The mood in the Azilia Kingdom was much different from the one in the Liaystian Kingdom.
Flora was standing on the balcony of the royal palace, watching the festival in the city. The atmosphere had been mournful just a day before, yet it was incomparable to what she was currently seeing.
"Look at them. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this kind of festive mood to appear after such a terrifying incident."
"!!!" Flora raised her eyebrow before turning back, finding her father with Zack. She politely bowed. "Your Majesty."
"No one is here. You can call me Father." Julius waved his hand. He walked to the balcony and placed his hands on the stone railing with a smile, satisfied with the mood of the capital city. "I have gotten the prisoners. Are you sure you donât want any reward?"
"Nathan doesnât wish to receive any reward. Besides, it wonât be good for me to receive a reward."
"Youâre worried about your brothers and sisters?" Julius sighed helplessly. "Theyâre overthinking this matter. Well, I guess itâs a lack of education on my part that causes them to turn this way."
Flora smiled wryly. "Although he doesnât wish for a reward, heâd like to know what will happen to those criminals."
Julius paused for a moment. "As Garam Haygaidenâs disciple, Iskar Haygaiden shall be hanged alongside all the officers.
"Weâll respect Sage Leyfonâs wish in burying his former junior brother and have given him the body.
"Regarding the rest of the corpses, they will be burned to ashes and have their ashes thrown into the wilderness.
"Eyewood and Tuska shall be interrogated. Tuska possesses unusual knowledge. If itâs misused, the knowledge might create a second Divine Hand. As for Eyewood, he will most likely be brainwashed by our summoners. His brain is something that no one can underestimate. At the same time, it has been corroded by âdarkness.â Hence, he has to lose his free will or he might cause big trouble for us.
"The rest of the survivors shall be executed. Since weâve received their bodies, weâll be the ones closing this matter."
"Are you planning to use them to gain a favor from the Liaystian Kingdom?" Flora asked. This would be the perfect time to make them owe the Azilia Kingdom after all.
Julius shook his head. "No."
Flora widened her eyes as though she couldnât comprehend the decision.
"You donât understand why I choose not to take advantage of this incident?"
"Please enlighten me, Father." Flora nodded.
"Of course, giving them the prisoners would allow us to gain that favor. However, the problem is you.
"The moment you donât take any reward, people will see that we gained this favor through your connection to Nathan. In that situation, itâs the same as declaring Nathan as ours.
"You might think it doesnât work this way, but unfortunately, it works that way. In fact, this will make you and Nathan get targeted by the Liaystian Kingdom.
"Thatâs why I donât plan to get that favor. By showing that weâre the ones closing it, weâre making our stance clear that we acknowledge your independence.
"In addition, Iâm planning to give you a reward whether you want it or not. The reward is pretty simple. That land of yours is recognized to be a part of the Azilia Kingdom under your grandfatherâs name.
"In that case, weâll strip that name and acknowledge it as an autonomous region. I can change it into an independent region, but you will be lacking the connection that the Azilia Kingdom possesses, which you require right now.
"You will have to renegotiate almost everything, including the connection to the internal teleportation network.
"This is why the Land of Death that is controlled by Elysion Aquamoon almost has no entrance. He is not part of the international teleportation network, so thereâs no teleportation circle connected to that place.
"Hence, I will be rewarding you by changing the status of your land into an autonomous region. You will receive a certain degree of self-governance.
"This will show other kingdoms that weâre giving you freedom from our own political system, but it doesnât give you the right to build a country. At the very least, this shows you weâll also make a move if theyâre targeting you. As long as you remain there, your siblings wonât go after you."
Flora looked down, falling into deep thought. On the one hand, this reward was definitely what Nathan probably wanted. On the other hand, no one expected this reward.
"I donât know if I should accept this reward or not..." Flora smiled wryly.
"You can discuss it first. Besides, Iâve heard something from your aunt... It looks like youâre going to cross the ocean?" Juliusâ expression turned solemn.
"Not me. Only Nathan." Flora shook her head. "We will remain here to protect what he has built. Besides, this will be a good opportunity for us. Right now, Nathanâs achievement is so big that he overshadows all of us.
"So, if we take this opportunity to build up our own achievements, people will think twice when approaching us."
"Thatâs actually even better. By recognizing your land as an autonomous region, you can use it to build up your achievements. Right now, you might have a mayor who oversees most of the stuff in your city, but your land is quite vast.
"Building more cities will be a good idea. The ash cloud above us will disappear one day."
Flora nodded. "I understand. I will discuss it first with the others."
"Think about it carefully." Julius nodded. "The reason for me doing this is simply that I know how the Liaystian Kingdom will behave after facing them for so long. Nevertheless, the choice is in your hands."
"Yes, Father."
"Well, thereâs one more reason. Itâs just... you shouldnât say this to Nathan." Julius leaned closer and whispered, "That kid is bringing so much trouble for us, so making your place an autonomous region will allow you to handle it on your own. We donât have enough manpower to take care of everything."
"..." Flora looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed since it was indeed the case. "Then, I will share one secret with Father as well. Nathan will probably accept it because heâs going to popularize his own household. He has thought of his family name, and by having this autonomous region, people will most likely recognize it through this special region."
"Hoh? I suppose I should say itâs about time. What is the family name?"
"Reckmoon."