NOVEL NEXT chapter 60
60 – Epilogue
Under the foolish king and the nobles’ tyranny, the people suffered endlessly.
In response, the pitiful and innocent people rose in revolution…
And ultimately succeeded in beheading the foolish and wicked king.
Numerous citizens gathered like clouds to witness this sight.
In their eyes, the figure of the foolish queen emerging onto the execution platform became visible.
“Let go of her! Release her!”
“Stay still! You dirty tyrant!”
“If you’re a king, you should carry yourself with dignity. Stop causing trouble and meet your end quietly!”
A resisting woman, twisting her body violently.
She is the ruler of this country and the person sentenced to death in the name of revolution.
The Queen of the Franz Kingdom.
Louis XVI.
She did whatever she could to escape this situation until the very end, but her struggles were restrained by the hands of soldiers.
“You fools are making a mistake right now! I told you! I’m not a queen… ough…”
In the end, the soldiers struck her abdomen with the hilt as she thrashed about.
The queen, with a distorted expression of pain, collapsed to her knees on the execution platform as if her world had crumbled.
“Too noisy.”
“Anyway, since speaking doesn’t work, we, the higher authorities, must punish her like this.”
Muttering in disapproval, the soldiers secured Queen Louis’s neck to the guillotine as it was.
In a situation where her hands and feet were completely bound.
As Queen Louise looked at the ascending guillotine blades, her face gradually turned pale.
“No… it’s not true! I… I’m not the queen!! I simply pretended to be her to seek revenge!… But why… why do I have to die in her place? Why?!”
Louise, with her throat tired from being hit in the stomach, couldn’t even raise her voice.
Even in that situation, she tried to reveal the truth, but there was not a single person to listen to her words.
Since birth, she had possessed a similar appearance to the queen and had undergone magical treatments to further resemble her, making it nearly impossible to tell the difference between the two.
In the eyes of others, she simply appeared as the ruler of this country, Queen Louise XVI.
Denying her own existence with futile words and desperately struggling to survive, she appeared as a foolish and despicable ruler…
“Well then, in the name of the National Convention, I shall carry out the execution of the defendant, Louise XVI.”
The figure confidently declared in a powerful voice in front of the crowded square.
Fiora, the Demon Hunter.
At the same time, the young girl standing behind her,
Leone, with an unnaturally cold gaze for her young age, gestured to the soldiers.
“No… this can’t be…”
With the rope securely fixed and the guillotine suspended above her head.
The executioner, assigned with the task of cutting the rope, slowly approached with an axe in hand.
And then.
“No, noooo!!!”
-Snap!
The sharp blade fell along with the severed rope.
The execution of Queen Louise was carried out against Raphael General’s wishes, even though it was not the painting he desired.
The situation showed the clear limitation of his abilities, as talented as he may be in the personal use of force and leading armies.
“If only Eli were alive, things wouldn’t have ended up like this… What will happen to this country…?”
In this uncertain situation, Charlot watched the citizens cheering without a single word.
“What would Master have done in times like these?… If it were Master Geralt…”
*
News of Queen Louise’s death.
Confirming it, I put down the documents with a bitter expression.
“In the end, it turned out like this… just as Eli said. It finally ended like this…”
Honestly, it didn’t sit well with me, but the death of the person I served as a master, at least for a short time.
With that in mind, I turned my gaze towards Gabriel, who had a complex expression.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… Just a bit surprised. I never thought things would come to this…”
Gabriel must have been even more shocked than I was, considering she had taken on the role of the double.
I slowly stood up from my seat and held her hand.
“It’s inevitable to feel sad, but try not to keep it all inside. As I’ve said before, we are now people of the Briton Empire, and our concerns should be focused on what is happening here.”
“Thank you, Geralt.”
Gabriel expressed her gratitude softly in response to my words.
After gently patting her slightly blushing face, I started to leave the room.
And the storm that would engulf the neighboring country.
My disciple who remains inside it.
As I secretly worry about Leone’s safety…
News of Queen Louise’s execution spread in all directions.
The ruler of a nation,
Not nobility, nor even of the same royal bloodline.
An incident in which she was put to death through the trial of the citizens.
This news began to shake the entire continent,
And at the same time, it started to cultivate a deep sense of unease in the hearts of the rulers of each country.
“To think that common people would execute a king!”
“This is absolutely unacceptable! If we overlook this matter, not only our kingdom of Kalmar but also the sacred empire will be at risk of being tainted by impure ideology.”
Even the representatives of the two countries, who usually growled at each other across the border, were expressing their discontent.
And in this atmosphere,
The person who called for this meeting, and who is also representing the Kingdom of Roycein
spoke in a cold voice.
“I agree. It’s good to value freedom, but we must prevent it from evolving into libertinism.”
“Th-then?”
The representatives, with expressions containing a hint of anticipation in response to her words.
Regarding this,
With red hair and red eyes,
She slowly stood up from her seat and spoke with a firm voice.
“Although we belong to the Alliance, Queen Louis carries the blood of our royal family. Starting now, the Roycen Kingdom will declare war on the Franz Kingdom for her vengeance.”
“We will also participate. We must protect the merchants and the upper echelons who are out there.”
“The Holy Empire will also join the war. Heretical thoughts must be extinguished early. As His Majesty the Emperor has expressed concerns, we must act promptly.”
The three countries had maintained a tense state, always keeping an eye on each other, even though it wasn’t a full-scale war.
However, at this moment, they began to form an alliance under the pretense of Queen Louis’ vengeance and the safety of their own countries.
Of course, this was merely a pretext, no more than empty words.
Their thoughts were far from justice.
“This is an opportunity to reclaim the Loren province that was lost in the previous war. If that happens, we can restore the authority of His Majesty the Emperor, which has been greatly diminished.”
“If this goes well, we can lay the groundwork for heading south. We must somehow gain control of at least part of the northern territory of the Franz Kingdom.”
The Holy Empire and the Calmar Confederation agreed to the war, thinking of their own countries’ benefit.
However,
Unlike them,
At this moment, the woman with red hair,
Senel Polena, the Prime Minister of the Roycen Kingdom,
Prioritizing her country’s interest, she sharpened her sword with the vengeful feeling in her heart.
“Even though I bestowed such kindness… how dare they kill Erios? These filthy traitors, I will personally throw every one of the humans living in the Franz Kingdom into hell!”
-END-