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Volume 6 Chapter 2 Part 13

After saying that, Aishela took a big leap and left.

「There was something strange about her just now. 」

Theo said while coming over to her and looks curious.

「That is because Aishela is fully aware of what kind of future is going to await the Black Witch after we hand her over to the Mages Association. 」

She was working as an Agent of the Mages Association… no, it might actually be better to say that she’s still working as the Mages Association’s Agent even today. Because of that, most of the money she’s earning on her missions goes back to the Association anyway.

However, the same was true for Siluca, and she paid a considerable amount of money to Elam every month.

(We need to get along as well as possible with the Magicians Association. Making enemies out of them would be a bad idea.)

Siluca has been attracting attention to herself for a long time now, so that’s why she needs to fulfill her obligations to the Mages Association as diligently as possible so that it would continue to look the other way.

「In any case, I think it is safe to say that yet another feat of Valor has been added to your achievements, Lord Theo. With that, the name of Theo Cornero the Hero should become even more recognizable. 」

Siluca smiled at Theo.

「I honestly can’t be happy about this victory when I think about how many lives were lost because of that fame of mine. 」

Theo looked around the battlefield and sighed.

「I know it must be hard for you, but that is precisely why you must make sure that you’ll never forget those feeling that you’re feeling right now. They are what’s going to allow you to become an even better Lord capable of protecting your subjects whenever they’re going to need it. 」

Siluca told him with conviction written all over her face.

「I guess you’re right. 」

Theo nodded his head quietly.

「Yes, right now… there’s just nothing we can do about it. 」

Siluca spoke those words, but it sounded as if she was saying them to herself rather than to Theo.

* * *

The downtown part of the city of Laxia was currently under heavy attack. However, the ones who were responsible for launching that attack were not Theo Cornero and his rebel army, but the dwellers of the slums. After fleeing from the battlefield, they’re now planning on following through with their idea of looting as many things from the downtown area as possible, and then go into hiding.

(The rule of the Rossini family over Sistina lasted for many years… only to now begin to collapse in the blink of an eye.)

Juzel Rossini, Pederico Rossini’s second son, smiled to himself in a self-mocking fashion as he stood on the walls of the castle belonging to the Rossini family and commanded the defense of the fortified parts of the city’s center.

After he bore witness to his older brother’s demise at the hands of Theo Cornero, Juzel rode back to Laxia as soon as possible and began to prepare for this eventuality.

(I’ve no doubt that Theo Cornero’s army is going to reach Laxia eventually… though I wonder if we’re even going to hold out until then.)
Theo Cornero is not leading just a ragtag group of bandits. In a really short time, he managed to win the trust of the people of Sistina, convinced them to join his rebellion, and trained them into a regular, disciplined army.

(And now we have no other choice but to wait for that army to arrive at our doorstep with just a single goal in mind: the destruction of the Rossini family.)

The city center of Laxia was in a state of panic, and the wealthy residents of the city were hurriedly collecting their personal belongings and trying to escape by the island by boats. However, the rowers, including the sailors, escaped, and so the ships and boats were unable to set sail.

But what the wealthy people of Sistina didn’t know was that it was Juzel himself who ordered the rowers and sailors to run without getting the rich off the island.

(Theo Cornero is going to be the only one who’ll receive the riches of Laxia.)

Those riches have been gathered by the rich thanks to their exploitation of the common folk of Sistina, so if any of their wealth were to be leaked to the continent, that would mean a loss for the island itself.

Theo Cornero is the one who killed his older brother Doni and his younger brother Salvador, and he’ll most likely aim to kill his father Pederico as well. He might be their enemy, but even so, the Rossini family shall remain the Lords of Sistina all the way until the bitter end. But even if they’re meant to perish, that doesn’t mean that they should do anything that would go against Sistina and her people purely out of spite.

At that time, Juzel’s father Pederico, who had finished his own preparations for the incoming siege, came up to the castle walls as well.

「How is the battle going? 」

He asked while placing his hand on his sheathed sword. It was the treasured sword that has been passed down in the Rossini family for generations.

「For the time being, we’re still managing to hold out. It’s thanks to the help of the citizens who joined the defense of the city. 」
Soldiers hired by the Rossini family were not the only ones who were firing bolts from their crossbows towards the slum dwellers who were crowding at the castle gate. Regular citizens who volunteered to help with the defensive effort were also among them.

「I see… 」

Pederico nodded his head and gave words of gratitude and encouragement to those nearby.

To the citizens of downtown, the Rossini family was were good rulers. The center of Laxia was rich, safe, and culturally flourishing. Even if all of that came at the expense of the rest of the local residents, it was not something that any of the richer folks ever thought about at all.

「One day, Theo Cornero will definitely come here with his army. 」

Juzel said in a low voice to his father, who had come back after making a single lap along the castle’s wall.

「And when that day comes, there’s no way that we’ll be able to resist him if we continue being in the state we’re in now. 」

Pederico made a wry smile. He must have already made up his mind about what to do when that happens.

「What we need to protect are the lives and property of the people in the downtown area. To that end, I think we have no choice but to surrender when Theo’s army comes knocking at our doorstep. 」

Juzel advised his father.

「That is absolutely out of the question. I will fulfill my final duty as the Lord of Sistina. You, however, must escape from this island by boat. Use the boat in the underground waterway of the castle. I have already instructed the family attendants, the contracted Mage and all the servants to go with you, and they’re already waiting onboard. 」

Pederico placed his hands on Juzel’s shoulders and spoke to him as such.

「You… you want me to escape? 」

Juzel was very confused about all this, because the thought of doing something like that didn’t even cross his mind even once.

「If you die, the Rossini family will be truly lost. Even if I’ll be forced to surrender all of our territories to Theo Cornero, at the very least I want to protect the Crest of the Rossini family. 」

His father shook Juzel’s shoulder’s again to encourage him.

「You must seek the protection of the Factory Alliance and wait for a proper opportunity to strike back. But be careful: the Factory Alliance might be fragile right now, but it will swallow you whole if you allow it to. You need to remember that Theo Cornero will only be the Lord of Sistina for a short time, so all you have to do it return to this island with your Crest whenever he decides to leave and return to the continent. 」

「There’s no way the Factory Alliance will accept me… 」

When Juzel said that, he stopped briefly and then continued while choosing his words carefully.

「… and we both know that there are many reasons for that. We’ve been oppressing the people of our territories, and we even went so far as to try and assassinate Alexis Ducet, who was supposed to marry Marine Kraische. But most importantly, no one would be willing to shelter a Lord who doesn’t have any territories or army to his name. And besides, sooner or later Sistina is going to be targeted by the Nords who’ve settled in Stark for the time being. Even if Sistina became Allies with them, there’s no way it would be handed over to us. 」