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Chapter 112: The Second Awakening (5)

It was a busy morning. Benedict’s former hostages, Venus and Selene, had been found near the subjugation army camp. The guards on duty had discovered them. It was extremely strange, since they had been in Benedict’s hands until the day before.

Herarion cried and hugged the two women, wholeheartedly relieved that they were safe. The counts had strange expressions on their faces as they watched Herarion.

“...This is extremely strange.”

“I know, right.”

“But… What’s going to happen to Benedict now?”

“...Hmm?”

They all came to their senses. The hostages had returned safely. All that was left to deal with were the remnants of the rebellion in the capital. The three of them changed their focus. It was good that the hostages had returned safely, but it was not important at the moment to know how. All that mattered to them was who would be the first to kill Benedict.

“Everyone, prepare to go to war!” They prepared to depart for war.

The discovery made the fighting spirit of each army skyrocket even before breakfast was served. An unexpected counterattack started.

“Please remain in the barracks with your family. I will be back with Benedict’s head,” Eisen said with a dignified attitude. Herarion nodded silently while continuing to hug his family.

Right after all three counts rushed to the capital…

“You’re incredible, Your Majesty.” A man entered the barracks, clapping his hands.

It was Henry.

Herarion finally raised his head and smiled at Henry. “How… was my acting?”

“Your acting skills are so outstanding that you could act in a theatrical company.”

“It\'s all thanks to you, Lord Henry. I should be able to do at least that much, shouldn’t I?”

‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s really an amazing power.’

Benedict had been as tough as a cockroach, and Henry had almost died a second time. However, Klever had transported Henry back to Herarion’s barracks. Thanks to Herarion’s power of La, Henry made a miraculous full recovery and managed to plan what to do with Herarion before the soldiers woke up.

“I will wake the two a little later.”

Henry purposely did not wake the two women to avoid discussing the plan and creating unnecessary work. With Herarion’s permission, he decided to use the two that were sleeping as a part of their plan.

The results were great. Although the counts were puzzled by the sudden appearance of the hostages, they soon realized what needed to be done and immediately started hunting Benedict.

The subjugation camp was completely empty. Esien was so excited about the return of the hostages that he didn’t even notice that Henry was gone.

“All that’s left is to wait for the news of victory.”

“But… Did you really defeat Benedict?”

“Of course. I brought Your Majesty’s family members and the king\'s badge as proof, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but I still can’t believe it. This is Benedict, after all.”

“It was not easy. I put my life on the line, so I just managed to defeat him.”

“...You are much stronger than I expected, Lord Henry.”

“I’m flattered. I had to take action since I couldn’t protect your family. In fact, I’m grateful to Your Majesty for trusting me with the badge.”

It was good that everything had gone well or else Henry’s relationship with Herarion would have been ruined. In addition, Henry had gained something unexpected after defeating Benedict: a realization about Aura. Even during their conversation, Henry was smiling at the fact that he could still feel warmth in his stomach.

‘I should be thankful since you pushed me to my limit.’

Henry hadn’t expected that Benedict would survive the magical bombardment and, despite his terrible state, even push Henry to his limits. It was thanks to Benedict’s strong life force that Henry experienced being pushed to his limits for the first time in this life.

‘Finally being able to use Aura is the best thing that has come out of this. As soon as I’m done here, I’m going to start training right away.’

Henry had not yet revealed to anyone that he mastered Aura. It wasn’t the time nor place, and he also wanted to experience that power once again before revealing it to anyone.

Only after the two finished greeting each other did they have a private conversation.

“Your Majesty, the subjugation will be over soon. When will you carry out what you promised?”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. Lord Henry’s request is a private matter, so I will get it done regardless of the throne’s stability.”

“Thank you for your consideration. I also want to talk more about the alliance that Your Majesty mentioned before.”

“If that’s the case… I’m happy to discuss it at any time. Please go ahead, Lord Henry.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. In saying that… How would you like to take this opportunity to establish formal ties with the Shonan family?”

“...When it comes to ties, I already have enough with the empire, don’t I?”

“Do you mean the tribute that you’re sending?”

“...Yes.”

The friendly atmosphere suddenly became awkward. It made sense since Henry was requesting Shahatra to end its long-held policy of isolation.

‘This will be a difficult proposal to accept since Shahatra is a nation that values tradition and Shahatra’s policy has been passed down from previous generations.’

Being isolated had its pros and cons, but stagnant water was bound to decay and as time passed, the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages.

Henry needed an open-minded Shahatra to interact with the outside world.

Henry cleared his voice and slowly started to explain. “Your Majesty, I’m aware that my request is a very difficult one, but haven’t you realized how dangerous it is to have such a policy after this rebellion?”

“...I don’t disagree.”

“I am well aware that the policy was the late king\'s will and it’s been implemented for a long time, but times have changed. The current empire is unstable and no one knows when it’ll fall apart. I think continuing to isolate like this in such a situation is no different from giving Arthus another opportunity.”

Henry was right.

The power of illusions had prevented an invasion, but eventually, even that legacy had failed due to an internal conflict. In addition, the Sultan people were not familiar with magic and were easily frightened by a mage and allowed the palace to be captured. Not only that, but the desert’s best warrior had also been destroyed by an individual.

This all revealed Shahatra’s weakness. Maintaining the policy was tantamount to giving Arthus another chance to attack. Herarion stayed silent, as if he were being handed a report card.

After thinking about it for some time, Herarion finally spoke.

“...If we decide to establish formal ties with the Shonan family, what do we have to give up and what will we receive in return?”

‘It worked.’ Henry smiled slightly.

Shahatra was finally showing interest in formal ties for the first time. It’s said that well begun is half done. Henry had a strong feeling that his proposal would be successful.

With a confident expression, Henry said, “ We–the Shonan family… No, I will teach magic to the Shahatra people.”

* * *

As the subjugation continued, the soldiers could feel that something was off as they advanced toward the palace. Benedict did not show up no matter how long they waited.

The counts felt that something was strange and looked for Benedict, but it was impossible to find someone who was already dead.

‘Of course you won’t find him.’

The subjugation ended as planned. Just in case, Henry and Von searched for Arthus, but as expected, Arthus had disappeared without leaving even the slightest trace.

The rest of the rebels instantly surrendered and fell to their knees like beasts with their heads cut off. They looked like they had no idea where Benedict had gone. Some of the rebels even resented Benedict, thinking that he had abandoned them.

However, ironically, some of the counts believed that the rebels were lying and tortured them. Shahatra’s rebellion finally came to an end in an unsatisfactory manner.

“Let’s go, Your Majesty,” Viram instructed Herarion to depart.

“...Alright.”

The rebellion was over. The throne belonged to Herarion again now that Benedict had died.

Herarion stood in front of the staircase to the sun. Beside him were the two women, Viram, and the palace priests who had endured in Shaha without losing faith.

Herarion was wearing the old Sutra he had worn when he’d first fled the palace. Henry was considerate and cast Clean on his clothes, but compared to what he usually wore, it was still shabby. However, Herarion stood proud with his head up. He placed his foot on the first step and climbed the stairs powerfully.

Many of the rebels had been tied up, and they glared at Khan. However, far more had gone down on one knee to show respect. Their numbers only increased as he continued going up the stairs.

Finally, when he reached the top of the staircase to the sun and stepped into Khan, the capital, Herarion could hear the voices with his own ears.

“His Majesty is here!”

“Hurray!”

“Yayyy!”

The loud cheers filled the area. It was a heartfelt welcome from the people who trusted and waited for Herarion even when the capital had been invaded.

“Long live Herarion Khan, Son of the great La!”

“Long live Herarion Khan!”

When Herarion regained the throne, everyone shouted with their arms lifted high. They were the only ones who had the same amount of perseverance against all odds as Herarion.

Herarion couldn’t help but feel touched and started to shed tears.

‘How weak of him.’ Henry stood in the crowd and watched Herarion from a distance. ‘Is this the start?’

Eisen’s achievements were already much greater than those of the two counts, so gaining the marquis position was only a matter of time. His victory marked the beginning of Henry’s revenge.

‘It’s going to get even more intense in the future.’

Henry had only knocked down one person so far. Even though he didn’t have proof, he’d found out that Arthus was behind the rebellion, he now knew that Arthus had ulterior motives. He gritted his teeth. ‘I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but it won’t go your way, Arthus.’

Amid the shouting, Henry once again reminded himself of his goal.