21. 전.

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The Great King’s nation’s departure for war.

It shook the continent.

 

 

The looming war clouds had finally turned into an actual war, and that war was the prelude to a historical great war.

 

 

Of course, the most nervous and sensitive place was undoubtedly the Athens Kingdom.

As it could be said to be the culprit of all this, and was expected to suffer the greatest damage, people’s attention was focused on it, and nobles and merchants who could afford it began to escape as much as possible.

 

Among them, there were those who applied for asylum in the Great King’s nation, and Terrin always greeted them with a smile, then locked them in the underground prison. Especially towards the nobles, he even used more brutal torture, and his infamy spread unknowingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hoo… I don’t know what to do with this.”

 

 

A woman sighed deeply.

 

Blue hair like the sea water of Attica, calmly sunken eyes, and neat eyebrows.

Her face looked as if it had been sculpted, making her very beautiful to look at.

 

 

She was the one who would succeed Attica as the queen. Banesha Athens.

 

A woman who had tried everything to stop her sister from sacrificing herself, but failed.

A woman who was suffering with that in her heart.

 

 

She was so sorry about this.

Despite throwing herself into it, there was no gain or reward, and rather, she was being sold off as a worthless bitch, and the national fortune was running out.

 

 

‘I told you not to do it….’

 

 

She swallowed the tears flowing inside.

 

“How are the other vassal states doing?”

 

The nobles quietly bowed their heads.

The terrible truth that was hard to say.

 

 

As Seo-rae declared, the vassal states were waging their own wars, fighting for survival. Whether tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people died there, it was a problem for each to handle and solve on their own.

What was gained at the end of such a bloody war was the modifier of a true vassal state, and the title of Great King that barely followed.

 

 

“I guess… it’s not working.”

“Yes. As that woman declared, all the vassal states have turned their swords and spears against each other, and are watching each other carefully. Therefore… there is no place to support us.”

“I see… There’s no way she would have rushed through all of this in an instant. She had been planning it in advance.”

“The speed of progress is unusual, so there’s no doubt.”

“Rumor has it that they blocked the import of war materials.”

“What? They’re blocking the import of war materials when we’re at war?”

“To be exact, the Mei Empire is buying all the goods sold by other countries, and then reselling them to the vassal states.”

“….Of course, they’re adding interest, right?”

“Yes. They say they sell it with a 10% interest. But we can’t not buy it, we have to buy even that to survive.”

“What about smuggling?”

“For that, the Empire’s army is stationed at the border. If there is a country that is smuggling… they say that by the Emperor’s order, they will annihilate them without leaving a single seed of life.”

“….”

 

 

Annihilation.

Banesha was speechless.

How could she say such a thing so easily?

 

 

 

“Your Majesty, we cannot hope for support from other countries, so we must fight with our own strength.”

“Hoo….”

 

Banesha’s sigh weighed heavily on the nobles’ hearts.

 

 

“How about abandoning Attica Jeonha?”

 

 

 

At the words thrown by a noble, Banesha, who was troubled, and the other nobles all turned their heads at once.

 

 

“What… did you say?”

“If we deny Attica Jeonha’s actions and brand her as a traitor, we can recover everything. In the first place, it was an act committed by a traitor, so there is no reason for us to take responsibility.”

“Th, that…. Are you saying that right now?!!”

 

 

Banesha rose up in great anger.

To deny her own sister and even brand her as a traitor.

There was no way she could commit such a heinous act.

 

 

The nobles were also greatly angered and pointed their fingers at the woman who spoke, criticizing her.

 

 

But she was confident, and some nobles were nodding.

 

 

“Who was the one who insisted on pushing ahead despite our opposition in the first place? Wasn’t it Attica Jeonha? We served Jeonha with loyalty, and we opposed it for her and the country. But what was the result? Jeonha has lost her mind and body, and the country is on the verge of ruin.”

“So! Are you telling me to abandon my blood-related sister now?!”

“You should abandon even your own child, not just your blood-related sister! If it is for the greatest happiness for the greatest number, you should definitely do so!”

“Th, that person…!”

 

The throne room turned into a mess, and was instantly divided into two factions.

 

Those who recognized Attica as the queen and believed that the country should take responsibility for what she had done, and those who agreed with the noble who spoke and believed that Attica should be abandoned.

 

 

“Ha… hahaha….”

 

 

Banesha was shocked by the sight.

 

She could have overlooked it if it was a minority. But the number was unusual, almost equal.

Almost half of the nobles thought Attica should be abandoned.

 

 

“H, how can this be…! Are you all out of your minds!!”

“…Isn’t it inevitable!! The person who pushed ahead despite our opposition must take responsibility. Or, should the country perish like this!!”

“How can you not know that Jeonha is the country!!”

“We and the people are in that country! Are you saying that millions of people should die because of one person’s mistake! Where is such a law, and can it be called justice!”

“That’s right!! Moreover, this situation happened because she forcibly dragged us along despite most of the nobles opposing it. Why should we take responsibility for what happened due to the opposed matter?!”

 

 

Among them were noble factions who had not liked the royal family from the beginning, but there were also royalist figures who had sworn unwavering loyalty to the royal family.

 

So, half.

The number was so large that the country could be divided into two.

 

 

“Are you… really going to do this?”

 

 

Banesha looked at a noble and asked.

Tears were dripping from her face.

 

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

 

The noble quietly bowed her head.

 

“How… how can you abandon your own sister? You’re together when things are good, but you abandon her so easily when things are difficult? Is that really the value of you who are shouting for justice?”

“That is politics.”

“….”

 

 

To Banesha, who had lost her words, and the nobles, a woman came forward.

The highest-ranking woman among those who sided with abandoning Attica, Duchess Aphrodite.

 

 

“Your Majesty, we have no chance of winning. Even if we defeat the Great King’s nation, there is the Persian Empire and the Mei Empire behind it. What are you going to do against them?”

“Still, I can’t abandon my own flesh and blood! Aren’t you the same? Even if it’s your own flesh and blood for the sake of profit….”

“They are not our flesh and blood. They are Your Majesty’s flesh and blood.”

“…!”

“Keu… you’re out of your mind! To cause such strife when we should be gathering all our strength!!! Can you really call yourselves nobles even after doing that!!”

“I’m greatly disappointed! To see nobles whining because they don’t want to take responsibility! Where did you throw your honor and mission, and only care about yourselves!!”

“Jeonha threw herself for this country and its people!!”

 

 

Criticism poured out on Aphrodite.

But she didn’t bat an eye.

 

 

“Is the role of the king to care for the country? Is the role of the king to care for the people? If you do only that, can you say that you have fulfilled the king’s responsibility?”

 

 

She paused for a moment and looked around at the nobles standing on Banesha’s side.

 

 

 

 

“I can do that too.”

 

 

 

 

And the words she spoke next.

 

 

“Wh, what?!”

“Th, that person…! Does she know what she just said!!”

 

 

Banesha and the nobles, even the nobles who had agreed with her, were greatly surprised.

Because depending on the perspective, it could be seen as treason.

 

 

In the midst of that, she shouted.

 

 

“The king! Is the king because he has the ability, and is the king because he can protect the people. You must have the ability, and you must be able to protect! What is the meaning of a king who has no ability, and what is the meaning of a king who cannot protect! If that is truly the one who stands above all, then what are all the people sacrificing for!!”

“What bullshit!”

“A noble without ability is eliminated. Their family is massacred or becomes slaves, and the people are subjected to all kinds of contempt and exploitation.

A merchant without ability is also eliminated. Their company collapses, the employees sit on the streets and become beggars.

But if the king, who is at the top of that, has no ability, then you stagnant! And rotten nobles flatter and protect that king. Does this make sense?”

“That’s too harsh! Rotten!!”

“So, are you saying you’re going to avoid responsibility!”

“Avoid responsibility? We opposed it from the beginning. Why should we all bear the losses caused by one person’s stubbornness!”

 

 

She turned her back as if she had nothing more to say.

 

 

Turning her back in front of the king was treason.

Banesha trembled.

 

 

“Are you… betraying the royal family now?”

“The king betrayed us first.”

“You’re saying that because the result turned out like this! If my sister had succeeded, you would have sat still and shared the fruits together! In the end, you just don’t want to take responsibility!!”

 

 

Leaving behind Banesha’s desperate cry, Aphrodite and the nobles left the throne room.

 

It was the moment when Athens was divided into two.