke. Are you incapable of facing the consequences of your past actions?" Ray asked calmly, narrowing his eyes. "Do you believe that by walking out of here unharmed, you preserve your honor? Shall I help you? I am beginning to pity you."
The Duke of the North froze beside the chair he no longer dared to touch. He stood in the center of the vast hall, completely alone despite the hundreds around him. Looking up at Ray, who watched him from above the throne, he spoke in a trembling voice he tried desperately to keep steady.
"Then... grant me leave to depart, Your Majesty."
Ray sighed, somewhat disappointed.
"Leave, Duke. But know this: the moment you open that door, life itself will take on the task of humiliating you. You will die while still breathing. For there is nothing crueler than living as a 'lesson in betrayal' instead of dying as a 'man.'"
The Duke of the North no longer cared about those words. All he wanted was to leave. What he did not realize was that Ray had been offering him a tremendous opportunity to correct all of his mistakes—by accepting those insults as punishment, smiling in the face of them, and submitting to the Empire's authority.
Ray had not expected him to be this blind, and that disappointed him somewhat. This was a man who had planned for years, and in the end, this was all he amounted to.
Was it foolish to let him go?
No. Dangerous, perhaps, but not foolish.
Ray wanted to prove that he was a king who kept his word—even to devils. In doing so, he would purchase the loyalty of the others through trust, not merely through fear as the Duke had claimed.
More importantly, this humiliation would shatter the Duke's prestige before the nobles who followed him.
Above all else, there was no benefit in killing or imprisoning him. On the contrary, doing so would provoke the North. And if he died, no one could predict what his children might do. Therefore, the wiser choice was to let him leave for now.
Ray sighed and addressed the remaining nobles.
"Any of you who wish to follow the Duke of the North may do so. You have the same promise of safety from me. But those who remain will begin building the new 'Aster' with me."
And so, when the Duke of the North began walking toward the exit with his head lowered, none of his former allies looked at him. The nobles who had whispered his name only hours earlier now stood like statues.
They realized that Ray had not broken the Duke's body.
He had broken his image.
Seeing the "Northern Wolf" leave like a walking corpse sustained only by the Emperor's charity made the idea of following him seem like suicide.
When the guards closed the hall doors behind the Duke with a loud boom, the Duke of the East spoke, implying that there had been a better option.
"Your Majesty, is that truly acceptable?"
Ray watched the Duke of the North silently. Then he sighed once more, leaned back against the throne, and answered.
"It is acceptable. Empires do not fall to dagger wounds, and sovereignty is not about owning land. It is about ensuring that no one dares spare you because you are 'too dangerous to be left alive.' But what of the Duke of the North?"
Ray laughed mockingly and spoke as though reading from an open book.
"He realized his place here was finished. Because of the Law of Absolute Sovereignty and the approach of the Black Winter, he will not choose war. He will sell himself to another power in an attempt to regain his honor."
Ignoring the astonishment of everyone in the hall, Ray continued.
"In truth, I was trying to offer him a way out of everything that came before. Had he accepted those insults as temporary punishment and smiled through them, he would not only have preserved his honor, but gained much through these reforms."
The problem was that doing so would reveal that the treasure he had uncovered together with the will was nothing more than a fabrication, which might expose the will itself as false.
But that did not matter now.
No matter how much these people revered the First Emperor, this was not the time for hesitation.
"But..."
Ray suddenly stopped and asked himself aloud,
"I wonder how he plans to return to his duchy without the ability to use a transportation gate."
Morgana smiled, while Rei sighed and addressed everyone.
[Well then, does this mean that everyone here now shares the same goal?]
Following Rei's words, all of the nobles rose as one and offered their respect calmly. Some smiled. Some remained slightly dissatisfied but accepted reality.
The Empire was changing, beginning with this very hall.
And what lay ahead was a future no one could predict.
And from there, carried by the voices of the nobles, the phoenix's final cry rang out before it would be born anew from the ashes.
["»»»May the land stand straight beneath the Sovereign's hand, and may hearts submit to the Sun of 'Aster' that never sets«««"]
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End of Chapter
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