About Being Found and Adopted by Talula

--Your Highness, did I take my first step?

After hanging up the radio, Grand Duke Baikal cursed furiously.

"Damn mercenaries. I knew those people couldn't be trusted at all!! Forget it, I can activate Chernobyl myself. The backup plan says that girl named Misha also has an activation key. It's time to find her and kill her."

Baikal had not expected Garson to be found and killed by W. The key to activating Chernobyl was still in that mercenary's hands.

Grand Duke Baikal was not worried that Garson, who held Chernobyl's activation key, would betray him. Those fanatical Sarkaz had a thirst for battle and a bloodthirsty nature flowing through their veins. They craved war even more than he did.

But he had not expected Garson to be killed by W, to be counter-killed by someone who should have been dead.

Baikal reached the highest level of the command tower and called Viscount Kerk, who led the Third Army Group.

"Kerk, forget those Reunion Movement trash. I need military support over here. Send some men immediately, and contact the Enforcement Team for me. I need to find the address of a Chernobyl citizen!"

"--Don't worry. Someone will be heading over, though she might not be the person you want to see."

"That voice... You're the guard from the Rostov family!?"

Grand Duke Baikal's eyes widened, but before he could ask for details, the other side unilaterally ended the call.

"Well then, that's that."

Orson crushed the radio in one hand while holding Viscount Kerk's severed head in the other.

Around him, dozens of soldiers held all manner of weapons, staring at Orson with cold sweat running down their faces. None of them knew what this young man, who had fallen from the sky and immediately beheaded Viscount Kerk, intended to do.

"..."

After a brief silence, Orson rewrapped the bandages around his neck to stop the bleeding and adjusted his artificial vocal cords.

"Listen up, soldiers of the Third Army Group! I have eliminated the mastermind behind this rebellion. There is no need for you to continue this meaningless battle! This war was started solely because Viscount Kerk joined forces with Grand Duke Baikal in a rebellion for their own personal gain!"

"...Rebellion?" "Treason--what does that mean?"

Orson's words stunned the soldiers. Every one of them looked at the boy before them in confusion.

Thanks to Kerk's usual conduct, not a single one of these soldiers was blindly loyal enough to fight Orson to the death for him.

"What exactly are you talking about? What organization do you belong to?"

After a brief commotion, a weathered-looking adjutant stepped forward, frowning as he questioned Orson's identity.

"Organization? I... hmm, good question. We are the personal guard of Duke Talula, the sole legal heir of Duke Koschei! At the same time, we are a purge unit secretly authorized by the Emperor! Our purpose is to judge, track down, and eliminate every traitor who attempts to endanger Ursus territory through any excuse or pretext!"

After hesitating for a few seconds, Orson began making things up on the spot. Since the parts about Koschei and Talula's identities were true, he was especially confident in his bullshit, to the point that he was almost fooling himself.

"Viscount Kerk and Grand Duke Baikal, two old nobles colluding together. Grand Duke Baikal even illegally hired a large number of Sarkaz mercenaries in an attempt to launch a military coup. This is an obvious crime of treason! Not only did Viscount Kerk fail to report it, he exploited his position to drag the Third Army Group into it! Does anyone else wish to shield these criminals!?"

Orson's words left the soldiers completely dazed. On top of that, he secretly manipulated his artificial vocal cords to create the imposing tone of a spirited elder brother, making the heads of these utterly confused soldiers buzz.

"Make your choice. On one side is a legitimate force jointly authorized by the Chernobyl nobility. On the other are traitors awaiting the Enforcement Team's reckoning. Have you decided which side you stand on!?"

The secret to bullshit was being fast, precise, and ruthless. You could not give the other side a chance to react and come to their senses. Orson pressed his advantage in one breath, loudly questioning the soldiers who still had no idea what was going on.

...Should I expect anything less from someone who claimed his specialty at the interview was performing comic dialogue? He really can talk people into anything.

Not far away, FrostNova, who could also hear Orson's booming voice, wiped away some sweat as she thought this.

Epilogue (Part One)

"No... There was clearly no flaw in my plan. How did it turn out like this--?!"

When he came back to his senses, Grand Duke Baikal found himself surrounded on all sides, like prey driven to the edge of a cliff.

Chernobyl's forces were tightly entangled by the Infected and Reunion Movement members. The Sarkaz mercenaries he had hired with money had been completely divided and eliminated. Even the Third Army Group's detached units had been intercepted by those people through some unknown means. Viscount Kerk was likely already dead.

--Right, Viscount Kerk! As long as I pin every charge on that bastard, I can avoid being purged and executed...! All I need to do is leave here, find somewhere to hide, and put everything on him!

Grand Duke Baikal seemed to have found a way to survive. But just as he was about to leave the top of the command tower, a scorching wave of heat blocked his path, forcing him to raise his hands before his eyes.

"You can see Chernobyl's borders from here. Not a bad view, is it?"

"...Koschei's daughter!?"

Grand Duke Baikal saw Talula standing before him. His expression instantly became one of utter despair, followed by fury.

"What you're doing is completely meaningless! Leading those despised Infected, gathering together peasants who should have died in the wasteland--do you think that means you're saving Ursus? You're completely wrong. You're only bringing this country to utter ruin! Ursus must sustain itself through war, just as the late Emperor always did! This war machine can only shine its most dazzling light when it is fighting!"

Grand Duke Baikal shouted at Talula, but she merely sighed.

Baikal had interacted with Koschei before. He had probably learned this sophistry from that immortal black snake.

Even so, Grand Duke Baikal's sophistry did not contain the slightest sincerity. Koschei's theories of war came from the shackles of his two thousand years of experience, while Grand Duke Baikal merely used them as an excuse to amass wealth.

"What utter nonsense. War will only hasten Ursus's destruction. This country is already on the verge of collapse. Another war will only tear open the old wounds of this land once more."

Talula looked toward distant Chernobyl. Traces of battle still remained sporadically in some areas, but in more places, there was still an ordinary peace.

"And what can you stop! You bastard--!"

Baikal drew the saber at his waist and wildly slashed at Talula.

"Perhaps we can stop nothing. Or perhaps we can change everything."

Clang!

Talula's swordsmanship had always been terrible, but it was still more than enough to defeat war fanatics who had never truly set foot on a battlefield.

Her greatsword swept out, knocking Baikal and his saber to the ground.

"Unlike you, whose minds have been completely corrupted by past glory and power, we chose the future. We do not know what awaits at its end, but we will not regret it."

Talula raised her greatsword and aimed it at Grand Duke Baikal's chest.

"W-Wait, little dragon--no, Talula, Duke Talula!! I'll give you anything! My status, power, money... Whatever you want, I'll give it all to you! Just spare me!!"

In that instant, Grand Duke Baikal completely lost the last shred of dignity he possessed as a noble, desperately begging Talula for forgiveness like a stray dog.

"Disgusting."

Crack!

"Ugh, aaaaaah!!??"

The greatsword fell, but it severed Baikal's hands instead. The heat instantly cauterized the wounds.

"I will not kill you, because this turmoil must end with your trial. Besides, you are not worthy of dying beneath this sword."

Talula sheathed her greatsword at her waist and looked with disgust at the unconscious Grand Duke Baikal.

--It was over.

Talula sat on the edge of the command tower and silently watched Chernobyl. At the same time, Lumen's voice rang out through the citywide broadcast.

Citizens of Chernobyl, I am Natalia Andreyevna Rostova, heir to the Rostov family. Over the past several hours, Chernobyl has suffered from a rebellion led by Duke Baikal. But please rest assured, citizens, that their conspiracy has been thwarted.

"It's over, soldiers. Do you still wish to continue?"

In Central Park, the Shield Guards stopped attacking after hearing the broadcast and questioned the bruised and battered Baikal faction soldiers before them.

Grand Duke Baikal intended to seize Chernobyl not only for the city's internal interests, but also to turn the city-state itself into a weapon. By invading the territory of neighboring Lungmen, he sought to provoke a war between Yan Country and Ursus.

"Please don't move. Your injuries are still very serious... Sasha?"

"I'm fine. Is it over?"

Near the commercial district, Mephistopheles wiped the sweat from his forehead and bandaged the wounded person before him. Beside him, Faust silently watched the sky. This city was so familiar, yet so strange.

We understand that this rebellion was caused not only by the old nobility's longing for war and past glory, but also by the new nobility--by our long-standing indifference toward others and our refusal to intervene.

"Ha, not bad, young lady. I think a little better of you now."

At the ruins of a safehouse somewhere, W, who was collecting the dog tags of fallen Sarkaz mercenaries, temporarily stopped what she was doing and looked toward the distant signal tower.

New nobles and old nobles, in essence, both destroyed certain people's lives for profit. And those whose happiness was taken away would naturally choose silence in a true moment of crisis, rather than attempt to interfere with anything.

"Lyudmila, Little Mila?"

"I-I'm here..."

Inside Baikal Castle, Alina anxiously searched for Crownslayer, while JunJun lay awkwardly in the pit of the underground wine cellar, considering what excuse she should make up.

The arrogance flowing through our veins, our insignificant pride, our prejudice against the Infected... These are the true culprits behind this war, as well as the root cause of the suffering endured by countless people across this land. Yet at the same time, they are the "truth" rooted deep within everyone's hearts.

"Master Isaac, stop stepping on him, Master Isaac!"

Below the signal tower, a group of engineering team members desperately tugged at Isaac, trying to stop him from stepping on the unfortunate man who was already foaming at the mouth.

Yet even in this world, there remained a group of people who did not care about their origins, did not care about their past, and did not fight for fame, profit, or pride. They fought and resisted solely for all those suffering unfair treatment.

"Is it over... Dad?"

"Rest for a while, Yelena."

In the Chernobyl wasteland, FrostNova knelt on the ground and asked wearily, while Patriot silently stood before her to shield her from the cold wind--just as he had when they first met.

I still cannot name these fighters, but I believe that one day, their existence will truly be accepted by everyone. They will change Ursus and change this land filled with turmoil and sorrow.

Inside the signal tower, Lumen stood before the microphone with her eyes slightly closed.

"At least at this moment, I can tell you all that it is over."

Once the broadcast ended, Lumen silently turned off the equipment. The pager beside her showed that the Lungmen Guard Department and the Speaker of Saint Gallant Castle had received the information she had sent.

"It isn't over yet, Miss Natalia."

Hegre, who had been guarding Lumen's side all this time, suddenly spoke.

"--It isn't over?"

"That's right. This is only the beginning. You may not understand what you and your companions have done."

"Is it serious?" Lumen asked worriedly, glancing at the corpse of an internal guard pierced through beside Hegre.

"Ursus's old nobles have never been defeated by an irregular army--no, never by a group of Infected. The visible impact of this incident may be suppressed by the higher-ups, but no one can know how far this spark will eventually spread."

Hegre frowned at the icon of Saint Gallant Castle. Then, as if noticing something, his expression softened considerably.

"But at least at this moment, you may celebrate your courage and resolve, Miss Natalia."

"Thank you so much for helping us, General... Um, Old Man Hegre. We all thought you wouldn't get involved, but you still helped us. You even brought those Infected with you."

Lumen gave Hegre a serious bow.

"Because that child Nayin kept pestering me, saying she wanted me to help that interesting older brother who performed comic dialogue. That is all."

Hegre rubbed Lumen's hair. After showing a fleeting smile, he prepared to leave the signal tower.

--These young people truly turned the gears of history.

Hegre thought of the boy known as Silencer. Grand Duke Baikal likely would never understand, even to the end, that his seemingly flawless plan had been utterly defeated because of a complete "outsider."

If Orson had not helped Lumen, if Lumen had not trusted Orson, if the Head of the Rostov Family had considered Orson suspicious, if Orson had not approached Nayin with his most genuine self, if the people of the northern frontier had not raised their banners in resistance...

Countless what-ifs had linked events together to bring them here, but this was not some "miracle."

Or rather, this was a "miracle" the boy had won for himself.

And as for the outsider's current situation--

"Behave yourself! Duke Talula's identity may be genuine, but there has been no response from the Emperor's side at all! There's no way to tell whether anything you said is true or false!"

Inside a tent, the soldiers who had finally come to their senses swarmed Orson, tied him up, and threw him onto a wooden interrogation horse, waiting for the orders and handling of the Third Army Group's general.

Why does it feel like I'm the only one getting screwed over every time...? Am I really holding the protagonist's script?

Orson, gagged, blindfolded, and tightly bound, silently complained to himself.

The Silencer of the Reunion Movement, End of Chapter One

Epilogue (Part Two)

"..."

In a private ward at Chernobyl People's Hospital, Orson lay on the bed with all four limbs wrapped in bandages and plaster, staring lifelessly at the ceiling.

"Orson, I cooked you some plain rice porridge earlier. It was made Yan Country-style, and... um... I-I'll blow on it for you--"