When Lakyus entered the palace, it was almost dawn.
As dawn broke over the eastern horizon, it bathed the stone walls of the palace in a pale gold hue.
She held a roll of parchment in her hand.
The roll of paper was thick and heavy, like holding a stone.
This list contains more than just names.
It is a crime, a betrayal, the deepest festering wound in this country in decades.
Now, this festering sore has been punctured in the most brutal way, and pus and blood are flowing out, emitting a foul stench that makes one want to vomit, yet one has no choice but to look.
The corridor was long, Lakyus didn't walk fast.
Every step felt like walking on cotton, soft and yielding, without any solid ground.
She wondered what the king's expression would be when he saw this list.
Anger? Sadness? Or that weary, helpless sigh she had heard far too many times?
She didn't know.
But she knew one thing.
There is one name on this list that would make even the king sigh.
At the end of the corridor, the large door carved with dragon patterns stood open.
Francia Palace, the center of power in the Re-Estize Kingdom.
At this moment, it is as quiet as a tomb.
Lakyus took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The king sat in a high-backed chair, his gray hair gleaming silver in the morning light, his thin body wrapped in a heavy robe, making him appear exceptionally frail.
An old blanket covered his knees, and his hands, thin as withered wood, rested on it, with veins faintly visible beneath his skin.
Warrior Captain Gazef stood behind him, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his brown eyes looking at Lakyus with a hint of inquiry in them.
"His Majesty."
Lakyus walked up to the king, knelt on one knee, and held the parchment above her head with both hands.
"The list of the Eight Fingers. Higashino asked me to give it to you."
The king reached out and took the parchment.
His hands were trembling slightly.
It's because of an instinctive fear of the unknown.
He knew what was on the list, or rather, he could probably guess.
But he dared not look.
Lakyus knelt there, head bowed, her long golden hair falling from her shoulders, obscuring her face.
She heard the sound of parchment unfolding, a rustling sound like autumn leaves being blown by the wind across a stone path.
Silence.
A long silence.
So long that Lakyus thought Time Stop. So long that Gazef's breathing became clearly audible.
Long afterward, the morning light outside the window changed from pale gold to golden yellow, illuminating the entire palace.
Then, she heard a voice.
It wasn't a sigh, nor a cry, but a softer, indescribable sound, as if something was stuck in the throat.
Lakyus raised her head.
The king was looking at the list. His eyes were cloudy and bloodshot, the densely packed names reflected in his pupils.
His hands were trembling, more and more violently, and the parchment rustled in his hands.
"His Majesty..."
Gazef stepped forward, as if to say something, but the king raised his hand to stop him.
"I'm fine."
The king's voice was hoarse and weak, as if it came from a very distant place.
His gaze never left the list, scrolling down column by column.
The names of nobles, officials, and merchants. Some he recognized, some he didn't.
But behind every name lies a list of crimes—
Bribery, harboring criminals, human trafficking, drug distribution...
Then, he saw that name.
Barbro Andreen Yerud Lyle Vansef.
His eldest son.
His successor.
He placed high hopes on that child, only to be disappointed time and again, yet he could never bring himself to give up on him.
The king's fingers stopped. The parchment remained still in his hand, no longer rustling.
His eyes were fixed on the name, fixed on the line of text—
"He had long-standing financial dealings with Hilma Sygnas, the head of the drug trafficking department, accepting bribes and providing her with protection."
The palace was so quiet you could hear the dust settling on the floor.
Lakyus knelt there, head bowed, not daring to look at the king's face.
Gazef stood behind the king, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white.
He saw the name, and he saw the king's reaction. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
The king put down the parchment.
The movements were very light and slow, as if placing something fragile and precious down.
He placed the parchment on his lap, clasped his hands on it, and then looked up at the ceiling.
"Lakyus."
"Exist."
"Mr. Higashino... do you know this name?"
Lakyus was silent for a moment.
"... Know."
The king closed his eyes.
What did he say?
He said...
Lakyus's voice was very soft.
He said, "No one on the list will escape."
The king did not speak. He simply sat there with his eyes closed, like a statue.
The morning light streamed in through the window, falling on his gray hair, on his withered hands, and on the parchment scroll filled with indictments.
Gazef looked at the King, his brown eyes swirling with complex emotions.
He had followed the king for over twenty years, witnessing his anger, his sorrow, his charge into battle, and his solitary contemplation by the window late at night.
But he had never seen the king like this before.
It wasn't anger, nor sadness, but a deeper, hollow silence, as if something had hollowed it out from within.
"His Majesty."
Gazef spoke, his voice low and deep.
"Should I go and bring His Highness the First Prince?"
The king did not answer. He opened his eyes and looked at Gazef for a long time.
"Gazef."
"Exist."
Do you think... Barbro deserved to die?
Gazef's body stiffened. His hand loosened its grip on the hilt of his sword, then tightened again, then loosened again.
He looked into the king's eyes, those cloudy, bloodshot eyes that still held a trace of kindness.
"Minister..."
He paused.
"I do not know."
The king chuckled softly. The laughter was light and faint, carrying a bitter and helpless tone.
"You don't know? You're the Warrior Captain, you've killed countless enemies for the Re-Estize Kingdom. You've never hesitated. Why do you 'don't know' now?"
Gazef lowered his head.
"Because... His Highness the First Prince is not an enemy."
"Then what is he?"
Gazef did not answer.
He didn't know how to answer.
The king turned his head and looked at Lakyus.
"Lakyus, what do you think?"
Lakyus raised her head, her emerald green eyes looking at the king.
"Your Majesty, I... have no right to judge the guilt of the royal family."
"I'm not asking you to judge. I'm asking you, do you think Barbro deserved to die if he wasn't a prince?"
Lakyus remained silent for a long time.
"... Should."
The king's fingers trembled slightly, as if he still wanted to struggle, and he asked a question.
"Why?"
"Because he betrayed the country. He betrayed the people. He betrayed the soldiers on the list of those who bled and died on the battlefield. He betrayed... His Majesty's trust in him."
Lakyus's voice was calm, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
"He took money from Eight Fingers to provide them with shelter. Those drugs flowed into every corner of the Re-Estize Kingdom, destroying countless families. Those trafficked people were tortured, enslaved, and murdered. And His Highness the First Prince lived a life of luxury with that blood-stained money."
She paused.
"If people like this don't deserve to die, then there aren't many people in this country who deserve to kill."