Chapter 211 : Chapter 211
Chapter 211
The trial began.
People were swarming in front of Schmeizen's imperial palace.
There were easily thousands.
They had come out early in the morning after hearing news of the trial.
The ground moved.
The place where the people stood was slowly pushed back, and a huge platform rose up.
The raised platform created the highest seat.
It was a seat for the master of Schmeizen.
“Chair.”
The Widow Queen commanded the ground.
This land was hers.
Therefore, it listened to her words.
In the highest place, rocks and stones gathered to form a throne.
Dirt and dust flew far, far away.
It was because they feared they might dirty the hem of the Widow Queen's black clothes.
The queen sat on the throne that had risen high from the ground.
She looked down at the low ground and gestured.
It was the preparation for the trial.
To the left and the right, the ground squirmed and rose.
It created platforms for people to stand on, and at the same time, a fence surrounded the area.
On the left side was Yulan.
On the right side, there was also Yulan.
Two Yulans were split onto both sides.
The Yulan on the left was with Shion.
The Yulan on the right was with Belrsasal.
It was a composition that seemed to pit Shion and Belrsasal against each other, and it was true.
“…The ground is just moving.”
“It’s the Widow Queen’s talent.”
“…Did she have a talent like this?”
The Yulan on the left was one who had lost his memory.
He was the innocent man Shion and Amethus had just rescued from the Underworld.
Shion allowed the Widow Queen to move the ground and push him forward.
He intended to comply with this trial.
“…….”
The Yulan on the right was one who had been unconscious for 14 years.
He was the man Minister Belrsasal had rescued, whom the Widow Queen Aida had kept hidden deep within the imperial palace. Belrsasal did not hide his displeasure.
“…You’re pulling quite the adorable stunt, Your Majesty.”
“Your tongue is adorable too, Belrsasal.”
The Widow Queen sat on her high seat and looked down on Belrsasal.
Just look at those venomous eyes. Seen from above, he resembled a fierce goat even more.
“Using the word ‘adorable’ for the king you serve. What kind of nerve is that?”
“What kind of nerve does it seem like, Your Majesty?”
“It sounds as if I am a scarecrow and you hold all the real power, Minister.”
“Surely not! What on earth do you take this Belrsasal for!”
The minister lowered his voice.
The crowd numbered in the thousands.
There was no need to antagonize the king in front of them. He whispered softly, just enough for the Widow Queen to hear.
“Did I not leave you just enough authority to save face? Thus, you were able to do this, to suddenly hold a trial and put this Belrsasal in an awkward position.”
“Did you know? You are truly impudent and shameless.”
“Oh, Your Majesty, I am only grateful. For a politician, that is as good as the highest praise.”
Belrsasal sneered and bowed his head.
The crowd could not hear their conversation.
“Since I have received praise, I shall return it with advice.”
The minister stroked his goat beard.
“Stop this now, Your Majesty. Old Belrsasal will gladly forget this incident for you.”
His skin, mixed with the blood of Horm, was rather dark.
His clothes were embroidered with gold thread, and his eyes were still fierce.
It wouldn't be surprising at all if he had goat horns under his hat.
“This forced trial is not a matter Your Majesty can handle the aftermath of. For now, I can still just consider it adorable, so please send the people back quickly.”
“That expression ‘adorable’ has been truly unpleasant for a while now.”
“What can be done if it is adorable?”
The real power in Schmeizen was Minister Belrsasal.
The master of the nation was the Widow Queen Aida, but this was because she was in Belrsasal's grasp.
“I have watched Your Majesty since you were a newborn, you know. You are truly unchanging, Your Majesty the Queen.”
“And you have changed too much, Belrsasal.”
“I have merely shed my pretense.”
“You should have rather remained pretentious until the end.”
The Widow Queen Aida became king at the age of 12.
It was because her father, the former king, and her three brothers all lost their lives in a mere four months.
Her father died of illness, her eldest brother died in battle, and her second and third older brothers poisoned each other on the same day while engaging in a power struggle for the throne.
The 12-year-old queen, who had just lost her entire family, needed someone to rely on.
Belrsasal, famous as a friend and loyal subject of the former king, willingly became her teacher and regent.
He was an excellent teacher.
He always stayed by her side with an incorruptible attitude and never spared his advice.
Queen Aida trusted Belrsasal completely, and Belrsasal repaid that trust with loyalty.
At least, that was how it was until 14 years ago.
“If you had remained pretentious, I would have had no reason to hate you.”
“What could I do, when this old man also had a dream?”
“Was being a corrupt official your dream? Or the real power behind the scenes? Or a corrupt person? I’m truly curious which one it was.”
“All three of them, Your Majesty.”
‘Mimic Crumb’.
As that damned golden snow fell, everything began to distort.
At that time, Schmeizen was in chaos.
It was a time when they hadn't even found a way to distinguish between copies and originals.
Things that looked, spoke, and acted exactly like colleagues, friends, family, and even oneself appeared and wandered around, so there was no way the country could function properly.
Public sentiment was boiling and the pillars of the nation were shaking, but the queen was too young.
Even her deeply loved husband, Yulan Etgendorher, went missing amidst the chaos.
The 21-year-old Aida, having lost her beloved husband, lacked the ability to resolve the unprecedented disaster called ‘Mimic Crumb’.
“It’s still vivid in my eyes.”
The Widow Queen smiled faintly.
Amethus felt a chill from her smile.
Shion also often wore such a smile.
Those who harbored a hatred too painful and hot to show outwardly learned to overlay their faces with such smiles.
“To me, who was still young and foolish, the Minister said this. Don't worry and just trust him. Hadn't he also found the unconscious Lord Yulan? If only I didn't withdraw my trust, he would definitely return Schmeizen to peace……”
The Widow Queen chuckled.
Her captivating black eyes glistened with anger.
“Ah, how could I have been so foolish back then?”
Whenever a problem arose, Aida sought help from Belrsasal.
Belrsasal carefully requested various authorities, saying they were necessary to solve this problem.
The queen agreed without hesitation. There was no reason to doubt her teacher and regent.
She rationalized that if Belrsasal had been greedy for power, he would have driven her out and become king long ago.
It was a foolish thought.
Belrsasal had no desire to become king.
He wanted only the sweet parts of power.
The throne and crown were cumbersome.
The responsibilities of a king were even heavy.
Belrsasal burdened Aida with all the agonizing parts of power and enjoyed only the sweetness for himself.
By the time she came to her senses, Belrsasal had become the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Chief Secretary, enjoying indulgence every day, while Aida was called the Widow Queen and was enveloped in solitude.
From then on, the minister had no hesitation in betraying the queen's trust.
He allowed the queen and the nobility to clash continually.
He took the byproducts entirely for himself.
He was not negligent in planting his people throughout the imperial court to root out dissenters.
The power he had steadily built over 20 years by putting a leash on the young queen was already like a high tower, and everyone in Schmeizen bowed their heads to him.
In truth, it was also partly because most of those who did not bow their heads lost their lives.
One could not even dare say who took their lives.
In short, this trial was close to a declaration.
It meant that the Widow Queen Aida would no longer idly watch Minister Belrsasal's behavior.
“This old man finds it hard to understand.”
Belrsasal stroked his beard.
“Could Your Majesty have remained on the throne without me? Or would this country have recovered from that terrible chaos? This old man gave his all for Your Majesty and Schmeizen. Compared to that service, this little bit of indulgence doesn't even amount to crumbs.”
“Why do you arbitrarily take and eat crumbs that the master did not even give you, Minister?”
“Is it not just a reward?”
He went from stroking his beard to twisting it. He was displeased, but he also found the queen ridiculous.
“More importantly, Your Majesty, do you think of yourself as the master of this country? It is truly an old-fashioned way of thinking, and I cannot help but find it regrettable. What era are we in these days? That is a statement that would be criticized even in the Cordis Empire.”
“Then how about leaving for the Cordis Empire, Minister?”
“My patriotism simply won’t allow it.”
“Your patriotism means the wealth and power you’ve accumulated, doesn’t it?”
“As expected of Your Majesty the Queen. You know this Belrsasal very well.”
The queen and the minister smiled at each other.
The queen looked down at the minister filled with hatred, and the minister looked up without hiding his ridicule.
The hierarchy between the two had a very tricky aspect to gauge.
“More importantly, Your Majesty, how long are you going to keep secretly leaking our conversation to the people?”
“Did you notice? I tried to do it secretly.”“Surely you didn’t make a trashy plan like… revealing this Belrsasal’s true nature by letting the people hear our secret conversation, did you?”
Belrsasal shook his head.
He was also the queen’s teacher.
If the student he had taught himself had set up such a paltry plan and was acting triumphant, there could be no disappointment greater than this.
“The fact that this Belrsasal is an old man who likes money and power is something even a three-year-old in Schmeizen knows.”
“Then why did you leave out the part where you go around acting all high-minded and incorruptible by yourself?”
“You dig in fiercely now that you have a chance to curse me. As your teacher, I am proud.”
Anyway, he continued speaking.
“At the same time, everyone in Schmeizen knows. Without this old man, the country doesn’t run. And also, that old Belrsasal’s skill at running the country is no ordinary thing!”
Belrsasal spoke very confidently.
His words were, to an extent, true.
Belrsasal’s acumen was not something that could be expressed as merely 'outstanding'.
The ‘Mimic Crumb’ had been falling every single day for 14 years.
Yet Schmeizen was peaceful.
Even if not all of it, at least half was thanks to Belrsasal.
Even the Widow Queen Aida, who hated him terribly, could not deny it.
“You are right, Belrsasal.”
Aida parted her lips.
“Your skill at leading the country is better than mine, better than a mere girl who was simply born of a good bloodline. That is why I have watched you until now.”
Belrsasal was a man faithful to his greed.
No, at times he actively pursued all kinds of pleasure to the point where one wondered if he wasn't greedy itself.
Sexual desire, appetite, greed for wealth, lust for power!
I want more, I want more pleasure, I want to amass more!
The dark parts of the heart that all humans possess but hate to admit.
Belrsasal was adept at revealing this darkness with utter shamelessness.
“But this time is different.”
“What is different?”
“Because I have come to harbor a big, very big suspicion.”
The Widow Queen Aida continued speaking.
Their conversation was being heard by the thousands in the crowd.
It was the same for Shion and Amethus.
Aida parted her lips very carefully.
“The Yulan next to you, the one lying there, the one I thought was my husband for 14 years……”
“Is truly Your Majesty’s husband, in name and reality.”
“That is something we must check to know. In any case, he is not a copy. At least, he could not be filtered out by any of the copy-distinction methods known to Schmeizen.”
Her voice was gentle.
But it planted anxiety among the crowd.
A few who were quick-witted and sharp understood the meaning implied in Aida's words and trembled.
The great chaos that had been barely put to sleep might be revived, no, it might even spread further than before.
“But there are two.”
Aida said.
Belrsasal grasped her intention and fell silent.
“What does this imply?”
“…….”
“That in the copy-distinction method we have trusted for years, there is an unimaginable loophole. Because of that loophole, a majority of the citizens might have been replaced with fakes… This suspicion just keeps growing.”
“…….”
“Ah, Minister. There’s something I must ask.”
The Widow Queen tilted her head.
“The one who first brought the Yulan sleeping there… who was that again?”
“…It was me.”
“Then if the Yulan lying there is a fake, he is a type of copy never seen before, one that cannot be filtered by existing distinction methods……. My, that means you just happened to find and bring such a peculiar copy 14 years ago.”
“…I suppose it would.”
“Then Minister Belrsasal. I am inevitably forced to have this suspicion.”
Belrsasal clicked his tongue.
He realized he was cornered.
“The disaster that has continued for 14 years, ‘Mimic Crumb’. Are you in a close relationship with its mastermind… or perhaps, are you that mastermind?”