Chapter 22 – Footsteps of Ruin
Lord Ewaldt was humming, which was unusual for him.
I’ve never heard this song before, but it’s a beautiful melody.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“Indeed,” said Lord Ewaldt, turning around and holding up something in his hand.
“Because I have punished those who have constantly mistreated my Queen.”
There were three heads.
One was the Duke. One was the Duchess. One was the Young Lord.
All three were dead, their faces contorted with fear.
I didn’t feel sad when I saw them.
“Besides, the magic of the First Saint will only be inherited by the direct descendants of the Duke of Sheringham. With them gone, there will be no one left who can seal me.”
“Oh, what about me?”
“Rachel, you would never do such a thing.”
I smiled and nodded.
“No, of course not.”
I stood beside Lord Ewaldt, and we looked down on the city from the top of the outer wall.
The gate had just been opened, so the Undead Legion was pouring into the Royal Capital, and below I could see the people fleeing in panic.
…Just a little more.
Soon, the Crown Prince and the Saintess Yuri will be within reach.
Everything was going so perfectly, so amazingly in my favor, that I couldn’t help but smile. It’s hilarious.
Lord Ewaldt touches my cheek with his unsoiled hand.
“This is the happiest you’ve ever been.”
I nodded back.
“Ever since I was executed and woke up as a Lich, I’ve longed for this sight.”
I’m sure they can clearly see the demons invading the Royal Capital from the Royal Castle.
Little by little, bit by bit, they are suffocating.
They must be feeling hopeless.
The Royal Family of Inglith is proud.
So they probably won’t commit suicide.
In other words, they are all arrogant, have high self-esteem, and lack the courage to commit suicide.
Even if they did commit suicide, they will be revived.
And I’ll make them suffer as many times as I want.
Lord Ewaldt smiled.
“Look at them. See how lively the demons are. They’ve been forced to fight hard at the hands of humans for so long, and it must be fun to vent their frustrations.”
Looking down, I saw the demons following behind the Undead Legion, all pushing their way into the Royal Capital.
They were hunting, killing, and eating humans.
Although they were low-ranking demons, they looked like they were having fun.
Demons love killing humans.
So this is probably more fun for them than anything else.
And it is amusing for me as well.
I resurrected the Demon Lord, became the Demon Queen, and led the demons to take revenge on the Kingdom of Ingris for executing me.
This was happening right before our eyes.
It’s nothing but fun.
“What do you think, should we head straight to the Royal Castle?”
I shook my head in response to Lord Ewaldt’s question.
“I’ll go to the Royal Castle tomorrow. Let them spend a sleepless night in fear of being attacked at any moment.”
“Hahaha, that’s right, there’s no need to rush.”
Even if neighboring countries were to send troops, it is not a distance that could be covered in a day and night.
Even if they sent them out earlier, they would still be too late.
Hilde’s incubi and succubi did a great job.
They became lovers of key figures in various countries and manipulated them to act according to our wishes.
“Rather, why don’t we just watch as the demons take down the Royal Capital? It’ll be a beautiful sight.”
I sat down on the outer wall and Lord Ewaldt sat down next to me.
“Oh, it’s certainly a nice view.”
As he said this, Lord Ewaldt’s profile looked amused.
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…… What the hell is going on?
Rufus El Inglith was in a conference room in a corner of the Royal Castle.
Not only his father, the King, but also the country’s dignitaries, the Commander of the Royal Guard, and the Commander of the Castle Knights who were in charge of the castle’s security, were gathered there.
The soldier who had just finished his report looked pale.
“Are you sure that the entire Duke of Sheringham family was killed……?”
The king’s murmur resonated unexpectedly well.
The Duke of Sheringham was a descendant of the First Saint, and both the Duke and his son, Rufus’s good friend and rival, Lenard, possessed Holy Attribute Magical Power.
For the past few generations, the Duke’s family has only had male children, and when they finally had a daughter, Rachel, she possessed Dark Magical Powers and so was in no position to become a Saint.
If Lenard had been born a woman, she might have been called a Saint.
That’s how skilled Lenard was at handling Holy Attribute Magic.
Rumor has it he was better at Holy Attribute Magic than the Duke.
…… Is that Lenard dead too……?
He couldn’t believe the soldiers’ reports.
Both Lenard and the Duke were excellent swordsmen, and the Duchess must have been a formidable Fire Magic user.
“Y, yes. A brown-skinned, black-horned demon with silver hair and blood-red eyes…… the demon called himself the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord captured the members of the Duke’s family, and tortured them to death……”
As the descendants of the First Saint, if they don’t fight now, then when will they fight? So the Duke’s family chose to go into battle of their own will.
The Duke’s family can use Holy Attribute Magic.
So when it came to weakening demons and fighting them, they were probably peerless.
That’s not the only problem.
“…Is it true that the Duke’s former daughter, Rachel Sheringham, is still alive?”
The soldier answers the King’s question.
“The woman beside the Demon Lord looked human. She had rich blonde hair and bright pink-red eyes, and her features were very similar to those of the Duke’s family. It seems that the former Duke’s daughter was the one who resurrected the Demon Lord. And the Demon Lord called the former Duke’s daughter ‘My Queen’.”
“……What have you done……”
The King put his hand to his forehead and looked down.
Yes, Rachel Sheringham had appeared.
He couldn’t see the battle, but he could see a giant image appearing behind a gate in the outer wall.
It was small from here, but even so, there was no mistaking the figure reflected there.
It was a face he had seen ever since his childhood.
The former daughter of the Duke who was supposed to have been beheaded a few months ago.
There’s no way she’s still alive.
He certainly had her beheaded that day.
“After killing the members of the Duke’s family, the Demon Lord instantly reduced the gate to ashes, and the demons invaded the Royal Capital. The city is now in a state of chaos. The soldiers who were with the Duke’s family were annihilated… I had to make my report, so I managed to defeat some demons, but it seems that the only place that is safe now is the Royal Castle.”
The conference room fell silent.
The Royal Castle was protected by walls, but it seemed unlikely that they would last forever against the demons.
The Demon Lord’s army has invaded a number of villages and towns so far.
Some of the towns were well defended, but they had fallen, proving that siege warfare would be ineffective.
It will be difficult to hold out until help arrives from other countries.
Even if other countries were to send troops, the Demon Lord’s army would not be foolish enough to wait for that.
At the same time, he understood the reason for the change in the Demon Lord’s army’s movement.
As the fiancée of the Crown Prince, Rachel Sheringham received a wide range of education.
Among them, she learned battle strategies against the demons and is familiar with human warfare tactics.
If she advised them on how to dismantle human defenses, it would make sense that the demons, who had previously only charged forward, would change their tactics.
“Your Majesty, what will you do?”
“At this rate, there will be no future for us……!”
The King raised his head as he heard the anxious voices of the leaders.
“Well, I suppose we have no choice but to fight to the bitter end.”
Rufus bit his lip.
Now that the demons have entered the royal capital, all they could do was stay inside the castle and fight to the death, or eventually run out of food and die.
“We’re going to fight to the end.”
“We offer our lives, along with our swords, to His Majesty.”
The two knight commanders put their hands on their chests and spoke.
And the King’s eyes softened slightly.
However, he quickly tightened his expression.
“Open the escape route leading outside the Royal Capital.”
“Father, that’s ……!”
The escape route was a secret passage known only to the Royal Family, set up to preserve the royal bloodline in case of emergency.
“We must evacuate the nobles and citizens who fled to the Royal Castle. We will hide the Queen, Lischella, and Satiana among them. Rufus, you must join them. The royal bloodline must not end here.”
“No, father, I will stay. If bloodline is the concern, it will be enough if my sisters escape. Besides, it was I who took the initiative in Rachel’s execution. If she has come this far, then I must take responsibility and meet with Rachel.”
“…… Very well. You remain at my side.”
The King turns to face the leaders.
“You are free to do as you wish. No judgment awaits those who flee. Those who wish to escape, get up and leave the room.”
At these words, the leaders looked at each other.
Then, more than half of them left their seats.
Since the King said he would not blame them, no one said anything, but when the leaders left, a hint of disappointment spread across the King’s face.
“Dalton, you must protect the Queen and Princesses, and get them out of the Royal Capital. Then take them to another country.”
“Yes, I will protect them even at the cost of my life!”
“I leave the Queen and my daughters to you. Take whatever you need with you.”
The Commander of the Royal Guard nodded, bowed, and left the room as ordered.
Only six people were left.
The King, Rufus, the other Knight Commander, two senior officers, and the soldier who had come to give his report.
“Thank you for your time with this report. Ah, yes, please call out to whoever is outside to bring Saintess Yuri here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Rufus was taken aback by the King’s words.
…… That’s right, Yuri…….
By order of the King, he had not been able to meet Yuri since then.
“Father, please let Yuri go!”
At Rufus’s request, the King shook his head.
“I cannot.”
“Why? Yuri is a Saint. If she is left here to be killed, we will lose our banner and human unity will crumble!”
“It’s too late. Up until now, we have relied entirely on Saintess Yuri’s prophecies. The same is true for the neighboring countries. Therefore, due to the many times her prophecies have been wrong, other countries, including our own, have lost faith in Saintess Yuri. Even if Saintess Yuri survives, no country will accept her.”
“It can’t be …….”
It’s true that Yuri has made many wrong predictions.
But not every prediction has failed.
All of her early prophecies have come true, and the one about Rachel being a danger to the country is coming true right now.
…No, is that really the case?
As for Rachel’s prophecy, in a sense, Rufus’ actions may have been the cause.
If Rachel had not been executed, she would never have sided with the demons, the demons’ behavior would not have changed, and Yuri’s prophecy would not have come true.
Executing Rachel was a mistake in itself.
At that time, he believed that Yuri was right.
All of Saint Yuri’s prophecies up until then had come true, so he was sure that her prophecy about Rachel would not be wrong.
“Above all, it was Saintess Yuri’s prophecy that led to the execution of the former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham. Even if we were to let her escape with the Queen and the others, the Duke of Sheringham’s former daughter would not let her escape. She is taking revenge on us, I suppose.”
For some reason, those words made him feel like he’d been punched.
…… Revenge…….
That’s the only reason Rachel returned.
It is unclear how Rachel came back to life, but there is no doubt that she holds a grudge against Rufus and the others after being executed.
Even if Saintess Yuri’s prophecy had been true, and even if Rufus disliked and shunned Rachel, it should have been properly investigated.
He tortured the Duke’s daughter, even going so far as to humiliate her with a public execution.
How could she not despise him?
“The execution of the former daughter of the Duke of Sheringham was a mistake. Even if the facts were properly verified and she was in league with the demons, the execution was excessive.”
There is a knock on the door of the room.
The king called out, “Come in,” and Yuri entered the room through the gap in the door that opened gently.
Yuri looked thinner than before and tended to look down a little, and for a moment, Rachel’s figure overlapped with hers.
“Saintess Yuri, the Royal Capital is currently overrun by the Demon Lord’s army. There is nowhere to escape. The demons will likely reach this castle as well. The Demon Lord has been resurrected.”
Yuri suddenly looked up at the King’s last words.
“Eh, how ……?”
“The former daughter of the Duke Sheringham is alive. And it seems that she has unsealed the Demon King and is lending her wisdom to the demons.”
Yuri’s dark eyes widened in surprise.
“…… the prophecy came true because of Rachel?”
There was a murmur of a clear voice.
Yuri’s face turned pale and she looked down.
Her glossy black hair obscured his face, but he could hear her muttering softly.
“Is it because I acted differently from the original story? I should have let Rachel live. I shouldn’t have executed her. I made a mistake. What should I do, what should I do…?”
Rufus approached Yuri and grabbed her by the shoulders with both hands.
“Yuri, what do you mean you made a mistake?”
Yuri looked up, somewhat stunned.
“Rachel was executed because she was a threat to our country. Wasn’t that to prevent the Demon Lord’s resurrection?”
“Ah…….”
Yuri’s expression tensed.
Her dark eyes wandered.
“No, that’s not it. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Even if the seal had been broken, the Demon Lord would have been in a weakened state, and only with Rachel’s Dark Magical Power offered to him, would he have been fully revived. So, I thought that without Rachel, the Demon Lord wouldn’t be able to be fully revived even if someone unsealed him… that way I wouldn’t be killed…”
“Unseal the Demon King? Don’t tell me you were planning to unseal the Demon Lord all along?”
“Because if humans and demons make peace, the war will end, that’s what happened in the original story, in the prophecy……”
Yuri’s words stunned not only Rufus, but everyone else in the room.
…… It’s insane to break the Demon Lord’s seal.
Even though she was from another world, it should have been explained how much humans and demons in this world hated each other, killed each other, and continued to wage war.
Besides, there’s no way the demons would ever make peace.
Demons and humans are incompatible beings.
Didn’t they execute Rachel, who was plotting to resurrect the Demon Lord, in order to prevent her from doing so?
“With Rachel gone, the Demon Lord would not be able to revive completely, and he would have had no choice but to make peace! If Rachel had been there, the Demon Lord might have been able to fully revive! See, it’s safer without Rachel, right?”
If Rachel offers her Dark Magical Power, the Demon Lord will be fully resurrected.
Then, if Rachel does not offer her magical power, the Demon Lord will not be resurrected, and if Yuri does not break the seal, the Demon Lord will not awaken in the first place.
“…… Was summoning the Saint a mistake in itself?”
The King covered his eyes with his hands and exhaled deeply.
Rufus takes half a step back from the Yuri standing in front of him.
…… Is this really the same Yuri?
Determined to fight to protect humans, she trains every day to master Holy Attribute Magic, is always smiling and cheerful, is kind to everyone, and protects everyone with her prophecies. Rufus liked that positive attitude.
But what was the reality?
She was planning to break the seal of the Demon Lord for the sake of making peace with the Demons, and in order to prevent the complete revival of the Demon Lord, she had Rufus and the others execute the Duke’s daughter.
“So, was Rachel in contact with the demons…?”
“Well, if I said that, Rachel would be gone, right? I thought that if I made it a prophecy, everyone would believe it and execute Rachel…?
The girl before him suddenly felt like a monster.
Rachel Sheringham was innocent.
Nevertheless, Rufus and his men executed her.
As a result, Rachel sided with the demons.
It was Rufus’ actions that led to this situation.
They are the ones who have made the false prophecy that Rachel Sheringham will be a danger to this country come true.
Rufus stood there stunned by this revelation.
What came back to him was the image of Rachel he had seen in the torture chamber in the basement.
No matter how much pain she was subjected to, Rachel continued to say to the very end, “I have no connection with the demons!”.
At that time, he didn’t believe it at all.
Despite this being the truth, Rufus and his men tortured the innocent Duke’s daughter and then cruelly killed her by public beheading.
“Aah, no way…….”
It was only natural that Rachel would want revenge.
Rufus and his men had done something that deserved vengeance.
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Sads Translates 