Rigel had destroyed the Valestein Kingdom.
He displayed the severed heads of the King, the First Princess Natasha, and the Third Princess Norn in front of the kingdom's army. Upon witnessing this, the soldiers instantly lost almost all their will to fight. On top of that, with Rigel's guidance, the Goussel Marquisate army poured into Tosh, bringing the war to a complete end both in na and reality.
"Rigel, the suppression of Tosh is going smoothly. There are still a few stray soldiers putting up resistance, but…"
"Hmph. Those worthless pests are surprisingly persistent."
Rigel sighed upon hearing sterica's report.
Thanks to seeing the heads of the royal family, the kingdom's army had lost its fighting spirit and been rendered powerless. However, a very small number of soldiers were still desperately continuing to resist. They believed that the Second Princess Nina and the Queen were still alive.
And in fact, they were.
"What should we do? Our numbers here are low, so if we want to wipe them out, we'll need you to step in, Rigel."
sterica pointed this out.
The Goussel Marquisate army had achieved an overwhelming rapid advance, but more than 90% of their combat strength relied on their supre commander, Rigel. Even against re stray soldiers holding out in a corner of Tosh, fighting without Rigel would be difficult.
"I have a good idea. Leave them alone for a little longer."
"Are you plotting sothing again? But if you wait too long, things might get ssy if they go on a rampage, you know?"
"Crushing them with brute force is easy. But there will always be so that slip through. In cases like this, it's important to leave them with not even the slightest bit of hope."
"Is that how it works?"
"That's exactly how it works."
Rigel grinned. He seed to be thinking up sothing wicked again.
"So, how long are we going to leave them be?"
"There's a perfect timing for everything. —Ah, speak of the devil, it looks like they've arrived."
"Arrived…?"
sterica tilted her head, not understanding what Rigel ant. But she quickly grasped the aning.
"Rigel! sterica! So you were here!!"
"Father!"
"Father!"
The two rushed toward the owner of the voice. The person standing there was none other than their father — Balzac von Goussel, Marquis of Goussel. Upon confirming that both of them were safe, he visibly showed relief.
"Thank goodness you're both unhard…! It doesn't look like either of you is injured!!"
"Of course! …By the way, Father, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be summoned by His Majesty in Wiestaria…?"
sterica asked with a puzzled expression.
Balzac was not only the head of the Goussel Marquisate but also the Captain of the Wiestaria Kingdom's Royal Guard Knights. He should have been in the royal capital.
"Ah, yes. But after hearing your reports, I couldn't just sit still. I ca all this way to help you two after you went out of control."
"…I see. I'm sorry for worrying you…"
sterica apologized with a dejected look. Balzac placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke powerfully.
"Don't worry about it. We've safely reunited like this, so it's all fine!"
"Father… Thank you."
sterica bowed her head. While she had a hidden brother complex toward Rigel, she also seed quite attached to her father.
"Mm. …Now then, you two. Let's talk about what happens next right away. What's the current situation?"
"I'll report, Father. First—"
Rigel gave a concise explanation of everything that had happened so far.
"—And that's the situation. By the way, it's safe to say this country has already been destroyed. The King, First Princess, and Third Princess have already been executed. We displayed their heads before the soldiers and broke their will to fight."
"…I see. So you went that far…"
Balzac was speechless.
"Well, it's already done. More importantly, let's talk about the future. I intend to finish suppressing Tosh as it is."
"Hmm. Indeed, now that the King is dead, there shouldn't be any major threats left. However…"
"Is there sothing bothering you?"
"…Earlier you said this: 'The King, First Princess, and Third Princess have already been executed.' However, the Valestein royal family should have had five mbers."
"Yes. The remaining two are the Queen and the Second Princess."
"Then why did you only execute three? Leaving behind the bloodline of a destroyed kingdom's royalty will only create unnecessary future troubles. It's not normal to overlook sothing like that, is it?"
"Ah, that matter."
Rigel's lips curved upward.
"It's simple. I wanted to completely crush their will to resist as the finishing touch. —In other words, I'm going to put on a grand spectacle at the end."
"Wha!?"
"Rigel!?"
Both sterica and Balzac reacted with shock at Rigel's statent.
"I was waiting for Father's arrival. I wanted to greet the mont when the Valestein Kingdom is completely destroyed together with you."
"What… exactly do you an by that…?"
Balzac asked fearfully.
Rigel then declared:
"The preparations have already been made. Let's see… how about the day after tomorrow? On that day, we will carry out the public execution of the Queen and the Second Princess."
He casually said sothing outrageous.
"Rigel!! Have you lost your mind!?"
sterica shouted, her expression changing drastically.
"What do you an?"
"What do you think!? No matter what, that's…"
"I'm perfectly sane. Wouldn't that be the most effective? There's no point in keeping the royalty of a fallen country alive."
"But… you were especially fond of the Second Princess, weren't you…? And yet you're going to…"
"She was nothing more than a pet. I have no intention of keeping her alive if it ans carrying unnecessary trouble. That's all there is to it."
Rigel spoke indifferently. No emotion could be read from his face.
---
Two days after Rigel's father Balzac arrived in Tosh—
"Ladies and gentlen! Thank you all for gathering! Today is the long-awaited day of the execution! Enjoy it to your heart's content!!"
Rigel declared loudly.
The residents of Tosh had been gathered around him.
"Don't screw with us! There's no way we'll allow this!"
"That's right! You people are insane!!"
"Go to hell, you invaders!!"
Voices of condemnation rose from parts of the crowd.
Cursing Rigel so openly in a city he had already suppressed was quite reckless. However, Rigel paid them no mind and simply wore a fearless smile.
"Hmm? Did you say sothing? Surely you also can't forgive the royal family that ruled with such tyranny, right?"
"Stop spouting nonsense!"
"We never thought anything like that!!"
"We will never allow an execution!!"
"Shut up, you trash. —sterica."
Rigel gave sterica a signal. In response, the group led by sterica sprang into action.
"Geh!"
"Ugh!!"
The people who had raised their voices were struck down one after another. sterica's group beat them with clubs and subdued them. This was exactly one of Rigel's intentions.
He knew that the Valestein royal family still had considerable support. That was precisely why he had announced the executions on a grand scale — to root out the elents of rebellion. With this, events were proceeding exactly as Rigel had envisioned.
"Now then, everyone! The main event is about to begin! The Queen and Second Princess Nina are making their appearance!!"
Rigel raised his hand.
Two figures in handcuffs were brought out by soldiers. Their faces were pale and ashen, and no emotion could be read from their eyes. Around them stood ard female soldiers — Rigel's elite troops.
"Hey, isn't that… Lady Ru Kaine?"
"It's true! It's Kaine, the strongest beastman warrior!"
"The Third Princess's escort pair is here too!"
"The Silver Moon Squad is all present!"
The residents' gazes turned toward Kaine and the three mbers of the Silver Moon Squad. Kaine was the protector of Second Princess Nina, while the Silver Moon Squad was known as the First Princess Natasha's guards. The elite pair who protected the Third Princess Norn were also fairly well-known.
"Don't tell … even they have been charged with treason?"
Kaine and the Silver Moon Squad did not carry royal or noble blood. However, they had distinguished themselves as close aides to the royal family. It seed possible they had been deed undesirable by the invader Rigel and would be executed along with the royals.
"No, wait… They're carrying weapons…"
"That looks like…"
"No way… That can't be possible!"
"They are proud warriors who pledged loyalty to the royal family! There's no way they would betray them!!"
The residents were confused. The sight of the Queen and Princess Nina in handcuffs heading toward the execution platform clashed with the image of Kaine and the Silver Moon Squad being allowed to carry weapons.
"This isn't the ti to stand around! We need to work with them to help the Queen and the others escape!!"
"Yeah! Hurry!!"
"Princess Nina! It's ! I've co to save you!!"
So of the residents shouted and rushed forward. But—
"Out of the way!!"
"Stand back!"
"Gah!!"
"Uwaaaah!!"
The residents who tried to approach were cut down one after another. Kaine and the Silver Moon Squad possessed top-class combat ability even within the Valestein Kingdom. Ordinary citizens had no chance against them.
"Guh…! W-Why?!"
"Why are you interfering!? I don't understand why you've been allowed to carry weapons, but this is your last chance!"
"Let's save the Queen and the others and restore the Valestein Kingdom!"
"..."
Kaine, the Silver Moon Squad, and the escort pair gave no reply to the citizens' pleas. They simply stared at them in silence. Before long, they were identified as rebel elents and subdued by sterica's group.
With the obstacles removed, the Queen and Princess Nina were successfully escorted to the execution platform.
"Haha! Well done! You all!! There was so interference from the trash midway, but it looks like you handled it without issue!!"
Rigel praised Kaine, the Silver Moon Squad, and the escort pair. In response, these won—who should have been his enemies—took the following action:
"Those are words too generous for us, my lord."
"Mission completed, Lord Rigel."
"There are no issues. We will continue to guard the surroundings to ensure the execution proceeds smoothly."
They knelt, bowed their heads, and showed their submission. Both their words and attitude made it clear they held no resistance toward Rigel. The crowd stirred at the sight.
"N-No way!"
"Those proud elites have switched sides!?"
"This can't be real… It must be so mistake!!"
"It's a lie! I refuse to believe it!!"
Contrary to the people's agitation, Rigel wore a very satisfied expression. Using the Queen and Second Princess's execution as bait to draw out the rebel elents had succeeded, and now he was publicly demonstrating that he had the kingdom's elites under his control. This was all part of his plan to further crush the citizens' will to resist.
"Fuhahahaha! What a wonderful day! This is the historic day when the Valestein Kingdom falls and becos the domain of this Rigel-sama!! Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Rigel laughed loudly as he proceeded with the preparations for the Queen and Second Princess's execution. However—
"Hold it right there!! I won't allow that execution!!"
"Hm?"
A clear, resolute voice rang out. When Rigel turned his gaze toward it, he saw a single sword-bearing girl standing there.
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