Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 14

Unforgettable Opponent

The current king of the Rudek Kingdom was King Zeurasia.

In my entire life, I’ve only seen the King from a distance at various ceremonies. 

This was the first time I could see the King this close. It was hard to imagine that this King with a kind face would later be known as the Foolish King. 

To be fair, that nickname was given to King Zeurasia after the fall of the Rudek Kingdom. Before that, King Zeurasia was known as a wise king who loved his people. 

“Is there something on my face?”

The king asked, and I shook my head ferociously.

“N…No. My apologies. This was the first time I had the honor of seeing your visage from a close distance, so I—”

The king laughed lightly at my response, then he ordered, “Bring the dagger,” to his attendant.

The attendant brought red silk clothes with a beautifully decorated dagger on top of it to me.

“Roa. I am pleased to welcome you to the 10t Division, the division under my direct control. I am looking forward to your future achievements. This dagger is my gift for your achievement in the Eren Village.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I will work hard to fulfill your expectations,” I said, while respectfully accepting the dagger. With this, I was now the official member of the 10th Division.

Still, to meet the King directly just for an appointment ceremony was quite unusual. 

Most likely, the original plan was only for me to receive the official letter of appointment like others, but the matter of canned food changed everything.

I didn’t know what was discussed between the King and Rays-sama, but it seemed like the canned food project would be treated as a national secret. As the person who started the project, the King must have been quite interested in me, so he probably used this appointment ceremony as an excuse to meet me. 

But just an appointment ceremony alone wasn’t a convincing excuse for the King to meet me, a mere new member of 10th Division. That was why the King said the gift was for my achievement in Eren Village.

“Rays, accompany me for tea. Lapilia and Grantz, you both come too. Roa, since you’re already here, you come too.”

The King invited us to tea. The attendant that stood beside the King seemed to have something she wanted to say, but in the end, she refrained from speaking.

As if on the behalf of the attendant, someone else said, “Your Majesty, you seem to place quite an interest on that person.”

It was a man clad in white clothes which formed a contrast with Rays-sama black clothes and, unlike Rays-sama’s sharp expression, that person has a gentle expression that seemed to pull people in. 

General Lucifal Veras, the leader of the 1st Division and the person who held the title of ‘Two Swords of Rudek Kingdom’ alongside Rays-sama. 

But that was not all. 

I tried to keep Lucifal out of my sight as much as possible. If our eyes meet, I have no confidence in keeping my expression calm. 

Even now, I clenched my teeth in an attempt to control my rage.

General Lucifal was someone who was trusted by the King and loved by the people.

He was also someone who would betray his own country in two years. 

He sold the kingdom; he sold our lives

To the Lifrea Holy Kingdom.

?

That night, two years from now, Lucifal and the knights of 1st Division brought the soldiers from Lifrea into the palace. Unable to resist the sudden attack, most people who lived in the palace died.

The only reason I survived was because I took a walk that night. I had stayed up late because I was reading my books, causing my shoulders and my eyes to feel painful, so I took a walk out for a break. 

In the middle of that walk, a battle suddenly broke out. I didn’t know how and what exactly happened that night. All I could think of that night was to run away.

That was why I ran. I frantically escaped the palace and when I looked back, all I saw was the palace burning in flame. That was the beginning of the fall of the Rudek Kingdom in my previous life.

Then, when I wandered throughout the continent, the rumor about ‘truth of that night’ reached my ears.

King Zeurisia was a fool. Rudek Kingdom was barely holding on a thread because of the effort of one of the Two Swords.

However, even he finally couldn’t restrain the King. Thus, fearing that the citizens would be endangered if the King continued his heinous act, that Sword made a very heavy decision to ask for the help of Lifrea Holy Kingdom.

Nonsense.

But no matter how many people I asked, I only got a vague answer of “King Zeurasia is a fool” with no detail on what exactly the king did to earn that title.

I lived in the palace grounds for years, yet I’ve never heard about the King committing the so-called heinous act and I’ve never heard about Lucifal chastising the King for committing those heinous acts. 

The rumor was clearly made on purpose to justify Lucifal’s betrayal, but was it Lucifal himself who spread the rumor? Or was it Lifrea? 

It would be impossible for me to know that answer now. But the end of Lucifal and the 1st Division that betrayed us was quite tragic. 

At first, Lucifal was welcomed in Lifrea as a hero and was given an important position, but he died of illness two years after that.

Shortly after Lucifal’s death, the 1st Division, who ?became Lucifal’s private army, disbanded. I heard that Lifrea put a good use of the former member of the 1st Division and in the end; they were all exterminated.

Right in front of me was the traitor that sold his country.

While suppressing my anger, I silently listened to the conversation between the King and Lucifal. If I let myself relax even for a moment, I would rush to Lucifal in anger. 

Lucifal seemed to suspect that there was something behind the King’s interest in me.

Still, since he answered with, “No, I still have work I have yet to finish,” when the king invited him to join us for a tea, it seems like Lucifal judged I was not worthy of his further attention.

Urged by the King, Lucifal left the room after he finished his conversation with the King. 

I started at Lucifal’s back until I could no longer see it. 

T/N: When I first read the novel, I’ve always been curious about how the prosperous and rich country (as described by Roa) like Rudek could fall and now, I understand. It’s a traitor.