Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi
chapter-161

–Aegir POV–

Trisnea: Former Royal Palace

「Without a doubt, you are the King of Magrado, Geugis1 II?」

「……indeed, I am most certainly him.」

While still dressed in his extravagant robes, the King of Magrado squeezes out a response with a bitter expression on his face. The King of Goldonia, the ambassador of the Olga Federation who travelled with the fleet are in front, while Erich and Kenneth are nearby directing intimidating eyes at him.

I’m also there, but I have a seat prepared on the side instead of the front. It seems like Celia can’t get in, so Myla was brought in beside me as an assistant. I was just lightly stroking her thigh a little earlier, but restrained myself after she looked at me menacingly.

「You picked a fight devoid of morals with Goldonia as well as the Olga Federation and killed their soldiers and citizens. Am I mistaken?」

「That’s ridiculous! Wasn’t it Goldonia who started the war!!?」

「The origins of that began when you intervened in the war with Treia!」

The one who spoke harshly towards the Magrado King was the attorney general, Count so-and-so2. Normally, one would be required to kneel to the royalty, even those from another nation, and such rough speech wouldn’t be allowed.

「In addition, you instilled into the citizens a sense of hostility towards another nation and caused unnecessary resistance……」

It’s certainly true that Magrado interfered with the war between Treia and Goldonia. But now that a ceasefire has been agreed upon, the direct cause of the war can not be brought up after that. Normally, Magrado would have a chance to voice their complaints too.

「Further yet, you forced the Republic of Stura to annex with high-handed means and the threat of a savage armed force……」

But this is not an impartial trial.

This is nothing but a farce, a kangaroo court to place all blame and responsibility on the Magrado royalty.

「Therefore, this court of law judges that banishment will not be enough to atone for your sins and death is the only other option!」

「What is my sin!? All of you can go to hell for all I care!!」

「I sentence Geugis II to death!」

The attorney general and other parties besides the person in question stays silent while guards take the struggling King by his arms and removes him from the room.

The result must have been conveyed to the soldiers outside immediately as loud cheers erupted shortly after.

The soldiers I brought with me surround the palace acting as the courtroom, jeering and calling for the death of the sentenced individual.

「This is awful……」

Myla mutters beside me, and I completely agree.

Treating the loser of the war however you please is expected, but if you’re going to sentence them to death anyways, it would have been better just to lop off their heads immediately.

「Please don’t fall asleep. Everyone around us are important people with a Count ranking or higher.」

「Oh great.」

The trial continues, sentencing to death everyone from the relatives of the King to the people responsible for leading the army. All of them spat out curses as they were dragged away by the guards. I guess the sentence will be carried out right away.

「Looks like it’s almost done, hey Myla, what do you say you and me go to a nearby bar and have a cup or two?」

「……you’re probably planning to take me upstairs after, aren’t you.」

「I want to make love to you one-on-one every once in a while too.」

Pretending to chat secretly with her so that no one else could hear, I take her hand and place it on my crotch.

「You’re already hard?」

「I’ll use this to stir you up thoroughly.」

Despite being angry, Myla gives in.

「Next, we will hold the trial for the former King of Treia, Trisnea III.」

「……」

「So they postponed this case.」

Enough of this, just sentence them all to death and get this over with.

Line them all up and just yell “Death sentence”, there won’t be any other sentence anyways.

「I……I……didn’t do anything wrong. Isn’t war something normal!?」

「You have a responsibility for something other than war, a crime committed against the citizens. Firstly, you ruled harshly over the newly attained citizens of former Arkland, you induced rebellion, and committed the inhumane act of killing citizens!」

「That was……done without my knowledge……」

There’s no chance an excuse like that would work for a King.

「Next, you brought the flames of war to the capital, you abandoned the citizens you should be protecting and planned to escape yourself with only your followers, and as a result caused unnecessary sacrifices from both armies due to the delayed peace agreement! 」

「Th-that is-! If I were to die or get captured, the Kingdom would perish and so I thought I could escape and have the people surrender……」

The Treian King is frail unlike the Magrado King. He is clearly afraid of death and has lost his mind.

「We have a witness for the actions committed by Trisnea III……here!」

One of the men brought by the guards stepped forward.

「Hey, hey, don’t tell me you brought a beggar for this.」

It was unknown where the heckling came from, but it really was exactly as described.

With disheveled hair, an untrimmed beard and sunken eyes, the man who was brought in could only be described as a beggar at best and an insane person at worse if he wasn’t wearing formal clothing.

「Prime minister!? You were alive……」

「Order……you there, state your name and former status.」

The man glared not at the attorney general, but only at the former King of Treia when he squeezed out his answer.

「Anselm Dunois……Marquess from the Kingdom of Treia and the prime minister.」

「Umu, then explain the reason you have not received judgement here.」

「On the orders of the King, I cooperated with the Magrado army, but was defeated and injured. During the time I hid in a nearby village, the war was finished.」

「Fumu……so what are you here to testify about?」

「About Trisnea III’s despicable nature and brutality.」

「What did you say!?」

「Tell him.」

Marquess Dunois, who was muttering quietly before, suddenly took a deep breath.

「Trisnea III’s cowardly behavior is clearly not for the preservation of the nation but to protect himself. That’s because the fortune he had, which should have been only gold and jewels for war funds, was mostly giant paintings, antiques and other items unrelated to the preservation of the nation.」

「I see.」

King Alexandro, who stayed silent until now with a partial grin on his face while the other Magrado nobles were being thoroughly disparaged, finally opened his mouth.

「Moreover, while I was injured, he branded me a traitor for not being in the capital and killed my family……killing everyone, even my young grandson……」

Dunois faces the floor as he cries.

It was something which happened a year ago, but I do recall seeing a disgusting scene like that.

「Prime minister, is this not something you made up!? Do I even have to accuse you of lying!?」

「Your Majesty! This pathetic old man has no reason to lie!」

The one Dunois addressed as Majesty was not the Treian King, but the Goldonian King.

Judging based on what was said, one would obviously want to be on Dunois’s side.

A King who forsook his country to save his family and his treasure versus a man who returned at the end of a war only to find his entire family killed and he himself labelled a traitor. A human’s natural reaction would be to sympathize with the latter.

「This coward!」「Someone who didn’t endure the hardships of a battle and calling his subordinate a traitor-!」「There’s no need for a trial. Just sentence him to death!」

The observing nobles hurled insults one after the other.

「I don’t know about that……」

「Is there something you find questionable?」

Myla looks somewhat displeased as I tilt my head in contemplation. She also seems to have believed what Dunois said and determined the King to be at fault.

「It’s true that his reasoning is sound and it’s a plausible story, but it sounds just like something you see in acted out in a play in theaters.」

It seems like a tragedy Nonna would enjoy, maybe she would be trembling in anger at this scene as well.

I don’t have proof, but it sounds fishy.

However, the attorney general and the others don’t seem to agree with me.

Or perhaps it was a scenario they already had written down. They exchanged a few words with the King and then handed out their judgement.

「Trisnea III’s unjustness and cowardice is evident! Thus, this court of law sentences this person who betrayed the trust of the nobles and misused his authority as King to death!」

「Y-you’re wrong! Dunois is lying! I am ……I am……I am-! Nooo–! I don’t want to die! Someone, someone save me!!」

Unlike the Magrado King, the Treian King was pulled away kicking and screaming.

Farewell, I doubt we’ll ever meet again.

「How unsightly, even to the very end……」

「No matter how unreasonable, this is what the fate of the defeated looks like.」

I don’t want to be on the losing side.

If worse comes to worst, I’ll take my women and run away to the ends of the earth.

……it just dawned on me that I would need a lot of carriages though.

After that, the escaped leaders of Treia also got judged one by one.

It happened at that moment, just when I was reaching my limits of staying awake and I was starting to doze off.

「Therefore, you have not fulfilled your moral duty by failing to admonish the actions of the King while being royalty in close proximity and also enjoying the luxuries, granting you the death sentence ……」

「Aah……oh please have mercy……this pitiful woman has no knowledge about the law. There was no longer anything which could be done, please spare at least my life……」

「Mother……」「Please have mercy……」「Uuuu……」

My eyes shoot open after I heard the voice of a pretty woman.

There was more than one too!

「Who are those girls?」

Myla looks at me, slightly flustered from my abrupt question.

「You really fell asleep!? ……They’re the wife and three daughters of the Treian King. Just like the others, they’ve been sentenced to death.」

My gaze shifts to the platform where I see a woman who looks to be in her mid 40’s.

She has aged a certain extent and looks worn out perhaps due to anxiety, but she still has a mature charm about her.

Her daughters are quite beautiful, having inherited a slight reddish tint to their blond hair from their mother.

The eldest daughter appears to be in her mid 20’s and is beautiful even while she’s looking down in tears.

The second eldest daughter is probably in her early 20’s and has matured into a nice-looking woman, but looks a little feisty. Her body is trembling, probably trying desperately to suppress the terror she feels.

The third daughter is still an adolescent……around 16 or 17 years old. She’s bawling her eyes out.

「Then these four, former Treian Queen Consort Marceline and her daughters Stephanie, Bridget, Felicie, will be sentenced to de-……」「Objection!」「……What!?」

「Lord Hardlett!?」

Myla panics, but I can’t just watch as four beauties get killed.

「L-lord Hardlett? 」

I stood up suddenly so the attorney general sounds confused.

The King and Kenneth also seem flabbergasted.

Erich was the only one who facepalmed.

But I couldn’t help myself from speaking out.

I’ll just argue for the sake of arguing and sort things out somehow.

It seems I have the right to speak anyways.

「Just like before if the King is truly inhumane, should we not allow his wife and daughters to speak to that? No, he probably made sure his family didn’t know about his cruel actions in the first place.」

Seeing how this might be the last chance to save herself and her daughters, the Queen Consort Marceline nods greatly.

「Then the death sentence would be too excessive for something as trivial as fleeing the country. More so for women, who can’t even fight.」

Regardless of rank, abandoning one’s country and running away is the lowest possible act for a man, but that is not the case if he just let his wife and children escape. It might not be praiseworthy for royalty to do so, but it isn’t something punishable by death.

「W-well, that is……but you see……」

Based on the attorney general’s nervousness, the earlier declaration from Dunois must all be part of a large script as well. When something foreign suddenly bursts onto the scene, he naturally gets flustered. Looking behind him, the King and Kenneth seem to be discussing something with each other.

「……why did he speak out for them?」「I don’t know……I don’t have much interaction with Lord Hardlett.」

The nobles start whispering to each other.

Say whatever you want to say, I’ll save these pretty women.

「Lord Hardlett, it might be as you said, but these individuals are royalty of an enemy nation. If left alone, it might cause unwanted disorder yet again.」

The King speaks out in the attorney general’s place.

「Please forgive me for arguing. But naturally, they would not be left in this city. They will be moved to the remote regions, have their family name taken away and will only live their lives as ordinary as mother and as ordinary children. These women no longer have any thoughts of revenge either……」

Glancing at Marceline, she hysterically shakes her head.

「Even if that may apply to the said people, Treia still has survivors. There is a chance those resistance groups will take these women away with them.」

Alright, this is perfect.

「Then I will take these individuals into my custody. I will take responsibility and monitor them, ensuring that they don’t do anything strange.」

This causes a stir amongst everyone around me.

「What? Why would you take on something so troublesome and yields no benefits?」「Don’t tell me, have you been in contact with Treia?」

「Don’t tell me……the reason behind the war with Treia is because of Lord Hardlett.」

When I look over at the people who spoke out, the men hastily avert their eyes.

The King asserts unhappily.

「……I am unable to grasp your true intentions. Not being able to understand creates unnecessary doubts. Tell me your reason for taking these persons into your custody.」

「Many people died in this war. It would pain me to see any more death……」

The King narrows his eyes.

I’ve been asleep during the previous judgements so this excuse probably won’t fly.

The nobles who know about my reputation and are aware of the rumors about me also stare doubtfully at me. The me inside their minds probably treats human life as nothing more than snot.

It’s certainly true to a certain extent, but that’s only for people outside my family and circle of acquaintances.

「……it might be one reason, but the real reason is-」

The gaze of the King and the other nobles focus on me.

Fine, I’ll tell them. My real, unfiltered intentions.

「As you may have noticed, these women are gorgeous, and I want them at my fingertips even if it would put me in harm’s way.」

The air froze over.

「Gepuuuh! 」

The Olga Federation ambassador who boredly watched the chain of events develop spit his tea out. He someone tries to keep up his appearance, but he can’t seem to stop laughing.

The King and Kenneth stare vacantly while Erich holds his head with both hands and falls face-first onto the desk.

The nobles couldn’t say a single word either.

「……Huhahaha, I see, women is it? These women are certainly stunning. I get it, you want to ravage them, that’s classic. Hahahahaha!」

Seeing the King laugh openly, the nobles also start chuckling.

「Aah, I get it now.」「It’s true that Lord Hardlett is rumored to have an unrivaled love for women.」

「I heard he has 100 women surrounding him in his territory.」「That’s a good enough reason for me.」「 The woman by his side is also his lover, huh……」

Uhh, I might have embarrassed myself a little.

「I get your reasons! Then, these persons will be placed in your care. They will not be permitted to be given any position or marry a person with a position. Further, they will not be allowed out of your territory. Got it?」

「I understand.」

Marceline seems to have mixed feelings, the face of the eldest daughter Stephanie brightens up, and the second eldest daughter Bridget glares at me. The third girl Felicie doesn’t seem to have a clue what just happened.

「Now……kuku, shall we continue the trial?」

The King could not completely stifle his laughter and the Federation’s ambassador beside him also continues laughing while staring at the floor. The mood in this room is pretty amicable now.

「……！！　……！？」

Myla screams softly while prodding my thigh and side.

Hahaha, please stop, you’ll get me hard.

And so, the trial of the Treian camp is over and it’s finally time the two idiot brothers Pablo and Hilario, and also Brutus get dragged out. Even though they barely advanced pass the borders, they still trespassed on the Goldonia Kingdom’s land and was defeated by the Kingdom’s army so they need to be treated similarly to the Magrado royalty ……

「Umu, now I will be taking my leave.」

Before the trial begins, the King and Kenneth stand up. The ambassador from the Olga Federation also gets up from his seat and follows the King.

Oh, they have no absolutely no interest?

「Ku-!」

Laughter wells up within the ambassador again when he sees my face, prompting him to look down and away from me. What a rude fellow.

「Well then, Hilario Belze, Pablo Dalas, Meldus Brutus, the sentence for the three of you will be……」

「I-I only followed what my brother said!」

「I also……no, it was Brutus. He’s the one solely in charge.」

I don’t expect these guys to have a pretty ending at all. I have no expectations though, so I won’t be disappointed.

「This issue will be entrusted to Lord Hardlett. The Kingdom army’s losses, expenses and compensation will be paid from the confiscated assets. That’s it.」

Come on, he’s not even trying.

「As I thought, a country like Malt is practically non-existent to the King.」

「It’s more convenient for me this way though.」

I can’t imagine Celestina going up against the King or Kenneth. There’s nothing better for me than if they remain indifferent and let this issue slide.

「Well, shall we go home?」

「Are you going to……call on me before we go back?」

「Yeah, I’ll have some fun before my pants tear.」

「Geez! Indecent! Obscene!」

Even while shouting, Myla has a slight grin on her face.

We’ll have lots of fun – as I link arms with Myla and head outside, Celia stands imposingly in front of us with mucus dripping from her nose. It seems she waited out in the cold all this time. Irijina is also there, but she is completely unfazed. I guess she would be like that, idiots don’t catch colds.

I give a light kiss to the sulking girl.

But she doesn’t let me off with just that, slipping her tongue inside my mouth and swapping spit, exchanging a passionate kiss with me.

「Hey, hey……you’ve gotta be kidding me, right?」

「God damnit, a guy like you should take all your girls and get outta here!」

I realize my situation when the passersby curse at me.

With Myla around my arm, Celia kissing me, I also rub the ass of the hungry-looking Irijina.

We’ll continue when we get back.

That Night

I sit alone on the sofa in the bedroom and enjoy a cup of alcohol. It was a high-grade alcohol prepared to welcome the ambassador from the Federation so naturally it has an exquisite taste.

Eventually, there was a soft knock on the door.

「It’s Helvi. I’ve come as promised.」

「Yeah, come in.」

「Pardon me.」

The black-haired woman who entered the room is called Helvi. It seems she was acting as Brutus’s secretary, but because she had no social status and was confined with her superior during the time of the invasion, she didn’t participate in any part of the plot and was acquitted.

Looking at her now, she’s around 170 cm in height and is quite tall for a woman, which conversely means there will be a lot of asymmetry. Her body isn’t strong and tough like Irijina’s is. But she has a pretty face, which was why I made some time to see her when she wanted to meet me.

「So, what do you want?」

She has already been deemed not guilty and released. There shouldn’t be anything else I need to do.

「I want to talk to you regarding His Excellency Brutus.」

The hand bringing the cup of alcohol to my mouth stops moving.

「This is about His Excellency’s expulsion to the south.」

Helvi continues staring at me.

「Hilario, Pablo, Brutus – the three aforementioned will be deported permanently to a certain country in the south……should be what was said, right? Normally, their crime would be worth a death sentence, but Queen Celestina also personally appealed for their clemency. I don’t feel a thing for the brothers though.」

「And where is that certain country? I don’t believe Lord Hardlett is related to the various countries to the south, are you?」

「I can’t say. This expulsion is to sever ties.」

Tears overflow from Helvi’s eyes.

「I……am not that stupid. I know that their destination is the otherworld.」

「……」

I did tell Leopolt to judge them appropriately and deal with them on the way here. We can’t execute them in front of Celestina, but we can’t leave them alive either.

「His Excellency is everything to me! I beg of you! If you can somehow spare him ……reconsider his sentence.」

「……it’s quite difficult. Those stupid brothers are really only unpleasant beings, and Brutus is really the one who can cause the most harm.」

「His Excellency only did it for the sake of the nation’s future! Now that he’s defeated, there’s no reason for him to throw the world into chaos!」

「You’re close with Brutus. But to me, he’s nothing but a rebel and I can’t trust him so easily.」

「No……」

「More importantly, about your future, if you’d like……hey, wait!」

Helvi starts stripping her clothes all of a sudden. She took everything off starting from her upper body and then following it with her lower body, then she falls to the floor and spreads her legs wide open, pointing her genitals in my direction. She delicately spreads her labia with her fingers and stretches them apart as far as possible, showing me even the insides of her vagina.

「I’ve heard Lord Hardlett has an unparalleled love for women! I don’t care if you use my body as your plaything! You can do anything to me, break me, kill me, I don’t care! That’s why, if you could somehow save him, save His Excellency, please.」

What an admirable woman. If she’s willing to go this far, I’ll have to reconsider.

But before that.

「You sure about that? I’m really going to embrace you.」

「If you’ll spare His Excellency, then I don’t care.」

I refill the cup with alcohol and hand it to Helvi. She quickly realizes my intention and drains the liquid immediately.

「Let’s get in bed, we’ll continue talking there. Prepare yourself, you might never return to Brutus’s side.」

「Yes, I’m prepared.」

I also start to take my own clothes off.

I’ll have to hurry or my pants will tear.

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett. 22 years old. Winter.

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Count. Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area. King of the Mountains. Friend of the Dwarves.

Citizens: 150,000. Major Cities – Rafen: 18,000. Lintbloom: 3000.

Troops Commanded:

Private Army: 8600

Assets: Calculating

Weapons: Dual Crater (large sword), Dwarf’s Spear, High-grade Steel One-handed Sword

Family: Nonna (pregnant wife), Carla (concubine), Mel (concubine), Kuu (lover), Ruu (lover), Mireille (lover), Leah (Self-declared Sex Slave), Casie (ghost), Miti (betrothed), Alma (just learned), Kroll (just learned), Melissa (lover), Maria (betrothed), Rita (pregnant head maid), Catherine (betrothed), Yoguri (pregnant Neo Neet), Pipi (follower), Sebastian (butler), Dorothea (lover, in the capital), Celestina (Malt’s Queen), Monica (Lady-in-waiting)

Children: Sue, Miu, Ekaterina (daughter), Antonio, Claude, Gilbard (son), Rose (foster daughter)

Subordinates: Celia (adjutant), Irijina (commander), Luna (commander), Ruby (Luna’s follower and lover), Myla (peace officer), Leopolt (staff officer), Adolph (exhausted domestic affairs official), Gido (recovering), Tristan (zzz), Claire & Laurie (Official Merchant), Schwartz (horse), Lilian (actress)

Marceline, Stephanie, Bridget, Felicie (Taken into custody)

Sexual Partners: 140, children who have been born: 31