We all felt emotions welling up inside us as we watched Yuriga hold the child that Fuuga and Mutsumi had left behind.
Then Kasen took a letter out of his pocket and offered it to Yuriga. “This is for King Souma. A message from Lord Fuuga.”
“From my brother?” Taking the letter, Yuriga returned with Suiga still in her arms. I accepted the letter from her.
It was hastily written and said:
“To Souma and Yuriga. I’m leaving Suiga and the country to you. So long as you treat Suiga well, I’ll never show my face on the world stage again—whether I’m living or dead.”
“Yeah, that’s just like Fuuga...” Selfish to the bitter end, for better or worse, he was always true to himself. The letter had no air of tragedy about it and even made me think he had decided that living was too much effort, so he’d let it be thought he was dead and pushed everything off on us.
As I scowled, Liscia asked, “What do you plan to do from here on, Sir Kasen?”
Kasen’s eyes grew sharp. “I’ll slay the traitorous Krahe. Sir Shuukin is still alive and well, as are others, so I am certain they will rise to strike Krahe down. I think I will join them.”
“It’s true that we have reports of Sir Shuukin and Madam Lumiere gathering forces in the west of the Empire,” Liscia said, looking at me. I nodded in agreement.
“Sir Kasen, the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom has regularly scheduled flights from Parnam Castle to Valois, the capital of the Euphoria Kingdom. It would be safer for you to take a personnel gondola to Valois and then travel north from there. I’ll approve it, so please use that route.”
“Incredible! You have my thanks!” Kasen repeatedly expressed his gratitude before leaving the audience chamber.
I then looked at little Suiga, who had been left behind, cradled in Yuriga’s arms.
“Now, as for the child...”
“This child is mine,” Yuriga said before I could finish, turning away from me as if to protect Suiga. “I’ll raise him as my own! So please, spare him!”
“Settle down, Yuriga. We’re not going to harm the child.” Liscia walked over and hugged Yuriga around the shoulders.
At that moment, Ichiha, who had been quiet until now, placed his hand over his forehead and let out a small sigh. “As acting prime minister, I should probably point out the danger of letting this child live... But I just can’t do that. After all, he’s Big Sister Mutsumi’s child.”
Oh, right. Suiga isn’t just Yuriga’s nephew; he’s also Ichiha’s.
“If Mr. Hakuya were here...maybe he’d argue that we shouldn’t let him live.”
“He might have said that, but those would just be words,” I replied with a wry smile. “He offers that kind of painful advice because he knows that Liscia and I would reject it to avoid making Yuriga sad.”
“That’s right,” Liscia said, patting Yuriga on the shoulder. “This isn’t a burden you have to bear alone. You have a large family, many of whom have experience raising children, so you can relax and rely on us for support, okay?”
“Lady Liscia...” Yuriga wiped the tears from her eyes and responded energetically, “I will!”
Liscia nodded in satisfaction before turning to me. “Now then, Souma, what are we going to do? Should we stay out of the Empire’s internal affairs?”
“Nah.” I shook my head. “I talked it over with Hakuya, and if there’s chaos in the north, we risk returning to the situation we faced when it was the Demon Lord’s Domain. If the civil war drags on, it could create new waves of refugees, meaning our country would be affected as well. We need to find a way to resolve the situation quickly without leaving the north in turmoil.”
“And what were you thinking of?”
“We crush the Krahe Army. Thoroughly.”
Without a charismatic leader, the Great Tiger Empire of Haan would soon fragment. But I wasn’t about to let a scenario like the Wars of the Diadochi unfold. Although it meant interfering in another country’s affairs, the existence of Suiga and Fuuga’s message entrusting his country to me provided a just cause. We would work with Shuukin and the Resistance Army to crush Krahe with all our might. There was no way I would allow this to devolve into a time of troubles.
Krahe, you bastard. You’d better get ready. He would pay for making my family cry.
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