Ch.273Chapter 273. The Same Mistake

***

Before interrogating the prisoner.

Luna was consulting with Ginor about the matter at hand.

“Then Lady Vanessa…”

“She must not be kept alive. At the same time, we cannot afford to keep her alive. She is different from the other prisoners who lack the power to resist. In one way or another, she will certainly become an obstacle to my lord.”

“…I see.”

Though it was the answer I expected, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Vanessa’s choices might not have all been the right decisions, but at least her hostility toward me was, looking simply at the results, something she felt she had to do.

After all, as she had said, I had betrayed Karelia.

Noticing Luna’s darkening expression, Ginor shook his head and spoke in a serious tone.

“Do not feel sympathy. Besides, wasn’t there justification for my lord’s rebellion? From what I’ve heard, it was Vanessa who first planted a spy to eliminate my lord. This is not something you should feel guilty about, nor does it mean that her words were correct.”

Although Ginor had joined after the rebellion, he had already been briefed on everything about how Lunarian’s forces had been operating as he took the position of national strategist.

In his opinion, Luna was not at fault. It was Vanessa who had provoked Luna to the point where she had no choice but to rebel.

This was something anyone, even a third party—no, even Makana Karelia herself—would have to agree with.

However, Luna shook her head with a slightly saddened expression.

“No. That’s not it.”

“My lord, what do you—”

“I’m not sympathizing with Lady Vanessa.”

After saying that, Luna looked at Ginor with a resolute expression.

A kind of certainty that only someone who had prepared for everything could possess was engraved in her ruby-colored eyes.

“I… never intended to remain under Lady Karelia forever. Not once since the very first day Lady Karelia took us in. …Because I had promised someone that I wouldn’t miss an opportunity. To be honest, I feel that Vanessa was merely the catalyst.”

“My lord…”

“To raise an army, I needed a territory, but there are no territories on the continent that aren’t under the influence of the lords. Gathering private soldiers to raise an army? It’s not impossible, but it would take far too much time. The fastest and most efficient option was only one. The result of deciding to rebel… might not have changed.”

Ginor refrained from adding anything further.

Yes. As long as she harbored ambition, she couldn’t be satisfied as a lord under Karelia’s command. From that perspective alone, Vanessa had shown a certain insight.

In conclusion, the problem was that her method was a complete mess, but because it was a mess, Luna was able to seize the opportunity.

“It’s alright. You told me that if we don’t stain our hands with blood, the blood that will eventually be spilled will be our own. I haven’t forgotten your words, Lord Ginor.”

“If you understand that, then I believe you know what must be done from now on.”

“From now on, you say?”

“Yes.”

Ginor bowed his head, his eyes gleaming.

“Vanessa is not the only one we’ve captured.”

“…!”

“Since you’ve spoken this far, I believe you understand what I’m saying…”

“W-wait a moment.”

Luna’s expression began to tremble, in stark contrast to just a moment ago.

It couldn’t be the same as when dealing with Vanessa. While Luna was indeed a person of upright and gentle character, she too was only human. The weight of a life would inevitably feel different depending on who it was.

And Ginor, as if unwilling to be considerate of her circumstances, spoke directly with a resolute tone.

“Execute Makana Karelia.”

“But…! If Lady Karelia is executed, there will surely be those who become discontented! Wouldn’t that be a poor decision in the long term…!”

“The hearts of the territory’s people, especially those in the capital city, are turned toward you, my lord, not Karelia. As for the military officers, those with the ability and reputation to pose a significant threat in the long term perished in the battle at Tepelo Castle. If the losses from killing Karelia outweighed the gains, I would have advised sparing her, but that is not the case now.”

“B-but… the reason for the people’s discontent is ultimately due to Lady Vanessa…”

“That is precisely why we must deal with this now. It does you no good for the people to know that ‘Karelia wasn’t actually bad.’ Rather, this is the best timing when the people won’t blame you for executing their former ruler.”

“However…!”

At that moment.

Ginor, who had been keeping his head bowed in strict observance of the lord-vassal relationship, raised his head and met her eyes—

“Forgive my rudeness, my lord. Nevertheless, there is something I must say.”

“Lord Ginor…?”

“Makana Karelia was one of the few lords who established their will on this continent. She made her mark in the southern continent in her own way. Crowds of people would have sought to serve her, drawn by her presence. Remember that someone with such power can always return to the stage of this continent, whether they wish to or not. Even if she herself does not desire it!”

“…”

“Lynn Brans executed all the lords he captured, regardless of their abilities. Regardless of ability, being a ruler is impossible without ambition. He made that decision out of wariness of that ambition. Moreover, Karelia is not even an incompetent person. Don’t you also have an unbreakable goal and dream, my lord? Isn’t that why you spoke as you did earlier when discussing Vanessa?”

At those words, Luna bowed her head without finding a reply.

I… must do it.

With my own hands, to the person who accepted me.

“These are turbulent times, my lord. There has never been a time when the value of loyalty shines as brightly as now. Whatever decision you make, I will follow you, but please remember… that all the reverent gazes directed at you now will not always remain so.”

***

Looking at Ginor’s face, who had answered without any hesitation, Luna recalled that conversation once more.

Execute Makana Karelia.

And now, as if to remind her of that moment… Ginor spoke in a very resolute tone.

Luna looked at Karelia with trembling eyes.

Karelia, bound and looking back at her… was not trembling. There was no sense of fear of death emanating from her.

But it wasn’t the relief that comes from thinking she wouldn’t die.

Rather, she appeared very peaceful—as if she had no intention of resisting anything.

“Lady Karelia…”

“It’s alright. I’ve never harbored any grudge against you. Rather, I was the one who tried to kill you. You know that, don’t you?”

But before she could say that it was all done arbitrarily by Vanessa—

“It was done by a subordinate under my command. It’s all my fault. I became a ruler with the intention of bearing all the consequences. Isn’t that how it is?”

—Karelia preemptively silenced Luna.

“I tried to eliminate you, who was serving me loyally, because I feared you, and I simply failed. If I had won the siege of Tepelo Castle and suppressed your rebellion, wouldn’t it be you who would be bound here instead of me? This is what it means to have the authority to send soldiers’ lives to the battlefield. So naturally, I don’t resent you.”

But.

Aren’t you even a little resentful?

Despite the fact that the person you accepted ended up betraying you.

Despite the fact that the person who was your strategist made a series of wrong choices that ultimately hastened your demise.

She was still trying to shoulder everything herself.

An indescribable, strange emotion burrowed into Luna’s heart.

If she had even once accused Luna of being ungrateful and daring to betray her.

If she had blamed Vanessa, who had begged for her life, even once, would this feeling have been even slightly better?

At that moment.

“Lady Luna.”

“…Yes.”

“My, my, you look like you’re about to burst into tears.”

Only after hearing those words did Luna notice that her eyes had become moist.

“When I first became a ruler, I was often told that a ruler should not show tears. How many years ago was that… As Vanessa said, you truly are a person who resembles me in many ways.”

“My lord…”

Karelia laughed emptily a few times.

Then, with unwavering emerald eyes, she gazed into Luna’s trembling ones.

“It may seem ridiculous for a prisoner to say this, but… I’ll give you one last piece of advice. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

“!!!”

Luna immediately understood the implication of Karelia’s words.

The same mistake—keeping someone of noble origin with ambition under her command.

“A mistake…”

“My dream is not over. For the sake of all those who gave their lives for me… I have no intention of giving up this dream. Even if you were to spare me, I cannot abandon my dream for your sake. And isn’t that… Lady Luna, why we ended up like this in the first place?”

A mistake.

Luna, who had been holding up well until now, finally broke down at those words and tears flowed.

“Thanks to that, I, we were able to…”

Karelia’s mistake.

But if it hadn’t been for that mistake, if Karelia had supported the majority faction including Vanessa.

Taking it a step further, if she had handed Luna over to Lynn Brans, who had high prestige at the time, under the pretext of diplomacy…

Various choices that never came to be flashed through her mind.

“Lady Lunarian. You are someone who can surpass me. That’s probably the main reason why Vanessa feared you so much. From the perspective of the territory’s people, as long as the war can end, it doesn’t really matter who is in charge, as long as it’s not Serpina, right?”

“And, I am very happy right now. I feel that if it’s you, Lady Luna, and not someone else, you might be able to stop Serpina, the villainess who has plunged the continent into a quagmire.”

Looking at Karelia speaking like this, Ginor could feel that his thoughts were not wrong.

To be able to give advice so calmly even in the face of death.

Karelia is a dangerous woman. Someone who could never be under anyone else.

“So, don’t cry… take my head. And if you feel sorry for that, promise me. Promise to end the war, defeat Serpina, and bring peace.”

Luna trembled for a long time without answering…

Then, wiping away all her tears with her sleeve, she faced Karelia’s eyes without avoiding them.

“…I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Take her away.”

“Yes!”

At Ginor’s command, which he spoke instead of Luna, the soldiers took the bound Karelia to where Vanessa had been taken.

Just before being dragged away, Karelia, who had expressed her gratitude to Luna—smiled brightly as if she were a child.

And that was the last image Luna had of Karelia.