Ch.322322. Starting Point (4)

I didn’t need to ask how he knew.

A massive cloud of karmic retribution already loomed over Erica.

It was another truth she had completely forgotten until now. Or perhaps a reality she had deliberately ignored, wanting to forget.

The malicious words and actions she had spread about Junon had rippled far and wide.

Of course they had. If even the former captain of the royal guard had heard the news, it must have spread clearly among the soldiers. Just as it had in the past.

But she was afraid.

She had no idea how the rumors had spread, what form they had taken, what impact they’d had on Junon, or how much damage they had caused.

Each time her karmic debt was revealed, her entire body trembled as if frozen solid.

“Follow me. It would be better for you to see with your own eyes how this has turned out.”

“Follow… you?”

“Are you refusing to follow? Or do you intend to deny responsibility, claiming it wasn’t your fault without even knowing what happened because of those rumors?”

“Th-that’s not it…! I, I…”

Could she claim she didn’t know?

How could she utter such an irresponsible excuse? Erica answered with a trembling voice.

“I’ll… follow you.”

To see with her own eyes what she had done. How it had spread, how it had been distorted and corrupted. And how it had affected Junon.

Düsen silently began walking, and Erica obediently followed behind him.

Along with Düsen’s soldiers who had been waiting there.

The walk wasn’t very long. Just a few minutes at most.

Only a few minutes on foot, not even on horseback.

When they arrived, another group of soldiers was gathered together.

‘Why are soldiers gathered in a place like this?’

It should be wartime now. To fight against the monsters, to fight against Ashpern’s monster corps, these soldiers should naturally be participating.

There were enough soldiers to form several rotation groups.

She wondered if they were deserters, but that didn’t seem to be the case. There were too many of them to be deserters, and their imperial army equipment was well-maintained. Outwardly, there was nothing to suggest they were fugitives evading pursuit.

Then why?

Why were soldiers here? And why so many?

‘Could it be… factional divisions? No, that’s too far-fetched. That can’t be it!’

As Erica’s eyes gradually filled with anxiety…

“The Commander is currently engaged in battle with Ashpern. Right there, at the Ripol River.”

Erica’s body trembled at Düsen’s blunt statement.

“What are you saying? A battle? Then these soldiers…”

“These are soldiers from Count Belmehof’s faction who don’t trust the Commander. They refused to participate in battle, claiming their soldiers had deserted.”

“That’s impossible! How could they set aside so many troops and…”

“Isn’t it obvious? There were so many who opposed, and they disguised their soldiers as deserters to refuse participation, so the battle is being fought with only the remaining forces.”

“…So many soldiers…”

“A full 40% of the imperial army. That’s how many soldiers belong to those who questioned the Commander’s qualifications and refused the relocation to Sirach. Do you understand now?”

With 40% of the imperial forces set aside, he must face Ashpern head-on.

Why? Because those soldiers belong to officers who didn’t side with Junon.

Why didn’t those officers side with Junon, instead diverting their soldiers here and disguising them as deserters to avoid participation?

Why? Because they didn’t trust Junon. Because they opposed him, criticizing the Commander’s insufficient qualifications. They even deliberately diverted soldiers as if wanting him to fail.

Then the question comes down to one thing: why did they rebel against Junon?

The answer was something Erica Scherpen herself knew best.

*Thud.*

“Because of me… this happened because of me…”

Erica fell to her knees, muttering. The tears of karmic debt began streaming down from her anxious, trembling eyes.

She wanted to deny it. She had to deny it.

If this was the truth, if it really happened because of her…

She simply couldn’t bear it.

One last time.

Hoping that this massive snowball of factional division unfolding before her eyes wasn’t set in motion by her own hands, Erica asked:

“Did… did Junon perhaps bear false accusations?”

Düsen answered indifferently.

“Yes. Because of rumors spread by someone. And because a certain lady’s whereabouts became uncertain, giving those who slandered the Commander another excuse.”

“This… can’t be…”

Even without direct mention, she couldn’t help but understand the reason.

The snowball of rumors had slowly grown larger.

She realized too late that it was a snowball that should never have been thrown, but by then it had already grown unmanageably large, and he had to face it head-on.

And… as it turned out, it wasn’t an ordinary snowball.

Ashes.

Just like in the past, it was a snowball made of ashes that cruelly crushed someone’s future.

And where did this snowball originate?

None other than from Erica Scherpen. It started with her.

The source of everything was herself.

***

It didn’t take long to apprehend the soldiers diverted by the officers.

After finishing up, Düsen turned his gaze slightly toward Erica.

Erica was suffering from deep guilt like a criminal, sitting collapsed in place with a vacant expression.

‘Could what Miss Senia said… be true?’

He recalled their recent conversation.

For some reason, Senia had stated with certainty that Erica harbored malice toward Junon. She even emphasized that the source of the malicious rumors was connected to Erica.

How could one believe such things at face value?

Despite her confident tone, he was initially skeptical. He couldn’t fully believe what seemed like near-prophetic nonsense; he had to maintain some level of caution.

But Düsen could vaguely sense that something he didn’t know about had been ongoing.

‘Offering to make a bet when revealing this information clearly meant I should dig deeper.’

Perhaps Senia’s intention was to ask him to eliminate the source of malice directed at Junon, the empire’s last hope.

“Get up, my lady.”

“…?”

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll take you to the front lines, so come with me.”

“But…”

Erica, who had collapsed, seemed about to refuse as she lowered her head again, but after a while, she changed her mind and stood up.

Thankfully, no time was wasted on persuasion.

“Take this, and wait here, my lady.”

“What is this…?”

“A listening device. There are still things I’m not certain about. When I am certain, I’ll call your name, and then you can come out. Understood?”

“…I understand.”

*Creeak-*

As the door closed, Düsen was about to order the officers to be arrested.

But there were already people who had arrived before him.

“Count Belmehof?”

“Lord Düsen, I’ve come to surrender.”

Count Belmehof’s faction—the officers who had diverted the soldiers—came forward voluntarily and held out their hands.

He didn’t ask why. They were acknowledging their misjudgment themselves. All he had to do was order them to be handcuffed, bound with ropes, and escorted away.

It was ironic that those who had been opposing Junon suddenly surrendered, but since not all of them had come forward, he ordered the arrest of the remaining officers on the same charges.

“Kelnur, you…!!!”

“You lowborn trash, you dare betray us!!”

“I should have torn that mouth of yours, I should have ripped that cursed mouth apart!!”

The remaining opposition hurled abuse at the informant even as they were being detained.

He sneered and subdued the raging criminals.

Only one thing remained.

Whether Kelnur would take the bait as Senia had said.

And shortly after…

“Lord Düsen. Did you know?”

Just as if he were uttering a prophecy…

Kelnur was indeed repeating the exact claims and evidence that Senia had once stated.

It was a packaged secret. A vile secret created by adding impurities to a truth no one knew.

He twisted the timeline of a previously unknown secret to create a malicious perspective.

He claimed Junon had concealed information and profited alone. That all his achievements were built on lies and concealment.

And finally,

“Lady Erica fell victim to his cunning schemes. It was Junon who induced her, a major force of Tembris, to leave the battlefield!”

He claimed Junon had even bewitched Tembris with his silver tongue and driven away Erica Scherpen, who was the only one who saw through the truth.

Disgusting. This unexpected vileness made him want to vomit.

Düsen endured this nauseating depravity once more and asked for confirmation:

“…Is that true?”

“It is true…!”

Once more. To be certain.

Once more for the person listening through the listening device.

“Truly without a shred of falsehood?”

“What would I gain by lying?!”

There was no need for further caution.

This gave him absolute certainty, beyond any doubt.

“As I just told you, if we could only find Lady Erica, everything could be proven…”

*Thwack!*

“Kuhk… W-why are you suddenly doing this?!”

“You are truly beyond redemption.”

He wanted to strike him properly. How dare he try to frame the empire’s last hope and future great figure! He wanted to silence that mouth forever.

But Düsen restrained himself.

As Senia had said. To expose all the crimes harbored by that vile man.

“Redemption? What wrong have I—”

“Come out, Lady Erica.”

She must have heard it. She must have heard it clearly. It must have reached her ears distinctly and certainly.

Not long after he called her name, she appeared.

“L-Lady Erica!”

*Rip!*

The cheer turned to confusion.

“Because of you… because of you, I…”

The truth clearly surfaces.

This was the starting point.