chapter_0027

27 – That Day Will Come

27 – That Day Will Come

“Never forget, my children.

Never forget, my brothers.

That day will come.

The day when the long, long time of suffering and oppression ends will come.

That day will come with ‘Him’ who will liberate us with blue light from the sky.

When that day comes, let’s go together to greet him.

Let’s go greet our King.”

* * *

Jarha regained consciousness, feeling the desert sandstorm brushing against his face.

“Ugh…”

“Father! Are you alright?”

Opening his eyes, he saw his son, Raq.

Jarha shook off his dazed state and sat up.

His body had been treated and was wrapped in bandages.

Looking around, he realized he was in the Colosseum.

How could he not recognize this cursed place where he had killed countless comrades to survive?

The difference was that there were numerous sleeping bags and people who appeared to be doctors moving around, and his comrades were lying down or receiving treatment in their sleeping bags.

Kasha, Horu, Maron, Uron, and many other comrades who he thought had died in battle were collapsed as if they had been treated like him.

What was going on?

Wasn’t he shot by the lord’s arrow and died?

Confused, his son spoke.

“The lord said he used tranquilizer arrows to subdue Father and the warriors.”

“He used tranquilizer arrows?”

So that’s why he felt so weak?

As one question was answered, another arose in Jarha’s mind.

Why did he spare us without killing us?

Could it be that he spared us all to abuse us as slaves again!?

As the most reasonable answer came to mind, Jarha felt his stomach churn again.

The day of pain seemed to be starting again, so he considered whether to start another rebellion right away.

But as he thought about it, he noticed something strange.

He, including everyone else, was not wearing the purple shackles.

If they were going to use them as slaves again, the first thing they should have done was put on those purple shackles.

But no one around him was wearing them.

Confused, thinking that there were more than one or two strange things, he heard a sound from outside.

Boo-oo-oong-!!!!

At the sound of a huge trumpet announcing the summons, Jarha went out of the tent with Raq.

Then, many slaves like him came out hearing the trumpet sound.

And at the center of the trumpet sound, Calix, the lord who shot the arrow at him, was looking down at them from the Pulvinar (noble seat), where only the noblest could be in the Colosseum.

Around him and around the Colosseum, the Krone Knights were guarding him without any gaps.

When the trumpet sound stopped and everyone came out, Calix began to speak.

“Slaves of Dreyhart!! You have been defeated.”

At his words, everyone there looked gloomy.

They had been defeated.

They knew it, but they didn’t want to admit it.

They wanted to believe that a different tomorrow would come than yesterday.

“You have been defeated by me, Calix Crone, and the right to rule Dreyhart has been transferred to me, Calix Crone, the lord of Crone, according to the will of His Majesty the Emperor and the Platinum Council.”

The high-ranking person next to him nodded as he listened to his words.

The slaves’ faces became even darker.

Some slaves prayed that the new lord would not be as trashy as the previous one.

“I am your new master, and you have become my slaves.”

At Calix’s declaration, some slaves reflexively knelt down.

Among them was the slave soldier who fought Jarha.

Regardless of the sad behavior created by a lifetime of abuse, Calix continued to speak.

“Your master! Calix Crone commands the slaves!!”

At the word of the master’s first order, all the slaves in that place stopped breathing.

In the past, the lord of Dreyhart gathered 100 slave duelists and made them fight to the death in commemoration of becoming the first lord.

They trembled in fear at the thought that the terrible order might be repeated, and some closed their eyes.

But the words that came out of Calix’s mouth next were completely unexpected for the slaves.

“Slaves of Dreyhart… Live freely.”

Silence flowed through the Colosseum for a moment.

The slaves and Raq, the General Manager of the Exhibition who was listening next to him, thought they had misheard.

Regardless of their gaze, Calix continued to speak.

“Live more freely than any free citizen!”

The slaves felt like they were dreaming.

Yes, it must be a dream.

For a noble person to use the word freedom, for us, it must be a dream.

“Live for happiness more than any imperial citizen!”

They thought they had no right to be happy.

Because they were born as slaves, they were taught that it was natural to be abused and die for the rest of their lives.

But the noblest person denied it.

“Enjoy more freedom and more happiness as much as the pain you have received so far!!”

Tears flowed from the slaves’ eyes.

Slaves began to collapse and cry endlessly at the joy that could not be expressed in words.

They couldn’t believe it.

Everyone, at this moment, couldn’t believe it.

“The history of pain and abuse that has oppressed you has ended today. I, Calix Crone, your master, declare.”

But Calix declared as if to let them know that it was not a dream but reality.

He declared to everyone there so that no one could deny it and no one could misunderstand.

“You are 『Free』 from today!”

The moment Calix’s words ended, flower petals began to fall in the Colosseum.

The name of the flower with blue beauty is 『Delphinium』

The meaning of the flower is 『Freedom』.

When the owner gives a Delphinium flower to his slave, the slave becomes free.

Looking at the blue flower petals falling from the sky, the slaves finally knew that all of this was not a dream.

They felt that they had become free.

“He is the King of Liberation…”

“The King of Liberation has come.”

A long time ago, there was a legend passed down orally in Dreyhart.

A legend that ‘He’ who will liberate them with blue light from the sky will come.

Their great king who comes to liberate the slaves.

With respect, the people of Dreyhart called him this.

He is called the 『King of Liberation』 who liberates all slaves.

“The King of Liberation has come!!”

“Long live the King of Liberation!!”

“Long live our King!!”

This was the method Noah had said.

To make a slave a free citizen in the Empire, he had no choice but to become the owner first.

The Krone Knights single-handedly suppress the rebellion in Dreyhart, become their master and the legendary King of Liberation, and give them freedom.

This was the only way to save everyone.

While receiving the cheers of the slaves, Calix came down to the Colosseum himself.

And he approached Jarha, who was collapsed in joy and ecstasy and crying like a child.

Calix, who approached Jarha, bowed his head to him and apologized.

“I’m sorry for hurting you. This was the only way to save you. Forgive me.”

“Lord…”

Jarha’s hands trembled.

He doubted him until the end.

He had no choice but to doubt, but he still doubted.

He was so sure that a noble would never understand him.

But look at this result.

Who didn’t understand?

Who acted like a noble?

Jarha was so ashamed that his actions were the same as the nobles he hated the most.

“I am not the King of Liberation. If you hadn’t started a rebellion, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

In that situation, Calix did not blame Jarha until the end.

Rather, he defended Jarha.

“Because you started a rebellion, they were able to rise up on their own, and I was able to set them free.”

Calix said so that everyone could hear.

The rebellion was not meaningless.

He affirmed their actions by telling them that everyone could be free thanks to this rebellion.

“The King of Liberation is not me, but you. Warrior Jarha.”

Jarha shed tears at Calix’s words.

He was angry that there was no such thing as the King of Liberation, but in fact, Jarha believed in the King of Liberation more than anyone else.

But no matter how much he believed, he was preparing for a rebellion in anger because he didn’t come.

And as if to mock such himself, the sky sent the King of Liberation like this.

He even sent someone with a bigger vessel than himself and embraced the wounds in his heart.

Jarha, who couldn’t stay still, went to Calix and knelt on one knee.

“Jarha?

“Father?”

And Jarha grabbed his right horn and broke it with force.

Offering the horn to Calix, Jarha swore.

“Warrior Jarha of the Dragonkin. I offer the horn given by the Dragon God Ranix to my master.”

The horn was a symbol of the Dragonkin, and the Dragonkin believed that the Dragon God Ranix gave it to them to watch over them.

So, the warriors of the Dragonkin offered their horns given by the Dragon God Ranix to the master they truly served.

They swore by offering one of their horns that they would walk the path of loyalty that would begin from now on without being ashamed even if the Dragon God watched over them.

That day, Dreyhart became the territory of the Crones Family, all slaves became free citizens, and Warrior Jarha became Calix’s vassal.

It was the moment when another great lord was born in the Empire.

* * *

At that time, three women were watching the situation in the production room at the top of the Colosseum.

Maid Lana couldn’t hide her surprise as she watched Sharen create Delphinium petals with magic.

“It’s an amazing sight. Sharen, it’s like something out of a dream.”

“This is a simple task for a Magician.”

Sharen was creating flower petals with Magical Power using illusion magic.

The created petals disappeared like snow when they touched the ground, but this was enough to convey freedom.

And Lana said, looking at Noah, who planned and prepared all of this.

“With this, everything has gone according to Noah’s plan.”

“No. Everything was possible because the lord was prepared.”

The most important thing in Calix’s kingmaker plan that Noah thought of was the expansion of the territory.

The Crone territory has become a very solid territory with a very high food self-sufficiency rate due to various reforms.

But it was still not enough to be treated as a great lord in terms of military power.

So, Noah was preparing a plan to absorb the surrounding territories with strong military power, and Dreyhart was one of them.

Immediately after the rebellion broke out in Dreyhart, Noah predicted this situation and prepared to import wheat and anesthetics from the west.

But all she could do was prepare.

After that, everything was possible when Calix was prepared.

This plan could succeed when he had compassion for the slaves and was prepared to truly make the slaves free citizens and become the King of Liberation.

If Calix changed his mind, it was a plan that would fail if he thought he would just profit from the slaves like other nobles.

But Noah believed in her eyes and believed in Calix.

She took a gamble that she would never have done in the past.

And Calix lived up to her belief.

Noah was proud and loved Calix, whom she had chosen.

‘Ah… my lord, you are the only one who is fit to be the Emperor.’

Noah was ecstatic as she watched the people of Dreyhart shouting for the King of Liberation.

She felt that the future where all the people of the Empire were cheering for that silver-haired lord was getting closer and closer.

Author’s words (Author’s note)

I wrote this while watching that scene from Dune Part 2.

Lisan al Gaib!!!