1 A Speech To Remember

"…It's too late to turn back now…I have no choice but to continue with this…God help us…" The voice of a young adult man echoed around the room.

Sitting in the middle of a seemingly empty room, a young man wearing a navy blue frock coat, suit vest, black pants, and long brown leather boots gazed outside the window in front of him.

He was staring at the crowd outside of his window with his hypnotic blue eyes as he was scratching his curly brown hair. A cold sweat ran down his forehead as he took a golden pocket watch out of his suit vest, checking the time with a frustrated and anxious look on his face.

He was trying to control his breathing while mumbling a bunch of incoherent words under his breath. Suddenly, he heard the door to his room creak before it fully opened, revealing a beautiful young woman in a maid outfit.

The maid slightly bowed her head before she spoke in a calm and soothing voice.

"Sir, it's time for your opening speech." She declared.

"I see...no turning back. Thank you. I shall make my way to the stage now."

Shoving his pocket watch back into his suit vest, the young man took a deep breath and walked out of the room, making his way down the large hallway on the left.

Each step he took down the hallway made him feel uneasy. The feeling of nausea exponentially rose after each passing second. The feeling of dread plaguing his mind as he glared at the large wooden double doors down his path.

As he reached the doors, he stopped to take one last deep breath. He was able to hear the chatters of the crowd from behind the doors, making his stress more critical. Nevertheless, he tightly clenched his fists and swung open the doors.

As the doors opened, the young man's eyes fell on the sight of a large wooden stage in front of him, with a podium and a lectern placed in the middle of it, facing the crowd of people. The path towards it was marked with a red carpet that stretched from the doors towards the podium.

The chatters of the people were silenced by the opened doors, patiently waiting for whoever may it be to come forward and greet the anxious crowd.

Stepping forward, the young man was finally visible to the people. With steady steps, he made his way towards the podium without batting an eye to the crowd, as his stress doubled in severity.

After reaching the podium, the young man faced the crowd and stepped up to the lectern in front of him. He placed his hand on a red circular crystal that lied on top of the lectern before it glowed with a red light.

The young man cleared his throat, testing the crystal that transmitted his voice like a loudspeaker, allowing the people to hear him clearly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of all races and magical specialties, people of Traumiery.

My name is Wilford Von Krieger the third, head of the noble family of Krieger, and…a potential heir to the throne of Traumiery.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have come here today to celebrate the four-hundredth anniversary of the creation of our great kingdom, and to mourn the death of our beloved king—Herbert Engel—who, unfortunately, passed away last week.

However, I am not here to deliver a saddening speech about the death of our king, nor am I here to recount past victories of our country, and how great it is. I am here to give a wake-up call..."

Wilford hesitated on continuing his speech, overthinking the outcomes of his current actions. Nonetheless, he cleared his throat one last time, and let go of his mental restraints.

"Our beloved kingdom is suffering, yet nobody is doing a single thing to save it.

Discrimination against demi-humans, enslaving beastmen, tyranny against peasants, and giving a ridiculous amount of privileges to the nobles, the army, and the church. Those are only a few problems that I have listed.

Let us not forget about how torn apart our empire is; how each kingdom is acting like a country of its own; how each region of magic specialists think that they are the ones that should rule; and how radical groups all over the country are causing havoc, chaos, and injustice at a constant rate.

Is this what our country has turned out to become? Is this what our ancestors sacrificed their lives for? Is this why so much blood was shed, for the sake of independence and freedom? Is this Traumiery?

These mindsets and ideals were built from unfairness and injustice, which by time became engraved in our culture, and for that culture to be engraved in our minds, turning us into mindless creatures that only think, speak, and act based on what our culture and traditions say. A culture that revokes basic living rights to innocent living beings.

We abandoned the fundamentals that our great empire was built upon for the sake of...this.

Traumiery was founded by our ancestors for the sake of freedom, liberty, and equality. Uniting all living beings to live in harmony inside of this utopia! To abandon the ideas of supremacy and bloodlines for the sake of the people!

Our current state is a disgrace! It's a direct insult to all the efforts of our ancestors! To all the lives lost trying to protect it! We should be ashamed of ourselves, that's if our ancestors aren't already shaming us from the heavens!

We live in disgrace, yet we aren't doing anything to change it. Why? Because the ones living well are oblivious of the suffering of the ones living hell. Is this current life worth living? For those living high, and for those living low, are you okay with your situation?

Tell me, is your life one worthy of living?

Call me a hypocrite, for I am the head of one of the four noble families ruling our great united kingdom, and living a life far better than what you might ever dream of, yet I am still angry and saddened by our current state!

Traumiery is a country of the people, by the people, for the people!

So please, let us reunite, and save our dying homeland, bring back the true glory of our great kingdom!

I am not encouraging you to rebel, to commit violent acts, or to revolt against the nobles. But, I am encouraging you to stand up for your rights, and demand change! To reunite even the privileged ones for the sake of us all!

For in the end, no matter how distant and divided our country may be, all of us still share the same trait. All of us are proud Traumierans who share the same origins! We are the people of Traumiery, all of us are.

So, let us unite!"

Finishing his speech, Wilford subconsciously lifted his fist in the air as he shouted the last sentence of his speech as loud as possible. His breathing was erratic as he stared at the crowd of people, waiting for a response.

All of a sudden, the crowd roared in unison as they cheered for the young man on the stage. They were clapping, cheering, and even singing from the sheer joy they felt at that moment.

After such a long time, the people of Traumiery finally saw a glimmer of hope after what seemed to be a long age of darkness.

Hope has finally arrived.

------

"Unacceptable!"

Inside of a vast throne room located inside the royal palace of Traumiery, a young man was stomping the ground in anger and frustration as a cold sweat ran down his forehead. The man was wearing a red, royal frock coat as he walked in circles with his hands behind his back, awaiting something.

Right next to the nobleman stood a young adult wearing a purple frock coat. Unlike the man next to him, he had a calm expression plastered on his face.

On the throne sat a young man in his early twenties, wearing a white royal frock coat. Unlike the other two, he had a nonchalant expression on his face as he sat on the throne, resting his head on his fist.

"That bastard…Wilford! I knew he was up to something, I knew that he was going to do something idiotic…but this is insanity!" The man in red royal clothing shouted in frustration.

"Ludwig, stay calm, and let us think this thoroughly." The man in purple royal clothing responded.

"Let him be, Raymond. His tantrum is the only entertainment I have for now until Klaus arrives." The young man in white interrupted.

"Shut it, Julius! Do you have any idea how catastrophic this is?! If it wasn't for you giving Wilford the right to speak at the opening festival, this would have never happened!" Ludwig retaliated in an enraged voice.

Interrupting the three men's heated argument, the doors to the throne room swung open before a middle-aged man in golden armor appeared into view. Accompanying him were two men wearing silver armors, who were dragging a beaten up person with them into the chamber.

"Ah, Klaus, you're finally here!" Julius responded in delight as a smile formed on his face.

"I'm sorry for the delay, your highness. We had to take care of a lot of problems caused by Wilford's speech." The head of the royal guards, Klaus, responded in an apologetic tone as he pointed at the beaten-up man kneeling down behind him.

"How did it go?" Raymond Inquired.

"Everyone present at the festival's opening has been captured and sent to the headquarters of the royal guards; their fate is undecided. As for the Krieger family, we've asked them to stay indoors, for now, we haven't spoken to them about this event."

"What about this incident? Has word spread around the capital?!" Ludwig impatiently questioned Klaus.

"Unfortunately, yes. But, no worries, my lord. The royal knights are guarding every street in the capital. If any foolish traitor decides to do anything rash, we shall execute him immediately for treason."

"Treason…you say…" The battered Wilford whispered loudly enough for the three noblemen to hear.

"You still have the audacity to speak? You never fail to surprise me with your pride, Wilford." Raymond stated.

"Audacity? Audacity?! You still have the audacity to speak after what you've all done?! You've turned a moment of shared happiness into a mass panic! You lot disgust me, and I'm ashamed to be related to any of you by any means. Especially you, Julius Engel! You worthless piece of shi—"

Before he could finish his rant, Klaus grabbed Wilford's hair and slammed his face on the hard floor. He then proceeded to kneel down while maintaining hold of Wilford.

"I deeply apologize for that, your highness." Klaus bowed his head in an apologetic manner.

"It's okay, Klaus. You weren't the one I was expecting an apology from anyway." Julius said as he walked forwards, patting Klaus's shoulder, "You can let go now."

Obeying his orders, Klaus released his grip from Wilford's hair before he took a few steps back. Julius turned towards Wilford, kneeling down on one knee to reach his level.

"Wilford...do you realize what you've done? You've fallen into a pit so deep and dark that not even I can save you. Even I can't save you from them."

Upon finishing his sentence, the doors to the throne room swung open, revealing the figures of multiple people that walked inside in unison.

Julius let out a sigh before he stood up, adjusting his royal wear, whispering something under his breath.

"God help us…"