"Do you know my mother?"
"Yes. I know very well. Because we were friends."
The Emperor's shameless attitude of mentioning her mother so casually while emitting a disgusting stench.
Ha.
Deborah let out a laugh without realizing it as if she was dumbfounded.
How can you call my dead mother your friend even after doing such an ugly and vile thing?
It was miserable.
The pain her mother must have suffered began to echo in Deborah's ears like a scream.
Deborah's trembling fingers soon calmed down and she clenched her fist.
“I can’t forgive you.”
And the despair that was suffocating her soon began to turn into anger towards the Emperor.
“Never.”
I will not forgive the Emperor.
I will spit when I see the dying Emperor's face.
I will kill him in the most painful way possible, more than anyone else in this world.
Even his empty corpse will be thrown to the crows to erase his existence from the world.
Deborah started walking as the shaking in her body stopped completely.
Then she looked into the empty space in the darkness, relying only on the moonlight.
“Because Oroz’s prophecies never went wrong.”
So she will succeed.
As her mother's last prophecy said.
And that night.
A future she had never seen before came unexpectedly to Deborah in her dreams.
It was the power of the Oroz family that it seemed she would never meet again.
***
When Carsis and Bellona returned to the Jamesburg mansion together, chaos had already broken out.
The soldiers were searching all over Hamelon for the two men, and when that was unsuccessful, they were sending a messenger to the capital to request assistance.
At the moment their messenger mounted his horse to go to the capital, two figures approached the mansion with the sound of horse hooves.
It was a time when everyone was holding their breath as if trying to guess the identities of those riding on horses.
"Your Majesty!"
Jason, who was about to mount his horse to go out on another search, saw two people approaching from afar and ran towards them.
He shouted loudly, forgetting to even pay homage to the two men.
“Are you hurt anywhere? I’ve been looking for you for a long time...!”
There was also a hint of resentment in that voice as if asking why he had come back only now.
Carsis got off his horse first and helped Bellona get down before answering.
“What a fuss.”
Carsis replied nonchalantly as if Jason was acting strange, but in fact, today was the fourth day since the two of them disappeared.
Contrary to the will of the two who wanted to quickly return to the mansion, Bellona's physical condition, which had been caused by falling from the carriage, was not very good due to the current death of the Duchess and the absence of Riventia.
Thanks to Carsis taking care of Bellona for three days and nights, she had regained her current energy, but it was unclear how long this would last.
A look of concern appeared on Carsis' face as he looked at Bellona's slender fingers resting on his own hand.
Carsis, who had vowed to find the lost Riventia as soon as possible, asked Jason.
“Nothing special happened while I was away?”
“Yes. Even after the two of you disappeared, I continued to watch them from the spire, but I didn’t see any movement. However.”
Jason hesitated for a moment, then trailed off.
Bellona, sensing that something was wrong, stepped forward.
“What's going on?”
“An ownerless wagon arrived at the mansion, and there was...”
Then he continued speaking carefully, observing Bellona's expression.
“The body of the Duchess of Cretian was laid there.”
“...”
Bellona's body stiffened at Jason's words.
She felt her blood run cold again.
'In the end...'
Despite having witnessed Hazel fall from the cliff with her own eyes, Bellona still had a glimmer of hope.
There was a hope that maybe, by some chance, she would be swept into the water and saved by someone.
But as always, the frustration made her smile bitterly.
At the same time, Hazel's last face, which she had tried hard to forget, came to mind and her heart began to ache again.
Carsis noticed Bellona's condition and looked at her, tightly holding her hand.
“Bellona.”
A familiar low-pitched voice blew away all the negative thoughts that were rising in her head.
Carsis offered her no words of comfort for Hazel's death. No reproach for losing Riventia.
All he did was silently stay by her side.
And Bellona regained her peace of mind strangely quickly with just that one thing.
Because the belief that Carsis would never leave her side gave her peace of mind.
There was a brief moment of silence.
Bellona, who had taken control of her mind, spoke to Jason.
“Where is the Duchess now?”
“...Please follow me.”
The place Jason led the two of them to was the coolest in the mansion.
In a dark basement room where not a single light came in, inside a coffin, Hazel, whom she wanted to see but did not want to see, was with her eyes closed.
“The body was in good condition. Those who sent the body on the cart seemed to have been in a certain state.”
As Jason said, the body was clean for someone who had fallen from a cliff.
Although the body was beginning to decompose, Hazel's remains were still intact due to the cold weather.
Furthermore.
“This flower...”
Hazel was holding an unknown wildflower in her hand.
“This is the flower she was holding when she first came here.”
“It’s a flower she already had.”
“Yes. And this was covered over the body.”
Jason approached Bellona and handed her an old robe.
The once luxurious dark purple robe had a familiar pattern engraved on it.
And the pattern told who the robe belonged to.
“...Ernest.”
It was only then that Bellona realized that this robe was the one Ernest had been wearing the last time she saw him, and she made a strange expression.
Someone opened the door to where Bellona was, accompanied by the sound of urgent footsteps.
“Isaac?”
“I have something to tell you.”
He looked at Bellona and Carsis with a rather serious face.
“It seems that the actions of the deposed Emperor are unusual.”
He began to tell them what he had discovered, calling Graham the deposed Emperor.
Meanwhile, Graham looked at himself in the mirror and the corners of his mouth lifted loosely.
Although still pale, his skin was beginning to look more vibrant than before, and the scar on his neck was fading, showing that his body was gradually returning to its former state.
“It’s done now.”
Everything was falling into place again.
The dead body and the lost power were both finding their places.
Could it be because of Riventia's influence?
There was no longer any foul odor coming from his body.
It was at this time that the Emperor's smile, which he had been so happy about, became even brighter.
Paulo, who was next to him, spoke carefully.
“Now that Your Majesty the Emperor’s body is returning to your former state, it is time to retrieve other things.”
“Something else.”
Graham, sitting down with a somewhat arrogant expression, tilted his head.
“Are you referring to what you suggested earlier?”
“Yes. The preparations have already been completed. Now, Your Majesty, all that is left is to make a decision.”
“Hmm.”
But the Emperor just shook his chin as if he wasn't sure.
“With that number of troops, it might be okay for now, but the longer it takes, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. Do you have any special tactics or plans?”
Paulo argued that he should lead an army to Hamelin immediately and strike the rebels before they could return to the capital.
They say they've been secretly preparing an army for him.
The number of troops prepared by Duke Philosykos was quite large for an individual recruit, but it was not enough to deal with all the traitors in the palace.
Graham worried that he might lose even the bare minimum of troops to protect himself later, was somewhat skeptical of Paulo's suggestion to launch a surprise attack first.
“I know very well what Your Majesty is worried about. But please do not worry. Surely all I have prepared is soldiers?”
It was just as Paulo was trying to convince the Emperor with a mean smile.
A familiar voice was heard through the suddenly opened door.
“As Duke Philosykos says, Your Majesty.”
It was a thin, clear voice that did not match the dark background.
And there was only one person here right now who could speak up like that.
“Deborah?”
“I apologize for not even properly greeting you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my oversight.”
While saying this, Deborah bowed to the Emperor.
Graham looked at Deborah with curiosity at her confident attitude, which was different from before.
That would be the case since Deborah had been busy avoiding him all this time.
But she came here on her own without him even calling her.
It was a bit presumptuous of him to open the door without saying anything, but he could overlook that.
“Haha. I’m not that narrow-minded. I understand everything. But what did you mean by that? Follow the Duke’s orders. Do you know what that means?”
Graham asked as if trying to tease Deborah.
Then she answered with a smile.
“I have seen the prophecy, Your Majesty.”
"Prophecy?"
“What a fuss.”
Carsis replied nonchalantly as if Jason was acting strange, but in fact, today was the fourth day since the two of them disappeared.
Contrary to the will of the two who wanted to quickly return to the mansion, Bellona's physical condition, which had been caused by falling from the carriage, was not very good due to the current death of the Duchess and the absence of Riventia.
Thanks to Carsis taking care of Bellona for three days and nights, she had regained her current energy, but it was unclear how long this would last.
A look of concern appeared on Carsis' face as he looked at Bellona's slender fingers resting on his own hand.
Carsis, who had vowed to find the lost Riventia as soon as possible, asked Jason.
“Nothing special happened while I was away?”
“Yes. Even after the two of you disappeared, I continued to watch them from the spire, but I didn’t see any movement. However.”
Jason hesitated for a moment, then trailed off.
Bellona, sensing that something was wrong, stepped forward.
“What's going on?”
“An ownerless wagon arrived at the mansion, and there was...”
Then he continued speaking carefully, observing Bellona's expression.
“The body of the Duchess of Cretian was laid there.”
“...”
Bellona's body stiffened at Jason's words.
She felt her blood run cold again.
'In the end...'
Despite having witnessed Hazel fall from the cliff with her own eyes, Bellona still had a glimmer of hope.
There was a hope that maybe, by some chance, she would be swept into the water and saved by someone.
But as always, the frustration made her smile bitterly.
At the same time, Hazel's last face, which she had tried hard to forget, came to mind and her heart began to ache again.
Carsis noticed Bellona's condition and looked at her, tightly holding her hand.
“Bellona.”
A familiar low-pitched voice blew away all the negative thoughts that were rising in her head.
Carsis offered her no words of comfort for Hazel's death. No reproach for losing Riventia.
All he did was silently stay by her side.
And Bellona regained her peace of mind strangely quickly with just that one thing.
Because the belief that Carsis would never leave her side gave her peace of mind.
There was a brief moment of silence.
Bellona, who had taken control of her mind, spoke to Jason.
“Where is the Duchess now?”
“...Please follow me.”
The place Jason led the two of them to was the coolest in the mansion.
In a dark basement room where not a single light came in, inside a coffin, Hazel, whom she wanted to see but did not want to see, was with her eyes closed.
“The body was in good condition. Those who sent the body on the cart seemed to have been in a certain state.”
As Jason said, the body was clean for someone who had fallen from a cliff.
Although the body was beginning to decompose, Hazel's remains were still intact due to the cold weather.
Furthermore.
“This flower...”
Hazel was holding an unknown wildflower in her hand.
“This is the flower she was holding when she first came here.”
“It’s a flower she already had.”
“Yes. And this was covered over the body.”
Jason approached Bellona and handed her an old robe.
The once luxurious dark purple robe had a familiar pattern engraved on it.
And the pattern told who the robe belonged to.
“...Ernest.”
It was only then that Bellona realized that this robe was the one Ernest had been wearing the last time she saw him, and she made a strange expression.
Someone opened the door to where Bellona was, accompanied by the sound of urgent footsteps.
“Isaac?”
“I have something to tell you.”
He looked at Bellona and Carsis with a rather serious face.
“It seems that the actions of the deposed Emperor are unusual.”
He began to tell them what he had discovered, calling Graham the deposed Emperor.
***
Meanwhile, Graham looked at himself in the mirror and the corners of his mouth lifted loosely.
Although still pale, his skin was beginning to look more vibrant than before, and the scar on his neck was fading, showing that his body was gradually returning to its former state.
“It’s done now.”
Everything was falling into place again.
The dead body and the lost power were both finding their places.
Could it be because of Riventia's influence?
There was no longer any foul odor coming from his body.
It was at this time that the Emperor's smile, which he had been so happy about, became even brighter.
Paulo, who was next to him, spoke carefully.
“Now that Your Majesty the Emperor’s body is returning to your former state, it is time to retrieve other things.”
“Something else.”
Graham, sitting down with a somewhat arrogant expression, tilted his head.
“Are you referring to what you suggested earlier?”
“Yes. The preparations have already been completed. Now, Your Majesty, all that is left is to make a decision.”
“Hmm.”
But the Emperor just shook his chin as if he wasn't sure.
“With that number of troops, it might be okay for now, but the longer it takes, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. Do you have any special tactics or plans?”
Paulo argued that he should lead an army to Hamelin immediately and strike the rebels before they could return to the capital.
They say they've been secretly preparing an army for him.
The number of troops prepared by Duke Philosykos was quite large for an individual recruit, but it was not enough to deal with all the traitors in the palace.
Graham worried that he might lose even the bare minimum of troops to protect himself later, was somewhat skeptical of Paulo's suggestion to launch a surprise attack first.
“I know very well what Your Majesty is worried about. But please do not worry. Surely all I have prepared is soldiers?”
It was just as Paulo was trying to convince the Emperor with a mean smile.
A familiar voice was heard through the suddenly opened door.
“As Duke Philosykos says, Your Majesty.”
It was a thin, clear voice that did not match the dark background.
And there was only one person here right now who could speak up like that.
“Deborah?”
“I apologize for not even properly greeting you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my oversight.”
While saying this, Deborah bowed to the Emperor.
Graham looked at Deborah with curiosity at her confident attitude, which was different from before.
That would be the case since Deborah had been busy avoiding him all this time.
But she came here on her own without him even calling her.
It was a bit presumptuous of him to open the door without saying anything, but he could overlook that.
“Haha. I’m not that narrow-minded. I understand everything. But what did you mean by that? Follow the Duke’s orders. Do you know what that means?”
Graham asked as if trying to tease Deborah.
Then she answered with a smile.
“I have seen the prophecy, Your Majesty.”
"Prophecy?"
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