Merchant Noble is out (2/2 chapters for today)

 

 

Leo’s End

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“This room is… 29 steps lengthwise and 18 steps width.” (Tadont)

“Yes, indeed.” (Arc)

Arc had summoned the Tadont couple from Mikanda.

The couple possessed abilities in surveying and mapmaking. They had been in the midst of measuring the Mikanda territory, but Arc called them away for this task. It was rare to have the opportunity to freely walk around the royal palace. Taking advantage of this chance, they were tasked with surveying the palace, all in secret, of course. On the surface, they were merely servants dispatched by the Warden Household for the purpose of cleaning up the dilapidated palace.

After observing the couple at work, Arc casually wandered around the royal palace when he was stopped by a familiar voice from behind.

“Arc Warden-sama!” (Marie)

“…Marie-sama?” (Arc)

A familiar face. She once had a cute, innocent look like that of a young girl, but now she appeared to have a slightly more mature air about her. Though, it could just be that she was completely exhausted.

Marie approached with her cheeks flushed, looking delighted.

“Yes. I am so relieved to see you safe. Ever since I heard the news that you were taken by Leo-ani-sama, I’ve been so worried.” (Marie)

“Ah… Thank you very much.” (Arc)

Arc’s interactions with Marie had only been during that one incident on the night of the Habarov Summon, and nothing beyond that. Was she really that worried about him? Well, Arc couldn’t really criticize her for that.

“I was also concerned for you, Marie-sama, when Leo… when His Highness Leo took over the royal capital.” (Arc)

“My, is that so?” (Marie)

Marie smiled brightly, seeming happy.

“I was able to survive thanks to the help of the high priest and the people of the church.” (Marie)

“Is that so? And what did you talk about with His Highness Leo?” (Arc)

“Huh?” (Marie)

“You met him, didn’t you? There’s only his study where he is under house arrest beyond this point.” (Arc)

“Y-Yes. I just went to check on him for a bit. Since I didn’t talk much with Leo-niisama when we were younger, we didn’t have any deep conversation, and it ended awkwardly. W-Well then, I should get going…” (Marie)

As Marie said that, she seemed to remember something, blushed slightly, and quickly walked away.

Arc felt a bit lonely that their reunion had ended so quickly, despite the chance encounter with Marie. Perhaps he had pushed too far with his questioning. Reflecting on that, he confirmed that Marie was gone and continued his inspection of the palace.

 

—

 

Although Marie had said to Arc that she didn’t have a deep conversation with her brother, unexpectedly, they had spoken at some length. At first, Marie was reluctant to visit Leo. The last time they had met, Leo had harshly berated her when she tried to stop the great fire in the royal capital. It was their first encounter since then.

“Sister, I hear you’ve developed close ties with the church. Are you planning to become a nun?” (Leo)

Leo spoke in a gentle tone, perhaps out of consideration for Marie, who appeared nervous.

“I have no intention of taking vows at the moment, but if the chaos in this kingdom continues, I will offer my body to God.” (Marie)

“I see. Well, a person like you would only be used if you stayed as part of the royal family, so that might be a good idea. More importantly, have you found a man you like?” (Leo)

Marie was taken aback by the completely unexpected question.

“Huh? W-Why would you ask such a thing?” (Marie)

“No reason, really. But if you plan to fully commit to the life of a nun, you’ll have to give up such things entirely. So, while you still can, you should let the man you like hold you.” (Leo)

“L-L-Let him hold me…!” (Marie)

Leo thought he had softened his words, but for Marie, they were still quite shocking. Her face turned bright red as she mouthed wordlessly.

“The pleasure of being held by a man you love is supposedly beyond words. You’ve already broken off your engagement with that old nobleman, so it’s time to find a new man and…” (Leo)

“That’s enough! I understand already!” (Marie)

After hastily silencing Leo, Marie became a bit worried. Leo hated being interrupted more than anything. She had stopped him out of embarrassment, but he might end up yelling at her.

“Oh, I see.” (Leo)

 

However, Leo remained calm.

Everything about him seemed like a different person from the one who had massacred people across the kingdom. Could this really be the same man who had once scorned her as a fool?

His face was that of a man who had accomplished everything he wanted. A sense of peace, as if he were saying, “It’s time to end things,” exuded from him. This was probably the look on an animal’s face after devouring all the meat.

“This might be the first time we’ve had a conversation as siblings.” (Leo)

“Is this what you call a sibling conversation…?” (Marie)

She wasn’t sure if there were any siblings who talked about sex with men, but she understood what Leo meant. She had always felt a sense of fear toward him since childhood, which had kept them from having many conversations. Now, she wanted to make up for the gap in their relationship by talking a lot. But part of her also wanted to leave things as they were, with their final conversation being this peaceful.

“Well then, Leo-niisama.” (Marie)

Marie stood up. She was satisfied with their last conversation, which had been so gentle, with no fear or tension. She felt that asking for anything more might be inviting punishment.

“Oh, be happy, sister. And… I’m sorry for that time.” (Leo)

Marie froze in place, surprised. She never expected an apology. The brother she had always thought of as a monster was human after all. If she had seen this side of him sooner, their relationship might have been different.

“…It’s all in the past now, Nii-sama.” (Marie)

Without turning back, Marie spoke. For some reason, a single tear quietly slid down her cheek.

 

—

 

The last of his siblings to arrive was Louis, who had just returned to the royal capital, bringing along a group of nobles. Louis was a little surprised to see that Leo was not in chains and was freely moving about, but he tried to maintain an air of superiority, likely due to the eyes of the nobles on him.

“Hmph, what a pitiful sight. Serves you right.” (Louis)

“Who are you?” (Leo)

As usual, Leo didn’t know Louis’ name, but Louis seemed to be in a very good mood as he stood there with a triumphant look on his face.

“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Louis I, the king who ended the war that our foolish brother started and unified the kingdom once more.” (Louis)

“Ah. So, it’s you, my younger brother. I’d forgotten your face since you were always hiding behind large armies.” (Leo)

When it came to trading insults, no one could outmatch Leo.

Louis’s face flushed with anger for a moment at the taunt, but he suppressed his emotions and spoke calmly.

“How does it feel to lose to the brother you mocked so much?” (Louis)

“Nothing much. I had my fun.” (Leo)

“Well, your life is in my hands now, but if you bow your head and beg for your life, I might just spare you.” (Louis)

The surrounding nobles looked at Louis with expressions that seemed to question if he was serious. Sparing Leo’s life in exchange for boosting Louis’s ego would bring no benefits and only cause future troubles. However, Leo looked at Louis with an expression of utter contempt for his small sense of pride.

“Huh? No need. I told you, I had my fun. I have no regrets. Go ahead, execute me already.” (Leo)

“My, my, such stubbornness. Here I am, the king, showing you mercy, and you reject it.” (Louis)

Leo reacted to Louis’s words.

“Hm? Wait a moment. You’re the king?” (Leo)

“I just said that, didn’t I?” (Louis)

A moment of silence passed.

And then…

“Ha…” (Leo)

“Hahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha!” (Leo)

Leo’s loud laughter echoed throughout the room. It was so loud that the guards outside the room came in to see what was going on.

As Leo continued laughing uncontrollably, Louis’s face turned red with anger. Though he didn’t understand why Leo was laughing, it was obvious he was being mocked.

“What’s so funny… What’s so funny!?” (Louis)

Wiping away exaggerated tears of laughter, Leo responded.

“Because… you… You as the king? Hahaha! I was sure… I was sure… heh heh… that Casablanca would be the one to take the throne!” (Leo)

The nobles paled. They couldn’t bring themselves to look at Louis’s face out of fear. Suggesting that his rival sister, Casablanca, would be a better fit for the throne was the last thing Louis wanted to hear.

Leo seemed to know this as well, and he added insult to injury to Louis, who was shaking with anger and unable to say anything.

“You, the king? Haha! What a joke. Don’t look so angry. It never even crossed my mind that you’d be king. Think about it, who would want to entrust the kingdom to you over Casablanca? You’ll just be devoured by the nobles surrounding you.” (Leo)

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut uuuuup!” (Louis)

Louis’s shout echoed through the room. He was so furious that his voice cracked, and it sounded like his throat might tear from the force.

“Execute him right now!” (Louis)

“Wh-what? Right now?!” (??)

“Yes, right now! Behead Leo right here in front of me!” (Louis)

“But… if we execute him without informing Princess Casablanca or Princess Marie, it could cause problems later…” (??)

The nobles tried desperately to calm Louis down, but his anger only intensified. Unlike Leo, who always retorted, it was very typical of Louis to vent his anger at the nobles who got in the way of his success.

“Shut up! Listen, I am the king! I am the most powerful person in this kingdom!! Why should I care about what they think? My sister and my brother don’t have the right to criticize my actions! I’ll do things my way, and that’s what being king is all about, isn’t it?!” (Louis)

Mentioning Casablanca’s name was a grave mistake. It was like throwing fuel on the fire, and his rage flared even higher. Without anyone noticing, Louis had switched from using “I” to the more childish “me” as he ranted. (TN: from ‘Ore’ to ‘Boku’)

“Are you saying… that you think Casablanca is more suited to be king than me?! Is that it? That’s why you’re saying not to execute him without telling her first, huh!? You’re a traitor! A traitor for defying me, the king!!!” (Louis)

“I-I would never dare, Your Majesty! There is only one king, and that is you, King Louis!” (??)

All the surrounding nobles immediately prostrated themselves. There was no calming down Louis now. Words wouldn’t work. All they could do was grovel.

The one person clearly enjoying all of this was Leo.

“Oh, the great King has lost his temper.” (Leo)

“Don’t mock me! Leo, I’m going to kill you right here, right now! Knights, hurry up and kill him! Kill him!!!” (Louis)

“Oh, the great King has lost his temper…” (Leo)

These mocking words turned out to be Leo’s last.

Leo was executed immediately on Louis’s own authority. It was a shockingly abrupt and anticlimactic end for the monster who had ravaged the kingdom.

Arc had intended to make Leo a scapegoat, publicly executing him to take on the hatred of the people and the nobles’ grievances but he was killed in a closed room. Leo may have known about Ark’s plan to have him become the people’s punching bag.

It was two weeks after he had been arrested by Arc, one week after he had been transferred to the royal capital, and half a day after Louis had arrived in the royal capital.

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