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Like a protagonist, Joshua appeared in the dining hall just as the gathered crowd was thinking about him. Everyone shut their mouths as if they had planned it in advance.
“Joshua…?” Iceline and Charles wondered.
“Your Highness…?” Ranger blankly murmured. Then he noticed who had followed Joshua in and flinched. “Cazes, I was wondering where you went…”
“Quiet,” Cazes interrupted. “You’re all here. His Highness would like to say something.”
Ranger—and everyone else—immediately stopped speaking. Everyone turned to look at Joshua, expectantly.
“I’m sincerely sorry.” Joshua bowed to the people. They were stunned.
“Yo-Your Highness, I don’t understand.”
“Your Majesty, why are you suddenly…?”
Despite their reactions, Joshua remained bowing. “I escaped from everything for three years already. During those long years, so many people suffered because of what I started. People also got caught in the crossfire due to my false charges.”
Anyone would understand what Joshua meant, so a silence quickly fell upon the hall.
“I did say I’m grateful that you’ve all been waiting for me, but that was it. In the end, I just talked big like the pigs in the palace. I tried to do everything on my own because I believed that was the only way to repay you for the sacrifices you’ve made.”
Even in his previous life, Joshua had always been alone. He never cared about power, so he hadn’t formed a group since he had the power to live on his own. However, that wasn't the right answer anymore.
“Today, I finally realized how wrong I was, so… I’m really sorry.”
Just like he had said, Joshua now knew that a leader—no, a ruler—shouldn’t have behaved like that. Since he was no longer alone, he ought to know that his subordinates would worry about him and how his decisions were going to impact the citizens of Avalon.
“Joshua…” Charles said bitterly.
She knew everything that Joshua was going through right now. With one word, she could impact numerous people’s lives. No one would understand how heavy the responsibility was.
Ranger broke the heavy silence.
“You know… maybe I’m just stupid, but I’m not sure why you’re apologizing to us, Your Highness. Well, I get what you’re saying…”
Ranger scratched the back of his head before continuing.
“But I still wonder why you would be this sorry. I know I’m being rude, but I must ask you, Your Highness.” Ranger locked eyes with Joshua. “Did you make us do it? No, rather, did you give us a special order as our superior officer to follow you? You’d already lost your rank and title at the time.”
“R-Ranger!” Cazes nervously shouted.
Ranger didn’t stop.
“No one forced us—we made this choice. Anyone who wanted to leave already left. Well, Cazes says nonsense like ‘they did it for their families’ or something…” Ranger licked his dry lip and muttered, “I was happy.”
“Ranger…”
“Of course, I’m still happy. I think I used all the luck in my life becoming Joshua Sanders’s knight. In fact, I want to express gratitude to my ancestors for the first time.[1] So…” Ranger continued, his voice getting louder, “...please don’t say that you’re sorry. On a similar note, don’t bow to anyone else. I decided to serve one person and one person only, so I never want to see my master bowing at someone else, even us.
Ranger was beating around the bush, but it was clear that he was swearing his loyalty as a knight. Their relationship was no longer merely that of an ordinary superior officer and his subordinates; Ranger was offering himself up as the subject of Joshua, the monarch.
The knights of the Auxiliary Battalion clenched their fists. They weren’t the only ones feeling it.
“We Willhelm Knights feel the same, Your Majesty.”
Joshua turned his head to look at Kingaitu.
“The neutral city of Reinhardt… Until recently, I thought protecting that title was the same as preserving the peace of the continent, but when I think about what has happened, I realize that I was totally wrong. Once a war breaks out, every country in the continent strikes Reinhardt first. A good strategic location, the center of the continent… there are so many reasons for strong countries to desire Reinhardt, so it’s no surprise why Reinhardt is attacked first…” Kingaitu smiled bitterly. “Everything happened because of our stubbornness. Calling us the neutral city-state was all glitter and no substance. I want to start making the right decisions from now on. I don’t want the citizens of Reinhardt to suffer anymore.”
“You mean…?” Cazes asked.
Kingaitu quietly nodded. “I’m going to persuade the citizens about uniting Reinhardt with the new Avalon Empire—no, about His Majesty becoming our one and only king.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“They’ll understand since we’re talking about the Joshua Sanders.” Kingaitu chuckled.
“That’s…!”
Kingaitu’s remark was truly shocking—Reinhardt’s title of neutral city-state held great weight. Even if Kingaitu successfully persuaded the citizens, many problems still remained; the biggest problem was the other countries objecting to the idea. It hadn’t been long since the Continental War had come to an end, so it might look like the Avalon Empire was starting to get greedy and aiming to instigate another war. The people gathered in the hall were worried because they were well aware of that possibility.
“If things worked out so easily, then I won’t be able to feel zero sense of accomplishment. ” Although he noticed the tension in the hall, Kingaitu slightly shrugged as he continued, “We can’t walk on eggshells forever, and I’m sure that it won’t be impossible if we’re with His Majesty.”
When Kingaitu finished speaking, silence fell upon the hall for a long time.
“Why is there always something happening around this man whenever I visit him?” a beautiful voice asked.
Joshua turned to look at the two women.
“But I always envy that about you,” Charles said.
Joshua looked into Charles’s fiery-red eyes for a moment and then looked at Iceline, whose wise eyes gently smiled back. Although she wasn’t saying anything, it was clear what she wanted to say.
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‘Don’t blame yourself. Everyone here believes in you.’
“I…” Joshua paused. He now knew how his people truly felt, but still, he couldn’t help but feel worried. Joshua’s last enemy was him, so if Joshua’s last scenario came true, something irreversible would take place.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help them as much as I can.”
Everyone’s heads turned to the entrance, where the new voice came from. An old man stood tall by the gate with crossed arms, smiling.
“Ho-how…?” Cazes said with a trembling voice. “Hi-His Grace Tremblin?”
“The Sword Emperor!”
“The great Star of the Avalon Empire!”
The wrinkled duke paid the shocked WIlhelm Knights no mind and winked. “Why are you all shocked? I’m the biggest fan of ‘His Highness’ Joshua.”
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Agnus’ main residence, Heimdall was standing with his back against the sun. The apostles stood silently waiting for him.
“Heimdall…”
“Jabel and Marco, it’s not like you to do something like what you did today,” Heimdall scolded. The two apostles bit their lips. “I won’t punish you any further. Head back to Acardia and wait until I give you new orders.”
“Yes, sir!”
The apostles quickly disappeared except one.
“…Do you want to say something, Jabel?” Heimdall asked.
“I’ll gladly accept punishment,” Jabel firmly answered.
“…I told you I won’t.”
“Then please answer me one thing.” Jabel quietly raised his head. “Do you, by any chance, still feel attached to your son?”
Heimdall’s eyes turned sharp as he hadn’t expected to hear that question. Jabel wouldn’t normally ask such a question.
“He ruined the plan that we’ve been working on for dozens of years, so why would you leave him be? I really—”
“The wheel of destiny has already started to turn,” Heimdall said.
“…Pardon?”
Jabel immediately stopped running his mouth.
“This god-knows-how-long ill-fated relationship was personally influenced by the Demon Spirit.”
Jabel’s eyes widened in shock. “The Demo-Demon Spirit? What are you suddenly talking about…?”
“It was decided a long time ago,” Heimdall nonchalantly continued.
“Heimdall, I don’t want to interrupt you, but I really don’t understand… Why would the Demon Spirit hold a grudge against Joshua Sanders?” Jabel cautiously asked.
“Have you forgotten? Berber, my follower, signed a contract with Asmodeus, the thirty-second strongest demon. He told me.”
Jabel had indeed forgotten about Berber, who had died while building an army of undead three years ago.
“I’ll be able to test his destiny with this. On top of that, the Emperor made a contract with the Demon Spirit in the end.”
“What?!” Jabel shouted, his surprise bursting out. “D-do you mean the Demon Spirit has incarnated into the world?!”
Heimdall nodded. “Yeah, he’s going to begin in earnest.”
“Th-then is that why you spared the Emperor?”
“Asmodeus told me that it takes a human who killed at least tens of thousands of people to make the Demon Spirit descend.”
Jabel had goosebumps all over his arms. When he looked at Heimdall, it felt like this was how real revenge should be.
Heimdall faintly smiled. “Who else could be a better sacrificial offering than Marcus ben Britten, the tyrant?”
1. This belief is quite popular in Asian cultures. Ancestors look over their descendants and shower them with luck. ☜