Chapter 56: Departure (Part Two)

"Lord Grant!" Lady Sarah gasped involuntarily. Wei Wuji's pupils constricted slightly. He had not expected Grant to return so swiftly, which suggested that the entire group of assassins sent to target him had been completely wiped out.

"Lord Grant, have you come to harm them?" Cecily suddenly snapped back to reality, struggling as she threw herself in front of her mother and Wei Wuji, spreading her arms wide. "This matter has nothing to do with Mr. Wei, and my mother is blameless. If someone must take the blame, let it be me. A life for a life—please let them go."

Wei Wuji raised an eyebrow, stepping forward to intervene, but Grant gave a faint sigh and said, "You misunderstand. I haven't come here to silence anyone. It is true that my secret has been discovered by you, but since the Church has already noticed me and dispatched an enforcement squad of assassins, my identity is no longer much of a secret. Even if the Church were to declare me a God-defier now, at least in the region of Gaul, no one would support such a claim. Besides, with the Church about to go to war against Landia, they likely lack the leisure to pay further attention to me."

Grant turned his head slightly, his tone growing gentle as he addressed Cecily. "Miss Cecily, although Gao Minghui is dead, I know the harm he caused you can never be fully undone. Yet, I believe this was a tragedy. He did not mean to harm you out of malice; he was simply a most unfortunate traveler who crossed into your father's body and ended up falling in love with you."

"Stop," Cecily said, pain etching across her features. "Please, do not speak of that person again."

Just moments ago, upon suddenly learning that the man was not her father, but an alien soul that had usurped her father's body, she had nearly succeeded in taking her own life. Previously, she had always viewed herself as a sinner, sustained only by the belief that her death might truly destroy this family. The love Gao Minghui had shown her under the guise of her father had also left her in profound torment. Yet, when the absolute truth came to light, in that single instant, she felt she had failed everyone—most of all Amango.

Generally, suicides stem from momentary impulses, and once rescued, the intensity of that death wish often wanes. Furthermore, Lady Sarah—who had once opposed Cecily and Amango's relationship, always hoping her daughter would marry into the upper classes—had desperately used the distant Amango to rekindle her daughter's will to live during the rescue, and continued to influence her thinking afterward.

Thus, even now, Cecily remained in a deeply conflicted state. Her willingness to sacrifice herself just moments earlier to save Wei Wuji and Lady Sarah was, in truth, a subconscious form of escape.

Grant's words filled Cecily with anguish, while Lady Sarah's eyes burned with fury. Had it not been for the fact that they were in the city of Gaul, where Grant could snuff out their lives as easily as crushing an ant, she would have fiercely rebuked him for taking such a callous attitude. How could he possibly understand the immense suffering this had inflicted upon the Hegel family?

"Very well, I shall try not to mention him, but please allow me to finish," Grant said. "I bear you no ill will at now. Yes, in the forest, I did not wish for him to die, but in the end, he perished. Mr. Wei, you are a man of extraordinary capability, yet you are unwilling to assist me."

Wei Wuji let out a cold huff and remained silent. Unperturbed, Grant continued: "Therefore, I had no choice but to rely on him. You know that I am currently engaged in a great enterprise, and I require assistance. From my own moral standpoint, I do not believe Gao Minghui's actions were right. However, in measuring a person's worth, I cannot rely solely on personal morality. As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, I must look at the bigger picture. But he is dead now, and there is no use dwelling on it. Since my identity has already been discovered by the Church, I have no intention of using coercive measures against you either. Still, I sincerely hope you will not publicize this matter—consider it for the sake of Miss Cecily's happiness. I am told there is someone in Valencia who has been waiting for you. Miss Cecily, I offer you my blessings; leave this place."

"Y-You are truly willing to let us go?" Lady Sarah asked, half-convinced and half-suspicious. She slowly walked to her daughter's side, gazing at Grant with a mixture of awe and uncertainty, as if trying to discern whether his words were genuine or a deception.

"Of course I am serious," Grant replied.

Cecily's tense nerves slowly began to unwind. She let out a long, shuddering sigh and gazed steadily at him. "Thank you, Lord Grant."

Following this unspoken, semi-dark compromise, Grant made a formal announcement: The loyal Comminesen soldier and brilliant chief technician of the Revolutionary Army, Mr. Hegel, had gloriously sacrificed his life during an ambush by Church assassins on his return journey from testing experimental cannons outside the city. In accordance with the wishes of his wife and daughter, his remains would be cremated and escorted back to their homeland for burial.

The entire city was shaken. Since the success of the revolution, this was arguably the first time a figure comparable to a high-ranking military commander had fallen in battle. Although the general populace of Gaul might not yet fully grasp Hegel's significance, the military officers were acutely aware of his value. They were currently organizing large numbers of musketeer battalions; already, two regiments had been entirely converted to firearms, while other units—even if not fully transitioned—boasted at least one musketeer battalion. Commanders were now actively deliberating on how to integrate this novel firearm weaponry with traditional pikes, bows, and arrows to maximize combat effectiveness.

Even individuals like the goblin vice-commander Zhukovsky, still confined to a hospital bed, adamantly maintained that muskets were exceptional. While the individual killing power of a cavalryman might still surpass that of a current-generation musket, and ranked martial artists could easily outmatch musketeers—given that firearms still suffered from certain flaws, such as insufficient firing rates and slow reloading times—even Zhukovsky recognized their ultimate advantage: compared to devastating heavy cavalry or swordmasters wielding battle qi, musketeers were exponentially cheaper to produce, and their collective firepower when massed together was a force that could never be underestimated. Furthermore, judging by the trajectory of firearms development, the cannons Hegel had successfully trial-cast would grant the magic-deficient Revolutionary Army a distinct area-of-effect capability.

Yet, because of Hegel's death, this burgeoning direction of development would be forcibly delayed. Consequently, the grief and indignation among both the military and civilians over his passing were immense. The Revolutionary Gazette published an editorial reminding the populace never to forget the persistence of class struggle, encouraging everyone to bravely face challenges, and urging the military and citizens to unite closely to thoroughly crush the reactionary restoration fantasies of the exploiting classes.

In silent coordination with this official narrative, Cecily and Lady Sarah remained entirely tight-lipped. Carrying a box said to contain Hegel's ashes, they boarded a pitch-black carriage and departed.