The Demon Prince goes to the Academy

The snow had stopped in the imperial capital, and for several days, a strangely warm climate had persisted.

The new year had already arrived, and while the political atmosphere remained frozen, the weather itself continued to be unseasonably warm.

Ludwig was strolling through the streets of the temple, taking advantage of the unexpected warmth. The main gate of the temple was just ahead of him.

"Ludwig, it seems we have a visitor."

"A visitor?"

It was a message relayed by one of the few remaining dormitory building servants.

"Yes, she doesn't have entry permission, so she’s waiting outside."

"Ah…"

As Ludwig left the temple gate, he could see a woman in uniform sitting on a bench in the square in front of the boarding house.

It was the uniform of the Holy Knight Order.

The woman stood up and smiled brightly at Ludwig.

"Ludwig."

"…"

"I've been busy with various things, so I've only just managed to come and see you. I'm sorry."

Rowan, dressed in the uniform of the Holy Knight Order, had come to see Ludwig alone.

"What business do you have with me, newly appointed commander of the Holy Knight Order?"

Not long ago, he had heard the news that Archbishop Rowan was appointed as the commander of the Holy Knight Order following the sudden retirement of Eleion Bolton.

Ludwig's expression as he looked at Rowan held no hostility or malice.

Only the cold attitude of someone who had closed their heart to everything in the world remained.

------

Initially, the Holy Knight Order had the authority to investigate Rowan's assassination case.

It was a matter for the Holy Knight Order and the main religious organization to determine who had died in the burnt church and to make the announcement.

Rowan had never been dead, she had only faked her death.

Now, she had been appointed as the new commander of the Holy Knight Order following Eleion Bolton's sudden retirement.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Pope level.

It was ridiculous to say that a meeting of the Popes had been held when none of them were present.

To Ludwig, who had personally witnessed the deaths of five Popes at her hands, the story was nothing but a laughable play.

Ludwig could not know whether Eleion Bolton had really retired or been assassinated.

But now, he had no interest in such things.

Sitting on a bench in front of the temple gate, Rowan spoke to Ludwig, who had no intention of listening.

About what had happened, why she had done those things.

Why she had almost been killed, why she had faked her death, why she needed time, and why she had approached Ludwig.

Having heard all the reasons, Ludwig stared at Rowan.

His expression held no shock, horror, or betrayal at learning the truth.

"So, what's your point?"

Ludwig simply said that.

"…Just that. It's sad if you don't know anything, right? It's frustrating."

"Are you telling me this because I'm useless? That you caused all this trouble by impulsively attacking the heretics, and that's why the Empire killed people like that, and that's why it ended up like this? That no one would believe me even if I told someone because it doesn't sound like it’s possible?"

"Um…"

Rowan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded her head.

"I can't say it's not like that. In an age when rumors abound, people believe them only as much as they don't believe them. So even if you go around saying that Rowan is actually the mastermind behind the operation in the refugee camp as the new Knight Commander, no one would believe it."

"Leaving aside whether they believe it or not, the Inquisitors would try to take me away."

"You know that well."

It was okay to tell him since it didn't matter whether he knew or not.

Ludwig stared at Rowan with a firm expression.

"Anyway, did you think I would accept it when I heard it? That there was such a situation, and that what you had done was for a good cause?"

"I wouldn't have thought so. I thought you'd either scold me harshly or try to kill me."

"If I tried to kill you, would you die?"

"No, not at all."

Ludwig showed no reaction to Rowan's awkward response.

He just continued speaking calmly and coldly.

"So, you're saying that even if I hear the truth, I can't kill you after hearing it, and if I tell people the truth, they won't believe me?"

"I can't deny that."

"Rather than killing you, the fact that you don't even kill me means..."

"..."

"Am I not even worth killing?"

"Speaking harshly, yes."

Ludwig didn't get angry even at Rowan's cruel words.

"Anyway, let's put that aside."

"..."

"Isn't it strange?"

"What is?"

"A few days ago, I was treated like someone who doesn't need to know because I'm useless. Now, I'm treated like someone who can know because I'm useless. Who exactly decides that?"

Some truth.

It's okay if you don't know because you're not important.

It's okay if you know because you're not important.

Ultimately, Ludwig found the behavior and attitudes of those who handled the truth more strange than the truth itself.

In the end, there was no value in the truth.

"I thought about it for a few days."

"Yes."

"Your affairs, the Demon King's affairs, Ellen's affairs, the Empire's affairs. I thought about all of that..."

Ludwig spoke with a deadpan expression.

"Even if Ellen can't say it, saying it's all her fault is one thing..."

"Everyone seemed to have their reasons. I don't know the details, but it seemed like there were reasons and stories behind it."

"Without such things, they wouldn't say or act like that."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't face each other with such expressions."

"Everyone looked sad; no one seemed happy. Everyone probably had a good reason."

"But now, that doesn't seem to be important."

Ludwig looked at Rowan and said,

"You guys seem to think you're in a position to decide on such things."

"The important thing is that."

"That's the problem."

"It's not about what the truth is or what the story is, but the attitude of trying to control the truth. Pretending to care for people but actually not, allowing people to know something or not know something, it's that attitude of thinking you can decide on those things that's the problem."

"I felt that from you."

"A very unpleasant and disgusting sense of superiority."

"You don't know."

"But you're doing something incredibly great and noble that you don't know."

"So you don't have to know. Just get out."

"You don't know."

"But you've done something truly great and noble without knowing it. It may seem bad on the outside, but it's not really. So you should understand."

"So listen. How about that, after listening, I'm right, aren't I? The action you've taken against me is exactly this, right?"

"Isn't this unpleasant?"

"Sometimes you don't tell me, and sometimes you do."

"The reason is the same, but the actions are different."

"If the reason seems plausible but the actions are opposite, then you're just doing as you please."

"So, the attitude is the same."

"You treat people like nothing, like worthless people like me."

"Whether you tell me or not."

"Going further, you think you have the right to save or kill someone."

"Like when you killed the popes based on your judgment, regardless of what wrong they actually did."

"You guys are just strange people lost in some wildly delusional fantasy."

"The truth?"

"I'm not even curious about that anymore."

"What you guys are trying to do, what you want, and what you've done are no longer important."

"What's important is that all of you are intoxicated by something."

"Whether it's a sense of mission, malice, hatred, or vengeance against the world, or whatever."

"Or the illusion that you are making a great sacrifice to save the world."

"You're intoxicated with disgusting delusions."

"It's not surprising that you guys deserve to fall into hell as devils. But I can't give you that punishment. Yeah, as you said, I'm nothing."

"But that doesn't mean the truth runs away."

"The truth doesn't disappear."

"You guys are sinners, right?"

"Sinners should be punished, right?"

"But you haven't been punished, have you?"

"This is the truth."

"It's not those complicated things that I can't know, nor do I want to know, about your relationships, emotions, or whatever. Simple and clear things like this are the truth."

"With so many people buried by your actions, you keep burying more, whispering the truth amongst yourselves, and taking turns understanding and licking each other's wounds. That's disgusting."

"The truth should be explainable in a single word."

"You guys should be punished, but you haven't been."

"That's the only truth."

Ludwig found a simple truth in the labyrinth of thoughts, judgments, and circumstances.

There must be a price for sin.

If sinners are whispering each other's sins and remaining silent?

Someone has to take responsibility.

"Not long ago, Ellen looked pitiful."

"She looked miserable. So I don't blame her. There's no reason to blame."

"Like Ellen's appearance, you must have such stories. You might be pitiable and wretched people too."

"But."

"Among the people who died, was there even one who wasn't like that?"

"They would be pitiful and wronged. They had to die without knowing anything, getting caught up in it all."

"So it's better not to know your so-called truth."

"From now on, even if you come forward and tell me everything, I will close my ears."

"Feeling sorry for you, understanding you, it doesn't make the truth that you must be punished disappear."

"Because that truth is clear."

"Knowing nothing, I'll become your enemy."

"Regardless of the truth, whatever it is, no matter how justified, you must pay the price."

"There are so many people who have paid the price without doing anything wrong. No, there are even more people who were forced to be sacrificed, not even paying the price."

"You, who are involved in these matters, must pay the price, right?"

"Regardless of the reason, you must be punished."

"Regardless of the intent, you must pay the price."

"That's the conclusion I've reached."

There were sins.

There were sinners.

However, there was no judgment.

It was difficult to find the right path amidst the many complicated events that unfolded between the Empire, the Holy Order, and the Demon King's forces.

Only finding the sins was easy.

Only finding the sinners was easy.

And the unchanging truth that they had not been punished.

Whoever they were.

Everyone deceived, trampled, and used the little ones under the pretext of saving everyone.

Rowan smiled as he watched such a Ludwig.

"It's like looking at myself in the past."

A person who was saddened by their own insignificance.

And Rowan, who eventually became a monster, looked at Ludwig as if looking back on her distant past.

As if it was interesting.

As if it was fascinating.

"How do you plan to do it? How will you punish these monsters, Ludwig?"

A useless existence cannot be punished or punish others.

"…"

"To be friends with monsters, you must become a monster."

To be friends with monsters, one must be equal.

Rowan did that.

"You know that's the same if you try to kill monsters, right?"

To kill monsters, one must also be equal.

One must become a monster, after all.

If anything, one must become an even greater monster to kill them.

"I know."

Ludwig stared at Rowan with dark, abyss-like eyes.

Rowan felt a different kind of thrill than when she faced the Demon King not long ago, as she looked at Ludwig's expression.

"I'm well aware."

It was the thrill of having created a monster with her own hands.

Someone who was nothing, now striving to become something.

Regardless of the reason, intent, or purpose.

Whether succeeding or failing in becoming something, it must be enjoyable.

Rowan smiled as she looked at Ludwig.

"Good luck, Ludwig."

Ludwig stood up from his seat, as if there was no worth in listening to Rowan's words any further, distancing himself like he was moving away from something filthy.