[The war is over. You've taken off your military uniform and, carrying a heavy Medal of War's Flame, you've set off on the road home.]
[You returned to the hometown you hadn't seen in years. Nothing seemed to have changed. The streets were the same, and the hands on the old clock tower still moved at a leisurely pace, as if the smoke of war had never touched this peaceful land.]
[You pushed open the door to your home. Your mother was busy in the kitchen, while your father sat in the living room's rocking chair, wearing his glasses and carefully polishing his beloved violin.]
[Hearing the door open, they both turned their heads at the same time.]
[The next second, the soup ladle in your mother's hand clattered to the floor. She covered her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes.]
[Your father shot up from his rocking chair, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.]
[You smiled, placed your suitcase by the door, and opened your arms.]
["Dad, Mom, I'm home."]
...
The dinner table was as lavish as a holiday feast.
Lacey recounted his experiences, from failing to get into the academy to joining the war, skipping over the part where he was bullied by the children of nobles, saying only that he hadn't performed well.
His mother kept piling food into Lacey's bowl, as if trying to make up for all the years of lost motherly love at once.
She mumbled constantly, one moment saying Lacey was thinner, the next that he was darker, her eyes filled with an unconcealable heartache and lingering fear.
"War... war is so dangerous," his mother said, wiping the corner of her eye. "You silly child, why didn't you send a letter home? Your father and I were on pins and needles every day, so afraid that... so afraid that..."
"Alright, alright, the boy is back safe and sound, isn't he?" his father interrupted his wife. He raised his wine glass, his cheeks flushed red with excitement.
"My son is a hero! A hero who fought for Leithanien and His Majesty the Witch King! Come, son, have a drink with your father!"
Lacey smiled and raised his glass, clinking it against his father's.
After a few rounds of drinks and courses, the conversation inevitably turned to the academy.
His mother brought it up cautiously, afraid of touching upon a sore subject for her son.
"About... about the academy, it's okay that you didn't get in. The music academy in our town is quite good, and your father can even guide you a little."
Lacey thought for a moment and decided not to hide it any longer.
He put down his chopsticks and recounted what had happened at the academy's gate, exactly as it was.
After listening, his father slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "Those sons of bitches nobles! Just because they have a bit of stinking money, they dare to bully us common folk! My son has such talent, are their eyes blind?!"
A warmth spread through Lacey's heart upon hearing this.
He never expected his usually gentle father to become so furious over this matter.
His mother, however, took his hand and comforted him softly, "It's okay, it's all in the past."
"So what if you couldn't get into that academy? My son is a war hero now, a million times better than those young masters hiding in the cities! Mom is proud of you!"
Lacey smiled and nodded in agreement.
[In the days that followed, you shed the military uniform stained with blood and fire and changed into comfortable civilian clothes.]
[Your father hung the Medal of War's Flame in the most conspicuous place in the living room and would wipe it several times a day. Whenever neighbors or relatives visited, your father would stand up straight, point to the medal, and animatedly tell stories of how his son had bravely slain enemies on the battlefield.]
[Your fame spread among the neighbors. When you walked down the street, people would point at you, casting looks of admiration. The young girls, in particular, would blush and secretly watch you.]
[At your father's suggestion, you took up music again. Your father gave you the best violin the family owned.]
[But, perhaps due to the influence of the war, the melodies you played were no longer filled with the high spirits of your youth, but with a sense of desolation and sorrow.]
[Your father sighed, "Child, the war has changed you."]
[The peaceful days didn't last long. After some time, discussions on the streets and in the alleys grew more frequent. People were no longer just talking about daily necessities and neighborhood gossip, but had begun to whisper about politics.]
[That September, a sudden change occurred.]
[Due to dissatisfaction with the Witch King's tyranny, and with the support of the Electors, Lizelotte Iwegnade, the White Ram, and Herlinmarte Hildegard, the Black Ram, led a coalition force from several grand districts and suddenly appeared near the capital, Trullinczentyr, engaging in fierce battles with the troops stationed there and the Witch King's disciples.]
[The "September Uprising" had broken out!]
[The rebel army initially advanced with great momentum, but the glow of Originium Arts once again flashed from the high towers of Trullinczentyr, and the rebels suffered heavy losses.]
[Just as the uprising was pushed to the brink of collapse, the Black and White Twins decided to risk everything.]
[They led an elite unit, infiltrated the capital, and made straight for the Witch King's high tower.]
[After breaking through twenty-two magical defense lines set up by the Witch King himself, the twins ascended his high tower and confronted him directly.]
[The duel in the tower was witnessed by almost no one, but the final outcome was known to all—at the break of dawn, the glow of Originium Arts from the tower was finally extinguished, and the Witch King of Leithanien fell.]
[After the Black and White Twins defeated the Witch King, with the unanimous endorsement of the Electors, the twins were crowned the Twin Empresses.]
[Leithanien's skies had changed.]
[Thereafter, the Twin Empresses, as the supreme leaders of Leithanien, traveled to the former Gaulish capital of Lingones to sign the "Treaty of Lingones," also known as the "Treaty of the Three Emperors," with diplomatic delegations from Victoria and Ursus.]
[The treaty's content was divided into two main parts. One was a three-nation alliance, agreeing to non-aggression. The other concerned the division of Gaul's property, land, and population.]
[On this treaty, the benefits Leithanien received were minimal. Despite being the nation that contributed the most and suffered the greatest losses, the population and land it received were far less than that of Victoria and Ursus, only obtaining a few insignificant small mobile cities.]
[When news of the treaty's signing reached Leithanien, it caused public outrage. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Trullinczentyr to protest, but were ultimately suppressed.]
...
One day, Lacey was in the yard helping his mother trim the flowers when a rapid and loud bell rang out from the town.
This was not the bell that told the time, nor the one to summon the citizens, but an alarm bell that rang only when a major event occurred.
He and his mother looked at each other, both seeing the unease in the other's eyes.
His father rushed out of the house, his face grave.
Soon, earth-shattering news arrived.
"His Majesty the Witch King... has fallen!" a neighbor ran over, out of breath, his face full of shock and fear.
"With the support of the Lord Electors, the Twin Empresses declared from the top of the tower that His Majesty the Witch King was a usurper! His Majesty... he fell from the tower and died on the spot!"
"What?!" His father was struck by lightning, completely frozen. The pipe in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
[Your father, who had loudly praised the Witch King's achievements every day, could not accept the fall of his country's king and began to grow melancholic.]
[You sensed the ominous feeling of an approaching storm.]
[Soon, with the Twin Empresses' ascension, the direction of public opinion across Leithanien shifted at an incredible speed.]
[Overnight, the Witch King, once hailed as the "Guardian of the Nation" and the "Terminator of Gaul," became a "Despotic Tyrant."]
[The headlines of newspapers in major cities praised the Twin Empresses' "restoration of order" in the most passionate terms, denouncing the "darkness and oppression" of the Witch King's rule.]
[The same poets who had once praised the Witch King with the most beautiful words now cursed him with the most venomous language.]
[On the walls, portraits of the Witch King were torn down and replaced with the gentle and holy portraits of the two young empresses.]
[The first decree issued by the Twin Empresses after taking power was to purge the Witch King's remnants.]
[A massive liquidation campaign, supported by the Twin Empresses and pushed by the Electors, swept through every corner of Leithanien.]
[Soon, this frenzy soured. It became a carnival for opportunists, the sharpest blade for eliminating dissenters.]
[Evidence didn't matter, nor did the truth. As long as someone pointed you out as a Witch King remnant, you were defenseless.]
[If they say you are, you are, even if you're not.]
[Old grudges between neighbors, business rivalries, and political infighting all became motives for "exposures."]
[A neighbor you were chatting happily with yesterday could be labeled a "Witch King sympathizer" and dragged away for trial today, just because you glanced at his wife.]
[This small border town where your family lived was not spared.]
[The town established a so-called "Purification Committee," led by the town mayor's nephew, a young man named Bach.]
[You remember him, an idle good-for-nothing who bullied the weak and feared the strong, using his connections to throw his weight around. Now, dressed in a brand-new uniform, he had become the local supreme authority.]
[Your father no longer went to the tavern to talk politics. He sat silently in his rocking chair all day, not saying a word. He took down the Medal of War's Flame, wrapped it in layers of black cloth, and hid it in a secret compartment under the bed.]
[Your mother, on the other hand, was worried sick day and night, repeatedly telling you not to go out and not to talk to anyone.]
[You tried to persuade your parents to leave for a while, to hide in the countryside, but your father refused, saying stubbornly, "We haven't broken any laws, nor have we done anything wrong. Why should we run? This is our home!"]
[However, some secrets can't be kept. After you returned to your hometown as a celebrated war hero, your family's fate may have already been sealed.]
[Bach knew about your family, knew you were a war hero who had received the Medal of War's Flame, and also knew your father's undisguised admiration for the Witch King.]
[He had been quite jealous of you before. Now, his chance had come.]
[Bach gathered dozens of guards from the "Purification Committee" and rushed to your door, pounding on it.]
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 10 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉