Reincarnated Princess Wishes To Avoid Death
chapter-599

The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth

“An infectious ideology?”

As Citrina tilted her head in confusion, Valentina spoke in a deliberately slow tone.

“Yes. The Serpents represent an ideology that infects and spreads from one weak person to another, from oppressed to oppressed, distorting their perceptions. They erode the morals of the weak, rewrite their common sense, and degrade them into destroyers of order.”

Her tone was far from euphoric and did not have a hint of praise. On the contrary, her voice was calm and exceedingly flat, almost like that of a scholar.

“The Serpents parasitise the weak, gently luring and enticing them into believing that such an order should be destroyed, that it is a system designed to trample on and exploit them. Why hesitate to destroy it?”

The Serpent’s voice resounded beautifully, melodically, like the seductive whisper of a lover.

“Ignore the rules set by the victors. Pay no heed to the people who live peacefully while trampling on the defeated. That’s how they’re seduced.”

Chuckling, Valentina continued with a happy laugh.

“Normally, whether one is poor, weak, or oppressed, they are still bound by ethics and morals. Even if someone has nothing, they would never consider dragging a parent and child, happily walking through town, into the depths of misery. It doesn’t matter if the person is a merchant or an aristocrat. That is because every person has a ‘conscience’, but the Serpents kill that very conscience.”

A beautiful hand clenched tightly—long and slender, the hand of a princess—and Citrina saw a vision of fresh blood.

“And then hand them a weapon.”

Gently stroking the Serpent inscription on the Serpents’ Holy Scripture placed on the desk, Valentina continued.

“There are various methodologies outlined in The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth: techniques to destroy nations, ways to kill nobles, and methods to manipulate the minds of people. This is the crystallisation of knowledge from many who have devoted their hearts to the Serpents—the embodiment of pure evil.”

The thought of her own home came to Citrina’s mind. The House of Duke Yellowmoon—the weakest Duke Family borne out of the Serpents’ philosophy and logic. Their perfected poisoning techniques had been passed down through generations. Perhaps that, too, was knowledge that should have been recorded in the book.

“But… that reasoning seems flawed.”

With difficulty, Citrina tried to offer a rebuttal.

“When the weak defeat the strong, the Serpents should disappear. After all, having won the battle, the weak will want to establish their own system of control as victors. After destroying the order that is unfavourable to them, the weak will create a new world order that is more favourable to them and try to maintain it.”

That was nothing more than destroying the old order and creating a new one. The logic of the Chaos Serpents to destroy all order could not be valid.

Valentina nodded gently in response to Citrina’s question and then placed two cookies on the plate.

“For example, let’s say I, the oppressed, lead a revolutionary army to wipe out the Remno Royal government. In this scenario, I’m represented by the cookie with the red berry on top, while the cookie with the blue berry represents the Royal government.”

Then she placed the cookie with the red berry on top.

“I will begin my reign as the new ruler. But even then, there will be those who are weak and oppressed, right?”

She pointed at the cookie with the blue berry with her long finger.

“Those in the Royal government who were defeated. The Serpents move from the weak to the weak, infecting and taking up residence in their hearts and minds. Thus, the defeated, the weak, and the oppressed become the Serpents.”

Then she popped the cookie with the blue berry into her mouth, biting into it as if it were quite delicious. She licked the crumbs off her lips with her tongue.

“Well, how about this? What do you think would happen if all the defeated were to be executed?”

She broke the cookie with the red berry in two.

“Even in that case, the weak and oppressed will not disappear. There is a hierarchy even within the ranks of the revolutionary army, and the weak will be trampled upon. The weak and oppressed will emerge from the power struggle, and the Serpents will inevitably slither closer to them.”

She lined up the two halves of the red berry cookie on the table. The strong and the weak, the victors and the defeated, those who rule and those who are ruled.

“Or perhaps the defeated members of the Royal government and the weaker members of the revolutionary army will join forces and become allies. Not all the weak elements from the era of the Royal government can align with the victorious revolutionary army. In the end, there will always be those who are oppressed, and the Serpents will take advantage of this, exploiting it to spread like an infection.”

After popping the red berry cookie into her mouth, Valentina rested her chin on her hands and gazed at Citrina.

“The ideology that infects and parasitises the flaws in humanity, creating the strong and the weak, oppressors and the oppressed—that is the true essence of the Chaos Serpents. That is why the Serpents will never die, cannot be crushed, and will never disappear, as long as humans remain human and uphold an order that continues to produce the weak and oppressed.”

There was great power in Valentina’s words, a force so compelling that it left no room for argument. It was akin to the revelation of an oracle.

“Duke Lorenz fully understood that the Serpents were too difficult to eradicate and gave up. A Serpent follower in human form could be executed, and a book could be burned. But once an idea takes root in the heart and mind, it cannot be erased.”

Valentina closed her eyes and continued in a solemn tone, as if offering a prayer.

“Heretical teachings, such as offering live sacrifices or harming one’s own body, are likely to be abandoned because they are barbaric, painful, and unpleasant, right? They can be easily discarded and forgotten in history. But the Serpents are kind. Like a dear friend, they give a gentle nudge to the weak, oppressed, and dissatisfied. The Serpents provide you with weapons, encouraging and cheering you on. Such teachings will never die as long as the strong continue to trample on the weak, creating a class of oppressors and oppressed.”

Valentina then picked up the thick, bulky, ancient-looking book adorned with the inscription of the Serpent on the cover.

“And that is why we refer to our Scripture as The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth.”

It was the chaste and pure voice of a Priestess delivering an oracle.

“The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth is meant for those who are ‘weak’ and are forced to crawl the earth.”

“Oh…”

At that moment, it seemed to Citrina that the inscription of the Serpent on the cover of the book wriggled seductively in Valentina’s hand.