Posts from Tiaral

I hope that the dragon recruited by Arito will participate in the events.

Tiarria can be served as a festive dish.

Tiaral
Hekkelia
The attack on Glineos's Sun Palace did not end without consequences and became the cause of an open conflict between the temporary alliance of the sun and blood clans and the union of the hand and white mist, which in turn allowed the mantis and black snake clans to recover and regain their lost influence over the territories of Hekkelia. Anumar's grand plan to unify Hekkelia was not realized, and the ambitions of Sharron and Sinhaya were not satisfied. As a result, the situation in Hekkelia returned to its usual state. Ultimately, despite all the numerous intricate schemes, plots, betrayals, strategies, and tactics, nothing changed. As for the very modest organization of mercenaries in whose hands the fate of this land lay on one ordinary sunny day... most of them gave their lives in the Sun Palace in a struggle between Hekkelian clans that was unfair to them. Goran and Mironega likely perished from the effects of an unknown Hekkelian weapon they had ingested. Stefan, Gunnar, Emma, and Deliy survived the attack on the palace, but the latter died some time later in a dungeon, while the fate of the other three remained unknown.
Other Changes
During the fierce battles, the Satori clan exterminated most of those who belonged to the Naliar army and subsequently took control of all their lands, but soon returned them, as they currently lacked the manpower to govern such vast territories. In exchange, the Naliars pledged to pay the victors a huge tribute in the form of resources, food, gold, and silver.
Around this time, a bloody and fruitless war will begin between Deicia and Jagensdorf, and a few years later, the Sarseid Empire will subjugate the territories of Lorea, Halla, and Sugirassida.
The Jarlian Expedition
Lazur Baurenfreund organizes a maritime expedition and sends a team of researchers led by his daughter far out to sea along with a mercenary detachment known as "Niflheim." After overcoming a series of trials, they find themselves in an unfamiliar and cold land, surrounded by snow, mountains, and various monsters. After several weeks, they are encircled by well-trained warriors armed with high-tech weapons and forced to go with them. As it later turns out, their captors are soldiers of Frostrime—a fortress in the far north of the empire spoken of by an old Nihonese man hired by the Jarlia consul as a group translator. The commander of the northern warriors listened carefully to the prisoners and was inclined to believe their story; however, he apologized and said that until the fortress's commander-in-chief returned, he could not allow them to leave Frostrime territory, which forced them all to spend over a month under house arrest. Upon the return of the woman leading this fortress, they were permitted to leave Frostrime and were given modest assistance for their upcoming journey.

The Reime Empire
The Coup
Tiary Reime remained alive despite Larian Twice's sinister plan to eliminate him. Fortunately for the future emperor and his associates, Sarina Gilingston was with them that day, whose unique skills allowed everyone present to save their lives and hide in the capital's dungeons. Few know the details of what happened next; however, a sad fact for Sonata Reime's supporters was that for some reason the conspirators began to learn about all their movements and operations as if observing them directly from somewhere, and furthermore, they themselves moved freely through Reime's ancient, long-forgotten dungeons. After a series of numerous raids, members of the Empire's Liberation Front and the Empire's Legacy seized the initiative and took control of the empire's capital. What followed was the end of Sonata Reime's government—a certain weapon capable of destroying any enemy forces outside the city fell into the hands of the conspirators. Consequently, a direct assault on the capital was impossible, as was guerrilla activity within its territory—the invaders, as before, easily identified everyone who could pose a threat to them and dealt with them brutally.
The Coronation
After several weeks, the residents of Akkerwald accepted the rule of the new emperor, and Thalassius Semis Dame and Faith Gilingston, rulers of Laithia and Brightwin, publicly pledged their loyalty to him. On the day of Tiary's coronation, he first showed his cruel nature by giving an order that shocked everyone. He shackled his sister—who was also the previous empress—in stocks and placed her in this state on the square before the imperial palace. There, he ordered every man present on the square to rape her. Tiary's advisors tried in every way to dissuade him from this, saying that it would not only cast him in a negative light but also cause irreparable damage to the imperial family. The new emperor, however, insisted, considering this a just and natural punishment for a woman who had usurped the throne of the empire that rightfully belonged to him. Moreover, as he believed, after such an event, no one would ever be able or want to use Sonata as a political figure again. Then Jale Helsward advised Tiary to "set an example for his subjects," which the latter disagreed with, stating that the opportunity to share a bed with the emperor is the highest privilege and gift, whereas a villainess was destined for punishment.
Those gathered in the square expectedly hesitated, for not only were such methods completely new and even savage to them, but there remained the fact that before them stood none other than the woman who had ruled them all until very recently... An end to these doubts came when Tiary personally executed one of those present "for failure to carry out an imperial order." At first, the former empress resisted as much as her limited shackled strength allowed, but after some time, strength left her body.
After this, she was thrown into a dungeon, where she spent the next few months. Tiary, however, considered such punishment insufficient and resorted to new cruelty—he opened the first brothel in the empire's territory and named it after his sister. It was established on the imperial street in the house where Larian Twice once lived with his wife. Sonata, as expected, was the main "star" of this establishment, and thanks to the efforts of Doctor Daiss and other specialists in Tiary's service, she always remained attractive and compliant. The next few years of her life were spent in this place.
The Reign
The new emperor possessed great personal strength and charisma, was incomparable in battles and duels, intelligent and handsome, but as a politician, he lacked wisdom. Because of this, Akkerwald remained in a very deplorable state, which the Akkerwald Forest recounted quite poetically, "decorated" with numerous hanged men—those who disagreed with the new master's policy. Tiary restored the coliseum and made the fights there even more significant and spectacular, permitted slave trading, and took a number of other dubious and despotic decisions. For example, Girion Vorenstash, responsible for a series of brutal murders and the organization of underground slave trade in the capital, was pardoned in exchange for a collection of rare rings. Subsequently, this man would become the main link in the empire's official slave network and even receive a government position. In the "Dignity" shop, after the suicide of Edis Ritngton, paintings and other interior items began to be painted depicting Tiary. On armor manufactured in Ladan, it was also ordered to depict the emperor's face. Han Yongji, who openly spoke out against Tiary's tyranny, was sentenced to death; however, thanks to great martial skill, she managed to save her life and escape. Not leaving such an insult unanswered, Tiary "punished" the Tehan quarter, which Yongji had previously led and which was dear to her. From the school of "Serenity," he made another brothel (cheaper compared to the similar establishment on the imperial street), while from this day forward, his future concubines were to be trained in the "Academy of Idols." As it turned out then, the new emperor, with rare exceptions, preferred younger girls. Many of Tiary's concubines, including Alice Lit and "Impy," became mothers to his numerous offspring, but Tiary himself never married anyone, believing that no one in this world was worthy of standing as his equal.
Akkerwald
Naturally, life in the empire changed for the worse for other people as well. Castor L. Tselen, the only person in government remaining since Olivia Lapis Reime's time, forever lost family warmth in his home. When Tiary came to power, his wife Faye first asked him to resign from his position and then insisted on their move to another country. Castor, however, resolutely refused, believing that as a civil servant he could not leave his post in an hour of crisis. In his opinion, only the most wretched of people fled the country they had sworn to serve. Then Faye gave him an ultimatum—either her or the empire. As a result, Faye moved to live in Serafall, and Castor remained alone in Reime. Expectedly, the official's wife was not the only one to act this way. For example, Isles Grazia, owner of a popular jewelry store on Emerald Street, gathered all his savings and left, while Ipomea Phlox and the majority of members of the "Prosperity" faction moved to Ixia.
The War
Unlike Laithia and Brightwin, Larian and Darkiria refused to recognize Tiary's authority, which naturally led to a civil war between the two sides. A representative of Larian, on behalf of the duchess, presented the public with the last imperial order, undoubtedly authentic, in which contrary to expectations there was not only no name of Sonata but also none of Tiary himself. This strengthened the unity of the coalition and also dealt a tangible blow to Tiary. This, combined with disagreement with the new emperor's tyrannical policy, led to a split in Brightwin; Faith Gilingston planned to join the coalition, while his daughter Sarina seized power over the eastern half of the duchy. Consequently, the east remained loyal to the emperor, and the west supported the ideas of the coalition.
The forces of the coalition, naturally, could not storm the empire's capital; however, they had enough strength to maintain the integrity of their borders and simultaneously strike at Akkerwald territory. The coalition forces were also strengthened by support from Nihon, who agreed to help the two duchies in their war against the tyrant in exchange for their support in Nihon achieving full independence from the empire. It was initially intended that if Tiary were overthrown, Yubin Reime would be appointed emperor as required by law; however, due to certain internal disagreements, Tokita Yoichi and Kamiya Kyohei killed each other during a duel, making such a plan impossible. Due to the political climate of those days, people tried not to mention this event and, consequently, it was simply forgotten. After this, Luciola Reime was decided upon as the new ruler of the empire. Although she never desired such a thing, she agreed, intending to restore order and justice in the empire to the best of her ability.
Magic and Technology
As a result of the empire's split and the subsequent war, the problem of extracting and transporting valuable and rare resources became very problematic, and the mining industry on Areida territory was completely abandoned. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that the kingdom of Alait, trying to maintain neutrality, suffered a series of sabotage attacks from followers of the "Ikigai" religious current. This included the use of mage assassins trained for killing, direct attacks using a certain dragon, hypnotizing influential persons in Alait, and other types of destructive activity. Consequently, the production of Alait stones became impossible or very difficult to achieve, and practicing magic simply became unsafe for life, which caused the number of people wishing to master this science to drop sharply.
The Culmination
In the fourth year of the civil war, two key events occurred. First, Reime lost contact with Laithia; the reasons remained unknown, but the fact was that Tiary could no longer count on reinforcements from there, and furthermore, aggressively-minded undead and various demonic spawn occasionally emerged from this duchy into Akkerwald territory, forcing them to worry about another potential threat. Second, the reconnaissance group of Anteros and Clime unlocked the secret of the conspirators' incredible success. The "Treasury of Evil Spirits," the sword of the capital, and the "Heavenly Tower," its shield, were certain devices built during the reign of Emperor Reisen Reime. The first allowed for the complete annihilation of any military threat outside the city and served as a short-range weapon of mass destruction, while the second allowed full surveillance of every person in the capital. Thus, the sword and shield of the capital allowed their owner to have absolute control over it. Its only weak point remained the dungeons. When this information reached the coalition leaders, Luciola Reime organized a daring operation to eliminate these devices and succeeded, after which the course of the war moved from a standstill. Over the following six months, one bloody battle after another took place on empire territory until finally the war reached the capital itself. The largest battle in the history of this confrontation transformed the once great city into ruins, and the duel between Tiary and Luciola ended in a draw—the tyrant was struck down, and Luciola fell into a heavy coma from which she never emerged. Symbolically, the battle between the two sides also found no winner. When the coalition seized the heart of the empire, its leaders stood on scorched earth where there was nothing left to rule. On that day, it was decided to forget about this "project." Soon, three independent states would appear on the territory of the former empire: the Grand Duchy of Darkiria, the Larian Republic, and the Nihon Empire. One of Olivia's relatives remained to rule the remnants of the empire—Akkerwald and Brightwin.

Sonata
Sonata Reime—once this name was on many lips, both inside and outside the empire. Once she was adored and hated; she was distinguished by intelligence, beauty, and charisma. She did not possess the wisdom of her main associate Twice and relied heavily on him, and she certainly had a large ego, but despite this, she sought in one way or another to embody her ideals in life and make the empire, as she believed, better. The collapse of her dream marked not only the death of her ideals but also the suffering of countless people and the fall of a great empire that had existed for long centuries. For if she had allowed everything to take its course and not interfered in the legal hereditary process of the empire, who knows, perhaps all this would not have happened?
This question visited her very often on the day of her brother Tiary's coronation and during the days of her imprisonment in the dungeon. How she regretted choosing this path... And then fog enveloped her mind and she stopped thinking about anything other than what the people who deprived her of freedom wanted her to think.
When the capital fell and Tiary was overthrown, Sonata for a very long time could not recover from the effects of psychoactive substances that Daiss pumped into her day after day. She lived on the street and struggled with severe symptoms of physical and psychological dependence. One day, one of the capital's residents recognized the homeless woman as the former empress, which he, naturally, immediately rushed to tell others. In the eyes of these people were a hatred dark as the bottom of an abyss and a rage burning like hellfire. They blamed her for all their sufferings. "If not for her, I wouldn't be starving now!", "if not for her, my beloved would be alive now!", "if not for her, my family home wouldn't have burned to the ground!", "if not for her, none of this would have happened!". They wished her the cruelest fate. They kicked her, they raped her, they trampled her into the mud. One day, when clarity of mind began to return to her, after another such event she simply remained lying on the ground, intending to die. To her surprise, this did not happen and next time she woke up in a warm and clean bed.
"Oh, dearie, you're awake, that's good," the gentle voice of an elderly woman became the first thing she heard that day. Not understanding what was happening, she tried to find out from her only companion, but the latter only smiled warmly and said that all questions would come later, and now she needed a bowl of warm soup and attentive care. As it later turned out, she had a high fever which she would have to fight for more than one day.
At first, Sonata treated the old woman with suspicion, but as she recovered, she regained basic human emotions and etiquette. However, a new surprise awaited her: when Sonata thanked the woman for caring for her and also complimented her food, the old woman laughed and said that she hadn't cooked it. To the question of who did, she replied "her master." As it turned out, the caregiver was in the service of a petty Larian baron and he cooked the dishes himself. Then Sonata became curious why, if he cooked them, she had never seen him? In response, the old woman smiled sadly for a moment and said quietly that, as the baron thought, the presence of a man could hinder her recovery. This phrase simultaneously puzzled and upset her, reminding her of the last events of her life. Contrary to what etiquette demanded of her, she decided to delay meeting the mysterious baron and spent the next four months in his house without ever meeting him once. During this time, she learned about what had happened in the country in recent years, as well as that the Duchy of Larian, in which she now resided, had been transformed into a republic according to the will of its last duke. The old generation, like her caregiver, however, remained loyal to the strict traditions of this land.
Her days in Larian passed quite carefreely—she lacked for nothing, she did not need to work, no one beat or mocked her, and the caregiver always brought her fresh news. In the baron's bookshelves, which she was allowed to use, there was much interesting literature. One day, reading a book and enjoying a mug of warm tea, she could not hold back tears when the realization came that her life was not yet over and all the bad things that had happened to her remained in the past. She was still not without a feeling of fear and horror regarding what the motives of her savior might be and whether he had any evil intentions, but then she finally decided to meet him.
To Sonata's surprise, the Larian baron turned out to be roughly her age, or perhaps even younger than her, dressed in simple clothes, and by his manners and speech was not like an aristocrat at all. He greeted her quite awkwardly, feeling out of place in his own home. She could not understand—was this because he knew about her status, or did he simply find communication with other people difficult? Then she wanted to thank him for her rescue, but the words became a lump in her throat and she did not do so. Instead, she asked him directly for what reason he decided to save her when she was prepared to accept death. She understood that mentioning her origin could be unsafe, but she wanted to know the truth and had no intention of hiding her identity at this moment.
"I... I, th-the empire of my f-family is no more, you had no obligations to h-help me." Saying this, she immediately felt her own foolishness and fear once again filled her entire being.
"I saw a woman on the brink of death and decided to help her. It was merely my whim, so do not attach importance to it and do not consider yourself in any way indebted to me. You may use my hospitality as long as you wish. And naturally, if for any reason you wish to leave, no one will stop you." He spoke all this with a serious expression on his face and not at all like his greeting, as if he had composed these words in advance and repeated them many times in his head.
Sonata did not know what to say or what to ask next. Thoughts became tangled in a knot that she could not unravel now. The baron could not be unaware of who she was; she already understood this. But what if it wasn't loyalty to a dead dynasty or evil intent that made him save her? This gave her no peace and the fear inside her wanted to make her leave here as soon as possible, but the understanding that she had warmth and food here, while hunger and violence awaited her in the outside world, forced her to stay in this house.
After that day, they often dined together and communicated on various topics. The baron was undoubtedly well-read and knowledgeable in many things, but it was obvious that he had not received an education appropriate for a nobleman. It soon became clear why—he was born into a commoner's family and was adopted by an elderly couple at a fairly adult age for such a thing, when he was fifteen.
Upon the completion of the next five months of her stay here, she asked the baron to discuss a serious matter with her. Then he asked her if this meant that she had finally decided to leave his house and if so, asked her to wait a few days so that he could gather money and other useful resources for her "for the first while." This, however, was not what Sonata wanted to talk about. Instead, she asked the baron to "hire" her—she had long felt awkward because she lived at another's expense. Despite his origin, it was obvious that her savior supported her not because of any obligations to her family, and thus she felt remorse. In other circumstances she would have considered this quite natural, but now, in response to the care shown toward her, she could not allow herself to be selfish. The baron, naturally, was surprised by such a request but agreed. What was funny for him was that his servant, the same old woman who had cared for Sonata, was becoming frail and no longer managed her work, but despite numerous offers from her "master," she refused to leave service until the baron found her a replacement. The old woman, who had served even his adoptive parents, was like a family member to him, and thus communication with her came easily to him, while contacts with people from outside were always difficult for him; moreover, he always felt out of place when he had to be someone's boss, and besides, he was not comfortable letting others into his home. For these reasons, he had not hired anyone new all this time. Therefore, he accepted Sonata's offer—by this time it had become easy and pleasant to communicate with her, and the elderly woman had long been in need of a well-deserved rest. From that day on, Sonata began to perform all the duties of her former caregiver, and the old woman herself went to live with her son. Since the baron regularly sent her money, she lacked for nothing and met old age in prosperity.
At first, this small change in "personnel" became a real catastrophe—Sonata had never been accustomed to such types of work, and therefore handled everything poorly, but fortunately, this caused the baron no great discomfort and on the contrary, he helped her in many things, although he also didn't really know how to do anything. During the time Sonata was getting used to a new way of life, the two managed to become good friends and were very comfortable, until one day the baron proposed marriage to her. His confession of love and proposal of hand and heart were as awkward as one could imagine. For a first moment it seemed to her that this was some cruel joke or an evil plan, but the face of her "employer," red with embarrassment, spoke for itself—he was sincere. Then she lost her composure and began to mutter incomprehensibly until finally she gathered her will and said "no." The disappointed baron suddenly grew gloomy and uncertainly asked "why," to which he received an honest answer—she could not become anyone's wife after everything that had happened to her in the past. In response, the baron declared loudly that all this did not matter and gently kissed her lips. Whether all this was his original plan or these feelings were born in him over the last few months—somehow all this now became unimportant. He saved her from death, he saved her from despondency, he filled her heart with warmth, he gave her a new meaning of life, and now he was ready to give her all of himself, regardless of who she was and what had happened to her... At this moment she could only answer "yes".
...
Many years will pass since they married; they will have a daughter and live happily far from the rest of the world. They will spend their days away from the city and manage their own farm, which the baron built out of his desire to eat his own produce. Thus, they essentially became a small family of farmers.
One day on a comfortable sofa in a cozy living room, the baron lay on Sonata's lap, and she was mechanically cleaning his ear of a sulfur plug.
— You know, I'm starting to feel a bit uneasy, — he said jokingly, — I'm supposedly younger than you, but I'm aging noticeably faster.
— Are you sure it's not just your imagination?
— No-no, I may no longer be a youth, but I'm far from an old man, and thus I won't confuse such things so simply, — still undergoing the generally unpleasant but currently pleasant procedure, the baron turned his head and kissed his wife's knees, — your skin is smooth and your figure beautiful, while I've already started getting a belly, it's not fair.
Stopping the procedure, Sonata gently stroked her husband's stomach, then grabbed his skin folds and tugged them from side to side. The room was filled with the good-natured laughter of both. — Probably, this is all the result of ataraxia.
— Never heard of such a thing.
— Many years ago in the capital there was a shop of Camelian goods; that's where they were sold. As its owner assured, they had healing effects and also slightly extended life. Who would have thought that this was actually true!
— Eh, pity I didn't try such things in my time.
— Well, it doesn't matter, I will love you any way...
— Hey, I wanted to say that!
...
When their daughter turns fifteen, her parents after a long and serious discussion decide to tell her about her origin. They believed that she had the right to know about this, and also feared that she might somehow find out from someone else, which would be even worse. This decision will cost them dearly.
After that day, the young girl began to devote more time to the art of the sword, which Sonata had taught her for self-defense, and began to study more diligently. The daughter's strong desire to improve her mental and physical qualities undoubtedly pleased the parents; however, her dreams of restoring the former greatness of the empire frightened them. They hoped that over time this would pass, but the opposite happened. In three years she will present them with a fait accompli: she is leaving to realize her dream. Both, naturally, were against this and tried in every way to dissuade her; however, in the end they let her go, understanding that they could not physically hold their daughter against her will.
At first, they received letters from her every month, which somewhat calmed them both, but at some point they stopped coming altogether. A month passed, a second, a third, and there was still no news. Assuming the worst but hoping for the best, the baron set out to search for his missing daughter. Sonata, at his request, stayed home.
After several months, the baron returned home, but without any news—he could not find out anything that they did not already know. Besides this, as soon as it turned out, while he was on Akkerwald territory he caught a disease coming from Laithia, which until now remained a mystery to modern medicine and had no cure. Fearing that this filth would be transmitted from him to his spouse, the baron wanted to turn to a local clinic, but Sonata completely rejected this idea. They both knew what was done in the territories of countries neighboring the empire with those suffering from Laithian diseases—they were simply burned or subjected to unpleasant experiments in an attempt to find a cure. This was an unpleasant topic for citizens of these countries; however, at present, this seemed to everyone as the only effective method in fighting the epidemic. The married couple was lucky to live far from the city, and thus they managed to avoid the attention of outside eyes.
Over the next few years, Sonata will care for her husband exactly as he and his elderly maid once cared for her; however, unlike her, he would not recover—on the contrary, he only grew worse with each passing day. He could move freely and look after himself, but physical pain and the failure of many internal organs caused him maddening discomfort and slowly drove him insane. One day, Sonata will discover an envelope with a short note saying "forgive me" and find her beloved husband lifeless—he will have committed suicide to end his suffering. In the letter, he will describe all his feelings, dreams, and hopes, thanking Sonata for being a wonderful wife and for all the joyful moments she gave him. At the end, he will ask her forgiveness for causing her so much sadness and trouble, and for not being able to walk this path with her until the very end. On this day, she will experience greater turmoil than on the day Tiarii carried out his conspiracy against her. On this day, it will be more painful than on the day of Tiarii' same coronation. On this day, she will be more terrified than during those days when she was in the Dungeon. On this day, she will want to die more than when she lay on the cold ground, hungry, beaten, and shamed.

Stefan, Gunnar, Emma, and Delia survived the attack on the palace, but the latter died in the Dungeon some time later, and the fate of the other three remained unknown.

They were raped by bandits.

He chained his sister, who was also the former Empress, and placed her in shackles in the square in front of the imperial palace. There, he ordered every man present in the square to rape her.

Lol. A plot for some hentai.

You! Yes, you! Would you have carried out your Emperor's order?

However, Tiarius considered this punishment insufficient and resorted to a new cruelty – he opened the first brothel in the empire and named it after his sister. It was located on Imperial Street in the house where Larian Twice and his wife once lived. Sonata, as expected, was the main "star" of this establishment, and thanks to the efforts of Doctor Daiss and other specialists in Tiarius's service, she always remained attractive and compliant. She spent the next few years of her life in this place.

Tiarius will restore the coliseum and make the battles there even more significant and spectacular.

He turned the "Serenity" school into another brothel (cheaper than the similar establishment on Imperial Street).

Ah, I should have supported Tiarius...

Hmm, this baron reminds me of someone...

I don't even know who.

They were raped by bandits.

They have an open-ended conclusion (with certain limitations, of course).

I told you, Fortress is the best faction! I won't be surprised if the result of the new policy is a mass migration of Arreidians to the empire.

Sarina Gillingston

Isn't that the fragmented one that was exchanged for Twaiss's wife?

Yes.

Rich and satisfying.

There's a bit too much about Sonata, although it's interesting. It's just that everything is written like a chronicle, and this particular moment is too detailed...
I feel sorry for Castor.
Thiary turned out to be even worse than I expected. Serves the villain right.
I'm glad for Nihon and the remnants of the empire.
P.S. I hope Sirocco wasn't idle either and tried to fight evil and chaos in the empire as much as he could.

I'm glad for Nihon and the remnants of the empire.

Especially for Yubin?

The story of the slut is right here.

While the noobs were dying, Ipomea, Ilya, and I sailed off to the tropical islands.

He chained his sister, who was also the previous empress, and placed her in that state in the square in front of the imperial palace. There, he ordered every man present in the square to rape her.

O_o

This included the use of trained assassin mages and direct attacks using some kind of dragon.

:3

However, Tariq is quite the jerk! I'm glad I didn't help the liberation front...

Sonatka's situation is quite ambiguous. She managed to be happy, but still ended up with a bad ending.

Especially for Yubin?

Yes. He lived like a warrior, died like a warrior (even though he was just a fool and couldn't become the best emperor because of it).

It's all a bit ambiguous with Sonatka. It seems like she managed to be happy, but still, it's a bad ending.

It's a normal ending; everyone dies anyway.

I wish I could die from something caused by a woman who wasn't even a warrior.