Bonus Short Story

Succession

A detention cell, far too well appointed to be described as a “dungeon”...

The Emperor of the Domino Empire, waiting for his execution in the capital of the Domino Republic, sat waiting with a faint hope in his chest. He’s had his country usurped by Ukyou, the possessor of four of the Eight Sacred Treasures, but he’s found a ray of hope in the fact that the rebels suffered a grievous defeat in their war against the Arcana Kingdom.

The Arcana Kingdom could consider Ukyou a threat, kill him, and then take down the new regime. Then, they would liberate the captured Emperor and his relatives, restoring the Domino Empire. It’s not an impossible hope. At the very least, compared to the days where the Emperor could only sit and watch as more and more members of his family were captured, there’s possibility there.

Of course, it would end up burdening them with an enormous debt to the Arcana Kingdom, but it’s still better than having Ukyou maintain his hold on the country.

“It has been a while, has it not, Emperor.”

Hope appears in his cell. The Arcana Kingdom had destroyed the army that brought down the Empire and forced Ukyou to surrender. Arcana’s king steps into the cell accompanied by his Royal Guard.

“...The King of Arcana.”

Despite the appearance of the only man who can save him, the Emperor’s expression fills with dread.

“Glad to see you’re doing better than expected.”

The Emperor had fought a ruthless battle against his own relations to claim the throne of the Empire. No matter how desperate his state, he could still see the difference between a man here to save him and a man here to see him off.

Not only that, the King’s actions are strange. If he intended to save the Emperor, he wouldn’t come into the cell. Instead, he would have released the Emperor.

“Which is it?”

“Which of what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Did you force the usurper to heel, or did you kill him?”

The moment the king stepped into this room, the Emperor’s fate was sealed, but that didn’t mean the same was true of Ukyou. Did he force Ukyou to heel and make Domino a client state, or did he kill Ukyou and absorb Domino? In either case, the Emperor would die, but it wouldn’t be so bad if Ukyou died with him.

“The one you dread.”

The comfort the Emperor sought in his despair vanishes in an instant as the King ruthlessly dispatches his hopes. With a cold expression born of complete indifference, the King coolly declares an end to the Emperor. He evidently has no compassion to give to a man who’s fated to die. That is how the Emperor realizes that it’s the truth.

“A ridiculous choice!”

If the King’s guards weren’t present, the Emperor might have assaulted him. Such was his anger, but he could no longer find anything upon which to vent his rage. The man he hates more than anything in this world is assured continued survival and power. He will be the only one to die, and there’s no way he can accept that.

“Certainly that man has been given treasures by God! But so what?! Does the fact he is beloved of God mean anything he does will go well?! That he’s not allowed to lose?!”

The only thing the Emperor can do is curse fate itself. He can only curse the miserable, terrible fate that’s befallen him, the man who is now the final Emperor of the Domino Empire. He curses the glory of the man who is so beloved of God that he will continue to rule Domino despite his loss.

“What have you come to do?! Are you here to gloat over my pending destruction?!”

The Emperor begins yelling at the king, as though remembering his hatreds. He screams his rage at the man who expressionlessly came to hand him his fate.

“...”

The Arcanian King watches him as though observing an interesting rare animal. The humiliation suffered by an opponent because he’s in a position of absolute safety... Fully understanding that he’s drawn the man’s ire, he watches calmly.

“As for why I’m here, I’m here to observe your humiliation for future reference.”

In terms of rare animals, there are perhaps few animals as rare as this one: the last Emperor of a failed great empire. It’s not something one can usually see, even if they wanted to do so.

“Does it amuse you? Does it entertain you? So long as you leave the usurper alive, you will be next!”

The Emperor, feeling his death approach, continues to humiliate himself before the king. He was a different person from the Emperor the King had known before. There’s no trace of the man who controlled a great empire, all according to his whim.

“Ukyou says that watching you motivates him as a head of state. I came to confirm that...and it seems he’s right.”

The King motions for the Emperor to sit. Based on his cool response, the Emperor barely regains his composure.

Because the Arcana Kingdom is now positioned above Ukyou, if the King so desires, he could save the lives of the Emperor and his family. Even if the possibility is close to nothing, offending him here would cut the possibility off entirely. Then again, it might already be settled. But even then, he wanted to look for hope.

The King and the Emperor take their seats on chairs inside the cell. They appeared, at least, to be two equals, as they once were. But the fact that there are only guards around the King is a reminder of the reality of the situation.

“The King of the Arcana Kingdom.”

He restarts the conversation once they’re both seated. The Emperor clings to his words as he tries to convince the King.

“Does Ukyou have that much value?”

As though forgetting the humiliating display he put on earlier, he asks with complete sincerity.

“He’s a man who claimed a great cause, and took down an empire to fulfill a personal vendetta. All he has is the blessing of God. Without the Sacred Treasures, he has nothing of value.”

If Ukyou were present, he might have taken offense at that, because those words were a truth that he couldn’t deny.

“Yes, that’s true.”

The King calmly accepts that truth. At least, he accepts those words. His answer was so lacking in interest that it was clear he wasn’t paying much heed to the conversation.

“So, you, the weasel with no value outside of having been Emperor, are better than he is?”

“Wha...?!”

The Emperor is dumbstruck. He couldn’t believe that the King of the Arcana Kingdom would declare that he, a man who had been Emperor of the Domino Empire, had no value. It was one thing for a barbarian like Ukyou to hold that sentiment, but quite another for a great man like the King to do so.

“One of your retainers, the former nobleman Nuri, mentioned something to this effect. That the country would have fallen into chaos if they hadn’t obeyed the emperor.”

Knowing just how badly hurt the man in front of him is, the King continues his relentless attack.

“And that was true. Domino did, in fact, fall into chaos. So much so that they had to invade another country.”

“...Yes! That’s Ukyou’s fault! If he hadn’t fanned the flames, this country would...!”

“But the people accepted that as a fair price to pay. To put it in Disaea’s terms, they were cutting their losses.”

Tomorrow it would be him, the Emperor had said. The King fully recognized that it might well be the case. Just as Domino fell to internal strife, some day Arcana would as well. He doesn’t know how, but it’s not something that can be avoided.

It’s possible that he could be the last king of the Arcana Kingdom. It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility. That is why he wanted to observe the man who had already failed. He wanted to use him as an example of what not to do. Because he would be executed soon, he wanted to see him while he still could.

“They felt it was better to throw the country into chaos than to obey the Emperor. Ukyou only provided the spark. It was the citizens who rose up.”

“That! That is what I mean by fanning the flames! The Arcana Kingdom will end up that way, too! Ukyou will eventually turn his attention toward Arcana’s nobles and royalty! It’ll be too late when that happens!”

The Emperor has no choice but to give up. That he no longer has any means of taking back his country. At the very least, the Arcanian King has no intention of restoring him. All he has left is to beg for mercy.

“...No doubt you’re already aware, but my entire House has been captured.”

“Of course I’m aware.”

“Then... Can you at least save the children that aren’t yet at the age of majority? I don’t ask that you treat them like royalty, just that they live.”

It was the very least he could hope for. The last wish he could hope for in the pits of despair.

“Our family has no strength left. As you’re here, no doubt he’s even captured the nobles who fled the country. In which case... There should be no gain from killing the children, and no loss in letting them live.”

It was not an order delivered by an arrogant tyrant, but a request from the head of a family. It was, perhaps, the first time in his life that he had fervently begged for anything.

“No.”

And just as he had done until he lost power, the King coolly dismisses his wish.

“All who have been captured will be killed. Every last one of them.”

“...Why?!”

“This is something we confirmed with Dainsleif, so there is no mistake. There is a girl within Arcana who bears the blood of the Imperial House. Do you understand what that means?”

“...N-No!”

The Emperor’s go wide in confusion and shock. The memory from five years ago, the one that he would have otherwise kept buried. A memory of a woman who was a member of the Imperial House but couldn’t ascend to the throne.

“The girl... Does she have silver hair?!”

“Yes. She is the daughter of one of the cadet branches of the Imperial House who lost the power struggle and escaped.”

If Ukyou had been present, he would have found immense satisfaction in the Emperor’s expression.

“R-Ridiculous... That bint’s child... That child alone...will be the only member to pass on the Imperial blood!”

“Farewell, then. I will not waste the lessons I’ve learned from you.”

At the very end, the Emperor learns that there will be someone to pass on the Imperial blood. This robbed the Emperor of the last shred of justification he possessed. The child of a woman who he hadn’t even regarded as a political rival will survive as a puppet of the Arcana Kingdom.

“That wretch’s...child...will become Emperor...?”

He falls into further despair, as the opponent he had held in such contempt has ended up winning in the end. The King leaves the Emperor to his despair and exits the cell. The King and his guards depart without a trace of remorse, without a trace of pity.

“How was he?” Ukyou, who had been waiting outside the cell, calmly asks.

“Nothing to it. A small, pitiful man. Just as you said.”

“I see.”

The supreme rulers of the Arcana Kingdom and the Domino Republic share the same opinion of the former Emperor. They both know that he is the one man they must avoid emulating.

“To see him scrape together enough dignity to ask for something for someone else, but end up only begging for the lives of his family. He asked me to spare the children. Even at this point, he understands nothing.”

“Heh.”

At the King’s exasperation, Ukyou answers with a dry laugh. With the situation well in hand, the two have room to reflect.

“If the citizens heard that, they’d probably throw stones just based on those words.”

From the Emperor’s point of view, it must have been the very least he could hope for. But, in reality, it was far too much to ask. The plea to let the children live was an unforgivable request for the citizens of the Domino Republic, who were never even given that choice.

“His crimes are such that they doomed his entire family. Why does he expect mercy now?”

“I had hoped he would have reflected as he faced death, but he’s hopeless. He truly understands nothing.”

Why had the people gone along with Ukyou’s incitement? It was because many had died as a result of the Emperor’s excessive taxation. The citizens who wanted just to survive rose in rebellion because they hadn’t even been allowed to live. The Emperor will likely never realize just how much it took for them to come to that decision.

“That he could do whatever he wants once he sits upon the throne.... He thoroughly believed that ludicrous, childish thing. He never doubted that the Emperor could do whatever he wanted, with no responsibility or duties toward the people.”

“It’s almost funny.”

“But not something one can laugh at. The worst part was that it wasn’t just him. The Imperial House and the nobles all shared that belief.”

If those around the Emperor had been decent people, they’d have found some way to exile or assassinate a tyrant. But the reason that hadn’t happened was because the Emperor’s delusions had spread as common sense to the rest of the population.

The ones who had to pay the price for that distorted common sense were the subjects of the Domino Empire. It really was something that was too awful to laugh about.

“This country was rotten long before the flames of war were ignited. I truly pity this country’s people.”

The Emperor tried to frighten the King at the prospect of revolution in the Arcana Kingdom, but the King doesn’t think that could really happen. After all, revolutions take a great deal of effort. Without extreme hardship, or far too much time and wealth on their hands, no one would ever attempt to topple the government by force. Fortunately, in the Arcana Kingdom, the vast majority of the subjects didn’t fall into either category.

“In that sense, you are, indeed, the savior of this country. You need not be so hard on yourself.”

“I don’t know... See, I, myself, lost most of my motivation the moment I took down the old regime. I thought that once the revolution succeeded, the rest would fall into place...”

“True, I cannot praise your decision to invade our kingdom. That decision did create more victims. However, at the very least, you tried to take responsibility for your failures. There’s nothing that can be done for the lost lives, but you’re still trying to atone.”

It’s true that the Domino Emperor wasn’t loved by God, but what was more important was that he didn’t love his subjects.

“That Emperor never mentioned a word about his subjects. I would have thought he would have said something about leaving his subjects in our care, either to me or to you.”

“Though, it would be awkward if he had become selfless and virtuous at the very end.”

The disgusting display of self-centeredness shown by the Emperor is a warning to themselves as rulers, and a lesson that needs to be passed on to their descendants. They want to avoid becoming that way themselves, and they want to make sure their descendants don’t end up that way, either.

“In that sense, it was good to be able to talk to him. I have a son as an heir, and I will make sure to hammer home the point.”

“Of course, I’ll do the same. To my children, who’ll eventually marry little Lain’s kids.”

“So, my daughter will marry into Lord Ukyou’s family...”

Lain, the last survivor of the old Domino Empire’s Imperial House. Hearing the explanation from Sansui, she looks thoroughly displeased.

“...What do you not like about it, Lain? It doesn’t seem such a bad deal to me...”

It didn’t seem like there was enough specificity for her to seem displeased. It’s not at a stage where she has complaints about the potential marriage partner, or that she’s really fond of her own daughter, after all. Even before all that, Lain herself doesn’t have any marriage prospects yet.

“It may be something of a burden to think that your own child will marry into another country and that your grandchildren would come to rule that country, but... That’s a good ways off...”

“Papa, try thinking a bit harder about this,” Lain says, very calmly explaining to her father what will happen in the future. “We’re going to end up related to Princess Setenve. You know, the same Princess Setenve who really hates you?”

“...”

It’s true that Ukyou will be marrying Setenve, and that their child will be marrying Lain’s child. As such, Lain and Setenve will end up as in-laws. Setenve, who bears a grudge toward Sansui for defeating the Royal Guard, and Lain, Sansui’s daughter, are going to be in-laws.

“Lain... Tell your children that they can run away if they need to.”

“At least fix things between you and her by then!”

“O-Oh, of course...”

Sansui can’t help but apologize silently for being a poor father to his daughter, who’s one one-hundredth his age.