It had been raining in the capital for several days.
Seliya sat on the window sill, looking at the endlessly pouring raindrops.
A shadow silently fell over Seliya’s shoulders.
It was Dietrich.
Dietrich draped his outer garment over Seliya’s upper body.
The outer garment, tailored to his body, was so big that it dragged on the floor.
“What are you thinking?”
Dietrich’s low voice mixed in between the raindrops hitting the window.
Seliya smiled faintly, thinking that it was a pleasant voice to hear whenever.
She answered in a soft voice without taking her eyes off the rain.
“...It’s so quiet.”
“Is it strange that it’s so quiet?”
Seliya nodded.
“Are you scared? Are you afraid that something will happen?”
“I shouldn’t be scared when you’re here.”
Dietrich smiled satisfactorily at Seliya’s answer and swept Seliya’s hair behind her ear.
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Seliya thought that Dietrich’s ability to read her mind was like a ghost.
In the past few days, Seliya and Dietrich had had sex countless times.
Maybe that’s why.
Dietrich could tell what Seliya was thinking just by looking at her expression or her eyes.
You have to be aware of the other person when you lie.
However, unlike before, Seliya had no intention of lying to Dietrich.
There was no reason or need for that anymore.
“...It’s just that I’ve been thinking this lately.”
Dietrich stared blankly at Seliya’s profile and calmly waited for her to continue.
“After I kill Illeon, after this Abelon is destroyed, will everything be okay?”
Seliya’s calm answer scattered throughout the room.
“Will the pain that has been weighing me down all my life, this lump of lump, disappear like dust in an instant? Will my family, who have gone before, smile and welcome me?”
Seliya continued to speak and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Thanks to you, my health has improved, so I have a lot of useless thoughts. I have never doubted my intentions.”
Dietrich listened to Seliya silently.
“What do you think? Do you think I am stupid for thinking such things now?”
Seliya, who asked, still had her gaze fixed outside the window.
“No, not at all.”
Dietrich answered plainly and lifted one of Seliya’s hands. He lifted the back of Seliya’s hand and pressed his lips hard as if branding her.
Seliya’s eyes, who had been looking out the window at the tickling sensation, turned to Dietrich.
“You're not stupid. You're not useless.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
The red eyes, which were too straight and unfalsified, were staring at her.
When their eyes met, Dietrich carefully cupped Seliya’s cheek with his large hand and opened his mouth.
“I think that way because you are such a good person.”
Seliya had never once considered herself a a good person, so Dietrich’s words sounded very unfamiliar.
“Am I good?”
Dietrich, who had already taken Seliya’s hand, nodded.
“If I were truly a good person like you say, I wouldn’t have survived in Abelon by now.”
Seliya mumbled softly, smiling bashfully and her clear eyes sparkling.
“The fact that you have such doubts is proof that you are a good person. On the other hand, I...”
Dietrich, whose words trailed off, slowly closed his eyes and opened them.
“I don’t have any doubts at all. I feel like someone who should have died is dead, and a country that should have disappeared long ago is being destroyed. Other than that, I don’t feel anything.”
Dietrich, who spoke like that, showed no emotion.
It felt as if he had completely cut out some part of his emotions.
The gap between them was so wide that it made her wonder if he was the same person who had hugged her so fiercely the night before.
Although his gaze was filled with affection, he would act colder than anyone else when talking about Abelon.
'Well, he must have suffered all kinds of hardships, having lost his country in one day and walked into the palace on his own. Maybe even more than me.'
Even when she was at the Viscount's residence, Seliya had heard many rumors about Dietrich.
They said that if he hadn't been lucky enough to catch the Emperor's eye and enter the palace, he would have been reduced to a lowly slave.
However, Dietrich was the one who had undeniable outstanding swordsmanship skills and had risen to the position of the Imperial Knight Commander on his own without any connections.
It was hard to imagine how many hardships Dietrich had endured until he was nicknamed the Mad Dog and threatened the Crown Prince’s position.
Seliya thought that Dietrich would never have anything to do with her in his life.
Life is truly ironic.
When they first met, he looked at her with the eyes of a cold-blooded butcher, but now he was looking at her with such gentle eyes.
“Dietrich. If I were a sword master like you, I would have wiped them all out long ago. You and I. Who is kinder?”
Dietrich smiled affectionately as Seliya tightened her grip on his hand. His cool eyes folded softly and his lips, which had been tightly pressed together, drew a curve.
Seeing Dietrich’s smile, Seliya opened her mouth.
“And, being kind is useless. If it interferes with your plans, that’s fine.”
Dietrich nodded in agreement at Seliya’s cynical words.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Knock.
“My lord, someone has come to the palace. I think you should come out for a moment.”
Dietrich’s eyes narrowed at Anderson’s voice.
“Go out.”
Dietrich got up at Seliya’s words.
When he opened the door, Anderson was standing there with a not-so-good expression.
“What’s going on? Did Illeon finally come to the palace on his own?”
“It’s not Illeon. It’s Gabriel Brillion.”
Dietrich’s eyebrow rose.
“...On her own?”
“Yes, but she brought a letter with Illeon’s seal. As expected, it seems Illeon has been stealing the Brillion family members.”
Anderson took the letter out of his bosom and handed it to him.
Dietrich opened it on the spot.
The contents of the letter, written in neat handwriting and only a few lines, were as follows.
"If you promise to hand over the Princess to me right now, I will forgive all the crimes you have committed. I will keep your position as the Commander of the Imperial Knights and return the dukedom that you took away.
However, if you refuse this offer, I will understand it to mean that you can be executed."
A sneer lingered on Dietrich’s lips as he read the letter.
“...He is crazy. Does he really think I would accept such an offer?”
The letter was mercilessly crumpled in Dietrich’s hands.
“Even if he offered me her head, I wouldn’t have agreed.”
“You are right. I knew that Illeon, that bastard, had dark intentions toward you. I should have torn his limbs apart when he was in prison...”
Anderson glared at him with genuine pity.
“Where is Gabriel, who brought this, and what is he doing now?”
“I put her in the tower where the Viscount is.”
“Good job. Did you get any information separately?”
“Actually, it seemed like she didn’t know anything. However, she was cowering as if she was scared. Even when I put her in the tower, she didn’t resist and was just quiet.”
After hearing Anderson’s answer, Dietrich looked back at Seliya, who was sitting by the window.
When their eyes met, Seliya smiled.
Dietrich’s mouth loosened as he watched Seliya.
“What about the rest of the family?”
“They’re probably on Illeon’s side.”
“Are you holding them hostage? It’s a useless thing.”
Illeon would know very well that Seliya and the Brillion family were actually worse than others.
Nevertheless, Dietrich thought that there must be a reason why Illeon had to take out the Brillion family members.
Just as Seliya had hoped, the support of the people was absolutely necessary to destroy Abelon and establish a new country.
So he published a newspaper and widely spread the real actions of the current Emperor, Illeon, to discredit him.
The people who were already anxious felt an extreme sense of betrayal from Illeon, whom they had trusted.
“I thought things would work out easier than I thought, but when I look at the letter Illeon sent me, it seems like...”
Doesn’t it seem like there is at least one corner that believes in him?
A sigh-like voice came out of Dietrich’s mouth.
That corner that believes in him was quickly discovered
As soon as Dietrich expressed his intention to refuse, Illeon stormed into the palace as if he had been waiting for him.
Leading a huge army that no one had ever heard of.
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