Tatiana’s barrier activated.
In the distance, I saw a pillar of light rise.
The soldiers of the Taikyoku Nation tried to rush toward it in a panic, but it was already too late.
Countless soldiers collapsed, convulsing until they lay still; many humanoid fighters plummeted from the sky.
I watched as a battleship, once engaged with Wifey’s fleet in the vacuum of space, began its terminal descent.
Most of it burned up in the atmosphere, but the surviving fragments rained down upon the surface.
“Intercepting debris!”
A communication came in from Latarnia.
The Latarnian army, which had been engaged with the Taikyoku Nation Army on the ground, began shooting down the fragments falling from above.
We were, officially, a multinational force whose purpose was to liberate the Taikyoku Nation from the Ghoul invasion.
This public stance had to be protected at all costs.
Anyone who dared mutter “serves you right” toward the Taikyoku Nation faced an immediate court-martial.
Granted, a few Latarnians had already been arrested for it...
But still! We! Will! Protect! Our! Public! Stance! To! The! Very! End!!!
Because the citizens would go, “Uuuuuun!!! Doing good deeds feels so goooooooood!!!”
And so, we touched down at the Palace in our humanoid fighters.
Resistance forces no longer existed.
The soldiers had lost their will to fight once they were confronted with the reality that Ghouls were hidden among their own ranks.
They had known Ghouls existed, of course, but they had convinced themselves they were personally safe.
Now, they were forced to see they were merely the lucky ones. Their comrades, their friends, their spouses—and for the truly unfortunate, even their children...
They were shown the truth: their loved ones had been Ghouls.
Everything up to this point had gone according to plan.
From here on, this is the record of my failure.
After arriving at the Palace, we disembarked from our humanoid fighters.
“Kamishiro Main House Knights, fall in!!! Roll call!!!”
At Raven-kun’s command, the count began.
“Anheim Knight Order, fall in! Roll call!!!”
That was Suematsu-san.
Thanks to Suematsu-san, the Anheim Knight Order no longer looked like some backwater provincial unit.
This man... he really is incredibly talented, even if he is a total weirdo.
He was the one who had kept the order together by a thread when it was a total mess before Eddie arrived.
Melissa also started her roll call.
In Melissa’s case, the head instructor from her family dojo had been forced into the role of Vice Commander.
Consequently, her unit still felt like a group of rural knights.
It was simply a matter of Raven-kun and Suematsu-san being far too exceptional.
As a side note, I still couldn’t let Ren’s or Claire’s units appear in public.
An operation at a foreign palace was probably asking a bit too much of them for now.
I am always recruiting talented Knight Commanders.
Please, someone, apply!!!
Still, things were finally starting to look the part.
“Isono Squad! Roll call complete!”
“Nakajima Squad! Roll call complete!”
The units under Isono and Nakajima were detachments from their fiancées’ family homes.
Because they were composed of veterans, their roll calls were seamless.
The two of them will probably never be able to hold their heads up high in front of their in-laws for the rest of eternity...
In the midst of this, an abnormality occurred within the Forbidden Army.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!”
A General of the Forbidden Army was screaming.
“M-my daughter! My daughter!!!”
He had likely received a message from his family.
His daughter must have been a Ghoul.
The man stumbled toward us.
“Why! Why did my daughter have to die!!!”
My Knights moved in to restrain him.
As for me, my heart was heavy with sympathy.
I mean, I understood exactly how he felt.
“Treat him with courtesy.”
“Sir!!!”
Even when I spoke bluntly, they understood my intent. My Knights really are top-tier.
But because I understood his feelings... I overlooked something else.
The atmosphere.
It was a truly subtle shift, but I failed to notice the hatred beginning to flicker in the eyes of the grief-stricken soldiers.
Shiyun joined us.
She stepped onto the Palace grounds dressed in her formal attire.
All that remained was to capture the First Consort inside, and it would be over.
“Prince Min has returned to the Palace!!!”
The soldiers cheered.
Yet, the air remained taut.
Shiyun, addressed as Min, looked pained.
I took Shiyun’s hand and we entered the Palace.
Eddie, Raven-kun, and the others stood guard.
Shiyun leaned in to speak to me.
“Min is the name of my clone. It is the only thing I have left to give him...”
“Min wants this too. Let’s bring this to an end.”
“Yes.”
We entered the Throne Room.
The First Consort and General Lao were there.
As I suspected, they were not Ghouls. They were human.
“It has been a long time, Min,” the First Consort said.
At this point, we could treat her as a traitor or offer her mercy.
I had already told Shiyun I had scenarios prepared for either path.
“First Consort, I have returned. Please, prepare to evacuate.”
Shiyun did not kneel; instead, she performed a gongshou and bowed her head.
It was the greeting for an equal, or perhaps someone slightly superior.
The First Consort replied with a smile.
“I refuse.”
General Lao knelt and performed a gongshou.
Seeing this, Shiyun spoke with a voice devoid of emotion.
“Lao, I forgive you. What are you plotting?”
“It is a stratagem to ensure the survival of the Taikyoku Nation.”
“Lao, what is this stratagem?”
The next moment, the sound of an explosion thundered through the air.
I grabbed Shiyun and pulled her down to the floor.
“W-what is happening!?” Shiyun cried.
General Lao answered with a blank expression.
“The Forbidden Army Remnants. I have ordered them to execute the First Consort and myself for the sake of Lord Min.”
“W-what are you saying!? Lao! I don’t understand!”
The First Consort turned her gaze toward Shiyun.
“We must take responsibility for the Ghoul crisis.”
“B-but, the First Consort bears no responsibility for—”
“That is what it means to be of the Imperial Family. Oh, Min. You are still so naive. I cannot die in peace if you remain this way.”
“W-why! Why me!? Didn’t you try to kill me!?”
“That was... because you were too kind. I believed that if you became Emperor, the nation would perish. Even now... if you were found unfit to be Emperor, I planned to rule the nation myself... but.”
For some reason, the First Consort looked at me.
“If you are right beside her... then the Taikyoku Nation can survive. Oh, how I envy her! ...How wonderful it would have been if you were my own child!”
I said nothing.
I was thinking desperately of a way to shatter this atmosphere and find a way for everyone to be happy.
But... my usual Jester Brain remained silent.
“Min, put my head and Lao’s head on display.”
“First Consort!”
“Min! Cast aside your softness! You are to become the Emperor of the Taikyoku Nation! You will be entrusted with the lives of billions of your compatriots! Do you understand!? If you are weak, people die... engrave that upon your heart.”
The doors were being pounded violently.
“Kill the First Consort!!! Avenge our families!!!”
“Long live Lord Min!!! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!!!”
I scooped Shiyun up.
“Raven! Secure an escape route!”
“Sir!!!”
It was too late to change anything.
The mob, driven by General Lao’s scheme, flooded into the room.
The First Consort stood with dignity and gave Lao her final command.
“Lao! As we planned!”
“Forgive me!”
General Lao drew his sword.
He ended the First Consort’s life as swiftly and painlessly as possible, and then he drove the blade into his own stomach.
“This Great Villain Lao shall not be taken by the likes of you low-lifes!!!”
We carried Shiyun away and fled the scene.
Behind us, the sound of the mob hurling abuse at General Lao’s corpse echoed through the halls.
Shiyun was weeping.
But she was desperately stifling her voice.
You damn idiots!!!