My Students Regret It After I Retired

61 – A Hero Scorned by All

Bellen, having confirmed the chain-sword flying towards her, didn’t even think to dodge or counter. Instead, she simply closed her eyes. Knowing Leos’ strength better than anyone, she understood that no matter what she did, she couldn’t possibly deflect that attack. More fundamentally, she didn’t even *want* to.

As she quietly shut her eyes, her past flashed before her, like a movie.

*

“The accused, Bellaike, is sentenced to death.”

Peren Empire Courthouse

The citizen jury trial had just concluded. The death sentence for the accused. The citizens who had participated all cheered at the news that a heinous criminal was to die.

The charges were: distributing banned substances within the Empire and the murder of five people.

“You scum-sucking criminal! Good riddance! Die!”

When one of the audience members started to yell, the judge’s face twisted and he gestured. Then, knights dragged the noisy member out.

Bellen just sat there, blankly, clutching a doll tightly in her hand.

Her mother cried uncontrollably beside her. Young Bellen didn’t understand why her mother was crying. She just felt heartbroken seeing people scorn her father and cried too.

“Bellen… I’m sorry.”

The moment her father’s execution date was confirmed, her mother left the house.

Her words, spoken honestly with no special excuses, stabbed Bellen’s heart.

“Every time I look at your face, he appears. That murderer’s face appears. I’m afraid when I see you… I’m so scared that I can’t live with you. I paid a month’s rent at the inn, so you need to figure out how to live on your own by then. That’s the last thing I can do for you. As for your sibling… I can’t bear to see you both.”

With a *bang*, the inn door slammed shut and her mother never came back.

Bellen realized she had been abandoned. And for a long while, she spent her time at the inn without eating anything.

-Knock knock

After a few days had passed, she heard someone knocking on the door, and thinking it might be her mother, Bellen rushed to open it.

But standing there was a knight. He spoke to Belin, who was staring blankly with a hollow face.

“Belin, daughter of Belake, is that you?”

“…Yes.”

“Where is your mother?”

“She abandoned me.”

“…”

The knight sighed, then tore off a document and handed it to Belin.

“Belake’s execution is tomorrow. I was only supposed to deliver this, but…”

The knight made a face as if in thought, then added,

“I’ll allow you to see your father before he dies.”

“Lord Rencatio! What are you doing!”

One of the other knights beside him shouted urgently, and Rencatio shook his head and spoke.

“You know why Belake is being executed. At the very least… at the very least, let her have a visit.”

“…If the higher-ups find out, we’re done for. Your whole family will be killed, Lord Rencatio!”

“My daughter is about the same age as her.”

“…”

“I’m begging you. Let her have a word before she goes.”

“Damn it… You have to be as discreet as possible.”

“Thank you. I’ll take all the blame, so don’t worry.”

Rencatio reached out his hand to Belin. Belin unconsciously took the man’s hand and followed him. And not long after, they arrived at the prison.

Through a single window, Belin faced her father.

Belake didn’t look afraid, nor like a criminal. His eyes held conviction. Only upon seeing his haggard daughter did his expression slowly crumble.

“…I’m sorry, Belin.”

“Dad, everyone is cursing you. Why… you’re a good person, why do people hate you so much?”

“I haven’t committed any crimes, Belin. I only did what was right.”

As Belake opened his mouth to speak, the trainee guard beside him glared.

“Belake. I told you, any useless talk and the visit ends right away? Get back to your cell.”

“…”

“Didn’t you hear? Get back inside?”

-Screech-

The door opened at that moment, and Renkatio stepped in from behind.

“Lord Renkatio. What brings you here?”

“It’s a shift change. I’ll be guarding from now on, so go out.”

“But I was just about to send Belake back in.”

“I said, go out.”

“…Understood. But be careful. Belake was about to start talking nonsense.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

Renkatio sat on the chair and spoke with his eyes closed.

“I drank too much yesterday, I’m tired. I’ll sleep for about 20 minutes and then wake up. So don’t cause any trouble and finish the visit properly. I have narcolepsy so once I fall asleep, I can’t hear anything and won’t remember anything properly, so be aware. Understood?”

“…”

Rentachio looked at Belin and Belake, emphasizing again.

“The time I cannot hear is 20 minutes. Remember that.”

“…Thank you.”

After that, Rentachio lowered the helmet of his plate armor, folded his arms, and remained silent like a mouse. Belake continued the silence for about 30 seconds, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Belin, the people Father killed deserved to die. They killed dozens of innocent people before my eyes, and they laughed while looking at their corpses. I couldn’t bear to see that. I couldn’t stand the vile actions of those who were killing people screaming for help and laughing. They even tried to kill the remaining children, so in the end, I drew my sword. I killed five of them. Then, the Empire framed me, saying that I was the one distributing the drugs found on their bodies, and they unilaterally held me accountable for the murders.”

“…What… are you saying…?”

“I’m saying that because they tried to kill the weak, I killed them and protected them.”

“That’s a lie, isn’t it…? If that were true, you could have just said so.”

“The Empire’s judge was bribed. He isn’t accepting any evidence.”

“Witnesses… what about witnesses? You could ask those people Father saved to speak up!”

“Contact has been lost.”

“I… I’ll find them. Please tell me their faces or names. If I bring them before tomorrow, that’s all I need, right… I’ll go out and look for them right now…”

At that moment, Rentachio opened his mouth.

“The ones Belake saved have all been bribed. They agreed to remain silent for 5 gold each. Trying to find them is meaningless. So, don’t waste the time you’ve been given.”

“K…Knight… What are you saying…?”

Rentachio avoided Belin’s gaze and closed his mouth again. Belake spoke to Belin.

“Belin. Father also used every method he could. But he couldn’t escape. A commoner can’t do anything in this situation where enormous power is pressing down. But I am proud. I did not kill people without cause, and if I had not killed them, innocent people would have been sacrificed. But separate from that…”

Belake wept uncontrollably, reaching out to stroke the glass wall as if touching Belin beyond it.

“I’m so sorry to you, Belin. Truly… truly… so… I wanted to spend more time together…”

“Why… why didn’t you say anything to Mom…? If Dad was really innocent… he should have told Mom, too…”

“There wasn’t time to meet your mother. I was locked up the whole time, and meeting her at the trial was the first time after the incident.”

“You could’ve said something even then!”

“If I had, you, along with your mother, and everyone at that trial would’ve been killed. The reason I can be honest with you now is because the knight next to me is letting it slide.”

Belake knelt before Rencatio, his eyes full of anxiety.

“Please don’t kill my daughter. Because of my selfishness, because I didn’t want to be remembered as a bad father at the very end, I said words I shouldn’t have. But, the child is completely innocent. Please…please don’t kill her just because she learned the truth.”

“I was asleep and didn’t hear a thing, didn’t see anything. So, there’s no reason for your daughter to die.”

“…Thank you…Thank you so much…”

Watching her father, who had saved so many people, having to beg on his knees just to reveal the truth, Belin mumbled dazedly.

“This isn’t right…why…the law is supposed to be fair…it’s supposed to help the weak…Sir…Sir…please help my dad. Please, can’t you save him? You know! You know that my dad is being wronged!”

Rencatio clenched his fist tightly, and spoke.

“Even if I speak, nothing will change. It’s impossible for me alone to overturn a decision made by the higher-ups.”

“But…but still…please…please save my dad, please!”

“Belin!”

Belake shouted towards Belin. He whispered to her, his eyes stern.

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. Live without knowing. Forget everything you heard today. Because of my selfishness, I’ve put you in danger again. Please…please, just you…”

-Screech…

Rencatio opened a door next to the window, creating a space for Belin and Belake to move through.

“You have 10 minutes, so convince her well, Belake. If this continues, your daughter will die. No matter how much I try to stop it…”

“Thank…you…”

Belake immediately went through the door and hugged Belin.

“Bellin, I truly love you. As long as you’re safe, I don’t care if anything else is destroyed. So please, you have to live. I’ve reached a point of no return, so you must survive no matter what. If you care about your father, if you truly love me, you have to keep everything you heard today locked inside you. Do you understand, Bellin? Promise me.”

Bellake offered his pinky, and Bellin slowly reached out. Not for any other reason, but because her father’s expression looked so terribly sorrowful.

“Never defy the Empire. Never do anything that would put you on their bad side. Please, please turn a blind eye to evil, and even if someone falls into hardship, prioritize your own safety. Bellin… do that… and live. You must live like that.”

Only after Bellin hooked her pinky with his, did her father smile brightly.

“Bellin, when you go to your younger brother, Lusein’s, hospital, there’s money I left there. Use it to pay for Lusein’s medical bills, and then find food and a place to live for yourself. You’ll be able to live comfortably for a few years. Forget about your father, and live happily, Bellin.”

Bellake pulled his daughter into an embrace and wept for a long while.

The man was more than worthy to be called a hero, but he had lost everything in his life because of the crime of killing Imperial forces. He was a hero, but he was not praised by anyone. At the same time, he became a father who was not worthy even in the eyes of his own daughter.

A foolish man.

Infinitely generous to others, and endlessly strict with himself.

That was the kind of father Bellin remembered.

-BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Renkatio! What’s going on! Why does it say the door was opened? Open it right now! I said open it right now!”

Bellake hurriedly returned to his seat, and Bellin also sat back where she was. After that, when Renkatio opened the door, dozens of knights stormed in.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

“The door was reported as opened? What happened?”

“That cannot be. It must have just been an error.”

-SWISH!

The Captain of the Knights slashed Renkatio’s shoulder with his sword, then whispered furiously.

“…Renkatio, I acknowledge your achievements, and I understand your quirks, but this is the limit. If you cross the line any further, keep in mind that your entire family will die. It’s not just you who’ll die. Your wife and family will all die, don’t you ever forget that.”

“…I will remember.”

“Bellelake, into the room with you. Renkatio, you’ll be seeing me privately. And as for that brat over there, lock him up just in case…”

“He’s still a child,” Renkatio said, and the knight glared at him.

“So?”

“Forgive him just once. I’ll bury the sins you’ve committed in the past as well.”

The knight commander, with a bewildered look, whispered, “Are you insane?”

“I keep my word, no matter what it takes. For the rest of my life, your affairs will never pass my lips.”

“Ha… this crazy b*stard…” He was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, “That brat… send him back when the time is right.”

*

Bellin didn’t return home, instead spending a whole day by the courthouse. And the next day, Bellin moved to the public execution ground.

His father’s last sight.

His father, being executed, was smiling.

Brightly.

“Bellin, live. Whatever happens, live prioritizing yourself. Don’t defy the Empire. You and your sibling must… you must live…”

-Thwack-

The man’s head fell to the ground, and Bellin, eyes wide open, stared blankly at the scene. Even after the onlookers disappeared and his father’s corpse was taken away, Bellin stood there for a long time.

Because there, traces of his father’s warmth still remained.

Beside that Belin, Keltazar slowly approached and whispered,

“Belin, daughter of Belake. I’ve seized your father’s assets kept at your brother’s hospital. Your brother, unable to pay his hospital bills, is also scheduled for deportation soon. They say he’ll die within three days if he doesn’t receive treatment. Your mother is out of contact, and you have no way to earn money, so your brother will likely die just like this.”

“…?”

As Belin looked up with despairing eyes, Keltazar grinned and said,

“If you follow me, your brother’s life can be prolonged. How about working for the Empire?”

Beside her dead father’s corpse, the image of her brother Lusein’s corpse began to overlap. Blood flowed from Belin’s tightly clenched lips, and tears streamed down her face.

“My brother… you’ll save him, right…?”

“Of course. If you work for the Empire. Ah… and I’ll even hold a memorial service for your father.”

“What if I refuse…?”

“Then you die here, and your brother dies a few days later. Also, your father’s corpse will be thrown to the animals as food.”

“…Alright… let’s go. I don’t have a choice anyway.”

“Excellent.”

Keltazar reached out his hand and spoke with a sincere smile.

“Welcome. From today, you will serve as a member of the Imperial Shadow Unit. For the Empire. For the great Emperor.”