Chapter 472 - Epilogue
The hundredth year of the Public Calendar. In the autumn of this year, which marked a major milestone for the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, Matilda Arqvist was in her private room in the Grand Ducal mansion with a gloomy expression.
Matilda is now nineteen. A genius said to be the second coming of the Founding Father, Noein Arqvist, she is the first person to inherit the name "Matilda"—a name of great significance in the history of the Grand Ducal house—and next week, she will become the first female monarch in the history of the Grand Duchy.
She will stand at the summit of the Grand Duchy of Arqvist, which has enjoyed continuous development from its founding to the present, at a young age. Everyone views her as fitting for the role. However, Matilda herself felt the pressure of that expectation.
Originally, she was not scheduled to inherit the title of Grand Duke so early. Matilda had no such intention either.
However, her father, who had never been physically strong, suffered from severe pneumonia, which led him to abandon the idea of remaining the monarch and retire before the age of forty. Consequently, Matilda, who was the heir and seen as possessing impeccable talent, ended up inheriting the family headship more than ten years earlier than planned.
At the recent ceremony celebrating the hundredth year of the Public Calendar, her father decided to retire, using his final address to the people as his last formal appearance.
That was fine. Matilda did not want her father to push himself to the point of shortening his own life. Matilda herself had decided last year that she would inherit the family headship once the ceremony was over, and she had told those around her that it was acceptable.
Yet, as the day she would become the next Grand Duke of Arqvist drew near, her heart grew heavy.
The wealthy and peaceful Grand Duchy of Arqvist. A utopia built by the Founding Father, Noein, for everyone living in this land and for his descendants.
To shoulder the grave mission of protecting it alone felt terribly frightening to a nineteen-year-old girl.
Noein Arqvist. The great Founding Father who embraced his clan, his vassals, and his people with inexhaustible love, and who continues to protect the Grand Duchy with that love even now. A great man equal to a living god, whom everyone in the Grand Duchy loves and respects from the bottom of their hearts.
Could she, who was praised as his second coming simply for being somewhat clever, truly become a great monarch like him? No, she probably could not. She did not believe she had the capacity for it. She was not a living god. She was just a weak human being.
That was exactly why Matilda was afraid. Even at this stage, she could not find her resolve, yet she could tell no one about it.
"Matilda, are you in?"
A voice called out to Matilda, who had been gazing at the cityscape of the capital, Noeina, from her window while harboring gloomy feelings. The voice coming from beyond the door belonged to her father, who would step down from the position of Grand Duke next week.
"...Yes, Father. Please come in."
Her father, who opened the door and entered the room, gave a faint, wry smile upon seeing Matilda's face.
"I heard your expression has been dark lately. Is inheriting the title of Grand Duke at your age depressing after all?"
"...No, it is nothing of the sort. I consider it an honor, and I have strengthened my resolve to become a good Grand Duke, like the great Noein-sama."
Matilda spoke with a forced smile, but her father did not seem to believe her words entirely. Sitting down beside Matilda, her father gently stroked his daughter's head.
"You should have had much more time, but because of my weak body, I am doing something pitiful to you... However, I hope that the pressure you feel will be eased a little by reading this."
Saying so, her father placed an old book on the table. No, she didn't even know if it could be called a book. It was a thing made by punching holes in the edges of a bundle of papers, tying them with a string, and sandwiching them between pieces of parchment that served as a cover.
"Father, what is this?"
"It is the memoir left behind by the Founding Father—Noein-sama."
Matilda's eyes widened upon hearing this. The only books recording Noein Arqvist were the biography written by his legal wife and the Mother of the Founding, Clara, and several collections of materials summarizing various testimonies regarding Noein's achievements. She had never heard that Noein himself had written a memoir.
Sensing Matilda's surprise, her father continued.
"It is only natural that you did not know. Those permitted to read this are only the one who inherits the title of Grand Duke and their spouse. By Noein-sama's will, mentioning the contents or existence of this is strictly forbidden. He was so insistent that he stated that even if the person is the heir to the Grand Duke, they must not be allowed to read it until it is virtually certain that they will inherit the title."
"...Just how important are the stories written in there...?"
Seeing Matilda gasp, her father let out a small chuckle.
"The reason Noein-sama left such a will is not because important stories are written in here... well, in a sense, it might be more important than anything else. The reason Noein-sama only wanted a very small number of people to read this is that he feels terribly embarrassed to have it read."
Embarrassed. Matilda looked at her father with a puzzled expression, as such a word had appeared in a conversation about an important document.
"Anyway, you will understand once you read it. With your ability, you should be able to finish it with ease in a few days."
Her father stroked Matilda's head once more and left the room.
Tilting her head at her father's strange behavior, Matilda picked up the memoir of Noein Arqvist that her father had left behind.
Then, she turned the page and began to read.
Over the next two and a half days, Matilda read the recollections of the Founding Father Noein's life, a book in which his feelings were written exactly as they were. Once she started reading, she could not stop turning the pages; using all her time except for eating, bathing, and sleeping, she finished reading every corner of it by the morning of the day after the next after receiving the book from her father.
Closing the book, Matilda froze with a blank expression for a while, and then...
"...Ahaha!"
She laughed.
The contents written in the memoir were indeed more important than any state secret. At the same time, she understood why Noein felt embarrassed to have it read.
Along with Noein's actions, the book contained a relentless outpouring of his raw emotions.
I gave this kind of speech at this year's Founding Anniversary, but how was it? Was I able to increase the love and respect from the people?
The result of this policy was as follows. I hope the vassals are satisfied with it and feel an even deeper love and respect for me.
I spoke these words to the children today. I wonder if my love reached them.
I went out for an inspection of the city and behaved in this manner. I must have looked like a good monarch. With this, I should be able to maintain the love and respect of the people once again.
I made this kind of mistake today, which is rare. To continue being loved by everyone, I must be more careful next time.
It was full of stories like that. To a point that was staggering, to a point that made her laugh, Noein was obsessed with and concerned about whether he was loved by those around him and whether his love was being conveyed.
When she looked at his policies as a monarch alongside these exposures of emotion, her impression of his reign also changed.
Without a doubt, Noein Arqvist was a great monarch. He was the Founding Father. All of his policies were born from his love for his family, his vassals, and his people, and they actually led to the happiness of his family, his vassals, and his people. That did not change.
However, behind the scenes, Noein was desperate to be loved by his vassals and his people. In a sense, he was ultimately selfish and self-centered. He wanted to be loved. By the family under his protection, by his vassals, and by his people.
All of his actions were for that purpose. It was so twisted, his personality was so bad, and yet it was so human. Noein, who was spoken of as a god descended to the mortal world and who still gathers love and respect, was also just a human being, not a perfect saint.
He must not want this to be read. He probably thinks that if these feelings were known, the love from everyone would be lost. Though in reality, that likely wouldn't happen.
And at the same time, he probably wanted someone to know. Who he truly was as a person. As the ones to know his true feelings, Noein chose the descendants who would stand in the same position as himself. The reason he permitted his spouses to read this was likely because he continued to open his heart to his two wives—Clara and Matilda—throughout his life.
"..."
Matilda left her room. She had a servant bring out the magic automobile, passed through the streets of the capital Noeina where ten thousand people lived, and headed to the hill in the northwest of the capital—the burial ground where the members of the Grand Ducal family slept.
This burial ground, created as an artificial hill from which one could overlook the capital Noeina. At its summit, the Founding Father, Noein Arqvist, sleeps in eternal slumber. While sleeping peacefully, he still watches over the capital, the center of the Grand Duchy he built.
"...Noein-sama."
Entering the burial ground alone, Matilda crouched before Noein's gravestone, gently touched it, and spoke to the Founding Father.
"I read your memoir. Even you... as great as you were, you spent your days worrying as the one who ruled this land."
Matilda let a smile drift across her face. The Founding Father, toward whom she had felt a sense of awe until a few days ago, now seemed like a very approachable existence.
"I also harbor anxiety. I feel fear... but even so, your words taught me that I can move forward as the master of the Grand Duchy. Therefore, I too will walk as the Grand Duke, just as you did. I will love everyone like you did, protect this country, and pass it on to the next generation."
As she spoke, Matilda gazed at Noein's gravestone and the gravestone of the Mother of the Founding—Clara—which stood beside it on the left as if snuggling close.
Matilda would welcome a husband in the near future and bear an heir. Matilda aimed to be a monarch like Noein, and a Mother of the State like Clara.
After praying quietly before the two gravestones, Matilda finally turned to the gravestone of Matilda, which stood as if attending to the right side of Noein's gravestone.
Shortly before Noein left the world, she had been released from her slave status upon the wishes of Noein and Clara and officially became Noein's wife. Having lived her life as Noein's faithful attendant and as a part of Noein, she now sleeps beside Noein as one of his partners.
She was the origin of the name Matilda. Twenty years ago, to commemorate the fact that Matilda's late grandfather abolished the slave system in the Grand Duchy and enacted a law to liberate all slaves, the name Matilda was passed down to the grandfather's first grandchild.
"Matilda-sama."
Matilda called out in a strong voice to the gravestone of the rabbit-person woman who was the origin of her name.
"I received your name. Along with this name, I shall also inherit your will. Just as you dedicated your life to Noein-sama, I will dedicate this life to the Grand Duchy of Arqvist... so please."
Please watch over me.
Speaking thus, Matilda stood up. She turned around and looked over the capital Noeina.
This is a utopia. A garden of happiness built by the Founding Father, Noein Arqvist, and protected by the clan that inherited his will.
Taking a step forward, Matilda swore in her heart. From now on, she would protect it. This land. The ideals that had been passed down in this land. The history.
The story—the tale of happiness—that continues uninterrupted from the era of those who lived in this land.
With this, the main story of the web version of "The Twisted Lord's Tale of Happiness: I Can Develop the Frontier Even With a Bad Personality!" comes to an end.
Thank you very much for reading the story of Noein and the others over a long period of more than 450 episodes and over 1.8 million characters.
The fact that I was able to write this to the end is solely because I was supported by all the readers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
From here, regarding future plans.
Although the main story of the web version has concluded, I hope to occasionally update with afterstories of Noein and the others in the future.
It will likely be at a very slow pace with irregular updates, and without a specifically defined end, but I would be happy if you could stay with me when updates occur.
And regarding another work, I am currently serializing a work called "The Coronation of Rutile Quartz."
It is a war chronicle and internal affairs story about a young man who became the monarch of a small country from a commoner and struggles to survive. If you like, please check that one out as well.
I look forward to your continued support of Enoki Surume's novels.