Episode 53

Yet, the gag remained firmly in place. It was a cruel sentence—to watch the world’s end with nothing but shame, and to carry the suffocating frustration of being unable to utter even a final word.

Derga blinked his bloodshot eyes, then twisted his face into an expression beyond description.

“Diiie!”

Countless voices cried out for his death. Stripped bare, he was nothing more than a pitiful man, yet something about him had turned utterly repugnant—though no one could say exactly what.

“Hang him!”

“Hang him!”

A rope was looped around Derga’s neck. Below, five executioners gripped the thick rope and began pulling. Slowly, Derga’s body rose into the air.

“Ughhh…”

“Anyone who holds a grudge against this man, cast your stones! The stones you throw will become the keystone of Bariel and the unshakable wall that upholds the imperial palace’s dignity.”

He struggled and writhed, but the more he fought, the tighter the noose became. The count, suspended in midair, looked like a pig freshly skinned.

Laughter and jeers erupted from the crowd. The Cheonryeo warriors, including Kakantir, stood expressionless, rising to witness his final moments.

“Waaah!”

“Throw! Kill him!”

Thud! Thump!

Dozens of stones flew at once toward the gallows. Erika stepped back under the protection of the investigation team, watching as Derga was pelted from above.

Then—

Whoosh! Thunk!

A spear shot like lightning, embedding itself in Derga’s side. One of the Cheonryeo warriors had thrown it. The crowd faltered in surprise, but the fevered momentum didn’t cool.

“Derga!”

Swish! Shhk!

Scores of spears rained down on Derga’s trembling body. It was the Cheonryeo warriors’ vengeance. Most pierced his thighs or back, blood soon dripping down the shafts.

Screeeech!

Finally, Kakantir, who had been sharpening his spear’s tip, furrowed his brow as he tracked its trajectory. Derga’s body sagged. Without hesitation, Kakantir hurled his spear—it tore through Derga’s chest with a sound unlike any other.

Ian thought, That must be the heart.

“Guhk…”

Derga’s eyes rolled back as he gasped his last breath. Then, the trembling of the rope ceased completely. Everyone witnessed Derga’s death.

“Derga Bratz is dead.”

“Derga Bratz is dead!”

A long, mournful horn sounded, signaling the end. The crowd cheered, hurling insults at the corpse. They took the captain’s declaration as a rallying cry and celebrated.

Ian simply watched the scene with a strange detachment.

“Sir Ian, are you alright?”

“…Huh? You mean me?”

“You didn’t throw anything. Honestly, your hand should have been the one to strangle Derga, not this rope.”

Kakantir glanced at Ian with a subtle smirk. To strangle someone personally was hardly a pleasant task.

“Well… I suppose. But now that he’s dead, it does feel strange. I find myself thinking of things I never got to say.”

“Things you never said?”

To the illegitimate Ian, a plea for forgiveness.

Not Emperor Ian, but the bastard son.

In another life, history would have been different. Ian would have crossed the border and become nothing but a handful of sand—just for bearing the blood of a count at such a young age. After Ian’s death, Philia, the child’s mother, would have died too. Lady Mary would never have let that slide.

“Doesn’t it feel relieving now that it’s over?”

“It does, but I know this is only the beginning.”

Ian gazed quietly at Derga’s swaying body in the wind. With this moment, the name Bratz vanished from the world forever.

---

Derga’s corpse was to hang in the square for several days—to serve as a grim warning to anyone who defied Bariel.

Erika tidied up the gallows and asked one of her subordinates.

“Any word from the central support troops?”

“They’ve responded. But…”

“But what?”

“They say Mary and Chel’s trail has gone cold.”

“Damn it. From where?”

“It seems they couldn’t even find any sign of them entering the forest. They’re still searching by following traces of fires, but those are far from the valley. It’s proving difficult. And…”

“And?”

Erika’s eyes narrowed, bracing for bad news.

Her subordinate hesitated, then said awkwardly,

“They also received a dispatch from the council.”

“…What?”

“They were ordered to follow the council’s decisions regarding Lord Morin. If the pursuit of Mary and Chel stalls, the soldiers are to return to the center. There’s an order to recall all troops deployed to the provinces, though it’s unclear if this is an official council decision.”

Prince Marib, the first prince, had noticed that Prince Gale, the second prince, had stationed troops in the provinces. This was a fitting countermeasure. But Erika, unaware of this, clenched her eyes shut and muttered,

“We’re truly screwed.”

If Mary and Chel couldn’t be found even with the central support troops, how could the investigation team possibly catch them? Even if they tried, the two Cheonryeo warriors would tear them apart.

“But Erika, haven’t you received any letters from Lord Morin?”

“What letters?”

“The support troops’ commander said they were instructed to follow the council’s decisions for Lord Morin. They asked what we planned to do, but we had no answer.”

“You mean Morin sent a message?”

Erika turned sharply, surprised. If Morin had sent a letter to the central commander, it would have reached her too. Only then did she realize there was a problem with the dispatch.

“There’s a magic stone, so he couldn’t have lost his way.”

Like a brooch, the magic stones, formed as a single unit, created a magnetic pull that guided the carrier pigeon precisely to its destination. The bird would even wait patiently by the window.

Her subordinate pondered, then offered a suggestion.

“There are many hawks at the manor. Could they have been eaten…?”

It made sense. Erika frowned deeply and cut the conversation short. Her subordinates called after her as she hurried toward the manor.

Bang!

“Ian! Ian!”

“…What is it?”

“We need to cut open the bellies of all the hawks here.”

Suddenly demanding to gut the hawks? Ian set down his papers, and even the Cheonryeo warriors looked baffled. But they soon realized she was serious and bristled with warnings.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Before you gut the hawks, we’ll gut you.”

“If even a single feather is plucked, you’ll regret it. You want to hang by Derga’s side, huh?”

“They think the hawks ate the dispatch!”

“Oh, the dispatch.”

Ian finally nodded as if understanding. Erika hesitated, then gave a look that said, “You knew?”

“Not exactly that the hawks ate it, but there was an accident. The dispatch was well hidden, and the magic stone was removed and stored separately.”

“You dare steal the imperial dispatch? That’s a grave crime, Ian!”

“It wasn’t the palace’s. Morin sent it personally.”

Hearing that, Erika felt her heart drop. What could Morin have written? He wasn’t foolish enough to leave a written record of their plans. But in hindsight, it could be seen as evidence of treason.

Erika’s demeanor softened.

“Return it.”

“Of course. We intended to give it to you as a gift when you left Bratz. Let’s arrange to clear Derga’s body within three days.”

They were basically saying: leave within three days, and we’ll return the letter. Either way, she was being forced out, but this gave her a convenient excuse.

“Morin seemed to send the letter in a hurry. We’d be grateful if you left immediately rather than waiting three days.”

Erika’s pupils dilated, guessing the letter’s contents.

In truth, there was trouble with the lordship appointment, and the advisor would soon arrive. But Erika had no way of knowing that. The letter was more like a consolation to soothe her disappointment.

Her hands trembled as she muttered each word.

“Fine. Tomorrow, I’ll retrieve the body and leave.”

“A welcome decision.”

“Ian, just as I’m leaving, you too must depart before the advisor arrives. Don’t think you’re free just because you didn’t inherit the Bratz name.”

Her tone was desperate, almost like a curse.

But Ian showed no reaction. Seeing this, Erika glared at the Cheonryeo warriors and continued.

“The advisor is officially appointed to manage the territory. You’re not a noble to be playing games backed by barbarians.”

“You might want to reconsider calling them barbarians, Captain Erika. If the advisor asks about your whereabouts, I might find myself in trouble.”

It was hard to deliver a threat so elegantly. But Erika, stripped of her title and forced to wander endlessly chasing Mary and Chel, felt none of it.

“I will return. When I do, be prepared. I’ll turn the sands of the great desert upside down.”

“I doubt that will happen.”

“Don’t dream foolish dreams, Ian. It’s pathetic.”

At Erika’s words, Ian placed his hand over his chest, bowing with the courtesy of a noble. Then, a surge of overflowing magical energy radiated from him. His green eyes shifted to gold, and an indescribable flow of power could be felt. Erika just stared, stunned and almost entranced.

Zzzzzing.

“Erika, don’t cling to the vain hope that you’ll return. Go find the bodies of Mary and Chel and think about heading back to the capital. If you’re unlucky, you might just die far from home.”

“…A magic wielder?”

“Then go ahead. I won’t be escorting you any further.”

“……”

The warriors, seeing this for the first time themselves, watched Ian with curious interest. But it didn’t last long. Seeing Ian return looking so ordinary, their excitement quickly faded.

“So that’s what magic is? That’s it?”

“Ah, so that’s what Beric showed us back then.”

“They say it’s different once you become a mage, right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? How does it work?”

“I don’t know, I just heard it somewhere, man.”

The Cheonryeo tribe chatted and laughed among themselves as Erika, lost in thought, stepped out through the door.

Magic wielder.

Now she understood how Ian had managed to sway the Cheonryeo tribe and gained the confidence to become a lord.

“Lady Erika, are you alright? What did he say?”

“A magic wielder…”

Far from being demoted to slavery, they’d be clamoring for him to come to the capital.

Erika realized, for the first time, that she had been utterly defeated in Bratz. A subordinate approached, checking her expression, but she had no strength to respond.

“Lady Erika?”

“…Pack your things.”

“Huh?”

“We’re leaving the territory. Go and hand over Derga’s body to the central army. We’ll pursue Mary and Chel.”

Is there anything more futile than chasing after the dead? But since hardship was inevitable, it was better to start as soon as possible and at least show some loyalty to the royal palace.

Meanwhile, Ian, listening to the warriors’ teasing as he reviewed documents, gazed out toward the distant blue forest, thinking of someone.

“It’s about time…”

It was time to see Philia. Ian’s birth mother, hiding somewhere in the forest. With Derga and his family dead and his son returned, there was no longer any need to stay in hiding. But more importantly—

‘Why Ian came to possess the flowerpot.’

She was the only one who held that clue.