Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 464

Countries that only succeeded in defending their capitals inevitably became city-states, and that was the case with the Duchy of Saint-Ouen and its capital of Arnaka. Refugees hadn’t flocked to the city because most of them had gone to the imperial capital. The city hadn’t expanded, but this duchy only had its capital intact. I couldn’t tell how self-sufficient they were with food, but there wasn’t any obvious hunger etched on people’s faces.

That didn’t mean the city was overflowing with happiness and hope either. Arnaka had managed to defend itself with automatic turrets, and it would be great if the empire could also develop such a system, but the area the empire needed to defend was hundreds of times larger than Arnaka.

Most of Arnaka’s remaining national power must have been exhausted in constructing this defense system with its giant crystal turrets. There had to be reasons why the empire couldn’t use such a defense system.

Harriet quietly observed the streets of Arnaka and the people milling about. There was guilt and sadness on her face that she couldn’t hide.

She couldn’t help but think of the many cities and people that couldn’t be saved, even though the capital was safe.

The white palace, Arnaria, carved out of the mountain, was also intact.

The layout of Arnaka hadn’t changed much, except for the walls surrounding the city’s outskirts and its crystal towers. The only change was the gloom and despair visible on the faces of the people on the streets.

No one was chatting. Arnaka had become a city exuding a dreary silence. Harriet had once said she watched children playing from the high spires of Arnaria, but now, no matter how hard one looked, no children could be seen running around.

Harriet was not responsible for the Gate Incident. Yet, she walked with me, wearing a guilty expression, as if everything was her fault.

The hometown Harriet had longed for had become a city filled with the silence of desolation.

Flash!

A distance away, we saw a flash of light in the very center of the city.

The place, which presumably once held a warp gate, was now being used as a teleportation point. The flash of light faded, revealing a group of people.

Harriet’s eyes widened.

“D—Dad...”

The Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen and his mage corps appeared at the spot. As soon as the grand duke and his mage corps arrived at the teleportation point, the people nearby did not bow their heads, but hurriedly left the area as if they had seen something unholy.

As if accustomed to such occurrences, the Grand Duke simply led his mage corps away, in the direction of the White Palace. We watched as the citizens who saw the grand duke and his mage corps quickly avoided them, and people closed their windows.

No overt curses were hurled at them. However, the atmosphere that everyone perceived the grand duke as someone to be avoided was immediately apparent.

The reason behind the silence and stillness of Arnaka was obvious—the princess had sided with the Demon King.

Although Arnaka was safe for the moment, every citizen knew that once this situation was resolved, the empire’s retribution would turn against the Duchy of Saint-Ouen.

The citizens were aware of the future of the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen, the Duchy, and Arnaka. Yet, because it wasn’t safe beyond the city walls, they couldn’t leave Arnaka. Therefore, the citizens turned away from the Grand Duke, as though he were a figure of death.

Even though they knew that ignoring the Grand Duke would not spare them from the dark fate awaiting the Duchy of Saint-Ouen, they turned away as if that action might somehow serve as a pardon later.

“Dad...”

Harriet closed her eyes tightly as she saw her father, the king, being shunned by his own citizens.

Tears quietly flowed from her closed eyes.

***

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

I hadn’t expected to be dazzled by Arnaka, but strictly speaking, Arnaka was in a considerably better state than most other cities. The crystal towers protected the city, and the city had not been overwhelmed by an excessive influx of people.

However, everyone knew that the price for the princess’s sins would soon need to be paid. Thus, the entire city was steeped in gloom.

Harriet and I stood where we could see the white palace, Arnaria, from a distance.

The city wasn’t filled with people driven mad by hatred and anger, but despair and gloom were evident on everyone’s faces. That was the current state of Arnaka.

“If you want to go see him, you should,” I said.

“...”

The guards protecting Arnaria weren’t human; they were all magically created golems. Therefore, if Harriet wanted to meet the Grand Duke, she could.

“Do I... deserve to?” Harriet said.

Harriet knew the whole situation. She knew that I had not willingly caused the Gate Incident. But the reality was that everyone in Arnaka might die because of her choice. So she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Even though triggering the Gate Incident had not been my plan at all, no one would believe it. Therefore, if humanity’s retribution swept across Arnaka, Harriet would inevitably see it as her responsibility.

The sins of the princess who betrayed humanity would have to be borne by her state and its citizens, not the princess herself. Knowing all this, Harriet couldn’t help but feel that she had no right to see her father.

Perhaps she would be berated by her father for making a foolish choice. Perhaps she thought her father wouldn’t let her go once he held her. Perhaps she dreaded the hatred and anger that her family might show towards her.

“You know that just because I call you a thick-skull doesn’t mean I think you’re stupid, right?”

“...”

“The Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen I saw was the epitome of a doting father.”

In fact, that had been my first impression of the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen.

“Just as you’re not a fool, your father isn’t truly a fool either,” I said.

I reached my hand into Harriet’s hood and cupped her face.

“Just as you are wise, your father, the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen, is surely a wise person too,” I continued.

“...”

“He must have tried to understand why you had to do what you did, and he must have found some answers.”

I believed that the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen shared his daughter’s wisdom. After all, Harriet de Saint-Ouen had not been born this way for no reason.

“Parents, by nature, can’t help but trust their children as much as they distrust them.”

While it was common for parents to be wary of their children, at some decisive moment in life, parents would have no choice but to trust their children. They would have to acknowledge that there would be some reason behind whatever decisive choice their child has made.

“So, go.”

The Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen wasn’t a fool. Therefore, I didn’t think the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen would hold onto Harriet and not let her go.

Harriet gently held the hand that I had placed on her cheek.

“Okay... I’ll go.”

What kind of courage did my words give her?

“And I’ll definitely come back.”

Having come all this way, she couldn’t just leave after seeing only the despair permeating the city.

Having faced the heavy responsibility that she must bear, she deserved to take away at least the joy and sorrow of reunion.

***

The Grand Duchess who had disappeared to follow the Demon King had returned, but there was no commotion. The security system of Arnaria was under the control of the ducal family, and there were very few staff in Arnaria.

The reports that the golems sent were not disclosed to the retainers, and only the members of the ducal family knew that the missing Grand Duchess had come to visit. The Grand Duchess, who entered the palace quietly, was finally able to meet with her family after a long absence.

The returning Grand Duchess had to be a sinner. However, contrary to Harriet’s fears, her three brothers and mother did not reproach the youngest daughter for bringing great disgrace to the family. It was only a tearful reunion.

Despite the long conversation, neither Harriet nor the members of the ducal family mentioned the Demon King. They didn’t even ask where she had gone or how she had been. It was as if just knowing she was safe was already enough.

It wasn’t enough, of course, but after finishing the conversation, Harriet finally entered the Grand Duke’s study.

There, the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen, indelible fatigue etched on his face, awaited. Always dignified but always kind, sometimes trying to control his daughter with authority. The Grand Duke’s gaze, the one that he gave his daughter, had changed significantly from before.

“Sit,” he said.

It was too plain a greeting for a reunion after such a long absence. Harriet sat down stiffly.

Her father was one who held important conversations with her. Being scolded for doing something wrong, ordering her to go to the Temple, or the order to leave the Temple had all come from the Grand Duke’s mouth before.

No one else in her family had offered a word of reproach, because everyone knew that was reserved for the role of the Grand Duke of Saint-Ouen. Knowing that such words were meant to come from the head of the family, neither her mother nor her brothers had said anything of that sort to Harriet.

To Harriet, her father was an annoying person. He doted on her to the point of annoyance, worried about her to the point of annoyance, and distrusted her to the point of annoyance. However, Harriet had made a choice that could lead to the extinction of her family, and she had come to face her father, the head of the family, as a sinner.

The untrustworthy daughter had made a decision that could shatter the long-standing Saint-Ouen family.

Encouraged by Reinhart’s words, she had returned to Arnaria and her family, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, who had rejoiced at her safety. But now, Harriet felt as if she were standing on trial. It seemed she would have to be told in detail what her crime was and how she would have to pay for it.

For the first time in her life, Harriet de Saint-Ouen was afraid of her father’s stern expression. She was afraid of her father, who didn’t say he was glad she was alive or that she had returned safely, but instead told her to sit as if she were in a courtroom.

Harriet sat across from the Grand Duke, staring intently at him with a stiff expression. She felt like she was about to cry.

He was always the father who would annoyingly embrace her. Why didn’t he embrace her in this situation?

She felt hurt. She knew she had done wrong. She knew she had made a big mistake. Yet, she wanted to say, “I won’t find it annoying anymore, so can’t you just hug me?” But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Are you back for good?”

Harriet quietly shook her head in reply. She had to leave soon. And even if she wanted to return for good, she couldn’t. The Grand Duke nodded as if he understood.

“Do you know what choice you’ve made?”

“...”

The Grand Duke looked solemnly at Harriet. “If this situation isn’t brought to an end, humanity will perish, and the Saint-Ouen family and the duchy will be finished. If this situation is resolved, the empire’s wrath will turn towards our family, and the Saint-Ouen family and the duchy will be finished.

“My daughter. I’ll ask you just one thing. Even if such things happen, will you still not regret your choice?”

The deaths of countless people and the downfall of the family... Would she regret her choice if all this came to pass?

The youngest child quietly looked into her father’s eyes. There was no reproach. It was not a scolding.

‘Where have you been until now? Why did you make such a choice?’

It was not that kind of question.

It was a question for her as a member of the family, as a person. It was a question about whether or not she would regret the decision she made.

Harriet quietly thought back to two years ago. She trusted Reinhart. That was why she had made the decision, why she had chosen as she had. At the time of the Gate Incident, she hadn’t even known what was happening.

But now, Harriet knew the whole truth. Why the Gate Incident had happened, what Akasha was, what people misunderstood about Reinhart, and who the Demon King truly was.

She knew everything now. But regret... Her father had asked about regret.

If her decision led to the destruction of her hometown and the death of all her family members...

Harriet clenched her teeth and tightly closed her eyes.

“I think... I would regret it...”

“...”

She couldn’t help but regret it.

Tears flowed from Harriet’s closed eyes.

“Still... Still... Dad... you know... Even if I went back to two years ago... even knowing what would happen... Knowing everything would turn out like this... Even if I knew...

“I think... I would do the same thing...”

She would regret it, but she believed she had to help Reinhart, even if the Duchy of Saint-Ouen perished and all her family members died.

She would regret it, but she would willingly repeat this choice that she couldn’t help but regret.

Because, after all, she had achieved something. Not only had she been able to help Reinhart, but she had been able to save countless people as well.

She knew that this choice did not only lead to terrible outcomes.

Hearing his youngest child’s words, knowing she couldn’t help but regret it, yet saying she would make the same choice, the Grand Duke quietly nodded.

He looked at his youngest daughter. “My daughter. You have the greatest talent in the long history of the Saint-Ouen family.”

“...”

“Therefore, you will be the wisest descendant in the family’s history.”

The Grand Duke stood up, approached his crying daughter, and gently placed his hand on her head.

“So I believe your decision is right.”

“Ugh... ugh...” Harriet continued to sob.

“Now, let’s share a hug. My daughter.”

Only then could Harriet, who had so disliked it before, embrace her father and sob.