A few days had passed since Rudel was accused of treason and imprisoned.
To make his confinement seem more real, fleets from the Consortium had been reported at the kingdom's borders.
Rudel's family hadn't been exempt from this either. They were placed under house arrest. Lyle and Paula were treated the worst, as the daughter was taken to a separate room and threatened by adults that she'd be sold into slavery. As for Lyle, he was forced to talk about Rudel, but he refused. For some strange reason, whenever the knights in the room became too rough, they'd fall unconscious.
As for Rudel, just like when he was imprisoned at the academy, Ixion brought items to make his stay comfortable. Even when they were taken or destroyed, they'd be restored shortly after when no one was looking. Guards were left inside, but they wouldn't remember anything and, for some reason, were naked.
The food given to him was bad, but he never ate it—it might have been poisoned.
Instead, steak with potato salad and vegetables, among other exquisite dishes, would appear. There was wine, but he'd spit it out for some reason.
Meanwhile, the girls were in Alisa's family territory so Airi could help heal the wounded, including the older brother. Of course, people saw her and were stunned.
They couldn't go to the capital since the head of the house had ordered it.
There were only a few days left until the end of December and the start of the new year. Rumors spread about the wedding between Liam and the Saint, along with the possibility that Marquis Balzac would become the new Prime Minister since the previous one had passed away.
◇◇◇
In a place near the kingdom's border, a small lookout monitored the activity of the countryside nobles. For some reason, the insurrections had stopped, but not the executions of commoners.
On that ship, at the bow, was a man named Askewell. He had brown hair in a strange hairstyle that looked like a coconut.
He touched the area where he used to have a mustache.
There was nothing there now. Only a light burn made by Ixion.
Touching it, he remembered that Rudel had taken not only his title—now a Viscount—but also his prized, fine brush mustache.
"Damn you, you kingdom brat!"
He cursed a certain boy with all his heart. While doing so, an old, tall man with a samurai-style hairstyle, a bald head, and a beard with a mustache covering his mouth brought him a letter.
"What is this?" Askewell took it without manners. Opening it and proceeding to read, a malicious smile appeared.
"Bacchus, our revenge will finally happen. It seems our ally secretly managed to free Bandel. We'll see him soon."
The old man in great armor smiled upon hearing that and then asked,
"When will that be?"
"It will be—"
On that beautiful day, an evil plan was set into motion.
◇◇◇
In a hangar at the Royal Palace.
"Can you still not open it?"
A group of craftsmen, thaumaturges, and engineers were using various tools trying to open the hatch of Battler and Brynhilt.
The chief of the place, an old man called the legendary master craftsman Ralph—an NPC that existed in the game. Liam went to him when his ship, a certain item obtained very late in the game, had several damages.
This man fixed it without issue. It was his passion since, despite being a commoner, he was an expert in both ships and armed units.
He had discovered Brynhilt's camouflage when it was brought in. Now he was trying to figure out how it worked. His curiosity was greater than his loyalty. He was only interested in knowing how it moved on its own and functioned.
"I desire it! I desire to know everything about you!"
What he didn't know was that Battler's eyes were watching him.
The kingdom tried to take over Rudel's shipyard and repair workshop, but it was under his father's name. Not even the robots or parts could be taken. This was defended by nobles and ministers not hostile toward Rudel. His island wasn't as lucky. The kingdom's forces entered his island trying to find something to help them start his ship or armed unit. There was nothing.
All the drones, robots, and parts had disappeared. Even the entrances to secret zones were destroyed and camouflaged as part of the ecosystem. What they didn't know was that a flying object was recording them.
◇◇◇
The girls finally managed to leave Alisa's family territory to head to the academy.
Her father didn't give an explanation, according to the letter they received. When they arrived, the academy had a gloomy atmosphere.
They went to Rudel's room to tell him they were okay, but upon arriving, what they found was...
"What happened here?!"
The room had been ransacked. Several personal items were stolen, including the rings he got last semester.
There were hurtful and vulgar graffiti directed at him.
A person came running after finding out about their return.
"Alicelotte-san!"
It was Rudel's instructor. They asked him what happened here and where its occupant was.
He told them to accompany him to a room. The girls did so. In that room was Eleonora.
He asked them to sit down. The girls were anxious for some reason.
That's when their faces showed panic at what they were told.
"That's impossible!" Airi shouted about what happened.
"Rudel isn't the kind of person who likes to do complicated things, much less something as absurd as treason!" Alisa forcefully let out what she felt.
The other two in the room nodded, but Eleonora told them, "That's true, but the palace or Marquis Balzac's faction don't care about that." Then, Alisa quickly left the room.
Airi asked, "Where are you going?" While running, Alisa said, "To see my father! He must know something!"
Airi watched Alisa's back. She clenched her hands and did the only thing she could do without Liam's help.
(Rudel-san, may nothing happen to you.)
She prayed with tearful eyes.
◇◇◇
Upon arriving at her house in the capital, Alisa noticed many things were missing, but she didn't pay attention and headed to her father's office.
She didn't knock on the door—she just entered shouting.
"Father, help Rudel! He hasn't done anything wrong!"
Siegwald narrowed his eyes.
"Don't be so hasty. These kinds of things are usual incidents in the royal palace. Besides, even if I had the authority to do so, neither his armed unit nor his ship would return with him."
Alisa received a great shock from her father's words.
"...Are you saying that without them, Rudel is worth nothing if he doesn't have his Lost Object? Rudel has been striving and working for my sake until now!"
Her father responded coldly upon hearing that.
"And what about that? There's no doubt all the success so far has been thanks to his Lost Object. It's a pity, but anyway, what value does he have now that he doesn't possess either of the two?"
Alisa clenched her fists. She remembered her original bond with Rudel and reminded her father.
"I am his patron, and he is my knight!"
"And I believe I thanked him and prepared an adequate reward for it. That's enough. Return to the academy."
"What about the Prime Minister and the Queen?! They have personal esteem for him!"
"...They are a matter that doesn't concern you."
With those words, Alisa seemed on the verge of crying.
She turned halfway and ran out.
The door wasn't opened by her but by an elderly servant.
Heavy footsteps accompanied by a loud "I hate you!" sounded as if a small girl were running.
Upon hearing that childish tone, Siegwald drank a bit of water due to stress.
"For heaven's sake... if only she were a bit more honest with herself..."
As he sat down, he noticed the servant.
"Does something occur, Doyle?"
The old butler approached after greeting and handed him some documents, then returned to his original position.
"I see. It seems Vayne is okay. Without a doubt, that girl is a great help despite being a commoner."
The document contained many things, but the first page indicated his son was okay and recovering little by little.
Then, he proceeded to read the other pages. His face made a bad expression.
"So it's true that that bastard Balzac is about to become Prime Minister now that Ritzburg isn't here... It seems that boy truly has nothing but misfortune on his side."
A great sigh escaped his mouth.
"I don't know what's worse—a crisis in the palace or a teenage daughter who doesn't know if she likes him or if they're just friends with a certain pain with legs?"
The butler made a comment regarding that last thing he said.
"Pardon me, my lord. Isn't it simpler to tell Lady Alisa about her feelings?"
Siegwald responded without interest.
"That girl got the stubbornness genes from her mother. Even if I told her or someone else did, she'd deny it. She was always so stubborn when asked if she liked something or not. And after what happened with those two idiot boys, her stubbornness regarding the Viscount is probably something she must accept herself."
"I understand, but my lord, doesn't the Viscount himself have something to say?"
He looked at the servant and told him his true opinions about Rudel.
"Even if that boy feels something for her but thinks they can't be together because of rank, it just means this is already a problem of very idiotic children. There has always been and will be a way to achieve a political marriage between superior or inferior ranks. She herself knows it, but it seems that since she started hanging out with him, I feel she becomes a bit foolish. Truly, only those two give me more headaches than anyone else."
He drank water again after letting that out.
◇◇◇
Alisa finally returned to the academy.
Airi was waiting for her at the door to Rudel's room.
Both had tears in their eyes. Seeing her, Airi cried harder.
They entered Rudel's room and talked about what happened.
"...Something like that!"
Airi had a Rudel doll that had been destroyed. Alisa told her, "There's no one who can help him." Her eyes were shedding tears. Then, Airi got up from the bed where they were.
"There is someone who can help us!"
Alisa looked at her, puzzled.
"Who?" said her friend while Airi took her hands to stand her up.
"Saint Erselica-san!"
"She can help us since Rudel saved her once. It's returning a favor, or something like that was the saying."
Alisa smiled upon hearing that and said, "Certainly, I had forgotten about her. But she's related to the minister's faction that imprisoned Rudel. Do you think she'll help us?"
"I hope so."
With that said, both headed to look for Erselica.
◇◇◇
Outside the girls' dormitory, there was a mansion. It was built for the Saint by the sanctuary.
Currently, the sanctuary has a foot inside the palace. Supreme Pontiff Dixit has been cataloged as Minister of Salvation. It's only a matter of time before more positions are occupied by sanctuary members.
In that mansion, Erselica was with her followers. Many of them were originally meant to serve Alisa.
But now it was different since their patron was...
"My, my, what brings you here?"
...Kneeling in favor of her help.
The girls had come to ask for her help. Erselica's followers spoke for her without her consent and told them to kneel in her presence.
After doing so, Erselica proceeded to get back at them for everything she didn't like about them.
"So, what do you want from me?" she said in a malicious tone.
The girls said at the same time.
"Please, Saint-sama, we implore you!! Help Rudel/Rudel-san!!"
Erselica knew that the event of Rudel's treason had finally arrived.
Before the end of the 1st year, Rudel had sold kingdom information abroad since his ship—whose name wasn't Brynhilt—was destroyed by Liam.
To guarantee his neck, he fled abroad to a certain country. After this event, no one would hear of him again until the end of the game.
Erselica believed the game's story was following its course to a better one.
For that reason, she knew they would come and still pretended ignorance.
After taking her time and savoring the moment, she responded.
"Hmm... I know. I re~fu~use."
"Please, we implore you, help him!!!"
She savored how the heroine and the villain knelt before her.
She humiliated them a bit more.
"Is this how you ask for something, daughter of the upper class? Your mouth was always so arrogant like an annoying dog. Ask me by barking."
Alisa took a brief moment, and words that shattered her inside came from her mouth.
"Please, woof, help, woof, Rudel, woof!"
Her eyes showed shame and pain.
Erselica burst into strong laughter. Her gaze then turned to Airi, and she told her the same.
"There are supposed to be two pleas, right? Where's yours? And say it like the pig you are."
Airi, unlike Alisa, didn't take a moment to do it.
Unlike her friend, she shed tears while doing it.
"I ask you, oink, please, oink, help Rudel-san, oink!!"
Erselica wanted to laugh very loudly while these two girls who never did anything to her threw their pride to the ground for someone's sake.
At the edge of the door, Allen and Cana watched everything. Their expressions were very hard to interpret.
Erselica stopped laughing and told them the drop that spilled the glass.
"What you say seems very fake. Why don't you strip naked in front of the capital's square? Only then will I believe what you say, hahaha."
Erselica laughed perversely as she watched them.
◇◇◇
Erselica's face showed a fear she had never felt in her two lives.
They were in the square at the center of the capital—her, her followers, and the two girls.
They came here to prove her desire to save him was a lie. Erselica thought they'd chicken out at any moment.
She didn't pay attention while speaking until that happened.
Slowly, as if it were an erotic humiliation show.
Alisa and Airi began to undress in public. They started with their jackets, then, slowly, with tears falling down their cheeks, they unbuttoned their blouses and, very painfully, showed their bras and stomachs.
Their skirts came off in the same way. Their arms trembled as their skirts fell to the ground.
They were in public—many people. Men, women, children, adults, elderly, officials, and knights, besides Erselica and her followers, watched as a commoner and a Duke's daughter undressed as if it were an exhibition of exhibitionism.
The sun was setting.
Erselica began to tremble as she watched how, after undressing, they made a dogeza pose they learned from Rudel.
She also knew what it meant.
Her thoughts conveyed her fear.
(...Hey, what are you doing? What the hell are you doing?! Stop. You remind me of what those girls did to me.)
Unintentionally, Erselica was doing the same thing that happened to her in her previous life. One of the worst memories was when they stole all her clothes after gym class, and she had to return in her underwear.
The pain was engraved in her mind, so unfortunately, she was applying it here.
(Stop. Weren't you just being used by that guy? Why do you go so far for him? He's a villain who will harm us all! Even if I truly wanted to help him, his Lost Object is too dangerous to leave with him.)
Her thoughts were interrupted by her followers' voices.
"Hahaha, the daughter of a Duke has fallen so low. That shows her house no longer has power."
"I feel disgusted thinking this woman was my patron. In any case, what do you see good in that countryside trash? He's a traitor, after all."
"Hey, Alicelotte! What happened to the pleas, huh?"
A girl said that and put her foot on Alisa's head. Her forehead now touched the floor full of dust and dirt.
Airi also had her forehead on the floor. A girl spat on her back.
With a very trembling and pained tone of voice, they kept repeating the same thing.
"...P-please, save him, Saint-sama!!"
Their voices now sounded distorted by their cries camouflaged as pleas. Droplets of tears marking the floor could be seen.
Erselica's followers kept mocking both.
"Hahaha, they've hit rock bottom."
"Erselica-sama, why don't you use this scum from a ruined house as a chair and the commoner as a footrest?"
"That's right. Come on, you two pieces of furniture, ask for her to sit on you, hahaha."
Erselica trembled upon hearing that.
(What the hell is wrong with these girls?! They're very scary. They don't even seem human. Besides, do they want me dead? If that guy manages to get out, he'll come for my head!!)
In her mind, an image of Rudel with his katana, with a demonic expression, slowly approached.
(I can't allow that guy to get out. If he does, he'll undoubtedly kill both me and you idiots.)
It seemed the humiliation had no end.
"What do you think you're doing!"
Or so it seemed until Chlust and Frey arrived, accompanied by Cana and Allen, who brought blankets with them.
Upon arriving, they pushed aside the followers humiliating them and placed the blankets over the girls.
Chlust shouted at the followers.
"Don't try to use Erselica for your own idiotic ends!"
"That's right," responded Frey, adding, "You're taking it out on them through your patron's word. You should be ashamed."
For some reason, they thought everything both servants—who didn't support what their mistress was doing—told them was just a misunderstanding.
"We came to look for you since we had something to tell you. The marquis requests you, and we have to go find His Highness, who is required at home," said Frey while taking the Saint's hand to go to the palace.
Erselica was still in panic, but upon seeing both, she said, "A-and I never asked them to do that. They misunderstood me. Besides, there's nothing I can do for a traitor."
With that, their last hope had gone.
Allen and Cana turned halfway to see how everyone, except the girls, remained in the same position. Everyone had left.
◇◇◇
It was already getting dark. The lights of the lanterns turned on via a magical formula that detected the weather.
The girls stood up, staggering. They grabbed their clothes and went to a dark alley to get dressed.
While doing so, Airi asked Alisa in a sad tone.
"It wasn't necessary for you to go so far for him. Didn't you think of your family?"
Without even looking at each other, her friend responded.
"My family is important, but Rudel's safety and well-being are more important than them or my pride."
That's when a tear welled up.
"With this, I have no excuse for them to want to throw me out on the street. Even if the situation for my house is bad, what I did was tarnish my ancestors, my parents, and my brother."
More tears with crying welled up.
"I threw away my pride and let them humiliate me. Even you did too. But still, even with that, it wasn't enough to save Rudel!!"
Alisa's painful tone could be heard outside the alley. Even without being fully dressed, Airi hugged her from behind.
"How foolish you are. If only I were humiliated, it was fine. I'm a commoner. I don't have something to lose like family or pride. But you do. Your well-being and Rudel-san's are the only things that matter to me."
Hearing that, Alisa turned around and also hugged Airi.
Their breasts in bras touched while their foreheads also touched each other. Each could breathe the other's breath.
Their eyes were moist. Both were crying for not being able to help Rudel even in their public humiliation.
Many people, including men, saw their nearly naked bodies.
They hoped only their husbands would see them, but strangers looked.
After consoling each other in silence for a while, Alisa spoke.
"I still have something left to do."
"What thing?" said Airi.
Both were sad while Alisa, dressing faster, responded.
"The Prime Minister and the Queen are Rudel's allies. I'm sure they must know something or try to help him. I'm going to try to speak in person! Wait for me at the academy. I'll bring you good news without fail!"
After saying that, Alisa ran toward the palace. Airi only watched her while having one thought.
(For you to do so much for Rudel-san only means that you too...)
Her hands clenched in impotence while her head lowered.
(Why don't I have any kind of power for these moments when my friends need me?)
◇◇◇
It was a beautiful night in the sky.
The Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Altfode was the location.
Large, hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor.
The footsteps headed toward the Queen's personal chambers.
"Lecia-sama!! Please, open the door!! Lecia-sama!!"
A girl shouted at the top of her lungs.
It was Alisa.
Her usual, elegant way of behaving wasn't present at these moments.
Her hair was disheveled, sweat marked her forehead and clothes. She threw off her slippers to run at full speed from the square to the palace in the middle of the night.
The white wooden door opened, and a beautiful woman was behind it.
The problem was that the woman had an expression of pain that shouldn't normally be seen.
"Alisa, what are you doing here? And at this hour... Wait, your feet are bleeding!!"
Alisa's black stockings had torn in the area of her feet, showing a puddle of blood.
Lecia immediately ran to a shelf to grab a high-level recovery potion that was expensive. She had it there for decoration but never imagined she'd use it.
She made her enter and gave her the potion to drink.
The iris of her eyes was red, but now the surrounding part was also red due to the exhaustion of running for two hours without rest, and moreover, on foot.
After feeling the wounds heal and her heart relax, Alisa spoke with the Queen.
"Lecia-sama, I need your help! Rudel has been—"
"...I know."
Lecia cut Alisa's words with a cold response.
She was stunned for an instant before responding.
"Your Majesty, wh-what do you mean? You already know Rudel's situation? In that case, you!!"
"Alisa, sit down and listen."
She had an expression of not wanting to say something she knew in front of the girl she considered like a daughter.
Looking at the floor, with closed eyes and clutching her dress, she said.
"The Royal Palace, the ministers, and... even my husband, His Majesty, have declared him guilty of treason against the kingdom and inciting insurrection in the border villages."
She bit her lip hard at the following words she was about to say.
"It has been decided that the traitor, the ex-Viscount Rudel, will be executed in less than 24 hours."
"Your father has lost almost all power in his faction. The Prime Minister has passed away and can't advise His Majesty. And I... am not even allowed to participate in the meetings."
"Upon arriving here, you shouldn't have seen any guards or servants nearby, right? They're all on the lower floor shamelessly celebrating that the traitor's technology will pass into the kingdom's hands."
"I'm sorry. This useless woman who is the Queen can't even delay the date, much less grant you some last words with him."
"I can have a servant deliver a letter from you to the jailer... Alisa?!"
When the Queen raised her face, she observed Alisa's face.
Her eyes expelled tears like waterfalls while she repeated over and over like a scratched record.
"Rudel will be executed... Rudel will be... Rudel will be... Rudel will be..."
At that moment, Alisa collapsed on the floor, making a humiliating plea she had made earlier.
"Alisa, what are you—"
"I implore you!!!"
Desperately grabbing her dress with tears in her eyes, upon looking at the Queen's face, Alisa humiliated herself for Rudel's sake.
"Please, Your Majesty!!!"
"Save Rudel!!"
"I'll do anything if you manage to save him!!"
"I'll eat manure!! I'll bathe in contaminated waters!! I'll even sleep in an oven, but, please!! I beg you, save Rudel!!!"
Lecia watched as Alisa desperately spoke irrational things.
She almost seemed like a girl begging her father not to leave home after telling her mother she saw him with another woman.
"Your Majesty, please, save him... I can't, but you can!!"
With a face of lament, Lecia said the words that completely tore "her daughter's" heart apart.
"I'm sorry. This decision was also supported by the Saint... Liam, that boy doesn't listen to a word I say. Forgive me, Alisa, but the Viscount—"
"Nooooo!!!"
"Alisa??"
Lecia desperately grabbed Alisa, who didn't seem to show sanity.
"Rudel, no!!!"
"Rudel, is!!!"
"Rudel, will!!!"
"Rudel, noooool!!!"
"Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!"
With much strength, the Queen held Alisa while she emptied in cries what she heard.
Lecia, meanwhile, thought.
(Forgive me, my girl.)
(But I told you once. Men and women can't be together without a political or romantic reason.)
(Truly, I can't blame your heart for feeling you're losing the one who matters more to you than your life.)
She strongly continued holding Alisa, who now tried to escape toward the exit.
(This is something I never taught you since I hoped you'd never go through it. Women—whether nobles, aristocrats, or commoners—will all suffer when the person they love is no longer here.)
"Ruuuuudeeeelll!!!! Noooo!!!!"
On that beautiful night, a flyer had been posted outside the palace and placed in other locations.
The flyer in the kingdom's language said:
"The traitor, ex-Viscount Rudel van Bradford, will be executed tomorrow, Wednesday."
The game's story continued just as planned, and Rudel's end had finally arrived.