For the past ten years, Kalpman, a border region bordering the barbarian territory, has been a lawless area untouched by imperial power.
Due to the loss of support during the long war, the punitive force had to be self-sufficient in a place filled with death.
It was easier said than done, but everyone here had survived the mountain hell.
Grower ordered them to prepare to demolish the camp and looked for the commander-in-chief of the army.
“Yes. Where is Lord Roxanne?”
Roxanne. That was the title the punitive force used to call Duke Leopold.
Strangely, instead of calling him His Excellency, the punitive force called him by a name other than his real name.
However, unlike Grower, who was excitedly looking for the Duke, Biltman hesitated to answer.
“That is...”
“Oh, where did you disappear to again!”
Grower tore his hair wildly.
How could the most important person disappear when he was most needed?
Just when he thought he had to wait like this again, a commotion was heard in the direction of the castle gate.
Roxanne was walking through the path the knights had made while saluting.
Grower immediately brightened up upon seeing him.
“Where have you been, Roxanne? You must not have gone to see that person again... No, the East Gate is open!”
“I know. I just got out of there.”
Unlike Grower, who was very excited, Roxanne maintained a calm demeanor.
Unlike the punitive force whose feet were tied in front of the East Gate, he was able to freely come and go between the capital and the imperial palace. This was because the Emperor had granted the Duke of Leopold and one of his aides the authority to pass through the gate.
The reason was obvious and blatant.
The Emperor wanted Roxanne to come and ask for the withdrawal of the punitive force’s standby order.
The reason he included one of his aides was probably because he wanted that aide to return to the punitive force and spread the story of the commander-in-chief who had bowed to the Emperor.
It was intended to break the morale of the army.
However, contrary to the Emperor’s intentions, Roxanne did not visit him or appeal to anyone about the situation.
This was because neglecting the punitive force that had launched a special attack on the Empire was nothing short of disgraceful to the Emperor himself.
Although the knights were suffering with the capital so close, the gate was supposed to be opened anyway.
“But His Majesty has opened the gate.”
Grower refined his words as if he were going to enter the capital.
He also knew that Roxanne had not visited the Emperor since he had been going in and out of the capital with him.
‘I thought they would open it only on the day of the victory ceremony.’
Did he change his mind later?
The fact that the gate opened much earlier was unexpected by everyone.
“The Emperor did not permit it.”
“Huh? What do you mean... Oh, no way.”
Grower, who was about to ask again, looked at Roxanne with a possibly hopeful expression.
There was only one person in the Empire who could do something that the Emperor did not permit.
The silence was soon affirmation.
Grower, who learned the whole story, changed his attitude.
“I should thank the Empress.”
The entire expedition force was furious at the Emperor’s order.
At the same time, the human Empress was also a target of criticism along with the Emperor.
It was the Empress’s job to prepare celebrations like victory ceremonies for the Imperial Family for generations.
‘And a human Empress?’
The new Empress was decided while the expedition force was on the battlefield.
When the news of the Imperial Family was delivered late, some of the expedition force felt great resentment toward the Empress who was different from the others.
Even if she was born with the Star of Ishtar, the Empress of the Beastkin Empire was human.
As the waiting order grew longer, rumors began to spread among the expedition force that the human Empress was blocking their return.
Of course, these rumors were quickly suppressed by Roxanne, but their suspicions about the human Empress remained intact.
‘I don’t know why Lord Roxanne is interested in the Empress.’
Maybe it was for this reason.
At first, the Human Queen was shocked, but Grower was confident that everyone would look back on her after learning this.
“She seems to have a good personality, but I guess she must be very distressed because of this incident.”
A woman who was not even a consort but bore the Emperor’s name.
In other words, the news of the one-sided imprint had now spread beyond the capital.
At first, the imperial family was dumbfounded, wondering what was happening, but now that they looked back, it was only the empress who was not affected.
Grower had a strong aversion to name imprinting from the beginning.
‘It’s not some kind of disaster generator.’
If someone’s name was going to appear, both sides should have appeared at the same time. How could one be there and the other not?
Now that he had received the Empress’s favor, he looked pitiful.
“Coming from that far away country, the only person she could rely on was the Emperor. I heard that their marriage wasn’t that bad, but now that’s not the case.”
Grower muttered to himself.
Then, Roxanne, who he had thought had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.
“Don’t worry. He’ll definitely regret it.”
“...Yes?”
Grower asked back, flustered. He wasn’t asking back because he didn’t hear him, but because he was flustered by his confident attitude.
Roxanne’s face, which he saw again, was expressionless as if frozen.
“Return to the capital.”
The commander-in-chief gave the order.
Roxanne’s golden eyes boiled with the sunset glow.
The day of the victory celebration.
As the sun began to set, the imperial palace was filled with carriages of nobles from all over the capital and beyond.
The imperial palace’s largest party hall.
The Emperor and Empress entered the place filled with splendid decorations.
Since the appearance of the woman with the Emperor’s name, this was the first time that Sepia and Demios had appeared together at an official event.
Everyone present focused their attention on the two. They were trying to see how far apart they had become.
The Emperor and Empress’s seat was on the platform above.
Demios escorted Sepia up the stairs.
The nobles couldn’t hide their puzzled expressions.
‘Was it a false rumor that the Emperor had a new woman and that the two had become estranged?’
The victory ceremony was the biggest banquet of the year.
Socializing and connections. Wealth and power.
Most of the nobles gathered here had come from far away to the imperial palace to attend the event, rather than for the original meaning of the victory ceremony.
To wait in line, they had to look for various signs.
The most important agenda at the moment was the relationship between the Emperor and Empress.
However, when they saw it in person, it seemed that the relationship between the two was not as bad as rumored.
If only the seat of Titier Louvre had not been prepared right below the podium. When the Emperor and Empress sat down, Titi sat down on the chair that had been prepared for her as if she had been waiting for it.
The velvet chair, which looked gorgeous from the outside, looked softer and more comfortable than it did on the podium.
Everyone knew that the place right below the podium was originally reserved for the royal family or state guests of the empire.
Titi smiled at the nobles as she took an elegant pose.
With her innocent, pitiful, and mysterious appearance, Titi, who had the added rarity of being an albino, was enough to attract everyone’s attention. And she even had the name of the Emperor.
Behind them, people whispered about how he had a government in the imperial family, but in fact, there were many who were desperate to get in line with Titi.
Everyone was weighing the weight of power.
Sepia sat on the Empress’s seat and looked down at the crowded hall.
It was already expected that Demios would treat Titi especially. However.
'Giving her a seat that only royalty would sit in.'
Defending Titi in front of other nobles was no different from giving her power.
The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress also affected politics.
Everyone knew that an invisible line had already been drawn between the two.
Some were disappointed by this, while others were relieved.
It was evidence that the factions of power were splitting.
'Should I say it was fortunate that Demios was an escort?'
It was better than being a spectacle by entering alone, but it was actually suffocating to be escorted without even a word of conversation.
It was still the same.
Even though he was sitting right next to her, Demios never turned his head in Sepia's direction.
'After the first dance, he'll head straight to Titi.'
The first dance at such a large banquet had to be held by royalty.
He probably set up a chair right in front of the stage so that he could go straight to Titi afterward.
Sepia calmed her mind.
She couldn’t show that she was concerned about the government in front of everyone.
After the Emperor and Empress entered, there was supposed to be a ceremony to congratulate the Duke of Leopold on his achievements.
The Duke had not yet entered the hall.
Instead, the vice-captain who led the punitive force and several knights were enjoying a banquet.
Perhaps it was because they had been out on the battlefield for a long time.
Perhaps it was because of the unique atmosphere, but even though they were mixed in with the nobles, they were clearly affiliating with the punitive force.
'Where's Roxanne?'
Sepia scanned the hall.
In this crowd, Roxanne would have caught her eye right away, but she didn't look strange.
Instead, she was able to spot another familiar face.
'That knight from back then, right?'
It was the red-haired knight who had come to fetch Roxanne.
The commander of the punitive force was busy tasting various party foods.
Perhaps because of his keen senses, the knight immediately noticed Sepia's gaze, gave her a silent greeting, and went back to enjoying his drinks and food.
Hahaha. Loud laughter echoed around him.
He was a man with a cheerful side that was unusual for a nobleman. That was the moment Sepia thought.
Whoosh-
The trumpet sound symbolizing victory rang out.
As the quintet played music symbolizing the empire, red flags with wolves on them were spread out all over the hall.
"Your Highness Duke Claude Leopold."
A Duke with the blood of a God.
The magnificent relief doors opened and the hero who had won the impossible war entered alone.
“Oh my, it’s him...”
“...Oh my.”
Because of the Duke’s achievements. Or because of his unexpected appearance.
Everyone present could not help but exclaim for different reasons.
Sepia was no exception.
“Roxanne?”
Her close friend was walking on the red carpet.
He also knew that Roxanne had not visited the Emperor since he had been going in and out of the capital with him.
‘I thought they would open it only on the day of the victory ceremony.’
Did he change his mind later?
The fact that the gate opened much earlier was unexpected by everyone.
“The Emperor did not permit it.”
“Huh? What do you mean... Oh, no way.”
Grower, who was about to ask again, looked at Roxanne with a possibly hopeful expression.
There was only one person in the Empire who could do something that the Emperor did not permit.
The silence was soon affirmation.
Grower, who learned the whole story, changed his attitude.
“I should thank the Empress.”
The entire expedition force was furious at the Emperor’s order.
At the same time, the human Empress was also a target of criticism along with the Emperor.
It was the Empress’s job to prepare celebrations like victory ceremonies for the Imperial Family for generations.
‘And a human Empress?’
The new Empress was decided while the expedition force was on the battlefield.
When the news of the Imperial Family was delivered late, some of the expedition force felt great resentment toward the Empress who was different from the others.
Even if she was born with the Star of Ishtar, the Empress of the Beastkin Empire was human.
As the waiting order grew longer, rumors began to spread among the expedition force that the human Empress was blocking their return.
Of course, these rumors were quickly suppressed by Roxanne, but their suspicions about the human Empress remained intact.
‘I don’t know why Lord Roxanne is interested in the Empress.’
Maybe it was for this reason.
At first, the Human Queen was shocked, but Grower was confident that everyone would look back on her after learning this.
“She seems to have a good personality, but I guess she must be very distressed because of this incident.”
A woman who was not even a consort but bore the Emperor’s name.
In other words, the news of the one-sided imprint had now spread beyond the capital.
At first, the imperial family was dumbfounded, wondering what was happening, but now that they looked back, it was only the empress who was not affected.
Grower had a strong aversion to name imprinting from the beginning.
‘It’s not some kind of disaster generator.’
If someone’s name was going to appear, both sides should have appeared at the same time. How could one be there and the other not?
Now that he had received the Empress’s favor, he looked pitiful.
“Coming from that far away country, the only person she could rely on was the Emperor. I heard that their marriage wasn’t that bad, but now that’s not the case.”
Grower muttered to himself.
Then, Roxanne, who he had thought had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.
“Don’t worry. He’ll definitely regret it.”
“...Yes?”
Grower asked back, flustered. He wasn’t asking back because he didn’t hear him, but because he was flustered by his confident attitude.
Roxanne’s face, which he saw again, was expressionless as if frozen.
“Return to the capital.”
The commander-in-chief gave the order.
Roxanne’s golden eyes boiled with the sunset glow.
***
The day of the victory celebration.
As the sun began to set, the imperial palace was filled with carriages of nobles from all over the capital and beyond.
The imperial palace’s largest party hall.
The Emperor and Empress entered the place filled with splendid decorations.
Since the appearance of the woman with the Emperor’s name, this was the first time that Sepia and Demios had appeared together at an official event.
Everyone present focused their attention on the two. They were trying to see how far apart they had become.
The Emperor and Empress’s seat was on the platform above.
Demios escorted Sepia up the stairs.
The nobles couldn’t hide their puzzled expressions.
‘Was it a false rumor that the Emperor had a new woman and that the two had become estranged?’
The victory ceremony was the biggest banquet of the year.
Socializing and connections. Wealth and power.
Most of the nobles gathered here had come from far away to the imperial palace to attend the event, rather than for the original meaning of the victory ceremony.
To wait in line, they had to look for various signs.
The most important agenda at the moment was the relationship between the Emperor and Empress.
However, when they saw it in person, it seemed that the relationship between the two was not as bad as rumored.
If only the seat of Titier Louvre had not been prepared right below the podium. When the Emperor and Empress sat down, Titi sat down on the chair that had been prepared for her as if she had been waiting for it.
The velvet chair, which looked gorgeous from the outside, looked softer and more comfortable than it did on the podium.
Everyone knew that the place right below the podium was originally reserved for the royal family or state guests of the empire.
Titi smiled at the nobles as she took an elegant pose.
With her innocent, pitiful, and mysterious appearance, Titi, who had the added rarity of being an albino, was enough to attract everyone’s attention. And she even had the name of the Emperor.
Behind them, people whispered about how he had a government in the imperial family, but in fact, there were many who were desperate to get in line with Titi.
Everyone was weighing the weight of power.
Sepia sat on the Empress’s seat and looked down at the crowded hall.
It was already expected that Demios would treat Titi especially. However.
'Giving her a seat that only royalty would sit in.'
Defending Titi in front of other nobles was no different from giving her power.
The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress also affected politics.
Everyone knew that an invisible line had already been drawn between the two.
Some were disappointed by this, while others were relieved.
It was evidence that the factions of power were splitting.
'Should I say it was fortunate that Demios was an escort?'
It was better than being a spectacle by entering alone, but it was actually suffocating to be escorted without even a word of conversation.
It was still the same.
Even though he was sitting right next to her, Demios never turned his head in Sepia's direction.
'After the first dance, he'll head straight to Titi.'
The first dance at such a large banquet had to be held by royalty.
He probably set up a chair right in front of the stage so that he could go straight to Titi afterward.
Sepia calmed her mind.
She couldn’t show that she was concerned about the government in front of everyone.
After the Emperor and Empress entered, there was supposed to be a ceremony to congratulate the Duke of Leopold on his achievements.
The Duke had not yet entered the hall.
Instead, the vice-captain who led the punitive force and several knights were enjoying a banquet.
Perhaps it was because they had been out on the battlefield for a long time.
Perhaps it was because of the unique atmosphere, but even though they were mixed in with the nobles, they were clearly affiliating with the punitive force.
'Where's Roxanne?'
Sepia scanned the hall.
In this crowd, Roxanne would have caught her eye right away, but she didn't look strange.
Instead, she was able to spot another familiar face.
'That knight from back then, right?'
It was the red-haired knight who had come to fetch Roxanne.
The commander of the punitive force was busy tasting various party foods.
Perhaps because of his keen senses, the knight immediately noticed Sepia's gaze, gave her a silent greeting, and went back to enjoying his drinks and food.
Hahaha. Loud laughter echoed around him.
He was a man with a cheerful side that was unusual for a nobleman. That was the moment Sepia thought.
Whoosh-
The trumpet sound symbolizing victory rang out.
As the quintet played music symbolizing the empire, red flags with wolves on them were spread out all over the hall.
"Your Highness Duke Claude Leopold."
A Duke with the blood of a God.
The magnificent relief doors opened and the hero who had won the impossible war entered alone.
“Oh my, it’s him...”
“...Oh my.”
Because of the Duke’s achievements. Or because of his unexpected appearance.
Everyone present could not help but exclaim for different reasons.
Sepia was no exception.
“Roxanne?”
Her close friend was walking on the red carpet.
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