The Villain Who Robbed the Heroines
chapter-225

After the meeting ended, all the nobles left the barracks.

Only Ferzen and Prince Raymond remained in their place without moving.

As silence blanketed the room where only the two of them left, Prince Raymond bowed his head.

“Your Highness…… Please lift your head up.”

“The Imperial Family has no right to raise our head in front of you.”

“That is not the case.”

“How can it not be so——!”

Thud-!

Prince Raymond put his head down on the table while both of his hands shook as if he was venting his anger.

“Even though a lot of time has passed and a lot of things have changed. Aren’t we the ones who still depend on the Brutein Family?”

“……”

“We have always been cowards. We were afraid that if we did not show favoritism to you, you would withdraw your loyalty. That was why we did not want to embrace others. There is nothing more foolish than a child doubting their parents’ love, but we ended up doing something similar to that without realizing it.”

“……”

“No matter how capable they are and no matter how loyal they are, they shouldn't be treated as well as Brutein and they shouldn't be trusted as much as Brutein...… That was something that was set in stone. Actually, we know that you wouldn't care about such things. But we still decided and acted like that as we pleased.”

And what was the result?

At the most dangerous moment.

What they would rely on,

As well as sacrifice,

Was Brutein.

If the second Brutein disappears,

The third Brutein would appear.

If such a picture was drawn, it would not have been Ferzen who had to bear the greatest burden in this war.

“As slow as a slug…… Isn’t it too late for us to realize that? Haha……”

Ferzen quietly took a breath when he saw Prince Raymond with his head on the table, smiling and making no attempt to move.

“Your Highness, you are aware, aren’t you? This war is something that happened because of me even if it was indirectly.”

“……”

“Even if you don’t know the details, you probably know that there is bad blood between the Claudia family and me.”

“……”

“Since it was something that I started, it’s only natural that I handle it. There is no need for you to feel burdened or blame yourself for it.”

“Even though it was your fault, the Imperial Family, who did not try to rectify it at that time, cannot be said to be innocent.”

“If you see it that way, you are not wrong. But isn’t it meaningless to talk about it now?”

"Count……”

"Your Highness. I am not sure whether you will be at peace…… By hearing me saying this.”

“……”

“Nevertheless, I think I must tell you this.”

“……I will listen to it.”

“The reason I am willing to take such a risk is not because of my Brutein blood or my pride and loyalty as a royal coronet...… But because of my personal greed taking priority.”

“……”

“Since it is I who has asked you to form a detached unit, it is nothing more than a mere human who was driven by his personal greed, please do not feel burdened and feel excessive self-reproach, Your Highness. Isn’t it funny that the Prince of the Imperial Family became worried because a greedy ordinary man is taking a risk?”

Prince Raymond, who raised his head at Ferzen's words, smiled wryly and sighed.

“If you disparage yourself like that, what will become of me and the others here who relied on you?”

"Your Highness…… To be frank, I am not someone who has enough integrity and uprightness that can be relied on by the Imperial Family and the others.”

“……”

“But it did not mean that I didn’t like the expectations and gazes that were placed on me. As I said before, the reason I am willing to take such a risk is...… Because my personal greed takes priority.”

“I see.”

“However, my greed is nothing special.”

“……”

“I just want to be a good husband to my wives, a proud younger brother to Jeremiah, and a proud pillar of the Imperial Family. To become a person who is able to satisfy the expectations that my loved ones have placed on me…… There are things that must be completed first.”

"Count……”

For Ferzen to reveal his true feelings like this,

Made Prince Raymond get a vague idea of what Ferzen was planning to do as he formed a separate team and headed out with them.

If he was simply trying to tie a loose knot as a means of atonement, his feelings would not be this chaotic. However, that's definitely not the picture he was looking at.

Because for Lizzy, the only survivor of the Claudia family, there was no way that she would be satisfied by just Ferzen paying an appropriate price in the form of atonement.

Then I……

What should I do?

Even though he did not know the details, he knew who had committed the mistake 8 years ago.

However, the Imperial Family did not dare to point it out and correct it.

After all, the other party was a Brutein.

A family that had sacrificed themselves and been loyal to them for a long time.

Shouldn’t a one-time offense of such a family be overlooked?

The Imperial Family thought so. Therefore, like a treacherous person who only spouts sugar-coated words, they told Brutein something nice to hear.

A monarch who paid attention to his subject’s feelings.

A monarch who could not rectify the disobedience of his loyal subjects.

Now that time had passed and he was once again in the same situation, what choice must he make?

Lizzy Poliana Claudia.

A woman who had lost her house as well as her family and was left alone in the world.

However, Ferzen must have a reason for wanting to kill such a woman.

For sure, the fact that he was trying to accommodate his personal greed was proof of that.

If he wanted to kill her from the beginning,

If he absolutely had to.

……He could have done it at that execution site that day.

Even if word spread,

Brutein was a family that could do such things all the time.

In other words, the reason why the current Ferzen had to betray his own choice at the time...…

No, more accurately, that woman, Lizzy Poliana Claudia, must have threatened him enough to make that choice go away.

What a painful choice……

Prince Raymond quietly closed his eyes as heavy silence fell once again.

Both in the past and present.

If there was one element in common, it was the fact that the Imperial Family believed that Ferzen must have a reason to do so.

After all, they believed that,

A man named Ferzen who was born of Brutein blood was not a villain who simply enjoyed doing evil deeds.

Even now, it was Lizzy, who had just lost her family and her house through a bad relationship with him, who was accused of threatening Ferzen enough to make him feel alarmed.

In fact, there was some speculation around other nobles that he might be a villain who cleverly used his past and present advantages to satisfy his distorted desires.

But at least, the man he had seen with his own eyes was not that kind of person.

_If he was really a villain in the first place…… _

His sister, Elizabeth, who could read other people's minds, would not have felt affection towards him.

In the end, the only remaining option was whether to correct the subject who was trying to commit a crime,

Or repeat the past once again even though he knew everything.

Of course, the only one Prince Raymond could choose from those options was the latter.

After all, choosing the former meant guaranteeing the safety of Lizzy.

If she actually had the means to threaten him, Ferzen might ultimately lose his life because of that choice.

The Count’s death…… will cause enormous damage to this front.

Either personally,

Or publicly.

No matter which side he weighed, Prince Raymond could only laugh bitterly when he came to the conclusion that it was far lighter to ruin a woman's life.

Of course, the same choices that the Imperial Family had made in the past led to the current war.

Since there could be no perfect choice for the choices made by mere mortals, it was possible that misfortunes that were of the same magnitude that befall them right now might befall them in the future as well.

It might…… not be bad.

No matter how powerful an Empire was, it would eventually collapse over time.

And if it was a country that was stained with sin that would not harbor resentment at its collapse...… Wouldn’t the destruction that comes at the end of the decline be sobering?

“……”

Prince Raymond soon stood up and opened his eyes to look at Ferzen.

Make the same choices as in the past but make sure that he’s not in the position of ‘bystanders’ like him back then.

He drew his sword and held it out to Ferzen.

“Take it.”

“Your Highness.”

“Do not think the choice I just made is because I pay attention to your feelings. However, since at the moment, it is necessary to correct the mistakes of a subject...…While I did not choose to do that, I can also be said to be an accomplice.”

“No…… It’s not like that.”

“Please don’t deny it. I found out about the past after it had already happened. But at this moment, I knew it before it happened, right?”

“……”

"Count, you said you are not as clean as I thought and think of yourselves as an ugly person, don’t you?”

“……”

“In fact, is there any human being who was not like that? Rather, during these long years…… You have maintained your untainted and pure loyalty.”

Spinning his sword to make the handle faced him, Prince Raymond spoke again with all of his sincerity.

“If the crown that I will soon wear is the crown of sin...… I will not reject it. I will also become a suitable royal descendant and be dyed with its nature.”

That’s why,

After her house,

Her family,

And her life.

Prince Raymond's will was that it should be his sword that would put an end to her.

“I have no doubt. It was a choice that I made after seeing it with my two eyes and hearing it with my two ears.”

“……”

“Ferzen von Schweig Louerg.”

"Yes, Your Highness……”

“Will you follow my orders?”

Probably because he was thinking of a way to refuse his command,

Ferzen came down from the chair, bit his lip, and held his sword with trembling hands in front of Prince Raymond with utmost courtesy.

And when Prince Raymond saw that, he tried to say a few more words to Ferzen...…

“……”

However, when he saw Ferzen's shoulders shaking as tears streamed down the sword he was holding, he just quietly passed by his side and left the barracks.

The Count’s tears…… Is this the first time I’ve seen this in my life?

No, aside from that,

Prince Raymond looked up at the sky as he thought it was unusual for someone from the Brutein family to show such weakness in front of others.

On the other hand, Ferzen, who was holding Prince Raymond's sword in the barracks, just threw his head back and was lost in thought.

Lizzy…… There is nothing wrong with what you say.

These people were too much for someone like him.

It was also too much for him to enjoy such happiness from these people.

But even if it’s too much for him and doesn’t suit him……

How could a human willingly let go of that?

Rustle-!!

At that moment, Ferzen raised his body and kept Prince Raymond's sword to his side.

What remained for him was the last page before he was recorded as a villain in this world.

At the same time, the final chapter was always the final Maginot line ¹ allowed to the villain.

So……

For the first time,

Ferzen was determined to see the epilogue as a villain.