「How are our casualties?」

「Not too many. The rear guard was mostly in chaos due to Rei and Set’s actions. We took minimal loses in the fight, so we can keep going.」

Vihera and her soldiers continued their advance through the punitive force’s rear guard, which was now mostly deserted.

Tilleyle took command of his subordinates while Gurgast gave a displeased snort at the fact that there was no one to fight, even though they had penetrated far into the rear guard.

The punitive force’s rear guard was already in great disarray and there was little they could do against the advance of Mercurio’s army. Still, it was a surprise to them that they faced basically no attacks.

Of course, this wasn’t to say there were no attacks against them.

However, they were far and few between, all easily suppressed without Gurgast needing to lift a finger.

In the end, they pushed all the way through the rear guard with minimal fighting……

「The end is in sight, it seems.」

Vihera muttered as she gazed upon area before her, free of soldiers.

She reached the back of the rear guard……the punitive force’s literal final line of defense.

「Vihera-sama, do we really not need to call for Prince Mercurio or Theorem? The battle will end if we capture Prince Kabajid and Prince Shurus, but if you were to do that……」

Vihera thought for a moment after hearing Tilleyle’s words……before shaking her head.

「It’s true that it would be better for Mercurio and Theorem to be here, but this is also the front line. It’s best to avoid any potential emergency situations that might happen if we call Mercurio and Theorem over here. More importantly, even if we did call for them now, how long do you think it would take for them to get here?」

「……That is true. If we waste too much time, Prince Kabajid and Prince Shurus might end up escaping. What do you think, Gurgast?」

「I have no interest in politics. But, speaking purely from my own perspective, I hope the princes have an adequately strong guard.」

Gurgast spoke as he looked as his battle axes, causing Tilleyle to realise he had asked the wrong person as he looked up into the sky.

The clear blue sky, unexpected for autumn, was so stunning that Tilleyle became lost in thought for a moment.

「Tilleyle, shall we go?」

Tilleyle, who had stopped for a moment, came back to his senses at Vihera’s call and hurriedly followed after her.

He wouldn’t be able to end the civil war with Vihera if he were left behind here after all.

At the same time, as someone who had deep knowledge on the arts, Tilleyle also wanted to create a play based on the battle after the end of the civil war.

With that in mind, he couldn’t afford to miss the climax of the battle.

「Vihera-sama, how do you think Prince Kabajid and Prince Shurus will react? They basically have no force capable of fighting left……」

Tilleyle asked Vihera after catching up, trying to cover up the fact that he had almost been left behind.

Of course, he wasn’t just trying to cover up his mistake.

He had a decent understanding of how much strength the punitive force had left.

As a result, the response of the two princes was no joking matter, but something of great importance, not just for Tilleyle……but also for Vihera.

However, Vihera just smiled back as she spoke.

「I think you would be better off just asking them directly, don’t you think?」

As Vihera spoke, she looked ahead to the group of people waiting for them.

Tilleyle tensed up for a moment, but Gurgast and Vihera didn’t seem to have any issues as they continued forward.

Tilleyle quickly followed after them.

He wondered for a moment if it was some kind of trap or ambush waiting for them and if it would have been better to go on horseback. However, they had already abandoned their horses after they broke through the center front lines.

Normally, cavalry was much stronger than infantry, but they had broken through the center front lines and then the rear guard.

Vihera, Gurgast, and Tilleyle all knew that riding on horseback in such a situation would only make it more difficult to move as a single unit.

It would have been a different matter if they were just moving quickly across an open plain.

In addition, Vihera’s melee weapons didn’t have much reach.

She just couldn’t make proper attacks from horseback.

Gurgast, who wielded battle axes rather than poleaxes, didn’t have long shafts to swing around. Naturally, his range was shorter than cavalry spears as well.

Only Tilleyle could technically use his rapier to attack as it was a thrusting weapon.

「Well, it looks like they’re waiting for us, so let’s go. Kabajid might be one thing, but Shurus hates to be kept waiting.」

Mercurio’s army advanced according to Vihera’s orders.

Aside from Kabajid and Shurus, who were waiting for them, the rest of the people with them were all nobles with the exception of just a few knights serving as escorts. It was clear from a glance that they weren’t here to fight.

Seeing that, Gurgast and his subordinates looked rather disappointed.

They had thought this would be the true final fight of the civil war, but it seems they were wrong.

……As for everyone else, they were relieved that there would be no fight.

Vihera stepped forward with her subordinates.

The punitive force didn’t try to stop here.

Eventually, Vihera stopped, facing Kabajid and Shurus just 3m away.

Vihera spoke first.

「Kabajid, Shurus, it’s been a while since we last met in person.」

「That’s true. It’s been years since you ran away. You left quite quickly after you attacked the castle last time as well.」

Vihera and Kabajid exchanged smiles.

Shurus, on the other hand, had a bitter smile on his face.

He had a look of humiliation on his face for having to give in to his sister.

……Everyone standing behind Vihera could see it, even if none of them said it.

Shurus was not a patient man after all. He was someone with great confidence in military affairs as shown by the large amount of support he held in the military.

But……

「Vihera! What are you thinking, wearing such an outfit?! That doesn’t look like something the Second Princess of the Bestir Empire should wear!」

What came out of Shurus’ mouth wasn’t bitter words nor praise for their victory, but a lecture about Vihera’s outfit.

True to his words, Vihera’s current outfit was her usual semi-see through clothes that revealed every last curve of her body, her voluptuous breast, her slender waist, and prominent buttocks.

Only her greaves and gauntlets were practical magic items, making them look out of place in comparison.

……Of course, with how naturally Vihera wore them, some might just believe it was part of her outfit.

「Oh, is there something wrong? It hasn’t been dirtied with mud or blood, so I think it’s still in good condition.」

「It’s not a matter of if it’s in good condition or not! Don’t you have any pride as a member of Bestir Empire royalty!?」

Vihera looked taken aback for a moment as Shurus shouted, his face red with rage……but, she soon smiled in amusement as she replied.

「Of course not. As Kabajid said earlier, I’ve already run away from the Bestir Empire.」

「Then why did you come back? Well, it would be one thing if you just returned, but you helped cause all this chaos, even putting Frizione in danger.」

「Oh? It’s true that I ran away from the Bestir Empire and abandoned my royal status. Buy after hearing that my blood brother was under house arrest and could even be assassinated, I couldn’t just ignore it, could I?」

「Those rumours were nonsense!」

Shurus continued shouting, but with how far things had gone since, it no longer mattered if it were true or not.

「Shurus, calm down. ……Now then, since we’ve exchanged greetings, let’s get to the point.」

As Kabajid said that, the atmosphere around everyone, which had loosened up momentarily, grew tense again.

「No matter how this civil war started……it is still our, I and Shurus’ defeat. That is fine. But, I was the one who led the punitive force to begin with. So what do you think? Ending it with just my head?」

「……Are you serious, Kabajid? The First Prince of the Bestir Empire is willing to give up his life?」

「That is right. To be honest, I had a hunch this would happen after Crimson sided with you in the civil war.」

「Then why did you keep fighting until this point? It’s true that with so many casualties, there would be a price to pay for ending the civil war. But, if it was clear that you would lose after Rei joined us, why didn’t you give up then?」

No one would take on a losing battle in most situations.

So why did Kabajid, a person renowned for his insight, persist in this?

In response to Vihera’s question, Kabajid just smiled faintly……before speaking with an unfazed expression.

「Because everyone wanted it.」

Yes. That was all he said.

「Wait, Kabajid. So you’re saying this civil war was forced upon you by the nobles!?」

Vihera turned her gaze to the nobles following Kabajid as she asked, but the nobles seemed equally surprised as they also looked at Kabajid.

It certainly didn’t seem like they had been threatening the prince they served.

「No? Of course it was me who started this civil war, right?」

「Kabajid?」

She couldn’t understand what he was saying.

A cold chill ran down Vihera’s spine.

She was speaking to the person before her and could hear the words he was saying.

Yet, it seemed like something wasn’t quite right.

Was the man before her really her half-brother?

With such doubts in her mind, Vihera was about to speak again when……

「Hey, look over there! A Griffon!」

The words of a noble close to Kabajid rang out.

Eveyone turned to where the noble was pointing and, sure enough, Set could be seen flapping his wings as he descended to the ground.

He landed on the ground before moving over to Vihera.

「Looks like we made it time for the end.」

「……Yeah, you are still a little late though.」

Thanks to Rei’s appearance, Vihera forgot her uneasy feelings regarding Kabajid for a moment as she called out to him.

「So you’re Crimson, huh? I believe we met in front of the castle previously. Do you remember me?」

「Yeah, I remember. Besides, how could I forget the person who started this war?」

As Rei replied with Death Scythe in hand, the nobles around Kabajid tried to speak out about his attitude.

But, Kabajid lightly extended his hand to stop them.

「That’s true. We never expected someone like you to exist. ……Without you, this civil war would have ended in our victory, don’t you think?」

The nobles seemed to understand that Kabajid was enjoying his conversation with Rei. They were still dissatisfied with Rei’s attitude but swallowed their frustration.

As for Vihera, who had been talking with Kabajid just a moment ago, she seemed surprised at how well his conversation flowed with Rei.

「……I wonder. I certainly played a major role, but I believe Vihera and the others would have still won in the end, even without my help.」

「Is that so? Well, what can the loser say in the end. ……I’ve spoken with Crimson and Vihera. I think it’s about time.」

What?

Everyone seemed confused at Kabajid’s words, but without any care for the confusion of others, Kabajid pulled out a dagger from a pocket.

Tensions spread through the area immediately.

Those around Vihera readied themselves to move at any moment as Shurus’ subordinates did the same.

Kabajid’s subordinates were the only ones to show no reaction, having no idea what their master was planning to do.

Amidst this all, Kabajid, smiling as he always did, held the dagger in his hand as he spoke.

「Let us bring this war to a close. With my death, the punitive force will be defeated. All members of the punitive force must follow the orders of Mercurio’s army. Oh, that’s right. Please spare Shurus’ life as well. I will bear all the blame.」

「Kabajid!?」

Perhaps realising was Kabajid was planning on doing, Vihera shouted out.

「There’s no point in dying here! If you truly want to take responsibility for the civil war, do so after properly!」

「That may be true. But, I’ll have to leave that to you and Mercurio. I want to end this war with my life.」

As Kabajid spoke, Rei dashed forward, trying to take the dagger from his hand.

「Take good care of Vihera.」

Saying that to Rei, Kabajid plunged the purple poisoned blade of the dagger into his belly without any hesistation.

He even had a smile on his face as he did so.

「Ahh, it’s finally over. If it were possible……I would have liked to see the cherry blossoms at Takato Castle Ruins Park one last time……」

「……Eh?」

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