The road to Trullinczentyr had become a grand celebration.
Lacey rode on horseback, and behind him was a torrent formed by the allied armies of the seven Grand Regions: Wasser Fief, Schtong Fief, Caplania...
However, the anticipated resistance never materialized.
Every town along the way had its gates wide open.
Countless citizens spontaneously poured into the streets, erupting in earth-shaking cheers.
They waved homemade red flags painted with sickles and hammers, giving the warmest of welcomes to the army that had come to liberate them.
"Long live Elector Lacey!"
"Welcome, the people's army!"
People's faces overflowed with sincere joy and excitement. They pressed home-baked bread, clay jars of fresh water, and fresh fruits into the hands of every passing soldier.
The soldiers were somewhat at a loss.
They had anticipated fierce battles, urban warfare, and siege warfare.
The one thing they hadn't anticipated was a scene like this.
A wrinkled old woman tremulously placed a baked potato into a young soldier's hands, her cloudy eyes glistening with tears.
"Good children, you've finally come..."
The young soldier looked at the potato in his hand, then at the faces around him brimming with genuine smiles, and suddenly felt a sting in his nose.
He tightened his grip on his weapon, feeling with unprecedented clarity for the first time what, exactly, he was fighting to protect.
Taylor walked beside Lacey, scratching his head as he watched the scene, a smile on his face that he himself hadn't noticed.
For a tough man like him who bled but never cried, his eyes actually started to feel warm.
For the first time, he felt that a victory without the smoke of gunpowder was... not bad at all.
"Boss, this spectacle is way grander than when we fought our way into Eisenwald," he chuckled.
"Looks like those propaganda pamphlets and radios of yours are more effective than any weapon."
"The weapons of the mind are always more powerful than weapons of steel."
Serafina came forward with a smile. Dressed in a practical outfit, she was busy coordinating the garrisoning of the various troops, ensuring the civilians were not disturbed.
"The will of the people is the most indestructible fortress wall."
Gertrude led her intelligence department personnel, silently taking control of key points in every city, ensuring no remnants of the old powers could stir up trouble at this critical moment.
Lacey walked at the very front of the procession, enveloped by the tide of the people's cheers.
He smiled and waved to the people.
...
The army marched into Trullinczentyr unimpeded.
The capital's City Defense Army had already laid down their arms. They stood on both sides of the street, silently watching this army whose equipment was so different from their own, but whose morale was completely refreshed. Their expressions were complicated.
The main force arrived at the base of the Twin Towers.
This symbol of power, once so unreachable, now had its gates wide open, quietly awaiting its new master.
"Something's not right," Gertrude urged her horse forward, lowering her voice.
"It's been too smooth. None of the Twin Towers' defensive measures have been activated. It's not logical. Be careful, it could be a trap."
Lacey reined in his horse, looking up at the twin spires that pierced the clouds.
He could feel the people's passion, and he could also feel Gertrude's wariness.
But within his heart, there was a strange calm.
This was the final dignity of the old order in the face of an overwhelming tide—or perhaps, its final resignation.
"We're going in."
He dismounted and, along with Taylor, Gertrude, Serafina, and a squad of elite guards, ascended the steps leading to the Throne Room.
The great doors to the Throne Room were ajar. Lacey reached out and pushed them open.
As the doors swung open, everyone was slightly taken aback by the scene before them.
The White Empress Lizelotte was kneeling on the floor, crestfallen and trembling all over.
The Black Empress Herlinmarte stood to the side, her expression desolate.
And before them stood an old Sarkaz man in scholar's robes.
It was Flemont.
Hearing the doors open, Flemont slowly turned around.
Taylor instinctively gripped the weapon at his waist, and Gertrude instantly assumed a combat stance.
The atmosphere of the entire group suddenly grew tense.
However, Flemont paid them no mind.
His gaze passed over everyone else and landed directly on Lacey at the front.
"You have come," Flemont said, his voice calm.
"I have."
"You have won, Lacey," Flemont continued.
"In your own way, you have won this empire."
"The Electors, the people—they have chosen you."
Lacey met his gaze without a shred of fear.
"I simply did what needed to be done," Lacey replied calmly.
"What needed to be done?" Flemont let out a soft, inscrutable laugh.
"Many people believe they are doing 'what needs to be done'."
"Herzog believed he was seeking the truth. These two believed they were maintaining the empire's stability."
"But in the end, they all just made a mess of things."
He took two steps forward.
"You must remember, it is easy to tear down an old palace, but to build a new one upon the ruins is ten thousand times harder."
His gaze swept over everyone present before finally returning to Lacey.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
"What Herzog could not do, what the Twins could not do, I hope that you can."
Flemont gave Lacey a deep look.
"Do not let the people of this land be disappointed again."
With that, Flemont stepped aside, revealing the two former rulers behind him.
"These two," he said, pointing at Lizelotte and Herlinmarte, his tone as flat as if he were introducing two objects.
"They are my most outstanding creations, and also my greatest failures."
"Their power remains formidable, and their knowledge of Leithanien is second to none. Now, I give them to you."
"To me?" Lacey frowned slightly.
"I have already placed a shackle upon their phylacteries. From this day forward, they will obey your commands."
"You can treat them as two swords. Whether they are used to cut away the remnants of the old world or to carve out new territory for the new one depends on you, the new wielder."
Then Flemont added, "Of course, if you find them to be a nuisance, you can also break them at any time."
"Weapons, by their very nature, have no right to choose their own destiny."
These words made everyone present gasp.
Hearing this, Lizelotte trembled with humiliation but could not even utter a single syllable of protest.
Herlinmarte, however, simply closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
Flemont seemed to feel his business was concluded.
His figure began to blur, as if melting into the surrounding shadows, and finally disappeared.
Silence returned to the Throne Room.
Taylor and the others looked at each other, clearly not yet recovered from the shock.
The legendary master of the Witch King's court just appears, says a few baffling words, and then vanishes?
Lacey's gaze shifted from where Flemont had disappeared and fell upon the two former Empresses.
Herlinmarte met his eyes. Her expression was complex—unresigned, yet relieved—and it finally resolved into a nearly inaudible sigh.
She helped the still-trembling Lizelotte to her feet. The latter raised her head, staring daggers at Lacey with eyes full of venom and madness.
"Ahem."
Meklen Neum cleared his throat, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
He glanced at the two former Empresses, then at Lacey, and said with a smile:
"So... Your Excellency Lacey, as for these two 'products'—shall we package them for shipping, or just warehouse them on-site?"
His ill-timed joke did much to ease the tense atmosphere.
Gertrude walked over to Lizelotte and nudged her shoulder with the tip of her boot, confirming she was merely immobilized.
Then she said to Lacey, "This makes handling them easier, at least. We won't have to worry about them spouting nonsense in court."
Lacey ignored their banter.
He walked to the throne and reached out, stroking its cold armrest.
He could almost feel the residual warmth and obsessions left upon it by successive rulers, from the Witch King to the Twin Empresses.
"Serafina," he said softly.
"I'm here." Serafina moved to his side.
"Inform everyone. In three days, here in Trullinczentyr, we will convene the Imperial Central Parliament."
"There is only one item on the agenda."
He turned, his gaze sweeping over his allies, over the two deposed Empresses, and finally settling on the brand-new sky outside the window.
"Impeach the Empresses, elect a new monarch."
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