“...”
“You must never die. Do you understand? This is not a request. This is my first order as the Empress of the Keynes Empire.”
Marcus nodded weakly at the word order.
Ines bit her lip in gratitude and apology. For his sake, Ines had to survive here.
And Carson...
Ines thought of him, who must be writhing in agony right now.
The enemies surrounding him were all the same. Since he had no weaknesses, they swung at the weaknesses of those around him. She wanted to be his strong support, but Ines’s momentum was broken by indiscriminate force.
Even so, Ines would never fall.
Ines was used to suppress and oppress with force. As she went back in time again, she made a promise. She would never surrender to force.
Ines, just before she passed out, picked up the knife and stabbed it hard into the land that belonged to Martin Blake. Carson would surely recognize the mark. Ines remembered his golden eyes and braced herself.
As time passed, and the light of day shone through a small gap, Anthony and the Empress appeared before Ines together.
Carson looked at the servant in front of him.
His face was the same as it had been a few years ago. It was funny how he had thought he would not be recognized if he dyed his hair. The last time Carson saw this servant was on the day he announced that he would be sent to Landhill.
The servant who had stood next to the former Empress who had been holding the late Emperor in her hands.
The red wine he had poured at that time. The man’s hair was so red.
The scenery of that day unfolded vividly before his eyes as if time had been stolen.
Carson sent the knights who were guarding him out and sat alone in a room with Martin Blake.
Even though the two were left alone, Carson said nothing. A moment later, documents related to Martin Blake’s laundered identity arrived for Carson.
“James Neal.”
Carson just laughed as he read his fake name.
“The Neal family must have been a fallen noble family, and you must have disguised yourself as the second or third son.”
There was no mistake in the words he muttered without even looking at the documents.
“There is a high probability that all the men of the Blake family are gone except you...”
The Emperor did not tie Martin’s limbs and hang him in the air. He did not whip him to make him bleed.
He did not pour cold water on him and deliberately woke him up. He just waited silently for information related to him to fall into his hands.
“I know people like you well. They must have found money or a weakness.”
After that, he did nothing for a while and just looked at Martin.
Even as he looked, the servant knelt down under his golden eyes and trembled. His pretty face, his cheeks as red as peaches, and his skin shining transparently were exactly what the former Empress liked.
“Looking at your eyes, you probably have weaknesses rather than money.”
Carson, who had turned a couple of pages of paper, smiled bitterly.
“You have a younger sister.”
Martin’s shoulders stiffened in surprise.
“Is she in their hands?”
Martin didn’t answer.
“I can say for sure that they don’t care about your sister right now. She might already be dead. Unfortunately.”
Just then, Noah arrived with news from the Manisut family.
“What’s the situation?”
“As Your Majesty said, the knights of the Duke Manisut are reorganizing their ranks.”
However, they hadn’t moved yet, so it couldn’t be considered a rebellion.
“What about the Princess?”
“She’ll be here soon.”
“Did she come obediently?”
“No. However, I brought her here as Your Majesty ordered.”
There was something wrong with the word “brought. ”
After finding out Angelina’s whereabouts, Carson ordered them to bring her here by force. The enemy had kidnapped the woman most precious to him, so he needed a hostage.
“What was she doing?”
“It seems she was planning to have lunch in the garden with her peers.”
That meant that he had dragged the Princess from the garden of the Manisut Duke’s house. Carson laughed, his heart pounding.
“The Duchess?”
“She seemed to be in the mansion, but she was in such a hurry that I couldn’t greet her.”
He would never have imagined it. That the Emperor of a country would openly take her daughter.
No matter how tense the situation was, he would not have dared to block the entrance of the Emperor’s Knights.
“It can happen when you’re busy.”
Ehe didn’t know that she had deliberately brought in the nobles of the great families and gathered them in her garden.
Carson knew better than anyone how Manisut had manipulated the late Emperor. But Carson was not his father.
If he had been afraid of that, he would not have risen to this position. What he feared was only the safety of his own people.
“The Emperor has shown his tyranny and the nobles will swarm him like bees.”
“I have taken measures within the limits of what is possible.”
“Send the knights out as soon as the Princess arrives.”
“But not yet...”
“What, the justification?”
“...Yes.”
Carson laughed cruelly. He lifted the servant’s chin with his black leather-gloved fingers.
“While you were away, Martin Blake confessed everything.”
Carson locked eyes with the servant and lifted one corner of his mouth. Martin must have been thinking the same thing. The Emperor who would drag the daughter of a Duke of a country away without permission would not be able to do anything to his own sister.
“The Duke of Manisut is said to have plotted to make Prince Anthony the Emperor.”
The servant, unable to look away, turned pale with fear.
“Isn’t that so?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He answered the Emperor’s words, unable to even breathe as if possessed.
“Oh, so easily?”
Carson gripped the servant’s chin tightly and extended his fingers. Then he patted his cheek as if praising him.
“But it was a very wise decision.”
Carson released his chin and gave orders to the knights standing behind him. Make sure Martin Blake’s mouth is gagged so that he never bites his tongue.
At that moment, Martin struggled and shouted,
“Are you going to spare my sister?”
Carson laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
“I’ll let you see her. Alive or dead.”
After saying this, he turned his gaze straight to Noah.
“Well, is that enough for the cause?”
Noah nodded. There was no reason to hesitate any longer, as he said. Even if the attendant had not revealed anything, he would have made up a false testimony to make up a pretext. If it was Carson von Raymond that he knew.
However, Noah needed a final safety measure. Even if he could not win this war, it would be his lowly and foolish loyalty to hope that Carson von Raymond would live.
Of course, what Carson had been waiting for was not a pretext. He was waiting for the Princess to trade Ines’ life for. So there was no pretext left for Noah to step forward and stop him.
“I will hang the Princess’s outer garment on the banner of the Knights.”
“I will obey your orders.”
“Move quickly. I will go myself.”
The day before the Emperor’s wedding, the winds of civil war swept through the capital of the Keynes Empire once again.
Now that he knew that the Princess had been taken away, the Duke of Manisut would no longer act secretly. The sluggish fight between the nobles and the Emperor was on the verge of being over.
Bonifax had no private soldiers. It was a sudden fight, so it was hard to expect the private soldiers of Landhill and Monstera. The temple knights were not good at fighting. However, Manisut had already gathered the nobles. So Carson had to deal with them only with the imperial knights.
Just then, a knight of the Empress's Palace approached him, bowing down. Carson stopped walking because he looked very tired at first glance.
"What's going on?"
"I went to Harleybin with Senator Marcus Knight last night on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress."
Carson was out of breath and tilted his head up to the sky for a moment.
According to his subsequent explanation, the knight of the Empress's Palace had not seen Ines. When they went to the casino in Harleybin, it was empty. However, a carriage full of wine soon appeared.
"Sir Marcus hid in the carriage that was carrying the wine. He probably went to the enemy's base."
Carson let out a deep breath.
Marcus was with Ines. That fact alone gave him a moment of relief.
It had been a long time. In Carson’s absence, Marcus Knight had protected Ines.
Even when she had been possessed by a ghost and had run into the rain with a knife, even when she had wandered in the darkness for a long time as a temple maid. Even when she had been involved in an embezzlement case and was about to be attacked.
And even now.
Like it or not, Marcus was a benefactor not only to Ines but also to him.
And fortunately, Ines was always safe wherever Marcus was. For now, that was a great comfort to Carson.
“We’ve set course from Harleubin to Reuben.”
If it was Reuben, it was in the opposite direction from where the wealthy nobles lived. Manisut had imprisoned Ines in a place where she had no connection at all.
“I followed them as far as I could on horseback, but I lost track of them halfway. I climbed up the hillside and watched the carriage until it disappeared, so I should be able to track them there.”
Carson nodded. Now it was clear where to wage war.
“Noah.”
“Give me the order.”
“You must never die. Do you understand? This is not a request. This is my first order as the Empress of the Keynes Empire.”
Marcus nodded weakly at the word order.
Ines bit her lip in gratitude and apology. For his sake, Ines had to survive here.
And Carson...
Ines thought of him, who must be writhing in agony right now.
The enemies surrounding him were all the same. Since he had no weaknesses, they swung at the weaknesses of those around him. She wanted to be his strong support, but Ines’s momentum was broken by indiscriminate force.
Even so, Ines would never fall.
Ines was used to suppress and oppress with force. As she went back in time again, she made a promise. She would never surrender to force.
Ines, just before she passed out, picked up the knife and stabbed it hard into the land that belonged to Martin Blake. Carson would surely recognize the mark. Ines remembered his golden eyes and braced herself.
As time passed, and the light of day shone through a small gap, Anthony and the Empress appeared before Ines together.
***
Carson looked at the servant in front of him.
His face was the same as it had been a few years ago. It was funny how he had thought he would not be recognized if he dyed his hair. The last time Carson saw this servant was on the day he announced that he would be sent to Landhill.
The servant who had stood next to the former Empress who had been holding the late Emperor in her hands.
The red wine he had poured at that time. The man’s hair was so red.
The scenery of that day unfolded vividly before his eyes as if time had been stolen.
Carson sent the knights who were guarding him out and sat alone in a room with Martin Blake.
Even though the two were left alone, Carson said nothing. A moment later, documents related to Martin Blake’s laundered identity arrived for Carson.
“James Neal.”
Carson just laughed as he read his fake name.
“The Neal family must have been a fallen noble family, and you must have disguised yourself as the second or third son.”
There was no mistake in the words he muttered without even looking at the documents.
“There is a high probability that all the men of the Blake family are gone except you...”
The Emperor did not tie Martin’s limbs and hang him in the air. He did not whip him to make him bleed.
He did not pour cold water on him and deliberately woke him up. He just waited silently for information related to him to fall into his hands.
“I know people like you well. They must have found money or a weakness.”
After that, he did nothing for a while and just looked at Martin.
Even as he looked, the servant knelt down under his golden eyes and trembled. His pretty face, his cheeks as red as peaches, and his skin shining transparently were exactly what the former Empress liked.
“Looking at your eyes, you probably have weaknesses rather than money.”
Carson, who had turned a couple of pages of paper, smiled bitterly.
“You have a younger sister.”
Martin’s shoulders stiffened in surprise.
“Is she in their hands?”
Martin didn’t answer.
“I can say for sure that they don’t care about your sister right now. She might already be dead. Unfortunately.”
Just then, Noah arrived with news from the Manisut family.
“What’s the situation?”
“As Your Majesty said, the knights of the Duke Manisut are reorganizing their ranks.”
However, they hadn’t moved yet, so it couldn’t be considered a rebellion.
“What about the Princess?”
“She’ll be here soon.”
“Did she come obediently?”
“No. However, I brought her here as Your Majesty ordered.”
There was something wrong with the word “brought. ”
After finding out Angelina’s whereabouts, Carson ordered them to bring her here by force. The enemy had kidnapped the woman most precious to him, so he needed a hostage.
“What was she doing?”
“It seems she was planning to have lunch in the garden with her peers.”
That meant that he had dragged the Princess from the garden of the Manisut Duke’s house. Carson laughed, his heart pounding.
“The Duchess?”
“She seemed to be in the mansion, but she was in such a hurry that I couldn’t greet her.”
He would never have imagined it. That the Emperor of a country would openly take her daughter.
No matter how tense the situation was, he would not have dared to block the entrance of the Emperor’s Knights.
“It can happen when you’re busy.”
Ehe didn’t know that she had deliberately brought in the nobles of the great families and gathered them in her garden.
Carson knew better than anyone how Manisut had manipulated the late Emperor. But Carson was not his father.
If he had been afraid of that, he would not have risen to this position. What he feared was only the safety of his own people.
“The Emperor has shown his tyranny and the nobles will swarm him like bees.”
“I have taken measures within the limits of what is possible.”
“Send the knights out as soon as the Princess arrives.”
“But not yet...”
“What, the justification?”
“...Yes.”
Carson laughed cruelly. He lifted the servant’s chin with his black leather-gloved fingers.
“While you were away, Martin Blake confessed everything.”
Carson locked eyes with the servant and lifted one corner of his mouth. Martin must have been thinking the same thing. The Emperor who would drag the daughter of a Duke of a country away without permission would not be able to do anything to his own sister.
“The Duke of Manisut is said to have plotted to make Prince Anthony the Emperor.”
The servant, unable to look away, turned pale with fear.
“Isn’t that so?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He answered the Emperor’s words, unable to even breathe as if possessed.
“Oh, so easily?”
Carson gripped the servant’s chin tightly and extended his fingers. Then he patted his cheek as if praising him.
“But it was a very wise decision.”
Carson released his chin and gave orders to the knights standing behind him. Make sure Martin Blake’s mouth is gagged so that he never bites his tongue.
At that moment, Martin struggled and shouted,
“Are you going to spare my sister?”
Carson laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
“I’ll let you see her. Alive or dead.”
After saying this, he turned his gaze straight to Noah.
“Well, is that enough for the cause?”
Noah nodded. There was no reason to hesitate any longer, as he said. Even if the attendant had not revealed anything, he would have made up a false testimony to make up a pretext. If it was Carson von Raymond that he knew.
However, Noah needed a final safety measure. Even if he could not win this war, it would be his lowly and foolish loyalty to hope that Carson von Raymond would live.
Of course, what Carson had been waiting for was not a pretext. He was waiting for the Princess to trade Ines’ life for. So there was no pretext left for Noah to step forward and stop him.
“I will hang the Princess’s outer garment on the banner of the Knights.”
“I will obey your orders.”
“Move quickly. I will go myself.”
The day before the Emperor’s wedding, the winds of civil war swept through the capital of the Keynes Empire once again.
Now that he knew that the Princess had been taken away, the Duke of Manisut would no longer act secretly. The sluggish fight between the nobles and the Emperor was on the verge of being over.
Bonifax had no private soldiers. It was a sudden fight, so it was hard to expect the private soldiers of Landhill and Monstera. The temple knights were not good at fighting. However, Manisut had already gathered the nobles. So Carson had to deal with them only with the imperial knights.
Just then, a knight of the Empress's Palace approached him, bowing down. Carson stopped walking because he looked very tired at first glance.
"What's going on?"
"I went to Harleybin with Senator Marcus Knight last night on the orders of Her Majesty the Empress."
Carson was out of breath and tilted his head up to the sky for a moment.
According to his subsequent explanation, the knight of the Empress's Palace had not seen Ines. When they went to the casino in Harleybin, it was empty. However, a carriage full of wine soon appeared.
"Sir Marcus hid in the carriage that was carrying the wine. He probably went to the enemy's base."
Carson let out a deep breath.
Marcus was with Ines. That fact alone gave him a moment of relief.
It had been a long time. In Carson’s absence, Marcus Knight had protected Ines.
Even when she had been possessed by a ghost and had run into the rain with a knife, even when she had wandered in the darkness for a long time as a temple maid. Even when she had been involved in an embezzlement case and was about to be attacked.
And even now.
Like it or not, Marcus was a benefactor not only to Ines but also to him.
And fortunately, Ines was always safe wherever Marcus was. For now, that was a great comfort to Carson.
“We’ve set course from Harleubin to Reuben.”
If it was Reuben, it was in the opposite direction from where the wealthy nobles lived. Manisut had imprisoned Ines in a place where she had no connection at all.
“I followed them as far as I could on horseback, but I lost track of them halfway. I climbed up the hillside and watched the carriage until it disappeared, so I should be able to track them there.”
Carson nodded. Now it was clear where to wage war.
“Noah.”
“Give me the order.”
“Inform Manisut that the Princess is in the palace right now. Officially.”
“Understood.”
“And from this point forward, I will declare Duke Manisut a traitor. And I will also declare that anyone who helps him from now on will be considered a traitor.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And.”
Noah straightened up to brace himself for the next order. From now on, not a single mistake or delay will be tolerated.
“There is a mountain on the road from Harleybin to Reuben.”
“You mean Mount Elin?”
“Yes, I will take the Princess and go there. Our first battle will be there.”
“I will prepare.”
“Understood.”
“And from this point forward, I will declare Duke Manisut a traitor. And I will also declare that anyone who helps him from now on will be considered a traitor.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And.”
Noah straightened up to brace himself for the next order. From now on, not a single mistake or delay will be tolerated.
“There is a mountain on the road from Harleybin to Reuben.”
“You mean Mount Elin?”
“Yes, I will take the Princess and go there. Our first battle will be there.”
“I will prepare.”
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