Chapter 35: The Path That Must Be Taken The Imperial Army surged past the collapsed walls. I was their spearhead, carving a path through the defenses, and Cailus's private soldiers were swiftly broken. The air was thick with screams, the crackle of gunfire, and the thunderous roar of exploding magic.
I thrust my sword at the soldiers guarding the entrance to the inner castle. Their bodies were torn asunder along with the gates.
Crr-crack!
I broke through and sprinted inside. I didn't stop for even a second. Like a juggernaut, I pushed deep into the heart of the fortress. While the Imperial soldiers scattered throughout the inner castle, I descended alone.
There had to be a secret moat in the basement of this castle—a passage leading out to the coast.
The records from before my regression were clear on this.
I raced down the stairs and reached the lowest level of the basement.
"..."
However, there was no moat in the dark depths, nor even a hint of moisture. Most of it was just a hollow space used for storage.
Still, it had to be here somewhere.
I concentrated mana into my optic nerves. My retinas were dyed a faint blue.
Suddenly, a single candlestick mounted on the wall caught my eye. There were many candlesticks, but this one was slightly tilted, and a faint circulation of mana lingered around the base of the wax.
I gripped it firmly.
Zap!
Sparks flew. My palm was badly burned. It seemed they had placed a rather formidable magical security seal on it.
But it didn't matter. I only needed to cut through it.
I swung my sword.
Slash—!
A section of the wall split open, revealing a hidden passage. It was a staircase leading even deeper.
I kicked off the ground. At some point, damp air rushed in, carrying the scent of water. Soon, a wide-open space was revealed.
An artificial waterway where small boats were moored, and people standing there.
"..."
I found four direct descendants of the Cailus family. They turned to look at me.
I quietly met their gaze and delivered a single sentence.
"By order of His Imperial Majesty."
No one spoke. In the silence, only the sound of the flowing water rippled.
Suddenly, the entire situation felt bitter to me. At the same time, I felt a sense of doubt.
The decapitation operation had already begun. If so, the coastline would naturally have been the first thing blockaded.
And yet, they were choosing the most obvious escape route.
Were they foolish?
Was it because this was the only path left?
Or…
Shring.
The elderly guardian knight of the Cailus family drew his sword. He was a strong man. However, his body was already covered in wounds. He was bleeding heavily from gunshot wounds in his shoulder and leg.
A knight capable of wielding an Aura Shield is relatively safe from gunfire as long as they have enough mana.
In other words, his mana was depleted. Despite that, he stood in my way.
"...We never plotted any treason."
Yusef, the head of House Cailus, spoke. His calm voice was steeped in sorrow.
I looked at him. Yusef, the current head of Cailus, his wife, his eldest son, and his eldest daughter. There were four of them in total.
"I know."
However, this was an irreversible current of history. Even if I let them go here, they would be captured and killed before long.
"I am aware."
At my answer, they let out deep sighs.
"What is your name?"
Yusef asked.
"Maximilian Albrecht von Ebenholtz."
Their expressions suddenly turned serene. I maintained my courtesy toward them. I did not point my sword recklessly, nor did I use aggressive language.
They were nobles worthy of respect.
"Ebenholtz..."
Yusef flashed a faint smile.
What is in the heart of one who accepts death? From what I could see, did they believe in an afterlife? I didn't know the reason, but they seemed to be expecting some kind of 'next.'
...Next?
Suddenly, a brief thought flashed through my mind. I remembered what Zebestian had said in the past.
'It couldn't be helped. That youngest son of theirs seemed quite promising.'
The youngest son of Cailus.
I counted the number of family members present.
"...Four."
There were five direct descendants of House Cailus.
The records from before my regression. The direct line of House Cailus was certainly annihilated. However, they were not all killed in the same place.
Therefore, the conclusion was this:
These four people before my eyes had volunteered to be decoys.
By drawing the Imperial Army's attention to themselves, they hoped to protect the last hope of their family at the cost of their own lives. They held onto the belief that if that boy survived, their lineage would continue.
There were so many in the Empire who had perished like this.
They all died trying to protect their own convictions, and the values they sought to defend were stolen by villains.
"One is missing."
At my words, Yusef's face turned cold.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
The sound of Imperial soldiers running could be heard from above. It seemed they had discovered the secret passage I had opened.
"Young knight of Ebenholtz, the house of the greatest ancient lineage that stood at the beginning of the Empire."
Yusef spoke in a low, soft voice.
"May I make but one wish, with the lives of my entire family?"
I felt I knew what his request was. He didn't even need to say the words.
I simply gave a faint smile and nodded. They understood my intent.
Not only Yusef, but the faces of his family members brightened in an instant. The old knight also lowered his sword diagonally.
As they prepared to accept death with joy, I drew up my mana. I raised my longsword.
They were people I didn't want to kill.
Because they were righteous nobles.
However, such is the world.
We are short on time.
In this turbulent tide of history, I, too, am swimming desperately just like them.
"My regrets."
It was my final farewell.
If possible, I would make it painless. So that they would not have to witness each other's deaths.
In that split second, my sword moved. A silver flash cut through the darkness.
It was silent.
Truly, not a single sound was made.
I cut them down naturally, and they fell like grass.
"Over here! It looks like a secret place..."
Imperial officers and soldiers came rushing from behind me. I wiped the blood from my sword and turned to look at them.
"The situation is already concluded. Recover the bodies."
"Ah, yes! Loyalty!"
I passed by the saluting Imperial soldiers.
A steadfast family had been destroyed by the greed of a villain. I didn't feel particularly good.
Above all... I still had work to do.
* * *
After the decapitation operation ended, a drinking party broke out in the Cailus inner castle. It was a self-celebration of the operation's success. Bloodstains and liquor bottles rolled together across expensive carpets, and crude laughter splashed against the portraits hanging on the walls.
"Hahahaha!"
Their faces already flushed red, they guzzled the finest wine collected by Yusef straight from the bottles. Some were secretly pocketing jewelry.
I walked down slowly into that space. The soldiers, distracted by the booze and loot, did not notice me.
"..."
I stood still and scanned their faces. I watched the dozens of soldiers moving through this chaos.
Thump.
With sunken eyes, I searched for the target my heart was pointing toward. Somewhere here, 'that race' was present.
Thump.
Soon, my gaze locked. I walked across the hall.
Bump.
A soldier, stumbling in his drunken stupor, collided with my shoulder. I had bumped into him on purpose.
The glass filled with red wine flew into the air and fell. Droplets splashed onto my knight's uniform.
"Ah, damn it, who—"
The soldier turned around. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly bowed his head in apology.
"Ah, Sir Knight, I'm sorry!"
"..."
Without a word, I wiped the wine droplets clinging to my chest. A few soldiers nearby took interest, but the party continued. The rowdy shouting was loud.
"I'm sorry! I have committed a great rudeness!"
His apology was slurred.
I was curious.
Was this an act? Did alcohol affect them the same way it affected us?
I couldn't know yet. Because they were not human.
"...No."
Instead of getting angry, I simply wore a faint smile.
"It's fine."
There was no need to be angry.
"Ah, thank you. Please, rest well!"
The Imperial soldier—no, the Izenheim—smiled obsequiously and turned away.
At that moment, I gripped my sword.
* * *
There was no noise. The soldier's head was simply separated from his body. The Izenheim's face flew through the air.
Thud.
Blood surged from the neck of the headless corpse. It sprouted like rain, filling the soldiers' wine glasses.
Belatedly realizing the situation, the soldiers scrambled to their feet.
"Wh-what!"
"Gah, what is—uh, Sir Knight?!"
"Loyalty! Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
Everyone snapped to attention. They seemed to sober up instantly, their faces turning pale.
I spoke to them.
"...We have still missed one direct descendant. Therefore, we should still be in a state of war."
The battlefield is a quite convenient place in this regard. A knight has the authority to execute soldiers as the ultimate overseer, and in a 'wartime' situation like this, there are more than enough excuses to kill those I want to kill.
"Who gave you permission to laugh and chatter here while coveting the possessions of an Imperial noble?"
The reason for the execution was clear: breach of military discipline, looting of noble property, and damaging a knight's uniform.
The laughter stopped. The rowdy shouts that had filled my ears vanished. Only a heavy silence remained.
The soldiers were now lined up in a row. One man's teeth were chattering in fear.
Military discipline had been established.
"..."
Under the gaze of the soldiers, I left the inner castle.
Fortunately, among the Imperial soldiers here, that fellow was the only Izenheim.
"—You didn't have to go that far."
Someone approached from the darkness. I looked at him. It was Jekard Cailus, the one who had engineered this decapitation.
"It is an honor, Sir Knight. I am Jekard Cailus. Ah, you needn't worry about the shameful name behind mine; I shall be casting it off soon."
He gave a thin smile and ran a hand through his long hair.
"You could have left them to the loot. I was planning to allow it."
He was already acting as if he were the master of Cailus.
I said to him, "I could not stand the sight of mere commoner soldiers coveting the belongings of a noble."
"As expected... First, I must express my respect and gratitude to you, Sir Knight."
Jekard bowed his head.
"To think you discovered a secret passage even I didn't know about. However, as you know, one remains."
Jekard's expression turned cold.
"Akad Cailus. The sixteen-year-old youngest son. He was the child those lowly family members cherished above all else."
Sometimes there are people who hate seeing a harmonious family. Humans who want to tear it down.
Either a true villain, or someone with a deeper, darker reason.
"I knew of the passage's existence, but not its location. However, it was obvious the passage would lead to the coast. Even so, the reason these traitors insisted on using the secret passage was likely to buy time for this Akad to escape."
He was a man who poked his nose into others' business unnecessarily. One of the sycophants who would cling to the Emperor and become a schemer.
Someone I wanted to kill someday...
No, someone I had to kill.
"Yes. I understand."
I had met Yusef von Cailus for the first time today. In my previous life, even his corpse had been horribly mutilated.
However, in this life, we had made a silent promise. The Cailus family had bet their lives on that belief. They had willingly offered up their own heads.
Only to save the last child.
Fortunately, I knew Akad's evacuation route.
[ ...The four direct descendants, including the mastermind Yusef von Cailus, attempted to escape to the coastline through the inner castle's basement moat but were killed at sea. The remaining family member, who attempted to flee separately, was discovered near the Macken Mountains on the western border... and was found as a corpse near the ridge. ]
The Macken Mountains on the western border.
"I will take the Macken Mountains side."
At that, Jekard's face brightened significantly.
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