Ch.158158. Destiny

Originally, I had no sense of mission. I just kept working hard with the belief that there would be an end someday, that a day of rest would come.

But looking back now, nothing had actually ended.

Rather, the more I strived, the heavier the responsibilities became.

Yet I felt no emptiness.

It was because I had finally accepted in my heart that this path was my destiny.

***

A month had already passed since the Feast of Blood.

Today was the day the Empire’s first “elementary school” was being established.

It was different from existing schools where commoners or minor nobles living in big cities paid tuition for their children’s education. This was a church-affiliated school providing free education.

The curriculum included literature, history, and mathematics. Additionally, we planned to send separate teachers to teach weapon skills. Later, when conditions were right, we would also identify children with magical aptitude.

“Your Majesty. It will take about a year to establish elementary schools throughout the Empire. However, we cannot predict how long it will take for educational benefits to reach villages without churches or monasteries.”

“There are more impoverished former knights and holy knights than we expected. Of course, since it’s impossible to fill all the swordsmanship teaching positions with them alone, we’ve requested cooperation from the Adventurers’ Guild.”

“For mathematics, we’re creating new textbooks with the Saintess’s advice. To teach numbers, operations, measurements, shapes, and so on…”

As these reports indicated, it would take some time.

In the midst of this, there was one village where a pilot school had been established.

It was my hometown.

A poor baronial village in the northern part of the imperial capital. A humble place remembered not by name but by the old black alder tree standing in the village center.

This location was selected according to my instructions, of course.

As expected, the officials seemed to misunderstand my intentions.

“Your Majesty. Since it’s your hometown, we’ve arranged to assign a veteran retiree from the Black Iron Knights and a former Academy faculty member…”

“That won’t be necessary. Just hire suitable people who have connections to that territory.”

“Then perhaps a memorial site for Your Majesty’s deceased parents…”

“That’s not needed either. I already spent my personal funds to maintain their graves so they wouldn’t be lost. Just let it stand as a symbol of being the Empire’s first elementary school.”

I had no intention of giving special treatment to my hometown.

I hadn’t selected it because of any welling affection for the place. What attachment could I have when all my family was dead and even the master who taught me was gone?

To be honest, the names and faces of my neighbors were hazy in my memory. Surviving in the imperial capital had been challenging enough to make hometown sentiments a luxury.

The reason I chose my hometown was purely political.

Currently, I was clearly running state affairs unilaterally.

It wasn’t simply a matter of having power transferred from the imperial family. Even the Emperor had never attempted to exercise control throughout the entire Empire.

I couldn’t deny that I was a type of ruler that had never existed before. And perhaps would never exist again.

Moreover, the foundation of that power was violence.

‘No matter what results I achieve, harsh judgment seems unavoidable if I continue this way.’

I was merely trying to add an element of unexpectedness to that judgment. Emphasizing my identity as a poor commoner would surely attract some attention.

As many years passed, there might emerge supporters who would “voluntarily” try to legitimize my actions.

People who would argue that I had some sacred mission that justified bloodying my hands, that such sacrifices were inevitable.

This was an arrangement for them.

“So even Erick fears the judgment of future generations. That makes you more human, which I like.”

…That’s what Ember said as we strolled through the indoor garden of the imperial palace the day before our wedding.

It wasn’t that Ember had a great interest in politics and saw through my intentions. She was busy preparing for the wedding. I had simply confessed honestly.

“Yes. Even I don’t enjoy being criticized.”

“Why not visit your hometown when they raise the school sign? It wouldn’t take long if you flew there on a wyvern.”

“I didn’t have time for that. I plan to leave a record that I quietly visited the school later. If I say I went incognito, everyone will believe it.”

“Um… I see.”

At my nonchalant declaration about leaving false records, Ember hesitated briefly before defending me: “Still, it will help our children.”

I found her suddenly endearing and looked at her.

We hadn’t even had our wedding night yet, and she was already talking about “children” in plural. I thought how we were similar in getting ahead of ourselves.

However, there was something I couldn’t bring myself to tell Ember.

I wasn’t simply worried about future judgment. The evaluation of me would likely begin in my own time.

I was still too young.

And it was hard to gauge how many more years I would live. I was a Master, and even more distinguished than any Master in history. If there existed someone who could kill me by force, things would be different, but fortunately or unfortunately, no such being existed.

‘If possible… yes. Returning power to the imperial family would be right.’

It wasn’t power I had wanted to hold in the first place.

I was willing to return it immediately if I became confident that stability would be maintained without my hand.

If I could return governing authority to the imperial family in 10 or 20 years, and then seclude myself in my duchy, I couldn’t ask for more.

But I couldn’t know when that period of stability would come. It was arrogant to talk about stability when I had just begun.

If I made a mistake, a situation might arise where I couldn’t return power even if I wanted to. Nothing was certain.

Perhaps…

“Erick?”

At Ember’s puzzled voice, I deliberately showed her a smiling face.

This was not a concern I could share with others.

I couldn’t share it with Ember, whose face was flushed with excitement at the thought of being with me, nor with the Saintess who was busy with tasks I had requested even as the wedding approached. Not everyone needed to bear the same weight of anguish.

For now, I intended to focus on welcoming my two brides.

***

The next day, the wedding was held at the Grand Chapel of the imperial diocese.

A marriage witnessed by clergy was a sacred vow before the Goddess. While there were plenty of nobles with concubines, none had made vows with two brides simultaneously.

However, I decided to marry two brides, ignoring tradition.

The Papal State gave permission without reservation.

No, seeing the Pope himself in attendance, it would be more accurate to say they actively endorsed it. Despite this being the wedding of the Hero and the Saintess, no one seemed concerned about the Goddess.

Still, the location did evoke mixed feelings.

This was where Gwon Heejin, that scourge who first spread disease in the Empire, was buried.

Though I had thrashed him with my own hands, I had given him a proper burial in the form of ashes. I even provided him with a good companion named Iclit, thinking he might be lonely. Considering the atrocities he committed, it was a more dignified end than he deserved.

No one questioned why such an ominous place had been selected.

By now, the imperial capital had become too complex a city to worry about Gwon Heejin.

The cries of those who had watched Heejin’s burning with tears, and the sight of filthy refugees venting their anger on Iclit, had long faded. Though it wasn’t that long ago when I thought about it, I felt little emotion.

It seemed I wasn’t alone in my detachment.

The chapel was already crowded with people who had come to attend the wedding.

Before taking their assigned seats, they made sure to show their faces to me. Even members of families who had lost their heads did the same.

“Grand Duke, this may not be appropriate for a joyous occasion, but I must explain something…!”

“Your Majesty. Command anything. I am prepared to serve with my life.”

“…Please help me. Just help me.”

People explaining crimes I didn’t even know about while begging for mercy, people pledging loyalty yet unable to meet my eyes, and people who couldn’t even approach me and just looked pitiful from a distance.

About 90% of them looked more like criminals than wedding guests.

It wasn’t appropriate behavior for a wedding, but I decided not to point it out. After all, I was the one who had created this atmosphere.

‘If they’re still cowering like this five years from now, it means I’ve done something wrong. If they can offer opinions while reading the room, it means I’ve done well.’

The thought crossed my mind that another burden had been added. But unlike usual, I didn’t feel particularly pressured.

There was one reason for that.

Just before the ceremony began, two brides in splendid attire approached me.

Ember with her dreamy, flushed face and smile, and Hannah looking at me with an awkward smile despite her obvious nervousness. They seemed somewhat shy with each other… but they were precious women who had accepted me despite knowing what it meant to become my family.

How wonderful would life be if I only had to take responsibility for these two women before me? Both were more beautiful than I had expected, making me indulge in idle thoughts.

“…Hero.”

“Erick.”

No, this was good enough.

A life fighting undefined phenomena was generally difficult and painful, but there were rare moments when I smiled.

In the midst of it all, I had lost many people, but there were still those who remained by my side, cheering me on. Allies who didn’t refuse to stand with me.

Relying on that strength, I could continue to prevail.

As I carefully took the hands of both women, I repeated this to myself. Their hands were warmer than I expected, drawing a smile from me.

Now I feared nothing.

-After Coin, I’m Retiring from the Order (The End)-