Illeon smiled brightly, confident of his victory.
The strong scent of hyacinth flowers that could not be blown in the war zone wafted in the air at the very moment Illeon aimed his sword at Dietrich's neck. The distant scent of flowers enveloped Illeon. Illeon's eyes narrowed at the strong scent that seemed to suffocate him.
The scent of flowers wafting in resembled a Princess he knew well.
The unfortunate Princess whose kingdom was destroyed by his own hands, Anastasia.
She held an endless darkness, but she was never broken. She was the woman who killed the Emperor with her delicate hands and smiled at him.
When she realized that it was him who destroyed her kingdom, she no longer smiled at him like that.
Whenever she looked at him with eyes mixed with disgust and contempt like now, his heart ached for some reason.
It’s funny how human emotions are so changeable that even Illeon never expected that curiosity would lead to affection, and affection would soon lead to obsession.
Illeon slowly turned his gaze to where the hyacinth scent had come from.
This gave Dietrich enough time to pick up the sword he had dropped.
As soon as Dietrich’s gaze left him, he picked up the sword and stabbed Illeon in the heart with one blow.
The pure white armor Illeon was wearing shattered and the sharp blade pierced his heart.
“Cough!”
Blood flowed out of Illeon’s mouth.
Even as he poured out blood, Illeon’s gaze was fixed on a certain place, not on Dietrich, who had stabbed him.
Among the black legion that did nothing without his orders, a knight wearing ill-fitting imperial knight armor and a helmet was looking at him.
Illeon could tell who the knight was at a glance.
The emerald eyes visible through the helmet never lost their light, no matter what the situation.
It was the same even now.
He thought she was hiding in the mansion, but she came out to kill him in person.
Seliya stared at Illeon with a face full of resentment and exuded an even stronger floral scent.
Illeon lifted the corners of his mouth and laughed at the terrible floral scent.
Illeon realized that he had been defeated.
He was destined to face death.
From the moment he gave his heart to the Princess.
The sword in Illeon’s hand rolled on the dirt floor as he felt the great pain of his body being pierced.
Gasp, gasp.
Illeon stared at Seliya without blinking even once as if he wanted to keep her in his eyes until the last moment.
When Dietrich pulled out the blade, Illeon’s body, which had lost its balance, collapsed limply.
Seliya approached Illeon.
Seliya, who was looking down at Illeon, who was groaning at her feet, took off her helmet.
The bright sunlight fell on Seliya’s silver hair.
Illeon tried to force his eyelids, which were about to close, to open.
Illeon’s arms trembled as if he had no strength in his body.
Seliya bent down to meet Illeon’s eye level.
Seliya filled Illeon’s eyes, which kept closing.
Illeon kept moving his lips as if he had something to say to Seliya.
However, all that came out of his teeth was a bloody, metallic sound.
“...”
Illeon kept his mouth shut and instead reached out his trembling hand toward Seliya.
However, his hand could not even reach Seliya.
Illeon’s eyes closed completely and his hand fell limply to the floor.
At the same time, the black army he had brought with him disappeared like the sand of the desert.
“Ah!”
Perhaps because she had poured out all her supernatural powers, Seliya’s body began to sway belatedly.
Dietrich hugged Seliya, who was swaying, in one breath.
“Are you okay?”
Seliya nodded, hugging Dietrich.
“...I’m fine. What about Illeon?”
Dietrich supported Seliya and looked closely at Illeon, who had collapsed at his feet.
“He died.”
Seliya let out a sigh of relief at those words.
“It’s really... over, right?”
When Dietrich pulled out the blade, Illeon’s body, which had lost its balance, collapsed limply.
Seliya approached Illeon.
Seliya, who was looking down at Illeon, who was groaning at her feet, took off her helmet.
The bright sunlight fell on Seliya’s silver hair.
Illeon tried to force his eyelids, which were about to close, to open.
Illeon’s arms trembled as if he had no strength in his body.
Seliya bent down to meet Illeon’s eye level.
Seliya filled Illeon’s eyes, which kept closing.
Illeon kept moving his lips as if he had something to say to Seliya.
However, all that came out of his teeth was a bloody, metallic sound.
“...”
Illeon kept his mouth shut and instead reached out his trembling hand toward Seliya.
However, his hand could not even reach Seliya.
Illeon’s eyes closed completely and his hand fell limply to the floor.
At the same time, the black army he had brought with him disappeared like the sand of the desert.
“Ah!”
Perhaps because she had poured out all her supernatural powers, Seliya’s body began to sway belatedly.
Dietrich hugged Seliya, who was swaying, in one breath.
“Are you okay?”
Seliya nodded, hugging Dietrich.
“...I’m fine. What about Illeon?”
Dietrich supported Seliya and looked closely at Illeon, who had collapsed at his feet.
“He died.”
Seliya let out a sigh of relief at those words.
“It’s really... over, right?”
“It’s all over.”
It had been a truly difficult journey.
Seliya, whose tension had eased, hugged Dietrich’s back.
“You, if it weren’t for me, you would have died. Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you mean, yeah? In times like this, you should say, there’s no way I’m going to die.”
Dietrich smiled softly at Seliya’s rebuke.
“My Loooord!”
At that moment, someone came running from the mansion, shouting at the top of their lungs.
“My Loooord!”
The one who came running out of breath, wearing no armor and holding a sword in his hand, was none other than Anderson.
The cannon was hanging steadily above Anderson’s head, maintaining its balance.
“Madam! You suddenly disappeared, and I’m so sorry...”
Anderson’s voice gradually grew quieter. The army that had been densely surrounding the mansion had completely disappeared.
Anderson, who had been looking around with a face of utter disbelief, finally found himself on the dirt floor, where Illeon's body was lying.
“...What is this...”
While Anderson was at a loss, Dietrich quickly picked up Seliya.
Dietrich asked Seliya, who was wrapping her arms around his neck, in a gentle voice.
“I want to name the new country after you.”
“What name?”
“Anastasia.”
Seliya opened her eyes wide when her real name was called.
Dietrich had always called her by her name, even though he knew her real name.
“Let’s name the new country Anastasia. In the name of my Princess, whom I love the most in the world.”
Dietrich smiled at Seliya, folding his eyes.
Seliya realized that Dietrich had been saving her name for this moment.
All the lumps that had been weighing on her seemed to be washed away in an instant at Dietrich’s words.
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
***
Even though Illeon was dead, there were still many things he had to deal with.
To declare that he would destroy the great empire of Abelon and create a new country, he had to gain the support of the people and have a justification for doing so.
Illeon’s actions provided the justification, but gaining the people’s support was a separate matter.
At this time, it was Balt who stepped forward.
“I, Balt Portman, am in favor of establishing a new nation to fix this rotten Abelon. Emperor Illeon Gregrick Basilisk mercilessly massacred the people. It is worth it to be destroyed.”
These were the words of Balt, who held the most power in Abelon now that the two Dukes who were the pillars of Abelon had died.
“How long are you going to hold on to Abelon when everything is falling apart?”
The people were afraid of Balt, but they could not immediately accept such a sudden change.
An old elder of the Portman dukedom expressed his intention.
“My lord, Abelon is a great empire. No matter how wrong His Majesty the former Emperor was, changing the name of Abelon meant destroying Abelon. In the first place, if the commander of the imperial knights, whose origins are unknown, had not been manipulated by the witch Seliya Brillion and rebelled...!”
“How long are you going to hold on to Abelon when everything is falling apart?”
The people were afraid of Balt, but they could not immediately accept such a sudden change.
An old elder of the Portman dukedom expressed his intention.
“My lord, Abelon is a great empire. No matter how wrong His Majesty the former Emperor was, changing the name of Abelon meant destroying Abelon. In the first place, if the commander of the imperial knights, whose origins are unknown, had not been manipulated by the witch Seliya Brillion and rebelled...!”
“Hey, old man. Do you still believe such a ridiculous rumor?”
Balt snickered.
“What about a witch? That woman is not a witch, she is royalty. Dietrich is the same.”
Balt’s words spread like a huge snowball throughout Avellino.
You can’t change your origins just because you want to.
But royalty?
The majority of the people, who were exhausted both physically and mentally, hoped that even if Abelon was destroyed, their lives would improve even if only the name of the country changed.
Those who were imprisoned for calling Seliya a witch were released after writing a pledge not to say such things again.
“I thought I would die in prison without being able to move...”
Those who escaped from prison with pale faces laughed at the dazzling sunlight they had not seen in a long time.
“But how did you end up saying she was a witch? Who was the first to spread that unfounded rumor?”
People looked at each other with bewildered faces.
Princess Reina, who first spread the rumor, became food for the demons, and the Brillion family, including Gabriel, died with their limbs torn off by Illeon's blade, so there was no way they could find an answer among themselves. There were still men who coveted the beautiful Seliya, but the situation was very different from when she was in the Viscount's mansion.
When it was revealed that Seliya was actually the Princess of the kingdom, the men who had their eyes on Seliya cried and beat the ground.
Coveting Seliya was like coveting something that would never be attainable.
Even the women who had been jealous of Seliya all along, who had reached marriageable age, were no longer jealous of her.
People would slander someone who was 10 times better than them, and fear someone who was 100 times better.
They thought she was nothing special except for her beauty, but she was actually a princess of the Shan Kingdom.
"The Viscountess Brillion deliberately opened the public courtship to show off to men to increase their wealth?"
“They are really crazy. It must have been quite difficult for them to deal with men under pressure.”
“Even the people who led the instigation by calling her a witch are those people?”
“Those people who deserve to be punished by heaven. They must have gone to hell.”
The rumor that Seliya was a witch disappeared like a lie. Instead, sympathy for Seliya arose.
A Princess of a ruined country.
A pitiful Princess who got caught up in all sorts of rumors and incidents because of her beautiful appearance.
“...But, what was your name when you were a Princess?”
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