Dawn. The first ray of sunlight pierced through the morning mist of Trullinczentyr.
"Extra! Extra!"
"Extra! A heaven-shaking scandal! The Twin Empresses secretly order the assassination of an Elector!"
A newsboy's hoarse cries rang through the capital's streets and alleys.
He ran, scattering the newspapers in his hands into the air.
Hadek, the bakery owner, had just opened his shop when a paper fluttered to his feet.
He picked it up. One glance at the blood-red headline on the front page, and the clear photocopy of the decree below it, was enough to strike him like lightning.
The flour sack in his hand fell with a thud, sending up a cloud of white powder.
"This… this is impossible…" he muttered to himself.
But the distinct Seal of the Star Chamber and the White Empress's signature mercilessly mocked his naivety.
On the streets, more and more people were jolted from their sleep.
They snatched papers from newsboys or tore down flyers that had been posted overnight.
Their initial expressions were of confusion, of disbelief.
But when they saw the detailed confession, personally signed by the messenger Oscar, and the names of the court nobles—some familiar, some strange—all their emotions coalesced into a towering inferno of rage.
"Liars! They're all liars!"
"How are they any different from the Witch King! They both use murder to solve their problems!"
"To think we've been worshiping tyrants like this all along!"
A wave of fury began to gather in every corner of the city.
A guard standing watch at the gates of the Twin Towers stared, pale-faced, at a flyer that had blown to his feet.
He remembered his older brother, who had been arrested as a remnant of the Witch King's faction and never seen again, just for complaining about taxes in a tavern.
He had always thought it was the misdeeds of lower officials. Now he understood. The source of this rot was right here, in the very Twin Towers he guarded day and night.
He silently unpinned the insignia of the Royal Guard, threw it to the ground, and turned to join the growing crowd on the street.
...
Atop the Twin Towers.
Lizelotte had not slept all night.
When the head maidservant presented the newspaper—the one bearing the decree she had personally signed—with trembling hands, she felt all the blood drain from her body in an instant.
She stared at her own signature on the paper. The symbol that once represented supreme authority and glory was now like a brand, nailing her to the pillar of historical shame.
She had lost.
So completely, so laughably.
Her meticulously designed killing blow had become a boomerang flying back at her own face.
Lacey didn't even need to move a single soldier. With just this piece of paper she had written with her own hand, he had destroyed everything they possessed.
Lizelotte couldn't help but wonder if she was truly as those people said—a mere tool created by the Lich to deal with the Witch King, and nothing more.
Was it true that she had no political talent, no ability to govern a nation?
"Lizelotte…" Herlinmarte burst in.
"The mob outside… they've surrounded the Twin Towers! Give the order, have the guards suppress them!"
"Suppress them?" Lizelotte let out a wretched laugh.
"With what, Herlinmarte? Just listen to the noise outside."
Through the window, the thunderous chants were clearly audible.
"Tyrants, step down!"
"Trial for the Empresses!"
"Leithanien belongs to the people!"
A court minister came scrambling in, crying, "Your Majesties! This is terrible! The City Defense Army refuses to follow orders!"
"They… they've opened the city gates!"
Another report arrived: "Lord Abraham's and Lord Hoffmann's troops… there's been a mutiny!"
"After seeing the flyers, the soldiers are refusing to move against their own compatriots. Both armies are now completely paralyzed!"
Following that, Meklen, Wolner, Ziegler…
One by one, the Electors, even those who had previously remained neutral, issued public statements severely condemning the royal family's act of murder and announcing their recognition of the "Supreme Reform Council" as the sole legitimate governing body of Leithanien.
The dominoes fell, one after another.
Lizelotte collapsed weakly onto the throne.
It was all over.
They were isolated, abandoned by the entire world.
Just then, a burst of static erupted from every radio in the palace and every loudspeaker in the city squares.
Then, a man's voice—steady, calm, yet carrying a strange sense of compassion—spread to every corner of Leithanien.
It was Lacey.
"Citizens of Leithanien! My compatriots!"
"I am Lacey."
At the sound of this voice, the furious crowd outside the Twin Towers gradually fell silent, everyone listening intently.
"Today, we have all seen a decree that should never have existed."
"It represents not just a conspiracy against me personally, but a grave trampling of the laws we all share, a violation of our dignity as people of Leithanien!"
"My parents were once victims of this kind of dark power!"
"I once believed that the Twin Empresses, who overthrew the Witch King, would bring light to this land. But I was wrong!"
"When power is not locked in a cage, when rulers become detached from the people, it only breeds new arrogance and tyranny!"
"I stand here today not for revenge, nor to seize the crown."
"What I, and the millions of workers, farmers, and soldiers behind me, want is simply a Leithanien that is fair, dignified, and free from arbitrary killing and oppression!!"
"The actions of the Twin Empresses have proven that they have betrayed the oath they took at their coronation. They are no longer fit to rule this great nation!"
"Therefore, I, Lacey, in my capacity as the Chairman of the Supreme Reform Council, declare that I will lead our army to Trullinczentyr!"
Atop the Twin Towers, Herlinmarte tightened her grip on her sword's hilt.
But Lacey's next words stunned everyone.
"We go to ensure order in the capital, Trullinczentyr, and to protect the lives and property of all citizens, including… the two ladies in the palace."
"Their fate should not be decided by me, or by any single person."
"It should be handed over to a law that truly represents the will of the people, to a court that holds public trials under the sun, and to all the people of Leithanien for the final verdict."
"Compatriots! The shadows of the old era are about to disperse. A new Leithanien awaits us on the horizon!"
"Now, let us go together and greet the dawn that is our own!"
"Long live Leithanien!"
The speech ended.
After a brief silence, an unprecedented roar of cheers erupted in the squares of Trullinczentyr.
People embraced, weeping with joy.
Lacey's words had answered their deepest desire—the dawn of a new era that truly belonged to the people.
Atop the Twin Towers, listening to the cheers that shook the heavens, Lizelotte lost all her strength.
She had lost not just power, but the hearts of the people.
...
A few days later, the allied armies of seven Grand Regions—Wasser Fief, Schtong Fief, Caplania...—led by Lacey, began their march on the capital.
The towns along the way offered no resistance. Instead, countless citizens spontaneously took to the streets, waving red flags with sickles and hammers, cheering for the army, and offering the soldiers food and fresh water.
The road to Trullinczentyr was wide open.
Lizelotte and Herlinmarte stood at the highest point of the Twin Towers, gazing at the torrent of soldiers and people flowing slowly toward them from the distance.
Their era had come to an end.
________________________________________
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