Chương 639: B9 - Chapter 17: Merit Festival VIII

The way the people were looking at him had changed. Not the lords and ladies on the stage, but the common people within the crowd. They looked at him now not as if he were a man, but some kind of saintly figure, far removed from the rest of them. Leo didn't meet their eyes. He couldn't. Despite what his brother had said technically being the truth, he wasn't really the person Zeke had described. Yes, he had done those things, and he had not expected to be rewarded. But it had been no great sacrifice.

He had spent time with the children because he enjoyed it, and he had gone to see them today because he had been looking forward to it just as much as they had. He hadn't even paid for their clothing, shelter, or food. Zeke had borne every one of those costs, yet his brother had made it sound as though it had all been Leo's doing. But nobody seemed to care. Even the queen, when she glanced his way for a moment, had a far gentler look in her eyes than when they had spoken the night before.

Fortunately, she soon turned her head away, returning her attention to Zeke.

"What your brother has done is a great deed; I will not deny it. But a kind heart is one thing; the ability to take care of a region as vast as the one you dared to claim is another. And I still find myself unable to permit your request..." Zeke smiled slightly.

"It is fortunate, then, Your Majesty, that I do not need your permission." The queen's eyes narrowed dangerously, but Zeke continued before she could say anything more.

"You have already acknowledged my claim, have you not? My legal right? That frees me from the responsibility of convincing you." His gaze left the queen and wandered over the vast crowd.

"It is them I need to convince. The people of Rukia. Because, just as Your Majesty said, if the people do not accept it, then the ruling cannot be considered just." A moment of silence followed.

"... The question is, Your Majesty, do you trust your citizens to make that choice?" The queen stared at Zeke for a long moment without saying anything. But Leo could read the mood well enough to be certain that she would agree in the end. Anything else would paint her as a ruler who ignored the wishes of her people. As a newly ascended queen, there could be no worse outcome for her. As expected, she soon made up her mind and stood to address the crowd.

"Proud citizens of Rukia," she said.

"I will entrust you with this choice. This land, this country, belongs to me no more than it belongs to all of you. In the same breath, you should have a voice in who will rule over you in the future." The crowd remained silent, following her every word with expressions of awe. Even Leo found himself admiring the queen. She truly spoke well. In no more than a few sentences, she had turned his brother's coercive trick to her advantage, coming out looking even better than before.

"... But before you speak your minds, I would like to lay out the simple facts of the decision you are about to make." For some reason, she glanced his way before continuing. There seemed to be a hint of apology in her eyes.

"The region they intend to claim spans the entire length of our country. It is a vast stretch of thick, unforgiving northern forest. Its danger cannot be overstated. The beasts that wander into our lands from there are among the most ferocious on the entire continent..."

"It is no exaggeration to say that, barring an outside invasion, these monsters pose the greatest threat to our country. That is exactly why, in centuries past, the northern border has always been a position held by our mightiest heroes, backed by our most formidable armies." There was a moment of silence.

"The choice you must make is whether you dare entrust this position to the von Hohenheim estate. Will you trust them with your lives?" The crowd began to deliberate in hushed voices.

"The Hohenheim Company drove out the Legion," someone near the front said.

"Aye, but it won't be Lord Hohenheim living beside the forest," another voice answered.

"It'll be his steward." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. A mother pulled her young daughter closer against her side.

"Then who is going to stop a beast from tearing through our village?" The mood still seemed favorable. Leo wasn't surprised; the exploits of the Hohenheim Company were already legendary. Nobody would dare claim they were lacking for the role. That was until the queen continued.

"... At this point, it would be remiss of me not to remind you that the man responsible for this crucial stretch of land will not be Lord Ezekiel von Hohenheim, who commands vast armies, powerful followers, and an immeasurable fortune, but his brother..." Ah. Leo finally understood that earlier look. She was going to tear him down, wasn't she?

"Leo von Hohenheim, unlike his brother, commands no more than a handful of soldiers, none of whom are comparable. He himself possesses neither formidable strength nor the financial means to properly defend even a fraction of the territory..." The queen sighed loudly.

"The one thing Leo von Hohenheim does possess is a good heart. You have all heard it. You have all seen the children under his care walking among us. Unfortunately, a good heart does not automatically make for a capable ruler." The crowd's gazes turned uncertain. Leo could see it in their eyes. They wanted to trust him, but they couldn't. Not when it concerned their lives—the lives of their children. Yet they still struggled to voice their refusal.

"... But do not fret," the queen began.

"Even if you decide to refuse him today, I will not allow a good man to leave here without a just reward. Should he not be accepted as steward, I will establish a new position for him—one that officially recognizes his work with children." Tense shoulders loosened throughout the plaza. Faces lit up, and relieved murmurs spread through the crowd. The queen had given them an out. A way to refuse his appointment without feeling burdened by the choice.

Leo truly had to admit that this young queen was no simple character. The way she so effortlessly read the crowd, the way she guided their mood—it was a gift he had only ever seen in one other person. And that person was currently watching silently from the side as that very queen undermined his efforts. Zeke still wore a nonchalant expression, but Leo could tell from the slight furrow of his brow that he hadn't expected the queen to handle his challenge so masterfully. Did he have a countermeasure prepared?

Leo couldn't say. His expression seemed relaxed, but Leo was halfway certain that Zeke would still look that way even if his body were on fire. No. Wait. He had actually seen his brother on fire, and his expression had been even more relaxed than it was now. That didn't bode well for them. Even so, a small part of Leo was also relieved. It wasn't that he didn't want to become a lord, to carry out his brother's will, but this... was simply too much. The responsibility wasn't something he could carry.

The queen had hit the nail on the head with her earlier words. What would Leo do when the first horde descended from the forest? When frightened families looked to him for orders and every wrong decision meant another village burning? He could already imagine the bodies being laid before him, each death belonging to someone who had trusted him to keep them safe. He wasn't Zeke. He couldn't conjure a miracle when none existed. He was just...

"... Care to add anything, Lord Hohenheim?" the queen asked, not even trying to hide her triumphant expression.

"Perhaps I missed something..." Zeke slowly swept his gaze across the crowd. Wherever he looked, heads lowered and people averted their eyes.

"Just one thing," he said slowly.

"That position you just spoke of—my brother will not accept it." The queen slowly shook her head.

"Are you truly so petty, Lord Hohenheim, that you would deprive your brother of a well-earned reward just to make a point?" Zeke showed no outward reaction. His eyes continued scanning the crowd, as if searching for something, but he still answered.

"Not at all. I simply will not have him waste his time playing nanny for a bunch of spineless ingrates." The queen froze. The crowd froze. Even Leo froze. It was such an unexpected turn of events that nobody knew how to react.

"W-what?" the queen stammered.

"You... How could you just—""How could I what? Insult the people?" Zeke asked, cutting her off.

"Did you expect me to beg? To promise riches and rewards to bribe them?" The queen remained silent. That was evidently exactly what she had expected.

"There will be no promises from me." His voice was as hard as steel.

"Except for one..." His roaming gaze came to a stop, settling directly on the queen.

"If the people will not accept my brother as their lord today, then my men and I will withdraw from Rukia before the day is over. My armies, my resources, and my protection will go with us."

"What are you saying...?"

"You heard me," Zeke replied.

"I am done currying favor with you lot." He glanced sideways at the crowd, as if the very sight of them disgusted him.

"All of you know very well what kind of man my brother is. You know of his kindness, his righteousness, his willingness to sacrifice. In fact, it was not even an hour ago that he told me it was his dream to become a man just like our mentor, the great Maximilian."

"A champion for the powerless..." With every sentence, the heads of those in the crowd dropped lower. By the end, they looked as if they were bowing.

"But you don't want him as your lord, do you?" Zeke asked.

"He is not powerful enough to serve as your lord. Not rich enough. Not influential enough... Simply not good enough for the high-born people of Rukia." Zeke's expression twisted into a sneer.

"So be it, then. Find someone else to guard your borders. Since you have the luxury of being so picky, there must be hundreds of candidates begging for the chance..." The sarcasm was thick enough to taste, and Leo felt his expression turning strange. He had initially assumed that this was a new approach Zeke was using to win over the people, but the longer he listened, the more convinced he became that it had not been planned. His brother was truly angry.

Yet even now, with fury bleeding into every word, Zeke knew exactly where to strike. Every accusation found the shame the queen had tried to soothe and tore it open again.

"Make your choice, then," he said finally.

"And don't worry. If you reject my brother here today, I will simply throw a dart at the map and have him serve as lord wherever it lands." The plaza was deathly still. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard. Into that silence, Zeke spoke one final sentence.

"Now choose."